The first case of Dirofilaria repens (D. repens) parasite in Turkey was detected by Unat in 1944, 1 and human infection with D. repens in the subconjunctiva was also first reported from Adana in 1993 by Soylu et al. 2 Since then, no other cases of human subconjunctival infection with D. repens have been reported in this region.D. repens is a mosquito-borne filaria, a parasite of the subcutaneous tissue of domestic and wild carnivores such as dogs, cats and foxes. 3 Dirofilaria species may be divided into two groups: subgenus Dirofilaria represented by Dirofilaria immitis, which is charecterized by a relatively smooth cuticle and normally found in the right heart and pulmonary vessels of dogs, the natural hosts; and subgenus Nochtiella, which parasitize the subcutaneous tissue. Species of this group have longitudinal ridges on the cuticle. Representative species are Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens found in dogs and cats, and Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) tenius found in racoons. 4 As there are no racoons in Turkey, this parasite is not found here. 2 The mature D. repens live in the tissues and organs of vertebrates, while their immature stages prefer the blood and lymph vessels. D. repens is a subdermal parasite in dogs. It has been proven that the parasite, called D. conjunctivae and normaly found in humans, is not a different species from D. repens. 5,6 The main cause of D. conjunctivae cases is D. tenius, which occurs mostly in America, and D. repens, which occurs mostly in Europe (especially in the southern and eastern parts), Russia and Sri Lanka. 5 İt is reported that D. conjunctivae is the immature type of D. repens, therefore, the main infection source of human dirofilariosis is dogs having Dirofilaria. 2,5 D. repens infection, rarely seen in humans, is a zoonotic illness. Humans get infected through blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. During blood sucking, these arthropods receive the immature stages of the parasite called microfilaria. After becoming mature in the arthropods' body, microfilaria is transferred into human or other vertebrates by the blood-sucking arthropods. For D. repens settling in the subconjunctiva, the human body is not an appropriate host, and therefore, no mature stages of the parasite are found in humans. 5 The correct diagnosis of the parasite is usually made with histological examination, based on the identification of the nematode, using the morphological characters of the species to differentiate it from the other Dirofilariae. 5 It is important to identify D. repens by microscopic evaluation of tissue cross section, as well as through its macroscopic characteristics. 7,8 The dyes used in examining the cross transverse sections are hematoxylin-eosin (HE)

Syphilis is on the rise in every age and ethnicity group across the United States. The rate of congenital syphilis has started to rise as well, increasing the need for syphilis screening before pregnancy occurs. Raising awareness for syphilis screening, especially among sexually active women, is important, as the implications of this disease have lifelong effects for mother and child.

. Estimación de la talla a partir de la medida de la tibia en población Colombiana. Int. J. Morphol., 27(2):305-309, 2009. RESUMEN:La desaparición forzada es un fenómeno común en Colombia, diariamente aparecen restos humanos en fosas comunes, el estado tiene la responsabilidad de identificar tales restos, el proceso inicial de identificación debe determinar: género, raza, edad y talla. Nuestro objetivo es establecer la correlación existente entre la longitud de la tibia y la talla de un individuo con el fin de generar una ecuación que permita predecir la talla de un individuo a partir de los restos óseos de su tibia. Se evaluaron 168 cadáveres a quienes se les practicó la autopsia medico-legal, con edades comprendidas entre los 18 y 50 años. Se realizó la medición de la talla del sujeto y de la longitud máxima de su tibia luego de su disección, y se estimó la correlación existente entre estas dos variables a partir del coeficiente de correlación de Pearson y se aplica un modelo de regresión lineal para generar una ecuación que permita predecir la talla de un individuo a partir de la longitud de su tibia usando el paquete estadístico STATA 8.0. De las 168 mediciones de tibia y talla, la longitud promedio de la talla es 170 cm y de tibia 38,42 cm; el coeficiente de correlación de Pearson es 0,88. Al aplicar el modelo de regresión lineal se obtiene la ecuación T = 66,42 + (2.72 x LMT), donde la Talla (T) en cm es igual a 66,42 cm más el producto de 2,72 por la longitud máxima de la tibia en cm (LMT). Se genera una ecuación en población Colombiana que permite predecir la talla de un individuo desaparecido a partir de la longitud de los restos óseos de su tibia, de esta manera se contribuye al proceso de identificación de sujetos desaparecidos en Colombia.