La política por los espiritus: escenarios multiculturales en "zonas de contacto" (Valle de Cauca, Colombia)

Basado en una reciente investigacion etnografica entre los Embera-Chami de la région plurietnica del Valle del Cauca (Colombia) el examen de escenarios de encuentros interénicos encuadrados por la legislacion multicultural permite vislumbrar la paradojica interdependencia entre la institucionalizacion de un concepto culturalista singularizante de "la" cultura y la homogeneizacion politica de los grupos etnicos. La "estatizacion" de las relaciones inter-étnicas, concomitante a la competicion por la visibilidad, entre grupos de igual estatus en la legislacion nacional e internacional aparecen como dimensiones emergentes del campo interétnico, mientras que se confirma el papel performativo de la ritualizacion en la circulacion y la apropriacion de discursos y practicas. Los escenarios descritos que corresponden a múltiples situaciones semejantes evidencian también que la apropiación multidireccional y uso contextual de conceptos genéricos provenientes del espacio académico, nacional e internacional - como "médico tradicional", "derecho ancestral", "reforzamiento cultural", o "chamanismo" - construyen campos de paradojas. Permiten a los actores étnicos de construir y visibilizar una singularidad cultural aislacionista conforme al concepto oficializado de "cultura" pero al mismo tiempo empujan a una mayor apertura de las "zonas de contacto" interétnicas donde circulan una mayor variedad de prácticas y discursos que antes de la institucionalización del multiculturalismo.

Producción mediática y religiosidad: dinámicas transnacionales de las comunicaciones evangélicas

La circulación internacional de bienes simbólicos a través de los medios de comunicación ha generado numerosos debates sobre los modos de interpretar y analizar los procesos comunicacionales en las tramas culturales contemporáneas. En este trabajo nos referimos a la conformación de una cadena de radiofonía evangélica con sede en Miami, integrada por radios afiliadas que retransmiten la señal en distintas ciudades de Latinoamérica. Las características de esta red nos permiten indagar las problemáticas de la globalización, transnacionalización y localización cultural en el ámbito de la religiosidad y los medios de comunicación. Profundizamos en las articulaciones espaciales, las mediaciones culturales y las interrelaciones entre iglesias, medios de comunicación y públicos evangélicos configuradas en el contexto de la producción cultural evangélica internacional.

Neutralizing capacity of a new monovalent anti-Bothrops atrox antivenom: comparison with two commercial antivenoms

Three horse-derived antivenoms were tested for their ability to neutralize lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, defibrinating and myotoxic activities induced by the venom of Bothrops atrox from Antioquia and Chocó (Colombia). The following antivenoms were used: a) polyvalent (crotaline) antivenom produced by Instituto Clodomiro Picado (Costa Rica), b) monovalent antibothropic antivenom produced by Instituto Nacional de Salud-INS (Bogotá), and c) a new monovalent anti-B. atrox antivenom produced with the venom of B. atrox from Antioquia and Chocó. The three antivenoms neutralized all toxic activities tested albeit with different potencies. The new monovalent anti-B. atrox antivenom showed the highest neutralizing ability against edema-forming and defibrinating effects of B. atrox venom (41 ± 2 and 100 ± 32 µl antivenom/mg venom, respectively), suggesting that it should be useful in the treatment of B. atrox envenomation in Antioquia and Chocó

Neutralization of the edema-forming, defibrinating and coagulant effects of Bothrops asper venom by extracts of plants used by healers in Colombia

We determined the neutralizing activity of 12 ethanolic extracts of plants against the edema-forming, defibrinating and coagulant effects of Bothrops asper venom in Swiss Webster mice. The material used consisted of the leaves and branches of Bixa orellana (Bixaceae), Ficus nymphaeifolia (Moraceae), Struthanthus orbicularis (Loranthaceae) and Gonzalagunia panamensis (Rubiaceae); the stem barks of Brownea rosademonte (Caesalpiniaceae) and Tabebuia rosea (Bignoniaceae); the whole plant of Pleopeltis percussa (Polypodiaceae) and Trichomanes elegans (Hymenophyllaceae); rhizomes of Renealmia alpinia (Zingiberaceae), Heliconia curtispatha (Heliconiaceae) and Dracontium croatii (Araceae), and the ripe fruit of Citrus limon (Rutaceae). After preincubation of varying amounts of each extract with either 1.0 µg venom for the edema-forming effect or 2.0 µg venom for the defibrinating effect, the mixture was injected subcutaneously (sc) into the right foot pad or intravenously into the tail, respectively, to groups of four mice (18-20 g). All extracts (6.2-200 µg/mouse) partially neutralized the edema-forming activity of venom in a dose-dependent manner (58-76% inhibition), with B. orellana, S. orbicularis, G. panamensis, B. rosademonte, and D. croatii showing the highest effect. Ten extracts (3.9-2000 µg/mouse) also showed 100% neutralizing ability against the defibrinating effect of venom, and nine prolonged the coagulation time induced by the venom. When the extracts were administered either before or after venom injection, the neutralization of the edema-forming effect was lower than 40% for all extracts, and none of them neutralized the defibrinating effect of venom. When they were administered in situ (sc at the same site 5 min after venom injection), the neutralization of edema increased for six extracts, reaching levels up to 64% for C. limon.

Tuberculosis in renal transplant patients: The experience of a single center in Medellín-Colombia, 2005-2013

Introduction: Tuberculosis is a common opportunistic infection in renal transplant patients. Objective: To obtain a clinical and laboratory description of transplant patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and their response to treatment during a period ranging from 2005 to 2013 at the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital. Methods: Retrospective and descriptive study. Results: In 641 renal transplants, tuberculosis was confirmed in 12 cases. Of these, 25% had a history of acute rejection, and 50% had creatinine levels greater than 1.5 mg/dl prior to infection. The disease typically presented as pulmonary (50%) and disseminated (33.3%). The first phase of treatment consisted of 3 months of HZRE (isoniazid, pyrazinamide, rifampicin and ethambutol) in 75% of the cases and HZME (isoniazid, pyrazinamide, moxifloxacin and ethambutol) in 25% of the cases. During the second phase of the treatment, 75% of the cases received isoniazid and rifampicin, and 25% of the cases received isoniazid and ethambutol. The length of treatment varied between 6 and 18 months. In 41.7% of patients, hepatotoxicity was associated with the beginning of anti-tuberculosis therapy. During a year-long follow-up, renal function remained stable, and the mortality rate was 16.7%. Conclusion: Tuberculosis in the renal transplant population studied caused diverse nonspecific symptoms. Pulmonary and disseminated tuberculosis were the most frequent forms and required prolonged treatment. Antituberculosis medications had a high toxicity and mortality. This infection must be considered when patients present with a febrile syndrome of unknown origin, especially during the first year after renal transplant.