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The article offers information on Argentinean multipurpose reactor called RA-10. It notes that this multipurpose research reactor is to replace RA-3 reactor. RA-10 aims to satisfy the increasing national regional demands for radioisotopes in the country. RA-10, which started in 2010, is being supported by the National Administration, and is expected to be operational in 2018.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a common cause of acute clinical hepatitis worldwide and is emerging as a disease in Argentina. It is primarily transmitted through contaminated water and food, following the fecal-oral route. Furthermore, is a zoonotic disease with swine as the primary reservoir. Prevalence of HEV infection in humans in several regions of Argentina remains unknown., Objectives: (i) Determine the seroprevalence of HEV among the human population in Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina; (ii) Evaluate its association with demographic, socioeconomic and other risk exposures variables, and (iii) Describe and analyze spatial patterns related to HEV infection., Methods: From August 2020 to July 2021, serum samples were collected from 969 individuals aged 1-80 years. Seroprevalence and 95% Confidence Interval was determined. To assess the factors associated with the presence of anti-HEV antibodies, associations between the variables and seropositivity were evaluated through bivariate and multivariate analysis. Spatial scanning for clusters of positivity was carried out. Factors associated with these clusters were also assessed., Results: Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 4.64% (IC 95% 3.27-6.02) of samples. Dark urine was associated with seropositivity ( p  = 0.02). Seropositivity was linked with the presence of natural water courses near their households ( p  = 0.02); the age ( p  = 0.04); and previous travel to Europe ( p  = 0.04). A spatial cluster of low rates of HEV seropositivity was detected, with greater distance of the households to water courses associated to the cluster, and male sex inversely associated to it., Discussion and Conclusion: This study is the first study to investigate the prevalence of HEV in the population from Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Considering HEV infection in the differential diagnosis in individuals presenting acute hepatitis is highlighted. The incorporation of HEV testing into blood screening policies should be mandatory. Factors related to the infection and spatial patterns of high and low risk were determined, and should be considered when implementing specific preventive measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Rivero, Arce, Gutiérrez, Tisnés, Passucci, Silva, Barón Prato, Sánchez, Matias Brancher, Estein and Vizoso-Pinto.)

Background: The percentage of brain volume loss (PBVL) has been classically considered as a biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS)., Objective: The objective of the present study was to analyze if the PBVL during the 1 st year after the onset of the disease predicts physical and cognitive impairment (CI)., Methods: Prospective study that included naïve patients without cognitive impairment who initiated MS treatment with fingolimod. Patients were followed for 3 years and relapses, expanded disability status scale (EDSS) progression (defined as worsening of 1 point on the EDSS), the annual PBVL (evaluated by structural image evaluation using normalization of atrophy [SIENA]), and the presence of CI were evaluated. Cognitive impairment was defined in patients who scored at least 2 standard deviations (SDs) below controls on at least 2 domains. The PBVL after 1 year of treatment with fingolimod was used as an independent variable, while CI and EDSS progression at the 3 rd year of follow-up as dependent variables., Results: A total of 71 patients were included, with a mean age of 35.4 ± 3 years old. At the 3 rd year, 14% of the patients were classified as CI and 6.2% had EDSS progression. In the CI group, the PBVL during the 1 st year was - 0.52 (±0.07) versus -0.42 (±0.04) in the no CI group ( p  < 0.01; odds ratio [OR] = 2.24; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72-2.44). In the group that showed EDSS progression, the PBVL during the 1 st year was - 0.59 (±0.05) versus - 0.42 (±0.03) ( p  < 0.01; OR = 2.33; 95%CI: 1.60-2.55)., Conclusions: A higher PBVL during the 1 st year in naïve MS patients was independently associated with a significant risk of CI and EDSS progression., Competing Interests: Cristiano E., Rojas, J. I.,, and Patrucco L. have received fees for consultations as scientific advisory board members and for travels to meetings, conferences, and clinical trials of the following companies: Avanir, Bayer, Biogen, Merck, Novartis, and Teva. Pappolla A. and Sánchez F. have no conflict of interests to declare., (Brazilian Academy of Neurology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Introduction: There is scarce evidence comparing the behavior in magnetic resonance (MRI) between positive and negative aquaporin-4 antibody neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (P-NMOSD and NNMOSD, respectively). The aim of this study was to describe and compare MRI features through a quantitative and qualitative analysis between P-NMOSD and NNMOSD patients in a cohort from Latin American (LATAM) patients., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the MRI and medical records of NMOSD patients as defined by the 2015 validated diagnostic criteria, and with at least 3 years of follow-up from disease onset (first symptom). We included patients from Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. To be included, NMOSD patients must have had AQP4-ab status measured by a cell-based assay. Brain MRIs were obtained for each participant at disease onset and every 12 months for 3 years. Demographics, clinical and MRI variables (T2 lesion volume [T2LV], lesion distribution, cortical thickness [CT] and percentage of brain volume loss [PBVL]) were analyzed and compared between groups (P-NMOSD; NNMOSD) at disease onset and follow-up. A multiple sclerosis (MS) control group of patients was also included., Results: We included 24 P-NMOSD, 15 NNMOSD and 35 MS patients. No differences in age, gender and follow-up time were observed between groups. Nor were differences found in lesion distribution at disease onset or in brain volumes during follow-up between P-NMOSD and NNMOSD patients (T2LV = 0.43, CT = 0.12, PBVL p = 0.45). Significant differences were observed in lesion distribution at disease onset, as well as in brain volumes during follow-up between NMOSD and MS (T2LV = p<0.001, CT = p<0.001, PBVL p = 0.01)., Conclusion: Different MRI features were observed between MS and NMOSD. However, no quantitative nor qualitative differences were observed between P-NMOSD and NNMOSD, not allowing us to differentiate NMOSD conditions by MRI., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The ability to establish biofilms is a key trait for microorganisms growing in extreme environments. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) present in biofilms provide not only surface attachment, but also protection against all kinds of environmental stressors, including desiccation, salinity, temperature or heavy metal pollution. The acquisition of suitable biofilm characteristics might thus be an important process mediating the adaptation of microorganisms to novel environmental conditions. In this work we have characterized the EPS of 20 phylogenetically diverse biofilms collected in situ from five contrasting extreme environments, including two geothermal areas (Copahue, Argentina; Seltun, Iceland), two cold areas (Pastoruri glacier, Peru; Byers Peninsula, Antarctica) and one extremely acidic river (Río Tinto, Spain). Biofilms were subjected to biochemical characterization, glycan profiling and immunoprofiling with an antibody microarray. Our results showed that environmental conditions strongly influence biofilm characteristics, with microorganisms from the same environment achieving similar EPS compositions regardless of the phylogeny of their main species. The concentration of some monosaccharides in the EPS could be related to environmental conditions such as temperature or heavy metal toxicity, suggesting that in some cases stress resistance can be mediated by specific sugars. Overall, our results highlight the existence of conserved EPS compositional patterns for each extreme environment, which could in turn be exploited to engineer ecological adaptations in genetically modified microorganisms., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to combine two automated methods of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural analysis in order to identify structural changes in patients born in Argentina with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) compared to a healthy adult control group. Twenty-eight patients with IGE and 26 controls with no significant demographic differences were included. The analysis of the brain structures was conducted with two automated methods of magnetic resonance image analysis: voxelbased morphometry and FSL-integrated registration and segmentation toolbox (FSL-FIRST). FSL showed volume decrease in both thalamus in patients with IGE compared to the control group (left: 8092 mm3 control group vs. 7424 mm3 IGE, p = 0.0015; right: 7951 mm3 control group vs. 7247 mm3 IGE, p = 0.0016). A reduction in the volume of both caudate nuclei was also seen (left: 3612 mm3 control group vs. 3376 mm3 IGE, p = 0.01; right: 3683 mm3 control group vs. 3459 mm3 IGE, p = 0.04). Voxel-based-morphometry showed a volume decrease in both caudate nuclei in patients with IGE compared to the control group. The other cerebral structures analyzed did not show significant differences between the groups. In conclusion, this study shows the reduction in volume in the subcortical, thalamic, and caudate nuclei structures in patients with IGE in comparison to control group. This study conducted in our country delves into the analysis of brain structural changes in patients with EGI compared to healthy subjects.

Pulmonary infiltrates remain as a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in cancer patients. In order to evaluate the etiology, diagnostic methods used, Intensive Care Unit admission and in-hospital mortality, we conducted an observational, prospective study which included all patients with cancer and recent pulmonary infiltrates admitted to the Instituto Alexander Fleming between August 2003 and March 2006. Diagnostic methods were categorized in sequential steps of complexity: 1st step: radiological pattern of the pulmonary infiltrates, blood and sputum cultures, serological tests and empirical treatment response; 2nd step: bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), non bronchoscopic tracheal aspirate and mini-BAL; 3rd step: pulmonary or extrapulmonary biopsies. Pulmonary infiltrate etiology was classified as: infection, treatment complication, disease progression, cardiovascular or mixed. Diagnosis was classified as proved or probable. A total of 106 samples from 103 patients were included. The etiologies were infection in 61 cases, disease progression in 4, treatment complication in 6, cardiovascular in 6 and mixed in 7. Proved diagnosis was obtained in 33 cases and probable diagnosis in 51 while 22 cases could not be diagnosed. Nine of the 10 diagnoses of mycoses were in oncohematologic cases. Seventy cases did not go further than procedures included in the 1st step. Thirty two cases stopped after diagnostic procedures of the 2nd step and 4 required biopsies. Forty four cases required Intensive Care Unit admission. In-hospital mortality was 30.2%. In our study, infection was the most frequent etiology. Mycoses were more frequent in oncohematologic cases. A proved or probable diagnosis was obtained in 84 (79.2%) cases. In 53.7% of the cases only non-invasive diagnostic methods were required.