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Las moscas del género Anastrepha constituyen una de las principalesplagas de la fruticultura colombiana. El conocimientode la diversidad de especies presentes en un área es el primerpaso en el diseño de estudios tendientes a establecer tecnologíasapropiadas de manejo. Además de un listado de las especies deAnastrepha identificadas en el Laboratorio de Entomología dela Universidaddel Tolima desde 1988 hasta la fecha a través dediversos estudios realizados en este departamento, el presentetrabajo incluye también la distribución y hospederos de dichasespecies provenientes de diez municipios del departamento,con alturas entre 300 y 2.500 msnm. Se identificaron 60.688especímenes pertenecientes a 24 especies de Anastrepha.Mediante la recolección de frutos se asociaron 16 especies dehospederos (incluyendocinco nuevos reportes) a nueve especiesde Anastrepha. Las especies A. distincta Greene, A. sororculaZucchi y A. striata Schiner fueron las que presentaron unadistribución altitudinal más amplia (300 a 2.200 msnm). Porsu parte, A. obliqua solo se encontró desde los 300 hasta los1.550 msnm. Especies de importancia cuarentenaria como A.fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. grandis Macquart y A. serpentina(Wiedemann) se encontraron por arriba de los 1.100, 960 y 900msnm, respectivamente.

The design and optimization of laser-Compton x-ray systems based on compact distributed charge accelerator structures can enable micron-scale imaging of disease and the concomitant production of beams of Very High Energy Electrons (VHEEs) capable of producing FLASH-relevant dose rates. The physics of laser-Compton x-ray scattering ensures that the scattered x-rays follow exactly the trajectory of the incident electrons, thus providing a route to image-guided, VHEE FLASH radiotherapy. The keys to a compact architecture capable of producing both laser-Compton x-rays and VHEEs are the use of X-band RF accelerator structures which have been demonstrated to operate with over 100 MeV/m acceleration gradients. The operation of these structures in a distributed charge mode in which each radiofrequency (RF) cycle of the drive RF pulse is filled with a low-charge, high-brightness electron bunch is enabled by the illumination of a high-brightness photogun with a train of UV laser pulses synchronized to the frequency of the underlying accelerator system. The UV pulse trains are created by a patented pulse synthesis approach which utilizes the RF clock of the accelerator to phase and amplitude modulate a narrow band continuous wave (CW) seed laser. In this way it is possible to produce up to 10 μA of average beam current from the accelerator. Such high current from a compact accelerator enables production of sufficient x-rays via laser-Compton scattering for clinical imaging and does so from a machine of "clinical" footprint. At the same time, the production of 1000 or greater individual micro-bunches per RF pulse enables > 10 nC of charge to be produced in a macrobunch of < 100 ns. The design, construction, and test of the 100-MeV class prototype system in Irvine, CA is also presented., Competing Interests: CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT CPJB, JMA, AJA, JCRB, SMB, MMC, RADLL, DAD, HHE, RF, AG, KJG, ASG, FVH, YH, GI, MJ, CAJ, KWK, AL, RJL, MWM, EM, CLN, HJN, KRP, ZRP, MEQ, FR, TR, JS, MES, MWLS, JYY, CBZ, LEZ, and EJZ were employed by Lumitron Technologies, Inc. CPJB holds patents related to the underlying research presented in this work.

Background: Recently, magnetic and inertial measurement units (MIMU) based systems have been applied in the spine mobility assessment; this evaluation is essential in the clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment evaluation. The available systems are limited in the number of sensors, and neither develops a methodology for the correct placement of the sensors, seeking the relevant mobility information of the spine., Methods: This work presents a methodology for analyzing a system consisting of sixteen MIMUs to reduce the amount of information and obtain an optimal configuration that allows distinguishing between different body postures in a movement. Four machine learning algorithms were trained and assessed using data from the range of motion in three movements (Mov.1-Anterior hip flexion; Mov.2-Lateral trunk flexion; Mov.3-Axial trunk rotation) obtained from 12 patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis., Results: The methodology identified the optimal minimal configuration for different movements. The configuration showed good accuracy in discriminating between different body postures. Specifically, it had an accuracy of 0.963 ± 0.021 for detecting when the subject is upright or bending in Mov.1, 0.944 ± 0.038 for identifying when the subject is flexed to the left or right in Mov.2, and 0.852 ± 0.097 for recognizing when the subject is rotated to the right or left in Mov.3., Conclusions: Our results indicate that the methodology developed results in a feasible configuration for practical clinical studies and paves the way for designing specific IMU-based assessment instruments., Trial Registration: Study approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the General Hospital of Mexico "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga" (protocol code DI/03/17/471)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Recreating cerebral tissue using a tissue-mimicking phantom is valuable because it provides a tool for studying physiological and biological processes related to tissues without the necessity of performing the study directly in the tissue or even in a patient. The reproduction of the optical properties allows investigation in areas such as imaging, optics, and ultrasound, among others. This paper presents a methodology for manufacturing agarose-based phantoms that mimic the optical characteristics of brain tissue using scattering and absorbing agents and proposes combinations of these agents to recreate the healthy brain tissue optical coefficients within the wavelength range of 350 to 500 nm. The results of the characterization of the manufactured phantoms propose ideal combinations of the used materials for their use in controlled environment experiments in the UV range, following a cost-effective methodology.

Body composition assessment using instruments such as dual X-ray densitometry (DXA) can be complex and their use is often limited to research. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop and validate a densitometric method for fat mass (FM) estimation using 3D cameras. Using two such cameras, stereographic images, and a mesh reconstruction algorithm, 3D models were obtained. The FM estimations were compared using DXA as a reference. In total, 28 adults, with a mean BMI of 24.5 (±3.7) kg/m 2 and mean FM (by DXA) of 19.6 (±5.8) kg, were enrolled. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for body volume (BV) was 0.98-0.99 (95% CI, 0.97-0.99) for intra-observer and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99) for inter-observer reliability. The coefficient of variation for kinetic BV was 0.20 and the mean difference (bias) for BV (liter) between Bod Pod and Kinect was 0.16 (95% CI, -1.2 to 1.6), while the limits of agreement (LoA) were 7.1 to -7.5 L. The mean bias for FM (kg) between DXA and Kinect was -0.29 (95% CI, -2.7 to 2.1), and the LoA was 12.1 to -12.7 kg. The adjusted R 2 obtained using an FM regression model was 0.86. The measurements of this 3D camera-based system aligned with the reference measurements, showing the system's feasibility as a simpler, more economical screening tool than current systems.

Background: With the identification of COVID-19 disease in China, a pandemic began that affected health-care systems. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Hospital de Ginecobstetricia del Centro Médico Nacional de Occidente experienced an increase in patient flow as part of the COVID-19 strategy of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). This study aimed to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neonatal care and mortality indicators in our unit., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to compare the number of hospital births, pre-term newborns (PTNB), NICU admissions, and deaths. Changes in frequencies between 2019 and 2021 were analyzed using Poisson distribution. Changes in PTNB births, proportion of admissions, and deaths/NICU discharges were analyzed by z-test for two proportions., Results: Between 2019 and 2021, the number of births increased by more than 2-fold. NICU admissions increased from 770 in 2019 to 1045 in 2021 (p < 0.01). The ratio of deaths/discharge from the service was 16.9% in 2019 and 13.1% in 2021 (p = 0.02)., Conclusions: Mortality indicators in the NICU decreased from 2019 to 2021, even with the increase in the number of patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic., (Copyright: © 2023 Permanyer.)

Background: Lumbar puncture is an essential medical procedure whose objective is to obtain cerebrospinal fluid. Lumbar puncture is considered a complex procedure, mainly for novice residents who suffer from stress and low confidence, which may result in harm to the patient., Methods: The LPVirSim, has been developed in four stages: i) requirements analysis through user-centred design; ii) prototyping of the virtual environment and the haptic component; iii) preliminary tests with Ph.D. students and physicians using two haptic devices (Omega.7 and Sigma.7); iv) a user study where physicians evaluated the usability and user experience., Results: The LPVirSim integrates non-technical skills and the possibility of representing different patients for training. Usability increased from 61.76 to 68.75 in the preliminary tests to 71.43 in the user study., Conclusions: All the results showed good usability and demonstrated that the simulator arouses interest and realistically represents a Lumbar puncture, through the force and visual feedback., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Synthetic phantoms that recreate the characteristics of biological tissues are valuable tools for systematically studying and comprehending physiologies, pathologies, and biological processes related to tissues. The reproduction of mechanical and optical properties allows for the development and evaluation of novel systems and applications in areas such as imaging, optics, ultrasound, or dosimetry, among others. This paper proposes a methodology for manufacturing agarose-based phantoms that mimics the optical properties of healthy brain tissue within the wavelength infrared range of 800 to 820 nm. The fabrication of such phantoms enables the possibility of testing and experimentation in controlled and safe environments toward the design of new near-infrared multispectral imaging systems in neurosurgery. The results of an experimental optical characterization study indicate the validity and reliability of the proposed method for fabricating brain tissue phantoms in a cost-effective and straightforward fashion.

Background: Ventricular puncture is a common procedure in neurosurgery and the first that resident must learn. Ongoing education is critical to improving patient outcomes. However, training at the expense of potential risk to patients warrants new and safer training methods for residents., Methods: An augmented reality (AR) simulator for the practice of ventricular punctures was designed. It consists of a navigation system with a virtual 3D projection of the anatomy over a 3D-printed patient model. Forty-eight participants from neurosurgery staff performed two free-hand ventricular punctures before and after a training session., Results: Participants achieved enhanced accuracy in reaching the target at the Monro foramen after practicing with the system. Additional metrics revealed significantly better trajectories after the training., Conclusion: The study confirms the feasibility of AR as a training tool. This motivates future work towards standardising new educative methodologies in neurosurgery., (© 2023 The Authors. The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The implementation of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery and medical procedures is an active topic of research in recent years. One of the most common procedures is the palpation of soft tissues to identify their mechanical characteristics. In particular, it is very useful to identify the tissue's stiffness or equivalently its elasticity coefficient. However, this identification relies on the existence of a force sensor or a tactile sensor mounted at the tip of the robot, as well as on measuring the robot velocity. For some applications it would be desirable to identify the biomechanical characteristics of soft tissues without the need for a force/tactile nor velocity sensors. An estimation of such quantities can be obtained by a model-based state observer for which the inputs are only the robot joint positions and its commanded joint torques. The estimated velocities and forces can then be employed for closed-loop force control, force reflection, and mechanical parameters estimation. In this work, a closed-loop force control is proposed based on the estimated contact forces to avoid any tissue damage. Then, the information from the estimated forces and velocities is used in a least squares estimator of the mechanical parameters. Moreover, the estimated biomechanical parameters are employed in a Bayesian classifier to provide further help for the physician to make a diagnosis. We have found that a combination of the parameters of both linear and nonlinear viscoelastic models provide better classification results: 0% misclassifications against 50% when using a linear model, and 3.12% when using only a nonlinear model, for the case in which the samples have very similar mechanical properties.

Spinal mobility assessment is essential for the diagnostic of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. BASMI is a routine clinical evaluation of the spine; its measurements are made with goniometers and tape measures, implying systematic errors, subjectivity, and low sensitivity. Therefore, it is crucial to develop better mobility assessment methods. The design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel system for assessing the entire spine's motion are presented. It consists of 16 magnetic and inertial measurement units (MIMUs) communicated wirelessly with a computer. The system evaluates the patient's movements by implementing a sensor fusion of the triaxial gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer signals using a Kalman filter. Fifteen healthy participants were assessed with the system through six movements involving the entire spine to calculate continuous kinematics and maximum range of motion (RoM). The intrarater reliability was computed over the observed RoM, showing excellent reliability levels (intraclass correlation >0.9) in five of the six movements. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the system for further clinical studies with patients. The system has the potential to improve the BASMI method. To the best of our knowledge, our system involves the highest number of sensors, thus providing more objective information than current similar systems.

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity is an essential immune defense mechanism to fight against viral, bacterial or parasitic infections. Upon recognition of an infected target cell, killer lymphocytes form an immunological synapse to release the content of their cytotoxic granules. Cytotoxic granules of humans contain two membrane-disrupting proteins, perforin and granulysin, as well as a homologous family of five death-inducing serine proteases, the granzymes. The granzymes, after delivery into infected host cells by the membrane disrupting proteins, may contribute to the clearance of microbial pathogens through different mechanisms. The granzymes can induce host cell apoptosis, which deprives intracellular pathogens of their protective niche, therefore limiting their replication. However, many obligate intracellular pathogens have evolved mechanisms to inhibit programed cells death. To overcome these limitations, the granzymes can exert non-cytolytic antimicrobial activities by directly degrading microbial substrates or hijacked host proteins crucial for the replication or survival of the pathogens. The granzymes may also attack factors that mediate microbial virulence, therefore directly affecting their pathogenicity. Many mechanisms applied by the granzymes to eliminate infected cells and microbial pathogens rely on the induction of reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species may be directly cytotoxic or enhance death programs triggered by the granzymes. Here, in the light of the latest advances, we review the antimicrobial activities of the granzymes in regards to their cytolytic and non-cytolytic activities to inhibit pathogen replication and invasion. We also discuss how reactive oxygen species contribute to the various antimicrobial mechanisms exerted by the granzymes., 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 © 2021 Lavergne, Hernández-Castañeda, Mantel, Martinvalet and Walch.)

Introduction: Microsurgery clipping is one of the most challenging surgical interventions in neurosurgery. The opportunities to train residents are scarce, but the need for accumulating practice is mandatory. New simulating tools are needed for skill learning., Methods: The design, implementation, and assessment of a new hybrid aneurysm clipping simulator are presented. It consists of an ergonomic workstation with a patient head mannequin and a physics-based virtual reality simulation with bimanual haptic feedback. The simulator recreates scenarios of microsurgery from the patient fixation and the exploration of the brain lobes through Sylvian fissure and vascular structures to the aneurysm clipping. Skill metrics were introduced, including monitoring of gestures movements, exerted forces, tissue displacements, and precision in clipping., Results: Two experimental conditions were tested: (1) simple clipping without brain tissue exploration and (2) clipping the aneurysm with brain Sylvian fissure exploration. Differences in the bimanual gestures were observed between both conditions. The quantitative measurements of tissue displacement of the brain lobes exhibited more tissue retrieval for the surgical gestures of neurosurgeons. Appraisal with questionnaires showed positive scores by neurosurgeons in all items evaluating the usability and realism of the simulator., Conclusions: The simulator was well accepted and feasible for training purposes. The analysis of the interactions with virtual tissues offers information to establish differential and common patterns between tested groups and thus useful metrics for skill evaluation of practitioners. Future work can lead to other tasks during the intervention and the inclusion of more clinical cases., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Society for Simulation in Healthcare.)

Malaria remains one of the most serious health problems in developing countries. The causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium spp., have a complex life cycle involving multiple developmental stages as well as different morphological, biochemical and metabolic requirements. We recently found that γδ T cells control parasite growth using pore-forming proteins to deliver their cytotoxic proteases, the granzymes, into blood residing parasites. Here, we follow up on the molecular mechanisms of parasite growth inhibition by human pore-forming proteins. We confirm that Plasmodium falciparum infection efficiently depletes the red blood cells of cholesterol, which renders the parasite surrounding membranes susceptible to lysis by prokaryotic membrane disrupting proteins, such as lymphocytic granulysin or the human cathelicidin LL-37. Interestingly, not the cholesterol depletion but rather the simultaneous exposure of phosphatidylserine, a negatively charged phospholipid, triggers resistance of late stage parasitized red blood cells towards the eukaryotic pore forming protein perforin. Overall, by revealing the molecular events we establish here a pathogen-host interaction that involves host cell membrane remodeling that defines the susceptibility towards cytolytic molecules., 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 © 2021 Hernández-Castañeda, Lavergne, Casanova, Nydegger, Merten, Subramanian, Matthey, Lannes, Mantel and Walch.)

Plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria, have a complex life cycle. The exponential growth of the parasites during the blood stage is responsible for almost all malaria-associated morbidity and mortality. Therefore, tight immune control of the intraerythrocytic replication of the parasite is essential to prevent clinical malaria. Despite evidence that the particular lymphocyte subset of γδ T cells contributes to protective immunity during the blood stage in naive hosts, their precise inhibitory mechanisms remain unclear. Using human PBMCs, we confirmed in this study that γδ T cells specifically and massively expanded upon activation with Plasmodium falciparum culture supernatant. We also demonstrate that these activated cells gain cytolytic potential by upregulating cytotoxic effector proteins and IFN-γ. The killer cells bound to infected RBCs and killed intracellular P. falciparum via the transfer of the granzymes, which was mediated by granulysin in a stage-specific manner. Several vital plasmodial proteins were efficiently destroyed by granzyme B, suggesting proteolytic degradation of these proteins as essential in the lymphocyte-mediated death pathway. Overall, these data establish a granzyme- and granulysin-mediated innate immune mechanism exerted by γδ T cells to kill late-stage blood-residing P. falciparum ., (Copyright © 2020 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Methods to diagnose malaria are of paramount interest to eradicate the disease. Current methods have severe limitations, as they are either costly or not sensitive enough to detect low levels of parasitemia. Here we report an ultrasensitive, yet low-resource chemical assay for the detection and quantification of hemozoin, a biomarker of all Plasmodium species. Solubilized hemozoin catalyzes the atom transfer radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide above the lower critical solution temperature of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). The solution becomes turbid, which can be observed by naked eye and quantified by UV-visible spectroscopy. The rate of turbidity increase is proportional to the concentration of hemozoin, with a detection limit of 0.85 ng mL -1 . Malaria parasites in human blood can be detected down to 10 infected red blood cells μL -1 . The assay could potentially be applied as a point-of-care test. The signal-amplification of an analyte by biocatalytic precipitation polymerization represents a powerful approach in biosensing.

Background: Integrating simulators with robotic surgical procedures could assist in designing and testing of novel robotic control algorithms and further enhance patient-specific pre-operative planning and training for robotic surgeries., Methods: A virtual reality simulator, developed to perform the transsphenoidal resection of pituitary gland tumours, tested the usability of robotic interfaces and control algorithms. It used position-based dynamics to allow soft-tissue deformation and resection with haptic feedback; dynamic motion scaling control was also incorporated into the simulator., Results: Neurosurgeons and residents performed the surgery under constant and dynamic motion scaling conditions (CMS vs DMS). DMS increased dexterity and reduced the risk of damage to healthy brain tissue. Post-experimental questionnaires indicated that the system was well-evaluated by experts., Conclusion: The simulator was intuitively and realistically operated. It increased the safety and accuracy of the procedure without affecting intervention time. Future research can investigate incorporating this simulation into a real micro-surgical robotic system., (© 2018 The Authors The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Cerebral malaria is a complex neurological syndrome caused by an infection with Plasmodium falciparum parasites and is exclusively attributed to a series of host-parasite interactions at the pathological blood-stage of infection. In contrast, the preceding intra-hepatic phase of replication is generally considered clinically silent and thereby excluded from playing any role in the development of neurological symptoms. In this study, however, we present an antigen Pb maLS&#95;05 that is presented to the host immune system by both pre-erythrocytic and intra-erythrocytic stages and contributes to the development of cerebral malaria in mice. Although deletion of the endogenous Pb maLS&#95;05 prevented the development of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) in susceptible mice after both sporozoite and infected red blood cell (iRBC) infections, we observed significant differences in contribution of the host immune response between both modes of inoculation. Moreover, Pb maLS&#95;05-specific CD8 + T cells contributed to the development of ECM after sporozoite but not iRBC-infection, suggesting that pre-erythrocytic antigens like Pb maLS&#95;05 can also contribute to the development of cerebral symptoms. Our data thus highlight the importance of the natural route of infection in the study of ECM, with potential implications for vaccine and therapeutic strategies against malaria.

The use of robotic rehabilitation in orthopaedics has been briefly explored. Despite its possible advantages, the use of computer-assisted physiotherapy of patients with musculoskeletal injuries has received little attention. In this paper, we detailed the development and evaluation of a robotic-assisted rehabilitation system as a new methodology of assisted physiotherapy in orthopaedics. The proposal consists of an enhanced end-effector haptic interface mounted in a passive mechanism for allowing patients to perform upper-limb exercising and integrates virtual reality games conceived explicitly for assisting the treatment of the forearm after injuries at the wrist or elbow joints. The present methodology represents a new approach to assisted physiotherapy for strength and motion recovery of wrist pronation/supination and elbow flexion-extension movements. We design specific game scenarios enriched by proprioceptive and haptic force feedback in three training modes: passive, active, and assisted exercising. The system allows the therapist to tailor the difficulty level on the observed motion capacity of the patients and the kinesiology measurements provided by the system itself. We evaluated the system through the analysis of the muscular activity of two healthy subjects, showing that the system can assign significant working loads during typical physiotherapy treatment profiles. Subsequently, a group of ten patients undergoing manual orthopaedic rehabilitation of the forearm tested the system, under similar conditions at variable intensities. Patients tolerated changes in difficulty through the tests, and they expressed a favourable opinion of the system through the administered questionnaires, which indicates that the system was well accepted and that the proposed methodology was feasible for the case study for subsequently controlled trials. Finally, a predictive model of the performance score in the form of a linear combination of kinesiology observations was implemented in function of difficult training parameters, as a way of systematically individualising the training during the therapy, for subsequent studies.

The parasite Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe form of malaria. Cell communication between parasites is an important mechanism to control population density and differentiation. The infected red blood cells (iRBCs) release small extracellular vesicles (EVs) that transfer cargoes between cells. The EVs synchronize the differentiation of the asexual parasites into gametocytes to initiate the transmission to the mosquito. Beside their role in parasite communication, EVs regulate vascular function. So far, the exact cargoes responsible for cellular communication remain unknown. We isolated EVs from cultured iRBCs to determine their small RNA content. We identified several types of human and plasmodial regulatory RNAs. While the miRNAs and tRNA-derived fragments were the most abundant human RNAs, we also found Y-RNAs, vault RNAs, snoRNAs and piRNAs. Interestingly, we found about 120 plasmodial RNAs, including mRNAs coding for exported proteins and proteins involved in drug resistance, as well as non-coding RNAs, such as rRNAs, small nuclear (snRNAs) and tRNAs. These data show, that iRBC-EVs carry small regulatory RNAs. A role in cellular communication is possible since the RNAs were transferred to endothelial cells. Furthermore, the presence of Plasmodium RNAs, in EVs suggests that they may be used as biomarker to track and detect disease.

Background: High alcohol intake on weekends (binge drinking) is more frequent in young adults, who could undergo early liver damage. Alcohol-induced liver damage is characterized by polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) infiltration, which can be represented in the peripheral blood by altered trafficking and activation profiles., Objective: To evaluate the PMN trafficking and activation immunophenotypic profiles in people with a binge drinking pattern., Methods: People with binge drinking (n = 18, 8 females) or at low risk (n = 16, 13 females) based on their AUDIT and HEPCA scores were studied. Hematic biometry and liver enzyme tests were conducted. Peripheral blood leukocytes were stained for CCR5, CCR4, and CXCR4 (trafficking) and CD69 and CD127 (activation). PMNs and monocytes were analyzed by FACS. The data were analyzed using the T-test and Mann-Whitney's U-test for contrasts and principal component and Fuzzy C means analyses for clustering, with p < 0.05 considered significant., Results: Compared to the low-risk group, the binge group showed higher CCR5 expression on PMNs, decreases in the CD69 percentage and positive PMNs per microliter, and decreased CXCR4 expression on monocytes. Six immunophenotypical clusters were identified, all of which were distributed following the CCR5 and CXCR4 main vectors., Conclusion: Young adult binge drinkers have differential PMN trafficking and activation immunophenotypes, which could be related to the initial onset of alcoholic liver disease and a systemic inflammatory state in response to their alcohol consumption pattern. These findings could lead to the future development of an early diagnostic tool.

Introduction: Nosocomial infections are a major and a frequent problem in neonatal intensive care units and increase morbidity, mortality, and costs. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with nosocomial infections in a neonatal intensive care unit., Methods: Nested case control study. Records from patients were registered: gestational age, sex, birth weight, central venous catheter and other devices, congenital malformations, surgeries, mechanical ventilation, steroid use, H2 blockers, length of stay in neonatal intensive care unit, type of infection, and etiological agent., Results: We studied 188 cases with nosocomial infections and 192 controls without nosocomial infections. The most frequent infection was sepsis (34.8%) and coagulase negative Staphylococcus was the principal etiological agent (37.2%). The risk factors associated with nosocomial infection were central venous catheter (OR: 7.3; 95% CI: 2.3-22.8), duration of neonatal intensive care unit stay>14 days (OR: 3.4; 95% CI: 1.7-6.7), H2 blockers (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.2), number of surgeries≥2 (OR: 3; 95% CI: 1.1-7.9) and mechanical ventilation>7 days (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.1-4.2)., Conclusions: Some risk factors associated to nosocomial infections in this study are similar to those found previously, with the exception of the number of surgeries that was not reported in previous studies.

An experimental study on the role played by each of the reagents involved in the selective reduction of aromatic ketones in aqueous medium is reported. In this reaction, the reduction of aromatic ketones is mediated by Cp2TiCl. Moreover, the presence of Mn in the reaction medium is mandatory. To account for these findings, a substantially revised mechanism is proposed.

Host cell manipulation is an important feature of the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Recent reports have shown that the tachyzoite stages subvert dendritic cells (DC) as a conduit for dissemination (Trojan horse) during acute infection. To examine the cellular basis of these processes, we performed a detailed analysis of the early events following tachyzoite invasion of human monocyte-derived DC. We demonstrate that within minutes after tachyzoite penetration, profound morphological changes take place in DC that coincide with a migratory activation. Active parasite invasion of DC led to cytoskeletal actin redistribution with loss of adhesive podosome structures and redistribution of integrins (CD18 and CD11c), that concurred with the onset of DC hypermotility in vitro. Inhibition of parasite rhoptry secretion and invasion, but not inhibition of parasite or host cell protein synthesis, abrogated the onset of morphological changes and hypermotility in DC dose-dependently. Also, infected DC, but not by-stander DC, exhibited upregulation of C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7). Yet, the onset of parasite-induced DC hypermotility preceded chemotactic migratory responsesin vitro. Collectively, present data reveal that invasion of DC by T. gondii initiates a series of regulated events, including rapid cytoskeleton rearrangements, hypermotility and chemotaxis, that promote the migratory activation of DC., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

An automatic colour image segmentation and cell counting software system has been developed for immunocytochemical analysis of stained tissue samples. The system was designed to count the total number of positive and negative cells in tissue samples treated with cytokine DNA probes from pigs naturally parasitised with Taenia solium metacestodes, using in situ hybridisation. A reaction index was calculated as the ratio of the number of cells with a positive reaction to the total number of cells (positives plus negatives) for each of five different probes. The objectives of automatic counting were to improve the reproducibility of the analysis and reduce the processing time of large image batches. A fast KNN classifier was used for colour segmentation. Watershed segmentation combined with edge detection was used to isolate individual cells that were then automatically labelled, using the results of the corresponding colour segmented image. Validation was performed on 122 non-training digital images with a total of 1069 positive cells and 1459 negative cells, with the following results: a mean true positive rate of 90.2% for positive cells and a mean true positive rate of 85.4% for negative cells. The corresponding mean false positive rates were 9.6% and 6.6%. The mean reaction index error of the automatic analysis was 5.35%. The processing of each digital image took 10 s on a Pentium IV PC.