A cluster of four cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in Cyprus: a case series

Introduction: Leishmaniasis is endemic in more than 95 countries and is the only tropical/subtropical vector-borne disease that has been endemic in Southern Europe for decades. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in a child and the first cluster with adult cases reported in Europe. Case presentation: We describe a familial cluster of four cutaneous leishmaniasis cases among Greek Cypriots caused by L. donovani in a Paphos village, in Cyprus. A 6-year-old boy (Case number 1) had a persistent lesion in the left angle of his upper lip, a 60-year-old woman (Case number 2) presented with a 2cm-diameter glabella lesion on her forehead, a 60-year-old man (Case number 3) developed a lesion on his moustache area and a 40-year-old woman (Case number 4) had a lesion on her neck. In Case number 3 the lesion was self-cured; the other cases recovered after surgical resection followed by liposomal amphotericin B (Case numbers 1 and 4) or thermotherapy and liposomal amphotericin B (Case number 2). Conclusions: This familial cluster of cutaneous leishmaniasis, due to the anthroponotic L. donovani, shows that the sand fly species responsible for transmitting this parasite species is found in the area around the three neighbouring houses involved. The factors favourable for the survival, spread and contact of the vector with people could be assessed in this area for the establishment of preventative measures to safeguard public health

Investigation of novel chemical in-situ treatment methods to mitigate cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms in surface waters

As water scarcity is becoming a universal problem to address, it is essential to maintain a high surface water quality and protect the biodiversity of current aquatic biotopes worldwide. Surface water contamination events caused by high nutrient and organic matter loads lead to the formation of cyano-HABs, which are mostly unpredictable. Therefore, highly efficient methods are required for the in-situ restoration of water quality. Several methods have been applied over the years to mitigate cyano-HABs with varying efficiencies. Current trends ask for more environmentally friendly approaches to be implemented in order to safeguard the overall aquatic ecosystems and reduce treatment costs. Hydrogen peroxide is currently being used as an emerging chemical alternative to copper algicides. Even though its broad application showed high efficiency on mitigating dense blooms, the required H2O2 doses for each case and treatment application differ, and in some instances high doses were applied with undesirable side effects on the entire lake ecosystem. Herein, calcium peroxide granules were utilized due to their slow H2O2 releasing properties, which simulate multiple liquid H2O2 doses. Specifically, granules were used in surface waters spiked with Microcystis, Aphanizomenon, and Cylindrospermopsis sp. and in actual water samples during blooming

Comparison of UVC/S₂O₈ ^2- with UVC/H₂O₂ in terms of efficiency and cost for the removal of micropollutants from groundwater

This study compared the UVC/S2O82- system with the more commonly used AOP in water industry, UVC/H2O2, and examined whether the first one can be an economically feasible alternative technology. Atrazine and 4 volatile compounds (methyl tert-butyl ether, cis-dichlorethen, 1,4-dioxane and 1,1,1-trichloroethane) were chosen as model contaminants because they exhibit different susceptibility to UVC photolysis and AOPs. A collimated beam apparatus was utilized for the majority of the experiments (controlled environment, without mass transfer phenomena), while selected experiments were performed in a flow-through reactor to simulate industrial applications. Initial experiments on the activation of oxidants with a LP lamp indicated that S2O82- is photolysed about 2.3times faster than H2O2 and that the applied treatment times were not sufficient to utilize the majority of the oxidant. The effect of oxidants' concentrations were tested with atrazine alone and in the micropollutants' mixture and it was decided to use 11.8mgL-1 S2O82- and 14.9mgL-1 H2O2 for further testing since is closer to industrial applications and to minimize the residual oxidant concentration. Changes of the matrix composition of the treated water were investigated with the addition of chloride, bicarbonate and humic acids at concentrations relevant to a well-water-sample, the results showed that the system least affected was UVC/H2O2. Only when bicarbonate was used, UVC/S2O82- performed better. Overall, testing these systems with the mixture of micropollutants gave better insights to their efficiency than atrazine alone and UVC/S2O82- is recommended for selective oxidation of challenging matrices

Effects of antifibrotic agents on TGF-β1, CTGF and IFN-γ expression in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

SummaryIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a deadly disease, largely unresponsive to treatment with corticosteroids and immunosuppressives. The aim of this randomized, prospective, open-label study was to characterize the molecular effects of IFN-γ-1b and colchicine, on biomarkers expression associated with fibrosis (TGF-β, CTGF) and immunomodulatory/antimicrobial activity (IFN-γ), in the lungs of patients with IPF.Fourteen (14) patients with an established diagnosis of IPF received either 200μg of IFN-γ-1b subcutaneously three times per week, or 1mg of oral colchicine per day, for 24 months. Using RT-PCR assay, we evaluated the transcription levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), connective-tissue growth factor (CTGF), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) genes in lung tissue before and after treatment with IFN-γ-1b or colchicine.Marked mRNA expression of TGF-β1 and CTGF, but complete lack of interferon-γ was detected in fibrotic lung tissue at entry. After treatment, both groups exhibited increased expression of IFN-γ gene at 6 months that was sustained at 24 months. The expression of CTGF and TGF-β1 remained almost stable before and after treatment, in the IFN-γ-1b group, while TGF-β1 was statistically decreased after therapy, in the colchicine group (p=0.0002). Significant difference in DLCO (% pred), was found between the two treatment groups in favor of IFN-γ-1b group (p=0.04). In addition, the IFN-γ-1b group showed stability in arterial PO2 while the colchicine group significantly deteriorated (p=0.02).In conclusion, we report the effect of antifibrotic agents (IFN-γ-1b and colchicine) in TGF-β, CTGF, and endogenous IFN-γ gene expression, in human fibrosis. However, extended studies are needed to verify the pathophysiological consequences of these findings

In silico assessment of nanoparticle toxicity powered by the Enalos Cloud Platform:Integrating automated machine learning and synthetic data for enhanced nanosafety evaluation

The rapid advance of nanotechnology has led to the development and widespread application of nanomaterials, raising concerns regarding their potential adverse effects on human health and the environment. Traditional (experimental) methods for assessing the nanoparticles (NPs) safety are time-consuming, expensive, and resource-intensive, and raise ethical concerns due to their reliance on animals. To address these challenges, we propose an in silico workflow that serves as an alternative or complementary approach to conventional hazard and risk assessment strategies, which incorporates state-of-the-art computational methodologies. In this study we present an automated machine learning (autoML) scheme that employs dose-response toxicity data for silver (Ag), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and copper oxide (CuO) NPs. This model is further enriched with atomistic descriptors to capture the NPs’ underlying structural properties. To overcome the issue of limited data availability, synthetic data generation techniques are used. These techniques help in broadening the dataset, thus improving the representation of different NP classes. A key aspect of this approach is a novel three-step applicability domain method (which includes the development of a local similarity approach) that enhances user confidence in the results by evaluating the prediction's reliability. We anticipate that this approach will significantly expedite the nanosafety assessment process enabling regulation to keep pace with innovation, and will provide valuable insights for the design and development of safe and sustainable NPs. The ML model developed in this study is made available to the scientific community as an easy-to-use web-service through the Enalos Cloud Platform (www.enaloscloud.novamechanics.com/sabydoma/safenanoscope/), facilitating broader access and collaborative advancements in nanosafety.</p

Pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis:expert panel discussion on the management of drug-related adverse events

Pirfenidone is currently the only approved therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, following studies demonstrating that treatment reduces the decline in lung function and improves progression-free survival. Although generally well tolerated, a minority of patients discontinue therapy due to gastrointestinal and skin-related adverse events (AEs). This review summarizes recommendations based on existing guidelines, research evidence, and consensus opinions of expert authors, with the aim of providing practicing physicians with the specific clinical information needed to educate the patient and better manage pirfenidone-related AEs with continued pirfenidone treatment. The main recommendations to help prevent and/or mitigate gastrointestinal and skin-related AEs include taking pirfenidone during (or after) a meal, avoiding sun exposure, wearing protective clothing, and applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with high ultraviolet (UV) A and UVB protection. These measures can help optimize AE management, which is key to maintaining patients on an optimal treatment dose.Correction in: Advances in Therapy, Volume 31, Issue 5, pp 575-576 , doi: 10.1007/s12325-014-0118-8</p