Development of an active risk-based surveillance strategy for avian influenza in Cuba

AbstractThe authors designed a risk-based approach to the selection of poultry flocks to be sampled in order to further improve the sensitivity of avian influenza (AI) active surveillance programme in Cuba. The study focused on the western region of Cuba, which harbours nearly 70% of national poultry holdings and comprise several wetlands where migratory waterfowl settle (migratory waterfowl settlements – MWS). The model took into account the potential risk of commercial poultry farms in western Cuba contracting from migratory waterfowl of the orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes through dispersion for pasturing of migratory birds around the MWS. We computed spatial risk index by geographical analysis with Python scripts in ESRI® ArcGIS 10 on data projected in the reference system NAD 1927–UTM17. Farms located closer to MWS had the highest values for the risk indicator pj and in total 31 farms were chosen for targeted surveillance during the risk period. The authors proposed to start active surveillance in the study area 3 weeks after the onset of Anseriformes migration, with additional sampling repeated twice in the same selected poultry farms at 15 days interval (Comin et al., 2012; EFSA, 2008) to cover the whole migration season. In this way, the antibody detectability would be favoured in case of either a posterior AI introduction or enhancement of a previous seroprevalence under the sensitivity level. The model identified the areas with higher risk for AIV introduction from MW, aiming at selecting poultry premises for the application of risk-based surveillance. Given the infrequency of HPAI introduction into domestic poultry populations and the relative paucity of occurrences of LPAI epidemics, the evaluation of the effectiveness of this approach would require its application for several migration seasons to allow the collection of sufficient reliable data

Glutamate and Brain Glutaminases in Drug Addiction

Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and its actions are related to the behavioral effects of psychostimulant drugs. In the last two decades, basic neuroscience research and preclinical studies with animal models are suggesting a critical role for glutamate transmission in drug reward, reinforcement, and relapse. Although most of the interest has been centered in post-synaptic glutamate receptors, the presynaptic synthesis of glutamate through brain glutaminases may also contribute to imbalances in glutamate homeostasis, a key feature of the glutamatergic hypothesis of addiction. Glutaminases are the main glutamate-producing enzymes in brain and dysregulation of their function have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders; however, the possible implication of these enzymes in drug addiction remains largely unknown. This mini-review focuses on brain glutaminase isozymes and their alterations by in vivo exposure to drugs of abuse, which are discussed in the context of the glutamate homeostasis theory of addiction. Recent findings from mouse models have shown that drugs induce changes in the expression profiles of key glutamatergic transmission genes, although the molecular mechanisms that regulate drug-induced neuronal sensitization and behavioral plasticity are not clear.This work was financially supported by Grants RD12/0028/0013 (JM) and RD12/0028/0001 (FRF) of the RTA RETICS network from the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III, Grant SAF2015-64501-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (to JM and JMM) and Excellence Grant CVI-6656 (Regional Andalusian government) (to JM)

Estudio de viabilidad de la Virtualización de Servidores aplicada al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Nicaragua (MINREX), Managua 2012

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/universitas.v5i1.1484 UNIVERSITAS (León): Revista Científica de la UNAN León Vol.5(1) 2014, pp 118-125La virtualización de servidores se sitúa en la actualidad en una de las facetas más importantes dentro de las tendencias de modernización del mundo empresarial, la virtualización de los sistemas informáticos se usa para paliar y en muchos casos eliminar la infra-utilización de servidores. Ante estas nuevas tendencias y con el objetivo de estar a la vanguardia en el MINREX se está pensando en la virtualización de los servicios de red que ofrece, para paliar la falta de recursos hardware que enfrenta actualmente; sin embargo, antes de proceder a esta virtualización se hace necesario un estudio para obtener información sobre la viabilidad de este proceso; lográndose identificar las principales barreras que enfrenta la virtualización, así como también el software más apropiado para llevar a cabo este proceso. El tipo de investigación que se realizó fue un estudio explorativo de corte transversal, donde se logró identificar como principales barreras al proceso de virtualización el costo inicial y la falta de personal calificado, sin embargo los factores más determinantes para llevar a cabo este proceso son: ahorro en recursos hardware, minimización del consumo energético y mayor eficiencia operativa, siendo los software más adecuado de implementación VMWare y VirtualBox. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/universitas.v5i1.1484 UNIVERSITAS (León): Revista Científica de la UNAN León Vol.5(1) 2014, pp 118-12

Estudio de viabilidad de la Virtualización de Servidores aplicada al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Nicaragua (MINREX), Managua 2012.

La virtualización de servidores se sitúa en la actualidad en una de las facetas más importantes dentro de las tendencias de modernización del mundo empresarial [1], la virtualización de los sistemas informáticos se usa para paliar y en muchos casos eliminar la infra-utilización de servidores. Ante estas nuevas tendencias y con el objetivo de estar a la vanguardia en el MINREX se está pensando en la virtualización de los servicios de red que ofrece, para paliar la falta de recursos hardware que enfrenta actualmente; sin embargo, antes de proceder a esta virtualización se hace necesario un estudio para obtenerinformación sobre la viabilidad de este proceso; lográndose identicar las principales barreras que enfrenta la virtualización, así como también el software más apropiado para llevar a cabo este proceso.El tipo de investigación que se realizó fue un estudio explorativo de corte transversal, donde se logró identicar como principales barreras al proceso de virtualización el costo inicial y la falta de personal calicado, sin embargo los factores más determinantes para llevar a cabo este proceso son: ahorro en recursos hardware, minimización del consumo energético y mayor eciencia operativa, siendo los software más adecuado de implementación VMWare y VirtualBox [9]

Chronic ethanol induces morpohological changes on hippocampal microglia, which are reverted by pharmacological blockade of faah with urb597

Tipo de presentación: PósterHere, we evaluated the pharmacological effects of fatty-acid amide-hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 (0.3 mg/kg), oleoylethanolamide (OEA, 10 mg/kg), arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA, 10 mg/kg), the CB1 receptor agonist ACEA (3 mg/kg) and the CB2 receptor agonist JWH133 (0.2 mg/kg) administered for 5 days in a rat model of sub-chronic (2 weeks) ethanol diet (11% v/v) exposure. As a result of these trials, URB597 turned to be the most effective treatment. Contrary to ethanol, URB597 reduced the mRNA levels of Iba-1, Tnfα, IL-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), as well as the number of cells expressing GFAP or iNOS. Moreover, URB597 effects on hippocampal immune system were accompanied by changes in short and long-term visual recognition memory. Microglial morphometric analysis pointed out significant changes after ethanol exposure, suggesting that microglial cell morphology is closely related to ethanol-induced neuroinflammation. Ethanol provoked changes in fractal dimension, lacunarity, density, roughness, cell area and cell perimeter, which explain a decreased complexity of branches and increased cell surface irregularities. Such changes may represent a chronic activation state of microglia. In addition, ethanol effects on the microglial morphological parameters density and fractal dimension were reverted by URB597. Thus, this FAAH inhibitor was able to counteract the sub-chronic ethanol-induced morphological changes of microglia, resulting in a more compact and increased branch complexity, which apparently relate to a less activated state. Therefore, these morphometric parameters are sensitive and valuable tools to evaluate the chronic activation of microglia by ethanol and its pharmacological blockade.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos, ISCIII, MINECO, ERDF-EU (RD16/0017/0001; PI17/02026; SAF2017-83645R). Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, MSCBS (PNSD2015/047; PND2017/043). Proyectos de investigación de excelencia, Junta de Andalucía (P11-CVI-07637)

Ratones knock-out del receptor lpa1 de ácido lisofosfatídico presentan un acusado déficit de la isoenzima glutaminasa KGA (GLS) y una morfología alterada en las espinas dendríticas de hipocampo y corteza

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to utilize mice with knocked-down lysophosphatidic acid 1 (LPA1) receptor to ascertain changes in glutamatergic transmission that may help to explain part of the cognitive and memory deficits shown by these KO-LPA1 mice. Material & methods: A well characterized KO-LPA1 mouse strain was used as animal model and compared with wild-type (WT) and heterozygous animals. Expression studies were implemented by immunohistochemistry and Western analysis of mouse brain regions, real-time quantitative RT-PCR of GA isoforms, enzymatic analysis of regional GA activity and Golgi staining to assess dendritic spine morphology and density. Results: A strong reduction of KGA immunoreactivity was mostly revealed in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of KO-LPA1 mice versus WT and heterozygous animals. In contrast, neither mRNA levels nor enzyme activity were significantly altered in KO mice suggesting compensatory mechanisms for neurotransmitter Glu synthesis. Interestingly, Golgi staining of hippocampal and cortical neurons revealed a clear morphology change toward a less-mature undifferentiated spine phenotype, without changes in the total number of spines. Conclusions: The molecular mechanisms underlying KGA downregulation in null LPA1 mutant mice are unknown. However, LPA increases neuronal differentiation, arborization and neurite outgrowth of developing neurons, while Gln-derived Glu, through GA reaction, has been also involved in neuronal growth and differentiation. It is tempting to speculate that downregulation of KGA protein in KO-LPA1 mice induce morphological changes in dendritic spines of cortical and hippocampal neurons which, in turn, may account for memory and cognitive deficits shown by KO-LPA1 mice.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Acknowledgements: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, RTA, (RD12/0028/0013/) RETICS, ISCIII, y Consejería Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia CVI-6656)

Diffusion tensor imaging metrics associated with future disability in multiple sclerosis

The relationship between brain diffusion microstructural changes and disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood. We aimed to explore the predictive value of microstructural properties in white (WM) and grey matter (GM), and identify areas associated with mid-term disability in MS patients. We studied 185 patients (71% female; 86% RRMS) with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), timed 25-foot walk (T25FW), nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) at two time-points. We used Lasso regression to analyse the predictive value of baseline WM fractional anisotropy and GM mean diffusivity, and to identify areas related to each outcome at 4.1 years follow-up. Motor performance was associated with WM (T25FW: RMSE = 0.524, R2 = 0.304; 9HPT dominant hand: RMSE = 0.662, R2 = 0.062; 9HPT non-dominant hand: RMSE = 0.649, R2 = 0.139), and SDMT with GM diffusion metrics (RMSE = 0.772, R2 = 0.186). Cingulum, longitudinal fasciculus, optic radiation, forceps minor and frontal aslant were the WM tracts most closely linked to motor dysfunction, and temporal and frontal cortex were relevant for cognition. Regional specificity related to clinical outcomes provide valuable information that can be used to develop more accurate predictive models that could improve therapeutic strategies

A snapshot of cancer-associated thromboembolic disease in 2018-2019: First data from the TESEO prospective registry

BACKGROUND: The ever-growing complexity of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT), with new antineoplastic drugs and anticoagulants, distinctive characteristics, and decisions with low levels of evidence, justifies this registry. METHOD: TESEO is a prospective registry promoted by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology to which 34 centers contribute cases. It seeks to provide an epidemiological description of CAT in Spain. RESULTS: Participants (N=939) with CAT diagnosed between July 2018 and December 2019 were recruited. Most subjects had advanced colon (21.4%), non-small cell lung (19.2%), and breast (11.1%) cancers, treated with dual-agent chemotherapy (28.4%), monochemotherapy (14.4%), or immune checkpoint inhibitors (3.6%). Half (51%) were unsuspected events, albeit only 57.1% were truly asymptomatic. Pulmonary embolism (PE) was recorded in 571 (58.3%); in 120/571 (21.0%), there was a concurrent deep venous thromboembolism (VTE). Most initially received low molecular weight heparin (89.7%). Suspected and unsuspected VTE had an OS rate of 9.9 (95% CI, 7.3-non-computable) and 14.4 months (95% CI, 12.6-non-computable) (p=0.00038). Six-month survival was 80.9%, 55.9%, and 55.5% for unsuspected PE, unsuspected PE admitted for another reason, and suspected PE, respectively (p<0.0001). The 12-month cumulative incidence of venous rethrombosis was 7.1% (95% CI, 4.7-10.2) in stage IV vs 3.0% (95% CI, 0.9-7.1) in stages I-III. The 12-month cumulative incidence of major/clinically relevant bleeding was 9.6% (95% CI, 6.1-14.0) in the presence of risk factors. CONCLUSION: CAT continues to be a relevant problem in the era of immunotherapy and targeted therapies. The initial TESEO data highlight the evolution of CAT, with new agents and thrombotic risk factors