Freqüência de toxocaríase humana numa população rural de Cajamarca, Peru, mediante o uso do teste DOT-ELISA

The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of human toxocariasis in Cauday district, Cajamarca, Peru, using a dot-ELISA test. From June to October 2005, a total of 256 adult subjects were studied. Blood samples were collected for serology by a dot-ELISA test and for hematological examination. Parasitological examination was also carried out in stool samples to check cross-reactions in the dot-ELISA. The frequency observed was 44.92%, with a significant higher proportion of positivity in male subjects. From subjects with positive serology, 45.6% had respiratory symptoms, 40.44% abdominal pain, 32.35% hepatic symptoms, 14.7% cutaneous signs, 13.23% ocular manifestations, 43.38% eosinophilia, and all of these were statistically associated to serology. Among the population evaluated, 90.23% (231/256) were parasitized. From subjects with positive serology, 92.17% had at least one intestinal parasite and the most frequent were: Blastocystis hominis (68.38%), Giardia lamblia (28.68%), Hymenolepis nana (20.0%), Ascaris lumbricoides (15.65%), Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (13.24%), Cyclospora cayetanensis (4.41%), Cryptosporidium sp. (1.47%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.87%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.87%), Taenia sp. (0.87%), and Trichuris trichiura (0.87%). The rate of false positives in the dot-ELISA test was improved by serum absorption each with A. suum antigens, with a decrease of cross-reactions. In conclusion, human toxocariasis is highly frequent in this population and some risk factors like dog/cat ownership, presence of pets within house, and previous history of geophagia were observed in the present study.O propósito do presente estudo foi estimar a freqüência da toxocaríase no distrito de Cauday, Cajamarca, Peru, usando o dot-ELISA teste. Entre junho e outubro de 2005, um total de 256 pessoas foram avaliadas. Coletaram-se amostras de sangue para o teste de dot-ELISA e para o exame hematológico e amostras de fezes para exame parasitológico. A freqüência geral de anticorpos anti-Toxocara observada foi de 44,92%, com maior proporção significativa de positividade em pessoas do sexo masculino. Das pessoas com sorologia positiva, 45,6% apresentavam sintomas respiratórios, 40,44% dores abdominais, 32,35% moléstias hepáticas, 14,7% sinais cutâneos, 13,23% manifestações oculares, 43,38% eosinofilia e todos estes fatores foram estatisticamente associados à sorologia. Entre as pessoas avaliadas 90,23% estavam parasitadas e 92,17% das pessoas com sorologia positiva tinham algum parasito intestinal, sendo os mais freqüentes: Blastocystis hominis (68,38%), Giardia lamblia (28,68%), Hymenolepis nana (20,0%), Ascaris lumbricoides (15,65%), Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (13,24%), Cyclospora cayetanensis (4,41%), Cryptosporidium sp. (1,47%), Enterobius vermicularis (0,87%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0,87%), Taenia sp. (0,87%) e Trichuris trichiura (0,87%). A taxa de falsos positivos no teste dot-ELISA foi melhorada pela absorção dos soros com antígenos de A. suum, com diminuição das reações cruzadas. Em conclusão, a toxocaríase humana é altamente freqüente nesta população e fatores de risco como ter um cão/gato, presença dos animais dentro de casa e estória prévia de geofagia foram observados durante o presente estudo

Infección de Hypolobocera chilensis eigenmani por metacercarias de Paragonimus mexicanus (= peruvianus) en el distrito de Condebamba (Cajamarca, Perú)

Hypolobocera chilensis eigenmanni crabs were collected from small streams during the dry season, 1997 (May to December) in the Chaquicocha area belonging to the district of Condebamba (Department of Cajamarca) in the northern region of Peru. One hundred thirty one crabs were collected, transported and examined in the Parasitology Laboratory by dissection, 27 out of 131 (20,6%) were infected by Paragonimus mexicanus (=peruvianus) metacercariae. The intensity of infection was from 1 to 5 in most of the cases (81,5%) with an average of 4,85 per crab. These data are different from past studies in the same area with higher figures, indicating decreasing tendency in the number of infected crabs.Cangrejos de rio Hypolobocera chilensis eigenmanni fueron colectados de acequias durante el año 1997 en estación seca (mayo a diciembre) en Chaquicocha, Área que pertenece al distrito de Condebamba (departamento de Cajamarca) en la parte norte del Perú. Ciento treinta y un cangrejos colectados fueron transportados al Laboratorio de Parasitología y examinados por disección, 27 de 131 (20,6%) estaban infectados por metacercarias de Paragonimus mexicanus(=peruvianus). La intensidad de la infección fue de 1 a 5 en la mayoría de los; casos (81,5%) con un promedio de 4,85 por cangrejo. Estos datos son diferentes; a los de estudios anteriores; en la misma Área donde fueron más; altos, lo que indica una tendencia al decrecimiento del número de cangrejos infectados

Dynamic semantic ontology generation: a proposal for social robots

[Abstract] During a human-robot interaction by dialogue/voice, the robot cannot extract semantic meaning from the words used, limiting the intervention itself. Semantic knowledge could be a solution by structuring information according to its meaning and its semantic associations. Applied to social robotics, it could lead to a natural and fluid human-robot interaction. Ontologies are useful representations of semantic knowledge, as they capture the relationships between objects and entities. This paper presents new ideas for ontology generation using already generated ontologies as feedback in an iterative way to do it dynamically. This paper also collects and describes the concepts applied in the proposed methodology and discusses the challenges to be overcome.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; RTI2018-096338-B-I0

EVALUACIÓN DE LA RESISTENCIA AL DESGASTE ABRASIVO EN RECUBRIMIENTOS DUROS PARA APLICACIONES EN LA INDUSTRIA MINERA

Fue estudiada la resistencia al desgaste abrasivo de dos recubrimientos duros de alto Cr y alto W, usados como protección en la industria minera. Los recubrimientos fueron aplicados en una sola capa sobre un substrato de acero estructural AISI A36, mediante soldadura eléctrica SMAW. El recubrimiento RFeCrA1, aplicado con soldadura oxiacetilénica, fue usado como material de comparación debido a su elevada resistencia a la abrasión. La resistencia al desgaste se evaluó en máquina de arena seca y rueda de caucho mediante el procedimiento A de la norma ASTM G65. Las superficies desgastadas fueron analizadas con ayuda de microscopía óptica y electrónica. Los resultados mostraron que la mayor resistencia al desgaste abrasivo se obtuvo con recubrimientos cuya microestructura está compuesta por carburos primarios de tipo (Fe,Cr)7C3 y matriz eutéctica, mientras que en muestras donde se observó austenita pro-eutéctica la pérdida de masa fue mayor. El recubrimientos tipo Fe-W-C, en cuya microestructura se observaron carburos de tipo WC, presentó también elevada resistencia al desgaste debido a la dureza y capacidad de deformación de la estructura

Craniosynostosis surgery: workflow based on virtual surgical planning, intraoperative navigation and 3D printed patient-specific guides and templates

Craniosynostosis must often be corrected using surgery, by which the affected bone tissue is remodeled. Nowadays, surgical reconstruction relies mostly on the subjective judgement of the surgeon to best restore normal skull shape, since remodeled bone is manually placed and fixed. Slight variations can compromise the cosmetic outcome. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate a novel workflow for patient-specific correction of craniosynostosis based on intraoperative navigation and 3D printing. The workflow was followed in five patients with craniosynostosis. Virtual surgical planning was performed, and patient-specific cutting guides and templates were designed and manufactured. These guides and templates were used to control osteotomies and bone remodeling. An intraoperative navigation system based on optical tracking made it possible to follow preoperative virtual planning in the operating room through real-time positioning and 3D visualization. Navigation accuracy was estimated using intraoperative surface scanning as the gold-standard. An average error of 0.62 mm and 0.64 mm was obtained in the remodeled frontal region and supraorbital bar, respectively. Intraoperative navigation is an accurate and reproducible technique for correction of craniosynostosis that enables optimal translation of the preoperative plan to the operating room. © 2019, The Author(s).This work has been supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, project “PI18/01625”, co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), “A way of making Europe”

Hyperspectral imaging and robust statistics in non-melanoma skin cancer analysis

Non-Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer. Early detection is encouraged so as to ensure the best treatment, Hyperspectral imaging is a promising technique for non-invasive inspection of skin lesions, however, the optimal wavelengths for these purposes are yet to be conclusively determined. A visible-near infrared hyperspectral camera with an ad-hoc built platform was used for image acquisition in the present study. Robust statistical techniques were used to conclude an optimal range between 573.45 and 779.88 nm to distinguish between healthy and non-healthy skin. Wavelengths between 429.16 and 520.17 nm were additionally found to be optimal for the differentiation between cancer types.Gerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y León (GRS 2139/A/20); Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PRE2019-089411); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI18/00587); Ibderdrola Spain; Junta de Castilla y León (GRS 1837/A/18). This project was funded by the Junta de Castilla y Leon, under the title project HYPERSKINCARE (Ref. GRS 1837/A/18). Lloyd Austin Courtenay is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities with an FPI Predoctoral Grant (Ref. PRE2019-089411) associated to project RTI2018-099850-B-I00 and the University of Salamanca. Susana Lagüela and Susana del Pozo are both funded by the Iberdrola Spain through the initiative Cátedra Iberdrola VIII Centenario of the University of Salamanca. Javier Cañueto is partially supported by the PI18/00587(Instituto de Salud Carlos III cofinanciado con fondos FEDER) and GRS 2139/A/20 (Gerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y León

Deep Convolutional Neural Support Vector Machines for the Classification of Basal Cell Carcinoma Hyperspectral Signatures

[EN] Non-melanoma skin cancer, and basal cell carcinoma in particular, is one of the most common types of cancer. Although this type of malignancy has lower metastatic rates than other types of skin cancer, its locally destructive nature and the advantages of its timely treatment make early detection vital. The combination of multispectral imaging and artificial intelligence has arisen as a powerful tool for the detection and classification of skin cancer in a non-invasive manner. The present study uses hyperspectral images to discern between healthy and basal cell carcinoma hyperspectral signatures. Upon the combined use of convolutional neural networks, with a final support vector machine activation layer, the present study reaches up to 90% accuracy, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve being calculated at 0.9 as well. While the results are promising, future research should build upon a dataset with a larger number of patients.SIJunta de Castilla y Leo

Hyperspectral imaging and robust statistics in non-melanoma skin cancer analysis

[EN] Non-Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer. Early detection is encouraged so as to ensure the best treatment, Hyperspectral imaging is a promising technique for non-invasive inspection of skin lesions, however, the optimal wavelengths for these purposes are yet to be conclusively determined. A visible-near infrared hyperspectral camera with an ad-hoc built platform was used for image acquisition in the present study. Robust statistical techniques were used to conclude an optimal range between 573.45 and 779.88 nm to distinguish between healthy and non-healthy skin. Wavelengths between 429.16 and 520.17 nm were additionally found to be optimal for the differentiation between cancer typesSIGerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y LeónSpanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIJunta de Castilla y Leó

VITAL phase 2 study: Upfront 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin-C, panitumumab and radiotherapy treatment in nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinomas of the anal canal (GEMCAD 09-02)

Aim: VITAL, a phase II single-arm study, aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of panitumumab addition to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), mitomycin-C (MMC) and radiotherapy (RT) in patients with localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCAC). Methods: Adult, treatment-naïve SCCAC patients (Stage T2-T4, any N, M0) and ECOG-PS ≤2, received panitumumab (6 mg/kg, day 1 and Q2W; 8 weeks), 5-FU (1000 mg/m2/d, days 1-4 and 29-32), MMC (10 mg/m2, days 1 and 29) and RT 45 Gy (1.8 Gy/fraction) to the primary tumor and mesorectal, iliac and inguinal lymph nodes, plus 10-15 Gy boost dose to the primary tumor and affected lymph nodes. The primary objective was disease free survival rate (DFS) at 3-years (expected 3-year DFS rate: 73.7 ± 12%). Results: Fifty-eight patients (31 women; median age: 59 years; ECOG-PS 0-1:98%; TNM II [29%] (T2 or T3/N0/M0)/IIIA (T1-T3/N1/M0 or T4/N0/M0) [21%]/IIIB (T4/N1/M0 or any T/N2 or N3/M0) [47%]/nonevaluable [4%]) were included. The median follow-up was 45 months. The 3-year DFS rate was 61.1% (95% CI: 47.1, 72.4). The 3-year overall survival rate was 78.4% (95% CI: 65.1, 87.1). Eighteen patients (31.0%) required a colostomy within 2 years posttreatment. Grade 3-4 toxicities were experienced by 53 (91%) patients. Most common grade 3-4 treatment-related events were radiation skin injury (40%) and neutropenia (24%). No toxic deaths occurred. Improved efficacy in colostomy-free survival and complete response rate was observed in human papilloma virus positive patients. Conclusions: Panitumumab addition to MMC-5FU regimen in SCCAC patients increases toxicity and does not improve patients’ outcomes. RT plus MMC-5FU remains the standard of care for localized SCCAC patients.This work was supported by Amgen S.A