150 research outputs found

    Response to Phototaxic Stimulation in Relation to Sex and Reproductive State in the Urban Adapted Mosquito, Culex pipiens f. molestus

    Get PDF
    The mosquito, Culex pipiens f. molestus, is a scientifically relevant species due to its impact upon both human and veterinary medicine. This city dwelling disease vector lives and reproduces in underground tunnels and sewer systems throughout the world. After reproducing, adults begin searching for food above ground, but little is known about the sensory signals that guide this seeking behavior. Because cues may have a major impact on feeding and reproduction, I compared the phototaxic response of adult male and female Cx. pipiens f. molestus at different reproductive states. Virgin females, mated females, virgin males, and mated males were monitored to determine how they would respond to a light signal at one end of a tunnel. All groups showed a significant positive phototaxic response. However, the response of virgin females was less pronounced than the responses of the other groups. The overall positive phototaxic response indicates that Culex pipiens f. molestus may be using light signals, at least in part, to initiate seeking behavior. The lesser response of virgin females is potentially due to a biological mechanism that delays host-seeking, even in the presence of initiating cues, until after reproduction has occurred

    Development and Evaluation of Impact Statements for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

    Get PDF
    Extension professionals often communicate program outcomes to external stakeholders using impact statements. We developed and evaluated four impact statements for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). We drafted the statements after conducting literature reviews for core content areas of EFNEP that include diet quality, food resource management, physical activity, and food safety. Subsequently, we evaluated the statements by facilitating expert panels made up of subject matter experts and communication professionals (n=14) from 12 Land-grant Universities. These impact statements aim to support EFNEP and other Extension professionals when communicating program value with key external stakeholders

    Análisis de concordancia de diferentes metodologías para la identificación de aislamientos orales de especies de candida

    Get PDF
    Background: The yeasts species determination is fundamental not only for an accurate diagnosis but also for establishing a suitable patient treatment. We performed a concordance study of five methodologies for the species identification of oral isolates of Candida in Colombia. Methods: Sixty-seven Candida isolates were tested by; API® 20C-AUX, Vitek®2 Compact, Vitek®MS, Microflex® and a molecular test (panfungal PCR and sequencing). The commercial cost and processing time of the samples was done by graphical analysis. Results: Panfungal PCR differentiated 12 species of Candida, Vitek®MS and Microflex® methods identified 9 species, and API® 20C-AUX and Vitek®2 Compact methods identified 8 species each. Weighted Kappa (wK) showed a high agreement between Panfungal PCR, Vitek®MS, Microflex® and API® 20C-AUX (wK 0.62-0.93). The wK that involved the Vitek®2 Compact method presented moderate or good concordances compared with the other methods (wK 0.56-0.73). Methodologies based on MALDI TOF MS required 4 minutes to generate results and the Microflex® method had the lowest selling price. Conclusion: The methods evaluated showed high concordance in their results, being higher for the molecular methods and the methodologies based on MALDI TOF. The latter are faster and cheaper, presenting as promising alternatives for the routine identification of yeast species of the genus Candida. © 2018. Universidad del Valle

    Contribution of Cytokines to Tissue Damage During Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

    Get PDF
    The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) remains one of the leading pathogens causing acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in children younger than 2 years old, worldwide. Hospitalizations during the winter season due to hRSV-induced bronchiolitis and pneumonia increase every year. Despite this, there are no available vaccines to mitigate the health and economic burden caused by hRSV infection. The pathology caused by hRSV induces significant damage to the pulmonary epithelium, due to an excessive inflammatory response at the airways. Cytokines are considered essential players for the establishment and modulation of the immune and inflammatory responses, which can either be beneficial or harmful for the host. The deleterious effect observed upon hRSV infection is mainly due to tissue damage caused by immune cells recruited to the site of infection. This cellular recruitment takes place due to an altered profile of cytokines secreted by epithelial cells. As a result of inflammatory cell recruitment, the amounts of cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, and CCL5 are further increased, while IL-10 and IFN-γ are decreased. However, additional studies are required to elicit the mediators directly associated with hRSV damage entirely. In addition to the detrimental induction of inflammatory mediators in the respiratory tract caused by hRSV, reports indicating alterations in the central nervous system (CNS) have been published. Indeed, elevated levels of IL-6, IL-8 (CXCL8), CCL2, and CCL4 have been reported in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with severe bronchiolitis and hRSV-associated encephalopathy. In this review article, we provide an in-depth analysis of the role of cytokines secreted upon hRSV infection and their potentially harmful contribution to tissue damage of the respiratory tract and the CNS

    La evaluación psicológica en los campos de la psicología jurídica en Colombia: psicología forense

    Get PDF
    En este estudio se buscó analizar los procesos de evaluación en el campo de la psicología forense en Colombia, teniendo como producto argumentativo un marco teórico acerca de la definición de la Psicología Forense (funciones y rol), sus problemas éticos, su aplicación en los diferentes campos del derecho, y sus contraflujos más recurrentes como el tipo de instrumentos y entrevistas que utiliza el psicólogo. De acuerdo con lo anterior y teniendo en cuenta los criterios de selección de los peritos para las pruebas, se diseñó una entrevista estructurada aplicada a una muestra de psicólogos del campo forense a nivel nacional realizando un análisis de corte cuantitativo sobre la experiencia del psicólogo forense, su participación en los diferentes clases de perito, las técnicas y criterios que usa como soporte en cualquier proceso, y por último, algunas conclusiones acerca del posicionamiento en que se encuentra el psicólogo forense en Colombia

    Geographic patterns of genetic variation in a broadly distributed marine vertebrate: new insights into loggerhead turtle stock structure from expanded mitochondrial DNA sequences

    Get PDF
    Previous genetic studies have demonstrated that natal homing shapes the stock structure of marine turtle nesting populations. However, widespread sharing of common haplotypes based on short segments of the mitochondrial control region often limits resolution of the demographic connectivity of populations. Recent studies employing longer control region sequences to resolve haplotype sharing have focused on regional assessments of genetic structure and phylogeography. Here we synthesize available control region sequences for loggerhead turtles from the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, and western Indian Ocean basins. These data represent six of the nine globally significant regional management units (RMUs) for the species and include novel sequence data from Brazil, Cape Verde, South Africa and Oman. Genetic tests of differentiation among 42 rookeries represented by short sequences (380 bp haplotypes from 3,486 samples) and 40 rookeries represented by long sequences (~800 bp haplotypes from 3,434 samples) supported the distinction of the six RMUs analyzed as well as recognition of at least 18 demographically independent management units (MUs) with respect to female natal homing. A total of 59 haplotypes were resolved. These haplotypes belonged to two highly divergent global lineages, with haplogroup I represented primarily by CC-A1, CC-A4, and CC-A11 variants and haplogroup II represented by CC-A2 and derived variants. Geographic distribution patterns of haplogroup II haplotypes and the nested position of CC-A11.6 from Oman among the Atlantic haplotypes invoke recent colonization of the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic for both global lineages. The haplotypes we confirmed for western Indian Ocean RMUs allow reinterpretation of previous mixed stock analysis and further suggest that contemporary migratory connectivity between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans occurs on a broader scale than previously hypothesized. This study represents a valuable model for conducting comprehensive international cooperative data management and research in marine ecology

    Systematic review and network meta-analysis with individual participant data on cord management at preterm birth (iCOMP): study protocol

    Get PDF
    Timing of cord clamping and other cord management strategies may improve outcomes at preterm birth. However, it is unclear whether benefits apply to all preterm subgroups. Previous and current trials compare various policies, including time-based or physiology-based deferred cord clamping, and cord milking. Individual participant data (IPD) enable exploration of different strategies within subgroups. Network meta-analysis (NMA) enables comparison and ranking of all available interventions using a combination of direct and indirect comparisons. (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of cord management strategies for preterm infants on neonatal mortality and morbidity overall and for different participant characteristics using IPD meta-analysis. (2) To evaluate and rank the effect of different cord management strategies for preterm births on mortality and other key outcomes using NMA. Systematic searches of Medline, Embase, clinical trial registries, and other sources for all ongoing and completed randomised controlled trials comparing cord management strategies at preterm birth (before 37 weeks' gestation) have been completed up to 13 February 2019, but will be updated regularly to include additional trials. IPD will be sought for all trials; aggregate summary data will be included where IPD are unavailable. First, deferred clamping and cord milking will be compared with immediate clamping in pairwise IPD meta-analyses. The primary outcome will be death prior to hospital discharge. Effect differences will be explored for prespecified participant subgroups. Second, all identified cord management strategies will be compared and ranked in an IPD NMA for the primary outcome and the key secondary outcomes. Treatment effect differences by participant characteristics will be identified. Inconsistency and heterogeneity will be explored. Ethics approval for this project has been granted by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (2018/886). Results will be relevant to clinicians, guideline developers and policy-makers, and will be disseminated via publications, presentations and media releases. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (ACTRN12619001305112) and International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, CRD42019136640)

    Fusarium: more than a node or a foot-shaped basal cell

    Get PDF
    Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae. Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium. Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae. Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae (e.g., Cosmosporella, Macroconia, Microcera). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium. To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org. The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa (act1, CaM, his3, rpb1, rpb2, tef1, tub2, ITS, and LSU). In this paper, we also present a nomenclator of names that have been introduced in Fusarium up to January 2021 as well as their current status, types, and diagnostic DNA barcode data. In this study, researchers from 46 countries, representing taxonomists, plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, and students, strongly support the application and use of a more precisely delimited Fusarium (= Gibberella) concept to accommodate taxa from the robust monophyletic node F3 on the basis of a well-defined and unique combination of morphological and biochemical features. This F3 node includes, among others, species of the F. fujikuroi, F. incarnatum-equiseti, F. oxysporum, and F. sambucinum species complexes, but not species of Bisifusarium [F. dimerum species complex (SC)], Cyanonectria (F. buxicola SC), Geejayessia (F. staphyleae SC), Neocosmospora (F. solani SC) or Rectifusarium (F. ventricosum SC). The present study represents the first step to generating a new online monograph of Fusarium and allied fusarioid genera (www.fusarium.org)

    Correction. "The 5th edition of The World Health Organization Classification of Haematolymphoid Tumours: Lymphoid Neoplasms" Leukemia. 2022 Jul;36(7):1720-1748

    Get PDF
    We herein present an overview of the upcoming 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Haematolymphoid Tumours focussing on lymphoid neoplasms. Myeloid and histiocytic neoplasms will be presented in a separate accompanying article. Besides listing the entities of the classification, we highlight and explain changes from the revised 4th edition. These include reorganization of entities by a hierarchical system as is adopted throughout the 5th edition of the WHO classification of tumours of all organ systems, modification of nomenclature for some entities, revision of diagnostic criteria or subtypes, deletion of certain entities, and introduction of new entities, as well as inclusion of tumour-like lesions, mesenchymal lesions specific to lymph node and spleen, and germline predisposition syndromes associated with the lymphoid neoplasms
    corecore