Fusarium solani infection after antimicrobial treatment of a severe bacterial peritonitis: a case report and review of the literature

Fungal peritonitis is a rare but serious complication of peritoneal dialysis. This infection has been reported to be mostly caused by Candida species, and less frequently by a variety of other yeasts and moulds, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, and  Fusarium spp. are commonly isolated from soil, plants and environmental surfaces, and rarely from non-immunosuppressed subjects. In this report, author describe a case of infection caused by Fusarium solani in a 59-year-old man undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The fungus was recovered from cultures of peritoneal dialysate and the pathogen identification was carried out by mass spectrometry. The patient's outcome was favorable without complications after liposomal amphotericin B treatment along with peritoneal dialysis catheter removal

Bacillus pumilus severe wound infection in a healthy ten years old child: a rare case report

Bacillus pumilus is commonly isolated from a wide variety of soils, plants and environmental surfaces, but rarely from human specimens. In this report, we describe a case of infection caused by B. pumilus in a healthy 10-years-old child. The microorganism was recovered from a severe wound of the left knee after three days from trauma. Pathogen identification was carried out by mass spectrometry. The patient's outcome was positive following an ampicillin/sulbactam treatment without complications

Percepciones del alumnado en torno al amor romántico y su implicación con la violencia de género. Proyecto de educación en igualdad.

En la actualidad, la violencia de género supone una problemática social grave que afecta a muchas adolescentes en sus primeras relaciones de noviazgo, llegando a normalizar ciertas formas de violencia como consecuencia de falsos mitos románticos. Este Trabajo Fin de Grado trata de conocer la percepción que tienen los adolescentes de entre 14-16 años de los Institutos Élaios y Tubalcain, de la Provincia de Zaragoza, sobre la violencia de género y los mitos del “amor romántico”. Los datos serán recogidos a través de una metodología cuantitativa, con el objetivo de utilizarlos para una propuesta de programa de intervención basado en una educación más igualitaria.<br /

Dioxin Exposure, from Infancy through Puberty, Produces Endocrine Disruption and Affects Human Semen Quality

BACKGROUND: Environmental toxicants are allegedly involved in decreasing semen quality in recent decades; however, definitive proof is not yet available. In 1976 an accident exposed residents in Seveso, Italy, to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate reproductive hormones and sperm quality in exposed males. METHODS: We studied 135 males exposed to TCDD at three age groups, infancy/prepuberty (1-9 years), puberty (10-17 years), and adulthood (18-26 years), and 184 healthy male comparisons using 1976 serum TCDD levels and semen quality and reproductive hormones from samples collected 22 years later. RESULTS: Relative to comparisons, 71 men (mean age at exposure, 6.2 years; median serum TCDD, 210 ppt) at 22-31 years of age showed reductions in sperm concentration (53.6 vs. 72.5 million/mL; p = 0.025); percent progressive motility (33.2% vs. 40.8%; p < 0.001); total motile sperm count (44.2 vs. 77.5 x 10(6); p = 0.018); estradiol (76.2 vs. 95.9 pmol/L; p = 0.001); and an increase in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; 3.58 vs. 2.98 IU/L; p = 0.055). Forty-four men (mean age at exposure, 13.2 years; median serum TCDD, 164 ppt) at 32-39 years of age showed increased total sperm count (272 vs. 191.9 x 10(6); p = 0.042), total motile sperm count (105 vs. 64.9 x10(6); p = 0.036), FSH (4.1 vs. 3.2 UI/L; p = 0.038), and reduced estradiol (74.4 vs. 92.9 pmol/L; p < 0.001). No effects were observed in 20 men, 40-47 years of age, who were exposed to TCDD (median, 123 ppt) as adults (mean age at exposure, 21.5 years). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to TCDD in infancy reduces sperm concentration and motility, and an opposite effect is seen with exposure during puberty. Exposure in either period leads to permanent reduction of estradiol and increased FSH. These effects are permanent and occur at TCDD concentrations < 68 ppt, which is within one order of magnitude of those in the industrialized world in the 1970s and 1980s and may be responsible at least in part for the reported decrease in sperm quality, especially in younger men

Normal and pathogenic variation of RFC1 repeat expansions: implications for clinical diagnosis

Cerebellar Ataxia, Neuropathy and Vestibular Areflexia Syndrome (CANVAS) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease, usually caused by biallelic AAGGG repeat expansions in RFC1. In this study, we leveraged whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from nearly 10,000 individuals recruited within the Genomics England sequencing project to investigate the normal and pathogenic variation of the RFC1 repeat. We identified three novel repeat motifs, AGGGC (n=6 from 5 families), AAGGC (n=2 from 1 family), AGAGG (n=1), associated with CANVAS in the homozygous or compound heterozygous state with the common pathogenic AAGGG expansion. While AAAAG, AAAGGG and AAGAG expansions appear to be benign, here we show a pathogenic role for large AAAGG repeat configuration expansions (n=5). Long read sequencing was used to fully characterise the entire repeat sequence and revealed a pure AGGGC expansion in six patients, whereas the other patients presented complex motifs with AAGGG or AAAGG interruptions. All pathogenic motifs seem to have arisen from a common haplotype and are predicted to form highly stable G quadruplexes, which have been previously demonstrated to affect gene transcription in other conditions. The assessment of these novel configurations is warranted in CANVAS patients with negative or inconclusive genetic testing. Particular attention should be paid to carriers of compound AAGGG/AAAGG expansions, since the AAAGG motif when very large (>500 repeats) or in the presence of AAGGG interruptions. Accurate sizing and full sequencing of the satellite repeat with long read is recommended in clinically selected cases, in order to achieve an accurate molecular diagnosis and counsel patients and their families

Bats as natural samplers: First record of the invasive pest rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus in the Iberian Peninsula

We face an increasing global food security challenge as the human population continues to grow across the globe. As agricultural production rises to keep up with food demand, so too does the expansion of crop detrimental pest species. Early detection can be crucial to control their damage and relies on the use of accurate and dependable techniques. We report the first record of rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) in the Iberian Peninsula. The distribution range expansion of this invasive rice pest weevil is confirmed through traditional sampling and through natural sampling by bats combined with DNA metabarcoding, a non-invasive technique with strong potential for early detection of pests in agricultural areas. Presence of rice water weevil was confirmed genetically from bat faecal samples collected from a Pipistrellus pygmaeus bat roost in the Ebro Delta (Catalonia, Spain). The known distribution of this rice pest, native to North America, now includes four of the top five rice-producing European countries. To date, the economic damage caused by this pest in Europe is minimal and concentrated in small areas, but chemical and agronomic controls are implemented to control their populations. The nature of this record highlights the potential of insectivorous bats as natural samplers to detect (and possibly control) pest species in crops. Further studies are required to determine the full extent of the rice water weevil's spread, and to investigate integrated pest management systems, including biological control to suppress their populations