Potential distribution of a new Bacillus species causing anthrax in African rainforests

This presentation was given as part of the GIS Day@KU symposium on November 14, 2018. For more information about GIS Day@KU activities, please see http://gis.ku.edu/gisday/2018/PLATINUM SPONSORS: KU Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science KU Institute for Policy & Social Research GOLD SPONSORS: KU Libraries State of Kansas Data Access & Support Center (DASC) SILVER SPONSORS: Bartlett & West Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program KU Center for Global and International Studies BRONZE SPONSORS: Boundles

Mycobacterium leprae in Armadillo Tissues from Museum Collections, United States

We examined armadillos from museum collections in the United States using molecular assays to detect leprosy-causing bacilli. We found Mycobacterium leprae bacilli in samples from the United States, Bolivia, and Paraguay; prevalence was 14.8% in nine-banded armadillos. US isolates belonged to subtype 3I-2, suggesting long-term circulation of this genotype

A comparison of Kato-Katz technique to three other methods for diagnosis of Amphimerus spp. liver fluke infection and the prevalence of infection in Chachi Amerindians of Ecuador

Background Recently, a high prevalence of infection by the liver fluke Amphimerus spp. has been documented in the Chachi Amerindians of Ecuador. For diagnosis, no studies exist that compare the sensitivity of different coproparasitological detection techniques. The present study compares the Kato-Katz technique with three other coproparasitological methods for detecting eggs of Amphimerus in stools, as well as determines the prevalence of infection in Chachi residents in a Tropical rain forest area in the northwest coast of Ecuador. Methodology/Results A total of 105 samples, utilizing the Kato-Katz technique (KK), the spontaneous sedimentation technique in tube (SSTT), the formalin-ether concentration technique (FEC), and direct smear microscopy (DM), were examined. Combining the four methods (fixed ªgoldº standard), 38 samples were positive with a prevalence of infection of 36.2%. The sensitivities of individual methods were 71%, 58%, 50% and 3% for KK, SSTT, FEC, and DM respectively. Our results indicated that KK alone had the best performance, detecting 27 (71%) of the 38 positive samples. The combination of KK and SSTT detected amphimeriasis in 36 (95%) samples, and KK and FEC in 31 (82%) samples. Conclusions DM showed the lowest sensitivity, which raises concern for its value, because it is the standard technique for stool examination for detection of parasites in both public and private laboratories in Ecuador. SSTT alone detected eggs in 22 samples (58%) and would be recommended for field studies because of its simplicity. Performing two techniques on a single sample enhances the detection of Amphimerus infection. Its sensitivity is relative to a fixed ªgoldº standard, determined as the combined results of the four techniques performed. This study confirms the high prevalence of human infection by Amphimerus in the indigenous Chachi group where the first human cases were described.CUP 91750000.0000.374072KAKENHI: Grant No.16H0582

Hypolobocera guayaquilensis (Decapoda: Pseudothelphusidae): A New Crab Intermediate Host of Paragonimus mexicanus in Manabí Province, Ecuador

To determine that Paragonimus sp. is actively transmitted in a tropical area of the Pacific region of Ecuador where human cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis have recently been documented, a total of 75 freshwater crabs were collected from 2 different streams in the Pedernales area of Manabí Province, Ecuador. All collected crabs were identified as Hypolobocera guayaquilensis based on morphological characteristics of the male gonopods. The hepatopancreas of each crab was examined by compressing it between 2 glass plates followed by observation under a stereomicroscope. Excysted Paragonimus metacercariae were detected in 39 (52.0%) crabs and their densities varied from 1 to 32 per infected crab. There was a positive relationship between crab size and metacercarial density. Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene of the Paragonimus metacercariae obtained in this study were identical to those of Paragonimus mexicanus deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database. Thus, the present study is the first to confirm that the crab species H. guayaquilensis is the second intermediate host of P. mexicanus in Manabí Province, Ecuador. Because this crab might be the possible source of human infections in this area, residents should pay attention to improper crab-eating habits related with a neglected parasitic disease, i.e., paragonimiasis

General Theory and Good Practices in Ecological Niche Modeling: A Basic Guide

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) and species distribution modeling (SDM) are sets of tools that allow the estimation of distributional areas on the basis of establishing relationships among known occurrences and environmental variables. These tools have a wide range of applications, particularly in biogeography, macroecology, and conservation biology, granting prediction of species potential distributional patterns in the present and dynamics of these areas in different periods or scenarios. Due to their relevance and practical applications, the usage of these methodologies has significantly increased throughout the years. Here, we provide a manual with the basic routines used in this field and a practical example of its implementation to promote good practices and guidance for new users

Análisis y Aplicabilidad del protocolo PSIP

El presente informe analiza la funcionalidad y aplicabilidad del Protocolo de Programación y Sistema de Información (PSIP), para la conformación de manejo de metadatos como parte integral de los flujos de transporte (transport stream - TS) dentro de la televisión digital, mediante la evaluación de su aplicación para diferentes estructuras de TS en redes nacionales, con sus respectivas normas técnicas y regulatorias existentes para la prestación de este tipo de servicio y además se realiza un análisis y evaluación operacional de las principales empresa de audio y video por suscripción, esto bajo una investigación aplicada; dando como resultado recomendar a las empresas de audio y video por suscripción, la conveniencia económica de establecer la multiplexación de Flujos de Transporte por fibra óptica, en lugar del establecimiento de múltiples cabeceras con recepción satelital y además recomendar la necesidad de establecer normas regulatorias y técnicas para la implementación de este tipo de transporte de flujos de información.This report analyzes the functionality and applicability of the Protocol of Programming and Information System (PSIP), for the conformation of metadata management as an integral part of the transport streams (transport stream - TS) within the digital television, through evaluation of your application for different structures of TS in national networks, with their existing technical and regulatory standards for the provision of such service, and also analysis and operational evaluation of the main company audio and video subscription is done, this under an applied investigation; resulting recommend companies audio and video subscription the economic desirability of the transport stream multiplexing optical fiber, rather than the establishment of multiple headers with satellite reception and also recommend the need for regulatory standards and techniques for the implementation of this type of transport streams of information

Modelo de producción de recursos educativos abiertos Soportados en lengua de señas colombiana

 Este trabajo describe un modelo de producción de Recursos Educativos Digitales Abiertos, soportados en el lengua de señas colombiana, para apoyar procesos de aprendizaje en personas con limitaciones auditivas. El proceso de construcción de los Recursos Educativos Digitales Abiertos, se desarrolló desde la dimensión de los objetos de aprendizaje siguiendo un modelo de producción ajustado a la ingeniería de software, pero que distingue las características específicas de personas con discapacidad auditiva, permitiendo el desarrollo de recursos, los cuales fueron publicados en un repositorio web, con características de accesibilidad. El modelo define las principales fases y actividades fundamentado en un modelo pedagógico bilingüe y articulado con un proceso de producción de software iterativo e incremental, de tal forma que permite garantizar la trazabilidad de las acciones para la producción de los objetos virtuales de aprendizaje. La experiencia de los usuarios con los recursos en el aula evidencia el apoyo significativo del uso de este tipo de estrategias educativas en el proceso de enseñanza en personas con discapacidad auditiva.

Ethnodemographic characterization of stroke incidence and burden of disease in hospital discharge records in Ecuador

Introduction: Stroke is the second most common cause of death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally. However, the incidence and impact of stroke by ethnicity and gender is frequently distinct. This is particularly the case in Ecuador where geographic and economic marginalization are often correlated with ethnic marginalization and the extent to which females lack the same opportunities as their male counterparts. The aim of this paper is to investigate the differential impacts in terms of stroke diagnosis and burden of disease by ethnicity and gender, using hospital discharge records over the years 2015–2020. Methods: This paper calculates stroke incidence, and fatality rates using hospital discharge and death records over the years 2015–2020. The DALY package in R was employed to calculate the Disability Adjusted Life Years lost due to stroke in Ecuador. Results: The results show that while the incidence rate of stroke in males (64.96 per 100,000 persons-year) is higher than that for females on average (57.84 per 100,000 persons-year), males accounted for 52.41% of all stroke cases and 53% of all surviving cases. Thus, hospital data suggests that females had a higher death rate when compared to males. Case fatality rates also differed significantly by ethnicity. The highest fatality rate corresponded to the Montubio ethnic group (87.65%), followed by Afrodescendants (67.21%). The estimated burden of disease of stroke calculated using Ecuadorian hospital records (2015–2020) varied from 1,468 to 2,991 DALY per 1,000 population on average. Discussion: Differences in the burden of disease by ethnic group are likely to reflect differential access to care by region and socio-economic group, both of which are frequently correlated with ethnic composition in Ecuador. Equitable access to health services remains an important challenge in the country. The gender discrepancy in fatality rates suggests that there is a need for targeted educational campaigns to identify stroke signs early, especially in the female population

Google Health Trends performance reflecting dengue incidence for the Brazilian states

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Background Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection transmitted by Aedes aegypti and mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Since its re-introduction in 1986, Brazil has become a hotspot for dengue and has experienced yearly epidemics. As a notifiable infectious disease, Brazil uses a passive epidemiological surveillance system to collect and report cases; however, dengue burden is underestimated. Thus, Internet data streams may complement surveillance activities by providing real-time information in the face of reporting lags. Methods We analyzed 19 terms related to dengue using Google Health Trends (GHT), a free-Internet data-source, and compared it with weekly dengue incidence between 2011 to 2016. We correlated GHT data with dengue incidence at the national and state-level for Brazil while using the adjusted R squared statistic as primary outcome measure (0/1). We used survey data on Internet access and variables from the official census of 2010 to identify where GHT could be useful in tracking dengue dynamics. Finally, we used a standardized volatility index on dengue incidence and developed models with different variables with the same objective. Results From the 19 terms explored with GHT, only seven were able to consistently track dengue. From the 27 states, only 12 reported an adjusted R squared higher than 0.8; these states were distributed mainly in the Northeast, Southeast, and South of Brazil. The usefulness of GHT was explained by the logarithm of the number of Internet users in the last 3 months, the total population per state, and the standardized volatility index. Conclusions The potential contribution of GHT in complementing traditional established surveillance strategies should be analyzed in the context of geographical resolutions smaller than countries. For Brazil, GHT implementation should be analyzed in a case-by-case basis. State variables including total population, Internet usage in the last 3 months, and the standardized volatility index could serve as indicators determining when GHT could complement dengue state level surveillance in other countries