Evaluation of the potential of Mycobacterium smegmatis as vaccine Candidate against tuberculosis by in silico and in vivo studies

In this study, we scanned multiple published databases of gene expression in vivo of M. tuberculosis at different phases of infection in animals and humans, to select 38 proteins that are highly expressed in the active, latent and reactivation phases. The selected proteins were predicted for T and B epitopes. For each proteins, the regions containing T and B epitopes were selected at the same time to look for identical epitopes on M. smegmatis based on sequence alignments. Preliminary studies of humoral immunogenicity and cross-reactivity with M. tuberculosis in mice using two M. smegmatis-derived experimental vaccines were carried out, demonstrating the immunogenicity of M. smegmatis proteoliposomes and the recognition of M. tuberculosis proteins by the sera of animals immunized with this vaccine candidate. The conjunction of in silico and in vivo studies suggested the potential for future evaluation of M. smegmatis as vaccine candidate against tuberculosis using different strategie

Effect of the dual endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan on untreatable skin ulcers in a patient with diabetes: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Refractory skin ulcers are a major burden in patients with diabetes. Their pathogenesis is multifactorial, and data increasingly implicate endothelin as a mediator of diabetic macro- and microvasculopathy. Here we describe the first reported case of an endothelin receptor antagonist being used to successfully treat refractory skin ulcers in a patient with diabetes.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 85-year-old Caucasian man with a 30-year history of type 2 diabetes developed multiple skin ulcerations, including a right heel ulcer. Despite appropriate treatment, the ulcer showed little improvement and the risk of amputation was high. The patient was treated with the dual endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan. After three weeks of treatment, major improvements were observed, and after 21 weeks, all ulcers had healed. No abnormalities were observed during monitoring of blood pressure, erythrocyte sedimentation rate or serum aminotransferase levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In patients with refractory ulceration associated with diabetes, bosentan may be of real benefit, especially in terms of amputation prevention. This case supports the proposed role for endothelin in the pathogenesis of skin ulceration in diabetes and is suggestive of a potential benefit of bosentan in this patient type. This case report is of interest to diabetologists and dermatologists.</p

Propuestas de actividades de enseñanza virtual del teatro para el Nivel Inicial y Primario.

Este cuadernillo busca recuperar las producciones de actividades pedagógicas de formación artística teatral destinadas a los niveles inicial y primario de las instituciones escolares. Fueron elaboradas durante julio y agosto de 2020 por estudiantes de la cátedra Práctica Docente III y Residencia en el Nivel Inicial y Primario del Profesorado de Teatro de la Facultad de Artes de la UNC. Estas producciones fueron pensadas dentro del contexto tan particular que nos tocó vivir (y que aún nos toca) debido a la pandemia mundial por el Covid-19. Las actividades que encontrarán en este cuadernillo se produjeron en un momento en el que las Prácticas y Residencias de los profesorados de la Facultad de Artes, tomamos la difícil decisión de posponer las Residencias hasta el 2021. Docentes y estudiantes aún nos estábamos conociendo sin saber quiénes éramos las personas que estábamos del otro lado de las pantallas. A las cátedras de Prácticas y Residencias nos estaba costando mucho retomar el contacto con les docentes orientadores y las instituciones asociadas con las que veníamos trabajando desde años anteriores.Fil: Altamirano, Ivana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Brunetti, Cintia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Drewniak, Abril. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Álvarez, Alexia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Braida, Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Sidorowicz, Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Reyes, Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Copertari, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Soria, Facundo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Beltramone, Fátima. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Boero, Federico. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Vargas, María de los Ángeles. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Scándalo, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Ferrer, Natacha. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Susperregui, Paula. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Ceballos, Susana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Rizzo Veiga, Sol Merlina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Elizondo, Tomás. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Vaccalluzzo, Victoria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina.Fil: Bilikyan, Vilma. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Artes. Departamento Académico de Teatro; Argentina

Quid est liber: Proyecto de innovación para la docencia en Libro Antiguo y Patrimonio Bibliográfico

Fac. de Ciencias de la DocumentaciónFALSEsubmitte

The CARBA-MAP study: national mapping of carbapenemases in Spain (2014–2018)

Introduction:Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including isolates producing acquired carbapenemases, constitute a prevalent health problem worldwide. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the different carbapenemases among carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE, specifically Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae complex, and Klebsiella aerogenes) and carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa (CPPA) in Spain from January 2014 to December 2018.Methods: A national, retrospective, cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. The study included the first isolate per patient and year obtained from clinical samples and obtained for diagnosis of infection in hospitalized patients. A structured questionnaire was completed by the participating centers using the REDCap platform, and results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.0.Results: A total of 2,704 carbapenemase-producing microorganisms were included, for which the type of carbapenemase was determined in 2692 cases: 2280 CPE (84.7%) and 412 CPPA (15.3%), most often using molecular methods and immunochromatographic assays. Globally, the most frequent types of carbapenemase in Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa were OXA-48-like, alone or in combination with other enzymes (1,523 cases, 66.8%) and VIM (365 cases, 88.6%), respectively. Among Enterobacterales, carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae was reported in 1821 cases (79.9%), followed by E. cloacae complex in 334 cases (14.6%). In Enterobacterales, KPC is mainly present in the South and South-East regions of Spain and OXA-48-like in the rest of the country. Regarding P. aeruginosa, VIM is widely distributed all over the country. Globally, an increasing percentage of OXA-48-like enzymes was observed from 2014 to 2017. KPC enzymes were more frequent in 2017–2018 compared to 2014–2016.Discussion: Data from this study help to understand the situation and evolution of the main species of CPE and CPPA in Spain, with practical implications for control and optimal treatment of infections caused by these multi-drug resistant organisms

Incidentaloma adrenal: Un reto médico - reporte de caso

The adrenal incidentaloma is a mass that is discovered fortuitously on an imaging procedure of the abdomen or chest; in a patient without symptoms or signs suggestive of adrenal disease. They are very rare, with less than 1% prevalence in young adults, becoming 3% in the sixth decade of life, being women the most affected ones. We present the case of a 53 years old patient, with pathological history of controlled hypertension, who by presenting mixed dyslipidemia, an abdominal US was performed to discard fatty liver, in which was found a solid mass of 40 x 38 mm in the upper pole of the left kidney without calcifications; for this reason she was referred to the outpatient Urology Department at Hospital Escuela Universitario, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to complete studies. In its assessment a blood pressure of 130/80 mmHg and overweight (BMI = 28.1) was found, discarding other abnormalities. Uro CT was performed which revealed a solid mass of 45 x 40 x 46 mm in left adrenal gland, no fat, no calcifications, 65 UH density without contrast and 96 UH with contrast material, with a fast wash-out of the contrast. Hormonal tumor assessment was normal. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed with histopathological diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. This article presents the approach to follow with this condition through a clinical case.El incidentaloma adrenal es una masa que se descubre fortuitamente en un examen de imagen abdominal o torácica; en un paciente sin síntomas o signos sugestivos de enfermedad suprarrenal. Son muy raros, con una prevalencia menor del 1% en adultos jóvenes, llegando a ser del 3% en la sexta década de la vida, siendo las mujeres las más afectadas. Se presenta el caso de una paciente de 53 años, con antecedente patológico de hipertensión arterial controlada, la cual por presentar dislipidemia mixta se realizó un USG abdominal para descartar hígado graso, en éste se encontró masa sólida de 40 x 38 mm en polo superior de riñón izquierdo, sin calcificaciones; razón por la que fue remitida a la consulta externa de urología del Hospital Escuela Universitario, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, para completar estudios. En su evaluación se encontró presión arterial de 130/80 mmHg y sobrepeso (IMC = 28.1), descartándose otras anomalías. Se realizó realizó Uro TAC que reveló masa solida de 45 x 40 x 46 mm en glándula suprarrenal izquierda, sin contenido graso, ni calcificaciones, densidad de 65 UH en fase simple y 96 UH con material de contraste, con lavado rápido del mismo. La evaluación hormonal del tumor fue normal. Se realizó suprarrenalectomía laparoscópica con diagnóstico histopatológico de feocromocitoma. En este artículo se presenta el abordaje a seguir en esta patología a través de un caso clínico

Prime Vaccination with Chitosan-Coated Phipps BCG and Boosting with CFP-PLGA against Tuberculosis in a Goat Model

Attempts to improve the immune response and efficacy of vaccines against tuberculosis in cattle, goats, and other animal species have been the focus of research in this field during the last two decades. Improving the vaccine efficacy is essential prior to running long-lasting and expensive field trials. Studies have shown that vaccine protocols utilizing boosting with proteins improve the vaccine efficacy. The use of polymers such as chitosan and PolyLactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) improves the immune response against different diseases by improving the interaction of antigens with the cellular immune system and modulating the host immune response. This study shows that the prime BCG vaccination, boosted with a culture filtrate protein (CFP), alone or in combination with chitosan and PolyLactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA), have the potential to reduce tuberculosis (TB) dissemination by reducing the number of animals with lesions, the number of lesions per animal, and the size of the lesions in vaccinated animals, compared with those not vaccinated or those vaccinated with BCG alone. The vaccinated groups showed significantly higher Interferon-γ levels in the blood compared to the control, nonvaccinated group after vaccination, after boosting, and after the challenge with the wild-type Mycobacterium bovis strain

Behavior of Oxidative Stress Markers in Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis Patients

Alcohol is the most socially accepted addictive substance worldwide, and its metabolism is related with oxidative stress generation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC). This study included 187 patients divided into two groups: ALC, classified according to Child-Pugh score, and a control group. We determined the levels of reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH and GSSG) and the GSH/GSSG ratio by an enzymatic method in blood. Also, protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were estimated in serum. MDA levels increased in proportion to the severity of damage, whereas the GSH and GSSG levels decreased and increased, respectively, at different stages of cirrhosis. There were no differences in the GSH/GSSG ratio and carbonylated protein content between groups. We also evaluated whether the active consumption of or abstinence from alcoholic beverages affected the behavior of these oxidative markers and only found differences in the MDA, GSH, and GSSG determination and the GSH/GSSG ratio. Our results suggest that alcoholic cirrhotic subjects have an increase in oxidative stress in the early stages of disease severity and that abstinence from alcohol consumption favors the major antioxidant endogen: GSH in patients with advanced disease severity