Risk Factors for Soil-transmitted Helminth Infections in Schoolchildren from Rural Communities in Honduras

Background: Honduras is endemic for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. However, knowledge gaps remain in terms of risk factors involved in STH transmission and infection intensity. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and intensity of STH infections in schoolchildren living in rural Honduras. Additionally, to investigate risk factors associated with STH infections. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among Honduran rural schoolchildren, in 2011. Demographic and epidemiological data were obtained and STH infections were determined using Kato-Katz method. Results: A total of 320 children completed the study. Overall and specific prevalences for Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms were 72.5%, 30%, 67% and 16%, respectively. Several risk factors associated with STH transmission and infection intensity were identified at the individual and familial level as well as at the schools. Conclusions: Improving hygienic conditions and providing semi-annual deworming treatment are feasible interventions that could enhance undergoing STH control activities

Plano de preservação digital como instrumento de gestão de informação clínica

O acesso atual e futuro à crescente produção de registos clínicos digitais, a par de registos clínicos retrospetivos e atuais em papel, exige que as instituições de Saúde aprofundem o seu conhecimento sobre o sistema de informação de forma a desenvolverem uma estratégia de informação que assegure a futura preservação e (re)utilização da informação clínica. O CHSJ levou o cabo um projeto de desenvolvimento de um Plano de Preservação Digital (PPD), no sentido de antecipar desafios e dificuldades a enfrentar na definição da sua estratégia no domínio da gestão da informação. O presente trabalho descreve o processo de desenvolvimento do PPD no CHSJ, focando áreas de intervenção e resultados alcançados. Apresenta-se uma descrição dos objetivos e da metodologia seguida, explicitando-se a grelha de análise das aplicações analisadas, na expetativa de que possa apoiar outras instituições de Saúde a desenvolverem estudos de análise nesta área

Applying human factors to the design of control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor

Human factors is a body of scientific factors about human characteristics, covering biomedical, psychological and psychosocial considerations, including principles and applications in the personnel selection areas, training, job performance aid tools and human performance evaluation. Control Centre is a combination of control rooms, control suites and local control stations which are functionally related and all on the same site. Digital control room includes an arrangement of systems, equipment such as computers and communication terminals and workstations at which control and monitoring functions are conducted by operators. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The objective of this paper is to present a specific approach for the conceptual and basic design of the control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards, guidelines and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary team, an initial sketch 3D of the control centre and workstation are being developed

Efficacy and Safety of Albendazole and High-Dose Ivermectin Coadministration in School-Aged Children Infected With Trichuris trichiura in Honduras: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The efficacy of currently available anthelminthics against Trichuris trichiura infections is significatively lower than for other soil-transmitted helminths (STH). The combination of ivermectin (IVM) and albendazole (ALB) has shown significant improvements in efficacy.Methods: Safety and efficacy randomized controlled clinical trial comparing 3 experimental regimens against ALB monotherapy for the treatment of T. trichiura infections in northern Honduras. Infected children were randomized to one of the following treatments: (Arm 1) single-dose ALB 400 mg; (Arm 2) single-dose ALB 400 mg/IVM 600 μg/kg; (Arm 3) ALB 400 mg for 3 consecutive days; or (Arm 4) ALB 400 mg/IVM 600 μg/kg for 3 consecutive days. Efficacy was measured through egg reduction rate (ERR) and cure rate (CR), both assessed 14-21 days after treatment using the Kato-Katz method. Safety was evaluated by analyzing the frequency and severity of adverse events.Results: A total of 176 children were randomized to one of the 4 treatment arms, 117 completed treatment and follow-up. The ERR for Arms 1 to 4 were: 47.7%, 96.7%, 72.1% and 100%, respectively; with p-values <0.001 between IVM groups and ALB only arms. The CRs were 4.2%, 88.6%, 33.3% and 100%, respectively. A total of 48 (85.4% mild) AEs were reported in 36 children.Conclusions: The combined use of ALB and high-dose IVM is a highly effective and well tolerated treatment for the treatment of T. trichiura infections offering a significantly improved treatment for the control of this infection.Fil: Matamoros, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; Honduras. Brock University; CanadáFil: Sánchez, Ana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; Honduras. Brock University; CanadáFil: Gabrie, José Antonio. Brock University; CanadáFil: Juárez, Marisa. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Ceballos, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Escalada, Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Carol. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Martí Soler, Helena. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Rueda, María Mercedes. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Canales, Maritza. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Lanusse, Carlos Edmundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Cajal, Silvana Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Luis Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Cimino, Rubén Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Krolewiecki, Alejandro Javier. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentin

Deregulated cellular circuits driving immunoglobulins and complement consumption associate with the severity of COVID-19 patients

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes an abrupt response by the host immune system, which is largely responsible for the outcome of COVID-19. We investigated whether the specific immune responses in the peripheral blood of 276 patients were associated with the severity and progression of COVID-19. At admission, dramatic lymphopenia of T, B, and NK cells is associated with severity. Conversely, the proportion of B cells, plasmablasts, circulating follicular helper T cells (cTfh) and CD56–CD16+ NK-cells increased. Regarding humoral immunity, levels of IgM, IgA, and IgG were unaffected, but when degrees of severity were considered, IgG was lower in severe patients. Compared to healthy donors, complement C3 and C4 protein levels were higher in mild and moderate, but not in severe patients, while the activation peptide of C5 (C5a) increased from the admission in every patient, regardless of their severity. Moreover, total IgG, the IgG1 and IgG3 isotypes, and C4 decreased from day 0 to day 10 in patients who were hospitalized for more than two weeks, but not in patients who were discharged earlier. Our study provides important clues to understand the immune response observed in COVID-19 patients, associating severity with an imbalanced humoral response, and identifying new targets for therapeutic interventionThe study was funded by grants SAF2017- 82886-R to FS-M from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, and from “La Caixa Banking Foundation” (HR17-00016) to FS-M. Grant PI018/01163 to CMC and grant PI19/00549 to AA were funded by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Spain. SAF2017-82886-R, PI018/01163 and PI19/00549 grants were also co-funded by European Regional Development Fund, ERDF/FEDER. This work has been funded by grants Fondo Supera COVID (CRUE-Banco de Santander) to FSM, and “Ayuda Covid 2019” from Comunidad de Madri

Evaluación de la Educación Ambiental en Licenciaturas Agroambientales

5to Foro de Investigación Educativ

Comparación térmica de vivienda social en clima cálido sub-húmedo: el antes y después de su transformación en el tiempo

RESUMENSe expone como caso de estudio el comportamiento&nbsp; t&eacute;rmico de dos viviendas de inter&eacute;s social en Tuxtla Guti&eacute;rrez, Chiapas (M&eacute;xico). Las condiciones t&eacute;rmicas se evaluaron bajo dos indicadores: prototipos originales y transformados con el fin de conocer el efecto energ&eacute;tico que se suscita aplicando sistemas pasivos alternos con respecto a la tipolog&iacute;a constructiva original. El an&aacute;lisis experimental, basado en la Climatolog&iacute;a Din&aacute;mica (Vecchia,1997), permiti&oacute; determinar un per&iacute;odo representativo de verano e identificar el d&iacute;a de excepcional calor. Los datos de temperaturas se obtuvieron con registradores autom&aacute;ticos de la marca Hobo-08. Los resultados demuestran que los sistemas pasivos originales y adoptados en las construcciones no se integran con su contexto clim&aacute;tico por su constituci&oacute;n formal y material, impidiendo beneficios t&eacute;rmicos al habitante, situaci&oacute;n que se puede mejorar con un dise&ntilde;o apropiado. Descriptorescomportamiento t&eacute;rmico, vivienda de inter&eacute;s social,&nbsp; sistema pasivo. ABSTRACTExposed as a case study, the comparing two thermal units of social housing in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas; thermal conditions were evaluated under two indicators: original and transformed prototypes; to meet the energetic effect that arises by applying alternating passive systems with respect to the original building typology. The experimental analysis based on the Dynamic Climatology by Vecchia (1997), revealed a representative summer day period and identify the exceptional heat, temperature data were obtained with automatic recorders brand Hobo-08. The results show that the original construction and adopted passive systems do not integrate with its climatic context for its formal constitution and equipment, preventing thermal benefits to residents, a situation that can be improved with proper design.Descriptors:thermal behavior, social housing, passive systemTECNOLOG&Iacute;A Y CONSTRUCCI&Oacute;N Vol. 28-II I pp. 54-62 I Recibido 27/08/12 I Aceptado 02/06/1

Immune Profile of Honduran Schoolchildren with Intestinal Parasites: The Skewed Response against Geohelminths

Soil-transmitted helminth infections typically induce a type-2 immune response (Th2), but no immunoepidemiological studies have been undertaken in Honduras, an endemic country where the main control strategy is children’s annual deworming. We aimed to characterize the immune profile of Honduran schoolchildren harbouring these parasitoses. Demographic and epidemiological data were obtained through a survey; nutritional status was assessed through anthropometry; intestinal parasites were diagnosed by formol-ether and Kato-Katz; and blood samples were collected to determine immunological markers including Th1/Th2 cytokines, IgE, and eosinophil levels. A total of 225 children participated in the study, all of whom had received deworming during the national campaign five months prior to the study. Trichuriasis and ascariasis prevalence were 22.2% and 20.4%, respectively. Stunting was associated with both age and trichuriasis, whereas ascariasis was associated with sex and household conditions. Helminth infections were strongly associated with eosinophilia and hyper-IgE as well as with a Th2-polarized response (increased levels of IL-13, IL-10, and IL4/IFN-γ ratios and decreased levels of IFN-γ). Pathogenic protozoa infections were associated with a Th1 response characterized by elevated levels of IFN-γ and decreased IL10/IFN-γ ratios. Even at low prevalence levels, STH infections affect children’s nutrition and play a polarizing role in their immune system