Epidemiology and risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease in pediatrics: Descriptive, postvaccinal study

En 2011 se incorporó la vacuna 13-valente al Calendario Nacional de Inmunización, con aplicación efectiva desde 2012. El objetivo fue describir la epidemiología de la enfermedad y los factores de riesgo observados en pacientes con diagnóstico de enfermedad invasiva neumocócica en la población pediátrica que se atiende en el Hospital “Dr. F. Barreyro” y en el Hospital SAMIC-Oberá entre mayo de 2013 y abril de 2014. Se obtuvieron datos clínicos y epidemiológicos de los pacientes con diagnóstico confirmado y se realizaron técnicas de iología molecular para descartar y/o confirmar casos sospechosos. Se diagnosticaron 23 casos, con picos en invierno y primavera. Predominaron los pacientes mayores de 2 años (82%), los varones (65%) y las neumonías (69,6%). Los neumococos sensibles a penicilina preponderaron en todo el estudio. Se distinguieron dos serotipos (1 y 12F). No observamos prevalencia de factores de riesgo considerados. Es necesario continuar con la vigilancia activa.The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was added to the National Immunization Program in 2011, and effectively administered since 2012. The aim of this study was to describe the post–vaccine epidemiology of pneumococcal invasive disease, in the pediatric population who come for consultation at the "Dr. F. Barreyro" and "SAMIC-Oberá" Hospitals, between May-2013 and April-2014. Clinical and epidemiological data were obtained and the suspected cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Twenty three cases were diagnosed, a seasonal pattern was observed with peaks in winter and spring. Patients older than 2 years old (82%), the masculine gender (65%), and who were diagnosed with pneumonia(69,6%) prevailed. Penicillin-sensitive pneumococci predominated throughout the study. Two serotypes (1 and 12F) were mainly distinguished. We did not observe any prevalence in the factors considered.It is necessary to continue active surveillance.Fil: Benitez, Jesica Deolina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Mónica Elisabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales; Argentina. Provincia de Misiones. Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia de Misiones. Hospital Publico Provincial de Pediatria de Autogestion Dr. Fernando Barreyro; ArgentinaFil: Von Specht, Martha Helena. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Gerlach, Erica. Gobierno de la Provincia de Misiones. Hospital Samic Eldorado; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Cristina A.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Misiones. Hospital Samic Eldorado; ArgentinaFil: Grenón, Sandra L.. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales; Argentin

See the Brain at Work—Intraoperative Laser Doppler Functional Brain Imaging

During open brain surgery we acquire perfusion images non-invasively using laser Doppler imaging. The regions of brain activity show a distinct signal in response to stimulation providing intraoperative functional brain maps of remarkably strong contrast

Logging Affects Fledgling Sex Ratios and Baseline Corticosterone in a Forest Songbird

Silviculture (logging) creates a disturbance to forested environments. The degree to which forests are modified depends on the logging prescription and forest stand characteristics. In this study we compared the effects of two methods of group-selection (“moderate” and “heavy”) silviculture (GSS) and undisturbed reference stands on stress and offspring sex ratios of a forest interior species, the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. Blood samples were taken from nestlings for corticosterone and molecular sexing. We found that logging creates a disturbance that is stressful for nestling Ovenbirds, as illustrated by elevated baseline corticosterone in cut sites. Ovenbirds nesting in undisturbed reference forest produce fewer male offspring per brood (proportion male = 30%) while logging with progressively greater forest disturbance, shifted the offspring sex ratio towards males (proportion male: moderate = 50%, heavy = 70%). If Ovenbirds in undisturbed forests usually produce female-biased broods, then the production of males as a result of logging may disrupt population viability. We recommend a broad examination of nestling sex ratios in response to anthropogenic disturbance to determine the generality of our findings

Reduced Flavones to Probe Biological Performance Diversity and the Synthesis of Autophagy Modulators

Small-molecule libraries with biological performance diversity will contain many bioactive molecules that have diverse targets. This is a desired characteristic for high-throughput screening because it will reduce the number of molecules that need to be screened while improving the likelihood of finding a hit for even challenging targets. It is still unclear which chemical features of molecules are most predictive of biological performance diversity. The first chapter of this work describes the synthesis of a library of reduced flavones with diverse chemical properties and the testing of these molecules in Cell Painting and cell viability assays in order to determine if any of these properties predict biological performance diversity. The second chapter of this work describes the discovery and synthesis of two autophagy modulators. Autophagy is a metabolic process which enables the cell to degrade selected proteins, organelles, and other cellular components, and it has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. An autophagy inhibitor was synthesized as a potential cancer therapeutic, and an autophagy modulator was synthesized that shows potential for use as a therapeutic for Niemann-Pick Type C disease. These molecules will be further optimized for future in vivo studies

Hexacoordinate Silicon Compounds with a Dianionic Tetradentate (N,N′,N′,N)-Chelating Ligand

In the context of our systematic investigations of penta- and hexacoordinate silicon compounds, which included dianionic tri- (O,N,O′; O,N,N′) and tetradentate (O,N,N,O; O,N,N′,O′) chelators, we have now explored silicon coordination chemistry with a dianionic tetradentate (N,N′,N′,N) chelator. The ligand [o-phenylene-bis(pyrrole-2-carbaldimine), H2L] was obtained by condensation of o-phenylenediamine and pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde and subsequently silylated with chlorotrimethylsilane/triethylamine. Transsilylation of this ligand precursor (Me3Si)2L with chlorosilanes SiCl4, PhSiCl3, Ph2SiCl2, (Anis)2SiCl2 and (4-Me2N-C6H4)PhSiCl2 afforded the hexacoordinate Si complexes LSiCl2, LSiPhCl, LSiPh2, LSi(Anis)2 and LSiPh(4-Me2N-C6H4), respectively (Anis = anisyl = 4-methoxyphenyl). 29Si NMR spectroscopy and, for LSiPh2, LSi(Anis)2 and LSiPh(4-Me2N-C6H4), single-crystal X-ray diffraction confirm hexacoordination of the Si atoms. The molecular structures of LSiCl2 and LSiPhCl were elucidated by computational methods. Despite the two different N donor sites (pyrrole N, X-type donor; imine N, L-type donor), charge delocalization within the ligand backbone results in compounds with four similar Si–N bonds. Charge distribution within the whole molecules was analyzed by calculating the Natural Charges (NCs). Although these five compounds carry electronically different monodentate substituents, their constituents reveal rather narrow ranges of their charges (Si atoms: +2.10–+2.22; monodentate substituents: −0.54–−0.56; L2−: −1.02–−1.11)

National Poll on Healthy Aging: Mental Health Among Older Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167308/1/36_May-2021-Mental-Health-Report-Qs-FINAL-04282021.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167308/4/NPHA-Mental-Health-report.pdfDescription of 36_May-2021-Mental-Health-Report-Qs-FINAL-04282021.pdf : Poll QuestionsSEL

Daratumumab Interferes with Allogeneic Crossmatch Impacting Immunological Assessment in Solid Organ Transplantation

We report the first case of Daratumumab interference of allogeneic crossmatch tests repeatedly causing aberrant false-positive results, which inadvertently delayed transplant for a waitlisted renal patient with multiple myeloma. Daratumumab is an IgG1κ human monoclonal antibody commonly used to treat multiple myeloma, characterized by cancerous plasma cells and often leads to renal failure requiring kidney transplant, by depleting CD38-expressing plasma cells. In this case study, the patient had end-stage renal disease secondary to multiple myeloma and was continuously receiving Daratumumab infusions. The patient did not have any detectable antibodies to human leukocyte antigens but repeatedly had unexpected positive crossmatch by the flow cytometry-based method with 26 of the 27 potential deceased organ donors, implying donor-recipient immunological incompatibility. However, further review and analysis suggested that the positive crossmatches were likely false-positive as a result of interference from Daratumumab binding to donor cell surface CD38 as opposed to the presence of donor-specific antibodies. The observed intensity of the false-positive crossmatches was also highly variable, potentially due to donor- and/or cell-dependent expression of CD38. The variability of CD38 expression was, therefore, for the first time, characterized on the T and B cells isolated from various tissues and peripheral blood of 78 individuals. Overall, T cells were found to have a lower CD38 expression profile than the B cells, and no significant difference was observed between deceased and living individuals. Finally, we show that a simple cell treatment by dithiothreitol can effectively mitigate Daratumumab interference thus preserving the utility of pre-transplant crossmatch in multiple myeloma patients awaiting kidney transplant