Contribution of the Residual Body in the Spatial Organization of Toxoplasma gondii Tachyzoites within the Parasitophorous Vacuole

Toxoplasma gondii proliferates and organizes within a parasitophorous vacuole in rosettes around a residual body and is surrounded by a membranous nanotubular network whose function remains unclear. Here, we characterized structure and function of the residual body in intracellular tachyzoites of the RH strain. Our data showed the residual body as a body limited by a membrane formed during proliferation of tachyzoites probably through the secretion of components and a pinching event of the membrane at the posterior end. It contributes in the intravacuolar parasite organization by the membrane connection between the tachyzoites posterior end and the residual body membrane to give place to the rosette conformation. Radial distribution of parasites in rosettes favors an efficient exteriorization. Absence of the network and presence of atypical residual bodies in a ΔGRA2-HXGPRT knock-out mutant affected the intravacuolar organization of tachyzoites and their exteriorization

Rice straw-based activated carbons doped with SiC for enhanced hydrogen adsorption

Activated carbons (ACs) based on rice straw (RS) were synthesised using potassium carbonate as activating agent at three different K2CO3/RS weight ratios. Morphological, chemical, structural as well as textural characterisations were carried out in order to establish relationships between the physicochemical properties of the materials and their hydrogen adsorption capacities. The ACs contained potassium and silicon as the main impurities. Si was identified by XRD in both phases of silicon dioxide and silicon carbide. The presence of SiC was particularly surprising due to the rather low activation temperature, much lower than what is usually required for SiC synthesis. ACs exhibited well-developed surface areas (approximatively 2000–2100 m2 g-1) and high micropore volumes, making them suitable for hydrogen storage applications. RS-based ACs showed higher hydrogen storage capacities than those previously obtained with KOH-activated sucrose. The latter exhibited hydrogen uptakes (excess, 10 MPa, 298 K) up to 0.55 wt. %, whereas 0.65 wt. % was measured for RS-based ACs in the same conditions. The higher hydrogen capacities and isosteric heats of adsorption found here were attributed to the presence of SiC

Contribution of the Residual Body in the Spatial Organization of Toxoplasma gondii Tachyzoites within the Parasitophorous Vacuole

properly cited. Toxoplasma gondii proliferates and organizes within a parasitophorous vacuole in rosettes around a residual body and is surrounded by a membranous nanotubular network whose function remains unclear. Here, we characterized structure and function of the residual body in intracellular tachyzoites of the RH strain. Our data showed the residual body as a body limited by a membrane formed during proliferation of tachyzoites probably through the secretion of components and a pinching event of the membrane at the posterior end. It contributes in the intravacuolar parasite organization by the membrane connection between the tachyzoites posterior end and the residual body membrane to give place to the rosette conformation. Radial distribution of parasites in rosettes favors an efficient exteriorization. Absence of the network and presence of atypical residual bodies in a ΔGRA2-HXGPRT knock-out mutant affected the intravacuolar organization of tachyzoites and their exteriorization

Point Source Detection with Fully-Convolutional Networks: Performance in Realistic Simulations

Point sources (PS) are one of the main contaminants to the recovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) signal at small scales, and their detection is important for the next generation of CMB experiments. We develop a method (PoSeIDoN) based on fully convolutional networks to detect PS in realistic simulations, and we compare its performance against one of the most used PS detection method, the Mexican hat wavelet 2 (MHW2). We produce realistic simulations of PS taking into account contaminating signals as the CMB, the cosmic infrared background, the Galactic thermal emission, the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, and the instrumental and PS shot noises. We first produce a set of training simulations at 217 GHz to train the network. Then we apply both PoSeIDoN and the MHW2 to recover the PS in the validating simulations at all 143, 217, and 353 GHz, comparing the results by estimating the reliability, completeness, and flux density accuracy and by computing the receiver operating characteristic curves. In the extra-galactic region with a 30{\deg} galactic cut, the network successfully recovers PS at 90% completeness corresponding to 253, 126, and 250 mJy for 143, 217, and 353 GHz respectively. The MHW2 with a 3$\sigma$ flux density detection limit recovers PS up to 181, 102, and 153 mJy at 90% completeness. In all cases PoSeIDoN produces a much lower number of spurious sources with respect to MHW2. The results on spurious sources for both techniques worsen when reducing the galactic cut to 10{\deg}. Our results suggest that using neural networks is a very promising approach for detecting PS, providing overall better results in dealing with spurious sources with respect to usual filtering approaches. Moreover, PoSeIDoN gives competitive results even at nearby frequencies where the network was not trained.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted Astronomy & Astrophysic

DD04107-Derived neuronal exocytosis inhibitor peptides: Evidences for synaptotagmin-1 as a putative target

The analgesic peptide DD04107 (Pal-EEMQRR-NH2) and its acetylated analogue inhibit a-calcitonin gene-related peptide (a-CGRP) exocytotic release from primary sensory neurons. Examining the crystal structure of the SNARE-Synaptotagmin-1(Syt1) complex, we hypothesized that these peptides could inhibit neuronal exocytosis by binding to Syt1, hampering at least partially its interaction with the SNARE complex. To address this hypothesis, we first interrogate the role of individual side-chains on the inhibition of a-CGRP release, finding that E1, M3, Q4 and R6 residues were crucial for activity. CD and NMR conformational analysis showed that linear peptides have tendency to adopt a-helical conformations, but the results with cyclic analogues indicated that this secondary structure is not needed for activity. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements demonstrate a direct interaction of some of these peptides with Syt1-C2B domain, but not with Syt7-C2B region, indicating selectivity. As expected for a compound able to inhibit a-CGRP release, cyclic peptide derivative Pal-E-cyclo[EMQK]R-NH2 showed potent in vivo analgesic activity, in a model of inflammatory pain. Molecular dynamics simulations provided a model consistent with KD values for the interaction of peptides with Syt1-C2B domain, and with their biological activity. Altogether, these results identify Syt1 as a potential new analgesic target. © 202

Impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis detection and treatment in Baja California, México

In 2020, Mexico reported the lowest tuberculosis (TB) incidence on record, and it is unclear to what extent COVID-19 has impacted TB surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment. It is important to understand COVID-19's impact in Baja California (BC), which has the highest TB burden in Mexico. With the increasing number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in BC, limited resources and crowded living conditions increase the risk of TB transmission. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on TB diagnosis and treatment in BC. We were also interested in health disparities experienced by migrants in BC. We conducted a mixed methods analysis using quantitative surveillance data obtained from the Mexico National TB Program (NTP) and qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with TB program directors and personnel in BC's four provincial health jurisdictions. Compared to the year prior, surveillance data from March 2020 - February 2021 revealed that TB incidence in BC declined by 30.9% and favorable TB outcomes (TB cure or treatment completion) declined by 49.8%. Elucidating differences by migrant status was complicated by the lack of standardized collection of migrant status by the NTP. Qualitative analysis revealed that TB diagnostic and treatment supplies and services became limited and disproportionately accessible across jurisdictions since the pandemic began; however, favorable adaptations were also reported, such as increased telemedicine use and streamlined care referral processes. Participants shared that migrant status is susceptible to misclassification and that TB care is difficult due to the transitory nature of migrants. This study did not identify major differences in TB service delivery or access between migrants and non-migrants in BC; however, migrant status was frequently missing. COVID-19 has overwhelmed health systems worldwide, disrupting timely TB diagnostic and treatment services, and potentially caused underdiagnosis of TB in BC. TB programs in BC should quickly restore essential services that were disrupted by COVID-19 while identifying and preserving beneficial program adaptations, such as telemedicine and streamlined care referral processes. Improved methods for documenting migrant status of TB cases are also needed

Headache: What to ask, how to examine, and which scales to use. Recommendationsof the Spanish Society of Neurology’s Headache Study Group

Introducción: La cefalea es el motivo de consulta neurológico más prevalente en los distintos niveles asistenciales, donde la anamnesis y exploración son primordiales para realizar un diagnóstico y tratamiento adecuados. Con la intención de unificar la atención de esta patología, el Grupo de Estudio de Cefalea de la Sociedad Española de Neurología (GECSEN) ha decidido elaborar unas recomendaciones consensuadas para mejorar y garantizar una adecuada asistencia en atención primaria, urgencias y neurología. Metodología: El documento es práctico, sigue el orden de la dinámica de actuación durante una consulta: anamnesis, escalas que cuantifican el impacto y la discapacidad y exploración. Además, finaliza con pautas para realizar un seguimiento adecuado y un manejo de las expectativas del paciente con el tratamiento pautado.Conclusiones: Esperamos ofrecer una herramienta que mejore la atención al paciente con cefalea para garantizar una asistencia adecuada y homogénea a nivel nacional.Introduction: Headache is the most common neurological complaint at the different levelsof the healthcare system, and clinical history and physical examination are essential in thediagnosis and treatment of these patients. With the objective of unifying the care given topatients with headache, the Spanish Society of Neurology’s Headache Study Group (GECSEN)has decided to establish a series of consensus recommendations to improve and guaranteeadequate care in primary care, emergency services, and neurology departments.Methods: With the aim of creating a practical document, the recommendations follow thedynamics of a medical consultation: clinical history, physical examination, and scales quantif-ying headache impact and disability. In addition, we provide recommendations for follow-upand managing patients’ expectations of the treatment.Conclusions: With this tool, we aim to improve the care given to patients with headache inorder to guarantee adequate, homogeneous care across Spain

Neutrino Detection with Inclined Air Showers

The possibilities of detecting high energy neutrinos through inclined showers produced in the atmosphere are addressed with an emphasis on the detection of air showers by arrays of particle detectors. Rates of inclined showers produced by both down-going neutrino interactions and by up-coming $\tau$ decays from earth-skimming neutrinos as a function of shower energy are calculated with analytical methods using two sample neutrino fluxes with different spectral indices. The relative contributions from different flavors and charged, neutral current and resonant interactions are compared for down-going neutrinos interacting in the atmosphere. No detailed description of detectors is attempted but rough energy thresholds are implemented to establish the ranges of energies which are more suitable for neutrino detection through inclined showers. Down-going and up-coming rates are compared.Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physic