Non-motor symptom burden in patients with Parkinson's disease with impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviours : results from the COPPADIS cohort

The study was aimed at analysing the frequency of impulse control disorders (ICDs) and compulsive behaviours (CBs) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in control subjects (CS) as well as the relationship between ICDs/CBs and motor, nonmotor features and dopaminergic treatment in PD patients. Data came from COPPADIS-2015, an observational, descriptive, nationwide (Spain) study. We used the validated Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease-Rating Scale (QUIP-RS) for ICD/CB screening. The association between demographic data and ICDs/CBs was analyzed in both groups. In PD, this relationship was evaluated using clinical features and treatment-related data. As result, 613 PD patients (mean age 62.47 ± 9.09 years, 59.87% men) and 179 CS (mean age 60.84 ± 8.33 years, 47.48% men) were included. ICDs and CBs were more frequent in PD (ICDs 12.7% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001; CBs 7.18% vs. 1.67%, p = 0.01). PD patients had more frequent previous ICDs history, premorbid impulsive personality and antidepressant treatment (p < 0.05) compared with CS. In PD, patients with ICDs/CBs presented younger age at disease onset, more frequent history of previous ICDs and premorbid personality (p < 0.05), as well as higher comorbidity with nonmotor symptoms, including depression and poor quality of life. Treatment with dopamine agonists increased the risk of ICDs/CBs, being dose dependent (p < 0.05). As conclusions, ICDs and CBs were more frequent in patients with PD than in CS. More nonmotor symptoms were present in patients with PD who had ICDs/CBs compared with those without. Dopamine agonists have a prominent effect on ICDs/CBs, which could be influenced by dose

Determinación de dosis infectiva vía oral de la cepa neolonesa de formas de Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909) a nivel experimental en modelo. murino.

Trypanosoma cruzi es el agente causal de la enfermedad de Chagas, la cual se descubrió por primera vez en Brasil en 1909. El protozoario puede infectar al humano mediante diferentes tipos de transmisión, tales como vectorial, de transfusión sanguínea, congénita y oral, ésta última es el enfoque del estudio. Para comprobar esto, se realizó la preparación de jugos naturales de naranja y se inocularon las muestras con formas epimastigotes de T. cruzi, los cuales sobrevivieron después de 21 h, confirmándose así, la sobrevivencia del parásito. Posteriormente, se suministraron los jugos contaminados a los roedores con diferentes concentraciones; debido a que no se observaron los tripomastigotes en sangre de ratón en fase aguda se extrajo el ADN del parásito para después confirmar la infección molecularmente por PCR. Asimismo, se realizaron cortes histológicos a partir de tejido infectado de los ratones que murieron y los que fueron sacrificados y se observaron nidos de amastigotes de T. cruzi en el tratamiento de mayor concentración (1.5 millones de células/mL), por lo que se logró confirmar la infección vía oral, por las dos técnicas mencionadas. Mediante un análisis de varianza con la prueba de Tukey se determinó que no existe diferencia significativa en los tratamientos

Global distribution patterns provide evidence of niche shift by the introduced African dung beetle Digitonthophagus gazella

The establishment of cattle ranches throughout the world has prompted the release of dung beetles as biological control agents that reduce pasture fouling and control dung‐breeding flies. One of these beetles, Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), that is native to southeast Africa, has been introduced into the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. Distribution records for this species have been used to develop climate models of potential future establishment. Recent studies, however, identify D. gazella as a complex of seven species. Taking into account this revision, and the clear identification of the records belonging to the actual D. gazella, we developed environmental models to identify factors that have contributed to the establishment of this species across regions and habitats. We compared the environmental conditions of D. gazella in its native range against those in the regions where the species has or has not established. Our results indicate that D. gazella is still absent in certain parts of Central and South America and parts of Africa where it could potentially establish. We speculate that its distribution in Africa is limited by competitive exclusion. The introduction of D. gazella in America is relatively recent, such that the full extent of its distribution has probably yet to be realized. In Australia and North America, D. gazella is present in regions not predicted according to its native environmental conditions. This discrepancy may reflect a lack of competitive exclusion, phenotypic plasticity, and/or genetic adaptation. Our analyses suggest that the species has the ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions that are extremely different from those in their native region. The species represents a useful case study to indicate that an introduced species may expand its realized niche beyond what is expected based on apparent environmental limits in the species native range.Appendix S1. Digitonthophagus gazella geographical records included in the analysis.Appendix S2. Explanatory variables deleted in the various phases of the screening analysis and those finally selected. Variance inflation factor (V): variables deleted by having a V value <5 in the geographical background (GB) of the native area of Digitonthophagus gazella. Index (I): variables deleted after applying the instability index to identify those with the highest capacity to discriminate between the environmental conditions in the presence cells against those prevailing in the GB area. F: finally selected variables.The data from New Zealand are courtesy of the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group (DBRSG) and Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua.A Colciencias Ph.D. scholarship.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/157074582021-08-11hj2021Zoology and Entomolog

CTA contributions to the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2013)

Compilation of CTA contributions to the proceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2013), which took place in 2-9 July, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilComment: Index of CTA conference proceedings at the ICRC2013, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). v1: placeholder with no arXiv links yet, to be replaced once individual contributions have been all submitted. v2: final with arXiv links to all CTA contributions and full author lis