A cross-sectional epidemiological study of domestic animals related to human leptospirosis cases in Nicaragua

Leptospirosis is one of the most extended zoonosis worldwide and humans become infected most commonly through contact with the urine of carrier animals, either directly or via contaminated water or soil. The aim in this study was to analyse the epidemiological behaviour of Leptospira spp., from domestic animals around the sites of human leptospirosis cases in Nicaragua, from 2007 through 2013. We report the results of a cross-sectional epidemiological study with a non-probability sampling of blood (n = 3050) and urine (n = 299) from Domestic Animals (DA) around the sites of human leptospirosis cases in Nicaragua. We analysed data obtained through Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT), in-vitro culture, real time PCR and sequencing of lfb1 locus. Frequencies of 30.31% (95% CI: 28.66–31.95) and 15.38% (95% CI: 11.12–19.64) were obtained from serological test and from in-vitro culture, respectively. Although similar frequencies from serology test (P = 0.05) were found in DA species, in-vitro culture frequencies were significantly higher from bovine, equine and sheep (P < 0.05) in comparison with swine and canine species. Ten serogroups of pathogenic Leptospira spp. were encountered, with the highest presence of Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup 34.65% (95% CI: 29.35–39.94). We identified 7 samples homologous to L. interrogans species Pyrogenes serovar and 3 samples as L. noguchii Louisiana or Panama serovars by analysis of lfb1 sequences. We were able to establish a temporal and spatial correlation from DA and cumulative incidence of human cases. Therefore an effective epidemiological surveillance should be implemented with a specific control program toward DA in order to reduce human leptospirosis incidence

Cell antigenic profile of Leptospira strains isolated in Leon and Chinandega, Nicaragua.

Objetivo. El siguiente trabajo se desarrollo con el objetivo de determinar los perfiles antigénicos celulares que sean reconocidos por el suero de personas vacunados con vax-SPIRAL® de cepas obtenidas de los departamentos de León y Chinandega.Métodos. Se analizaron cepas aisladas de hemocultivos tomadas de casos con sospecha clínica de leptospirosis, determinándose los perfiles antigénicos mediante electroforesis de células enteras y western blotting usando como anticuerpos, sueros provenientes de personas vacunadas con vax-SPIRAL®.Resultados y conclusiones. Se evidenció una gran homología antigénica entre todas las cepas estudiadas. Los resultados del presente estudio sugieren que en los departamentos de León y Chinandega circulan cepas de L. interrogans con un fuerte reconocimiento antigénico frente a sueros provenientes de personas vacunadas con vax-SPIRAL®.Objective.The following work was development with the objective of determining the profiles cellular antigenics that are recognized by the serum of people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL® of obtained strains of the León and Chinandega departments.Methods. Blood cultures samples were analyzed taken in sharp phase to cases with suspicion leptospirosis clinic, being determined the profiles antigenics by means of electrophoresis of whole cells and western blotting using as antibodies, serums coming from people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL®.Results and conclusions. A great antigenic homology was evidenced among all the studied strains. The present study results suggest that in León and Chinandega departments circulate L. interrogans strains with a strong antigenic recognition front of serums of people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL

Perfil antigénico celular de cepas aisladas de Leptospira en León y Chinandega, Nicaragua

Objetivo. El siguiente trabajo se desarrollo con el objetivo de determinar los perfiles antigénicos celulares que sean reconocidos por el suero de personas vacunados con vax-SPIRAL® de cepas obtenidas de los departamentos de León y Chinandega. Métodos. Se analizaron cepas aisladas de hemocultivos tomadas de casos con sospecha clínica de leptospirosis, determinándose los perfiles antigénicos mediante electroforesis de células enteras y western blotting usando como anticuerpos, sueros provenientes de personas vacunadas con vax-SPIRAL®. Resultados y conclusiones. Se evidenció una gran homología antigénica entre todas las cepas estudiadas. Los resultados del presente estudio sugieren que en los departamentos de León y Chinandega circulan cepas de L. interrogans con un fuerte reconocimientoObjective.The following work was development with the objective of determining the profiles cellular antigenics that are recognized by the serum of people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL® of obtained strains of the León and Chinandega departments. Methods. Blood cultures samples were analyzed taken in sharp phase to cases with suspicion leptospirosis clinic, being determined the profiles antigenics by means of electrophoresis of whole cells and western blotting using as antibodies, serums coming from people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL®. Results and conclusions. A great antigenic homology was evidenced among all the studied strains. The present study results suggest that in León and Chinandega departments circulate L. interrogans strains with a strong antigenic recognition front of serums of people vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL®

Spatio-temporal variation of the urban heat island in Santiago, Chile during summers 2005–2017

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Urban heat islands (UHIs) can present significant risks to human health. Santiago, Chile has around 7 million residents, concentrated in an average density of 480 people/km2. During the last few summer seasons, the highest extreme maximum temperatures in over 100 years have been recorded. Given the projections in temperature increase for this metropolitan region over the next 50 years, the Santiago UHI could have an important impact on the health and stress of the general population. We studied the presence and spatial variability of UHIs in Santiago during the summer seasons from 2005 to 2017 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery and data from nine meteorological stations. Simple regression models, geographic weighted regression (GWR) models and geostatistical interpolations were used to find nocturnal thermal differences in UHIs of up to 9◦ C, as well as increases in the magnitude and extension of the daytime heat island from summer 2014 to 2017. Understanding the behavior of the UHI of Santiago, Chile, is important for urban planners and local decision makers. Additionally, understanding the spatial pattern of the UHI could improve knowledge about how urban areas experience and could mitigate climate change

Tuning the electrical conductance of metalloporphyrin supramolecular wires

In contrast with conventional single-molecule junctions, in which the current flows parallel to the long axis or plane of a molecule, we investigate the transport properties of M(II)-5,15-diphenylporphyrin (M-DPP) single-molecule junctions (M=Co, Ni, Cu, or Zn divalent metal ions), in which the current flows perpendicular to the plane of the porphyrin. Novel STM-based conductance measurements combined with quantum transport calculations demonstrate that current-perpendicular-to-the-plane (CPP) junctions have three-orders-of-magnitude higher electrical conductanc than their current in-plane (CIP) counterparts, ranging from 2.10−2 G0 for Ni-DPP up to 8.10−2 G0 for Zn-DPP. The metal ion in the center of the DPP skeletons is strongly coordinated with the nitrogens of the pyridyl coated electrodes, with a binding energy that is sensitive to the choice of metal ion. We find that the binding energies of Zn-DPP and Co-DPP are significantly higher than those of Ni-DPP and Cu-DPP. Therefore when combined with its higher conductance, we identify Zn-DPP as the favoured candidate for high conductance CPP single-molecule devices

Targeting resistance to radiation-immunotherapy in cold HNSCCs by modulating the Treg-dendritic cell axis.

BACKGROUND: Numerous trials combining radiation therapy (RT) and immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are failing. Using preclinical immune cold models of HNSCC resistant to RT-immune checkpoint inhibitors, we investigate therapeutic approaches of overcoming such resistance by examining the differential microenvironmental response to RT. METHODS: We subjected two HPV-negative orthotopic mouse models of HNSCC to combination RT, regulatory T cells (Treg) depletion, and/or CD137 agonism. Tumor growth was measured and intratumorous and lymph node immune populations were compared among treatment groups. Human gene sets, genetically engineered mouse models DEREG and BATF3-/-, flow and time-of-flight cytometry, RNA-Seq, Treg adoptive transfer studies, and in vitro experiments were used to further evaluate the role of dendritic cells (DCs) and Tregs in these treatments. RESULTS: In MOC2 orthotopic tumors, we find no therapeutic benefit to targeting classically defined immunosuppressive myeloids, which increase with RT. In these radioresistant tumors, supplementing combination RT and Treg depletion with anti-CD137 agonism stimulates CD103+ DC activation in tumor-draining lymph nodes as characterized by increases in CD80+ and CCR7+ DCs, resulting in a CD8 T cell-dependent response. Simultaneously, Tregs are reprogrammed to an effector phenotype demonstrated by increases in interferonγ+, tumor necrosis factorα+, PI3K+, pAKT+ and Eomes+ populations as well as decreases in CTLA4+ and NRP-1+ populations. Tumor eradication is observed when RT is increased to an 8 Gy x 5 hypofractionated regimen and combined with anti-CD25+ anti-CD137 treatment. In a human gene set from oral squamous cell carcinoma tumors, high Treg number is associated with earlier recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Regulating Treg functionality and DC activation status within the lymph node is critical for generating a T cell effector response in these highly radioresistant tumors. These findings underscore the plasticity of Tregs and represent a new therapeutic opportunity for reprogramming the tumor microenvironment in HNSCCs resistant to conventional radioimmunotherapy approaches

Relearning to travel in Santiago: the importance of mobile place-making and travelling know-how

Cities today are experiencing constant, significant and abrupt infrastructural and spatial transformations. This is particularly evident in Metropolitan cities and more specifically, in cities in the Global South. Over the last decade, the implementation of Transantiago-a new public transport system-created greater awareness about the relevance of mobility practices in everyday life in the city. The intervention generated general unrest and particular daily challenges to Santiago’s residents requiring them to suddenly adapt, relearn and create ways of making sense of the complex situation that took place. It also generated major challenges for Transantiago implementers, who had to quickly react to the importance of everyday mobility experiences. Based on ethnographic research on mobility practices in Santiago de Chile prior and after Transantiago, this article presents the idea of mobile place-making as well as the various strategies urban travellers develop to adapt and create new ways of making sense of the city on a daily basis as it transforms. The results explore how travellers creatively find ways of learning or relearning to use new mobile spaces based on a travelling know-how which thickens the more mobility is practised, thus providing new possibilities within these places on the move

Identificación molecular de Trypanosoma cruzi en un perro infectado naturalmente de Nicaragua

Revista Iberoamericana De Bioeconomía Y Cambio Climático, 8(15), 1780-1785En América Latina, la enfermedad de Chagas es una amenaza importante para la salud pública y los caninos juegan un papel importante en los ciclos de transmisión doméstica de Trypanosoma cruzi. Este reporte presenta un caso de Chagas en un perro mestizo macho de dos meses de edad que fue rescatado y trasladado a la Clínica Veterinaria Privada Royal Pets en la Ciudad de Managua - Nicaragua. El animal se encontraba en estado caquéctico, débil y completamente mojado, presentando temperatura rectal de 33.6 ° C, deshidratación (9%), mucosas pálidas, ganglios linfáticos no reactivos, abdomen distendido sin dolor a la palpación, lesión ulcerosa sanguinolenta en la caja torácica izquierda. En el frotis periférico se detectó el parásito de la sangre Trypanosoma; además, en el análisis de PCR se obtuvo amplificación para Trypanosoma cruzi, pero negativa para Trypanosoma vivax y Trypanosoma evansi. La detección e identificación de este caso podría generar conciencia en el país sobre la importancia de notificar las infecciones caninas como parte de los programas de vigilancia epidemiológica para controlar los casos humanos de la enfermedad de ChagasUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, León. Escuela de Ciencias Agrarias y Veterinarias. Departamento de Agroecologia