Frequency of tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria in HIV infected patients from Bogota, Colombia

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of infections by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous Mycobacterium species in the HIV-infected patient population in Colombia was uncertain despite some pilot studies. We determined the frequency of isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and of non-tuberculous Mycobacterium species in diverse body fluids of HIV-infected patients in Bogota, Colombia. METHODS: Patients who attended the three major HIV/AIDS healthcare centres in Bogota were prospectively studied over a six month period. A total of 286 patients were enrolled, 20% of them were hospitalized at some point during the study. Sixty four percent (64%) were classified as stage C, 25% as stage B, and 11% as stage A (CDC staging system, 1993). A total of 1,622 clinical samples (mostly paired samples of blood, sputum, stool, and urine) were processed for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) stain and culture. RESULTS: Overall 43 of 1,622 cultures (2.6%) were positive for mycobacteria. Twenty-two sputum samples were positive. Four patients were diagnosed with M. tuberculosis (1.4%). All isolates of M. tuberculosis were sensitive to common anti-tuberculous drugs. M. avium was isolated in thirteen patients (4.5%), but only in three of them the cultures originated from blood. The other isolates were obtained from stool, urine or sputum samples. In three cases, direct AFB smears of blood were positive. Two patients presented simultaneously with M. tuberculosis and M. avium. CONCLUSIONS: Non-tuberculous Mycobacterium infections are frequent in HIV infected patients in Bogota. The diagnostic sensitivity for infection with tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria can be increased when diverse body fluids are processed from each patient

First Colombian Multicentric Newborn Screening for Congenital Toxoplasmosis

Congenital toxoplasmosis can result in permanent sequel as blindness or neurological damage in children and it seems to be more severe in South America than in other continents. There is a lack of information about this frequency in Colombia, where no control program is established, although it is a recognized cause of potentially preventable congenital blindness. We propose the first Colombian multicentric study to determine the frequency and impact of congenital toxoplasmosis. More than 15,000 newborns in seven cities were studied. Newborns were tested at birth by doing a cord blood test for toxoplasmosis. Additionally, children from mothers with history of toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy were recalled for a follow-up. The program identified fifteen children otherwise undiagnosed; three of these children died as consequence of congenital toxoplasmosis. The frequency of the congenital infection varied significantly between cities, being higher in Armenia and Florencia, intermediate in Bogota, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla and very low in western cities such as Cucuta and Riohacha. For the first time a significant correlation was found between mean rainfall at the city and the incidence of this congenital infection

Correlation of recist, computed tomography morphological response, and pathological regression in hepatic metastasis secondary to colorectal cancer : The avamet study

The prospective phase IV AVAMET study was undertaken to correlate response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST)-defined response rates with computed tomography-based morphological criteria (CTMC) and pathological response after liver resection of colorectal cancer metastases. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years, with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0/1 and histologically-confirmed colon or rectal adenocarcinoma with measurable liver metastases. Preoperative treatment was bevacizumab (7.5 mg on day 1) + XELOX (oxaliplatin 130 mg/m, capecitabine 1000 mg/m bid on days 1-14 q3w). After three cycles, response was evaluated by a multidisciplinary team. Patients who were progression-free and metastasectomy candidates received one cycle of XELOX before undergoing surgery 3-5 weeks later, followed by four cycles of bevacizumab + XELOX. A total of 83 patients entered the study; 68 were eligible for RECIST, 67 for CTMC, and 51 for pathological response evaluation. Of these patients, 49% had a complete or partial RECIST response, 91% had an optimal or incomplete CTMC response, and 81% had a complete or major pathological response. CTMC response predicted 37 of 41 pathological responses versus 23 of 41 responses predicted using RECIST (p = 0.008). Kappa coefficients indicated a lack of correlation between the results of RECIST and morphological responses and between morphological and pathological response rates. CTMC may represent a better marker of pathological response to bevacizumab + XELOX than RECIST in patients with potentially-resectable CRC liver metastases

Cognitive vulnerability in mental disorders

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Modes of cognitive vulnerability were evaluated in outpatients of psychological services centers with diagnoses of mental disorders. Objective: To establish components of cognitive vulnerability in different mental disorders. Method: The participants were 490 users of psychological services centers from twelve universities in Colombia. To identify the presence or absence of mental disorders, they completed the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview.The Young Schemes Questionnaire, the Core Beliefs Questionnaire for Personality Disorders, the Inventory of Automatic Thoughts, and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire were also applied. To establish distinctive characteristics among actual major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, and non-alcoholic substance abuse, a logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: The results showed cognitive distinctive vulnerability profiles, according to the disorder. Conclusion: The hypothesis of cognitive specificity for the different mental disorders is confirmed.RESUMEN: Introducción: Se evaluaron los modos de vulnerabilidad cognitiva en usuarios de consulta externa en psicología, diagnosticados con trastornos mentales. Objetivo: Establecer componentes de vulnerabilidad cognitiva en diferentes trastornos mentales. Método: Participaron 490 usuarios de servicios psicológicos de doce universidades de Colombia. Se aplicó la Entrevista Neuropsiquiátrica Internacional para identificar la presencia o no de trastornos mentales; igualmente, se aplicaron el Cuestionario de Esquemas de Young, el Cuestionario de Creencias Centrales de Trastornos de la Personalidad, el Inventario de Pensamientos Automáticos y el Cuestionario de Estrategias de Afrontamiento. Se realizaron análisis de regresión logística para establecer características distintivas en los trastornos de depresión mayor actual, ansiedad generalizada, angustia, ansiedad social y abuso de sustancias no alcohólicas. Resultados: Se reportaron perfiles cognitivos de vulnerabilidad diferenciados de acuerdo con el trastorno. Conclusión: Se confirma la hipótesis de especificidad cognitiva para los diferentes trastornos mentales

Factores de riesgo psicosociales y ambientales asociados a trastornos mentales

In Colombia, there are few studies on the association of psychosocial and environmental factors with the most prevalent mental disorders; such studies are important due to the context of violence, social insecurity, and job and economic instability in the country. The objective of this study was to identify the psychosocial and environmental risk factors for mental disorders, in users of psychological services in Colombia. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and a Questionnaire to evaluate the Axis-IV of the DSM-IV-TR were applied to 490 participants. The analysis comprised descriptive statistics and risk factors. As risk factors for depression, there were identified housing problems, access to health care services, problems related to the primary group, economics, problems of the social environment, and labor. For generalized anxiety, there were identified economic and education issues. For panic disorders, the risk factors were related to social environment, and for social phobia, the risk factors were problems in education, work and social environment.En Colombia, son escasos los estudios sobre la asociación de los factores psicosociales y medioambientales con trastornos mentales de mayor prevalencia; tales estudios son necesarios debido al contexto de violencia, inseguridad social e inestabilidad laboral y económica del país. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar los factores de riesgo psicosociales y ambientales de los trastornos mentales, en los usuarios de servicios de psicología de Colombia. Para ello, se aplicaron el MiniInternational Neuropsychiatric Interview y un cuestionario de evaluación del Eje IV del DSM-IV-TR, a 490 participantes. Se utilizaron análisis descriptivos y de factores de riesgo. Como factor de riesgo para la depresión, se identificaron los problemas de vivienda, acceso a los servicios de asistencia sanitaria, los relativos al grupo primario, los económicos, del ambiente social y los problemas laborales. Para la ansiedad generalizada se identificaron los problemas económicos y los relativos a la enseñanza. Para los trastornos de pánico, fueron relevantes los problemas relacionados con el ambiente social, y para la fobia social, los problemas de enseñanza, los laborales y el ambiente social

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Beyond faith: Biomolecular evidence for changing urban economies in multi‐faith medieval Portugal

During the Middle Ages, Portugal witnessed unprecedented socioeconomic and religious changes under transitioning religious political rule. The implications of changing ruling powers for urban food systems and individual diets in medieval Portugal is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the dietary impact of the Islamic and Christian conquests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality