Investigación sobre la Presencia de la Enfermedad de Chagas en el Personal de la Policía Peruana

Growing number of young men from different regions of Peru, postulate their income annually to various units of the police institution. The routine medical examination to undergo these candidates in the Department of Cardiology, Hospital Police Lima, offers opportunity to do research on some aspects of national pathology. 3 years screening for Chagas disease is performed in subjects born or derived from chagasic regions, having had occasion to use our "index of suspicion" for the diagnosis of this disease in subjects come Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Amazonas and San Martin (1).Crecido número de hombres jóvenes procedentes de las diversas regiones del Perú, postulen anualmente su ingreso a diversas dependencias de la Institución Policial. El examen médico de rutina a que son sometidos estos postulantes en el Departamento de Cardiología del Hospital de Policía de Lima, ofrece oportunidad para realizar investigaciones sobre algunos aspectos de la patología nacional. Desde hace 3 años se realiza el despistaje de la enfermedad de Chagas en los sujetos nacidos o procedentes de las regiones chagásicas, habiendo tenido ocasión de emplear nuestro "índice de sospecha" para el diagnóstico de este mal en los sujetos venidos de Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Amazonas y San Martín (1)

Contabilidade Gerencial: Análise Bibliométrica e Sistêmica da literatura científica internacional

Resumo: Esta pesquisa analisa a situação atual de desenvolvimento da contabilidade gerencial sob o viés da comunidade científica, por meio do instrumento de pesquisa ProKnow-C para seleção dos artigos, análise bibliométrica e sistêmica. Os principais resultados são: (i) os autores mais prolíficos foram Kari Lukka, Jonas Gerdin e Roger Burrit; (ii) Reino Unido e Austrália são as principais origens dos autores; (iii) Management Accounting Research e Accounting Organizations and Society são os periódicos de maior destaque; (iv) na maioria dos estudos não é explicitado o enquadramento metodológico; (v) planejamento estratégico, sistemas de informações gerenciais, teoria da prática e teoria institucional foram as principais teorias/conceitos utilizados nos estudos; e (vi) 41% dos estudos analisados utilizam a abordagem econômica, 39% a abordagem social e 20% a abordagem comportamental. Conclui-se que o trabalho apresenta um panorama sobre contabilidade gerencial e contribui com futuras pesquisas sobre o tema, importante para a gestão das organizações

Heme synthesis through the life cycle of the heme auxotrophic parasite Leishmania major

Heme is an essential molecule synthetized through a broadly conserved 8-step route that has been lost in trypanosomatid parasites. Interestingly, Leishmania reacquired by horizontal gene transfer from γ-proteobacteria the genes coding for the last 3 enzymes of the pathway. Here we show that intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania major can scavenge heme precursors from the host cell to fulfill their heme requirements, demonstrating the functionality of this partial pathway. To dissect its role throughout the L. major life cycle, the significance of L. major ferrochelatase (LmFeCH), the terminal enzyme of the route, was evaluated. LmFeCH expression in a heterologous system demonstrated its activity. Knockout promastigotes lacking lmfech were not able to use the ferrochelatase substrate protoporphyrin IX as a source of heme. In vivo infection of Phlebotomus perniciosus with knockout promastigotes shows that LmFeCH is not required for their development in the sandfly. In contrast, the replication of intracellular amastigotes was hampered in vitro by the deletion of lmfech. However, LmFeCH-/- parasites produced disease in a cutaneous leishmaniasis murine model in a similar way as control parasites. Therefore, although L. major can synthesize de novo heme from macrophage precursors, this activity is dispensable being an unsuited target for leishmaniasis treatment.-Orrego, L. M., Cabello-Donayre, M., Vargas, P., Martínez-García, M., Sánchez, C., Pineda-Molina, E., Jiménez, M., Molina, R., Pérez-Victoria, J. M. Heme synthesis through the life cycle of the heme auxotrophic parasite Leishmania major

Carbohydrate-naphthalene diimide conjugates as potential antiparasitic drugs: Synthesis, evaluation and structure-activity studies

The neglected tropical diseases Human African Trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis are caused by infection with trypanosomatid parasites Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania spp, respectively. The genomes of these organisms contain multiple putative G-quadruplex (G4) forming sequences which have recently been proposed to mediate processes relevant for parasite survival. Therefore, G4 could be considered as potential targets for a novel approach towards the development of antiparasitic drugs. Recently, we have demonstrated that G4 ligands such as carbohydrate naphthalene diimide conjugates (carb-NDIs) possess notable antiparasitic activity. Herein, we have synthesized a new family of carb-NDIs, characterized by significant structural variability, and evaluated their anti-parasitic activity, with special focus on T. brucei. The interaction with relevant G4 sequences was evaluated in vitro through independent biophysical methods (FRET melting assays under competing conditions with double stranded DNA, circular dichroism and fluorescence titrations). Finally, flow cytometry and confocal microscopy experiments demonstrated that the conjugates exhibit excellent uptake into T. brucei parasites, localizing in the nuclei and kinetoplasts. Promising antiparasitic activity and selectivity against control mammalian cells, together with their peculiar mechanism of action, render the carb-NDI conjugates as suitable candidates for the development of an innovative treatment of trypanosomiasis

Spatiotemporal Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in the Sewage of Three Major Urban Areas in Peru: Generating Valuable Data Where Clinical Testing Is Extremely Limited

Peru has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. By January 2022, Peru had surpassed 200 000 COVID-19 deaths, constituting the highest death rate per capita worldwide. Peru has had several limitations during the pandemic: insufficient testing access, limited contact tracing, a strained medical infrastructure, and many economic hurdles. These limitations hindered the gathering of accurate information about infected individuals with spatial resolution in real time, a critical aspect of effectively controlling the pandemic. Wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 RNA offered a promising alternative for providing needed population-wide information to complement health care indicators. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility and value of implementing a decentralized SARS-CoV-2 RNA wastewater monitoring system to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of COVID-19 in three major cities in Peru: Lima, Callao, and Arequipa. Our data on viral loads showed the same trends as health indicators such as incidence and mortality. Furthermore, we were able to identify hot spots of contagion within the surveyed urban areas to guide the efforts of health authorities. Viral decay in the sewage network of the cities studied was found to be negligible (<2%). Overall, our results support wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 as a valuable and cost-effective tool for monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic in the Peruvian context