Digital and technological innovation in vector-borne disease surveillance to predict, detect, and control climate-driven outbreaks

Vector-borne diseases are particularly sensitive to changes in weather and climate. Timely warnings from surveillance systems can help to detect and control outbreaks of infectious disease, facilitate effective management of finite resources, and contribute to knowledge generation, response planning, and resource prioritisation in the long term, which can mitigate future outbreaks. Technological and digital innovations have enabled the incorporation of climatic data into surveillance systems, enhancing their capacity to predict trends in outbreak prevalence and location. Advance notice of the risk of an outbreak empowers decision makers and communities to scale up prevention and preparedness interventions and redirect resources for outbreak responses. In this Viewpoint, we outline important considerations in the advent of new technologies in disease surveillance, including the sustainability of innovation in the long term and the fundamental obligation to ensure that the communities that are affected by the disease are involved in the design of the technology and directly benefit from its application

Valve interstitial cells induce donor-specific T-cell anergy

AbstractObjectives: Valve allografts produce an immune response, which can influence their performance. The exact role of the interaction between recipient T cells and the different cellular components of the donor valve in stimulating an immune response is not known. Therefore the T-cell response to valve endothelial and interstitial cells was investigated in vitro. Methods: Valve endothelial and interstitial cells were characterized for cell-surface molecules before and after interferon γ treatment by means of a panel of specific monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. The proliferative response of highly purified T lymphocytes was used to assess the immunogenicity of cultured valve endothelial and interstitial cells. This was further investigated by using a 2-step tolerance-induction protocol. Results: Valve endothelial and interstitial cells express similar levels of human leukocyte antigens and adhesion and costimulatory molecules, which are either induced or upregulated after interferon γ treatment. T-cell responses to endothelial cells were detected after interferon γ treatment, but responses to interferon γ–treated interstitial cells were not detected. This lack of response resulted in the induction of T-cell anergy, which was reversed by the presence of the costimulatory molecule B7-1. Conclusions: Although valve endothelial and interstitial cells express a similar range of cell-surface molecules, it is only the endothelial cells that are immunogenic. In addition, we have shown that these 2 cell types interact in a donorspecific manner to orchestrate the immune response and therefore may have clinical relevance in the allogeneic response of the heart valve recipients.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;122:129-3

Membrane-transferring regions of gp41 as targets for HIV-1 fusion inhibition and viral neutralization

12 páginas, 4 figurasThe fusogenic function of HIV-1 gp41 transmembrane Env subunit relies on two different kinds of structural elements: i) a collapsible ectodomain structure (the hairpin or six-helix bundle) that opens and closes, and ii) two membrane- transferring regions (MTRs), the fusion peptide (FP) and the membrane-proximal external region (MPER), which ensure coupling of hairpin closure to apposition and fusion of cell and viral membranes. The isolation of naturally produced short peptides and neutralizing IgG-s, that interact with FP and MPER, respectively, and block viral infection, suggests that these conserved regions might represent useful targets for clinical intervention. Furthermore, MTR-derived peptides have been shown to be membrane-active. Here, it is discussed the potential use of these molecules and how the analysis of their membrane activity in vitro could contribute to the development of HIV fusion inhibitors and effective immunogensThe authors wish to thank financial support obtained from Spanish MICINN (BIO2008- 00772) (JLN) and University of the Basque Country (GIU 06/42 and DIPE08/12) (NH and JLN).Peer reviewe

Septal ablation versus surgical myomectomy for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) who have left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) often experience severe symptoms and functional limitation. Relief of LVOTO can be achieved by two invasive interventions, i.e., surgery myectomy and alcohol septal ablation (ASA), leading in experienced hands to a dramatic improvement in clinical status. Despite extensive research, however, the choice of the best option in individual patients remains challenging and poses numerous clinical dilemmas

The complex α-μ fading channel with OFDM application

The aims of this paper are threefold: (i) to present a model for the complex - fading channel; (ii) to propose an efficient, simple, and general method to generate complex - samples; (iii) to make use of this channel in order to assess the bit error rate performance of an OFDM system. An analytical framework is then used, whose output is validated through Monte Carlo simulation. Several important conclusions concerning the system performance as a function of the channel parameters, namely, nonlinearity, clustering, and power imbalance of in-phase and quadrature components, are drawn2017Recent advances in RF propagation modeling for 5G systemsFINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS - FINEP01.14.0231.0

Cortical depth dependent functional responses in humans at 7T: improved specificity with 3D GRASE

Ultra high fields (7T and above) allow functional imaging with high contrast-to-noise ratios and improved spatial resolution. This, along with improved hardware and imaging techniques, allow investigating columnar and laminar functional responses. Using gradient-echo (GE) (T2* weighted) based sequences, layer specific responses have been recorded from human (and animal) primary visual areas. However, their increased sensitivity to large surface veins potentially clouds detecting and interpreting layer specific responses. Conversely, spin-echo (SE) (T2 weighted) sequences are less sensitive to large veins and have been used to map cortical columns in humans. T2 weighted 3D GRASE with inner volume selection provides high isotropic resolution over extended volumes, overcoming some of the many technical limitations of conventional 2D SE-EPI, whereby making layer specific investigations feasible. Further, the demonstration of columnar level specificity with 3D GRASE, despite contributions from both stimulated echoes and conventional T2 contrast, has made it an attractive alternative over 2D SE-EPI. Here, we assess the spatial specificity of cortical depth dependent 3D GRASE functional responses in human V1 and hMT by comparing it to GE responses. In doing so we demonstrate that 3D GRASE is less sensitive to contributions from large veins in superficial layers, while showing increased specificity (functional tuning) throughout the cortex compared to GE

A simple device for multiplex ELISA made from melt-extruded plastic microcapillary film

We present a simple device for multiplex quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISA) made from a novel melt-extruded microcapillary film (MCF) containing a parallel array of 200µm capillaries along its length. To make ELISA devices different protein antigens or antibodies were immobilised inside individual microcapillaries within long reels of MCF extruded from fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). Short pieces of coated film were cut and interfaced with a pipette, allowing sequential uptake of samples and detection solutions into all capillaries from a reagent well. As well as being simple to produce, these FEP MCF devices have excellent light transmittance allowing direct optical interrogation of the capillaries for simple signal quantification. Proof of concept experiments demonstrate both quantitative and multiplex assays in FEP MCF devices using a standard direct ELISA procedure and read using a flatbed scanner. This new multiplex immunoassay platform should find applications ranging from lab detection to point-of-care and field diagnostics