Uneven frequency of Vibrio alginolyticus-group isolates among different populations of Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

The presence of Vibrio isolates was investigated in cloacal swabs from the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhyncus cristatus). Such unique iguana is endemic to the Galápagos Archipelago, it is listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List (2009), and is strictly protected by CITES and Ecuador laws. Our results revealed an uneven isolation frequency of vibrios from animals living in different settings: maximal among the Santa Fe population, scarce at Bahía Tortuga but practically absent in the samples from Puerto Ayora and Plaza Sur. A 16S sequencing confirmed that the isolates belonged to the genus Vibrio, placing them within the V. alginolyticus group; the biochemical identification was, indeed, consistent with V. alginolyticus features. The reason of the observed discrepancy is not clear, but could be either linked to a higher pollution in the inhabited or more touristic places or to differential influence of chemical and physical parameters at a local scale. As V. alginolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen for man and it is known to cause disease in sea-living animals, the ability of these vibrios to enter and persist to a certain extent in the marine iguana gut should be regarded as a risk for health of both the animals and the human personnel involved in monitoring activities

Acciones educativas para la prevención del cáncer cervicouterino en la adolescencia Educational actions for the prevention of cervical cancer in adolescents

Se llevó a cabo una intervención educativa en 65 adolescentes del estado de Miranda en la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, desde febrero hasta julio del 2007, a fin de modificar sus conocimientos relacionados con la prevención del cáncer cervicouterino. Inicialmente se encontró un elevadísimo porcentaje de instrucción inadecuada sobre el tema, el cual fue cambiado adecuadamente en 96,9 % de los integrantes del estudio, de modo que la intervención resultó eficaz.<br>An educational intervention was carried out in 65 adolescents from Miranda in the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela from February to July, 2007, aimed at modifying their knowledge related to the prevention of cervical cancer. At the beginning a very high percentage of inadequate instruction on the topic was found, which was adequately changed in 96, 9% of the participants, so that the intervention was effective

Antibiotico resistenza in batteri commensali delle iguane terrestri (Conolophus pallidus e C. subcristatus) delle Galápagos: studio del livello zero e della dinamica di disseminazione.

Per valutare la dinamica e l’ecologia di disseminazione dell’antibiotico-resistenza acquisita è stato studiato il microbiota commensale delle iguane terrestri dell’Arcipelago delle Galápagos, provenienti da aree differentemente esposte sia alla pressione selettiva dell’uso degli agenti antibatterici sia a interazioni con l’uomo e altre specie animali. Sono stati analizzati tamponi cloacali prelevati da 282 iguane provenienti da 6 isole; su MacConkey agar sono stati: selezionati coliformi e determinate specie dominanti e suscettibilità a 10 antibiotici (AMK, AMP, CIP, CHL, GEN, KAN, NAL, TET, STR, SXT). I risultati hanno dimostrato che l’acquisizione di caratteri di antibiotico resistenza è rara e che la frequenza relativa delle specie di enterobatteri dominanti è diversa nei diversi siti di campionamento. Lo studio ha permesso di individuare il “livello zero” di antibiotico-resistenza

Antibiotico resistenza in batteri commensali delle iguane terrestri (Conolophus pallidus e C. subcristatus) delle Galápagos: studio del livello zero e della dinamica di disseminazione.

Per valutare la dinamica e l’ecologia di disseminazione dell’antibiotico-resistenza acquisita è stato studiato il microbiota commensale delle iguane terrestri dell’Arcipelago delle Galápagos, provenienti da aree differentemente esposte sia alla pressione selettiva dell’uso degli agenti antibatterici sia a interazioni con l’uomo e altre specie animali. Sono stati analizzati tamponi cloacali prelevati da 282 iguane provenienti da 6 isole; su MacConkey agar sono stati: selezionati coliformi e determinate specie dominanti e suscettibilità a 10 antibiotici (AMK, AMP, CIP, CHL, GEN, KAN, NAL, TET, STR, SXT). I risultati hanno dimostrato che l’acquisizione di caratteri di antibiotico resistenza è rara e che la frequenza relativa delle specie di enterobatteri dominanti è diversa nei diversi siti di campionamento. Lo studio ha permesso di individuare il “livello zero” di antibiotico-resistenza

HIVconsv vaccines and romidepsin in early-treated HIV-1-infected individuals: Safety, immunogenicity and effect on the viral reservoir (Study BCN02)

Kick&kill strategies combining drugs aiming to reactivate the viral reservoir with therapeutic vaccines to induce effective cytotoxic immune responses hold potential to achieve a functional cure for HIV-1 infection. Here, we report on an open-label, single-arm, phase I clinical trial, enrolling 15 early-treated HIV-1-infected individuals, testing the combination of the histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin as a latency-reversing agent and the MVA.HIVconsv vaccine. Romidepsin treatment resulted in increased histone acetylation, cell-associated HIV-1 RNA, and T-cell activation, which were associated with a marginally significant reduction of the viral reservoir. Vaccinations boosted robust and broad HIVconsv-specific T cells, which were strongly refocused toward conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome. During a monitored ART interruption phase using plasma viral load over 2,000 copies/ml as a criterium for ART resumption, 23% of individuals showed sustained suppression of viremia up to 32 weeks without evidence for reseeding the viral reservoir. Results from this pilot study show that the combined kick&kill intervention was safe and suggest a role for this strategy in achieving an immune-driven durable viremic control

A Hybrid Bat-Inspired Algorithm for Power Transmission Expansion Planning on a Practical Brazilian Network

This chapter presents an adapted bat-inspired algorithm (ABA) besides a search space shrinking (SSS) in the frame of an efficient hybrid algorithm (EHA) for transmission network expansion planning (TEP). The network losses considered in the comprehensive efficient application of EHA to a real system with large-scale. In this approach, ABA handles the discrete variables of TEP. The evaluation of the fitness function as well as the planning options are via an optimal power flow. The SSS technique has a crucial role in the definition of ABA initial candidates, thereof considerably reduction of solution search space, thus the computational performance of the proposed ABA. The evaluation of Southern Brazilian system validates the proposed approach in comparison to the other state-of-the-art algorithms