Protein palmitoylation plays an important role in Trichomonas vaginalis adherence

The flagellated protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiologic agent of trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. As an obligate extracellular pathogen, adherence to epithelial cells is critical for parasite survival within the human host and a better understanding of this process is a prerequisite for the development of therapies to combat infection. In this sense, recent work has shown S-acylation as a key modification that regulates pathogenesis in different protozoan parasites. However, there are no reports indicating whether this post-translational modification is a mechanism operating in T. vaginalis. In order to study the extent and function of S-acylation in T. vaginalis biology, we undertook a proteomic study to profile the full scope of S-acylated proteins in this parasite and reported the identification of 363 proteins involved in a variety of biological processes such as protein transport, pathogenesis related and signaling, among others. Importantly, treatment of parasites with the palmitoylation inhibitor 2-bromopalmitate causes a significant decrease in parasite: Parasite aggregation as well as adherence to host cells suggesting that palmitoylation could be modifying proteins that are key regulators of Trichomonas vaginalis pathogenesis.Fil: Nievas, Yésica Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Vashisht, Ajay A.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Corvi, Maria Martha. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Metz, Sebastián Darío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Johnson, Patricia J. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Wohlschlegel, James A.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: de Miguel, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); Argentin

The impact of the underlying brain damage on the clinical phenotype of patients with cerebral palsy

Hintergrund: Die infantile Cerebralparese (CP) ist mit einer Prävalenz von 1,6/1.000 Lebendgeburten eine häufige Bewegungsstörung im Kindesalter mit einer hochvariablen Klinik. Sie wurde erstmals 1843 erwähnt und dient seither als Sammelbegriff für eine Gruppe von motorischen Krankheitsbildern, die ihren Ursprung häufig in der Perinatalperiode haben. In den letzten Jahren wurden einige Gene identifiziert, die in der Entstehung der CP eine Rolle spielen könnten. Die genaue CP-Definition sorgt immer wieder für Diskussionen und Unsicherheit, wodurch sich die Diagnose verzögern kann. Im therapeutischen Bereich scheint aktueller Literatur nach unter anderem das Konzept der frühen aktiven Therapien erfolgversprechend. Fragestellung: Es existieren einige Studien, die den klinischen Phänotyp von Patient/innen mit der selben CP-Unterform erforschen. Studien, die alle CP-Ursachen gemeinsam betrachten, gibt es nicht. Die Publikation dieser Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit der Frage, inwieweit sich der klinische Phänotyp von CP-Patient/innen in Abhängigkeit von der CP-Ursache unterscheidet. Der Manteltext bietet die Möglichkeit, Hintergründe und gefundene Ergebnisse in einem umfangreichen Kontext zu diskutieren. Methodik: Mit Hilfe eines standardisierten Erfassungsbogens wurden retrospektiv die CP-Ursache, der klinischen Phänotyp und Auffälligkeiten während der Schwangerschaft und/oder Perinatalperiode von 384 Patient/innen erfassen. Alle Patient/innen wurden im Zeitraum von 06.2015 - 06.2017 im SPZ - Neuropädiatrie der Charité betreut. Patient/innen, deren hirnschädigendes Ereignis jenseits der Neonatalperiode lag, wurden ausgeschlossen. Ergebnisse: Bei 306 Patient/innen (79,7%) konnte eine CP-Ursache erfasst werden. Bei 78 Patient/innen (20,3%) ließ sich keine eindeutige Ursache finden. Bei 44 dieser 78 Patient/innen fielen jedoch Auffälligkeiten während der Schwangerschaft und/oder Perinatalperiode auf. Der klinische Phänotyp unterschied sich je nach Ursache der CP signifikant, sowohl in Auffälligkeiten während der Schwangerschaft und/oder Perinatalperiode, als auch in motorischen Beeinträchtigungen und Komorbiditäten. So fand sich z.B. bei Patient/innen mit intracerebraler Blutung keine signifikante Häufung von Komorbiditäten, wohingegen bei Patient/innen mit cerebralen Malformationen eine signifikante Assoziation zu sieben unterschiedlichen Komorbiditäten vorlag. Schlussfolgerung: Wenn man die hier dargestellten Ergebnisse in den Kontext aktueller Forschung stellt, wird deutlich, wie wichtig die ätiologische Zuordnung für Patient/innen mit CP ist. Anhand der Ätiologie können prognostische Aussagen getroffen und Therapien individuell angepasst werden. Zudem kann die Ursachenforschung ein entscheidender Aspekt für eine frühe Diagnose und somit für eine früh initiierte Therapie sein. Hierbei sollten Komorbiditäten gleichberechtigt mit den motorischen Defiziten behandelt werden, da diese entscheidend die Lebensqualität der Kinder beeinflussen.Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common movement disorder in childhood with a prevalence of 1.6/1000 live births and a highly variable clinical presentation. It was first mentioned in 1843 and has served as a collective term for a group of motor disorders, that often results from a perinatal event, ever since. In recent years, several genes have been identified that may contribute to the development of CP. However, the exact definition of CP remains a controversial topic, which might delay diagnosis. According to current literature, the concept of early active therapies seems to be promising in the therapeutic field. Objective: There are several studies investigating the clinical phenotype of patients with the same CP subtype but no study that considers all CP causes together. Therefore, the paper of this dissertation addresses the question to what extent the clinical phenotype of CP patients differs, depending on the CP cause. The „Manteltext“ offers the opportunity to discuss the background and our results in a comprehensive context. Methods: The CP cause, clinical phenotype, and abnormalities during pregnancy and/or perinatal period of 384 patients was recorded retrospectively using a standardized data sheet. All patients were treated in the Center for Chronically Sick Children of the Charité between June 2015 and June 2017. Patients whose brain damage occurred after the neonatal period were excluded. Results: It was possible to detect a CP cause in 306 patients (79.7%). In 78 patients (20.3%) no definite cause could be found. However, 44 of these 78 patients had abnormalities during the pregnancy and/or perinatal period. The clinical phenotype differed significantly depending on the cause of CP, both in abnormalities during pregnancy and/or perinatal period, and in motor impairment and comorbidities. For example, there was no significant association of comorbidities in patients with cerebral hemorrhage, whereas there was a significant association with seven different comorbidities in patients with brain malformations. Conclusion: Putting the results into context of current research, it becomes clear how important etiological mapping is for patients with CP. Based on the etiology of CP, prognostic statements can be made and therapies can be adjusted individually. In addition, etiological research can be a crucial aspect for early diagnosis and thus for early initiated therapy. In this context, comorbidities should be treated on an equal level with motor deficits, since the children's quality of life depends crucially on them

EO-based Smart City Decision Support Services for Integrated Urban Governance: the DECUMANUS project

Urbanization is a fundamental force of change and in Europe has underpinned the flourishing of civilization for millennia. However, the 21st-century is also witnessing the impact of other societal challenges, including climate change adaptation, and mitigation, as well as the need to secure the efficient utilisation of finite resources. These societal challenges are impacting not only the social fabric of urban life, and the economy of cities, but also the civil quality of urban environments throughout Europe. It is clear that if properly governed cities can become a major part of the solutions to the growing threat of these urban challenges, and so can become economically vital, culturally vibrant, and healthy environments delivering first-class quality of life for hundreds of millions of city dwellers throughout Europe. Nonetheless, the challenge of urban governance is immense, and must address the complex and interconnected reality of urban systems to secure a proper balance between the socio-economic and environmental dynamics of urban areas. The key to effective governance of cities is the generation of the necessary intelligence to inform decision-making by city administrations and politicians, to guide urban policy making and implementation, and to inform and engage all citizens in the delivery of sustainable urban development. DECUMANUS (DEvelopment and Consolidation of geo-spatial sUstainability services for adaptation and environmental and cliMAte chaNge Urban impactS) underpins this understanding that the delivery of more sustainable cities requires the application of enhanced intelligence in urban management, to produce an effective basis for assessment of urban complexity and decision-making. The enhanced services proposed by DECUMANUS offer the potential to provide urban planners with the tools and intelligence that allow city managers to deploy geo-spatial products in the development and implementation of their climate change strategies, and more generally in meeting the diverse challenges of sustainable urban development

Caracterización de cepas de campo de Herpesvirus suino 1 aisladas en Argentina

Caracterización de cepas de campo de Herpesvirus suino 1 aisladas en Argentina. Se caracterizaron cepas argentinas de herpesvirus suino tipo 1 (HVS-1) mediante corte con las enzimas de restricción BamHI, BstEII y XhoI. La presencia del tipo genómico II había sido reportada en la Argentina una sola vez y, hasta el momento, no se han informado nuevos casos. Este estudio reveló una homogeneidad de los sitios BamHI, acorde con el número y el tamaño de los fragmentos. La presencia del fragmento BamHI #7 en los aislamientos argentinos analizados sugiere que éstos pertenecen al tipo salvaje (wild-type). Además, se caracterizó el principal dominio inmunogénico de la glicoproteína E de todas las cepas argentinas y se lo comparó con los de las cepas de referencia y con las secuencias disponibles en la base de datos GenBank. Los porcentajes de similitud obtenidos oscilaron entre 99 y 100%.The genomic characterization of Suid herpesvirus 1 (SHV-1) isolates from Argentina was accomplished by restriction pattern analysis using the BamHI, BstEII and XhoI enzymes. Type II genome has been described only once in Argentina. This study revealed considerable homogeneity of BamHI endonuclease sites in all the strains analyzed, according to the number and size of the fragments. No deletion of BamHI fragment #7 among the Argentinean isolates suggests that these strains are wild-type. In addition, the main antigenic domain of glycoprotein E of all the Argentinean strains, as well as the reference strains and sequences available in the GenBank, were characterized. The similarity percent oscillated between 99 and 100%.Fil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Metz, German Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Martin Ocampos, Giselle Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Gambaro, Sabrina Eliana. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Mortola, Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Echeverria, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentin

Equine arteritis virus gP5 protein induces apoptosis in cultured insect cells

Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV) has been shown to induce apoptosis in vitro but the induction of this mechanism has not been previously associated with any viral gene product. In this work, we found a cytotoxicity effect of the EAV gP5 protein on baculovirus-insect cells and a low yield of protein recovery. Besides, different morphological features by electron transmission microscopy, DNA fragmentation in agarose gel, TUNEL analysis and caspase 3 activity were found. All these findings indicate that the EAV gP5 protein induces apoptosis in insect cells.Fil: Metz, German Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Abeyá, María Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Dulbecco, Andrea Belén. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Massone, Adriana. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Diaz, Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; ArgentinaFil: Echeverria, Maria Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentin

Quality of life temporarily improved in patients in whom the diagnosis chronic mesenteric ischemia wasn’t confirmed after multidisciplinary evaluation in a tertiary referral centre

Objectives: Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia (CMI) is a disease in which abdominal symptoms are caused by insufficient mesenteric blood supply. Treatment results in improved quality of life (QoL). To put these results into perspective, the QoL of patients with symptoms potentially complying with CMI but without confirmation of the diagnosis was studied from six months up to four years.Methods: Between May and July 2020 follow-up questionnaires were sent to 144 patients that were suspected of CMI but in whom the diagnosis was not confirmed after a thorough multidisciplinary evaluation in a CMI expert centre. The baseline QoL was measured at first presentation. Three cohorts were included: 50 patients with a follow-up of six months, 45 patients with a follow-up of two years, and 49 patients with a follow-up of four years were invited to participate. The QoL was measured on a 100 points Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A minimal clinically important difference of 7.5 was used as non-inferiority threshold.Results: The response rates were 34/50 (68%), 33/45 (73%), and 34/49 (69%). QoL improved in the six months group, with a mean change of 19 in VAS score (95% CI 11-27), in which baseline QoL was inferior to the QoL at follow-up (lower bound 95% CI above >7.5 threshold). The change in QoL was inconclusive in the other two groups, respectively 15 (95% CI 6-24) and 3 (95% CI -6-13). Furthermore, there was no significant change in QoL between patients without mesenteric stenosis and with one or two vessel stenosis (P=0.36) and between patients with occlusive stenosis and anatomic Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) (P=0.53).Conclusion: The QoL of patients suspected for CMI was clinically significantly improved after six months without additional treatment. However, this improvement faded completely after four years

The Impact of Management Practices on Organizational Effectiveness in a Transport Company

Freight transport today directly affects major business decisions of customers on market coverage; purchasing; route/itinerary design; quality policy; pricing policy and payment terms, which makes it imperative to develop a system of management practices to improve the efficiency and performance of the road haulage service. Based on this argument, we set out to analyse the management practices that road transport organisations implement and use to improve efficiency, approached from an internal perspective, in order to cope with major changes in technology, markets and organisational structures, given that the key transport processes, approached in a unitary manner, integrate a series of operations that concern not only transport itself but also storage, handling and transhipment and transport packaging. Ensuring that the transport service meets market standards is a major factor in retaining customers and increasing efficiency and performance

Development of a peptide ELISA for the diagnosis of Equine arteritis virus

A peptide-based indirect ELISA was developed to detect antibodies against Equine arteritis virus (EAV). Two peptides for epitope C of protein GP5 and fragment E of protein M were designed, synthesized, purified and used as antigens either alone or combined. Ninety-two serum samples obtained from the 2010 Equine viral arteritis outbreak, analyzed previously by virus neutralization, were evaluated by the ELISA here developed. The best resolution was obtained using peptide GP5. The analysis of the inter- and intraplate variability showed that the assay was robust. The results allow concluding that this peptide-based ELISA is a good alternative to the OIE-prescribed virus neutralization test because it can be standardized between laboratories, can serve as rapid screening, can improve the speed of diagnosis of EAV-negative horses and can be particularly useful for routine surveillance in large populations.Fil: Metz, German Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lorenzon, Esteban Nicolás. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Corva, Santiago Gerardo. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Epidemiología; ArgentinaFil: Panei, Carlos Javier. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Diaz, Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; ArgentinaFil: Maffud Cilli, Eduardo. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Echeverria, Maria Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentin