290 research outputs found
Multiple cutaneous swellings in an immunocompetent host â cryptococcosis overlooked
AbstractRecently, there has been an increase in the incidence of cryptococcosis even among immunocompetent patients. We present a case of multiple subcutaneous swellings later developing into a non-healing ulcer caused by Cryptococcus in a 60 year-old immunocompetent male along with a brief review of clinical presentations of cutaneous cryptococcosis in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. A high index of suspicion is desired in view of possible dissemination and variable non-specific clinical presentations
"Exhibitionists" and "voyeurs" do it better: A shared environment for flexible coordination with tacit messages
Coordination between multiple autonomous agents is a major issue for open multi-agent systems. This paper proposes the notion of Behavioural Implicit Communication (BIC) originally devised in human and animal societies as a new and critical coordination mechanism also for artificial agents. BIC is a parasitical form of communication that exploits both some environmental properties and the agents? capacity to interpret their actions. In this paper we abstract from the agents? architecture to focus on the interaction mediated by the environment. Observability of the environment ? and in particular of agents? actions ? is crucial for implementing BIC-based form of coordination in artificial societies. Accordingly in this paper we introduce an abstract model of environment providing services to enhance observation power of agents, enabling BIC and other form of observation-based coordination. Also, we describe a typology of environments and examples of observation based coordination with and without implicit communication
A pervasive approach to a real-time intelligent decision support system in intensive medicine
The decision on the most appropriate procedure to provide to the
patients the best healthcare possible is a critical and complex task in Intensive
Care Units (ICU). Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) should deal with
huge amounts of data and online monitoring, analyzing numerous parameters
and providing outputs in a short real-time. Although the advances attained in
this area of knowledge new challenges should be taken into account in future
CDSS developments, principally in ICUs environments. The next generation of
CDSS will be pervasive and ubiquitous providing the doctors with the
appropriate services and information in order to support decisions regardless the
time or the local where they are. Consequently new requirements arise namely
the privacy of data and the security in data access. This paper will present a
pervasive perspective of the decision making process in the context of INTCare
system, an intelligent decision support system for intensive medicine. Three
scenarios are explored using data mining models continuously assessed and
optimized. Some preliminary results are depicted and discussed.Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia (FCT
Cryptic Eimeria genotypes are common across the southern but not northern hemisphere
The phylum Apicomplexa includes parasites of medical, zoonotic and veterinary significance. Understanding the global distribution and genetic diversity of these protozoa is of fundamental importance for efficient, robust and long-lasting methods of control. Eimeria spp. cause intestinal coccidiosis in all major livestock animals and are the most important parasites of domestic chickens in terms of both economic impact and animal welfare. Despite having significant negative impacts on the efficiency of food production, many fundamental questions relating to the global distribution and genetic variation of Eimeria spp. remain largely unanswered. Here, we provide the broadest map yet of Eimeria occurrence for domestic chickens, confirming that all the known species (Eimeria acervulina, Eimeria brunetti, Eimeria maxima, Eimeria mitis, Eimeria necatrix, Eimeria praecox, Eimeria tenella) are present in all six continents where chickens are found (including 21 countries). Analysis of 248 internal transcribed spacer sequences derived from 17 countries provided evidence of possible allopatric diversity for species such as E. tenella (FST values ⩜0.34) but not E. acervulina and E. mitis, and highlighted a trend towards widespread genetic variance. We found that three genetic variants described previously only in Australia and southern Africa (operational taxonomic units x, y and z) have a wide distribution across the southern, but not the northern hemisphere. While the drivers for such a polarised distribution of these operational taxonomic unit genotypes remains unclear, the occurrence of genetically variant Eimeria may pose a risk to food security and animal welfare in Europe and North America should these parasites spread to the northern hemisphere
Phase diagram of the LaCaMnO compound for
We have studied the phase diagram of LaCaMnO for using neutron powder diffraction and magnetization measurements. At
300 K all samples are paramagnetic and single phase with crystallographic
symmetry . As the temperature is reduced a structural transition is
observed which is to a charge-ordered state only for certain x. On further
cooling the material passes to an antiferromagnetic ground state with Neel
temperature that depends on x. For the structural
transformation occurs at the same temperature as the magnetic transition.
Overall, the neutron diffraction patterns were explained by considering four
phase boundaries for which LaCaMnO forms a distinct phase: the
CE phase at , the charge-ordered phase at x=2/3, the monoclinic and
C-type magnetic structure at and the G-type magnetic structure at
x=1. Between these phase boundaries the magnetic reflections suggest the
existence of mixed compounds containing both phases of the adjacent phase
boundaries in a ratio determined by the lever rule
Isolation and evolutionary analysis of Australasian topotype of bluetongue virus serotype 4 from India
Bluetongue (BT) is a Culicoides-borne disease caused by several serotypes of bluetongue virus (BTV). Similar to other insect-borne viral diseases, distribution of BT is limited to distribution of Culicoides species competent to transmit BTV. In the tropics, vector activity is almost year long, and hence, the disease is endemic, with the circulation of several serotypes of BTV, whereas in temperate areas, seasonal incursions of a limited number of serotypes of BTV from neighbouring tropical areas are observed. Although BTV is endemic in all the three major tropical regions (parts of Africa, America and Asia) of the world, the distribution of serotypes is not alike. Apart from serological diversity, geography-based diversity of BTV genome has been observed, and this is the basis for proposal of topotypes. However, evolution of these topotypes is not well understood. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of several BTV-4 isolates from India. These isolates are distinct from BTV-4 isolates from other geographical regions. Analysis of available BTV seg-2 sequences indicated that the Australasian BTV-4 diverged from African viruses around 3,500 years ago, whereas the American viruses diverged relatively recently (1,684 CE). Unlike Australasia and America, BTV-4 strains of the Mediterranean area evolved through several independent incursions. We speculate that independent evolution of BTV in different geographical areas over long periods of time might have led to the diversity observed in the current virus population
Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 Is Associated With a Lower Viral Load and Likelihood of Systemic Symptoms
Background: Data conflict on whether vaccination decreases severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load. The objective of this analysis was to compare baseline viral load and symptoms between vaccinated and unvaccinated adults enrolled in a randomized trial of outpatient coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. Methods: Baseline data from the first 433 sequential participants enrolling into the COVID-OUT trial were analyzed. Adults aged 30-85 with a body mass index (BMI) â„25 kg/m2 were eligible within 3 days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and <7 days of symptoms. Log10 polymerase chain reaction viral loads were normalized to human RNase P by vaccination status, by time from vaccination, and by symptoms. Results: Two hundred seventy-four participants with known vaccination status contributed optional nasal swabs for viral load measurement: median age, 46 years; median (interquartile range) BMI 31.2 (27.4-36.4) kg/m2. Overall, 159 (58%) were women, and 217 (80%) were White. The mean relative log10 viral load for those vaccinated <6 months from the date of enrollment was 0.11 (95% CI, -0.48 to 0.71), which was significantly lower than the unvaccinated group (P = .01). Those vaccinated â„6 months before enrollment did not differ from the unvaccinated with respect to viral load (mean, 0.99; 95% CI, -0.41 to 2.40; P = .85). The vaccinated group had fewer moderate/severe symptoms of subjective fever, chills, myalgias, nausea, and diarrhea (all P < .05). Conclusions: These data suggest that vaccination within 6 months of infection is associated with a lower viral load, and vaccination was associated with a lower likelihood of having systemic symptoms
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