Análisis de la red de diagnóstico de malaria, 2008

Desde 1995, año en el que se conforma la red de diagnóstico de malaria a nivel nacional, hasta la fecha, el grupo de Parasitología-Red Nacional de Diagnóstico del Instituto Nacional de Salud ha implementado el Programa de Malaria dentro de la Red Nacional de Laboratorios, desarrollando diversas actividades con el fin de fortalecer el diagnóstico y tratamiento oportuno de esta enfermedad en el país. La red de diagnóstico de malaria está distribuida en 989 municipios y constituida por 1.640 laboratorios clínicos y 1.308 puestos de microscopia, datos que revelan un aumento del 13,4%, en la cobertura de la red municipal, una disminución del 3,5% en el número de laboratorios clínicos y un aumento del 11,8% en los puestos de microscopía con relación al año 2007.   El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar la cobertura de la red y la calidad del diagnóstico de malaria durante el año 2008. Estos resultados no cubren la información de los departamentos de Magdalena y Casanare. Se diagnosticaron 387.993 muestras, de las cuales 61.304 fueron positivas. Para P.vivax 40.937, para P. falciparum 20.013, 353 para asociación y 1 para P. malariae. En cuanto a la evaluación externa directa del desempeño departamental fue: concordancia: 92,7%, la cobertura del 100% y la participación del 96.9%. El 60,6% de laboratorios obtuvieron una concordancia superior al 95%. La evaluación externa indirecta de desempeño fue: concordancia (+): 99,3%; concordancia (-): 100%, índice kappa: 0,99, IKE: 0,95, participación: 96,9%. Para la evaluación externa directa del desempeño, a nivel municipal, se obtuvieron los siguientes datos: concordancia = 84,9%, cobertura: 40,7%, y para la evaluación externa indirecta: concordancia (+): 95,3% y concordancia (-): 98,1%, índice kappa: 0.94, IKE: 0,79, cobertura: 89,2%

Environment, vector, or host? Using machine learning to untangle the mechanisms driving arbovirus outbreaks

Climatic, landscape, and host features are critical components in shaping out-breaks of vector-borne diseases. However, the relationship between the outbreaks of vector-borne pathogens and their environmental drivers is typically complicated, nonlinear, and mayvary by taxonomic units below the species level (e.g., strain or serotype). Here, we aim tountangle how these complex forces shape the risk of outbreaks of Bluetongue virus (BTV); avector-borne pathogen that is continuously emerging and re-emerging across Europe, with sev-ere economic implications. We tested if the ecological predictors of BTV outbreak risk wereserotype-specific by examining the most prevalent serotypes recorded in Europe (1, 4, and 8).We used a robust machine learning (ML) pipeline and 23 relevant environmental features to fitpredictive models to 24,245 outbreaks reported in 25 European countries between 2000 and2019. Our ML models demonstrated high predictive performance for all BTV serotypes (accu-racies>0.87) and revealed strong nonlinear relationships between BTV outbreak risk andenvironmental and host features. Serotype-specific analysis suggests, however, that each of themajor serotypes (1, 4, and 8) had a unique outbreak risk profile. For example, temperature andmidge abundance were as the most important characteristics shaping serotype 1, whereas forserotype 4 goat density and temperature were more important. We were also able to identifystrong interactive effects between environmental and host characteristics that were also sero-type specific. Our ML pipeline was able to reveal more in-depth insights into the complex epi-demiology of BTVs and can guide policymakers in intervention strategies to help reduce theeconomic implications and social cost of this important pathogen

The role of asymmetric interactions on the effect of habitat destruction in mutualistic networks

Plant-pollinator mutualistic networks are asymmetric in their interactions: specialist plants are pollinated by generalist animals, while generalist plants are pollinated by a broad involving specialists and generalists. It has been suggested that this asymmetric ---or disassortative--- assemblage could play an important role in determining the equal susceptibility of specialist and generalist plants under habitat destruction. At the core of the argument lies the observation that specialist plants, otherwise candidates to extinction, could cope with the disruption thanks to their interaction with generalist pollinators. We present a theoretical framework that supports this thesis. We analyze a dynamical model of a system of mutualistic plants and pollinators, subject to the destruction of their habitat. We analyze and compare two families of interaction topologies, ranging from highly assortative to highly disassortative ones, as well as real pollination networks. We found that several features observed in natural systems are predicted by the mathematical model. First, there is a tendency to increase the asymmetry of the network as a result of the extinctions. Second, an entropy measure of the differential susceptibility to extinction of specialist and generalist species show that they tend to balance when the network is disassortative. Finally, the disappearance of links in the network, as a result of extinctions, shows that specialist plants preserve more connections than the corresponding plants in an assortative system, enabling them to resist the disruption.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Mass Transfer and Volume Changes in French Fries During Air Frying

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11947-012-0904-8 (The graph located in the left upper corner of Fig. 2 is incorrect)The production of healthier fried foods requires the adaptation of industrial processes. In this context, air frying is an alternative to deep oil frying to obtain French fries with lower fat content. Kinetic analysis of compositional changes and main fluxes involved in air frying were carried out, and the results were compared to those obtained for deep oil frying. The influence of the type of sample (unpretreated, frozen, or blanched potatoes) was also analyzed. The results showed that oil uptake is much lower in air frying although a much longer processing time is required. Also, water loss and thus the loss of volume were much higher in air frying compared to the conventional process.The authors would like to thank the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (PAID-06-09-2876) for the financial support given to this investigation.Andrés Grau, AM.; Argüelles Foix, AL.; Castelló Gómez, ML.; Heredia Gutiérrez, AB. (2013). Mass Transfer and Volume Changes in French Fries During Air Frying. Food and Bioprocess Technology. 6(8):1917-1924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-012-0861-2S1917192468Aguilar, C. N., Anzaldúa-Morales, R., Talamás, R., & Gastélum, G. (1997). Low-temperature blanch improves textural quality of French-fries. Journal of Food Science, 62, 568–571.AOAC. (1980). Official methods of analysis (12th ed.). Washington, D.C., USA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists.Califano, A. N., & Calvelo, A. (1987). Adjustment of surface concentration of reducing sugars before frying of potato strips. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 12, 1–9.Clark, J. P. (2003). Happy birthday, potato chip! And other snack developments. Food Technology, 57(5), 89–92.Debnath, S., Bhat, K. K., & Rastogi, N. K. (2003). Effect of pre-drying on kinetics of moisture loss and oil uptake during deep fat frying of chickpea flour-based snack food. LWT—Food Science and Technology, 36, 91–98.Du Pont, M. S., Kirby, A. B., & Smith, A. C. (1992). Instrumental and sensory tests of cooked frozen French fries. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 27, 285–295.Dueik, V., Robert, P., & Bouchon, P. (2010). Vacuum frying reduces oil uptake and improves the quality parameters of carrot crisps. Food Chemistry, 119(3), 1143–1149.Hubbard, L. J., & Farkas, B. E. (2000). Influence of oil temperature on convective heat transfer during immersion frying. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 24(2), 143–162.Krokida, M. K., Oreopoulou, V., & Maroulis, Z. B. (2000). Water loss and oil uptake as a function of frying time. Journal of Food Engineering, 44, 39–46.Mestdagh, F., De Wilde, T., Fraselle, S., Govaert, Y., Ooghe, W., Degroodt, J. M., Verhé, R., Van Peteghem, C., & De Meulenaer, B. (2008). Optimization of the blanching process to reduce acrylamide in fried potatoes. LWT- Food Science and Technology, 41(9), 1648–1654.Mohsenin, N. M. (1986). Physical properties of plant and animal materials. Nueva York: Gordon and Breach.Moyano, P. C., & Pedreschi, F. (2006). Kinetics of oil uptake during frying of potato slices: effect of pre-treatments. LWT- Food Science and Technology, 39, 285–291.Ngadi, M. O., Wang, Y., Adedeji, A. A., & Raghavan, G. S. V. (2009). Effect of microwave pretreatment on mass transfer during deep-fat frying of chicken nugget. LWT- Food Science and Technology, 42(1), 438–440.Pedreschi, F., & Moyano, P. (2005). Oil uptake and texture development in fried potato slices. Journal of Food Engineering, 70(4), 557–563.Saguy, S., & Dana, D. (2003). Integrated approach to deep fat frying: engineering, nutrition, health and consumer aspects. Journal of Food Engineering, 56, 143–152.Troncoso, E., & Pedreschi, F. (2009). Modeling water loss and oil uptake during vacuum frying of pre-treated potato slices. LWT- Food Science and Technology, 42(6), 1164–1173

Glycoprotein Ib activation by thrombin stimulates the energy metabolism in human platelets

<div><p>Thrombin-induced platelet activation requires substantial amounts of ATP. However, the specific contribution of each ATP-generating pathway <i>i</i>.<i>e</i>., oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) versus glycolysis and the biochemical mechanisms involved in the thrombin-induced activation of energy metabolism remain unclear. Here we report an integral analysis on the role of both energy pathways in human platelets activated by several agonists, and the signal transducing mechanisms associated with such activation. We found that thrombin, Trap-6, arachidonic acid, collagen, A23187, epinephrine and ADP significantly increased glycolytic flux (3–38 times <i>vs</i>. non-activated platelets) whereas ristocetin was ineffective. OxPhos (33 times) and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (88%) were increased only by thrombin. OxPhos was the main source of ATP in thrombin-activated platelets, whereas in platelets activated by any of the other agonists, glycolysis was the principal ATP supplier. In order to establish the biochemical mechanisms involved in the thrombin-induced OxPhos activation in platelets, several signaling pathways associated with mitochondrial activation were analyzed. Wortmannin and LY294002 (PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors), ristocetin and heparin (GPIb inhibitors) as well as resveratrol, ATP (calcium-release inhibitors) and PP1 (Tyr-phosphorylation inhibitor) prevented the thrombin-induced platelet activation. These results suggest that thrombin activates OxPhos and glycolysis through GPIb-dependent signaling involving PI3K and Akt activation, calcium mobilization and protein phosphorylation.</p></div

Freund's vaccine adjuvant promotes Her2/Neu breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammation has been linked to the etiology of many organ-specific cancers. Indirect evidence suggests a possible role for inflammation in breast cancer. We investigated whether the systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant (FA) promotes mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model in which cancer is induced by the <it>neu </it>oncogene.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The effects of FA on hyperplastic mammary lesions and mammary carcinomas were determined in a <it>neu</it>-induced rat model. The inflammatory response to FA treatment was gauged by measuring acute phase serum haptoglobin. In addition, changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis following FA treatment were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rats receiving FA developed twice the number of mammary carcinomas as controls. Systemic inflammation following FA treatment is chronic, as shown by a doubling of the levels of the serum biomarker, haptoglobin, 15 days following initial treatment. We also show that this systemic inflammation is associated with the increased growth of hyperplastic mammary lesions. This increased growth results from a higher rate of cellular proliferation in the absence of changes in apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggests that systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant (FA) promotes mammary carcinogenesis. It will be important to determine whether adjuvants currently used in human vaccines also promote breast cancer.</p

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Combining macula clinical signs and patient characteristics for age-related macular degeneration diagnosis: a machine learning approach

Background: To investigate machine learning methods, ranging from simpler interpretable techniques to complex (non-linear) “black-box” approaches, for automated diagnosis of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Methods: Data from healthy subjects and patients diagnosed with AMD or other retinal diseases were collected during routine visits via an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Patients’ attributes included demographics and, for each eye, presence/absence of major AMD-related clinical signs (soft drusen, retinal pigment epitelium, defects/ pigment mottling, depigmentation area, subretinal haemorrhage, subretinal fluid, macula thickness, macular scar, subretinal fibrosis). Interpretable techniques known as white box methods including logistic regression and decision trees as well as less interpreitable techniques known as black box methods, such as support vector machines (SVM), random forests and AdaBoost, were used to develop models (trained and validated on unseen data) to diagnose AMD. The gold standard was confirmed diagnosis of AMD by physicians. Sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) were used to assess performance. Results: Study population included 487 patients (912 eyes). In terms of AUC, random forests, logistic regression and adaboost showed a mean performance of (0.92), followed by SVM and decision trees (0.90). All machine learning models identified soft drusen and age as the most discriminating variables in clinicians’ decision pathways to diagnose AMD. C Conclusions: Both black-box and white box methods performed well in identifying diagnoses of AMD and their decision pathways. Machine learning models developed through the proposed approach, relying on clinical signs identified by retinal specialists, could be embedded into EHR to provide physicians with real time (interpretable) support

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012