Cryptosporidium Spp. And Giardia Spp. In Feces And Water And The Associated Exposure Factors On Dairy Farms

The aims of this study were to verify the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in animal feces and drinking water on dairy farms and to identify a possible relation between the exposure factors and the presence of these parasites. Fecal samples from cattle and humans and water samples were collected on dairy farms in Paraná, Brazil. Analysis of (oo)cysts in the feces was performed by the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining and centrifugal flotation in zinc sulfate. Test-positive samples were subjected to nested PCR amplification of the 18SSU ribosomal RNA gene for identification of Cryptosporidium and Giardia and of the gp60 gene for subtyping of Cryptosporidium. Microbiological analysis of water was carried out by the multiple-tube method and by means of a chromogenic substrate, and parasitological analysis was performed on 31 samples by direct immunofluorescence and nested PCR of the genes mentioned above. Identification of the species of Cryptosporidium was performed by sequencing and PCR with analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms. The prevalence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium was higher in calves than in adults. Among the samples of cattle feces, Cryptosporidium parvum was identified in 41 (64%), C. ryanae in eight (12.5%), C. bovis in four (6.3%), C. andersoni in five (7.8%), and a mixed infection in 20 samples (31.3%). These parasites were not identified in the samples of human feces. Thermotolerant coliform bacteria were identified in 25 samples of water (45.5%). Giardia duodenalis and C. parvum were identified in three water samples. The gp60 gene analysis of C. parvum isolates revealed the presence of two strains (IIaA20G1R1 and IIaA17G2R2) in the fecal samples and one (IIaA17G2R1) in the water samples. The presence of coliforms was associated with the water source, structure and degradation of springs, rain, and turbidity. The prevalence of protozoa was higher in calves up to six months of age. C. parvum and G. duodenalis were identified in the water of dairy farms, as were thermotolerant coliforms; these findings point to the need for guidance on handling of animals, preservation of water sources, and water treatment. © 2017 Toledo et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.12

On Dark Matter Annihilation in the Local Group

Under the hypothesis of a Dark Matter composed by supersymmetric particles like neutralinos, we investigate the possibility that their annihilation in the haloes of nearby galaxies could produce detectable fluxes of $\gamma$-photons. Expected fluxes depend on several, poorly known quantities such as the density profiles of Dark Matter haloes, the existence and prominence of central density cusps and the presence of a population of sub-haloes. We find that, for all reasonable choices of Dark Matter halo models, the intensity of the $\gamma$-ray flux from some of the nearest extragalactic objects, like M31, is comparable or higher than the diffuse Galactic foreground. We show that next generation ground-based experiments could have the sensitivity to reveal such fluxes which could help us unveiling the nature of Dark Matter particles.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D.; added a new paragraph on the detectability of Galactic sub-halos in our Galaxy; added a discussion on their model dependence. The relation of our results with the "CDM crisis" issue has also been adde

Indirect signals from light neutralinos in supersymmetric models without gaugino mass unification

We examine indirect signals produced by neutralino self-annihilations, in the galactic halo or inside celestial bodies, in the frame of an effective MSSM model without gaugino-mass unification at a grand unification scale. We compare our theoretical predictions with current experimental data of gamma-rays and antiprotons in space and of upgoing muons at neutrino telescopes. Results are presented for a wide range of the neutralino mass, though our discussions are focused on light neutralinos. We find that only the antiproton signal is potentially able to set constraints on very low-mass neutralinos, below 20 GeV. The gamma-ray signal, both from the galactic center and from high galactic latitudes, requires significantly steep profiles or substantial clumpiness in order to reach detectable levels. The up-going muon signal is largely below experimental sensitivities for the neutrino flux coming from the Sun; for the flux from the Earth an improvement of about one order of magnitude in experimental sensitivities (with a low energy threshold) can make accessible neutralino masses close to O, Si and Mg nuclei masses, for which resonant capture is operative.Comment: 17 pages, 1 tables and 5 figures, typeset with ReVTeX4. The paper may also be found at http://www.to.infn.it/~fornengo/papers/indirect04.ps.gz or through http://www.astroparticle.to.infn.it/. Limit from BR(Bs--> mu+ mu-) adde

Relations between Financing and Output in the Not-for-Profit Hospital

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68639/2/10.1177_107755878804500204.pd

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Cancer risk and survival in path_MMR carriers by gene and gender up to 75 years of age: a report from the Prospective Lynch Syndrome Database

Background Most patients with path_MMR gene variants (Lynch syndrome (LS)) now survive both their first and subsequent cancers, resulting in a growing number of older patients with LS for whom limited information exists with respect to cancer risk and survival. Objective and design  This observational, international, multicentre study aimed to determine prospectively observed incidences of cancers and survival in path_MMR carriers up to 75 years of age. Results 3119 patients were followed for a total of 24 475 years. Cumulative incidences at 75 years (risks) for colorectal cancer were 46%, 43% and 15% in path_MLH1, path_MSH2 and path_MSH6 carriers; for endometrial cancer 43%, 57% and 46%; for ovarian cancer 10%, 17% and 13%; for upper gastrointestinal (gastric, duodenal, bile duct or pancreatic) cancers 21%, 10% and 7%; for urinary tract cancers 8%, 25% and 11%; for prostate cancer 17%, 32% and 18%; and for brain tumours 1%, 5% and 1%, respectively. Ovarian cancer occurred mainly premenopausally. By contrast, upper gastrointestinal, urinary tract and prostate cancers occurred predominantly at older ages. Overall 5-year survival for prostate cancer was 100%, urinary bladder 93%, ureter 85%, duodenum 67%, stomach 61%, bile duct 29%, brain 22% and pancreas 0%. Path_PMS2 carriers had lower risk for cancer. Conclusion  Carriers of different path_MMR variants exhibit distinct patterns of cancer risk and survival as they age. Risk estimates for counselling and planning of surveillance and treatment should be tailored to each patient's age, gender and path_MMR variant. We have updated our open-access website www.lscarisk. org to facilitate this

Incidence of and survival after subsequent cancers in carriers of pathogenic MMR variants with previous cancer: a report from the prospective Lynch syndrome database

Objective Today most patients with Lynch syndrome (LS) survive their first cancer. There is limited information on the incidences and outcome of subsequent cancers. The present study addresses three questions: (i) what is the cumulative incidence of a subsequent cancer; (ii) in which organs do subsequent cancers occur; and (iii) what is the survival following these cancers? Design Information was collated on prospectively organised surveillance and prospectively observed outcomes in patients with LS who had cancer prior to inclusion and analysed by age, gender and genetic variants. Results 1273 patients with LS from 10 countries were followed up for 7753 observation years. 318 patients (25.7%) developed 341 first subsequent cancers, including colorectal (n=147, 43%), upper GI, pancreas or bile duct (n=37, 11%) and urinary tract (n=32, 10%). The cumulative incidences for any subsequent cancer from age 40 to age 70 years were 73% for pathogenic MLH1 (path_MLH1), 76% for path_MSH2 carriers and 52% for path_MSH6 carriers, and for colorectal cancer (CRC) the cumulative incidences were 46%, 48% and 23%, respectively. Crude survival after any subsequent cancer was 82% (95% CI 76% to 87%) and 10-year crude survival after CRC was 91% (95% CI 83% to 95%). Conclusions Relative incidence of subsequent cancer compared with incidence of first cancer was slightly but insignificantly higher than cancer incidence in patients with LS without previous cancer (range 0.94-1.49). The favourable survival after subsequent cancers validated continued follow-up to prevent death from cancer. The interactive website http://lscarisk.org was expanded to calculate the risks by gender, genetic variant and age for subsequent cancer for any patient with LS with previous cancer

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism combination pattern of the Klotho gene with non-cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality, with cardiovascular death being extensively investigated. However, non-cardiovascular mortality represents the biggest percentage, showing an evident increase in recent years. Klotho is a gene highly expressed in the kidney, with a clear influence on lifespan. Low levels of Klotho have been linked to CKD progression and adverse outcomes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Klotho gene have been associated with several diseases, but studies investigating the association of Klotho SNPs with noncardiovascular death in CKD populations are lacking. The main aim of this study was to assess whether 11 Klotho SNPs were associated with non-cardiovascular death in a subpopulation of the National Observatory of Atherosclerosis in Nephrology (NEFRONA) study (n ¼ 2185 CKD patients). After 48 months of follow-up, 62 cardiovascular deaths and 108 non-cardiovascular deaths were recorded. We identified a high non-cardiovascular death risk combination of SNPs corresponding to individuals carrying the most frequent allele (G) at rs562020, the rare allele (C) at rs2283368 and homozygotes for the rare allele (G) at rs2320762 (rs562020 GG/AG þ rs2283368 CC/CT þ rs2320762 GG). Among the patients with the three SNPs genotyped (n ¼ 1016), 75 (7.4%) showed this combination. Furthermore, 95 (9.3%) patients showed a low-risk combination carrying all the opposite genotypes (rs562020 AA þ rs2283368 TT þ rs2320762 GT/TT). All the other combinations [n ¼ 846 (83.3%)] were considered as normal risk. Using competing risk regression analysis, we confirmed that the proposed combinations are independently associated with a higher fhazard ratio [HR] 3.28 [confidence interval (CI) 1.51-7.12]g and lower [HR 6 × 10- (95% CI 3.3 × 10--1.1 × 10-)] risk of suffering a non-cardiovascular death in the CKD population of the NEFRONA cohort compared with patients with the normal-risk combination. Determination of three SNPs of the Klotho gene could help in the prediction of non-cardiovascular death in CKD

Association of candidate gene polymorphisms with chronic kidney disease : Results of a case-control analysis in the NEFRONA cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2,445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD

Prevalence and distribution of peripheral musculoskeletal manifestations in spondyloarthritis including psoriatic arthritis: results of the worldwide, cross-sectional ASAS-PerSpA study

Objectives To characterise peripheral musculoskeletal involvement in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) including psoriatic arthritis (PsA), across the world. Methods Cross-sectional study with 24 participating countries. Patients with a diagnosis of axial SpA (axSpA), peripheral SpA (pSpA) or PsA according to their rheumatologist were included. The investigators were asked which diagnosis out of a list of six (axSpA, PsA, pSpA, inflammatory bowel disease-associated SpA, reactive arthritis or juvenile SpA (Juv-SpA)) fitted the patient best. Peripheral manifestations (ie, peripheral joint disease, enthesitis, dactylitis and root joint disease), their localisation and treatments were evaluated. Results A total of 4465 patients were included (61% men, mean age 44.5 years) from four geographic areas: Latin America (n=538), Europe plus North America (n=1677), Asia (n=975) and the Middle East plus North Africa (n=1275). Of those, 78% had ever suffered from at least one peripheral musculoskeletal manifestation; 57% had peripheral joint disease, 44% had enthesitis and 15% had dactylitis. Latin American had far more often peripheral joint disease (80%) than patients from other areas. Patients with PsA had predominantly upper limb and small joint involvement (52%). Hip and shoulder involvement was found in 34% of patients. The prevalence of enthesitis ranged between 41% in patients with axSpA and 65% in patients with Juv-SpA. Dactylitis was most frequent among patients with PsA (37%). Conclusion These results suggest that all peripheral features can be found in all subtypes of SpA, and that differences are quantitative rather than qualitative. In a high proportion of patients, axial and peripheral manifestations coincided. These findings reconfirm SpA clinical subtypes are descendants of the same underlying disease, called SpA.Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease