Biological activity of Ipomoea pauciflora Martens and Galeotti (Convolvulaceae) extracts and fractions on larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of different parts of Ipomoea pauciflora were tested for their effects on the survival and development of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a Lepidoptera pest. For seven days, neonatal larvae (grown at 27 ± 2°C with a 16: 8 (L: D) h photoperiod) were exposed to different concentrations of crude I. pauciflora extracts (ranging from 0 to 4 mg/ml) that were incorporated into an artificial diet. Surviving larvae were weighed at days 6, 9 and 13 and were maintained until moths emerged. Eleven of the 18 crude extracts showed more than 30% larval mortality. The highest mortality was produced by hexane and chloroform extracts of seeds at 4 mg/ml(96.9 and 93.8%, respectively), with LC50 values of 1.85 mg/ml and 0.54 mg/ml, respectively. Fractions of both seed extracts were isolated by gravity column chromatography over silica gel and analyzed for their active compounds. Eight fractions of the hexane extract and six fractions of the chloroform extract from I. pauciflora seeds, exhibited larvicidal effects at 1 mg/ml (mortality from 33.3 to 88.9% and from 47.2 to 77%, respectively). Changes in larval weight were observed as compared with the control group. Phytochemical analysis through GC-MS and H1 NMR revealed the presence of fatty acids and aldehydes in the active fractions. These results indicate that the bioactive extracts from the seed of I. pauciflora can induce lethal toxicity in S. frugiperda larvae or affect the weight of the surviving larvae

Implementation of SoC Based Real-Time Electromagnetic Transient Simulator

Real-time electromagnetic transient simulators are important tools in the design stage of new control and protection systems for power systems. Real-time simulators are used to test and stress new devices under similar conditions that the device will deal with in a real network with the purpose of finding errors and bugs in the design. The computation of an electromagnetic transient is complex and computationally demanding, due to features such as the speed of the phenomenon, the size of the network, and the presence of time variant and nonlinear elements in the network. In this work, the development of a SoC based real-time and also offline electromagnetic transient simulator is presented. In the design, the required performance is met from two sides, (a) using a technique to split the power system into smaller subsystems, which allows parallelizing the algorithm, and (b) with specialized and parallel hardware designed to boost the solution flow. The results of this work have shown that for the proposed case studies, based on a balanced distribution of the node of subsystems, the proposed approach has decreased the total simulation time by up to 99 times compared with the classical approach running on a single high performance 32-bit embedded processor ARM-Cortex A9

Arquitectura genérica de una red en chip de enrutamiento unidireccional en FPGA

El constante aumento de los componentes que contiene un sistema on-chip ha incrementado la complejidad de comunicación entre los elementos de procesamiento (EPs) del sistema. Un recurso utilizado para disminuir la complejidad es el diseño de enrutamiento de conexiones (cableado), el cual ha sido suficiente para interconectar algunos EPs, dicho diseño se conoce como redes en chip o por sus siglas en inglés NoC (Network on Chip), de manera alternativa, enrutar paquetes permite una mayor escalabilidad de las redes, tener una latencia aceptable y una utilización moderada de área. Sin embargo, las redes en chip (NoC) suelen ser implementadas en tecnologías rígidas y deterministas como los ASIC (Circuito Integrado de Aplicación Específica), limitando la flexibilidad, arquitectura y modularidad que ofrece una NoC de enrutamiento de paquetes. Este trabajo propone una arquitectura de una red en chip de switcheo o enrutamiento unidireccional utilizando un router genérico para topología de mariposa, de enrutamiento de paquetes, implementado en una FPGA de la familia Xilinx. Donde el diseño permite enviar paquetes desde 16 puntos de origen, hacia 16 puntos de destino, así como la flexibilidad de enviar paquetes de diferentes tamaños, divididos enflits. Este diseño tiene como resultado una arquitectura compacta, permitiendo dejar el mayor espacio posible para los EPs.Palabra(s) Clave(s): arquitectura de router, control de flujo, FPGA, NoC, redes en chip

Efficacy of different strategies to treat anemia in children: a randomized clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anemia continues to be a major public health problem among children in many regions of the world, and it is still not clear which strategy to treat it is most effective.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To evaluate the efficacy and children's acceptance of several recognized strategies to treat anemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Non-breastfed children (n = 577), 6 to 43 mo of age, were screened for the trial; 267 were anemic (hemoglobin < 11.7 g/dL), and 266 of those were randomized into 1 of 5 treatments to received daily either: an iron supplement (IS), an iron+folic acid supplement (IFS), a multiple micronutrient supplement (MMS), a micronutrient-fortified complementary food as porridge powder (FCF), or zinc+iron+ascorbic acid fortified water (FW). The iron content of each daily dose was 20, 12.5, 10, 10 and 6.7 mg respectively. Hemoglobin (Hb), ferritin, total iron, weight and height were measured at baseline and after 4 months of treatment. Morbidity, treatment acceptability and adherence were recorded during the intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All treatments significantly increased Hb and total iron concentration; ferritin did not change significantly. Groups MMS, IS and IFS increased Hb (g/dL) [1.50 (95%CI: 1.17, 1.83), 1.48 [(1.18, 1.78) and 1.57 (1.26, 1.88), respectively] and total iron ((μg/dL) [0.15 (0.01, 0.29), 0.19 (0.06, 0.31) and 0.12(-0.01, 0.25), respectively] significantly more than FCF [0.92 (0.64, 1.20)] but not to FW group [0.14 (0.04, 0.24)]. The prevalence of anemia was reduced to a greater extent in the MMS and IFS groups (72% and 69%, respectively) than in the FCF group (45%) (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in anthropometry or in the number of episodes of diarrhea and respiratory infections among treatment groups. The supplements MMS and IS were less acceptable to children, than IFS, FCF and FW.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The three supplements IS, ISF and MMS increased Hb more than the FCF; the supplements that contained micronutrients (IFS and MMS) were more effective for reducing the prevalence of anemia. In general, fortified foods were better accepted by the study participants than supplements.</p> <p>ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier</p> <p>NCT00822380</p

Understanding the burden of interstitial lung disease post-COVID-19: the UK Interstitial Lung Disease-Long COVID Study (UKILD-Long COVID)

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has led to over 100 million cases worldwide. The UK has had over 4 million cases, 400 000 hospital admissions and 100 000 deaths. Many patients with COVID-19 suffer long-term symptoms, predominantly breathlessness and fatigue whether hospitalised or not. Early data suggest potentially severe long-term consequence of COVID-19 is development of long COVID-19-related interstitial lung disease (LC-ILD). Methods and analysis The UK Interstitial Lung Disease Consortium (UKILD) will undertake longitudinal observational studies of patients with suspected ILD following COVID-19. The primary objective is to determine ILD prevalence at 12 months following infection and whether clinically severe infection correlates with severity of ILD. Secondary objectives will determine the clinical, genetic, epigenetic and biochemical factors that determine the trajectory of recovery or progression of ILD. Data will be obtained through linkage to the Post-Hospitalisation COVID platform study and community studies. Additional substudies will conduct deep phenotyping. The Xenon MRI investigation of Alveolar dysfunction Substudy will conduct longitudinal xenon alveolar gas transfer and proton perfusion MRI. The POST COVID-19 interstitial lung DiseasE substudy will conduct clinically indicated bronchoalveolar lavage with matched whole blood sampling. Assessments include exploratory single cell RNA and lung microbiomics analysis, gene expression and epigenetic assessment. Ethics and dissemination All contributing studies have been granted appropriate ethical approvals. Results from this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals. Conclusion This study will ensure the extent and consequences of LC-ILD are established and enable strategies to mitigate progression of LC-ILD

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

The First Bromeligenous Species of Dendropsophus (Anura: Hylidae) from Brazil\u27s Atlantic Forest

We describe a new treefrog species of Dendropsophus collected on rocky outcrops in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Ecologically, the new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by having a larval phase associated with rainwater accumulated in bromeliad phytotelms instead of temporary or lentic water bodies. Phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data confirms that the new species is a member of Dendropsophus; our analysis does not assign it to any recognized species group in the genus. Morphologically, based on comparison with the 96 known congeners, the new species is diagnosed by its small size, framed dorsal color pattern, and short webbing between toes IV-V. The advertisement call is composed of a moderate-pitched two-note call (~5 kHz). The territorial call contains more notes and pulses than the advertisement call. Field observations suggest that this new bromeligenous species uses a variety of bromeliad species to breed in, and may be both territorial and exhibit male parental care

Homologous recombination DNA repair defects in PALB2-associated breast cancers

© 2019, The Author(s). Mono-allelic germline pathogenic variants in the Partner And Localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2) gene predispose to a high-risk of breast cancer development, consistent with the role of PALB2 in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. Here, we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in PALB2-associated breast cancers (BCs), and whether PALB2-associated BCs display bi-allelic inactivation of PALB2 and/or genomic features of HR-deficiency (HRD). Twenty-four breast cancer patients with pathogenic PALB2 germline mutations were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing (WES, n = 16) or targeted capture massively parallel sequencing (410 cancer genes, n = 8). Somatic genetic alterations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the PALB2 wild-type allele, large-scale state transitions (LSTs) and mutational signatures were defined. PALB2-associated BCs were found to be heterogeneous at the genetic level, with PIK3CA (29%), PALB2 (21%), TP53 (21%), and NOTCH3 (17%) being the genes most frequently affected by somatic mutations. Bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation was found in 16 of the 24 cases (67%), either through LOH (n = 11) or second somatic mutations (n = 5) of the wild-type allele. High LST scores were found in all 12 PALB2-associated BCs with bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation sequenced by WES, of which eight displayed the HRD-related mutational signature 3. In addition, bi-allelic inactivation of PALB2 was significantly associated with high LST scores. Our findings suggest that the identification of bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation in PALB2-associated BCs is required for the personalization of HR-directed therapies, such as platinum salts and/or PARP inhibitors, as the vast majority of PALB2-associated BCs without PALB2 bi-allelic inactivation lack genomic features of HRD