514 research outputs found

    Pinworms of the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) in Colombia. Gathering the pieces of the pinworm-primate puzzle

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    Pinworms of primates are believed to be highly host specific parasites, forming co-evolutionary associations with their hosts. In order to assess the strength and reach of such evolutionary links, we need to have a broad understanding of the pinworm diversity associated with primates. Here, we employed an integrative taxonomic approach to assess pinworm diversity in red howler monkeys in Colombia. Molecular and morphological evidence validate the presence of at least four different species of Trypanoxyuris occurring in red howler monkeys: T. minutus, a widely distributed species, and three new species, T. seunimiii n. sp., T. kemuimae n. sp. and T. kotudoi n. sp. The mitochondrial COI gene and the 28S ribosomal gene were used for phylogenetic assessments through Bayesian inference. The three new species were morphologically distinct and formed reciprocally monophyletic lineages. Further molecular lineage subdivision in T. minutus and T. kotudoi n. sp. without morphological correspondence, suggests the potential scenario for the existence of cryptic species. Phylogenetic relationships imply that the different species of Trypanoxyuris occurring in each howler monkey species were acquired through independent colonization events. On-going efforts to uncover pinworm diversity will allow us to test the degree of host specificity and the co-phylogenetic hypothesis, as well as to further unravel the primate-pinworm evolutionary history puzzle

    \u3ci\u3eYungasicola travassosi\u3c/i\u3e gen. n., sp. n. (Digenea: Dicrocoeliidae: Eurytrematinae) from Two Species of Grass Mice of the Genus \u3ci\u3eAkodon\u3c/i\u3e Meyen (Rodentia: Muridae) from the Yungas of Bolivia

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    A new species and genus of digenetic trematode of the family Dicrocoeliidae is described from 2 species of grass mice, Akodon fumeus and Akodon mimus, both collected from an isolated area in the eastern part of the Andes mountains or Yungas of Bolivia. This species differs from all known dicrocoeliids in the unique disposition of the vitelline fields, the much less extensive uterus through the body of the worm (extending posteriad only just past the midline), and cecal branches that are generally conspicuous and lined with a thick layer of glandular epithelial tissue

    Sistemas para la medición, visualización y registro de la radiación solar

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    SE DISEÑÓ UN SISTEMA PARA LA MEDICIÓN DE LA RADIACIÓN SOLARLa luz solar es esencial para la vida, una exposición moderada a la radiación ultravioleta contribuye a la síntesis de vitamina D, pero exponerse mucho puede ser dañino para la piel, ojos y el sistema inmunitario. Uno de los mayores problemas al exponerse al sol es el cáncer de piel. En México ocurren alrededor de 1,000 casos anuales; los estados con mayor registro de muertes por cáncer son: Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Veracruz y Jalisco [1]. De acuerdo con la doctora Minerva Gómez, Presidenta de la Fundación Mexicana de Dermatología (FMD), este tipo de cáncer ocupa el segundo lugar en frecuencia en nuestro país: el primero en el caso de los hombres, y el segundo respecto a las mujeres [2]. La exposición directa al sol es una amenaza para todas las personas, de manera particular para los menores de edad, por ello es importante contar con medidas preventivas oportunas. La idea de este proyecto es proporcionar a las personas información en tiempo real de la radiación solar a la que se exponen, esto mediante dispositivos que permitan medir el nivel de radiación ultra violeta (UV) y mostrar visualmente la mediación. La propuesta realiza mediciones con múltiples sensores, y mediante un algoritmo ad-hoc mejora el nivel de precisión, el algoritmo también determina el correcto funcionamiento de sensores, haciendo al sistema más confiable; adicionalmente, se guarda un registro de las mediciones, lo cual podrá ser útil para análisis a largo plazo. Todo es implementado usando dispositivos de bajo costo

    Trematodes of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: emerging patterns of diversity and richness in coral reef fishes

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    The Great Barrier Reef holds the richest array of marine life found anywhere in Australia, including a diverse and fascinating parasite fauna. Members of one group, the trematodes, occur as sexually mature adult worms in almost all Great Barrier Reef bony fish species. Although the first reports of these parasites were made 100 years ago, the fauna has been studied systematically for only the last 25 years. When the fauna was last reviewed in 1994 there were 94 species known from the Great Barrier Reef and it was predicted that there might be 2,270 in total. There are now 326 species reported for the region, suggesting that we are in a much improved position to make an accurate prediction of true trematode richness. Here we review the current state of knowledge of the fauna and the ways in which our understanding of this fascinating group is changing. Our best estimate of the true richness is now a range, 1,100–1,800 species. However there remains considerable scope for even these figures to be incorrect given that fewer than one-third of the fish species of the region have been examined for trematodes. Our goal is a comprehensive characterisation of this fauna, and we outline what work needs to be done to achieve this and discuss whether this goal is practically achievable or philosophically justifiable

    Risk of tuberculosis in patients with diabetes: population based cohort study using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

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    BACKGROUND: Previous cohort studies demonstrate diabetes as a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) disease. Public Health England has identified improved TB control as a priority area and has proposed a primary care-based screening program for latent TB. We investigated the association between diabetes and risk of tuberculosis in a UK General Practice cohort in order to identify potential high-risk groups appropriate for latent TB screening. METHODS: Using data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink we constructed a cohort of patients with incident diabetes. We included 222,731 patients with diabetes diagnosed from 1990-2013 and 1,218,616 controls without diabetes at index date who were matched for age, sex and general practice. The effect of diabetes was explored using a Poisson analysis adjusted for age, ethnicity, body mass index, socioeconomic status, alcohol intake and smoking. We explored the effects of age, diabetes duration and severity. The effects of diabetes on risk of incident TB were explored across strata of chronic disease care defined by cholesterol and blood pressure measurement and influenza vaccination rates. RESULTS: During just under 7 million person-years of follow-up, 969 cases of TB were identified. The incidence of TB was higher amongst patients with diabetes compared with the unexposed group: 16.2 and 13.5 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders the association between diabetes and TB remained (adjusted RR 1.30, 95 % CI 1.01 to 1.67, P = 0.04). There was no evidence that age, time since diagnosis and severity of diabetes affected the association between diabetes and TB. Diabetes patients with the lowest and highest rates of chronic disease management had a higher risk of TB (P <0.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes as an independent risk factor is associated with only a modest overall increased risk of TB in our UK General Practice cohort and is unlikely to be sufficient cause to screen for latent TB. Across different consulting patterns, diabetes patients accessing the least amount of chronic disease care are at highest risk for TB.This article presents independent research supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) In Practice Fellowship to LP (grant number NIHR/IPF/11/05). DAJM received Wellcome Trust funding (grant number 092691/Z/10/Z). LS is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science

    Association between diabetes mellitus and active tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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    The burgeoning epidemic of diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major global health challenges. We systematically reviewed the published literature to provide a summary estimate of the association between DM and active tuberculosis (TB). We searched Medline and EMBASE databases for studies reporting adjusted estimates on the TB-DM association published before December 22, 2015, with no restrictions on region and language. In the meta-analysis, adjusted estimates were pooled using a DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model, according to study design. Risk of bias assessment and sensitivity analyses were conducted. 44 eligible studies were included, which consisted of 58,468,404 subjects from 16 countries. Compared with non-DM patients, DM patients had 3.59-fold (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.25-5.73), 1.55-fold (95% CI 1.39-1.72), and 2.09-fold (95% CI 1.71-2.55) increased risk of active TB in four prospective, 16 retrospective, and 17 case-control studies, respectively. Country income level (3.16-fold in low/middle-vs. 1.73-fold in high-income countries), background TB incidence (2.05-fold in countries with >50 vs. 1.89-fold in countries with ≤50 TB cases per 100,000 person-year), and geographical region (2.44-fold in Asia vs. 1.71-fold in Europe and 1.73-fold in USA/Canada) affected appreciably the estimated association, but potential risk of bias, type of population (general versus clinical), and potential for duplicate data, did not. Microbiological ascertainment for TB (3.03-fold) and/or blood testing for DM (3.10-fold), as well as uncontrolled DM (3.30-fold), resulted in stronger estimated association. DM is associated with a two- to four-fold increased risk of active TB. The association was stronger when ascertainment was based on biological testing rather than medical records or self-report. The burgeoning DM epidemic could impact upon the achievements of the WHO "End TB Strategy" for reducing TB incidence

    FCC Physics Opportunities: Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 1

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    We review the physics opportunities of the Future Circular Collider, covering its e+e-, pp, ep and heavy ion programmes. We describe the measurement capabilities of each FCC component, addressing the study of electroweak, Higgs and strong interactions, the top quark and flavour, as well as phenomena beyond the Standard Model. We highlight the synergy and complementarity of the different colliders, which will contribute to a uniquely coherent and ambitious research programme, providing an unmatchable combination of precision and sensitivity to new physics
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