82 research outputs found
The importance of the multidisciplinary approach to deal with the new epidemiological scenario of Chagas disease (global health)
There are currently two major factors that have modified the
epidemiology of Chagas disease in the last decades: climate
change and migration flows. In this new scenario, there are new
challenges to control and prevent Trypanosoma cruzi infection in
endemic countries, such as the control of a wider distribution
of triatomine vectors or the reinforcement of vertical
transmission programs. In non-endemic areas, few countries are
aware of the emergence of this new disease and have established
changes in their health systems. To address this new public
health challenge, the priorities should be control programs to
avoid new cases of T. cruzi infection acquired through vertical
transmission, blood transfusion or organ transplant. In both,
endemic and non-endemic areas, the international community and
all the actors involved in Chagas disease must join efforts
mainly in two directions: better management of the infection in
affected individuals and more research to cover the knowledge
gap mainly in physiopathology, diagnosis and treatment
Pulmonary Infiltrates and Eosinophilia in a 25-Year-Old Traveler
A 25-year-old Spanish male travelled to Senegal in September 2009, where he swam near the Dindefelo fresh-water falls. Five weeks later, he presented with fever, myalgia, and dry cough. His complete blood count showed a hemoglobin level of 157 g/L, platelet count of 123.000 platelets/”L, and a leukocyte count of 8.670 cells/”L, with 9% eosinophils. Malaria smear, blood cultures, and serologies for common viral and bacterial infections were negative. Titers of an indirect hemagglutination test for Schistosoma mansoni were 1â¶80. The patient was treated with a single dose of praziquantel (40 mg/kg) and prednisone (30 mg) for three days. After treatment, the dry cough increased and he developed moderate dyspnea, with increasing malaise and myalgia. A second blood sample revealed eosinophilia of 1.200 cells/”L. A chest X-ray showed patchy infiltrates in both lungs (Figure 1), and a CT scan showed multiple peripheral bilateral pseudonodular lesions with surrounding ground-glass-opacity halo
Feminist contributions on sexual experiences of women with serious mental illness: a literature review
This paper aims to explore the contributions of research that include gender perspective in analysing the sexual experiences of women diagnosed with serious mental illness and to identify any barriers and systems that impede sexual fulfilment. We have developed a qualitative literature review using the PRISMA statement. The databases SCOPUS, WOS and PsychINFO were used in this review. Studies were included if they were published up to March 15, 2022, and only studies in English were included. An initial database search was preformed; upon screening for eligibility, there remained 16 studies that explored the sexual experiences of women with diagnoses of serious mental illness. The studies were analysed by a thematic synthesis. Data was coded line-by-line which generated descriptive themes, resulting in four synthesised findings. The four synthesised findings that derived from the reviewed studies were stigma and subjectivity, the experience of interpersonal relationships, the socialisation of women and the effects of psychiatric hegemony. A feminist perspective highlights the interrelationship between gender and stigma as it relates to serious mental illness and sexuality. A feminist perspective and an intersectional approach should be adopted at the intersubjective and structural level to account for the complexity of human experience and to subvert the heteropatriarchal system
Clinkering of calcium sulfoaluminate clinkers: polymorphism of ye'elimite
The manufacture of CSA cements is more environmentally friendly than that of OPC as it releases
less CO2. This reduction depends on CSA composition and is due to three factors: i) less emissions
from decarbonation in the kilns; ii) lower clinkering temperature, consequently less fuel is needed, and
iii) it is easier to grind, implying a depletion in indirect emissions.
CSA cements are prepared by mixing the clinker with different amounts of calcium sulfate as a set
regulator. Their main performances are fast setting time (followed by a rapid hardening), good chemical
resistance and, depending on the amount of the added sulfate source they can work as
shrinkage controllers.
CSA cements present a wide range of phase assemblages, but all of them contain over 50 wt% of
ye'elimite (C4A3s) jointly with belite (C2S), tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C4AF) and other minor
components such as CA, Cs, CsH2 and so on [1]. Ye'elimite is also included (~25 wt%) in BYF (Belite-
Ye'elimite-Ferrite) or BAY (Belite-Alite-Ye'elimite) clinkers.
Ye'elimite has a sodalite type structure with general composition, M4[T6O12]X. Stoichiometric ye'elimite
crystal structure at room temperature will be described in detailed. The role of different amounts of
minor elements on the synthetic procedure and crystal structures will be also presented [2,3].
This keynote will be also focused on a revision of the effect of raw materials on the mineralogical
composition of CSA, BYF and BAY. Specifically, the role of main elements contents in the ye'elimite
formation in these systems will be described. Moreover, the effect of minor elements on the
polymorphism of both ye'elimite and belite, especially on BYF and BAY clinkers, will be presented
[4,5,6].Universidad de MĂĄlaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucĂa Tech. Spanish MINECO and FEDER [BIA2017-82391-R] research project and I3 [IEDI-2016-0079] program
In silico Design of an Epitope-Based Vaccine Ensemble for Chagas Disease
Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes Chagas disease, which affects 7 million people
worldwide. Two drugs are available to treat it: benznidazole and nifurtimox. Although
both are efficacious against the acute stage of the disease, this is usually asymptomatic
and goes undiagnosed and untreated. Diagnosis is achieved at the chronic stage, when
life-threatening heart and/or gut tissue disruptions occur in âŒ30% of those chronically
infected. By then, the drugsâ efficacy is reduced, but not their associated high toxicity.
Given current deficiencies in diagnosis and treatment, a vaccine to prevent infection
and/or the development of symptoms would be a breakthrough in the management
of the disease. Current vaccine candidates are mostly based on the delivery of single
antigens or a few different antigens. Nevertheless, due to the high biological complexity
of the parasite, targeting as many antigens as possible would be desirable. In this
regard, an epitope-based vaccine design could be a well-suited approach. With this
aim, we have gone through publicly available databases to identify T. cruzi epitopes
from several antigens. By means of a computer-aided strategy, we have prioritized a
set of epitopes based on sequence conservation criteria, projected population coverage
of Latin American population, and biological features of their antigens of origin. Fruit of
this analysis, we provide a selection of CD8+ T cell, CD4+ T cell, and B cell epitopes that
have <70% identity to human or human microbiome protein sequences and represent
the basis toward the development of an epitope-based vaccine against T. cruzi
Host-Derived Molecules as Novel Chagas Disease Biomarkers: Hypercoagulability Markers in Plasma
The most severe clinical symptomatology of Chagas disease
affects ~30% of those chronically infected with the Trypanosoma
cruzi parasite. The pathogenic mechanisms that lead to
life-threatening heart and gut tissue disruptions occur
"silently" for a longtime in a majority of cases. As a result,
despite there are several serological and molecular methods
available to diagnose the infection in its acute and chronic
stages, diagnosis is often achieved only after the onset of
clinical symptoms in the chronic phase of the disease.
Furthermore, although there are two drugs to treat it, the
assessment of their performance is impractical with current
parasite-derived diagnostics, and therapeutic efficacy cannot be
acknowledged in a timely manner.In this chapter we present two
procedures to measure host-derived molecules as surrogates of
therapeutic response against chronic T. cruzi infection. Their
outputs relate to the generation and activity of thrombin, a
major component of the blood coagulation cascade. This is due to
the fact that a hypercoagulability state has been described to
occur in chronic Chagas disease patients and revert after
treatment with benznidazole
Diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Status using Saliva of Infected Subjects
Chagas disease has the highest prevalence of any parasitic
disease in the Americas, affecting 6-7 million people.
Conventional diagnosis requires a well-equipped laboratory with
experienced personnel. The development of new diagnostic tools
that are easy to use and adapted to the reality of affected
populations and health systems is still a significant challenge.
The main objective of this study was to measure Trypanosoma
cruzi infection status using saliva samples of infected
subjects. Blood and saliva samples from 20 T. cruzi-seropositive
individuals and 10 controls were tested for T. cruzi infection
using two different commercial serological tests. We have shown
that detection of T. cruzi infection is possible using saliva
samples, supporting the potential use of saliva to diagnose
Chagas disease in humans. This method could provide a simple,
low-cost but effective tool for the diagnosis of T. cruzi
infection. Its noninvasive nature makes it particularly well
suited for endemic areas
State-of-the-art in host-derived biomarkers of Chagas disease prognosis and early evaluation of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi treatment response
Chagas disease is caused by infection with the parasite
Trypanosoma cruzi, which might lead to a chronic disease state
and drive to irreversible damage to the heart and/or digestive
tract tissues. Endemic in 21 countries in the Americas, it is
the neglected disease with a highest burden in the region.
Current estimates point at ~6 million people infected, of which
~30% will progress onto the symptomatic tissue disruptive stage.
There is no vaccine but there are two anti-parasitic drugs
available: benznidazole and nifurtimox. However, their efficacy
is variable at the chronic symptomatic stage and both have
frequent adverse effects. Since there are no prognosis markers,
drugs should be administered to all T. cruzi-infected
individuals in the indeterminate and early symptomatic stages.
Nowadays, there are no tests-of-cure either, which greatly
undermines patients' follow-up and the search of safer and more
efficacious drugs. Therefore, the identification and validation
of biomarkers of disease progression and/or treatment response
on which to develop tests of prognosis and/or cure is a major
research priority. Both parasite- and host-derived markers have
been investigated. In the present manuscript we present an
updated outlook of the latter
Structure of stratlingite and effect of hydration methodology on microstructure
Stratlingite, Ca4Al2(OH)12[AlSi(OH)8]2âą2H2O, is an AFm phase which appears as hydration product of aluminum-rich cements. These binders may be calcium aluminate cements, calcium sulfoaluminate cements and also Belite Calcium Sulfo-Aluminate (BCSA) cements. The structure of stratlingite is known from single crystal studies of tiny minerals but their bulk formation, crystal structure and microstructure of powders is poorly understood. Here, we report the synthesis of stratlingite and a complete structural and microstructural characterization by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy and thermal analyses. The structural and microstructural models have important implications for a correct quantitative phase analysis of stratlingite in cement pastes (for instance, in pastes of BCSA cements). The microstructure of stratlingite formed in cement pastes is highly dependent on the hydration conditions. In BCSA pastes, the (003) line position of stratlingite appears slightly shifted towards higher diffracting angles (lower inter-layered distance) after stopping hydration compared to that of a similar phase present in a paste analyzed without stopping hydration. This is related to dehydration and disorder. This shift and peak broadening is even larger when the paste has suffered partial dehydration during curing (apart from stopping hydration). A microstructural study is reportedThis work has been supported by Junta de AndalucĂa through P11-FQM-07517 research project. I. Santacruz thanks a RamĂłn y Cajal fellowship, RYC-2008-03523. Synchrotron experiments were performed in MSPD beamline at ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility with the collaboration of François Fauth
Amaryllidaceae alkaloids with anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity
Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that afects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side efects and limited efcacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diver sity structures to lead the chemical synthesis of novel molecules for this purpose. Herein we analyzed the anti-T. cruzi activity of nine alkaloids derived from plants of the family Amaryllidaceae. Methods: The activity of each alkaloid was assessed by means of an anti-T. cruzi phenotypic assay. We further evalu ated the compounds that inhibited parasite growth on two distinct cytotoxicity assays to discard those that were toxic to host cells and assure parasite selectivity. Results: We identifed a single compound (hippeastrine) that was selectively active against the parasite yielding selectivity indexes of 12.7 and 35.2 against Vero and HepG2 cells, respectively. Moreover, it showed specifc activity against the amastigote stage (IC50=3.31 ÎŒM). Conclusions: Results reported here suggest that natural products are an interesting source of new compounds for the development of drugs against Chagas disease. Keywords: Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, Alkaloids, Amaryllidaceae, Hippeastrine, Phenotypic assays, Cytotoxicit
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