An evaluation of the performance of the Dynamiker® Fungus (1-3)-β-D-Glucan Assay to 2 assist in the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia

Invasive fungal disease (IFD) can be caused by a range of pathogens. Conventional diagnosis has the capacity to detect most causes of IFD, but poor performance limits impact. The introduction of non-culture diagnostics, including the detection of (1-3)-β-D-Glucan (BDG), has shown promising performance for the detection of IFD in variety of clinical settings. Recently, the Dynamiker® Fungus (1-3)-β-D-Glucan assay (D-BDG) was released as an IFD diagnostic test. This article describes an evaluation of the D-BDG assay for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA), invasive candidiasis (IC) and Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) across several high-risk patient cohorts and provides comparative data with the Associates of Cape Cod Fungitell® and BioRad Platelia™ Aspergillus Ag (GM) assays. There were 163 serum samples from 121 patients tested, from 21 probable IA cases, 28 proven IC cases, six probable PCP cases, one probable IFD case, 14 possible IFD cases and 64 control patients. For proven/probable IFD the mean BDG concentration was 209pg/ml, significantly greater than the control population (73pg/ml; P: <.0001). The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio for proven/probable IFD was 81.4%, 78.1%, and 15.5, respectively. Significant BDG false positivity (9/13) was associated post abdominal surgery. D-BDG showed fair and good agreement with the Fungitell®, and GM assays, respectively. In conclusion, the D-BDG provides a useful adjunct test to aid the diagnosis of IFD, with technical flexibility that will assist laboratories processing low sample numbers. Further, large scale, prospective evaluation is required to confirm the clinical validity and determine clinical utility

Etnobotânica e divergência genética de variedades de mandioca, Poconé, Mato Grosso.

A região denominada Baixada Cuiabana fica ao norte do Pantanal Mato-Grossense. É uma das poucas regiões do Mato Grosso que preserva as antigas características de comunidades de agricultores de subsistência que mantêm expressiva diversidade de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) e outros cultivos, visto a região ser centro de diversidade do gênero. Este estudo teve por objetivo caracterizar a diversidade genética de mandiocas mediante o conhecimento etnobotânico das variedades e marcadores microssatélites para compreender a dinâmica de conservação e manejo do acervo usado pelos agricultores da Comunidade São Benedito, Poconé, Mato Grosso. O presente trabalho foi autorizado pelo Conselho de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético (processo n. 02000.003025/2013-13-MMA deliberado em 28 de abril de 2015 e publicado no D.O.U em 13 de julho de 2015). Para o inventário etnobotânico foram aplicadas entrevistas semiestruturadas em 10 unidades domésticas para obter informações sobre as mandiocas cultivadas. Das 11 variedades locais cultivadas foi realizada análise por microssatélites (12 locus). Apesar da baixa diversidade etnobotânica encontrada (H?=2,05), foi encontrada alta heterozigosidade observada (Ho = 0,92) e diversidade gênica (He = 0,75). Os agricultores que sobrevivem basicamente do cultivo da mandioca e produção de farinha para comercialização, direcionam suas escolhas de variedades para as mais produtivas e menos suscetíveis ao ataque de pragas. A variedade brava foi a mais frequente (80% das roças) e é apontada como a mais rentável para a produção de farinha, sendo uma importante fonte de recurso genético para programas de melhoramento. Através da análise de rede pode-se observar que a rede de circulação de propágulos e informações ocorre entre os moradores e também com outras comunidades da região, importantes fontes de novas variedades. Dois agricultores foram identificados como os mais atuantes nas trocas. De acordo com o agrupamento e análise de coordenadas principais feitos utilizando os dados genéticos, as variedades introduzidas mais recentemente separam-se das introduzidas há mais tempo. As variedades apontadas como com alto teor de ácido cianídrico pelos agricultores também ficaram agrupadas. Notou-se que as variedades locais apresentam genes úteis para características importantes como, resistência a estresses bióticos e abióticos.Edição Especial dos Anais do 3 Simpósio da Rede de Recursos Genéticos Vegetais do Nordeste, Aracaju, out. 2017

Carta controle de média como ferramenta de garantia da qualidade dos ensaios de toxicidade de Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis a larvas de Aedes aegypti.

Sinconbiol

Do migrant remittances promote human capital formation? Evidence from 89 developing countries

The few published empirical studies on the effect of migrant remittances on educational attainments are roughly based on cross-sectional microdata from household surveys. This paper applies the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator on aggregate level data from 1970 to 2010 in five-year intervals to examine the impact of migrant remittances on human capital formation in 89 developing countries. The estimation results show that, on average, an increase in migrant remittance inflows by 1% is associated with a 2% rise in years of schooling at both the secondary and tertiary levels. This suggests that migrant remittances have the potential to relax liquidity constraints and generate spillover effects that facilitate more schooling opportunities in remittance-receiving countries

Low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions and human papillomavirus infection in Colombian women

Low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions could be considered as a manifestation of human papillomavirus exposition, however the discrepancy between rates of infection with human papillomavirus and development of low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions is notable. Here we report a cross-sectional three-armed case–control study in the Colombian population, to compare the risk factors of women with low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions with that of human papillomavirus DNA-negative and positive women with normal cytology

Efficacy and safety of treatment with omalizumab for chronic spontaneous urticaria: A systematic review for the EAACI Biologicals Guidelines

This systematic review evaluates the efficacy and safety of omalizumab for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for RCTs. Critical and important CSU-related outcomes were considered. The risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence were assessed using GRADE. Ten RCTs including 1620 subjects aged 12 to 75&nbsp;years old treated with omalizumab for 16 to 40&nbsp;weeks were evaluated. Omalizumab 150&nbsp;mg does not result in clinically meaningful improvement (high certainty) of the urticaria activity score (UAS)7 (mean difference (MD) −5; 95%CI −7.75 to −2.25), and the itch severity score (ISS)7 (MD −2.15; 95% CI −3.2 to −1.1) does not increase (moderate certainty) quality of life (QoL) (Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI); MD −2.01; 95%CI −3.22 to −0.81) and decreases (moderate certainty) rescue medication use (MD −1.68; 95%CI −2.95 to −0.4). Omalizumab 300&nbsp;mg results in clinically meaningful improvements (moderate certainty) of the UAS7 (MD −11.05; 95%CI −12.87 to −9.24), the ISS7 (MD −4.45; 95%CI −5.39 to −3.51), and QoL (high certainty) (DLQI; MD −4.03; 95% CI −5.56 to −2.5) and decreases (moderate certainty) rescue medication use (MD −2.04; 95%CI −3.19 to −0.88) and drug-related serious AEs (RR 0.77; 95%CI 0.20 to 2.91)

Persistence of HPV infection and risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in a cohort of Colombian women

Little is known about the dynamics of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and subsequent development of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3), particularly in women >30 years of age. This information is needed to assess the impact of HPV vaccines and consider new screening strategies. A cohort of 1728 women 15–85 years old with normal cytology at baseline was followed every 6 months for an average of 9 years. Women with squamous intraepithelial lesions were referred for biopsy and treatment. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate the median duration of infection and Cox regression analysis was undertaken to assess determinants of clearance and risk of CIN2/3 associated with HPV persistence. No difference in the likelihood of clearance was observed by HPV type or woman's age, with the exception of lower clearance for HPV16 infection in women under 30 years of age. Viral load was inversely associated with clearance. In conclusion, viral load is the main determinant of persistence, and persistence of HPV16 infections carry a higher risk of CIN2/3

Ventilation and outcomes following robotic-assisted abdominal surgery: an international, multicentre observational study

Background: International data on the epidemiology, ventilation practice, and outcomes in patients undergoing abdominal robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) are lacking. The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and to describe ventilator management after abdominal RAS. Methods: This was an international, multicentre, prospective study in 34 centres in nine countries. Patients ≥18 yr of age undergoing abdominal RAS were enrolled between April 2017 and March 2019. The Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) score was used to stratify for higher risk of PPCs (≥26). The primary outcome was the incidence of PPCs. Secondary endpoints included the preoperative risk for PPCs and ventilator management. Results: Of 1167 subjects screened, 905 abdominal RAS patients were included. Overall, 590 (65.2%) patients were at increased risk for PPCs. Meanwhile, 172 (19%) patients sustained PPCs, which occurred more frequently in 132 (22.4%) patients at increased risk, compared with 40 (12.7%) patients at lower risk of PPCs (absolute risk difference: 12.2% [95% confidence intervals (CI), 6.8–17.6%]; P&lt;0.001). Plateau and driving pressures were higher in patients at increased risk, compared with patients at low risk of PPCs, but no ventilatory variables were independently associated with increased occurrence of PPCs. Development of PPCs was associated with a longer hospital stay. Conclusions: One in five patients developed one or more PPCs (chiefly unplanned oxygen requirement), which was associated with a longer hospital stay. No ventilatory variables were independently associated with PPCs. Clinical trial registration: NCT02989415

Prevalence and determinants of HPV infection among Colombian women with normal cytology

Human papillomavirus is the principal risk factor associated with cervical cancer, the most common malignancy among women in Colombia. We conducted a survey, aiming to report type specific prevalence and determinants of human papillomavirus infection in women with normal cytology. A total of 1859 women from Bogota, Colombia were interviewed and tested for human papillomavirus using a general primer GP5+/GP6+ mediated PCR–EIA. The overall HPV DNA prevalence was 14.8%; 9% of the women were infected by high risk types, 3.1% by low risk types, 2.3% by both high risk/low risk types and 0.4% by uncharacterized types (human papillomavirus X). Thirty-two different human papillomavirus types were detected, being human papillomavirus 16, 58, 56, 81(CP8304) and 18 the most common types. The human papillomavirus prevalence was 26.1% among women younger than 20 years, 2.3% in women aged 45–54 years, and 13.2% in women aged 55 years or more. For low risk types the highest peak of prevalence was observed in women aged 55 years or more. Compared to women aged 35–44 years, women aged less than 20 years had a 10-fold increased risk of having multiple infections. Besides age, there was a positive association between the risk of human papillomavirus infection and number of regular sexual partners and oral contraceptive use. In women aged below 25 years, high educational level and having had casual sexual partners predicted infection risk. In conclusion, there was a broad diversity of human papillomavirus infections with high risk types being the most common types detected. In this population multiplicity of sexual partners and, among young women, high educational level and casual sexual partners seem to determine risk