Features of dengue and chikungunya infections of colombian children under 24 months of age admitted to the emergency department

We aimed to assess clinical and laboratory differences between dengue and chikungunya in children <24 months of age in a comparative study. We collected retrospective clinical and laboratory data confirmed by NS1/IgM for dengue for 19 months (1 January 2013 to 17 August 2014). Prospective data for chikungunya confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction were collected for 4 months (22 September 2014-14 December 2014). Sensitivity and specificity [with 95% confidence interval (CI)] were reported for each disease diagnosis. A platelet count <150 000 cells/ml at emergency admission best characterized dengue, with a sensitivity of 67% (95% CI, 53-79) and specificity of 95% (95% CI, 82-99). The algorithm developed with classification and regression tree analysis showed a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI, 68-100) and specificity of 38% (95% CI, 9-76) to diagnose dengue. Our study provides potential differential characteristics between chikungunya and dengue in young children, especially low platelet counts. © The Author [2017].Universidad Nacional de Colombia, UN Johns Hopkins University1Departamento de Epidemiologia, Hospital Infantil Napoleón Franco Pareja—La Casa del Niño, Cartagena, Colombia 2Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia 3Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Publica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil 4Facultad de Ingenería, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Cartagena, Colombia 5Facultad Ciencias Básicas y Biomédicas, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia 6Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia 7Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas del Tropico, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, Colombia 8Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA Correspondence: Angel Paternina-Caicedo, Hospital Infantil Napoleón Franco Pareja—La Casa del Niño, Bruselas Transversal 36 N. 36-33, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia. Tel: +1-412-3267809. E-mail or

Arsenic speciation in edible alga samples by microwave-assisted extraction and high performance liquid chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Twelve commercially available edible marine algae from France, Japan and Spain and the certified reference material (CRM) NIES No. 9 Sargassum fulvellum were analyzed for total arsenic and arsenic species. Total arsenic concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after microwave digestion and ranged from 23 to 126 μg g−1. Arsenic species in alga samples were extracted with deionized water by microwave-assisted extraction and showed extraction efficiencies from 49 to 98%, in terms of total arsenic. The presence of eleven arsenic species was studied by high performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet photo-oxidation–hydride generation atomic–fluorescence spectrometry (HPLC–(UV)–HG–AFS) developed methods, using both anion and cation exchange chromatography. Glycerol and phosphate sugars were found in all alga samples analyzed, at concentrations between 0.11 and 22 μg g−1, whereas sulfonate and sulfate sugars were only detected in three of them (0.6-7.2 μg g−1). Regarding arsenic toxic species, low concentration levels of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) (<0.9 μg g−1) and generally high arsenate (As(V)) concentrations (up to 77 μg g−1) were found in most of the algae studied. The results obtained are of interest to highlight the need to perform speciation analysis and to introduce appropriate legislation to limit toxic arsenic species content in these food products

Resolving the inner parsec of the blazar J1924-2914 with the event horizon telescope

Galaxie