Brucella ceti infection in dolphins from the Western Mediterranean sea

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Parasites of cetaceans stranded on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Information regarding parasitic fauna of cetaceans from Costa Rica is provided for the first time. A total of 25 stranded dolphins and whales were examined between 2001 and 2009, including striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) (n = 19), pantropical spotted dolphin (S. attenuata) (n = 2), spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) (n = 1), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) (n = 1), dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) (n = 1) and Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) (n = 1). Pathological findings associated with the parasites are also presented. In the most representative dolphin species, S. coeruleoalba, the prevalence of parasites was 89.5%; moreover, all examined specimens of S. attenuata, S. longirostris, T. truncatus and Z. cavirostris presented parasites. No parasites were recovered from K. sima. Fourteen helminth taxa were identified, including six species of cestodes (Strobilocephalus triangularis, Tetrabothrius forsteri, Trigonocotyle sp., Phyllobothrium delphini, Monorygma grimaldi, Tetraphyllidea gen. sp. plerocercoid), four digeneans (Nasitrema globicephalae, Brachycladium palliatum, B. pacificum and Oschmarinella albamarina) and four nematodes (Anisakis spp., Halocercus lagenorhynchi, Halocercus sp. and Crassicauda anthonyi). A commensal crustacean, Xenobalanus globicipitis, was also identified. All identified parasites representing new geographic records for the Pacific coast of Central America and new host records are presented. Parasitological information is valuable for conservation of cetaceans in Pacific coast of Costa Rica.Se proporciona por primera vez información sobre la fauna parásita de cetáceos de Costa Rica. Un total de 25 delfines varados y ballenas fueron examinados entre 2001 y 2009, incluyendo delfines rayados (Stenella coeruleoalba) (n = 19), delfines manchados pantropicales (S. attenuata) (n = 2), delfines giradores (S. longirostris) ( n = 1), delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus) (n = 1), cachalote enano (Kogia sima) (n = 1) y ballena picuda de Cuvier (Ziphius cavirostris) (n = 1). También se presentan los hallazgos patológicos asociados con los parásitos. En la especie de delfín más representativa, S. coeruleoalba, la prevalencia de parásitos fue del 89,5%; además, todos los especímenes examinados de S. attenuata, S. longirostris, T. truncatus y Z. cavirostris presentaron parásitos. No se recuperaron parásitos de K. sima. Se identificaron catorce taxones de helmintos, incluyendo seis especies de cestodos (Strobilocephalus triangularis, Tetrabothrius forsteri, Trigonocotyle sp., Phyllobothrium delphini, Monorygma grimaldi, Tetraphyllidea gen. sp. plerocercoid), cuatro digeneans (Nasitrema globicephalae, Braumchinadium pamplina y Nemátodo. Anisakis spp., Halocercus lagenorhynchi, Halocercus sp. Y Crassicauda anthonyi). También se identificó un crustáceo comensal, Xenobalanus globicipitis. Se presentan todos los parásitos identificados que representan nuevos registros geográficos para la costa del Pacífico de América Central y nuevos registros de hospedadores. La información parasitológica es valiosa para la conservación de cetáceos en la costa del Pacífico de Costa Rica. Monorygma grimaldi, Tetraphyllidea gen. sp. plerocercoide), cuatro digeneos (Nasitrema globicephalae, Brachycladium palliatum, B. pacificum y Oschmarinella albamarina) y cuatro nematodos (Anisakis spp., Halocercus lagenorhynchi, Halocercus sp. y Crassicauda anthonyi). También se identificó un crustáceo comensal, Xenobalanus globicipitis. Se presentan todos los parásitos identificados que representan nuevos registros geográficos para la costa del Pacífico de América Central y nuevos registros de hospedadores. La información parasitológica es valiosa para la conservación de cetáceos en la costa del Pacífico de Costa Rica. Monorygma grimaldi, Tetraphyllidea gen. sp. plerocercoide), cuatro digeneos (Nasitrema globicephalae, Brachycladium palliatum, B. pacificum y Oschmarinella albamarina) y cuatro nematodos (Anisakis spp., Halocercus lagenorhynchi, Halocercus sp. y Crassicauda anthonyi). También se identificó un crustáceo comensal, Xenobalanus globicipitis. Se presentan todos los parásitos identificados que representan nuevos registros geográficos para la costa del Pacífico de América Central y nuevos registros de hospedadores. La información parasitológica es valiosa para la conservación de cetáceos en la costa del Pacífico de Costa Rica. También se identificó un crustáceo comensal, Xenobalanus globicipitis. Se presentan todos los parásitos identificados que representan nuevos registros geográficos para la costa del Pacífico de América Central y nuevos registros de hospedadores. La información parasitológica es valiosa para la conservación de cetáceos en la costa del Pacífico de Costa Rica. También se identificó un crustáceo comensal, Xenobalanus globicipitis. Se presentan todos los parásitos identificados que representan nuevos registros geográficos para la costa del Pacífico de América Central y nuevos registros de hospedadores. La información parasitológica es valiosa para la conservación de cetáceos en la costa del Pacífico de Costa Rica.Universidad NacionalEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

Neuroevolution of Convolutional Neural Networks for Breast Cancer Diagnosis Using Western Blot Strips

Breast cancer has become a global health problem, ranking first in incidences and fifth in mortality in women around the world. In Mexico, the first cause of death in women is breast cancer. This work uses deep learning techniques to discriminate between healthy and breast cancer patients, based on the banding patterns obtained from the Western Blot strip images of the autoantibody response to antigens of the T47D tumor line. The reaction of antibodies to tumor antigens occurs early in the process of tumorigenesis, years before clinical symptoms. One of the main challenges in deep learning is the design of the architecture of the convolutional neural network. Neuroevolution has been used to support this and has produced highly competitive results. It is proposed that neuroevolve convolutional neural networks (CNN) find an optimal architecture to achieve competitive ranking, taking Western Blot images as input. The CNN obtained reached 90.67% accuracy, 90.71% recall, 95.34% specificity, and 90.69% precision in classifying three different classes (healthy, benign breast pathology, and breast cancer)

Pathology of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) infected with Brucella ceti

Seventeen striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) displaying swimming disorders compatible with neurological syndromes were investigated for Brucella infection. Sixteen dolphins had meningoencephalomyelitis. Serum antibody against Brucella antigen was detected in all 14 animals tested and Brucella ceti was isolated from eight out of nine animals. Brucella antigen was detected in the brain by immunofluorescence, but not by immunohistochemical labelling. By contrast, Brucella antigen was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in the trophoblast of animals with severe placentitis and in the mitral valve of animals with myocarditis. The microscopical lesions observed in the tissues of the infected dolphins were similar to those of chronic brucellosis in man. The severity of brucellosis in S. coeruleoalba indicates that this dolphin species is highly susceptible to infection by B. ceti.Diecisiete delfines listados (Stenella coeruleoalba) que presentan trastornos de natación compatibles con síndromes neurológicos fueron investigados por la infección de Brucella. Dieciséis delfines tenían meningoencefalomielitis. Se detectaron anticuerpos séricos contra el antígeno de Brucella en los 14 animales examinados y se aisló Brucella ceti en ocho de los nueve animales. El antígeno de Brucella se detectó en el cerebro por inmunofluorescencia, pero no por el etiquetado inmunohistoquímico. Por el contrario, el antígeno de Brucella se demostró por inmunohistoquímica en el trofoblasto de animales con placentitis grave y en la válvula mitral de animales con miocarditis. Las lesiones microscópicas observadas en los tejidos de los delfines infectados eran similares a las de la brucelosis crónica en el hombre. La gravedad de la brucelosis en S. coeruleoalba indica que esta especie de delfín es muy susceptible a la infección por B. ceti.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

Safety and Outcome of Revascularization Treatment in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and COVID-19: The Global COVID-19 Stroke Registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES COVID-19 related inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and coagulopathy may increase the bleeding risk and lower efficacy of revascularization treatments in patients with acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to evaluate the safety and outcomes of revascularization treatments in patients with acute ischemic stroke and COVID-19. METHODS Retrospective multicenter cohort study of consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and/or endovascular treatment (EVT) between March 2020 and June 2021, tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. With a doubly-robust model combining propensity score weighting and multivariate regression, we studied the association of COVID-19 with intracranial bleeding complications and clinical outcomes. Subgroup analyses were performed according to treatment groups (IVT-only and EVT). RESULTS Of a total of 15128 included patients from 105 centers, 853 (5.6%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. 5848 (38.7%) patients received IVT-only, and 9280 (61.3%) EVT (with or without IVT). Patients with COVID-19 had a higher rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.53; 95% CI 1.16-2.01), symptomatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SSAH) (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.20-2.69), SICH and/or SSAH combined (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.23-1.99), 24-hour (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.58-3.86) and 3-month mortality (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.52-2.33).COVID-19 patients also had an unfavorable shift in the distribution of the modified Rankin score at 3 months (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.26-1.60). DISCUSSION Patients with acute ischemic stroke and COVID-19 showed higher rates of intracranial bleeding complications and worse clinical outcomes after revascularization treatments than contemporaneous non-COVID-19 treated patients. Current available data does not allow direct conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of revascularization treatments in COVID-19 patients, or to establish different treatment recommendations in this subgroup of patients with ischemic stroke. Our findings can be taken into consideration for treatment decisions, patient monitoring and establishing prognosis

Safety and Outcome of Revascularization Treatment in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and COVID-19: The Global COVID-19 Stroke Registry

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 related inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and coagulopathy may increase the bleeding risk and lower efficacy of revascularization treatments in patients with acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to evaluate the safety and outcomes of revascularization treatments in patients with acute ischemic stroke and COVID-19. METHODS: Retrospective multicenter cohort study of consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and/or endovascular treatment (EVT) between March 2020 and June 2021, tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. With a doubly-robust model combining propensity score weighting and multivariate regression, we studied the association of COVID-19 with intracranial bleeding complications and clinical outcomes. Subgroup analyses were performed according to treatment groups (IVT-only and EVT). RESULTS: Of a total of 15128 included patients from 105 centers, 853 (5.6%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. 5848 (38.7%) patients received IVT-only, and 9280 (61.3%) EVT (with or without IVT). Patients with COVID-19 had a higher rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.53; 95% CI 1.16-2.01), symptomatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SSAH) (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.20-2.69), SICH and/or SSAH combined (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.23-1.99), 24-hour (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.58-3.86) and 3-month mortality (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.52-2.33).COVID-19 patients also had an unfavorable shift in the distribution of the modified Rankin score at 3 months (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.26-1.60). DISCUSSION: Patients with acute ischemic stroke and COVID-19 showed higher rates of intracranial bleeding complications and worse clinical outcomes after revascularization treatments than contemporaneous non-COVID-19 treated patients. Current available data does not allow direct conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of revascularization treatments in COVID-19 patients, or to establish different treatment recommendations in this subgroup of patients with ischemic stroke. Our findings can be taken into consideration for treatment decisions, patient monitoring and establishing prognosis