Contribution of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among patients <15 years hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Milan, 2014-2017

Aim: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections may range from cold to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and are responsible for substantial pediatric morbidity. We describe the results of RSV molecular detection in respiratory samples collected from children <15 years hospitalized with SARI in Milan (Italy) during four consecutive years. Method: From January 1st, 2014, to December 31st, 2017, 3013 respiratory samples (2826 upper-respiratory-tract [UTR] and 187 lower-respiratory-tract [LTR] specimens) collected from as many children <15 years hospitalized with SARI at an University hospital in Milan were analysed. After DNA/RNA extraction, samples were tested by a multiplex real-time PCR to detect RSV and other respiratory viruses. Results: 571 (19%) respiratory samples tested RSV-positive. RSV-positivity rate by sample type was similar (URT vs LRT: 19.2% vs 14.4%; p=0.09). The median age of RSV-positive cases was 6.6 months (inter-quartile range: 17.2 months); 52.2% were males. 62.2% (355/571) of RSV-positive samples were identified in children <1 year and 12.4% (71/571) in those <1 month. RSV was detected throughout the study period; 59.2% (338/571) cases were identified during seasonal peaks (December-February). In 49.9% (285/571) of RSV-positive samples at least another virus (mainly Rhinovirus: 45.9%) was detected, particularly (60%; 171/285) in samples collected from children >1 year. Conclusions: Accordingly to other studies, RSV was detected in 19% of hospitalized-SARI cases <15 years, mainly in children <1 year and in December-February. Sampling of upper or lower airways resulted in similar RSV-positivity rate. Routine molecular testing to detect RSV is warranted to improve clinical management of pediatric patients

Nivel de formación sobre sexualidad humana en estudiantes del primer ciclo en la Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, año 2010

La sexualidad humana es un concepto que abarca distintos ámbitos. Generalmente la sociedad tiende a relacionarlo con la parte reproductiva, sin embargo no solo atañe a lo sexual propiamente dicho, pues también comprende a la parte afectiva, de allí que se hable de una salud sexual y afectiva. El presente trabajo tiene como finalidad determinar el nivel de formación sobre sexualidad humana en estudiantes del primer ciclo en la Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, año 2010. Para la realización de la investigación se empleó un estudio descriptivo primario de tipo transversal, utilizándose el consentimiento informado para proceder a la encuesta elaborada por los autores en conjunto con un experto en el tema, siendo ésta revisada por dos sacerdotes y una psicóloga, y previamente empleada en prueba piloto. Ésta se aplicó en el muestreo obtenido estadísticamente de una población total de 1496 estudiantes 2010-I. Resultando los sujetos a investigar 424 estudiantes, considerados según estratos según facultad: ciencias empresariales, derecho, humanidades, ingeniería y medicina. Sin embargo la muestra de estudio se incrementó durante el proceso, haciendo un total de 439 estudiantes. Para el análisis de los datos se empleó tablas de frecuencias, diagramas de barras, diagrama de sectores y el programa Estadístico Excel. Se concluyó que de los 439 estudiantes del primer ciclo de USAT 2010-I entrevistados: el 19% presentó nivel alto de formación sobre sexualidad humana; el 62%, predominante, presentó un nivel medio, mientras que el restante, 18%, presentó nivel bajo

Ecological successions throughout the desiccation of Tirez lagoon (Spain) as an astrobiological time-analog for wet-to-dry transitions on Mars

Tirez was a small and seasonal endorheic athalassohaline lagoon that was located in central Spain. In recent years, the lagoon has totally dried out, offering for the first time the opportunity to analyze its desiccation process as a “time-analog” to similar events occurred in paleolakes with varying salinity during the wet-to-dry transition on early Mars. On the martian cratered highlands, an early period of water ponding within enclosed basins evolved to a complete desiccation of the lakes, leading to deposition of evaporitic sequences during the Noachian and into the Late Hesperian. As Tirez also underwent a process of desiccation, here we describe (i) the microbial ecology of Tirez when the lagoon was still active 20 years ago, with prokaryotes adapted to extreme saline conditions; (ii) the composition of the microbial community in the dried lake sediments today, in many case groups that thrive in sediments of extreme environments; and (iii) the molecular and isotopic analysis of the lipid biomarkers that can be recovered from the sediments today. We discuss the implications of these results to better understanding the ecology of possible Martian microbial communities during the wet-to-dry transition at the end of the Hesperian, and how they may inform about research strategies to search for possible biomarkers in Mars after all the water was los

Epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPEV infection in children<6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsie-like illness, northen Italy, 2015-2018

BACKGROUND. Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are widespread pathogens belonging to the Picornaviridae family and currently divided into 19 genotypes. HPeV infections can be associated with severe clinical manifestations, such as sepsis-like illness, particularly in youngest children. The epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPeV infections observed in children <6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness were investigated. METHODS. From January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2018, clinical samples (cerebrospinal fluid samples and/or blood samples) were collected for diagnosis of HPeV infection from 193 patients (median age: 21 days, range: 1 day - 6 months) hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness, in two hospitals of Northern Italy. HPeV-RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR (target 5\u2019UTR) and a portion of HPeV VP3/VP1 junction (nt. 2159\u20132458) was sequenced for typing and molecular characterization. RESULTS. 14% (27/193) of patients with symptoms of sepsis-like illness tested HPeV-positive. 26/27 (96.3%) HPeV-cases were <3 months and 20/27 (74.1%) <1 month. HPeV-positive cases were detected throughout the study period, mainly (12/27; 44.4%) during the summertime (June-August). 17/27 (63%) HPeV-positive samples were molecularly characterized: 16 resulted HPeV-3 and 1 HPeV-5. CONCLUSIONS. HPeV infection was identified in 14% of children <6 months with symptoms of sepsis-like illness. Almost all HPeV infections were detected in children <3 months and mainly during the summertime; almost all molecularly characterized HPeV belonged to type 3. Including HPeV molecular detection in routine diagnostic tests would allow estimating the burden of HPeV infection and improving clinical management of pediatric patients

Calorimetria diferencial de barrido. Influencia de la composición del aceite de oliva virgen en su perfil térmico

Samples of olive oil from the cultivars ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Picual’, with different contents in polyphenols, were analyzed by means of differential scanning calorimetry. Three speeds of cooling/heating (1, 5 and 10ºC/min) were analyzed with the differences between duplicates being lowest when the analysis was carried out at 5°C/min. An important varietal effect (pMuestras de aceite de las variedades ‘Arbequina’ y ‘Picual’, con diferentes contenidos en polifenoles, son analizadas mediante calorimetría diferencial de barrido a 1, 5 y 10 °C/min de velocidad de enfriamiento y de calentamiento, obteniéndose las diferencias entre duplicados más bajas cuando el análisis se efectúa a 5 ºC/min. Se observa un efecto varietal importante (

Tracking the weathering of basalts on Mars using lithium isotope fractionation models

An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2015) American Geophysical UnionLithium (Li), the lightest of the alkali elements, has geochemical properties that include high aqueous solubility (Li is the most fluid mobile element) and high relative abundance in basalt-forming minerals (values ranking between 0.2 and 12 ppm). Li isotopes are particularly subject to fractionation because the two stable isotopes of lithium - 7Li and 6Li - have a large relative mass difference (∼15%) that results in significant fractionation between water and solid phases. The extent of Li isotope fractionation during aqueous alteration of basalt depends on the dissolution rate of primary minerals - the source of Li - and on the precipitation kinetics, leading to formation of secondary phases. Consequently, a detailed analysis of Li isotopic ratios in both solution and secondary mineral lattices could provide clues about past Martian weathering conditions, including weathering extent, temperature, pH, supersaturation, and evaporation rate of the initial solutions in contact with basalt rocks. In this paper, we discuss ways in which Martian aqueous processes could have lead to Li isotope fractionation. We show that Li isotopic data obtained by future exploration of Mars could be relevant to highlighting different processes of Li isotopic fractionation in the past, and therefore to understanding basalt weathering and environmental conditions early in the planet's historyData supporting our models and calculations are available as supporting information. The research leading to these results is a contribution from the Project ‘icyMARS’’, funded by the European Research Council, Starting Grant no 307496. This work was also partially supported by the European FEDER program and the Spanish Ministry of Science (MICINN) through the project CGL2011–30079. Comments by R. James and four anonymous reviewers helped us to clarify and strengthen our wor

The Argyre Region as a Prime Target for in situ Astrobiological Exploration of Mars

At the time before ∼3.5 Ga that life originated and began to spread on Earth, Mars was a wetter and more geologically dynamic planet than it is today. The Argyre basin, in the southern cratered highlands of Mars, formed from a giant impact at ∼3.93 Ga, which generated an enormous basin approximately 1800 km in diameter. The early post-impact environment of the Argyre basin possibly contained many of the ingredients that are thought to be necessary for life: abundant and long-lived liquid water, biogenic elements, and energy sources, all of which would have supported a regional environment favorable for the origin and the persistence of life. We discuss the astrobiological significance of some landscape features and terrain types in the Argyre region that are promising and accessible sites for astrobiological exploration. These include (i) deposits related to the hydrothermal activity associated with the Argyre impact event, subsequent impacts, and those associated with the migration of heated water along Argyre-induced basement structures; (ii) constructs along the floor of the basin that could mark venting of volatiles, possibly related to the development of mud volcanoes; (iii) features interpreted as ice-cored mounds (open-system pingos), whose origin and development could be the result of deeply seated groundwater upwelling to the surface; (iv) sedimentary deposits related to the formation of glaciers along the basin's margins, such as evidenced by the ridges interpreted to be eskers on the basin floor; (v) sedimentary deposits related to the formation of lakes in both the primary Argyre basin and other smaller impact-derived basins along the margin, including those in the highly degraded rim materials; and (vi) crater-wall gullies, whose morphology points to a structural origin and discharge of (wet) flows

Emergence of divergent enterovirus (EV) D68 sub-clade D1 strains, northern Italy, September to October 2018

An enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) outbreak was recognised at a major tertiary centre and research hospital in Milan and Pavia in the Lombardy region, northern Italy, respectively, between September and October 2018. Here, we present the molecular and clinical characteristics of the confirmed EV-D68 cases detected during the outbreak sustained by EV-D68 sub-clade D1 strains