Diversidad de Coleoptera (Insecta) en dos comunidades vegetales del rancho Teseachi, Chihuahua, México

Coleoptera is one of the most diverse and studied order of insects. However, knowledge of its diversity in Chihuahua is scarce. In this study, the diversity of beetles in two plant communities (Navajita grass pasture and oak-pine forest) was compared. The collections were made monthly through a period of six months, from June to November of 2018. Transects were defined in both communities where two methods of collection were used (manual and pitfall traps). We determined the species richness and abundance for each plant community. To assess the diversity of Coleoptera species per vegetation type, a species effective method was performed. To evaluate the change in relative abundances, a range-abundance curve was graphed, and a non-metric multidimensional scaling was performed in order to evaluate the similarity between communities. 209 organisms were obtained, represented by 12 families, 29 genera and 42 morpho species and species. The largest number of individuals and species was found in the Oak-pine forest. However, the index showed that there is greater diversity in grasslands (16.6 effective species) than in the oak-pine forests (8.5 effective species). The similarity between communities was low, which may be determined by the presence of associated exclusive species for each type of forest community (20 for the pine-oak forest and 14 for the grassland) 13 species, seven genera and one family are listed as new records for the state of Chihuahua.Los coleópteros son el orden de insectos más diverso y estudiado del mundo. Sin embargo, el conocimiento de su diversidad en Chihuahua es escaso. En este estudio se comparó la diversidad de coleópteros en dos comunidades vegetales (pastizal de zacate navajita y bosque de encino-pino). Las colectas se realizaron mensualmente en un periodo de seis meses, de junio a noviembre de 2018. Se definieron transectos lineales en ambas comunidades donde se emplearon dos métodos de recolecta. Se determinó la riqueza específica y la abundancia para cada comunidad vegetal. Para evaluar la diversidad de especies de coleópteros para cada tipo de vegetación, se utilizó el método del número de especies efectivas. Para evaluar cómo cambian las abundancias relativas se utilizó una curva de rango-abundancia y se realizó un escalamiento multidimensional no-métrico para evaluar la similitud entre comunidades. Se obtuvo un total de 209 individuos, clasificados en 12 familias, 29 géneros y 42 especies y morfo especies. El mayor número de individuos y de especies se encontró en el bosque de encino-pino. Sin embargo, los índices demostraron que existe una mayor diversidad en los pastizales (16.6 especies efectivas) comparada con los bosques de encino-pino (8.5 especies efectivas). La similitud entre comunidades fue baja, lo cual puede estar determinada por la presencia de especies exclusivas asociadas para cada comunidad (20 para el bosque de pino-encino y 14 para el pastizal). Se enlistan 13 especies, siete géneros y una familia como nuevos registros para el estado de Chihuahua

Defective hippocampal neurogenesis underlies cognitive impairment by carotid stenosis-induced cerebral hypoperfusion in mice.

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion due to carotid artery stenosis is a major cause of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Bilateral carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) in rodents is a well-established model of VCID where most studies have focused on white matter pathology and subsequent cognitive deficit. Therefore, our aim was to study the implication of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in hypoperfusion-induced VCID in mice, and its relationship with cognitive hippocampal deficits. Mice were subjected to BCAS; 1 and 3 months later, hippocampal memory and neurogenesis/cell death were assessed, respectively, by the novel object location (NOL) and spontaneous alternation performance (SAP) tests and by immunohistology. Hypoperfusion was assessed by arterial spin labeling-magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI). Hypoperfused mice displayed spatial memory deficits with decreased NOL recognition index. Along with the cognitive deficit, a reduced number of newborn neurons and their aberrant morphology indicated a remarkable impairment of the hippocampal neurogenesis. Both increased cell death in the subgranular zone (SGZ) and reduced neuroblast proliferation rate may account for newborn neurons number reduction. Our data demonstrate quantitative and qualitative impairment of adult hippocampal neurogenesis disturbances associated with cerebral hypoperfusion-cognitive deficits in mice. These findings pave the way for novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for VCID.This work was supported by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) PID2019-106581RB-I00 (MM), from Leducq Foundation for Cardiovascular Research TNE-19CVD01 (MM) and TNE-21CVD04 (MM and IL), and from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-financed by the European Development Regional Fund “A Way to Achieve Europe” PI20/00535 and RICORS-ICTUS RD21/0006/0001 (IL). CNIC was supported by ISCIII, MCIN, and ProCNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (CEX2020-001041-S). The microscopy experiments were performed in Unidad de Microscopía e Imagen Dinámica, CNIC, ICTS-ReDib, co-funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa” (#ICTS-2018- 04-CNIC-16). Part of the research work included in this publication has been carried out in the ReDIB ICTS infrastructure BioImaC, MCIN.S

Caracterización de bacterias halófilas aisladas de un cultivo a cielo abierto tipo raceway de espirulina

Los microorganismos halófilos tienen su origen en los tres dominios de la vida: Archea, Bacteria y Eucarya. Con el objetivo de caracterizar morfológica y molecularmente 6 cepas bacterias halófilas aisladas de un cultivo a cielo abierto en sistema “raceway” de espirulina, se realizó una prueba fisiológica para definir el rango de salinidad en el que las cepas bacterianas presentan crecimiento, éstas se inocularon en agar nutritivo a diferentes porcentajes de NaCl, en intervalos de 5, desde 5 hasta 20%. Además, se les aplicó la tinción de Gram y las pruebas bioquímicas de catalasa y oxidasa. El análisis molecular constó del aislamiento de DNA genómico y mediante la PCR se amplificó y secuenció la región del 16S DNAr. Las secuencias obtenidas se analizaron con el algoritmo del BLAST del NCBI. La comparación de las secuencias de las cepas estudiadas, así como los datos morfológicos y bioquímicos mostraron que pertenecen a los géneros: Bacillus, Halomonas y Pseudomonas.The halophilic microorganisms have their origin in the three domains of life: Archea, Bacteria and Eucarya. Due to the fact of characterize morphologically and molecularly six strains of halophilic bacteria isolated from an open sky growing in a race-way system of spirulina. A physiological test was made to define the range of salinity where the bacterial strains demonstrate growth; these were inoculated in nutritive agar in different percentages of NaCl in intervals of 5, from 5 to 20%. Also, a Gram’s dying process was applied as well as catalase and oxidase biochemical tests were made. The molecular analysis was about isolating genomic DNA, the 16s DNAr was amplified by PCR. The sequences gotten were analyzed with the BLAST in the database NCBI. The comparison between the sequence of strains studied as well as the morphological and biochemical data showed that these belong to the gender of Bacillus, Halomonas and Pseudomonas

Detection of Bartonella bovis DNA in blood samples from a veterinarian in Mexico

The genus Bartonella encompasses 38 validated species of Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that colonize the endothelial cells and erythrocytes of a wide spectrum of mammals. To date, 12 Bartonella species have been recorded infecting humans, causing diseases of long historical characterization, such as cat scratch fever and trench fever, and emerging bartonellosis that mainly affect animal health professionals. For this reason, this study aimed to report a documented case of Bartonella bovis infecting a veterinarian from Mexico by the amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic reconstruction of the citrate synthase (gltA) and the RNA polymerase beta-subunit (rpoB) genes, and to report the natural course of this infection. To our knowledge, this work is the first to report the transmission of B. bovis via needlestick transmission to animal health workers in Latin America

COVID-19 outbreaks in a transmission control scenario: challenges posed by social and leisure activities, and for workers in vulnerable conditions, Spain, early summer 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 community-wide transmission declined in Spain by early May 2020, being replaced by outbreaks and sporadic cases. From mid-June to 2 August, excluding single household outbreaks, 673 outbreaks were notified nationally, 551 active (>6,200 cases) at the time. More than half of these outbreaks and cases coincided with: (i) social (family/friends’ gatherings or leisure venues) and (ii) occupational (mainly involving workers in vulnerable conditions) settings. Control measures were accordingly applied

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection