Glycolysis Changes in Alloreactive Memory B Cells in Highly Sensitized Kidney Transplant Recipients Undergoing Desensitization Therapy.

Despite the growing use of desensitization strategies, hyperimmune patients remain at high risk of antibody-mediated rejection suggesting that, even when donor-specific antibodies (DSA) are effectively depleted, anti-donor specific B cells persist. We included 10 highly sensitized recipients that underwent desensitization with plasmapheresis and B cell depletion prior to kidney transplantation. We quantified changes in DSA (luminex), total B-cell subsets (flow cytometry), anti-donor HLA B cells (fluorospot), and single-cell metabolism in serially collected samples before desensitization, at the time of transplant, and at 6 and 12 months thereafter.

Accessibility to palliative care services in Colombia: an analysis of geographic disparities.

Objectives: Due to the increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and the Colombian demographic transition, the necessity of palliative care has arisen. This study used accessibility and coverage indicators to measure the geographic barriers to palliative care.

Methods: Population-based observational study focused on urban areas and adult population from Colombia, which uses three measurements of geographic accessibility to services: a) density of palliative care services per 100,000 inhabitants, b) analysis of geographic distribution by territorial nodes of the country, and c) spatial analysis of palliative care services using Voronoi diagrams.

Evaluation of Torque Teno Virus DNA Load as a Predictive Biomarker in Kidney Transplant Recipients Converted from Calcineurin Inhibitors to Belatacept.

Introduction: Belatacept is a relevant alternative to calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) after kidney transplantation (KT). Circulating Torque Teno virus (TTV) DNA load is correlated to infections and rejection risks post-KT in patients treated with CNIs. The aim of this study was to assess the TTV DNA load profile in kidney transplant recipients converted from CNIs to belatacept and explore its use as a predictive biomarker.

Pulmonary Paragonimiasis in Native Community, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador, 2022.

Paragonimiasis is a food-borne infection caused by several species of the Paragonimus fluke. Clinical manifestations can mimic tuberculosis and contribute to diagnostic delay. We report a cluster of paragonimiasis in a community in Ecuador, where active surveillance was set up after detection of the first 2 cases.

Tocilizumab and Active Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplantation: A Literature Review.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public-health problem that increases the risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), cardiovascular diseases, and other complications. Kidney transplantation is a renal-replacement therapy that offers better survival compared to dialysis. Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is a significant complication following kidney transplantation: it contributes to both short- and long-term injury.

Prevalence and molecular characterisation of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in an outbreak-free setting in a single hospital in Uruguay.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterise all carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria (CPE) isolates obtained from an outbreak-free setting in Uruguay.

Methods: We studied 12 CPE isolated from Hospital de Clínicas between 2012-2016. Bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using VITEK®2 and Sensititre or agar dilution, respectively.

[Comamonas kerstersii bacteremia in a young man with acute appendicitis].

Comamonas kerstersii is a non-fermenting Gram-negative bacillus. It has been associated with intra-abdominal infections. We describe a clinical case of bacteremia caused by C.

Polyclonal Campylobacter fetus Infections Among Unrelated Patients, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2013-2018.

In Montevideo (2013-2018), 8 Campylobacter fetus extraintestinal infections were reported. The polyclonal nature of strains revealed by whole-genome sequencing and the apparent lack of epidemiological links was incompatible with a single contamination source, supporting alternative routes of transmission.

Dengue virus detection in Aedes aegypti larvae and pupae collected in rural areas of Anapoima, Cundinamarca, Colombia.

Introduction: There is a high incidence and prevalence of dengue in the department of Cundinamarca, and recently Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue virus (DENV), was detected in some of its rural areas.

Objective: To evaluate viral transovarial transmission in larvae and pupae collected in rural areas of the municipality of Anapoima, Cundinamarca.

Materials And Methods: Live larvae and pupae were collected from 53 homes and later they were taken to the laboratory in Anapoima, where they were classified, pooled and frozen.

[Spatial distribution of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in the rural area of two municipalities of Cundinamarca, Colombia].

Introduction: It is difficult to adapt or create new strategies for dengue control in rural areas due to the dispersion of homes and the lack of knowledge about the presence and behavior of the vector in these areas. Spatial data analysis could help understand time and space dynamics related to the transmission of vector-borne diseases in rural areas and, thus, contribute to the prevention and control of dengue.

Objective: To determine the probability of the presence of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti in the rural area of the municipalities of Anapoima and La Mesa, in the central area of Colombia.

Debaryomyces hansenii Strains from Valle De Los Pedroches Iberian Dry Meat Products: Isolation, Identification, Characterization, and Selection for Starter Cultures.

Yeasts, filamentous fungi, and bacteria colonize the surface of fermented sausages during the ripening process. The source of this microbiota is their surrounding environment, and is influenced by the maturing conditions and starter cultures. was previously isolated from several dry-cured meat products and associated with the lipolytic and proteolytic changes that occur in these products, influencing their taste and flavor.

Detection of regulated disinfection by-products in cheeses.

Cheese can contain regulated disinfection by-products (DBPs), mainly through contact with brine solutions prepared in disinfected water or sanitisers used to clean all contact surfaces, such as processing equipment and tanks. This study has focused on the possible presence of up to 10 trihalomethanes (THMs) and 13 haloacetic acids (HAAs) in a wide range of European cheeses. The study shows that 2 THMs, (in particular trichloromethane) and 3 HAAs (in particular dichloroacetic acid) can be found at μg/kg levels in the 56 cheeses analysed.

Schools as Potential Risk Sites for Vector-Borne Disease Transmission: Mosquito Vectors in Rural Schools in Two Municipalities in Colombia.

Dengue and other vector-borne diseases are of great public health importance in Colombia. Vector surveillance and control activities are often focused at the household level. Little is known about the importance of nonhousehold sites, including schools, in maintaining vector-borne disease transmission.

Speckle fields generated with binary diffusers and synthetic pupils implemented on a spatial light modulator.

Digitally controllable Gaussian speckle fields were experimentally generated by implementing binary diffusers and synthetic pupils on a liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The synthetic pupil comprises a Ronchi phase mask and a proper filtering of its diffraction orders. The binary diffuser is displayed inside an aperture defined onto the Ronchi phase mask.

Characterization of cellulases of fungal endophytes isolated from Espeletia spp.

Endophytes are microorganisms that asymptomatically invade plant tissues. They can stimulate plant growth and/or provide defense against pathogen attacks through the production of secondary metabolites. Most endophyte species are still unknown, and because they may have several applications, the study of their metabolic capabilities is essential.

Optical smart packaging to reduce transmitted information.

We demonstrate a smart image-packaging optical technique that uses what we believe is a new concept to save byte space when transmitting data. The technique supports a large set of images mapped into modulated speckle patterns. Then, they are multiplexed into a single package.

The impact of health care reform on California's children in immigrant families.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) restricts its health insurance expansions in ways that exclude many uninsured children in California who are immigrants or have immigrant parents. These exclusions directly limit coverage options for noncitizen children. And immigrant parents, potentially misinterpreting eligibility requirements for these new programs, may not enroll their citizen children.

Selection of antagonistic bacteria isolated from the Physalis peruviana rhizosphere against Fusarium oxysporum.

Aims: Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana) have become increasingly important in Colombia for both domestic consumption and the international export market. Vascular wilting caused by Fusarium oxysporum is the most damaging disease to P. peruviana crops in Colombia.

Enterococcus populations in artisanal Manchego cheese: biodiversity, technological and safety aspects.

Enterococci represent a considerable proportion of the microbiota in Manchego cheeses. In this study, a total of 132 enterococci isolated from good quality Manchego cheeses from two dairies at different ripening times were genotypically characterized and identified using molecular techniques. Representative isolates from the clusters obtained after genotyping were assayed for some enzymatic activities considered to have a potential role in cheese ripening, and for 2,3-butanedione and acetoin production, evaluation of odor intensity and appearance in milk and safety evaluation.

One-fifth of nonelderly Californians do not have access to job-based health insurance coverage.

Lack of job-based health insurance does not affect just workers, but entire families who depend on job-based coverage for their health care. This policy brief shows that in 2007 one-fifth of all Californians ages 0-64 who lived in households where at least one family member was employed did not have access to job-based coverage. Among adults with no access to job-based coverage through their own or a spouse's job, nearly two-thirds remained uninsured.

Two-thirds of California's seven million uninsured may obtain coverage under health care reform.

Almost 4.7 million nonelderly adults and children of the seven million Californians who were uninsured for all or part of 2009 will be eligible for insurance as a result of last year's health care reform legislation, according to new data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2009). Eligible Californians will obtain coverage either through Medi-Cal or through subsidies to purchase private health insurance in the new California Health Benefit Exchange (CHBE) starting in 2014.

Genotypic and technological characterization of Leuconostoc isolates to be used as adjunct starters in Manchego cheese manufacture.

Twenty-seven Leuconostoc (Ln.) isolates from Manchego cheese were characterized by phenotypic and genotypic methods, and their technological abilities studied in order to test their potential use as dairy starter components. While phenotypic diversity was evaluated by studying the biochemical characteristics of technological interest (i.

The fractional urinary fluoride excretion of adults consuming naturally and artificially fluoridated water and the influence of water hardness: a randomized trial.

Aims: To assess whether there was any significant difference in the average fractional urinary fluoride excretion (FUFE) values among adults consuming (NaF) fluoridated Ca-free water (reference water), naturally fluoridated hard water and an artificially (H2SiF6) fluoridated soft water.

Design: Sixty adult females (N=20 for each treatment) participated in this randomized, double-blind trial. The experimental design of this study provided an indirect estimation of the fluoride absorption in different types of water through the assessment of the fractional urinary fluoride excretion of volunteers.