is a bacterium that infects several species of birds and mammals. It is the causal agent of avian chlamydiosis and psittacosis in humans and it is globally distributed. is one of the main zoonotic pathogens transmitted by birds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rabies virus (RABV) is the exclusive lyssavirus affecting both wild and domestic mammalian hosts in the Americas, including humans. Additionally, the Americas stand out as the sole region where bat rabies occurs. While carnivore rabies is being increasingly managed across the region, bats are emerging as significant reservoirs of RABV infection for humans and domestic animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubterranean rodents of the genus Ctenomys (tuco-tucos) are endemic to South America and have experienced relatively recent radiation. There are about 67 recognized species that originated in approximately 1-2 MY. They stand out for their species richness, extraordinary chromosomal diversity, and wide range of habitat they occupy in the continent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
August 2024
Background: Chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) management often follows chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) guidelines, but a step-by-step evaluation of their effectiveness in CIndU is lacking.
Objective: To assess the clinical impact of adapting CSU international guidelines for CIndU management.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study involving patients diagnosed with CIndU based on challenge tests and a Urticaria Control Test (UCT) score of ≤11 points.
Unlabelled: Until now, was known only from its type locality, in the south of Santa Fe province, Argentina. Specimens of this species were collected in 2021 from a roost in a tree of the urban woodland of Paraná city, Entre Ríos province, Argentina. Bat identification was made by comparing external and cranial characters and measurements with those reported in the bibliography and corroborated by a phylogenetic analysis based on the cytochrome b gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats are reservoirs of diverse coronaviruses (CoVs), including progenitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. In the Americas, there is a contrast between alphacoronaviruses (alphaCoVs) and betaCoVs: while cospeciation prevails in the latter, alphaCoV evolution is dominated by deep and recent host switches. AlphaCoV lineages are maintained by two different bat family groups, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae plus Molossidae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats harbor the largest number of coronavirus (CoV) species among mammals, serving as major reservoirs of alphaCoVs and betaCoVs, which can jump between bat species or to different mammalian hosts, including humans. Bat-CoV diversity is correlated with host taxonomic diversity, with the highest number of CoV species found in areas with the highest levels of bat species richness. Although the Americas harbor a unique and distinctive CoV diversity, no cross-species transmission (CST) or phylogeographic analysis has yet been performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDementia is an umbrella term used to describe a loss of cognitive function which results in the interference of an individual's daily life and activities. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is classified as a progressive, debilitating neurodegenerative disease that results in disturbances to a patient's higher executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial orientation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rabies virus (RABV) is characterized by a history dominated by host shifts within and among bats and carnivores. One of the main outcomes of long-term RABV maintenance in dogs was the establishment of variants in a wide variety of mesocarnivores. In this study, we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic and phylogeographic analysis, contributing to a better understanding of the origins, diversification, and the role of different host species in the evolution and diffusion of a dog-related variant endemic of South America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have previously shown that members of the family of testis-specific serine/threonine kinases (TSSKs) are post-meiotically expressed in testicular germ cells and in mature sperm in mammals. The restricted post-meiotic expression of TSSKs as well as the importance of phosphorylation in signaling processes strongly suggest that TSSKs have an important role in germ cell differentiation and/or sperm function. This prediction has been supported by the reported sterile phenotype of the TSSK6 knock-out (KO) mice and of the double TSSK1/TSSK2 KO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats are among the most diverse, widespread, and abundant mammals. In Argentina, 67 species of bats have been recorded, belonging to 5 families and 29 genera. These high levels of biodiversity are likely to complicate identification at fieldwork, especially between closely related species, where external morphology-based approaches are the only immediate means for a priori species assignment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn rabies diagnosis, it is essential to count on a rapid test to give a quick response. The combined sensitivity and robustness of the TaqMan RT-PCR assays (qRT-PCR) have made these methods a valuable alternative for rabies virus (RABV) detection. We conducted a study to compare the applicability of two widely used qRT-PCR assays targeting the nucleoprotein gene (LysGT1 assay) and leader sequences (LN34 qRT-PCR assay) of RABV genomes, in all variants circulating in Argentina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMale contraception is a very active area of research. Several hormonal agents have entered clinical trials, while potential non-hormonal targets have been brought to light more recently and are at earlier stages of development. The general strategy is to target genes along the molecular pathways of sperm production, maturation, or function, and it is predicted that these novel approaches will hopefully lead to more selective male contraceptive compounds with a decreased side effect burden.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUDP- glucose: glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGGT) is a protein that operates as the gatekeeper for the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control mechanism of glycoprotein folding. It is known that vertebrates and genomes harbor two gene copies that exhibit differences in their properties.Bayesian phylogenetic inference based on 195 UGGT and UGGT-like protein sequences of an ample spectrum of eukaryotic species showed that genes went through independent duplications in and vertebrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMammalian sperm undergo a series of biochemical and physiological changes collectively known as capacitation in order to acquire the ability to fertilize. Although the increase in phosphorylation associated with mouse sperm capacitation is well established, the identity of the proteins involved in this signaling cascade remains largely unknown. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been used to identify the exact sites of phosphorylation and to compare the relative extent of phosphorylation at these sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe genus Ctenomys comprises about 70 species with great chromosome diversity. The Corrientes group is one of the most chromosomally variable lineages in the genus, where the diploid number (2n) varies from 41 to 70. In this group, three nominal species and numerous polymorphic and polytypic populations have been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Exercise-induced stress induces considerable changes in the immune system. To better understand the mechanisms related to these immune changes during acute and chronic physical stress, we studied the effects of aerobic physical training (APT) on several parameters of the immune system.
Methods: Previously untrained males (18-25 years of age) were divided into a group that was subjected to 6 months of APT (N.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
November 2017
J Thromb Thrombolysis
July 2013
Recent literature describes methods to reduce "preventable" hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism; however, there is a paucity of data on "preventable" bleeding. While risk assessment models exist for both thrombosis and bleeding, these concepts should be differentiated from whether the event was preventable or non-preventable. Here we describe a protocol to identify, monitor, and evaluate anticoagulation-related preventable hospital-acquired major bleeds (PHAMB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuco-tucos (small subterranean rodents of the genus Ctenomys) that inhabit sandy soils of the area under the influence of the second largest wetland of South America, in Northeastern Argentina (Corrientes province), are a complex of species and forms whose taxonomic status were not defined, nor are the evolutionary relationships among them. The tuco-tuco populations of this area exhibit one of the most ample grades of chromosomal variability within the genus. In order to analyze evolutionary relationships within the Corrientes group and its chromosomal variability, we completed the missing karyotypic information and performed a phylogenetic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOn the basement of the library model of satellite DNA evolution is the differential amplification of subfamilies through lineages diversification. However, this idea has rarely been explored from an experimental point of view. In the present work, we analyzed copy number and sequence variability of RPCS (repetitive PvuII Ctenomys sequence), the major satellite DNA present in the genomes of the rodents of the genus Ctenomys, in a closely related group of species and forms inhabiting the Iberá marsh in Argentina.
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