Bioactivity of synthetic peptides from Ecuadorian frog skin secretions against , , and .

Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and malaria are major parasitic diseases disproportionately affecting the underprivileged population in developing nations. Finding new, alternative anti-parasitic compounds to treat these diseases is crucial because of the limited number of options currently available, the side effects they cause, the need for long treatment courses, and the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) derived from amphibian skin secretions are small bioactive molecules capable of lysing the cell membrane of pathogens while having low toxicity against human cells.

Incidence of major cardiovascular events at 1, 2, and 5 years and mortality in incident patients on peritoneal dialysis regarding their nutritional status by bioimpedanciometry: A multicenter study in Colombia.

Background: The nutritional status of incident patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been associated with survival outcomes. Bioimpedanciometry (BCM) enables to establish a nutritional diagnosis, the volume status, and correlates these findings with survival.

Methods: This study used a retrospective multicenter historical cohort.

Modulation of the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and nitrosative stress biomarkers by aspirin triggered lipoxins: A possible mechanism of action of aspirin in the antiphospholipid syndrome.

Problem: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by the clinical manifestation of vascular thrombosis (VT) or pregnancy morbidity (PM) and antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) that can modify the nitric oxide production. Low-dose aspirin is used in the prevention and treatment of diverse alterations of pregnancy. One of the mechanisms of action of aspirin is to induce the production of aspirin-triggered-lipoxins (ATL).

The oxidative potential of airborne particulate matter in two urban areas of Chile: More than meets the eye.

Oxidative potential (OP) has gained attention as a parameter that can reveal the ability of different properties of particulate matter (PM) to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) as one single value. Moreover, OP is also believed to be a predictor of toxicity and hence the health effects of PM. This study evaluated the OP of PM, PM,and PMsamples using dithiothreitol assays in two cities of Chile (Santiago and Chillán).

Discovery and validation of dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease mutations in populations from Latin America.

Background: In fewer than 1% of patients, AD is caused by autosomal dominant mutations in either the presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin 2 (PSEN2), or amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes. The full extent of familial AD and frequency of these variants remains understudied in Latin American (LatAm) countries. Due to the rare nature of these variants, determining the pathogenicity of a novel variant in these genes can be challenging.

Local Air Quality Issues and Research Priorities Through the Lenses of Chilean Experts: An Ontological Analysis.

Air pollution problems can be large, complex, and ill-structured. They can vary from location to location and combine many complex components: urban expansion, increasing vehicles and industrial emissions, biomass burning, geographic and meteorological conditions, cultural aspects, and economic effects. However, the existing research, accumulated knowledge, and local research priorities are spread over many disciplines and lack a systematic mapping to help manage and develop new strategies for researchers and policy makers.

Dithiothreitol-based oxidative potential for airborne particulate matter: an estimation of the associated uncertainty.

Oxidative stress is considered as one of the main mechanisms by which airborne particles produce adverse health effects. Several methods to estimate the oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter (PM) have been proposed. Among them, the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay has gained popularity due to its simplicity and overall low implementation cost.

Particulate matter levels in a South American megacity: the metropolitan area of Lima-Callao, Peru.

The temporal and spatial trends in the variability of PM and PM from 2010 to 2015 in the metropolitan area of Lima-Callao, Peru, are studied and interpreted in this work. The mean annual concentrations of PM and PM have ranges (averages) of 133-45 μg m (84 μg m) and 35-16 μg m (26 μg m) for the monitoring sites under study. In general, the highest annual concentrations are observed in the eastern part of the city, which is a result of the pattern of persistent local winds entering from the coast in a south-southwest direction.

Accuracy and reliability of Chile's National Air Quality Information System for measuring particulate matter: Beta attenuation monitoring issue.

A critical analysis of Chile's National Air Quality Information System (NAQIS) is presented, focusing on particulate matter (PM) measurement. This paper examines the complexity, availability and reliability of monitoring station information, the implementation of control systems, the quality assurance protocols of the monitoring station data and the reliability of the measurement systems in areas highly polluted by particulate matter. From information available on the NAQIS website, it is possible to confirm that the PM2.

The relationship between renal resistive index, arterial stiffness, and atherosclerotic burden: the link between macrocirculation and microcirculation.

The renal resistive index (RRI) measured by Doppler sonography is a marker of microvascular status that can be generalized to the whole of the arterial tree. Its association with large-vessel dysfunction, such as arterial stiffness or the atherosclerotic burden, can help to establish physiopathological associations between macrocirculation and microcirculation. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of hypertensive patients (n=202) and a healthy control group (n=16).

[Prevalence of specific antibodies for celiac disease in children attended in the Nutritional Recovery Program in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina].

Celiac disease is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects 1.26% of the Argentine pediatric population. Our purpose was to study the prevalence of specific antibodies of celiac disease in a risk group and to find the association with specific factors.

Asynchronic transmission in the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses in the neurological mutant taiep rat.

For the taiep rat, a neurological mutant with severe astrogliosis secondary to demyelination, we have described alterations in spinal cord synaptic transmission. Asynchronous responses result from phasic action potential-derived glutamate release in this mutant. To evaluate whether this anomalous transmission is also produced in other regions of the taiep CNS and whether its nature involves a presynaptic or postsynaptic disruption, we studied the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses.