Publications by authors named "Estepa A"

Physicians should consider non-O1, non-O139 (NOVC) in the differential diagnosis of cellulitis complicated by sepsis, especially in immunocompromised patients when potential exposure exists. Due to the pathogen's potential for severe infections and rising incidence from environmental changes, we emphasize the need for increased awareness and appropriate treatment guidelines.

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Background: Candida auris has become a growing concern worldwide because of increases in incidence of colonization and reports of invasive infections. There are limited data on clinical factors associated with poor outcomes in patients with C. auris bloodstream infection (BSI).

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Purpose: To evaluate four decontamination strategies utilizing enzymatic agents available in most clinical settings to determine (1) the amount of biomaterial that can be removed in a group of previously used healing abutments (uHAs) and (2) the degree to which the decontaminated HAs are capable of inducing an inflammatory response in vitro compared to new HAs.

Materials And Methods: In total, 50 HAs were collected following 2 to 4 weeks of intraoral use and distributed randomly into five test groups (groups A-E; n = 10 per group). Group A used enzymatic cleaner foam and an autoclave.

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(1) Background: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the concurrent and predictive validity and the applicability of the global leadership initiative on malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in patients hospitalized for acute medical conditions. (2) Methods: prospective cohort study with patients hospitalized for acute medical conditions. For validation, the methodology proposed by the GLIM group of experts was used.

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Aim: To evaluate the potential role of miR-26 family members in periodontal pathogenesis by assessing innate immune responses to periopathic bacteria and regulation of cytoskeletal organization.

Materials And Methods: Expression of miR-26a-5p and miR-26b-5p was quantified in gingival biopsies derived from healthy and periodontally diseased subjects before and after non-surgical (scaling and root planing) therapy by RT-qPCR. Global pathway analysis and luciferase assays were performed for target identification and validation.

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This paper formulates a new problem for the optimal placement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) geared towards wireless coverage provision for Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) service to a set of ground users confined in an open area. Our objective function is constrained by coverage and by VoIP speech quality and minimizes the ratio between the number of UAVs deployed and energy efficiency in UAVs, hence providing the layout that requires fewer UAVs per hour of service. Solutions provide the number and position of UAVs to be deployed, and are found using well-known heuristic search methods such as genetic algorithms (used for the initial deployment of UAVs), or particle swarm optimization (used for the periodical update of the positions).

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Acute renal failure remains a significant concern in all patients with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Management is particularly challenging in critically ill patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) level of care. Supportive care in the form of accurate volume correction and avoiding nephrotoxic agents are the chief cornerstone of the management of these patients.

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Most of the endobronchial lesions are malignant in origin. In rare instances, benign lesions occupying the endobronchial tree can mimic malignant neoplasms on conventional imaging tests. We present a case of a middle-aged male patient who was admitted to our hospital with recurrent hemoptysis concerning for lung cancer on computed tomography (CT) of the chest.

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In mammals, recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1) plays a crucial role in adaptive immunity, generating a vast range of immunoglobulins. Rag1 zebrafish (Danio rerio) are viable and reach adulthood without obvious signs of infectious disease in standard nonsterile conditions, suggesting that innate immunity could be enhanced to compensate for the lack of adaptive immunity. By using microarray analysis, we confirmed that the expression of immunity- and apoptosis-related genes was increased in the rag1 fish.

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It has been described that fish nucleated red blood cells (RBCs) generate a wide variety of immune-related gene transcripts when viruses highly replicate inside them and are their main target cell. The immune response and mechanisms of fish RBCs against viruses targeting other cells or tissues has not yet been explored and is the objective of our study. Rainbow trout RBCs were obtained from peripheral blood, ficoll purified and exposed to (VHSV).

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With the exception of mammals, vertebrate erythrocytes are nucleated. Nevertheless, these cells are usually considered as mere carriers of hemoglobin. In this work, however, we describe for the first time an unrecognized role of teleost red blood cells (RBCs).

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To investigate fish innate immunity, we have conducted organ and cell immune-related transcriptomic as well as immunohistologic analysis in mutant zebra fish () lacking adaptive immunity () at different developmental stages (egg, larvae, and adult), before and after infection with spring viremia carp virus (SVCV). The results revealed that, compared to immunocompetent zebra fish ( ), acquired increased resistance to SVCV with age, correlating with elevated transcript levels of immune genes in skin/fins and lymphoid organs (head kidney and spleen). Gene sets corresponding to apoptotic functions, immune-related multigene families, and interferon-related genes were constitutively upregulated in uninfected adult zebra fish.

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Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) are economically important pathogens of the salmonid aquaculture industry. In previous work we demonstrated that a cell line persistently infected with IPNV (EPC) exhibited antiviral activity against superinfection with the heterologous virus VHSV. This work extends our study by analyzing the replication of VHSV in the IPNV-persistently infected cells.

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Because of the recent discovery of multiple c-reactive protein (crp)-like genes in zebrafish (Danio rerio) with predicted heterogeneous phospholipid-binding amino acid sequences and heterogeneous transcript expression levels in viral survivors and adaptive-deficient mutants, zebrafish constitute an attractive new model for exploring the evolution of these protein's functions, including their possible participation in fish trained immunity. Circulating human CRP belongs to the short pentraxin family of oligomeric proteins that are characteristic of early acute-phase innate responses and is widely used as a clinical inflammation marker. In contrast to pentameric human CRP (pCRP), zebrafish CRPs are trimeric (tCRP); however monomeric CRP (mCRP) conformations may also be generated when associated with cellular membranes as occurs in humans.

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IPNV is a salmonid birnavirus that possesses the ability to establish asymptomatic persistent infections in a number of valuable fish species. The presence of IPNV may interfere with subsequent infection by other viruses. In the present study we show that an IPNV-carrier cell line (EPC) can induce an antiviral state in fresh EPC by co-cultivating both cell types in three different ways: a "droplet" culture system, a plastic chamber setup, and a transmembrane (Transwell) system.

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TNFα is a pleiotropic pro-inflammatory cytokine with a key role in the activation of the immune system to fight viral infections. Despite its antiviral role, a few viruses might utilize the host produced TNFα to their benefit. Some recent reports have shown that anti-TNFα therapies could be utilized to treat certain viral infections.

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Unlabelled: Little is known about the antiviral response in mollusks. As in other invertebrates, the interferon signaling pathways have not been identified, and in fact, there is a debate about whether invertebrates possess antiviral immunity similar to that of vertebrates. In marine bivalves, due to their filtering activity, interaction with putative pathogens, including viruses, is very high, suggesting that they should have mechanisms to address these infections.

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There is a constant need to increase the efficiency of vaccines in the aquaculture industry. Although several nano-based vaccine formulations have been reported, to the best of our knowledge so far only one of them have been implemented in the industry. Here we report on chitosan-poly(I:C) nanoparticles (NPs) that could be used as a non-specific adjuvant in antiviral vaccines in aquaculture.

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Surface glycoproteins of enveloped virus are potent elicitors of both innate and adaptive host immune responses. Therefore, the identification of viral glycoprotein determinants directly implicated in the induction of these responses might be of special interest for designing new therapeutical/adjuvant molecules. In this work we review the contribution of the "pepscan" approach to the screening of viral functions in the sequence of glycoprotein G (gpG) of the fish rhabdovirus of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHSV).

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While exploring the molecular mechanisms behind the fin hemorrhages that follow zebrafish (Danio rerio) early infection with viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), we discovered that most serpin (serine protease inhibitor) gene transcripts were upregulated, except those of serpine1. Surprisingly, only SERPINe1-derived 14-mer peptide and low molecular weight drugs targeting SERPINe1 (i.e.

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Since adaptive features such as memory were discovered in mammalian innate immunity, interest in the immunological status of primitive vertebrates after infections has grown. In this context, we used zebrafish (Danio rerio), a primitive vertebrate species suited to molecular and genetic studies to explore transcriptional memories of the immune system in long-term survivors of viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus infections. Immune-gene targeted microarrays designed in-house, multipath genes, gene set enrichment, and leading-edge analysis, reveal unexpected consistent correlations between the viral-survivor phenotype and several innate multigene families.

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The non-virion (NV) protein of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), an economically important fish novirhabdovirus, has been implicated in the interference of some host innate mechanisms (i.e. apoptosis) in vitro.

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Flagellin is the principal component of flagellum in Gram negative and positive bacteria, and it is also the ligand that activates the Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) in mammals and fish. In higher vertebrates, flagellin induces the activation of the membrane-bound TLR5 (TLR5M), which promotes the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and the co-stimulatory molecules present in antigen-presenting cells needed for the activation of T cells. In the present study, we report the production of two recombinant proteins of Vibrio anguillarum: i) a full length flagellin B (FlaB) (rFla) and ii) the amino-terminus of the D1 domain (rND1) of the same protein, the region mainly responsible for binding to TLR5 and for the immunostimulatory activity of flagellin.

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We have recently identified the two major determinants of the glycoprotein G of the viral hemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus (gpGVHSV), peptides p31 and p33 implicated in triggering the host type I IFN antiviral response associated to these rhabdoviral antigens. With the aim to investigate the properties of these viral glycoprotein regions as DNA molecular adjuvants, their corresponding cDNA sequences were cloned into a plasmid (pMCV1.4) flanked by the signal peptide and transmembrane sequences of gpGVHSV.

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