Digital devices for heart rhythm monitoring in atrial fibrillation patients scheduled for elective electrical cardioversion.

Introduction And Objectives: Management in recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is to achieve sinus rhythm (SR) by cardioversion (CV). However, frequently SR is spontaneously restored, making scheduled admission unnecessary and causing misutilization of healthcare resources. Emerging medical technology allows accurate heart rhythm monitoring.

Diversifying selection identified in immune epitopes of bovine coronavirus isolates from Irish cattle.

(BoCoV) is a pneumoenteric pathogen of cattle that is closely related to human coronavirus OC43. Vaccines are administered to protect against diseases caused by BoCoV, but knowledge gaps exist with regard to correlates of protection and the effect of immune evasion on driving evolution. In this study, immune epitopes were mapped onto BoCoV structural proteins, including spike and haemagglutinin esterase (HE), and then supported with targeted gene sequencing of Irish clinical isolates and selective pressure analysis.

Antimalarial evaluation of alkyl-linked bis-thiadiazine derivatives in murine model infected with two strains.

Background And Purpose: and are responsible for most malaria cases in humans in the African Region and the Americas; these parasites have developed resistance to classic antimalarial drugs. On the other hand, previous investigations of the alkyl-linked bis tetrahydro-(2H)-1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione (bis-THTT) derivatives compounds show satisfactory results against protozoan parasites such as , , and . Therefore, it is possible to see some effect of bis-THTT derivatives on other protozoan parasites, such as .

Natural Infection Stimulates Human Antibodies to MSP1 Epitopes Identified in Mice Infection Models upon Non-Natural Modified Peptidomimetic Vaccination.

(1) Background: Malaria, a vector-borne infectious disease, is caused by parasites of the genus, responsible for increased extreme morbidity and mortality rates. Despite advances in approved vaccines, full protection has not yet been achieved upon vaccination, thus the development of more potent and safe immuno-stimulating agents for malaria prevention is a goal to be urgently accomplished. We have focused our research on a strategy to identify spp.

Outcomes of cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent flutter ablation: randomized study comparing single vs. multiple catheter procedures-the SIMPLE study.

Background: Catheter ablation is recommended as first-line therapy for patients with symptomatic typical AFl. Although the conventional multi-catheter approach is the standard of care for cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) ablation, a single-catheter approach was recently described as a feasible alternative. The present study sought to compare safety, efficacy, and efficiency of single vs.

Monkeypox: potential vaccine development strategies.

A multicountry outbreak of monkeypox has gained global attention. Basic research including structural and immunological investigation on monkeypox virus (MPXV) is central to design effective solutions of treatment with antivirals and appropriate vaccines. We summarize some information about this virus and its re-emergence and the current vaccines that are proposed to limit its spread and present some possible avenues for developing new vaccines.

Zero fluoroscopy atrioventricular node ablation and left bundle branch pacing guided by electroanatomic tridimensional mapping system.

Recent publications have reported the feasibility of atrioventricular node ablation (AVNA) and concomitant His-bundle pacing guided by an electroanatomic tridimensional mapping system (ETMS). We report the case of a 65-year-old female patient in which zero fluoroscopy left bundle branch pacing and AVNA were performed guided just by ETMS. Optimal device functioning, electrical parameters stability, and correct lead location were observed 24 h and 30 days after the procedure.

First detected case of rabbit Haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) in the Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus).

Background: Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a Lagovirus, a subgroup of the family Caliciviridae. RHDV2 is a variant first described in France in 2010, and has since spread globally. It has been reported in several Lagomorph species (rabbits, hares, and their relatives) as well as other mammals including voles and shrews.

Remarkable oxygen consumption improvement after auricular flutter ablation in a patient with constrictive pericarditis and severe mitral stenosis.

Atrial function is a key factor in cardiac output and oxygen consumption (VO). Substantial improvements in VO have been reported after restoring sinus rhythm (SR) in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, there are no published data on how atrial function affects VO in patients with both constrictive pericarditis (CP) and severe mitral stenosis (MS).

The Search of a Malaria Vaccine: The Time for Modified Immuno-Potentiating Probes.

Malaria is a deadly disease that takes the lives of more than 420,000 people a year and is responsible for more than 229 million clinical cases globally. In 2019, 95% of malaria morbidity occurred in African countries. The development of a highly protective vaccine is an urgent task that remains to be solved.

COVID-19 Infection Detection and Prevention by SARS-CoV-2 Active Antigens: A Synthetic Vaccine Approach.

COVID-19, a global pandemic causing to date more than 50 million cases and more than a million deaths, has to be controlled. SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) was identified as the causative agent. Controversy about this virus origin and infectious mechanism for adapting to humans remains a matter for discussion.

A Large Size Chimeric Highly Immunogenic Peptide Presents Multistage Plasmodium Antigens as a Vaccine Candidate System against Malaria.

Rational strategies for obtaining malaria vaccine candidates should include not only a proper selection of target antigens for antibody stimulation, but also a versatile molecular design based on ordering the right pieces from the complex pathogen molecular puzzle towards more active and functional immunogens. Classical antigens regarded as vaccine candidates have been selected as model targets in this study. Among all possibilities we have chosen epitopes of CSP, STARP; MSA1 and 155/RESA from pre- and erythrocyte stages respectively for designing a large 82-residue chimeric immunogen.

A chimeric protein-based malaria vaccine candidate induces robust T cell responses against Plasmodium vivax MSP1.

The most widespread Plasmodium species, Plasmodium vivax, poses a significant public health threat. An effective vaccine is needed to reduce global malaria burden. Of the erythrocytic stage vaccine candidates, the 19 kDa fragment of the P.

Protecting capacity against malaria of chemically defined tetramer forms based on the Plasmodium falciparum apical sushi protein as potential vaccine components.

Developing novel generations of subunit-based antimalarial vaccines in the form of chemically-defined macromolecule systems for multiple antigen presentation represents a classical problem in the field of vaccine development. Many efforts involving synthesis strategies leading to macromolecule constructs have been based on dendrimer-like systems, the condensation of large building blocks and conventional asymmetric double dimer constructs, all based on lysine cores. This work describes novel symmetric double dimer and condensed linear constructs for presenting selected peptide multi-copies from the apical sushi protein expressed in Plasmodium falciparum.

Redefining an epitope of a malaria vaccine candidate, with antibodies against the N-terminal MSA-2 antigen of Plasmodium harboring non-natural peptide bonds.

The aim of obtaining novel vaccine candidates against malaria and other transmissible diseases can be partly based on selecting non-polymorphic peptides from relevant antigens of pathogens, which have to be then precisely modified for inducing a protective immunity against the disease. Bearing in mind the high degree of the MSA-2(21-40) peptide primary structure's genetic conservation among malaria species, and its crucial role in the high RBC binding ability of Plasmodium falciparum (the main agent causing malaria), structurally defined probes based on non-natural peptide-bond isosteres were thus designed. Thus, two peptide mimetics were obtained (so-called reduced amide pseudopeptides), in which naturally made amide bonds of the (30)FIN(32)-binding motif of MSA-2 were replaced with ψ-[CH2-NH] methylene amide isostere bonds, one between the F-I and the second between I-N amino acid pairs, respectively, coded as ψ-128 ψ-130.

A new approach to obtaining Nα -t-Boc-amino acid aldehydes from asparagine and glutamine for reduced amide pseudopeptide solid-phase synthesis.

Reduced amide pseudopeptides have been proposed as structural probes that could be useful as potential malarial vaccine components. However, designing determined pseudopeptide sequences containing isoster peptide bonds, either on an asparagine (Asn) or on a glutamine (Gln) residues, can become difficult because these precursor amino acid aldehydes are obtained in yields lower than 0.5%.

Leishmanicidal activity of synthetic antimicrobial peptides in an infection model with human dendritic cells.

Different species of Leishmania are responsible for cutaneous, mucocutaneous or visceral leishmaniasis infections in millions of people around the world [14]. The adverse reactions caused by antileishmanial drugs, emergence of resistance and lack of a vaccine have motivated the search for new therapeutic options to control this disease. Different sources of antimicrobial molecules are under study as antileishmanial agents, including peptides with antimicrobial and/or immunomodulatory activity, which have been considered to be potentially active against diverse species of Leishmania[7,39].

Development of designed site-directed pseudopeptide-peptido-mimetic immunogens as novel minimal subunit-vaccine candidates for malaria.

Synthetic vaccines constitute the most promising tools for controlling and preventing infectious diseases. When synthetic immunogens are designed from the pathogen native sequences, these are normally poorly immunogenic and do not induce protection, as demonstrated in our research. After attempting many synthetic strategies for improving the immunogenicity properties of these sequences, the approach consisting of identifying high binding motifs present in those, and then performing specific changes on amino-acids belonging to such motifs, has proven to be a workable strategy.

Protection against malaria is conferred by passive transferring rabbit F(ab)(2)' antibody fragments, induced by Plasmodium falciparum MSP-1 site-directed designed pseudopeptide-BSA conjugates assessed in a rodent model.

F(ab)(2)'-immunoglobulin (Ig) fragments induced by site-directed designed immunogens are emerging as novel tools of potential utility in the treatment of clinical episodes of transmissible diseases such as malaria. Immunogens based on reduced amide pseudopeptides based on site-directed molecular modifications represent structural probes that could be considered as novel vaccine candidates, as we have previously demonstrated. We have obtained F(ab)(2)'-Ig rabbit antibodies induced against the N-terminal sequence of the native Merozoite Surface Protein-1 (MSP-1) of Plasmodium falciparum and a set of five MSP-1-derived reduced amide pseudopeptides.

CD8(+)HLA-G(+) regulatory T cells are expanded in HIV-1-infected patients.

It has been recently reported that CD8(+) T cells from healthy human peripheral blood express the tolerogenic HLA-G molecule originally described in trophoblasts. The majority of these CD8(+)HLA-G(+) cells exhibit a naïve phenotype and are FoxP3 negative, and they have been classified as a novel subset of regulatory T cells based on their potent suppressive function. We have investigated if this new cell population is expanded during HIV-1 infection.

A C-terminal cationic fragment derived from an arginine-rich peptide exhibits in vitro antibacterial and anti-plasmodial activities governed by its secondary structure properties.

The differential in vitro antimicrobial activity of a 12-residue-long arginine-rich peptide derived from protamine was examined against bacterial and parasite microbes. A design of discrete peptide fragments based on the thermolysin-digestion map allowed us to propose three peptide fragments to be further assessed regarding their biological and secondary structural properties. Peptide structure allowed designing three arginine-rich fragments.

Biological activity of secondary metabolites from Peltostigma guatemalense.

Leaves and wood of Peltostigma guatemalense, a novel species of the family Rutaceae, yielded a total of 14 secondary metabolites, i.e. methyl p-hydroxy benzoate, phenylacetic acid, beta-sitosterol, lupeol, syringaresinol, scopoletin, gardenin B (1), and seven alkaloids: gamma-fagarine (2), skimmianine (3), kokusaginine (4), 7-O-isopentenyl-gamma-fagarine (5), anhydro-evoxine (6), evoxine (7) and 4-methoxy-1-methyl-quinolin-2-one (8).

Passive transfer of Plasmodium falciparum MSP-2 pseudopeptide-induced antibodies efficiently controlled parasitemia in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.

We have developed monoclonal antibodies directed against the pseudopeptide psi-130, derived from the highly conserved malarial antigen Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP-2), for obtaining novel molecular tools with potential applications in the control of malaria. Following isotype switching, these antibodies were tested for their ability to suppress blood-stage parasitemia through passive immunization in malaria-infected mice. Some proved totally effective in suppressing a lethal blood-stage challenge infection and others reduced malarial parasitemia.