Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreaks, driven by the expanding habitat of the Aedes albopictus mosquito and global climate change, pose a significant threat to public health. Our study evaluates the effectiveness of emergency vaccination using a dynamic disease transmission model for a potential large-scale outbreak in Rome, Italy.
Methods: The model incorporates a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) framework for human and mosquito populations, taking into account temperature-dependent mosquito lifecycle dynamics, human-mosquito interactions, and various vaccination scenarios.
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is widely used to preserve fresh fruits. In the case of exporting products in bulk formats (2-5 kg), perforated MAP can help extend shelf life if appropriately configured to reach suitable gas levels. This study evaluated the configuration of a perforated MAP system for purple passion (Passiflora edulis Sims) fruits based on modeling and simulation of changes in gas levels within the package headspace and experimental data on the respiration and transpiration of the fruits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chikungunya disease, caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV), is associated with substantial morbidity, including debilitating CHIKV-related arthralgia.
Methods: Three clinical trials of a CHIKV vaccine (VLA1553, IXCHIQ®) were conducted in the USA: a Phase 1 dose-finding trial, a pivotal Phase 3 trial and a Phase 3 lot-to-lot consistency trial. Participants were healthy adults (≥18 years) and received a single intramuscular dose of VLA1553 (3520 participants) or placebo (1033 participants).
Background: Chikungunya outbreaks have been reported in Brazil since 2014. Adolescents are a sensitive population who would benefit from a prophylactic vaccine. This study assessed the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine VLA1553 in adolescents in Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppendicitis, characterized by inflammation and obstruction of the appendiceal lumen, is a common surgical emergency often attributed to various factors. We present the case of an 18-year-old female who developed retrocecal appendicitis following blunt abdominal trauma, a rare occurrence with significant diagnostic challenges. Initial symptoms mimicked upper abdominal trauma, evolving to classic signs of appendicitis within hours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeotrop Entomol
June 2024
Insects of economic importance such as Leucoptera coffeella can cause high defoliation in plants and reduce crop yields. We aimed to identify changes in the ecological niche and potential zones of the invasion. Occurrence records were obtained from databases and bibliography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The global spread of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) increases the exposure risk for individuals travelling to or living in endemic areas. This Phase 3 study was designed to demonstrate manufacturing consistency between three lots of the single shot live-attenuated CHIKV vaccine VLA1553, and to confirm the promising immunogenicity and safety data obtained in previous trials.
Methods: This randomized, double-blinded, lot-to-lot consistency, Phase 3 study, assessed immunogenicity and safety of VLA1553 in 408 healthy adults (18-45 years) in 12 sites across the USA.
Post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) is a tumor that appears after a normal colonoscopy before the established time for the endoscopic follow up. Its origin reflects the quality of the colonoscopy and the different tumoral biologics between the CRC and the CRCPC. Our aim is to describe the characteristics of the PCCRC in our region, to identify risk factors, to discriminate the potential causes according to the World Endoscopý Organization (WEO) and to determine its impact in the patient's survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect
September 2023
Objectives: Booster doses for COVID-19 vaccinations have been shown to amplify the waning immune response after primary vaccination and to enhance protection against emerging variants of concern (VoCs). Here, we aimed to assess the immunogenicity and safety of a booster dose of an inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine (VLA2001) after primary vaccination with 2 doses of either VLA2001 or ChAdOx1-S (Oxford-Astra Zeneca), including the cross-neutralization capacity against the Delta and Omicron VoCs.
Methods: This interim analysis of an open-label extension of a randomized, controlled phase 3 trial assessed a single booster dose of an inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine (VLA2001) in healthy or medically stable adults aged 18 years and above, recruited in 21 clinical sites in the UK, who had previously received two doses of either VLA2001 or ChAdOx1-S.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
December 2022
Background: Improved education on water-related diseases in schools could help to reduce disease burden. This paper presents specific results on knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to reduce diarrheal disease and dengue entomological risk factors in rural primary schools in Colombia. The aim was to investigate whether enhanced educational interventions on dengue and diarrheal disease in schools could improve KAP scores related to these diseases in students and teachers in rural primary schools, as well as the students' parents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Valneva COVID-19 vaccine (VLA2001; Valneva Austria, Vienna, Austria) is an inactivated whole-virus, adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of primary vaccination with VLA2001 versus the ChAdOx1-S (Oxford-AstraZeneca) adenoviral-vectored vaccine.
Methods: In this immunobridging phase 3 trial (COV-COMPARE), participants aged 18 years and older who were medically stable (as determined by an investigator) were enrolled at 26 sites in the UK.
As part of public health preparedness for infectious disease threats, CDC collaborates with other U.S. public health officials to ensure that the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) has diagnostic tools to detect Orthopoxviruses, the genus that includes Variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to evaluate the behavior of Cardanol/SiO nanocomposites in the inhibition of the asphaltene damage based on the coreflooding test at reservoir conditions. The nanocomposite design was performed in Part I (https://doi.org/10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRural children are one of the populations that are most vulnerable to gastrointestinal parasite infections. Such diseases decrease the quality of life and result in growth and cognitive delays in the long term. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the frequency of intestinal parasite infections among rural schoolchildren in the municipality of Apulo, Colombia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study evaluated the sustainability of a set of interventions to prevent dengue and diarrhea in 33 rural schools in the municipalities (counties) of Anapoima and La Mesa, Colombia, two years post-project. The study measured sustainability in two categories: maintenance of the benefits and the interventions, and institutionalization and community capacity-building. The sustainability of the interventions was compared across four arms: interventions to prevent diarrhea, to prevent dengue, combined interventions to prevent diarrhea and dengue, and control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe originally published version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of the author Nathaniel W. Oswald, which was incorrectly given as Nathaniel W. Olswald.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Growth retardation or chronic malnutrition (low height for age) indicates a failure in the natural genetic potential that allows us to growth.
Objective: To estimate predictive models of growth retardation in households with children younger than five years in the department of Caldas and registered in the identification system of potential beneficiaries of social programs (Sistema de Identificación de Potenciales Beneficiarios de Programas Sociales, Sisbén).
Materials And Methods: We conducted an analytical study in all households (N=56,987) included in the Sisbén III database with the presence of children younger than five years (N=33,244).
A result of great theoretical and experimental interest, the Jarzynski equality predicts a free energy change ΔF of a system at inverse temperature β from an ensemble average of nonequilibrium exponential work, i.e., 〈e^{-βW}〉=e^{-βΔF}.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrugs that mirror the cellular effects of starvation mimics are considered promising therapeutics for common metabolic disorders, such as obesity, liver steatosis, and for ageing. Starvation, or caloric restriction, is known to activate the transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lipid metabolism and lysosomal biogenesis and function. Here, we report a nanotechnology-enabled high-throughput screen to identify small-molecule agonists of TFEB and discover three novel compounds that promote autophagolysosomal activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: 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.
Background: Aedes aegypti, the major vector of dengue, breeds in domestic water containers. The development of immature mosquitoes in such containers is influenced by various environmental, ecological and socioeconomic factors. Urban and rural disparities in water storage practices and water source supply may affect mosquito immature abundance and, potentially, dengue risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article concerns the characterization of the stability and performance of a motorized stage used in laser direct writing lithography. The system was built from commercial components and commanded by G-code. Measurements use a pseudo-periodic-pattern (PPP) observed by a camera and image processing is based on Fourier transform and phase measurement methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: As many neglected tropical diseases are co-endemic and have common risk factors, integrated control can efficiently reduce disease burden and relieve resource-strained public health budgets. Diarrheal diseases and dengue fever are major global health problems sharing common risk factors in water storage containers. Where provision of clean water is inadequate, water storage is crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Aedes aegypti vector for dengue virus (DENV) has been reported in urban and periurban areas. The information about DENV circulation in mosquitoes in Colombian rural areas is limited, so we aimed to evaluate the presence of DENV in Ae. aegypti females caught in rural locations of two Colombian municipalities, Anapoima and La Mesa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDengue 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.
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