Addressing the challenges of implementing evidence-based prioritisation in global health.

Global health requires evidence-based approaches to improve health and decrease inequalities. In a roundtable discussion between health practitioners, funders, academics and policy-makers, we recognised key areas for improvement to deliver better-informed, sustainable and equitable global health practices. These focus on considering information-sharing mechanisms and developing evidence-based frameworks that take an adaptive function-based approach, grounded in the ability to perform and respond to prioritised needs.

Rapid Domoic Acid Depuration in the Scallop and Its Transfer from the Digestive Gland to Other Organs.

Domoic acid (DA), the main toxin responsible for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, frequently affects the marine resources of Chile and other countries across the South Pacific, thus becoming a risk for human health. One of the affected resources is the scallop . Even though this species has a high commercial importance in Northern Chile and Peru, the characteristics of its DA depuration are not known.

Probing interlayer excitons in a vertical van der Waals p-n junction using a scanning probe microscopy technique.

Two dimensional (2D) semiconductors feature exceptional optoelectronic properties controlled by strong confinement in one dimension. In this contribution, we studied interlayer excitons in a vertical p-n junction made of bilayer n-type MoS and few layers of p-type GaSe using current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM). The p-n interface is prepared by mechanical exfoliation onto highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG).

Saxitoxins and okadaic acid group: accumulation and distribution in invertebrate marine vectors from Southern Chile.

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are the main source of marine toxins in the aquatic environment surrounding the austral fjords in Chile. Huichas Island (Aysén) has an history of HABs spanning more than 30 years, but there is limited investigation of the bioaccumulation of marine toxins in the bivalves and gastropods from the Region of Aysén. In this study, bivalves (Mytilus chilenses, Choromytilus chorus, Aulacomya ater, Gari solida, Tagelus dombeii and Venus antiqua) and carnivorous gastropods (Argobuccinum ranelliformes and Concholepas concholepas) were collected from 28 sites.

Factors associated with patient and graft survival using kidneys from cadaveric donors in transplanted patients over 18 years of age in Argentina.

Background: With improvements in short-term kidney graft and patient survival, focus has shifted to understand patient and graft features that affect long-term survival.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis from January 1998 to December 2009 employed Kaplan-Meier analysis to evaluate survival ratios at 30 days as well as 1, 5, and 10 years. A multivariable Cox regression model considered variables of donor and recipient, gender and age, cold ischemia time (CIT), chronic renal failure etiology, time on dialysis (TD) and cause of donor death.

Analysis of mortality while on waiting list for kidney transplant in adults in Argentina 2005-2009.

Introduction: Comparison of survival after renal transplant patients on the waiting list is an important factor to evaluate this therapy.

Objective: To measure the magnitude of deceased donor kidney transplant on patient survival compared to patients on dialysis and on waiting lists in over 18 years in Argentina.

Material And Methods: The information was obtained from SINTRA for the period January 2003 to December 2009.

Factors associated with patient and graft survival using kidneys from cadaveric donors in transplant patients under 18 years of age in Argentina.

Background: Thanks to advances in surgical techniques and immune system suppression, the mortality rate in children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has dramatically declined. Kidney transplantation has become the primary method to treat ESRD in the pediatric population.

Materials And Methods: Information was obtained from SINTRA (National Information System of Orrgan Procurement and transplantation in Argentina) for the period 1998-2009.

First evidence of azaspiracids (AZAs): A family of lipophilic polyether marine toxins in scallops (Argopecten purpuratus) and mussels (Mytilus chilensis) collected in two regions of Chile.

Azaspiracids are a family of lipophilic polyether marine biotoxins that have caused a number of human intoxication incidents in Europe since 1995 following the consumption by consumers of intoxicated shellfish (Mytilus edulis). These azaspiracids have now been identified in mussels (Mytilus chilensis) and scallops (Argopecten purpuratus) from two Chilean locations. This is the first report of the occurrence of azaspiracid toxins in these species (Mytilus chilensis and Argopecten purpuratus) from Chile.

The occurrence of domoic acid linked to a toxic diatom bloom in a new potential vector: the tunicate Pyura chilensis (piure).

The tunicate Pyura chilensis (Molina, 1782); Phylum Chordata; Subphylum Urochordata; Class Ascidiacea, common local name "piure" or sea squirt; a filter-feeder (plankton and suspended particles) sessile species; may play an important role in monitoring domoic acid (DA) the principal toxic component of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). Significant DA concentrations have been determined in tunicate samples, collected during a recent ASP outbreak in Bahía Inglesa, an important scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) farming area. Several infaunal species were tested for the presence of DA, in addition to the usual scallop monitoring programme.

Amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins in bivalve molluscs in Ireland.

In December 1999, domoic acid (DA) a potent neurotoxin, responsible for the syndrome Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) was detected for the first time in shellfish harvested in Ireland. Two liquid chromatography (LC) methods were applied to quantify DA in shellfish after sample clean-up using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with strong anion exchange (SAX) cartridges. Toxin detection was achieved using photodiode array ultraviolet (LC-UV) and multiple tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS(n)).

Improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of domoic acid and analogues in shellfish: effect of pH.

Domoic acid (DA) is a naturally-occurring amino acid that causes a form of human intoxication called amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) following the consumption of shellfish. A rapid and sensitive HPLC-UV method has been developed for analysis of DA and analogues in shellfish without the need for SPE clean-up. Isocratic chromatographic separation of DA and its isomers from shellfish matrix interferences and from the prevalent amino acid, tryptophan, was achieved by careful control of the mobile phase pH.