Assessment of Personal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution in Different Microenvironments and Traveling by Several Modes of Transportation in Bogotá, Colombia: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study (ITHACA).

Background: Air pollution in most countries exceeds the levels recommended by the World Health Organization, causing up to one-third of deaths due to noncommunicable diseases. Fine particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) from mobile sources are the main contaminants.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship of exposure to air pollutants (PM and BC) in microenvironments according to respiratory health and physical activity in users traveling by different types of transportation in Bogotá, Colombia.

Leishmania amazonensis: Anionic currents expressed in oocytes upon microinjection of mRNA from the parasite.

Transport mechanisms involved in pH homeostasis are relevant for the survival of Leishmania parasites. The presence of chloride conductive pathways in Leishmania has been anticipated since anion channel inhibitors limit the proton extrusion mediated by the H+ATPase, which is the major regulator of intracellular pH in amastigotes. In this study, we used Xenopus laevis oocytes as a heterologous expression system in which to study the expression of ion channels upon microinjection of polyA mRNA from Leishmania amazonensis.