The impact of secondary forest regeneration on ground-dwelling ant communities in the Tropical Andes.

Natural regeneration of abandoned farmland provides an important opportunity to contribute to global reforestation targets, including the Bonn Challenge. Of particular importance are the montane tropics, where a long history of farming, frequently on marginal soils, has rendered many ecosystems highly degraded and hotspots of extinction risk. Ants play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, and a key question is how time since abandonment and elevation (and inherent temperature gradients therein) affect patterns of ant recovery within secondary forest systems.

The lateral neocortex is critical for contextual fear memory reconsolidation.

Memories are a product of the concerted activity of many brain areas. Deregulation of consolidation and reprocessing of mnemonic traces that encode fearful experiences might result in fear-related psychopathologies. Here, we assessed how pre-established memories change with experience, particularly the labilization/reconsolidation of memory, using the whole-brain analysis technique of positron emission tomography in male mice.

First detection of Ostreid herpesvirus 1 in wild Crassostrea gigas in Argentina.

Ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) is a DNA virus of the genus Ostreavirus (Malacoherpesviridae family, Herpesvirales order). Worldwide, OsHV-1 and its microvariants have been associated with increased mortality of Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas. Adult asymptomatic oysters also have shown a high prevalence of viral infection.

Regulation of Protein Secretion Systems Mediated by Cyclic Diguanylate in Plant-Interacting Bacteria.

The ubiquitous second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) is involved in the regulation of different processes in bacteria. In phytopathogens, intracellular fluctuations in the concentration of this molecule contribute to the lifestyle switching from a motile and virulent stage to a sessile and biofilm-forming phase. Among the virulence mechanisms used by bacterial pathogens, different specific type secretion systems (TSSs) and the effector proteins that they translocate are included.

Discriminatory rapid tests cause HIV-type misclassification-evaluation of three rapid tests using clinical samples from Guinea-Bissau.

Background: Discrimination among HIV types is important because HIV-2 is naturally resistant to some of the first-line drugs used in the treatment of HIV-1. We evaluated three assays for HIV-type discriminatory capacity: SD Bioline HIV 1/2 3.0 (Bioline), First Response HIV 1-2-0 Card Test (First Response) and Genie III HIV-1/HIV-2 (Genie III).

[Clinical-epidemiological characteristics and prescribing patterns for burns in three hospitals in Lima, Peru].

In order to describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics and medical prescription patterns of patients with first- and second-degree burns who visited three reference hospitals in Lima, a cross-sectional study was carried out to collect data on demographics, medical history, clinical evaluation, and treatment received by 561 participants. The use of antibiotics and moisturizing agents was 64.7% and 4.

Move on Bikes Program: A Community-Based Physical Activity Strategy in Mexico City.

Unlabelled: Open streets programs are free and multisectoral programs in which streets are temporally closed allowing access to walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists. The Move on Bikes program (by its name in Spanish Muévete en Bici) (MEB) consists of 55 km of interconnected streets in middle-high income areas of Mexico City. There is scarce evidence on the evaluation of this program in Mexico.

Comparative Study of the Antimicrobial Effect of Nanocomposites and Composite Based on Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) Using Cu and Cu/CuO Nanoparticles and CuSO.

Nanocomposites and a composite based on poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) were synthesized using commercial copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs), copper/cuprous oxide nanoparticles (Cu|CuO-NPs), and copper sulfate (CuSO), respectively. The Cu|CuO-NPs were synthesized using chemical reduction and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The synthesis of Cu|CuO-NPs yielded a mixture of Cu and CuO, with metal Cu having a spherical morphology of approximately 40 nm in diameter and CuO with a diameter of 150 nm.

Persistent central inflammation and region specific cellular activation accompany depression- and anxiety-like behaviours during the resolution phase of experimental colitis.

Depression and anxiety-related psychological symptoms are increasingly recognised as important co-morbidities in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced colitis is an animal model of IBD in which afferent activation of the gut-brain axis can be assessed and explored as a source of behavioural change. Exposure of adult male Wistar rats to DSS (5%) in drinking water induced distal colitis.

Physicochemical and Pharmacokinetic Profiles of Gadopiclenol: A New Macrocyclic Gadolinium Chelate With High T1 Relaxivity.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate gadopiclenol, a newly developed extracellular nonspecific macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) having high relaxivity properties, which was designed to increase lesion detection and characterization by magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: We described the molecular structure of gadopiclenol and measured the r1 and r2 relaxivity properties at fields of 0.47 and 1.

Biodiversity of rhizobia present in plant nodules of Biserrula pelecinus across Southwest Spain.

Biodiversity studies of native Mesorhizobium spp. strains able to nodulate the annual herbaceous legume Biserrula pelecinus L. in soils from Southwest Spain have been carried out.

Multislice Computed Tomography Assessment of Airway Patency Changes Associated with Mandibular Advancement Appliance Therapy in Supine Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

The purpose of the present study was to measure the regional effects of the mandibular advancement appliance (MAA) on the upper airway of supine subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using multislice computed tomography (MSCT). The subjects included 8 males and 5 females who were diagnosed with mild to moderate OSA and were referred to the Orthodontic Clinic of Hiroshima University Hospital, where they underwent MAA therapy. Using a CT scanner, baseline MSCT images were obtained from the subjects without the MAA for morphological analysis, and then the experimental images were obtained while wearing the MAA.

Short communication: Four cases of taeniasis in urban Venezuelan communities.

We report four cases of Taenia saginata taeniasis in different urban communities of Aragua state, Venezuela. After subsequent treatment with praziquantel and a saline purge, adult tapeworms were collected from all four patients and demonstrated to be T. saginata by morphological and molecular characterization.

Performance of Bio-Rad HIV-1/2 Confirmatory Assay in HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dually reactive patients - comparison with INNO-LIA and immunocomb discriminatory assays.

Background: Being able to discriminate between HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dual infection is imperative for the appropriate selection of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in regions with high HIV-2 endemicity.

Objectives: To evaluate Bio-Rad Geenius HIV-1/2 Confirmatory Assay against INNO-LIA HIV 1/2 Score and ImmunoComb HIV 1/2 BiSpot with an emphasis towards ability to discriminate between HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dual infection.

Material And Methods: 131 samples from ART naïve HIV infected patients in Guinea-Bissau were selected retrospectively and tested with Geenius, INNO-LIA and Immunocomb.

Hydrogel-based delivery of Il-10 improves treatment of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a life-threatening progressive lung disorder with limited therapeutic options. While interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic cytokine, its utility in treating lung fibrosis has been limited by its short half-life. We describe an innovative hydrogel-based approach to deliver recombinant IL-10 to the lung for the prevention and reversal of pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model of bleomycin-induced lung injury.

T-cell and B-cell perturbations identify distinct differences in HIV-2 compared with HIV-1-induced immunodeficiency.

Background: For unknown reasons, HIV-2 is less pathogenic than HIV-1, and HIV-2-induced immunodeficiency may be different from that caused by HIV-1. Previous immunological studies have hinted at possible shifts in both T-cell and B-cell subsets, which we aimed to characterize further.

Methods: From an HIV clinic in Guinea-Bissau, 63 HIV-2, 83 HIV-1, and 26 HIV-negative participants were included.

T-cell and B-cell perturbations are similar in ART-naive HIV-1 and HIV-1/2 dually infected patients.

Background: HIV-2 may slow progression of a subsequently acquired HIV-1 infection through cross-neutralizing antibodies and polyfunctional CD8 T cells. We hypothesized that HIV-1/2 dually infected patients compared with HIV-1-infected patients had more preserved immune maturation subsets and less immune activation of T and B cells.

Methods: ART-naive patients with HIV-1 (n = 83) or HIV-1/2 dual (n = 27) infections were included in this cross-sectional study at an HIV clinic in Guinea-Bissau.

Multifocal Primary Uveal Melanoma: Clinical and Molecular Characteristics.

We report two patients who developed a second distinct choroidal melanoma in the same eye following successful regression of their first choroidal melanoma after iodine-125 plaque brachytherapy. Neither patient demonstrated ocular melanocytosis, local tumor recurrence, or vitreous seeding. One patient had the second tumor arising from a previously documented choroidal nevus, and after undergoing enucleation, there was no detectable connection between the tumors on histopathologic examination.

Strategies Employed by Community-Based Service Providers to Address HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Challenges: A Qualitative Study.

Background: HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and other causes of neurocognitive challenges experienced by people living with HIV (PLWH) persist as public health concerns in developed countries. Consequently, PLWH who experience neurocognitive challenges increasingly require social support and mental health services from community-based providers in the HIV sector.

Methods: Thirty-three providers from 22 AIDS service organizations across Ontario, Canada, were interviewed to determine the strategies they used to support PLWH experiencing neurocognitive difficulties.

HLA-DQB1*06:276, a novel HLA allele fund in a patient from Guinea-Bissau.

DQB1*06:276 differs from DQB1*06:03:01:01 by amino acid substitutions p.T71A, p.G74S, and p.

Autochthonous cutaneous leishmaniasis in urban domestic animals (Felis catus / Canis lupus familiaris) from central-western Venezuela.

Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by intracellular protozoa of the Leishmania genus that are spread and transmitted by sandflies. Natural infection and clinical disease in domestic cats and dogs appear to be rare or perhaps largely under-reported in endemic areas. However, previous reports on infected domestic animals usually implicate the same Leishmania species that affect humans in tropical and subtropical areas of the world suggesting a potential role for zoonotic transmission.

Sodium Content of Processed Foods Available in the Mexican Market.

Background: Sodium intake is related to several adverse health outcomes, such as hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Processed foods are major contributors to the population's sodium intake. The aim of the present study was to determine sodium levels in Mexican packaged foods, as well as to evaluate the proportion of foods that comply with sodium benchmark targets set by the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (UK FSA) and those set by the Mexican Commission for the Protection of Health Risks (COFEPRIS).

Characterization of siRNAs clusters in Arabidopsis thaliana galls induced by the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita.

Background: Root-knot nematodes (RKN), genus Meloidogyne, are plant parasitic worms that have the ability to transform root vascular cylinder cells into hypertrophied, multinucleate and metabolically over-active feeding cells. Redifferentiation into feeding cells is the result of a massive transcriptional reprogramming of root cells targeted by RKN. Since RKN are able to induce similar feeding cells in roots of thousands of plant species, these worms are thought to manipulate essential and conserved plant molecular pathways.