Identification of optimal portal pressure decrease to control ascites while minimizing hepatic encephalopathy after TIPS: A multicenter study.

Background Aims: Clinically-significant portal hypertension (CSPH) in liver cirrhosis patients can lead to refractory ascites. A transjugular-intrahepatic-portosystemic shunt (TIPS) treats CSPH but may cause overt hepatic encephalopathy (oHE). Our aim was to determine the optimal reduction of the portal pressure gradient (PPG) via TIPS to control ascites without raising oHE risk.

Correction: Immunogenic Salivary Proteins of Triatoma infestans: Development of a Recombinant Antigen for the Detection of Low-Level Infestation of Triatomines.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.

Assessment of hip abductor and adductor muscle strength with fixed-frame dynamometry: Considerations on the use of bilateral and unilateral tasks.

Objective: To examine the specificities and limitations of bilateral and unilateral tasks for the assessment of hip abductor and adductor strength with a commercially-available fixed-frame dynamometer.

Design: Correlational/validity study.

Methods: Maximal voluntary isometric strength of hip abductors and adductors was evaluated in 130 healthy participants using unilateral and bilateral tasks.

Interaction of , Triatomines and the Microbiota of the Vectors-A Review.

This review summarizes the interactions between , the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, its vectors, triatomines, and the diverse intestinal microbiota of triatomines, which includes mutualistic symbionts, and highlights open questions. strains show great biological heterogeneity in their development and their interactions. Triatomines differ from other important vectors of diseases in their ontogeny and the enzymes used to digest blood.

Viral RNA in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Collected between 2019 and 2021 in Germany.

Due to globalisation and climate change, mosquito-borne pathogens are emerging in new areas on all continents, including Europe, which has recently faced outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya and West Nile fever. The present study complements previous investigations to evaluate the circulation of mosquito-borne viruses in Germany, with the aim of identifying potential vector species and risk areas. Mosquitoes collected from 2019 to 2021 and identified to species or species group level were screened for viruses of the families Flaviviridae, Peribunyaviridae and the genus of the family Togaviridae.

Immune responses and clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with liver disease and liver transplant recipients.

Background & Aims: Comparative assessments of immunogenicity following different COVID-19 vaccines in patients with distinct liver diseases are lacking. SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell and antibody responses were evaluated longitudinally after one to three vaccine doses, with long-term follow-up for COVID-19-related clinical outcomes.

Methods: A total of 849 participants (355 with cirrhosis, 74 with autoimmune hepatitis [AIH], 36 with vascular liver disease [VLD], 257 liver transplant recipients [LTRs] and 127 healthy controls [HCs]) were recruited from four countries.

Avian Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. parasites in mosquitoes in Germany.

Background: Although haemosporidian parasites may cause considerable health and economic problems in aviaries, there is limited understanding of the vectors transmitting them. Mosquito-borne Plasmodium species are responsible for the deaths of numerous exotic (= immunologically naïve) birds in zoos every year, while native birds are adapted to the parasites and largely protected by an effective immune response.

Methods: Mosquitoes were collected in bird/animal parks, wetlands and private gardens in various regions of Germany from 2020 to 2022.

Hip muscle strength in male and female patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: Comparison to healthy controls and athletes.

Objectives: To examine hip muscle strength deficits in patients with femoroacetabular impingent syndrome (FAIS), with special emphasis on potential sex- and comparison-related (between-subject vs within-subject) differences.

Design: Cross-sectional comparative study.

Participants: Forty FAIS patients (20 women), 40 healthy controls (20 women) and 40 athletes (20 women).

Bacteriolytic activity in saliva of the hematophagous Triatoma infestans (Reduviidae) and novel characterization and expression site of a third lysozyme.

Saliva of hematophagous insects contains many different compounds, mainly acting as anticoagulants. Investigating the bacteriolytic compounds of the saliva of the bloodsucking Triatoma infestans photometrically between pH 3 and pH 10 using unfed fifth instars and nymphs up to 15 days after feeding, we found bacteriolytic activity against lyophilized Micrococcus luteus was stronger at pH 4 and pH 6. After feeding, the activity level at pH 4 was unchanged, but at pH 6 more than doubled between 3 and 7 days after feeding.

Clinical Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections in Liver Transplant Recipients during the Omicron Wave.

At the start of the pandemic, liver transplant recipients (LTR) were at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Here, the outcomes of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated LTR ( = 98) during the Omicron wave were assessed. In most patients, a mild disease course was observed, but 11 LTR (11.

Humoral and Cellular Immune Response After Third and Fourth SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in Liver Transplant Recipients.

Background & Aims: Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) show a decreased immune response after 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations compared with healthy controls (HCs). Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of additional vaccinations.

Methods: In this prospective study, humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain [anti-S RBD]) and cellular (interferon-gamma release assay) immune responses were determined after mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in 106 LTRs after a third vaccination and in 36 LTRs after a fourth vaccination.

Analysis of the humoral and cellular response after the third COVID-19 vaccination in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

Background & Aims: To explore the humoral and T-cell response to the third COVID-19 vaccination in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers were prospectively determined in 81 AIH patients and 53 healthy age- and sex-matched controls >7 days (median 35) after the first COVID-19 booster vaccination. The spike-specific T-cell response was assessed using an activation-induced marker assay (AIM) in a subset of patients.

"Natural infections" with Trypanosoma cruzi via the skin of mice: size of mouthparts of vectors and numbers of invading parasites.

Investigating parameters influencing natural infections with Trypanosoma cruzi via the skin, the diameters of mouthparts of different stages of triatomines vectors were measured to determine the size of the channel accessible for T. cruzi during cutaneous infection. The mean diameters of the skin-penetrating mandibles of first to fifth instar nymphs of the vector Triatoma infestans increased from 18 to 65 µm.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response in patients with autoimmune hepatitis and autoimmune cholestatic liver disease.

Background/aims: In this observational study, we explored the humoral and cellular immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and patients with cholestatic autoimmune liver disease (primary sclerosing cholangitis [PSC] and primary biliary cholangitis [PBC]).

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers were determined using the DiaSorin LIAISON and Roche immunoassays in 103 AIH, 64 PSC, and 61 PBC patients and 95 healthy controls >14 days after the second COVID-19 vaccination. The spike-specific T-cell response was assessed using an activation-induced marker assay (AIM) in a subset of individuals.

SARS-CoV2-specific Humoral and T-cell Immune Response After Second Vaccination in Liver Cirrhosis and Transplant Patients.

Background & Aims: Detailed information on the immune response after second vaccination of cirrhotic patients and liver transplant (LT) recipients against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is largely missing. We aimed at comparing the vaccine-induced humoral and T-cell responses of these vulnerable patient groups.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein titers were determined using the DiaSorin LIAISON (anti-S trimer) and Roche Elecsys (anti-S RBD) immunoassays in 194 patients (141 LT, 53 cirrhosis Child-Pugh A-C) and 56 healthy controls before and 10 to 84 days after second vaccination.

An Update on the Knowledge of Parasite-Vector Interactions of Chagas Disease.

This review focusses on the interactions between the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, , and its triatomine vector. The flagellate mainly colonizes the intestinal tract of the insect. The effect of triatomines on trypanosomes is indicated by susceptibility and refractoriness phenomena that vary according to the combination of the strains.

Oviposition of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) and associated native species in relation to season, temperature and land use in western Germany.

Background: Aedes japonicus japonicus, first detected in Europe in 2000 and considered established in Germany 10 years later, is of medical importance due to its opportunistic biting behaviour and its potential to transmit pathogenic viruses. Its seasonal phenology, temperature and land use preference related to oviposition in newly colonised regions remain unclear, especially in the context of co-occurring native mosquito species.

Methods: Focussing on regions in Germany known to be infested by Ae.

Predation on the invasive mosquito Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) by native copepod species in Germany.

Some limnic copepod species are predators of mosquito larvae. Seven species belonging to the order Cyclopoida, family Cyclopidae, were collected in the field in Germany and tested for the first time in laboratory bioassays for their potential to serve as biological control agents of the invasive Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus (Theobald), a vector of various pathogens causing disease. Females of Diacyclops bicuspidatus (Claus) did not attack 1 instar larvae of Ae.

The Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Europe, 17 years after its first detection, with a focus on monitoring methods.

After the first detection of the Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus in the year 2000 in France, its invasive nature was revealed in 2008 in Switzerland and Germany. In the following years, accumulating reports have shown that Ae. j.

Immunosuppression in Experimental Chagas Disease Is Mediated by an Alteration of Bone Marrow Stromal Cell Function During the Acute Phase of Infection.

After infection with , the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, immunosuppression, and apoptosis of mature lymphocytes contribute to the establishment of the parasite in the host and thereby to persistence and pathology in the chronic stage of infection. In a systemic mouse model of experimental Chagas disease, we have demonstrated a strong depletion of mature B cells in the spleen during the first 2 weeks of infection. Remarkably, the decrease in this cell population commenced already in the bone marrow from infected mice and was a concomitant of an increased apoptosis in pro- and pre-B cell populations.

A Density Map of the Tick-Borne Encephalitis and Lyme Borreliosis Vector Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) for Germany.

The castor bean tick Ixodes ricinus (L.) is the principal vector for a variety of viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens causing a growing public-health issue over the past decades. However, a national density map of I.

A novel duplex real-time PCR permits simultaneous detection and differentiation of Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

Purpose: For simultaneous detection of Borrelia miyamotoi (relapsing fever spirochete) and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, we have developed a duplex real-time PCR targeting the flagellin gene (flaB; p41), a locus frequently used in routine diagnostic PCR for B. burgdorferi s.l.

An updated insight into the Sialotranscriptome of Triatoma infestans: developmental stage and geographic variations.

Background: Triatoma infestans is the main vector of Chagas disease in South America. As in all hematophagous arthropods, its saliva contains a complex cocktail that assists blood feeding by preventing platelet aggregation and blood clotting and promoting vasodilation. These salivary components can be immunologically recognized by their vector's hosts and targeted with antibodies that might disrupt blood feeding.