Eco-epidemiological Survey of Trypanosoma cruzi in Dogs from Mendoza, Argentina.

Urban domestic dog populations can provide important clues about the eco-epidemiological characteristics of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease (ChD). Given the limited data on ChD from the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza, Argentina, a seroprevalence survey of 327 dogs across an urban-rural gradient was conducted between April 2018 and May 2019. Seropositive cases were analyzed considering host, social, and environmental factors, subtypes (DTUs), and bloodstream parasite load.

2D P-doped carbon nitride as an effective artificial solid electrolyte interphase for the protection of Li anodes.

Metallic lithium plays an important role in the development of next-generation lithium metal-based batteries. However, the uncontrolled growth of lithium dendrites limits the use of lithium metal as an anode. In this context, a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is crucial for regulating dendrite formation, stability, and cyclability of lithium metal anodes.

Insights into the Mechanism of Protein Loading by Chain-Length Asymmetric Complex Coacervates.

The study of the phase behavior of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates has attracted significant attention in recent years due to their potential use as membrane-less organelles, microreactors, and drug delivery platforms. In this work, we investigate the mechanism of protein loading in chain-length asymmetric complex coacervates composed of a polyelectrolyte and an oppositely charged multivalent ion. Unlike the symmetric case (polycation + polyanion), we show that protein loading is highly selective based on the protein's net charge: only proteins with charges opposite to the polyelectrolyte can be loaded.

Implementing national antimicrobial consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean: opportunities and lessons learned.

Surveillance of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) is essential to anticipate and inform policies and public health decisions to prevent and/or contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This manuscript shares the experience on AMC data collection in Latin American & Caribbean (LAC). The WHO GLASS-AMC methodology for AMC surveillance was used for data registration during the period 2019-2022.

Insights into the lemon (Citrus limon) epiphytic microbiome: impact of the biocontrol yeast Clavispora lusitaniae 146.

Background: Postharvest lemons are affected by several fungal infections, and as alternatives to chemical fungicides for combating these infections, different microbial biocontrol agents have been studied, with the Clavispora lusitaniae 146 strain standing out. Although strain 146 has proven to be an effective agent, the influence of a microbial biological control agent on the postharvest lemon microbiome has not been studied until now. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate how the epiphytic microbiome of postharvest lemons is affected by the application of the biocontrol yeast C.

A cell-free biosensor signal amplification circuit with polymerase strand recycling.

Cell-free systems are powerful synthetic biology technologies that can recapitulate gene expression and sensing without the complications of living cells. Cell-free systems can perform more advanced functions when genetic circuits are incorporated. Here we expand cell-free biosensing by engineering a highly specific isothermal amplification circuit called polymerase strand recycling (PSR), which leverages T7 RNA polymerase off-target transcription to recycle nucleic acid inputs within DNA strand displacement circuits.

Hypermutability bypasses genetic constraints in SCV phenotypic switching in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Biofilms are critical in the persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, particularly in cystic fibrosis patients. This study explores the adaptive mechanisms behind the phenotypic switching between Small Colony Variants (SCVs) and revertant states in P. aeruginosa biofilms, emphasizing hypermutability due to Mismatch Repair System (MRS) deficiencies.

Assessment of the pathogenicity of Y. enterocolitica B1A isolates from San Luis, Argentina.

Yersinia enterocolitica, a bacterial enteropathogen that produces a variety of clinical manifestations in humans, includes six biotypes (B), called 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and about 70 serotypes. The biotypes exhibit diverse pathogenic potential; while 1B and 2-5 may show ability to produce clinical symptoms due to the presence of chromosomal and plasmid (pYV) virulence genes, B1A is supposed a non-pathogenic biotype since it lacks pYV plasmid. Therefore, although B1A strains cause diarrhea in humans, their pathogenic potential has not yet been extensively studied.

Albendazole-ivermectin co-formulation for the treatment of Trichuris trichiura and other soil-transmitted helminths: a randomised phase 2/3 trial.

Background: Treatments for soil-transmitted helminthiases face challenges, especially in addressing Trichuris trichiura. Combination regimens, particularly of ivermectin and albendazole, are promising. We aimed to assess the safety, efficacy, and palatability of a combination tablet for the treatment of T trichiura, hookworm, and Strongyloides stercoralis infections among school-aged children in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique.

Resection of a ventrally located ossified thoracic spinal meningioma: illustrative case.

Background: Resection of calcified meningiomas in the ventral thoracic spinal canal remains a formidable surgical challenge despite advances in technology and refined microsurgical techniques. These tumors, which account for a small percentage of spinal meningiomas, are characterized by their hardness, complicating safe resection and often resulting in worse outcomes than their noncalcified counterparts.

Observations: The authors present the case of a 68-year-old woman with a ventrally located ossified meningioma at the T9-10 level, successfully treated via a posterolateral transpedicular approach.

Spatial occurrence of emerging contaminants in rivers and wastewater. Analysis of environmental and human risks.

This study assesses the occurrence of emerging contaminants (ECs) from agricultural and livestock production activities along the Salado River (Santa Fe province, Argentina). Of the 23 ECs studied, 8 were detected and quantified in river and wastewater samples, including ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, chlorpyrifos-methyl, albendazole, fenbendazole, levamisole, diazepam, and thiamethoxam. In river samples, the highest concentrations corresponded to ciprofloxacin, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and enrofloxacin.

Androgen Receptor Pathway Inhibitor Therapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The open-label randomized phase 2 LACOG0415 trial evaluated 3 treatment strategies for patients with advanced castration-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC): androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP), apalutamide (APA) alone, or APA plus AAP.

Objective: To investigate the association of ADT plus AAP, APA alone, or APA plus AAP with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with advanced CSPC in the LACOG0415 trial.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The LACOG0415 randomized clinical trial comprised 128 patients with advanced CSPC who were randomized (1:1:1) to 1 of 3 treatment arms from October 16, 2017, to April 23, 2019.

Population pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol and the impact of food and formulation on systemic exposure in children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.

Objective: Identifying factors influencing cannabidiol (CBD) exposure can optimize treatment efficacy and safety. We aimed to describe the population pharmacokinetics of CBD in children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) and assess the influence of environmental, pharmacological, and clinical characteristics on CBD systemic exposure.

Methods: Data from two pharmacokinetic studies of patients aged 2-18 years with DEEs were included (N = 48 patients).

Combinatory actions of cytokines induce M2-like macrophages in anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a lethal endocrine malignancy. It has been shown that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to the aggressiveness of ATC. However, stimulatory factors that could facilitate the induction and infiltration of TAMs in the ATC tumor microenvironment (TME) are not fully elucidated.

Decompressive Craniectomy and Hinged Craniotomy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Experience in Two Centers in a Middle-Income Country.

Objective: The goal of a decompressive craniectomy (DC) or a hinge craniotomy (HC), is to treat intracranial hypertension and reduce mortality. Traditionally, the decompression procedure has been performed with cranial bone removal. However, decompression and repositioning the cranial bone, named HC, has been presented as an alternative for certain cases.

Synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography enhances our knowledge of the skull anatomy of a Late Triassic ecteniniid cynodont with hypercanines.

Hypercanines, or hypertrophied canines, are observed in a wide range of both extinct and extant synapsids. In non-mammaliaform cynodonts, the Permo-Triassic forerunners of mammals, long canines are not uncommon, appearing in several unrelated taxa within the clade. Among them is Trucidocynodon riograndensis, a carnivorous ecteniniid cynodont from the Late Triassic of Brazil, which exhibits a specialized dentition, including spear-shaped incisors, very long and narrow canines, and sectorial postcanines with distally oriented cusps, all of which have finely serrated margins.

Exploring molecule-surface interactions of urania IR spectroscopy and density functional theory.

Within the framework of surface-adsorbate interactions relevant to chemical reactions of spent nuclear fuel, the study of actinide oxide systems remains one of the most challenging tasks at both the experimental and computational levels. Consequently, our understanding of the effect of their unique electronic configurations on surface reactions lags behind that of d-block oxides. To investigate the surface properties of this system, we present the first infrared spectroscopy analysis of carbon monoxide (CO) interaction with a monocrystalline actinide oxide, UO(111).

Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: the EAS FH Studies Collaboration registry.

Background And Aims: Overweight and obesity are modifiable risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the general population, but their prevalence in individuals with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and whether they confer additional risk of ASCVD independent of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) remains unclear.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 35 540 patients with HeFH across 50 countries, in the EAS FH Studies Collaboration registry. Prevalence of World Health Organization-defined body mass index categories was investigated in adults (n = 29 265) and children/adolescents (n = 6275); and their association with prevalent ASCVD.

Comparison of the effects of two soy waste-based culture media on the technological properties of 90 as adjunct culture in miniature Cremoso cheese.

We compared the effects of two waste-based culture media (M1 and M2) on the technological properties of (L90) for its application as a secondary culture in Cremoso cheese. The following parameters were studied at different ripening times: pH (7, 20, and 40 d), microbiological counts, carbohydrates and organic acids (7 and 40 d), moisture, fat, protein and volatile compounds (40 d). The viability and the metabolic performance of the strain in cheeses were also verified along ripening.

The Puzzle of Food Inflation: Exploring the Asymmetric Nexus Between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Food Prices in the Expanded BRICS Countries.

Fluctuations in economic policy often create ripple effects that can significantly impact commodity prices, including those of essential food items, with potential consequences for food security. The five emerging nations outlined as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have most recently extended by including four new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE) on January 1, 2024. Additionally, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are anticipated to join the group soon.

Sugar conditioning combined with nectar nonsugar compounds enhances honey bee pollen foraging in a nectarless diocious crop.

Recently, it has been shown that sugar‑conditioned honey bees can be biased towards a nectarless dioecious crop as kiwifruit. The challenges for an efficient pollination service in this crop species are its nectarless flowers and its short blooming period. It is known that combined non-sugar compounds (NSCs) present in the floral products of different plants, such as caffeine and arginine, enhance olfactory memory retention in honey bees.

Experience with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in Latin America between 2016 and 2020.

Objective: To document the experience with ECMO therapy in healthcare institutions across Latin America between 2016 and 2020.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Private and public health institutions from 7 countries.

Genetic diversity and intercontinental dispersal of temperate and subarctic populations of Dibothriocephalus dendriticus (Cestoda; Diphyllobothriidea), a causative agent of dibothriocephalosis.

The diphyllobothriid tapeworm Dibothriocephalus dendriticus, one of the causative agents of the fish-borne zoonosis dibothriocephalosis, is mainly distributed in the Arctic/subarctic and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, North America, and Asia), but also in the southern cone region of South America (Patagonia). The genetic structure and gene flow among 589 individuals of D. dendriticus, representing 20 populations, were studied using the mitochondrial cox1 gene as the first choice marker and 10 polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci as a dominant molecular tool.

Neophobia and exploration behavior in urban gulls: the Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) as a study case.

Neophobia and exploratory behavior are personality traits through which organisms evaluate and respond to environment changes by adjusting their behavior. The Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) is a generalist seabird that consumes a wide variety of prey. Neophobia levels and exploratory behavior in novel circumstances were analyzed in urban adult (n=13) and immature (n=15) Kelp Gulls captured in the landfill of Mar del Plata city.