Candida-related infections are nowadays a serious Public Health Problem emerging multidrug-resistant strains. Candida biofilm also leads bloodstream infections to invasive systemic infections.
The ...present meta-analysis aimed to analyze Candida biofilm rate, type, and antifungal resistance among hospitalized patients between 1995 and 2020.
Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases were searched for English papers using the following medical subject heading terms (MESH): "invasive candidiasis"; "bloodstream infections"; "biofilm formation"; "biofilm-related infections"; "mortality"; and "prevalence".
The major inclusion criteria included reporting the rate of biofilm formation and the prevalence of biofilm-related to Candida species, including observational studies (more exactly, cohort, retrospective, and case-control studies). Furthermore, data regarding the mortality rate, the geographical location of the study set, and the use of anti-fungal agents in clinical isolates were also extracted from the studies.
Independent extraction of articles by 2 authors using predefined data fields, including study quality indicators.
A total of 31 studies from publicly available databases met our inclusion criteria. The biofilm formation in the data set varied greatly from 16 to 100% in blood samples. Most of the studies belonged to Europe (17/31) and Asia (9/31). Forest plot showed a pooled rate of biofilm formation of 80.0% (CI: 67-90), with high heterogeneity (Q = 2567.45, I2 = 98.83, τ2 = 0.150) in random effects model (p < 0.001). The funnel plot and Egger's linear regression test failed to find publication bias (p = 0.896). The mortality rate in Candida-related bloodstream infections was 37.9% of which 70.0% were from biofilm-associated infections. Furthermore, Candida isolates were also characterized in low, intermediate, or high biofilm formers through their level of biofilm mass (crystal violet staining or XTT assays) after a 24h growth. When comparing between countries, statistical differences were obtained (p = 0.0074), showing the lower and higher biofilm prevalence values in Italy and Spain, respectively. The prevalence of low, intermediate, and high biofilms were 36.2, 18.9, and 35.0% (p < 0.0001), respectively. C. tropicalis was the prevalent species in high biofilm formation (67.5%) showing statistically significant differences when compared to other Candida species, except for C. krusei and C. glabrata. Finally, the rates of antifungal resistance to fluconazole, voriconazole, and caspofungin related to biofilm were 70.5, 67.9 and 72.8% (p < 0.001), respectively.
Early detection of biofilms and a better characterization of Candida spp. bloodstream infections should be considered, which eventually will help preserve public health resources and ultimately diminish mortality among patients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
One major health issue is the microbial and chemical contamination of natural freshwater, particularly in Latin American countries, such as Ecuador, where it is still lacking wastewater treatment ...plants. This study analyzed the water quality in twelve rivers of Ecuador (Coastal, Andean, and Amazonian regions). All rivers showed levels of E. coli and total coliforms above the maximum limit according to International and Ecuadorian legislations. The most polluted rivers were Zamora, Esmeraldas and Machángara. Also, E. coli pathotypes were found in six rivers. Several physicochemical and metal parameters were detected in high levels, such as COD
(in eight rivers), TSS (in six rivers), TS (in two rivers), Al (in nine rivers), Zn (in eight rivers), Pb (in three rivers), Cu (in three rivers), Fe (in two rivers), and Mn (in Machángara River). Our results agree with other studies in Latin America (such as Colombia, Brazil, and Peru) reporting similar contamination in water resources used for agriculture, livestock, and human consumption. Overall, Guayas, Guayllabamba, and Machángara Rivers showed the highest levels of physicochemical parameters (such as COD
and TSS) and metal concentrations (such as copper, zinc, aluminum, iron, and manganese). Further studies should evaluate contamination sources and public health impact.
Teletrabajo en tiempos de COVID-19 Ramos, Valentina; Ramos-Galarza, Carlos; Tejera, Eduardo
Revista interamericana de psicología,
12/2020, Letnik:
54, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
El COVID-19 como pandemia global tuvo consecuencias a nivel de la salud, pero también a nivel social pues como consecuencia de evitar su propagación los gobiernos tomaron medidas que afectaron al ...trabajo, adoptándose el teletrabajo como una alternativa para poder continuar con las actividades laborales desde el hogar. Este estudio analiza las características del teletrabajo y su impacto en la percepción de la productividad y el bienestar de las personas que se encuentran en aislamiento social debido al COVID-19. El estudio se realizó en Ecuador, en una muestra de 459 personas que respondieron un cuestionario en línea. Los resultados encontrados demuestran que hay aspectos que afectan la productividad, como trabajar largas horas, competencias personales, específicamente la auto-motivación y habilidades de organización, y la salud mental. Con esta investigación, se logra una mejor comprensión de la situación del teletrabajo en confinamiento debido a COVID-19, lo que permite que tanto las personas como las organizaciones desarrollen recursos para que el trabajo desde el hogar sea exitoso y las personas se sientan satisfechas mientras dura esta situación.
The Pelargonium genus encompasses around 280 species, most of which are used for medicinal purposes. While P. graveolens, P. odoratissimum, and P. zonale are known to exhibit antimicrobial activity, ...there is an evident absence of studies evaluating all three species to understand their chemical differences and biological effects. Through the analysis of the hydroalcoholic extracts of P. graveolens, P. odoratissimum, and P. zonale, using HPLC-DAD-MS/MS, quercetin and kaempferol derivatives were identified in these three species. Conversely, gallotannins and anthocyanins were uniquely detected in P. zonale. P. graveolens stood out due to the various types of myricetin derivatives that were not detected in P. odoratissimum and P. zonale extracts. Evaluation of their biological activities revealed that P. zonale displayed superior antibacterial and antibiofilm activities in comparison to the other two species. The antibacterial efficacy of P. zonale was observed towards the clinically relevant strains of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 333, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, and the Vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis INSPI 032. Fractionation analysis of P. zonale suggested that the antibacterial activity attributed to this plant is due to the presence of quercetin derivatives and kaempferol and its derivatives, alongside their synergistic interaction with gallotannins and anthocyanins. Lastly, the three Pelargonium species exhibited notable antioxidant activity, which may be attributed to their high content of total phenolic compounds.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•We used an IGRA to analyze a T-cell response in COVID-19 patients and healthy unexposed controls.•We show that 80% of the convalescent COVID-19 patients had reactive T cells to SARS-CoV-2 ...antigens.•Surprisingly, 44% of the unexposed controls also had a strong T-cell response to these antigens.•We suggest a pre-existing immunity because of T-cells, primed against SARS-CoV-2-like antigens before the start of the pandemic.
Studies of T-cell immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 are important in understanding the immune status of individuals or populations. Here, we use a simple, cheap, and rapid whole blood stimulation assay - an Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) - to study T-cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in convalescent COVID-19 patients and in unexposed healthy contacts from Quito, Ecuador.
Interferon-gamma (INF-γ) production was measured in the heparinized blood of convalescent and unexposed subjects after stimulation for 24 h with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike S1 protein, the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein or the Nucleocapsid (NP) protein, respectively. The presence of IgG-RBD protein antibodies in both study groups was determined with an “in-house” ELISA.
As measured with INF-γ production, 80% of the convalescent COVID-19 patients, all IgG-RBD seropositive, had a strong T-cell response. However, unexpectedly, 44% of unexposed healthy controls, all IgG-RBD seronegative, had a strong virus-specific T-cell response with the COVID-19 IGRA, probably because of prior exposure to common cold-causing coronaviruses or other viral or microbial antigens.
The high percentage of unexposed healthy subjects with a pre-existing immunity suggests that a part of the Ecuadorian population is likely to have SARS-CoV-2 reactive T-cells. Given that the IGRA technique is simple and can be easily scaled up for investigations where high numbers of patients are needed, this COVID-19 IGRA may serve to determine if the T-cell only response represents protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population-based study.
Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women and the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Although in recent years large-scale efforts have focused on identifying ...new therapeutic targets, a better understanding of BC molecular processes is required. Here we focused on elucidating the molecular hallmarks of BC heterogeneity and the oncogenic mutations involved in precision medicine that remains poorly defined. To fill this gap, we established an OncoOmics strategy that consists of analyzing genomic alterations, signaling pathways, protein-protein interactome network, protein expression, dependency maps in cell lines and patient-derived xenografts in 230 previously prioritized genes to reveal essential genes in breast cancer. As results, the OncoOmics BC essential genes were rationally filtered to 140. mRNA up-regulation was the most prevalent genomic alteration. The most altered signaling pathways were associated with basal-like and Her2-enriched molecular subtypes. RAC1, AKT1, CCND1, PIK3CA, ERBB2, CDH1, MAPK14, TP53, MAPK1, SRC, RAC3, BCL2, CTNNB1, EGFR, CDK2, GRB2, MED1 and GATA3 were essential genes in at least three OncoOmics approaches. Drugs with the highest amount of clinical trials in phases 3 and 4 were paclitaxel, docetaxel, trastuzumab, tamoxifen and doxorubicin. Lastly, we collected ~3,500 somatic and germline oncogenic variants associated with 50 essential genes, which in turn had therapeutic connectivity with 73 drugs. In conclusion, the OncoOmics strategy reveals essential genes capable of accelerating the development of targeted therapies for precision oncology.
Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease where genomic alterations, protein expression deregulation, signaling pathway alterations, hormone disruption, ethnicity and environmental determinants ...are involved. Due to the complexity of BC, the prediction of proteins involved in this disease is a trending topic in drug design. This work is proposing accurate prediction classifier for BC proteins using six sets of protein sequence descriptors and 13 machine-learning methods. After using a univariate feature selection for the mix of five descriptor families, the best classifier was obtained using multilayer perceptron method (artificial neural network) and 300 features. The performance of the model is demonstrated by the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) of 0.980 ± 0.0037, and accuracy of 0.936 ± 0.0056 (3-fold cross-validation). Regarding the prediction of 4,504 cancer-associated proteins using this model, the best ranked cancer immunotherapy proteins related to BC were RPS27, SUPT4H1, CLPSL2, POLR2K, RPL38, AKT3, CDK3, RPS20, RASL11A and UBTD1; the best ranked metastasis driver proteins related to BC were S100A9, DDA1, TXN, PRNP, RPS27, S100A14, S100A7, MAPK1, AGR3 and NDUFA13; and the best ranked RNA-binding proteins related to BC were S100A9, TXN, RPS27L, RPS27, RPS27A, RPL38, MRPL54, PPAN, RPS20 and CSRP1. This powerful model predicts several BC-related proteins that should be deeply studied to find new biomarkers and better therapeutic targets. Scripts can be downloaded at https://github.com/muntisa/neural-networks-for-breast-cancer-proteins.
Horchata, a herbal infusion drink from Ecuador containing a mixture of medicinal plants, has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic, and antioxidant activity. The ...antibacterial activity of each of the plants contained in the horchata mixture has not been fully evaluated. Thus, in this study, we analysed the antibacterial activity of 21 plants used in horchata, collected from the Ecuadorian Andes region, against bacterial strains of clinical importance. The methanolic extract of
sp. showed minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 250 µg/mL against
ATCC25923 and Methicillin-resistant
(MRSA), while
exhibited a MIC value of 500 µg/mL towards
ATCC25923. The high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS) analyses identified in
sp. epicatechin tannins, cinnamaldehyde, and prehelminthosporol molecules, whereas in
, gallocatechin and epigallocatechin tannins, some flavonoids, and gallic acid and derivatives were identified. Finally,
sp. and
showed partial inhibition of biofilm formation of
ATCC25923 and MRSA. Overall, our findings revealed which of the plants used in horchata are responsible for the antibacterial activity attributed to this herbal drink and exhibit the potential for
sp. and
secondary metabolites to be explored as scaffolds in drug development.
The vaginal microbiota plays vital protection in women. This probiotic activity is caused not only by individual
species but also by its multi-microbial interaction. However, the probiotic activity ...promoted by multi-microbial consortia is still unknown. The aim of this study was the individual and collective analysis on the prevalence of five vaginal lactobacilli (
,
,
,
, and
) among healthy women and women with bacterial vaginosis (BV) or aerobic vaginitis (AV). PCR assays were realized on 436 vaginal samples from a previous study. Chi-square, univariable, and multivariable logistic regression analyses with the Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment evaluated associations between these lactobacilli and vaginal microbiota. Multi-microbial clustering model was also realized through Ward's Minimum Variance Clustering Method with Euclidean squared distance for hierarchical clustering to determine the probiotic relationship between lactobacilli and vaginal dysbiosis. Concerning the individual effect,
,
, and
showed the highest normalized importance values against vaginal dysbiosis (100%, 79.3%, and 74.8%, respectively). However, only
and
exhibited statistical values (
= 0.035 and
= 0.050, respectively).
showed a significant prevalence on healthy microbiota against both dysbioses (BV,
= 0.041; and AV,
= 0.045).
only demonstrated significant protection against AV (
= 0.012). Finally, our results evidenced a strong multi-microbial consortium by
,
,
, and
against AV (
= 0.020) and BV (
= 0.009), lacking protection in the absence of
and
.
BackgroundEclampsia and pre-eclampsia rank as the third leading causes of maternal death in Ecuador, following pre-existing chronic diseases and postpartum haemorrhage, as reported by the Ecuadorian ...National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). In contrast, HELLP (Haemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelet count) syndrome remains underexplored epidemiologically, not only in Latin America but globally. This study marks the first population-based investigation into HELLP syndrome incidence and mortality in Ecuador, examining geographical variations, altitude influences and ethnic backgrounds.MethodsConducted as a retrospective population-based cohort study from 2015 to 2017, this research delves into the incidence, risk factors and maternal mortality associated with HELLP syndrome in Ecuador. Utilising data from INEC and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health, we identified HELLP syndrome cases through ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision) coding in hospitalised individuals. Logistic regression analysis was employed to explore association, whilst geospatial statistical analysis focused on cantons to identify significant spatial clusters. Primary outcome measures include HELLP syndrome incidence and maternal mortality, supplying crucial insights into the syndrome’s impact on maternal health in Ecuador.ResultsThe incidence of HELLP syndrome is 0.76 (0.69–0.84)/ 1000 deliveries. Afro-Ecuadorian communities have a higher risk (Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.18 (1.03–4.63)) compared to Indigenous Ecuadorian communities. Living at mid-level or high altitude is a significant risk factor OR of 2.79 (2.19–3.55) and an OR 3.61 (2.58–5.03), respectively. Being an older mother was also identified as a risk factor. Women living more than 20 km from the obstetric unit have an OR of 2.55 (2.05–3.18). Moreover, we found that cantons with higher crude HELLP syndrome incidence also have lower numbers of physicians (R = 0.503, p-value < 0.001). The mortality incidence of women with HELLP syndrome is 21.22 (12.05–20.59)/1000 deliveries with HELLP syndrome diagnoses.ConclusionsHigh altitude, advanced maternal age and geographical distance between residence and health centres are risk factors for HELLP syndrome. Maternal mortality in women with HELLP syndrome is higher than pre-eclampsia and eclampsia but comparable with previous reports in other countries.
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