Given that Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the major threats for the poultry industry, testing of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has been carried out since 2010 in cases of mortality in wild birds ...(passive surveillance) in Catalonia. The objective is to provide an early warning system to prevent the infection of poultry. Since 2010, 35 episodes of mortality in wild birds were attributed to NDV infection. Throughout this period there was a progressive expansion of NDV to new areas, with an increase in the episodes of mortality, although it is not clear whether they were the result of the spread of the virus, or of the improvement of the surveillance. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that two distinct sublineages of NDV, 4a and 4b, were circulating in Catalonia. Both sublineages seem to be endemic in the wild bird population, affecting mainly Eurasian-collared doves, with a clear pattern in relation to its spatial distribution (coincident with the distribution of this species), and its temporal distribution (with the majority of cases between September and February). So far, endemicity in wild birds has not resulted in ND outbreaks in poultry. However, there are still many uncertainties about, for example, whether NDV may expand to new areas of Catalonia (with higher poultry density), or about the threat that the apparently more novel sublineage 4a may represent. Hence, efforts should be made so that measures to prevent infection of poultry farms (particularly in high-risk areas and periods) are encouraged, and surveillance is maintained.
Introducción: La violencia en contra de la mujer es un problema que afecta a la población mundial, teniendo su máxima expresión a través del feminicidio. Debido a la reciente y desigual legislación ...de este fenómeno, estudios al respecto son recientes y han girado en torno a determinar tipologías de agresores donde la criminalidad juega un papel importante como factor de riesgo. Así mismo, existen muy pocos estudios directos con personas que han cometido feminicidio. Objetivo: Conocer el nivel de criminalidad en sentenciados por el delito de feminicidio. Materiales y métodos: A través de una lista con 20 dimensiones se evaluó a 62 personas privadas de su libertad por el delito de feminicidio. Resultados: Se encontraron cuatro niveles de criminalidad que van de baja a muy alta, los principales indicadores que marcan la diferencia entre estos niveles son los que se refieren a la violencia de pareja e historia de consumo de alcohol y drogas. Conclusión: Los indicadores que marcan la diferencia entre los niveles de criminalidad, se encuentran una historia de violencia hacia la pareja como una forma de resolver conflictos, asociada al consumo de alcohol y sustancias psicoactivas.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), a consequence of the breakdown of immune tolerance. The ...lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase (Lyp) protein has significant effects on maintenance of peripheral immune tolerance. Two polymorphic variants (−1123G>C and +1858C>T) at PTPN22 gene that encodes this protein have been associated with autoimmune disorders and found in strong linkage disequilibrium in Caucasian population. We evaluated whether PTPN22 haplotypes (−1123G>C/+1858C>T) are associated with anti-CCP antibodies, as well as susceptibility to RA in a Western Mexican population. A total of 315 RA patients and 315 control subjects (CS) were included. The polymorphisms were genotyped by PCR-RFLP and the anti-CCP antibodies were determined by ELISA. The PTPN22 polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D′ = 1.00 in CS). The susceptibility haplotype CT was significantly more frequent in RA patients than in CS (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.15–4.16, p=0.01). No association between haplotypes and anti-CCP antibodies levels was observed. In conclusion, this study confirmed that −1123G>C and +1858C>T PTPN22 polymorphisms are in strong linkage disequilibrium and the CT haplotype is a susceptibility marker to RA in Western Mexico. However, the PTPN22 haplotypes are not associated with anti-CCP antibodies.
Describe the socio-demographic characteristics of anophthalmic patients examined at specialized centers of four cities in Colombia to know the different causes of eyeball loss.
A transversal ...retrospective study was done of 511 medical records from the specialized practices of four cities in Colombia. Socio-demographic data of patients who were seen between January 2011 and December 2013 were compiled. SOFA Statistics software v1.4.6 was used for this analysis. An analysis throughout the measures of central tendency for numerical variables was developed, and the descriptive statistics were used for the categorical variables.
Almost 63% of the data belonged to male patients. Eyeball loss was more frequent in patients over 40 years of age. Fifty-one percent of the patients suffered eyeball loss due to traumatic causes, 40.2% due to pathological causes, and 4.6% due to congenital anomalies. The most frequent specific causes were glaucoma (19%), ocular cancer (15.4%), and home accidents (11,2%). Around 60% of the anophthalmic patients belonged to low socioeconomic level.
It is important to highlight that more than half of the analyzed anophthalmia cases originated in some type of trauma; this means that they could be considered potentially avoidable losses. Complications deriving from glaucoma became the most frequent cause of anophthalmia in the pathological origin group, which suggests a reflection regarding the strategies of early detection of the disease and access to proper treatment. It is also showed the need to develop an efficient system to manage information.
Since the spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in 2005, many surveillance programmes have been initiated in poultry and wild birds worldwide. This study describes for the first time ...the detection of different subtypes of avian influenza viruses (AIV) in wild birds in the West Mediterranean area (Catalonia, North-Eastern Spain). During a 3-year period (from mid-2006 to mid-2009), 1374 birds from 16 different families were examined, and a total of 62 AIV were detected by means of a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay. AIV were more frequently detected in Anatidae, Phoenicopteridae, Rallidae and Laridae families. Of the 62 positive samples, 28 AIV could be isolated in embryonated eggs. All isolates were subtyped by haemagglutinin and neuraminidase inhibition techniques and 10 different haemagglutinins (HA) and 7 neuraminidases (NA) were found in 13 different subtype combinations. The most common combinations were H4N6 (22.2%) and H1N1 (18.5%). The HA and NA gene sequences of different AIV subtypes were compared and aligned with those available AIV strains from genome databases. Our studies on AIV phylogenetic analysis revealed that all AIV genes sequenced from wild birds in North-Eastern Spain clustered within Eurasian avian clades, including the sequences of H8, N4 and N5 genes analyzed for the first time in Europe. The results contribute to the understanding of AIV in the Mediterranean area and in Europe.
Background
Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a lymphocytic infiltrate in salivary glands driving to epithelial damage. The pSS patients present heterogenic ...clinical and serological characteristics. This heterogenicity could be due to the cytokine microenvironment. Cytokine levels have been analyzed and reported individually, showing controversial results; for that reason, we considered essential to evaluate a cluster of cytokines and relate them with antibody levels and clinical characteristics to find pSS subgroups.
Methods
Ninety‐nine pSS patients, diagnosed by the 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criteria, and 76 control subjects (CS) were included. Cytokine quantification was performed by Multiplex assay. Principal component analysis (PCA) was realized, and the K‐mean test was used to identify clusters/groups. Groups were analyzed by the Kruskal‐Wallis test and the Bonferroni test.
Results
Higher IFN‐γ, IL‐17F, IL‐21, IL‐23, IL‐4, and IL‐31 levels were observed in pSS patients in comparison with control subjects. PCA analysis showed three groups. The severe group was characterized by higher cytokine concentrations as well as an increase in clinical parameters such as antibody levels, damage index score, and others. The moderate group presented intermediate severity; meanwhile, the mild group presented the lowest severity.
Conclusion
Cluster analysis revealed three groups that were different in cytokine levels and clinical parameters in which the mild group was defined by lower severity, the moderate group with intermediate severity, and the severe group with higher severity. This analysis could help subclassify the primary Sjögren syndrome patients for a better understanding of the clinical phenotype that impacts the treatment approach.
Principal component analysis of 14 cytokines was realized to determine the cytokine groups in primary Sjögren´s syndrome patients. The mild group was characterized by less severity of the disease with low cytokine levels and fewer clinical parameters; the moderate group included patients with intermediate severity, presented higher cytokine levels than the mild group but less than severe group. Patients of the severe group showed higher severity, higher cytokine levels, and clinical parameters.
Avian paramyxoviruses (APMVs) are classified into nine different serotypes (APMV 1–9). Virulent strains of APMV-1 are already well characterized as the etiologic agent of Newcastle disease (ND), an ...important disease in poultry that is potentially capable of infecting all orders of avian species. However, very little is known about the other eight serotypes, the majority of which can cause disease in domestic birds. The role of synanthropic and semi–free-range birds as reservoirs of avian paramyxoviruses is not well understood and the main objective of this work was to evaluate the seroprevalence of APMV 1–9 in these kind of birds. A total of 296 sera, oropharyngeal swabs, and cloacal enemas were collected from semi–free-range birds belonging to four different species: feral pigeons (Columba livia var. domestica), hybrid ducks (Anas sp.), domestic geese (Anser anser domesticus), and white storks (Ciconia ciconia). Antibodies against NDV were found in 56.3% of domestic geese, 42.9% of feral pigeons, and 30.4% of hybrid ducks. Antibodies for other APMVs (-3, -4, -6, -7, -8, -9) were also found. Seven positive individuals were positive to real-time RT-PCR detection, all of them feral pigeons captured in 2006 and 2007. The results obtained reinforce the idea that semi–free-range birds may be good sentinels for the detection of NDV and other avian paramyxoviruses. Nota de Investigación—Seroprevalencia de paramixovirus en aves sinantrópicas y en aves mantenidas en semilibertad. Los paramixovirus aviares (APMVs) se clasifican en nueve serotipos diferentes (APMV 1–9). Las cepas virulentas del paramixovirus aviar serotipo 1 (APMV-1) ya están bien caracterizadas como el agente etiológico de la enfermedad de Newcastle (ND), una enfermedad importante en la avicultura que es potencialmente capaz de infectar a todos los órdenes de las especies aviares. Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco acerca de los otros ocho serotipos, la mayoría de los cuales pueden causar enfermedades en aves domésticas. El papel como reservorios de paramixovirus aviares de las aves sinantrópicas y en condiciones de semilibertad no se ha comprendido adecuadamente y el objetivo principal de este trabajo fue evaluar la seroprevalencia de los paramyxovirus aviares serotipos 1 al 9 en este tipo de aves. Se recolectaron un total de 296 sueros, hisopos orofaríngeos y enemas cloacales de aves en semilibertad pertenecientes a cuatro especies diferentes: palomas domésticas (Columba livia var. domestica), patos híbridos (Anas sp.), gansos domésticos (Anser anser domesticus) y cigüeñas blancas (Ciconia ciconia). Se encontraron anticuerpos contra el virus de Newcastle en el 56.3% de los gansos domésticos, en el 42.9% de las palomas y en el 30.4% de los patos híbridos. También se encontraron anticuerpos para otros paramyxovirus aviares (-3, -4, -6, -7, -8, -9). Siete individuos positivos también fueron positivos para detección por transcripción reversa y PCR en tiempo real, todas estas aves fueron palomas capturadas entre los años 2006 y 2007. Los resultados obtenidos refuerzan la idea de que las aves en semilibertad pueden ser buenos centinelas para la detección del virus de la enfermedad de Newcastle y de otros paramixovirus.
The predominance of the effector mechanisms by CD4 + T cells is a characteristic of inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The CD40/CD40L costimulatory pathway ...contributes to these pathogenic mechanisms by promoting autoantibody production and inflammation. Aberrant expression of CD40 and CD40L in RA patients has been shown, the latter prevailing in females. However, contrasting results have emerged regarding the clinical associations of these findings. We determined the association of CD40 and CD40L expression with the clinical activity evaluated through DAS28 in RA patients. A total of 38 female RA patients and 10 age- and sex-matched control subjects were included. CD40 and CD40L mRNA expression was quantified by real-time qPCR, cell surface proteins were determined by flow cytometry, and protein soluble forms were determined by ELISA. The expansion of a CD4 + T cell subpopulation expressing CD40 was identified in the RA group. In addition, high frequencies of CD4 + CD40L + T cells expressing high levels of CD40L, increased levels of sCD40L and overexpression of
CD40L
mRNA were observed in these patients. Moreover, there was a gradual increase in CD40L when data were stratified according to DAS28, except for very active patients. No correlation was observed between the levels of mRNA, cell surface protein and soluble protein of CD40 and CD40L with the clinical features of RA patients. There is an altered expression of CD40L in female RA patients in association with clinical activity assessed by DAS28, these findings support the evidence that suggests CD40L as a marker of clinical activity.
La sociedad demanda investigación, pues es la única forma técnica científica de resolver problemas que no tienen respuestas hasta el día de hoy, por ello es necesario fortalecer los procesos de ...investigación en los jóvenes con el objetivo de despertar el interés y la motivación hacia la ciencia. Este artículo describe el proceso de investigación formativa que el grupo de investigación denominado Tecnología de Información y Comunicación asociado a discapacidad desarrolla para hacer efectiva la transferencia de competencias en materia de investigación a estudiantes del semillero de la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, de las Carreras de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Computación, de la sede Guayaquil.
PDF
