Leishmania infantum stationary-phase promastigotes could acquire infectivity via preincubation in a partially anaerobic medium (95% air/5% CO2) for 16 h before the infection, whereas promastigotes ...were efficiently destroyed when no CO2 was present. Incubation of L. infantum promastigotes with additional glucose (20 and 50 mM) greatly increased infection parameters in the absence of CO2; this is consistent with a "reverse Pasteur effect." Results showed that culture at 33 degrees C permitted survival and amastigote multiplication (a nearly 10-fold increase in amastigotes as compared with those observed in 37 degrees C cultures). This finding was obtained with the two strains of L. infantum tested (Doba and PB75).
Continuous blending of SPH with finite elements Fernández-Méndez, Sonia; Bonet, Javier; Huerta, Antonio
Computers & structures,
06/2005, Volume:
83, Issue:
17
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding, Publication
Peer reviewed
Open access
This paper proposes a methodology for the continuous blending of the finite element method and smooth particle hydrodynamics. The coupled approximation with finite elements and particles, and the ...discretization of the boundary value problem with a coupled integration, are described. An integration correction is also proposed to stabilize the solution. Some numerical examples demonstrate the applicability of the method.
Primary and secondary serum antibody responses to
Haemonchus contortus were studied in Castellana sheep. Ten-month-old sheep were infected (200 L3/kg live weight (lw)) and challenged (400 L3/kg lw) ...or uninfected and equally challenged with
H. contortus. Primary infections induced a partially protective response upon challenge, characterized by higher serum protein levels, longer prepatent periods, lower fecal egg counts, and significant reduction in the establishment rate of the parasite and abomasal adult and L4 worm burdens. The resistant status of the infected and challenged sheep was not clearly related either to the serum specific antibody levels (IgG: IgG1, IgG2; IgM; IgA) estimated by ELISA or to immunodetection patterns in the Western blots.
•Despite the available treatments, relief of symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women remains unsatisfactory.•A better knowledge of the association between treatments, quality of life ...and symptoms may help disease management.•Postmenopausal women with vulvovaginal atrophy receiving treatment complained of higher number and more severe symptoms.•Women on systemic treatment had fewer and milder symptoms and presented with better vaginal and vulvar health.•The treatment of vulvovaginal atrophy should be initiated at early stages of the disease to prevent irreversible changes.
To evaluate the association between treatments for vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) and symptom frequency and severity, quality of life (QoL) and sexual functioning in postmenopausal women.
Cross-sectional survey conducted in postmenopausal women aged 45–75 years. Data on demographic and clinical variables, as well as vaginal, vulvar and urinary symptoms were collected. The EuroQoL questionnaire (EQ5D3L), the Day-to-Day Impact of Vaginal Aging (DIVA), the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Female Sexual Distress Scale - revised (FSDS-R) were filled out.
Association between treatments for VVA and symptom frequency.
Women on VVA treatment presented with more severe symptoms. The sexual function score was higher in the treated women (FSFI: 15.6 vs 16.7; p = 0.010), as was the score for sexual distress (FSDS-R: 9.2 vs 12.3, p < 0.0005). The systemic hormone group presented with fewer VVA symptoms, lower vaginal impact (DIVA), and better sexual function (FSFI and FSDS-R) and vaginal health. The rates of sexual distress and vulvar atrophy were higher in the non-hormonal treatment group. No significant differences were found according to treatment duration.
Postmenopausal women with VVA receiving treatment complained of more severe symptoms than those untreated. Women on systemic treatment had fewer and milder VVA symptoms and presented with better vaginal and vulvar health than women on other treatments. Many women request effective local treatment too late, when VVA symptoms are already severe. Our data suggest that VVA treatments should ideally be initiated when symptoms commence and cause distress, rather than later, when symptoms may have become more severe and even a cause of intolerable distress for the woman.
Mesh-free methods have since their early developments been blended to the finite element formulation in order to benefit from the advantages of both numerical techniques. In this paper, two recently ...proposed formulations to couple mesh-free and finite element methods are discussed and compared.
Vibrio campbellii
is a major pathogen in aquaculture. It is a causative agent of the so-called “luminescent vibriosis,” a life-threatening condition caused by bioluminescent
Vibrio
spp. that often ...involves mass mortality of farmed shrimps. The emergence of multidrug resistant
Vibrio
strains raises a concern and poses a challenge for the treatment of this infection in the coming years. Inhibition of bacterial cell-to-cell communication or quorum sensing (QS) has been proposed as an alternative to antibiotic therapies. Aiming to identify novel QS disruptors, the 9H-fluroen-9yl vinyl ether derivative SAM461 was found to thwart
V. campbellii
bioluminescence, a QS-regulated phenotype. Phenotypic and gene expression analyses revealed, however, that the mode of action of SAM461 was unrelated to QS inhibition. Further evaluation with purified
Vibrio fischeri
and NanoLuc luciferases revealed enzymatic inhibition at micromolar concentrations.
In silico
analysis by molecular docking suggested binding of SAM461 in the active site cavities of both luciferase enzymes. Subsequent
in vivo
testing of SAM461 with gnotobiotic
Artemia franciscana
nauplii demonstrated naupliar protection against
V. campbellii
infection at low micromolar concentrations. Taken together, these findings suggest that suppression of luciferase activity could constitute a novel paradigm in the development of alternative anti-infective chemotherapies against luminescent vibriosis, and pave the ground for the chemical synthesis and biological characterization of derivatives with promising antimicrobial prospects.
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