The presence of Fasciola hepatica (Liver-fluke) in humans and cattle from a 4,500 Year old archaeological site in the Saale-Unstrut Valley, Germany

During an excavation of a site of the corded ware culture in the Saale-Unstrut-Valley (ca. 3000 BC) in Germany, a soil sample from the pelvis of a human skeleton was studied under palaeoparasitological aspects. Eggs of the trematode Fasciola hepatica and of the nematode genus Capillaria were found. This is the first case of a direct association of a F. hepatica-infestation to both a prehistoric human skeleton and domesticated animal remains. Sheep and cattle bones were present at the same site and F. hepatica eggs were found in bovine samples. This strongly points toward an existing infection cycle, involving humans as a final host.

Ecological analysis of Acari recovered from coprolites from archaeological site of Northeast Brazil

Coprolite samples of human and animal origin from the excavations performed at the archaeological site of Furna do Estrago, at Brejo da Madre de Deus in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil and sent to the Paleoparasitology Laboratory at Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, were analyzed for mites. After rehydratation and sedimentation of the coprolites, the alimentary contents and the sediments were examined and the mites collected and prepared in definitive whole mounts, using Hoyer's medium. Mites of the following suborders and orders were recovered: suborder Acaridia; order Gamasida; order Ixodida with the familiy Ixodidae (Ixodes sp. and Amblyomma sp. larvae, scutum, idiosoma, gnathosoma); order Oribatida (Aphelacarus sp., Apolohmannia sp., Eophypochthonius sp., Cosmochthonius sp., Pterobates sp., Poronoticae with pteromorphae not auriculate); order Astigmata with the families Atopomelidae (Chirodiscoides caviae), Anoetidae hypopus, Acaridae (Suidasia pontifica), Glycyphagidae (Blomia tropicalis), Pyroglyphidae (Hirstia passericola); order Actinedida with the family Tarsonemidae (Iponemus radiatae). The present work discusses the possibility of the preservation of the mite groups found up to the present day. We also discuss their relationship with the environment and their importance to present populations.

Exploration of the contribution of isotope ratio mass spectrometry to the investigation of explosives: A study of black powders and ammonium nitrate fertilisers

The increasing number of bomb attacks involving improvised explosive devices, as well as the nature of the explosives, give rise to concern among safety and law enforcement agencies. The substances used in explosive charges are often everyday products diverted from their primary licit applications. Thus, reducing or limiting their accessibility for prevention purposes is difficult. Ammonium nitrate, employed in agriculture as a fertiliser, is used worldwide in small and large homemade bombs. Black powder, dedicated to hunting and shooting sports, is used illegally as a filling in pipe bombs causing extensive damage. If the main developments of instrumental techniques in explosive analysis have been constantly pushing the limits of detection, their actual contribution to the investigation of explosives in terms of source discrimination is limited. Forensic science has seen the emergence of a new technology, isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), that shows promising results. Its very first application in forensic science dates back to 1979. Liu et al. analysed cannabis plants coming from different countries [Liu et al. 1979]. This preliminary study highlighted its potential to discriminate specimens coming from different sources. Thirty years later, the keen interest in this new technology has given rise to a flourishing number of publications in forensic science. The countless applications of IRMS to a wide range of materials and substances attest to its success and suggest that the technique is ready to be used in forensic science. However, many studies are characterised by a lack of methodology and fundamental data. They have been undertaken in a top-down approach, applying this technique in an exploratory manner on a restricted sampling. This manner of procedure often does not allow the researcher to answer a number of questions, such as: do the specimens come from the same source, what do we mean by source or what is the inherent variability of a substance? The production of positive results has prevailed at the expense of forensic fundamentals. This research focused on the evaluation of the contribution of the information provided by isotopic analysis to the investigation of explosives. More specifically, this evaluation was based on a sampling of black powders and ammonium nitrate fertilisers coming from known sources. Not only has the methodology developed in this work enabled us to highlight crucial elements inherent to the methods themselves, but also to evaluate both the longitudinal and transversal variabilities of the information. First, the study of the variability of the profile over time was undertaken. Secondly, the variability of black powders and ammonium nitrate fertilisers within the same source and between different sources was evaluated. The contribution of this information to the investigation of explosives was then evaluated and discussed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Le nombre croissant d'attentats à la bombe impliquant des engins explosifs artisanaux, ainsi que la nature des charges explosives, constituent une préoccupation majeure pour les autorités d'application de la loi et les organismes de sécurité. Les substances utilisées dans les charges explosives sont souvent des produits du quotidien, détournés de leurs applications licites. Par conséquent, réduire ou limiter l'accessibilité de ces produits dans un but de prévention est difficile. Le nitrate d'ammonium, employé dans l'agriculture comme engrais, est utilisé dans des petits et grands engins explosifs artisanaux. La poudre noire, initialement dédiée à la chasse et au tir sportif, est fréquemment utilisée comme charge explosive dans les pipe bombs, qui causent des dommages importants. Si les développements des techniques d'analyse des explosifs n'ont cessé de repousser les limites de détection, leur contribution réelle à l'investigation des explosifs est limitée en termes de discrimination de sources. Une nouvelle technologie qui donne des résultats prometteurs a fait son apparition en science forensique: la spectrométrie de masse à rapport isotopique (IRMS). Sa première application en science forensique remonte à 1979. Liu et al. ont analysé des plants de cannabis provenant de différents pays [Liu et al. 1979]. Cette étude préliminaire, basée sur quelques analyses, a mis en évidence le potentiel de l'IRMS à discriminer des spécimens provenant de sources différentes. Trente ans plus tard, l'intérêt marqué pour cette nouvelle technologie en science forensique se traduit par un nombre florissant de publications. Les innombrables applications de l'IRMS à une large gamme de matériaux et de substances attestent de son succès et suggèrent que la technique est prête à être utilisée en science forensique. Cependant, de nombreuses études sont caractérisées par un manque de méthodologie et de données fondamentales. Elles ont été menées sans définir les hypothèses de recherche et en appliquant cette technique de façon exploratoire sur un échantillonnage restreint. Cette manière de procéder ne permet souvent pas au chercheur de répondre à un certain nombre de questions, tels que: est-ce que deux spécimens proviennent de la même source, qu'entend-on par source ou encore quelle est l'intravariabilité d'une substance? La production de résultats positifs a prévalu au détriment des fondamentaux de science forensique. Cette recherche s'est attachée à évaluer la contribution réelle de l'information isotopique dans les investigations en matière d'explosifs. Plus particulièrement, cette évaluation s'est basée sur un échantillonnage constitué de poudres noires et d'engrais à base de nitrate d'ammonium provenant de sources connues. La méthodologie développée dans ce travail a permis non seulement de mettre en évidence des éléments cruciaux relatifs à la méthode d'analyse elle-même, mais également d'évaluer la variabilité de l'information isotopique d'un point de vue longitudinal et transversal. Dans un premier temps, l'évolution du profil en fonction du temps a été étudiée. Dans un second temps, la variabilité du profil des poudres noires et des engrais à base de nitrate d'ammonium au sein d'une même source et entre différentes sources a été évaluée. La contribution de cette information dans le cadre des investigations d'explosifs a ensuite été discutée et évaluée.

Evolution of vitellogenin genes: comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences downstream of the transcription initiation site of four Xenopus laevis and one chicken gene.

Electron microscopic analysis of heteroduplexes between the most distantly related Xenopus vitellogenin genes (A genes X B genes) has revealed the distribution of homologous regions that have been preferentially conserved after the duplication events that gave rise to the multigene family in Xenopus laevis. DNA sequence analysis was limited to the region downstream of the transcription initiation site of the Xenopus genes A1, B1 and B2 and a comparison with the Xenopus A2 and the major chicken vitellogenin gene is presented. Within the coding regions of the first three exons, nucleotide substitutions resulting in amino acid changes accumulate at a rate similar to that observed in globin genes. This suggests that the duplication event which led to the formation of the A and B ancestral genes in Xenopus laevis occurred about 150 million years ago. Homologous exons of the A1-A2 and B1-B2 gene pairs, which formed about 30 million years ago, show a quite similar sequence divergence. In contrast, A1-A2 homologous introns seem to have evolved much faster than their B1-B2 counterparts.

Mechanisms governing lentivirus integration site selection.

An essential step of the life cycle of retroviruses is the stable insertion of a copy of their DNA genome into the host cell genome, and lentiviruses are no exception. This integration step, catalyzed by the viral-encoded integrase, ensures long-term expression of the viral genes, thus allowing a productive viral replication and rendering retroviral vectors also attractive for the field of gene therapy. At the same time, this ability to integrate into the host genome raises safety concerns regarding the use of retroviral-based gene therapy vectors, due to the genomic locations of integration sites. The availability of the human genome sequence made possible the analysis of the integration site preferences, which revealed to be nonrandom and retrovirus-specific, i.e. all lentiviruses studied so far favor integration in active transcription units, while other retroviruses have a different integration site distribution. Several mechanisms have been proposed that may influence integration targeting, which include (i) chromatin accessibility, (ii) cell cycle effects, and (iii) tethering proteins. Recent data provide evidence that integration site selection can occur via a tethering mechanism, through the recruitment of the lentiviral integrase by the cellular LEDGF/p75 protein, both proteins being the two major players in lentiviral integration targeting.

Antimicrobial activity and chemical investigation of Brazilian Drosera

The antimicrobial activity of three different extracts (hexanic, ethyl acetate, methanol) obtained from Brazilian Drosera species (D. communis, D. montana var. montana, D. brevifolia, D. villosa var. graomogolensis, D. villosa var. villosa, Drosera sp. 1, and Drosera sp. 2 ) were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Enterococcus faecium (ATCC23212), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC11229), Salmonella choleraesuis (ATCC10708), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC13883), and Candida albicans (a human isolate). Better antimicrobial activity was observed with D. communis and D. montana var. montana ethyl acetate extracts. Phytochemical analyses from D. communis, D. montana var. montana and D. brevifolia yielded 5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (plumbagin); long chain aliphatic hydrocarbons were isolated from D. communis and from D. villosa var. villosa, a mixture of long chain aliphatic alcohols and carboxylic acids, was isolated from D. communis and 3b-O-acetylaleuritolic acid from D. villosa var. villosa.

Contact tracing investigation after professional exposure to tuberculosis in a Swiss hospital using both tuberculin skin test and IGRA.

SETTING: A 950 bed teaching hospital in Switzerland. AIM: To describe the result of a contact investigation among health care workers (HCW) and patients after exposure to a physician with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in a hospital setting using standard tuberculin skin tests (TST) and Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). METHOD: HCW with a negative or unknown TST at hiring had a TST two weeks after the last contact with the index case (T0), repeated six weeks later if negative (T6). All exposed HCW had a T-SPOT.TB at T0 and T6. Exposed patients had a TST six weeks after the last contact, and a T-SPOT.TB if the TST was positive. RESULTS: Among 101 HCW, 17/73 (22%) had a positive TST at T0. TST was repeated in 50 at T6 and converted from negative to positive in eight (16%). Twelve HCW had a positive T-SPOT.TB at T0 and ten converted from negative to positive at T6. Seven HCW with a positive T-SPOT.TB reverted to negative at T6 or at later controls, most of them with test values close to the cut-off. Among 27 exposed patients tested at six weeks, ten had a positive TST, five of them confirmed by a positive T-SPOT.TB. CONCLUSIONS: HCW tested twice after exposure to a case of smear-positive pulmonary TB demonstrated a possible conversion in 10% with T-SPOT and 16% with TST. Some T-SPOT.TB reverted from positive to negative during the follow-up, mostly tests with a value close to the cut-off. Due to the variability of the test results, it seems advisable to repeat the test with values close to the cut-off before diagnosing the presence of a tuberculous infection.

24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring is unhelpful in the investigation of older persons with recurrent falls

Although frequently used in the assessment of patients with falls, it is unclear whether 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography contributes to their assessment in older persons. The aim of this study is to identify electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with recurrent falls and case controls, and determine whether 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography identifies causal arrhythmias for falls. 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography recordings were compared for the type and prevalence of arrhythmias and symptom correlation in consecutive older subjects with recurrent falls attending the accident and emergency department and in case controls (no previous falls or syncope).

Plutonium from above-ground nuclear tests in milk teeth: investigation of placental transfer in children born between 1951 and 1995 in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Occupational risks, the present nuclear threat, and the potential danger associated with nuclear power have raised concerns regarding the metabolism of plutonium in pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: We measured plutonium levels in the milk teeth of children born between 1951 and 1995 to assess the potential risk that plutonium incorporated by pregnant women might pose to the radiosensitive tissues of the fetus through placenta transfer. METHODS: We used milk teeth, whose enamel is formed during pregnancy, to investigate the transfer of plutonium from the mother's blood plasma to the fetus. We measured plutonium using sensitive sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry techniques. We compared our results with those of a previous study on strontium-90 ((90)Sr) released into the atmosphere after nuclear bomb tests. RESULTS: Results show that plutonium activity peaks in the milk teeth of children born about 10 years before the highest recorded levels of plutonium fallout. By contrast, (90)Sr, which is known to cross the placenta barrier, manifests differently in milk teeth, in accordance with (90)Sr fallout deposition as a function of time. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that plutonium found in milk teeth is caused by fallout that was inhaled around the time the milk teeth were shed and not from any accumulation during pregnancy through placenta transfer. Thus, plutonium may not represent a radiologic risk for the radiosensitive tissues of the fetus.

Anàlisi i redisseny del site web de CC.OO del Grup Banc Sabadell

El projecte comporta l'anàlisi i la creació d'una nova versió del lloc web de la secció sindical de Comissions Obreres (CCOO) del Grup Banc Sabadell partint d'un disseny centrat en l'usuari.

Clinical outcome and risk factors related to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella spp. infection among hospitalized patients

Over the past two decades, nosocomial infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella spp. have become a major problem all around the world. This situation is of concern because there are limited antimicrobial options to treat patients infected with these pathogens, and also because this kind of resistance can spread to a wide variety of Gram-negative bacilli. Our objectives wereto evaluate among in-patients at a publicuniversity tertiary-care hospital with documented infection due to Klebsiella spp., which were the risk factors (cross-sectional analysis) and the clinical impact (prospective cohort) associated with an ESBL-producing strain. Study subjects were all patients admitted at the study hospital between April 2002 and October 2003, with a clinically and microbiologically confirmed infection caused by Klebsiella spp. at any body site, except infections restricted to the urinary tract. Of the 104 patients studied, 47 were infected with an ESBL-producing strain and 57 with a non-ESBL-producing strain. Independent risk factors associated with infection with an ESBL-producing strain were young age, exposure to mechanical ventilation, central venous catheter, use of any antimicrobial agent, and particularly use of a 4th generation cephalosporin or a quinolone. Length of stay was significant longer for patients infected with ESBL-producing strains than for those infected with non-ESBL-producing strains, although fatality rate was not significantly affected by ESBL-production in this cohort. In fact, mechanical ventilation and bacteremia were the only variables withindependent association withdeath detected in this investigation.

The report of the Outbreak Control Team of the investigation of an outbreak of listeriosis in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust during May to November 2008

This is the report of the interagency Outbreak Control Team (OCT) of an investigation of an outbreak of listeriosis which occurred during May to November 2008 in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.The report describes the chronology of the outbreak and the outcome of epidemiological, environmental health and microbiological investigations. The report concludes with recommendations for public health, Trusts, the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety, the Food Standards Agency, and those responsible for hospital food procurement.�

Changes induced in Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) following trials for artificial stimulation of its internal defense system

Biomphalaria glabrata can react through different pathways to Schistosoma mansoni miracidium penetration, according to the degree of resistance/susceptibility presented by different snail strains, which is a genetically determined character, resistance being the dominant feature. However, it has been observed that previous susceptible snail strain may change its reactive behavior along the course of infection, exhibiting later a pattern of cercarial shedding and histopatopathological picture compatible with high resistance. Such observation suggests the possibility of B. glabrata to develop a sort of adaptative immunity face a schistosome infection. To explore on this aspect, the present investigation looked for the behavior of S. mansoni infection in B. glabrata previously subjected to different means of artificial stimulation of its internal defense system. Snails previously inoculated with irradiated miracídia (Group I); treated with S. mansoni antigens (Group II) or with a non-related parasite antigen (Group III) were challenged with 20 viable S. mansoni miracidia, and later looked for cercarial shedding and histopathologic changes at different times from exposition. Nodules of hemocyte accumulations were found at the site of antigen injection. These nodules resembled solid granulomas, and were larger and more frequent in snails injected with S. mansoni products as compared to those injected with Capillaria hepatica. However, the presence of such granulomas did not avoid the S. mansoni challenge infection from developing in a similar way as that seen in controls. The data are indicative that hemocytes are able to proliferate locally when stimulated, such capacity also remaining localized, not being shared by the population of hemocytes located elsewhere within the snail body.

Analyse UBM du site de filtration après sclérectomie profonde postérieure modifiée utillisant un tube Ex-PRESS? X-50

Purpose: To study the filtering site using ultrasound biomicroscopy. (UBM) after posterior deep sclerectomy with Ex-PRESS? X-50 implant in patients undergoing filtering surgery.¦Methods: Twenty-six patients that participated in this prospective, non comparative study underwent a posterior deep sclerectomy and an Ex- PRESS? X-50 tube implantation. Clinical outcome factors recorded include: intraocular pressure, number of antiglaucoma medications, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), frequency and types of complications. Six months postoperatively, an ultrasound biomicroscopy examination was performed.¦Results: Mean follow up was 12.0±3.4 months. Mean IOP decreased from 21 ±5.7 mmHg to 12.4±3 mmHg. At last follow-up examination, 65% of eyes had a complete success and 30% a qualified success. The mean number of antiglaucoma medications decreased from 2.5±1.2 preoperatively to 0.7±1 at the last follow-up postoperatively. BCVA was not changed. 27 complications were observed. On the UBM images, the mean intrascleral space volume was 0.25±0.27 mm3 and no relationship was found between volume and intraocular pressure reduction. We noted in 5/26 (19%) eyes a suprachoroïdal hypoechoic. Low-reflective blebs (L-type) were the most common: 15/26 (58%). No correlation between UBM findings and surgical success was evident.¦Conclusions: Deep sclerectomy with Ex-PRESS? X-50 tube implantation seems an efficient glaucoma surgery. It allows satisfactory IOP reduction with a low number of post operative complications. The advantages of deep sclerectomy with collagen implant are maintained with this modified technique. In both, the same reflective types of filtering blebs are present (high, low, encapsulated and flat). The UBM underlines the three mechanisms of aqueous humor resorption previously identified but no correlation with surgical success can be proved.¦-¦Ce travail de thèse est une analyse par ultrasonographic biomicroscopique (UBM) du site de filtration après sclérectomie profonde postérieure modifiée avec implantation d'un tube Ex- PRESS? X-50.¦Vingt six patients atteints d'un glaucome à angle ouvert, ont participé à cette étude prospective et non-comparative. Le critère d'inclusion est un glaucome à angle ouvert non contrôlé malgré un traitement topique maximal.¦Différents types de chirurgie filtrante sont effectués dans la chirurgie du glaucome dont la trabéculectomie et la sclérectomie profonde.¦L'intervention chirurgicale pratiquée dans cette étude consiste en l'implantation d'un tube Ex-PRESS? X-50 de format défini (3 mm de longueur et 50 μπι de diamètre interne) dans la chambre antérieure,au niveau du trabeculum, sous un volet scléral, ce qui permet le drainage de l'humeur aqueuse vers les espaces sous-conjonctivaux, avec diminution de la pression intraoculaire.¦Cette technique implique uniquement une dissection d'un volet scléral superficiel , sans volet scléral profond comme d'une sclérectomie profonde classique.¦Les modes de fonctionnement de cette sclérectomie profonde modifiée sont explorés par UBM, qui donne des images à haute résolution, semblables à des coupes anatomiques. Le volume de l'espace intrascléral créé artificiellement peut en effet être mesuré et mis en corrélation avec la pression intraoculaire et donc avec le taux de succès. Les différents types d'échogénécité de la bulle de filtration sous-conjonctivale provoquée par la dérivation de l'humeur aqueuse sont également observés. La présence éventuelle d'une filtration supplémentaire au niveau choroïdien est aussi détectée.¦De février 2007 à juin 2008, nous avons suivi chez les vingt six yeux des vingt six patients le volume intrascléral, la filtration sous-conjonctivale et la filtration choroïdienne le cas échéant, de même que l'acuité visuelle, la pression intraoculaire, le nombre de traitement antihypertenseur topique et les complications.¦Les résultats démontrent une réduction de 41 % par rapport à la pression intraoculaire préopératoire, ce qui est statistiquement significatif (p<0.0005). En ce qui concerne l'acuité visuelle, les valeurs demeurent stables. Par ailleurs, le nombre de médicaments antiglaucomateux diminue de façon significative de 2.5 ± 1.2 en préopératoire à 0.7 ± 1.0 au dernier examen (p<0.0005). Le volume de l'espace intrascléral, apparaissant toujours en échographie d'aspect fusiforme, n'est pas corrélé de façon significative avec un meilleur succès chirurgical bien que l'on aperçoive une tendance à une corrélation entre un plus grand volume et une pression intraoculaire plus basse.¦La classification la bulle de filtration se fait selon les 4 catégories de bulle de filtration décrites dans la littérature. La répartition révèle une majorité de type L soit hypoéchogène: 15/26 (58%) et une proportion identique, soit, 4/26 (16%), de bulles hyperéchogènes (type H) et encapsulées (type E); les bulles de filtration plates et hyperéchogènes (type F) sont les moins nombreuses 3/26 (11 %).¦La ligne hyporéflective visible dans 19 % des cas entre la sclère et la choroïde représentant potentiellement un drainage suprachoroïdien, n'est pas associée statistiquement à une meilleure filtration et une pression intraoculaire plus basse mais demeure une troisième voie de filtration, en plus de la filtration sous-conjonctivale et intrasclérale.¦En conclusion, cette technique différente, offrant une plus grande sécurité et des résultats satisfaisants sur l'abaissement de la pression intraoculaire, peut être, dans certains cas, une alternative à la sclérectomie profonde classique ,dont elle partage les mécanismes de filtration objectivés par ultrasonographic biomicrioscopique.