Comparison of serological responses in two different populations with pulmonary tuberculosis

Observational studies on the humoural immune responses of the Warao indigenous people from Delta Amacuro, an isolated area, were compared with urban residents of the Venezuelan capital. Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific reactivities (IgM, IgE, sIgA, IgG and IgG subclasses) were measured by ELISA using PPD and 38-kDa M. tuberculosis antigens. A total of 294 individuals were studied, 162 Warao (indigenous people) and 132 Creole (non-indigenous people). The patient group consisted of 87 Warao patients and 58 Creole patients, while the control group consisted of 75 Warao controls and 74 Creole controls. Combinations among the isotypes studied were performed. The findings showed that for the Warao people, sensitivity to the combination including anti-PPD IgG and IgE was 92.0%, while for the Creole people, sensitivity to the combination including anti-PPD IgG but more so anti-PPD IgG1 and IgG2 was 90.0%. Simple tests were able to show higher specificities, which were population-specific; specificities were anti-PPD IgG3, 100.0% and anti-PPD IgM, 97.4% for the Warao and Creole peoples, respectively. In conclusion, while simple tests reached high specificity, the multi-isotype tests improved sensitivity; the latter shows this approach may be useful in diagnostic testing.

Sociodemographic and occupational risk factors associated with the development of different burnout types: the cross-sectional University of Zaragoza study

BACKGROUND: Three different burnout types have been described: The "frenetic" type describes involved and ambitious subjects who sacrifice their health and personal lives for their jobs; the "underchallenged" type describes indifferent and bored workers who fail to find personal development in their jobs, and the "worn-out" in type describes neglectful subjects who feel they have little control over results and whose efforts go unacknowledged. The study aimed to describe the possible associations between burnout types and general sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a multi-occupational sample of randomly selected university employees (n = 409). The presence of burnout types was assessed by means of the "Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire (BCSQ-36)", and the degree of association between variables was assessed using an adjusted odds ratio (OR) obtained from multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Individuals working more than 40 hours per week presented with the greatest risk for "frenetic" burnout compared to those working fewer than 35 hours (adjusted OR = 5.69; 95% CI = 2.52-12.82; p < 0.001). Administration and service personnel presented the greatest risk of "underchallenged" burnout compared to teaching and research staff (adjusted OR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.16-7.01; p = 0.023). Employees with more than sixteen years of service in the organisation presented the greatest risk of "worn-out" burnout compared to those with less than four years of service (adjusted OR = 4.56; 95% CI = 1.47-14.16; p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to our knowledge that suggests the existence of associations between the different burnout subtypes (classified according to the degree of dedication to work) and the different sociodemographic and occupational characteristics that are congruent with the definition of each of the subtypes. These results are consistent with the clinical profile definitions of burnout syndrome. In addition, they assist the recognition of distinct profiles and reinforce the idea of differential characterisation of the syndrome for more effective treatment.

Embryonic development of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae): influence of different constant temperatures

Despite its vector importance little attention is given to Aedes aegypti embryonic development. In this study, temperature influence on time course of Ae. aegypti larvae hatching and egg viability were evaluated. The dormancy state at the end of embryogenesis could be interrupted with a proper stimulus. Temperatures tested ranged between 12-36°C; the maximum temperature limit is 35°C and the minimum one is below 12°C. Egg viability between 16-31°C was above 80%. The definition of physiological embryonic parameters at this temperature range corroborates Ae. aegypti presence on tropical and subtropical world regions.

Experimental reinfection of BALB/c mice with different recombinant type I/III strains of Toxoplasma gondii: involvement of IFN-³ and IL-10

To assess reinfection of BALB/c mice with different Toxoplasma gondii strains, the animals were prime infected with the non-virulent D8 strain and challenged with virulent recombinant strains. Thirty days after challenge, brain cysts were obtained from surviving BALB/c mice and inoculated in Swiss mice to obtain tachyzoites for DNA extraction and PCR-RFLP analysis to distinguish the different T. gondii strains present in possible co-infections. Anti-Toxoplasma immune responses were evaluated in D8-primed BALB/c mice by detecting IFN-³ and IL-10 produced by T cells and measuring immunoglobulin levels in serum samples. PCR-RFLP demonstrated that BALB/c mice were reinfected with the EGS strain at 45 days post prime infection (dpi) and with the EGS and CH3 strains at 180 dpi. High levels of IFN-³ were detected after D8 infection, with no significant difference between 45 and 180-day intervals. However, higher IL-10 levels and higher plasmatic IgG1 and IgA were detected from samples obtained 180 days after infection. BALB/c mice were susceptible to reinfection with different recombinant T. gondii strains and this susceptibility correlated with enhancement of IL-10 production.

Population structure and diversity of the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from different sources and geographic origins

Fifty-five clinical and environmental Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from Mexico, Argentina, France and Peru were analyzed to determine their genetic variability, reproductive system and level of differentiation using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. The level of genetic variability was assessed by measuring the percentage of polymorphic loci, number of effective alleles, expected heterozygocity and by performing an association index test (I A). The degree of genetic differentiation and variation was determined using analysis of molecular variance at three levels. Using the paired genetic distances, a dendrogram was built to detect the genetic relationship among alleles. Finally, a network of haplotypes was constructed to determine the geographic relationship among them. The results indicate that the clinical isolates have greater genetic variability than the environmental isolates. The I A of the clinical and environmental isolates suggests a recombining population structure. The genetic differentiation among isolates and the dendrogram suggest that the groups of isolates are different. The network of haplotypes demonstrates that the majority of the isolates are grouped according to geographic origin.

Quantitative electroencephalography reveals different physiological profiles between benign and remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis patients

BACKGROUND A possible method of finding physiological markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the application of EEG quantification (QEEG) of brain activity when the subject is stressed by the demands of a cognitive task. In particular, modulations of the spectral content that take place in the EEG of patients with multiple sclerosis remitting-relapsing (RRMS) and benign multiple sclerosis (BMS) during a visuo-spatial task need to be observed. METHODS The sample consisted of 19 patients with RRMS, 10 with BMS, and 21 control subjects. All patients were free of medication and had not relapsed within the last month. The power spectral density (PSD) of different EEG bands was calculated by Fast-Fourier-Transformation (FFT), those analysed being delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma. Z-transformation was performed to observe individual profiles in each experimental group for spectral modulations. Lastly, correlation analyses was performed between QEEG values and other variables from participants in the study (age, EDSS, years of evolution and cognitive performance). RESULTS Nearly half (42%) the RRMS patients showed a statistically significant increase of two or more standard deviations (SD) compared to the control mean value for the beta-2 and gamma bands (F = 2.074, p = 0.004). These alterations were localized to the anterior regions of the right hemisphere, and bilaterally to the posterior areas of the scalp. None of the BMS patients or control subjects had values outside the range of +/- 2 SD. There were no significant correlations between these values and the other variables analysed (age, EDSS, years of evolution or behavioural performance). CONCLUSION During the attentional processing, changes in the high EEG spectrum (beta-2 and gamma) in MS patients exhibit physiological alterations that are not normally detected by spontaneous EEG analysis. The different spectral pattern between pathological and controls groups could represent specific changes for the RRMS patients, indicative of compensatory mechanisms or cortical excitatory states representative of some phases during the RRMS course that are not present in the BMS group.

Multiple sclerosis risk variant HLA-DRB1*1501 associates with high expression of DRB1 gene in different human populations.

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1*1501 has been consistently associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in nearly all populations tested. This points to a specific antigen presentation as the pathogenic mechanism though this does not fully explain the disease association. The identification of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) for genes in the HLA locus poses the question of the role of gene expression in MS susceptibility. We analyzed the eQTLs in the HLA region with respect to MS-associated HLA-variants obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We found that the Tag of DRB1*1501, rs3135388 A allele, correlated with high expression of DRB1, DRB5 and DQB1 genes in a Caucasian population. In quantitative terms, the MS-risk AA genotype carriers of rs3135388 were associated with 15.7-, 5.2- and 8.3-fold higher expression of DQB1, DRB5 and DRB1, respectively, than the non-risk GG carriers. The haplotype analysis of expression-associated variants in a Spanish MS cohort revealed that high expression of DRB1 and DQB1 alone did not contribute to the disease. However, in Caucasian, Asian and African American populations, the DRB1*1501 allele was always highly expressed. In other immune related diseases such as type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, asthma and IgA deficiency, the best GWAS-associated HLA SNPs were also eQTLs for different HLA Class II genes. Our data suggest that the DR/DQ expression levels, together with specific structural properties of alleles, seem to be the causal effect in MS and in other immunopathologies rather than specific antigen presentation alone.

Evaluation of HA negatively charged membranes in the recovery of human adenoviruses and hepatitis A virus in different water matrices

Human adenoviruses (HAdV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are shed in the faeces and consequently may be present in environmental waters, resulting in an increase in pathogen concentration that can affect water quality and human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate an adsorption-elution method which utilizes negatively charged membrane HA to determine the efficient recovery of HAdV and HAV from different water matrices and to combine this procedure with a qualitative molecular method (nested RT-PCR and nested PCR). The best efficiency recovery was achieved in distilled water and treated wastewater effluent (100%) for both viruses and in recreational lagoon water for HAV (100%). The efficiency recovery was 10% for HAdV and HAV in seawater and 10% for HAdV in lagoon water. The viral detection limit by nested PCR for HAV in water samples ranged between 20-0.2 FFU/mL and 250 and 25 TCID50/mL for HAdV. In conclusion, these results suggest that the HA negatively charged membranes vary their efficiency for recovery of viral concentration depending upon the types of both enteric viruses and water matrices.

Intercomparison of the response of different photon and neutron detectors around a spent fuel cask

An intercomparison of the response of different photon and neutron detectors was performed in several measurement positions around a spent fuel cask (type TN 12/2B) filled with 4 MOX and 8 UO2 15 x 15 PWR fuel assemblies at the nuclear power plant Gosgen (KKG) in Switzerland. The instruments used in the study were both active and passive, photon and neutron detectors calibrated either for ambient or personal dose equivalent. The aim of the measurement campaign was to compare the responses of the radiation instruments to routinely used detectors. It has been shown that especially the indications of the neutron detectors are strongly dependent on the neutron spectra around the cask due to their different energy responses. However, routinely used active photon and neutron detectors were shown to be reliable instruments. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current resistance status to temephos in Aedes aegypti from different regions of Argentina

In Argentina, more than 25,000 cases of dengue were reported in the summer of 2009, even in provinces where the disease was formerly absent. We analysed the susceptibility levels to the larvicide temephos in seven populations of Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue, collected during summer 2007/2008, using the susceptible Rockefeller strain as a control. Although no control failures were observed during the experiment, a majority of the lethal concentration and resistance ratio values indicate an incipient resistance. An integrative program to monitor the resistance of Ae. aegypti to insecticides is needed in the country.

Resource dimensioning aspect of heterogeneous traffic with different service requirements: Integration versus segregation

In this paper, we consider the ATM networks in which the virtual path concept is implemented. The question of how to multiplex two or more diverse traffic classes while providing different quality of service requirements is a very complicated open problem. Two distinct options are available: integration and segregation. In an integration approach all the traffic from different connections are multiplexed onto one VP. This implies that the most restrictive QOS requirements must be applied to all services. Therefore, link utilization will be decreased because unnecessarily stringent QOS is provided to all connections. With the segregation approach the problem can be much simplified if different types of traffic are separated by assigning a VP with dedicated resources (buffers and links). Therefore, resources may not be efficiently utilized because no sharing of bandwidth can take place across the VP. The probability that the bandwidth required by the accepted connections exceeds the capacity of the link is evaluated with the probability of congestion (PC). Since the PC can be expressed as the CLP, we shall simply carry out bandwidth allocation using the PC. We first focus on the influence of some parameters (CLP, bit rate and burstiness) on the capacity required by a VP supporting a single traffic class using the new convolution approach. Numerical results are presented both to compare the required capacity and to observe which conditions under each approach are preferred

Omental and pleural milky spots: different reactivity patterns in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni reveals coelomic compartmentalisation

In vertebrate animals, pleural and peritoneal cavities are repositories of milky spots (MS), which constitute an organised coelom-associated lymphomyeloid tissue that is intensively activated by Schistosoma mansoni infection. This study compared the reactive patterns of peritoneal MS to pleural MS and concluded from histological analysis that they represent independent responsive compartments. Whole omentum, lungs and the entire mediastinum of 54 S. mansoni-infected mice were studied morphologically. The omental MS of infected animals were highly activated, modulating from myeloid-lymphocytic (60 days of infection) to lymphomyeloid (90 days of infection) and lymphocytic or lymphoplasmacytic (160 days of infection) types. The non-lymphoid component predominated in the acute phase of infection and was expressed by monocytopoietic, eosinopoietic and neutropoietic foci, with isolated megakaryocytes and small foci of late normoblasts and mast cells. Nevertheless, pleural or thoracic MS of infected mice were monotonous, consisting of small and medium lymphocytes with few mast and plasma cells and no myeloid component. Our data indicate that compartmentalisation of the MS response is dependent on the lymphatic vascularisation of each coelomic cavity, limiting the effects or consequences of any stimulating or aggressive agents, as is the case with S. mansoni infection.

Exposure to Trihalomethanes through Different Water Uses and Birth Weight, Small for Gestational Age, and Preterm Delivery in Spain

BACKGROUND Evidence associating exposure to water disinfection by-products with reduced birth weight and altered duration of gestation remains inconclusive. OBJECTIVE We assessed exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) during pregnancy through different water uses and evaluated the association with birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA), low birth weight (LBW), and preterm delivery. METHODS Mother-child cohorts set up in five Spanish areas during the years 2000-2008 contributed data on water ingestion, showering, bathing, and swimming in pools. We ascertained residential THM levels during pregnancy periods through ad hoc sampling campaigns (828 measurements) and regulatory data (264 measurements), which were modeled and combined with personal water use and uptake factors to estimate personal uptake. We defined outcomes following standard definitions and included 2,158 newborns in the analysis. RESULTS Median residential THM ranged from 5.9 μg/L (Valencia) to 114.7 μg/L (Sabadell), and speciation differed across areas. We estimated that 89% of residential chloroform and 96% of brominated THM uptakes were from showering/bathing. The estimated change of birth weight for a 10% increase in residential uptake was -0.45 g (95% confidence interval: -1.36, 0.45 g) for chloroform and 0.16 g (-1.38, 1.70 g) for brominated THMs. Overall, THMs were not associated with SGA, LBW, or preterm delivery. CONCLUSIONS Despite the high THM levels in some areas and the extensive exposure assessment, results suggest that residential THM exposure during pregnancy driven by inhalation and dermal contact routes is not associated with birth weight, SGA, LBW, or preterm delivery in Spain.

Effects of Different Postural Conditions on Handwriting Variability

During their career, forensic document examiners will inevitably be confronted with handwriting carried out under unusual conditions (UnC). A questioned document signed on top of a car or on a vertical surface like a wall are two examples. These atypical circumstances may give rise to more variability of the signatures or written words, in particular if the body was in non-traditional writing position without the traditional support. Few studies were devoted to handwriting variability under unusual writing conditions. The current study investigates whether individual variability changes with special writing conditions. In a previous study (Sciacca & al, 2009), we found that eight repetitions were sufficient to obtain a correct estimation of the variance. In the present study, twelve subjects were asked to write two word sets eight times in upper and eight times in lower case, under different conditions : sitting and writing on a horizontal (usual condition UC) or vertical support; and standing, kneeling or laying while writing on a horizontal or vertical support (unusual conditions UnC). Words were written on a pen tablet, normalized in space and time and then averaged. The variance of the eight words was measured under all conditions. Results showed only an increase in variability under the laying and kneeling / vertical UnC. Within the five other postural conditions tested, handwriting was shown to be very stable.

Growth, cysts and kinetics of Borrelia garinii (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetacea) in different culture media

The aim of the present paper was to evaluate cyst formation and growth parameters of Borrelia garinii in a range of media differing in formulation and cost. A qualitative assessment of morphology and motility of B. garinii was conducted. All media were prepared aseptically and used in test tubes or Petri dishes. For each medium, the initial spirochete concentration was standardized to 10³ spirochets/mL. The following culture media were suitable to grow B. garinii: Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly, brain heart infusion and PMR. Growth was minimal at six weeks post-inoculation and maximum spirochete density was observed between 9-12 weeks. Often, the cultures developed cysts of different sizes, isolated or in groups, with a spiraled portion of variable sizes, mainly in unfavorable culture media. Brazilian Lyme disease-like illness, also known as Baggio-Yoshinari syndrome (BYS), is a new and interesting emerging tick-borne disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes, only during its cystic forms. It has been assumed that the peculiar clinical and laboratory features of BYS are consequential to the absence of a human sucker Ixodes ricinus complex tick at risk areas in Brazil, supporting the concept that the borrelia phenotypic expression pattern is modified as it is transmitted through the host.