Determination of atmospheric aerosol components in an urban area to evaluate the air quality and identify the sources of contamination.

The need to generate objective evidence and reliable information for decision makers to improve environmental policies for a better air quality, led us to evaluate the atmospheric aerosol components in the urban area of Carabayllo, by monitoring PM2.5 and PM10 to determine mass concentration and analyzing PM10 using k 0-INAA and ICP-MS for metals quantification, ion chromatography for anions and the NIOSH method to determine organic and elemental carbon. The results obtained from mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 exceeded the permissible breathing annual average of WHO guidelines of 15 µgm-3 and 45 µgm-3, respectively, which evidence an unhealthy air quality. Likewise, using the model Positive Matrix Factorization five sources of pollutants were defined: metallurgical industry, sea salt, industrial activity, dust and non-exhaust emissions and vehicle emissions.

Biological features of TcM: A new Trypanosoma cruzi isolate from Argentina classified into TcV lineage.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease (CD) presents a wide genetic and phenotypic diversity that is classified into seven lineages or discrete typing units (DTU: TcI to TcVI and Tcbat). Although isolates and strains that belong to a particular group can share some attributes, such as geographic distribution, others like growth rate, cell tropism, and response to treatment can be highly variable. In addition, studies that test new trypanocidal drugs are frequently conducted on T. cruzi strains maintained for a long time in axenic culture, resulting in changes in parasite virulence and other important features. This work aimed to isolate and characterize a new T. cruzi strain from a chronic Chagas disease patient. The behavior of this isolate was studied by using standard in vitro assays and in vivo mice infection tests and compared with the T. cruzi Y strain (TcY), broadly used in research laboratories worldwide. Data showed that TcM behaves as a slow-growing strain in vitro that develops chronic infections in mice and displays high tropism to muscular tissues, in accordance with its clinical performance. In contrast, the Y strain behaved as an acute strain that can infect different types of cells and tissues. Interestingly, TcM, which belongs to DTU TcV, is more susceptible to benznidazole than TcY, a TcII strain considered moderately resistant to this drug. These differential properties contribute to the characterization of a TcV strain, one of the main lineages in the southern countries of South America, and open the possibility to introduce changes that improve the management of Chagas patients in the future.

Repurposing Carvedilol as a Novel Inhibitor of the Trypanosoma cruzi Autophagy Flux That Affects Parasite Replication and Survival.

T. cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, is a parasite able to infect different types of host cells and to persist chronically in the tissues of human and animal hosts. These qualities and the lack of an effective treatment for the chronic stage of the disease have contributed to the durability and the spread of the disease around the world. There is an urgent necessity to find new therapies for Chagas disease. Drug repurposing is a promising and cost-saving strategy for finding new drugs for different illnesses. In this work we describe the effect of carvedilol on T. cruzi. This compound, selected by virtual screening, increased the accumulation of immature autophagosomes characterized by lower acidity and hydrolytic properties. As a consequence of this action, the survival of trypomastigotes and the replication of epimastigotes and amastigotes were impaired, resulting in a significant reduction of infection and parasite load. Furthermore, carvedilol reduced the whole-body parasite burden peak in infected mice. In summary, in this work we present a repurposed drug with a significant in vitro and in vivo activity against T. cruzi. These data in addition to other pharmacological properties make carvedilol an attractive lead for Chagas disease treatment.

Aproximación al costo de oportunidad de los cuidadores menores de edad en México / Opportunity cost approximation of underage caregivers in Mexico

Resumen: Objetivo: Calcular el costo en que incurre la sociedad por contar con menores de edad que no estudian y que son cuidadores de adultos mayores con dependencia. Material y métodos: Se utilizó el Estudio Nacional de Salud y Envejecimiento en México (Enasem) 2015 para calcular el número de cuidadores menores de edad que no estudian. Se consultó la Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares (ENIGH) 2018 para estimar diferencias salariales entre poblaciones con escolaridad de primaria y preparatoria terminada en edad laboral. Dichas diferencias fueron convertidas a valor presente, agregadas y multiplicadas por el número de cuidadores menores de edad. Resultados: El costo anual total de contar con cuidadores menores de edad que abandonan los estudios asciende a 1 112 179 210 pesos. Conclusiones: El tema de los cuidadores menores de edad no ha recibido la atención requerida de la bibliografía especializada y aún existe una gran brecha de investigación al respecto.

Abstract: Objective: To calculate the cost assumed by society for having underaged individuals who do not study and provide care to dependent older adults. Materials and methods: The Mexican Health and Ageing Study (MHAS) 2015 was used to calculate the number of underage caregivers who do not attend school. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) 2018 was used to estimate wage differences between populations at working age with complete elementary and complete high school education. Those differences were then converted to present value, added and multiplied by the number of underage caregivers. Results: The total annual cost of having underage caregivers who drop out of school adds to 1 112 179 210 pesos. Conclusions: The topic concerning underage caregivers has not received enough attention from specialized literature and there is still a large research gap in this area.

A new Rule of Thumb to evaluate alpha sources prepared by electro precipitation using X-ray Fluorescence.

This report studies the feasibility of using X-ray Fluorescence for the characterization of alpha sources in a short time and proposes a new Rule of Thumb for the sake of simplicity. An uranium deposit of 0.012 ± 0.001 mgcm-2 which XRF spectrum shows a low intensity U-Lα peak at 13.61 keV, provides good resolution in alpha spectrometry. By this method, long data acquisition times in alpha spectrometry of poorly prepared sources are avoided without the need for expensive equipment.

[Opportunity cost approximation of underage caregivers in Mexico]. / Aproximación al costo de oportunidad de los cuidadores menores de edad en México.

OBJECTIVE: To calculate the cost assumed by society for having underaged individuals who do not study and provide care to dependent older adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Mexican Health and Ageing Study (MHAS) 2015 was used to calculate the number of underage caregivers who do not attend school. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) 2018 was used to estimate wage differences between populations of working age with complete elementary and complete high school education. Those differences were then converted to present value, added, and multiplied by the number of underage caregivers. RESULTS: The total annual cost of having underage caregivers who drop out of school adds to 1 112 179 210 pesos. CONCLUSIONS: The topic concerning underage caregivers has not received enough attention from specialized literature, and there is still a large research gap in this area.

Central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) due to Exophiala dermatitidis in an adult patient: Case report and review.

Exophiala dermatitidis is a dematiaceous fungus with yeast-like and hyphal growth states that may cause cutaneous and visceral infections. Recently, E. dermatitidis has been linked to central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), probably due to its ability to produce extracellular polysaccharides and grow as biofilm. We describe an E. dermatitidis CLASBI. The strain was identified by morphological and molecular methods. E. dermatitidis CLASBI is highly uncommon, but seems to be increasing.

Multiple Opportunistic Infections in a Woman with GATA2 Mutation.

GATA2 deficiency is a genetic disorder caused by inherited or sporadic haploinsufficient mutations in the GATA2 gene. Patients have abnormalities in hematopoiesis, lymphangiogenesis and immunity; encompassing a broad range of clinical syndromes, mainly characterized by monocytopenia, B and NK cell cytopenia, severe or recurrent infections, and a high risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We report a case of an Argentinean woman who presented with multiple opportunistic infections as her first manifestation of GATA2 deficiency.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infective Endocarditis Following Aortic Valve Implantation: A Note of Caution.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative treatment for severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) in patients with prohibitive risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a rare complication of this relatively novel procedure and current guidelines do not include specific recommendations for its treatment. We report a case of PVE due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa after TAVI that required SAVR, with successful outcome. PVE usually occurs during the first year after TAVI and entails a high mortality risk because patients eligible for this min-imally invasive procedure are fragile (i.e. advanced age and/or severe comorbidities). Additionally, clinical presentation may be atypical or subtle and transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) may not be conclusive, which delays diagnosis and treatment worsening the prognosis. This case highlights that open SAVR might be ultimately indicated as part of treatment for TAVI-PVE despite a high-risk surgery score.