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Mineral dust plays an important role in the ocean’s carbon cycle through the input of nutrientsand metals which potentially fertilise phytoplankton, and by ballasting organic matter from the surface ocean to the sea floor. However, time series and records of open-ocean dust deposition fluxes are sparse. Here, we present a series of Saharan dust collected between 2015 and 2022 by dust-collecting buoys that are monitoring dust in the equatorial North Atlantic Ocean, as well as by moored sediment traps at the buoys' positions at ~21°N/21°W and ~11°N/23°W directly below the major dust Saharan-dust plume offshore northwest Africa. We present dust-flux data as well as particle-size distribution data, and make a comparison of the dust collected from the atmosphere at the ocean surface with the dust settling through the ocean and intercepted by the submarine sediment traps.See: www.nioz.nl/dust

BACKGROUND: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) waveform analysis has been proposed as a potential non-invasive guide to optimize timing of defibrillation. METHODS: The AMplitude Spectrum Area (AMSA) trial is an open-label, multicenter randomized controlled study reporting the first in-human use of AMSA analysis in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The primary efficacy endpoint was the termination of VF for an AMSA ≥ 15.5 mV-Hz. Adult shockable OHCAs randomly received either an AMSA-guided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or a standard-CPR. Randomization and allocation to trial group were carried out centrally. In the AMSA-guided CPR, an initial AMSA ≥ 15.5 mV-Hz prompted for immediate defibrillation, while lower values favored chest compression (CC). After completion of the first 2-min CPR cycle, an AMSA < 6.5 mV-Hz deferred defibrillation in favor of an additional 2-min CPR cycle. AMSA was measured and displayed in real-time during CC pauses for ventilation with a modified defibrillator. FINDINGS: The trial was early discontinued for low recruitment due to the COVID-19 pandemics. A total of 31 patients were recruited in 3 Italian cities, 19 in AMSA-CPR and 12 in standard-CPR, and included in the data analysis. No difference in primary outcome was observed between the two groups. Termination of VF occurred in 74% of patients in the AMSA-CPR compared to 75% in the standard CPR (OR 0.93 [95% CI 0.18–4.90]). No adverse events were reported. INTERPRETATION: AMSA was used prospectively in human patients during ongoing CPR. In this small trial, an AMSA-guided defibrillation provided no evidence of an improvement in termination of VF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03237910. FUNDING: European Commission - Horizon 2020; ZOLL Medical Corp., Chelmsford, USA (unrestricted grant); Italian Ministry of Health - Current research IRCCS.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of public health concern. Its prevalence in stray animals in the South of Italy is unknown. This study aimed to investigate Leptospira spp. prevalence in 1009 stray animals. Out of them, 749 were alive animals, including 358 dogs (316 from Palermo and 42 from Ragusa) and 391 cats (359 from Palermo and 32 from Ragusa), and 260 were corpses (216 dogs and 44 cats) randomly collected in Sicily. Dogs and cats underwent a serological screening by Microscopic Agglutination Test and a molecular investigation by Real-Time PCR targeting lipL32. Corpses were subjected to Real-Time PCR. Serological analyses showed a prevalence of 1.12% (4/358) for dogs and 0.26% (1/391) for cats, with the only positive cat coming from Palermo. Serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae or Copenhageni, followed by Canicola and Bratislava, were the most spread among dogs, while the serological positive cat reacted with Hardjo serogroup. Two urine (2/32, 6.25%) and one blood (1/391, 0.26%) samples of cats, all from Ragusa, were positive at Real-Time PCR for pathogenic Leptospira spp. Sequencing analyses showed the presence of L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae or Copenhageni in one of the positive urine samples and in the positive blood sample. Analyses on corpses showed a prevalence of 1.85% (4/216) in Sicilian dog kidney samples, while all corpses of cats resulted in negative. Genotyping analysis showed a genetic relatedness between cat and human isolates. Results show Leptospira spp. circulation among Sicilian stray animals. The genetic relatedness between cat and human isolates suggests a possible common infection source.

Background West Nile Disease (WND) is a zoonotic mosquito‐borne infection involving viral pathogens, human and animal hosts, vectors and environment. Cooperation among medical, veterinary and entomological fields has been promoted by the Italian Public Health Authorities, and an integrated West Nile Virus (WNV) Surveillance Plan has been in force in Italy since 2016 to prevent the transmission risk of WND to humans through an early detection of viral circulation by animal and entomological surveillance. This managing model is unique in Europe. Objectives This survey aimed at presenting the ‘One Health’ approach applied in 2016 to the first autochthonous human case of West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease (WNND) in Sicily (Southern Italy). Methods Serological (anti‐WNV IgM and IgG ELISA, anti‐WNV neutralizing antibodies) and molecular tests were conducted on blood, liquor and urine of a 38‐year‐old man with encephalitis and meningitis. Overall, 2704 adult culicides from 160 mosquito catches were morphologically identified. Female mosquitoes were analysed in pools for WNV RNA detection. Serological (anti‐WNV IgM and IgG ELISA) and molecular analyses for WNV were carried out in 11 horses, 271 chickens and two dogs sampled in farms around the man's residence. Results and conclusions WNND was confirmed by serological analysis on patient's liquor and serum. Collected mosquito species included Culex pipiens (93.56%, CI95% 92.64%–94.49%), Aedes albopictus (5.25%, CI95% 4.41%–6.09%), Culex hortensis (0.59%, CI95% 0.30%–0.88%), Culiseta longiareolata (0.55%, CI95% 0.27%–0.83%) and Anopheles maculipennis s.l. (0.04%, CI95% –0.04% to 0.11%). Mosquito pools were negative for WNV RNA. Two dogs (100%) and two horses (18.18%, CI95% –4.61 to 40.97%) resulted positive for anti‐WNV specific antibodies. The ‘One Health’ approach allowed to report the first human neuroinvasive WND in Sicily and to confirm the local circulation of WNV in animals of the same area where the clinical case occurred, defining the autochthonous origin of the infection., Description of the first neuroinvasive human case of West Nile disease in Sicily.Detection of West Nile Virus antibodies in dogs and horses in the surrounding area.Presence of the main West Nile Virus vector Culex pipiens in the investigated area.

This article belongs to the Special Issue The Innate Immune Defense of Animals Living in Pathogenic Environments., Anaplasma phagocytophilum are obligatory intracellular bacteria that preferentially replicate inside leukocytes by utilizing biological compounds and processes of these primary host defensive cells. In this study, bioinformatics analysis was conducted to further characterize A. phagocytophilum–host interactions using the neutrophil-like model of human Caucasian promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells. We detected a hierarchy of molecules involved in A. phagocytophilum-HL60 interactions with overrepresentation in infected human cells of proteins involved in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and cell surface monocyte markers. As A. phagocytophilum phagocytosis by neutrophils is inhibited, the results suggested a possible explanation for our bioinformatics data: radical oxygen compounds could induce the killing of bacteria activating NETosis, a unique form of defense mechanism resulting in cell death that is characterized by the release of decondensed chromatin and granular contents to the extracellular space, forming neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to eliminate invading microorganisms. Thus, we confirmed the existence of a low NETosis induced in A. phagocytophilum-infected cells by immunofluorescence (IF) experiments. These results provide new insights into the complex mechanisms that govern immune response during A. phagocytophilum host interactions., The study was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health grants RC IZSSI 08/19 and RC IZSSI 01/20 and by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain and EU-FEDER [Grant BIOGAL PID2020-116761GB-I00].

In humans, blood groups are associated with varying prevalence of infections. The aim of this study was to determine if associations exist between the feline AB blood group system and haemoplasma infection.Data from two studies were combined. In the first study, DNA samples from 131 haemoplasma-infected and 132 haemoplasma-uninfected UK cats underwent pyrosequencing to determine their blood genotype as AA, Ab or bb. In the second study, blood samples from 160 Italian cats of known blood phenotype A, B or AB underwent PCR testing for feline haemoplasma species DNA.Haemoplasma infection was demonstrated in cats of all phenotypes and genotypes. A significantly higher number of Ab genotype cats tested positive for overall haemoplasma infection status (p = 0.04) and for Mycoplasma haemofelis infection (p = 0.03).Haemoplasma-infected Italian cats were few, possibly increasing the chance of type II error, and the presence of purebred cats in the sample population may have had a confounding effect.Feline haemoplasmas do not appear to preferentially use either blood type A or B antigens as attachment sites for erythrocyte colonisation. Further investigations in a larger number of haemoplasma-infected cats of known blood phenotype are warranted to explain the association between genotype Ab and haemoplasma infection.

Antibodies offer a powerful means to interrogate specific proteins in a complex milieu. However, antibody availability and reliability can be problematic, whereas epitope tagging can be impractical in many cases. To address these limitations, the Protein Capture Reagents Program (PCRP) generated over a thousand renewable monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human presumptive chromatin proteins. However, these reagents have not been widely field-tested. We therefore performed a screen to test their ability to enrich genomic regions via chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and a variety of orthogonal assays. Eight hundred eighty-seven unique antibodies against 681 unique human transcription factors (TFs) were assayed by ultra-high-resolution ChIP-exo/seq, generating approximately 1200 ChIP-exo data sets, primarily in a single pass in one cell type (K562). Subsets of PCRP mAbs were further tested in ChIP-seq, CUT&RUN, STORM super-resolution microscopy, immunoblots, and protein binding microarray (PBM) experiments. About 5% of the tested antibodies displayed high-confidence target (i.e., cognate antigen) enrichment across at least one assay and are strong candidates for additional validation. An additional 34% produced ChIP-exo data that were distinct from background and thus warrant further testing. The remaining 61% were not substantially different from background, and likely require consideration of a much broader survey of cell types and/or assay optimizations. We show and discuss the metrics and challenges to antibody validation in chromatin-based assays.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar la ingesta de microplásticos (MPS) en peces de la Reserva Natural de Usos Múltiples Monterrico (RNUMM), y su relación con el hábito alimenticio y hábitat. Aunque los MPS son contaminantes emergentes reportados en varias especies acuáticas, a la fecha este es el primer registro que aborda la presencia de MPS en peces de áreas protegidas de Guatemala. El tracto digestivo de 624 individuos de 16 especies de peces se analizaron usando digestión con hidróxido de potasio al 20% e identificación visual de los MPS en el estereomicroscopio. Se encontraron 644 MPS en el 47% de los individuos de 15 especies, con un rango de ingestión promedio entre 1 y 4 MPS. Las formas dominantes fueron las fibras (82%) seguidas por fragmentos (12%) y láminas (6%). Las mayores cantidades de MPS se registraron en las especies omnívoras y de hábitat bentopelágico. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en el número de MPS respecto al hábito alimenticio y al hábitat de las especies, y una correlación negativa entre el factor de condición y la cantidad de MPS para Gobionellus microdon. Nuestros resultados proveen la primera evidencia d ingesta de MPS en peces de la RNUMM. Es necesario generar información adicional para conocer la distribución espacio temporal de los MPS en distintos hábitats dentro del áre protegida y los riesgos para las especies de importancia pesquera.

Este artigo discute o processo de construção e de aprendizado de um referencial de avaliação participativa do desenvolvimento integral de crianças e adolescentes

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed significant burden on healthcare systems. We compared

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of a worldwide zoonosis known as Q fever. The pathogen invades monocytes and macrophages, replicating within acidic phagolysosomes and evading host defenses through different immune evasion strategies that are mainly associated with the structure of its lipopolysaccharide. The main transmission routes are aerosols and ingestion of fomites from infected animals. The innate immune system provides the first host defense against the microorganism, and it is crucial to direct the infection towards a self-limiting respiratory disease or the chronic form. This review reports the advances in understanding the mechanisms of innate immunity acting during C. burnetii infection and the strategies that pathogen put in place to infect the host cells and to modify the expression of specific host cell genes in order to subvert cellular processes. The mechanisms through which different cell types with different genetic backgrounds are differently susceptible to C. burnetii intracellular growth are discussed. The subsets of cytokines induced following C. burnetii infection as well as the pathogen influence on an inflammasome-mediated response are also described. Finally, we discuss the use of animal experimental systems for studying the innate immune response against C. burnetii and discovering novel methods for prevention and treatment of disease in humans and livestock., This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health with grants RC IZSSI 08/19 and RC IZSSI 01/20.

The ripening of fruits is a determinant factor on the composition of phytochemical compounds such as phenolic compounds. In this study the phenolic profile of quince fruits was determined as a function of its maturity index. Based on the total soluble solids (TSS) and the acidity (TA) of the fruits, four maturity indexes were established (12.55, 14.56, 21.86 and 24.77), using the ratio of TSS/TA. The phenolic profile of quince fruits with different maturity indexes were obtained by a reversed-phase HPLC-DAD and HPLC-DAD/MS. A PCA loading plot was generated to explain the relationship between physicochemical parameters and the phenolic compounds. The phenolic compounds identified in the quince fruits were 3-0-caffeoylquinic acid, catechin, 4-0-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-0-caffeoylquinic acid, coumaric acid, quercetin-3-0-rutinoside and quercetin-3-0-glycosides. The maturity index increase caused in general a reduction of phenolic compounds, these compounds were also influenced by pH and acidity of fruits. Quince is a valuable source of natural phenolic antioxidants, and can be used as raw material to elaborate diverse food products, providing important functional properties.

Cerebrospinal fluid shunt-associated surgical site infection surveillance for 3 months compared to 12 months after surgery captures 83% of cases with no significant differences in patient characteristics, surgery types, or pathogens. A shorter 3-month follow-up can reduce resource use and allow for more timely reporting of healthcare-associated infection rates for hospitals.

Há um aumento significativo no número de Electronic Health Records (EHRs) que acomodam dados não estruturados em linguagem natural. A análise manual destes dados é inviável devido ao grande volume existente, cuja tendência é continuar a aumentar. Há uma necessidade de abordagens que permitam a estruturação destas informações para que possam auxiliar os profissionais de saúde na análise dos dados, indicação de tratamento, diagnóstico de doenças, entre outros. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo desenvolver um modelo para processamento de dados não estruturados de EHRs observando o objetivo de representá-los em estruturas de ontologias. Experimentos preliminares foram realizados e indicaram resultados promissores para o modelo.

C-type lectin domain family 4, member a4 (Clec4a4) is a C-type lectin inhibitory receptor specific for glycans thought to be exclusively expressed on murine CD8α− conventional dendritic cells. Using newly generated Clec4a4-mCherry knock-in mice, we identify a subset of Clec4a4-expressing eosinophils uniquely localized in the small intestine lamina propria. Clec4a4+ eosinophils evinced an immunomodulatory signature, whereas Clec4a4− eosinophils manifested a proinflammatory profile. Clec4a4+ eosinophils expressed high levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr), which drove the expression of Clec4a4 as well as other immunomodulatory features, such as PD-L1. The abundance of Clec4a4+ eosinophils was dependent on dietary AHR ligands, increased with aging, and declined in inflammatory conditions. Mice lacking AHR in eosinophils expanded innate lymphoid cells of type 2 and cleared Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection more effectively than did wild-type mice. These results highlight the heterogeneity of eosinophils in response to tissue cues and identify a unique AHR-dependent subset of eosinophils in the small intestine with an immunomodulatory profile.