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Predictive Maintenance (PM) is a major part of smart manufacturing in the fourth industrial revolution. The classical fault diagnosis approach for complex systems such as an electromechanical system is not effective. Taking the advantage of the successful implementations of PM together with Deep Learning (DL) methods replaces the conventional diagnosis methods with modern diagnosis methods. This study intends to aid experts, engineers, and technicians in different electromechanical systems in comprehending how the PM used DL methods to find the multi-fault diagnosis. In this direction, this paper presents a comprehensive review of recent works of DL techniques that are applied to PM for electromechanical systems by classifying the research according to equipment, fault, parameters, and method. To perform the review, 30 papers that are published in proceedings and journals are reviewed within a time window between the years 2016 to 2022. In the context of the electromechanical system, it is observed that motors are the most equipment selected for PM. Moreover, stator winding faults are found to be less selected than bearing for diagnosis of the unhealthy status of the motor. In terms of DL methods, the study reveals that AE, LSTM, and CNN are mostly used. In addition, poorly mixed models of DL methods are also noticed. Finally, finding the optimal design variable of the DL architecture was not widely explored.

Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti pose a threat to global public health. Because there are no vaccines or drugs available, the prevention of these diseases in Argentina is based on integrated vector control. In this work, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the vector distribution was analyzed by monitoring oviposition. This information allowed the planning of anti-vector interventions and the evaluation of their effect on the relative abundance of mosquito populations in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán. Observed data were compared with the eggs expected via a statistical model based on meteorological variables. The oviposition substrate preference of mosquito females was also evaluated, and the possible relationship between the relative abundance of the vector and sociodemographic and environmental variables (normalized difference vegetation index and normalized difference water index) was explored. A total of 4,193 eggs of Ae. aegypti were collected, and spatial clusters were detected for all months for which the presence of the mosquito was reported. The observed number of eggs was significantly less than the expected-corrected egg abundance. A significant correlation of oviposition activity was found with three sociodemographic variables, whereas no significant correlation was found with mean or median values of the environmental variables studied. This monitoring strategy made it possible to address the interventions and evaluate them, proposing them as good complementary tools for the control of Ae. aegypti in northern Argentina.

Even with the significant progress that has been achieved in monocular depth estimation in recent years, the need for better real-time inference and reduction in computing resources usage associated with the network performance is persistent. In this paper, an enquiry into the efficacy of pruning on depth estimation models is performed. Encoder-decoder model based on the ResNet-50 backbone architecture employing pruning based on channel prioritization is designed to achieve higher performance and prediction speed. This is while attempting to keep a balance in the trade-off between accuracy and performance of the network. The presented approach is trained and evaluated for outdoor scenery on the KITTI dataset to demonstrate the effectiveness and the performance improvement of the presented framework when compared to similar methods. This shows competitive accuracy when compared to state-of-the-art methods and highlights how pruning can speed up inference time by more than 16% and leading to fewer operations compared to the non-pruned model.

The world's economy is dominate by the oil export business, which is heavily reliant on oil pipelines. Due to the length of the pipes and the harsh environment through which they pass, continuous structural health monitoring of pipelines using normal methods is difficult and expensive. In this paper, an IoT system integrated with cloud services is propose for oil pipeline structure monitoring. The system is based on collecting data from sensor nodes attached to the pipeline structure, which collectively form a network of IoT devices connected to the AWS cloud. Measurements from sensor nodes are collect, stored, and filtered in AWS cloud. Measurements are also make accessible to users through the internet in real-time using Python web framework, Flask, and sending alarms via email in real-time. The performance of the system is evaluate by applying damaging events (hard knocking) on the oil pipeline at several distances. Analysis of IoT data by machine learning classification algorithms, apply and comparison between SVM, Random Forest Classifier, and Decision Tree to determine the best one, and then built in EC2 Linux in AWS to analyses the measurements and classify new events according to their distances from the sensor nodes. The proposed system is test on field measurements that were collect in Al-Mussaib Gas Turbine Power Station in Baghdad. Among the three classifiers, Random Forest achieved 90% classification rate.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) harms the human brain's nervous system and can affect the patient's life. However, the diagnosis of PD diagnosis in the first stages can lead to early treatment and save costs. In this paper, a cloud-based machine learning diagnosing intelligent system is proposed for the PD with respect to patient voice. The proposed system is composed of two stages. In the first stage, two machine learning approaches, Random-Forest (RF) and Long-Short-Term-Memory (LSTM) are applied to generate a model that can be used for early treatment of PD. In this stage, a feature selection method is used to choose the minimum subset of the best features, which can be utilized later to generate the classification model. In the second stage, the best diagnosis model is deployed in cloud computing. In this stage, an Android application is also designed to provide the interface to the diagnosis model. The performance evaluation of the diagnosis model is conducted based on the F-score accuracy measurement. The result shows that the LTSM model has superior accuracy with 95% of the F-score compared with the RF model. Therefore, the LSTM model is selected for implementing a cloud-based PD diagnosing application using Python and Java.

The surveillance and security of areas such as home, laboratory, office, factory, and airports, are important to prevent any threatening to human lives. Mobile robots are proven their effectiveness in a large number of applications, especially in hazardous areas where they can be remotely controlled by humans to accomplish certain tasks. This research paper presents a design and implementation of a mobile robot for surveillance and security applications. The main objective of the design is to lower the cost and the power consumption of the mobile robot which accomplish using low-cost open-source hardware such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The robot is connected wirelessly via a low-power ZigBee module to the control station to allow the operator for controlling the mobile robot motions and monitoring the physical events in the environment where the robot is used. Sensors such as camera, temperature, and range are embedded in the robot to sense and monitor human motion, the room temperature, and the distance of the surrounding obstacles. The testing of the implemented mobile robot shows that it can run continuously for approximately 6.5 hours at a motor shaft speed 25 rpm of unlit the need to recharge the battery.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:26:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01 Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) are the vectors of Leishmania parasites, which are the causal agents of leishmaniasis. In this work, the survival and developmental time of the immature sand fly stages of Nyssomyia neivai and Migonemyia migonei were studied under laboratory conditions for one generation. Sand flies were collected in a rural dwelling of San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, Salta, Argentina and conditioned in individual rearing containers at 25±2 °C and 80–90% humidity. A total of 38 females of Ny. neivai oviposited 1,392 eggs (x ¯ = 40.81±16.5) in 5.6 days whereas two females of Mg. migonei oviposited 119 eggs (x ¯ = 59.50±4.95) in seven days. Migonemyia migonei presented a higher hatching percentage (66.39%) than Ny. neivai (60.99%), without statistical differences between the species (p > 0.05). A total of 78 adults of Ny. neivai emerged (5.60%) while 27 adults (22.69%) emerged for Mg. migonei (p < 0.0001). The survival curves of both species showed that the mortality decreased in the last stages and tended to constant values. This is the first study about the life cycle of sand flies present in northern part of province of Salta, the most endemic area of tegumentary leishmaniasis in Argentina. These results would allow the sustained study of sand flies in the laboratory to deepen the knowledge and understanding of their biology. Finally, it would contribute to elucidate the epidemiological role of the most abundant sand fly species in our study area where Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis prevails. Cátedra de Química Biológica y Biología Molecular Facultad de Ciencias Naturales Universidad Nacional de Salta Universidad Nacional de Salta Instituto de Investigaciones de Enfermedades Tropicales (IIET) Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Sede Regional Orán Universidad Nacional de Salta Departamento de Biologia Animal Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Instituto de Patología Experimental (IPE-CONICET). Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Universidad Nacional de Salta Departamento de Física Instituto de Investigación en Energía No Convencional (INENCO-CONICET) Universidad Nacional de Salta Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

The article presents a clinical case of the successful treatment of a patient with traumatic separation of the upper limb and massive damage to the soft tissues of the upper shoulder and chest. The effectiveness of applying the damage control principles and the method of local negative pressure for the prevention of local and systemic infectious complications is emphasized.

Purpose of the Study:The purpose of the study is to assess and compare the corneal flap thickness predictability and uniformity between Visumax femtosecond laser and Moria sub-Bowman keratomileusis microkeratome in laser in situ keratomileusis procedure to correct myopic and myopic astigmatism refractive errors. Methods:One hundred eyes from 100 patients, were enrolled in this study. Only one eye (right eye) of each patient was chosen for this study. They were divided into two groups of equal size (50 each). Target flap thickness was 90 μm. Flap thickness was measured by anterior segment optical coherence tomography in 7 specified positions at 3 months postoperative.Results:For femtosecond laser group, the average central flap thickness (CFT) was 91.35µm ±4.97. There was no statistically significant difference between the target flap thickness and the resultant flap thickness (p=0.12). When the central, nasal and temporal thicknesses in the same flap were compared, there was no statistically significant difference among these measurements (p=0.9).For the microkeratome group, CFT was 102.18µm±5.63. There was statistically significant difference between the target flap thickness and the resultant flap thickness (p=0.001).The central, nasal and temporal thicknesses were compared and there was a statistically significant difference.(p=0.000).Conclusions:Our study is among few studies in the literature comparing femtosecond laser flap to SBK microkeratome flap. Femtosecond laser creates more predicable flap thickness and more uniform flap architecture. It should be the first choice for the patients when the availability and cost is not a problem. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number: NCT04684888. Trial Registration date: December 2020. Registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

The discovery and characterization of novel parasite antigens to improve the diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi by serological methods and for accurate and rapid follow-up of treatment efficiency are still needed. TcTASV is a T. cruzi-specific multigene family, whose products are expressed on the parasite stages present in the vertebrate host. In a previous work, a mix of antigens from subfamilies TcTASV-A and TcTASV-C (Mix A + C) was sensitive and specific to identify dogs with active infection of high epidemiological relevance. Here, TcTASV-A and TcTASV-C were assayed separately as well as together (Mix A + C) in an ELISA format on human samples. The Mix A + C presented moderate sensitivity (78%) but high diagnostic accuracy with a 100% of specificity, evaluated on healthy, leishmaniasic, and Strongyloides stercoralis infected patients. Moreover, antibody levels of pediatric patients showed-2 years posttreatment-diminished reactivity against the Mix A + C (P < 0.0001), pointing TcTASV antigens as promising tools for treatment follow-up. Fil: Floridia Yapur, Noelia Aldana del Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Monje Rumi, Maria Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Ragone, Paula Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Lauthier, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Tomasini, Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: D'Amato, Anahí Alberti. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Diosque, Patricio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Cimino, Rubén Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Gil, José Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentina Fil: Sanchez, Daniel Oscar. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina Fil: Tekiel, Valeria Sonia. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; Argentina

La leishmaniasis tegumentaria (LT) es causada por parásitos del género Leishmania y transmitida por especies de flebótomos, insectos pertenecientes al orden Diptera, familia Psychodidae. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la presencia de casos de LT y su variación temporal entre 1985 y 2019, las formas clínicas, la ubicación de las lesiones en los pacientes y la presencia de flebótomos en la localidad de Colonia Santa Rosa, del norte de Argentina. Los pacientes se diagnosticaron mediante frotis e intradermorreacción de Montenegro. Se colocaron trampas CDC en 14 sitios en el horario de 19 a 7. Se diagnosticaron 120 casos de LT y la prevalencia global fue del 0,75% (≈16.000 habitantes). Los pacientes presentaron formas cutá- neas simples y múltiples (88,79%) y mucocutáneas (10,83%). Las lesiones cutáneas fueron más frecuentes en extremidades inferiores. Del total de flebótomos, Nyssomyia neivai fue la especie predominante (95%), y, en menor proporción, estuvieron presentes Migonemyia migonei (1,9%), complejo cortelezzii (1,3%) y Evandromyia sallesi (0,09%). La persistente ocurrencia de casos y la presencia de flebótomos en la citada localidad nos sugiere la transmisión endémica en la zona. Esto senala ˜ la necesidad de planificar medidas preventivas y de control de la LT en el norte de Argentina. Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the sandfly species, insects belonging to the order Diptera, family Psychodidae. Historically, the most endemic area of TL in Argentina has been the northern region. The aim of this work was to analyze the presence and temporal variation of TL cases reported between 1985 and 2019 in Colonia Santa Rosa locality, northern Argentina. Furthermore, its clinical forms were characterized and sandflies were captured. Patients were diagnosed by smear and the Montenegro skin test. For sampling, CDC light traps were placed at 14 sites from 7pm to 7am. The correlation between vegetation cover and sandfly abundance was also studied. One hundred and twenty TL cases were diagnosed and the overall prevalence was 0.75% (≈16 000 inhabitants). Patients presented simple and multiple cutaneous leishmaniasis (88.79%) and the mucocutaneous form (10.83%). Skin lesions were more frequent on the lower extremities (46.73%). Of the total number of sandflies, Nyssomyia neivai (95%) was the predominant species followed by Migonemyia migonei (1.9%), cortelezzii complex (1.3%) and Evandromyia sallesi (0.09%). The persistent occurrence of cases and the presence of sandflies in the locality suggest the existence of endemic transmission in the area. This highlights the need to design prevention and control measures for TL in northern Argentina. Fil: Aramayo, Lorena Vanesa. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Biología. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina Fil: Copa, Griselda Noemi. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Biología. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Hoyos, Carlos Lorenzo. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Almazán, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Juarez, Marisa del Valle. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Cajal, Silvana Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Krolewiecki, Alejandro Javier. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Biología. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina Fil: Gil, José Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Biología. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentina

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are among the most important infectious diseases in Iran. A cross sectional study was designed to determine frequency of intestinal parasites among referrals to a large teaching hospital in Khuzestan, Southwest of Iran, 2017. A total number of 5613 stool samples were examined through direct smear and formalin-ether concentration methods to detect possible parasitic infections. Samples consisted of 2643 (47.09%) male and 2970 (52.91%) female. A total of 1468 (26.15%) samples were positive (13.11% male and 13.4% female) and 4145 (73.85%) were negative. The results also showed that 255 of samples had more than one type of parasite (mix infections). Counting single and mix parasite infections, the total number of positive cases reached to 1723. Helminthes parasites were present in 12 (0.7%) cases, while intestinal protozoan parasites were in 1711 (99.3%) cases. Almost equally, pathogenic and nonpathogenic parasites infected 860 (49.91%) and 863 (50.09%) of patients, respectively. The frequency for helminthes was determined at 0.52% with Hymenolepis nana and Enterobius vermicularis however, Giardia lamblia in 38.54% and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar at 10.68% were concluded as protozoa elements. The IPIs frequency was recorded in female and male patients at 49.16% and 50.14%, respectively. According to the current results the infection rate of intestinal parasites has been significantly reduced especially for helminths infections in this region possibly due to public attention to health issues such as; increased awareness of people, improvement of sanitation, seasonal variations, health education and personal hygiene.

Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the sandfly species, insects belonging to the order Diptera, family Psychodidae. Historically, the most endemic area of TL in Argentina has been the northern region. The aim of this work was to analyze the presence and temporal variation of TL cases reported between 1985 and 2019 in Colonia Santa Rosa locality, northern Argentina. Furthermore, its clinical forms were characterized and sandflies were captured. Patients were diagnosed by smear and the Montenegro skin test. For sampling, CDC light traps were placed at 14 sites from 7pm to 7am. The correlation between vegetation cover and sandfly abundance was also studied. One hundred and twenty TL cases were diagnosed and the overall prevalence was 0.75% (≈16 000 inhabitants). Patients presented simple and multiple cutaneous leishmaniasis (88.79%) and the mucocutaneous form (10.83%). Skin lesions were more frequent on the lower extremities (46.73%). Of the total number of sandflies, Nyssomyia neivai (95%) was the predominant species followed by Migonemyia migonei (1.9%), cortelezzii complex (1.3%) and Evandromyia sallesi (0.09%). The persistent occurrence of cases and the presence of sandflies in the locality suggest the existence of endemic transmission in the area. This highlights the need to design prevention and control measures for TL in northern Argentina.

The diagnosis of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) still requires the design of more effective tools. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the causal agent of the 90% of Argentinean ATL cases. Considering the current knowledge, an ELISA based crude antigen (CA) for the diagnosis was designed. Ninety-nine subjects diagnosed as ATL, 27 as no-ATL, and 84 donors from non-ATL-endemic areas were included in this study. The current ATL diagnosis was based four techniques, dermal smear microscopic examination (parasitological test), PCR, Leishmanin skin test, and clinical records. We obtained CA extracts from promastigotes and amastigotes from macrophage cultures of different zymodemes of endemic Leishmania species circulating in the study area. Crude antigens from the ‘local’ main zymodeme of L. (V.) braziliensis showed the highest reactivity against anti-Leishmania antibodies compared to the other included species. The CA of amastigotes of this zymodeme was 3.4 fold more reactive than promastigotes one. Moreover, amastigote-membrane CA (MCA) were 3.6 fold more reactive than the soluble antigens. The MCA-ELISA reached a sensitivity and specificity of 98% (CI = 94.7%-100%) and 63.6% (53.9–73.1), respectively. When anti-Trypanosoma cruzi reactive sera were excluded, the specificity reached 98.4% (94.4–100), while the sensitivity was similar, with a positive predictive value (PV) of 98.6% (94.6–100) and negative PV of 96.3% (91.6–100). The performance of the MCA-ELISA results strongly contribute to the final diagnostic decision, since a non-reactive serological result almost discards the suspected ATL, because of its high negative PV. The developed MCA-ELISA showed a high diagnostic performance, which makes it a good candidate for ATL diagnosis, for seroprevalence studies, or for monitoring treatments efficacy. Fil: Bracamonte, María Estefanía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Moya Alvarez, Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Sosa, Andrea Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Hoyos, Carlos Lorenzo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Lauthier, Juan José. Kochi University. Kochi Medical School; Japón. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Cajal, Silvana Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Juarez, Marisa del Valle. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Uncos, Renato Exequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Sánchez Valdéz, Fernando Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Acuña, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Diosque, Patricio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Basombrío, Miguel Ángel Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina Fil: Hashiguchi, Yoshihisa. Kochi University. Kochi Medical School; Japón Fil: Korenaga, Masataka. Kochi University. Kochi Medical School; Japón Fil: Barroso, Paola Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Marco, Jorge Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina

We report on a porous silicon (PSi) p-type interdigitated extended-gate field effect transistor (IEGFET) pH sensor. Two types of crystalline orientation substrates were utilized, namely, p-type and p-type . PSi was prepared by an electrochemical etching method with an etching current density of 20 mA/cm2 and an etching time of 20 min. The scanning electron microscopy investigation revealed that the pore sizes of the p-type were smaller and deeper than those of the p-type for the same etching conditions. The average pore sizes of the p-type ranged from 0.2 to 1 μm with a depth of 19 μm. The p-type pore size and depth were found to be 1 to 4.5 μm and 14 μm, respectively. The proposed devices were tested in real time in a pH range of 3 to 11 at room temperature. The PSi p-type pH sensor exhibited enhanced pH sensitivity and linearity compared to the PSi p-type sensor. The voltage and current sensitivities of the p-type sensor were found to be approximately 43.75 mV/pH and 104 μA/pH, respectively. The PSi p-type exhibited comparatively weak voltage and current sensitivities of 7.5 mV/pH and 27.5 μA/pH, respectively. The performance enhancement of the PSi p-type sensor was due to a higher surface area to volume ratio. The crystal orientation steered the etching direction. The study produced all solid-state semiconductor efficient PSi p-type IEGFET pH sensors without the need for a bulky, fragile and liquid filled reference electrode.

The sand fly fauna in Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentina, a locality where cutaneous leishmaniasis cases occur, was surveyed with zones of higher abundance of sand flies correlated to vegetation cover estimated through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Sand flies were collected with 10 CDC traps during six nights, from December 2009 to January 2010. A map was built of expected sand flies abundance in which levels of NDVI were categorized. In total, 1,392 Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) specimens were collected, comprised of the following species: Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto 1926), Migonemyia migonei (França 1920), species of the cortelezzii complex (Brèthes 1923), Evandromyia sallesi (Galvão & Coutinho 1940), and Psathyromyia shannoni (Dyar 1929). Positive correlations were found between the abundance of sand flies and the NDVI (P < 0.05) for buffer areas of < 150 m radii from the trap location points, i.e., the sand fly abundance was greater where vegetation cover and density were greater. In this context, plant cover should be taken into account to prioritize surveillance and control areas within the program of sand flies control in northern Argentina. Fil: Chanampa, Mariana del Milagro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentina Fil: Gleiser, Raquel M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinar de Biología Vegetal (P). Grupo Vinculado Centro de Relevamiento y Evaluación de Recursos Agrícolas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Hoyos, Carlos Lorenzo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Copa, Griselda Noemi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Mangudo, Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina Fil: Gil, José Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a successful strategy used to reduce cost by minimizing the breakdown stoppages and production loss. The massive amount of data that results from the integration between the physical and digital systems of the production process makes it possible for deep learning (DL) algorithms to be applied and utilized for fault prediction and diagnosis. This paper presents a hybrid convolutional neural network based and long short-term memory network (CNN-LSTM) approach to a predictive maintenance problem. The proposed CNN-LSTM approach enhances the predictive accuracy and also reduces the complexity of the model. To evaluate the proposed model, two comparisons with regular LSTM and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) methods using a freely available dataset have been made. The PdM model based on CNN-LSTM method demonstrates better prediction accuracy compared to the regular LSTM, where the average F-Score increases form 93.34% in the case of regular LSTM to 97.48% for the proposed CNN-LSTM. Compared to the related works the proposed hybrid CNN-LSTM PdM approach achieved better results in term of accuracy.

Analog electronic circuits play an essential role in many industrial applications and control systems. The traditional way of diagnosing failures in such circuits can be an inaccurate and time-consuming process; therefore, it can affect the industrial outcome negatively. In this paper, an intelligent fault diagnosis and identification approach for analog electronic circuits is proposed and investigated. The proposed method relies on a simple statistical analysis approach of the frequency response of the analog circuit and a simple rule-based fuzzy logic classification model to detect and identify the faulty component in the circuit. The proposed approach is tested and evaluated using a commonly used low-pass filter circuit. The test result of the presented approach shows that it can identify the fault and detect the faulty component in the circuit with an average of 98% F-score accuracy. The proposed approach shows comparable performance to more intricate related works.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that can affect human health negatively when the glucose levels in the blood are elevated over the creatin range called hyperglycemia. The current devices for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) supervise the glucose level in the blood and alert user to the type-1 Diabetes class once a certain critical level is surpassed. This can lead the body of the patient to work at critical levels until the medicine is taken in order to reduce the glucose level, consequently increasing the risk of causing considerable health damages in case of the intake is delayed. To overcome the latter, a new approach based on cutting-edge software and hardware technologies is proposed in this paper. Specifically, an artificial intelligence deep learning (DL) model is proposed to predict glucose levels in 30 min horizons. Moreover, Cloud computing and IoT technologies are considered to implement the prediction model and combine it with the existing wearable CGM model to provide the patients with the prediction of future glucose levels. Among the many DL methods in the state-of-the-art (SoTA) have been considered a cascaded RNN-RBM DL model based on both recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM) due to their superior properties regarding improved prediction accuracy. From the conducted experimental results, it has been shown that the proposed Cloud&amp, DL-based wearable approach achieves an average accuracy value of 15.589 in terms of RMSE, then outperforms similar existing blood glucose prediction methods in the SoTA.

Introduction Recombinant human Growth Hormone (rhGH) is an important pharmacological agent for linear growth stimulation and body composition in children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). However, reports indicate that treatment with rhGH can be associated with adeno-tonsillar hyperplasia. This condition can lead to occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and worsening of sleep and life quality. Nonetheless, studies assessing this outcome in non-syndromic children are scarce. Methods We evaluated the difference in size of pharyngeal and palatine tonsils in patients aged between 5 and 17 being treated with recombinant human Growth Hormone (rhGH). We conducted a prospective longitudinal observational study. Twelve patients in treatment with rhGH were evaluated by otorhinolaryngological physical examination, nasofibrolaryngoscopy and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-18 questionnaire in two different time-points: when selected (T0) and after 6 months (T1). Results No significant associations were found regarding palatine and pharyngeal tonsil size with rhGH treatment. In relation to OSA 18 questionnaires, there was no statistically significant result in the absence of covariables for the general score as well as for the five domains that it comprises. When covariables were included in the analyses, controlled by the patients age, we observed statistically significant increases in the general score and in the domains relating to sleep disorders, emotional suffering, diurnal problems and the caretaker′s concerns. Conclusion In the present study, pharyngeal or palatine tonsils hyperplasia were infrequent during treatment with rhGH in the non-syndromic children and adolescents. However, the impact on sleep and quality of life that may arise warrant careful monitoring during therapy. Support Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP).

Background: Approximately 30% of children worldwide are infected with gastrointestinal parasites. Depending on the species, parasites can disrupt intestinal bacterial microbiota affecting essential vitamin biosynthesis. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 37 asymptomatic children from a previous cross-sectional Argentinian study. A multi-parallel real-time quantitative PCR was implemented for Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis, Trichuris trichiura, Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia duodenalis. In addition, whole-genome sequencing analysis was conducted for bacterial microbiota on all samples and analyzed using Livermore Metagenomic Analysis Toolkit and DIAMOND software. Separate analyses were carried out for uninfected, Giardia-only, Giardia + helminth co-infections, and helminth-only groups. Results: For Giardia-only infected children compared to uninfected children, DNA sequencing data showed a decrease in microbiota biodiversity that correlated with increasing Giardia burden and was statistically significant using Shannon's alpha diversity (Giardia-only > 1 fg/μl 2.346; non-infected group 3.253, P = 0.0317). An increase in diversity was observed for helminth-only infections with a decrease in diversity for Giardia + helminth co-infections (P = 0.00178). In Giardia-only infections, microbiome taxonomy changed from Firmicutes towards increasing proportions of Prevotella, with the degree of change related to the intensity of infection compared to uninfected (P = 0.0317). The abundance of Prevotella bacteria was decreased in the helminths-only group but increased for Giardia + helminth co-infections (P = 0.0262). Metagenomic analysis determined cobalamin synthesis was decreased in the Giardia > 1 fg/μl group compared to both the Giardia < 1 fg/μl and the uninfected group (P = 0.0369). Giardia + helminth group also had a decrease in cobalamin CbiM genes from helminth-only infections (P = 0.000754). Conclusion: The study results may provide evidence for an effect of parasitic infections enabling the permissive growth of anaerobic bacteria such as Prevotella, suggesting an altered capacity of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) biosynthesis and potential impact on growth and development in children. Fil: Mejia, Rojelio. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina Fil: Damania, Ashish. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados Unidos Fil: Jeun, Rebecca. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados Unidos Fil: Bryan, Patricia E.. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados Unidos Fil: Vargas, Paola. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Juarez, Marisa del Valle. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Cajal, Silvana Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Krolewiecki, Alejandro Javier. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Lefoulon, Emilie. New England Biolabs; Estados Unidos Fil: Long, Courtney. New England Biolabs; Estados Unidos Fil: Drake, Evan. New England Biolabs; Estados Unidos Fil: Cimino, Rubén Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Slatko, Barton. New England Biolabs; Estados Unidos

Background: Approximately 30% of children worldwide are infected with gastrointestinal parasites. Depending on the species, parasites can disrupt intestinal bacterial flora affecting nutritional status. We implemented a multi-parallel quantitative real-time PCR and whole-genome sequencing analysis for bacterial microbiota and Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis, Trichuris trichiura, Cryptosporidium species, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia lamblia. Stool samples were collected from 37 asymptomatic children from rural Argentina. We focused this study on Giardia screening. Separate analyses were done for uninfected, Giardia only, Giardia/helminth coinfections, and helminth only groups.Results: For Giardia only infected children, DNA sequencing data showed a decrease in microbiota biodiversity compared to those uninfected that correlated with increasing Giardia burden. Clustering was statistically significant using Shannon alpha diversity. A non-significant increase in diversity was observed for helminth only infections with a compensatory decrease in Giardia/helminth coinfections. In Giardia only infections, microbiome taxonomy shifted from Firmicutes towards increasing proportions of Prevotella, with the degree of shift related to the intensity of infection compared to uninfected. An abundance of Prevotella bacteria was decreased in the helminths only group but increased for Giardia/helminth coinfections. Metagenomic analysis of the bacterial microbiota showed that the proportion of non-vitamin B12 producing bacteria (Prevotella) was higher in the Giardia group. Total cobalamin synthesis was decreased in the Giardia-infected only group compared to the control and helminth-infected group. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence for an effect of parasitic infections allowing permissive growth of anaerobic bacteria such as Prevotella, suggesting an altered capacity of vitamin B12 biosynthesis and potential impact on growth and development in children.

The discovery and characterization of novel parasite antigens to improve the diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi by serological methods and for accurate and rapid follow-up of treatment efficiency are still needed. TcTASV is a T. cruzi–specific multigene family, whose products are expressed on the parasite stages present in the vertebrate host. In a previous work, a mix of antigens from subfamilies TcTASV-A and TcTASV-C (Mix A + C) was sensitive and specific to identify dogs with active infection of high epidemiological relevance. Here, TcTASV-A and TcTASV-C were assayed separately as well as together (Mix A + C) in an ELISA format on human samples. The Mix A + C presented moderate sensitivity (78%) but high diagnostic accuracy with a 100% of specificity, evaluated on healthy, leishmaniasic, and Strongyloides stercoralis infected patients. Moreover, antibody levels of pediatric patients showed—2 years posttreatment—diminished reactivity against the Mix A + C (P < 0.0001), pointing TcTASV antigens as promising tools for treatment follow-up.

Background Recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is a frequent cause for presentation to the emergency department. Recent studies proposed that the addition of biomarker information might improve the prediction of clinical outcomes by enabling identification of patients at high risk. Aim We aimed to examine the role of cardiac troponin I as a predictor of clinical outcome in patients with first episode acute AF. Design Patients, 18 years or older, presenting to our hospital with a primary diagnosis of first episode acute AF were included in this retrospective study. Methods The association between elevated cTnI with mortality or the composite endpoint (mortality, stroke or heart failure) was examined in a univariate Cox regression model. Results Of the 274 study patients, 111 had elevated cTnI levels (41%). Increased cTnI was associated with older age, history of myocardial infarction, higher creatinine levels and higher heart rate (All P

After more than eighty years dengue reemerged in Argentina in 1997. Since then, the largest epidemic in terms of geographical extent, magnitude and mortality, was recorded in 2009. In this report we analyzed the DEN-1 epidemic spread in Orán, a mid-size city in a non-endemic tropical area in Northern Argentina, and its correlation with demographic and socioeconomic factors. Cases were diagnosed by ELISA between January and June 2009. We applied a space-time and spatial scan statistic under a Poisson model. Possible association between dengue incidence and socio-economic variables was studied with the Spearman correlation test. The epidemic started from an imported case from Bolivia and space-time analysis detected two clusters: one on February and other in April (in the south and the northeast of the city respectively) with risk ratios of 25.24 and 4.07 (p

In regions where Chagas disease is endemic, canine Trypanosoma cruzi infection is highly correlated with the risk of transmission of the parasite to humans. Herein we evaluated the novel TcTASV protein family (subfamilies A, B, C), differentially expressed in bloodstream trypomastigotes, for the detection of naturally infected dogs. A gene of each TcTASV subfamily was cloned and expressed. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were developed using recombinant antigens individually or mixed together. Our results showed that dogs with active T. cruzi infection differentially reacted against the TcTASV-C subfamily. The use of both TcTASV-C plus TcTASV-A proteins (Mix A+C-ELISA) enhanced the reactivity of sera from dogs with active infection, detecting 94% of the evaluated samples. These findings agree with our previous observations, where the infected animals exhibited a quick anti-TcTASV-C antibody response, coincident with the beginning of parasitaemia, in a murine model of the disease. Results obtained in the present work prove that the Mix A+C-ELISA is a specific, simple and cheap technique to be applied in endemic areas in screening studies. The Mix A+C-ELISA could help to differentially detect canine hosts with active infection and therefore with high impact in the risk of transmission to humans. Fil: Floridia Yapur, Noelia Aldana del Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Cs.naturales. Escuela de Biología. Cátedra de Química Biologica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Orán. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Monje Rumi, Maria Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Ragone, Paula Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Lauthier, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Tomasini, Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Alberti D'amato, Anahí Maitén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Diosque, Patricio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Cimino, R.. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Oran. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Marco, Jorge Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Barroso, Paola Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Sanchez, Daniel Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; Argentina Fil: Nasser, Julio Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Sede Regional Oran. Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales; Argentina Fil: Tekiel, Valeria Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; Argentina

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Salta province, which belongs to the northwest of Argentina. Leishmania spp. DNA from Giemsa-stained slides of up to 12 years in storage of patients from Salta was characterized through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). One hundred smears positive for microscopy, classified in a semiquantitative scale for amastigote density, were analyzed. Also, Leishmanin skin test (LST) results were included. DNA extraction was carried out applying lysis buffer with proteinase K, and then DNA was amplified with ribosomal internal transcribed spacer1primers. PCR products were digested with HaeIII enzyme. All PCR-positive smears (74/100) belonged to Viannia subgenus. A statistically significant, directly proportional relationship between semiquantitative microscopy and PCR results was detected. All patients had LST-positive results (induration ≥ 5 mm), and the smears of those with smaller induration (LST < 19 mm) gave a higher proportion of positive PCR results. This study determined that smear age did not affect PCR positivity, which allows retrospective analyzes and suggests smears might be useful for molecular complementary diagnosis. Because Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the main circulating species in the study area, determining Viannia subgenus in all analyzed samples confirms previous findings. PCR positivity showed statistically significant differences according to semiquantitative microscopy, highlighting the importance of parasite burden in the diagnostic sensitivity of the method. Considering that smears of patients with smaller LST induration were more positive in PCR, a negative smear from patients with positive LST response, but

The effect of the crystalline orientation of n-type porous silicon (PSi) on an integrated interdigitated extended-gate field-effect-transistor (IEGFET) pH sensor performance was studied. The PSi n-type and n-type are prepared by a Laser-assistant etching method (LAEM) as sensing layer in the same conditions. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that the PSi pore size and depth of n-type are 1 to 4.5 µm and 1.5 µm, respectively, whereas for n-type sample are 2 to 4 µm and 0.4 µm, respectively. The integrated interdigitated electrode consists of the reference and the extended gate on a single PSi sensing substrate. The n-type PSi and n-type PSi as the sensing layers were compared and contrast in the pH range from 3 to 11. n-type PSi does not exhibit any pH sensitivity. On another hand, The n-type PSi sensing layer shows a better sensitivity as compared to n-type PSi. The voltage and current sensitivities of n-type PSi are found to be 13 mV/pH and 30.94 µA/ pH, respectively. The sensitivity enhancement for n sample is attributed to the larger porosity and pore deepest, as compared to for n-type which that result in a higher surface area/volume ratio which causes better sensitivity. The studied IEGFET based on PSi is a completely solid-state device which opens a new area to investigate of miniaturization pH.