Epidemiología de la leptospirosis humana de un área rururbana del partido de Tandil

El objetivo general es analizar la presentación de la leptospirosis en la comunidad rururbana de María Ignacia Vela. Específicamente se propuso estimar la prevalencia de anticuerpos anti-Leptospira spp. en los habitantes de la comunidad, conocer los serogrupos prevalentes y estudiar los factores de riesgo asociados

Molecular and serologic diagnosis in human leptospirosis (Buenos Aires province, Argentina)

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue aplicar la técnica de PCR en tiempo real para detectar ADN de los serovares más comunes de leptospiras que infectan humanos a partir de cultivos puros de referencia, y de sueros de pacientes en distintas etapas de infección. Se realizó extracción, amplificación y cuantificación del ADN de cultivos puros de Leptospira interrogans serovares Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona, Pyrogenes y Hardjo; Leptospira borgpeterseni serovares Tarassovi, Wolffi y Castellonis y Leptospira kirschneri serovar Grippotyphosa. La sensibilidad de la PCR en tiempo real in vitro fue en promedio de 8 genomas. A partir de 23 muestras de sueros de pacientes con sospecha clínica de leptospirosis se determinó por la técnica de aglutinación microscópica (MAT) la presencia de anticuerpos, y por PCR en tiempo real con dos pares de cebadores diferentes, la presencia de ADN bacteriano. En el período agudo de la enfermedad (1 a 7 días) MAT fue positivo en 9/10 muestras y PCR en tiempo real en 8/10. Fue llamativo que 3/4 muestras de período tardío (superior a 14 días) fueran PCR positivas, lo cual no concuerda con la patogenia aceptada para la leptospirosis Debido a estas consideraciones, por el momento, y en nuestro medio, la utilidad de la técnica de PCR es complementaria a la MAT y no debe reemplazarla.The aim of this study was to apply the technique of real-time PCR to detect DNA of the most common Leptospira serovars that infect humans from pure cultures of reference, and sera from patients at different stages of infection. Extraction, amplification and quantification of DNA from pure cultures of Leptospira interrogansserovars Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona,Hardjo and Pyrogenes performed; Leptospira serovars borgpeterseniTarassovi, Wolffi and Castellonis and Leptospira serovar kirschneri serovar Grippotyphosa. The in vitro sensitivity of real-time PCR averaged 8 genomes. From 23 serum samples from patients suspected of leptospirosis the presence of antibodies was determined by microscopic agglutination technology (MAT), and the presence of bacterial DNA by real-time PCR with two different primer pairs. In the acute stage of the disease (1-7 days) MAT was positive in 9/10 samples and real-time PCR in 8/10. It was interesting that 3/4 of late period samples (over 14 days) were PCR positive, which is inconsistent with the accepted pathogenesis for leptospirosis. Because of these considerations, for the moment, and in our field, the usefulness of the PCR technique is complementary to the MAT and should not replace it.Fil: Recavarren, Mariana Ines. Instituto de Análisis Bioquímicos Fares Taie; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Scialfa, Exequiel Alejandro. Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. División de Zoonosis Rurales; ArgentinaFil: Rivero, Mariana Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Quintana, Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Análisis Bioquímicos Fares Taie; Argentin

Sign Comprehension in Young Adults, the Healthy Elderly, and Older People with Varying Levels of Cognitive Impairment - Report Series # 5

This study, conducted in the fall of 2004 and the winter of 2005, sought to determine whether sign comprehension suffers in healthy aging and in the presence of cognitive impairment. Sign comprehension is critical for effective driving, response to warnings and way-finding. If signs are poorly comprehended by older people including those with cognitive impairment, accident risk will be increased and independence may be compromised. Groups of young adults, healthy older adults and older adults with varying levels of cognitive impairment were asked the meaning of 65 signs used for driving, warning and way-finding. Healthy older adults were generally good at sign comprehension, but had some difficulty with way-finding signs. Older adults with cognitive impairments had poorer sign comprehension overall and were particularly poor with way-finding signage. Testing of sign comprehension needs to involve a more heterogeneous sampling of older adults. As well, signs that include text would be beneficial to those with cognitive impairment

Molecular diagnosis of trichinella spiralis in pig sera samples

El objetivo de este proyecto es generar una herramienta preventiva de diagnóstico, sensible y específica, basada en técnicas de avanzada en biología molecular, para la triquinelosis, una de las enfermedades zoonóticas más importantes de nuestro país, con el fin de evitar el consumo de carnes infectadas con el parásito Trichinella spiralis y proponer a futuro un programa epidemiológico de erradicación en piaras. Para ello se cuenta con muestras de músculos y chacinados de cerdo y suidos silvestres y se contará con muestras de suero de cerdos inoculados con larvas recién nacidas de T. spiralis.The objective of this project is to generate a sensitive and specific preventive diagnostic tool for one of the most important zoonotic diseases in our country, trichinosis, based on advanced techniques in molecular biology, aiming at avoiding consumption of Trichinella spiralis-infected meat and proposing a future epidemiological eradication program in herds. The work will be done on samples of pork and wild swine muscle and sausages, as well as blood samples of pigs inoculated with newborn larvae of T. spiralis.Fil: Recavarren, Mariana Ines. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Fisica e Ingenieria del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Fisica e Ingenieria del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Fisica e Ingenieria del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Instituto de Análisis Fares Taie. Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Quintana, Silvina. Instituto de Análisis Fares Taie. Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Krivokapich, Silvio Jesús. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud; ArgentinaFil: Scialfa, Exequiel Alejandro. Ministerio de Salud Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Viera, Ivana. Instituto de Análisis Fares Taie. Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Di Gerónimo, Vanesa. Instituto de Análisis Fares Taie. Mar del Plata; Argentin

Molecular diagnosis of Trichinella spiralis in pig sera

El objetivo de este proyecto fue generar una herramienta preventiva de diagnóstico, sensible y específica, basada en técnicas de avanzada en biología molecular para la triquinelosis, una de las enfermedades zoonóticas más importantes de nuestro país, con el fin de evitar el consumo de carnes infectadas con el parásito y proponer un programa epidemiológico de erradicación en piaras. Para ello, fueron inoculados con larvas de T. spiralis cerdos recién destetados, y se extrajeron muestras de sangre durante 31 días para su posterior diagnóstico por biología molecular y ELISA.The objective of this project was generated a sensitive and specific preventive diagnostic tool for one of the most important zoonotic diseases in our country, trichinellosis, based on advanced techniques in molecular biology, aiming at avoid consumption of Trichinella spiralis in infected meat, and proposing a future epidemiological eradication program in herds. Weaned pigs were inoculated with larvae of T. spiralis, and blood samples were taken for 31 days for further diagnostic molecular biology and ELISA.Fil: Recavarren, Mariana Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Quintana, Silvina. Fares Taie Instituto de Análisis; ArgentinaFil: Scialfa, Exequiel Alejandro. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Dirección Provincial de Epidemiología y de Información Sistematizada; ArgentinaFil: Viera, Ivana. Fares Taie Instituto de Análisis; ArgentinaFil: Di Gerónimo, Vanesa. Fares Taie Instituto de Análisis; ArgentinaFil: Krivokapich, Silvio Jesús. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; Argentin

Predicting Older Adults’ On-Road Driving Performance

We examined the predictive utility of the Roadwise Review and the Hazard Perception Test on a standardized driving assessment using both conventional and alternative scoring criteria in a sample of health older adults (N = 57). Our results indicate that both tests can predict passing or failing the road evaluation. The Hazard Perception Test was more consistent in predicting total points and hazardous errors in on-road performance. Future research should examine the predictive validity of these tests in cognitively impaired drivers

Cross-cultural effects on drivers' hazard perception

Hazard perception tests are used in several developed countries as part of the driver licensing curriculum, however little research has been done in developing countries where road safety is a primary concern. We conducted a cross-cultural hazard perception study to examine the transferability of hazard perception skills between Malaysia and the UK, using hazard clips filmed in both countries. The results showed that familiarity with both the driving environment and type of hazard facilitated drivers' ability to discriminate hazards in a timely manner, although overall drivers viewed and responded to hazards largely similarly regardless of origin. Visual strategies also appeared to be moderated mainly by the immediate driving environment rather than driver origin. Finally, Malaysian drivers required a higher threshold of danger than UK drivers before they would identify a situation as hazardous, possibly reflecting the more hazardous road environment in Malaysia. We suggest that hazard perception testing in developing countries requires a test where performance cannot be confounded with differing thresholds for hazardousness

Attentional differences in a driving hazard perception task in adults with autism spectrum disorders

The current study explored attentional processing of social and non social stimuli in ASD within the context of a driving hazard perception task. Participants watched videos of road scenes and detected hazards while their eye movements were recorded. Although individuals with ASD demonstrated relatively good detection of driving hazards, they were slower to orient to hazards. Greater attentional capture in the time preceding the hazards’ onset was associated with lower verbal IQ. The findings suggest that individuals with ASD may distribute and direct their attention diferently when identifying driving hazards

Epidemiología de la leptospirosis canina

Los caninos son considerados reservorios primarios de Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola. Si bien diferentes serovares han sido asociados serológicamente con la enfermedad clínica, Castellonis, Canicola y Copenhageni son los más reactivos en el test de microaglutinación (MAT).Trabajo publicado en Cagliada, Maria del Pilar Lilia y Galosi, Cecilia Mónica (comps.). I Congreso de Microbiología Veterinaria. Libro de resúmenes. La Plata: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, 2021.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Developing a North American Static Hazard Perception Test

We examined the ability of young novice (M = .19 yrs experience) and experienced drivers (M = 5.1 yrs experience) to identify and localize frequently encountered roadway hazards using static images taken in western Canada. Dependent measures also included subjective ratings of hazard risk and scene clutter. Novice drivers reacted to roadway hazards more slowly while rating them as being less hazardous than young, experienced drivers. Using a small subset of scenes, it was determined that a brief hazard perception test employing static images could classify individuals with high accuracy (78%) and good reliability (Cronbach\u27s alpha = .91)