| 1. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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DISCOVERY OF PULSATIONS FROM THE PULSAR J0205+6449 IN SNR 3C 58 WITH THE FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 699:2, s. L102-L107
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations (>= 0.1 GeV) from the young radio and X-ray pulsar PSR J0205 + 6449 located in the Galactic supernova remnant 3C 58. Data in the gamma-ray band were acquired by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), while the radio rotational ephemeris used to fold gamma-rays was obtained using both the Green Bank Telescope and the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank. The light curve consists of two peaks separated by 0.49 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.01 cycles which are aligned with the X-ray peaks. The first gamma-ray peak trails the radio pulse by 0.08 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.01, while its amplitude decreases with increasing energy as for the other gamma-ray pulsars. Spectral analysis of the pulsed gamma-ray emission suggests a simple power law of index -2.1 +/- 0.1 +/- 0.2 with an exponential cutoff at 3.0(-0.7)(+1.1) +/- 0.4 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The integral gamma-ray photon flux above 0.1 GeV is (13.7 +/- 1.4 +/- 3.0) x 10(-8) cm(-2) s(-1), which implies for a distance of 3.2 kpc and assuming a broad fan-like beam a luminosity of 8.3 x 10(34) erg s(-1) and an efficiency eta of 0.3%. Finally, we report a 95% upper limit on the flux of 1.7 x 10(-8) cm(-2) s(-1) for off-pulse emission from the object.
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| 2. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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The first fermi large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 187:2, s. 460-494
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dramatic increase in the number of known gamma-ray pulsars since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) offers the first opportunity to study a sizable population of these high-energy objects. This catalog summarizes 46 high-confidence pulsed detections using the first six months of data taken by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), Fermi's main instrument. Sixteen previously unknown pulsars were discovered by searching for pulsed signals at the positions of bright gamma-ray sources seen with the LAT, or at the positions of objects suspected to be neutron stars based on observations at other wavelengths. The dimmest observed flux among these gamma-ray-selected pulsars is 6.0 x 10(-8) ph cm(-2) s(-1) (for E > 100 MeV). Pulsed gamma-ray emission was discovered from 24 known pulsars by using ephemerides (timing solutions) derived from monitoring radio pulsars. Eight of these new gamma-ray pulsars are millisecond pulsars. The dimmest observed flux among the radio-selected pulsars is 1.4 x 10(-8) ph cm(-2) s(-1) (for E > 100 MeV). The remaining six gamma-ray pulsars were known since the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission, or before. The limiting flux for pulse detection is non-uniform over the sky owing to different background levels, especially near the Galactic plane. The pulsed energy spectra can be described by a power law with an exponential cutoff, with cutoff energies in the range similar to 1-5 GeV. The rotational energy-loss rate ((E) over dot) of these neutron stars spans five decades, from similar to 3 x 10(33) erg s(-1) to 5 x 10(38) erg s(-1), and the apparent efficiencies for conversion to gammaray emission range from similar to 0.1% to similar to unity, although distance uncertainties complicate efficiency estimates. The pulse shapes show substantial diversity, but roughly 75% of the gamma-ray pulse profiles have two peaks, separated by greater than or similar to 0.2 of rotational phase. For most of the pulsars, gamma-ray emission appears to come mainly from the outer magnetosphere, while polar-cap emission remains plausible for a remaining few. Spatial associations imply that many of these pulsars power pulsar wind nebulae. Finally, these discoveries suggest that gamma-ray-selected young pulsars are born at a rate comparable to that of their radio-selected cousins and that the birthrate of all young gamma-ray-detected pulsars is a substantial fraction of the expected Galactic supernova rate.
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| 3. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 4. |
- Becker-Dreps, Sylvia, et al.
(författare)
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Community Diarrhea Incidence Before and After Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction in Nicaragua
- 2013
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Ingår i: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - : American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - 0002-9637 .- 1476-1645. ; 89:2, s. 246-250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We estimated the incidence of watery diarrhea in the community before and after introduction of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine in Leon, Nicaragua. A random sample of households was selected before and after rotavirus vaccine introduction. All children < 5 years of age in selected households were eligible for inclusion. Children were followed every 2 weeks for watery diarrhea episodes. The incidence rate was estimated as numbers of episodes per 100 child-years of exposure time. A mixed effects Poisson regression model was fit to compare incidence rates in the pre-vaccine and vaccine periods. The pre-vaccine cohort (N = 726) experienced 36 episodes per 100 child-years, and the vaccine cohort (N = 826) experienced 25 episodes per 100 child-years. The adjusted incidence rate ratio was 0.60 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40, 0.91) during the vaccine period versus the pre-vaccine period, indicating a lower incidence of watery diarrhea in the community during the vaccine period.
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| 5. |
- Becker-Dreps, Sylvia, et al.
(författare)
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Etiology of Childhood Diarrhea After Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction A Prospective, Population-based Study in Nicaragua
- 2014
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Ingår i: The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. - : Lippincott, Williams andamp; Wilkins. - 0891-3668 .- 1532-0987. ; 33:11, s. 1156-1163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nicaragua was the first developing nation to implement routine immunization with the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5). In this RV5-immunized population, understanding infectious etiologies of childhood diarrhea is necessary to direct diarrhea treatment and prevention efforts. Methods: We followed a population-based sample of children less than5 years in Leon, Nicaragua for diarrhea episodes through household visits. Information was obtained on RV5 history and sociodemographics. Stool samples collected during diarrhea episodes and among healthy children underwent laboratory analysis for viral, bacterial and parasitic enteropathogens. Detection frequency and incidence of each enteropathogen was calculated. Results: The 826 children in the cohort experienced 677 diarrhea episodes during 607.5 child-years of exposure time (1.1 episodes per child-year). At least 1 enteropathogen was detected among 61.1% of the 337 diarrheal stools collected. The most common enteropathogens among diarrheal stools were: norovirus (20.4%), sapovirus (16.6%), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (11.3%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (8.3%), Giardia lamblia (8.0%) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (7.7%), with rotavirus detected among 5.3% of diarrheal stools. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and enterotoxigenic E. coli were frequently detected among stools from healthy children. Among children with diarrhea, norovirus was more commonly detected among younger children (less than2 years) and G. lamblia was more commonly detected among older children (2-4 years). The mean age of rotavirus detection was 34.6 months. Conclusions: In this Central American community after RV5 introduction, rotavirus was not commonly detected among children with diarrhea. Prevention and appropriate management of norovirus and sapovirus should be considered to further reduce the burden of diarrheal disease.
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| 6. |
- Bucardo, Filemon, et al.
(författare)
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Pediatric norovirus diarrhea in Nicaragua
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Microbiology. - 0095-1137 .- 1098-660X. ; 46:8, s. 2573-2580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Information about norovirus (NoV) infections in Central America is limited. Through a passive community and hospital pediatric diarrhea surveillance program, a total of 542 stool samples were collected between March 2005 and February 2006 in León, Nicaragua. NoV was detected in 12% (65/542) of the children; of these, 11% (45/409) were in the community and 15% (20/133) were in the hospital, with most strains (88%) belonging to genogroup II. NoV infections were age and gender associated, with children of <2 years of age (P < 0.05) and girls (P < 0.05) being most affected. Breast-feeding did not reduce the number of NoV infections. An important proportion (57%) of NoV-infected children were coinfected with diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. A significant proportion (18/31) of NoV-positive children with dehydration required intravenous rehydration. Nucleotide sequence analysis (38/65) of the N-terminal and shell region in the capsid gene revealed that at least six genotypes (GI.4, GII.2, GII.4, GII.7, GII.17, and a potentially novel cluster termed "GII.18-Nica") circulated during the study period, with GII.4 virus being predominant (26/38). The majority (20/26) of those GII.4 strains shared high nucleotide homology (99%) with the globally emerging Hunter strain. The mean viral load was approximately 15-fold higher in children infected with GII.4 virus than in those infected with other G.II viruses, with the highest viral load observed for the group of children infected with GII.4 and requiring intravenous rehydration. This study, the first of its type from a Central American country, suggests that NoV is an important etiological agent of acute diarrhea among children of <2 years of age in Nicaragua.
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| 7. |
- Bucardo, Filemon, et al.
(författare)
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Pediatric norovirus GII.4 infections in Nicaragua, 1999-2015
- 2017
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Ingår i: Infection, Genetics and Evolution. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 1567-1348 .- 1567-7257. ; 55, s. 305-312
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Investigate clinical and epidemiological factors of pediatric GII.4 norovirus infections in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Nicaragua between 1999 and 2015. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed laboratory and epidemiologic data from 1,790 children amp;lt;= 7 years with AGE from 6 hospitals in Nicaragua (n = 538), and 3 community clinics (n = 919) and households (n = 333) in Leon, between 1999 and 2015. Moreover, asymptomatic children from community clinics (n = 162) and households (n = 105) were enrolled. Norovirus was detected by real-time PCR and genotyped by sequencing the N-terminal and shell region of the capsid gene. Results: Norovirus was found in 19% (n = 338) and 12% (n = 32) of children with and without AGE, respectively. In total, 20 genotypes including a tentatively new genotype were detected. Among children with AGE, the most common genotypes were GII.4 (53%), GII.14 (7%), GII.3 (6%) and GI.3 (6%). In contrast, only one (1.4%) GII.4 was found in asymptomatic children. The prevalence of GII.4 infections was significantly higher in children between 7 and 12 months of age. The prevalence of GII.4 was lowest in households (38%), followed by community clinics (50%) and hospitals (75%). Several different GII.4 variants were detected and their emergence followed the global temporal trend. Conclusions: Overall our study found the predominance of pediatric GII.4 norovirus infections in Nicaragua mostly occurring in children between 7 and 12 months of age, implicating GII.4 as the main norovirus vaccine target.
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| 8. |
- Espinoza, Felix
(författare)
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Rotavirus in pediatric gastroenteritis in Nicaraguan children
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rotavirus, the most common diarrheic pathogen in children worldwide, causes approximately one third of diarrhea-associated hospitalizations and 800,000 deaths per year. To prevent the enormous health burden of rotavirus-associated disease is a global public health goal developed as well as implementation of safe and effective vaccines to be used in developing countries. We examined the epidemiology and disease burden of rotavirus diarrhea among hospitalized and outpatient children in Leon, Nicaragua, through several studies carried out from 1991 to 2003. Rotavirus was detected in 28-40% of children hospitalized for diarrhea and in 15% who were treated as outpatients. The mean age distribution of children hospitalized with rotavirus diarrhea, varied from 9.2 months in 1994 to 14 months in 2002-2003. Overall median duration of hospitalization was two days. Rotavirus was detected year-round but generally exhibited seasonal peaks during the dry months (February to June). In our material, collected during 2001 to 2003, rotavirus strains of serotype G1 P[8] were the predominant, followed by G2 P[4] and G3 P[8], G4 P[6] and 4% were uncommon strains. A shift for G types was observed; genotype G2 was the most prevalent during 2001 (70%) but decreased in 2002 when the predominating genotype became G1 (75%). The G3 genotype, which was not detected in 2001, emerged late in 2002 and was the most dominant strain in 2003 (59%). The health care costs of rotavirus diarrhea hospitalization were estimated through the register of hospital stay (bed day), the cost of the treatment and laboratory services, and additional expenses by the parents. The mean total costs including the costs paid by the family and by the Health Ministry sources were calculated to USD 117.4 per child hospitalized with rotavirus diarrhea. However, children with rotavirus negative stools spent longer time in hospital compared to children whose stools were positive (3.6 versus 2.9 days), and the calculated costs for these children rose to USD 147.9. Overall, among the total population less than 3 years of age in Nicaragua, we estimated that 2,603 cases of hospitalization due to rotavirus associated diarrhea occurs per year in Nicaragua, a disease burden which represents a cost of more than USD 270,000 from the Health care sources. If all cases of severe diarrhea are considered, including other etiologies of gastroenteritis, the total cost burden amounts to more than USD 800,000, a sum that represents around 0.6 % of the total budget of the national Health care sources. Besides, the total cost for these parents was estimated to amount to further USD 90,000. Our results confirm that rotavirus is the most important cause of severe diarrhea in Nicaragua and represent an important disease burden in hospital costs. A rotavirus, vaccine program should be of considerable benefit to prevent these severe cases.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- García, Patricia, et al.
(författare)
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Functional and genomic characterization of three novel cell lines derived from a metastatic gallbladder cancer tumor
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biological Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0716-9760 .- 0717-6287. ; 53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2020 The Author(s). Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common tumor of the biliary tract. The incidence of GBC shows a large geographic variability, being particularly frequent in Native American populations. In Chile, GBC represents the second cause of cancer-related death among women. We describe here the establishment of three novel cell lines derived from the ascitic fluid of a Chilean GBC patient, who presented 46% European, 36% Mapuche, 12% Aymara and 6% African ancestry. Results: After immunocytochemical staining of the primary cell culture, we isolated and comprehensively characterized three independent clones (PUC-GBC1, PUC-GBC2 and PUC-GBC3) by short tandem repeat DNA profiling and RNA sequencing as well as karyotype, doubling time, chemosensitivity, in vitro migration capability and in vivo tumorigenicity assay. Primary culture cells showed high expression of CK7, CK19, CA 19-9, MUC1 and MUC16, and negative expression of mesothelial markers. The three isolated clones displayed an epithelial phenotype and an abnormal structure and number of chromosomes. RNA sequencing confirmed the increased expression of cytokeratin and mucin genes, and also of TP53 and ERBB2 with some differences among the three cells lines, and revealed a novel exonic mutation in NF1. The PUC-GBC3 clone was the most aggressive according to histopathological features and the tumorigenic capacity in NSG mice. Conclusions: The first cell lines established from a Chilean GBC patient represent a new model for studying GBC in patients of Native American descent.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Rodríguez-Díaz, Jesús, et al.
(författare)
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Role of nitric oxide during rotavirus infection.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Journal of medical virology. - : Wiley. - 0146-6615 .- 1096-9071. ; 78:7, s. 979-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pathophysiological mechanisms behind rotavirus-induced diarrhoea still remain incomplete. Current views suggest that the non-structural protein 4 (NSP4) of rotavirus and the enteric nervous system (ENS) participate in water secretion and diarrhoea. In the present work the role of nitric oxide (NO) in rotavirus infection and disease has been studied in vitro, mice and humans. Incubation of human intestinal epithelial cells (HT-29) with purified NSP4 but not with infectious virus produced NO2/NO3 accumulation in the incubation media. The NSP4-induced release of NO metabolites occurred within the first minutes after the addition of the toxin. Mice infected with murine rotavirus (strain EDIM) accumulated NO2/NO3 in the urine at the onset for diarrhoea. Following rotavirus infection, inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) mRNA was upregulated in ileum, but not in duodenum or jejunum of newborn pups within 5 days post-infection. A prospective clinical study including 46 children with acute rotavirus infection and age-matched controls concluded that rotavirus infection stimulates NO production during the course of the disease (P < 0.001). These observations identify NO as an important mediator of host responses during rotavirus infection.
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| 13. |
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