Species diversity, barcode, detection of pathogens and blood meal pattern in Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) from northeastern Mexico.

More than 90 species of phlebotomines are vectors of parasites, bacteria, and viruses, which cause disease in animals and humans. Therefore, their study is necessary to establish prevention and control strategies. Mexico is an endemic country for leishmaniasis, mostly in the center and southern regions of the country, yet only few studies have been conducted in the northern part of the country. The present study aims to: (a) assess the alpha diversity of Phlebotominae in an annual cycle, (b) to correlate climatic variables with abundance, (c) to generate barcodes of these insects as part of the integrative taxonomy, and (d) to detect Leishmania, Wolbachia and blood sources in an area close to where a case of autochthonous leishmaniasis has been detected in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. A systematic sampling was conducted during three consecutive nights from 17:00 to 22:00 h., placing Shannon traps, CDC traps with incandescent light, and BG Sentinel 2 + BG Lure traps. A total catch effort of 660 nights/traps/hours was achieved, in which a total number of 707 phlebotomines (58% female and 42% male) of six species were collected and identified. The most abundant species were Psathyromyia cratifer (57%) and Psathyromyia shannoni sensu stricto (26%). The highest abundance (72%; 507/707) was collected during March, April and May 2021. Barcodes were generated for four species of phlebotomines, which represent new records for Mexico. For the molecular detection of microorganisms, 302 specimens were analyzed, although no specimens were positive for Leishmania spp. Wolbachia strains were detected in phlebotomines with an infection rate of 1.32% (4/302) and found in Pa. cratifer and Lu. cruciata. Likewise, human DNA was identified in female Lu. cruciata and Pa. cratifer phlebotomines. These findings indicate the presence of potential vector species of the parasite Leishmania spp. This result shows the need for further entomological surveillance to elucidate the transmission mechanisms in these northern areas of the country.

Design and Evaluation of a Sticky Attractant Trap for Intra-Domiciliary Surveillance of Aedes aegypti Populations in Mexico.

Surveillance consists of systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation and is essential for planning and implementing control activities. The lack of success in the control and surveillance of the Ae. aegypti mosquito elsewhere demands the development of new accessible and effective strategies. This work aimed to develop and evaluate an adhesive lure trap for household indoor surveillance of Ae. aegypti. Based on a bibliographic review, four compounds that have significant attraction percentages for Ae. aegypti were considered. Our more effective blend was determined through preliminary bioassays using the high-throughput screening system (HITSS) and 90 × 90 cm mosquito cages. We designed a low-cost, pyramid-shaped, sticky cardboard trap to incorporate the selected blend. Semi-field 2 × 2 m cages and field tests were utilized to evaluate its effectiveness through mosquito capture percentages. In laboratory tests, blend number 2 presented an attraction percentage of 47.5 ± 4.8%; meanwhile, in semi-field cages, a 4-inch, 110 v powered fan was used to disperse the attractants, and then a similar capture percentage of 43.2 ± 4.0% was recorded. Results were recorded during the field evaluation of the at-house indoor environment and were compared with those recorded with the golden-standard BG-Sentinel trap, i.e., our prototype trapped an average of 6.0 ± 1.5 mosquitoes versus 10.0 ± 2.6. In most Latin American countries, there is a lack of formal and accessible strategies for monitoring adult populations of Ae. Aegypti; therefore, we must develop tools that reinforce entomological surveillance methods.

Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Effect of Hydrogel with Origanum vulgare on Culture of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus / Efecto Antimicrobiano y Antibiofilm de Hidrogel a Base de Origanum vulgare sobre Cultivo de Streptococcus mutans y Streptococcus sobrinus

The oral cavity is an ecosystem that provides ideal conditions for the growth of bacteria, the Streptococcus genus is important for the formation of biofilms that lead to the development of dental caries, which affects the population worldwide. The world health organization encourages the use of plants thanks to its various therapeutic actions. Origanum vulgare L. (oregano), is an aromatic plant with medicinal and culinary properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the ethanolic extract of oregano, against the growth of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus ATCC. Leaves of the plant were obtained and the ethanolic extract was made by maceration. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer method and compared with 2% chlorhexidine, subsequently the extract was incorporated into a hydrogel and its effect on biofilm formation was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and the main compounds were identified. present in the extratco. The study revealed that the extract presented antimicrobial effect against both strains and at 2% it showed high antimicrobial action compared to chlorhexidine at the same concentration, with average inhibition halos of 26.3 mm and 19 mm for each microorganism analyzed, (p < 0.05). Likewise, the hydrogel prepared with 2% extract significantly eliminated the preformed Streptococcus biofilm, at 24 hours of exposure, due to the presence of a variety of chemical groups, such as sterols, triterpenes, flavonoids, flavanones, flavanonol s, lactones. sesquiterpenic, tannins and coumarins. The oregano extract presented high antimicrobial action for both species, with a greater effect towards Streptococcus mutans and an interesting antibiofilm action; These results show the importance of exploring treatment alternatives of plant origin, to be considered as interesting complementary aids in dental therapy.

La cavidad oral es un ecosistema que proporciona condiciones ideales para el crecimiento de bacterias, el género Streptococcus es importante para la formación de biopelículas que conducen al desarrollo de caries dental, que afecta a la población a nivel mundial. La organización mundial de la salud, fomenta el uso de plantas gracias a sus diversas acciones terapéuticas. Origanum vulgare L. (orégano), es una planta aromática con propiedades medicinales y culinarias. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la actividad antimicrobiana y antibiofilm in vitro del extracto etanólico de oregano, contra el crecimiento de Streptococcus mutans y Streptococcus sobrinus ATCC. Se obtuvierón hojas de la planta y se realizó el extracto etanólico mediante maceración. La actividad antimicrobiana se evaluó mediante el método de Kirby-Bauer y se comparó con la clorhexidina al 2 %, posteriormente se incorporó el extracto en un hydrogel y se valoró su efecto sobre la formación del biofilm mediante microscopía de fluorescencia y se identificó los principales compuestos presentes en el extratco. El estudio reveló que el extracto presentó efecto antimicrobiano contra ambas cepas y al 2 % mostró alta acción antimicrobiana en comparación con la clorhexidina a la misma concentración, con halos de inhibición promedio de 26.3 mm y de 19 mm para cada microorganismo analizado, (p < 0.05). Así mismo, el hidrogel preparado con extracto al 2 %, eliminó significativamente la biopelícula preformada de Streptococcus, a las 24 horas de exposición, debido a la presencia de una variedad de grupos químicos, como esteroles, triterpenos, flavonoides, flavanonas, flavanonoles, lactonas sesquiterpénicas, taninos y cumarinas. El extracto de orégano presentó alta acción antimicrobiana para ambas especies, con mayor efecto hacia el Streptococcus mutans y una acción antibiofilm interesante; estos resultados muestran la importancia de explorar en alternativas de tratamiento de origen vegetal, para considerarse como auxiliares complementarios interesantes en la terapia dental.

Affective priming in a lexical decision task: is there an effect of words' concreteness? / Priming afectivo en la tarea de decisión léxica: ¿Tiene efectos la concreción de las palabras?

Affective priming occurs when responses to a target are facilitated when it is preceded by a prime congruent in valence. We conducted two experiments in order to test whether this is a genuine emotional effect or rather it can be accounted for by semantic relatedness between primes and targets. With this aim, semantic relatedness and emotional congruence between primes and targets were orthogonally manipulated. Participants performed a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1 we tested concrete words and in Experiment 2 we tested abstract words. We obtained both an affective priming effect and a semantic priming effect that were not modulated by words’ concreteness. Furthermore, there was affective priming regardless of whether primes and targets were semantically related or unrelated. These results suggest that affective priming is a genuine emotional effect (AU)

El priming afectivo se produce cuando las respuestas a un target se ven facilitadas cuando éste es precedido por un prime con una valencia congruente. Realizamos dos experimentos con el objetivo de comprobar si se trata de un efecto genuinamente emocional, o si es el resultado de la relación semántica entre primes y targets. Con este objetivo, manipulamos de forma ortogonal la relación semántica y la congruencia emocional entre primes y targets. Los participantes realizaron una tarea de decisión léxica. En el Experimento 1 evaluamos palabras concretas y en el Experimento 2, palabras abstractas. Obtuvimos un efecto tanto de priming afectivo como de priming semántico. La concreción de las palabras no moduló dichos efectos. Además, se obtuvo priming afectivo tanto si los primes y targets estaban relacionados semánticamente como si no lo estaban. Estos resultados sugieren que el priming afectivo es un efecto genuinamente emocional (AU)

Interference effects as a function of semantic similarity in the translation recognition task in bilinguals of Catalan and Spanish

Estudios previos han mostrado que pares de palabras relacionadas en forma (ej., ruc-berro) o con una relación semántica muy próxima (ej., ruc-caballo) producen efectos de interferencia en una tarea de reconocimiento de traducciones (Ferré et al., 2006; Guasch et al., 2008). Sin embargo, dichos efectos no se observan en palabras de relación semántica próxima (ej., rucoso). La ausencia de efecto de interferencia en las palabras menos semejante en el significado podría ser atribuida al bajo nivel de activation de las representaciones semánticas correspondientes en el momento de determinar si son o no traducciones. El presente estudio pone a prueba dicha posibilidad utilizando el mismo material que los estudios previos, pero disminuyendo el tiempo de presentación de la palabra a traducir de 500 ms. a 250 ms. En concreto, se examina el rendimiento de bilingües muy competentes en castellano y catalán en dos experimentos, manipulando la dirección de la traducción: catalán - castellano (Exp.1) y castellano- catalán (Exp.2). Los resultados revelan efectos de interferencia significativos únicamente en las palabras relacionadas en forma y muy próximas en el significado, pero no en aquellas con una relación semántica menos próxima. El patrón de los resultados fue similar en las dos direcciones de traducción, independientemente de la lengua dominante de los participantes(AU)

Previous evidence has shown that word pairs that are either related in form (e.g., ruc-berro; donkey-watercress) or very closely semantically related (e.g., ruc-caballo, donkey-horse) produce interference effects in a translation recognition task (Ferré et al., 2006; Guasch et al., 2008). However, these effects are not observed when the words have a less close semantic relation (e.g., ruc-oso, donkey-bear). The lack of interference in less similar words could be due to the low level of activation of the corresponding semantic representations by the time the translation decision has to be made. The present experiments tested this possibility using the same materials as the previous studies but decreasing from 500 ms to 250 ms the presentation time of the word to be translated. Performance of highly proficient bilinguals of Spanish and Catalan was examined in two experiments. Catalan-Spanish translation direction was tested in Experiment 1 and Spanish-Catalan direction in Experiment 2. The results showed significant effects only with form and very close semantic relations, but not in the case of less closely semantically related words. The pattern of results was the same, regardless of translation direction and language dominance(AU)

Masked and unmasked priming effects as a function of semantic relatedness and associative strength

The study presented in this paper aimed to investigate the pattern of semantic priming effects, under masked and unmasked conditions, in the lexical decision task, manipulating type of semantic relation and associative strength. Three different kinds of word relations were examined in two experiments: only-semantically related words [e.g., codo (elbow)-rodilla (knee)] and semantic/associative related words with strong [e.g., mesa (table)-silla (chair) and weak association strength [e.g., sapo (toad)-rana (frog)]. In Experiment 1 a masked priming procedure was used with a prime duration of 56 ms, and in Experiment 2, the prime was presented unmasked for 150 ms. The results showed that there were masked priming effects with strong associates, but no evidence of these effects was found with weak associates or only-semantic related word pairs. When the prime was presented unmasked, the three types of relations produced significant priming effects and they were not influenced by association strength (AU)

El presente estudio tenía como objetivo investigar el patrón de efectos de priming enmascarado y no enmascarado en la tarea de decisión léxica, manipulando el tipo de relación semántica y la fuerza asociativa entre prime y target. Se llevaron a cabo dos experimentos donde se examinaron tres tipos de relaciones: palabras relacionadas solo semánticamente [e.g., codo (elbow)-rodilla (knee)], palabras semánticamente relacionadas con una asociación fuerte [e.g., mesa (table)-silla (chair)] y palabras con una relación semántica asociativa débil [e.g., sapo (toad)-rana (frog)]. En el Experimento 1 se utilizó un procedimiento de priming enmascarado con una duración del prime de 57 ms, y en el Experimento 2, un procedimiento no enmascarado presentándose el prime durante 150 ms. Los resultados mostraron efectos de priming enmascarado significativos con pares de palabras que eran asociados fuertes pero no cuando eran asociados débiles o tenían una relación sólo semántica (no asociativa). Cuando el prime se presentaba en condiciones no enmascaradas, los tres tipos de relaciones produjeron efectos de priming significativos y no se vieron influidos por la fuerza asociativa (AU)

Deterioro cognitivo ligero anterior a la enfermedad de Alzheimer: tipologías y evolución / Mild cognitive impairment previous to Alzheimer’s disease: typologies and outcome

El deterioro cognitivo ligero (DCL) se refiere a un estadio intermedio entre normalidad y demencia, principalmente enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA). Recientemente, se han propuesto tres tipos de DCL (amnésico, difuso y focal no amnésico), cada uno de ellos relacionado con una evolución posterior. Nuestro objetivo es describir la frecuencia de los diferentes tipos de DCL y mostrar cuál es el más relacionado con EA, mediante el análisis del perfil neurocognitivo. Se incluyen 141 pacientes y un grupo control equiparado en edad y sexo, ambos con estudio neuropsicológico. El rendimiento de los pacientes fue significativamente inferior al de controles en todas las funciones exploradas, excepto en orientación espacial. El tipo de DCL más frecuente fue el difuso. Después de dos años de seguimiento, un 15,21% de pacientes evolucionó hacia EA. Éstos presentaron mayor desorientación temporal y alteraciones de memoria episódica respecto los pacientes estables. Todos estos pacientes presentaban un DCL difuso

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) refers to an intermediate stage between normality and dementia, especially Alzheimer disease (AD). Three types of MCI have been recently proposed (amnestic, diffuse and focal nonmemory), each of them related to a specific later development. The aim of this paper is to determine the frequency with which these types of MCI occur and which of them is more related to AD. In order to achieve this aim, the patients’ level of performance was examined in different neurocognitive tests. One hundred and forty-one patients were included in the study and they were compared to a control group with the same age and sex distribution. The patients’ level of performance was significantly lower than the controls’ in all the functions under examination, except in the case of spatial orientation where no differences were observed. Regarding the frequency of the three types of MCI, the most frequent one was the diffuse MCI. After a follow up study of 2 years, 15.21% of the patients developed AD. These patients showed greater temporal disorientation and episodic memory disorders than the patients that remained stable. All of them presented a diffuse MCI