Vertical musculocutaneous trapezius flap for the closure of postpneumonectomy empyema.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to present our experience with the vertical musculocutaneous trapezius (VMCT) flap and highlight its utility in the thoracic wall reconstruction in patients with bronchopleural fistula (BPF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We present a five case series of patients with long-standing cavities and BPF. The VMCT flap was used, and a direct pathway into the defect was made through a separate posterior thoracotomy shortening the distance between the flap and the defect. RESULTS: In 80% of the cases, the flap succeeded in solving the fistula and filling the defect, quality of life improved, and the need for oxygen decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Management of open window thoracostomy is challenging. Debridement, thoracoplasty, and flap coverage are the mainstream of their treatment, but these patients have scarce available muscle. The VMCT flap represents the major non-affected musculocutaneous unit in the thoracic area after lung surgery. Its dermal component offers a rigid matrix to form a seal over the bronchial stump. Its muscular component adds a good amount of vascularized tissue. No functional impairment has been described after its use.

OBJETIVO: Exponer nuestra experiencia con el colgajo vertical de trapecio y destacar su utilidad en la reconstrucción de la pared torácica en pacientes con fístulas broncopleurales. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Presentamos una serie de cinco pacientes con cavidades y fístulas broncopleurales de larga evolución. Utilizamos el colgajo musculocutáneo vertical de Trapecio, con un redireccionamiento del mismo a través de una ventana costal que permite acortar la distancia entre el colgajo y el defecto. RESULTADOS: La fístula y el defecto fueron solucionados en el 80% de los casos. La calidad de vida mejoró y las necesidades de oxígeno disminuyeron. CONCLUSIONES: El manejo de las toracotomías es un reto. El desbridamiento, toracoplastia y cobertura con colgajo son los pilares de su tratamiento, pero estos pacientes tienen escasa disponibilidad muscular. El colgajo musculocutáneo vertical de Trapecio representa la mayor unidad intacta musculocutánea en el tórax tras cirugía pulmonar. Su componente dérmico ofrece una matriz rígida para sellar el muñón bronquial, su componente muscular añade una gran cantidad de tejido vascularizado. No se han descrito déficits funcionales tras su uso.

Efficacy of the combination of milbemycin oxime and afoxolaner for the control of myiasis by Musca domestica in desert tortoises (Gopherus berlandieri).

The efficacy of the combination of milbemycin oxime and afoxolaner was evaluated in desert tortoises infested with fly larvae. Oral administration of the combination of milbemycin oxime and afoxolaner eliminated the infestation without generating any evident adverse effects on the tortoises.

L'efficacité de la combinaison de milbémycine oxime et d'afoxolaner a été évaluée chez des tortues du désert infestées par des larves de mouches. L'administration orale de la combinaison de milbémycine oxime et d'afoxolaner traite l'infestation sans générer d'effets indésirables évidents sur les tortues.

A eficácia da associação de milbemicina oxima e afoxolaner foi avaliada em tartarugas do deserto infestadas por larvas de moscas. A administração oral da combinação de afoxolaner e milbemicina oxima eliminou a infestação sem gerar nenhum efeito adverso evidente às tartarugas.

Se evaluó la eficacia de la combinación de milbemicina oxima y afoxolaner en tortugas del desierto infestadas con larvas de mosca. La administración oral de la combinación de milbemicina oxima y afoxolaner eliminó la infestación sin generar efectos adversos evidentes en las tortugas.

"It Happened to Me and It's Serious": Conditional Indirect Effects of Infection Severity Narrated in Testimonial Tweets on COVID-19 Prevention.

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 resulted in societal breakdowns around the world. Our research is based on determining which features of testimonial messages are most relevant in increasing persuasive impact. An online experiment with a 2 (severity infection narrative: low vs. high) × 2 (infection target: narrative's protagonist vs. protagonist's father) between-subject factorial design was carried out. Young people between 18 and 28 years (N = 278) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions, where they were asked to read a narrative message in the form of a Twitter thread describing a COVID-19 infection (with mild or severe symptoms) that affected either the protagonist of the message (a 23-year-old young person) or their father. After reading the narrative message, the mediating and dependent variables were evaluated. A message describing a severe COVID-19 infection affecting their protagonist to increase the perception of personal risk increased the persuasive impact through an increase in cognitive elaboration and a reduction in reactance. Our study highlights that creating persuasive messages based on social media targeted at young people that describe a careless behavior resulting in a severe COVID-19 infection can be an appropriate strategy for designing prevention campaigns.

Characterization of the cervicovaginal microbiota of female beef cattle harboring Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis using 16S rDNA gene sequencing.

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis (BGC) is a leading cause of return to estrus in cows. The etiologic agent, Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis (Cfv) is transmitted by venereal route. Hence, the surrounding reproductive tract microenvironment could play a role in return to estrus in cows. The presence of Cfv in cervicovaginal mucus of Angus breed females provide three experimental groups, which were subject to bacteriome analyses: 10 Cfv-positive cows (CVP), 10 Cfv-negative cows (CVN), and 10 nonsexually active heifers (NSA). Cows with return to estrus showed higher bacterial richness than NSA. Beta diversity analysis showed a significant difference (P = 0.006) in bacterial composition among the three groups analyzed (CVP, CVN, and NSA). However, no significant difference was found when comparing the CVP versus CVN groups. Ureaplasma and Pseudomonas were the genera most frequently observed in NSA, being Ureaplasma the predictor genus to that group, whereas Alistipes, Bacteroides, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, UCG-005, and UCG-10 were both significantly more abundant and predictors genera in cows with return to estrus. Our results provide an overview of the cervicovaginal bacterial microbiota in cows harboring Cfv and improve the knowledge of the pathogenesis of BGC.

Regulation of neuronal energy metabolism by calcium: Role of MCU and Aralar/malate-aspartate shuttle.

Calcium is a major regulator of cellular metabolism. Calcium controls mitochondrial respiration, and calcium signaling is used to meet cellular energetic demands through energy production in the organelle. Although it has been widely assumed that Ca2+-actions require its uptake by mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), alternative pathways modulated by cytosolic Ca2+ have been recently proposed. Recent findings have indicated a role for cytosolic Ca2+ signals acting on mitochondrial NADH shuttles in the control of cellular metabolism in neurons using glucose as fuel. It has been demonstrated that AGC1/Aralar, the component of the malate/aspartate shuttle (MAS) regulated by cytosolic Ca2+, participates in the maintenance of basal respiration exerted through Ca2+-fluxes between ER and mitochondria, whereas mitochondrial Ca2+-uptake by MCU does not contribute. Aralar/MAS pathway, activated by small cytosolic Ca2+ signals, provides in fact substrates, redox equivalents and pyruvate, fueling respiration. Upon activation and increases in workload, neurons upregulate OxPhos, cytosolic pyruvate production and glycolysis, together with glucose uptake, in a Ca2+-dependent way, and part of this upregulation is via Ca2+ signaling. Both MCU and Aralar/MAS contribute to OxPhos upregulation, Aralar/MAS playing a major role, especially at small and submaximal workloads. Ca2+ activation of Aralar/MAS, by increasing cytosolic NAD+/NADH provides Ca2+-dependent increases in glycolysis and cytosolic pyruvate production priming respiration as a feed-forward mechanism in response to workload. Thus, except for glucose uptake, these processes are dependent on Aralar/MAS, whereas MCU is the relevant target for Ca2+ signaling when MAS is bypassed, by using pyruvate or ß-hydroxybutyrate as substrates.

Exogenous aralar/slc25a12 can replace citrin/slc25a13 as malate aspartate shuttle component in liver.

The deficiency of CITRIN, the liver mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier (AGC), is the cause of four human clinical phenotypes, neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by CITRIN deficiency (NICCD), silent period, failure to thrive and dyslipidemia caused by CITRIN deficiency (FTTDCD), and citrullinemia type II (CTLN2). Clinical symptoms can be traced back to disruption of the malate-aspartate shuttle due to the lack of citrin. A potential therapy for this condition is the expression of aralar, the AGC present in brain, to replace citrin. To explore this possibility we have first verified that the NADH/NAD+ ratio increases in hepatocytes from citrin(-/-) mice, and then found that exogenous aralar expression reversed the increase in NADH/NAD+ observed in these cells. Liver mitochondria from citrin (-/-) mice expressing liver specific transgenic aralar had a small (~ 4-6 nmoles x mg prot-1 x min-1) but consistent increase in malate aspartate shuttle (MAS) activity over that of citrin(-/-) mice. These results support the functional replacement between AGCs in the liver. To explore the significance of AGC replacement in human therapy we studied the relative levels of citrin and aralar in mouse and human liver through absolute quantification proteomics. We report that mouse liver has relatively high aralar levels (citrin/aralar molar ratio of 7.8), whereas human liver is virtually devoid of aralar (CITRIN/ARALAR ratio of 397). This large difference in endogenous aralar levels partly explains the high residual MAS activity in liver of citrin(-/-) mice and why they fail to recapitulate the human disease, but supports the benefit of increasing aralar expression to improve the redox balance capacity of human liver, as an effective therapy for CITRIN deficiency.

Clinical use of tranexamic acid: evidences and controversies

Abstract Tranexamic acid (TXA) significantly reduces blood loss in a wide range of surgical procedures and improves survival rates in obstetric and trauma patients with severe bleeding. Although it mainly acts as a fibrinolysis inhibitor, it also has an anti-inflammatory effect, and may help attenuate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome found in some cardiac surgery patients. However, the administration of high doses of TXA has been associated with seizures and other adverse effects that increase the cost of care, and the administration of TXA to reduce perioperative bleeding needs to be standardized. Tranexamic acid is generally well tolerated, and most adverse reactions are considered mild or moderate. Severe events are rare in clinical trials, and literature reviews have shown tranexamic acid to be safe in several different surgical procedures. However, after many years of experience with TXA in various fields, such as orthopedic surgery, clinicians are now querying whether the dosage, route and interval of administration currently used and the methods used to control and analyze the antifibrinolytic mechanism of TXA are really optimal. These issues need to be evaluated and reviewed using the latest evidence to improve the safety and effectiveness of TXA in treating intracranial hemorrhage and bleeding in procedures such as liver transplantation, and cardiac, trauma and obstetric surgery.

Identification of Babesia bovis MSA-1 functionally constraint regions capable of binding to bovine erythrocytes.

Merozoite surface antigen-1 is a glycoprotein expressed by Babesia bovis and is considered a vaccine candidate given that antibodies against it are able to partially block in vitro invasion of bovine erythrocytes. Despite this, no study to date has confirmed the target cell binding properties of the full MSA-1 or its fragments. This research has thus been focused on identifying protein regions playing a role in erythrocyte attachment, based on genetic diversity and natural selection analysis. Two regions under functional constraint (nucleotides 134-428 and 464-629) having a preponderance of negatively-selected signals were identified in silico. Three non-overlapping peptides derived from functionally constraint regions (42422 (39PEGSFYDDMSKFYGAVGSFD58), 42424 (91NALIKNNPMIRPDLFNATIV110) and 42426 (150TDIVEEDREKAVEYFKKHVY169)) were able to specifically bind to a sialoglycoprotein located on the bovine erythrocyte surface as confirmed by sensitive and specific peptide-cell interaction competition assays using both enzymatically treated and untreated red blood cells. Interestingly, it was predicted that peptides 42422 and 42426 have a helical structure and conserved motifs in all strain/isolates. These findings provide evidence, for the first time, related to B. bovis MSA-1 short regions used by the parasite in erythrocyte binding which could be predicted using natural selection analysis. Future work focused on evaluating these peptides' antigenic ability during natural infection, and their ability to induce protection in immunisation assays are needed to confirm their usefulness as synthetic vaccine candidates.

Correlation between liver lipidosis, body condition score variation, and hepatic analytes in dairy cows.

Liver lipidosis is a metabolic disorder mostly observed in high yielding dairy cattle, especially during the transition period. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between hepatic lipid infiltration, biochemical indicators of liver function, and body condition score (BCS) variation in dairy cows. Fifty-one multiparous Holstein cows raised in a confined system were evaluated. Liver biopsies and blood samples were collected, and BCS was measured on days 3 and 28 postpartum. Lipid infiltration was determined by histologic examination. The plasma activity of aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase and concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate, non-esterified fatty acids, albumin, total bilirubin, and cholesterol were determined. BCS was measured using objective (camera) and subjective (visual) methods. Mild lipid infiltration was found in 3.92% of cows sampled on day 3 and 5.88% on day 28. Bilirubin was significantly higher on day 3 than on day 28 postpartum, and cholesterol was significantly higher on day 28 than on day 3 in all cows. There was no difference in biochemical analytes between cows with and without lipidosis. On day 3, mean subjective BCS was 3.10 and objective BCS was 3.16, while on day 28, these scores were 2.91 and 2.99, respectively. The calculated liver function index (LFI) was found to be a more sensitive indicator of liver function than the hepatic analytes evaluated. No correlation between BCS variation and lipid infiltration was found. Cholesterol and bilirubin levels showed the most remarkable changes during the early postpartum period. LFI is a potential indicator of postpartum liver function.

A lipidose hepática é um distúrbio metabólico principalmente observado nos bovinos de leite de alto rendimento, especialmente no período de transição. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a correlação entre infiltração lipídica hepática, indicadores bioquímicos de função hepática e variação da condição corporal em bovinos leiteiros. Foram avaliadas cinquenta e um vacas multíparas de raça Holandesa em confinamento. Coletaram-se biopsias de fígado e amostras de sangue, e a condição corporal (BCS) aferiu-se nos dias 3 e 28 pós-parto. A infiltração lipídica determinou-se mediante avaliação histológica. Mensuraram-se a atividade da aspartato aminotransferase, fosfatase alcalina e da gama-glutamil transferase, concentração de beta-hidroxibutirato, ácidos graxos não esterificados, albumina, bilirrubina total e colesterol. A BCS mediu-se utilizando método objetivo (câmera) e subjetivo (visualmente). Observou-se discreta infiltração lipídica em 3,92% dos bovinos amostrados no dia 3 e 5,88% no dia 28. Em todos os bovinos a bilirrubina foi significativamente mais alta no dia 3 do que no dia 28 e o colesterol foi superior no dia 28 do que no dia 3. Não houve diferença nos analitos bioquímicos dos bovinos com e sem lipidose. No dia 3, a média subjetiva da BCS foi 3,10 e a objetiva 3,16, enquanto no dia 28, obtiveram-se valores de 2,91, e 2,99 respectivamente. O índice calculado de função hepática mostrou ser um indicador mais sensível da função hepática do que os analitos avaliados individualmente. Não houve correlação entre a variação do BCS e infiltração lipídica.

Chronic inhibition of the mitochondrial ATP synthase in skeletal muscle triggers sarcoplasmic reticulum distress and tubular aggregates.

Tubular aggregates (TA) are honeycomb-like arrays of sarcoplasmic-reticulum (SR) tubules affecting aged glycolytic fibers of male individuals and inducing severe sarcomere disorganization and muscular pain. TA develop in skeletal muscle from Tubular Aggregate Myopathy (TAM) patients as well as in other disorders including endocrine syndromes, diabetes, and ageing, being their primary cause unknown. Nowadays, there is no cure for TA. Intriguingly, both hypoxia and calcium dyshomeostasis prompt TA formation, pointing to a possible role for mitochondria in their setting. However, a functional link between mitochondrial dysfunctions and TA remains unknown. Herein, we investigate the alteration in muscle-proteome of TAM patients, the molecular mechanism of TA onset and a potential therapy in a preclinical mouse model of the disease. We show that in vivo chronic inhibition of the mitochondrial ATP synthase in muscle causes TA. Upon long-term restrained oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), oxidative soleus experiments a metabolic and structural switch towards glycolytic fibers, increases mitochondrial fission, and activates mitophagy to recycle damaged mitochondria. TA result from the overresponse of the fission controller DRP1, that upregulates the Store-Operate-Calcium-Entry and increases the mitochondria-SR interaction in a futile attempt to buffer calcium overloads upon prolonged OXPHOS inhibition. Accordingly, hypoxic muscles cultured ex vivo show an increase in mitochondria/SR contact sites and autophagic/mitophagic zones, where TA clusters grow around defective mitochondria. Moreover, hypoxia triggered a stronger TA formation upon ATP synthase inhibition, and this effect was reduced by the DRP1 inhibitor mDIVI. Remarkably, the muscle proteome of TAM patients displays similar alterations in mitochondrial dynamics and in ATP synthase contents. In vivo edaravone treatment in mice with restrained OXPHOS restored a healthy phenotype by prompting mitogenesis and mitochondrial fusion. Altogether, our data provide a functional link between the ATP synthase/DRP1 axis and the setting of TA, and repurpose edaravone as a possible treatment for TA-associated disorders.

Broad Transcriptomic Impact of Sorafenib and Its Relation to the Antitumoral Properties in Liver Cancer Cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent and essentially incurable cancers in its advanced stages. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor Sorafenib (Sfb) remains the globally accepted treatment for advanced HCC. However, the extent of its therapeutic benefit is limited. Sfb exerts antitumor activity through its cytotoxic, anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic roles in HCC cells. To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, we used RNA sequencing to generate comprehensive transcriptome profiles of HepG2 and SNU423, hepatoblastoma- (HB) and HCC-derived cell lines, respectively, following a Sfb treatment at a pharmacological dose. This resulted in similar alterations of gene expression in both cell lines. Genes functionally related to membrane trafficking, stress-responsible and unfolded protein responses, circadian clock and activation of apoptosis were predominantly upregulated, while genes involved in cell growth and cycle, DNA replication and repair, ribosome biogenesis, translation initiation and proteostasis were downregulated. Our results suggest that Sfb causes primary effects on cellular stress that lead to upregulation of selective responses to compensate for its negative effect and restore homeostasis. No significant differences were found specifically affecting each cell line, indicating the robustness of the Sfb mechanism of action despite the heterogeneity of liver cancer. We discuss our results on terms of providing rationalization for possible strategies to improve Sfb clinical outcomes.

AGC1 Deficiency: Pathology and Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of the Disease.

AGC1/Aralar/Slc25a12 is the mitochondrial carrier of aspartate-glutamate, the regulatory component of the NADH malate-aspartate shuttle (MAS) that transfers cytosolic redox power to neuronal mitochondria. The deficiency in AGC1/Aralar leads to the human rare disease named "early infantile epileptic encephalopathy 39" (EIEE 39, OMIM # 612949) characterized by epilepsy, hypotonia, arrested psychomotor neurodevelopment, hypo myelination and a drastic drop in brain aspartate (Asp) and N-acetylaspartate (NAA). Current evidence suggest that neurons are the main brain cell type expressing Aralar. However, paradoxically, glial functions such as myelin and Glutamine (Gln) synthesis are markedly impaired in AGC1 deficiency. Herein, we discuss the role of the AGC1/Aralar-MAS pathway in neuronal functions such as Asp and NAA synthesis, lactate use, respiration on glucose, glutamate (Glu) oxidation and other neurometabolic aspects. The possible mechanism triggering the pathophysiological findings in AGC1 deficiency, such as epilepsy and postnatal hypomyelination observed in humans and mice, are also included. Many of these mechanisms arise from findings in the aralar-KO mice model that extensively recapitulate the human disease including the astroglial failure to synthesize Gln and the dopamine (DA) mishandling in the nigrostriatal system. Epilepsy and DA mishandling are a direct consequence of the metabolic defect in neurons due to AGC1/Aralar deficiency. However, the deficits in myelin and Gln synthesis may be a consequence of neuronal affectation or a direct effect of AGC1/Aralar deficiency in glial cells. Further research is needed to clarify this question and delineate the transcellular metabolic fluxes that control brain functions. Finally, we discuss therapeutic approaches successfully used in AGC1-deficient patients and mice.

Effectiveness of lotilaner against ticks of the genus Amblyomma spp. in three naturally infested cane toads (Rhinella horribilis).

The efficacy of lotilaner was evaluated in three tick-infested cane toads. A single oral administration of lotilaner eliminated all ticks from all three toads from Day (D)1. Environmental samples collected from toad enclosures were negative for ticks until D30.

L'efficacité du lotilaner a été évaluée chez trois crapauds buffle infestés de tiques. Une seule administration orale de lotilaner a éliminé toutes les tiques des trois crapauds à partir du jour (J)1. Les échantillons environnementaux prélevés dans les enclos des crapauds étaient négatifs pour les tiques jusqu'à J30.

Se evaluó la eficacia de lotilaner en tres sapos de caña infestados por garrapatas. Una sola administración oral de lotilaner eliminó todas las garrapatas de los tres sapos desde el día (D) 1. Las muestras ambientales recolectadas de los recintos de sapos fueron negativas para garrapatas hasta el D30.

A eficácia do lotialaner foi avaliada em três sapos-boi infestados por carrapatos. Uma única administração de lotialaner eliminou todos os carrapatos de todos os sapos no Dia (D) 1. Amostras ambientais coletadas dos terrários dos sapos foram todas negativas para carrapatos até o D30.

Clinical use of tranexamic acid: evidences and controversies.

Tranexamic acid (TXA) significantly reduces blood loss in a wide range of surgical procedures and improves survival rates in obstetric and trauma patients with severe bleeding. Although it mainly acts as a fibrinolysis inhibitor, it also has an anti-inflammatory effect, and may help attenuate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome found in some cardiac surgery patients. However, the administration of high doses of TXA has been associated with seizures and other adverse effects that increase the cost of care, and the administration of TXA to reduce perioperative bleeding needs to be standardized. Tranexamic acid is generally well tolerated, and most adverse reactions are considered mild or moderate. Severe events are rare in clinical trials, and literature reviews have shown tranexamic acid to be safe in several different surgical procedures. However, after many years of experience with TXA in various fields, such as orthopedic surgery, clinicians are now querying whether the dosage, route and interval of administration currently used and the methods used to control and analyze the antifibrinolytic mechanism of TXA are really optimal. These issues need to be evaluated and reviewed using the latest evidence to improve the safety and effectiveness of TXA in treating intracranial hemorrhage and bleeding in procedures such as liver transplantation, and cardiac, trauma and obstetric surgery.

Dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton benhamiae in a dog.

Trichophyton benhamiae was diagnosed in a 9-year-old female dog by histopathological evaluation, fungal culture and confirmation by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA. Successful therapy was achieved with itraconazole, bathing with miconazole and chlorhexidine shampoo, and topical application of sodium hypochlorite as a rinse.

Trichophyton benhamiae a été diagnostiqué chez une chienne de 9 ans par examen histopathologique, culture fongique et confirmation par séquençage de la région ITS (internal trasbcriber spacer) de l'ADN ribosomique. Une guérison thérapeutique a été obtenue par de l'itraconazole, des shampooings de miconazole et chlorhexidine et application topique d'hypochlorite de sodium en rinçage.

Trichophyton benhamiae foi diagnosticado em uma cadela de 9 anos através de avaliação histopatológica, cultura de fungos e confirmação por sequenciamento da região espaçadora transcrita interna do DNA ribossomal. Sucesso terapêutico foi obtido com o uso de itraconazol, banho com shampoo à base de miconazol e clorexidina e aplicação tópica de hipoclorito de sódio.

Se diagnosticó infección por Trichophyton benhamiae en una perra de 9 años mediante evaluación histopatológica, cultivo de hongos y confirmación mediante secuenciación de la región espaciadora transcrita interna del DNA ribosómico. Se logró un tratamiento exitoso con itraconazol, baños con champú de miconazol y clorhexidina y aplicación tópica de hipoclorito de sodio como enjuague.

Two 20-Residue-Long Peptides Derived from Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein 10 EGF-Like Domains Are Involved in Binding to Human Reticulocytes.

Plasmodium parasites' invasion of their target cells is a complex, multi-step process involving many protein-protein interactions. Little is known about how complex the interaction with target cells is in Plasmodium vivax and few surface molecules related to reticulocytes' adhesion have been described to date. Natural selection, functional and structural analysis were carried out on the previously described vaccine candidate P. vivax merozoite surface protein 10 (PvMSP10) for evaluating its role during initial contact with target cells. It has been shown here that the recombinant carboxyl terminal region (rPvMSP10-C) bound to adult human reticulocytes but not to normocytes, as validated by two different protein-cell interaction assays. Particularly interesting was the fact that two 20-residue-long regions (388DKEECRCRANYMPDDSVDYF407 and 415KDCSKENGNCDVNAECSIDK434) were able to inhibit rPvMSP10-C binding to reticulocytes and rosette formation using enriched target cells. These peptides were derived from PvMSP10 epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains (precisely, from a well-defined electrostatic zone) and consisted of regions having the potential of being B- or T-cell epitopes. These findings provide evidence, for the first time, about the fragments governing PvMSP10 binding to its target cells, thus highlighting the importance of studying them for inclusion in a P. vivax antimalarial vaccine.

Smoking prevention with narrative messages. An experimental study on the joint effect of audience-character similarity and narrative voice. / Prevención del tabaquismo con mensajes narrativos. Estudio experimental sobre el efecto conjunto de la similitud con el protagonista y la voz narrativa.

This study focuses on smoking prevention using narrative messages. In particular, the role of two narrative attributes that can indirectly influence the intention to quit smoking, self-efficacy expectations and the perceived effectiveness of the preventive response were analysed. An experimental study was carried out (N = 680, 50% women and age range 18-55 years) with a 2 (narrative voice: first- vs. third-person message) x 2 (audience-protagonist similarity: low vs. high) between-subjects factorial design. Results showed that the optimal reception condition (first-person narrative with a highly similar protagonist to the audience) induced the highest levels of identification with the protagonist (a former smoker who described the process of quitting smoking and subsequent the improvements he has experienced). Mediational analyses showed that the optimal reception condition exerted significant indirect effects on the dependent variables, due to the increase in identification and reactance reduction. In addition, the optimal reception condition also exerted a significant indirect effect on the perceived effectiveness of the preventive response that was explained by stronger identification and weaker counterarguing. The present study opens an innovative line of research on the construction of narrative messages for smoking prevention. The relevance of the characteristics of these messages is highlighted in order to activate mediating processes that facilitate persuasion.

El presente trabajo se centra en la prevención del tabaquismo utilizando mensajes narrativos. En particular, se analiza el papel de dos características de los mensajes narrativos que pueden influir, de manera indirecta, en la intención de dejar de fumar, las expectativas de auto-eficacia y la percepción de la eficacia de la respuesta preventiva. Para ello, se llevó a cabo una investigación experimental (N = 680, 50% mujeres y rango de edad 18-55 años) con un diseño factorial 2 (voz narrativa: mensaje en primera vs. tercera persona) x 2 (similitud con el protagonista: baja vs. alta). Los resultados mostraron que la condición óptima de recepción (narración en primera persona protagonizada por un personaje similar a la audiencia) indujo niveles más elevados de identificación con el protagonista (un exfumador describía el proceso de abandono del tabaco y las mejoras que ha experimentado desde entonces). Los análisis mediacionales mostraron que la condición óptima de recepción ejercía efectos indirectos significativos sobre las variables dependientes que se debían al aumento de la identificación y la reducción de la reactancia. Además, la condición óptima de recepción también ejerció un efecto indirecto significativo sobre la eficacia percibida de la respuesta preventiva que se explicaba por el incremento de la identificación y la reducción de la contra-argumentación. El presente trabajo abre una línea de estudio sobre la construcción de mensajes narrativos para la prevención del tabaquismo. Se pone de manifiesto la relevancia de las características que dichos mensajes deben tener para que se activen procesos mediadores que faciliten la persuasión.