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In Yucatán state, Mexico, Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) is the primary vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. The vector population presents diverse forms and colorations. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the morphotypes of T. dimidiata based on the taxonomy of the body and external genitalia. Between March 2023 and April 2025, 902 triatomines from 15 municipalities were examined. Three main morphotypes were characterized (I to III). Morphotype II was the most abundant (62.86%) and most distributed in the study area (12 of 15 municipalities), with a notable presence in forests and caves. Morphotypes I and III were found primarily outside houses and in chicken coops. Within the characterized specimens of T. dimidiata sensu lato, morphotype II displays more prominent morphological and structural characteristics. They are smaller compared to morphotypes I and III. In morphotype II, the spiracles are covered by a black spot that extends from the connexival plate to the urosternites. Males had short and robust parameres. The median process of the pygophore is long and slender compared to morphotypes I and III. The female tergite VIII has six sides. The taxonomy should be complemented by a study of the life cycle of each morphotype and analysis of its genome.

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of the Chagas disease, which is endemic in southeastern Mexico and is transmitted by the vector Triatoma dimidiata (triatomide). T. cruzi infect a great variety of domestic and wild mammals; rodents are considered one of the most important reservoirs of the parasite in the transmission cycles of T. cruzi. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of T. cruzi infection and to determine the parasitic load in synanthropic and wild rodents from the rural community of southern Mexico. A total of 41 blood samples and 68 heart tissue samples were collected from various species of synanthropic (n= 48 in 2 species) and wild rodents (n= 35 in 5 species). DNA was extracted from samples to detect the presence of T. cruzi through quantitative PCR (qPCR). T. cruzi DNA was detected in the 9.75% of the blood samples of the synanthropic species (4/41) (14.28%) for Rattus rattus samples and 25% for Ototylomys phyllotis samples, with an average of parasitic load of 4.80 ± 1.17 parasites/μL. In the case of heart tissue samples, 10.29% were positive for T. cruzi (7/68) (8.7% for Rattus rattus, 40% for Peromyscus yucatanicus, and 42.8% for Ototylomys phyllotis) with an average parasite load of 3.15 ± 1.98 eq-parasites/mg. The active and chronic infection of T. cruzi in synanthropic or wild rodents of the rural community of southern Mexico evidences the natural infection in these reservoirs which contribute to maintaining the agent in the wild and domestic environments and can represent a risk of infection for the human population when the vector is present.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has become an important risk assessment tool when diagnosing illnesses related to heart health. HRV is typically measured with an electrocardiogram; however, there are multiple studies that use Photoplethysmography (PPG) instead. Measuring HRV with video is beneficial as a non-invasive, hands-free alternative and represents a more accessible approach. We developed a methodology to extract HRV from video based on face detection algorithms and color augmentation. We applied this methodology to 45 samples. Signals obtained from PPG and video recorded an average mean error of less than 1 bpm when measuring the heart rate of all subjects. Furthermore, utilizing PPG and video, we computed 61 variables related to HRV. We compared each of them with three correlation metrics (i.e., Kendall, Pearson, and Spearman), adjusting them for multiple comparisons with the Benjamini–Hochberg method to control the false discovery rate and to retrieve the q-value when considering statistical significance lower than 0.5. Using these methods, we found significant correlations for 38 variables (e.g., Heart Rate, 0.991; Mean NN Interval, 0.990; and NN Interval Count, 0.955) using time-domain, frequency-domain, and non-linear methods.

Development of micropropagation protocols for Cocos nucifera has progressed slowly. Activated charcoal is included in the culture medium of each protocol, mainly to prevent tissue browning. Charcoal production procedures can affect the properties of different brands. In this study, eight types of activated charcoal were evaluated for their effects on free 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid level, pH, conductivity, and osmolarity of the culture medium and on the frequency of embryogenic callus induction. Moreover, the effect of particle size of the optimum charcoal type on embryogenic callus development was also studied. Charcoal type had a significant effect on (Y3) culture medium properties. Free 2,4-D was highest in Reactivos y Productos Químicos Finos-containing medium and pH was lowest in MERCK-containing medium. Charcoal type also influenced embryogenic callus induction, with acid washed for plant cell and tissue culture-, DARCO- and United States Pharmacopeia-containing media promoting ~60% embryogenic callus, but with different optimal 2,4-D concentrations. Particle size profiles varied among all charcoal types, although small particle fraction (<38 μm) was abundant in all. Use of small particle fractions produced higher frequencies of embryogenic callus (70%) than either large particle or whole charcoal fractions.

In photovoltaic (PV) systems, inverters have an essential role in providing an energy supply to meet the demand with power quality. Inverters inject energy into the grid considering that a renewable source is available; however, during intermittent periods or in the absence of power generation, the inverter remains inactive, which decreases the performance of the PV system. One way to increase the operation of inverters is to operate them as Volt-Amps Reactive (VAR) compensators to generate reactive power in the absence of renewable sources. The paper presents the development of a control scheme that allows the PV system’s inverter to improve the power factor in the electrical system with or without PV power generation. The proposed control is based on using a sliding mode controller (SMC) current control loop and PI-based voltage control loop. The control scheme is developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK, and for real evaluation, a PV prototype is implemented. The control strategy efficiency is confirmed by the obtained results. The control scheme increases the practical utility of PV systems. Additionally, it improves the power factor in all cases during the injection of active power to the grid operating under intermittent conditions and/or in the absence of power generation.

Copper and silver tetraiodomercurates (Cu 2 HgI 4 , Ag 2 HgI 4 ) are thermochromic materials whose color changes result from a crystalline phase transition, affecting their electrical and thermal conductivities. Both materials, defined as superionic solids, are solid electrolytes where the metallic cations are the charge carriers in the higher temperature phase, which occurs at 50 °C for Ag 2 HgI 4 and at 69 °C for Cu 2 HgI 4 . In this work, we present the thermal characterization of these materials by measuring the thermal diffusivity as a function of temperature, intending to elucidate the influence of randomly moving cations on thermal transport and their interactions with the phonons produced in the anion sublattice. The electrical conductivity characterization enabled us to contrast their different behavior as the phase transition occurs due to temperature changes. Thermal and electrical transport performance characterization of these materials opens the possibility of using them in different applications, such as solid-state batteries, optical devices for recording media, active materials for thermally controlled systems, temperature sensing devices, and fillers for manufacturing smart composites, among many others.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is classified as a pathogen with the potential to cause a pandemic. This situation becomes more alarming since no approved drug exists to combat the virus. The present research aims to demonstrate the anti-CHIKV activity of molecules present in the latex of Euphorbia grandicornis. Therefore, a biodirected assay was carried out to find the molecules with anti-CHIKV activity. Extractions with hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol and subsequent purification by column chromatography were carried out to later evaluate cytotoxic activity by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and antiviral activity by plaque assay. Our findings show that unlike the others, methanolic extract has a low cytotoxic effect and a good anti-CHIKV effect (EC50 = 26.41 µg/mL), which increases when obtaining the purified active fraction (pAFeg1) (EC50 = 0.4835 µg/mL). Time-of-addition suggests that the possible mechanism of action of pAFeg1 could be inhibiting any of the non-structural proteins of CHIKV. In addition, both the cytotoxic and anti-CHIKV activity of pAFeg1 demonstrate selectivity since it killed cancer cells and could not inhibit DENV2.

To explore the regulatory aspects of mRNAs and miRNAs in suicide, we integrated transcriptomic data from GEO datasets. The analysis of mRNA expression in the prefrontal cortex of suicide victims with major depressive disorder revealed a differential profile with 27 downregulated mRNAs, including HSPA1A, HSPA1B, DNAJB1, NR4A1, and GADD45B, which are involved in proteostasis, transcriptional regulation, and apoptosis. Functional enrichment analysis using KEGG and Gene Ontology (GO) revealed significant associations with synaptic plasticity, neuronal survival, and signaling pathways, including MAPK, TGF-β, Wnt, p53, and neurotrophins. Subsequently, using the GSE34120 GEO dataset of miRNAs from the frontal cortex of suicide victims, 105 dysregulated miRNAs were identified. The networks revealed compact regulatory modules with hsa-miR-576-3p, hsa-miR-493, and hsa-miR-550, as well as highly connected central nodes such as hsa-miR-30b, hsa-miR-16a-5p, hsa-miR-181a-5p, and hsa-miR-184. The integration of both profiles allowed the elaboration of miRNA–mRNA regulatory networks in which TP53, FOXO3, RELA, and FOS interact with multiple dysregulated miRNAs. These findings support the notion that suicide involves complex post-transcriptional dysregulation, particularly related to astrocytic function and neurotrophic signaling, with potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Chagas disease, caused by the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), represents a worldwide public health issue. To date, there is no efficient treatment to combat this pathology, and the only drugs available are usually toxic to the patient. Through the enzyme trans-salidase, the parasite invades, infects, and multiplies intracellularly in the host cell. This protein has been considered an attractive target for developing or searching for compounds with potential trypanocidal activity. In this study, an in silico analysis was performed using a Food and Drug Administration-approved computational drug repositioning approach to identify compounds with anti-Chagas potential against two trans-sialidase proteins. Those compounds with potential inhibition were analyzed and selected through a molecular docking-based virtual screening. Forty-nine compounds were identified, of which forty-five are available on the market, and the rest were evaluated in silico. Our predicted results follow that these compounds are safe for human use and could be potential anti-trans-sialidase agents.

The genus Flavivirus (Family: Flaviviridae) comprises arboviruses with the capacity to infect humans and animals. It also integrates insect-specific viruses. This study aimed to identify Flavivirus in mosquitoes captured in 17 municipalities in Yucatan State, Mexico. The mosquitoes were caught in households from November 2021 to May 2022. A total of 4,321 adult mosquitoes from five species were caught. The most abundant were Culex quinquefasciatus (n = 3,563) and Aedes aegypti (n = 734). For molecular investigations, 600 female mosquitoes were split into groups of 10, mostly for species and site location. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplified a region of the NS5 gene to find the Flavivirus ribonucleic acids (RNA). A total of 24 pools that were positive for Flavivirus were detected in Ae. aegypti specimens and subsequently subjected to sequencing using the Sanger method. A total of 12 sequences matched the established quality criteria and were subsequently employed for sequence homology analysis. We found that one sequence corresponded to the Zika virus (ZIKV), and 11 sequences had sequence similarity with Phlebotomus-associated flavivirus (PAFV), an insect-specific virus (ISF). In conclusion, we found ZIKV in the Merida municipality, Yucatan State, which suggests that the virus is silently circulating. Phlebotomus-associated flavivirus is distributed in five municipalities in Yucatan State, Mexico. Future studies could focus on isolating this virus and studying its biological role within Ae. aegypti.