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= = Leaving Steeltown = = |
" The Jackson Five " would release a second and final single through Steeltown Records — " We Don 't Have To Be Over 21 ( to Fall in Love ) " . The two singles were to be supported by an eleven track studio album but it was never released . On July 26 , 1968 , the group signed a contract with Motown Records . However ... |
= = Rediscovery = = |
The master tapes to " Big Boy " were thought to be lost , but in 1994 , Jackson family friend Ben Brown found the tapes in his parents ' kitchen pantry . Brown reissued the record in 1995 , on the Inverted Records label — a week before Michael Jackson 's HIStory album was issued . He also remastered the song , selling... |
= Chagas disease = |
Chagas disease , also known as American trypanosomiasis , is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi . It is spread mostly by insects known as Triatominae or kissing bugs . The symptoms change over the course of the infection . In the early stage , symptoms are typically either not prese... |
T. cruzi is commonly spread to humans and other mammals by the blood @-@ sucking " kissing bugs " of the subfamily Triatominae . These insects are known by a number of local names , including : vinchuca in Argentina , Bolivia , Chile and Paraguay , barbeiro ( the barber ) in Brazil , pito in Colombia , chinche in Cent... |
Prevention mostly involves eliminating kissing bugs and avoiding their bites . Other preventative efforts include screening blood used for transfusions . A vaccine has not been developed as of 2013 . Early infections are treatable with the medication benznidazole or nifurtimox . Medication nearly always results in a c... |
It is estimated that 7 to 8 million people , mostly in Mexico , Central America and South America , have Chagas disease as of 2013 . In 2006 , Chagas was estimated to result in 12 @,@ 500 deaths per year . Most people with the disease are poor , and most people with the disease do not realize they are infected . Large... |
= = Signs and symptoms = = |
The human disease occurs in two stages : an acute stage , which occurs shortly after an initial infection , and a chronic stage that develops over many years . |
The acute phase lasts for the first few weeks or months of infection . It usually occurs unnoticed because it is symptom @-@ free or exhibits only mild symptoms that are not unique to Chagas disease . These can include fever , fatigue , body aches , muscle pain , headache , rash , loss of appetite , diarrhea , nausea ... |
The most recognized marker of acute Chagas disease is called Romaña 's sign , which includes swelling of the eyelids on the side of the face near the bite wound or where the bug feces were deposited or accidentally rubbed into the eye . Rarely , young children , or adults may die from the acute disease due to severe i... |
If symptoms develop during the acute phase , they usually resolve spontaneously within three to eight weeks in approximately 90 % of individuals . Although the symptoms resolve , even with treatment the infection persists and enters a chronic phase . Of individuals with chronic Chagas disease , 60 – 80 % will never de... |
The symptomatic ( determinate ) chronic stage affects the nervous system , digestive system and heart . About two @-@ thirds of people with chronic symptoms have cardiac damage , including dilated cardiomyopathy , which causes heart rhythm abnormalities and may result in sudden death . About one @-@ third of patients ... |
20 % to 50 % of individuals with intestinal involvement also exhibit cardiac involvement . Up to 10 % of chronically infected individuals develop neuritis that results in altered tendon reflexes and sensory impairment . Isolated cases exhibit central nervous system involvement , including dementia , confusion , chroni... |
The clinical manifestations of Chagas disease are due to cell death in the target tissues that occurs during the infective cycle , by sequentially inducing an inflammatory response , cellular lesions , and fibrosis . For example , intracellular amastigotes destroy the intramural neurons of the autonomic nervous system... |
= = Transmission = = |
In Chagas @-@ endemic areas , the main mode of transmission is through an insect vector called a triatomine bug . A triatomine becomes infected with T. cruzi by feeding on the blood of an infected person or animal . During the day , triatomines hide in crevices in the walls and roofs . |
The bugs emerge at night , when the inhabitants are sleeping . Because they tend to feed on people 's faces , triatomine bugs are also known as " kissing bugs " . After they bite and ingest blood , they defecate on the person . Triatomines pass T. cruzi parasites ( called trypomastigotes ) in feces left near the site ... |
Scratching the site of the bite causes the trypomastigotes to enter the host through the wound , or through intact mucous membranes , such as the conjunctiva . Once inside the host , the trypomastigotes invade cells , where they differentiate into intracellular amastigotes . The amastigotes multiply by binary fission ... |
Dense vegetation ( such as that of tropical rainforests ) and urban habitats are not ideal for the establishment of the human transmission cycle . However , in regions where the sylvatic habitat and its fauna are thinned by economic exploitation and human habitation , such as in newly deforested areas , piassava palm ... |
T. cruzi can also be transmitted through blood transfusions . With the exception of blood derivatives ( such as fractionated antibodies ) , all blood components are infective . The parasite remains viable at 4 ° C for at least 18 days or up to 250 days when kept at room temperature . It is unclear whether T. cruzi can... |
Other modes of transmission include organ transplantation , through breast milk , and by accidental laboratory exposure . Chagas disease can also be spread congenitally ( from a pregnant woman to her baby ) through the placenta , and accounts for approximately 13 % of stillborn deaths in parts of Brazil . |
Oral transmission is an unusual route of infection , but has been described . In 1991 , farm workers in the state of Paraíba , Brazil , were infected by eating contaminated food ; transmission has also occurred via contaminated açaí palm fruit juice and garapa . A 2007 outbreak in 103 Venezuelan school children was at... |
Chagas disease is a growing problem in Europe , because the majority of cases with chronic infection are asymptomatic and because of migration from Latin America . |
= = Diagnosis = = |
The presence of T. cruzi is diagnostic of Chagas disease . It can be detected by microscopic examination of fresh anticoagulated blood , or its buffy coat , for motile parasites ; or by preparation of thin and thick blood smears stained with Giemsa , for direct visualization of parasites . Microscopically , T. cruzi c... |
Various immunoassays for T. cruzi are available and can be used to distinguish among strains ( zymodemes of T.cruzi with divergent pathogenicities ) . These tests include : detecting complement fixation , indirect hemagglutination , indirect fluorescence assays , radioimmunoassays , and ELISA . Alternatively , diagnos... |
= = Prevention = = |
There is currently no vaccine against Chagas disease . Prevention is generally focused on decreasing the numbers of the insect that spreads it ( Triatoma ) and decreasing their contact with humans . This is done by using sprays and paints containing insecticides ( synthetic pyrethroids ) , and improving housing and sa... |
A yeast trap can be used for monitoring infestations of certain species of triatomine bugs ( Triatoma sordida , Triatoma brasiliensis , Triatoma pseudomaculata , and Panstrongylus megistus ) . |
Promising results were gained with the treatment of vector habitats with the fungus Beauveria bassiana . |
Targeting the symbionts of Triatominae through paratransgenesis can be done . |
A number of potential vaccines are currently being tested . Vaccination with Trypanosoma rangeli has produced positive results in animal models . More recently , the potential of DNA vaccines for immunotherapy of acute and chronic Chagas disease is being tested by several research groups . |
Blood transfusion was formerly the second @-@ most common mode of transmission for Chagas disease , but the development and implementation of blood bank screening tests has dramatically reduced this risk in the 21st century . Blood donations in all endemic Latin American countries undergo Chagas screening , and testin... |
The US FDA has approved two Chagas tests , including one approved in April 2010 , and has published guidelines that recommend testing of all donated blood and tissue products . While these tests are not required in US , an estimated 75 – 90 % of the blood supply is currently tested for Chagas , including all units col... |
= = Management = = |
There are two approaches to treating Chagas disease : antiparasitic treatment , to kill the parasite ; and symptomatic treatment , to manage the symptoms and signs of the infection . Management uniquely involves addressing selective incremental failure of the parasympathetic nervous system . Autonomic disease imparted... |
= = = Medication = = = |
Antiparasitic treatment is most effective early in the course of infection , but is not limited to cases in the acute phase . Drugs of choice include azole or nitro derivatives , such as benznidazole or nifurtimox . Both agents are limited in their capacity to completely eliminate T. cruzi from the body ( parasitologi... |
Studies suggest antiparasitic treatment leads to parasitological cure in more than 90 % of infants but only about 60 – 85 % of adults treated in the first year of acute phase Chagas disease . Children aged six to 12 years with chronic disease have a cure rate of about 60 % with benznidazole . While the rate of cure de... |
Treatment of chronic infection in women prior to or during pregnancy does not appear to reduce the probability the disease will be passed on to the infant . Likewise , it is unclear whether prophylactic treatment of chronic infection is beneficial in persons who will undergo immunosuppression ( for example , organ tra... |
= = = Complications = = = |
In the chronic stage , treatment involves managing the clinical manifestations of the disease . For example , pacemakers and medications for irregular heartbeats , such as the anti @-@ arrhythmia drug amiodarone , may be life saving for some patients with chronic cardiac disease , while surgery may be required for meg... |
= = Epidemiology = = |
Chagas disease affects 8 to 10 million people living in endemic Latin American countries , with an additional 300 @,@ 000 – 400 @,@ 000 living in nonendemic countries , including Spain and the United States . An estimated 41 @,@ 200 new cases occur annually in endemic countries , and 14 @,@ 400 infants are born with c... |
The disease is present in 18 countries on the American continents , ranging from the southern United States to northern Argentina . Chagas exists in two different ecological zones . In the Southern Cone region , the main vector lives in and around human homes . In Central America and Mexico , the main vector species l... |
Although Triatominae bugs feed on them , birds appear to be immune to infection and therefore are not considered to be a T. cruzi reservoir . Even when colonies of insects are eradicated from a house and surrounding domestic animal shelters , they can re @-@ emerge from plants or animals that are part of the ancient ,... |
The primary wildlife reservoirs for Trypanosoma cruzi in the United States include opossums , raccoons , armadillos , squirrels , woodrats , and mice . Opossums are particularly important as reservoirs , because the parasite can complete its life cycle in the anal glands of this animal without having to re @-@ enter t... |
Studies on raccoons in the Southeast have yielded infection rates ranging from 47 % to as low as 15 @.@ 5 % . Armadillo prevalence studies have been described in Louisiana , and range from a low of 1 @.@ 1 % to 28 @.@ 8 % . Additionally , small rodents , including squirrels , mice , and rats , are important in the syl... |
Chronic Chagas disease remains a major health problem in many Latin American countries , despite the effectiveness of hygienic and preventive measures , such as eliminating the transmitting insects . However , several landmarks have been achieved in the fight against it in Latin America , including a reduction by 72 %... |
Screening of donated blood , blood components , and solid organ donors , as well as donors of cells , tissues , and cell and tissue products for T. cruzi is mandated in all Chagas @-@ endemic countries and has been implemented . Approximately 300 @,@ 000 infected people live in the United States , which is likely the ... |
= = History = = |
The disease was named after the Brazilian physician and epidemiologist Carlos Chagas , who first described it in 1909 . The disease was not seen as a major public health problem in humans until the 1960s ( the outbreak of Chagas disease in Brazil in the 1920s went widely ignored ) . Dr Chagas discovered that the intes... |
Chagas named the pathogenic parasite as Trypanosoma cruzi and later that year as Schizotrypanum cruzi , both honoring Oswaldo Cruz , the noted Brazilian physician and epidemiologist who successfully fought epidemics of yellow fever , smallpox , and bubonic plague in Rio de Janeiro and other cities in the beginning of ... |
In Argentina , the disease is known as mal de Chagas @-@ Mazza , in honor of Salvador Mazza , the Argentine physician who in 1926 began investigating the disease and over the years became the principal researcher of this disease in the country . Mazza produced the first scientific confirmation of the existence of Tryp... |
It has been hypothesized that Charles Darwin might have suffered from Chagas disease as a result of a bite of the so @-@ called great black bug of the Pampas ( vinchuca ) ( see Charles Darwin 's illness ) . The episode was reported by Darwin in his diaries of the Voyage of the Beagle as occurring in March 1835 to the ... |
= = Research = = |
Several experimental treatments have shown promise in animal models . These include inhibitors of oxidosqualene cyclase and squalene synthase , cysteine protease inhibitors , dermaseptins collected from frogs in the genus Phyllomedusa ( P. oreades and P. distincta ) , the sesquiterpene lactone dehydroleucodine ( DhL )... |
Chagas disease has a serious economic impact on the United States and the world . The cost of treatment in the United States alone , where the disease is not indigenous , is estimated to be $ 900 million annually , which includes hospitalization and medical devices such as pacemakers . The global cost is estimated at ... |
Megazol in a study seems more active against Chagas than benznidazole but has not been studied in humans . Fexinidazole , an old drug rediscovered for this purpose is being tested in phase 2 clinical trials . A Chagas vaccine ( TcVac3 ) has been found to be effective in mice with plans for studies in dogs . It is hope... |
= Diamond stingray = |
The diamond stingray ( Dasyatis dipterura ) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae . It is found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern California to northern Chile , and around the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands . This bottom @-@ dweller generally inhabits sandy or muddy flats nea... |
When searching for food , diamond stingrays may form groups of up to hundreds of individuals . It is most active at night and preys mainly on burrowing invertebrates and small bony fishes , which are extracted from the bottom via suction or digging . This species is aplacental viviparous : once the embryos exhaust the... |
= = Taxonomy and phylogeny = = |
In 1880 , the diamond stingray was described twice by three American ichthyologists : as Dasybatus dipterurus by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in Proceedings of the United States National Museum , and as Trygon brevis by Samuel Garman in Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology . Jordan and Gilbert... |
The species syntypes were collected from San Diego Bay , California . The specific epithet dipterura is derived from the Latin di ( " two " ) , ptero ( " wing " ) , and ura ( " tail " ) , referring to the fin folds on both sides of its tail . Rat @-@ tailed stingray is a former common name for this species . Lisa Rose... |
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