During 2010 and 2011, the Loreto region of Peru experienced a dengue outbreak of unprecedented magnitude and severity for the region. This outbreak coincided with the reappearance of dengue virus-2 (DENV-2) in Loreto after almost 8 years. Whole-genome sequence indicated that DENV-2 from the outbreak belonged to lineage II of the southeast Asian/American genotype and was most closely related to viruses circulating in Brazil during 2007 and 2008, whereas DENV-2 previously circulating in Loreto grouped with lineage I (DENV-2 strains circulating in South America since 1990). One amino acid substitution (NS5 A811V) in the 2010 and 2011 isolates resulted from positive selection. However, the 2010 and 2011 DENV-2 did not replicate to higher titers in monocyte-derived dendritic cells and did not infect or disseminate in a higher proportion of Aedes aegypti than DENV-2 isolates previously circula...

We present spatial patterns of glacier fluctuations from the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, (glacier area, terminus elevations, median elevations and hypsography) at decadal timescales derived from 1970 aerial photography, 2003 SPOT5 satellite data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical analyses. We derived new glacier outlines from the 2003 SPOT images, and ingested them in the Global Land and Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) glacier database. We examined changes in glacier area on the eastern and western side of the Cordillera in relation to topographic and climate variables (temperature and precipitation). Results include (1) an estimated glacierized area of 569.6 ± 21 km2 in 2003, (2) an overall loss in glacierized area of 22.4% from 1970 to 2003, (3) an average rise in glacier terminus elevations by 113 m and an average rise in the median elevation of glaciers by 66 m, ...

Objectives. To examine the extent to which measures of adiposity can be used to predict selected components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods. A total of 1,518 Peruvian adults were included in this study. Waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and visceral adiposity index (VAI) were examined. The prevalence of each MetS component was determined according to tertiles of each anthropometric measure. ROC curves were used to evaluate the extent to which measures of adiposity can predict cardiovascular risk. Results. All measures of adiposity had the strongest correlation with triglyceride concentrations (TG). For both genders, as adiposity increased, the prevalence of Mets components increased. Compared to individuals with low-BMI and low-WC, men and women with high-BMI and high- WC had high...

Leaching of polymetallic sulfides is often challenging due to the complexity of these systems. The main issues are related to the formation of surface by-products or to the presence of different metals that require a greater consumption of chemicals compared to that needed to extract the target metal during leaching. This latter case is followed in the present work using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) during the leaching of a silver-containing polymetallic (Mn-Fe-Pb) sulfide under three different cyanidation procedures: (1) conventional leaching, (2) ultrasound-assisted leaching, and (3) leaching of a sample pretreated in alkaline media. In all cases, leaching results in the build-up of Pb compounds (oxides/hydroxides) on the surface of the minerals, suggesting a mechanism in which Pb is first leached by hydroxide and cyanide and later is re-adsorbed as an external layer on the m...