Browsing by Author "González, Jorge"

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    Heterophilic antibodies in sera from individuals without loxoscelism cross-react with phospholipase D from the venom of Loxosceles and Sicarius spiders
    (2018) Subiabre, Mario; Arán-Sekul, Tomás; Rojas, José M.; Cruz, Victoria; Cortés, William; Osorio, Luis; González, Jorge; Araya, Jorge E.; Catalán, Alejandro
    Abstract Background Loxoscelism is a severe human envenomation caused by Loxosceles spider venom. To the best of our knowledge, no study has evaluated the presence of antibodies against Loxosceles venom in loxoscelism patients without treatment with antivenom immunotherapy. We perform a comparative analysis for the presence of antibodies capable of recognizing Loxosceles venom in a group of patients diagnosed with loxoscelism and in a group of people without loxoscelism. Methods The detection of L. laeta venom, Sicarius venom and recombinant phospholipases D from Loxosceles (PLDs) in sera from people with loxoscelism (Group 1) and from healthy people with no history of loxoscelism (Group 2) was evaluated using immuno-dot blot, indirect ELISA, and Western blot. Results We found naturally heterophilic antibodies (IgG-type) in people without contact with Loxosceles spiders or any clinical history of loxoscelism. Either serum pools or single sera from Group 1 and Group 2 analyzed by dot blot tested positive for L. laeta venom. Indirect ELISA for venom recognition showed titles of 1:320 for Group 1 sera and 1:160 for Group 2 sera. Total IgG quantification showed no difference in sera from both groups. Pooled sera and purified IgG from sera of both groups revealed venom proteins between 25 and 32 kDa and the recombinant phospholipase D isoform 1 (rLlPLD1), specifically. Moreover, heterophile antibodies cross-react with PLDs from other Loxosceles species and the venom of Sicarius spider. Conclusions People without contact with the spider venom produced heterophilic antibodies capable of generating a cross-reaction against the venom of L. laeta and Sicarius spiders. Their presence and possible interference should be considered in the development of immunoassays for Loxosceles venom detection.
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    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Physical Properties and Purity of a Galaxy Cluster Sample Selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
    (2010) Menanteau, Felipe; González, Jorge; Juin, Jean-Baptiste; Marriage, Tobias A.; Reese, Erik D.; Acquaviva, Viviana; Aguirre, Paula; Appel, John William; Baker, Andrew J.; Barrientos, L. Felipe; Battistelli, Elia S.; Bond, J. Richard; Das, Sudeep; Deshpande, Amruta J.; Devlin, Mark J.; Dicker, Simon; Dunkley, Joanna; Dünner, Rolando; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Fowler, Joseph W.; Hajian, Amir; Halpern, Mark; Hasselfield, Matthew; Hernández-Monteagudo, Carlos; Hilton, Matt; Hincks, Adam D.; Hlozek, Renée; Huffenberger, Kevin M.; Hughes, John P.; Infante, Leopoldo; Irwin, Kent D.; Klein, Jeff; Kosowsky, Arthur; Lin, Yen-Ting; Marsden, Danica; Moodley, Kavilan; Niemack, Michael D.; Nolta, Michael R.; Page, Lyman A.; Parker, Lucas; Partridge, Bruce; Sehgal, Neelima; Sievers, Jon; Spergel, David N.; Staggs, Suzanne T.; Swetz, Daniel; Switzer, Eric; Thornton, Robert; Trac, Hy; Warne, Ryan; Wollack, Ed
    We present optical and X-ray properties for the first confirmed galaxy cluster sample selected by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) from 148 GHz maps over 455 deg(2) of sky made with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). These maps, coupled with multi-band imaging on 4 m class optical telescopes, have yielded a sample of 23 galaxy clusters with redshifts between 0.118 and 1.066. Of these 23 clusters, 10 are newly discovered. The selection of this sample is approximately mass limited and essentially independent of redshift. We provide optical positions, images, redshifts, and X-ray fluxes and luminosities for the full sample, and X-ray temperatures of an important subset. The mass limit of the full sample is around 8.0 x 10(14) M-circle dot, with a number distribution that peaks around a redshift of 0.4. For the 10 highest significance SZE-selected cluster candidates, all of which are optically confirmed, the mass threshold is 1 x 10(15) M-circle dot and the redshift range is 0.167-1.066. Archival observations from Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT provide X-ray luminosities and temperatures that are broadly consistent with this mass threshold. Our optical follow-up procedure also allowed us to assess the purity of the ACT cluster sample. Eighty (one hundred) percent of the 148 GHz candidates with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 5.1 (5.7) are confirmed as massive clusters. The reported sample represents one of the largest SZE-selected sample of massive clusters over all redshifts within a cosmologically significant survey volume, which will enable cosmological studies as well as future studies on the evolution, morphology, and stellar populations in the most massive clusters in the universe.