Antifungal activity of propolis extract against yeasts isolated from onychomycosis lesions

The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro activity of propolis extract against 67 yeasts isolated from onychomycosis in patients attending at the Teaching and Research Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of the State University of Maringá. The method used was an adaptation made from the protocol approved by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. The yeasts tested were: Candida parapsilosis 35%, C. tropicalis 23%, C. albicans 13%, and other species 29%. The propolis extract showed excellent performance regarding its antifungal activity: the concentration capable of inhibiting the all of the yeasts was 5 x 10(-2) mg/ml of flavonoids and 2 x 10(-2) mg/ml of flavonoids stimulated their cellular death. Trichosporon sp. were the most sensitive species, showing MIC50 and MIC90 of 1.25 x 10(-2) mg/ml of flavonoids, and C. tropicalis was the most resistant, with CFM50 of 5 x 10(-2) mg/ml of flavonoids and MFC90 of 10 x 10(-2) mg/ml. In view of the fact that propolis is a natural, low cost, nontoxic product with proven antifungal activity, it should be considered as another option in the onychomycosis treatment.     

Caloric restriction suppresses microglial activation and prevents neuroapoptosis following cortical injury in rats

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread cause of death and a major source of adult disability. Subsequent pathological events occurring in the brain after TBI, referred to as secondary injury, continue to damage surrounding tissue resulting in substantial neuronal loss. One of the hallmarks of the secondary injury process is microglial activation resulting in increased cytokine production. Notwithstanding that recent studies demonstrated that caloric restriction (CR) lasting several months prior to an acute TBI exhibits neuroprotective properties, understanding how exactly CR influences secondary injury is still unclear. The goal of the present study was to examine whether CR (50% of daily food intake for 3 months) alleviates the effects of secondary injury on neuronal loss following cortical stab injury (CSI). To this end, we examined the effects of CR on the microglial activation, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and caspase-3 expression in the ipsilateral (injured) cortex of the adult rats during the recovery period (from 2 to 28 days) after injury. Our results demonstrate that CR prior to CSI suppresses microglial activation, induction of TNF-α and caspase-3, as well as neurodegeneration following injury. These results indicate that CR strongly attenuates the effects of secondary injury, thus suggesting that CR may increase the successful outcome following TBI.     

Long-term effects of large-volume liposuction on metabolic risk factors for coronary heart disease

Abdominal obesity is associated with metabolic risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). Although we previously found that using liposuction surgery to remove abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) did not result in metabolic benefits, it is possible that postoperative inflammation masked the beneficial effects. Therefore, this study provides a long-term evaluation of a cohort of subjects from our original study. Body composition and metabolic risk factors for CHD, including oral glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, plasma lipid profile, and blood pressure were evaluated in seven obese (39 +/- 2 kg/m(2)) women before and at 10, 27, and 84-208 weeks after large-volume liposuction. Liposuction surgery removed 9.4 +/- 1.8 kg of body fat (16 +/- 2% of total fat mass; 6.1 +/- 1.4 kg decrease in body weight), primarily from abdominal SAT; body composition and weight remained the same from 10 through 84-208 weeks. Metabolic endpoints (oral glucose tolerance, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, blood pressure and plasma triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations) obtained at 10 through 208 weeks were not different from baseline and did not change over time. These data demonstrate that removal of a large amount of abdominal SAT by using liposuction does not improve CHD metabolic risk factors associated with abdominal obesity, despite a long-term reduction in body fat.     

Hyperbaric oxygen prevents early death caused by experimental cerebral malaria

Background

Cerebral malaria (CM) is a syndrome characterized by neurological signs, seizures and coma. Despite the fact that CM presents similarities with cerebral stroke, few studies have focused on new supportive therapies for the disease. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy has been successfully used in patients with numerous brain disorders such as stroke, migraine and atherosclerosis.

Methodology/Principal Findings

C57BL/6 mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) were exposed to daily doses of HBO (100% O₂, 3.0 ATA, 1–2 h per day) in conditions well-tolerated by humans and animals, before or after parasite establishment. Cumulative survival analyses demonstrated that HBO therapy protected 50% of PbA-infected mice and delayed CM-specific neurological signs when administrated after patent parasitemia. Pressurized oxygen therapy reduced peripheral parasitemia, expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-10 mRNA levels and percentage of γδ and αβ CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes sequestered in mice brains, thus resulting in a reduction of blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and hypothermia.

Conclusions/Significance

The data presented here is the first indication that HBO treatment could be used as supportive therapy, perhaps in association with neuroprotective drugs, to prevent CM clinical outcomes, including death.     

Impact of the CCR5 gene polymorphism on the survival of metastatic melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy

Purpose Chemokines influence both tumor progression and anti-tumor immune response. A 32-bp-deletion polymorphism in the chemokine receptor 5 gene (CCR5Δ32) has been shown to result in a non-functional protein. This study was aimed at evaluating the potential impact of this gene polymorphism on disease progression and treatment outcome in patients with melanoma. Patients and methods CCR5 genotyping was performed by PCR on DNA extracted from serum samples of 782 cutaneous melanoma patients with known disease history and long-term clinical follow-up. Genotypes were correlated with patient survival and types of treatment. Results Of 782 melanoma patients, 90 (11.5%) were heterozygous and 12 (1.5%) were homozygous for CCR5Δ32. Analyzing the complete cohort, the disease-specific survival from date of primary diagnosis was not influenced by CCR5 status. Similarly, no significant impact could be detected on the treatment outcome of stage III patients. In 139 stage IV patients receiving immunotherapy, CCR5Δ32 was associated with a decreased survival compared to patients not carrying the deletion (median 12.5 vs. 20.3 months, P = 0.029). Multivariate analysis revealed the CCR5 genotype as an independent factor impacting disease-specific survival in this patient population (P = 0.002), followed by gender (P = 0.019) and pathological classification of the primary (pT; P = 0.022). Conclusion The presence of the CCR5Δ32 polymorphism in patients with stage IV melanoma results in a decreased survival following immunotherapy and may help to select patients less likely to benefit from this type of treatment. Selma Ugurel and David Schrama have contributed equally to this work.     

Inhibition of Vancomycin and High-Level Aminoglycoside-Resistant Enterococci Strains and Listeria monocytogenes by Bacteriocin-Like Substance Produced by Enterococcus faecium E86

Three hundred and thirty nine lactic bacteria strains isolated from food samples were screened for antimicrobial activity. Only one strain isolated from meat pie and identified as Enterococcus faecium produced a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) showing activity against Enterococcus, Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, Listeria, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus aureus. The BLIS produced was resistant to acid and alkali treatment and 121oC for 15 min. The addition of BLIS in BHI contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes decreased the contamination in 4.8 log cycles in 24 h. The inhibition of listeria was also obtained in milk. Forty multiresistant enterococci strains were inhibited in the well-diffusion test. Two vancomycin resistant strains tested in liquid with BLIS were also inhibited. The BLIS producer showed no pathogenicity marker.     

Low frequency of mutations in the core promoter and precore regions of hepatitis B virus in anti-HBe positive Brazilian carriers

Background  

Mutations in the core promoter and precore regions of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome, notably the double substitution (AGG to TGA) at nt positions 1762-1764 in the core promoter, and the precore stop codon mutation G to A at nt 1896, can often explain the anti-HBe phenotype in chronic carriers. However, the A1896 mutation is restricted to HBV isolates that have T at nt 1858. The double substitution at positions 1762-1764 has been described to occur preferentially in patients infected with strains showing C instead of T at nt 1858.     

Cloning of the replication region on the bacteriocinogenic plasmid pRJ9 of Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract A 5.8-kb Cla I fragment of pRJ9, a bacteriocinogenic plasmid of Sphylococcus aureus , was cloned in the unique Cla I site of pRJ5. The recombinant plasmid obtained, pRJ23, failed to confer bacteriocin production and immunity to bacteriocin on host cells. The cloned fragment was shown to contain the complete replicon of pRJ9. Attempts to clone the 4.4-kb Cla I fragment of pRJ9 were unsuccessful, apparently due to the inactivation of the basic replicon of the cloning vector. Therefore, plasmid pRJ5 cut at its Cla I site appears to be a suitable vector for cloning replication regions of plasmids that cab replicate in S. aureus .     

Projecting the Impact of Regional Land-Use Change and Water Management Policies on Lake Water Quality: An Application to Periurban Lakes and Reservoirs

As the human population grows, the demand for living space and supplies of resources also increases, which may induce rapid change in land-use/land-cover (LULC) and associated pressures exerted on aquatic habitats. We propose a new approach to forecast the impact of regional land cover change and water management policies (i.e., targets in nutrient loads reduction) on lake and reservoir water eutrophication status using a model that requires minimal parameterisation compared with alternative methods. This approach was applied to a set of 48 periurban lakes located in the Ile de France region (IDF, France) to simulate catchment-scale management scenarios. Model outputs were subsequently compared to governmental agencies’ 2030 forecasts. Our model indicated that the efforts made to reduce pressure in the catchment of seepage lakes might be expected to be proportional to the gain that might be obtained, whereas drainage lakes will display little improvement until a critical level of pressure reduction is reached. The model also indicated that remediation measures, as currently planned by governmental agencies, might only have a marginal impact on improving the eutrophication status of lakes and reservoirs within the IDF region. Despite the commitment to appropriately managing the water resources in many countries, prospective tools to evaluate the potential impacts of global change on freshwater ecosystems integrity at medium to large spatial scales are lacking. This study proposes a new approach to investigate the impact of region-scale human-driven changes on lake and reservoir ecological status and could be implemented elsewhere with limited parameterisation. Issues are discussed that relate to model uncertainty and to its relevance as a tool applied to decision-making.