Gamma-Decanolactone Alters the Expression of GluN2B,A1 Receptors,and COX-2 and Reduces DNA Damage in the PTZ-Induced Seizure Model After Subchronic Treatment in Mice

Neurochemical Research - Gamma-decanolactone (GD) has been shown to reduce epileptic behavior in different models, inflammatory decreasing, oxidative stress, and genotoxic parameters. This study...     

Therapeutic potential of periodontal ligament stem cells

Inflammatory periodontal disease known as periodontitis is one of the most common conditions that affect human teeth and often leads to tooth loss. Due to the complexity of the periodontium, which is composed of several tissues, its regeneration and subsequent return to a homeostatic state is challenging with the therapies currently available. Cellular therapy is increasingly becoming an alternative in regenerative medicine/dentistry, especially therapies using mesenchymal stem cells, as they can be isolated from a myriad of tissues. Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) are probably the most adequate to be used as a cell source with the aim of regenerating the periodontium. Biological insights have also highlighted PDLSCs as promising immunomodulator agents. In this review, we explore the state of knowledge regarding the properties of PDLSCs, as well as their therapeutic potential, describing current and future clinical applications based on tissue engineering techniques.     

Sex differences in the immune response to acute COVID-19 respiratory tract infection

Determine if sex differences exist in clinical characteristics and outcomes of adults hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a US healthcare system. Case series study. Sequentially hospitalized adults admitted for COVID-19 at two tertiary care academic hospitals in New Orleans, LA, between 27 February and 15 July 2020. Measures included demographics, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, and laboratory results. Outcomes included intensive care unit admission (ICU), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and in-hospital death. We included 776 patients (median age 60.5 years; 61.4% women, 75% non-Hispanic Black). Rates of ICU, IMV, and death were similar in both sexes. In women versus men, obesity (63.8 vs 41.6%, P < 0.0001), hypertension (77.6 vs 70.1%, P = 0.02), diabetes (38.2 vs 31.8%, P = 0.06), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 22.1 vs 15.1%, P = 0.015), and asthma (14.3 vs 6.9%, P = 0.001) were more prevalent. More women exhibited dyspnea (61.2 vs 53.7%, P = 0.04), fatigue (35.7 vs 28.5%, P = 0.03), and digestive symptoms (39.3 vs 32.8%, P = 0.06) than men. Obesity was associated with IMV at a lower BMI (> 35) in women, but the magnitude of the effect of morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40) was similar in both sexes. COPD was associated with ICU (adjusted OR (aOR), 2.6; 95%CI, 1.5–4.3) and IMV (aOR, 1.8; 95%CI, 1.2–3.1) in women only. Diabetes (aOR, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.2–2.9), chronic kidney disease (aOR, 2.2; 95%CI, 1.3–5.2), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (aOR, 2.5; 95%CI, 1.4–4.3), and elevated ferritin (aOR, 3.6; 95%CI, 1.7–7.3) were independent predictors of death in women only. In contrast, elevated D-dimer was an independent predictor of ICU (aOR, 7.3; 95%CI, 2.7–19.5), IMV (aOR, 6.5; 95%CI, 2.1–20.4), and death (aOR, 4.5; 95%CI, 1.2–16.4) in men only. This study highlights sex disparities in clinical determinants of severe outcomes in COVID-19 patients that may inform management and prevention strategies to ensure gender equity.     

Ecomorphology of the African felid ensemble: The role of the skull and postcranium in determining species segregation and assembling history

Morphology of extant felids is regarded as highly conservative. Most previous studies have focussed on skull morphology, so a vacuum exists about morphofunctional variation in postcranium and its role in structuring ensembles of felids in different continents. The African felid ensemble is particularly rich in ecologically specialized felids. We studied the ecomorphology of this ensemble using 31 cranial and 93 postcranial morphometric variables measured in 49 specimens of all 10 African species. We took a multivariate approach controlling for phylogeny, with and without body size correction. Postcranial and skull + postcranial analyses (but not skull‐only analyses) allowed for a complete segregation of species in morphospace. Morphofunctional factors segregating species included body size, bite force, zeugopodial lengths and osteological features related to parasagittal leg movement. A general gradient of bodily proportions was recovered: lightly built, long‐legged felids with small heads and weak bite forces vs. the opposite. Three loose groups were recognized: small terrestrial felids, mid‐to‐large sized scansorial felids and specialized Acinonyx jubatus and Leptailurus serval. As predicted from a previous study, the assembling of the African felid ensemble during the Plio‐Pleistocene occurred by the arrival of distinct felid lineages that occupied then vacant areas of morphospace, later diversifying in the continent.     

The immunogenicity to the first anti-TNF therapy determines the outcome of switching to a second anti-TNF therapy in spondyloarthritis patients

Introduction

Anti-TNF drugs have proven to be effective against spondyloarthritis (SpA), although 30% of patients fail to respond or experience adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation. In rheumatoid arthritis, the presence of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) against the first TNF inhibitor influences the outcome after switching. Our aim was to assess whether the response to a second anti-TNF drug is related to the previous development of ADA to the first anti-TNF drug SpA patients.

Methods

Forty-two SpA patients began a second anti-TNF drug after failing to respond to the first anti-TNF therapy. Clinical activity was assessed by the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) at baseline (at the beginning of the first and second anti-TNF therapy) and at 6 months after switching. The drug and ADA levels were measured by ELISA before each administration.

Results

All patients were treated with anti-TNF drugs and mainly due to inefficacy were switched to a second anti-TNF drug. Eleven of 42 (26.2%) developed ADA during the first biologic treatment. At baseline, no differences in ASDAS were found in patients with or without ADA to the first anti-TNF drug (3.52 ± 1.03 without ADA vs. 3.14 ± 0.95 with ADA, p = 0.399) and to the second anti-TNF drug (3.36 ± 0.94 without ADA vs. 3.09 ± 0.91 with ADA, p = 0.466). At 6 months after switching, patients with previous ADA had lower disease activity (1.62 ± 0.93 with ADA vs. 2.79 ± 1.01 without ADA, p = 0.002) and most patients without ADA had high disease activity state by the ASDAS (25 out of 31 (80.6%) without ADA vs. 3 out of 11 (27.3%) with ADA, p = 0.002).

Conclusions

In SpA the failure to respond to the first anti-TNF drug due to the presence of ADA predicts a better clinical response to a second anti-TNF drug.     

The Influence of Recrystallized Caffeine on Water-Swellable Polymethacrylate Mucoadhesive Buccal Films

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of particles on the properties of polymethacrylate films intended for buccal delivery. A solvent casting method was used with Eudragit RS and RL (ERS and ERL, respectively) as film-forming rate-controlling polymers, with caffeine as a water-soluble model drug. The physicochemical properties of the model films for a series of formulations with increasing concentrations of caffeine were determined in terms of morphology, mechanical and mucoadhesive properties, drug content uniformity, and drug release and associated kinetics. Typically regarded as non-mucoadhesive polymers, ERS and mainly ERL, were found to be good mucoadhesives, with ERL01 exhibiting a work of mucoadhesion (WoA) of 118.9 μJ, which was about five to six times higher than that observed for commonly used mucoadhesives such as Carbopol^® 974P (C974P, 23.9 μJ) and polycarbophil (PCP, 17.4 μJ). The mucoadhesive force for ERL01 was found to be significantly lower yet comparable to C974P and PCP films (211.1 vs. 329.7 and 301.1 mN, respectively). Inspection of cross-sections of the films indicated that increasing the concentration of caffeine was correlated with the appearance of recrystallized agglomerates. In conclusion, caffeine agglomerates had detrimental effects in terms of mucoadhesion, mechanical properties, uniformity, and drug release at large particle sizes. ERL series of films exhibited very rapid release of caffeine while ERS series showed controlled release. Analysis of release profiles revealed that kinetics changed from a diffusion controlled to a first-order release mechanism.     

Operation of an aerobic granular pilot scale SBR plant to treat swine slurry

A pilot-scale Sequencing Batch Reactor was operated during 307 days in order to treat swine slurry characterized by its high variable composition: organic and nitrogen applied loading rates and C/N ratio were 1.4–6.3 kg COD_s/(m³ d), 0.5–2.5 kg N/(m³ d) and 1.9–9.4 g COD_s/(g N), respectively. Aerobic granules successfully developed in the reactor and their physical properties remained rather stable despite the feeding composition variability. Organic and ammonia removal efficiency reached 61–73% and 56–77%, respectively, however ammonia was mainly oxidized to nitrite. The reactor had a good biomass retention capacity to select for granular biomass. However, its efficiency to retain the solids present in the feeding was low. Aerobic granulation in SBR systems appears as an interesting alternative to treat slurry in small livestock facilities where the implementation of anaerobic digestion systems is not a feasible option or the removal of nitrogenous compounds is required.     

Alien parasite hitchhikes to Patagonia on invasive bumblebee

The worldwide trade in bumblebees can lead to the spread of diseases, which in turn has been claimed as a factor in bumblebee decline. Populations of the introduced Bombus terrestris, which invaded NW Patagonia, Argentina, in 2006, harbor the highly pathogenic protozoan Apicystis bombi. We asked whether A. bombi had been co-introduced with B. terrestris, and if so, whether spillover occurred to the two resident bumblebee species in the region: the introduced European Bombus ruderatus and the native Bombus dahlbomii. We searched for A. bombi by means of PCR in samples of B. ruderatus and B. dahlbomii collected before and after the invasion of B. terrestris and in samples of the latter. We found no A. bombi in samples of B. ruderatus and B. dahlbomii collected before B. terrestris invasion, whereas post invasion, A. bombi was present in all 3 species. The identity of the parasite was established by sequencing the 18S region, which was identical for the three bumblebee species and also matched the European sequence, confirming it to be A. bombi. This is the first report of A. bombi in B. ruderatus and B. dahlbomii. Moreover, our results suggest that Patagonia had been free of A. bombi until this parasite was co-introduced with B. terrestris, and spilled over in situ to these two previously resident species. Finally, our findings provide indirect circumstantial evidence of a potential link between the population collapse and geographic retraction of B. dahlbomii and the introduction of this novel parasite.