Molecular underpinnings of the early brain developmental response to differential feeding in the honey bee Apis mellifera

Brain differential morphogenesis in females is one of the major phenotypic manifestations of caste development in honey bees. Brain diphenism appears at the fourth larval phase as a result of the differential feeding regime developing females are submitted during early phases of larval development. Here, we used a forward genetics approach to test the early brain molecular response to differential feeding leading to the brain diphenism observed at later developmental phases. Using RNA sequencing analysis, we identified 53 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the brains of queens and workers at the third larval phase. Since miRNAs have been suggested to play a role in caste differentiation after horizontal and vertical transmission, we tested their potential participation in regulating the DEGs. The miRNA-mRNA interaction network, including the DEGs and the royal- and worker-jelly enriched miRNA populations, revealed a subset of miRNAs potentially involved in regulating the expression of DEGs. The interaction of miR-34, miR-210, and miR-317 with Takeout, Neurotrophin-1, Forked, and Masquerade genes was experimentally confirmed using a luciferase reporter system. Taken together, our results reconstruct the regulatory network that governs the development of the early brain diphenism in honey bees.     

Exercise training provides cardioprotection via a reduction in reactive oxygen species in rats submitted to myocardial infarction induced by isoproterenol

Exercise training has demonstrated cardioprotection effects. However, the exact mechanism behind this effect is not is clear. The present study evaluated the effects of 12 weeks of previous treadmill training on the levels of oxidative damage, antioxidant enzyme activity and injury in the myocardium of rats submitted to infarction induced by isoproterenol (ISO). Isoproterenol treatment (80 mg/kg given over 2 days in two equal doses) caused arrhythmias and 60% mortality within 24 h of the last injection in the control group (C + ISO) group when compared with the saline control group (saline). Creatine Kinase ? MB levels were markedly increased in hearts from ISO-treated animals in the C + ISO group. Twelve weeks of treadmill training reduced superoxide production, lipid peroxidation levels and protein carbonylation in these animals, as well as increasing the activities and expressions of SOD and CAT. Previous training also reduced CK-MB levels and numbers of deaths by 40%, preventing the deleterious effects of ISO. Based on the data obtained in this study, it is suggested that 12-week treadmill training increases antioxidant enzymes, decreases oxidative damage and reduces the degree of infarction induced by ISO in the hearts of male rats.     

Schistosoma japonicum Soluble Egg Antigens Attenuate Invasion in a First Trimester Human Placental Trophoblast Model

Background

Schistosomiasis affects nearly 40 million women of reproductive age, and is known to elicit a pro-inflammatory signature in the placenta. We have previously shown that antigens from schistosome eggs can elicit pro-inflammatory cytokine production from trophoblast cells specifically; however, the influence of these antigens on other characteristics of trophoblast function, particularly as it pertains to placentation in early gestation, is unknown. We therefore sought to determine the impact of schistosome antigens on key characteristics of first trimester trophoblast cells, including migration and invasion.

Methods

First trimester HTR8/SVneo trophoblast cells were co-cultured with plasma from pregnant women with and without schistosomiasis or schistosome soluble egg antigens (SEA) and measured cytokine, cellular migration, and invasion responses.

Results

Exposure of HTR8 cells to SEA resulted in a pro-inflammatory, anti-invasive signature, characterized by increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1) and TIMP-1. Additionally, these cells displayed 62% decreased migration and 2.7-fold decreased invasion in vitro after treatment with SEA. These results are supported by increased IL-6 and IL-8 in the culture media of HTR8 cells exposed to plasma from Schistosoma japonica infected pregnant women.

Conclusions

Soluble egg antigens found in circulation during schistosome infection increase pro-inflammatory cytokine production and inhibit the mobility and invasive characteristics of the first trimester HTR8/SVneo trophoblast cell line. This is the first study to assess the impact of schistosome soluble egg antigens on the behavior of an extravillous trophoblast model and suggests that schistosomiasis in the pre-pregnancy period may adversely impact placentation and the subsequent health of the mother and newborn.     

Modeling Dengue Vector Dynamics under Imperfect Detection: Three Years of Site-Occupancy by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Urban Amazonia

Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are the vectors of dengue, the most important arboviral disease of humans. To date, Aedes ecology studies have assumed that the vectors are truly absent from sites where they are not detected; since no perfect detection method exists, this assumption is questionable. Imperfect detection may bias estimates of key vector surveillance/control parameters, including site-occupancy (infestation) rates and control intervention effects. We used a modeling approach that explicitly accounts for imperfect detection and a 38-month, 55-site detection/non-detection dataset to quantify the effects of municipality/state control interventions on Aedes site-occupancy dynamics, considering meteorological and dwelling-level covariates. Ae. aegypti site-occupancy estimates (mean 0.91; range 0.79–0.97) were much higher than reported by routine surveillance based on ‘rapid larval surveys’ (0.03; 0.02–0.11) and moderately higher than directly ascertained with oviposition traps (0.68; 0.50–0.91). Regular control campaigns based on breeding-site elimination had no measurable effects on the probabilities of dwelling infestation by dengue vectors. Site-occupancy fluctuated seasonally, mainly due to the negative effects of high maximum (Ae. aegypti) and minimum (Ae. albopictus) summer temperatures (June-September). Rainfall and dwelling-level covariates were poor predictors of occupancy. The marked contrast between our estimates of adult vector presence and the results from ‘rapid larval surveys’ suggests, together with the lack of effect of local control campaigns on infestation, that many Aedes breeding sites were overlooked by vector control agents in our study setting. Better sampling strategies are urgently needed, particularly for the reliable assessment of infestation rates in the context of control program management. The approach we present here, combining oviposition traps and site-occupancy models, could greatly contribute to that crucial aim.     

Changing Mortality Profile among HIV-Infected Patients in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: Shifting from AIDS to Non-AIDS Related Conditions in the HAART Era

Introduction

We describe temporal trends in the mortality rates and factors associated with AIDS and non-AIDS related mortality at the Evandro Chagas Clinical Research Institute (IPEC), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ).

Methods

Adult patients enrolling from 1986 through 2009 with a minimum follow up of 60 days were included. Vital status was exhaustively checked using patients’ medical charts, through active contact with individuals and family members and by linkage with the Rio de Janeiro Mortality database using a previously validated algorithm. The CoDe protocol was used to establish the cause of death. Extended Cox proportional hazards models were used for multivariate modeling.

Results

A total of 3530 individuals met the inclusion criteria, out of which 868 (24.6%) deceased; median follow up per patient was 3.9 years (interquartile range 1.7–9.2 years). The dramatic decrease in the overall mortality rates was driven by AIDS-related causes that decreased from 9.19 deaths/100PYs n 1986–1991 to 1.35/100PYs in 2007–2009. Non-AIDS related mortality rates remained stable overtime, at around 1 death/100PYs. Immunodeficiency significantly increased the hazard of both AIDS-related and non-AIDS-related causes of death, while HAART use was strongly associated with a lower hazard of death from either cause.

Conclusions

Our results confirm the remarkable decrease in AIDS-related mortality as the HIV epidemic evolved and alerts to the conditions not traditionally related to HIV/AIDS which are now becoming more frequent, needing careful monitoring.     

Babassu palm (Attalea speciosa Mart.) super-dominance shapes its surroundings via multiple biotic,soil chemical,and physical interactions and accumulates soil carbon: a case study in eastern Amazonia

Plant and Soil - Aggressive ruderal plant species pose an increasing problem in anthropically degraded lands. They both affect and are affected by other vegetation and by soil fertility in their...     

A Bayesian nonparametric testing procedure for paired samples

We propose a Bayesian hypothesis testing procedure for comparing the distributions of paired samples. The procedure is based on a flexible model for the joint distribution of both samples. The flexibility is given by a mixture of Dirichlet processes. Our proposal uses a spike-slab prior specification for the base measure of the Dirichlet process and a particular parametrization for the kernel of the mixture in order to facilitate comparisons and posterior inference. The joint model allows us to derive the marginal distributions and test whether they differ or not. The procedure exploits the correlation between samples, relaxes the parametric assumptions, and detects possible differences throughout the entire distributions. A Monte Carlo simulation study comparing the performance of this strategy to other traditional alternatives is provided. Finally, we apply the proposed approach to spirometry data collected in the United States to investigate changes in pulmonary function in children and adolescents in response to air polluting factors.     

Pseudomembranous Candidiasis in HIV/AIDS Patients in Cali, Colombia

Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated yeast from the oral cavity of HIV/AIDS individuals. The use of fluconazole has increased the number of resistant or less-sensitive Candida species different than C. albicans. The purpose of this study was to identify the Candida species producing pseudomembranous candidiasis in patients suffering from AIDS, their relationship with CD4⁺ counts and their sensitivity to fluconazole and itraconazole. We studied 71 patients at a hospital in the city of Cali. Samples of white plaque were seeded on CHROMagar Candida, yeast identification was done with API 20C Aux, and susceptibility testing was determined by E test. Ninety-three yeast isolates were obtained, 52 single and 41 mixed. C. albicans was the most isolated, followed by C. glabrata. An increased frequency of isolates and variety of Candida species occurred in patients with a CD4⁺ cell count ≤100 cells/mm³ without significant differences (p = 0.29). The susceptibility study showed that 8 (8.6 %) isolates were resistant to fluconazole and 11 (11.8 %) to itraconazole, while 6 (8.8 %) C. albicans were simultaneously resistant. No association was found between the isolates of C. albicans or Candida species different than C. albicans and the use of fluconazole (p = 0.21). The results of this study indicate that in the tested population, fluconazole continues to be the best treatment option for oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients suffering from AIDS (HIV/AIDS); however, susceptibility tests are necessary in patients who present therapeutic failure.     

Diagnostic utility of HFE variants in Spanish patients: Association with HLA alleles and role in susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Human Hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, C282Y and H63D, are the major variants associated to altered iron status and it is well known that these mutations are in linkage disequilibrium with certain Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-A alleles. In addition, the C282Y SNP has been previously suggested to confer susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We have aimed to assess the diagnosis utility of these polymorphisms in a population of Spanish subjects with suspicion of hereditary iron overload and to evaluate the effect of their associations with HLA-A alleles on the susceptibility to ALL. Both the 63DD [OR = 4.31 (1.7–11.2)] and 282YY (p for trend = 0.02) genotypes were more frequently found among subjects with suspicion of iron overload than among controls. 282YY carriers displayed significantly higher transferrin saturation index (TSI) values (p < 0.001) as well as serum iron (p = 0.01) and ferritin (p = 0.01) levels. In addition, transferrin levels were lower in these subjects (p = 0.01). Likewise, patients who were carriers of the compound heterozygous diplotype (282CY/63HD) showed significantly higher TSI and serum iron and ferritin concentrations. The H63D SNP did not significantly affect the analytical parameters measured. All 282YY carriers and 69.2% of compound heterozygotes showed an altered biochemical index. The frequencies of the HFE SNPs in ALL pediatric patients were lower than those found in controls, whereas the HLA-A*24 allele was significantly overrepresented in the patients group [OR = 3.76 (1.9–7.3)]. No HFE-HLA-A associations were found to modulate the ALL risk. These results suggest that it may be useful to test for both HFE H63D and C282Y polymorphisms in patients with iron overload, as opposed to just genotyping for the C282Y SNP, which is customary in some healthcare centers. These HFE variants and their associations with HLA-A alleles were not observed to be relevant for the susceptibility to ALL in our population.