Risk factors for mortality in end-stage kidney disease patients under online-hemodiafiltration: three-year follow-up study

The aim of this work was to evaluate the predictors of mortality in a group of end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) patients under dialysis, by performing a three-year follow-up study. From the 236 patients included in this study, 54 patients died during the three-year follow-up period. Our data showed that the risk of death was higher in patients presenting lower levels of mean cell hemoglobin concentration, transferrin, and albumin. Our study showed that poor nutritional status and an inflammatory-induced iron depleted erythropoiesis are important factors for mortality in these patients.     

Development of native forest species of the Atlantic forest in soil contaminated with hormonal herbicides

Abstract

Hormonal herbicides, used in pastures, can suffer drift and reach forests. The sensitivity and potential phytoremediation of native species to herbicide residues should be evaluated. The objective of this study is to evaluate the initial development of native Atlantic Forest tree species in soil contaminated with hormonal herbicides. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in a 4 x 8 factorial scheme. The first factor had the control and the herbicide Tordon^® in three doses (0.166, 0.333 and 0.666?L ha^?1) and the second consisted of the forest species Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.), Cassia ferruginea (Schrad.) Schrad. ex DC., Dalbergia villosa (Benth.) Benth., Machaerium nyctitans (Vell.) Benth., Machaerium opacum Vogel, Piptadenia gonoacantha (Mart.) JF Macbr., Senegalia polyphylla (DC.) Britton and Rose, Senna macranthera (DC Collad.) HS Irwin and Barnaby. The emergence, height, survival, emergence speed index, intoxication, root volume, stem diameter, root and shoot dry mass, leaf area and leaf numbers of the forest species were evaluated. The A. colubrina, D. villosa and M. opacum initial development was reduced by the herbicides 2.4-D plus picloram residues. S. macranthera and P. gonoacantha are tolerant to this mixture and, therefore, show potential for phytoremediation of degraded areas containing residues of these compounds.     

Lactate utilization and influx in resting and working rat red muscle

1. The behavior of lactate was studied during electrical stimulation and influx was measured under resting conditions of rat soleus muscle. 2. Lactate utilization was measured with (U-14C) lactate and results from electrical stimulation of the soleus muscle present evidence that this substance is mainly oxidized. 3. Under resting conditions, lactate influx showed a saturable transport system with an apparent Km of 11 mM. This low affinity for lactate suggests that lactate transport has a limiting factor for the muscle. 4. The increased lactate utilization under electrical stimulation (1,114 +/- 344 mumol/g/hr, at 20 mM lactate) corresponds to increased lactate permeability as compared to the influx rate (20.81 +/- 1.65 mumol/g/hr at 20 mM lactate) in resting conditions. 5. Alanine, epinephrine or S.I.T.S. 4-amino-4'isothiocyanostilbene-2-2'-disulphonate) do not affect lactate permeability in the soleus muscle.     

LC-MS/MS quantitation of plasma progesterone in cattle

Quantitation of progesterone (P₄) in biological fluids is often performed by radioimmunoassay (RIA), whereas liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been used much less often. Due to its autoconfirmatory nature, LC-MS/MS greatly minimizes false positives and interference. Herein we report and compare with RIA an optimized LC-MS/MS method for rapid, efficient, and cost-effective quantitation of P₄ in plasma of cattle with no sample derivatization. The quantitation of plasma P₄ released from three nonbiodegradable, commercial, intravaginal P₄-releasing devices (IPRD) over 192 h in six ovariectomized cows was compared in a pairwise study as a test case. Both techniques showed similar P₄ kinetics (P > 0.05) whereas results of P₄ quantitation by RIA were consistently higher compared with LC-MS/MS (P < 0.05) due to interference and matrix effects. The LC-MS/MS method was validated according to the recommended analytical standards and displayed P₄ limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) of 0.08 and a 0.25 ng/mL, respectively. The high selective LC-MS/MS method proposed herein for P₄ quantitation eliminates the risks associated with radioactive handling; it also requires no sample derivatization, which is a common requirement for LC-MS/MS quantitation of steroid hormones. Its application to multisteroid assays is also viable, and it is envisaged that it may provide a gold standard technique for hormone quantitation in animal reproductive science studies.     

Self-assembled dextrin nanogel as protein carrier: controlled release and biological activity of IL-10

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, which active form is a non-covalent homodimer. Given the potential of IL-10 for application in various medical conditions, it is essential to develop systems for its effective delivery. In previous work, it has been shown that a dextrin nanogel effectively incorporated and stabilized rIL-10, enabling its release over time. In this work, the delivery system based on dextrin nanogels was further analyzed. The biocompatibility of the nanogel was comprehensively analyzed, through cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, MTS, Live, and Dead) and genotoxicity (comet) assays. The release profile of rIL-10 and its biological activity were evaluated in vivo, using C57BL/6 mice. Although able to maintain a stable concentration of IL-10 for at least 4 h in mice serum, the amount of protein released was rather low. Despite this, the amount of rIL-10 released from the complex was biologically active inhibiting TNF-α production, in vivo, by LPS-challenged mice. In spite of the significant stabilization achieved using the nanogel, rIL-10 still denatures rather quickly. An additional effort is thus necessary to develop an effective delivery system for this cytokine, able to release active protein over longer periods of time. Nevertheless, the good biocompatibility, the protein stabilization effect and the ability to perform as a carrier with controlled release suggest that self-assembled dextrin nanogels may be useful protein delivery systems.     

The role of indoleamine 2, 3 dioxygenase in regulating host immunity to leishmania infection

Pathogen persistence in immune-competent hosts represents an immunological paradox. Increasing evidence suggests that some pathogens, such as, Leishmania major (L. major) have evolved strategies and mechanisms that actively suppress host adaptive immunity. If this notion is correct conventional vaccination therapies may be ineffective in enhancing host immunity, unless natural processes that suppress host immunity are also targeted therapeutically. The key problem is that the basis of pathogen persistence in immune-competent individuals is unknown, despite decades of intense research. This fact, coupled with poor health care and a dearth of effective treatments means that these diseases will remain a scourge on humans unless a better understanding of why the immune system tolerates such infections emerges from research. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has been shown to act as a molecular switch regulating host responses, and IDO inhibitor drugs shown to possess potential in enhancing host immunity to established leishmania infections. It is hoped that this review will help stimulate and help generate critical new knowledge pertaining to the IDO mechanism and how to exploit it to suppress T cell mediated immunity, thus offer an innovative approach to studying the basis of chronic leishmania infection in mice.