Liver Proteome of Mice with Distinct Genetic Susceptibilities to Fluorosis Treated with Different Concentrations of F in the Drinking Water

Biological Trace Element Research - Appropriate doses of fluoride (F) have therapeutic action against dental caries, but higher levels can cause disturbances in soft and mineralized tissues....     

Reproductive systems and low outbreeding barriers between Jacaranda cuspidifolia and J. mimosifolia (Jacarandeae,Bignoniaceae)

The genus Jacaranda shows notable karyotype stability and a prevailing self‐sterile breeding system with evidence of late‐acting self‐incompatibility in several species. However, some studies have indicated self‐compatibility in J. mimosifolia, a species cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas. Jacaranda cuspidifolia is a closely related species with natural distribution broadly overlapping with that of J. mimosifolia, and manual heterospecific pollination studies have indicated that these species are interfertile, but there is no report on the breeding system of the former. In this study, we used hand‐pollination experiments, pistil longevity, epi‐fluorescence and histological analysis of post‐pollination events to determine the breeding system of J. cuspidifolia. We also employed intra and interspecific crosses and seed germination tests to reevaluate the breeding system of J. mimosifolia and the inter‐fertility between the two species. Some fruits were initiated from self‐pollinated pistils in J. mimosifolia, but none of them reached maturity. On the other hand, complete absence of fruit development by self‐pollination was verified in J. cuspidifolia, while in situ pollen tube growth and histological analysis of post‐pollination events in selfed pistils revealed the characteristic ovule penetration, fertilization and endosperm initiation also observed in other bignoniaceous species with late‐acting self‐incompatibility. Low outbreeding barriers seem to operate between these species because reciprocal interspecific crosses and hybrid seed germination tests indicated they are bilaterally interfertile. However, fruit/seed production and seed germinability were significantly lower when pistils of J. cuspidifolia were pollinated with pollen of J. mimosifolia, compared with crosses in the opposite direction, which indicates a partial unilateral incompatibility. This result is discussed in the context of the possible occurrence of self‐compatibility in J. mimosifolia. The low level of incongruity operating between the two species also points to their recent evolutionary divergence.     

Cellular recruitment and cytokine generation in a rat model of allergic lung inflammation are differentially modulated by progesterone and estradiol

We evaluated the role of estradiol and progesterone in allergic lung inflammation. Rats were ovariectomized (Ovx) and, 7 days later, were sensitized with ovalbumin (OA) and challenged after 2 wk with inhaled OA; experiments were performed 1 day thereafter. Ovx-allergic rats showed reduced cell recruitment into the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid relative to sham-Ovx allergic rats, as was observed in intact allergic rats treated with ICI-182,780. Estradiol increased the number of cells in the BAL of Ovx-allergic rats, whereas progesterone induced an additional reduction. Cells of BAL and bone marrow (BM) of Ovx-allergic rats released elevated amounts of IL-10 and reduced IL-1 and TNF-. BM cells of Ovx-allergic rats released increased amounts of IL-10 and lower amounts of IL-4. Estradiol treatment of Ovx-allergic rats decreased the release of IL-10 but increased that of IL-4 by BM cells. Estradiol also caused an increased release of IL-1 and TNF- by BAL cells. Progesterone significantly increased the release of IL-10, IL-1, and TNF- by BAL cells and augmented that of IL-4 by BM cells. Degranulation of bronchial mast cells from Ovx rats was reduced after in vitro challenge, an effect reverted by estradiol but not by progesterone. We suggest that the serum estradiol-to-progesterone ratio might drive cellular recruitment, modulating the pulmonary allergy and profile of release of anti-inflammatory or inflammatory cytokines. The existence of such dual hormonal effects suggests that the hormone therapy of asthmatic postmenopausal women and of those suffering of premenstrual asthma should take into account the possibility of worsening the pulmonary conditions. asthma; eosinophils     

Protected areas: A focus on Brazilian freshwater biodiversity

Brazil has a variety of aquatic ecosystems and rich freshwater biodiversity, but these components have been constantly damaged by the expansion of unsustainable activities. An array of different conservation strategies is needed, especially the creation of protected areas (PAs, hereafter). However, Brazil's PAs are biased towards terrestrial ecosystems and we argue that current PAs have limited efficacy in the protection of freshwater biodiversity. New PAs should better consider aquatic environments, covering entire basins, rivers and other freshwater habitats. We recommend ways to implement these PAs and provide guidance to avoid social impacts. Freshwater systems in Brazil provide essential goods and services but these ecosystems are being rapidly degraded and will be lost if not adequately protected.     

Bullying and Victimization in Overweight and Obese Outpatient Children and Adolescents: An Italian Multicentric Study

Objective

Being overweight or obese is one of the most common reasons that children and adolescents are teased at school. We carried out a study in order to investigate: i) the relation between weight status and school bullying and ii) the relation between weight status categories and types of victimization and bullying in an outpatient sample of Italian children and adolescents with different degrees of overweight from minimal overweight up to severe obesity.

Participants/Methods

Nine-hundred-forty-seven outpatient children and adolescents (age range 6.0–14.0 years) were recruited in 14 hospitals distributed over the country of Italy. The participants were classified as normal-weight (N = 129), overweight (N = 126), moderately obese (N = 568), and severely obese (N = 124). The nature and extent of verbal, physical and relational bullying and victimization were assessed with an adapted version of the revised Olweus bully-victim questionnaire. Each participant was coded as bully, victim, bully-victim, or not involved.

Results

Normal-weight and overweight participants were less involved in bullying than obese participants; severely obese males were more involved in the double role of bully and victim. Severely obese children and adolescents suffered not only from verbal victimization but also from physical victimization and exclusion from group activities. Weight status categories were not directly related to bullying behaviour; however severely obese males perpetrated more bullying behaviour compared to severely obese females.

Conclusions

Obesity and bullying among children and adolescents are of ongoing concern worldwide and may be closely related. Common strategies of intervention are needed to cope with these two social health challenges.     

FC-TRIPLEX Chagas/Leish IgG1: A Multiplexed Flow Cytometry Method for Differential Serological Diagnosis of Chagas Disease and Leishmaniasis

Differential serological diagnosis of Chagas disease and leishmaniasis is difficult owing to cross-reactivity resulting from the fact that the parasites that cause these pathologies share antigenic epitopes. Even with optimized serological assays that use parasite-specific recombinant antigens, inconclusive test results continue to be a problem. Therefore, new serological tests with high sensitivity and specificity are needed. In the present work, we developed and evaluated the performance of a new flow cytometric serological method, referred to as FC-TRIPLEX Chagas/Leish IgG1, for the all-in-one classification of inconclusive tests. The method uses antigens for the detection of visceral leishmaniasis, localized cutaneous leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease and is based on an inverted detuned algorithm for analysis of anti-Trypanosomatidae IgG1 reactivity. First, parasites were label with fluorescein isothiocyanate or Alexa Fluor 647 at various concentrations. Then serum samples were serially diluted, the dilutions were incubated with suspensions of mixed labeled parasites, and flow cytometric measurements were performed to determine percentages of positive fluorescent parasites. Using the new method, we obtained correct results for 76 of 80 analyzed serum samples (95% overall performance), underscoring the outstanding performance of the method. Moreover, we found that the fluorescently labeled parasite suspensions were stable during storage at room temperature, 4°C, and –20°C for 1 year. In addition, two different lots of parasite suspensions showed equivalent antigen recognition; that is, the two lots showed equivalent categorical segregation of anti-Trypanosomatidae IgG1 reactivity at selected serum dilutions. In conclusion, we have developed a sensitive and selective method for differential diagnosis of Chagas disease, visceral leishmaniasis, and localized cutaneous leishmaniasis.     

Two-year death prediction models among patients with Chagas Disease using machine learning-based methods

Chagas disease (CD) is recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the thirteen most neglected tropical diseases. More than 80% of people affected by CD will not have access to diagnosis and continued treatment, which partly supports the high morbidity and mortality rate. Machine Learning (ML) can identify patterns in data that can be used to increase our understanding of a specific problem or make predictions about the future. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate different models of ML to predict death in two years of patients with CD. ML models were developed using different techniques and configurations. The techniques used were: Random Forests, Adaptive Boosting, Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Networks. The adopted settings considered only interview variables, only complementary exam variables, and finally, both mixed. Data from a cohort study with CD patients called SaMi-Trop were analyzed. The predictor variables came from the baseline; and the outcome, which was death, came from the first follow-up. All models were evaluated in terms of Sensitivity, Specificity and G-mean. Among the 1694 individuals with CD considered, 134 (7.9%) died within two years of follow-up. Using only the predictor variables from the interview, the different techniques achieved a maximum G-mean of 0.64 in predicting death. Using only the variables from complementary exams, the G-mean was up to 0.77. In this configuration, the protagonism of NT-proBNP was evident, where it was possible to observe that an ML model using only this single variable reached G-mean of 0.76. The configuration that mixed interview variables and complementary exams achieved G-mean of 0.75. ML can be used as a useful tool with the potential to contribute to the management of patients with CD, by identifying patients with the highest probability of death.Trial Registration: This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, Trial ID: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02646943","term_id":"NCT02646943"}}NCT02646943.     

Dermatomycosis in lower limbs of diabetic patients followed by podiatry consultation

BackgroundDiabetic patients are particularly susceptible to fungal infections due to modifications that occur in their immunological system. These modifications compromise natural defences, such as skin and nails, especially from lower limbs.AimsAssessing the presence of dermatomycosis in lower limbs of Portuguese diabetic patients followed on Podiatry consultation. Determination of possible predisposing factors and the most frequent fungal species associated with the cases are included in the study.MethodsA six-month prospective study was carried out in 163 diabetic patients with signs and symptoms of dermatomycosis followed by Podiatry at the Portuguese Diabetes Association in Lisbon. Samples from the skin and/or nails of the lower limbs were collected and demographic and clinical data of those patients were recorded.ResultsTrichophyton rubrum was the most frequently isolated dermatophyte (12.1%), followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (7.7%) and Trichophyton tonsurans (4.4%). Our study showed positive associations between type 2 diabetes and the presence of dermatomycosis in the studied population (p = 0.013); this association was also shown between the occurrence of dermatomycosis and the localization of the body lesion (p = 0.000). No other predisposing factor tested was positively associated with infection (p > 0.05).ConclusionsData on superficial fungal infections in diabetic patients are scarce in Portugal. This study provides information on the characterization of dermatomycosis in lower limbs of diabetic patients.     

Faster HIV-1 disease progression among Brazilian individuals recently infected with CXCR4-utilizing strains

Introduction

Primary HIV infection is usually caused by R5 viruses, and there is an association between the emergence of CCXR4-utilizing strains and faster disease progression. We characterized HIV-1 from a cohort of recently infected individuals in Brazil, predicted the virus''s co-receptor use based on the env genotype and attempted to correlate virus profiles with disease progression.

Methods

A total of 72 recently infected HIV patients were recruited based on the Serologic Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion and were followed every three to four months for up to 78 weeks. The HIV-1 V3 region was characterized by sequencing nine to twelve weeks after enrollment. Disease progression was characterized by CD4+ T-cell count decline to levels consistently below 350 cells/µL.

Results

Twelve out of 72 individuals (17%) were predicted to harbor CXCR4-utilizing strains; a baseline CD4<350 was more frequent among these individuals (p = 0.03). Fifty-seven individuals that were predicted to have CCR5-utilizing viruses and 10 individuals having CXCR4-utilizing strains presented with baseline CD4>350; after 78 weeks, 33 individuals with CCR5 strains and one individual with CXCR4 strains had CD4>350 (p = 0.001). There was no association between CD4 decline and demographic characteristics or HIV-1 subtype.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm the presence of strains with higher in vitro pathogenicity during early HIV infection, suggesting that even among recently infected individuals, rapid progression may be a consequence of the early emergence of CXCR4-utilizing strains. Characterizing the HIV-1 V3 region by sequencing may be useful in predicting disease progression and guiding treatment initiation decisions.