Oral transmission of Chagas disease has been documented in Latin American countries. Nevertheless, significant studies on the pathophysiology of this form of infection are largely lacking. The few studies investigating oral route infection disregard that inoculation in the oral cavity (Oral infection, OI) or by gavage (Gastrointestinal infection, GI) represent different infection routes, yet both show clear-cut parasitemia and heart parasitism during the acute infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe evaluated the process of inferential revision during text comprehension in adults. Participants with high or low working memory read short texts, in which the introduction supported two plausible concepts (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Arch Otorhinolaryngol
April 2014
Introduction The Gaps-in-Noise (GIN) test assesses the hearing ability of temporal resolution. The development of this ability can be considered essential for learning how to read. Objective Identify temporal resolution in individuals diagnosed with reading and writing disorders compared with subjects with dyslexia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn view of the limitations of antifungal agents used in the treatment of oral candidiasis and the wide variety of natural products that have been studied as treatment of this disease, this systematic literature review proposed to evaluate whether scientific evidence attesting to the efficacy of natural products in the treatment of this disease exists. A systematic search in PubMed, MEDLINE, SciELO, Lilacs, and Cochrane Library databases was accomplished using the associations among the keywords Candida albicans, phytotherapy, biological products, denture stomatitis, and oral candidiasis in both English and Portuguese. Four independent observers evaluated the methodological quality of the resulting articles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To map the X-chromosome and autosome breakpoints in women with balanced X-autosome translocations and primary amenorrhea, searching candidate genomic loci for female infertility.
Design: Retrospective and case-control study.
Setting: University-based research laboratory.
This paper presents the analysis, design, and characterization of the thirty gigahertz instrument receiver developed for the Q-U-I Joint Tenerife experiment. The receiver is aimed to obtain polarization data of the cosmic microwave background radiation from the sky, obtaining the Q, U, and I Stokes parameters of the incoming signal simultaneously. A comprehensive analysis of the theory behind the proposed receiver is presented for a linearly polarized input signal, and the functionality tests have demonstrated adequate results in terms of Stokes parameters, which validate the concept of the receiver based on electronic phase switching.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecombinant protein vaccines are safe but elicit low immunological responses. The new generation of adjuvants is currently reversing this situation. Here, a new antigen-adjuvant combination for protection against experimental Chagas disease was assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this work was to analyze the number and distribution of circulating monocytes, and of their CD14(+high)CD16(-), CD14(+high)CD16(+) and CD14(+low)CD16(+) subset cells, in treatment-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to determine their value in predicting the clinical response to methotrexate (MTX) treatment.
Methods: This prospective work investigated the number of circulating monocytes, and the numbers of CD14(+high)CD16(-), CD14(+high)CD16(+) and CD14(+low)CD16(+) subset cells, in 52 untreated patients with RA before MTX treatment, and at 3 and 6 months into treatment, using flow cytometry.
Results: The absolute number of circulating monocytes, and the numbers of CD14(+high)CD16(-), CD14(+high)CD16(+) and CD14(+low)CD16(+) subset cells, were significantly higher in MTX non-responders than in responders and healthy controls before starting and throughout treatment.
Autosomal recessive osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) accounts for 10% of all OI cases, and, currently, mutations in 10 genes (CRTAP, LEPRE1, PPIB, SERPINH1, FKBP10, SERPINF1, SP7, BMP1, TMEM38B, and WNT1) are known to be responsible for this form of the disease. PEDF is a secreted glycoprotein of the serpin superfamily that maintains bone homeostasis and regulates osteoid mineralization, and it is encoded by SERPINF1, currently associated with OI type VI (MIM 172860). Here, we report a consanguineous Brazilian family in which multiple individuals from at least 4 generations are affected with a severe form of OI, and we also report an unrelated individual from the same small city in Brazil with a similar but more severe phenotype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ability of olive endogenous enzymes β-glucosidase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POX), to determine the phenolic profile of virgin olive oil was investigated. Olives used for oil production were stored for one month at 20 °C and 4 °C and their phenolic content and enzymatic activities were compared to those of ripening olive fruits. Phenolic and volatile profiles of the corresponding oils were also analysed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Trisomy 9p is one of the most common partial trisomies found in newborns. We report the clinical features and cytogenomic findings in five patients with different chromosome rearrangements resulting in complete 9p duplication, three of them involving 9p centromere alterations.
Methods: The rearrangements in the patients were characterized by G-banding, SNP-array and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with different probes.
Androgenic imbalance may disrupt prostate development, leading to morphological alterations in adulthood and predisposing this gland to develop diseases during ageing. However, little is known about the endocrine disruption of the prostate that is caused by androgenic compounds, especially in female experimental models. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prostates of aged female gerbils exposed to testosterone at certain periods in intrauterine and postnatal life, to determine whether exposure at a particular age increases susceptibility to prostatic lesions in these animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously showed that Trypanosomacruzi infection in C57BL/6 mice results in a lethal infection linked to unbalanced pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators production. Here, we examined the dynamics of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells within this inflammatory and highly Th1-polarized environment. Treg cells showed a reduced proliferation rate and their frequency is progressively reduced along infection compared to effector T (Teff) cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Cytogenet
November 2014
Introduction: Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) is associated with endothelial dysfunction and proinflammatory effects. Maraviroc (MVC) is an antagonist of CCR5 receptor. CCR5 is the receptor of RANTES (Regulated on Activation, Normal T Cell Expressed and Secreted), a mediator of chronic inflammation and endothelial function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio (<1) has been identified as a hallmark of immunosenescence and an independent predictor of mortality in the general population. We aimed to assess the association between the CD4:CD8 ratio and intima-media thickness (IMT) progression in treated HIV-infected patients as a marker of early atherosclerosis.
Materials And Methods: A longitudinal study during three years was conducted in 120 HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART).
The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is able to target the thymus and induce alterations of the thymic microenvironmental and lymphoid compartments. Acute infection results in severe atrophy of the organ and early release of immature thymocytes into the periphery. To date, the pathophysiological effects of thymic changes promoted by parasite-inducing premature release of thymocytes to the periphery has remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effect of modifying polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POX) activity during the extraction of virgin olive oil has been assessed in terms of its influence on the phenolic profile of the oil produced. These enzymes were modified by adding exogenous enzyme or specific inhibitors during the milling and subsequent kneading step, studying the effect on specific phenolic compounds in the oils. PPO is the main enzyme involved in phenolic oxidation at the milling step whereas POX activity seems to be the main influence during the kneading step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Worsening renal function (WRF) associated with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibition does not confer excess risk in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between WRF and outcomes in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and the interaction with RAAS blockade.
Methods: In 3,595 patients included in the I-PRESERVE (Irbesartan in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction) trial, change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and development of WRF after initiation of irbesartan or placebo were examined.
Int J Technol Assess Health Care
July 2014
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab and tocilizumab compared with adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis not responding to first-line treatment, and to compare the efficacy and safety of rituximab versus tocilizumab in patients not responding to anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNF) therapy.
Methods: A literature search of randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and systematic reviews was performed to evaluate efficacy and safety of rituximab and tocilizumab.
Results: Twenty-four RCTs were included in this systematic review with 6,357 participants; 3,450 treated with biological DMARD and 2,907 with standard care.
In this work, the in vitro anti-Leishmania activity of photodynamic liposomes made of soybean phosphatidylcholine, sodium cholate, total polar archaeolipids (TPAs) extracted from the hyperhalophile archaea Halorubrum tebenquichense and the photosensitizer zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcAL) was compared to that of ultradeformable photodynamic liposomes lacking TPAs (ZnPcUDLs). We found that while ZnPcUDLs and ZnPcALs (130 nm mean diameter and -35 mV zeta potential) were innocuous against promastigotes, a low concentration (0.01 μM ZnPc and 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the usefulness of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (EUS-FNAC) in pancreatic lesions.
Study Design: During a 5-year period (2007-2011) a total of 391 patients with pancreatic lesions have been studied using EUS-FNAC, with 43 of them having cytohistological correlation with core biopsy or surgical specimens. The diagnostic performance of this technique with and without the pathologist in the endoscopy room has been compared.
The NS3 protein is a multifunctional non-structural protein of flaviviruses implicated in the polyprotein processing. The predominance of cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes epitopes on the NS3 protein suggests a protective role of this protein in limiting virus replication. In this work, we studied the antigenicity and immunogenicity of a recombinant NS3 protein of the Dengue virus 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF2-Phenylethanol (PEA), an important alcohol derived from phenylalanine, is involved in aroma and flavour of bakers' products. Four spontaneous mutants of an industrial bakers' yeast, V1 strain, were isolated for their resistance to p-fluoro-DL-phenylalanine (PFP), a toxic analogue of L-phenylalanine. Mutants overproduced this amino acid and showed variations in their internal pool for several other amino acids.
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