Growth hormone secretagogue peptide-6 enhances oreochromicins transcription and antimicrobial activity in tilapia (Oreochromis sp.).

Growth Hormone-Releasing Peptide 6 (GHRP-6) (His-(D-Trp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2) is an agonist of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. GHRP-6 mimics the effect of ghrelin. The present study focuses on the immunomodulatory effects of GHRP-6 in tilapia with and without the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

Catatonia-Induced Saddle Pulmonary Embolism.

In this case report, we highlight a patient with catatonia secondary to schizoaffective disorder, depressive type. This patient developed a bilateral deep venous thrombosis progressing to a saddle pulmonary embolism without any predisposing factors to hypercoagulability other than immobility and obesity. The goal of this case report is to increase monitoring and prophylactic treatment for deep venous thrombosis in patients with catatonia, retarded type.

You Are The One Who Was Beating Me": A Case Report of a Patient with Postictal Psychosis Secondary to Bilateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Postictal psychosis is a rare but potentially serious complication in patients with seizure disorders. There is no consensus on best practices in managing and treating postictal psychosis as well as other psychoses of epilepsy, but current research is investigating topics such as adherence to seizure medications and antipsychotic administration during or before psychosis and addressing psychosocial stressors as potential components of effective treatment. We present a case report detailing a patient's lengthy history of postictal psychosis due to her underlying temporal lobe epilepsy; her disease course as correlated by a diagnostic electroencephalogram (EEG), her history of medication nonadherence, and the treatment of postictal psychosis are also discussed.

Cosmological Constraints from Multiple Probes in the Dark Energy Survey.

The combination of multiple observational probes has long been advocated as a powerful technique to constrain cosmological parameters, in particular dark energy. The Dark Energy Survey has measured 207 spectroscopically confirmed type Ia supernova light curves, the baryon acoustic oscillation feature, weak gravitational lensing, and galaxy clustering. Here we present combined results from these probes, deriving constraints on the equation of state, w, of dark energy and its energy density in the Universe.

Assessment of IL-28: rs12979860 and rs8099917 Polymorphisms in a Cohort of Cuban Chronic HCV Genotype 1b Patients.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant global public health problem with >185 million infections worldwide. A series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has identified IL-28B polymorphisms as a predictor of sustained virologic response (SVR), as well as spontaneous clearance in chronic HCV genotype 1 patients. The objective of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of IL-28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 polymorphisms in Cuban chronic HCV patients.

PCR Conditions for 16S Primers for Analysis of Microbes in the Colon of Rats.

The study of the composition of the intestinal flora is important to the health of the host, playing a key role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and the evolution of the immune system. For these studies, various universal primers of the 16S rDNA gene are used in microbial taxonomy. Here, we report an evaluation of 5 universal primers to explore the presence of microbial DNA in colon biopsies preserved in RNAlater solution.

A methodology based on molecular interactions and pathways to find candidate genes associated to diseases: its application to schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

Experimental techniques for the identification of genes associated with diseases are expensive and have certain limitations. In this scenario, computational methods are useful tools to identify lists of promising genes for further experimental verification. This paper describes a flexible methodology for the in silico prediction of genes associated with diseases combining the use of available tools for gene enrichment analysis, gene network generation and gene prioritization.

Biotechnological potential of pectinolytic complexes of fungi.

Plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, such as cellulases, hemicellulases and pectinases, have been extensively studied because of their well documented biotechnological potential, mainly in the food industry. In particular, lytic enzymes from filamentous fungi have been the subject of a vast number of studies due both to their advantages as models for enzyme production and their characteristics. The demand for such enzymes is rapidly increasing, as are the efforts to improve their production and to implement their use in several industrial processes, with the goal of making them more efficient and environment-friendly.

Relationship of type 1 diabetes to ancestral proportions and HLA DR/DQ alleles in a sample of the admixed Cuban population.

Background: Incidence of type 1 diabetes varies widely around the world, probably due to ethnic differences across populations among other factors.

Aims: To determine whether there is an association between disease and ancestry proportions; and to control disease-HLA associations for possible confounding by admixture or population stratification.

Subjects And Methods: 100 cases and 129 controls participated in the study.

Admixture estimates for the population of Havana City.

Background: The Cuban population is essentially a result of the admixture between Spanish, West African and, to a lesser degree, Amerindian tribes that inhabited the island.

Aim: The study analysed the genetic structure of the three principal ethnic groups from Havana City, and the contribution of parental populations to its genetic pool.

Subjects And Methods: According to genealogical information and anthropological traits, 206 subjects were classified as Mulatto, of Spanish decent or of African descent.

Fecundity of the crustacean Mysidopsis californica (Mysida, Mysidae) under semi-controlled conditions.

Mysid crustaceans are frequently used in the laboratory to feed cephalopods and fish, but not along the Pacific coast, where they are scarce. There is no commercial aquaculture of mysids in the Pacific Ocean. To change this situation, we calculate fecundity, survival, and sex ratio of Mysidopsis californica under semi-controlled conditions.

HLA class I polymorphism in the Cuban population.

The extreme polymorphism found at some of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system loci makes it an invaluable tool for population genetic analyses. In the present study the genetic polymorphism of the Cuban population was estimated at HLA-A, -B, and -Cw loci by DNA typing. HLA class I allele and haplotype diversity were determined in 390 unrelated Cuban individuals (188 whites and 202 mulattos) from all over the country.

ACE I/D polymorphism study in a Cuban hypertensive population.

Background: The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is a key protein of the renin angiotensin system, whose main function is the conversion of angiotensin I to II. ACE is involved in the physiological control of blood pressure and it is a candidate gene for essential hypertension in humans. We tested the relevance of the ACE insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in our population.

HLA DQA1*0501 and DQB1*02 in Cuban celiac patients.

Celiac disease (CD) susceptibility has been strongly associated with HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. The main objective of this study was to assess the distribution of HLA DQA1*0501 and DQB1*02 alleles (DQ2) for the first time in a group of Cuban celiac patients. We evaluated 22 patients, 54 first-degree relatives, and 60 controls for detection of antitissue transglutaminase (tTG)-specific antibodies in serum.

Converting to a new incident reporting system.

The author discusses his department's conversion to a new incident reporting system--why the decision was made, how the program was set up and data were entered, the purchase and installation of new computers, the computer network itself, the flow plan for reports, how training was conducted, and what problems had to be overcome.

Security at a "model" psychiatric center.

The security problems faced by a recently opened psychiatric center located on the campus of a hospital--including staffing, fire safety, access control, patient restraints, and budget cuts--and how they are being dealt with.

Silicone oil in the management of giant retinal tears.

To evaluate the results of using and removing silicone oil in the management of giant retinal tears, 24 cases of vitrectomy with fluid-silicone oil exchange were reviewed. We did not use cryotherapy in any case. For chorioretinal adherence, we used either endolaser or postoperative external laser and a narrow buckle.

Retinal detachment after refractive surgery for myopia.

Refractive surgery has been used widely in some countries for the last 20 years for the correction of myopia. Radial keratotomy and keratomileusis, the most common procedures, may concur with retinal detachment. A total of 14 eyes in 12 patients, 7 after keratomileusis and 7 after radial keratotomy, which had either asymptomatic or symptomatic retinal breaks, subclinical and clinical rhegmatogenous retinal detachments, or both, are discussed here.

Extraction of intraocular foreign bodies by pars plana vitrectomy. A retrospective study.

We reviewed the medical records of 44 patients who underwent a pars plana vitrectomy to remove posttraumatic intraocular foreign bodies. The group most affected was that of males with a mean age of 28 years, who sustained a job injury, presenting with a single corneal laceration less than 2 mm in extension. There were 31 (70.

[Tolerance of the Mediterranean fly (Ceratitis capitata, Wiedmann) to malathion insecticide].

pupae of Ceratitis capitata that were about to hatch were sterilized with Gamma(10 krds). Residual Malathionr was applied at 0.001, 0.

Changes in simple and complex behaviors following kindled seizures in rats: opioid and nonopioid medication.

To learn more about postictal behaviors and their underlying mechanisms, five behaviors and EEG recordings were studied following fully generalized, kindled seizures in rats. The behaviors included bar pressing for food; tail withdrawal, squeak, and multiple squeak responses to painful tail shocks; consumption of freely available food; clinging to a vertical grid; and locomotion. Latencies from the end of a seizure afterdischarge until each behavior recovered were compared and were found to cluster in three distinct pairs.