Preprocessing of spectroscopic data to highlight spectral features of materials.

The study of the extensive data sets generated by spectrometers, which are of the type commonly referred to as big data, plays a crucial role in extracting valuable information on mineral composition in various fields, such as chemistry, geology, archaeology, pharmacy and anthropology. The analysis of these spectroscopic data falls into the category of big data, which requires the application of advanced statistical methods such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis. However, the large amount of data (big data) recorded by spectrometers makes it very difficult to obtain reliable results from raw data.

Lower Microscopy Sensitivity with Decreasing Malaria Prevalence in the Urban Amazon Region, Brazil, 2018-2021.

Malaria is increasingly diagnosed in urban centers across the Amazon Basin. In this study, we combined repeated prevalence surveys over a 4-year period of a household-based random sample of 2,774 persons with parasite genotyping to investigate the epidemiology of malaria in Mâncio Lima, the main urban transmission hotspot in Amazonian Brazil. We found that most malarial infections were asymptomatic and undetected by point-of-care microscopy.

Changing Clinical Epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax Malaria as Transmission Decreases: Population-Based Prospective Panel Survey in the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: Malarial infections are often missed by microscopy, and most parasite carriers are asymptomatic in low-endemicity settings. Whether parasite detectability and its ability to elicit symptoms change as transmission declines remains unclear.

Methods: We performed a prospective panel survey with repeated measurements on the same participants over 12 months to investigate whether Plasmodium vivax detectability by microscopy and risk of symptoms upon infection varied during a community-wide larviciding intervention in the Amazon basin of Brazil that markedly reduced vector density.

Personality Factors as Predictors in Burnout Level Changes for Surgical Area Nurses.

Surgical area nurses provide comprehensive care to patients throughout the surgical process. Increases in life expectancy lead to the appearance and development of diseases, translating into an increase in the number of necessary interventions. Increases in the workload can be another risk factor for the development of burnout in professionals in this area.

A new generation of cellulose triacetate suitable for online haemodiafiltration.

Background: Online haemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) is currently the most effective dialysis technique that also improves survival. To date, high permeability membranes with low albumin loss, such as polysulfone, polyamide and polyacrylonitrile membranes have been the most widely used. However, the initially restricted use of cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes in OL-HDF has expanded.

Pharmacokinetic and Bioequivalence Studies of a Newly Developed Branded Generic of Candesartan Cilexetil Tablets in Healthy Volunteers.

Two bioavailability/bioequivalence studies were carried out to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of candesartan cilexetil 16-mg tablet formulations. A pilot study was used to optimize the formulation and manufacturing process prior to conducting the definitive study. The pilot study was a single-dose, randomized, 2-period crossover, and the definitive study was a single-dose, randomized, 3-period, 6-sequence crossover study in healthy adults.

Different proinflammatory cytokine serum pattern in neonate patients undergoing open heart surgery. Relevance of IL-8.

The purpose of this work was to investigate the clinical significance of serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines in pediatric patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. We divided the patients in two groups: 8 neonates, and 19 non-newborn children. IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF serum levels were quantified before sternotomy, at admission to the PICU (30 min postoperatively), 24 h after the onset of surgery and 3 days after the operation.

MHC class II expression restricted to CD8alpha+ and CD11b+ dendritic cells is sufficient for control of Leishmania major.

Control of the intracellular protozoan, Leishmania major, requires major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II)-dependent antigen presentation and CD4+ T cell T helper cell 1 (Th1) differentiation. MHC II-positive macrophages are a primary target of infection and a crucial effector cell controlling parasite growth, yet their function as antigen-presenting cells remains controversial. Similarly, infected Langerhans cells (LCs) can prime interferon (IFN)gamma-producing Th1 CD4+ T cells, but whether they are required for Th1 responses is unknown.

Relationship between response to interferon-alpha and function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic hepatitis C patients.

The factors responsible for the low response of chronic hepatitis C patients to interferon-a treatment are not fully understood, although it is known that interferon requires an efficient host immune response to achieve viral clearance. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that hepatitis C virus infection is associated with functional impairment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which influence the response to interferon. The proliferative and apoptotic responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified T cells stimulated with polyclonal mitogenic signals were assessed in 35 chronic hepatitis C patients and 30 healthy controls.

Newborn patients exhibit an unusual pattern of interleukin 10 and interferon gamma serum levels in response to cardiac surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of serum levels of interleukin 10 and interferon gamma in pediatric patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: We divided the patients into 2 groups: 8 neonates and 19 non-newborn children. Interleukin 10 and interferon gamma serum levels were quantified before sternotomy, at admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (30 minutes postoperatively), 24 hours after the onset of the operation, and 3 days after the operation.

The internal rotavirus protein VP6 primes for an enhanced neutralizing antibody response.

We studied in the rotavirus system whether the internal protein VP6 could prime for an enhancement in the production of neutralizing antibodies (NeuAb) against the external proteins, VP7 and VP4. It was found that BALB/c mice immunized with recombinant YM VP6 protein, and challenged i.p.

High prevalence of serum antibodies to Ras and type 16 E4 proteins of human papillomavirus in patients with precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix.

Serum samples from 38 healthy women and 55 women with different types of cervical lesions were investigated for the presence of antibodies to Ras and against E4 and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16). Our results showed that anti-E7 antibodies were closely associated with cervical cancer (75%), as previously reported. Interestingly, E4 antibodies showed higher prevalence in condyloma lesions (79%; 11/14) than in cervical cancer (60%; 12/20).

Defective proliferative response of T lymphocytes from patients with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To further define the pattern of alterations in the activation and apoptosis of T lymphocytes in patients with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through analysis of a large series of individuals.

Methods: We isolated CD2+ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 41 patients with inactive SLE and analyzed their proliferative and apoptotic responses to polyclonal activation.

Results: In 19 of 41 (47%) patients, a low proliferative response to polyclonal mitogens was found.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) transiently suppresses mitogen-stimulated T-cell proliferative response.

Granulocyte colony-stimulation factor (G-CSF) is a cytokine that selectively promotes growth and maturation of neutrophils and may modulate the cytokine response to inflammatory stimuli. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of G-CSF on ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) functions. Ten patients with breast cancer were included in a clinical trial in which r-metHuG-CSF was administered daily for 5 days to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells.

Immunological changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma after low doses of subcutaneous immunotherapy with IFN-alpha-2b and IL-2.

To elucidate the immunologic changes induced by low doses of subcutaneous interferon (IFN)-alpha-2b plus interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer, we have studied a group of eight patients undergoing two cycles of immunotherapy after radical nephrectomy. Natural killer (NK) cytotoxic activity, proliferative response to T-lymphocyte mitogens, and phenotypic profile of T and NK cells were determined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) before and after each cycle. No significant differences were found in either of the studies realized between untreated patients and their counterpart healthy controls.

Altered pattern of cytokine production by peripheral blood CD2+ cells from B chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients.

To determine if activation-induced cytokine production is altered in CD2+ lymphocytes from B-CLL patients, cytokine levels were determined by ELISA in supernatants of PHA-stimulated cultures of CD2+ cells from 33 B-CLL patients and 22 healthy controls. The production of Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-alpha) by mitogen-activated CD2+ lymphocytes from B-CLL patients was higher than that found in healthy controls, while no differences were found in TNF-beta production. IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha levels determined at 72 h in PHA-stimulated CD2+ cell cultures from B-CLL patients statistically correlated with the percentages of CD3+CD45RO+ and CD3-CD56+ lymphocytes, respectively.

Morphological variants of leukemic cells in B chronic lymphocytic leukemia are associated with different T cell and NK cell abnormalities.

B chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is a heterogeneous disease. The different morphological variants of leukemic B cells appear to define different clinical groups of patients. Several abnormalities have been found in T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells from B-CLL patients.

Identification of a T-helper cell epitope on the rotavirus VP6 protein.

In this work, we have studied the T-helper (Th)-cell response against rotavirus, in a mouse model. Adult BALB/c mice were inoculated parenterally with porcine rotavirus YM, and the Th-cell response from spleen cells against the virus and two overlapping fragments of the major capsid protein VP6 (VP6(1-192) and VP6(171-397)) were evaluated in vitro. The Th cells recognized the YM virus and the two protein fragments, suggesting that there are at least two Th-cell epitopes on the VP6 molecule.

Structure of the N-linked oligosaccharides of MHC class I molecules from cells deficient in the antigenic peptide transporter. Implications for the site of peptide association.

Class I molecules are N-linked glycoproteins encoded by the MHC. They carry cytosolic protein-derived peptides to the cell surface, displaying them to enable immune surveillance of cellular processes. Peptides are delivered to class I molecules by the transporter associated with Ag processing (TAP).

Assembly, intracellular localization, and nucleotide binding properties of the human peptide transporters TAP1 and TAP2 expressed by recombinant vaccinia viruses.

The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) transports short peptides from the cytosol to the endoplasmic reticulum, where peptides assemble with class I molecules of the major histocompatibility complex. TAP is comprised of two subunits, termed TAP1 and TAP2. We produced recombinant vaccinia viruses that direct synthesis of the TAP subunits, either individually or together.

Effect of TAP on the generation and intracellular trafficking of peptide-receptive major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.

Using a fluorescein-conjugated antigenic peptide, peptide-receptive H-2Kb MHC class I molecules were found throughout the secretory pathways of RMA cells and peptide transporter (TAP)-deficient derivative cells (RMA/S). RMA/S cells displayed higher levels of intracellular peptide-receptive molecules, while, surprisingly, RMA cells expressed 3- to 5-fold more cell surface peptide-receptive molecules. Metabolic radiolabeling of Kb-associated oligosaccharides with [1-3H]galactose demonstrated that despite a large difference in the fraction of Kb molecules in native conformation in detergent extracts, Kb transport rates from the trans-Golgi complex to the surfaces of RMA and RMA/S cells were similar.

Molecular mechanisms used by tumors to escape immune recognition: immunogenetherapy and the cell biology of major histocompatibility complex class I.

In this article, we explore the hypothesis that tumor cells can escape recognition by CD8+ T cells via deficiencies in antigen processing and presentation. Aspects of the molecular and cellular biology of major histocompatibility complex class I are reviewed. Evidence for histology-specific molecular mechanisms in the antigen-processing and -presentation deficiencies observed in some human and murine tumors is presented.