Sequential Social Exclusion in a Novel Cyberball Paradigm Leads to Reduced Behavioral Repair and Plasma Oxytocin in Borderline Personality Disorder.

Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show interpersonal deficits, and altered emotional and oxytocin (OT) responses to social exclusion (Cyberball). In order to extend previous findings, this study applies a novel Cyberball variant. Nineteen BPD patients and 56 healthy controls (HC) played Cyberball for 2 minutes of inclusion, 5 minutes of partial exclusion by one of two co-players, and 2 minutes total exclusion by both.

Oxytocin and bone quality in the femoral neck of rats in periestropause.

The objective of this study is to identify whether oxytocin (OT) contributes to the reduction of osteopenia in the femoral neck of rats in periestropause. Animals in irregular estrous cycles received two NaCl injections (0.15 mol/L) or OT (134 μg/kg) over a 12-h interval, and after thirty-five days without treatments, the biological sample collection was performed.

Regular dental care in preschoolers in rural Southern Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate if factors related to the mother's previous guidance on her children's dental health and the school attendance of children influence the regular dental care of preschoolers living in the rural area of a municipality in Southern Brazil.

Methods: A population-based study was conducted with 264 children under five years of age and their mothers. Socioeconomic and behavioral data were collected using a questionnaire, and the children were subjected to dental health tests.

Production of rotavirus core-like particles in Sf9 cells using recombinase-mediated cassette exchange.

A flexible Sf9 insect cell line was recently developed leveraging the recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) technology, which competes with the popular baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) in terms of speed to produce new proteins. Herein, the ability of this cell platform to produce complex proteins, such as rotavirus core-like particles, was evaluated. A gene construct coding for a VP2-GFP fusion protein was targeted to a pre-characterized high recombination efficiency locus flanked by flipase (Flp) recognition target sites and, after three weeks in selection, an isogenic cell population was obtained.

Insect cell line development using FLP-mediated cassette exchange technology.

Traditional cell line development is quite laborious and time-consuming as it is based on the random integration of the gene of interest which leads to unpredictable expression behavior. In opposition, recombinase-mediated cassette exchange systems represent a powerful genetic engineering approach, allowing site-specific insertion of recombinant genes into pre-tagged genomic loci with superior expression characteristics, thus bypassing the need for extensive clone screening and shortening the development timelines. Such systems have not been widely implemented in insect cell lines used for the production of recombinant proteins most commonly through the baculovirus expression vector system.

A cell sorting protocol for selecting high-producing sub-populations of Sf9 and High Five™ cells.

Insect cell lines such as Sf9 and High Five™ have been widely used to produce recombinant proteins mostly by the lytic baculovirus vector system. We have recently established an expression platform in Sf9 cells using a fluorescence-based recombinase mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) strategy which has similar development timelines but avoids baculovirus infection. To expedite cell engineering efforts, a robust fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) protocol optimized for insect cells was developed here.

Insect cells as a production platform of complex virus-like particles.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are multiprotein structures that resemble the conformation of native viruses but lack a viral genome, potentiating their application as safer and cheaper vaccines. The production of VLPs has been strongly linked with the use of insect cells and the baculovirus expression vector system, especially those particles composed of two or more structural viral proteins. In fact, this expression platform has been extensively improved over the years to address the challenges of coexpression of multiple proteins and their proper assembly into complexes in the same cell.

Flipase-mediated cassette exchange in Sf9 insect cells for stable gene expression.

Site-specific DNA integration allows predictable heterologous gene expression and circumvents extensive clone screening. Herein, the establishment of a Flipase (Flp)-mediated cassette exchange system in Sf9 insect cells for targeted gene integration is described. A tagging cassette harboring a reporter dsRed gene was randomly introduced into the cell genome after screening different transfection protocols.

Appendectomy. Comparative study between a public and a private hospital.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare data of patients submitted to appendectomy for acute appendicitis at a public hospital and at a private hospital.

Methods: A total of 200 medical records of patients submitted to appendectomy for acute appendicitis at a public hospital (n=100) and at a private hospital (n=100), was reviewed retrospectively.

Results: Mean age and gender distribution were similar for patients of both hospitals.

Complications of laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy including one case of atypical mycobacterial infection.

Background: Although laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy is considered safe, several complications may occur. This study aimed to evaluate the complications observed in 780 laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphies at the authors' hospital.

Methods: All the patients who underwent laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy at the authors' hospital during a period of 11 years were enrolled retrospectively in this study.

[Human infection by the cowpox virus in the microregion of Itajubá, state of Minas Gerais: case report].

The authors report three human cases of cowpox infection, among farm workers who were manually milking infected cows, in the microregion of Itajubá, Minas Gerais. The diagnostic techniques used were: isolation of samples similar to the vaccinia virus, from skin lesion secretions; polymerase chain reaction; electronic microscopy; and antibodies for Orthopoxvirus in the patients' blood.