Congenital syphilis: associated factors in a follow-up outpatient clinic.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the characteristics of mothers and children assisted in a follow-up clinic for congenital syphilis and identify the factors associated with the confirmation of the diagnosis.

Methods: This is a prospective study conducted from 2016 to 2019 in Montes Claros, Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Specific forms addressing maternal sociodemographic, behavioral, and lifestyle habit characteristics, as well as characteristics related to access to healthcare, were used.

Preventing vertical HIV virus transmission: hospital care assessment.

Objectives: assess the implementation of actions to prevent vertical transmission of HIV.

Methods: a retrospective cohort study conducted in two maternity hospitals in the city of Montes Claros, State of Minas Gerais. All women admitted for childbirth diagnosed with HIV and their respective newborns were included from 2014 to 2017.

Sexually transmitted infection and HIV/AIDS counseling practice in primary health care in the city of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2015-2016.

Objective: to investigate self-reported counseling practice of primary health care (PHC) professionals on sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV/AIDS in Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, 2015-2016.

Methods: this was a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire answered by PHC physicians and nurses; their practice was classified as being adequate/inadequate based on the recommendations of Ministry of Health manuals; four thematic areas were investigated - counseling provision; prevention measures; risk behavior and vulnerability assessment; serological testing.

Results: 146 professionals participated (41.

Phase-sensitive dynamic susceptibility setup for measurements in pulsed magnetic fields.

Dynamic susceptibility, commonly referred to as AC susceptibility, χ, is a powerful tool to characterize a material's magnetic properties in the presence of a magnetic field B, such as magnetic ordering or spin-relaxation phenomena. The standard technique for accessing χ is based on measurements of the voltage which is induced in a coil by changes of a sample's magnetization in response to a small oscillating magnetic field. Importantly, this setup allows for a phase-sensitive detection of the susceptibility, thereby providing information on the magnetization dynamics.

Cardiac fibroblast-derived microRNA passenger strand-enriched exosomes mediate cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.

In response to stress, the heart undergoes extensive cardiac remodeling that results in cardiac fibrosis and pathological growth of cardiomyocytes (hypertrophy), which contribute to heart failure. Alterations in microRNA (miRNA) levels are associated with dysfunctional gene expression profiles associated with many cardiovascular disease conditions; however, miRNAs have emerged recently as paracrine signaling mediators. Thus, we investigated a potential paracrine miRNA crosstalk between cardiac fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes and found that cardiac fibroblasts secrete miRNA-enriched exosomes.

Circulating long noncoding RNA, LIPCAR, predicts survival in patients with heart failure.

Rationale: Long noncoding RNAs represent a novel class of molecules regulating gene expression. Long noncoding RNAs are present in body fluids, but their potential as biomarkers was never investigated in cardiovascular disease.

Objective: To study the role of long noncoding RNAs as potential biomarkers in heart disease.

MicroRNAs in the bile of patients with biliary strictures after liver transplantation.

Biliary complications after liver transplantation remain a major cause of morbidity and reduced graft survival. Ischemic-type biliary lesions (ITBLs) are common and difficult to treat. The pathophysiology of ITBLs remains unclear, and diagnostic markers are still missing.

Functional microRNA library screening identifies the hypoxamir miR-24 as a potent regulator of smooth muscle cell proliferation and vascularization.

Unlabelled: Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are key components within the vasculature. Dependent on the stimulus, SMC can either be in a proliferative (synthetic) or differentiated state. Alterations of SMC phenotype also appear in several disease settings, further contributing to disease progression.

MicroRNA-mediated epigenetic silencing of sirtuin1 contributes to impaired angiogenic responses.

Rationale: Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β was linked to abnormal vessel function and can mediate impairment of endothelial angiogenic responses. Its effect on microRNAs and downstream targets in this context is not known.

Objective: To study the role of microRNAs in TGF-β-mediated angiogenic activity.

Circulating miR-133a and miR-423-5p fail as biomarkers for left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that the microRNAs miR-133a and miR-423-5p may serve as useful biomarkers in patients with left ventricular (LV) heart failure or with LV remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). These results were however obtained in small series of patients and control subjects were used as reference groups. Whether these microRNAs may be indicators of the degree of LV remodeling after MI is unknown.

Regulated microRNAs in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis: a case-control study.

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression and serve as promising therapeutic targets in many diseases. MiRNAs are also present in biological fluids and may be of use as disease biomarkers. We evaluated whether miRNAs are differentially regulated in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The miRNA-212/132 family regulates both cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyocyte autophagy.

Pathological growth of cardiomyocytes (hypertrophy) is a major determinant for the development of heart failure, one of the leading medical causes of mortality worldwide. Here we show that the microRNA (miRNA)-212/132 family regulates cardiac hypertrophy and autophagy in cardiomyocytes. Hypertrophic stimuli upregulate cardiomyocyte expression of miR-212 and miR-132, which are both necessary and sufficient to drive the hypertrophic growth of cardiomyocytes.

MicroRNA-22 increases senescence and activates cardiac fibroblasts in the aging heart.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non- coding RNA molecules controlling a plethora of biological processes such as development, cellular survival and senescence. We here determined miRs differentially regulated during cardiac postnatal development and aging. Cardiac function, morphology and miR expression profiles were determined in neonatal, 4 weeks, 6 months and 19 months old normotensive male healthy C57/Bl6N mice.

miRNA screening reveals a new miRNA family stimulating iPS cell generation via regulation of Meox2.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated by overexpression of Oct4, Sox2 and Klf4 in murine fibroblasts. By conducting a microRNA (miRNA) library screen, we identified a set of miRNAs critically regulating iPSC formation. We revealed a new miRNA family (miR-130/301/721) as an important regulator of iPSC induction by targeting the homeobox transcription factor Meox2 (also known as Gax).

Anaesthetic sparing effect of local anaesthesia of the ovarian pedicle during ovariohysterectomy in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of local anaesthesia of the mesovarium on end-tidal isoflurane (Fe'(iso)) concentration and vital parameters during canine ovariohysterectomy.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded study.

Animals: Twenty client-owned dogs undergoing elective ovariohysterectomy.

Inhaled nitric oxide inhibits platelet-leukocyte interactions in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Introduction: In addition to its effects on platelet function, recent studies suggest that inhaled nitric oxide (NO) also influences the function of circulating leukocytes. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the formation of platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs) and platelet and leukocyte cell surface receptor expression during NO therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Methods: In 16 patients responding to NO therapy with an improvement in oxygenation (NO group) and in four nonresponders (control), platelet P-selectin expression, platelet fibrinogen binding, the expression CD11a on leukocytes, and the formation of PLAs were investigated at 0, 60, 120, and 180 mins of therapy or at corresponding time points by means of flow cytometry.

Colour-coded duplex sonography of the testes of dogs.

Colour-coded duplex sonography was used to examine the testes of 42 dogs whose testes were normal on clinical examination. With colour Doppler, the blood flow in the supratesticular region could be displayed clearly in 70 per cent of the cases, independent of the dog's age, bodyweight, pulse rate and the volume of its testes. The marginal artery could be displayed clearly in 56 per cent of the cases, and the clarity was correlated with bodyweight (P<0.

Inhibition of lung phosphodiesterase improves responsiveness to inhaled nitric oxide in isolated-perfused lungs from rats challenged with endotoxin.

Objectives: To investigate the ability of phosphodiesterase (PDE) selective inhibitors to improve responsiveness to inhaled nitric oxide (NO) in isolated-perfused lungs of rats pretreated with endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Design And Setting: Prospective, controlled animal study in the animal research facility of a university hospital.

Interventions: Sixteen hours after adult Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally with 0.

Effects of intravenous Zaprinast and inhaled nitric oxide on pulmonary hemodynamics and gas exchange in an ovine model of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Inhaled nitric oxide (No) selectively dilates the pulmonary vasculature and improves gas exchange in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Because of the very short half-life of NO, inhaled NO is administered continuously. Intravenous Zaprinast (2-o-propoxyphenyl-8-azapurin-6-one), a cyclic guanosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase inhibitor, increases the efficacy and prolongs the duration of action of inhaled NO in models of acute pulmonary hypertension.

The use of transmigration and spermac stain to evaluate epididymal cat spermatozoa.

Epididymal spermatozoa of domestic cats were diluted with TEST medium and frozen. The parameters - estimated percentage of motile spermatozoa, concentration of spermatozoa, cell morphology and transmigration rate (TMR) - were evaluated before freezing and after thawing. Transmigration is a new method to measure the percentage of spermatozoa that consistently move forward, and has not been investigated with cat spermatozoa until now.

Randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded and cross-matched study on the antiplatelet effect of inhaled nitric oxide in healthy volunteers.

The platelet inhibitory effect of 0-40 ppm inhaled nitric oxide (NO) was investigated in healthy men and women. In both groups, ADP-and collagen-induced platelet aggregation was significantly inhibited 20 (T20) and 40 min (T40) after the beginning of inhalation of 5, 10, and 40 ppm. Moreover, in both men and women, the in vitro bleeding time was significantly prolonged at T20 and T40 during inhalation of 40 ppm.

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase prevents hyporesponsiveness to inhaled nitric oxide in lungs from endotoxin-challenged rats.

Background: Inhalation of nitric oxide (NO) selectively dilates the pulmonary circulation and improves arterial oxygenation in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In approximately 60% of patients with septic ARDS, minimal or no response to inhaled NO is observed. Because sepsis is associated with increased NO production by inducible NO synthase (NOS2), the authors investigated whether NOS inhibition alters NO responsiveness in rats exposed to gram-negative lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Pulmonary vasodilation by nitric oxide gas and prodrug aerosols in acute pulmonary hypertension.

Sodium 1-(N,N-diethylamino)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (DEA/NO; Et2N-[N(O)NO]Na) is a compound that spontaneously generates nitric oxide (NO). Because of its short half-life (2.1 min), we hypothesized that inhaling DEA/NO aerosol would selectively dilate the pulmonary circulation without decreasing systemic arterial pressure.

Selective pulmonary vasodilation by intravenous infusion of an ultrashort half-life nucleophile/nitric oxide adduct.

Background: PROLI/NO (C5H7N3O4Na2 x CH3OH) is an ultrashort-acting nucleophile/NO adduct that generates NO (half-life 2 s at 37 degrees C and pH 7.4). Because of its short half-life, the authors hypothesized that intravenous administration of this compound would selectively dilate the pulmonary vasculature but cause little or no systemic hypotension.

Nitric oxide and sepsis.

The ability of NO to control microcirculatory blood flow, maintain vascular integrity, and act as an antiinflammatory mediator appears to be dependent on endothelial-derived NO. The function of excess NO production by iNOS in sepsis and septic shock is unclear but iNOS-derived NO may contribute to systemic hypotension. The use of more specific inhibitors for iNOS will help to define the role of iNOS in sepsis.