Hypothalamic dopamine signaling regulates brown fat thermogenesis.

Dopamine signaling is a crucial part of the brain reward system and can affect feeding behavior. Dopamine receptors are also expressed in the hypothalamus, which is known to control energy metabolism in peripheral tissues. Here we show that pharmacological or chemogenetic stimulation of dopamine receptor 2 (D2R) expressing cells in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) and the zona incerta (ZI) decreases body weight and stimulates brown fat activity in rodents in a feeding-independent manner.

LED fluorescence microscopy in the diagnosis of tuberculosis: Fading and restaining of smears for external quality assessment.

Blinded rechecking is a method proposed for external quality assurance (EQA) of auramine-stained acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smears using fluorescence microscopy (FM), however, this procedure is not well developed and slides fading over time could compromise its implementation. Since bleaching of fluorescent molecules involves temperature-dependent chemical reactions, it is likely that low temperatures could slow down this process. We stored auramine-stained slides under different environmental conditions, including -20°C, and examined them over time.

[Intelligence quotient related with congenital hypotyroidism etiology].

Background: In Mexico, the congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a public health problem that has a national incidence ranging from 1:1951 to 1:2458 live births. It is the main endocrine cause of mental retardation. The objective was to evaluate the intelligence coefficient (IQ) of patients with CH using the Wechsler Scale (WS) and to correlate the degree of involvement with its etiology.

Rapid detection and quantitation of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in experimentally challenged rainbow trout by real-time RT-PCR.

A quantitative real-time RT-PCR (Q-RT-PCR) was developed to detect and determine the amount of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) in organs of experimentally infected rainbow trout. Primers and TaqMan probes targeting the glycoprotein (G) and the nucleoprotein (N) genes of the virus were designed. The efficiency, linear range and detection limit of the Q-RT-PCR were assessed on cell cultured virus samples.