Immune biomarkers and anti-HIV activity in the reproductive tract of sexually active and sexually inactive adolescent girls.

Problem: Adolescent girls are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, accounting for 22% of all new HIV infections globally. Yet little is known regarding the immune microenvironment of the adolescent female reproductive tract, especially regarding differences among sexually active and inactive girls, a critical parameter to evaluate HIV susceptibility associated with young age and sexual debut.

Methods: Cervico-vaginal lavage (CVL) was collected from sexually active (10) and inactive (8) girls aged 11-19 years and analyzed by ELISA for inflammation-associated biomarkers IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, MIP-3α, IL-1α, IL-1β, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, as well as anti-HIV mediators, Elafin, SLPI, human beta-defensin 2, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP) 1 and 2.

FTIR spectroscopy of woods: A new approach to study the weathering of the carving face of a sculpture.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), a useful method to study woods, has been applied in order to measure an eventual gradient of water absorbed (more precisely, hydroxyl groups, OH) between the surface and the inner part of an ancient and a modern wooden sculptures. The methodology adopted has consisted in comparing FTIR bands within two spectral ranges, one corresponding to the OH content in the wood (around 3400cm(-1)) and the other to the lignin molecules (aromatic CC, around 1610cm(-1)). The ratio between the intensities of the peaks leads to a self-normalization of the measurements which avoids the effects of some experimental parameters (such as sample preparation).

Absence of bacterial imprints on struvite-containing kidney stones: a structural investigation at the mesoscopic and atomic scale.

Objective: Bacterial imprints are always observed on highly carbonated apatite kidney stones but not struvite kidney stones. Struvite and carbonated apatite stones with a high CO(3)(2-)/PO(4)(3-) rate are believed to develop from infections, but their structural differences at the mesoscopic scale lack explanation.

Methods: We investigated 17 urinary calculi composed mainly of struvite or carbonated apatite by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and powder neutron diffraction techniques.

Comparison of peak muscle power between Brazilian and French girls.

This study examined the muscle power of Brazilian circumpubertal girls and extended the analysis to a cross-cultural dimension. A total of 462 children, 123 Brazilian girls and 339 French girls, 9-18 years, participated in this investigation. Anthropometric data included body mass (BM), height, skinfold thicknesses, and estimated lean leg volume (LLV).

[Effect of pancreatic islet cell allotransplantation on humoral immunity parameters].

The authors measured IgG, IgM, IgA, and natural sheep hemagglutinin (NSH) before and after fetal pancreatic culture allotransplantation to patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Patients with IDDM were found to have higher NSH levels than healthy donors. Secondary transplantations caused a more pronounced increase of NSH level than the initial ones.