Sweet's syndrome: study of 73 cases, emphasizing histopathological findings.

Background: Sweet's syndrome refers to a set of cutaneous, systemic and histopathological alterations that occur in response to different stimuli, in a similar way to that occurring in erythema nodosum, erythema multiforme and leukocytoclastic vasculitis. The syndrome has been described in association with conditions such as infections, pregnancy, the use of certain medications and malignancy.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical and histopathological alterations occurring in this syndrome and to assess the association between these alterations and other conditions.

Intestinal inflammation allows Salmonella to use ethanolamine to compete with the microbiota.

Conventional wisdom holds that microbes support their growth in vertebrate hosts by exploiting a large variety of nutrients. We show here that use of a specific nutrient (ethanolamine) confers a marked growth advantage on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in the lumen of the inflamed intestine.

A directed miniscreen for genes involved in the Drosophila anti-parasitoid immune response.

Drosophila larvae react against eggs from the endoparasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardi by surrounding them in a multilayered cellular capsule. Once a wasp egg is recognized as foreign, circulating macrophage-like cells, known as plasmatocytes, adhere to the invader. After spreading around the wasp egg, plasmatocytes form cellular junctions between the cells, effectively separating the egg from the hemocoel.

Porphyromonas gingivalis antigens differently participate in the proliferation and cell death of human PBMC.

Objective: Modulation of cell-mediated immunity by microorganisms in periodontal diseases has been widely studied; however, the proliferative activity and/or programmed death of mononuclear cells under periodontopathogenic stimuli are not yet well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro proliferation and death of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) upon stimulation with Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) antigens.

Design: In 19 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and 16 controls without periodontitis (NP) the following clinical parameters were evaluated: bleeding on probing, probing depth, and clinical attachment level.

Interactions of the human pathogenic Brucella species with their hosts.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused primarily by the bacterial pathogens Brucella melitensis and B. abortus. It is acquired by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products or by contact with infected animals.

New silicon architectures by gold-assisted chemical etching.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were produced by nanosphere lithography and metal assisted chemical etching. The combination of these methods allows the morphology and organization control of Si NWs on a large area. From the investigation of major parameters affecting the etching such as doping type, doping concentration of the substrate, we demonstrate the formation of new Si architectures consisting of organized Si NW arrays formed on a micro/mesoporous silicon layer with different thickness.

Development and validation of a risk model for prediction of hazardous alcohol consumption in general practice attendees: the predictAL study.

Background: Little is known about the risk of progression to hazardous alcohol use in people currently drinking at safe limits. We aimed to develop a prediction model (predictAL) for the development of hazardous drinking in safe drinkers.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of adult general practice attendees in six European countries and Chile followed up over 6 months.

Induction of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-10, IL-8 and immunoglobulin G by Porphyromonas gingivalis HmuY in humans.

Background And Objective: Porphyromonas gingivalis, an anaerobic gram-negative bacterium, is associated with chronic periodontitis. This study was undertaken to evaluate the production of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8 and IL-10 by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with P. gingivalis antigens and to assess the levels of serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA and IgG subclasses raised against P.

Influence of creatine supplementation on bone quality in the ovariectomized rat model: an FT-Raman spectroscopy study.

The influence of creatine (Cr) supplementation on cortical and trabecular bone from ovariectomized rats was studied using FT-Raman spectroscopy. The intensity of organic-phase Raman bands was compared to mineral phase ones. Twenty-one female Wistar rats aged 3 months were divided into three groups (n = 7 per group): ovariectomized (OVX), ovariectomized treated with creatine (CRE) and sham-operated (SHAM) groups.

Functional and morphometric differences between the early and delayed use of phototherapy in crushed median nerves of rats.

This study evaluated the functional and quantitative differences between the early and delayed use of phototherapy in crushed median nerves. After a crush injury, low-level laser therapy (GaAs) was applied transcutaneously at the injury site, 3 min daily, with a frequency of five treatments per week for 2 weeks. In the early group, the first laser treatment started immediately after surgery, and in the delayed group, after 7 days.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in primary focal dystonia: a controlled study.

Primary focal dystonia is an idiopathic neurological disorder causing involuntary muscle contraction. Its pathophysiology probably involves the basal ganglia and cortical-basal pathways. Primary dystonia appears to be associated with significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but evidence remains scarce and contradictory.

Heavy episodic drinking in Europe: a cross section study in primary care in six European countries.

Aims: We examined the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking in general practice attenders who were non-hazardous drinkers, the associated risk factors and the outcome over 6 months.

Methods: Consecutive attenders aged 18-75 were recruited from the UK, Spain, Slovenia, Estonia, the Netherlands and Portugal and followed up after 6 months. Data were collected on alcohol use using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification test (at recruitment and 6 months) and risk factors for heavy episodic alcohol use at recruitment.

Depression, anxiety and physical function: exploring the strength of causality.

Background: Depression, anxiety and physical function may be bi-directionally related. We aim to estimate the strength of the longitudinal associations between depression, anxiety and physical function.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of general practice attendees across Europe (N=4757) assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months.

Antioxidant, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory properties of the ethanolic extract of Combretum duarteanum in rodents.

The antioxidant, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethanolic extract from leaves of Combretum duarteanum (EEC) were assessed in rodents through in vitro tests. The antioxidant activity was investigated by using thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), hydroxyl radical-scavenging, and scavenging activity of nitric oxide assays. The antinociceptive activity was investigated by using acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin, and hot-plate tests in mice.

The Rho-family GTPase Rac1 regulates integrin localization in Drosophila immunosurveillance cells.

Background: When the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardi lays an egg in a Drosophila larva, phagocytic cells called plasmatocytes and specialized cells known as lamellocytes encapsulate the egg. The Drosophila β-integrin Myospheroid (Mys) is necessary for lamellocytes to adhere to the cellular capsule surrounding L. boulardi eggs.

Early MyD88-dependent induction of interleukin-17A expression during Salmonella colitis.

The development of T helper 17 (T(H)17) cells is a well-established adaptive mechanism for the production of interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a cytokine involved in neutrophil recruitment. However, pathways contributing to mucosal expression of IL-17A during the initial phase of a bacterial infection have received less attention. Here we used the mouse colitis model of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium infection to investigate the contribution of myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88) to inflammation and mucosal IL-17A expression.

Predicting the onset of major depression in primary care: international validation of a risk prediction algorithm from Spain.

Background: The different incidence rates of, and risk factors for, depression in different countries argue for the need to have a specific risk algorithm for each country or a supranational risk algorithm. We aimed to develop and validate a predictD-Spain risk algorithm (PSRA) for the onset of major depression and to compare the performance of the PSRA with the predictD-Europe risk algorithm (PERA) in Spanish primary care.

Method: A prospective cohort study with evaluations at baseline, 6 and 12 months.

A major gene effect controls resistance to caries.

Despite recent advances revealing genetic factors influencing caries susceptibility, questions regarding the model of inheritance involved are yet to be addressed. We conducted a Complex Segregation Analysis on decayed teeth in a sample of homogenous, isolated families recruited from the Brazilian Amazon. A dominant, major gene effect controlling resistance to phenotype was detected.

How to become a top model: impact of animal experimentation on human Salmonella disease research.

Salmonella serotypes are a major cause of human morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the past decades, a series of animal models have been developed to advance vaccine development, provide insights into immunity to infection, and study the pathogenesis of human Salmonella disease. The successive introduction of new animal models, each suited to interrogate previously neglected aspects of Salmonella disease, has ushered in important conceptual advances that continue to have a strong and sustained influence on the ideas driving research on Salmonella serotypes.

Putative ATP-binding cassette transporter is essential for Brucella ovis pathogenesis in mice.

Brucella ovis is a major cause of reproductive failure in sheep, which is associated with epididymitis and infertility in rams. Importantly, B. ovis is one of the few Brucella species that is not zoonotic.

An international risk prediction algorithm for the onset of generalized anxiety and panic syndromes in general practice attendees: predictA.

Background: There are no risk models for the prediction of anxiety that may help in prevention. We aimed to develop a risk algorithm for the onset of generalized anxiety and panic syndromes.

Method: Family practice attendees were recruited between April 2003 and February 2005 and followed over 24 months in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Slovenia (Europe4 countries) and over 6 months in The Netherlands, Estonia and Chile.

Enteric pathology and Salmonella-induced cell death in healthy and SIV-infected rhesus macaques.

The goal of this study was to morphologically characterize a ligated ileal loop model of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium infection in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and to verify the occurrence of Salmonella-induced cell death in vivo. Eight adult healthy male rhesus macaques were used for ligated ileal loop surgery. Four macaques had been intravenously inoculated with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) mac251.

Preoperative respiratory muscle dysfunction is a predictor of prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation in cardiorespiratory complications after heart valve surgery.

Objective: To verify whether preoperative respiratory muscle strength and ventilometric parameters, among other clinically relevant factors, are associated with the need for prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation (PIMV) due to cardiorespiratory complications following heart valve surgery.

Methods: Demographics, preoperative ventilometric and manometric data, and the hospital course of 171 patients, who had undergone heart valve surgery at Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, were prospectively collected and subjected to univariate analysis for identifying the risk factors for PIMV.

Results: The hospital mortality was 7%.

Pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with morbid obesity six months after bariatric surgery.

Purpose: To investigate the body weight, pulmonary function and quality of life of twenty patients with morbid obesity six months after the Fobi-Capella operation.

Methods: Patients were evaluated before and six months after surgery. The patients were mainly female (75%), the average age was 40.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT; 780 nm) acts differently on mRNA expression of anti- and pro-inflammatory mediators in an experimental model of collagenase-induced tendinitis in rat.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been found to produce anti-inflammatory effects in a variety of disorders. Tendinopathies are directly related to unbalance in expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines which are responsible by degeneration process of tendinocytes. In the current study, we decided to investigate if LLLT could reduce mRNA expression for TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β cytokines, and COX-2 enzyme.