Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection in Twin Pregnancy

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the preeminent congenital viral infections, and despite its potential morbidity, uncertainty about its physiopathology, prevention and treatment remains until now. We report a case of a dichorionic and diamniotic twin pregnancy in which only one of the fetus had signs of being affected. The first twin had prenatal diagnosis of intrauterine growth restriction and hyperechogenic bowel, attributable to CMV infection, while there was no evidence of infection of the second one. Prenatal treatment was done with maternal administration of valacyclovir and postnatal treatment of the infected newborn with oral valganciclovir with normal neurodevelopment assessment at 12 months corrected age. In this case, maternal CMV infection was not equally transmitted to both fetuses, suggesting that there may be intrinsic fetal and placental factors influencing both transmission and the clinical features of the infection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of biofilm formation on acrylic resin surfaces coated with silicon dioxide: an in situ study.

Biofilm on acrylic resin dental prostheses may cause gingival inflammation. This study evaluated the influence of a silicon dioxide coating layer applied onto acrylic resin on the adhesion of microorganisms. Blocks (5 x 5 x 3 mm) of acrylic resin were evaluated for surface roughness and divided into two groups: control (CG) and coated with silicon dioxide (LG group). The specimens were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (n = 1) and by contact angle analysis (n = 3). For the in situ study, 20 volunteers wore acrylic palatal devices containing three samples from each group (n = 60) for 2 days. The biofilm formed was quantified by metabolic activity and total biomass using the crystal violet assay. The results were subjected to Bartlett's normality test and Gamma model with random effect for the response variable (α = 5%). The mean contact angle of the coated group was significantly lower than that of the uncoated group (p < 0.05). The metabolic activity of microorganisms in the biofilm on the blocks treated with coating was significantly lower than that of control blocks (p = 0.02). Regarding the amount of extracellular matrix produced by the microorganisms, there was no difference between the CG and LG group (p = 0.05). The application of a silicon dioxide coating on acrylic resin reduced the activity of the polymicrobial biofilm formed in situ. This coating may be advantageous for patients with conventional complete dentures or implants made of acrylic resin and who have motor difficulties that prevent them from cleaning their prostheses properly

Th17 cells in systemic lupus erythematosus share functional features with Th17 cells from normal bone marrow and peripheral tissues

This study was designed to investigate the functional heterogeneity of human Th17 and how their plasticity shapes the nature of immune cell responses to inflammation and autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We evaluated functional Th17 cell subsets based on the profile of cytokine production in peripheral blood (PB), bone marrow aspirates (BM) and lymph node biopsies (LN) from healthy individuals (n = 35) and PB from SLE patients (n = 34). Data were analysed by an automated method for merging and calculation of flow cytometric data, allowing us to identify eight Th17 subpopulations. Normal BM presented lower frequencies of Th17 (p = 0.006 and p = 0.05) and lower amount of IL-17 per cell (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02), compared to normal PB and LN biopsies. In the latter tissues were found increased proportions of Th17 producing TNF-α or TNF-α/IL-2 or IFN-γ/TNF-α/IL-2, while in BM, Th17 producing other cytokines than IL-17 was clearly decreased. In SLE patients, the frequency of Th17 was higher than in control, but the levels of IL-17 per cell were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Among the eight generated subpopulations, despite the great functional heterogeneity of Th17 in SLE, a significant low proportion of Th17 producing TNF-α was found in inactive SLE, while active SLE showed a high proportion producing only IL-17. Our findings support the idea that the functional heterogeneity of Th17 cells could depend on the cytokine microenvironment, which is distinct in normal BM as well as in active SLE, probably due to a Th1/Th2 imbalance previously reported by our group

Stereology shows that damaged liver recovers after protein refeeding

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the putative effects of a low-protein diet on the three-dimensional structure of hepatocytes and determine whether this scenario could be reversed by restoring the adequate levels of protein to the diet. Methods: Using design-based stereology, the total number and volume of hepatocytes were estimated in the liver of mice in healthy and altered (by protein malnutrition) conditions and after protein renutrition. Results: This study demonstrated a 65% decrease in the liver volume (3302 mm3 for the control for undernourished versus 1141 mm3 for the undernourished group) accompanied by a 46% reduction in the hepatocyte volume (8223 μm3 for the control for undernourished versus 4475 μm3 for the undernourished group) and a 90% increase in the total number of binucleate hepatocytes (1 549 393 for the control for undernourished versus 2 941 353 for the undernourished group). Reinstating a normoproteinic diet (12% casein) proved to be effective in restoring the size of hepatocytes, leading to an 85% increase in the total number of uninucleate hepatocytes (15 988 560 for the undernourished versus 29 600 520 for the renourished group), and partially reversed the liver atrophy. Conclusions: Awareness of these data will add to a better morphologic understanding of malnutrition-induced hepatopathies and will help clinicians improve the diagnosis and treatment of this condition in humans and in veterinary practice

Data on prevalence and risk factors associated with Toxocara spp infection, atopy and asthma development in Northeast Brazilian school children.

In the present article, we provide shortly, data on risk factors for acquiring Toxocara spp. infection and investigate possible associations between this infection with atopy and asthma in school children of a small town and its semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil. The data set are composed by demographic, social and home environment variables. The detection of anti-Toxocara spp. IgG and specific IgE to aeroallergens was determined by ELISA and ImmunocAP/Phadiatrope systems, respectively. The data presented in this article are related to the article entitled "Risk factors for Toxocara spp. seroprevalence and its association with atopy and asthma phenotypes in school-age children in a small town and semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil" (M.B. Silva, A.L. Amor, L.N. Santos, A.A. Galvão, A.V. Oviedo Vera, E.S. Silva et al., 2016) [1]

Indoor Air Quality in Elderly Centers: Pollutants Emission and Health Effects

The world population is ageing, in particular in the developed world, with a significant increase in the percentage of people above 60 years old. They represent a segment of the population that is more vulnerable to adverse environmental conditions. Among them, indoor air quality is one of the most relevant, as elders spend comparatively more time indoors than younger generations. Furthermore, the recent COVID-19 pandemic contributed immensely to raising awareness of the importance of breathing air quality for human health and of the fact that indoor air is a vector for airborne infections and poisoning. Hence, this work reviews the state of the art regarding indoor air quality in elderly centers, considering the type of pollutants involved, their emission sources, and their health effects. Moreover, the influence of ventilation on air quality is also addressed. Notwithstanding the potential health problems with the corresponding costs and morbidity effects, only a few studies have considered explicitly indoor air quality and its impacts on elderly health. More studies are, therefore, necessary to objectively identify what are the impacts on the health of elderly people due to the quality of indoor air and how it can be improved, either by reducing the pollutants emission sources or by more adequate ventilation and thermal comfort strategies. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This work was financially supported by base funding of the following projects: LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/00511/2020 (LEPABE), and UIDB/50022/2020 (LAETA), funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Fátima Felgueiras gratefully acknowledges the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research, and Technology (FCT) for the financial support through the Grant BD/6521/2020. António Martins thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016—Norma transitória. Teresa Mata gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000107, cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE)

Absolute Hyperglycemia versus Stress Hyperglycemia Ratio for the Prognosis of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in the First Months of the Pandemic: A Retrospective Study

Diabetes is a risk factor for greater severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is an independent predictor of critical illness, and it is reported to have a stronger association than absolute hyperglycemia. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of absolute hyperglycemia and SHR with the severity of COVID-19, since there are no studies investigating SHR in patients with COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective observational study on hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the first months of the pandemic, regarding absolute hyperglycemia, SHR, and severity outcomes. Of the 374 patients, 28.1% had a previous diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Absolute hyperglycemia (64.8% versus 22.7%; p < 0.01) and SHR [1.1 (IQR 0.9-1.3) versus 1.0 (IQR 0.9-1.2); p < 0.001] showed a statistically significant association with previous diabetes. Absolute hyperglycemia showed a significant association with clinical severity of COVID-19 (79.0% versus 62.7%; p < 0.001), need for oxygen therapy (74.8% versus 54.4%; p < 0.001), invasive mechanical ventilation (28.6% versus 11.6%; p < 0.001), and intensive care unit (30.3% versus 14.9%; p = 0.002), but not with mortality; by contrast, there was no statistically significant association between SHR and all these parameters. Our results are in agreement with the literature regarding the impact of absolute hyperglycemia on COVID-19 severity outcomes, while SHR was not a significant marker. We therefore suggest that SHR should not be evaluated in all patients admitted in the hospital for COVID-19, and we encourage the standard measures at admission of blood glucose and HbA1c levels.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementation of the new multichannel X-mode edge density profile reflectometer for the ICRF antenna on ASDEX Upgrade

A new multichannel frequency modulated continuous-wave reflectometry diagnostic has been successfully installed and commissioned on ASDEX Upgrade to measure the plasma edge electron density profile evolution in front of the Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies (ICRF) antenna. The design of the new three-strap ICRF antenna integrates ten pairs (sending and receiving) of microwave reflectometry antennas. The multichannel reflectometer can use three of these to measure the edge electron density profiles up to 2 x 10(19) m(-3), at different poloidal locations, allowing the direct study of the local plasma layers in front of the ICRF antenna. ICRF power coupling, operational effects, and poloidal variations of the plasma density profile can be consistently studied for the first time. In this work the diagnostic hardware architecture is described and the obtained density profile measurements were used to track outer radial plasma position and plasma shape