Type of diet modulates the metabolic response to sleep deprivation in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence suggests that sleep loss is associated with an increased risk of obesity and diabetes; however, animal models have failed to produce weight gain under sleep deprivation (SD). Previous studies have suggested that this discrepancy could be due to more extreme SD conditions in experimental animals, their higher resting metabolic rate than that of humans, and the decreased opportunity for animals to ingest high-calorie foods. Thus, our objective was to determine whether diets with different textures/compositions could modify feeding behavior and affect the metabolic repercussions in SD in rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three groups of male rats were used: one was designated as control, one was sleep deprived for 96 h by the platform technique (SD-96h) and one was SD-96h followed by a 24-h recovery (rebound). In the first experiment, the animals were fed chow pellets (CPs); in the second, they received high-fat diet and in the third, they were fed a liquid diet (LD).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that SD induces energy deficits that were related to changes in feeding behavior and affected by the type of diet consumed. Regardless of the diet consumed, SD consistently increased animals' glucagon levels and decreased their leptin and triacylglycerol levels and liver glycogen stores. However, such changes were mostly avoided in the rats on the liquid diet. SD induces a wide range of metabolic and hormonal changes that are strongly linked to the severity of weight loss.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The LD, but not the CP or high-fat diets, favored energy intake, consequently lessening the energy deficit induced by SD.</p

Orbital involvement in Rosai-Dorfman disease

A doença de Rosai-Dorfman (DRD) ou histiocitose sinusal com linfadenopatia maciça é uma entidade clínica idiopática, rara e benigna, caracterizada pela proliferação histiocitária com linfofagocitose. Geralmente se apresenta com linfoadenomegalia cervical, no entanto pode haver acometimento extranodal, sendo a região orbitária um dos locais de possível acometimento. Na maioria dos casos é uma doença autolimitada com melhora espontânea, entretanto pode ser necessária exérese cirúrgica da lesão ou tratamento com corticosteróides e radioterapia.Neste trabalho, relatamos o caso de um paciente masculino de 29 anos, com queixa de tumoração em pálpebra inferior direita por 6 meses e história de acometimento sinusal prévio pela doença de Rosai Dorfmann. Ao exame oftalmológico apresentava proptose de olho direito e aumento de volume de pálpebra inferior direita. O exame de tomografia computadorizada de órbitas evidenciou lesão sólida extraconal em órbita direita. Após a exérese da lesão houve melhora importante do quadro clínico. O exame histopatológico associado à imuno-histoquímica confirmou o envolvimento orbitário na DRD. Revisamos também o quadro clínico, diagnóstico diferencial e tratamento desta afecção.Rosai-Dorfman disease or sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy is a rare idiopathic and benign clinical entity, characterized by histiocytic proliferation with linfofagocitosis. It usually presents with cervical lymphadenopathy although extranodal involvement may occur. The orbital region is one of the most common extranodal sites. It is usually a self-limiting disease with spontaneous resolution but surgical excision, corticosteroids and radiotherapy may be necessary. We describe the case of a 29-years-old male patient complaining of an orbital mass sensation for 6 months and a history of previous sinus involvement from Rosai-Dorfman disease. Ophthalmic examination showed proptosis of the right eye and swelling of right lower eyelid. Computed tomography of the orbits disclosed a solid extraconal lesion in the inferior right orbit. After surgical excision there was a significant clinical improvement. Histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of Rosai-Dorfman disease. We also review the clinical picture and differential diagnosis of this condition

Coherent pairing states for the Hubbard model

We consider the Hubbard model and its extensions on bipartite lattices. We define a dynamical group based on the $\eta$-pairing operators introduced by C.N.Yang, and define coherent pairing states, which are combinations of eigenfunctions of $\eta$-operators. These states permit exact calculations of numerous physical properties of the system, including energy, various fluctuations and correlation functions, including pairing ODLRO to all orders. This approach is complementary to BCS, in that these are superconducting coherent states associated with the exact model, although they are not eigenstates of the Hamiltonian.Comment: 5 pages, RevTe

Gauging the effect of supermassive black holes feedback on quasar host galaxies

In order to gauge the role that active galactic nuclei play in the evolution of galaxies via the effect of kinetic feedback in nearby QSO 2’s (z ∼ 0.3), we observed eight such objects with bolometric luminosities Lbol∼1046ergs−1 using Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph-integral field units. The emission lines were fitted with at least two Gaussian curves, the broadest of which we attributed to gas kinetically disturbed by an outflow. We found that the maximum extent of the outflow ranges from ∼1 to 8 kpc, being ∼0.5±0.3 times the extent of the [OIII] ionized gas region. Our ‘default’ assumptions for the gas density (obtained from the [SII] doublet) and outflow velocities resulted in peak mass outflow rates of M˙defout∼ 3–30 M⊙yr−1 and outflow power of E˙defout∼1041–1043ergs−1⁠. The corresponding kinetic coupling efficiencies are εdeff=E˙defout/Lbol∼7×10−4–0.5 per cent, with the average efficiency being only 0.06 per cent (0.01 per cent median), implying little feedback powers from ionized gas outflows in the host galaxies. We investigated the effects of varying assumptions and calculations on M˙out and E˙out regarding the ionized gas densities, velocities, masses, and inclinations of the outflow relative to the plane of the sky, resulting in average uncertainties of 1 dex. In particular, we found that better indicators of the [OIII] emitting gas density than the default [SII] line ratio, such as the [ArIV] λλ4711,40 line ratio, result in almost an order of magnitude decrease in the εf

Regulatory T Cells in the Pathogenesis and Healing of Chronic Human Dermal Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania (Viannia) Species

The immune inflammatory response is a double edged sword. During infectious diseases, regulatory T cells can prevent eradication of the pathogen but can also limit inflammation and tissue damage. We investigated the role of regulatory T cells in chronic dermal leishmaniasis caused by species of the parasite Leishmania that are endemic in South and Central America. We found that although individuals with chronic lesions have increased regulatory T cells in their blood and at skin sites where immune responses to Leishmania were taking place compared to infected individuals who do not develop disease, their capacity to control the inflammatory response to Leishmania was inferior. However, healing of chronic lesions at the end of treatment was accompanied by an increase in the number and capacity of regulatory T cells to inhibit the function of effector T cells that mediate the inflammatory response. Different subsets of regulatory T cells, defined by the expression of molecular markers, were identified during chronic disease and healing, supporting the participation of distinct regulatory T cells in the development of disease and the control of inflammation during the healing response. Immunotherapeutic strategies may allow these regulatory T cell subsets to be mobilized or mitigated to achieve healing

The unexpected resurgence of Weyl geometry in late 20-th century physics

Weyl's original scale geometry of 1918 ("purely infinitesimal geometry") was withdrawn by its author from physical theorizing in the early 1920s. It had a comeback in the last third of the 20th century in different contexts: scalar tensor theories of gravity, foundations of gravity, foundations of quantum mechanics, elementary particle physics, and cosmology. It seems that Weyl geometry continues to offer an open research potential for the foundations of physics even after the turn to the new millennium.Comment: Completely rewritten conference paper 'Beyond Einstein', Mainz Sep 2008. Preprint ELHC (Epistemology of the LHC) 2017-02, 92 pages, 1 figur

Candida Infections and Therapeutic Strategies: Mechanisms of Action for Traditional and Alternative Agents

The Candida genus comprises opportunistic fungi that can become pathogenic when the immune system of the host fails. Candida albicans is the most important and prevalent species. Polyenes, fluoropyrimidines, echinocandins, and azoles are used as commercial antifungal agents to treat candidiasis. However, the presence of intrinsic and developed resistance against azole antifungals has been extensively documented among several Candida species. The advent of original and re-emergence of classical fungal diseases have occurred as a consequence of the development of the antifungal resistance phenomenon. In this way, the development of new satisfactory therapy for fungal diseases persists as a major challenge of present-day medicine. The design of original drugs from traditional medicines provides new promises in the modern clinic. The urgent need includes the development of alternative drugs that are more efficient and tolerant than those traditional already in use. The identification of new substances with potential antifungal effect at low concentrations or in combination is also a possibility. The present review briefly examines the infections caused by Candida species and focuses on the mechanisms of action associated with the traditional agents used to treat those infections, as well as the current understanding of the molecular basis of resistance development in these fungal species. In addition, this review describes some of the promising alternative molecules and/or substances that could be used as anticandidal agents, their mechanisms of action, and their use in combination with traditional drugs

Predicting the Proteins of Angomonas deanei, Strigomonas culicis and Their Respective Endosymbionts Reveals New Aspects of the Trypanosomatidae Family

Endosymbiont-bearing trypanosomatids have been considered excellent models for the study of cell evolution because the host protozoan co-evolves with an intracellular bacterium in a mutualistic relationship. Such protozoa inhabit a single invertebrate host during their entire life cycle and exhibit special characteristics that group them in a particular phylogenetic cluster of the Trypanosomatidae family, thus classified as monoxenics. in an effort to better understand such symbiotic association, we used DNA pyrosequencing and a reference-guided assembly to generate reads that predicted 16,960 and 12,162 open reading frames (ORFs) in two symbiont-bearing trypanosomatids, Angomonas deanei (previously named as Crithidia deanei) and Strigomonas culicis (first known as Blastocrithidia culicis), respectively. Identification of each ORF was based primarily on TriTrypDB using tblastn, and each ORF was confirmed by employing getorf from EMBOSS and Newbler 2.6 when necessary. the monoxenic organisms revealed conserved housekeeping functions when compared to other trypanosomatids, especially compared with Leishmania major. However, major differences were found in ORFs corresponding to the cytoskeleton, the kinetoplast, and the paraflagellar structure. the monoxenic organisms also contain a large number of genes for cytosolic calpain-like and surface gp63 metalloproteases and a reduced number of compartmentalized cysteine proteases in comparison to other TriTryp organisms, reflecting adaptations to the presence of the symbiont. the assembled bacterial endosymbiont sequences exhibit a high A+T content with a total of 787 and 769 ORFs for the Angomonas deanei and Strigomonas culicis endosymbionts, respectively, and indicate that these organisms hold a common ancestor related to the Alcaligenaceae family. Importantly, both symbionts contain enzymes that complement essential host cell biosynthetic pathways, such as those for amino acid, lipid and purine/pyrimidine metabolism. These findings increase our understanding of the intricate symbiotic relationship between the bacterium and the trypanosomatid host and provide clues to better understand eukaryotic cell evolution.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)ERC AdG SISYPHEUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biofis Carlos Chagas Filho, Lab Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, BR-21941 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biofis Carlos Chagas Filho, Lab Metab Macromol Firmino Torres de Castro, BR-21941 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilLab Bioinformat, Lab Nacl Computacao Cient, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilINRIA Grenoble Rhone Alpes, BAMBOO Team, Villeurbanne, FranceUniv Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558, Lab Biometrie & Biol Evolut, F-69622 Villeurbanne, FranceUniv Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Genet Evolucao & Bioagentes, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut Ribeirao Preto, Dept Ciencias Farmaceut, São Paulo, BrazilLab Nacl Ciencia & Tecnol Bioetano, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Bioquim & Imunol, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Goias, Inst Ciencias Biol, Mol Biol Lab, Goiania, Go, BrazilFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Carlos Chagas, Lab Biol Mol Tripanossomatideos, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Carlos Chagas, Lab Genom Func, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Ctr Pluridisciplinar Pesquisas Quim Biol & Agr, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Parasitol, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Catarina, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Ctr Ciencias Biol, Lab Protozool & Bioinformat, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUniv Fed Vicosa, Dept Bioquim & Biol Mol, Ctr Ciencias Biol & Saude, Vicosa, MG, BrazilInst Butantan, Lab Especial Ciclo Celular, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Dept Biol, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc