In vitro induction of lymph node cell proliferation by mouse bone marrow dendritic cells following stimulation with different Echinococcus multilocularis antigens

The immune response of mice experimentally infected with Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes becomes impaired so as to allow parasite survival and proliferation. Our study tackled the question on how different classes of E. multilocularis antigens (crude vesicular fluid (VF); purified proteinic rec-14-3-3; purified carbohydrate Em2(G11)) are involved in the maturation process of bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and subsequent exposure to lymph node (LN) cells. In our experiments, we used BMDCs cultivated from either naïve (control) or alveolar echinococcosis (AE)-infected C57BL/6 mice. We then tested surface markers (CD80, CD86, MHC class II) and cytokine expression levels (interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12p40 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α) of non-stimulated BMDCs versus BMDCs stimulated with different Em-antigens or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). While LPS and rec-14-3-3-antigen were able to induce CD80, CD86 and (to a lower extent) MHC class II surface expression, Em2(G11) and, strikingly, also VF-antigen failed to do so. Similarly, LPS and rec-14-3-3 yielded elevated IL-12, TNF-α and IL-10 expression levels, while Em2(G11) and VF-antigen didn't. When naïve BMDCs were loaded with VF-antigen, they induced a strong non-specific proliferation of uncommitted LN cells. For both, BMDCs or LN cells, isolated from AE-infected mice, proliferation was abrogated. The most striking difference, revealed by comparing naïve with AE-BMDCs, was the complete inability of LPS-stimulated AE-BMDCs to activate lymphocytes from any LN cell group. Overall, the presenting activity of BMDCs from AE-infected mice seemed to trigger unresponsiveness in T cells, especially in the case of VF-antigen stimulation, thus contributing to the suppression of clonal expansion during the chronic phase of AE infectio

Altération des biotites dans les roches cuprifères de Salobo 3A, Serra dos Carajàs (Brésil).1. Formation des phyllosilicates secondaires

Les analyses des produits issus de l'altération météorique des biotites de Salobo 3A (Serra dos Carajas - Brésil) permettent de mettre en évidence l'existence d'une altération différentielle. Celle-ci correspond, dans une phase initiale, à la formation des smectites et s'accompagne d'un enrichissement en silicium et en bases alcalino-terreuses, d'une perte en potassium, d'une oxydation et d'une perte partielle en fer octaédrique, d'un gain en cuivre. Postérieurement, la modification des facteurs contrôlant l'altération, avec un milieu ambiant plus lixiviant, conduit tous ces phyllosilicates à une transformation en kaolinite. (Résumé d'auteur

Altération des biotites dans les roches cuprifères de Salobo A3, Serra dos Carajàs (Brésil).2. Association du cuivre aux phyllosilicates secondaires

Dans les gisements cuprifères de Salobo 3A (Serra dos Carajas - Brésil) les biotites saines sont totalement dépourvues de cuivres. Il est montré que dans les phyllosilicates secondaires issus de l'altération météorique de ces biotites la phase minéralogique la plus riche en cuivre est représentée par un produit appelé "biotite altérée". Dans le cas où se forme une smectite, celle-ci présente un enrichissement en cuivre moins important. La kaolinite issue de la transformation secondaire de ces produits est complètement dépourvue de cuivre. Il est donc mis en évidence une acquisition puis une perte en cuivre durant la formation et l'évolution des produits secondaires

Food and Feeding of Ocean Redfish (Sebastes mentella Travin) in the North Atlantic

The food and feeding of ocean redfish are described from stomach contents of 26381 individuals analyzed on board commercial vessels in the Irminger waters from March to November. Most of the stomachs had been everted (15488). The feeding intensity mean value throughout the period was 7.1%. The feeding intensity was higher in the months of least reproductive activity in each sex. The prey spectrum was narrow, the diversity diminishing in autumn and winter. Crustacea dominates the redfish diet in March. Other items show great seasonal variation also as with Mollusca which have an increased presence in summer. Crustacea were more abundant in the diet of smaller individuals, the variety of fishes preyed on increasing with the length. The occurrence of Myctop hidae remains constant throughout the length range although their volume increases with size. A marked presence of offal was observed associated with the period of intense commercial activity: April to June. The offal occurrence and offal volume increased with length, particularly in the individuals larger than 40 cm. The intense fishing activity was observed to have a direct influence on diet composition. The main natural prey were: Copepoda (IRI=1582.5); Eupahusiacea (IRI=1361.9); Mollusca Decapoda (IRI=736.8) and Myctophydae (IRI= 220.3). The comparison between Flemish Cap and Irminger Sea redfish diet populations in the same month show important composition differences. The condition factor by month values (Mean=1.26+-0.12) were less than those obtained in the Flemish Cap population (Mean 1.43+-0.17)

Biomarker evidence for recent turf cultivation in Northeast Brazil (Lagoa do Boqueirao, RN State)

The first meter of sediment in Lagoa do Boqueirao [Rio Grande do Norte State (RN), Brazil] is characterized by low sedimentation rates over the period 1000 BC-1500 AD and a high sedimentation rate in the top 20 cm, corresponding to the last 10 years Several pentacyclic triterpene methyl ethers (PTMEs) such as taraxer-14-en-3 alpha-ol ME (crusgallin) and arbor-9(11)-en-3 beta-ol ME (cylindrin) occur in all the samples selected The major change in sedimentation rate recorded at 20 cm is accompanied by a change in PTME concentration and distribution Sediments deposited during the period 1000 BC-1500 AD contain PTMEs in low concentration (1 3 mu g/g sed), which could constitute a geochemical background of the grass that naturally developed in the catchment High PTME concentrations occur during the period 1996-2000. These result mainly from high concentrations of a compound tentatively assigned as arbor-8-en-3 beta ol ME, a potential diagenetic derivative of cylindrin The increase corresponds to the beginning of intensive cultivation of Cynodon dactylon and Zoysia japonica (arundoin and cylindrin producers), for the production of turf to cover Brazilian football stadiums and golf practices The results constitute a novel application of PTMEs to reconstruct land-use changes from lake sediment archives (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserve

Towards an accurate sleep apnea detection based on ECG signal: The quintessential of a wise feature selection

A wise feature selection from minute-to-minute Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is a challenging task for many reasons, but mostly because of the promise of the accurate detection of clinical disorders, such as the sleep apnea. In this study, the ECG signal was modeled in order to obtain the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and the ECG-Derived Respiration (EDR). Selected features techniques were used for benchmark with different classifiers such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machine(SVM), among others. The results evidence that the best accuracy was 82.12%, with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.41% and 72.29%, respectively. In addition, experiments revealed that a wise feature selection may improve the system accuracy. Therefore, the proposed model revealed to be reliable and simpler alternative to classical solutions for the sleep apnea detection, for example the ones based on the Polysomnography.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food and Feeding of Deep-sea Redfish (Sebastes mentella Travin) in the North Atlantic

The food and feeding of deep-sea redfish (Sebastes mentella Travin) are described from stomach contents of 26 381 individuals analyzed on board commercial vessels in the Irminger Sea waters, from March to November 1996. Most of the stomachs had been everted (58.7%). The mean feeding intensity value through the period was 7.1%. The feeding intensity was higher in the months of least reproductive activity in each sex. The main natural prey were Copepoda, Euphausiacea, Mollusca, Decapoda and Myctophidae. Crustacea dominated the deep-sea redfish diet in March and were more abundant in the diet of smaller individuals; the variety of food items preyed on increased with the length. The intense commercial fishing activity in the area was observed to have a direct influence on the diet composition. Waste products from on-board processing by the fishing fleet reached higher volume values in the adult diet of deep-sea redfish. The comparison between Irminger Sea deep-sea redfish diet and Flemish Cap in the same year and month showed some composition differences

Gentamicin-loaded microspheres for reducing the intracellular Brucella abortus load in infected monocytes

Objectives: The intracellular antibiotic efficiency of gentamicin-loaded microspheres in the context of Brucella-infected murine monocytes was examined in vitro with a view to developing improved therapies for the treatment of brucellosis. Methods: Biodegradable microspheres made of end-group capped and uncapped poly(lactide-co-glycolide) 50:50 (PLGA 50:50 and PLGA 50:50H) and containing gentamicin sulphate were used to target Brucella abortus-infected J774 monocyte-macrophages. The infected cells were treated with 15 µg of free or microencapsulated gentamicin and the efficacy of the treatments was measured after 24 h. Results: The particle sizes were below 8 µm and in vitro release of gentamicin from the microspheres followed a continuous (PLGA 50:50H) or a multiphasic (PLGA 50:50) pattern over 50 days. Treatment with gentamicin microencapsulated into the end-group uncapped PLGA 50:50H microspheres, decreased significantly the number of intracellular bacteria (typically by 2 log10) in comparison with untreated infected cells. Addition of 2% poloxamer 188 to the microsphere dispersion medium further reduced the infection (3.5 log10). Opsonization of the particles with non-immune mouse serum had no effect on the antibacterial efficacy of the microspheres. End-group capped PLGA 50:50 type microspheres containing the antibiotic were less effective at reducing intracellular bacteria (∼1 log10 reduction), although addition of poloxamer 188 to the dispersion medium again enhanced their intracellular antibacterial activity. Placebo PLGA 50:50 and PLGA 50:50H microspheres had no bactericidal activity. Conclusions: The results indicate that PLGA 50:50-microencapsulated gentamicin sulphate may be suitable for efficient drug targeting and delivery to reduce intracellular Brucella infections

Towards a Cooperative Security System for Mobile-Health Applications

[EN] Mobile Health (m-Health) system architectures are typically based on mobile and wireless communications, and use mobile devices with data exchange supported by Web Services (WS). Although m-Health systems offer mobility as a potential and precious resource they also present several challenged issues and constraints, such as, battery and storage capacity, broadcast constraints, interferences, disconnections, noises, limited bandwidths, and network delays. Furthermore, constant mobility and often-required Internet connectivity also exposes and compromises the privacy and confidentiality of the m-Health system information. This paper proposes a novel data encryption solution for mobile health systems, considering a novel and early-proposed cooperation strategy. This encryption solution, called data encryption for mobile health applications (DE4MHA), tries to guarantee the best confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of m-health systems users data. The paper also presents a performance evaluation study comparing the performance an m-Health application with and without the DE4MHA.This work has been partially supported by National Funding from the FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through the PEst-OE/EEI/LA0008/2013 Project; by the AAL4ALL (Ambient Assisted Living for All), project co-funded by COMPETE under FEDER via QREN Programme; by Brazilian National Council for Research and Development (CNPq) via Grant No. 309335/2017-5; and by FINEP, with resources from Funttel, Grant No. 01.14.0231.00, under the Centro de Referencia em Radiocomunicacoes - CRR project of the Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicacoes (Inatel), Brazil.Silva, BM.; Rodrigues, JJPC.; Canelo, F.; Lopes, IMC.; Lloret, J. (2019). Towards a Cooperative Security System for Mobile-Health Applications. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications. 19(3):629-654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-014-9154-362965419