Clearance of human papillomavirus related anal condylomas after oral and endorectal multistrain probiotic supplementation in an HIV positive male: A case report.

Abstract Go to: Introduction: Here we present the case of a 56-year-old human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected man with multiple anal condylomas and positivity for human papilloma virus (HPV) 18 on anal brushing. Biopsies of the anal mucosa led to the diagnosis of Bowen's disease and a subsequent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan evidenced multiple reactive lymphoadenopathies and large intra-anal condylomas. The patient was treated with a complete excision of Bowen's lesion and with a 4 months course of supplementation with a high concentration multistrain probiotic formulation administered orally and by rectal instillation with the purpose to reduce local inflammation and to enhance local mucosal immunity. Go to: Conclusion: An MRI performed at the end of the supplementation period evidenced the clearance of the anal condylomas previously described and no evidence of residual lymphadenopathies. Trials are therefore required to confirm this therapeutic possibility and for a better understanding of the mechanisms by which this specific probiotic formulation interacts with local epithelium when administered by the anal route

Cerithiidae, Litiopidae, Modulidae and Planaxidae (Gastropoda, Cerithioidea) collected by the Marion Dufresne MD55 expedition in southeastern Brazil

Several deep-water mollusks collected during the Marion Dufresne MD55 expedition off SE Brazil have been studied in recent papers. The present work focuses on eight species belonging to the cerithioidean families Cerithiidae, Litiopidae, Modulidae and Planaxidae. Three species have their geographic distributions greatly expanded: Bayericerithium bayeri Petuch, 2001 from Pernambuco to Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará states (north) and to Bahia and Espírito Santo states (south), Brazilian coast; Ittibittium oryza (Mörch, 1876), from the Caribbean to the SW Atlantic; and Angiola lineata (Costa, 1778), from Trindade Island, Brazil to the Abrolhos Slope, nearly 870 km westward. Four species reported herein had their bathymetric ranges greatly expanded: Alaba incerta (d’Orbigny, 1841) from 0-40 m to 300 m; B. bayeri from 0-2 m to 120 m (live specimens); Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829 from 0-805 m to 1,550 m; Fossarus orbignyi Fischer, 1864 from 0-40 to 830 m (shells only)

Review article: liver transplantation for HCC. Treatment options on the waiting list

The most widely adopted criteria to admit and maintain patients with HCC and cirrhosis in the waiting list for liver transplantation are the Milano criteria, consisting in the presence of a single tumour ≤ 5 cm in diameter or up to three tumours, none exceeding 3 cm in diameter. Since the average time to transplantation has become longer than 10-12 months in most European and American Centers, the exclusion from the list during the waiting period due to increase of the neoplasm over the established criteria is not uncommon at present. It is mandatory, therefore, to seek an effective therapeutic strategy for patients with HCC waiting for transplantation. Surgical resection and eventual subsequent salvage transplantation seems a cost-effective strategy in resectable HCC. In unresectable neoplasms both transarterial chemoembolization and percutaneous ablation techniques are currently used and one or the other are chosen according to individual applicability, limitations and specific risks. However, although positive trends were reported, no definitive evidence has been produced so far about their efficacy in increasing patient's survival and decreasing tumour recurrence rates after transplantation. Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation is one possible way to shorten the waiting list, but this strategy involves important ethical implications. At present it appears justified to take it into consideration only if the waiting time for cadaveric OLT is expected to exceed 7 months. A more general and definitive attempt to overcome problems related to long waiting times for patients with HCC and relatively preserved hepatic function has been introduced in the USA very recently and consists in prioritizing patients with HCC. However, the overall efficacy of this approach will be established only in some years

Teor de clorofila e NDVI de soja em resposta ao ataque do percevejo-marrom, Euschistus heros.

Foram realizados experimentos com objetivo de avaliar a resposta da planta de soja a diferentes intensidades de infestação do percevejo marrom, Euschistus heros, em relação ao teor de clorofila (SPAD) e ao NDVI

A panel study of occupational exposure to fine particulate matter and changes in DNA methylation over a single workday and years worked in boilermaker welders

Background: Exposure to pollutants including metals and particulate air pollution can alter DNA methylation. Yet little is known about intra-individual changes in DNA methylation over time in relationship to environmental exposures. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of acute- and chronic metal-rich PM2.5 exposures on DNA methylation. Methods: Thirty-eight male boilermaker welders participated in a panel study for a total of 54 person days. Whole blood was collected prior to any welding activities (pre-shift) and immediately after the exposure period (post-shift). The percentage of methylated cytosines (%mC) in LINE-1, Alu, and inducible nitric oxide synthase gene (iNOS) were quantified using pyrosequencing. Personal PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) was measured over the work-shift. A questionnaire assessed job history and years worked as a boilermaker. Linear mixed models with repeated measures evaluated associations between DNA methylation, PM2.5 concentration (acute exposure), and years worked as a boilermaker (chronic exposure). Results: PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased methylation in the promoter region of the iNOS gene (β = 0.25, SE: 0.11, p-value = 0.04). Additionally, the number of years worked as a boilermaker was associated with increased iNOS methylation (β = 0.03, SE: 0.01, p-value = 0.03). No associations were observed for Alu or LINE-1. Conclusions: Acute and chronic exposure to PM2.5 generated from welding activities was associated with a modest change in DNA methylation of the iNOS gene. Future studies are needed to confirm this association and determine if the observed small increase in iNOS methylation are associated with changes in NO production or any adverse health effect

Hypertension-induced renal fibrosis and spironolactone response vary by rat strain and mineralocorticoid receptor gene expression

Introduction. Aldosterone promotes renal fibrosis via the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), thus contributing to hypertension-induced nephropathy. We investigated whether MR gene expression influences renal fibrosis and MR antagonist response in a two-kidney, one-clip hypertensive rat model. Materials and methods. Brown Norway (BN), Lewis, and ACI rats were randomised to spironolactone 20 mg/kg/day or water by gavage, starting four weeks after left renal artery clipping. Blood pressure was measured bi-weekly by tail cuff. After eight weeks of treatment, right kidneys were removed and examined for fibrosis and gene expression. Rats of each strain undergoing no intervention served as controls. Results. Blood pressure increased similarly among strains after clipping and was unaffected by spironolactone. Hypertension caused the greatest renal fibrosis in BN rats (p \u3c 0.001 by ANOVA compared to other strains). Real-time PCR analysis showed greater renal collagen type I and MR gene expression in untreated, hypertensive BN rats (both p \u3c 0.05 compared to other strains). Spironolactone attenuated fibrosis, with similar fibrosis among strains of spironolactone-treated rats. Conclusion. Hypertension-induced renal fibrosis was greatest in rats with the highest MR gene expression. Spironolactone abolished inter-strain differences in fibrosis. Our data suggest that MR genotype may influence aldosterone-induced renal damage, and consequently, renal response to aldosterone antagonism

Performance of a Tungsten-Cerium Fluoride Sampling Calorimeter in High-Energy Electron Beam Tests

A prototype for a sampling calorimeter made out of cerium fluoride crystals interleaved with tungsten plates, and read out by wavelength-shifting fibres, has been exposed to beams of electrons with energies between 20 and 150 GeV, produced by the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator complex. The performance of the prototype is presented and compared to that of a Geant4 simulation of the apparatus. Particular emphasis is given to the response uniformity across the channel front face, and to the prototype's energy resolution.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to NIM