Easy resolution of severe obstructive kidney injury

Chronic constipation is a common diagnosis with a high prevalence in the elderly. Constipation affects the quality of life of sick individuals, bringing several clinical complications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Autoimmune Pancreatitis with Associated Ulcerative Colitis in a Teenager

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare entity that is extremely uncommon in children. Its diagnosis is also a clinical challenge. This form of chronic pancreatitis often presents itself with obstructive jaundice and/or a pancreatic mass and it is sometimes misdiagnosed as pancreatic cancer. We describe the case of a 13-year-old boy with obstructive jaundice and a 4 cm mass in the head of the pancreas that was diagnosed as AIP with associated ulcerative colitis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Guillain-Barré syndrome: advances and future perspectives

The first case of Guillain-Barré syndrome was described in 1916. Since then, knowledge about the pathophysiology and immunogenesis of this acquired inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy has been growing steadily, especially after the advent of nerve conduction studies and the discovery of pathogenic autoantibodies. In the present study, we conducted a review of the main information available in the literature to date about the syndrome, including its diagnosis and management

The dynamics of methylammonium ions in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells

Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite can make high-efficiency solar cells, which also show an unexplained photocurrent hysteresis dependent on the device-poling history. Here we report quasielastic neutron scattering measurements showing that dipolar CH3NH3+ ions reorientate between the faces, corners or edges of the pseudo-cubic lattice cages in CH3NH3PbI3 crystals with a room temperature residence time of ~14 ps. Free rotation, π-flips and ionic diffusion are ruled out within a 1–200-ps time window. Monte Carlo simulations of interacting CH3NH3+ dipoles realigning within a 3D lattice suggest that the scattering measurements may be explained by the stabilization of CH3NH3+ in either antiferroelectric or ferroelectric domains. Collective realignment of CH3NH3+ to screen a device’s built-in potential could reduce photovoltaic performance. However, we estimate the timescale for a domain wall to traverse a typical device to be ~0.1–1 ms, faster than most observed hysteresis

Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya

Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse

Procollagen Triple Helix Assembly: An Unconventional Chaperone-Assisted Folding Paradigm

Fibers composed of type I collagen triple helices form the organic scaffold of bone and many other tissues, yet the energetically preferred conformation of type I collagen at body temperature is a random coil. In fibers, the triple helix is stabilized by neighbors, but how does it fold? The observations reported here reveal surprising features that may represent a new paradigm for folding of marginally stable proteins. We find that human procollagen triple helix spontaneously folds into its native conformation at 30–34°C but not at higher temperatures, even in an environment emulating Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER). ER-like molecular crowding by nonspecific proteins does not affect triple helix folding or aggregation of unfolded chains. Common ER chaperones may prevent aggregation and misfolding of procollagen C-propeptide in their traditional role of binding unfolded polypeptide chains. However, such binding only further destabilizes the triple helix. We argue that folding of the triple helix requires stabilization by preferential binding of chaperones to its folded, native conformation. Based on the triple helix folding temperature measured here and published binding constants, we deduce that HSP47 is likely to do just that. It takes over 20 HSP47 molecules to stabilize a single triple helix at body temperature. The required 50–200 µM concentration of free HSP47 is not unusual for heat-shock chaperones in ER, but it is 100 times higher than used in reported in vitro experiments, which did not reveal such stabilization

Karyotype differentiation in three species of Tripogandra Raf. (Commelinaceae) with different ploidy levels

Most species of the genus Tripogandra (Commelinaceae) are taxonomically poorly circumscribed, in spite of having a relatively stable basic number x = 8. Aiming to estimate the cytological variation among Tripogandra species carrying this base number, several structural karyotypic characters were investigated in the diploid T. glandulosa, the hexaploid T. serrulata, and the octoploid T. diuretica. A careful evaluation of chromosome size and morphology did not reveal clear chromosome homeologies among karyotypes. The mean chromosome size was strongly reduced in the octoploid species, but not in the hexaploid species. They also differed largely in the CMA+ banding pattern and in the number of 5S and 45S rDNA sites per monoploid chromosome complement. All three species showed proximal DAPI + heterochromatin, although in T. serrulata this kind of heterochromatin was only visible after FISH. Further, the meiosis in T. serrulata was highly irregular, suggesting that this species has a hybrid origin. The data indicate that, in spite of the conservation of the base number, these species are karyologically quite different from each other

Human predisposition to cognitive impairment and its relation with environmental exposure to potentially toxic elements

New lines of evidence suggest that less than 10% of neurodegenerative diseases have a strict genetic aetiology and other factors may be prevalent. Environmental exposures to potentially toxic elements appear to be a risk factor for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and sclerosis diseases. This study proposes a multidisciplinary approach combining neurosciences, psychology and environmental sciences while integrating socio-economic, neuropsychological, environmental and health data. We present the preliminary results of a neuropsychological assessment carried out in elderly residents of the industrial city of Estarreja. A battery of cognitive tests and a personal questionnaire were administered to the participants. Multivariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to identify potential relationships between the cognitive status of the participants and environmental exposure to potentially toxic elements. The results suggest a relationship between urinary PTEs levels and the incidence of cognitive disorders. They also point towards water consumption habits and profession as relevant factors of exposure. Linear regression models show that aluminium (R2 = 38%), cadmium (R2 = 11%) and zinc (R2 = 6%) are good predictors of the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination cognitive test. Median contents (µg/l) in groundwater are above admissible levels for drinking water for aluminium (371), iron (860), manganese (250), and zinc (305). While the World Health Organization does not provide health-based reference values for aluminium, results obtained from this study suggest that it may have an important role in the cognitive status of the elderly. Urine proved to be a suitable biomarker of exposure both to elements with low and high excretion rates