The effect of fibroblast growth factors in grafted fascia into the vocal fold of rabbits

The human larynx is a very important organ for communication. Many conditions lead to scarring of the vocal folds, decreasing voice quality. Objective We aimed to determine whether fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) may influence tissue integration of grafted fascia into the vocal folds of an animal model. This is an experimental animal study with 12 adult rabbits that were submitted to a grafting fragment obtained from superficial cervical fascia into the vocal fold lamina propria, bilaterally. The right vocal fold was injected with FGFs. The animals were sacrificed after 1 month or 12 months, depending on the group they were assigned to, and a histological analysis of their vocal folds was performed. We analyzed the histological changes (such as the presence of fibrosis and neovascularization) induced by the acute or chronic inflammatory reactions. Results The FGFs induced acute inflammatory changes in all animals after 1 month of the initial experiment. The presence of FGFs triggered more fibrosis than the expected due to the surgical procedure itself when compared with the control side of all animals after 12 months of the initial experiment. Conclusions Fibroblast growth factors alone do not represent a good therapeutic option in phonosurgery, since we observed higher levels of fibrosis in the vocal fold lamina propria. Further studies combining more substances may be necessary to elucidate the best option to be used in this kind of surgery.231606

Laboratory Microprobe X-Ray Fluorescence in Plant Science: Emerging Applications and Case Studies

In vivo and micro chemical analytical methods have the potential to improve our understanding of plant metabolism and development. Benchtop microprobe X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (μ-XRF) presents a huge potential for facing this challenge. Excitation beams of 30 μm and 1 mm in diameter were employed to address questions in seed technology, phytopathology, plant physiology, and bioremediation. Different elements were analyzed in several situations of agronomic interest: (i) Examples of μ-XRF yielding quantitative maps that reveal the spatial distribution of zinc in common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) primed seeds. (ii) Chemical images daily recorded at a soybean leaf (Glycine max) infected by anthracnose showed that phosphorus, sulfur, and calcium trended to concentrate in the disease spot. (iii) In vivo measurements at the stem of P. vulgaris showed that under root exposure, manganese is absorbed and transported nearly 10-fold faster than iron. (iv) Quantitative maps showed that the lead distribution in a leaf of Eucalyptus hybrid was not homogenous, this element accumulated mainly in the leaf border and midrib, the lead hotspots reached up to 13,400 mg lead kg-1 fresh tissue weight. These case studies highlight the ability of μ-XRF in performing qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of fresh and living plant tissues. Thus, it can probe dynamic biological phenomena non-destructively and in real time

Evidence That Lipopolisaccharide May Contribute to the Cytokine Storm and Cellular Activation in Patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) affects organs rich in lymphocytes, being characterized by intense Leishmania-induced T-cell depletion and reduction in other hematopoietic cells. In other infectious and non-infectious diseases in which the immune system is affected, such as HIV-AIDS and inflammatory bowel disease, damage to gut-associated lymphocyte tissues occurs, enabling luminal bacteria to enter into the circulation. Lipopolisaccharide (LPS) is a bacterial product that stimulates macrophages, leading to the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other soluble factors such as MIF, which in turn activate lymphocytes. Continuous and exaggerated stimulation causes exhaustion of the T-cell compartment, contributing to immunosuppression

Fractional Distillation of Bio-Oil Produced by Pyrolysis of Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) Seeds

In this work, the seeds of açaí (Euterpe oleracea, Mart), a rich lignin-cellulose residue, has been submitted to pyrolysis to produce a bio-oil-like fossil fuels. The pyrolysis carried out in a reactor of 143 L, 450°C, and 1.0 atm. The morphology of Açaí seeds in nature and after pyrolysis is characterized by SEM, EDX, and XRD. The experiments show that bio-oil, gas, and coke yields were 4.38, 30.56, and 35.67% (wt.), respectively. The bio-oil characterized by AOCS, ASTM, and ABNT/NBR methods for density, kinematic viscosity, and acid value. The bio-oil density, viscosity, and acid value were 1.0468 g/cm3, 68.34 mm2/s, and 70.26 KOH/g, respectively. The chemical composition and chemical functions of bio-oil are determined by GC-MS and FT-IR. The GC-MS identified in bio-oil 21.52% (wt.) hydrocarbons and 78.48% (wt.) oxygenates (4.06% esters, 8.52% carboxylic acids, 3.53% ketones, 35.16% phenols, 20.52% cresols, 5.75% furans, and 0.91% (wt.) aldehydes), making it possible to apply fractional distillation to obtain fossil fuel-like fractions rich in hydrocarbons. The distillation of bio-oil is carried out in a laboratory-scale column, according to the boiling temperature of fossil fuels. The distillation of bio-oil yielded fossil fuel-like fractions (gasoline, kerosene, and light diesel) of 4.70, 28.21, and 22.35% (wt.), respectively

A 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development caused by a Wilms’ tumour Factorâ 1 (WT1) pathogenic variant

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146930/1/cge13459_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146930/2/cge13459.pd

Genetic variation in PFKFB3 impairs antifungal immunometabolic responses and predisposes to Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Copyright © 2021 Gonçalves et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.Activation of immune cells in response to fungal infection involves the reprogramming of their cellular metabolism to support antimicrobial effector functions. Although metabolic pathways such as glycolysis are known to represent critical regulatory nodes in antifungal immunity, it remains undetermined whether these are differentially regulated at the interindividual level. In this study, we identify a key role for 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) in the immunometabolic responses to Aspergillus fumigatus. A genetic association study performed in 439 recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and corresponding donors revealed that the donor, but not recipient, rs646564 variant in the PFKFB3 gene increased the risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) after transplantation. The risk genotype impaired the expression of PFKFB3 by human macrophages in response to fungal infection, which was correlated with a defective activation of glycolysis and the ensuing antifungal effector functions. In patients with IPA, the risk genotype was associated with lower concentrations of cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the important contribution of genetic variation in PFKFB3 to the risk of IPA in patients undergoing HSCT and support its inclusion in prognostic tools to predict the risk of fungal infection in this clinical setting. IMPORTANCE The fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus can cause severe and life-threatening forms of infection in immunocompromised patients. Activation of glycolysis is essential for innate immune cells to mount effective antifungal responses. In this study, we report the contribution of genetic variation in the key glycolytic activator 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) to the risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The PFKFB3 genotype associated with increased risk of infection was correlated with an impairment of the antifungal effector functions of macrophages in vitro and in patients with IPA. This work highlights the clinical relevance of genetic variation in PFKFB3 to the risk of IPA and supports its integration in risk stratification and preemptive measures for patients at high risk of IPA.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/SAU-SER/29635/2017, PTDC/MED-GEN/28778/2017, UIDB/50026/2020, and UIDP/50026/2020), the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000039), the Institut Mérieux (Mérieux Research Grant 2017), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Research Grant 2017), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 847507, and the “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) and FCT under the agreement LCF/PR/HR17/52190003. Individual support was provided by FCT (SFRH/BD/136814/2018 to S.M.G., PD/BD/137680/2018 to D.A., CEECIND/04058/2018 to C.C., and CEECIND/03628/2017 to A.C.). M.G.N. was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant and a Spinoza Grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical and Urodynamic results of the Argus T® sling in moderate and severe male stress urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy – a 5 year prospective study.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Sling as a therapeutic option for male stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has been reviewed in the last two decades, as it is a relatively simpliest surgery compared to artificial urinary sphincter and has the ability to modulate urethral compression. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy, rate of complications, quality of life and the effects on bladder emptying of the Argus T® compressive and ajustable sling in moderate and severe male SUI treatment. Materials and Methods: Men eligible for stress urinary incontinence treatment after radical prostatectomy were recruited and prospectively evaluated, from March 2010 to November 2016. It was selected outpatient men with moderate and severe SUI, after 12 months of radical prostatectomy, who have failed conservative treatment. All patients had a complete clinical and urodynamic pre and post treatment evaluation, by means of clinical history, physical examination, urine culture, 1-hour pad test and ICIq-SF questionnaire. The UDS was performed after 12, 18 and 24 months postoperatively. Results: Thirty-seven men underwent sling surgery, 19 patients (51.4%) with moderate and 18 (48.6%) with severe SUI. The minimum follow-up time was 5 years. Overall, we had a success rate of 56.7% at 60 months follow-up. After surgery, we did not observe significant changes in the urodynamic parameters evaluated during the follow-up. No patient had urodynamic bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) after sling implantation. Readjustment of the Argus T® sling was performed in 16 (41%) of the patients and 51% of the patients reported some adverse event. Conclusion: We demonstrate a long-term efficacy and safety of Sling Argus T® as an alternative to moderate and severe male SUI treatment. Furthermore, in our study bulbar urethra compression does not lead to bladder outlet obstruction

Notas sobre moscas necrófagas (Diptera: Caliptratae) associadas a carcaças de peixe na Amazônia Colombiana

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on carrion fly communities due to their medical importance and as a consequence of the large number of studies on forensic entomology. Surprisingly few studies have adressed with the asynantropic flies of the Amazon, and none were done in Colombia. A faunistic study of asynantropic flies of the families Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae and Fannidae in three different landscapes of the Colombian Amazon is presented, trapping effectiveness is assessed, and the first record of Mesembrinella batesi (Aldrich, 1922) and Fannia femoralis (Stein, 1897) from Colombia is reported.Apesar de existir uma quantidade considerável de estudos sobre dípteros decompositores devido a sua importância medica e ao avanço da entomologia forense, poucos dizem respeito as moscas asinantrópicas na Amazônia e nada foi feito na Colômbia. No presente trabalho é feito um estudo faunístico sobre moscas, principalmente das famílias Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae e Fanniidae em três diferentes paisagens da Amazônia Colombiana, além do primeiro registro das espécies Mesembrinella batesi (Aldrich, 1922) e Fannia femoralis (Stein, 1897) para Colômbia e avaliação da amostragem utilizada