An Intense and Short-Lasting Burst of Neutrophil Activation Differentiates Early Acute Myocardial Infarction from Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils are involved in thrombus formation. We investigated whether specific features of neutrophil activation characterize patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) compared to stable angina and to systemic inflammatory diseases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The myeloperoxidase (MPO) content of circulating neutrophils was determined by flow cytometry in 330 subjects: 69 consecutive patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), 69 with chronic stable angina (CSA), 50 with inflammation due to either non-infectious (acute bone fracture), infectious (sepsis) or autoimmune diseases (small and large vessel systemic vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis). Four patients have also been studied before and after sterile acute injury of the myocardium (septal alcoholization). One hundred thirty-eight healthy donors were studied in parallel. Neutrophils with normal MPO content were 96% in controls, >92% in patients undergoing septal alcoholization, 91% in CSA patients, but only 35 and 30% in unstable angina and AMI (STEMI and NSTEMI) patients, compared to 80%, 75% and 2% of patients with giant cell arteritis, acute bone fracture and severe sepsis. In addition, in 32/33 STEMI and 9/21 NSTEMI patients respectively, 20% and 12% of neutrophils had complete MPO depletion during the first 4 hours after the onset of symptoms, a feature not observed in any other group of patients. MPO depletion was associated with platelet activation, indicated by P-selectin expression, activation and transactivation of leukocyte β2-integrins and formation of platelet neutrophil and -monocyte aggregates. The injection of activated platelets in mice produced transient, P-selectin dependent, complete MPO depletion in about 50% of neutrophils. CONCLUSIONS: ACS are characterized by intense neutrophil activation, like other systemic inflammatory syndromes. In the very early phase of acute myocardial infarction only a subpopulation of neutrophils is massively activated, possibly via platelet-P selectin interactions. This paroxysmal activation could contribute to occlusive thrombosis

Increasing incidence and mortality of infective endocarditis: a population-based study through a record-linkage system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few population-based studies provide epidemiological data on infective endocarditis (IE). Aim of the study is to analyze incidence and outcomes of IE in the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Residents with a first hospitalization for IE in 2000-2008 were extracted from discharge data and linked to mortality records to estimate 365-days survival. Etiology was retrieved in subsets of this cohort by discharge codes and by linkage to a microbiological database. Risk factors for mortality were assessed through logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1,863 subjects were hospitalized for IE, with a corresponding crude rate of 4.4 per 100,000 person-years, increasing from 4.1 in 2000-2002 to 4.9 in 2006-2008 (p = 0.003). Median age was 68 years; 39% of subjects were hospitalized in the three preceding months. 23% of patients underwent a cardiac valve procedure in the index admission or in the following year. Inhospital mortality was 14% (19% including hospital transfers); 90-days and 365-days mortality rose through the study years. Mortality increased with age and the Charlson comorbidity index, in subjects with previous hospitalizations for heart failure, and (in the subcohort with microbiological data) in IE due to Staphylococci (40% of IE).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study demonstrates an increasing incidence and mortality for IE over the last decade. Analyses of electronic archives provide a region-wide picture of IE, overcoming referral biases affecting single clinic or multicentric studies, and therefore represent a first fundamental step to detect critical issues related to IE.</p

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Evaluation of a real-time virtual intervention to empower persons living with HIV to use therapy self-management: study protocol for an online randomized controlled trial

Background: Living with HIV makes considerable demands on a person in terms of self-management, especially as regards adherence to treatment and coping with adverse side-effects. The online HIV Treatment, Virtual Nursing Assistance and Education (Virus de I'immunodeficience Humaine-Traitement Assistance Virtuelle Infirmiere et Enseignement; VIH-TAVIE (TM)) intervention was developed to provide persons living with HIV (PLHIV) with personalized follow-up and real-time support in managing their medication intake on a daily basis. An online randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention primarily in optimizing adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy (ART) among PLHIV.Methods/design: A convenience sample of 232 PLHIV will be split evenly and randomly between an experimental group that will use the web application, and a control group that will be handed a list of websites of interest. Participants must be aged 18 years or older, have been on ART for at least 6 months, and have internet access. The intervention is composed of four interactive computer sessions of 20 to 30 minutes hosted by a virtual nurse who engages the PLHIV in a skills-learning process aimed at improving self-management of medication intake. Adherence constitutes the principal outcome, and is defined as the intake of at least 95% of the prescribed tablets. The following intermediary measures will be assessed: self-efficacy and attitude towards antiretroviral medication, symptom-related discomfort, and emotional support. There will be three measurement times: baseline (T0), after 3 months (T3) and 6 months (T6) of baseline measurement. The principal analyses will focus on comparing the two groups in terms of treatment adherence at the end of follow-up at T6. An intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis will be carried out to evaluate the true value of the intervention in a real context.Discussion: Carrying out this online RCT poses various challenges in terms of recruitment, ethics, and data collection, including participant follow-up over an extended period. Collaboration between researchers from clinical disciplines (nursing, medicine), and experts in behavioral sciences information technology and media will be crucial to the development of innovative solutions to supplying and delivering health services

Changes in soil carbon stocks in Brazil due to land use: paired site comparisons and a regional pasture soil survey

In this paper we calculated soil carbon stocks in Brazil studying 17 paired sites where soil stocks were determined in native vegetation, pastures and crop-livestock systems (CPS), and in other regional samplings encompassing more than 100 pasture soils, from 6.58 to 31.53 degrees S, involving three major Brazilian biomes: Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and the Pampa. The average native vegetation soil carbon stocks at 10, 30 and 60 cm soil depth were equal to approximately 29, 64, and 92 Mg ha(-1), respectively. In the paired sites, carbon losses of 7.5 Mg ha(-1) and 11.6 Mg ha(-1) in CPS systems were observed at 10 cm and 30 cm soil depths, respectively. In pasture soils, carbon losses were similar and equal to 7.5 Mg ha(-1) and 11.0 Mg ha(-1) at 10 cm and 30 cm soil depths, respectively. Differences at 60 cm soil depth were not significantly different between land uses. The average soil delta C-13 under native vegetation at 10 and 30 cm depth were equal to -25.4 parts per thousand and -24.0 parts per thousand, increasing to -19.6 parts per thousand and -17.7 parts per thousand in CPS, and to -18.9 parts per thousand, and -18.3 parts per thousand in pasture soils, respectively; indicating an increasing contribution of C-4 carbon in these agrosystems. In the regional survey of pasture soils, the soil carbon stock at 30 cm was equal to approximately 51 Mg ha(-1), with an average delta C-13 value of -19.6 parts per thousand. Key controllers of soil carbon stock in pasture sites were sand content and mean annual temperature. Collectively, both could explain approximately half of the variance of soil carbon stocks. When pasture soil carbon stocks were compared with the average soil carbon stocks of native vegetation estimated for Brazilian biomes and soil types by Bernoux et al. (2002) there was a carbon gain of 6.7 Mg ha(-1), which is equivalent to a carbon gain of 15% compared to the carbon soil stock of the native vegetation. The findings of this study are consistent with differences found between regional comparisons like our pasture sites and plot-level paired study sites in estimating soil carbon stocks changes due to land use changes.101061416160British Embass