An alternative respiratory pathway on Candida krusei : implications on susceptibility profile and oxidative stress

Our aim was to detect the presence of an alternative oxidase (AOX) in Candida krusei clinical strains and its influence on fluconazole susceptibility and in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Candida krusei clinical isolates were tested to evaluate the presence of AOX. Debaromyces hansenii 2968 (AOX positive) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4742 (AOX negative) were used as control strains. Measurements of oxygen consumption were performed in the presence of 1 mM KCN, an inhibitor of the classical respiratory chain, and 5 mM salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM). AOX expression was monitored by Western blotting using an AOX monoclonal antibody. Interactions between fluconazole and SHAM were performed using checkerboard assay. ROS production was evaluated in the presence of SHAM plus fluconazole, H2O2, menadione, or plumbagin. AOX was present in all C. krusei tested. The combination of fluconazole with SHAM resulted in an indifferent effect. In the presence of SHAM, the treatment with ROS inductors or fluconazole increased ROS production, except in the AOX-negative strain. An alternative respiratory pathway resistant to cyanide is described for the first time as a characteristic of C. krusei species. This AOX is unrelated to fluconazole resistance; however, it protects C. krusei from oxidative stress.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - SFRH/BD/27662/200

Eugenia e Fundação Rockefeller no Brasil: a saúde como proposta de regeneração nacional

Nas primeiras décadas do século XX, a Fundação Rockefeller atuou de modo decisivo na implementação de ações voltadas para a saúde pública no Brasil, especialmente naquilo denominado de movimento sanitarista. Nesse mesmo período, a eugenia brasileira era equivalente ao sanitarismo, onde defendia-se a máxima de que sanear era eugenizar . Vários trabalhos discutem o movimento sanitário, a questão da saúde pública no Brasil, a Fundação Rockefeller, a eugenia e seus ativistas. Entretanto, é escassa a discussão a respeito da Rockefeller e o movimento eugenista brasileiro. É necessário alertar que embora nos deparemos com questões ligadas à raça, teorias sobre genética ou evolução, este trabalho não tem como objetivo analisar tais assuntos com profundidade. O que buscamos construir foi o cenário no qual a eugenia de maneira geral, e a brasileira, especificamente, se desenrolou trazendo à tona as posturas de alguns eugenistas brasileiros

Longitudinal MRI Volumetric Evaluation in Patients with Familial Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Introduction: Studies have shown progressive cerebral damage in patients with refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). However, this has not been demonstrated in benign forms of MTLE such as familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (FMTLE). Purpose: To evaluate progression of hippocampal atrophy (HA) in patients with sporadic mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (SMTLE) and FMTLE by longitudinal Magnetic resonance images (MRIs) acquired with at least 7 months of interval. Method: We included 35 patients with FMTLE (25 classified as benign and 10 refractory) and 33 with SMTLE (4 benign and 29 refractory). All MRIs were analyzed by an investigator blind for clinical data. Hippocampal analyses were performed manually in coronal 3 mm thick T1 inversion recovery, using the software Scion Image(®). Volumes were compared to those from a control group, and HA was determined for volumes below two standard deviations from the mean of controls. Results: The mean interval between the first (MRI1) and second MRI (MRI2) was 90 months for FMTLE and 45 months for SMTLE group. FMTLE group: volumetry demonstrated HA in 20 patients in MRI1 and in 23 patients in MRI2. There was significant progression of HA in FMTLE patients between MRIs in both benign and refractory FMTLE patients (benign FMTLE: right hippocampus, p = 0.001 and left hippocampus, p < 0.001; refractory FMTLE: right hippocampus, p = 0.022 and left hippocampus, p < 0.010). SMTLE group: volumetry demonstrated HA in 27 patients in MRI1 and in 29 patients in MRI2. In the group analysis, there was a significant reduction of the right (p < 0.0001) and left (p < 0.0001) hippocampal volumes during the follow-up period. Although the mean time between the MRIs in the FMTLE group was twice the time of the SMTLE group, the progression of volume loss was similar in both groups, indicating a slower progression in the FMTLE patients. Conclusion: FMTLE patients have progressive hippocampal volume reduction independently of seizure frequency although the progression of HA seems to be slower than in SMTLE

Correction: Applicability of machine learning technique in the screening of patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290721.]

Applicability of machine learning technique in the screening of patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

Even though the demand of head computed tomography (CT) in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) has progressively increased worldwide, only a small number of individuals have intracranial lesions that require neurosurgical intervention. As such, this study aims to evaluate the applicability of a machine learning (ML) technique in the screening of patients with mild TBI in the Regional University Hospital of Maringá, Paraná state, Brazil. This is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective study using ML technique to develop a protocol that predicts which patients with an initial diagnosis of mild TBI should be recommended for a head CT. Among the tested models, he linear extreme gradient boosting was the best algorithm, with the highest sensitivity (0.70 ± 0.06). Our predictive model can assist in the screening of mild TBI patients, assisting health professionals to manage the resource utilization, and improve the quality and safety of patient care

Eugenia e Fundação Rockefeller no Brasil: a saúde como proposta de regeneração nacional Eugenics and the Rockefeller Foundation in Brazil: health as an instrument of national regeneration

Nas primeiras décadas do século XX, a Fundação Rockefeller atuou de modo decisivo na implementação de ações voltadas para a saúde pública no Brasil, especialmente naquilo denominado de movimento sanitarista. Nesse mesmo período, a eugenia brasileira era equivalente ao sanitarismo, onde defendia-se a máxima de que "sanear era eugenizar". Vários trabalhos discutem o movimento sanitário, a questão da saúde pública no Brasil, a Fundação Rockefeller, a eugenia e seus ativistas. Entretanto, é escassa a discussão a respeito da Rockefeller e o movimento eugenista brasileiro. É necessário alertar que embora nos deparemos com questões ligadas à raça, teorias sobre genética ou evolução, este trabalho não tem como objetivo analisar tais assuntos com profundidade. O que buscamos construir foi o cenário no qual a eugenia de maneira geral, e a brasileira, especificamente, se desenrolou trazendo à tona as posturas de alguns eugenistas brasileiros.<br>In the first decades of the twentieth century, the work of the Rockefeller Foundation was decisive for the implementation of public health initiatives in Brazil, especially in the so-called public health movement. At that time, Brazilian eugenics was the same as public health, as expressed in the maxim "to sanitize is to eugenize". There are several studies discussing the public health movement, the issue of public health in Brazil, the Rockefeller Foundation, eugenics and its supporters. However, there is little discussion on the relationship between the Rockefeller Foundation and the Brazilian eugenics movement. It is worth to mention that although there are issues related to race, and theories on genetics and evolution, this work does not intend to examine these issues in depth. The aim was to recreate the scenario in which eugenics in general, and particularly in the Brazilian case, was developed, exposing the positions of some of the Brazilian eugenicists