The importance of serological assays in diagnosing acute pulmonary histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a systemic mycosis caused by inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum microconidia. The disease does not normally affect immunocompetent individuals after a single, transient inhalation exposure. However, longer exposure may cause chronic or disseminated acute pulmonary infection. Herein, we report the case of a 24-year-old immunocompetent patient, who presented fever, cough and dyspnea for one month. The chest radiography revealed interstitial infiltrate and diffuse micronodules. The patient reported having had close and prolonged contact with bats. Diagnosis was confirmed by positive double immunodifusion and immunoblotting assays. She was treated with ketoconazole (400 mg) and there was complete resolution of the disease

Modulation of CD4 T cell function via CD6-targeting

In recent years molecules involved on the immune synapse became successful targets for therapeutic immune modulation. CD6 has been extensively studied, yet, results regarding CD6 biology have been controversial, in spite of the ubiquitous presence of this molecule on virtually all CD4 T cells. We investigated the outcome of murine and human antibodies targeting CD6 domain 1. We found that CD6-targeting had a major impact on the functional specialization of CD4 cells, both human and murine. Differentiation of CD4 T cells towards a Foxp3+ Treg fate was prevented with increasing doses of anti-CD6, while Th1 polarization was favoured. No impact was observed on Th2 or Th17 specialization. These in vitro results provided an explanation for the dose-dependent outcome of in vivo anti-CD6 administration where the anti-inflammatory action is lost at the highest doses. Our data show that therapeutic targeting of the immune synapse may lead to paradoxical dose-dependent effects due to modification of T cell fate.Funded by UID/BIM/50005/2019, project funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) / Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) throught Fundos do Orçamento do Estado, pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) ( PTDC/DTP-FTO/3080/2014 ); and by the project SRecognite Infect - ERA/0003/2015 using national funds through FCT . Funders did not have a role in study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, or in the writing of the manuscript

Selective enzymatic lipophilization of anthocyanin glucosides from blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) skin extract and characterization of esterified anthocyanins

Anthocyanins (ANC) are hydrophilic and water-soluble polyphenolic plant pigments. The current barriers to successful application of ANC in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries are predominantly related to performance, stability, formulation properties, and color. Enzymatic acylation of ANC could increase their stability without compromising bioactivity and chromatic features. Lipophilization of ANC-rich blackcurrant skin extract with Candida antarctica lipase B and octanoic acid was selective to cyanidin and delphinidin glucosides, but not the corresponding rutinosides. The reaction was chemo- and regioselective for acylation at the primary alcohol of the glucose moieties, greatly facilitating separation of the different glycoside derivatives

Comfort from the perspective of families of people hospitalized in the intensive care unit

This study aimed at understanding the meaning of comfort to the families of people in intensive care units. It consists of a qualitative study carried out in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Salvador-Bahia. Fourteen family members were interviewed. The authors utilized the theoretical principles of symbolic interactionism and the technique of qualitative data analysis. Results indicated that the categories Safety, Receptiveness, Information, Proximity, Social and Spiritual Support, Convenience and Integration expressed the meaning of comfort, which was comprised of reliability in terms of technical-scientific competence and a supportive and sensitive attitude of the team, chance of recovery, access to information and the opportunity to be close to the patient, support of people in their social life, spiritual sources and the environmental structure of the hospital, preservation of self-care and routine activities. It was concluded that the family is important as objects and subjects of the actions in healthcare and must be the focus in public health policies and programs in Brazil

A linkage map for the B-genome of Arachis (Fabaceae) and its synteny to the A-genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Arachis hypogaea </it>(peanut) is an important crop worldwide, being mostly used for edible oil production, direct consumption and animal feed. Cultivated peanut is an allotetraploid species with two different genome components, A and B. Genetic linkage maps can greatly assist molecular breeding and genomic studies. However, the development of linkage maps for <it>A. hypogaea </it>is difficult because it has very low levels of polymorphism. This can be overcome by the utilization of wild species of <it>Arachis</it>, which present the A- and B-genomes in the diploid state, and show high levels of genetic variability.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this work, we constructed a B-genome linkage map, which will complement the previously published map for the A-genome of <it>Arachis</it>, and produced an entire framework for the tetraploid genome. This map is based on an F₂population of 93 individuals obtained from the cross between the diploid <it>A. ipaënsis </it>(K30076) and the closely related <it>A. magna </it>(K30097), the former species being the most probable B genome donor to cultivated peanut. In spite of being classified as different species, the parents showed high crossability and relatively low polymorphism (22.3%), compared to other interspecific crosses. The map has 10 linkage groups, with 149 loci spanning a total map distance of 1,294 cM. The microsatellite markers utilized, developed for other <it>Arachis </it>species, showed high transferability (81.7%). Segregation distortion was 21.5%. This B-genome map was compared to the A-genome map using 51 common markers, revealing a high degree of synteny between both genomes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The development of genetic maps for <it>Arachis </it>diploid wild species with A- and B-genomes effectively provides a genetic map for the tetraploid cultivated peanut in two separate diploid components and is a significant advance towards the construction of a transferable reference map for <it>Arachis</it>. Additionally, we were able to identify affinities of some <it>Arachis </it>linkage groups with <it>Medicago truncatula</it>, which will allow the transfer of information from the nearly-complete genome sequences of this model legume to the peanut crop.</p