A new method to trace colloid transport pathways in macroporous soils using X‐ray computed tomography and fluorescence macrophotography

The fast and deep percolation of particles through soil is attributed to preferential flow pathways, and their extent can be critical in the filtering of particulate pollutants in soil. Particle deposition on the pore walls and transport between the pores and matrix modulate the preferential flow of particulate pollutants. In the present research, we developed a novel method of combining fluorescence macrophotography and X‐ray computed tomography (CT) to track preferential pathways of colloidal fluorescent microspheres (MS) in breakthrough experiments. We located accumulations of MS by fluorescence imaging and used them to delimit the deposition structures along the preferential colloid pathways by superimposing these images on the 3‐D pore network obtained from CT. Advection–diffusion with transport parameters from the dual‐porosity equation correlated with preferential pathway features across different soil management techniques. However, management did not influence the morphology of the MS preferential pathways. Preferential flow occurred in only a small fraction of the total pore network and was controlled by pores connected to the soil surface and by matrix density

Genetic Basis of Myocarditis: Myth or Reality?

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Virulence genes in Escherichia coli isolates from commercialized saltwater mussels Mytella guyanensis (Lamarck, 1819)

Abstract The isolation of Escherichia coli from food is a major concern. Pathogenic strains of these bacteria cause diseases which range from diarrhea to hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Therefore the virulence genes in E. coli isolates from the mussel ( Mytella guyanensis) commercialized in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil were investigated. Samples were purchased from four vendors: two from supermarkets and two from fair outlets. They were conditioned into isothermal boxes with reusable ice and transported to the laboratory for analysis. E. coli strains were isolated in eosin methylene blue agar, preserved in brain-heart infusion medium with 15% glycerol and stored at -20 °C, after microbiological analysis. Virulence genes in the isolated strains were identified by specific primers, with Polymerase Chain Reaction. Twenty-four isolates were obtained, with a prevalence of elt gene, typical from enterotoxigenic infection, in 75% of the isolates. The stx and bfpA genes, prevalent in enterohemorragic and enteropathogenic E. coli, respectively, were not detected. The occurrence of elt virulence-related gene in the E. coli isolates of Mytella guyanensis reveals urgent improvement in food processing, including good handling practices, adequate storage and cooking before consumption, to ensure consumer’s health

A-Type potassium currents active at subthreshold potentials in mouse cerebellar purkinje cells

Voltage-dependent and calcium-independent K+ currents were whole-cell recorded from cerebellar Purkinje cells in slices. Tetraethylammonium (TEA, 4 mm) application isolated an A-type K+ current (Ik(a)) with a peak amplitude, at +20 mV, of about one third of the total voltage-dependent and calcium-independent K+ current. The Ik(a) activated at about −60 mV, had a V0.5 of activation of −24.9 mV and a V0.5 of inactivation of −69.2 mV. The deactivation time constant at −70 mV was 3.4 ± 0.4 ms, while the activation time constant at +20 mV was 0.9 ± 0.2 ms. The inactivation kinetics was weakly voltage dependent, with two time constants; those at +20 mV were 19.3 ± 3.1 and 97.6 ± 9.8 ms. The recovery from inactivation had two time constants of 60.8 ms (78.4%) and 962.3 ms (21.6%). The Ik(a) was blocked by 4-aminopyridine with an IC50 of 67.6 μM. Agitoxin-2 (2 nm) blocked 17.4 ± 2.1% of the Ik(a). Flecainide completely blocked the Ik(a) with a biphasic effect with IC50 values of 4.4 and 183.2 μM. In current-clamp recordings the duration of evoked action potentials was affected neither by agitoxin-2 (2 nm) nor by flecainide (3 μM), but action potentials that were already broadened by TEA were further prolonged by 4-aminopyridine (100 μM). The amplitude of the hyperpolarisation at the end of depolarising steps was reduced by all these blockers

Bergenin Reduces Experimental Painful Diabetic Neuropathy by Restoring Redox and Immune Homeostasis in the Nervous System

Diabetic neuropathy is a frequent complication of diabetes. Symptoms include neuropathic pain and sensory alterations—no effective treatments are currently available. This work characterized the therapeutic effect of bergenin in a mouse (C57/BL6) model of streptozotocin-induced painful diabetic neuropathy. Nociceptive thresholds were assessed by the von Frey test. Cytokines, antioxidant genes, and oxidative stress markers were measured in nervous tissues by ELISA, RT-qPCR, and biochemical analyses. Single (3.125–25 mg/kg) or multiple (25 mg/kg; twice a day for 14 days) treatments with bergenin reduced the behavioral signs of diabetic neuropathy in mice. Bergenin reduced both nitric oxide (NO) production in vitro and malondialdehyde (MDA)/nitrite amounts in vivo. These antioxidant properties can be attributed to the modulation of gene expression by the downregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and upregulation of glutathione peroxidase and Nrf2 in the nervous system. Bergenin also modulated the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines production in neuropathic mice. The long-lasting antinociceptive effect induced by bergenin in neuropathic mice, was associated with a shift of the cytokine balance toward anti-inflammatory predominance and upregulation of antioxidant pathways, favoring the reestablishment of redox and immune homeostasis in the nervous system. These results point to the therapeutic potential of bergenin in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy