Food insecurity in families with children under five years of age on the Brazil-Peru Amazon border

Food and nutrition security is the regular and permanent access to quality food in sufficient quantity. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity in households with children under five in the Amazon frontier Brazil - Peru. The study was conducted in 352 households in Assis Brasil (Brazil) and 89 households Iñapari (Peru), finding a prevalence of food insecurity of 40.6 % and 38.2 % , respectively ( p = 0.856 ) . In Assis Brasil, having domicile with wood floors or land increased by 2.47 times the odds of food insecurity compared to cement fl oors, ceramic or quarry tiles . Belonging to the poorest tertile increased the chance of food insecurity in 6.04 times ( p < 0.001 ), and the increment of each new resident increased by 37 % the chance of food insecurity in the household . In Iñapari, only living in house made of wood or with a wood floor was associated with food insecurity, showing that income is still the main factor associated with food insecurity in the Amazonian borders

MMP-9/RECK imbalance: a mechanism associated with high-grade cervical lesions and genital infection by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis

"Manuscript"BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are important enzymes in the tumor microenvironment associated with progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) toward squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix. However, the role of MMPs in the inflammatory process associated with Chlamydia trachomatis infection concomitant with the carcinogenic process driven by HPV has not yet been addressed. In the present study, we analyzed the state of the MMP-9-RECK axis in cervical carcinogenesis. METHODS: The levels of MMP-9 and RECK expression were analyzed by immunocytochemistry in liquid-based cytology samples from 136 women with high-grade cervical lesions (CIN2/CIN3) and cervical SCC diagnosed by LLETZ, and in 196 women without cervical neoplasia or CIN1. Real-time qPCR was performed to analyze expression of MMP-9 and RECK in 15 cervical samples. The presence of HPV-DNA and other genital pathogens was evaluated by PCR. RESULTS: We found a higher expression of MMP-9 [OR, 4.2; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.2-7.8] and lower expression of RECK (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7) in women with CIN2/CIN3/SCC when compared with women from the control group (no neoplasia/CIN1). A statistically significant association was also found between MMP-9/RECK imbalance and infection by alpha-9 HPV and C. trachomatis. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was significantly higher in women with high-grade cervical disease (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.3-11.3). CONCLUSIONS: MMP-9/RECK imbalance in cervical smears is significantly associated with high-grade cervical diseases and infection by alpha-9 HPV and C. trachomatis. IMPACT: MMP-9/RECK imbalance during cervical inflammation induced by C. trachomatis might play a role in HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis.This work was supported by Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), numbers 2008/03232-1 (to L.L. Villa) and 2012/09746-2 (to M.G. Discacciati and S.S. Maria-Engler) and National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development pharmaceutical innovation (CNPQ-INCT-if; to S.S. Maria-Engler)

A wind-blown bubble in the Central Molecular Zone cloud G0.253+0.016

G0.253+0.016, commonly referred to as "the Brick" and located within the Central Molecular Zone, is one of the densest ($\approx10^{3-4}$ cm$^{-3}$) molecular clouds in the Galaxy to lack signatures of widespread star formation. We set out to constrain the origins of an arc-shaped molecular line emission feature located within the cloud. We determine that the arc, centred on $\{l_{0},b_{0}\}=\{0.248^{\circ}, 0.18^{\circ}\}$, has a radius of $1.3$ pc and kinematics indicative of the presence of a shell expanding at $5.2^{+2.7}_{-1.9}$ km s$^{-1}$. Extended radio continuum emission fills the arc cavity and recombination line emission peaks at a similar velocity to the arc, implying that the molecular and ionised gas are physically related. The inferred Lyman continuum photon rate is $N_{\rm LyC}=10^{46.0}-10^{47.9}$ photons s$^{-1}$, consistent with a star of spectral type B1-O8.5, corresponding to a mass of $\approx12-20$ M$_{\odot}$. We explore two scenarios for the origin of the arc: i) a partial shell swept up by the wind of an interloper high-mass star; ii) a partial shell swept up by stellar feedback resulting from in-situ star formation. We favour the latter scenario, finding reasonable (factor of a few) agreement between its morphology, dynamics, and energetics and those predicted for an expanding bubble driven by the wind from a high-mass star. The immediate implication is that G0.253+0.016 may not be as quiescent as is commonly accepted. We speculate that the cloud may have produced a $\lesssim10^{3}$ M$_{\odot}$ star cluster $\gtrsim0.4$ Myr ago, and demonstrate that the high-extinction and stellar crowding observed towards G0.253+0.016 may help to obscure such a star cluster from detection

Standardisation of magnetic nanoparticles in liquid suspension

Suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles offer diverse opportunities for technology innovation, spanning a large number of industry sectors from imaging and actuation based applications in biomedicine and biotechnology, through large-scale environmental remediation uses such as water purification, to engineering-based applications such as position-controlled lubricants and soaps. Continuous advances in their manufacture have produced an ever-growing range of products, each with their own unique properties. At the same time, the characterisation of magnetic nanoparticles is often complex, and expert knowledge is needed to correctly interpret the measurement data. In many cases, the stringent requirements of the end-user technologies dictate that magnetic nanoparticle products should be clearly defined, well characterised, consistent and safe; or to put it another way—standardised. The aims of this document are to outline the concepts and terminology necessary for discussion of magnetic nanoparticles, to examine the current state-of-the-art in characterisation methods necessary for the most prominent applications of magnetic nanoparticle suspensions, to suggest a possible structure for the future development of standardisation within the field, and to identify areas and topics which deserve to be the focus of future work items. We discuss potential roadmaps for the future standardisation of this developing industry, and the likely challenges to be encountered along the way

The Pore-Forming Toxin Listeriolysin O Mediates a Novel Entry Pathway of L. monocytogenes into Human Hepatocytes

Intracellular pathogens have evolved diverse strategies to invade and survive within host cells. Among the most studied facultative intracellular pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes is known to express two invasins-InlA and InlB-that induce bacterial internalization into nonphagocytic cells. The pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO) facilitates bacterial escape from the internalization vesicle into the cytoplasm, where bacteria divide and undergo cell-to-cell spreading via actin-based motility. In the present study we demonstrate that in addition to InlA and InlB, LLO is required for efficient internalization of L. monocytogenes into human hepatocytes (HepG2). Surprisingly, LLO is an invasion factor sufficient to induce the internalization of noninvasive Listeria innocua or polystyrene beads into host cells in a dose-dependent fashion and at the concentrations produced by L. monocytogenes. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying LLO-induced bacterial entry, we constructed novel LLO derivatives locked at different stages of the toxin assembly on host membranes. We found that LLO-induced bacterial or bead entry only occurs upon LLO pore formation. Scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy studies show that LLO-coated beads stimulate the formation of membrane extensions that ingest the beads into an early endosomal compartment. This LLO-induced internalization pathway is dynamin-and F-actin-dependent, and clathrin-independent. Interestingly, further linking pore formation to bacteria/bead uptake, LLO induces F-actin polymerization in a tyrosine kinase-and pore-dependent fashion. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that a bacterial pathogen perforates the host cell plasma membrane as a strategy to activate the endocytic machinery and gain entry into the host cell

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

A Broad Line-width, Compact, Millimeter-bright Molecular Emission Line Source near the Galactic Center

A compact source, G0.02467-0.0727, was detected in Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 3 mm observations in continuum and very broad line emission. The continuum emission has a spectral index α ≈ 3.3, suggesting that the emission is from dust. The line emission is detected in several transitions of CS, SO, and SO2 and exhibits a line width FWHM ≈ 160 km s−1. The line profile appears Gaussian. The emission is weakly spatially resolved, coming from an area on the sky ≲1″ in diameter (≲104 au at the distance of the Galactic center, GC). The centroid velocity is v LSR ≈ 40-50 km s−1, which is consistent with a location in the GC. With multiple SO lines detected, and assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions, the gas temperature is T LTE = 13 K, which is colder than seen in typical GC clouds, though we cannot rule out low-density, subthermally excited, warmer gas. Despite the high velocity dispersion, no emission is observed from SiO, suggesting that there are no strong (≳10 km s−1) shocks in the molecular gas. There are no detections at other wavelengths, including X-ray, infrared, and radio. We consider several explanations for the millimeter ultra-broad-line object (MUBLO), including protostellar outflow, explosive outflow, a collapsing cloud, an evolved star, a stellar merger, a high-velocity compact cloud, an intermediate-mass black hole, and a background galaxy. Most of these conceptual models are either inconsistent with the data or do not fully explain them. The MUBLO is, at present, an observationally unique object