Characterization of a birnavirus isolated from diseased turbot cultured in Spain

7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables.During 1989, light but persistent mortalities were detected in a turbot Scophthalmus maximus L. farm in Galicia (northwestern Spain) and a virus with the characteristics of a birnavirus was isolated. The purpose of this study was to characterize the viral agent and determine the susceptibility of turbot to this virus. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the particles were isometric, hexagonal and unenveloped with an average diameter of 58 to 60 nm. The molecular weights of the RNA segments were 1.9 and 2.0 x 10(up to 6) daltons. The cells most susceptible to the turbot isolate were the CHSE-214, FHM and RTG-2 lines and the optimal temperature range for its replication was 15 to 2OºC. The RNA and polypeptide electropherotypes show that this virus resembles the Ab serotype of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV); however, it differs in that it replicates in the FHM cell line and is not neutralized by antisera to the classical serotypes of IPNV. Infectivity trials conducted in turbot of dlfferent sizes indicated that the virus produced mortality only in small fish (2 g), although the larger fish (30 g) harbored the virus for at least 35 d. Fish inoculated with this isolate showed no pancreatic necrosis although necrosis of the hematopoietic elements of the kidney and spleen was detected.This work was supported by Grants MAR 89-0270 from the Comision Interministenal de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CICYT), and by XUGA 70708888 from Xunta de Galicia, Spain. Beatriz Novoa acknowledges the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia (Spain) for a research fellowship.Peer reviewe

Síndrome de Reiter exacerbado por indometacina

A 26-year-old man, with a personal history of drug abuse and positive serology for HIV, had Reiter's syndrome for six years. He experienced progressive worsening of his cutaneous lesions after initiation of indomethacin therapy. The skin lesions were almost completely resolved after the discontinuance of the drug and its reintroduction resulted in a similar deterioration. To our knowledge, indomethacin has not been reported to aggravate Reiter's syndrome. This case study documents anti-inflammatory drugs as possible causal factors for triggering Reiter's syndrome. Possible implicated mechanisms are also discussed

Novel method to measure the intrinsic spatial resolution in PET detectors based on monolithic crystals

[EN] The main aim of this work is to provide a method to retrieve the intrinsic spatial resolution of a gamma-ray detector block based on monolithic crystals within an assembled scanner. This method consists on a discrimination of the data using a software collimation process. The results are compared with an alternative method of separating two detector blocks far enough to produce a "virtual" source collimation due to the geometric constraints on the allowed coincidence event angles. A theoretical model has been deduced to fit the measured light distribution profiles, allowing estimating the detector intrinsic spatial resolution. The detector intrinsic spatial resolution is expected to follow a Gaussian distribution and the positron-emitter source shape, given the small size of a Na-22 source with 0.25 mm in diameter, can be assumed to follow a Lorentzian profile. However, the collimation of the data modifies the source shape that is no longer a pure Lorentzian distribution. Therefore, the model is based on the convolution of a Gaussian shaped distribution (contribution of the detector) and a modified Lorentzian distribution (contribution of the collimated source profile) that takes into account the collimation effect. Three LYSO crystals geometries have been studied in the present work, namely a 10 mm thick trapezoidal monolithic block, and two rectangular monolithic blocks with thicknesses of 15 mm and 20 mm, respectively. All the blocks have size dimensions of 50 mm x 50 mm. The experimental results yielded an intrinsic detector spatial resolution of 0.64 +/- 0.02 mm, 0.82 +/- 0.02 and 1.07 +/- 0.03 mm, for the 10 mm, 15 mm and 20 mm thick blocks, respectively, when the source was placed at the center of the detector. The detector intrinsic spatial resolution was moreover evaluated across one of the axis of each crystal. These values worsen to an average value of 0.68 +/- 0.04 mm, 0.90 +/- 0.14 and 1.29 +/- 0.19 mm, respectively, when the whole crystal size is considered, as expected. These tests show an accurate method to determine the intrinsic spatial resolution of monolithic-based detector blocks, once assembled in the PET system.This project has received funding from the European Research Council, Spain (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 695536). It has also been supported by the EU, Spain Grant 603002 under the FP7 program, and by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad under Grant TEC2016-79884-C2-1-R and through PROSPET (DTS15/00152) funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain.González, A.; Sanchez, F.; Bruyndonckx, P.; Cañizares-Ledo, G.; Benlloch Baviera, JM.; González Martínez, AJ. (2019). Novel method to measure the intrinsic spatial resolution in PET detectors based on monolithic crystals. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment. 920:58-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.12.056S586792

Lethality by pneumonia and factors associated to death

AbstractObjectiveto describe the case-fatality rate (CFR) and risk factors of death in children with community-acquired acute pneumonia (CAP) in a pediatric university hospital.Methoda longitudinal study was developed with prospective data collected from 1996 to 2011. Patients aged 1 month to 12 years were included in the study. Those who left the hospital against medical orders and those transferred to ICU or other units were excluded. Demographic and clinical-etiological characteristics and the initial treatment were studied. Variables associated to death were determined by bivariate and multivariate analysis using logistic regression.Resultsa total of 871 patients were selected, of whom 11 were excluded; thus 860 children were included in the study. There were 26 deaths, with a CFR of 3%; in 58.7% of these, penicillin G was the initial treatment. Pneumococcus was the most common pathogen (50.4%). From 1996 to 2000, there were 24 deaths (93%), with a CFR of 5.8% (24/413). From 2001 to 2011, the age group of hospitalized patients was older (p = 0.03), and the number of deaths (p = 0.02) and the percentage of disease severity were lower (p = 0.06). Only disease severity remained associated to death in the multivariate analysis (OR = 3.2; 95%CI: 1.2-8.9; p = 0.02).Conclusionwhen the 1996-2000 and 2001-2011 periods were compared, a significant reduction in CFR was observed in the latter, as well as a change in the clinical profile of the pediatric inpatients at the institute. These findings may be related to the improvement in the socio-economical status of the population. Penicillin use did not influence CFR

The Variant rs1867277 in FOXE1 Gene Confers Thyroid Cancer Susceptibility through the Recruitment of USF1/USF2 Transcription Factors

In order to identify genetic factors related to thyroid cancer susceptibility, we adopted a candidate gene approach. We studied tag- and putative functional SNPs in genes involved in thyroid cell differentiation and proliferation, and in genes found to be differentially expressed in thyroid carcinoma. A total of 768 SNPs in 97 genes were genotyped in a Spanish series of 615 cases and 525 controls, the former comprising the largest collection of patients with this pathology from a single population studied to date. SNPs in an LD block spanning the entire FOXE1 gene showed the strongest evidence of association with papillary thyroid carcinoma susceptibility. This association was validated in a second stage of the study that included an independent Italian series of 482 patients and 532 controls. The strongest association results were observed for rs1867277 (OR[per-allele] = 1.49; 95%CI = 1.30–1.70; P = 5.9×10−9). Functional assays of rs1867277 (NM_004473.3:c.−283G>A) within the FOXE1 5′ UTR suggested that this variant affects FOXE1 transcription. DNA-binding assays demonstrated that, exclusively, the sequence containing the A allele recruited the USF1/USF2 transcription factors, while both alleles formed a complex in which DREAM/CREB/αCREM participated. Transfection studies showed an allele-dependent transcriptional regulation of FOXE1. We propose a FOXE1 regulation model dependent on the rs1867277 genotype, indicating that this SNP is a causal variant in thyroid cancer susceptibility. Our results constitute the first functional explanation for an association identified by a GWAS and thereby elucidate a mechanism of thyroid cancer susceptibility. They also attest to the efficacy of candidate gene approaches in the GWAS era

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery