Impact of the Degrading Toxicity of Metallic Trace Elements on the Flora and Fauna of the Matete River in Kinshasa

This work presents the results for which the general objective pursued in this study is to assess the impact of the degrading toxicity of metallic trace elements on the flora and fauna of the Matete river in Kinshasa. This evaluation was studied through the understanding of the accumulative power of species of flora and fauna in this same ecosystem with metallic elements. In particular: Pistia stratiotes (manganese): 10.7 ± 1.1 and 236.4 × 101 ± 248.8 mg / kg, iron: from 187.5 × 101 ± 61.9 and 500.0 × 101 ± 0, 1 mg / kg, potassium: between 314.8 ± 12.1 and 119.0 × 103 ± 6981.1 mg / kg, calcium: <10 ± <0.3 and 252200 ± 1892.8 mg / kg, cobalt: <3.0 ± <0.2, nickel: <0.5 ± <0.1 and 20.6 ± 0.5 mg / kg, zinc: 1.9 ± 0.0 and 98.7 × 101 ± 0.0 mg / kg, copper: <0.5 ± <0.1 and 79.4 ± 1.2 mg / kg, aluminum: 56.3 × 101 ± 53.1 and 5229.0 × 101 ± 583, 8 mg / kg, chromium: <1.0 ± <0.1 mg / kg and 21.6 ± 4.0 mg / kg, cadmium: 2.8 ± 0.3 and 25.6 ± 0.4 mg / kg, lead: 0.5 ± 0.4 and 86.7 ± 5.5 mg / kg and for Lemna minor (manganese): 5.10 ± 0.1 and 5.80 ± 0.3 mg / kg, iron: 49.9 × 101 ± 18.8 and 6784.0 × 101 ± 709.5 mg / kg, potassium: 113.8 ± 4.4 and 2712.0 × 101 ± 98.8 mg / kg, calcium: <10 ± <0.1 and 97830 ± 2073.9 mg / kg, cobalt: <3.0 ± <0.2 mg / kg, nickel: 0.001 ± 0.00 and 0.004 ± 0.00 mg / kg, zinc : 3.12 ± 0.17 and 4.00 ± 0.82 mg / kg, copper: 0.001 ± 0.0001 and 0.006 ± 0.0004 mg / kg, aluminum: 0.02 ± 0.00 mg / kg and 0.15 ± 0.06 mg / kg, chromium: 0.001 ± 0.0001 and 0.003 ± 0.0002 mg / kg, cadmium: 0.0004 ± 0.00002 and 0.001 ± 0.00003 mg / kg, lead: 0.001 ± 0.00 and 0.004 ± 0.0002 mg / kg. On the other hand, Oreochromis niloticus (Calcium): <0.1 × 102 ± 0.3 and 25 220.0 × 101 ± 48094.1mg / kg, Iron: 10350.7 × 101 ± 5131.7 and 102158.0 × 101 ± 27182.7,Manganese: 1.815 × 101 ± 0.931mg / kg and 7.945 × 101 ± 2.131 mg / kg, Cobalt: <6.0 ± <0.0 mg / kg, Nickel: <0.501 ± <0.049 mg / kg and 61.503 ± 1.302 mg / kg, Zinc: <0.736 ± 0.015 mg / kg and 42.923 × 101 ± 3.176 mg / kg, Copper: 1.902 ± 0.007 mg / kg and 35.302 ± 0.247 mg / kg, Aluminum: 1.414 × 103 ± 70.464mg / kg and 9.493 × 103 ± 147.214 mg / kg, Chromium: <1.0001 ± <0.0408 and <1.0003 ± <0.0105, Cadmium: 0.2002 ± 0.0718 mg / kg and 19.0001 ± 0.8981mg / kg and Lead: <1, 0002 ± <0.0051 mg / kg and 3.9004 ± 0.0895 mg / kg of dry matter. One of the serious causes of their persistence is their biomagnification in the food chain. This is why the response of  Pistia stratiotes, water lettuce and Lemna minor from the nine sampling sites of the Matete river to large and / or low concentrations of metallic elements is reflected either by an inhibition of photosynthetic processes (antagonism and effect synergistic) and the instinct of certain species. However, this ecosystem offers an ecological niche low in dissolved oxygen and a nutrient-poor and toxic diet for the species that live there. In this regard, the flora of the Matete river accumulates the metallic elements in a significant way and according to the diversity of the environments and the size of the species

Gleason Score As Predictor Of Clinicopathologic Findings And Biochemical (psa) Progression Following Radical Prostatectomy.

There is evidence showing that Gleason grading of prostatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most powerful predictors of biological behavior and one of the most influential factors used to determine treatment for prostate cancer. The aim of the current study was to compare the Gleason score for needle biopsy to the Gleason score for the correspondent surgical specimen, find any possible difference in the biochemical (PSA) progression following surgery in upgraded cases, correlate Gleason score in the specimens to several clinicopathologic variables, and compare outcomes between patients with low-grade vs. high-grade Gleason and Gleason scores 3+4 vs. 4+3. The study population consisted of 200 consecutive patients submitted to radical prostatectomy. Biochemical progression was defined as PSA > or = 0.2 ng/mL. Time to PSA progression was studied using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit analysis. In 47.1% of the cases, there was an exact correlation and 40.6% of cases were underestimated in the biopsies. Half of the tumors graded Gleason 6 at biopsy were Gleason score 7 at surgery. These upgraded tumors had outcomes similar to tumors with Gleason score 7 in both biopsy and surgery. There was a positive correlation of high-grade Gleason score in the surgical specimens to higher preoperative PSA, more extensive tumors, positive margins and more advanced pathologic staging. Tumors with a Gleason score > or = 7 have lower PSA progression-free survival vs. Gleason scores < 7. In this series, there was no significant difference when comparing Gleason scores of 3+4 vs. 4+3. The findings support the importance of Gleason grading for nomograms, which are used by clinicians to counsel individual patients and help them make important decisions regarding their disease.3423-

Controversial Predictors Of Biochemical Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy: A Study From A Latin American (brazilian) Institution.

To analyze controversial clinicopathologic predictors of biochemical recurrence after surgery: age, race, tumor extent on surgical specimen, tumor extent on needle biopsy, Gleason score 3 + 4 vs 4 + 3, and amount of extent of extraprostatic extension and positive surgical margins. The needle biopsies and the correspondent surgical specimens were analyzed from 400 patients. Time to recurrence was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier curves and risk of shorter time to recurrence using Cox univariate and multivariate analysis. Except for age, race, maximum percentage of cancer per core, and number of cores with cancer, all other variables studied were significantly predictive of time to biochemical recurrence using the Kaplan-Meier curves. In univariate analysis, except for focal extraprostatic extension, age, race, focal positive surgical margins, and maximum extent and percentage of cancer per core, all other variables were significantly predictive of shorter time to recurrence. On multivariate analysis, diffuse positive surgical margins and preoperative PSA were independent predictors. Young patients and non-whites were not significantly associated with time to biochemical recurrence. The time consuming tumor extent evaluation in surgical specimens seems not to add additional information to other well established predictive findings. The higher predictive value of Gleason score 4 + 3 = 7 vs 3 + 4 = 7 discloses the importance of grade 4 as the predominant pattern. Extent and not simply presence or absent of extraprostatic extension should be informed. Most tumor extent evaluations on needle biopsies are predictive of time to biochemical recurrence, however, maximum percentage of cancer in all cores was the strongest predictor.39779-9

Association between arterial stiffness, cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Arterial stiffness may be a cause of cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive impairment. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the association between stiffness, cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive impairment. For the associations between stiffness (i.e. carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), brachial-ankle PVVV (baPWV), carotid stiffness and pulse pressure) on the one hand and cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive impairment on the other, we identified 23 (n = 15,666/20 cross-sectional; 1 longitudinal; 2 combined cross-sectional/longitudinal) and 41 studies (n= 57,671/26 cross-sectional; 11 longitudinal; 4 combined cross-sectional/longitudinal), respectively. Pooled analyses of cross-sectional studies showed that greater stiffness was associated with markers of cerebral small vessel disease with odds ratios, per +1 SD, of 1.29-1.32 (

Buildup from birth onward of short telomeres in human hematopoietic cells

Telomere length (TL) limits somatic cell replication. However, the shortest among the telomeres in each nucleus, not mean TL, is thought to induce replicative senescence. Researchers have relied on Southern blotting (SB), and techniques calibrated by SB, for precise measurements of TL in epidemiological studies. However, SB provides little information on the shortest telomeres among the 92 telomeres in the nucleus of human somatic cells. Therefore, little is known about the accumulation of short telomeres with age, or whether it limits the human lifespan. To fill this knowledge void, we used the Telomere-Shortest-Length-Assay (TeSLA), a method that tallies and measures single telomeres of all chromosomes. We charted the age-dependent buildup of short telomeres (&lt;3 kb) in human hematopoietic cells from 334 individuals (birth-89 years) from the general population, and 18 patients with dyskeratosis congenita-telomere biology disorders (DC/TBDs), whose hematopoietic cells have presumably reached or are close to their replicative limit. For comparison, we also measured TL with SB. We found that in hematopoietic cells, the buildup of short telomeres occurs in parallel with the shortening with age of mean TL. However, the proportion of short telomeres was lower in octogenarians from the general population than in patients with DC/TBDs. At any age, mean TL was longer and the proportion of short telomeres lower in females than in males. We conclude that though converging to the TL-mediated replicative limit, hematopoietic cell telomeres are unlikely to reach this limit during the lifespan of most contemporary humans.</p

Allometric equations, wood density and partitioning of aboveground biomass in the arboretum of Ruhande, Rwanda

Open Access Journal; Published online: 10 Nov 2020There is growing interest in plantation forests throughout Africa because of their role in environment, economy and people's livelihoods. However, the contribution of planted forests to climate mitigation is poorly understood, partly due to lack of allometric equations for biomass estimation. This study aimed to determine wood density and biomass fractions in aboveground components, and to develop biomass estimation equations for multispecies plantation forests in the arboretum of Ruhande in Rwanda. Allometric equations were developed by regressing diameter at breast height (DBH) alone or in combination with height or wood density or age of trees against the biomass of 45 trees harvested from a 200-ha site. Biomass estimates obtained from destructively sampled trees were up-scaled to estimate the amount of carbon stocked in the arboretum of Ruhande, assuming a stem density of 250 stems per ha. Wood density varied among the species but not tree size. The greatest fraction of aboveground biomass was allocated to stems (71–77%) compared to branches (19–27%) and leaves (1–8%) and varied by species. Equations developed fit the data well with DBH explaining over 90% of the observed variation in aboveground and stem biomass. Including height or wood density as supporting parameters reduced the relative error for aboveground biomass by 6.4 and 8.0% and improved model fit by 2.1 and 2.9%, respectively. Akaike information criterion (AIC) showed that wood density (AIC=63.6) and height (AIC=48.2) were the most suitable parameters to support DBH as a proxy for aboveground and stem biomass, respectively. Allometric equations developed in this study are useful tool for estimating carbon stocks of plantation forests in Rwanda and can enhance the accuracy of biomass predictions where site-specific equations rather than generalized models are recommended. Further studies focusing on development of allometric equations on belowground biomass in such systems are recommended

Controversial predictors of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: a study from a Latin American (Brazilian) Institution

Purpose To analyze controversial clinicopathologic predictors of biochemical recurrence after surgery: age, race, tumor extent on surgical specimen, tumor extent on needle biopsy, Gleason score 3 + 4 vs 4 + 3, and amount of extent of extraprostatic extension and positive surgical margins. Materials and Methods The needle biopsies and the correspondent surgical specimens were analyzed from 400 patients. Time to recurrence was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier curves and risk of shorter time to recurrence using Cox univariate and multivariate analysis. Results Except for age, race, maximum percentage of cancer per core, and number of cores with cancer, all other variables studied were significantly predictive of time to biochemical recurrence using the Kaplan-Meier curves. In univariate analysis, except for focal extraprostatic extension, age, race, focal positive surgical margins, and maximum extent and percentage of cancer per core, all other variables were significantly predictive of shorter time to recurrence. On multivariate analysis, diffuse positive surgical margins and preoperative PSA were independent predictors. Conclusions Young patients and non-whites were not significantly associated with time to biochemical recurrence. The time consuming tumor extent evaluation in surgical specimens seems not to add additional information to other well established predictive findings. The higher predictive value of Gleason score 4 + 3 = 7 vs 3 + 4 = 7 discloses the importance of grade 4 as the predominant pattern. Extent and not simply presence or absent of extraprostatic extension should be informed. Most tumor extent evaluations on needle biopsies are predictive of time to biochemical recurrence, however, maximum percentage of cancer in all cores was the strongest predictor.77979

Modulation of innate immune responses at birth by prenatal malaria exposure and association with malaria risk during the first year of life

Background: Factors driving inter-individual differences in immune responses upon different types of prenatal malaria exposure (PME) and subsequent risk of malaria in infancy remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined the impact of four types of PME (i.e., maternal peripheral infection and placental acute, chronic, and past infections) on both spontaneous and toll-like receptors (TLRs)-mediated cytokine production in cord blood and how these innate immune responses modulate the risk of malaria during the first year of life. Methods: We conducted a birth cohort study of 313 mother-child pairs nested within the COSMIC clinical trial (NCT01941264), which was assessing malaria preventive interventions during pregnancy in Burkina Faso. Malaria infections during pregnancy and infants’ clinical malaria episodes detected during the first year of life were recorded. Supernatant concentrations of 30 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors induced by stimulation of cord blood with agonists of TLRs 3, 7/8, and 9 were measured by quantitative suspension array technology. Crude concentrations and ratios of TLR-mediated cytokine responses relative to background control were analyzed. Results: Spontaneous production of innate immune biomarkers was significantly reduced in cord blood of infants exposed to malaria, with variation among PME groups, as compared to those from the non-exposed control group. However, following TLR7/8 stimulation, which showed higher induction of cytokines/chemokines/growth factors than TLRs 3 and 9, cord blood cells of infants with evidence of past placental malaria were hyper-responsive in comparison to those of infants not-exposed. In addition, certain biomarkers, which levels were significantly modified depending on the PME category, were independent predictors of either malaria risk (GM-CSF TLR7/8 crude) or protection (IL-12 TLR7/ 8 ratio and IP-10 TLR3 crude, IL-1RA TLR7/8 ratio) during the first year of life. Conclusions: These findings indicate that past placental malaria has a profound effect on fetal immune system and that the differential alterations of innate immune responses by PME categories might drive heterogeneity between individuals to clinical malaria susceptibility during the first year of lif