Avaliação da detecção do antígeno NS1 para diagnóstico de dengue nos Laboratórios de Saúde Pública, Estado de São Paulo, 2009

The present work evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of detection of Dengue NS1 antigen employing two NS1 assays, an immunochromatographic assay and ELISA, in the diagnostic routine of Public Health laboratories. The results obtained with NS1 assay were compared with virus isolation and, in a subpopulation of cases, they were compared with the IgM-ELISA results obtained with convalescent samples. A total of 2,321 sera samples were analyzed by one of two NS1 techniques from March to October 2009. The samples were divided into five groups: groups I, II and III included samples tested by NS1 and virus isolation, and groups IV and V included patients with a first sample tested by NS1 and a second sample tested by IgM-ELISA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, Kappa Index and Kappa Concordance were calculated. The results showed that NS1 testing in groups I, II and III had high sensitivity (98.0%, 99.5% and 99.3%), and predictive values and Kappa index between 0.9 - 1.0. Groups IV and V only had Kappa Concordance calculated, since the samples were analyzed according to the presence of NS1 antigen or IgM antibody. Concordance of 92.1% was observed when comparing the results of NS1-negative samples with IgM-ELISA. Based on the findings, it is possible to suggest that the tests for NS1 detection may be important tools for monitoring the introduction and spread of Dengue serotypes.Esse estudo avaliou a acurácia do diagnóstico por detecção do antígeno NS1 do vírus Dengue empregando-se ensaios em dois formatos, imunocromatográfico e ELISA, na rotina diagnóstica dos laboratórios de Saúde Pública. Compararam-se os resultados de NS1 com os resultados de isolamento viral e, em parte dos casos, foi feita a comparação com os resultados de IgM-ELISA, obtidos nas segundas amostras. Um total de 2.321 amostras de soros, obtidas no período de março a outubro de 2009, foram analisadas por uma das duas técnicas NS1. As amostras foram divididas em cinco grupos: I, II e III, que incluíram amostras analisadas por testes NS1 e por isolamento de vírus. Os grupos IV e V incluíram pacientes com a primeira amostra processada por NS1 e segunda por IgM-ELISA. Foram analisadas sensibilidade, especificidade, valor preditivo positivo e negativo, concordância e índice Kappa. Os resultados mostraram que os grupos I, II e III apresentaram alta sensibilidade (98,0%, 99,5% e 99,3%), valores preditivos e índice Kappa entre 0,9 - 1,0. Nos grupos IV e V, apenas concordância foi calculada, dado que as amostras foram analisadas quanto à presença de antígeno NS1 ou de anticorpos IgM. Comparando-se os resultados negativos de NS1 com IgM-ELISA houve 92,1% de concordância. Com base nas constatações feitas, é possível sugerir que a detecção de NS1 pode ser importante ferramenta para monitorar a introdução e disseminação dos sorotipos de Dengue

Skunk River Fall 1998

https://openspace.dmacc.edu/skunkriver/1019/thumbnail.jp

Chronic insulin treatment of diabetes does not fully normalize alterations in the retinal transcriptome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness in working age adults. Approximately 95% of patients with Type 1 diabetes develop some degree of retinopathy within 25 years of diagnosis despite normalization of blood glucose by insulin therapy. The goal of this study was to identify molecular changes in the rodent retina induced by diabetes that are not normalized by insulin replacement and restoration of euglycemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The retina transcriptome (22,523 genes and transcript variants) was examined after three months of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in male Sprague Dawley rats with and without insulin replacement for the later one and a half months of diabetes. Selected gene expression changes were confirmed by qPCR, and also examined in independent control and diabetic rats at a one month time-point.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transcriptomic alterations in response to diabetes (1376 probes) were clustered according to insulin responsiveness. More than half (57%) of diabetes-induced mRNA changes (789 probes) observed at three months were fully normalized to control levels with insulin therapy, while 37% of probes (514) were only partially normalized. A small set of genes (5%, 65 probes) was significantly dysregulated in the insulin-treated diabetic rats. qPCR confirmation of findings and examination of a one month time point allowed genes to be further categorized as prevented or rescued with insulin therapy. A subset of genes (Ccr5, Jak3, Litaf) was confirmed at the level of protein expression, with protein levels recapitulating changes in mRNA expression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results provide the first genome-wide examination of the effects of insulin therapy on retinal gene expression changes with diabetes. While insulin clearly normalizes the majority of genes dysregulated in response to diabetes, a number of genes related to inflammatory processes, microvascular integrity, and neuronal function are still altered in expression in euglycemic diabetic rats. Gene expression changes not rescued or prevented by insulin treatment may be critical to the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, as it occurs in diabetic patients receiving insulin replacement, and are prototypical of metabolic memory.</p

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A systematic review of non-invasive modalities used to identify women with anal incontinence symptoms after childbirth

© 2018, The International Urogynecological Association. Introduction and hypothesis: Anal incontinence following childbirth is prevalent and has a significant impact upon quality of life (QoL). Currently, there is no standard assessment for women after childbirth to identify these symptoms. This systematic review aimed to identify non-invasive modalities used to identify women with anal incontinence following childbirth and assess response and reporting rates of anal incontinence for these modalities. Methods: Ovid Medline, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Collaboration, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched for studies using non-invasive modalities published from January 1966 to May 2018 to identify women with anal incontinence following childbirth. Study data including type of modality, response rates and reported prevalence of anal incontinence were extracted and critically appraised. Results: One hundred and nine studies were included from 1602 screened articles. Three types of non-invasive modalities were identified: validated questionnaires/symptom scales (n = 36 studies using 15 different instruments), non-validated questionnaires (n = 50 studies) and patient interviews (n = 23 studies). Mean response rates were 92% up to 6 weeks after childbirth. Non-personalised assessment modalities (validated and non-validated questionnaires) were associated with reporting of higher rates of anal incontinence compared with patient interview at all periods of follow-up after childbirth, which was statistically significant between 6 weeks and 1 year after childbirth (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This systematic review confirms that questionnaires can be used effectively after childbirth to identify women with anal incontinence. Given the methodological limitations associated with non-validated questionnaires, assessing all women following childbirth for pelvic-floor symptomatology, including anal incontinence, using validated questionnaires should be considered

Globalización y localidad

Los trabajos que este libro reúne surgen de investigaciones de campo que exploran, de manera comparativa y pluridisciplinaria, cuatro aspectos fundamentales de los llamados "espacios infranacionales" dentro de la globalización: las reorganizaciones productivas de las ciudades y regiones; las transformaciones de las instituciones y los actores involucrados en la toma de decisiones a nivel local; las recomposiciones territoriales y las movilidades espaciales que las acompañan; y los cambios en las condiciones de vida y las identidades de los residentes. El objetivo es destacar la interdependencia de estos cuatro temas no sólo desde una perspectiva académica y teórica, sino también desde el punto de vista de las estrategias, de las "lógicas prácticas" de actores locales en su adaptación a una de las transformaciones más profundas de la historia del capitalismo. La obra está organizada en cuatro secciones: las dos primeras agrupan artículos que abordan, por una parte, las dinámicas de los cambios en las aglomeraciones productivas urbanas y regionales v, por otra, la afirmación de nuevos actores que desempeñan un papel relevante en la transformación de los tejidos productivos o en las políticas públicas encaminadas a apoyarlos; la tercera sección se ocupa de aquellas adaptaciones que, mediante las movilidades de los trabajadores locales, han influido sobre las diferencias de oportunidades económicas entre las distintas escalas espaciales; finalmente, en la cuarta sección se estudian los cambios en los modos y las condiciones de vida de los residentes de las ciudades y regiones que se acompañan, frecuentemente, de transformaciones y luchas de representaciones de las identidades

The generic enhancement of photochromic dye switching speeds in a rigid polymer matrix

The generic enhancement of photochromic dye switching speeds in a rigid polymer matrix by the attachment of flexible oligomers having a low glass-transition temperature was analyzed. The greatest impact was observed in the thermal fade parameters T1/2 and T3/4, the time it takes for the optical density to reduce by half and three quarters of the initial optical density of the colored state. It was shown that the method does not alter the electronic nature of the dyes instead it protects them from the host matrix and provides greater molecular mobility for the switching process. It was found that the dye is protected by the spontaneous coiling of its attached low-viscosity oligomer