Etiology and Viral Genotype in Patients with End-Stage Liver Diseases admitted to a Hepatology Unit in Colombia

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are the principal risk factor associated to end-stage liver diseases in the world. A study was carried out on end-stage liver disease cases admitted to an important hepatology unit in Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia. From 131 patients recruited in this prospective study, 71% of cases were diagnosed as cirrhosis, 12.2% as HCC, and 16.8% as cirrhosis and HCC. Regarding the risk factors of these patients, alcohol consumption was the most frequent (37.4%), followed by viral etiology (17.6%). Blood and/or hepatic tissue samples from patients with serological markers for HCV or HBV infection were characterized; on the basis of the phylogenetic analysis of HCV 5′ UTR and HBV S gene, isolates belonged to HCV/1 and HBV/F3, respectively. These results confirm the presence of strains associated with poor clinical outcome, in patients with liver disease in Colombia; additionally, HBV basal core promoter double mutant was identified in HCC cases. Here we show the first study of cirrhosis and/or HCC in Colombian and HBV and HCV molecular characterization of these patients. Viral aetiology was not the main risk factor in this cohort but alcohol consumption

Mutanome and expression of immune response genes in microsatellite stable colon cancer

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of the mutanome in the prognosis of microsatellite stable stage II CRC tumors. The exome of 42 stage II, microsatellite stable, colon tumors (21 of them relapse) and their paired mucosa were sequenced and analyzed. Although some pathways accumulated more mutations in patients exhibiting good or poor prognosis, no single somatic mutation was associated with prognosis. Exome sequencing data is also valuable to infer tumor neoantigens able to elicit a host immune response. Hence, putative neoantigens were identified by combining information about missense mutations in each tumor and HLAs genotypes of the patients. Under the hypothesis that neoantigens should be correctly presented in order to activate the immune response, expression levels of genes involved in the antigen presentation machinery were also assessed. In addition, CD8A level (as a marker of T-cell infiltration) was measured. We found that tumors with better prognosis showed a tendency to generate a higher number of immunogenic epitopes, and up-regulated genes involved in the antigen processing machinery. Moreover, tumors with higher T-cell infiltration also showed better prognosis. Stratifying by consensus molecular subtype, CMS4 tumors showed the highest association of expression levels of genes involved in the antigen presentation machinery with prognosis. Thus, we hypothesize that a subset of stage II microsatellite stable CRC tumors are able to generate an immune response in the host via MHC class I antigen presentation, directly related with a better prognosis

Nutrient removal using a UASB reactor followed by a high-rate pond and DAF

O despejo de efluentes parcialmente tratados com presença de nutrientes pode causar eutrofização nos corpos hídricos. Para evitar este processo, é necessário o devido tratamento que visa a melhoria na qualidade final do efluente a ser lançado. Este trabalho apresenta o tratamento de esgoto doméstico a partir de reator anaeróbio de manto de lodo (UASB) seguido de lagoa de alta taxa de algas (LAT) com posterior separação da biomassa algal através da flotação por ar dissolvido (FAD) operado durante um ano. O reator UASB foi operado com vazão de 1.6 m³/h e TDH de 10.8 h. A LAT foi operada com vazão de 0.8 m³/h e com TDH de 4.1 dias. Para o auxílio na flotação, foram realizados testes com o coagulante inorgânico cloreto férrico com dosagem de 40 mg/L e comparado com testes utilizando o floculante orgânico Tanfloc SG® com uma dosagem de 50 mg/L, operado com vazão de1.7m³/h e TDH de 40 minutos. O sistema UASB + LAT apresentou remoção média de nitrogênio total Kjeldahl (NTK) de 61.3 ± 11.2 % e para o fósforo total de 32.3 ± 5.5 %. Os resultados dos testes de flotação mostraram que o cloreto férrico obteve desempenho superior para a remoção de fósforo total, atingindo valores de 74.5 ± 7.5 %. Já o Tanfloc SG apresentou maior capacidade de remoção de sólidos suspensos voláteis e matéria orgânica (DQO) com valores de 88.2 ± 4.3 % e 89.8 ± 4.2 %, respectivamente.The discharge of partially treated effluents with nutrients may cause eutrophication in water bodies. To avoid this process due treatment is necessary to improve the final quality of the effluent to be released. This work presents the treatment of domestic sewage from an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) followed by a high algal rate lagoon (LAT) with subsequent separation of algal biomass by dissolved air flotation (FAD) operated for one year. The UASB reactor was managed at a flow rate of 1.6 m³/h and a HRT of 10.8 h. The pond was worked at a flow rate of 0.8 m³/h with a HRP of 4.1 days. Inorganic coagulant ferric chloride with a dosage of 40 mg/L and organic flocculant Tanfloc SG with a dosage of 50 mg/L were tested to assist the flotation system. The UASB+LAT system showed an average TKN removal of 61.3 ± 11.2 % and the total phosphorus 32.3 ± 5.5 %. The overall removal observed in the pond and separations tests showed that ferric chloride showed a higher performance in the removal of total phosphorus reaching values of 74.5 ± 7.5 %. On the other hand, Tanfloc SG performed better for the removal of volatile suspended solids and organic matter with up to 88.2 ± 4.3 % and 89.8 ± 4.2 %, respectively

Eficiency evaluation of coagulants use for phosphorus removal in effluents

Phosphorus from wastewater is an important macronutrient, and its discharge in large amounts can favor the eutrophication of lakes and streams. Thus, specific treatments can be used for their removal in effluents. The use of coagulation and flocculation for phosphorus removal has been widely used due to its flexibility and high efficiency, and, for this, there are several products available. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of using aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chroride (PAC), ferric chloride, and tannin coagulants to remove phosphorus from domestic and industrial effluents, using data available in literature works. When ferric chloride and aluminum sulfate were used, the median was approximately 90%, and the PAC was 80%. The use of tannin resulted in a greater variation in efficiency values and minor phosphorus removal (<75%). The mean coagulant dosage, in mg coagulant.mg initial TP⁻¹, was 9.33 mg.mg⁻¹ for the PAC; 8.09 mg.mg⁻¹ and 7.96 mg.mg⁻¹ for ferric chloride and aluminum sulfate, respectively.O fósforo das águas residuárias é um importante macronutriente, e sua descarga em grandes quantidades pode favorecer a eutrofização de lagos e córregos. Assim, tratamentos específicos podem ser utilizados para sua remoção em efluentes. O uso de coagulação e floculação para remoção de fósforo tem sido amplamente utilizado devido a sua flexibilidade e alta eficiência, e, para isso, existem diversos produtos disponíveis. Sendo assim, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a eficiência do uso de sulfato de alumínio, cloreto de polialumínio (PAC), cloreto férrico e coagulantes taninos na remoção de fósforo de efluentes domésticos e industriais, utilizando dados disponíveis em trabalhos da literatura. Quando foram utilizados cloreto férrico e sulfato de alumínio, a mediana foi de aproximadamente 90% e o PAC foi de 80%. O uso de tanino resultou em maior variação nos valores de eficiência e menor remoção de fósforo (<75%). A dosagem média de coagulante (mg coagulante.(mg TP inicial)⁻¹) foi de 9.33 mg.mg⁻¹ para o PAC; 8.09 mg.mg⁻¹ e 7.96 mg.mg⁻¹para cloreto férrico e sulfato de alumínio, respectivamente