Detection of newborn infants at risk for congenitat toxoplasmosis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Within the third to fifth day after birth, btood samples for indirect immunefluorescence tests (rF) for toxoplasmosis were taken from l0B2 neonates. B?? (36.50/o) rF.rgG and rF-rgM seronegative cases and 65s (68.b%) rF-rgG seropositive cases reacting from 1:16 to 1:1024 were found. rn 1b such cases e.4%), sera were reactive in both the IgG and IgM classes, 12 cases being IF-IgM : 1:16, and B cases IF-I9M - L:64. These cases were considered. at potential risks for congenital infection þy T. gondii. of these 15 cases, a morphological study of 18 placentas showed data suggestive of prolonged fetal injuries in 11 such cases. All these 13 placentas showed signs of hematogenous inflammatory processes. Four placentas revealed structures with morphological characteristics similar to cysts of Toxo. plasma gondii at the microscopical examination. Of these four neonates where the parasite'was found in the placentas, one infant was underweight and showed discrete microcephaly. Two children had hepatosplenomegaþ, one of them with unilateral retinochoroiditis. The fourth case was clinicalþ normal. In the other 11 cases, selected due to possible risk of congenital infection, one infant was pre. mature, eight were normal, and two showed symptomatolog¡r non-suggestive of congenital toxoplasmosis

A clinical follow-up of 35 Brazilian patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Prader-Willi Syndrome is a common etiology of syndromic obesity that is typically caused by either a paternal microdeletion of a region in chromosome 15 (microdeletions) or a maternal uniparental disomy of this chromosome. The purpose of this study was to describe the most significant clinical features of 35 Brazilian patients with molecularly confirmed Prader-Willi syndrome and to determine the effects of growth hormone treatment on clinical outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed based on the medical records of a cohort of 35 patients diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. The main clinical characteristics were compared between the group of patients presenting with microdeletions and the group presenting with maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15. Curves for height/length, weight and body mass index were constructed and compared between Prader-Willi syndrome patients treated with and without growth hormone to determine how growth hormone treatment affected body composition. The curves for these patient groups were also compared with curves for the normal population. RESULTS: No significant differences were identified between patients with microdeletions and patients with maternal uniparental disomy for any of the clinical parameters measured. Growth hormone treatment considerably improved the control of weight gain and body mass index for female patients but had no effect on either parameter in male patients. Growth hormone treatment did not affect height/length in either gender. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rates of several clinical features in this study are in agreement with the rates reported in the literature. Additionally, we found modest benefits of growth hormone treatment but failed to demonstrate differences between patients with microdeletions and those with maternal uniparental disomy. The control of weight gain in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome is complex and does not depend exclusively on growth hormone treatment

Ageing in the critical contact process: a Monte Carlo study

The long-time dynamics of the critical contact process which is brought suddenly out of an uncorrelated initial state undergoes ageing in close analogy with quenched magnetic systems. In particular, we show through Monte Carlo simulations in one and two dimensions and through mean-field theory that time-translation invariance is broken and that dynamical scaling holds. We find that the autocorrelation and autoresponse exponents lambda_{Gamma} and lambda_R are equal but, in contrast to systems relaxing to equilibrium, the ageing exponents a and b are distinct. A recent proposal to define a non-equilibrium temperature through the short-time limit of the fluctuation-dissipation ratio is therefore not applicable.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, Latex2e with IOP macros; final for

Tunable Energy-Transfer Process in Heterometallic MOF Materials Based on 2,6-Naphthalenedicarboxylate: Solid-State Lighting and Near-Infrared Luminescence Thermometry

Trivalent lanthanide ions (Ln3+) are used to prepare a plethora of coordination compounds, with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) being among the most sought-after in recent years. The porosity of Ln-MOFs is often complemented by the luminescence imparted by the metal centers, making them attractive multifunctional materials. Here, we report a class of three-dimensional (3D) MOFs obtained from a solvothermal reaction between 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (H2NDC) and lanthanide chlorides, yielding three types of compounds depending on the chosen lanthanide: [LnCl(NDC)(DMF)] for Ln3+ = La3+, Ce3+, Pr3+, Nd3+, Sm3+ (type 1), [Eu(NDC)1.5(DMF)]·0.5DMF (type 2), and [Ln2(NDC)3(DMF)2] for Ln3+ = Tb3+, Dy3+, Y3+, Er3+, Yb3+ (type 3). Photoluminescent properties of selected phases were explored at room temperature. The luminescence thermometry capability of Yb3+-doped Nd-MOF was fully investigated in the 15-300 K temperature range under 365 and 808 nm excitation. To describe the optical behavior of the isolated MOFs, we introduce the total energy-transfer balance model. Therein, the sum of energy-transfer rates is considered along with its dependence on the temperature - the sign, magnitude, and variation of this parameter - permitting to afford a thorough interpretation of the observed behavior of the luminescent species of all materials presented here. The combination of novel theoretical and experimental studies presented herein to describe energy-transfer processes in luminescent materials can pave the way toward the design of MOF-based chemical and physical sensors working in an optical range of interest for biomedical applications.Fil: Gomez, Germán Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Marin, Riccardo. University of Ottawa; CanadáFil: Carneiro Neto, Albano N.. Universidade de Aveiro; PortugalFil: Botas, Alexandre M. P.. Universidade de Aveiro; PortugalFil: Ovens, Jeffrey. University of Ottawa; CanadáFil: Kitos, Alexandros A.. University of Ottawa; CanadáFil: Bernini, Maria Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Carlos, Luís D.. Universidade de Aveiro; PortugalFil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Nanosistemas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Murugesu, Muralee. University of Ottawa; Canad

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients with Non-Infectious Scleritis

Introduction This article points out the design, methods, development and deployment of the international registry promoted by the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) Network with the aim to define and assess paediatric and adult patients with immune-mediated scleritis. Methods This registry collects both retrospective and prospective real-world data from patients with non-infectious scleritis through the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool and aims to promote knowledge and real-life evidence from patients enrolled worldwide; the registry also allows the collection of standardised data, ensuring the highest levels of security and anonymity of patients' data and flexibility to change according to scientific acquisitions over time. The communication with other similar registries has been also ensured in order to pursue the sustainability of the project with respect to the adaptation of collected data to the most diverse research projects. Results Since the launch of the registry, 99 centres have been involved from 20 countries and four continents. Forty-eight of the centres have already obtained a formal approval from their local ethics committees. At present, the platform counts 259 users (95 principal investigators, 160 site investigators, 2 lead investigators, and 2 data managers); the platform collects baseline and follow-up data using 3683 fields organised into 13 instruments, including patient's demographics, history, symptoms, trigger or risk factors, therapies and healthcare utilization. Conclusions The development of the AIDA International Registry for patients with non-infectious scleritis will allow solid research on this rare condition. Real-world evidence resulting from standardised real-life data will lead to the optimisation of routine clinical and therapeutic management, which are currently limited by the rarity of this ocular inflammatory condition

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients with Non-Infectious Uveitis

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to point out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry for paediatric and adult patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU). Methods: This is a physician-driven, population- and electronic-based registry implemented for both retrospective and prospective collection of real-world demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data of patients with uveitis and other non-infectious inflammatory ocular diseases recruited through the AIDA Network. Data recruitment, based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, is thought to collect standardised information for real-life research and has been developed to change over time according to future scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other similar instruments. Security, data quality and data governance are cornerstones of this platform. Results: Ninety-five centres have been involved from 19 countries and four continents from 24 March to 16 November 2021. Forty-eight out of 95 have already obtained the approval from their local ethics committees. At present, the platform counts 259 users (95 principal investigators, 160 site investigators, 2 lead investigators, and 2 data managers). The AIDA Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 3943 fields organised into 13 instruments, including patient's demographics, history, symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies and healthcare utilization for patients with NIU. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA Registry for patients with NIU will facilitate the collection of standardised data leading to real-world evidence and enabling international multicentre collaborative research through inclusion of patients and their families worldwide

Gut Bacterial Communities in the Giant Land Snail Achatina fulica and Their Modification by Sugarcane-Based Diet

The invasive land snail Achatina fulica is one of the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide representing a potentially serious threat to natural ecosystems and human health. This species is known to carry parasites and harbors a dense and metabolically active microbial community; however, little is known about its diversity and composition. Here, we assessed for the first time the complexity of bacterial communities occurring in the digestive tracts of field-collected snails (FC) by using culture-independent molecular analysis. Crop and intestinal bacteria in FC were then compared to those from groups of snails that were reared in the laboratory (RL) on a sugarcane-based diet. Most of the sequences recovered were novel and related to those reported for herbivorous gut. Changes in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were observed when the snails were fed a high-sugar diet, suggesting that the snail gut microbiota can influence the energy balance equation. Furthermore, this study represents a first step in gaining a better understanding of land snail gut microbiota and shows that this is a complex holobiont system containing diverse, abundant and active microbial communities