QUANTITATIVE VS. CONVENTIONAL PCR FOR DETECTION OF HUMAN ADENOVIRUSES IN WATER AND SEDIMENT SAMPLES

SUMMARY Human Adenoviruses (HAdV) are notably resistant in the environment. These agents may serve as effective indicators of fecal contamination, and may act as causative agents of a number of different diseases in human beings. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and, more recently, quantitative PCR (qPCR) are widely used for detection of viral agents in environmental matrices. In the present study PCR and SYBR(r)Green qPCR assays were compared for detection of HAdV in water (55) and sediments (20) samples of spring and artesian wells, ponds and streams, collected from dairy farms. By the quantitative methodology HAdV were detected in 87.3% of the water samples and 80% of the sediments, while by the conventional PCR 47.3% and 35% were detected in water samples and sediments, respectively

Drosophila Ribosomal Protein Mutants Control Tissue Growth Non-Autonomously via Effects on the Prothoracic Gland and Ecdysone

The ribosome is critical for all aspects of cell growth due to its essential role in protein synthesis. Paradoxically, many Ribosomal proteins (Rps) act as tumour suppressors in Drosophila and vertebrates. To examine how reductions in Rps could lead to tissue overgrowth, we took advantage of the observation that an RpS6 mutant dominantly suppresses the small rough eye phenotype in a cyclin E hypomorphic mutant (cycEJP). We demonstrated that the suppression of cycEJP by the RpS6 mutant is not a consequence of restoring CycE protein levels or activity in the eye imaginal tissue. Rather, the use of UAS-RpS6 RNAi transgenics revealed that the suppression of cycEJP is exerted via a mechanism extrinsic to the eye, whereby reduced Rp levels in the prothoracic gland decreases the activity of ecdysone, the steroid hormone, delaying developmental timing and hence allowing time for tissue and organ overgrowth. These data provide for the first time a rationale to explain the counter-intuitive organ overgrowth phenotypes observed for certain members of the Minute class of Drosophila Rp mutants. They also demonstrate how Rp mutants can affect growth and development cell non-autonomously

COVID-19 in rheumatic diseases in Italy: first results from the Italian registry of the Italian Society for Rheumatology (CONTROL-19)

OBJECTIVES: Italy was one of the first countries significantly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. The Italian Society for Rheumatology promptly launched a retrospective and anonymised data collection to monitor COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), the CONTROL-19 surveillance database, which is part of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance. METHODS: CONTROL-19 includes patients with RMDs and proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) updated until May 3rd 2020. In this analysis, only molecular diagnoses were included. The data collection covered demographic data, medical history (general and RMD-related), treatments and COVID-19 related features, treatments, and outcome. In this paper, we report the first descriptive data from the CONTROL-19 registry. RESULTS: The population of the first 232 patients (36% males) consisted mainly of elderly patients (mean age 62.2 years), who used corticosteroids (51.7%), and suffered from multi-morbidity (median comorbidities 2). Rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequent disease (34.1%), followed by spondyloarthritis (26.3%), connective tissue disease (21.1%) and vasculitis (11.2%). Most cases had an active disease (69.4%). Clinical presentation of COVID-19 was typical, with systemic symptoms (fever and asthenia) and respiratory symptoms. The overall outcome was severe, with high frequencies of hospitalisation (69.8%), respiratory support oxygen (55.7%), non-invasive ventilation (20.9%) or mechanical ventilation (7.5%), and 19% of deaths. Male patients typically manifested a worse prognosis. Immunomodulatory treatments were not significantly associated with an increased risk of intensive care unit admission/mechanical ventilation/death. CONCLUSIONS: Although the report mainly includes the most severe cases, its temporal and spatial trend supports the validity of the national surveillance system. More complete data are being acquired in order to both test the hypothesis that RMD patients may have a different outcome from that of the general population and determine the safety of immunomodulatory treatments

Comparison of seven prognostic tools to identify low-risk pulmonary embolism in patients aged <50 years

publishersversionPeer reviewe

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Boletín oficial de la provincia de Santander: Año XLVIII Número 141 - 1984 Octubre 11

Objetivos: Revisar estudos que avaliem a capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida em pacientes com artrite reumatoide em uso de medicamentos biológicos e avaliar a capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida em pacientes domiciliados em Caxias do Sul que possuem artrite reumatoide e fazem uso de medicamentos biológicos. Métodos: Para a revisão narrativa, utilizou-se as bases de dados PubMed, Scielo e as bibliotecas virtuais Bireme e Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações. Como limites da pesquisa foram selecionados estudos publicados nos últimos quatro anos e as palavras-chave utilizadas foram “arthritis, rheumatoid”, “quality of Life”, “antirheumaic agents” e “biologic”, assim como seus correspondentes em português. Para avaliar a capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida em pacientes de Caxias do Sul, foram aplicados os seguintes questionários: sociodemografico, percepção do paciente sobre o serviço de saúde, HAQ (do inglês, “Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire”) e SF-12 (do inglês, “Medical Outcomes Study 12 - Item Short - Form Health Survey”). Resultados: A busca da revisão narrativa resultou em 113 artigos, sendo que destes, 14 foram selecionados. Em relação ao tipo de publicação: 12 eram artigos originais, 1 dissertação e 1 revisão sistemática. Na pesquisa de avaliação da qualidade de vida em pacientes de Caxias do Sul, dos 83 pacientes que preenchiam os requisitos de inclusão no estudo, 35 participaram da pesquisa. Os participantes tinham idade média de 58 anos (DP= 10,75) e a maioria (91,4%) era do sexo feminino. Os medicamentos biológicos mais utilizados foram o adalimumabe e o etanercepte. Em relação a qualidade de vida, verificou-se que os pacientes ficaram praticamente divididos entre os desfechos bom e ruim. Quanto à capacidade funcional, observou-se que grande parte dos pacientes obteve grau leve a moderada (62,8%). A percepção dos pacientes em relação ao acesso ao medicamento, ao tratamento com medicamento biológico, às orientações do médico e ao serviço de saúde, incluindo a farmácia, foram considerados como bom, muito bom ou ótimo pela maioria dos pacientes. Conclusões: Com base nos estudos revisados, é possível concluir que MMCD biológicos possuem efeitos benéficos na CF e QV de pacientes com AR. Entretanto, fatores como efeitos a longo prazo e superioridade frente a MMCD sintéticos, ainda precisam de maior elucidação. Em relação a capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida dos pacientes de Caxias do Sul, verifica-se que, apesar da maioria destes pacientes apresentarem bons resultados nestes desfechos, um numero considerável de pacientes apresenta qualidade de vida classificada como ruim e capacidade funcional gravemente afetada.Objective: To review studies that evaluate the quality of life and functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in use of biological drugs and to evaluate the quality of life and functional capacity in patients domiciled in Caxias do Sul who have rheumatoid arthritis treating with biological drugs. Methods: For this review, we used the databases PubMed, Scielo and the virtual libraries Bireme and Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. As limits of the research were selected studies published in the last four years and the keywords used were "arthritis, rheumatoid", "quality of Life", "antirheumatic agents" and "biologic", as well as their correspondents in Portuguese. To evaluate the quality of life and functional capacity in patients from Caxias do Sul, the following surveys were applied: sociodemographic, patient perception about health service, Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Medical Outcomes Study 12 - Item Short - Form Health Survey (SF-12). Results: In search for this review resulted in 113 articles, 14 were selected. Regarding the type of publication: 12 were original articles, 1 thesis and 1 systematic review. For the evaluation of the quality of life in patients from Caxias do Sul, 83 patients fulfilled the inclusion requirements in the study, but only 35 participated in the study. The average age of the participants were 58 years (SD= 10,75) and the majority (91.4%) were female. The most commonly used biological drugs were adalimumab and etanercept. Regarding quality of life, it was verified that the patients were practically divided between good and bad outcomes. Regarding functional capacity, it was observed that a large part of the patients (62,8%) had a mild to moderate degree. Patients' perception of access to the treatment, biological drug treatment, physician guidelines and health care provider's, including pharmacy, were considered to be good, very good or excellent for most patients. Conclusions: Based on the reviewed studies, it is possible to conclude that biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs have beneficial effects on functional capacity and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis patients. However, factors such as long-term effects and superiority to synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs still need further elucidation. Regarding quality of life and functional capacity of the patients from Caxias do Sul, it is verified that, although most of these patients present good results in these outcomes, a considerable number of patients present quality of life classified as poor and functional capacity severely affected

QUANTITATIVE VS. CONVENTIONAL PCR FOR DETECTION OF HUMAN ADENOVIRUSES IN WATER AND SEDIMENT SAMPLES

Os adenovírus humanos (HAdV) são notavelmente resistentes ao ambiente. Estes agentes podem servir como indicadores efetivos de contaminação fecal, tanto quanto podem atuar como agentes causadores de diferentes doenças em seres humanos. A reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR) e mais recentemente a PCR quantitativa (qPCR) são amplamente usadas para detecção de agentes virais em matrizes ambientais. No presente estudo, PCR e SYBR(r)Green qPCR foram comparadas para a detecção de HAdV em amostras de água (55) e sedimento (20) provenientes de nascentes, poços, açudes e arroios coletadas em propriedades leiteiras. A metodologia quantitativa detectou HAdV em 87,3% das amostras de água e 80% dos sedimentos, enquanto por PCR convencional a detecção foi de 47,3% e 35%, respectivamente.Human Adenoviruses (HAdV) are notably resistant in the environment. These agents may serve as effective indicators of fecal contamination, and may act as causative agents of a number of different diseases in human beings. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and, more recently, quantitative PCR (qPCR) are widely used for detection of viral agents in environmental matrices. In the present study PCR and SYBR(r)Green qPCR assays were compared for detection of HAdV in water (55) and sediments (20) samples of spring and artesian wells, ponds and streams, collected from dairy farms. By the quantitative methodology HAdV were detected in 87.3% of the water samples and 80% of the sediments, while by the conventional PCR 47.3% and 35% were detected in water samples and sediments, respectively

Styles and rates of deformation in the frontal accretionary wedge of the Calabrian Arc (Ionian Sea): controls exerted by the structure of the lower African plate

The Calabrian Arc is a narrow subduction-rollback system resulting from Africa/Eurasia plate convergence. We analysed the structural style of the frontal accretionary wedge through a multiscale geophysical approach. Pre-stack depth-migrated crustal-scale seismic profiles unravelled the overall geometry of the subduction complex; high-resolution multi-channel seismic and sub-bottom CHIRP profiles, together with morpho-structural maps, integrated deep data and constrained the fine structure of the frontal accretionary wedge, as well as deformation processes along the outer deformation front. We identified four main morpho-structural domains in the western lobe of the frontal wedge: the proto-deformation area at the transition with the abyssal plain; two regions of gentle and tight folding; a hummocky morphology domain with deep depressions and intervening structural highs; a highstanding plateau at the landward limit of the salt-bearing accretionary wedge, where the detachment cuts through deeper levels down to the basement. Variation of structural style and seafloor morphology in these domains are related to a progressively more intense deformation towards the inner wedge, while abrupt changes are linked to inherited structures in the lower African plate. Our data suggest focusing of intense shallow deformation in correspondence of deeply rooted faults and basement highs of the incoming plate. Back-arc extension in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea has recently ceased, producing a slowdown of slab rollback and plate-boundary re-organization along trans-tensional lithospheric faults segmenting the continental margin. In this complex setting, it is not clear if the accretionary wedge is still growing through frontal accretion. Our data suggest that shortening is still active at the toe of the wedge, and uplift rates along single folds are in the range of 0.25-1.5 mm/yr. An unconformity within the Plio-Quaternary sediments suggests a discontinuity in sedimentation and tectonic processes, i.e. a slowdown of shortening rate or an increase in sedimentation rate, but not a real inactivation of frontal accretion, which still contribute