Mycobacterium tuberculosis causing tuberculous lymphadenitis in Maputo, Mozambique

BACKGROUND: The zoonosis bovine tuberculosis (TB) is known to be responsible for a considerable proportion of extrapulmonary TB. In Mozambique, bovine TB is a recognised problem in cattle, but little has been done to evaluate how Mycobacterium bovis has contributed to human TB. We here explore the public health risk for bovine TB in Maputo, by characterizing the isolates from tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) cases, a common manifestation of bovine TB in humans, in the Pathology Service of Maputo Central Hospital, in Mozambique, during one year. RESULTS: Among 110 patients suspected of having TBLN, 49 had a positive culture result. Of those, 48 (98 %) were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and one for nontuberculous mycobacteria. Of the 45 isolates analysed by spoligotyping and Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit - Variable Number Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR), all were M. tuberculosis. No M. bovis was found. Cervical TBLN, corresponding to 39 (86.7 %) cases, was the main cause of TBLN and 66.7 % of those where from HIV positive patients. We found that TBLN in Maputo was caused by a variety of M. tuberculosis strains. The most prevalent lineage was the EAI (n?=?19; 43.2 %). Particular common spoligotypes were SIT 48 (EAI1_SOM sublineage), SIT 42 (LAM 9), SIT 1 (Beijing) and SIT53 (T1), similar to findings among pulmonary cases. CONCLUSIONS: M. tuberculosis was the main etiological agent of TBLN in Maputo. M. tuberculosis genotypes were similar to the ones causing pulmonary TB, suggesting that in Maputo, cases of TBLN arise from the same source as pulmonary TB, rather than from an external zoonotic source. Further research is needed on other forms of extrapulmonary TB and in rural areas where there is high prevalence of bovine TB in cattle, to evaluate the risk of transmission of M. bovis from cattle to humans.Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency / Department for Research Cooperation (Sida/SAREC) through Eduardo Mondlane University and Karolinska Institutet Research and Training (KIRT) collaboratio

8p23.1 interstitial deletion in a patient with congenital cardiopathy, neurobehavioral disorders, and minor signs suggesting 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Copy number variation studies of known disorders have the potential to improve the characterization of clinical phenotypes and may help identifying candidate genes and their pathways. The authors described a child with congenital heart disease, microcephaly, facial dysmorphisms, developmental delay, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems. There was initially a clinical suspicion of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2 DS), but molecular cytogenetic analysis (array genomic hybridization [aGH]) showed the presence of a de novo 3.6-Mb interstitial microdeletion in 8p23.1. The main features of 8p23.1 DS include congenital heart disease and behavioral problems, in addition to minor dysmorphisms and mental delay. Therefore, this article highlights the application of aGH to investigate 8p23.1 deletion in nonconfirmed 22q11.2 DS patients presenting neurobehavioral disorders, congenital cardiopathy, and minor dysmorphisms.Copy number variation studies of known disorders have the potential to improve the characterization of clinical phenotypes and may help identifying candidate genes and their pathways. The authors described a child with congenital heart disease, microcepha36544548sem informaçãosem informaçã

Semisynthetic Sesquiterpene Lactones Generated by the Sensibility of Glaucolide B to Lewis and Brønsted–Lowry Acids and Bases: Cytotoxicity and Anti-Inflammatory Activities

Sesquiterpene lactone (SL) subtypes including hirsutinolide and cadinanolide have a controversial genesis. Metabolites of these classes are either described as natural products or as artifacts produced via the influence of solvents, chromatographic mobile phases, and adsorbents used in phytochemical studies. Based on this divergence, and to better understand the sensibility of these metabolites, different pH conditions were used to prepare semisynthetic SLs and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities. Therefore, glaucolide B (1) was treated with various Brønsted–Lowry and Lewis acids and bases—the same approach was applied to some of its derivatives—allowing us to obtain 14 semisynthetic SL derivatives, 10 of which are hereby reported for the first time. Hirsutinolide derivatives 7a (CC50 = 5.0 µM; SI = 2.5) and 7b (CC50 = 11.2 µM; SI = 2.5) and the germacranolide derivative 8a (CC50 = 3.1 µM; SI = 3.0) revealed significant cytotoxic activity and selectivity against human melanoma SK-MEL-28 cells when compared with that against non-tumoral HUVEC cells. Additionally, compounds 7a and 7c.1 showed strongly reduced interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nitrite (NOx) release in pre-treated M1 macrophages J774A.1 when stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Despite the fact that hirsutinolide and cadinanolide SLs may be produced via plant metabolism, this study shows that acidic and alkaline extraction and solid-phase purification processes can promote their formation

Semisynthetic Sesquiterpene Lactones Generated by the Sensibility of Glaucolide B to Lewis and Brønsted–Lowry Acids and Bases: Cytotoxicity and Anti-Inflammatory Activities

Sesquiterpene lactone (SL) subtypes including hirsutinolide and cadinanolide have a controversial genesis. Metabolites of these classes are either described as natural products or as artifacts produced via the influence of solvents, chromatographic mobile phases, and adsorbents used in phytochemical studies. Based on this divergence, and to better understand the sensibility of these metabolites, different pH conditions were used to prepare semisynthetic SLs and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities. Therefore, glaucolide B (1) was treated with various Brønsted–Lowry and Lewis acids and bases—the same approach was applied to some of its derivatives—allowing us to obtain 14 semisynthetic SL derivatives, 10 of which are hereby reported for the first time. Hirsutinolide derivatives 7a (CC50 = 5.0 µM; SI = 2.5) and 7b (CC50 = 11.2 µM; SI = 2.5) and the germacranolide derivative 8a (CC50 = 3.1 µM; SI = 3.0) revealed significant cytotoxic activity and selectivity against human melanoma SK-MEL-28 cells when compared with that against non-tumoral HUVEC cells. Additionally, compounds 7a and 7c.1 showed strongly reduced interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nitrite (NOx) release in pre-treated M1 macrophages J774A.1 when stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Despite the fact that hirsutinolide and cadinanolide SLs may be produced via plant metabolism, this study shows that acidic and alkaline extraction and solid-phase purification processes can promote their formation

Itinerários abortivos em contextos de clandestinidade na cidade do Rio de Janeiro - Brasil Abortion itineraries in a clandestine context in the city of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

A partir de um conjunto de entrevistas em profundidade reuniu-se significativo material de cunho etnográfico sobre os percursos - concretos e simbólicos - de jovens mulheres e seus parceiros em busca de solução para uma gravidez imprevista. As iniquidades da sociedade brasileira se expressam em itinerários de maior ou menor sinuosidade, complexidade e duração de acordo com as condições materiais de existência e recursos sociais de que dispõem os sujeitos. Assim, para jovens de setores médios o acesso para a realização do aborto é ágil e bastante seguro, enquanto para as demais mulheres a decisão de abortar compõe-se de esforços em diferentes planos para a consecução do projeto. As narrativas podem assumir contornos dramáticos que configuram decisões de interrupção da gravidez mesmo em estágios avançados de gestação.<br>From a series of in-depth interviews, we gathered a significant amount of ethnographic material on the concrete and symbolic paths taken by young women and their partners in the search for a solution to an unplanned pregnancy. Inequities in Brazilian society are expressed in itineraries/routes of different sinuosity, complexity and duration according to the individuals' social and material conditions of existence. Thus, for middle class youths access to abortion is very swift and secure, whereas for the rest of women the decision to abort consists of efforts on different levels to achieve the undertaking. The narratives may assume dramatic proportions, including abortion even in advanced stages of pregnancy