260 research outputs found

    Nephrotic Range Proteinuria in Renal Transplantation: Clinical and Histologic Correlates in a 10-year Retrospective Study

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    INTRODUCTION: There is a high incidence of nephrotic proteinuria in renal transplant recipients, which is an accurate predictor of graft loss. Despite this, its histologic correlates and prognostic implications are still not well characterized. We assessed the clinical and histological correlates of kidney transplantation patients with nephrotic range proteinuria. METHODS: We have retrospectively analyzed clinical and histological data from 50 kidney transplantation biopsy specimens from 44 renal transplant recipients with nephrotic range proteinuria between 2006 and 2015. The median follow-up time was 93 months (range, 14 months to 190 months). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 45.2 ± 13.7 years and our cohort included 86% recipients of deceased-donor grafts. The maintenance immunosuppressive regimen included calcineurin inhibitors in 68% and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors in 32% of patients. The average proteinuria was 6.9 ± 3.8 g/d and 52% of patients presented with nephrotic syndrome. The main histological findings were transplant glomerulopathy (22%), de novo glomerular disease (22%), and recurrence of primary disease (22%). Tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis was present in 78% of the biopsy specimens. Thirty-one patients (62%) lost the graft at follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference between the histologic diagnosis nor the proteinuria levels and the outcome of the graft. CONCLUSIONS: The main causes of nephrotic range proteinuria in patients undergoing biopsy were transplant glomerulopathy, recurrence of the underlying disease, and de novo glomerulonephritis. Nephrotic range proteinuria was related to a high rate of graft loss.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    What Can We Do When All Collapses? Fatal Outcome of Collapsing Glomerulopathy and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus With Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage: Case Report

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    NTRODUCTION: Collapsing glomerulopathy (CG) is a rare form of glomerular injury. Although commonly associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, it can occur in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 50-year-old man, with chronic kidney disease secondary to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, who received a cadaveric kidney transplant in 2007. There were no relevant intercurrences until May 2015, when he presented with nephrotic range proteinuria (± 4 g/d). A graft biopsy was performed and it did not show any significant pathological changes. In September, he developed a full nephrotic syndrome (proteinuria 19 g/d) and a graft biopsy was repeated. CG features were evident with a rich immunofluorescence. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies were positive; the remaining immunologic study was normal. Viral markers for HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) were negative. The patient was treated with corticosteroid pulses and plasmapheresis (seven treatments). A rapid deterioration of kidney function was seen and he became dialysis dependent. He was discharged with a low-dose immunosuppressive treatment. In October, he was hospitalized with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). The auto-immune study was repeated, revealing complement consumption and positive titers of ANA and Anti-dsDNA antibodies. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) and antiglomerular basement membrane antibody (anti-GBM) were negative. Treatment with intravenous corticosteroids, plasmapheresis, and human immunoglobulin was ineffective and the outcome was fatal. CONCLUSION: This case report highlights the possible association of CG and SLE. To our knowledge, it is the first case of SLE presenting with CG and DAH, with the singularity of occurring in a kidney transplant recipient receiving immunosuppression.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Payment for environmental services: a critical review of schemes, concepts, and practice in Brazil.

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    The Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is often conceived through complex schemes without a clear definition of all concepts involved. This study presents the results of a systematic literature review on PES schemes in Brazil, accompanied by a critical assessment of their efficacy for potential environmental gains. The PES approaches were grouped into six categories based on the research focus, and those that were focused on PES policies were identified as the most studied. A particular emphasis has been given to the Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes, where the ecosystem services studied were mostly centered on issues related to carbon and water, respectively. Approximately one-third of all schemes provided no clear definition of which ecosystem services are proposed for payment. In addition, the review showed no consensus among studies on the definition of services in similar schemes. Most schemes presented no payment system conditioned on the provision of environmental services. Furthermore, the review showed that the absence of clarity in the application of concepts may hinder the development of public policies to properly implement PES in Brazil. The conclusion is that standardizing terms used in the literature and in PES schemes is critical; therefore, the use of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) as a reference is recommended to ensure clarity, objectivity and, more importantly, the expected environmental efficacy

    Fish assemblage associated with aquatic macrophytes bank in mananged lakes of Central Amazon, Amazonas, Brazil

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    The co-management of fishery resources developed by Amazonian riverine people is concerned with the maintenance of suitable environments for fish stock conservation. This type of co-management strategy is based on rules of access and use for fishery resources. In this research we investigated the influence of using lakes (preserved and managed for subsistence) and its distance from the river (near and far) in the structure of the fish assemblages associated with floating meadows bank in floodplain lakes, Central Amazonian. Fish were caught during flood period using seine nets in six lakes in a distance ranging from 0.87 to 10.9 km from the river. In floating meadows bank were captured a total of 623 specimens of fish, over 56 species. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicates that the co-management of lakes and distance did not influence significantly the ecological attributes of fish assemblages (abundance, richness, total weight, Shannon-Weaver and Berger-Parker diversity, evenness and dominance). According to analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) there was no difference in species composition among the lakes. These results suggest other factors, such as: short time of effective management, the agriculture as the most important economic activity of subsistence, the lack of fisheries in large-scale which cause significant environmental changes and the existence of an ecological factor of great intensity, "the flood pulse", overlapping others of less intensity.O co-manejo dos recursos pesqueiros que vem sendo desenvolvido pelos ribeirinhos da Amazônia têm a preocupação de assegurar ambientes adequados para a conservação dos estoques. Esta estratégia de co-manejo é baseada em regras de acesso e uso dos recursos pesqueiros. Nesse estudo, foi investigada a influência do tipo de uso de lagos (preservados e manejados para subsistência) e a sua distância do rio (próximos e distantes) na estrutura das assembleias de peixes associadas aos bancos de macrófitas aquáticas em lagos de várzea, Amazônia Central. Os peixes foram capturados na cheia com rede de cerco em seis lagos com distância do rio variando de 0,87 a 10,9 km. Nas macrófitas aquáticas e capins flutuantes dos lagos foram capturados um total de 623 exemplares de peixes, distribuídos em 56 espécies. A análise de covariância (ANCOVA) indica que o co-manejo dos lagos e distância não influenciaram significativamente nos atributos ecológicos das assembleias (abundância, riqueza, peso total, diversidade de Shannon-Weaver, diversidade Berger-Parker, equitabilidade e dominância). A análise de similaridade (ANOSIM) também mostrou que não existe diferença na composição de espécies entre os tipos de lago. Estes resultados sugerem outros fatores, como o pouco tempo de manejo efetivo, a agricultura como sendo a principal atividade econômica de subsistência, inexistência de pescarias em larga escala que produzam alterações ambientais significativas e a existência de um fator ecológico de grande intensidade, o pulso de inundação, sobrepondo a outros de menor intensidade

    Biology of moderately halophilic aerobic bacteria

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    The moderately halophilic heterotrophic aerobic bacteria form a diverse group of microorganisms. The property of halophilism is widespread within the bacterial domain. Bacterial halophiles are abundant in environments such as salt lakes, saline soils, and salted food products. Most species keep their intracellular ionic concentrations at low levels while synthesizing or accumulating organic solutes to provide osmotic equilibrium of the cytoplasm with the surrounding medium. Complex mechanisms of adjustment of the intracellular environments and the properties of the cytoplasmic membrane enable rapid adaptation to changes in the salt concentration of the environment. Approaches to the study of genetic processes have recently been developed for several moderate halophiles, opening the way toward an understanding of haloadaptation at the molecular level. The new information obtained is also expected to contribute to the development of novel biotechnological uses for these organisms
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