The systemic lupus erythematosus IRF5 risk haplotype is associated with systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a fibrotic autoimmune disease in which the genetic component plays an important role. One of the strongest SSc association signals outside the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region corresponds to interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), a major regulator of the type I IFN pathway. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether three different haplotypic blocks within this locus, which have been shown to alter the protein function influencing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility, are involved in SSc susceptibility and clinical phenotypes. For that purpose, we genotyped one representative single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of each block (rs10488631, rs2004640, and rs4728142) in a total of 3,361 SSc patients and 4,012 unaffected controls of Caucasian origin from Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and United Kingdom. A meta-analysis of the allele frequencies was performed to analyse the overall effect of these IRF5 genetic variants on SSc. Allelic combination and dependency tests were also carried out. The three SNPs showed strong associations with the global disease (rs4728142: P = 1.34×10<sup>−8</sup>, OR = 1.22, CI 95% = 1.14–1.30; rs2004640: P = 4.60×10<sup>−7</sup>, OR = 0.84, CI 95% = 0.78–0.90; rs10488631: P = 7.53×10<sup>−20</sup>, OR = 1.63, CI 95% = 1.47–1.81). However, the association of rs2004640 with SSc was not independent of rs4728142 (conditioned P = 0.598). The haplotype containing the risk alleles (rs4728142*A-rs2004640*T-rs10488631*C: P = 9.04×10<sup>−22</sup>, OR = 1.75, CI 95% = 1.56–1.97) better explained the observed association (likelihood P-value = 1.48×10<sup>−4</sup>), suggesting an additive effect of the three haplotypic blocks. No statistical significance was observed in the comparisons amongst SSc patients with and without the main clinical characteristics. Our data clearly indicate that the SLE risk haplotype also influences SSc predisposition, and that this association is not sub-phenotype-specific

Biogenesis and Dynamics of Mitochondria during the Cell Cycle: Significance of 3′UTRs

Nowadays, we are facing a renaissance of mitochondria in cancer biology. However, our knowledge of the basic cell biology and on the timing and mechanisms that control the biosynthesis of mitochondrial constituents during progression through the cell cycle of mammalian cells remain largely unknown. Herein, we document the in vivo changes on mitochondrial morphology and dynamics that accompany cellular mitosis, and illustrate the following key points of the biogenesis of mitochondria during progression of liver cells through the cycle: (i) the replication of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes is synchronized during cellular proliferation, (ii) the accretion of OXPHOS proteins is asynchronously regulated during proliferation being the synthesis of β-F1-ATPase and Hsp60 carried out also at G2/M and, (iii) the biosynthesis of cardiolipin is achieved during the S phase, although full development of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is attained at G2/M. Furthermore, we demonstrate using reporter constructs that the mechanism regulating the accretion of β-F1-ATPase during cellular proliferation is controlled at the level of mRNA translation by the 3′UTR of the transcript. The 3′UTR-driven synthesis of the protein at G2/M is essential for conferring to the daughter cells the original phenotype of the parental cell. Our findings suggest that alterations on this process may promote deregulated β-F1-ATPase expression in human cancer

Número de horas de cuidados de enfermagem em unidade de terapia intensiva de adultos Número de horas de cuidados de enfermería en unidad de terapia intensiva Number of nursing care hours in an intensive care unit

O adequado dimensionamento de pessoal de enfermagem nas Terapias Intensivas tem sido uma grande preocupação para os enfermeiros que nelas atuam a despeito dos diferentes modelos de classificação dos pacientes propostos, no âmbito nacional e internacional. No presente estudo de caso, os objetivos foram estabelecer o tempo médio despendido na assistência direta de enfermagem em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva geral e calcular o número médio de horas de assistência direta de enfermagem prestada a esses pacientes. Para tanto, primeiramente, classificaram-se os procedimentos de enfermagem desenvolvidos com pacientes da UTI, de acordo com a sua complexidade: baixa, média e alta. A seguir, cronometrou-se o tempo médio despendido na realização desses procedimentos, a fim de se encontrar o tempo médio de assistência direta de enfermagem prestada aos pacientes, durante um período de três meses consecutivos.<br>La dimensión adecuada del personal de enfermería en los centros de terapias intensivas ha sido una gran preocupación para los enfermeros que actúan en ellos, llevando en consideración los diferentes modelos de clasificación de los pacientes propuestos, tanto en el ámbito nacional como en el internacional. En este estudio, los objetivos fueron establecer el tiempo medio que se utilizó en la asistencia directa de enfermería en un centro de terapia intensiva (CTI) general y calcular el número medio de horas de asistencia directa dispendidas con estos pacientes. Para eso fueron clasificados primeramente los procesos de enfermería desarrollados con pacientes de CTI, de acuerdo con su complejidad: baja, media y alta. Enseguida se cronometró el tiempo medio que se gastó en la realización de estos procedimientos con la finalidad de encontrar el tiempo medio de la atención de enfermería dedicada a los pacientes, durante un periodo de tiempo de tres meses consecutivos.<br>The adequate sizing of the nursing staff in Intensive Care Units has been one of the main concerns for the nurses that work in them, in spite of different classification models for patients that have been proposed at the domestic and international levels. In the present case study, the goals were to establish the average time spent in direct nursing assistance in an ICU and to calculate the average number of hours of direct nursing assistance delivered to its patients. In order to do that, the first step was to classify the nursing procedures carried out with ICU patients according to their complexity: low, medium and high. Next, the average time spent in theses procedures was counted during a threemonth period, in order to find out the average time of direct nursing assistance delivered to patients

Effects of a urinary factor from women in early pregnancy on HIV-1, SIV and associated disease

The effects of clinical grade crude preparations of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on Kaposi's sarcona HIV, SIV and hematopoiesis were examined in vitro and ip vivo. In contrast to previous studies, we report that the antiviral activity of hCG associated factor (HAF) with anti-HIV, anti-SIV, anti-KS and pro-hematopoietic activities elutes as two peaks corresponding to 15-30 kDa and 2-4 kDa.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Acolhimento às crianças na atenção primária à saúde: um estudo sobre a postura dos profissionais das equipes de saúde da família Reception of children in primary health care: a study on attitudes by family health team members

Trata-se de estudo descritivo transversal, realizado com 384 responsáveis por crianças cadastradas em seis equipes de saúde da família. Foi utilizado o Instrumento de Avaliação da Atenção Primária (PCATool). Em relação às crianças, 52,9% eram do sexo feminino, 55,5% menores de 3 anos, 71,6% viviam com o pai e a mãe. O serviço de referência para o atendimento foi a unidade de saúde da família 77,6%. Em relação ao acolhimento/postura, 74,2% consideram que o profissional entende o que ele diz e pergunta, e 79,2% respondem da forma que o cuidador da criança entende. Para 77,2% dos responsáveis sempre que precisam conversar com o profissional eles conseguem, e 73,8% se sentem à vontade para falar com o profissional. A partir destes resultados pode-se inferir que o acolhimento/postura nestes serviços tem permitido uma interação usuário- profissional satisfatória, imprescindível para um atendimento à saúde com qualidade.<br>This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with parents and guardians (n = 384) of children enrolled under six family health teams, using the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool). Characteristics of the children were: 52.9% girls; 55.5% < 3 years of age; and 71.6% living with both parents. For 77.6%, the reference service for health care was the family health facility. In relation to reception and attitudes, 74.2% of parents reported that the health professional understood their complaints and questions, and 79.2% reported that the health professional responded in such a way that parents could understand. A total of 77.2% of the parents/guardians stated that they were always able to talk to the health professional when needed, and 73.8% felt comfortable about this dialogue. These results indicate that the family health team's reception of children and their attitudes in these services have allowed satisfactory user-provider interaction, an indispensable factor for quality health care