Prevalence of human papillomavirus in archival samples obtained from patients with cervical pre-malignant and malignant lesions from Northeast Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is considered as a necessary, but not sufficient, cause of cervical cancer. In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of HPV in a series of pre-malignant and malignant cervical lesion cases, to identify the virus genotypes, and to assess their distribution pattern according to lesion type, age range, and other considered variables. The samples were submitted to histopathological revision examination and analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of HPV DNA, followed by HPV typing by dot blot hybridisation.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Of the analysed samples, 53.7% showed pre-malignant cervical lesions, and 46.3% presented with cervical cancer. Most cancer samples (84.1%) were classified as invasive carcinoma. The mean age of these cancer patients was 47.3 years. The overall HPV prevalence was 82.4% in patients with pre-malignant lesions and 92.0% in the cancer patients. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type, followed by HPV 18 and 58, including both single and double infections. Double infection was detected in 11.6% of the samples, and the most common combination was HPV 16+18.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cervical cancer appears to occur in women in a lower age range in the studied area, compared to the situation in other Brazilian regions. Furthermore, among the patients with CIN 3 and those with cancer, we observed a higher proportion of married women, women with more than one sexual partner, smokers, and individuals with less than an elementary education, relative to their counterparts.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The overall HPV prevalence was 82.4% in patients with pre-malignant lesions and 92.0% in the cervical cancer patients from Northeast Brazil. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type, followed by HPV 18 and 58. The most common double infection was HPV 16+18. Cervical cancer appears to occur in women in a lower age range in the Northeast Brazil. Among the patients with CIN 3 and those with cancer, we observed a higher proportion of married women, women with more than one sexual partner, smokers, and individuals with less than an elementary education, relative to their counterparts.</p

Frequency response of biospeckle laser images of bean seeds contaminated by fungi

Biospeckle laser (BSL) images of bean seeds artificially contaminated by Fusarium oxysporum or Aspergillus flavus have been analysed using inertia moment (IM) and frequency values of the spatial time speckle (STS) signals. BSL imaging was performed with a He-Ne red beam laser (632.8 nm; 10 mW) and a CCD camera (image size 780 x 480 pixels), and frequencies of the STS signals were derived using convolution and fast Fourier transform. Intensities of the IM values of contaminated seeds were significantly greater than those of disease-free control seeds. Furthermore, A. flavus-contaminated seeds presented IM values that were significantly higher than those of seeds contaminated by F. oxysporum. The mean amplitude values of the frequencies components of FFT analysis detected in F. oxysporum-contaminated seeds were higher than those of A. flavus-contaminated and control seeds. In contrast, when the third harmonic was analysed independently, the amplitude values of the frequencies detected in A. flavus-contaminated seeds were significantly lower than those of control seeds which, in turn, were similar to those of seeds contaminated with F. oxysporum. It is concluded that frequency analysis may be used to complement the information provided by IM values, thus strengthening the application of BSL in the study of biological materials. (C) 2011 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.1103297301Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG

S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine attenuates liver fibrosis in experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis [Corrigendum]

Mazo DF, de Oliveira MG, Pereira IV, Cogliati B, Stefano JT, de Souza GF, Rabelo F, Lima FR, Ferreira Alves VA, Carrilho FJ, de Oliveira CP. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2013:7:553&ndash;563. On page 554, the sentence "Therefore, we chose SNAC as a potential antifibrinogenic NO donor drug for treating fibrosis..." contains an error. The term "antifibrinogenic" should be replaced by "antifibrogenic". On page 558, Figure 3 (D), the intermediate block corresponding to SNAC is missing. View original paper by Mazo et a

S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine attenuates liver fibrosis in experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Daniel FC Mazo,1 Marcelo G de Oliveira,2 Isabel VA Pereira,1 Bruno Cogliati,3 Jos&eacute; T Stefano,1 Gabriela FP de Souza,2 Fab&iacute;ola Rabelo,1 Fabiana R Lima,4 Ven&acirc;ncio A Ferreira Alves,4 Flair J Carrilho,1 Claudia PMS de Oliveira1 1University of S&atilde;o Paulo School of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, Clinical Division, Hepatology Branch (LIM-07), Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 3University of Sao Paulo School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of Pathology, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 4University of S&atilde;o Paulo School of Medicine, Department of Pathology (LIM14), S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil Abstract: S-Nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC) is a water soluble primary S-nitrosothiol capable of transferring and releasing nitric oxide and inducing several biochemical activities, including modulation of hepatic stellate cell activation. In this study, we evaluated the antifibrotic activity of SNAC in an animal model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) induced in Sprague-Dawley rats fed with a choline-deficient, high trans fat diet and exposed to diethylnitrosamine for 8 weeks. The rats were divided into three groups: SNAC, which received oral SNAC solution daily; NASH, which received the vehicle; and control, which received standard diet and vehicle. Genes related to fibrosis (matrix metalloproteinases [MMP]-13, -9, and -2), transforming growth factor &szlig;-1 [TGF&szlig;-1], collagen-1a, and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase [TIMP-1 and -2] and oxidative stress (heat-shock proteins [HSP]-60 and -90) were evaluated. SNAC led to a 34.4% reduction in the collagen occupied area associated with upregulation of MMP-13 and -9 and downregulation of HSP-60, TIMP-2, TGF&szlig;-1, and collagen-1&alpha;. These results indicate that oral SNAC administration may represent a potential antifibrotic treatment for NASH. Keywords: nitric oxide, S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine, fibrogenesis, NASH, diethylnitrosamin