When to start antiretroviral therapy: as soon as possible

BACKGROUND: The debate regarding ‘When to Start’ antiretroviral therapy has raged since the introduction of zidovudine in 1987. Based on the entry criteria for the original Burroughs Wellcome 002 study, the field has been anchored to CD4 cell counts as the prime metric to indicate treatment initiation for asymptomatic individuals infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The pendulum has swung back and forth based mostly on the relative efficacy, toxicity and convenience of available regimens. DISCUSSION: In today’s world, several factors have converged that compel us to initiate therapy as soon as possible: 1) The biology of viral replication (1 to 10 billion viruses per day) strongly suggests that we should be starting early. 2) Resultant inflammation from unchecked replication is associated with earlier onset of multiple co-morbid conditions. 3) The medications available today are more efficacious and less toxic than years past. 4) Clinical trials have demonstrated benefits for all but the highest CD4 strata (>500 cells/μl). 5) Some cohort studies have demonstrated the clear benefit of antiretroviral therapy at any CD4 count and no cohort studies have demonstrated that early therapy is more detrimental than late therapy at the population level. 6) In addition to the demonstrated and inferred benefits to the individual patient, we now have evidence of a Public Health benefit from earlier intervention: treatment is prevention. SUMMARY: From a practical, common sense perspective we are talking about life-long therapy. Whether we start at a CD4 count of 732 cells/μl or 493 cells/μl, the patient will be on therapy for over 40 to 50 years. There does not seem to be much benefit in waiting and there likely is significant long-term harm. Do not wait. Treat early. The counter-argument to this debate topic can be freely accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/148

Projecto Rodentia : etologia aplicada na sala de aula do 1º Ciclo

p. 275-279O Projecto Rodentia, implementado no ano 2006/2007, visa promover a cultura científica em alunos do 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico, familiarizando-os com o Método Científico e desenvolvendo competências conceptuais, processuais e atitudinais, com base na Etologia Aplicada e na reflexão ética sobre o bem-estar animal. Foram instalados em três salas de aula habitats especialmente desenhados, contendo cada um dois ratos de laboratório. Inicialmente orientadas, as crianças começaram de modo progressivamente autónomo a propor actividades experimentais, registar e interpretar resultados e tirara conclusões, tacitamente aprendendo o Método Científico. Recorreu-se à observação comportamental e análise de trabalhos dos alunos para avaliar o desenvolvimento da lógica condicional nestes alunos

Numerical investigation of the three-dimensional secondary instabilities in the time-developing compressible mixing layer

Mixing layers are present in very different types of physical situations such as atmospheric flows, aerodynamics and combustion. It is, therefore, a well researched subject, but there are aspects that require further studies. Here the instability of two-and three-dimensional perturbations in the compressible mixing layer was investigated by numerical simulations. In the numerical code, the derivatives were discretized using high-order compact finite-difference schemes. A stretching in the normal direction was implemented with both the objective of reducing the sound waves generated by the shear region and improving the resolution near the center. The compact schemes were modified to work with non-uniform grids. Numerical tests started with an analysis of the growth rate in the linear regime to verify the code implementation. Tests were also performed in the non-linear regime and it was possible to reproduce the vortex roll-up and pairing, both in two-and three-dimensional situations. Amplification rate analysis was also performed for the secondary instability of this flow. It was found that, for essentially incompressible flow, maximum growth rates occurred for a spanwise wavelength of approximately 2/3 of the streamwise spacing of the vortices. The result demonstrated the applicability of the theory developed by Pierrehumbet and Widnall. Compressibility effects were then considered and the maximum growth rates obtained for relatively high Mach numbers (typically under 0.8) were also presented.AFOSR Air Force Office of Scientific Research[FA9550-07-1-0055]FAPES

Optimisation of processing routes for a marine biorefinery

13 páginas, 5 figurasCurrent fishing practices result in the waste of 20 million tonnes of valuable resources every year. However, from now on, vessels must keep on board and land both target and those non-target species subject to quota regulations, as regulated by recent EU legislation, in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Therefore, an important quantity of low-value marine biomass has to be managed in an efficient manner to avoid its waste. Several added value products apart from fishmeal and oil (like enzymes or nutraceuticals) can be obtained from the wide variety of discarded species trough different valorisation processes. The challenge arises when these species can be handled by more than one processing route. The selection of the best alternatives has to fulfil often-opposite sustainability criteria, considering also the constraints associated to each resource and process. This was achieved by a multiobjective framework using a suitable and efficient optimization approach based on scatter-search. The results from the obtained Pareto fronts show that, in general, the valorisation of specific fish parts rather than the use of the whole specimen is more optimal from both points of view. It is also demonstrated that the most suitable products to be obtained are biopeptides, chondroitin sulphate and fish enzymes, due to their high sales price and relative low environmental impact. On the other hand, alternative technologies to present state-of-the-art ones should be considered for the production of chitin, gelatine and fishmeal due to their high environmental cost. Furthermore, a high number of the most optimal valorisation pathways leave biomass unprocessed and therefore, its treatment as solid waste must be included in the economic and environmental costsThe authors acknowledge the financial support received from the European Union through the LIFE Environment Program of the European Union (LIFE05 ENV/E000267-BE FAIR,LIFE08 ENV/E/000119-FAROS and LIFE13 ENV/ES/000131-LIFE iSEAS). Dr. Amaya Franco-Uría would like to thank Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación for the support provided by the “Ramón y Cajal” SubprogramPeer reviewe

Single cell oil production by oleaginous yeasts grown in synthetic and waste-derived volatile fatty acids

Four yeast isolates from the species—Apiotrichum brassicae, Candida tropicalis, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, and Pichia kudriavzevii—previously selected by their oleaginous character and growth flexibility in different carbon sources, were tested for their capacity to convert volatile fatty acids into lipids, in the form of single cell oils. Growth, lipid yields, volatile fatty acids consumption, and long-chain fatty acid profiles were evaluated in media supplemented with seven different volatile fatty acids (acetic, butyric, propionic, isobutyric, valeric, isovaleric, and caproic), and also in a dark fermentation effluent filtrate. Yeasts A. brassicae and P. kudriavzevii attained lipid productivities of more than 40% (w/w), mainly composed of oleic (>40%), palmitic (20%), and stearic (20%) acids, both in synthetic media and in the waste-derived effluent filtrate. These isolates may be potential candidates for single cell oil production in larger scale applications by using alternative carbon sources, combining economic and environmental benefits.This work was supported by the European project "VOLATILE-Biowaste derived volatile fatty acid platform for biopolymers, bioactive compounds and chemical building blocks" (Call H2020-NMBP-BIO-2016 Grant agreement No. 720777) and by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by national funds through the FCT I.P., by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020

Microfluidics-based automated genotyping of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae strain by interdelta sequence typing : an interlaboratory comparasion

High-throughput molecular characterization of microbial isolates requires the application of automated microfluidic electrophoresis. We herein evaluate the factors that affect interlaboratory reproducibility of interdelta sequence typing for Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain delimitation, using microfluidic electrophoresis (Caliper Lab Chip ® ). This approach is necessary for the constitution of bio-databanks, equitable sharing of genotypic data among laboratories, for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of genetic resources. Delta sequences are 300 bp regions flanking retrotransposons Ty1 and Ty2 of S. cerevisiae, occurring also as separate elements dispersed throughout the genome. PCRbased interdelta sequence typing has a high discriminatory power [1], generating polymorphic banding patterns. Our approach included 12 genetically diverse S. cerevisiae strains, two different Taq polymerases (commercial and in-house cloned/prepared) and two different thermal cyclers. PCR amplifications were performed in two laboratories, resulting in a total of 384 electrophoretic banding patterns (32 replicates for each strain). From the combinations between strains, Taq polymerase, thermal cycler and laboratory, a total of 60 different groups was obtained. Data were analyzed in terms of the fragment sizes (bp), absolute and relative concentrations of each band. Due to the lack of normality (Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests) and the homogeneity of variances (Levene's test), the ANOVA test was not applied. The nonparametric alternative, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used to test the equality of the medians among the different groups. By rejecting the null hypotheses with a p-value < 0.001, we performed multiple pairwise comparisons using the method proposed by Conover and Iman [2], based on a t-Student distribution to search for the origins of the differences. The data obtained revealed that both the performance of experiments in two independent laboratories and the use of different Taq polymerases introduced significant variability between the respective replicates. The use of in-house cloned/prepared Taq polymerase was associated with highest variability, pointing to the need for careful experimental standardization of PCRbased interdelta sequence analysis.Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (PTDC/AGR-ALI/103392/2008)European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) - grant agreement nº 23245

Marine sponges of the genus neopetrosia with anti-inflammatory activity

The present study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of marine sponges of the genus Neopetrosia which are abundant in the Colombian Caribbean. We obtained three fractions from a total methanolic extract of Neopetrosia rosariensis and proxima. In vivo activity was measured using λ-carrageenan-induced paw edema assay. The in vitro inhibitory effects were evaluated on myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) and nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α) production. Total extracts of N. rosariensis and N. proxima (100 mg/Kg) significantly inhibited the paw edema of rats (71.74% and 60.06%, respectively). Dichloromethane and methanol fractions of Neopetrosia sponges reduced MPO activity. Only, dichloromethane fraction of N. rosariensis significantly inhibited NO (66%), PGE2 (30.5%) and TNF-α production (72%). Our results show anti-inflammatory activity in extracts and fractions from species of marine sponges belonging to Neopetrosia genus and open the way for complementary studies to purify and identify active molecules.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

ANÁLISIS DEL PROCESO COMUNITARIO: ¨LA GENTE DEL TUNJUELO¨ COMO UN ESCENARIO DE FORMACIÓN AMBIENTAL, EN EL PANTANO LA LIBÉLULA

Con la presente ponencia se reportan los resultados de una investigación consistente en el análisis del proceso comunitario: ¨La Gente Del Tunjuelo¨ en la ciudad de Bogotá, como un escenario de formación ambiental a través de la recuperación del Pantano La Libélula, siendo este un camino alternativo para la formación docente. En donde,se consolida como un escenario de formación ambiental por las experiencias y las prácticas de los sujetos siendo dialécticas, aportando saberes que permiten la transformación de su contexto. Esta investigación fue realizada bajo la caracterización y reconocimiento de las relaciones CTSA, en el proceso comunitario: ¨La Gente del Tunjuelo¨, como un escenario de educación popular ambiental a través del análisis de la re significación  territorial, los diálogos con el proceso comunitario y las actividades enmarcadas como caminando El Pantano la Libélula.Asimismo, algunos resultados obtenidos durante en el desarrollo de las Mingas, fue lograr evidenciar una relación con las corrientes de educación ambiental como: en la Práxica por su integración entre la reflexión y la acción, en la socio-crítica por la formación ambiental basada en la transformación de la realidad de los sujetos y en la naturalista por la relación con el territorio natural.

Fish discards management in selected Spanish and Portuguese métiers: Identification and potential valorisation

15 páginas, 4 tablasWith the aim of promoting the responsible and sustainable management of marine resources, the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have established a set of international guidelines on by-catch management and reduction of discards. In this framework, the minimisation of discards and the optimal valorisation of inevitable unwanted biomass are the main objectives of the optimal and efficient discards management network that has been developed in FAROS LIFE + Project. According to FAO, in 2008, around 27 million tonnes of marine biomass were used for non-food purposes, these including fish meal, fish oil, bait or high-added value compounds production by pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries. In this work, the most important discarded species by the selected métiers of interest for FAROS project have been analysed regarding possible valorisation options in a wide variety of sectors, including food products for human consumption. A protocol to easily determine the most suitable valorisation strategies for each of them has been also established. In order to carry out this approach, several factors as the status of stocks in the environment, the valorisation potential of each species or by-product and the amounts discarded by métier have been taken into accountLIFE + Program of the European Union (FAROS Project – LIFE08 ENV/E/000119)Peer reviewe