Biocompatibility of electrospun polymer nanofibers (EPNs) with NIH 3T3 cell line and interaction of quercetin with different flavonoids: Induction of phase II enzymes in vitro cancer cell lines

Part I: In this study Electrospun nanofibers, Elasthane™ 55D, Elasthane™ 75D, Biospan®, Hydrothane™ and Lycra® were evaluated for their biocompatibility to be artificial tissue substitutes using NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells. A colorimetric based MTT dye reduction assay demonstrated that EPNs did not stop cell growth in vitro. Additionally, fluorescence confocal microscope images verified that cell adhesion occurred in the nanofibers, and cell growth on the EPNs over two weeks period was confirmed by DNA quantification. Part II: This section of the thesis is focused on evaluation of chemopreventive properties of various phytochemicals by induction of Phase II enzymes. The interaction of Quercetin at an optimum concentration in combination with different flavonoids (Hesperedin, Ginger, Resveratrol and β-Carotene), were used to determine the induction of Phase II enzymes in vitro cancer cell lines; caffeine was incorporated in the experimental groups to assess its protective properties on the induction of phase-II enzymes

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Barriers to Providing Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Ages 2–9

This qualitative case study explored the knowledge and experiences of 12 speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding the culture and linguistic processes of the Deaf culture when assessing and treating deaf and hard of hearing children ages 2 to 9. Data analysis has resulted in identification of the following main themes: (a) The Scope of Practice, (b) Barriers Regarding Culturally and Linguistically Informed Practices, and (c) Awareness of Similarities and Differences in Language Acquisition and Structures in English and American Sign Language (ASL). The findings of this study underscored the importance of knowledge that SLPs have to acquire in order to provide appropriate services to the deaf and hard hearing children. The participants referred to the lack of such knowledge during their academic studies. As SLPs in practice, they encountered several barriers in terms of assessing and treating the language of the deaf and hard of hearing children, which was due to the influence the language in which therapy takes place. Most of the participants of this study were not aware of the existence of assessments that have ASL as the language in which testing tools are standardized in order to assess vocabulary, phonology, morphosyntax, and narrative skills. This study contributes to new insights into the knowledge and experiences of SLPs who provide services for deaf and hard of hearing children

A new clinical tool for assessing numerical abilities in neurological diseases: numerical activities of daily living

The aim of this study was to build an instrument, the numerical activities of daily living (NADL), designed to identify the specific impairments in numerical functions that may cause problems in everyday life. These impairments go beyond what can be inferred from the available scales evaluating activities of daily living in general, and are not adequately captured by measures of the general deterioration of cognitive functions as assessed by standard clinical instruments like the MMSE and MoCA. We assessed a control group (n = 148) and a patient group affected by a wide variety of neurological conditions (n = 175), with NADL along with IADL, MMSE, and MoCA. The NADL battery was found to have satisfactory construct validity and reliability, across a wide age range. This enabled us to calculate appropriate criteria for impairment that took into account age and education. It was found that neurological patients tended to overestimate their abilities as compared to the judgment made by their caregivers, assessed with objective tests of numerical abilities

Curso de atualização sobre Tristeza Parasitaria Bovina (TPB).

A tristeza Parasitária Bovina (TPB) é um complexo de doenças que no nosso meio é causado principalmente por Babesiose e Anaplasmose, além de envolver a presença do carrapato Boophilus microplus. Este conjunto de enfermidade é uma das principais senão a maior preocupação dos produtores de bovinos da Região Sul do Brasil, pois traz importantes prejuízos econômicos por mortalidade e morbidade. Portanto é oportuno trazer o assunto à discussão para a atualização do conhecimento de técnicos e produtores rurais.bitstream/item/110567/1/CURSO-DE-ATUALIZACAO-SOBRE.pd

A putative resistant DNA marker for wool yellowing susceptibility in sheep.

An Australian Merino flock was screened for low (resistant) and high (susceptible) yellow predictive colour (YPC) breeding values in order to compare extreme individuals using the differential display of mRNA technique. One differentially expressed cDNA band was visualised only in the resistant group. This band showed no identity with the DNA sequences of public databases; however, they showed short homologies with three database sequences related to transmembrane signalling functions. The use of these candidate genes as DNA markers needs to be confirmed against sheep with a wide range of susceptibility to wool yellowing to verify the results

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> in common vampire bats <i>Desmodus rotundus</i> and livestock in Peru

Antibiotic resistance mediated by bacterial production of extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase (ESBL) is a global threat to public health. ESBL resistance is most commonly hospital‐acquired; however, infections acquired outside of hospital settings have raised concerns over the role of livestock and wildlife in the zoonotic spread of ESBL‐producing bacteria. Only limited data are available on the circulation of ESBL‐producing bacteria in animals. Here, we report ESBL‐producing Escherichia coli in wild common vampire bats Desmodus rotundus and livestock near Lima, Peru. Molecular analyses revealed that most of this resistance resulted from the expression of blaCTX‐M‐15 genes carried by plasmids, which are disseminating worldwide in hospital settings and have also been observed in healthy children of Peru. Multilocus sequence typing showed a diverse pool of E. coli strains carrying this resistance that were not always host species‐specific, suggesting sharing of strains between species or infection from a common source. This study shows widespread ESBL resistance in wild and domestic animals, supporting animal communities as a potential source of resistance. Future work is needed to elucidate the role of bats in the dissemination of antibiotic‐resistant strains of public health importance and to understand the origin of the observed resistance

Método para classificar bovinos resistentes à infecção por Babesia bovis.

Descreve a metodologia de desafio para a identificação de bovinos resistentes ou suscetíveis à primo-infecção por B. bovis para fins experimentais.bitstream/item/55805/1/CO65.pdfDsiponível no formato online

The Jordan–von Neumann constants and fixed points for multivalued nonexpansive mappings

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to study the existence of fixed points for nonexpansive multivalued mappings in a particular class of Banach spaces. Furthermore, we demonstrate a relationship between the weakly convergent sequence coefficient WCS(X) and the Jordan–von Neumann constant CNJ(X) of a Banach space X. Using this fact, we prove that if CNJ(X) is less than an appropriate positive number, then every multivalued nonexpansive mapping T:E→KC(E) has a fixed point where E is a nonempty weakly compact convex subset of a Banach space X, and KC(E) is the class of all nonempty compact convex subsets of E

Enhanced skin carcinogenesis and lack of thymus hyperplasia in transgenic mice expressing human cyclin D1b (CCND1b)

Cyclin D1b is an alternative transcript of the cyclin D1 gene (CCND1) expressed in human tumors. Its abundance is regulated by a single base pair polymorphism at the exon 4/intron 4 boundary (nucleotide 870). Epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between the presence of the G870A allele (that favors the splicing for cyclin D1b) with increased risk and less favorable outcome in several forms of cancer. More recently, it has been shown that, unlike cyclin D1a, the alternative transcript D1b by itself has the capacity to transform fibroblasts in vitro. In order to study the oncogenic potential of cyclin D1b, we developed transgenic mice expressing human cyclin D1b under the control of the bovine K5 promoter (K5D1b mice). Seven founders were obtained and none of them presented any significant phenotype or developed spontaneous tumors. Interestingly, K5D1b mice do not develop the fatal thymic hyperplasia, which is characteristic of the cyclin D1a transgenic mice (K5D1a). Susceptibility to skin carcinogenesis was tested in K5D1b mice using two-stage carcinogenesis protocols. In two independent experiments, K5D1b mice developed higher papilloma multiplicity as compared with wild-type littermates. However, when K5D1b mice were crossed with cyclin D1KO mice, the expression of cyclin D1b was unable to rescue the carcinogenesis-resistant phenotype of the cyclin D1 KO mice. To further explore the role of cyclin D1b in mouse models of carcinogenesis we carried out in silico analysis and in vitro experiments to evaluate the existence of a mouse homologous of the human cyclin D1b transcript. We were unable to find any evidence of an alternatively spliced transcript in mouse Ccnd1. These results show that human cyclin D1b has different biological functions than cyclin D1a and confirm its oncogenic properties.Fil: Rojas, Paola Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Benavides, Fernando. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Blando, Jorge. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Pérez, Carlos. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Cardenas, Kim. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Richie, Ellen. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Knudsen, Erik S.. Thomas Jefferson University; Estados UnidosFil: Johnson, David G.. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Senderowicz, Adrian M.. Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez Puebla, Marcelo L.. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Conti, Claudio. University of Texas; Estados Unido