Relation between flood pulse and functional composition of the macroinvertebrate benthic fauna in the lower Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil

In a twelve-month study carried out at the archipelago of Anavilhanas, lower Rio Negro, State of Amazonas, Brazil, the macroinvertebrate fauna was sampled from the margins of a lake (Redondo lake) permanently connected to the river. The total biomass of the macroinvertebrates sampled during this period was 9,985.5 mg (dry weight) and 19,314 specimens were collected. Decapods (52.9 %) were the most important group regarding biomass while dipterans (21.1 %), ostracods (20.0%), cladocerans (14.0 %), and oligochaetes (13.4%) were the most abundant macroinvertebrates. All taxa showed frequency variations related to the high-low water cycle of Rio Negro and the substrate at the lake margins varied in quantity as well as in composition and structure. The greatest amounts of litter occurred in the flood period, with a higher proportion of new and whole leaves. The degree of litter fragmentation increased towards the low water period. The functional structure of the macroinvertebrate community showed adaptation to the available substrate in each season. A gradient of dominance between the functional categories, related to the distance from the central area of the water body, was observed. Shredders were sampled mainly inside the "igapó" (high water period), in a similar proportion to collectors. On the other hand, collectors were clearly predominant in the dry period. Scrapers were limited to the rising and falling water periods. The same trend is probably found in all the corresponding sections of the Rio Negro

Next-Generation Probiotics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Engineered probiotics represent a cutting-edge therapy in intestinal inflammatory disease (IBD). Genetically modified bacteria have provided a new strategy to release therapeutically operative molecules in the intestine and have grown into promising new therapies for IBD. Current IBD treatments, such as corticosteroids and immunosuppressants, are associated with relevant side effects and a significant proportion of patients are dependent on these therapies, thus exposing them to the risk of relevant long-term side effects. Discovering new and effective therapeutic strategies is a worldwide goal in this research field and engineered probiotics could potentially provide a viable solution. This review aims at describing the proceeding of bacterial engineering and how genetically modified probiotics may represent a promising new biotechnological approach in IBD treatment

A new hexapeptide from the leader peptide of rMnSOD enters cells through the oestrogen receptor to deliver therapeutic molecules

A 24-amino acid leader peptide of a new human recombinant manganese superoxide dismutase can enter cells and carry molecules. Here, we demonstrated that six of the 24 amino acids penetrate cells through a particular gate represented by a specific amino acid sequence of the oestrogen receptor (ER). We analysed the internalization of the synthetic hexapeptide and the cytotoxic activity of the hexapeptide conjugated to cisplatin on a cell line panel. In most cell lines, the hexapeptide delivered an amount of cisplatin that was 2 to 8 times greater than that released by cisplatin when the drug was used alone. This increased delivery increases the therapeutic index of cisplatin and reduces side effects caused by a high dosage or long-term treatment times. We may consider this hexapeptide a new molecular carrier to deliver molecules with therapeutic activity into ER+ cells for diagnostic purposes and clinical or immune therapy

A pilot study of the use of the oral and faecal microbiota for the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in a paediatric population

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Changes in the microbiome and its interaction with the immune system are thought to play a key role in their development. The aim of this study was to determine whether metagenomic analysis is a feasible non-invasive diagnostic tool for IBD in paediatric patients. A pilot study of oral and faecal microbiota was proposed with 36 paediatric patients divided in three cohorts [12 with CD, 12 with UC and 12 healthy controls (HC)] with 6 months of follow-up. Finally, 30 participants were included: 13 with CD, 11 with UC and 8 HC (6 dropped out during follow-up). Despite the small size of the study population, a differential pattern of microbial biodiversity was observed between IBD patients and the control group. Twenty-one bacterial species were selected in function of their discriminant accuracy, forming three sets of potential markers of IBD. Although IBD diagnosis requires comprehensive medical evaluation, the findings of this study show that faecal metagenomics or a reduced set of bacterial markers could be useful as a non-invasive tool for an easier and earlier diagnosis

Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Situação Atual, Lista de Espécies e Novos Registros

The species of the family Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) recorded to Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil, are listed, including taxonomic information, geographic distribution and references. Thirty-six species have been recorded in the state. The list was compiled after bibliographic research, faunistic check-lists and catalogs. All references with the original descriptions were investigated, as well as further descriptions and taxonomic changes.As espécies da família Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) registradas para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro, região Sudeste do Brasil, são listadas, incluindo informações taxonômicas, distribuição geográfica e referências bibliográficas. Trinta e seis espécies foram registradas até o presente momento para o Estado. A lista foi feita a partir de consultas à bibliografia, catálogos e listas. Foram avaliadas todas as referências com as descrições, além de descrições e mudanças taxonômicas posteriores

Epidemiological Surveillance of Birth Defects Compatible with Thalidomide Embryopathy in Brazil

The thalidomide tragedy of the 1960s resulted in thousands of children being born with severe limb reduction defects (LRD), among other malformations. In Brazil, there are still babies born with thalidomide embryopathy (TE) because of leprosy prevalence, availability of thalidomide, and deficiencies in the control of drug dispensation. Our objective was to implement a system of proactive surveillance to identify birth defects compatible with TE. Along one year, newborns with LRD were assessed in the Brazilian hospitals participating in the Latin-American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC). A phenotype of LRD called thalidomide embryopathy phenotype (TEP) was established for surveillance. Children with TEP born between the years 2000–2008 were monitored, and during the 2007–2008 period we clinically investigated in greater detail all cases with TEP (proactive period). The period from 1982 to 1999 was defined as the baseline period for the cumulative sum statistics. The frequency of TEP during the surveillance period, at 3.10/10,000 births (CI 95%: 2.50–3.70), was significantly higher than that observed in the baseline period (1.92/10,000 births; CI 95%: 1.60–2.20), and not uniformly distributed across different Brazilian regions. During the proactive surveillance (2007–2008), two cases of suspected TE were identified, although the two mothers had denied the use of the drug during pregnancy. Our results suggest that TEP has probably increased in recent years, which coincides with the period of greater thalidomide availability. Our proactive surveillance identified two newborns with suspected TE, proving to be a sensitive tool to detect TE. The high frequency of leprosy and the large use of thalidomide reinforce the need for a continuous monitoring of TEP across Brazil

Autonomous Bioluminescent Expression of the Bacterial Luciferase Gene Cassette (lux) in a Mammalian Cell Line

The bacterial luciferase (lux) gene cassette consists of five genes (luxCDABE) whose protein products synergistically generate bioluminescent light signals exclusive of supplementary substrate additions or exogenous manipulations. Historically expressible only in prokaryotes, the lux operon was re-synthesized through a process of multi-bicistronic, codon-optimization to demonstrate for the first time self-directed bioluminescence emission in a mammalian HEK293 cell line in vitro and in vivo.Autonomous in vitro light production was shown to be 12-fold greater than the observable background associated with untransfected control cells. The availability of reduced riboflavin phosphate (FMNH(2)) was identified as the limiting bioluminescence substrate in the mammalian cell environment even after the addition of a constitutively expressed flavin reductase gene (frp) from Vibrio harveyi. FMNH(2) supplementation led to a 151-fold increase in bioluminescence in cells expressing mammalian codon-optimized luxCDE and frp genes. When injected subcutaneously into nude mice, in vivo optical imaging permitted near instantaneous light detection that persisted independently for the 60 min length of the assay with negligible background.The speed, longevity, and self-sufficiency of lux expression in the mammalian cellular environment provides a viable and powerful alternative for real-time target visualization not currently offered by existing bioluminescent and fluorescent imaging technologies

Genome-Wide Identification and Mapping of NBS-Encoding Resistance Genes in Solanum tuberosum Group Phureja

The majority of disease resistance (R) genes identified to date in plants encode a nucleotide-binding site (NBS) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain containing protein. Additional domains such as coiled-coil (CC) and TOLL/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains can also be present. In the recently sequenced Solanum tuberosum group phureja genome we used HMM models and manual curation to annotate 435 NBS-encoding R gene homologs and 142 NBS-derived genes that lack the NBS domain. Highly similar homologs for most previously documented Solanaceae R genes were identified. A surprising ∼41% (179) of the 435 NBS-encoding genes are pseudogenes primarily caused by premature stop codons or frameshift mutations. Alignment of 81.80% of the 577 homologs to S. tuberosum group phureja pseudomolecules revealed non-random distribution of the R-genes; 362 of 470 genes were found in high density clusters on 11 chromosomes