540 research outputs found
Serosurvey of selected avian pathogens in brazilian commercial Rheas (Rhea americana) and Ostriches (Struthio camelus)
Ratite farming of has expanded worldwide. Due to the intensive farming methods used by ratite producers, preventive medicine practices should be established. In this context, the surveillance and control of some avian pathogens are essential for the success of the ratite industry; however, little is known on the health status of ratites in Brazil. Therefore, the prevalence of antibodies against Newcastle Disease virus, Chlamydophila psittaci, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma synoviae, and Salmonella Pullorum were evaluated in 100 serum samples collected from commercial ostriches and in 80 serum samples from commercial rheas reared in Brazil. All sampled animals were clinically healthy. The results showed that all ostriches and rheas were serologically negative to Newcastle disease virus, Chlamydophila psittaci, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and Mycoplasma synoviae. Positive antibody responses against Salmonella Pullorum antigen were not detected in ostrich sera, but were detected in two rhea serum samples. These results can be considered as a warning as to the presence of Salmonella spp. in ratite farms. Therefore, the implementation of good health management and surveillance programs in ratite farms may contribute to improve not only animal production, but also public health conditions.Fundação de Amparo Ă Pesquisa do Estado de SĂŁo Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvi-mento CientĂfico e TecnolĂłgico (CNPq
Weakness: The most frequent criterion among pre-frail and frail older Portuguese
Aim In Portugal, the burden of pre-frailty and frailty in community-dwelling older adults is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to estimate the frequency of frailty in a Portuguese sample with = 65 years and to evaluate its associated factors. We also intend to identify which criterion has more impact on the diagnosis of frailty. Methods 1457 older adults with = 65 years from the Nutrition UP 65 study were evaluated in a cross-sectional analysis. Frailty was identified according to Fried et al. by the presence of three or more of the following factors: unintentional weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, slowness, weakness and low physical activity. Pre-frailty was defined as the presence of one or two of these criteria. The association between individualsâ characteristics and frailty status was analysed through logistic regression analysis. Results The frequency of pre-frailty and frailty is 54.3% and 21.5%, respectively. In older adults classified as pre-frail or frail, 76.7% presented weakness and 48.6% exhaustion. In multivariate analyses, frailty was associated with age >75, lower education level, being single, divorced or widower, being professionally inactive, poor self-perception of health status, not drinking alcohol, being obese and undernourished or at undernutrition risk. Conclusion This condition is very prevalent in Portuguese older adults, one fifth are frail whereas half are pre-frail. Weakness identified by low handgrip strength is the most prevalent criterion in pre-frail and frail Portuguese older adults.This research was conducted according to the guidelines established by the Declaration of Helsinki, and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the department of âCiĂȘncias Sociais e SaĂșdeâ (Social Sciences and Health) from the âFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Portoâ (PCEDCSS â FMUP 15/2015) and by the Portuguese National Commission of Data Protection (9427/2015). All study participants signed an informed consent form.
Nutrition UP 65 is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through European Economic Area (EEA) Grants in 85% and by Faculdade de CiĂȘncias da Nutrição e Alimentação, Universidade do Porto in 15%. Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway sponsor initiatives and projects in various program areas, primarily focusing on reducing economic and social disparities. The European Economic Area Grants are managed by Administração Central do Sistema de SaĂșde through the Programa Iniciativas em SaĂșde PĂșblica
Impact of Dreissena fouling on the physiological condition of native and invasive bivalves : interspecific and temporal variations
The impact of Dreissena fouling on unionids
has hardly been studied in Europe, despite the fact
that in some ecosystems (e.g. Lake Balaton, Hungary)
infestations of several hundreds to a thousand individuals
per unionid have been observed. At present,
the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a dominant
species in Lake Balaton and in the last decade three
other invasive bivalves were introduced, potentially
increasing the pressure on native unionid survival. We
examined whether the fouling of dreissenids (zebra
and quagga (D. rostriformis bugensis) mussels) has a
negative impact on native (Anodonta anatina, Unio
pictorum and U. tumidus) and invasive (Corbicula
fluminea and Sinanodonta woodiana) bivalves and
whether there are any interspecific and temporal
variations in fouling intensity and physiological
condition measured by standard condition index and
glycogen content. A significant negative impact was detected on native unionids only in July and September
(no impact was detected in May), when the fouling
rate was high. For invasive species, a significant
negative impact was detected on S. woodiana with a
high level of dressenid infestation; whereas no significant
impact was detected on C. fluminea. Overall, this
study confirms that Dreissena may threaten unionid
species including the invasive S. woodiana, although
high interspecific and temporal variations were
observed. This situation should be taken into account
in future ecological and conservational assessments
because species respond differently to Dreissena
fouling and effects seem to be more pronounced in
late summer/early autumn. In addition, this study
provides the first evidence that the invasive C.
fluminea appear to be less vulnerable to dressenid
fouling.The study was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Fund (KTIA-OTKA) under the contract No. CNK80140
Excesso de peso e obesidade abdominal em mulheres atendidas em Unidade da EstratĂ©gia SaĂșde da FamĂlia
Investigou-se a prevalĂȘncia de excesso de peso e obesidade abdominal e variĂĄveis associadas em mulheres. Estudo transversal com 298 mulheres (20-59 anos), usuĂĄrias de uma unidade da EstratĂ©gia SaĂșde da FamĂlia, em SĂŁo Paulo-SP. Considerou-se o excesso de peso: Ăndice de massa corporal>25kg/mÂČ; a obesidade abdominal: circunferĂȘncia da cintura 0,80m ou razĂŁo cintura-quadril>0,85. Realizou-se anĂĄlise de regressĂŁo logĂstica. O excesso de peso afetou 56% das mulheres, sendo 37% sobrepeso e 19% obesidade, e associou-se com a idade, renda familiar, tabagismo e hipertensĂŁo. 59% tinham obesidade abdominal associada Ă idade e hipertensĂŁo. Observou-sea elevada prevalĂȘncia de excesso de peso e obesidade abdominal em mulheres, reforçando a importĂąncia da avaliação de circunferĂȘncia da cintura e/ou razĂŁo cintura-quadril no exame fĂsico, alĂ©m do Ăndice de massa corporal, auxiliadores da predição de risco. Evidencia-se a necessidade de intervençÔes, junto Ă comunidade, que promovam a diminuição do excesso de peso e da obesidade abdominal
Automatic segmentation of the lumen in magnetic resonance images of the carotid artery
The segmentation of the lumen and vessel wall in Magnetic Resonance (MR) images of carotid arteries represents a crucial step towards the evaluation of cerebrovascular diseases. However, the automatic segmentation of the lumen is still a challenge due to the usual low quality of the images and the presence of elements that compromise the accuracy of the results. In this article, we describe a fully automatic method to identify the location of the lumen in MR images of the carotid artery. A circularity index is used to assess the roundness of the regions identified by the K-means algorithm in order to obtain the one with the maximum value, i.e. the potential lumen region. Then, an active contour algorithm is employed to refine the boundary of the region found. The method achieved a maximum Dice coefficient of 0.91 +/- 0.04 and 0.74 +/- 0.16 in 181 postcontrast 3D-T1-weighted and 181 proton density-weighted MR images, respectively. Therefore, the method seems to be promising for identifying the correct location of the lumen in MR images
Local iron homeostasis in the breast ductal carcinoma microenvironment
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
While the deregulation of iron homeostasis in breast epithelial cells is acknowledged, iron-related alterations in stromal inflammatory cells from the tumor microenvironment have not been explored.
METHODS:
Immunohistochemistry for hepcidin, ferroportin 1 (FPN1), transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) and ferritin (FT) was performed in primary breast tissues and axillary lymph nodes in order to dissect the iron-profiles of epithelial cells, lymphocytes and macrophages. Furthermore, breast carcinoma core biopsies frozen in optimum cutting temperature (OCT) compound were subjected to imaging flow cytometry to confirm FPN1 expression in the cell types previously evaluated and determine its cellular localization.
RESULTS:
We confirm previous results by showing that breast cancer epithelial cells present an 'iron-utilization phenotype' with an increased expression of hepcidin and TFR1, and decreased expression of FT. On the other hand, lymphocytes and macrophages infiltrating primary tumors and from metastized lymph nodes display an 'iron-donor' phenotype, with increased expression of FPN1 and FT, concomitant with an activation profile reflected by a higher expression of TFR1 and hepcidin. A higher percentage of breast carcinomas, compared to control mastectomy samples, present iron accumulation in stromal inflammatory cells, suggesting that these cells may constitute an effective tissue iron reservoir. Additionally, not only the deregulated expression of iron-related proteins in epithelial cells, but also on lymphocytes and macrophages, are associated with clinicopathological markers of breast cancer poor prognosis, such as negative hormone receptor status and tumor size.
CONCLUSIONS:
The present results reinforce the importance of analyzing the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer, extending the contribution of immune cells to local iron homeostasis in the tumor microenvironment context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Myeloid Sirtuin 2 expression does not impact long-term Mycobacterium tuberculosis control
Sirtuins (Sirts) regulate several cellular mechanisms through deacetylation of several transcription factors and enzymes. Recently, Sirt2 was shown to prevent the development of inflammatory processes and its expression favors acute Listeria monocytogenes infection. The impact of this molecule in the context of chronic infections remains unknown. We found that specific Sirt2 deletion in the myeloid lineage transiently increased Mycobacterium tuberculosis load in the lungs and liver of conditional mice. Sirt2 did not affect long-term infection since no significant differences were observed in the bacterial burden at days 60 and 120 post-infection. The initial increase in M. tuberculosis growth was not due to differences in inflammatory cell infiltrates in the lung, myeloid or CD4+ T cells. The transcription levels of IFN-?, IL-17, TNF, IL-6 and NOS2 were also not affected in the lungs by Sirt2-myeloid specific deletion. Overall, our results demonstrate that Sirt2 expression has a transitory effect in M. tuberculosis infection. Thus, modulation of Sirt2 activity in vivo is not expected to affect chronic infection with M. tuberculosis.Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia, Portugal and cofunded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2âO Novo Norte), Quadro de ReferĂȘncia EstratĂ©gico Nacional (QREN), through the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). Project grants: PTDC/SAU-MII/101977/2008 (to AGC) and PTDC/BIA-BCM/102776/2008 (to MS). LMT was supported by FCT Grant SFRH/BPD/77399/20
Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or Ï lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, Ï, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan ÎČ in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN
Search for high-mass resonances decaying to dilepton final states in pp collisions at sâ=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral ZâČ gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z * bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/Îł bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fbâ1 in the e + e â channel and 5.0 fbâ1 in the ÎŒ + ÎŒ âchannel. A Z âČ boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/MPl=0.1 is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal ZâČ Models
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