Germline Transgenic Methods for Tracking Cells and Testing Gene Function During Regeneration in the Axolotl

The salamander is the only tetrapod that regenerates complex body structures throughout life. Deciphering the underlying molecular processes of regeneration is fundamental for regenerative medicine and developmental biology, but the model organism had limited tools for molecular analysis. We describe a comprehensive set of germline transgenic strains in the laboratory-bred salamander Ambystoma mexicanum(axolotl) that open up the cellular and molecular genetic dissection of regeneration. We demonstrate tissue-dependent control of gene expression in nerve, Schwann cells, oligodendrocytes, muscle, epidermis, and cartilage. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of tamoxifen-induced Cre/loxP-mediated recombination to indelibly mark different cell types. Finally, we inducibly overexpress the cell-cycle inhibitor p16INK4a, which negatively regulates spinal cord regeneration. These tissue-specific germline axolotl lines and tightly inducible Cre drivers and LoxP reporter lines render this classical regeneration model molecularly accessible

Socioeconomic Barriers to Rhegmatogenous Detachment Surgery in Brazil

Purpose. To verify access barriers patients with retinal detachment face to arrive at a reference center and to evaluate patients’ knowledge about the disease. Methods. Transversal study that applied a questioner to 65 patients of the Clinical Hospital of the University of Sao Paulo with retinal detachment between February and August of 2010. Results. Reasons for not performing the surgery in other services were as follows: 47% were referred because there was not vitreoretinal surgeon at original service; 27% could not afford the surgery, had no health insurance, or had no coverage at health insurance plan for the procedure. Time between the first symptom and the arrival at our service was as follows: 18 patients arrived in up to 7 days; 35 between 8 and 30 days; 8 between 31 and 90 days; 5 in more than 90 days. Reasons for delay were as follows: 70% did not know how serious the pathology was; 56% thought that it had spontaneous cure; 16% did not have money to pay for ophthalmic evaluation, 10% did not know where to go and 24% for other reasons. Conclusion. Educational programs about disease and measures to optimize the referral to specialized services are needed to accelerate the treatment of patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

カオ ト 《 リッツォー 》 〈カオ〉 ガイネン ノ ニチロ タイショウ ケンキュウ

本稿は、同じ身体部分を表す日本語「顔」 とロシア語≪ЛИЦО≫とを取り上げ、その用法の重なりとずれを考察し、それぞれと結びついている概念の違いを明らかにしようとするものである。言語は、その言語使用者の世界の捉え方を反映する。しかし、世界の捉え方・ものの見方は、母語話者にとっては当然の前提であり、意識されることがほとんどない。したがって、異なる言語の比較も辞書的な意味のレベルにとどまるなら、対象への焦点の当て方、暗黙の価値判断や期待といった言語の背後にある世界の捉え方の相違を見落としかねない。そこで、この困難な問題に取り組むために、本稿は異なる言語の母語話者同士の協力という形をとる。日本語「顔」とロシア語≪ЛИЦО≫とは、身体部分としての意味のほか、〈全体を代表するもの(看板やサンプル)〉、〈人やモノの個性〉、〈人やモノの一側面〉、〈名誉〉といった多くの用法を共有している。その一方で、日本語にある〈人脈〉としての用法はロシア語になく、ロシア語にある〈個人そのもの〉としての用法は日本語にないというように、重ならない用法もある。 多くの用法で重なり合うように見える両語ではあるが、子細に検討すると、焦点化の方向と程度に大きな違いが見られる。日本語「顔」は、本稿で定義する〈立場〉の概念との結びつきが顕著である。またそれによって〈人脈〉の概念との結びつきも説明できる。一方、ロシア語≪ЛИЦО≫は、〈個性〉の概念との結びつきが顕著であり、その方向で種々の派生語も生じている。 日本語にない〈個人そのもの〉という用法はその延長線上にある。 要するに、同じ対象の持つ特徴の中でも、日本語は他者に向けた表側としての側面に、ロシア語は個人の内的特徴の現れという側面に焦点を当てていると言える。This paper describes the conceptual networks of Japanese “kao” and Russian “лицо ”— the two words that designate the same part of the body— the face. We try to throw light on the difference between the conceptual worlds that are respectively the background of each of these two words. Languages are inevitably affected by the way of their speakers to construe the world, but to the native speaker everything in his language seems to be absolutely natural and it is difficult if not impossible for him to identify what is special about his language and what should be emphasized. We attempt to resolve this problem through cooperation of the native speakers of two different languages.“Kao” and “лицо ” have many uses in common: ‘representative part of a person or a thing’, ‘individuality of a person or a thing’, ‘one aspect of a person or a thing’,‘honor’. On the other hand, Japanese word “kao” has the meaning ‘connections’, that the Russian word “лицо ” does not have, and “лицо ” sometimes means ‘a person’ a meaning that “kao” does not have. These two words, despite the above-mentioned commonality, reflect the difference between their backgrounds. Japanese “kao”specially focuses on the conception of ‘honor’of the ‘tachiba’, reflecting the tendency of Japanese people to respect the ‘tachiba’. And Russian “лицо ” specially focuses on ‘individuality’, reflecting the tendency of the Russian people to respect the personality. The meanings, ‘connections’ peculiar to the former and ‘a person’ peculiar to the latter, are results of this different tendencies

El uso de la ozonoterapia en el tratamiento del pie diabético : revisión integradora

O Diabetes Mellitus é considerado um problema de saúde pública por ser uma doença de elevada morbimortalidade e incapacitante pelas suas complicações. As ulcerações são frequentes nos pés de pessoas com diabetes, sendo a infecção o principal fator envolvido na sequência de eventos que levam muitas vezes a amputação do membro inferiore reinternações. O ozônio é uma alternativa de tratamento adjuvante para lesões de difícil cicatrização como as úlceras ocasionadas pelo diabetes. Objetiva-se avaliar as evidências científicas, na literatura nacional e internacional, sobre o uso da ozonioterapia como tratamento do paciente com pé diabético. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa com oito artigos selecionados nas bases de dados Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde e Scielo entre o período de 2010 e 2020. Após a leitura, análise e interpretação dos dados, pode-se verificar que, apesar de haver poucos estudos recentes sobre a terapia com ozônio no tratamento de pé diabético, os artigos elucidam o uso do ozônio como uma modalidade promissora de tratamento, que proporciona redução do tempo de cicatrização emelhora no aspecto das lesões. Contudo, nem todos os estudos apresentam o tempo de aplicação e a via de tratamento. Há a necessidade de novas pesquisas para criar padronizações ou protocolos, a fim de otimizar a qualidade de atendimento aos pacientes com pé diabético.Diabetes Mellitus is considered a public health problem because it is a disease with high morbidity and mortality and incapacitating due to its complications. Ulcerations are frequent on the feet of people with diabetes, with infection being the main factor involved in the sequence of events that often lead to lower limb amputation and readmissions. Ozone is an alternative adjuvant treatment for difficult-to-heal lesions such as ulcers caused by diabetes. The objective is to evaluate the scientific evidence, in national and international literature, on the use of ozone therapy as a treatment for patients with diabetic foot. This is an integrative review with eight articles selectedfrom the Virtual Health and Scielo databases between 2010 and 2020. After reading, analyzing and interpreting the data, it can be seen that, although there are few studies recent on ozone therapy in the treatmentof diabetic foot, the articles elucidate the use of ozone as a promising treatment modality, which reduces the healing time and improves the appearance of injuries. However, not all studies show the time of application and the route of treatment. There isa need for further research to create standards or protocols in order to optimize the quality of care for patients with diabetic foot.La Diabetes Mellitus se considera un problema de salud pública por ser una enfermedad con alta morbimortalidade incapacitante por sus complicaciones. Las ulceraciones son frecuentes en los pies de las personas con diabetes, siendo la infección el factor principal involucrado en la secuencia de eventos que a menudo conducen a la amputación de miembros inferiores yreingresos. El ozono es un tratamiento adyuvante alternativo para las lesiones difíciles de curar, como las úlceras causadas por la diabetes. El objetivo es evaluar la evidencia científica, en la literatura nacional e internacional, sobre el uso de la ozonoterapia como tratamiento para pacientes con pie diabético. Se trata de una revisión integradora con ocho artículos seleccionados de las bases de datos Virtual Health y Scielo entre 2010 y 2020. Después de leer, analizar e interpretar los datos, se puede apreciar que, aunque existen pocos estudios Recientemente sobre la ozonoterapia en el tratamiento del pie diabético, los artículos dilucidan el uso del ozono como una modalidad de tratamiento prometedora, que reduce el tiempo de curación y mejora la apariencia de las lesiones. Sin embargo, no todos los estudios muestran el momento de aplicación y la vía de tratamiento. Es necesario realizar más investigaciones para crear estándares o protocolos con el fin de optimizar la calidad de la atención de los pacientes con pie diabético

Detection of coronavirus-2 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in conjunctival swabs from patients with severe form of Coronavirus disease 2019 in São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVES: To test conjunctival swabs from patients with laboratory-confirmed severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). METHODS: Fifty conjunctival swabs were collected from 50 in-patients with laboratory-confirmed severe forms of COVID-19 at the largest teaching hospital and referral center in Brazil (HCFMUSP, São Paulo, SP). The samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 on rRT-PCR with the primers and probes described in the CDC protocol which amplify the region of the nucleocapsid N gene (2019_nCoV_N1 and 2019_nCoV_N2) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and compared with naso/oropharyngeal swabs collected within 24 hours of the conjunctival swabs. RESULTS: Five conjunctival samples (10%) tested positive (amplification of the N1 and N2 primer/probe sets) while two conjunctival samples (4%) yielded inconclusive results (amplification of the N1 primer/probe set only). The naso/oropharyngeal swabs were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on rRT-PCR in 34 patients (68%), negative in 14 (28%) and inconclusive in 2 (4%). The 5 patients with positive conjunctival swabs had positive (n=2), negative (n=2) or inconclusive (n=1) naso/oropharyngeal swabs on rRT-PCR. Patients with negative or inconclusive naso/oropharyngeal swabs had the diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed by previous positive rRT-PCR results or by serology. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to present conjunctival swab rRT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 in a Brazilian population. In our sample of 50 patients with severe forms of COVID-19, 10% had positive conjunctival swabs, most of which were correlated with positive naso/oropharyngeal rRT-PCR results

A IMPORTÂNCIA DO TRABALHO NA CONSTRUÇÃO DA IDENTIDADE DE PESSOAS COM DEFICIÊNCIA

Apesar da Lei de Cotas já estar em vigor há aproximadamente trinta anos, da já reconhecida importância social do trabalho para o indivíduo, no sentido de contribuir para a construção de sua identidade e integração, e da garantia constitucional do direito ao trabalho, pessoas com deficiência (PcD) ainda encontram muitas dificuldades para se inserirem no mercado de trabalho.  Este artigo tem como objetivo verificar e discutir, se na atualidade e no contexto brasileiro, as políticas e práticas organizacionais têm contribuído para a inclusão e desenvolvimento das PcD por meio do trabalho. Finaliza apresentando alternativas para necessárias transformações no cenário atual, ainda de exclusão

Usefulness of aqueous and vitreous humor analysis in infectious uveitis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of intraocular fluid analysis as a diagnostic aid for uveitis. METHODS: Twenty-eight samples (27 patients including 3 HIV-infected patients) with active (n=24) or non-active (n=4) uveitis were submitted to aqueous (AH; n=12) or vitreous humor (VH) analysis (n=16). All samples were analyzed by quantitative PCR for herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Toxoplasma gondii. RESULTS: The positivity of the PCR in AH was 41.7% (5/12), with 50% (2/4) in immunocompetent and 67% (2/3) in HIV+ patients. The positivity of the PCR in VH was 31.2% (5/16), with 13% (1/8) in immunocompetent and 50% (4/8) in immunosuppressed HIV negative patients. The analysis was a determinant in the diagnostic definition in 58% of HA and 50% of VH. CONCLUSION: Even in posterior uveitis, initial AH analysis may be helpful. A careful formulation of possible clinical diagnosis seems to increase the chance of intraocular sample analysis being meaningful

The potential impact of Saharan dust and polluted aerosols on microbial populations in the East Mediterranean Sea, an overview of a mesocosm experimental approach.

Recent estimates of nutrient budgets for the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) indicate that atmospheric aerosols play a significant role as suppliers of macro- and micro- nutrients to its Low Nutrient Low Chlorophyll water. Here we present the first mesocosm experimental study that examines the overall response of the oligotrophic EMS surface mixed layer (Cretan Sea, May 2012) to two different types of natural aerosol additions, “pure” Saharan dust (SD, 1.6 mg l-1) and mixed aerosols (A - polluted and desert origin, 1 mg l-1). We describe the rationale, the experimental set-up, the chemical characteristics of the ambient water and aerosols and the relative maximal biological impacts that resulted from the added aerosols. The two treatments, run in triplicates (3 m3 each), were compared to control-unamended runs. Leaching of approximately 2.1-2.8 and 2.2-3.7 nmol PO4 and 20-26 and 53-55 nmol NOx was measured per each milligram of SD and A, respectively, representing an addition of approximately 30% of the ambient phosphate concentrations. The nitrate/phosphate ratios added in the A treatment were twice than those added in the SD treatment. Both types of dry aerosols triggered a positive change (25-600% normalized per 1 mg l-1 addition) in most of the rate and state variables that were measured: bacterial abundance (BA), bacterial production (BP), Synechococcus (Syn) abundance, chlorophyll-a (chl-a), primary production (PP) and dinitrogen fixation (N2-fix), with relative changes among them following the sequence BP>PP≈N2-fix>chl-a≈BA≈Syn. Our results show that the ‘polluted’ aerosols triggered a relatively larger biological change compared to the SD amendments (per a similar amount of mass addition), especially regarding BP and PP. We speculate that despite the co-limitation of P and N in the EMS, the additional N released by the A treatment may have triggered the relatively larger response in most of the rate and state variables as compared to SD. An implication of our study is that a warmer atmosphere in the future may increase dust emissions and influence the intensity and length of the already well stratified water column in the EMS and hence the impact of the aerosols as a significant external source of new nutrients

The first serine protease inhibitor from Lasiodora sp. (Araneae: Theraphosidae) hemocytes

AbstractThis work reports, for the first time, the purification, characterization and antibacterial activity of an elastase inhibitor from Lasiodora sp. hemocytes (EILaH). The hemocyte extract inhibited chymotrypsin (22%), trypsin (44%), tissue plasminogen activator (52%), urokinase (58%) and human neutrophil elastase (99%). EILaH was purified by Trypsin-Sepharose column and RP-HPLC. SDS-PAGE of EILaH revealed a molecular mass of 8kDa and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry revealed a single molecular mass of 8274Da. The amino terminal sequence determined was LPC(PF)PYQQELTC. The dissociation constant (Ki) for human neutrophil elastase was 0.32nM. Hemocyte extract exerted antibacterial effect on Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis, while EILaH was only active against E. faecalis. Currently, Lasiodora sp. is undergoing a systematic review and this study contributes to molecular characterization of the genus. In addition, the results suggest that serine protease inhibitors expressed in Lasiodora sp. hemocytes may be involved in the defense against bacterial infection