Genetic polymorphisms of RANTES, IL1-A, MCP-1 and TNF-A genes in patients with prostate cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammation has been implicated as an etiological factor in several human cancers, including prostate cancer. Allelic variants of the genes involved in inflammatory pathways are logical candidates as genetic determinants of prostate cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms of genes that lead to increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are associated with an increased prostate cancer risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case-control study design was used to test the association between prostate cancer risk and the polymorphisms <it>TNF-A</it>-308 A/G (rs 1800629), <it>RANTES</it>-403 G/A (rs 2107538), <it>IL1-A</it>-889 C/T (rs 1800587) and <it>MCP-1 </it>2518 G/A (rs 1024611) in 296 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer and in 311 healthy controls from the same area.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Diagnosis of prostate cancer was significantly associated with <it>TNF-A </it>GA + AA genotype (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.09–2.64) and <it>RANTES </it>GA + AA genotype (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09–2.38). A alleles in <it>TNF-A </it>and <it>RANTES </it>influenced prostate cancer susceptibility and acted independently of each other in these subjects. No epistatic effect was found for the combination of different polymorphisms studied. Finally, no overall association was found between prostate cancer risk and <it>IL1-A </it>or <it>MCP-1 </it>polymorphisms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results and previously published findings on genes associated with innate immunity support the hypothesis that polymorphisms in proinflammatory genes may be important in prostate cancer development.</p

Effects of intense laser field and position dependent effective mass in Razavy quantum wells and quantum dots

Using the effective mass and parabolic band approximations, we investigated the position-dependent effective mass and non-resonant intense laser field effects on the first and third-order corrections of the absorption and relative changes of the refraction index coefficients for intersubband transition in Razavy-like quantum wells. Calculations have been extended to the spherical Razavy-like quantum dots electronic structure. We have shown that depending on the combinations of the Razavy-like potential parameters, the quantum wells can evolve from parabolic confinement in an isolated quantum well to a configuration of two coupled quantum wells. We have shown that in general the transition energies (dipole matrix elements) between the ground state and the first excited state: i) are decreasing (increasing) functions of M-parameter, ii) are increasing (decreasing) functions of A-parameter, iii) they increase (decrease) when considering the position-dependent effective mass effects, and iv) are increasing (decreasing) functions of the intense laser field parameter. In the case of the optical absorption and relative changes in the refractive index coefficients, we have shown blueshifts or redshifts by changing the A-, M-, and alpha(0)-parameters and by considering the effects of the position-dependent effective mass. In spherical quantum dots, we have shown that with an appropriate value of A- and M-parameters the system can evolve from a spherical quantum dot with infinite parabolic potential

Effects of Menthol Supplementation in Feedlot Cattle Diets on the Fecal Prevalence of Antimicrobial-Resistant <i>Escherichia coli</i>

<div><p>The pool of antimicrobial resistance determinants in the environment and in the gut flora of cattle is a serious public health concern. In addition to being a source of human exposure, these bacteria can transfer antibiotic resistance determinants to pathogenic bacteria and endanger the future of antimicrobial therapy. The occurrence of antimicrobial resistance genes on mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, facilitates spread of resistance. Recent work has shown <i>in vitro</i> anti-plasmid activity of menthol, a plant-based compound with the potential to be used as a feed additive to beneficially alter ruminal fermentation. The present study aimed to determine if menthol supplementation in diets of feedlot cattle decreases the prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in feces. Menthol was included in diets of steers at 0.3% of diet dry matter. Fecal samples were collected weekly for 4 weeks and analyzed for total coliforms counts, antimicrobial susceptibilities, and the prevalence of <i>tet</i> genes in <i>E</i>. <i>coli</i> isolates. Results revealed no effect of menthol supplementation on total coliforms counts or prevalence of <i>E</i>. <i>coli</i> resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin, azithromycin, cefoxitin, ceftiofur, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and sulfamethoxazole; however, 30 days of menthol addition to steer diets increased the prevalence of tetracycline-resistant <i>E</i>. <i>coli</i> (<i>P</i> < 0.02). Although the mechanism by which menthol exerts its effects remains unclear, results of our study suggest that menthol may have an impact on antimicrobial resistance in gut bacteria.</p></div

An Unexpected Case of Disseminated Amebiasis with Cerebral Involvement and Successful Recovery in a Non-Endemic Context

Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Amebiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Amebic brain abscesses are a rare form of invasive amebiasis frequently lethal due to the difficulty of its diagnosis and inadequate treat- ment. Cerebral amebiasis poses a therapeutic challenge as evidenced by the scarcity of papers reporting com- plete recovering after treatment. Case Report: We report the case of a 39-year-old Spanish man, with a history of alcohol and drug abuse. He had never trav- eled outside of Europe, no reported oral-anal sexual contact, and no history of immunosuppressant medica- tion. He was admitted to the Emergency department with temperature of 38°C, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. An abdominal CT scan showed multiples abscesses in the liver. Therefore, empirical meropenem treatment was started on suspicion of pyogenic liver abscesses due to lack of epidemiological risk factors for parasitic infec- tion. In the liver aspirate samples, E. histolytica trophozoites were directly visualized and a real-time PCR was also positive for it. After amebiasis diagnosis, intravenous (IV) metronidazole therapy was initiated. During his admission, the patient developed pulmonary, cutaneous and cerebral involvement amebiasis. The management of amebic brain abscesses includes surgical drainage and antiparasitic treatment, in our case IV metronidazole was maintained for 10 weeks. No surgical treatment was performed and even so, the patient evolved favorably. Conclusions: Amebic brain abscesses have a high mortality rate if inadequate treatment. A timely diagnosis and suitable treat can reduce its mortality, so the diagnosis of amebic infection should not be precluded in non-endemic countries.S

Prevalence of tetracycline resistant isolates that do not carry <i>tet</i>A or <i>tet</i>B genes in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> in steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.

<p>Prevalence of tetracycline resistant isolates that do not carry <i>tet</i>A or <i>tet</i>B genes in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> in steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.</p

Prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolates from cattle fed diets with or without 0.3% menthol.

<p>Prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolates from cattle fed diets with or without 0.3% menthol.</p

Multidrug resistance (MDR; ≥ 5 antimicrobials) prevalence (%) in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> from steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.

<p>Multidrug resistance (MDR; ≥ 5 antimicrobials) prevalence (%) in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> from steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.</p

Prevalence of <i>tet</i>A or <i>tet</i>B in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> phenotypically resistant to tetracycline in steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.

<p>Prevalence of <i>tet</i>A or <i>tet</i>B in fecal <i>Escherichia coli</i> phenotypically resistant to tetracycline in steers fed diets supplemented with or without 0.3% menthol.</p