Hypoglycemic and anti-lipemic effects of the aqueous extract from Cissus sicyoides

BACKGROUND: Cissus sicyoides (Vitaceae) is a medicinal plant popularly known in Brazil as "cipó-pucá, anil-trepador, cortina, and insulina". The plant is used in several diseases, including rheumatism, epilepsy, stroke and also in the treatment of diabetes. In the present work, we studied the hypoglycemic and anti-lipemic effects of the aqueous extract prepared from fresh leaves of the plant (AECS), in the model of alloxan-induced diabetes in rats. In addition, hepatic enzyme levels were also determined. RESULTS: Results showed that the daily treatment of diabetic rats with AECS for 7 days (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly decreased blood glucose levels in 25 and 22% respectively, as compared to the same groups before AECS treatment. No significant changes were seen in control diabetic rats before (48 h after alloxan administration) and after distilled water treatment. While no changes were seen in total cholesterol levels, a significant decrease was observed in plasma triglyceride levels, in the alloxan-induced diabetic rats after AECS treatment with both doses, as compared to the same groups before treatment. Significant decreases in blood glucose (25%) and triglyceride levels (48%) were also observed in the alloxan-induced diabetic rats after 4 days treatment with AECS (200 mg/kg, p.o.). Aspartate (AST) and alanine (ALT) aminotransferases levels, in diabetic controls and AECS-treated rats, were in the range of reference values presented by normal rats. CONCLUSIONS: The results justify the popular use of C. sicyoides, pointing out to the potential benefit of the plant aqueous extract (AECS) in alternative medicine, in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Leishmania Parasites Drive PD-L1 Expression in Mice and Human Neutrophils With Suppressor Capacity

Neutrophils play an important role in the outcome of leishmaniasis, contributing either to exacerbating or controlling the progression of infection, a dual effect whose underlying mechanisms are not clear. We recently reported that CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and dendritic cells of Leishmania amazonensis-infected mice present high expression of PD-1 and PD-L1, respectively. Given that the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction may promote cellular dysfunction, and that neutrophils could interact with T cells during infection, we investigated here the levels of PD-L1 in neutrophils exposed to Leishmania parasites. We found that both, promastigotes and amastigotes of L. amazonensis induced the expression of PD-L1 in the human and murine neutrophils that internalized these parasites in vitro. PD-L1-expressing neutrophils were also observed in the ear lesions and the draining lymph nodes of L. amazonensis-infected mice, assessed through cell cytometry and intravital microscopy. Moreover, expression of PD-L1 progressively increased in neutrophils from ear lesions as the disease evolved to the chronic phase. Co-culture of infected neutrophils with in vitro activated CD8+ T cells inhibits IFN-γ production by a mechanism dependent on PD-1 and PD-L1. Importantly, we demonstrated that in vitro infection of human neutrophils by L braziliensis induced PD-L1+ expression and also PD-L1+ neutrophils were detected in the lesions of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Leishmania parasite increases the expression of PD-L1 in neutrophils with suppressor capacity, which could favor the parasite survival through impairing the immune response

Mode-locking via dissipative Faraday instability

Emergence of coherent structures and patterns at the nonlinear stage of modulation instability of a uniform state is an inherent feature of many biological, physical and engineering systems. There are several well-studied classical modulation instabilities, such as Benjamin-Feir, Turing and Faraday instability, which play a critical role in the self-organization of energy and matter in non-equilibrium physical, chemical and biological systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate the dissipative Faraday instability induced by spatially periodic zig-zag modulation of a dissipative parameter of the system - spectrally dependent losses - achieving generation of temporal patterns and high-harmonic mode-locking in a fibre laser. We demonstrate features of this instability that distinguish it from both the Benjamin-Feir and the purely dispersive Faraday instability. Our results open the possibilities for new designs of mode-locked lasers and can be extended to other fields of physics and engineering

Levels of diphtheria and tetanus specific IgG of Portuguese adult women, before and after vaccination with adult type Td. Duration of immunity following vaccination

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The need for tetanus toxoid decennial booster doses has been questioned by some experts. Several counter arguments have been presented, supporting the maintenance of decennial adult booster doses with tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (adult formulation of the vaccine: Td). This study aimed to evaluate the use of Td in Portuguese adult women under routine conditions. For that purpose we selected a group of women 30+ years of age to which vaccination was recommended. We intended to know if pre-vaccination antibody concentrations were associated with factors as age at first and last vaccination, number of doses and time since last revaccination. We also intended to assess the serological efficacy of Td booster.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Following the Portuguese guidelines 100 women were vaccinated with Td. Antitetanus toxin IgG (ATT IgG) and antidiphtheria toxin IgG (ADT IgG) levels were measured (mIU/ml) in 100 pre-vaccination and 91 post-vaccination sera. Detailed vaccination records were available from 88 participants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two women (Group A) began vaccination with DPT/DT in their early childhood and their pre-vaccination ATT IgG levels increased with the number of doses received (p = 0.022) and decreased with time since last vaccination (p = 0.016). Among the 66 women who began vaccination in adolescence and adulthood (Group B), with monovalent TT, ATT IgG levels decreased with age at first dose (p < 0.001) and with time since last vaccination (p = 0.041). In Group A, antidiphtheria toxin IgG kinetics was very similar to that observed for ATT IgG. Among women not vaccinated with diphtheria toxoid, ADT IgG levels decreased with age. Serological response to both components of Td was good but more pronounced for ATT IgG.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study suggests that, to protect against tetanus, there is no need to administer decennial boosters to the Portuguese adults who have complied with the childhood/adolescent schedule (6 doses of tetanus toxoid). The adult booster intervals could be wider, probably of 20 years. This also seems to apply to protection against diphtheria, but issues on the herd immunity and on the circulation of toxigenic strains need to be better understood.</p

IFNG +874T/A polymorphism is not associated with American tegumentary leishmaniasis susceptibility but can influence Leishmania induced IFN-γ production

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interferon-gamma is a key cytokine in the protective responses against intracellular pathogens. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the first intron of the human IFN-γ gene can putatively influence the secretion of cytokine with an impact on infection outcome as demonstrated for tuberculosis and other complex diseases. Our aim was to investigate the putative association of IFNG+874T/A SNP with American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) and also the influence of this SNP in the secretion of IFN-γ <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Brazilian ATL patients (78 cutaneous, CL, and 58 mucosal leishmaniasis, ML) and 609 healthy volunteers were evaluated. The genotype of +874 region in the IFN-γ gene was carried out by Amplification Refractory Mutational System (ARMS-PCR). <it>Leishmania</it>-induced IFN-γ production on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) culture supernatants was assessed by ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There are no differences between +874T/A SNP frequency in cases and controls or in ML versus CL patients. Cutaneous leishmaniasis cases exhibiting AA genotype produced lower levels of IFN-γ than TA/TT genotypes. In mucosal cases, high and low IFN-γ producers were clearly demonstrated but no differences in the cytokine production was observed among the IFNG +874T or A carriers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that +874T/A polymorphism was not associated with either susceptibility or severity to leishmaniasis. Despite this, IFNG +874T/A SNP could be involved in the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis by influencing the amount of cytokine released by CL patients, although it could not prevent disease development. On the other hand, it is possible that in ML cases, other potential polymorphic regulatory genes such as TNF-α and IL-10 are also involved thus interfering with IFN-γ secretion.</p

Fasting and postprandial plasma ghrelin levels are decreased in patients with liver failure previous to liver transplantation

[Abstract] Anorexia is a problem of paramount importance in patients with advanced liver failure. Ghrelin has important actions on feeding and weight homeostasis. Concentrations of ghrelin are controversial in liver cirrhosis. Our aim was to study fasting ghrelin and their response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in liver failure patients and normal subjects. Methods We included 16 patients with severe liver failure prior to liver transplantation. As a control group we included 10 age- and BMI-matched healthy subjects. After an overnight fast, 75 g of oral glucose were administered; glucose, insulin, and ghrelin were obtained at baseline and at times 30, 60, 90, and 120 min, respectively. Results Fasting ghrelin (median and range) were statistically significantly lower for patients compared to the controls, 527 (377–971) pg/ml vs. 643 (523–2163) pg/ml, P = 0.045, for patients and controls, respectively. The area under the curve for total ghrelin post-OGTT were lower in end-stage liver failure patients than in the control group, 58815 (44730–87420) pg/ml min vs. 76560 (56160–206385) pg/ml min, for patients and controls, respectively, P = 0.027. Conclusions Ghrelin levels are significantly decreased both fasting and post-OGTT in patients with liver failure candidates for transplantation. Decreased ghrelin levels could contribute to anorexia in patients with cirrhosis.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI051024Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI070413Xunta de Galicia; PS07/12Xunta de Galicia; PGIDT05PXIC91605PNXunta de Galicia; INCITE08ENA916110E

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO