1,987 research outputs found
Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are associated with aberrant inflammatory circuits in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases
INTRODUCTION: Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are markers for several systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD). OBJECTIVE: To assess whether anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are related to abnormalities in inflammatory circuits. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of consecutive outpatients with SARD. Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies and serum amyloid A protein were measured by ELISA; panels for 18 cytokines and nine chemokines were analyzed on a Luminex reading platform, while high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and complement were measured by nephelometry. RESULTS: Among 167 included patients, 143 had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 16 had primary Sjögren's syndrome and eight had systemic sclerosis; 41 (24%) were positive for anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies. Patients with anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies had higher serum levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, GM-CSF, IL-21, IL-22, hs-CRP and chemokines CCL4, CXCL8, CXCL10 and CXCL12, but lower levels of complement C4. Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibody titers were positively correlated with IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-21, IL-22, CXCL10, and hs-CRP, and negatively with complements C3 and C4. When only SLE patients were included, no association was identified between anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies and disease activity or organ-specific involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 antibodies are associated with aberrant cytokine circuits and elevated levels of angiogenic molecules and neutrophil and monocyte chemoattractants, which suggests an active role for these antibodies in SARD.</p
Coasting cosmologies with time dependent cosmological constant
The effect of a time dependent cosmological constant is considered in a
family of scalar tensor theories. Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological
models for vacumm and perfect fluid matter are found. They have a linear
expansion factor, the so called coasting cosmology, the gravitational
"constant" decreace inversely with time; this model satisfy the Dirac
hipotesis. The cosmological "constant" decreace inversely with the square of
time, therefore we can have a very small value for it at present time.Comment: 7 pages, latex file (ijmpal macro), accepted for publication in Int.
Mod. Phys.
Cell block sensitivity for immunohistochemical detection of cytokeratin 5, oestrogen and progesterone receptors in canine primary mammary carcinoma
Mammary carcinomas are relatively common ailments among female canines aged around 10 years old, presentingan important morbidity with an average survival of five years. The cytoinclusion technique is frequently employed in human medicine as the investigative method of choice as it quickly provides resources for the determination of the correct therapeutic response, however, the effectiveness of the technique in canines remains understudied in veterinary medicine. This study aims at evaluating the degree of correlation with immunohistochemical marking for cytokeratin 5 (CK5), oestrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR) between the cytoinclusion and the histopathology technique in mammary carcinomas. Twenty-five samples of mammary carcinoma, both for the cytoinclusion and histopathological techniques were submitted for histological processing; microscope slides were created for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and the immunohistochemical technique (IHC) was assessed for the ER, PR and CK5 receptors. Through the HE staining, we reached a concordance rate of 100% between the cytoinclusion and the histopathological analysis in the diagnosis of carcinomas. The immunohistochemical assay presented sensitivity of 85.71%, 95.45% and 100% and Cohenâs kappa of 0.78, 0.84 and 0.95 for ER, PR and CK5, respectively, as well as 100% specificity and P<0.01 for all three markers. Therefore, cytoinclusion represents an accessible, fast and low-cost method, offering high sensitivity for the cytomorphological and immunohistochemical diagnosis of mammary carcinoma in female canines
A novel reiterated family of transcribed oligo(A)-terminated, interspersed DNA elements in the genome of Trypanosoma cruzi
We report the molecular characterization of a novel reiterated family of transcribed oligo(A)-terminated, interspersed DNA elements in the genome of Trypanosoma cruzi. Steady-state level of transcripts of this sequence family appeared to be developmentally regulated, since only in the replicative forms the parasite showed expression of related sequences with a major band around 3 kb. The presence of frame shifts or premature stop codons predicts that transcripts are not translated. The sequence family also contains truncated forms of retrotransposons elements that may become potential hot spots for retroelement insertion. Sequences homologous to this family are interspersed at many chromosomes including the subtelomeric regions.Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e ParasitologiaNorthwestern University Medical School Departments of Pathology and Microbiology-ImmunologyUniversidad Central de Venezuela Instituto de Biologia Experimental Laboratorio de Genetica MolecularUniversidad de Antofagasta Departamento de Tecnologia MĂ©dicaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Microbiologia, Imunologia e ParasitologiaSciEL
Systematics, biogeography, and diversification of Scytalopus tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), an enigmatic radiation of Neotropical montane birds
Copyright © American Ornithological Society 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: [email protected]. We studied the phylogeny, biogeography, and diversification of suboscine passerines in the genus Scytalopus (Rhinocryptidae), a widespread, species-rich, and taxonomically challenging group of Neotropical birds. We analyzed nuclear (exons, regions flanking ultraconserved elements) and mitochondrial (ND2) DNA sequence data for a taxonomically and geographically comprehensive sample of specimens collected from Costa Rica to Patagonia and Brazil. We found that Scytalopus is a monophyletic group sister to Eugralla and consists of 3 main clades roughly distributed in (1) the Southern Andes, (2) eastern Brazil, and (3) the Tropical Andes and Central America. The clades from the Southern Andes and eastern Brazil are sister to each other. Despite their confusing uniformity in plumage coloration, body shape, and overall appearance, rates of species accumulation through time in Scytalopus since the origin of the clade in the Late Miocene are unusually high compared with those of other birds, suggesting rapid non-adaptive diversification in the group. We attribute this to their limited dispersal abilities making them speciation-prone and their occurrence in a complex landscape with numerous barriers promoting allopatric differentiation. Divergence times among species and downturns in species accumulation rates in recent times suggest that most speciation events in Scytalopus predate climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene. Our analyses identified various cases of strong genetic structure within species and lack of monophyly of taxa, flagging populations which likely merit additional study to clarify their taxonomic status. In particular, detailed analyses of species limits are due in S. parvirostris, S. latrans, S. speluncae, the S. atratus complex, and the Southern Andes clade
EL PASO DEL CONCEPTO DE CONVIVENCIA CON LA SEMI-ARIDEZ A LA APLICACIOÌN DE POLIÌTICAS-PAIÌS: BRASIL 2002-2016
El presente artiÌculo objetivoÌ explorar si ha sido posible hacer realidad la propuesta brasilenÌa de convivencia con la semi-aridez, y de haber sido asiÌ, establecer cuaÌles estrategias han contribui- do, y cuaÌles condiciones gruesas han sido necesarias para ello. En contexto, fue realizado un anaÌli- sis comparativo, de las transformaciones que ocurrieron en 10 territorios del semiaÌrido brasilenÌo, en dos periodos de tiempo PI (1973-2001) con poliÌticas de combate a las sequias vs PII (2002- 2016) con la implementacioÌn de poliÌticas gubernamentales de desarrollo bajo el concepto de convivencia con la semi-aÌridez. Las variables y procesos analizados incluyeron (a) Capital FiÌsico; (b) Acceso a Infra-Estructura HiÌdrica; (c) DiversificacioÌn de sistemas de ProduccioÌn (vegetal y ani- mal); (d) GestioÌn de Bienes ComuÌn; (e) IntegracioÌn en Espacios PoliÌticos Organizativos y (f ) Acceso a PoliÌticas PuÌblicas. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que hubo cambios significativos en los in- dicadores analizados en el periodo PII, en comparacioÌn al periodo de (PI), en los 10 territorios ana- lizados, como resultado del acceso a poliÌticas puÌblicas de convivencia con la sequiÌa. Comparando el P-II con el P-I, en promedio, hubo una mejoriÌa sustantiva en el Acceso a Infra-estructura HiÌdrica (121%), Diversidad de los sistemas ProduccioÌn (Animal, 99% y Vegetal 229%), ParticipacioÌn en la GestioÌn de Bienes Comunes (66%), IntegracioÌn en Espacio PoliÌticos Organizativos (148%) y ParticipacioÌn en PoliÌticas Publicas (99%). La convivencia pasoÌ de ser un concepto a convertirse en hecho como consecuencia del conjunto de transformaciones estructurales, agroecoloÌgicas, sociales y de manejo en combinacioÌn con el fortalecimiento de mecanismos de reciprocidad co- munitaria, caracterizados por a) movilizacioÌn social y canalizacioÌn para crear almacenamiento de recursos con el fin de utilizarlos en periodos de sequias, b) la reduccioÌn de la peÌrdida de recursos de los agro-ecosistemas y uso su eficaz y c) la articulacioÌn, organizacioÌn y momentos sineÌrgicos de comunicacioÌn entre los diversos atores
Nitrogenous and Phosphorus Soil Contents in Tierra del Fuego Forests: Relationships with Soil Organic Carbon, Climate, Vegetation and Landscape Metrics
Soil nitrogen (SN) and soil phosphorus (SP) contents support several ecosystem services and define the forest type distribution at local scale in Southern Patagonia. The quantification of nutrients during forest surveys requires soil samplings and estimations that are costly and difficult to measure. For this, predictive models of soil nutrients are needed. The objective of this study was to quantify SN and SP contents (30 cm depth) using different modelling approaches based on climatic, topographic and vegetation variables. We used data from 728 stands of different forest types for linear regression models to map SN and SP. The fitted models captured the variability of forest types well (RÂČ-adj. 92â98% for SN and 70â87% for SP). The means were 9.3 ton haâ1 for SN and 124.3 kg haâ1 for SP. Overall, SN values were higher in the deciduous forests than those in the mixed evergreen, while SP was the highest in the Nothofagus pumilio forests. SN and SP are relevant metrics for many applications, connecting major issues, such as forest management and conservation. With these models, the quantification of SN and SP stocks across forests of different protection status (National Law 26,331/07) and national/provincial reserve networks is possible, contributing to the determination of nutrient contents at landscape level.Fil: MartĂnez Pastur, Guillermo JosĂ©. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientĂficas; ArgentinaFil: Aravena Acuña, Marie Claire Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientĂficas; ArgentinaFil: Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientĂficas; ArgentinaFil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; ArgentinaFil: Silveira, Eduarda M. O.. University of Florida. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez Souilla, Julian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientĂficas; ArgentinaFil: Von MĂŒller, Axel Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de TecnologĂa Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. EstaciĂłn Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel; ArgentinaFil: la Manna, Ludmila Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de IngenierĂa - Sede Esquel. Centro de Estudios Ambientales Integrados; ArgentinaFil: Lencinas, MarĂa Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientĂficas; ArgentinaFil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de TecnologĂa Agropecuaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentin
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