Recent updates and perspectives on approaches for the development of vaccines against visceral leishmaniasis

All rights reserved. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the most important tropical diseases worldwide. Although chemotherapy has been widely used to treat this disease, problems related to the development of parasite resistance and side effects associated with the compounds used have been noted. Hence, alternative approaches for VL control are desirable. Some methods, such as vector control and culling of infected dogs, are insufficiently effective, with the latter not ethically recommended. The development of vaccines to prevent VL is a feasible and desirable measure for disease control, for example, some vaccines designed to protect dogs against VL have recently been brought to market. These vaccines are based on the combination of parasite fractions or recombinant proteins with adjuvants that are able to induce cellular immune responses, however, their partial efficacy and the absence of a vaccine to protect against human leishmaniasis underline the need for characterization of new vaccine candidates. This review presents recent advances in control measures for VL based on vaccine development, describing extensively studied antigens, as well as new antigenic proteins recently identified using immuno-proteomic techniquesThis work was supported by grants from Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Nano-Biofarmacêutica, Rede Nanobiotec/Brasil-Universidade Federal de Uberlândia/CAPES, PRONEX-FAPEMIG (APQ-01019-09), FAPEMIG (CBB-APQ-00819-12 and CBB-APQ-01778-2014), and CNPq (APQ-482976/2012-8, APQ-488237/2013-0, and APQ-467640/2014-9). EAFC and LRG are recipients of the grant from CNPq. MACF is the recipient of grants from FAPEMIG/CAPE

How Do Consumers See Firms’ Family Nature? A Review of the Literature

This literature review analyzes studies that deal with the meanings that consumers form about firms’ family nature. Through the analysis of 83 papers, we highlight the importance of firms’ family nature from consumers’ perceptual, social, and cultural perspectives, at the micro, meso, and macro levels. Beside the common meanings that consumers attach to firms’ family nature, our review showed that in some cases, firms’ family nature acquired meanings that were deemed to be so important that they eventually provided consumers with self-identification, communitarian identification, and novel market configurations, and even made the family firm the industry’s prototypical organizational for

Major vessel sealing in laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer: a single-center experience with 759 patients

Abstract Background Efficient hemostatic techniques are essential in laparoscopic surgery for ideal intraoperative and postoperative results. A variety of advanced devices are available for the sealing of major vascular structures. The aim of this study is to assess effectiveness and safety of major vessel sealing with a radiofrequency device during laparoscopic colorectal resections for cancer based on the experience of a single hospital. Methods Early outcomes of a consecutive series of patients who received elective laparoscopic colorectal resections for cancer over a 10-year period (January 2008–September 2017) are analyzed. In all procedures, the Ligasure® electrothermal bipolar device was used for the closure of the major colonic vessels and the dissection of all the structures. No other products such clips, staplers, hemostatic products, or other devices were used. Results Seven-hundred fifty-nine procedures were performed in laparoscopy: 179 rectal resections, 247 sigmoidectomies and left hemicolectomies, 240 right hemicolectomies, 33 resections of the splenic flexure, 35 transverse colonic resections, and 25 other procedures. In 39 cases, the laparoscopic procedure was converted to open surgery, and in these cases, vessel sealing was also achieved with the radiofrequency device alone. Vessel dissection and sealing was realized in all cases without any intraoperative or postoperative bleeding. No reoperations for bleeding from major vessels were performed in any patients. One case of reoperation was recorded postoperatively, at 3 h after right hemicolectomy, due to a small bleeding from the fat of the transverse colon stump. Conclusions The use of Ligasure® radiofrequency device for sealing and dividing the major colonic vessels is safe, fast, and effective during laparoscopic colorectal resections

7p22.2 Microduplication: A Pathogenic CNV?

Partial duplication of the short arm of chromosome 7 is a rare chromosome rearrangement. The phenotype spectrum associated with this rearrangement is extremely variable even if in the last decade the use of high-resolution microarray technology for the investigation of patients carrying this rearrangement allowed for the identification of the 7p22.1 sub-band causative of this phenotype and to recognize the corresponding 7p22.1 microduplication syndrome. We report two unrelated patients that carry a microduplication involving the 7.22.2 sub-band. Unlike 7p22.1 microduplication carriers, both patients only show a neurodevelopmental disorder without malformations. We better characterized the clinical pictures of these two patients providing insight into the clinical phenotype associated with the microduplication of the 7p22.2 sub-band and support for a possible role of this sub-band in the 7p22 microduplication syndrome

Plasmatic and Intracellular Markers of Oxidative Stress in Normal Weight and Obese Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Introduction Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Oxidative stress (OS) is, in turn, related to IR. Studies in PCOS evidenced an increase in OS markers, but they are mainly performed in obese patients, while the complex picture of normal weight PCOS is still poorly investigated. Matherials and Methods To investigate OS in PCOS and relationship with hormonal and metabolic picture, we performed a case-control study in 2 PCOS groups: normal weight (N-PCOS, n=21, age 18-25 ys, mean\uc2\ub1SEM BMI 20.7\uc2\ub10.2 kg/m2) and obese (OB-PCOS, n=15, 20-30 ys, BMI 32.8\uc2\ub11.1), compared with control groups matched for BMI: normal (N-C, n=10, 20-30 ys, BMI 21.6\uc2\ub10.9) and obese (OB-C, n=20, 21-31ys, BMI 36.8\uc2\ub11.0). Malondialdehyde (MDA) in blood plasma and peripheral mononuclear cells, obtained by density-gradient centrifugation, was assayed spectrophotometrically by TBARS assay. CoenzymeQ10(CoQ10) in plasma and cells was assayed by HPLC. Plasma Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) was also measured by spectrophotometric method. Results PCOS patients exhibited higher Testosterone levels than controls, but OB-PCOS had highest HOMA (Homeostasis Model Assessment) index, suggesting marked insulin resistance. Despite plasma MDA levels were not significantly different (N-PCOS 3380\uc2\ub1346.94 vs. N-C 7 120\uc2\ub1541.66; OB-PCOS 5 517.5\uc2\ub1853.9 vs. OB. 3 939.66\uc2\ub1311.2 pmol/ml), intracellular MDA levels were significantly higher in N-PCOS than controls (mean 3 259\uc2\ub1821.5 vs. 458\uc2\ub143.2 pmol/106/cells) and higher than OB-PCOS, although not significantly (1363.1\uc2\ub1412.8 pmol/106/cells). Intracellular CoenzymeQ10was higher in N-PCOS than in N-C, but the highest levels were found in OB-C. Conclusions Our data, while confirming the presence of OS in obese PCOS patients in agreement with literature, suggest that OS could be present also in normal weight PCOS, but it can be revealed in tissue rather than in plasma. The relationship with metabolic status remains to be established, but could be a physiopathological basis for antioxidant treatment in such patients

CD4+CD28null T lymphocytes are expanded in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We demonstrated that women with PCOS showed an expansion of CD4+CD28null T cells, an aggressive population of T lymphocytes that has been recently associated with recurrent coronary instability and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This sheds new light on possible mechanisms responsible for the higher rate of cardiovascular disease among women with PCOS