Prothrombin G20210A gene mutation, factor V Leiden and anticardiolipin antibodies do not influence renal graft survival after transplantation

INTRODUCTION: Thromboembolic complications are important risk factors for graft failure and worse renal transplantation outcome. Patients with thrombophilic disorders have a higher risk of thromboembolic complications. The prevalence of thrombophilic disorders and the associated risk for graft failure and for intravascular thrombosis were analyzed in renal transplant recipients. METHODS: This is a cohort study of 388 adult recipients investigated regarding the presence of thrombophilia, through the search for anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) via ELISA and FV G1691A and PT G20210A gene mutations by multiplex PCR. RESULTS: Thrombophilic disorders were identified in 25.8% of the patients. The 2-year graft survival was similar among patients with and without thrombophilic disorder (94% versus 94%, p = 0.53), and so was the survival free of intravascular thrombosis (97% versus 97%, p = 0.83). The prevalence of intravascular thrombosis was similar in both groups (3% versus 3.5%, p = 0.82). Patients with previous kidney transplantation had a higher risk of graft failure (OR 20.8, p < 0.001) and of intravascular thrombosis (OR 6.8, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalences of FV G1691A and PT G20210A gene mutations in this cohort of patients were similar to those of the general non-transplanted population. The prevalence of aCL antibodies was higher in this cohort than that observed in healthy individuals. The thrombophilic markers studied did not predict the medium-term survival of renal transplant.INTRODUÇÃO: Complicações tromboembólicas são importantes fatores de risco para perda do enxerto e pior evolução após o transplante renal. Pacientes com defeito trombofílico apresentam maior risco de complicações tromboembólicas. Foram analisados, entre receptores de transplante renal, a prevalência de defeito trombofílico e o risco atribuído a esta condição para a perda do enxerto e para o desenvolvimento de tromboses intravasculares. MÉTODOS: Estudo do tipo coorte incluindo 388 receptores adultos analisados quanto à presença de trombofilia de acordo com a pesquisa de anticorpos anticardiolipina (aCL) por ELISA e das mutações G1691A no gene do fator V (FV) e G20210A no gene da protrombina (PT) por PCR multiplex. RESULTADOS: Defeito trombofílico foi identificado em 25,8% dos pacientes. As taxas de sobrevida de 2 anos do enxerto foram semelhantes entre os pacientes com e sem defeito trombofílico (94% versus 94%, p = 0,53), bem como a sobrevida dos enxertos livres de tromboses intravasculares (97% versus 97%, p = 0,83). Pacientes com defeito trombofílico apresentaram prevalência de tromboses intravasculares semelhante à do grupo-controle (3% versus 3,5%, p = 0,82). O transplante renal anterior foi associado a maior risco de perda de enxerto (OR 20,8, p < 0,001) e de ocorrência de tromboses intravasculares (OR 6,8, p = 0,008). CONCLUSÕES: As prevalências das mutações FV G1691A e PT G20210A na população estudada foram semelhantes às da população geral não transplantada, e a prevalência de anticorpos aCL superou a observada entre os indivíduos sadios. Não houve associação entre os marcadores de trombofilia estudados e a sobrevida em médio prazo do transplante renal.UNIFESP Departamento de Medicina, Disciplina de HematologiaUNIFESP Departamento de Medicina, Disciplina de NefrologiaUNIFESP Departameto de Medicina, Disciplina de ReumatologiaUNIFESP Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Disciplina de BioestatísticaUniversidad de Antofagasta Departamento de Tecnologia MedicaUNIFESP, Depto. de Medicina, Disciplina de HematologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de Medicina, Disciplina de NefrologiaUNIFESP, Departameto de Medicina, Disciplina de ReumatologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de Medicina Preventiva, Disciplina de BioestatísticaSciEL

Acupuncture and rehabilitation of the painful shoulder: study protocol of an ongoing multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial [ISRCTN28687220]

BACKGROUND: Although the painful shoulder is one of the most common dysfunctions of the locomotor apparatus, and is frequently treated both at primary healthcare centres and by specialists, little evidence has been reported to support or refute the effectiveness of the treatments most commonly applied. According to the bibliography reviewed, physiotherapy, which is the most common action taken to alleviate this problem, has not yet been proven to be effective, because of the small size of sample groups and the lack of methodological rigor in the papers published on the subject. No reviews have been made to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating this complaint, but in recent years controlled randomised studies have been made and these demonstrate an increasing use of acupuncture to treat pathologies of the soft tissues of the shoulder. In this study, we seek to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy applied jointly with acupuncture, compared with physiotherapy applied with a TENS-placebo, in the treatment of painful shoulder caused by subacromial syndrome (rotator cuff tendinitis and subacromial bursitis). METHODS/DESIGN: Randomised controlled multicentre study with blind evaluation by an independent observer and blind, independent analysis. A study will be made of 465 patients referred to the rehabilitation services at participating healthcare centres, belonging to the regional public health systems of Andalusia and Murcia, these patients presenting symptoms of painful shoulder and a diagnosis of subacromial syndrome (rotator cuff tendinitis and subacromial bursitis). The patients will be randomised into two groups: 1) experimental (acupuncture + physiotherapy); 2) control (TENS-placebo + physiotherapy); the administration of rescue medication will also be allowed. The treatment period will have a duration of three weeks. The main result variable will be the change produced on Constant's Shoulder Function Assessment (SFA) Scale; as secondary variables, we will record the changes in diurnal pain intensity on a visual analogue scale (VAS), nocturnal pain intensity on the VAS, doses of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken during the study period, credibility scale for the treatment, degree of improvement perceived by the patient and degree of improvement perceived by the evaluator. A follow up examination will be made at 3, 6 and 12 months after the study period has ended. Two types of population will be considered for analysis: per protocol and per intention to treat. DISCUSSION: The discussion will take into account the limitations of the study, together with considerations such as the choice of a simple, safe method to treat this shoulder complaint, the choice of the control group, and the blinding of the patients, evaluators and those responsible for carrying out the final analysis

Whole-genome sequencing of 1,171 elderly admixed individuals from Brazil

As whole-genome sequencing (WGS) becomes the gold standard tool for studying population genomics and medical applications, data on diverse non-European and admixed individuals are still scarce. Here, we present a high-coverage WGS dataset of 1,171 highly admixed elderly Brazilians from a census-based cohort, providing over 76 million variants, of which ~2 million are absent from large public databases. WGS enables identification of ~2,000 previously undescribed mobile element insertions without previous description, nearly 5 Mb of genomic segments absent from the human genome reference, and over 140 alleles from HLA genes absent from public resources. We reclassify and curate pathogenicity assertions for nearly four hundred variants in genes associated with dominantly-inherited Mendelian disorders and calculate the incidence for selected recessive disorders, demonstrating the clinical usefulness of the present study. Finally, we observe that whole-genome and HLA imputation could be significantly improved compared to available datasets since rare variation represents the largest proportion of input from WGS. These results demonstrate that even smaller sample sizes of underrepresented populations bring relevant data for genomic studies, especially when exploring analyses allowed only by WGS

Role of intrinsic flaws upon flexural behaviour of a thermoplastic modified epoxy resin

A bisphenol A-based epoxy resin (DGEBA) was modified with 15 weight percent polysulphone (PSU) and thermally cured using 4-4′diaminodiphenylsulphone (DDS). Starting from a homogeneous DGEBA/DDS/PSU mixture, the system developed a two-phase morphology upon network formation. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), transmission optical microscopy (TOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed that the system developed a co-continuous morphology consisting of two distinct domains. One of the domains was an epoxy rich matrix containing PSU particles while the other consisted of a dispersion of epoxy particles within a PSU rich phase. Flexural strength distributions of unmodified and thermoplastic modified epoxy resin were obtained by testing the materials in three-point bending according to the ASTM D790 protocol. The flexural behaviour of the epoxy resin was not improved by the presence of thermoplastic. In addition, the thermoplastic modified epoxy resin displayed a higher data scatter compared with the neat resin. The fracture mechanism of unmodified and thermoplastic modified epoxy resins was demonstrated to be sensitive to the intrinsic flaw distribution. The two-parameter Weibull model, which was used to analyse the experimental data, gave a good representation of the fracture loads distribution with regression coefficients of 0.99.Fil: Giannotti, Marina Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Oyanguren, Patricia Angelica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Vallo, Claudia Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Comparison of morphologies and mechanical properties of crosslinked epoxies modified by polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate)) or by the corresponding block copolymer polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate)

Polystyrene (PS, Mn=28,400, PI=1.07), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, Mn=88,600, PI=1.03), and PS (50,000)-b-PMMA (54,000) (PI=1.04), were used as modifiers of an epoxy formulation based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and m-xylylene diamine (MXDA). Both PS and PMMA were initially miscible in the stoichiometric mixture of DGEBA and MXDA at 80°C, but were phase separated in the course of polymerization. Solutions containing 5 wt% of each one of both linear polymers exhibited a double phase separation. A PS-rich phase was segregated at a conversion close to 0.02 and a PMMA rich phase was phase separated at a conversion close to 0.2. Final morphologies, observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), consisted on a separate dispersion of PS and PMMA domains. A completely different morphology was observed when employing 10 wt% of PS-b-PMMA as modifier. PS blocks with Mn=50,000 were not soluble in the initial formulation. However, they were dispersed as micelles stabilized by the miscible PMMA blocks, leading to a transparent solution up to the conversion where PMMA blocks began to phase separate. A coalescence of the micellar structure into a continuous thermoplastic phase percolating the epoxy matrix was observed. The elastic modulus and yield stress of the cured blend modified by both PS and PMMA were 2.64 GPa and 97.2 MPa, respectively. For the blend modified by an equivalent amount of block copolymer these values were reduced to 2.14 GPa and 90.0 MPa. Therefore, using a block copolymer instead of the mixture of individual homopolymers and selecting an appropriate epoxy-amine formulation to provoke phase separation of the miscible block well before gelation, enables to transform a micellar structure into a bicontinuous thermoplastic/thermoset structure that exhibits the desired decrease in yield stress necessary for toughening purposes.Fil: Zucchi, Ileana Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Williams, Roberto Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Thermally reversible light scattering films based on the melting/crystallization of organic crystals dispersed in an epoxy matrix

Films that can be reversibly switched from opaque to transparent states by varying temperature (TRLS films), have potential applications in thermal sensors, optical devices, recording media, etc. A dispersion of organic crystals in a thermoset may be used for these purposes provided that at temperatures higher than the melting point there is a matching of refractive indices of both phases. A model system consisting on a dispersion of diphenyl (DP) crystals in an epoxy matrix based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and m-xylylenediamine, was analyzed as a possible TRLS film encapsulated between transparent covers to avoid sublimation of DP. To obtain a uniform dispersion of DP-rich domains in the epoxy matrix by polymerization-induced phase separation, it was necessary to add 5 wt% of polystyrene (PS) to the initial formulation. Phase separation induced by polymerization at 80 °C led to a dispersion of PS/DP domains in the epoxy matrix due to the low compatibility of PS with the epoxy and its high compatibility with DP. Crystallization and melting processes were confined to the interior of dispersed domains leading to an excellent reproducibility of the optical properties of TRLS films in the course of successive heating–cooling cycles.Fil: Zucchi, Ileana Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Williams, Roberto Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Surface energies of linear and cross-linked polymers based on isobornyl methacrylate and methacryl-heptaisobutyl POSS

The use of monofunctional polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) as polymer modifiers requires controlling the phase separation process producing POSS-rich and polymer-rich domains that occurs in most systems due to the thermodynamic incompatibility between both components. One significant result of this study is the finding that isobornyl methacrylate (IBoMA) is an excellent reactive solvent of a commercial methacryl-heptaisobutyl POSS (MA-POSS). Formulations containing up to 30 wt% MA-POSS in IBoMA or in IBoMA (95 parts by weight)-diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA, 5 parts by weight), were polymerized using benzoyl peroxide as initiator up to complete conversion of C{double bond, long}C bonds (determined by FTIR). Transparent POSS-modified materials were obtained without any evidence of a macroscopic phase separation. POSS addition produced a decrease of the glass transition temperature and the glassy and rubbery elastic modulus. A significant decrease in surface energy for both linear and cross-linked polymers was observed. This effect was particularly important for cross-linked polymers where the addition of 30 wt% POSS decreased the surface energy from about 29 mN m-1 to 16 mN m-1, a very low value for hydrocarbon materials. This study opens a way to obtain hydrophobic methacrylic coatings without the use of fluorinated monomers. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Fil: Zucchi, Ileana Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Williams, Roberto Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Polyurethane-epoxy based azopolymers: Influence of chemical structure over photoinduced birefringence

A comparative study of the influence of the competitive reactions that can take place in epoxy-isocyanate based azo systems over optical behavior was developed. Diverse disperse red 19 (DR 19) azo urethane oligomers (PUs) were synthesized and characterized using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and UV-visible spectroscopy. Based on these urethane oligomers, epoxy-PU networks having isocyanurate and oxazolidone rings in their structures were prepared in different isocyanate/epoxy stoichiometric ratios, r = eq. NCO/eq. epoxy (0.5, 1, and 2). Photoinduced anisotropy, remnant birefringence and dichroism were measured for the resulting polymers and evaluated as function of their Tgs and chemical structures. Final materials exhibited very high values of maximum birefringence and RB being promised materials for using in optical storage information devices.Fil: Sáiz, Luciana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Oyanguren, Patricia Angelica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Reaction-Induced Phase Separation: A Strategy to Synthesize Azobenzene-Modified All-Optical PDLC Devices

This work presents the synthesis of all-optical polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) devices, in which the reversible trans–cis photoisomerization of azobenzene groups is used to induce the transition in the liquid crystal (LC) phase, activating the film from an opaque to a translucent state. The appropriate morphology is obtained through a reaction-induced phase separation strategy using an epoxy–amine matrix modified with azobenzene precursors and the addition of a thermoplastic polymer (polystyrene, PS), which promotes the phase separation and the preferential location of the LC in separated domains. Formulations with liquid crystal content of 50 wt%, 5 wt% of modifier (PS), and 10 wt% of azo-precursor present a reversible on–off optical response when irradiating the sample with the activation beam at λ = 488 nm. It is demonstrated that the liquid crystal responds according to the expected cooperative movement of orientation with the azobenzene groups. Based on the study of the PDLC devices obtained, its potential technological application can be confirmed.Fil: Orofino, Antonela Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Oyanguren, Patricia Angelica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin