Integración in vivo de secuencias provirales del virus linfotrópico humano tipo i (htlv-1) y expresión de genes virales en células del epitelio oral en individuos seropositivos

Determinar la integración in vivo de secuencias provirales en células del epitelio bucal de individuos seropositivos para el HTLV-I

Integración in vivo de secuencias provirales del virus linfotrópico humano tipo i (htlv-1) y expresión de genes virales en células del epitelio oral en individuos seropositivos

Determinar la integración in vivo de secuencias provirales en células del epitelio bucal de individuos seropositivos para el HTLV-I

Computer-Aided Histopathological Characterisation of Endometriosis Lesions.

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological condition characterised by the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and is associated with pain and infertility. Currently, the gold standard for endometriosis diagnosis is laparoscopic excision and histological identification of endometrial epithelial and stromal cells. There is, however, currently no known association between the histological appearance, size, morphology, or subtype of endometriosis and disease prognosis. In this study, we used histopathological software to identify and quantify the number of endometrial epithelial and stromal cells within excised endometriotic lesions and assess the relationship between the cell contents and lesion subtypes. Prior to surgery for suspected endometriosis, patients provided menstrual and abdominal pain and dyspareunia scores. Endometriotic lesions removed during laparoscopic surgery were collected and prepared for immunohistochemistry from 26 patients. Endometrial epithelial and stromal cells were identified with Cytokeratin and CD10 antibodies, respectively. Whole slide sections were digitised and the QuPath software was trained to automatically detect and count epithelial and stromal cells across the whole section. Using this classifier, we identified a significantly larger number of strongly labelled CD10 stromal cells (p = 0.0477) in deeply infiltrating lesions (99,970 ± 2962) compared to superficial lesions (2456 ± 859). We found the ratio of epithelial to stromal cells was inverted in deeply infiltrating endometriosis lesions compared to superficial peritoneal and endometrioma lesions and we subsequently identified a correlation between total endometrial cells and abdominal pain (p = 0.0005) when counted via the automated software. Incorporating histological software into current standard diagnostic pipelines may improve endometriosis diagnosis and provide prognostic information in regards to severity and symptoms and eventually provide the potential to personalise adjuvant treatment decisions

Refurbishment of public housing villas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): energy and economic impact

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. This study aims at assessing the technical and economic benefits of refurbishing existing public housing villas in the UAE. Four representative federal public housing villas built between 1980s and 2010s were modeled and analyzed. The Integrated Environmental Solutions-Virtual Environment (IES-VE) energy modeling software was used to estimate the energy consumption and savings due to different refurbishment configurations applied to the villas. The refurbishment technical configurations were based on the UAE’s Estidama green buildings sustainability assessment system. The refurbishment configurations include upgrading three elements: the wall and roof insulation as well as replacing the glazing. The annual electricity savings results indicated that the most cost-efficient refurbishment strategy is upgrading of wall insulation (savings up to 20.8 %) followed by upgrading the roof’s insulation (savings up to 11.6 %) and lastly replacing the glazing (savings up to 3.2 %). When all three elements were refurbished simultaneously, savings up to 36.7 % were achieved (villa model 670). The savings translated to CO2 emission reduction of 22.6 t/year. The simple and discounted payback periods for the different configurations tested ranged between 8 and 28 and 10 and 50 years, respectively

Phenomenon of declining blood pressure in elderly - high systolic levels are undervalued with Korotkoff method

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Systolic blood pressure (SBP) decline has been reported in octogenarians. The aim was to study if it could be observed while measuring SBP with two methods: Korotkoff (K-BP) and Strain-Gauge-Finger-Pletysmography (SG-BP), and which of them were more reliable in expressing vascular burden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of 703 men from a population of Malmö, Sweden, were included in "Men born in 1914-study" and followed-up at ages: 68 and 81 years. 176 survivors were examined with K-BP and SG-BP at both ages, and 104 of them with Ambulatory Blood Pressure at age 81/82. Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) was measured on both occasions, and Carotid Ultrasound at age 81.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From age 68 to 81, mean K-BP decreased in the cohort with mean 8.3 mmHg, while SG-BP increased with 13.4 mmHg. K-BP decreased in 55% and SG-BP in 31% of the subjects. At age 81, K-BP was lower than SG-BP in 72% of subjects, and correlated to high K-BP at age 68 (r = --.22; p < .05). SG-BP at age 81 was correlated with mean ambulatory 24-h SBP (r = .480; p < .0001), daytime SBP (r = .416; p < .0001), nighttime SBP (r = .395; p < .0001), and daytime and nighttime Pulse Pressure (r = .452; p < .0001 and r = .386; p < .0001). KB-BP correlated moderately only with nighttime SBP (r = .198; p = .044), and daytime and nightime pulse pressure (r = .225; p = .021 and r = .264; p = .007). Increasing SG-BP from age 68 to 81, but not K-BP, correlated with: 24-h, daytime and nighttime SBP, and mean daytime and nighttime Pulse Pressure. Increasing SG-BP was also predicted by high B-glucose and low ABI at age 68, and correlated with carotid stenosis and low ABI age 81, and the grade of ABI decrease over 13 years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In contrast to K-BP, values of SG-BP in octogenarians strongly correlated with Ambulatory Blood Pressure. The SG-BP decline in the last decade was rare, and increasing SG-BP better than K-BP reflected advanced atherosclerosis. It should be aware, that K-BP underdetected 46% of subjects with SG-BP equal/higher than 140 mmHg at age 81, which may lead to biased associations with risk factors due to differential misclassification by age.</p

Human and mouse neuroinflammation markers in Niemann‐Pick disease, type C1

Niemann‐Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) is an autosomal recessive lipid storage disorder in which a pathological cascade, including neuroinflammation occurs. While data demonstrating neuroinflammation is prevalent in mouse models, data from NPC1 patients is lacking. The current study focuses on identifying potential markers of neuroinflammation in NPC1 from both the Npc1 mouse model and NPC1 patients. We identified in the mouse model significant changes in expression of genes associated with inflammation and compared these results to the pattern of expression in human cortex and cerebellar tissue. From gene expression array analysis, complement 3 (C3) was increased in mouse and human post‐mortem NPC1 brain tissues. We also characterized protein levels of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from NPC1 patients and controls. We found increased levels of interleukin 3, chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 5, interleukin 16 and chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3), and decreased levels of interleukin 4, 10, 13 and 12p40 in CSF from NPC1 patients. CSF markers were evaluated with respect to phenotypic severity. Miglustat treatment in NPC1 patients slightly decreased IL‐3, IL‐10 and IL‐13 CSF levels; however, further studies are needed to establish a strong effect of miglustat on inflammation markers. The identification of inflammatory markers with altered levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of NPC1 patients may provide a means to follow secondary events in NPC1 disease during therapeutic trials.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147148/1/jimd0083.pd

Breast cancer incidence highest in the range of one species of house mouse, Mus domesticus

Incidence of human breast cancer (HBC) varies geographically, but to date no environmental factor has explained this variation. Previously, we reported a 44% reduction in the incidence of breast cancer in women fully immunosuppressed following organ transplantation (Stewart et al (1995) Lancet346: 796–798). In mice infected with the mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV), immunosuppression also reduces the incidence of mammary tumours. DNA with 95% identity to MMTV is detected in 40% of human breast tumours (Wang et al (1995) Cancer Res55: 5173–5179). These findings led us to ask whether the incidence of HBC could be correlated with the natural ranges of different species of wild mice. We found that the highest incidence of HBC worldwide occurs in lands where Mus domesticus is thse resident native or introduced species of house mouse. Given the similar responses of humans and mice to immunosuppression, the near identity between human and mouse MTV DNA sequences, and the close association between HBC incidence and mouse ranges, we propose that humans acquire MMTV from mice. This zoonotic theory for a mouse-viral cause of HBC allows testable predictions and has potential importance in prevention. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Shear Forces during Blast, Not Abrupt Changes in Pressure Alone, Generate Calcium Activity in Human Brain Cells

Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury (bTBI) describes a spectrum of injuries caused by an explosive force that results in changes in brain function. The mechanism responsible for primary bTBI following a blast shockwave remains unknown. We have developed a pneumatic device that delivers shockwaves, similar to those known to induce bTBI, within a chamber optimal for fluorescence microscopy. Abrupt changes in pressure can be created with and without the presence of shear forces at the surface of cells. In primary cultures of human central nervous system cells, the cellular calcium response to shockwaves alone was negligible. Even when the applied pressure reached 15 atm, there was no damage or excitation, unless concomitant shear forces, peaking between 0.3 to 0.7 Pa, were present at the cell surface. The probability of cellular injury in response to a shockwave was low and cell survival was unaffected 20 hours after shockwave exposure