The disruption of coordinated control between the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system caused by spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to several secondary pathological conditions, including ...lower urinary tract dysfunction. In fact, urinary tract dysfunction associated with SCI is urinary dysfunction could be a consequence of a lack of neuroregeneration of supraspinal pathways that control bladder function. The object of the current research was to explore the effects of adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate, on bladder damage generated after SCI in mice. Spinal cord was exposed via laminectomy, and SCI was induced by extradural compression at T6 to T7 level, by an aneurysm clip with a closing force of 24 g. Mice were treated intravesically with adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate daily for 48 h and 7 days after SCI. Adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate reduced significantly mast cell degranulation and down-regulated the nuclear factor-κB pathway in the bladder after SCI both at 48 h and 7days. Moreover, adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate reduced nerve growth factor expression, suggesting an association between neurotrophins and bladder pressure. At 7 days after SCI, the bladder was characterized by a marked bacterial infection and proteinuria; surprisingly, adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate reduced significantly both parameters. These data show the protective roles of adelmidrol + sodium hyaluronate on bladder following SCI, highlighting a potential therapeutic target for the reduction of bladder changes.
FIGURE 1. (a) Symptomatic lettuce plant showing witches´ broom, flower malformation and leaf redness (S) compared with an asymptomatic plant (AS); (b) symptomatic garlic plants showing development of ...vegetative structures in floral pieces (phyllody); (c) detail of phyllody. Phylogenetic tree based on the partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of Garlic phyllody phytoplasma (GarPhy-Arg1), Lettuce witches'-broom phytoplasma (LWB-Arg1), phytoplasmas from X-disease group (16SrIII) and selected ‘Candidatus (Ca.) Phytoplasma’ reference strains. Previous work reported the presence of phytoplasmas from subgroup 16SrIII-X affecting different species of weeds in the same region (Galdeano et al., 2013; Fernández et al., 2020) which may suggest the presence of a common insect vector with polyphagous feeding behaviour.
Material and Methods In 48 subjects overweight and obese (BMI 30.7 ± 3.3 kg/m2; 34 women, age 42 ± 8.7 years, and 14 men, age 45.7 ± 9.4 years), have been measured anthropometric and biochemical ...parameters (triacylglycerol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 and B, glucose and insulin).
The LHCb experiment at CERN has decided to optimise its physics reach by removing the first level hardware trigger for 2020 and beyond. In addition to requiring fully redesigned front-end electronics ...this design creates interesting challenges for the data-acquisition and the rest of the online computing system. Such a system can only be realized within realistic cost using as much off-the-shelf hardware as possible. Relevant technologies evolve very quickly and thus the system design is architecture-centred and tries to avoid to depend too much on specific technologies. In this paper we describe the design, the motivations for various choices and the current favoured options for the implementation, and the status of the R&D. We will cover the back-end readout, which contains the only custom-made component, the event-building, the event-filter infrastructure, and storage.
Despite intense investigation, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains an enormous clinical problem for which no specific therapies currently exist. In this study, we used intratracheal ...lipopolysaccharide or Pseudomonas bacteria administration to model experimental acute lung injury (ALI) and to further understand mediators of the resolution phase of ARDS. Recent work demonstrates macrophages transition from a predominant proinflammatory M1 phenotype during acute inflammation to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype with ALI resolution. We tested the hypothesis that IL-4, a potent inducer of M2-specific protein expression, would accelerate ALI resolution and lung repair through reprogramming of endogenous inflammatory macrophages. In fact, IL-4 treatment was found to offer dramatic benefits following delayed administration to mice subjected to experimental ALI, including increased survival, accelerated resolution of lung injury, and improved lung function. Expression of the M2 proteins Arg1, FIZZ1, and Ym1 was increased in lung tissues following IL-4 treatment, and among macrophages, FIZZ1 was most prominently upregulated in the interstitial subpopulation. A similar trend was observed for the expression of macrophage mannose receptor (MMR) and Dectin-1 on the surface of alveolar macrophages following IL-4 administration. Macrophage depletion or STAT6 deficiency abrogated the therapeutic effect of IL-4. Collectively, these data demonstrate that IL-4-mediated therapeutic macrophage reprogramming can accelerate resolution and lung repair despite delayed use following experimental ALI. IL-4 or other therapies that target late-phase, proresolution pathways may hold promise for the treatment of human ARDS.
Aquaporin-5 (AQP5) is expressed in epithelia of lung, cornea, and various secretory glands, sites where extracellular osmolality is known to fluctuate. Hypertonic aquaporin (AQP) induction has been ...described, but little is known about the effects of a hypotonic environment on AQP abundance. We report that, when mouse lung epithelial cells were exposed to hypotonic medium, a doseresponsive decrease in AQP5 abundance was observed. Hypotonic reduction of AQP5 was blocked by ruthenium red, methanandamide, and miconazole, agents that inhibit the cation channel transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) 4 present in lung epithelial cells. Several observations indicate that TRPV4 participates in hypotonic reduction of AQP5, including a requirement for extracellular calcium to achieve AQP5 reduction; an increase in intracellular calcium in mouse lung epithelial (MLE) cells after hypotonic stimulation; and reduction of AQP5 abundance after addition of the TRPV4 agonist 4α-Phorbol-12,13-didecanoate (4α-PDD). Similarly, addition of hypotonic PBS to mouse trachea in vivo decreased AQP5 within 1 h, an effect blocked by ruthenium red. To confirm a functional interaction, AQP5 was expressed in control or TRPV4expressing human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells. Hypotonic reduction of AQP5 was observed only in the presence of TRPV4 and was blocked by ruthenium red. Combined with earlier studies, these observations indicate that AQP5 abundance is tightly regulated along a range of osmolalities and that AQP5 reduction by extracellular hypotonicity can be mediated by TRPV4. These findings have direct relevance to regulation of membrane water permeability and water homeostasis in epithelia of the lung and other organs.
Background Brazil is a developing country struggling to reduce its extreme social inequality, which is reflected on shortage of health-care infrastructure, mainly to the low-income class, which ...depends exclusively on the public health system. In Brazil, less than 1% of stroke patients have access to intravenous thrombolysis in a stroke unit, and constraints to the development of mechanical thrombectomy in the public health system increase the social burden of stroke. Objective Report the feasibility of mechanical thrombectomy as part of routine stroke care in a Brazilian public university hospital. Methods Prospective data were collected from all patients treated for acute ischemic stroke with mechanical thrombectomy from June 2011 to March 2016. Combined thrombectomy was performed in eligible patients for intravenous thrombolysis if they presented occlusion of large artery. For those patients ineligible for intravenous thrombolysis, primary thrombectomy was performed as long as there was no evidence of significant ischemia for anterior circulation stroke (Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score >6) within a 6-hour time window, and also for those patients with wake-up stroke or posterior circulation stroke, regardless of the time of symptoms onset. Results A total of 161 patients were evaluated, resulting in an overall successful recanalization rate of 76% and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate of 6.8%. At 3 months, 36% of the patients had modified Rankin Scale score less than or equal to 2. The overall mortality rate was 23%. Conclusion Our study, the first ever large series of mechanical thrombectomy in Brazil, demonstrates acceptable efficacy and safety results, even under restricted conditions outside the ideal scenario of trial studies.
Felids are important in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the environmentally resistant oocysts in their feces. Cats acquire T. gondii infection ...in nature by ingesting tissues of small mammals and birds. Serum samples of 223 feral marsupials and 174 feral rodents captured in 7 segments of the Atlantic Forest of the State of Pernambuco, northeastern region of Brazil, and in urban areas of the municipality of Recife were examined for antibodies to T. gondii by the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies (MAT ≥ 25) were found in 6.7% (15 of 223) of the marsupials and 5.7% (10 of 174) of the rodents. No association was observed between seropositivity in marsupials or rodents and sex, age, or different areas of collection (P > 0.05). This is the first study on the seroprevalence of T. gondii in marsupials and rodents performed in the Atlantic Forest of the northeastern region of Brazil. The presence of antibodies to T. gondii are reported for the first time in long-furred woolly mouse opossum (Micoureus demerarae), murine mouse opossum (Marmosa murina), brown four-eyed opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus), and gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica).
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