ABSTRACT
Background:
The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) scale was developed for monitoring early ischemic changes on CT, being associated with clinical outcomes. The ASPECTS can also ...associate with peripheral biomarkers that reflect the pathophysiological response of the brain to the ischemic stroke.
Objective:
To investigate the association between peripheral biomarkers with the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) in individuals after ischemic stroke.
Methods:
Patients over 18 years old with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled in this study. No patient was eligible for thrombolysis. The patients were submitted to non-contrast CT in the first 24 hours of admission, being the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score and clinical and molecular evaluations applied on the same day. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination for clinical evaluation were also applied to all subjects. Plasma levels of BDNF, VCAM-1, VEGF, IL-1β, sTNFRs and adiponectin were determined by ELISA.
Results:
Worse neurological impairment (NIHSS), cognitive (MEEM) and functional (Rankin) performance was observed in the group with changes in the NCTT. Patients with NCTT changes also exhibited higher levels of IL-1β and adiponectin. In the linear multivariate regression, an adjusted R coefficient of 0.515 was found, indicating adiponectin and NIHSS as independent predictors of ASPECTS.
Conclusion:
Plasma levels of adiponectin are associated with the ASPECTS scores.
Nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine have demonstrated a survival benefit over gemcitabine alone in advanced pancreatic cancer (PDA). This study aimed to investigate the clinical, biological, and imaging ...effects of the regimen in patients with operable PDA.
Patients with operable PDA received two cycles of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine before surgical resection. FDG-PET and CA19.9 tumour marker levels were used to measure clinical activity. Effects on tumour stroma were determined by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) elastography. The collagen content and architecture as well as density of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were determined in the resected surgical specimen and compared with a group of untreated and treated with conventional chemoradiation therapy controls. A co-clinical study in a mouse model of PDA was conducted to differentiate between the effects of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine.
A total of 16 patients were enrolled. Treatment resulted in significant antitumour effects with 50% of patients achieving a >75% decrease in circulating CA19.9 tumour marker and a response by FDG-PET. There was also a significant decrement in tumour stiffness as measured by EUS elastography. Seven of 12 patients who completed treatment and were operated had major pathological regressions. Analysis of residual tumours showed a marked disorganised collagen with a very low density of CAF, which was not observed in the untreated or conventionally treated control groups. The preclinical co-clinical study showed that these effects were specific of nab-paclitaxel and not gemcitabine.
These data suggest that nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine decreases CAF content inducing a marked alteration in cancer stroma that results in tumour softening. This regimen should be studied in patients with operable PDA.
To verify whether the use of Hylan G-F20 improves saline lavage and triamcinolone injection results in the treatment of hip osteoarthritis (HOA).
82 patients with HOA categorized as grades II and III ...severity, according to Kellgren and Lawrence criteria, were randomized into the groups: lavage and triamcinolone (G0); lavage, triamcinolone, and 2 mL of hylan G-F20 (G1); lavage, triamcinolone, and 4mL of hylan G-F20 (G2); lavage, triamcinolone, and 6mL of hylan G-F20 (G3). The VAS, range of motion (ROM), WOMAC, and Lequesne questionnaires were administered at baseline, one, three, six, and twelve months post-injection.
All groups showed clinically relevant improvements (> 20%) between baseline and first month post-injection, maintaining subjective results throughout the study period (p < 0.001). We found no differences between groups in any subjective evaluations (p > 0.05, for all). G2 and G3 obtained improved flexion results up to a year (p = 0.028). Hylan groups presented an improved external rotation since the first postoperative month and maintained the results up to a year (G1, p = 0.041; G2, p = 0.007), whereas G0 showed no improvement (p = 0.336).
Hip lavage and triamcinolone injection, with or without the use of hylan, improves pain, function, and quality of life up to a year in HOA. Hylan may improve ROM up to one year.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between fuel certification and gaseous and PM10 emissions and their composition. Two pellets labelled as ENplus A1 (certified pellets R ...and P) and a non-certified brand of pellets were tested in a pellet stove. The impact of operating conditions on emissions was also evaluated. The highest carbon monoxide (CO, 2.7–6.1-fold) and total organic carbon (TOC, 1.9–11-fold) emissions were observed for certified pellets R. Nitrogen oxide (NO) emissions were higher for non-certified pellets (2.5–3.2-fold). The compliance of gaseous emissions with the Ecodesign thresholds was not ensured by certification. Certified pellets P generated significantly lower PM10 emissions than the other two types of pellets at medium and nominal loads. Water-soluble ions represented from 36 to 68 %wt. of the PM10 mass. The combustion of certified pellets P and non-certified pellets generated total carbon PM10 mass fractions ranging from 23 to 50 %wt., whereas pellets R resulted in lower mass fractions (7–14 %wt. PM10). The chromatographically resolved organic compounds were dominated by anhydrosugars and alkanols. Pyrene and retene were the most abundant among polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
•Evaluation of pellet stove operating conditions and fuel certification on emissions.•Thresholds set by the Ecodesign directive for gaseous compounds were surpassed.•The combustion of two brands of ENplus A1 pellets resulted in distinct emissions.•Coniferyl-type lignin pyrolysis products dominated indicating softwood combustion.
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important re‐emerging zoonotic disease, causing major economic losses and constraining international trade of animals and their products. Despite eradication ...programmes, some countries continue to encounter outbreaks, mainly due to wildlife acting as primary hosts or reservoirs. While the genetic component of tuberculosis in humans and cattle is well documented, the role of genetic factors as modulators of bTB resistance remains unclear for natural populations. To address this issue, we investigated the relative contribution of host genetic variability to susceptibility to bTB infection and disease progression in wild boars from southern Spain. We found that genetic heterozygosity is an important predictor of bTB, not only modulating resistance to infection but also influencing containment of disease progression in infected individuals. Our results provide further evidence that host genetic variability plays a central role in natural populations. Testing each marker separately reveals evidence of both general and single‐locus associative effects on bTB and several loci reveal high homology to regions of the genome with known immune function. Our results may prove to be crucial for understanding outbreaks of bTB in wildlife that could potentially affect domestic livestock and humans.
Currently, different types of raw materials are under investigation to fulfil the demand for pellet-based renewable energy. The aim of this study was to experimentally quantify and characterise the ...gaseous and particulate matter (PM10) emissions from the combustion of a pelletised invasive species growing in the Portuguese coastal areas. The combustion of acacia pellets in a stove used for domestic heating led to a noticeable production of environmentally relevant contaminants, such as carbon monoxide (CO, 2468 ± 485 mg MJ−1), sulphur dioxide (SO2, 222 ± 115 mg MJ−1) and nitrogen oxides (NOx, 478 ± 87 mg MJ−1). Besides gaseous pollutant emissions, substantial particle emissions (118 ± 14 mg MJ−1) were also generated. Particles consisted mostly of inorganic matter, mainly alkaline metals, sulphur and chlorine. About 25%wt. of the PM10 emitted had carbonaceous nature. The chromatographically resolved organic compounds were dominated by anhydrosugars, especially levoglucosan (284 μg g−1 PM10), and several types of phenolic compounds. Retene (8.77 μg g−1 PM10) was the chief compound among polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
•Speciation of PM10 in flue gas from the combustion of acacia pellets was obtained.•The carbonaceous compounds constituted 25 %wt. of the PM10 mass.•Water soluble ions represented more than 50 %wt. of PM10 mass.•Anhydrosugars constituted the dominant organic class in PM10.•Detection of retene as major PAH makes it an unsuitable tracer of conifer burning.
Numerous vegetable crops are susceptible to powdery mildew, but cucurbits are arguably the group most severely affected. Podosphaera fusca (synonym Podosphaera xanthii) is the main causal agent of ...cucurbit powdery mildew and one of the most important limiting factors for cucurbit production worldwide. Although great efforts have been invested in disease control, by contrast, many basic aspects of the biology of P. fusca remain unknown. Podosphaera fusca (Fr.) Braun & Shishkoff. Kingdom Fungi; Phylum Ascomycota; Subdivision Pezizomycotina; Class Leotiomycetes; Order Erysiphales; Family Erysiphaceae; genus Podosphaera; species fusca. Superficial persistent mycelium. Conidia in chains, hyaline, ellipsoid to ovoid or doliform, about 24-40 x 15-22 μm, with cylindrical or cone-shaped fibrosin bodies, which often germinate from a lateral face and produce a broad, clavate germ tube and cylindrical foot-cells. Unbranched erect conidiophores. Cleistothecia globose, mostly 70-100 μm in diameter, dark brown/black. One ascus per cleistothecium with eight ascospores. Angiosperm species that include several families, such as Asteracea, Cucurbitaceae, Lamiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Solanaceae and Verbenaceae. White colonies develop on leaf surfaces, petioles and stems. Under favourable environmental conditions, the colonies coalesce and the host tissue becomes chlorotic and usually senesces early. Chemical control and the use of resistant cultivars. Resistance has been documented in populations of P. fusca to some of the chemicals registered for control.
Histéresis creativa Leon, Vicente Perez de
04/2017, Letnik:
number 306
eBook
Histeresis creativatraces how courtly spectacles, short and full-length plays, and picaresque narratives arose under Philip III of Spain, and were then adopted by popular culture. The book focuses on ...some of the most prominent writers of the early, middle, and late Baroque (Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Alonso de Castillo Solorzano) but considers their works through the optic of creative hysteresis, i.e., the artistic appropriation of the past to defend the present. The prestige system under Philip III was in need of justifying the imbalance between the increasing material and symbolic power of their patrons, their courtly prestige, and the consent of their subjects. These writers' commitment to the principles of distributive justice and their application to the acts of court oligarchs is reflected in the fundamentals of many of the spectacles and literary works produced during this period.
A key event in atherogenesis is the formation of lipid‐loaded macrophages, lipidotic cells, which exhibit irreversible accumulation of undigested modified low‐density lipoproteins (LDL) in lysosomes. ...This event culminates in the loss of cell homeostasis, inflammation, and cell death. Nevertheless, the exact chemical etiology of atherogenesis and the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the impairment of lysosome function in plaque macrophages are still unknown. Here, we demonstrate that macrophages exposed to cholesteryl hemiazelate (ChA), one of the most prevalent products of LDL‐derived cholesteryl ester oxidation, exhibit enlarged peripheral dysfunctional lysosomes full of undigested ChA and neutral lipids. Both lysosome area and accumulation of neutral lipids are partially irreversible. Interestingly, the dysfunctional peripheral lysosomes are more prone to fuse with the plasma membrane, secreting their undigested luminal content into the extracellular milieu with potential consequences for the pathology. We further demonstrate that this phenotype is mechanistically linked to the nuclear translocation of the MiT/TFE family of transcription factors. The induction of lysosome biogenesis by ChA appears to partially protect macrophages from lipid‐induced cytotoxicity. In sum, our data show that ChA is involved in the etiology of lysosome dysfunction and promotes the exocytosis of these organelles. This latter event is a new mechanism that may be important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
We show that cholesteryl hemiazelate, an end‐product of LDL‐derived cholesteryl ester oxidation, is involved in the etiology of lysosome dysfunction in atherosclerotic macrophages and promotes the exocytosis of these dysfunctional organelles. We further demonstrate that this phenotype is mechanistically linked to the nuclear translocation of the MiT/TFE family of transcription factors that protects macrophages from lipid‐induced cytotoxicity.
RESUMO Introdução: As mamas e o abdômen passam por grandes modificações morfológicas com perdas ponderais maciças. A mamoplastia de aumento é um dos procedimentos mais realizados na cirurgia ...plástica, ao contrário da abdominoplastia reversa, pouco descrita. Porém, em pacientes com flacidez abdominal superior que desejam o aumento mamário, a mamoplastia de aumento por meio da abdominoplastia reversa (AMBRA) torna possível o aprimoramento das mamas e do contorno abdominal simultaneamente. O objetivo deste trabalho é descrever um caso de mamoplastia de aumento e mastopexia utilizando retalho em cambalhota a partir de abdominoplastia reversa. Relato de Caso: Paciente do sexo feminino, parda, com história de perda ponderal maciça e com mamoplastia redutora e abdominoplastia prévias, evoluiu com ptose mamária e lipodistrofia em abdômen superior. Foi submetida à abdominoplastia reversa com utilização do retalho dermogorduroso epigástrico para projeção da mama. A paciente apresentou boa evolução pós-operatória, com resultado cirúrgico satisfatório. Discussão: As perdas ponderais maciças podem resultar em deformidades nas mamas e no abdômen que exigem cirurgias reparadoras. A remodelação mamária é difícil e pode exigir a utilização de tecidos adjacentes. A abdominoplastia, por sua vez, é a técnica mais consagrada para o rejuvenescimento do tronco; entretanto, quando a flacidez atinge principalmente o abdômen superior, a abdominoplastia reversa torna-se uma opção. Em casos em que o desejo de mamoplastia de aumento se associa ao excesso de volume supraumbilical, deve-se considerar a AMBRA. A mamoplastia de aumento por meio da abdominoplastia reversa revelou ser uma técnica viável neste caso, com resultado final satisfatório.
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