Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive Protein (CRP) as severe systemic infection markers in febrile neutropenic adults

Abstract Background Procalcitonin (PCT) is an inflammatory marker that has been used as indicator of severe bacterial infection. We evaluated the concentrations of PCT as a marker for systemic infection compared to C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients neutropenic febrile. Methods 52 adult patients were enrolled in the study. Blood sample was collected in order to determine the serum concentrations of PCT, CRP and other hematological parameters at the onset of fever. The patients were divided into 2 groups, one with severe infection (n = 26) and the other in which the patients did not present such an infection (n = 26). Then PCT and CRP concentrations at the fever onset were compared between groups using non parametric statistical tests, ROC curve, sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results The mean of PCT was significantly higher in the group with severe infection (6.7 ng/mL versus 0.6 ng/mL – p = 0.0075) comparing with CRP. Serum concentrations of 0.245 ng/mL of PCT displayed 100% de sensitivity and 69.2% specificity. PCT concentrations of 2,145 ng/mL presented a likelihood ratio of 13, which was not observed for any concentration of CRP. Conclusion PCT seems to be an useful marker for the diagnosis of systemic infection in febrile neutropenic patients, probably better than CRP.

Diet-Sensitive Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species in Liver Mitochondria: Role of Very Long Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenases

High fat diets and accompanying hepatic steatosis are highly prevalent conditions. Previous work has shown that steatosis is accompanied by enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may mediate further liver damage. Here we investigated mechanisms leading to enhanced ROS generation following high fat diets (HFD). We found that mitochondria from HFD livers present no differences in maximal respiratory rates and coupling, but generate more ROS specifically when fatty acids are used as substrates. Indeed, many acyl-CoA dehydrogenase isoforms were found to be more highly expressed in HFD livers, although only the very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) was more functionally active. Studies conducted with permeabilized mitochondria and different chain length acyl-CoA derivatives suggest that VLCAD is also a source of ROS production in mitochondria of HFD animals. This production is stimulated by the lack of NAD+. Overall, our studies uncover VLCAD as a novel, diet-sensitive, source of mitochondrial ROS.

Chain extension of poly (ethylene terephthalate) by reactive extrusion with secondary stabilizer

Poly(ethylene tereftalate) (PET) is a polymer highly susceptible to the hydrolytic reactions that occur during applications and mainly in thermomechanical processing. These reactions lead to the decrease of molecular weight of the polymer, limiting the recycling number of the material. The reactive extrusion of the PET in presence of chain extenders is an alternative to recover mechanical and rheological properties that were depreciated by the polymer degradation. In this study, PET wastes from nonwoven fabrics production were extruded in presence of the secondary stabilizer Irgafos 126 (IRG) on variable concentrations. The results showed that Irgafos 126 increased molecular weight, decreased crystallinity and changed processing behavior of the PET, similarly to the effects produced by the well-known chain extender pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), showing that the secondary stabilizer Irgafos 126 can also act as a chain extender for the PET.

Reactive sputter magnetron reactor for preparation of thin films and simultaneous in-situ structural study by X-ray diffraction.

Reactive Sputter Magnetron (RSM) is a widely used technique to thin films growing of compounds both, in research laboratories and in industrial processes. The nature of the deposited compound will depend then on the nature of the magnetron target and the nature of the ions generated in the plasma. One important aspect of the problem is the knowledge of the evolution of the film during the process of growing itself. In this work, we present the design, construction of a chamber to be installed in the Huber goniometer in the XRD2 line of LNLS in Campinas, which allows in situ growing kinetic studies of thin films.