Production and physicochemical properties of resistant starch from hydrolysed wrinkled pea starch

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Implication of the RDRio Mycobacterium tuberculosis sublineage in multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Portugal

Multidrug and extensively drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis are a threat to tuberculosis control programs. Genotyping methods, such as spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing (Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units), are useful in monitoring potentially epidemic strains and estimating strain phylogenetic lineages and/or genotypic families. M. tuberculosis Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) family is a major worldwide contributor to tuberculosis (TB). LAM specific molecular markers, Ag85C(103) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and RDRio long-sequence polymorphism (LSP), were used to characterize spoligotype signatures from 859 patient isolates from Portugal. LAM strains were found responsible for 57.7% of all tuberculosis cases. Strains with the RDRio deletion (referred to as RDRio) were estimated to represent 1/3 of all the strains and over 60% of the multidrug resistant (MDR) strains. The major spoligotype signature SIT20 belonging to the LAM1 RDRio sublineage, represented close to 1/5th of all the strains, over 20% of which were MDR. Analysis of published datasets according to stipulated 12 loci MIRU-VNTR RDRio signatures revealed that 96.3% (129/134) of MDR and extensively drug resistant (XDR) clusters were RDRio. This is the first report associating the LAM RDRio sublineage with MDR. These results are an important contribution to the monitoring of these strains with heightened transmission for future endeavors to arrest MDR-TB and XDR-TB. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Histopathology of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks fed on resistant hosts

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evaluation of the in vitro susceptibility and emergence of mutants resistant to ciprofloxacin among multidrug resistant clinical isolates.

Two hundred and seventy-seven multidrug resistant clinical isolates [K. pneumoniae, (N = 87); E coli, (N = 30); Salmonella typhimurium (N = 100); P. aeruginosa, (N = 30); S. aureus, (N = 30)] from hospitalized patients specimens, were tested in vitro for sensitivity to Ciprofloxacin. Application of the disk diffusion test and determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration by the microdilution method indicated that, almost all isolates were sensitive to the drug. Overall, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were the less sensitive organisms. Ciprofloxacin-resistant mutants occurred at frequencies of > or = 10(-5)/CFU.

The effect of gene tubC on the vegetative growth of benomyl-resistant strains of Aspergillus nidulans

Two benomyl-resistant mutants, benD3 tubC41 and benD4 tubC42, of Aspergillus nidulans were isolated after UV treatment. The tubC mutations permitted good conidiation of these strains in culture media containing benomyl and were responsible for increasing their benomyl resistance levels. This implies that β3-tubulin, a product of the tubC gene, in addition to being involved in fungal conidiation, participates in the vegetative growth of the fungus. The tubC gene was located in linkage group I.

Western blot analysis of tick antigens from a Rhipicephalus sanguineus unfed larval extract and identification of antigenic sites in tick sections using immunohistochemistry. A comparative study between resistant and susceptible host species

Most parasite-host relationships are characterized by the development of resistance by the host, thus limiting the number of parasites. However, some cases are very unusual. In the relationship of the domestic dog with the brown dog-tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus this does not occur, whereas guinea pigs develop efficient resistance. Sera from domestic dogs, crab-eating foxes and guinea pigs collected before and after infestation with R. sanguineus ticks, and after immunization with a whole tick adult or larval homogenate, were used in Western blot analysis to compare and identify potential important antigens from a tick larval homogenate. The same sera were tested in an indirect immunohistochemistry assay in an attempt to compare relevant antigenic sites on histological tick sections. The immunoblotting displayed antigens recognized only by the guinea pigs, as well as several shared antigens between host species, depending on the kind of immunization. Immunohistochemistry revealed probable antigenic sites on the cells and tissues of ticks, which varied depending on the kind of immunization (infestation or vaccination) and the animal species involved.

Les patients atteints d'hypertension artérielle: approche de leur vécu

The study aims at exploring the experience of the patients suffering from high blood pressure, analysing the difficulties they evoke and trying to generate similarities. It is a qualitative study, based on the phenomenological method. The interviews highlight the fact that the patients are preoccupied only by the symptoms of high blood pressure. They also show that all the patients live through the disease with a lot of emotions, with feelings of frustration, stress, anxiety and helplessness. A better understanding of the patients' experience must enable the nurses to have better targeted actions.

Intestinal colonization of a human subject by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Objective: To study the ability of two strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium to colonize the human intestine. Methods: A single human subject ingested separately two strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolated from a pig and a chicken. The feces were cultured on selective medium. Prior to ingestion no vancomycin-resistant cocci were present in the feces. Ingestion of 10 4-10 5 CFU resulted in either no colonization or isolation only after enrichment. Ingestion of 10 7 CFU of one strain resulted in colonization for a period of nearly 3 weeks, with fecal counts at times in excess of 10 6 CFU/g. Ingestion of similar numbers of the other strain and reingestion of the first strain resulted in excretion in the feces for much shorter periods. When the fecal count of the ingested strains was greater than 10 4-10 5 CFU/g, the strains were isolated from swabs taken from perianal skin. Conclusions: Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strains from pigs and poultry a re able to colonize the human gut and the perianal skin.

The effect of non-antihypertensive doses of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor on myocardial necrosis and hypertrophy in young rats with renovascular hypertension

In renovascular hypertensive rats, low doses of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been found to prevent myocardial hypertrophy independent of blood pressure level. This finding would suggest humoral rather than mechanical control of myocyte growth. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of nonantihypertensive doses of ACE inhibitor on myocardial hypertrophy and necrosis in hypertensive rats. Renovascular hypertension (RHT) was induced in four-week-old Wistar rats. Twenty-eight animals were treated for four weeks with three doses of ramipril (0.01, 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg/day, which are unable to lower blood pressure. Fourteen animals were not treated (RHT group). A sham operated, age/sex-matched group was used as control (n=10). Myocardial histology was analysed in 3 μm thick sections of the ventricle stained with either haematoxylin-eosin, reticulin silver stain or Masson's trichrome. There was a significant correlation between systolic blood pressure and left ventricular to body weight ratio in both sets of animals: untreated plus controls and ramipril-treated rats. ACE inhibition prevented myocyte and perivascular necrosis and fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that myocardial hypertrophy in rats with renovascular hypertension is directly related to arterial pressure, and that this relationship is not affected by nonantihypertensive doses of ACE inhibitor. Myocardial necrosis/fibrosis and coronary artery damage induced by angiotensin II are prevented by ACE inhibitor in a dose-dependent manner, despite the presence of arterial hypertension.

Restriction endonuclease banding and digestion resistant heterochromatin in triatomines, genus Panstrongylus

The present work realized a comparative study in meiosis of two triatomines, Panstrongylus herreri and P. megistus, by cytogenetic techniques involving the restriction endonucleases Hae III and Alu I and C-banding. The system of sex chromosomes in Panstrongylus is of the X1X2Y type, and experiments corroborated the common origin hypothesis of the X chromosomes by fragmentation of single X. In both species the restriction endonucleases (RE) presented banding patterns in part similar to C-banding. However, in some early meiotic phases it was possible to verify differentiation of the heterochromatic pattern. This work suggests that other elements besides presence of recognition sites, such as chromatin packing degree and DNA-protein interaction, act in RE results, since digestion patterns occur in early spermatogenesis. However, metaphase chromosomes were practically inaccessible to the endonucleases.

Skin test and tick immune status in susceptible and resistant cattle in Brazil

A cutaneous hypersensitivity test (CHT) was used to correlate host resistance to ticks and type of reaction elicited to unfed larval extract-ULE of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus in European and Indian cattle. Twenty calves were separated into four groups of five animals each: naïve or preinfested Indian or European cattle. CHT was induced by intradermal inoculation of 0.1 ml of ULE cattle tick B. microplus (50 μg protein) in the calf ear. Ear thickness was measured using calipers before and 10 min, 1, 2, 6, 18, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 144 h postinoculation (PI). Preinfested European calves showed only an immediate type reaction with maximum response (75% increase in ear thickness) at 10 min PI. On the other hand, preinfested Indian calves presented an immediate response with maximum reaction (70% increase in ear thickness) between 10 min and one hour PI, and a delayed type reaction at 72 h PI (60% increase in ear thickness). These results point out the crucial role of the cellular immune response of cattle in the expression of resistance to cattle tick B. microplus. Skin test might be useful in the ranking of cattle according to the susceptibility/resistance to ticks.

Systemic hypertension in patients with glomerulonephritis

Although systemic hypertension is very common in patients with glomerulonephritis there is a dispute if this alteration is consequence of the glomerulonephritis per se or is a consequence of the renal failure secondary to the glomerular lesion. With the aim to analyze the factors associated with systemic hypertension, 196 patients with different forms of nephritis were studied. The systemic arterial pressure was measured by standard sphygmomanometer, renal function was evaluated by the determination of the serum creatinine concentration or creatinine clearance. The diagnosis of the type of glomerulonephritis was made on the basis of an examination of kidney biopsy specimens. The prevalence of arterial hypertension among patients with glomerulonephritis was 62.7%. The hypertensive patients were older (hypertensive = 30.6 ± 12.8; normotensive = 25.4 ± 1.6 years; P = 0.03). The prevalence of arterial hypertension was lower in patients with minimal glomerular lesion (12.5%), though their ages were also lower (18.1 ± 3.6 and 29.1 ± 1.03 years; P = 0.03). Arterial hypertension did not correlate with the serum levels of creatinine and albumin; creatinine clearance and 24-h proteinuria. In conclusion: In the patients with glomerulonephritis, the presence of arterial hypertension was associated with a higher mean age whereas the intensity of proteinuria, the level of renal function or the type of glomerulonephritis was not different between the two groups.

Antigens from Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks elicit potent cell-mediated immune responses in resistant but not in susceptible animals

In the present study we compared the immunological reactions between Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick-infested susceptible (dogs and mice) and tick-resistant hosts (guinea pigs), elucidating some of the components of efficient protective responses against ticks. We found that T-cells from guinea pigs infested with adult ticks proliferate vigorously in the presence of concanavalin A (ConA), whereas ConA-induced cell proliferation of tick-infested mice and dogs was significantly decreased at 43.1 and 94.0%, respectively, compared to non-infested controls. Moreover, cells from mice and dogs submitted to one or three successive infestations did not exhibit a T-cell proliferative response to tick antigens, whilst cells from thrice tick-infested guinea pigs, when cultured with either a tick extract or tick saliva, displayed a significant increase in cell proliferation. Also, we evaluated the response of tick-infested mice to a cutaneous hypersensitivity test induced by a tick extract. Tick-infested mice developed a significant immediate reaction, whereby a 29.9% increase in the footpad thickness was observed. No delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction was detected. Finally, the differential cell count at the tick attachment site in repeatedly infested mice exhibited a 6.6- and 4.1-fold increase in the percentage of eosinophils and neutrophils, respectively, compared to non-infested animals, while a decrease of 77.0-40.9 in the percentage of mononuclear cells was observed. The results of the cutaneous hypersensitivity test and the cellular counts at the tick feeding site for mice support the view that tick-infested mice develop an immune response to R. sanguineus ticks very similar to dogs, the natural host of this species of tick, but very different from guinea pigs (resistant host), which develop a DTH reaction in addition to a basophil and mononuclear cell infiltration at the tick-attachment site. In conclusion, saliva introduced during tick infestations reduces the ability of a susceptible animal host to respond to tick antigens that could stimulate a protective immune response. As a consequence, the animals present a lack of DTH response and disturbed cellular migration to tick feeding site, which can represent a deficient response against ticks. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Juxtaglomerular cell tumor as a rare cause of hypertension in adults

The juxtaglomerular cell tumor is a cause of secondary hypertension in adults. A 35-year-old female patient suffering from hypertension and low serum potassium had a 3 × 3 cm solid mass at the lower pole of left kidney diagnosed by abdominal sonography. Partial nephrectomy was performed and the postoperatory was uneventful. Normalization of blood pressure was observed within the first month.

Sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension treatment after cardiac surgery

Objective: To report on the use of sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension treatment of a newborn patient after cardiac surgery. Description: A female, full term newborn infant with diagnosis of double outlet right ventricle, pulmonary hypoplasia and subaortic ventricular septal defect, was submitted to Blalock surgery in the first week of life. In postoperative the newborn had pulmonary hypertension and persistent hypoxia, without response to nitric oxide, but with improved oxygenation after continuous intravenous infusion of prostaglandin E1. After several failed attempts to discontinue prostaglandin E1, oral sildenafil was used. There was a decrease in pulmonary vascular resistance with consequent oxygenation improvement and 48 hours later it was possible to discontinue prostaglandin E1 infusion. Comments: Sildenafil can be an alternative therapy for pulmonary hypertension, especially when there is no response to conventional therapy. Copyright © 2005 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.