Ação fotodinâmica da C-Ficocianina, pigmento extraído da Spirulina platensis, nas linhagens tumorais humanas K562 (não MDR) e K562 – Lucena 1 (MDR)

A C-ficocianina (C-FC), um pigmento comum nas cianobctérias e um dos mais abundantes constituintes da Spirulina platensis, vem sendo estudada por possuir várias propriedades como antioxidante, hepatoprotetora, antiinflamatória e inibidora da enzima COX-2. Alguns autores atribuem também a C-FC um efeito oxidante quando ela é o agente fotossensibilizante utilizado na terapia fotodinâmica (TFD), podendo ser um importante agente no tratamento do câncer. Entretanto ainda pouco se sabe sobre a ação da C-FC, como substância fotosensibilizante, no tratamento de ação fotodinâmica (AFD) em modelos biológicos. A AFD provoca a fotooxidação de substratos biológicos através da geração de espécies reativas de oxigênio produzidas pela associação entre um determinado comprimento de onda, uma substância fotosensível e oxigênio. Existem dois caminhos que levam a morte celular pelo processo de fotooxidação conhecidos como mecanismo do tipo I e tipo II. No mecanismo tipo I são gerados radicais como o radical ânion superóxido e radical hidroxila, enquanto no mecanismo do tipo II a espécie reativa de oxigênio gerada é o oxigênio singlete (1O2). A TFD da C-PC possui muitas vantagens em relação ao uso das hematoporfirinas e seus derivados, como rápida preparação e fácil purificação, ampla faixa de absorção do UV e visível, nenhum efeito local, e significativa redução da fotosensibilidade em tecidos normais por ter uma rápida metabolização em vivo. As pesquisas que avaliam os possíveis efeitos celulares da AFD têm sido também estendidas para as células tumorais que adquirem fenótipo de resistência a múltiplas drogas (MDR). A MDR é um fenômeno no qual células tumorais, selecionadas resistentes a um agente quimioterápico, adquirem resistência a outras drogas, 5 aparentemente não relacionadas. O fenótipo MDR é multifatorial, mas o mecanismo melhor estudado é a super expressão da glicoproteína-P, que é uma proteína de membrana capaz de fazer a extrusão de quimioterápicos para fora de célula. Com isso o objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a sensibilidade das linhagens celulares que expressem (Lucena) ou não (K562) o fenótipo MDR à AFD do pigmento C-FC, extraído da cianobactéria S. platensis, e propor um possível mecanismo de ação. A extração da C-PC foi feita no Laboratorio de Microbiologia e Engenharia de Bioprocesos (FURG). Diferentes concentrações de C-PC (0.025, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 e 0.40 mg/ml para os testes de PDA da C-PC e 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.40 e 0.60 mg/ml para os testes no escuro) foram usadas. O número de células viáveis foi avaliada imediatamente, 24 h e 48 h após o tratamento com C-PC ou PDA da C-PC através de exclusão por azul de trypan. A concentração de 0.05 mg/ml foi utilizada para determinar o possível papel da Pgp na resposta da linhagem Lucena e a concentração de 0.10 mg/ml foi utilizada nos testes de peroxidação lipídica (LPO), de produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio (ROS) e quantificação de apoptose/necrose. A PDA da CPC causou uma diminuição no número de células viáveis em ambas linhagens K562 (não MDR) e Lucena (MDR), sendo que a linhagem MDR foi menos sensível que a não MDR. Já nos testes realizados no escuro, nenhuma toxicidade foi encontrada para as duas linhagens. Nenhuma alteração na resistência da linhagem Lucena foi encontrada quando o modulador verapamil foi colocado durante o tratamento de APD com C-PC e até às 48h de acompanhamento após o tratamento. Também não foi encontrada diferença significativa de lipoperoxidação (LPO) mas houve uma tendência de aumento na produção de ROS, que foi mais evidente na linhagem K562. Além disso a linhagem Lucena apresentou uma produção basal de ROS significativamente maior que a K562. Nos testes de apoptose/necrose nenhuma diferença foi encontrada entre as células controle e tratadas em ambas linhagens. Os resultados encontrados neste estudo sugerem que a C-PC possa ser um potente agente fotosensibilizante, tanto para linhagens não MDR quanto para linhagens MDR e também que o mecanismo tipo II esteja envolvido em maior parte no efeito observado na PDA da C-PC, mas uma menor participação do mecanismo tipo I não pode ser descartada. 

PCR-Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) genes sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of clinical and environmental Aspergillus species associated with HIV-TB co infected patients in a hospital in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria.

Background: Aspergillosis has been identified as one of the hospital acquired infections but the contribution of water and inhouse air as possible sources of Aspergillus infection in immunocompromised individuals like HIV-TB patients have not been studied in any hospital setting in Nigeria. Objective: To identify and investigate genetic relationship between clinical and environmental Aspergillus species associated with HIV-TB co infected patients. Methods: DNA extraction, purification, amplification and sequencing of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) genes were performed using standard protocols. Similarity search using BLAST on NCBI was used for species identification and MEGA 5.0 was used for phylogenetic analysis. Results: Analyses of sequenced ITS genes of selected fourteen (14) Aspergillus isolates identified in the GenBank database revealed Aspergillus niger (28.57%), Aspergillus tubingensis (7.14%), Aspergillus flavus (7.14%) and Aspergillus fumigatus (57.14%). Aspergillus in sputum of HIV patients were Aspergillus niger, A. fumigatus, A. tubingensis and A. flavus. Also, A. niger and A. fumigatus were identified from water and open-air. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences yielded genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental isolates. Conclusion: Water and air in health care settings in Nigeria are important sources of Aspergillus sp. for HIV-TB patients.

Prevalence and associated factors of TB/HIV co-infection among HIV Infected patients in Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Background: Tuberculosis is one of the world’s most common causes of death in the era of Human immunodeficiency virus. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of TB/HIV co-infection. Methods: Hospital based retrospective studies were conducted among adult HIV-positive patients. Logistic regression method and Chi square test were applied. Results: A total of 571 HIV positive study participants were enrolled. Of these, 158 (27.7%) were found to have pulmonary tuberculosis. Lower baseline CD4 count<200cell/μl, patients who drunk alcohol, patients who were ambulatory at the initiation of ART, patients whose marital status was single were significant predictors for increased risk of tuberculosis in PLWHIV (P <0.05). Non smoker patients, patients in WHO clinical stage I, patients in WHO clinical stage II and ownership of the house had significant protective benefit against risk of TB (P <0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection in adults on ART in our study was moderately high. Having advanced clinical status and presence of risk factors were found to be the predicting factors for co-infection. The health office should open TB/HIV co-infection units in the hospitals and health workers should be cautious when a patient has an advanced disease.

Five years retrospective cohort analysis of treatment outcomes of TB-HIV patients at a PEPFAR/DOTS Centre in South Eastern Nigeria.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health challenge, with an estimated 1.4 million patients worldwide. Co-infection with HIV leads to challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess treatment outcomes of a cohort of smear positive TB-HIV co-infected patients over a five-year study period. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 600 smear-positive tuberculosis patients registered at the chest unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu from January 2008 to December 2012 was done. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 17. Results: One hundred and three (17.2%) of the patients were co-infected with TB/HIV, while 398 (66.3%) and 99 (16.5%) were HIV negative and unknown respectively. Among the co-infected patients, 45(43.7%) were cured as against 222(55.8%) in the TBHIV negatives (Z=4.53, p=0.000, 95%CI= 0.12-0.34). Respectively in the TB-HIV co-infected and TB-HIV negative patients, treatment completed were 21(20.4%) and 71(17.8%) (Z=9.15, p=0.000, 95%= 0.4035-0.60); defaulted 19(18.5%) vs 70 (17.6%) (Z=9.29, p=0.000, 95%CI=0.42-0.60), died 10(9.7%) vs. 6(1.5%) (Z=1.22, p=0.224, 95%CI= -0.0286-0.1086), and failures were 1(0.9%) vs. 7(1.8%) (Z=2.48, p=0.013, 95%CI=0.04-0.10). Treatment success rate was lower in TB-HIV co-infected patients, 64.1% compared to TB-HIV negative patients with 73.6%. Also those that defaulted among the TB-HIV co-infected patients (18.5%) were higher than 17.6% among TB-HIV negative patients, a difference of 0.9%. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that HIV co-infection affects TB treatment outcomes adversely. Treatment adherence, timely and sustained access to antiretroviral therapy for TB/HIV co-infected patients are important.

Trèlat's beads as oral manifestations in patients with HIV/TB

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Koch's bacillus). Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB has reached a significant importance as a public health problem and this association has been recognized as the most significant event that changed "the balance between man and Koch's bacillus" in the last century, and has a large contribution to the risk for disease spreading. Tuberculosis has two main standard categories of clinical manifestations: primary and secondary. Primary TB is responsible for the initial infection with lungs being the involved organ. Oral lesions are observed as a secondary TB clinical manifestation with most frequent sites being hard and soft palate, tongue, lips, gums, tonsils, and salivary glands. A case of classical TB lesions in the oral cavity is reported, and the importance of a correct diagnosis through careful history taking is emphasized. Treatment selection needs to be done assertively, with great determination and building a link between patient and treatment protocol, in order to promote patient's adherence.

A molecular platform for the diagnosis of multidrug-resistant and pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis based on single nucleotide polymorphism mutations present in Colombian isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Developing a fast, inexpensive, and specific test that reflects the mutations present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates according to geographic region is the main challenge for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) control. The objective of this study was to develop a molecular platform to make a rapid diagnosis of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant TB based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutations present in the rpoB, katG, inhA, ahpC, and gyrA genes from Colombian M. tuberculosis isolates. The amplification and sequencing of each target gene was performed. Capture oligonucleotides, which were tested before being used with isolates to assess the performance, were designed for wild type and mutated codons, and the platform was standardised based on the reverse hybridisation principle. This method was tested on DNA samples extracted from clinical isolates from 160 Colombian patients who were previously phenotypically and genotypically characterised as having susceptible or MDR M. tuberculosis. For our method, the kappa index of the sequencing results was 0,966, 0,825, 0,766, 0,740, and 0,625 for rpoB, katG, inhA, ahpC, and gyrA, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were ranked between 90-100% compared with those of phenotypic drug susceptibility testing. Our assay helps to pave the way for implementation locally and for specifically adapted methods that can simultaneously detect drug resistance mutations to first and second-line drugs within a few hours.

Propriedade fotoluminescente da ZrO2: Tb+3, Eu+3, Tm+3 obtida pelo método de polimerização de complexos

Recent studies are investigating a new class of inorganic materials which arise as a promising option for high performance applications in the field of photoluminescence. Highlight for rare earth (TR +3 ) doped, which have a high luminous efficiency, long decay time and being able to emit radiation in the visible range, specific to each element. In this study, we synthesized ZrO2: Tb +3 , Eu +3 , Tm +3 nanoparticles complex polymerization method (CPM). We investigated the influences caused by the heat treatment temperature and the content of dopants in zirconia photoluminescent behavior. The particles were calcined at temperature of 400, 500 and 600 ° C for two hours and ranged in concentration of dopants 1, 2, 4 and 8 mol% TR +3 . The samples were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence of measurements and uv-visible of spectroscopies. The results of X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the tetragonal and cubic phases in accordance with the content of dopants. The photoluminescence spectra show emission in the region corresponding simultaneous to blue (450 nm), green (550 nm) and red (615 nm). According to the results, ZrO2 particles co-doped with rare earth ions is a promising material white emission with a potential application in the field of photoluminescence

The influence of promoters (Zr, La, Tb, Pr) on the catalytic performance of CuO-CeO2 systems for the preferential oxidation of CO in the presence of CO2 and H2O

CuO supported on CeO2 and Ce0.9X0.1O2, where X is Zr, La, Tb or Pr, were synthesized using nitrate precursors, giving rise ceria based materials with a small particle size which interact with CuO species generating a high amount of interfacial sites. The incorporation of cations to the ceria framework modifies the CeO2 lattice parameter, improving the redox behavior of the catalytic system. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, thermoprogrammed reduction with H2 (H2-TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalysts were tested in the preferential oxidation of CO under a H2-rich stream (CO-PROX), reaching conversion values higher than 95% between 115 and 140 °C and being the catalyst with 6 wt.% of Cu supported on Ce0.9Zr0.1O2 (sample 6CUZRCE) the most active catalyst. The influence of the presence of CO2 and H2O was also studied simulating a PROX unit, taking place a decrease of the catalytic activity due to the inhibitor effect both CO2 and H2O.

Nemek egyenlőségének érvényesülése a foglalkoztatáspolitikai eszköztárban, az adó- és tb-rendszerekben, és hatásuk a nők foglalkoztatására

Az adó- és tb-rendszerek közvetlenül hatnak a jövedelemeloszlásra és a társadalom tagjainak a jólétére, a gyermekvállalásra, oktatásban való részvételére és az élet számos más fontos vetületére is. Az állástalanok és az inaktívak visszavezetését a munkaerőpiacra pedig aktív foglalkoztatáspolitikai eszközök támogatják. Messze nyúló következményei miatt hihetetlenül bonyolult feladat a nemek egyenlőségének érvényesítése e területeken, sőt vannak olyan hatásai is, amelyek előre nem ismerhetők fel, s ebben az összefüggésben utólag nehezen értelmezhetők. 2010 elején a Szociális és Munkaügyi Minisztérium számára készített kutatás során – hiánypótló jelleggel – a nemek egyenlősége és a nők munkavállalásának ösztönzése szempontjából a munkaerő-piaci eszközöket, az adórendszereket, az egészségügyi és nyugdíjrendszert, valamint a szociális ellátásokat vizsgálták. A kutatás során két horizontális vizsgálat is megvalósult: az egyik témája az egyes témaköröket, részkérdéseket illető nemzetközi tapasztalatok és elméletek, a másiké a jogi vonatkozások feldolgozása volt.

Cascaded all-optical sub-channel add/drop multiplexing from a 1-Tb/s super-channel having 2-GHz guard-bands

We demonstrate cascaded 100-Gb/s sub-channel add/drop from a 1-Tb/s multi-band OFDM super-channel having 2-GHz inter-sub-channel guard-bands within a recirculating loop via a hierarchical ROADM using high-resolution filters, showcasing 1000-km transmission reach and five ROADM node passages for the add/drop sub-channel when hybrid Raman-EDFA is implemented.

Protect your body, your temple : Know the Facts About TB

These bookmarks state: In South Carolina, African-Americans account for over half of Tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis (TB) is spread through the air from person to person when someone with the disease coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. The signs and symptoms of TB include: Cough usually lasting 2-3 weeks or longer, Coughing up blood, Unusual chest pain especially when breathing, Increased tiredness, Unplanned or sudden weight loss or loss of appetite, • Chills with fever and sudden night sweats.

Stop TB

This sheet written in Spanish and English explains how TB is spread and what you can do once you contract it.

Clinical significance of Mycobacterium asiaticum isolates in Queensland, Australia

Mycobacterium asiaticum was first reported as a cause of human disease in 1982, with only a few cases in the literature to date. This study aims to review the clinical significance of M. asiaticum isolates in Queensland, Australia. A retrospective review (1989 to 2008) of patients with M. asiaticum isolates was conducted. Data were collected through the Queensland TB Control Centre database. Disease was defined in accordance with the American Thoracic Society criteria. Twenty-four patients (13 female) had a positive culture of M. asiaticum, many residing around the Tropic of Capricorn. M. asiaticum was responsible for pulmonary disease (n = 2), childhood lymphadenitis (n = 1), olecranon bursitis (n = 1), 6 cases of possible pulmonary disease, and 2 possible wound infections. Chronic lung disease was a risk factor for pulmonary infection, and wounds/lacerations were a risk factor for extrapulmonary disease. Extrapulmonary disease responded to local measures. Pulmonary disease responded to ethambutol-isoniazid-rifampin plus pyrazinamide for the first 2 months in one patient, and amikacin-azithromycin-minocycline in another patient. While M. asiaticum is rare in Queensland, there appears to be an environmental niche. Although often a colonizer, it can be a cause of pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease. Treatment of pulmonary disease remains challenging. Extrapulmonary disease does not mandate specific nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) treatment.

Probability and statistics

Now in its sixth edition, the Traffic Engineering Handbook continues to be a must have publication in the transportation industry, as it has been for the past 60 years. The new edition provides updated information for people entering the practice and for those already practicing. The handbook is a convenient desk reference, as well as an all in one source of principles and proven techniques in traffic engineering. Most chapters are presented in a new format, which divides the chapters into four areas-basics, current practice, emerging trends and information sources. Chapter topics include road users, vehicle characteristics, statistics, planning for operations, communications, safety, regulations, traffic calming, access management, geometrics, signs and markings, signals, parking, traffic demand, maintenance and studies. In addition, as the focus in transportation has shifted from project based to operations based, two new chapters have been added-"Planning for Operations" and "Managing Traffic Demand to Address Congestion: Providing Travelers with Choices." The Traffic Engineering Handbook continues to be one of the primary reference sources for study to become a certified Professional Traffic Operations Engineer™. Chapters are authored by notable and experienced authors, and reviewed and edited by a distinguished panel of traffic engineering experts.