Inhibition of Neutrophil Migration by Hemopexin Leads to Increased Mortality Due to Sepsis in Mice

Rationale: The reduction of neutrophil migration to the bacterial focus is associated with poor outcome in sepsis. Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify soluble substances in the blood of septic mice that inhibit neutrophil migration. Methods: A pool of serum obtained from mice 2 hours after the induction of severe sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture inhibited the neutrophil migration. The proteins with inhibitory activity on neutrophil migration were isolated by Blue-Sepharose chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and electrophoresis, and identified by mass spectrometry. Measurements and Main Results: Hemopexin was identified as the serum component responsible for the inhibition of neutrophil migration. In sepsis, the pretreatment of wild-type mice with hemopexin inhibited neutrophil migration to the focus of infection and decreased the survival rate from 87.5 to 50.0%. Hemopexin-null mice subjected to severe sepsis presented normal neutrophil migration, low bacteremia, and an improvement of 40% in survival rate. Moreover, hemopexin inhibited the neutrophil chemotaxis response evoked by C5a or macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and induced a reduction of CXCR2 and L-selectin as well as the up-regulation of CD11b expression in neutrophil membranes. The inhibitory effect of hemopexin on neutrophil chemotaxis was prevented by serine protease inhibitors or ATP. In addition, serum levels of ATP were decreased 2 hours after severe sepsis. Conclusions: These data demonstrate for the first time the inhibitory role of hemopexin in neutrophil migration during sepsis and suggest that the therapeutic inhibition of hemopexin or its protease activity could improve neutrophil migration to the focus of infection and survival in sepsis.

Anti-mullerian hormone is the best predictor of poor response in ICSI cycles of patients with endometriosis

Purpose: To correlate ovarian reserve (OR) markers with response in assisted reproduction techniques (ART) and determine their ability to predict poor response among patients with endometriosis (EDT). Methods: We evaluated ART cycles of 27 women with EDT and 50 with exclusive male factor. Basal follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels were determined. Ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation was assessed and correlation coefficients calculated between the variables and reserve markers. Areas under the curve (AUC) determined ability of tests to predict poor response. Results: AMH was significantly correlated with response in both groups and it was the only marker with significant discriminative capacity to predict poor response among EDT (AUC = 0.842; 95% CI: 0.651-0.952) and control group (AUC = 0.869; 95% CI: 0.743-0.947). Conclusion: Infertile patients with endometriosis can benefit from the pre-therapeutic assessment of OR markers. However, regardless of disease presence, only AMH predicts poor response to stimulus.

From medical librarian to informacionist: semantic traces of their profiles and areas of performance

This literature review retakes the discussion of the profiles and competences of the information area professional, specifically, in the health field. Therefore, the aim here is to outline the new fields of performance for the informationist and the profiles required in the health context.

The impact of perinatal and socioeconomic factors on mental health problems of children from a poor Brazilian city: a longitudinal study

Low birth weight and preterm birth, and social disadvantage may negatively affect mental health of children, but findings have been inconsistent. To assess the influence of perinatal and social factors on mental health problems in children aged 7-9 years. A random sample of 805 births in So Luis, Brazil was studied in 1997/1998 and again in 2005/2006. Perinatal, socioeconomic and demographic variables were assessed within 24 h after delivery. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess mental health problems in the children. Simple and multiple Poisson regressions were used for statistical analysis. The overall prevalence of mental health problems in the total sample was 47.7%. The prevalences of emotional and conduct problems were 58.2 and 48.8%, respectively. Only paternal age (< 20 years) was associated with mental health problems as measured by the full SDQ scale (prevalence ratio PR = 1.27). Children born to single mothers (PR = 1.31) and those with birth weight from 1,500 to 2,499 g (PR = 1.18) and from 2,500 to 2,999 g (PR = 1.17) had a higher risk of emotional problems, but those from low income families had a lower risk (PR = 0.80). Children with a father of less than 20 years had a higher risk of having problems with their peers (PR = 1.75). A maternal education of 9 years or over was inversely associated with peer (PR = 0.70) and conduct problems (PR = 0.73). Girls had a lower risk of conduct (PR = 0.77) and hyperactivity problems (PR = 0.68). A maternal education of 4 years or less increased the risk of hyperactivity (PR = 1.48). Socioeconomic and demographic conditions were better predictors of mental health problems in children than birth weight or preterm birth. However, since most effect sizes were small most mental health problems were, unexplained by the variables in the study.

Performance of a chromogenic medium for the isolation of Listeria monocytogenes in food

According to the producers, CHROMagar (TM) Listeria medium comes to facilitate the detection, differentiating Listeria monocytogenes from the other species, directly on the isolation process, allowing final results in 72 h, while the traditional method takes up to 10 days. A total of 120 food samples of sliced cooked ham, ground beef and frankfurters was analyzed. From 151 colonies presenting typical L. monocytogenes characteristics on CHROMagar (TM) Listeria (bluish, surrounded by a white halo), only 95 (62.9%) were confirmed as L. monocytogenes. The medium was highly sensitive to detect L. monocytogenes in ground beef and frankfurter, but not in sliced ham. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the performance of normal elderly in a limb praxis protocol: Influence of age, gender, and education

Limb praxis can be influenced by age, gender, and education. The present Study investigated the influence of these variables on gesture production by healthy elderly Subjects. We evaluated 96 individuals divided into two age groups (60-74 and 75-88 years). Each group contained 48 men and 48 women and was subdivided into four groups according to education: illiterates and 1-3, 4-7, and 8 or more years of education. Individuals were requested to carry Out tasks oil verbal command and imitation. There were no differences between the performance of men and women, while older individuals performed worse than their younger counterparts. Regarding educational level, three major groups emerged: illiterates, individuals with 1-7 years of education, and those with 8 or more years of education. In conclusion, age and education significantly influenced the performance of individuals in limb praxis tests. (JINS, 2009, 157 618-622.)

Development and agronomic performance of common bean lines simultaneously resistant to anthracnose, angular leaf spot and rust

The common bean is affected by several pathogens that can cause severe yield losses. Here we report the introgression of resistance genes to anthracnose, angular leaf spot and rust in the `carioca-type` bean cultivar `Ruda`. Initially, four backcross (BC) lines were obtained using `TO`, `AB 136`, `Ouro Negro` and `AND 277` as donor parents. Molecular fingerprinting was used to select the lines genetically closer to the recurrent parent. The relative genetic distances between `Ruda` and the BC lines varied between 0.0% and 1.99%. The BC lines were intercrossed and molecular markers linked to the resistance genes were used to identify the plants containing the genes of interest. These plants were selfed to obtain the F(2), F(3) and F(4) plants which were selected based on the presence of the molecular markers mentioned and resistance was confirmed in the F(4) generation by inoculation. Four F(4:7) pyramid lines with all the resistance genes showed resistance spectra equivalent to those of their respective donor parents. Yield tests showed that these lines are as productive as the best `carioca-type` cultivars.