A systems biology framework for pathway level culture media engineering: pplication to Pichia pastoris cultures

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica

The integration of online advertising: The effects of source expertise and certainty level of the message on consumer involvement and persuasion in the context of user-generated advertising

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Serum Trace Elements in Dysphagic Gastrostomy Candidates Before Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Long Term Enteral Feeding

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients who underwent endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) present protein-energy malnutrition, but little is known about Trace Elements (TE), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Selenium (Se), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr). Our aim was the evaluation of serum TE in patients who underwent PEG and its relationship with serum proteins, BMI and nature of underlying disorder. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed collecting: patient's age, gender, underlying disorder, NRS-2002, BMI, serum albumin, transferrin and TE concentration. We used ferrozine colorimetric method for Fe; Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy for Zn/Cu; Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy for Se/Cr. The patients were divided into head and neck cancer (HNC) and neurological dysphagia (ND). RESULTS: 146 patients (89 males), 21-95 years: HNC-56; ND-90. Low BMI in 78. Low values mostly for Zn (n = 122) and Fe (n = 69), but less for Se (n = 31), Cu (n = 16), Cr (n = 7); low albumin in 77, low transferrin in 94 and 66 with both proteins low. Significant differences between the groups of underlying disease only for Zn (t140.326 = -2,642, p < 0.01) and a correlation between proteins and TE respectively albumin and Zn (r = 0.197, p = 0.025), and albumin and Fe (r = 0.415, p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: When gastrostomy was performed, patients display low serum TE namely Zn, but also Fe, less striking regarding others TE. It was related with prolonged fasting, whatever the underlying disease. Low proteins were associated with low TE. Teams taking care of PEG-patients should use Zn supplementation and include other TE evaluation as part of the nutritional assessment of PEG candidates.

Insulin reduces the requirement for serum in Plasmodium falciparum culture

Insulin added to Plasmodium falciparum cultures (0.2 IU/ml) reduced the requirement for human serum from ten to five percent. This represents an obvious advantage by its serum-sparing effect and by reducing the chances of using contaminated serum in cultures. The growth-promoting ability of insulin was observed eitherin culture- adapted P. falciparum or in newly-isolated samples.

Isoniazid acetylating phenotype in patients with paracoccidioidomycosis and its relationship with serum sulfadoxin levels, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione reductase activities

The authors evaluated the isoniazid acetylating phenotype and measured hematocrit, hemoglobin, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione reductase activities plus serum sulfadoxin levels in 39 patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (33 males and 6 females) aged 17 to 58 years. Twenty one (53.84%) of the patients presented a slow acetylatingphenotype and 18(46.16%) a fast acetylating phenotype. Glucose-6-phosphate- dehydrogenase (G6PD) acti vity was decreased in 5(23.80%) slow acetylators and in 4(22.22%) fast acetylators. Glutathione reductase activity was decreased in 14 (66.66%) slow acetylators and in 12 (66.66%) fast acetylators. Serum levels of free and total sulfadoxin Were higher in slow acetylator (p < 0.02). Analysis of the resultspermitted us to conclude that serum sulfadoxin levels are related to the acetylatorphenotype. Furthermore, sulfadoxin levels were always above 50 µg/ml, a value considered therapeutic. Glutathione reductase deficiency observed in 66% of patients may be related to the intestinal malabsorption of nutrients, among them riboflavin, a FAD precursor vitamin, inpatients with paracoceidioidomycosis.

Liver and serum soluble protein changes and pathomorphology in undernourished mice with acute Schistosomiasis mansoni

Body, liver and spleen weights; histopathology of the liver, spleen and intestines; hepatic and serum soluble proteins changes were the parameters studied in undernourished Swiss albino mice experimentally infected with S. mansoni. Non-infected deficient animab had lower liver/body weight and spleen/body weight ratios as compared to the controls (22.60% casein group). Infected mice showed higher values regardless the type of diet. Undernourished infected subgroup showed a persistent exudative periovular reaction in the liver. Soluble hepatic proteins content and serum protein fractions appeared to be lower in the deficient infected mice. A significant difference was detected in the gammaglobulin fraction between infected and non-infected animals fed the control diet with higher values for the former. Our data suggest that the effects of malnutrition, per se, are sometimes more detrimental to the host than those due to Manson 's schistosomiasis.

Evaluation of platelet number and function and fibrinogen level in patients bitten by snakes of the Bothrops genus

Platelet function and plasma fibrinogen levels were evaluated in 14 patients, 10 males and 4females, aged 13-59years bitten by Bothrops genus snakes. There was a statistical difference (p < 0.05) among plasma fibrinogen levels evaluated 24 and 48 hours after envenomation. There was a tendency towards normalization after 48 hours of treatment. The low platelet number was clear in 24-48 hour evaluations with a tendency towards normalization after 48 hours of treatment (p<0.05). Fibrinogen levels and fibrin degradation product (FDP) levels appeared to be altered in 83.33% of patients evaluated. The authors suggest that platelet hypoaggregation is related to decreased fibrinogen and increased FDP levels.

Serum cytokines in chronic Chagas' disease

We studied the serum levels of IL-2, IFN-g and TNF in different clinical forms of Chagas' disease and in patients clinically compensated and decompensated. Cytokines measured in 91 patients with the chronic form of the disease did not differ from those of 13 normal individuals, suggesting the absence of activation of the TH1 pattern of lymphocyte response. There were no statistical differences among the 17 patients in the indeterminate form of the disease, the patients presenting either early (n = 4) or well-developed signs of cardiomyopathy (n = 62), the digestive (n = 4) or the mixed (n = 4) forms of the disease. Serum TNF was undetectable and IFN-g levels did not differ between clinical forms and severities of Chagas' disease. However, we found IL-2 higher levels in the 25 non-controlled patients than in the 66 controlled individuals (p < 0,001). We suggest that IL-2 dosage may be useful as an indicator of the need for more aggressive procedures.

Multiresponsive supramolecular systems for information processing at the molecular level

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Química Sustentável

Cost efficiency in the Portuguese water sector: The case of multimunicipal systems operating at the bulk level

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Serum lipids of pemphigus foliaceus patients on long-term glucocorticoid therapy

Endemic pemphigus foliaceus, and long-term corticotherapy may affect serum lipid levels. The aim of this study was to compare serum lipids of pemphigus foliaceus patients on glucocorticoid therapy to a healthy control group. Fifteen patients receiving prednisone (0.33 ± 0.22mg/kg) for at least 12 months and 15 controls were submitted to 48-h food intake records, anthropometry, and biochemical measurements. Data were compared by chi2, Mann-Whitney and Student "t" tests. The groups were matched for gender, age, weight, body mass index, arm circumference and triceps skin fold. No differences were observed in relation to energy, fat, protein and carbohydrate daily intakes, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, uric acid, and serum creatinine levels. Pemphigus foliaceus patients had higher triglyceride [159 (64-371) vs. 100 (45-133) mg/dl], VLDL [32 (13-74) vs. 20 (9-114) mg/dl] and ESR [44 (9-87) vs. 7 (1-30) mm/h] levels than controls, probably due to metabolic effects of inflammatory disease and corticotherapy.

Nitric oxide levels are not changed in saliva of patients infected with hepatitis C virus

The aim of this investigation was to determine nitric oxide metabolite levels in saliva samples from hepatitis C virus-positive patients in an attempt to test the hypothesis if increased levels of nitric oxide metabolites correlates with the presence of HCV-RNA in saliva. Saliva of 39 HCV-positive patients and 13 HCV-negative patients, without clinical or laboratorial evidence of liver disease were tested for nitric oxide metabolites. HCV-RNA was detected in serum and saliva by a RT-PCR method and nitric oxide level was determined by evaluation of its stable degradation products, nitrate and nitrite. No differences were found between the concentration of nitrite in saliva from HCV patients and controls, in despite of the presence or not of HCV RNA in saliva. Patients with HCV and cirrhosis had higher concentrations of nitrite but not significantly different from the control group or the groups of anti-HCV patients without cirrhosis. Increased levels of nitrite were not detected in anti-HCV positive patients, an indirect indication that chronic sialoadenitis are infrequent in these patients or occurs with low intensity not sufficient to increase nitric oxide metabolite levels in saliva.

Cytokine serum levels in patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus with and without Trypanosoma cruzi coinfection

This study assessed the number of CD4 T lymphocytes, the parasitemia and serum levels of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-4 and IL-10 of patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human immunodeficiency virus/Chagas' disease coinfection. CD4 T lymphocytes were low in the two groups of patients, although significantly lower in patients without Chagas' disease. Serum levels of IFN-gamma, IL-4 and TNF-alpha were significantly higher in patients with HIV/Chagas' disease. IL-4/IFN-gamma ratios were higher in patients with HIV/Chagas' disease, which showed a clear balance in favor of Th2-like cytokines in this group of patients. This Th2 balance was higher in patients with detectable parasitemia. We conclude that, although immunosuppression was observed, with CD4 T lymphocytes bellow 200/µm³, these patients did not display reactivation of T. cruzi infection and that a balance favorable to Th2 was associated with the presence of parasitemia.

Factors associated with Leptospira sp infection in a large urban center in northeastern Brazil

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that has emerged to cause epidemics in urban communities in developing countries. However, little is known about the infection in the general population. A seroprevalence survey was performed on a random sample of 1,390 subjects in Salvador, Brazil. Data on environmental and socioeconomic factors were collected. The microagglutination test of serum samples was used to show any prior Leptospira infection. The overall seroprevalence was 12.4%. Among the seropositive individuals, 111 (61%) had high titers for serovars of the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup. Seroprevalence increased with age and was similar for males and females. A positive correlation between Leptospira infection and low educational level was found. These findings indicate that a significant proportion of this urban population is exposed to pathogenic Leptospira. Public health actions for leptospirosis control will need to target not only the traditional groups at risk of infection with severe forms of this disease, but also the general population that is at risk.