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Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae infection in Schwann cells. Axonopathy is considered a hallmark of leprosy neuropathy and is associated with the irreversible motor and sensory loss seen in infected patients. Although M. leprae is recognized to provoke Schwann cell dedifferentiation, the mechanisms involved in the contribution of this phenomenon to neural damage remain unclear. In the present work, we used live M. leprae to infect the immortalized human Schwann cell line ST8814. The neurotoxicity of infected Schwann cell-conditioned medium (SCCM) was then evaluated in a human neuroblastoma cell lineage and mouse neurons. ST8814 Schwann cells exposed to M. leprae affected neuronal viability by deviating glial

The East Timor Hearts Fund has provided cardiac services in Timor-Leste since 2010, conducting three clinics yearly.To develop collaborative telehealth services between Australia and Timor-Leste in the context of international border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Scoping discussions identified major challenges (structural, patient related and medical system related). At two pilot clinics, patient history, investigation and management were collated. Clinic metrics were compared with an index face-to-face clinic in February 2019. Post-clinic discussions identified areas of success and shortfall in the conduct of the telehealth clinics.Twenty-three patients were reviewed at the online telehealth clinics held onsite at Timorese medical facilities. Compared with an index 2019 clinic, there were markedly lower numbers of new referrals (2 vs 190 patients; 8.7% vs 59.4%). Patients seen at the online clinic were predominantly female (17/23; 73.9%) and Dili based (18/23; 78.3%), with a mean age of 25.9 ± 7.2 years. The majority (12/23; 52.2%) had isolated rheumatic mitral valve disease. Investigations including electrocardiography, pathology, echocardiography and 6-min walk tests were conducted in select patients. Medication advice was provided for 10 (43.5%) patients. Eleven (47.8%) patients were deemed to require urgent intervention. Post-clinic discussions indicated general satisfaction with telehealth clinics, although frustration at the current inability to provide interventional services was highlighted.Our pilot telehealth clinics indicate that capacity-building telemedicine can be rapidly implemented in an emergency setting internationally. Clinic design benefits from careful identification and resolution of challenges to optimise flow. Cardiac patients in Timor-Leste have a significant burden of disease amenable to intervention.

Endemic corruption and fervent Christianity dominate Papua New Guinea (PNG) public discourse. We draw on ethnographic material—including the emplacement of a King James V Bible in Parliament—to contextualise corruption discourse and Christian measures against corruption within evolving Papua New Guinean ideas about witnessing. Both corruption discourse and Christianity invoke a specific kind of observer: a disembodied, reliable witness capable of discerning people’s intentions. Established ethnographic and linguistic data from PNG meanwhile document witnesses as imagined to be embodied, interested, lacking a privileged relationship to truth, and thus susceptible to coercion. Recasting the PNG corruption issue in terms of witnessing foregrounds a perceived cultural conflict between inclusion and duty; it also reveals how and why the Christian God was invoked—using debt and obligation rhetoric—to end corruption at the national scale.

OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency and factors associated of the provision of nutrition support (NS) in the last 30 days of life in patients with advanced cancer in the palliative or non-palliative setting. METHODS Retrospective cohort study in palliative and non-palliative care units at a specialized cancer center for oncology in Brazil. The use of oral nutrition supplements (ONS) and enteral (EN) and parenteral (PN) nutrition in the 30 days before death were assessed. RESULTS The 239 patients included were predominantly older (>60 years; 63.2%) and female (61.1%). The use of ONS was lower in palliative than non-palliative care during the last 30 (52% vs. 6%), 7 (42% vs. 4%), and 3 (23% vs. 2%) days before death (all P < .001). The use of EN and PN was lower in palliative care, decreasing with the approach of death. The independent factors associated with ONS in non-palliative care were (odds ratio): breast tumor (3.03), hypoalbuminemia (1.10), and nutrition risk (16.98); in palliative care, only the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) ≥40% (1.24) was associated to the use of ONS. The use of EN and PN was associated with head-neck (HN) tumor in both settings (5.41) in non-palliative and (8.74) in palliative. Others independent factors were: hypoalbuminemia (3.12) in non-palliative care and KPS (1.31) in palliative care. CONCLUSIONS The use of NS near the end of life was high in the non-palliative and less frequent in palliative care setting. The factors associated with NS differed according to the clinical oncology setting, with one of the factors in palliative care being a better prognosis.

Leprosy is a much-feared incapacitating infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae or M lepromatosis, annually affecting roughly 200,000 people worldwide. During host-pathogen interaction, M leprae subverts the immune response, leading to development of disease. Throughout the last few decades, the impact of energy metabolism on the control of intracellular pathogens and leukocytic differentiation has become more evident. Mitochondria play a key role in regulating newly-discovered immune signaling pathways by controlling redox metabolism and the flow of energy besides activating inflammasome, xenophagy, and apoptosis. Likewise, this organelle, whose origin is probably an alphaproteobacterium, directly controls the intracellular pathogens attempting to invade its niche, a feature conquered at the expense of billions of years of coevolution. In the present review, we discuss the role of reduced host cell mitochondrial activity during M leprae infection and the consequential fates of M leprae and host innate immunity. Conceivably, inhibition of mitochondrial energy metabolism emerges as an overlooked and novel mechanism developed by M leprae to evade xenophagy and the host immune response.

Herein, we describe a unique case of concomitant angioinvasive pulmonary aspergillosis due to Aspergillus fumigatus and yellow fever in a free-ranging howler monkey (Alouatta sp). Lung samples were negative for influenza viruses A and B.

To describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of participants as well as discontinuation and mortality rates in a cardiac rehabilitation programme (CRP) tailored to Chagas disease (CD).Participants underwent functional capacity, anthropometry and cardiac function evaluations before beginning a CRP. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were performed to investigate the associations between clinical and sociodemographic characteristics at baseline with discontinuation rates and deaths.Forty-two patients were enrolled in the CRP (61.9% men, mean age of 58.1 ± 11.8 years). During a median follow-up period of 10.8 months, 74% discontinued and 14% died while enrolled in CRP. 34% of the patients who discontinued CRP died during follow-up. White race (HR = 0.09; 95% CI 0.01-1.00), right ventricular systolic dysfunction (HR = 10.54; 95% CI 1.24-89.50) and oxygen pulse (HR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.48-0.99) were independently associated with death while enrolled in CRP. Married status (HR = 0.44; 95% CI 0.21-0.95) was independently associated with discontinuation rates from CRP. VOIn this population, sociodemographic aspects and severity of CD were important determinants of CRP discontinuation and mortality.Décrire les caractéristiques cliniques et sociodémographiques des participants ainsi que les taux d'abandon et de décès dans un programme de réadaptation cardiaque (PRC) adapté à la maladie de Chagas (MC). MÉTHODES: Les participants ont subi des évaluations de la capacité fonctionnelle, de l'anthropométrie et de la fonction cardiaque avant de commencer un PRC. Des modèles de risques proportionnels de Cox univariés et multivariés ont été appliqués pour étudier les associations entre les caractéristiques cliniques et sociodémographiques au départ avec les taux d'abandon et les décès. RÉSULTATS: 42 patients ont été enrôlés dans le PRC (61,9% d'hommes, âge moyen de 58,1 ± 11,8 ans). Au cours d'une période médiane de suivi de 10,8 mois, 74% ont abandonné et 14% sont décédés durant leur enrôlement au PRC. 34% des patients qui ont arrêté le PRC sont décédés au cours du suivi. La race blanche (HR = 0,09; IC95%: 0,01-1,00), le dysfonctionnement systolique ventriculaire droite (HR = 10,54; IC95%: 1,24-89,50) et le pouls d'oxygène (HR = 0,69; IC95%: 0,48-0,99) étaient indépendamment associés avec le décès lors de l’enrôlement au PRC. Le statut marié (HR = 0,44; IC95%: 0,21-0,95) était indépendamment associé aux taux d'abandon de la CRP. Le pic de VO2 (HR = 0,85; IC95%: 0,74-0,98) et l'arrêt du PRC pour des raisons liées à la MC (HR = 8,33; IC95%: 1,91 à 36,27) étaient les variables indépendamment associées au décès après l'arrêt du PRC.Dans cette population, les aspects sociodémographiques et la sévérité de la MC étaient des déterminants importants de l'arrêt du PRC et du décès.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into usable chemicals is a promising path to address climate change and energy challenges. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of unique coinage metal (Cu, Ag, and Au) nanodendrites (NDs) via a facile galvanic replacement reaction (GRR), which can be effective electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2 in an ethanolamine (EA) solution. Each metal ND surface was directly grown on glassy-carbon (GC) substrates from a mixture of Zn dust and the respective precursor solution. The electrocatalytic activities of the synthesized ND surfaces were optimized for CO2 reduction in EA solution by varying their composition. It was determined that a 0.05 mol fraction of EA exhibited the highest catalytic activity for all metal NDs. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques showed that metal-ND electrodes possessed higher current densities, lower onset potentials and lower charge-transfer resistances for CO2 reduction than their smooth polycrystalline electrode counterparts, indicating improved CO2 reduction catalytic activity. It was determined, using FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, that formate was produced as a result of the CO2 reduction.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:45:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-08-01 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Objective: To evaluate the phenotypic features of the masticatory biomechanics in atypical subjects with Down syndrome (DS). Its influence was analysed on sleep disorders, body adiposity and its risks, and some physicochemical properties of saliva. Methods: Seventy subjects were enrolled to assess masticatory biomechanical function and divided into two groups: DS and control groups. Electrical activities of the masseter and temporal muscles (at rest and in maximum voluntary clench-MVC), maximum bite force-MBF and maximum mouth opening-MMO were investigated. Among the atypical subjects, just 24 participants underwent the anthropometry, the polysomnography II and the saliva testing (salivary flow rate-SFR, buffer capacity-BC and salivary cortisol levels, morning/SC-AM and night/SC-PM). Results: MVC and MBF values showed high statistical significance in the control group (P

Introduction Allergen‐specific immunotherapy (AIT) represents a curative approach for treating allergies. In the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, Blomia tropicalis (Blo t 5 and Blo t 21) is the likely dominant source of indoor allergens. Aim To generate a hypoallergenic Blo t 5/Blo t 21 hybrid molecule that can treat allergies caused by B tropicalis. Methods Using in silico design of B tropicalis hybrid proteins, we chose two hybrid proteins for heterologous expression. Wild‐type Blo t 5/Blo t 21 hybrid molecule and a hypoallergenic version, termed BTH1 and BTH2, respectively, were purified by ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography and characterized by physicochemical, as well as in vitro and in vivo immunological, experiments. Results BTH1, BTH2 and the parental allergens were purified to homogeneity and characterized in detail. BTH2 displayed the lowest IgE reactivity that induced basophil degranulation using sera from allergic rhinitis and asthmatic patients. BTH2 essentially presented the same endolysosomal degradation pattern as the shortened rBlo t 5 and showed a higher resistance towards degradation than the full‐length Blo t 5. In vivo immunization of mice with BTH2 led to the production of IgG antibodies that competed with human IgE for allergen binding. Stimulation of splenocytes from BTH2‐immunized mice produced higher levels of IL‐10 and decreased secretion of IL‐4 and IL‐5. In addition, BTH2 stimulated T‐cell proliferation in PBMCs isolated from allergic patients, with secretion of higher levels of IL‐10 and lower levels of IL‐5 and IL‐13, when compared to parental allergens. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance BTH2 is a promising hybrid vaccine candidate for immunotherapy of Blomia allergy. However, further pre‐clinical studies addressing its efficacy and safety are needed.

The aim of this study was to integrate the available data published on Liposarcomas (LPSs) of the oral cavity into an analysis of its clinical features, treatment modalities, and prognostic factors. An electronic search was undertaken in January 2019. The eligibility criteria included publications that had enough clinical and histological information to confirm the diagnosis. Forty-five publications (104 LPSs) were included. The lesion was more prevalent in males from the fifth to seventh decades of life. Treatment (P = .03) and distant metastasis (P = .0001) were independently associated with survival. A lower possibility of recurrence was statistically associated with age (younger patients) (P = .03), tumor size (smaller than 2.8 cm) (P = .001), and treatment (radical surgery) (P = .04). LPS presents a good survival for patients after 5 years of follow-up (66.4%). Patients who were treated with conservative surgery and presented with distant metastasis showed poor prognosis.