Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Outbreak,Brazil, December 2009–January 2010

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome occurred in the Sobradinho Indian settlement of the Kayabí ethnic group in northern Mato Grosso during December 2009–January 2010. We conducted a retrospective study to clarify the outbreak’s epidemiologic and clinical characteristics. Results suggest a relationship between the outbreak and deforestation and farming expansion in indigenous areas.     

Structural polymorphism of the mannose‐binding lectin 2 (MBL2 ) gene in HCV‐infected patients with a serological marker for thyroid autoimmunity

We studied the association of the mannose‐binding lectin‐2 (MBL2) polymorphism with anti‐thyroid antibodies (ATA) in hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected Brazilian patients (n = 162) and 124 healthy volunteers screened for ATA. Our results showed that patients with ATA had higher frequency of genotype 00 than controls. MBL may play a role as disease modifier in HCV infection.     

Prime-boost Vaccination based on DNA and Protein-loaded Microspheres for Tuberculosis Prevention

We evaluated the use of a vaccine formulation based on a mixture of two different PLGA microspheres, composed by faster and slower release profiles, containing DNA encoding hsp65 and the recombinant hsp65 protein, respectively, aiming to DNA priming and protein boost after a single dose vaccination. The combination of PLGA50:50 microspheres containing DNA-hsp65 and trehalose dimycolate (TDM) with PLGA75:25 microspheres containing recombinant hsp65 (prime-boost Me) was able to induce high levels of anti-hsp65 specific antibodies. The serum levels of these specific antibodies remained high during 90 days after vaccination, whereas the DNA Me formulation based only in DNA-hsp65 plus TDM-loaded microspheres was not able to sustain the high antibody levels during the same period. Production of IFN-γ was significant in animals vaccinated with both formulations, while the prime-boost Me vaccinated mice sustained higher levels of this cytokine during all the evaluation period. Thus, prime-boost strategy by using biodegradable microspheres seems to be a promising strategy to stimulate long-lasting immune response.     

Building a Open Source Framework for Virtual Medical Training

This paper presents a framework to build medical training applications by using virtual reality and a tool that helps the class instantiation of this framework. The main purpose is to make easier the building of virtual reality applications in the medical training area, considering systems to simulate biopsy exams and make available deformation, collision detection, and stereoscopy functionalities. The instantiation of the classes allows quick implementation of the tools for such a purpose, thus reducing errors and offering low cost due to the use of open source tools. Using the instantiation tool, the process of building applications is fast and easy. Therefore, computer programmers can obtain an initial application and adapt it to their needs. This tool allows the user to include, delete, and edit parameters in the functionalities chosen as well as storing these parameters for future use. In order to verify the efficiency of the framework, some case studies are presented.     

Concentration of electrolytes in the sweat of malnourished children

The sweat test was performed by the method of Gibson and Cooke on 36 children with second and third degree malnutrition, aged from 2 months to 4 years. The results were compared with those from 32 healthy, well nourished controls in the same age range. Determinations were made of sodium and chloride concentrations, chloride/sodium ratio, and the sum of the concentrations of the two electrolytes in each sample. The malnourished children were found to have higher sodium and chloride concentrations than the well nourished ones. None of the normal or malnourished children had a sweat chloride value greater than 60 mmol/l; chloride values within a suspicious range (between 40 and 60 mmol/l) were found in two malnourished children. Two well nourished controls and six malnourished children showed suspicious sweat sodium concentrations; in one child with third degree malnutrition the sodium content was greater than 60 mmol/l. In all results in the suspicious range, or greater than 60 mmol/l, the chloride/sodium ratio was less than 1, and the sum of the two electrolytes was below 140 mmol/l. Based on these results, we conclude that malnourished children have raised sweat sodium and chloride concentrations when compared with well nourished children. The electrolyte values for most of them are not in a suspicious range or consistent with a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Unlike that found in cystic fibrosis, the sodium/chloride ratio in our subjects was less than 1 and the sum of both electrolytes never exceeded 140 mmol/l.     

Role of NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase in the hypoxic accumulation and metabolism of BRU59-21, a technetium-99m-nitroimidazole for imaging tumor hypoxia

Nitroimidazoles labeled with technetium-99m are being investigated as non-invasive markers of tumor hypoxia. They are bioreductive compounds that require enzymatic reduction for retention in hypoxic cells, but little is known about the cellular factors affecting their accumulation in hypoxic cells. If the absolute accumulation of hypoxia markers is affected by enzyme levels, an inaccurate assessment of the hypoxic cell fraction in tumors may occur. BRU59-21, (99m)Tc-oxo[[3,3,9, 9-tetramethyl-6-[(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]5-oxa-4, 8-diazadioximato]-(3-)-N,N',N",N"'] technetium (V), a technetium-99m-nitroimidazole that is being studied as a potential marker of tumor hypoxia, was used in the present study to evaluate the effect of NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase (EC 1.6.2.4) levels on BRU59-21 accumulation and metabolism. Metabolism of BRU59-21 in hypoxic cellular lysates derived from Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase was 8-fold greater than in control cells. This effect required the presence of exogenous NADPH. The increased metabolism of BRU59-21 in lysates overexpressing NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase was inhibited at 4 degrees and by the addition of NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase inhibitors. The addition of inhibitors of other nitroreductase enzymes had no effect on BRU59-21 metabolism in these lysates. When the accumulation and metabolism of BRU59-21 were studied in stirred suspension cultures, it was found that cells overexpressing NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase exhibited about a 3-fold increase in both the hypoxic metabolism and the accumulation of BRU59-21. These findings suggest that NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase is an important enzyme in BRU59-21 metabolism in model systems of tumor hypoxia.