Serological studies on schistosomiasis mansoni in the northeast Brazil (I)

Sera from the patients (N = 10) with schistosomiasis mansoni of the hospital of Federal University of Pernambuco, the Schistosoma mansoni egg-positive (N = 51) and -negative (N = 452) inhabitants in Cabo City area, out-patients (N = 37) of the IMIP hospital and Japanese immigrants (N = 127) in Petrolina City area of northeast Brazil as well as Japanese healthy subjects (N = 30) were examined by serological tests including an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with antigens prepared from eggs (ELISA-egg) and adult worms (ELISA-adult). The ELISA with egg or adult antigen correctly identified 100% of the uninfected individuals lived in non-endemic area of schistosomiasis. Moreover, when examined cross-reactivity of our ELISA with sera isolated from 78 subjects infected with various intestinal parasitic infections, only one of these sera reacted with the egg and adult antigens. On the examination of 51 sera from the egg-positive subjects, the ELISA-egg revealed the highest sensitivity (98.0%), whereas a large number of false negative reactions of ELISA-adult, Ouchterlony method using adult antigen, circumoval precipitation and immediate intradermal skin test were observed. A low sensitivity of these serologic tests except for ELISA-egg appears to be primarily due to their inability to detect antibody in the sera from egg-positive infantiles. There was no positive correlation between the absorbance values of these two types of ELISA among the sera isolated from ELISA-positive subjects. Rather, by the reactivity of these sera to egg or adult antigen, they could be divided into two subgroups; one reacted more positively with egg antigen and the other with adult antigen. Moreover, it was confirmed that the sera from young subjects (under 20 years old) appear to be highly reactive to the egg antigen than did aged ones. These data suggest that the ELISA with egg antigen, but not with the adult antigen, appears to be useful for the serological survey of schistosomiasis mansoni in the endemic area of northeast Brazil.     

Evaluation of the echocardiogram as an epidemiologic tool in an asymptomatic population.

An asymptomatic adult population of 196 men and women was studied with the echocardiogram to derive age- and sex-specific "normal" values for a number of clinically used echocardiograhic variables. The results are in general agreement with previously published normal values. Body position during the examination, age and sex influence the echocardiographic results; body surface area correction normalized most of these effects. The prevalence of occult abnormalities determined by the echocardiogram is 7%; the most common finding was mitral valve prolapse. Inter- and intraobserver variability was assessed. The interobserver differences found on analysis are statistically, but not clinically , significant. The echocardiogram appears to be a suitable tool to use in epidemiologic studies to detect selected cardiac abnormalities, but is limited for this purpose because some subjects in such a population cannot be adequately examined.     

Combined remote ischemic perconditioning and local postconditioning on liver ischemia–reperfusion injury

Background

Remote ischemic perconditioning (rPER) is the newest technique described to mitigate ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury. Local postconditioning (POS) is also an effective technique for this purpose. It is uncertain if adding local POS to rPER provides superior liver protection, so we tested this hypothesis.

Materials and methods

Twenty five Wistar rats were assigned into five groups: sham, IR, POS, rPER, and rPER + POS. Animals were subjected to liver ischemia for 60 min. POS consisted of four cycles of 5-min liver perfusion followed by 5-min liver ischemia (40 min total) after the major ischemic period. rPER consisted of four cycles of 5-min hindlimb ischemia followed by 5 min hindlimb perfusion contemporaneously to major liver ischemic period, during its last 40 min. After 2 h, median and left lobes were harvested for malondialdehyde and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) measurement, and blood for the measurement of serum transaminases.

Results

All tissue conditioning techniques were able to reduce transaminases serum levels, having no differences among them. All tissue conditioning techniques were able to reduce hepatic tissue MDA level; however, only rPER + POS had higher values than SHAM. All tissue conditioning techniques also enhanced TEAC; however, only POS had lower TEAC than SHAM.

Conclusions

rPER appears as the most promising technique to avoid IR injury. This technique reduced oxidative stress of cell membranes and lowered transaminases serum level. There was no additive protection when POS and rPER were held together.     

Sequential Swallowing of Liquid in Elderly Adults: Cup or Straw?

This article describes the study of the characteristics of sequential swallowing of 100 ml of liquid (dyed water) in two swallowing trials, directly from a cup and through a straw, in healthy elderly individuals. The aim of the study was to determine whether differences in the swallowing pattern are influenced by the type of utensil used. The subjects were subjected to clinical assessment and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. The research found that intake from the cup showed a significantly lower median as regards time to drink the total volume. The final intake volume was significantly larger from the cup. A statistically significant difference was found in the oral spillage of liquid, which was notably higher in the cup trial. Despite the presence of residue in the valleculae and pyriform sinuses, in neither trial was there penetration or aspiration of liquid. The straw has a favorable influence on the quality of the sequential swallowing of liquid in regard to bolus containment within the oral cavity, which was better with that utensil. The cup provides a higher final volume in a shorter time for intake but there is more fluid spillage.     

Escore de Cálcio Coronário e Estratificação do Risco de Doença Arterial Coronariana em Pacientes com Acidente Vascular Encefálico Isquêmico Aterosclerótico e não-Aterosclerótico

BackgroundIschemic Stroke (IS) and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) frequently coexist and share atherosclerotic disease risk factors. According to the American Heart Association, IS subtypes may be considered CAD risk equivalents, but the evidence for non-atherosclerotic IS is uncertain. Additionally, the Coronary Calcium Score (CCS) is an accurate marker to address CAD risk; however, CCS distribution between IS subtypes is not well characterized.ObjectivesTo compare the CCS between atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic IS groups; and to determine which covariates were associated with high CCS in IS.MethodsThis cross-sectional design included all patients with IS, 45 to 70 years of age at the time of the stroke, consecutively admitted to a rehabilitation hospital between August 2014 and December 2016, without prevalent CAD. All patients underwent CT scanning for CCS measurement. CCS≥100 was considered a high risk for CAD, with a significance level of p<0.05.ResultsFrom the 244 studied patients (mean age 58.4±6.8 years; 49% female), 164 (67%) had non-atherosclerotic etiology. The proportions of CCS≥100 were similar between the atherosclerotic and the non-atherosclerotic groups (33% [n=26] x 29% [n=47]; p= 0.54). Among all IS patients, only age ≥60 years was independently associated with CCS≥100 (OR 3.5; 95%CI 1.7-7.1), accounting for hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, sedentarism, and family history of CAD.ConclusionAtherosclerotic IS did not present a greater risk of CAD when compared to non-atherosclerotic IS according to CCS. Only age ≥60 years, but not etiology, was independently associated with CCS≥100.     

A graphene-based hybrid material with quantum bits prepared by the double Langmuir–Schaefer method

The scalability and stability of molecular qubits deposited on surfaces is a crucial step for incorporating them into upcoming electronic devices. Herein, we report on the preparation and characterisation of a molecular quantum bit, copper(ii)dibenzoylmethane [Cu(dbm)₂], deposited by a modified Langmuir–Schaefer (LS) technique onto a graphene-based substrate. A double LS deposition was used for the preparation of a few-layer-graphene (FLG) on a Si/SiO₂ substrate with subsequent deposition of the molecules. Magnetic properties were probed by high-frequency electron spin resonance (HF-ESR) spectroscopy and found maintained after deposition. Additional spectroscopic and imaging techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy (RS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed to characterise the deposited sample. Our approach demonstrated the possibility to utilise a controlled wet-chemistry protocol to prepare an array of potential quantum bits on a disordered graphene-based substrate. The deployed spectroscopic techniques showed unambiguously the robustness of our studied system with a potential to fabricate large-scale, intact, and stable quantum bits.

Graphene-based hybrid material with array of copper(ii)-based quantum bits was prepared by a wet-chemistry protocol and characterised by HF-ESR, XPS, Raman, and AFM.