Role of group A streptococcal IgG-binding proteins in triggering experimental glomerulonephritis in the rabbit

Our previous studies have indicated that the IgG-binding M-family proteins (IgGBP) of group A streptococci may be involved in eliciting experimental acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) in the rabbit. These surface proteins were also found to trigger production of anti-IgG, which might conceivably act to enhance renal deposition of immune complexes (IC). In the present study, a clinical isolate of serotype M22 (strain AL168), an isogenic double mutant deficient for both the IgGBPs Mrp and Emm, as well as mutants deficient in only one of the proteins were tested for capacity to induce glomerulonephritis. Streptococci to be used for injecting rabbits were heat-killed. Surface-bound IgG was removed by 1 M KSCN and cells were then repeatedly washed in PBS before use. Rabbits were injected intravenously with 109 cells three times a week for 8 weeks and, following one month of rest, for another 6 weeks. Deposits of IgG and C3 as well as induced chemokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 were traced in cryostat sections using specific antibodies and appropriate peroxidase-labelled anti-antibodies. In four rabbits immunized with the double mutant strain, no deposits were found, and as examined by TEM, only subtle and transient renal changes were observed. In contrast, the original strain AL168 induced pronounced inflammatory and degenerative glomerular changes in all four rabbits injected, and deposits of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 were found in mesangial and endothelial cells. Similar deposits and glomerular changes were seen in all eight rabbits injected with the mrp-emm+ mutant and in four out of seven animals receiving the mrp+emm- mutant. There was a highly significant correlation between high levels of circulating anti-IgG and development of APSGN. These results confirm an important role of streptococcal IgGBP in triggering experimental APSGN as earlier proposed by our group.     

Brief report: empathy and psychological adjustment in siblings of children with cancer

OBJECTIVE: To examine relationships between empathy, illness concepts, sibling relationship variables, and psychological adjustment among siblings of children with cancer. METHODS: Participants were 29 siblings and 14 children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Data included self- and parent-report questionnaires completed during active treatment. RESULTS: Siblings did not exhibit increased rates of behavior problems, but did display more social and academic difficulties. Empathy was a significant predictor of externalizing and total problems. Cancer knowledge was not related to adjustment, but was associated with empathy. Birth order of the child with cancer and closeness within the sibling relationship were associated with less positive adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Empathy may play an important role in sibling adjustment following the diagnosis of cancer. Specific sibling relationship and family variables may be helpful in identifying siblings who are at greater need for psychosocial intervention.     

Dietary Patterns During Pregnancy and Their Association with Gestational Weight Gain and Anthropometric Measurements at Birth

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Dietary patterns can influence maternal and child health outcomes. The study aims to characterize dietary patterns during pregnancy as well as to identify their...     

Web Data Mining: Validity of Data from Google Earth for Food Retail Evaluation

To overcome the challenge of obtaining accurate data on community food retail, we developed an innovative tool to automatically capture food retail data from Google Earth (GE). The proposed method is relevant to non-commercial use or scholarly purposes. We aimed to test the validity of web sources data for the assessment of community food retail environment by comparison to ground-truth observations (gold standard). A secondary aim was to test whether validity differs by type of food outlet and socioeconomic status (SES). The study area included a sample of 300 census tracts stratified by SES in two of the largest cities in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. The GE web service was used to develop a tool for automatic acquisition of food retail data through the generation of a regular grid of points. To test its validity, this data was compared with the ground-truth data. Compared to the 856 outlets identified in 285 census tracts by the ground-truth method, the GE interface identified 731 outlets. In both cities, the GE interface scored moderate to excellent compared to the ground-truth data across all of the validity measures: sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy (ranging from 66.3 to 100%). The validity did not differ by SES strata. Supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants yielded better results than other store types. To our knowledge, this research is the first to investigate using GE as a tool to capture community food retail data. Our results suggest that the GE interface could be used to measure the community food environment. Validity was satisfactory for different SES areas and types of outlets.     

Einfach und praktisch: rechtliche Grundlagen und Verhalten an Einsatzorten mit Verstorbenen

Notfall + Rettungsmedizin -     

Structural mass spectrometry: rapid methods for separation and analysis of peptide natural products

A significant challenge in natural product discovery is the initial discrimination of discrete secondary metabolites alongside functionally similar primary metabolic cellular components within complex biological samples. A property that has yet to be fully exploited for natural product identification and characterization is the gas-phase collision cross section, or, more generally, the mobility-mass correlation. Peptide natural products possess many of the properties that distinguish natural products, as they are frequently characterized by a high degree of intramolecular bonding and possess extended and compact conformations among other structural modifications. This report describes a rapid structural mass spectrometry technique based on ion mobility-mass spectrometry for the comparison of peptide natural products to their primary metabolic congeners using mobility-mass correlation. This property is empirically determined using ion mobility-mass spectrometry, applied to the analysis of linear versus modified peptides, and used to discriminate peptide natural products in a crude microbial extract. Complementary computational approaches are utilized to understand the structural basis for the separation of primary metabolism derived linear peptides from secondary metabolite cyclic and modified cyclic species. These findings provide a platform for enhancing the identification of secondary metabolic peptides with distinct mobility-mass ratios within complex biological samples.     

Antipsychotics increase vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) expression in thalamolimbic pathways

Recently the two vesicular-glutamate-transporters VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 have been cloned and characterized. VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 together label all glutamatergic neurons, but because of their distinct expression patterns in the brain they facilitate our ability to define between a VGLUT1-positive cortical and a VGLUT2-positive subcortical glutamatergic systems. We have previously demonstrated an increased cortical VGLUT1 expression as marker of antidepressant activity. Here, we assessed the effects of different psychotropic drugs on brain VGLUT2 mRNA and protein expression. The typical antipsychotic haloperidol, and the atypicals clozapine and risperidone increased VGLUT2 mRNA selectively in the central medial/medial parafascicular, paraventricular and intermediodorsal thalamic nuclei; VGLUT2 protein was accordingly amplified in paraventricular and ventral striatum and in prefrontal cortex. The antidepressants fluoxetine and desipramine and the sedative anxiolytic diazepam had no effect. These results highlight the implication of thalamo-limbic glutamatergic pathways in the action of antipsychotics. Increased VGLUT2 expression in these neurons might constitute a marker for antipsychotic activity and subcortical glutamate neurotransmission might be a possible novel target for future generation antipsychotics.