Development of twenty-one polymorphic microsatellite markers for the fungus-growing ant,Mycocepurus goeldii (Formicidae: Attini), using Illumina paired-end genomic sequencing

Obligate social parasites, or inquilines, exploit the colonies of free-living social species and evolved at least 80 times in ants alone. Most species of the highly specialized inquiline social parasites are rare, only known from one or very few, geographically isolated populations, and the sexual offspring of most inquiline species mates inside the maternal colony. Therefore, inquiline populations are believed to be small and genetically homogeneous due to inbreeding. To comparatively study the genetic diversity of the socially parasitic fungus-growing ant, Mycocepurus castrator, and its only known host species, Mycocepurus goeldii, and to infer the parasite’s conservation status, we developed 21 microsatellite markers for the host species, M. goeldii, and evaluated whether these markers cross-amplify in the social parasite, M. castrator. We isolated and characterized a total of 21 microsatellite loci for M. goeldii. The loci were screened for 24 individuals from geographically distant and genetically divergent populations in Brazil. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 18 to 4, the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.25 to 0.636, and the probability of identity values ranged from 0.011 to 0.146. Preliminary analyses show that these markers cross amplify in the closely related social parasite species M. castrator. These newly developed loci provide tools for studying the genetic diversity and the evolution of social parasitism in the Mycocepurus host–parasite system.     

Factors associated to persistence with hormonal therapy in women with breast cancer

OBJECTIVE

To analyze factors associated with persistence to breast cancer hormone therapy in order to contribute to the quality of care improvement.

METHODS

Retrospective longitudinal study, based on secondary data. A cohort of 5,861 women with breast cancer registered in different datasets of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute and the Brazilian Unified Health System were analyzed. All women were treated at this hospital, which provides free medication, and the follow-up period was from January 2004 to October 2010. Sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical variables, as well as aspects of lifestyle and health care, were considered in the explanation of variations in the persistence to hormone therapy, applying the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTS

Overall persistence to hormone therapy was 79.0% at the end of the first year, and 31.0% in five years of treatment. The risk of discontinuing hormone therapy was higher among women under 35 years old, with more advanced disease (stages III and IV), alcohol drinkers, those undergoing chemotherapy, and for each additional hospitalization, exam performed, and month between diagnosis and beginning of treatment. In the opposite direction, the risk of discontinuity was lower among women who had at least finished high school, those with partner, with a family history of cancer, those who had undergone breast surgery, and who had outpatient visits to a Mastologist, and a Clinical Oncologist.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of the women with breast cancer (69.0%) do not persist with hormone treatment for the five years recommended, increasing the risk of inadequate clinical results. The results show aspects of care that can provide better results.     

Use transition between illegal drugs among Brazilian university students

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to test whether the first use of an illicit drug increases the chance of first use of other illicit drugs.

Method

The transitions from the first use of a drug to the first use of another drug were analyzed. Comparisons were made between first drug users and non-users. Survival analysis methods were used to compare the cumulative probability of second drug use after adjusting for socio-demographic covariates and the intermediate use of alcohol and/or tobacco. A total of 12,721 Brazilian university students participated in this study.

Results

Inhalants and marijuana were used prior to the use of several other drugs, whereas the opposite pattern was not found. Ecstasy was used before other drugs in several instances. Other well-examined drugs, such as amphetamines, cocaine and hallucinogens, were used both before and after other illicit drugs without any marked predominance for either of the two roles.

Conclusions

This study supports the role of the use of marijuana and inhalants almost exclusively before the use of other illicit drugs, whereas the use of ecstasy has an opposite role. These roles could be linked to the prevalence of lifetime use and whether individuals were at an earlier or later age during experimentation.     

Balloon Cinch Deformity during Angioplasty Procedures: An Indication for Impending Rupture

Percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty (PTA) is a commonly performed procedure for hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction including thrombosis. While PTA is generally safe, balloon rupture during the procedure is a potential complication. Because such a rupture can cause damage to the blood vessel, indication of an imminent balloon rupture might help avoid such a complication. This analysis reports on six PTA procedures that were complicated by balloon rupture. All cases demonstrated terminal (caudal/cranial) cinch deformation. There was a loss of sharp terminal tapering and its replacement with banana silhouette before the balloon rupture. Importantly, the contour deformation and balloon rupture occurred at a pressure that was lower than the rated burst pressure. The cinch deformity can be used as an indication for impending balloon rupture. We suggest deflation of balloons that demonstrate shape deformations to avoid vascular injury.