Use of a glyphosate-based herbicide-induced nephrotoxicity model to investigate a panel of kidney injury biomarkers

Accidental or intentional ingestion of glyphosate surfactant-based herbicides, like Roundup^®, leads to nephrotoxicity as well as death. In this study, a panel of kidney injury biomarkers was evaluated in terms of suitability to detect acute kidney injury and dysfunction. The Roundup^® intoxication model involved oral administration of glyphosate to rats at dose levels of 250, 500, 1200 and 2500 mg/kg. Urinary and plasma biomarker patterns were investigated at 8, 24 and 48 h after dosing. Biomarkers were quantified by absolute concentration; by normalising to urine creatinine; and by calculating the excretion rate. The diagnostic performances of each method in predicting of acute kidney injury were compared. By Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis of the selected biomarkers, only urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) best predicted histological changes at 8 h (best cut-off point > 0.00029 μg/ml). Plasma creatinine performed better than other biomarkers at 24 h (best cut-off point > 0.21 mg/dl). Urinary KIM-1 was the best early biomarker of kidney injury in this glyphosate-induced nephrotoxicity model.     

Impact of HIV Counseling and Testing on HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men: The South Beach Health Survey

The impact of HIV counseling and testing on sexual risk-taking and related behaviors reported by HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) was examined in a cross-sectional study conducted among a representative sample of residents living in a resort area. Participants provided specimens of oral mucosal transudate for HIV-antibody testing, were interviewed in their homes, and completed a self-administered questionnaire. Specimens were tested by modified ELISA and, if repeatedly positive, confirmed by Western blot. Of 205 men enrolled, 51 (24.9%) tested positive for antibody to HIV. All 51 had been counseled and tested for antibody to HIV-1 (median = 4 tests); 37 (74%) of 50 reported that their most recent test was positive. Twenty (39.2%) said they had engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse in the past year; 15 (29.4%) engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse with partners who may have been susceptible to HIV infection. Men who reported that their last HIV-antibody test was positive were three times more likely to have engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse in the past year (45.9%) as those who did not know they were infected with HIV (15.4%). Counseling and testing is ineffective as a measure for promoting behavior change among HIV-positive MSM in South Beach. More effective social and behavioral interventions must be developed, implemented, and evaluated.     

Neuropsychological characteristics of Italian children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Background: Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) display many problems ranging from deficits in intelligence to behavioral difficulties. Thus, many studies have aimed at defining the neuropsychological characteristics of children with FASD. The current article describes the neuropsychological characteristics of Italian children with severe diagnosis within FASD and compares them with controls. It was expected that intellectual functioning, language comprehension, academic skills, and inattention/hyperactivity would discriminate children with FASD from randomly selected peers without FASD. Methods: This article presents data from a second cohort of children examined in 2005 as part of an in‐school epidemiological study of FASD in Italy. Of 80 children, 23 diagnosed with a FASD, and 57 randomly selected control children from the same first‐grade classes, participated. After screening for FASD via growth and dysmorphology, the children were administered a test of general intelligence (WISC‐R) as well as tests of nonverbal reasoning (Raven Colored Progressive Matrices), language comprehension (Rustioni), academic achievement (IPDA), and problem behavior (Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale). Results: Children diagnosed with a FASD achieved lower scores than control children on Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ. Profile analysis of the WISC‐R indicates overall differences between the groups. However, some intact functioning within the FASD group was found, as the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests were similar to the controls. After an alpha adjustment to 0.004, the Block Design, Object Assembly, and Mazes subtests were significantly different from controls. On tests of nonverbal reasoning, language comprehension, and academic achievement, the children with a FASD scored significantly lower. Moreover, teachers rated children with a severe diagnosis within FASD as showing more inattentive symptoms than controls, while hyperactive/impulsive characteristics among children with a FASD were comparable with the control children. Significant correlations between head circumference, child dysmorphology, WISC‐R, and Raven CPM scores are also reported. Conclusions: This study indicates that a sample of Italian children with a FASD, when compared with control children, display poorer functioning on measures of general intelligence, nonverbal reasoning, academic achievement, and teacher‐rated problem behaviors. The findings also contribute to the formulation of a neuropsychological profile of children diagnosed with a FASD.     

Aberrant origin of the left coronary artery from the proximal right coronary artery: Diagnostic features and pre- and postoperative course

Summary: In this report, we present the pre and late postoperative course of a patient with severe angina secondary to aberrant origin or the left coronary artery from the proximal right coronary artery (Fig. 1). We illustrate the noninvasive diagnosis and evaluation of this patient by two-dimensional ultrasound and stress thallium imaging, and the pre and late postoperative angi-ographic and thallium perfusion findings.     

Elucidating the Mechanism of Absorption of Fast-Acting Insulin Aspart: The Role of Niacinamide

Pharmaceutical Research - The aim of this work is to investigate the roles of solute carrier family 22 member 18 (SLC22A18) in lipid metabolism and in establishing the tumor phenotype of HepG2...     

Bacteroides fragilis concealed in an infant with Escherichia coli meningitis

Anaerobic meningitis in infants is rare, therefore a high index of clinical suspicion is essential as routine methods for processing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) do not detect anaerobes and specific antimicrobial therapy is required. We present an infant with Escherichia coli meningitis where treatment‐resistance developed in association with culture negative purulent CSF. These features should have alerted us to the presence of anaerobes, prompting a search for the causes of polymicrobial meningitis in infants.     

Controlled release of transforming growth factor-β3 from cartilage-extra-cellular-matrix-derived scaffolds to promote chondrogenesis of human-joint-tissue-derived stem cells

The objective of this study was to develop a scaffold derived from cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) that could be used as a growth factor delivery system to promote chondrogenesis of stem cells. Dehydrothermal crosslinked scaffolds were fabricated using a slurry of homogenized porcine articular cartilage, which was then seeded with human infrapatellar-fat-pad-derived stem cells (FPSCs). It was found that these ECM-derived scaffolds promoted superior chondrogenesis of FPSCs when the constructs were additionally stimulated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β3. Cell-mediated contraction of the scaffold was observed, which could be limited by the additional use of 1-ethyl-3-3dimethyl aminopropyl carbodiimide (EDAC) crosslinking without suppressing cartilage-specific matrix accumulation within the construct. To further validate the utility of the ECM-derived scaffold, we next compared its chondro-permissive properties to a biomimetic collagen–hyaluronic acid (HA) scaffold optimized for cartilage tissue engineering (TE) applications. The cartilage-ECM-derived scaffold supported at least comparable chondrogenesis to the collagen–HA scaffold, underwent less contraction and retained a greater proportion of synthesized sulfated glycosaminoglycans. Having developed a promising scaffold for TE, with superior chondrogenesis observed in the presence of exogenously supplied TGF-β3, the final phase of the study explored whether this scaffold could be used as a TGF-β3 delivery system to promote chondrogenesis of FPSCs. It was found that the majority of TGF-β3 that was loaded onto the scaffold was released in a controlled manner over the first 10 days of culture, with comparable long-term chondrogenesis observed in these TGF-β3-loaded constructs compared to scaffolds where the TGF-β3 was continuously added to the media. The results of this study support the use of cartilage-ECM-derived scaffolds as a growth factor delivery system for use in articular cartilage regeneration.     

Preliminary report: skeletal muscle cell lipid and oxygen supply

In a group of 12 normal-weight, normotensive, nondiabetic adult females, the intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) to creatine ratio of the soleus muscle was determined using localized (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and related to skeletal muscle blood (and oxygen) supply (as assessed by near infrared spectroscopy [NIRS] of the forearm). A significant positive association was found between IMCL content and reoxygenation rate of forearm muscle hemoglobin (Hb) after 1 minute of ischemic exercise (r = .70, P = .01). The relative efficiency of skeletal muscle oxygen supply may be a determining factor of IMCL content in skeletal muscle.