Characterisation of three Amerindian populations from Hidalgo State (Mexico) by 15 STR-PCR polymorphisms

The purpose of this study is to report allele frequency data of three ethnic Amerindian population samples: the Otomi (Hna-hnu) from eastern Sierra Madre and Ixmiquilpan valley and the Huasteco from La Huasteca. These groups were characterised by 15 STR-PCR polymorphisms (HumTH01, HumvWA, D18S51, HumTPOX, D19S433, D16S539, D13S317, D8S1179, D7S820, D5S818, HumFGA, CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358 and D21S11). No significant deviations in observed allelic frequencies from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found for all the studied systems. From the forensic point of view, the heterozygosity value, power of discrimination and the a priori chance of exclusion were calculated.

[Bacterial colonization and home mechanical ventilation: prevalence and risk factors]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence of bacterial contamination of ventilators and colonization of patients, the bacteria implicated, and predisposing factors in noninvasive home ventilation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Forty patients on a home noninvasive ventilation program (mean [SD] age: 63.1 [12] years; time on ventilation: 30.7 [25] months; daily use: 8.1 [2] hours) were enrolled in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Microbiological samples for semiquantitative cultures were swabbed from the ventilator (mask and tubing) and the nostrils. A questionnaire was completed on the underlying disease, time on the ventilation program, type of ventilator, presence of a humidifier, and attention to ventilator cleanliness and maintenance. We defined "colonization" as the presence of microorganisms in the nostrils without evidence of a host immune response, and "contamination" as the presence of surface microorganisms (on tubing or the nasal mask).

RESULTS

Potentially pathogenic bacteria were isolated from 6 ventilators (15%) and the nasal swabs of 10 patients (25%). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated one (in 5 ventilators and 6 patients--contamination coinciding with colonization in 3 cases). Other potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated were Proteus species (from the nostrils of 2 patients) and an unidentified gram-negative bacillus from the ventilator. On analysis by underlying disease, 60% of the patients with obesity had been colonized. No other findings of note were obtained for other diseases. Contamination and colonization correlated with attention to cleanliness and maintenance of the ventilator but not with type of ventilator, time on the ventilation program, or use of a humidifier.

CONCLUSIONS

Home mechanical ventilators are a potential source of nasal colonization. The most frequently encountered microorganism was S. aureus. The degree of ventilator cleaning and disinfection seems to affect contamination; thus it is necessary to impress on patients the need for adequate maintenance of their ventilators.

Vaginal misoprostol 800 μg every 12 h for second-trimester abortion

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 800 microg misoprostol every 12 h, up to three doses, for pharmacological second-trimester abortion. The misoprostol doses were always administered by doctors into the vagina. Two-hundred and sixty-nine women with gestations within 12 and 20 weeks were recruited into the study. The main outcomes measured were successful abortion (passage of fetus and placenta without surgery), side effects and mean drop in hemoglobin, vaginal bleeding and mean time of return of menstruation. Complete abortion occurred in 245/269 (91.1%, 95% confidence interval 87-94%) patients. Vaginal bleeding lasted 15.7 +/- 4.1 days. The mean drop in hemoglobin, calculated 24 h after abortion, were statistically significant (p = 0.0001), as also was the mean hemoglobin measured 14 days after abortion, but without clinical relevance. According to the results obtained, 800 microg of misoprostol administered every 12 h, up to a maximum of three doses, could be a valid method for abortion within 12 and 20 weeks of gestation.

Influence of the substrate on the ultrastructure of Pleurotus pulmonarius fruit body primordia

Pleurotus pulmonarius fruit body primordia (FBP) formed on potato extract agar (PEA) and wheat straw-based media (WS) were studied. When grown on PEA, FBP hyphae had a large number of vacuoles and less stainable cytoplasmic material. In contrast, when grown on WS, there was abundant cytoplasmic material and fewer vacuoles. FBP grown on WS had a more well-defined mushroom shape than those grown on PEA. The average hyphal diameters on PEA and WS were 4.15 and 3.52 micro m, respectively; the average hyphal lengths were 11.75 and 11.80 micro m, respectively. The control mechanisms regulating formation of the normal shape and size of FBP might be more dependent on the amount of cytoplasmic material than on the physical volume of the hyphal compartment. Since the ultrastructure of the hyphal compartment, which makes up the substance of the FBP, depends on the substrate in which the FBP has been grown, the composition of the substrate may be important for manipulating the nutritive and organoleptic characteristics of the mushroom crop.

Modern aspects of mushroom culture technology

The production and culture of new species of mushrooms is increasing. The breeding of new strains has significantly improved, allowing the use of strains with high yield and resistance to diseases, increasing productivity and diminishing the use of chemicals for pest control. The improvement and development of modern technologies, such as computerized control, automated mushroom harvesting, preparation of compost, production of mushrooms in a non-composted substrate, and new methods of substrate sterilization and spawn preparation, will increase the productivity of mushroom culture. All these aspects are crucial for the production of mushrooms with better flavor, appearance, texture, nutritional qualities, and medicinal properties at low cost. Mushroom culture is a biotechnological process that recycles ligninocellulosic wastes, since mushrooms are food for human consumption and the spent substrate can be used in different ways.

Simple staining detects ultrastructural and biochemical differentiation of vegetative hyphae and fruit body initials in colonies of Pleurotus pulmonarius

AIMS

To know the ultrastructural and biochemical differences of vegetative hyphae and fruit body initials in colonies of Pleurotus pulmonarius.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Feulgen reagent was used to detects differentiation of hyphae. The intracellular laccases, proteases and beta-1,3-glucanases activity, content of cytoplasmic protein, glycogen and glucans in the cell wall were evaluated in hyphae of fruit body initials and in vegetative hyphae. The thickness of hyphal walls of the vegetative hyphae was also evaluated. Substantial biochemical changes were observed in hyphae of different zones of the fruiting colony. Hyphae at the periphery had thinner walls than in the centre of the colony.

CONCLUSION, SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Staining correlated with the enzymatic activity, protein, glycogen and glucans, in mycelium and in fruit body initials. The implications are that hyphal maturity in P. pulmonarius involves storage of glucans, in part at least, in the form of a thickened hyphal wall.

Levetiracetam prevents changes in levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neuropeptide Y mRNA and of Y1- and Y5-like receptors in the hippocampus of rats undergoing amygdala kindling: implications for antiepileptogenic and mood-stabilizing properties

The amygdala-kindling model has been proposed as a model of sensitization processes with relevance to epilepsy as well as affective disorders. Levetiracetam is a novel anticonvulsant drug that delays the process of kindling, i.e., possesses antiepileptogenic properties. Preliminary reports also suggest a mood-stabilizing potential for levetiracetam. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are central modulators of seizure activity, which undergo plastic changes during kindling epileptogenesis. Consequently, we investigated the regulation of BDNF and NPY mRNA and Y1-, Y2-, and Y5-like receptor binding in the hippocampus of vehicle-pretreated, partially and fully amygdala-kindled rats and corresponding levetiracetam-pretreated rats (40 mg/kg i.p.). The present data indicate that the process of kindling is associated with an upregulation of hippocampal BDNF and NPY mRNA levels and downregulation of Y1- and particularly Y5-like receptors. Pretreatment with levetiracetam markedly delays the progression of kindling and, in addition, exhibits a clear anticonvulsant effect. These effects are associated with abolition of the kindling-induced rise in BDNF and NPY mRNA and increasing levels of Y1- and particularly Y5-like receptors in all hippocampal subfields. Lastly, the present study reveals that an identical dose of levetiracetam reduced immobility in the rat forced swim test, the first experimental evidence indicative of an antidepressant and/or mood stabilizer-like profile of this drug. Considering that animal depression models display impairments in hippocampal NPY systems that become normalized following mood-stabilizing treatment, and that exogenous NPY exerts anticonvulsant as well as antidepressive-like activity in rodents, it is a heuristic possibility that increased hippocampal excitability and affective symptomatology may converge on an impaired hippocampal NPY function. Speculatively, the ability of levetiracetam to increase hippocampal Y1- and Y5-like receptor levels may have implications for the antiepileptic properties of levetiracetam, as well as its purported mood-stabilizing properties.

Selectivity of (3)H-MADAM binding to 5-hydroxytryptamine transporters in vitro and in vivo in mice; correlation with behavioural effects

1. Binding of the novel radioligand (3)H-2-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulphanyl)-5-methyl-phenylamine ((3)H-MADAM) to the serotonin transporter (SERT) was used to characterise a range of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in vitro and in vivo. 2. (3)H-MADAM bound with high affinity in a saturable manner to both human SERT expressed in CHO cells (K(d)=0.20 nm (pK(d)=9.74+/-0.12), B(max)=35+/-4 fmol mg(-1) protein) and mouse cerebral cortex membranes (K(d)=0.21 nm (pK(d)=9.66+/-0.10), B(max)=50+/-24 fmol mg(-1) protein). 3. Binding of (3)H-MADAM was highly selective for SERT in vitro as demonstrated by the in vitro profile of MADAM tested at 75 different receptors, ion channels and transporters. This was further substantiated by the pharmacological profile of the binding. Hence, the binding of (3)H-MADAM was potently inhibited by SSRIs but not by selective inhibitors of noradrenaline transport and dopamine transport. Likewise, a 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonist did not inhibit (3)H-MADAM binding. 4. (3)H-MADAM binding in vivo was inhibited only by compounds which also inhibited the binding of (3)H-MADAM in vitro (the SSRIs, mixed SERT/noradrenaline transport inhibitors and clomipramine), confirming the selectivity of (3)H-MADAM for SERT also in vivo. Moreover, compounds effective in inhibiting (3)H-MADAM binding were the only ones found to be active in the mouse 5-HTP potentiation test confirming the model as a behavioural correlate to in vivo 5-HT uptake. 5. Finally, it was found that a SERT occupancy of 85-95% was necessary to produce 50% of the maximum behavioural response (ED(50)).

Comparison between cardiac output measured by the pulmonary arterial thermodilution technique and that measured by the femoral arterial thermodilution technique in a pediatric animal model

This study compares the correlation between two methods for the determination of cardiac output-the pulmonary arterial thermodilution technique using the Swan-Ganz catheter and the femoral arterial thermodilution technique using a pulse contour analysis computer (PiCCO) catheter. We performed a prospective animal study using 16 immature Maryland pigs weighing 9 to 16 kg. A 5.5- or 7.5-Fr Swan-Ganz catheter was introduced into the femoral or jugular vein, and a 4- or 5-Fr arterial PiCCO catheter was introduced into the femoral artery. In each animal, we made measurements of cardiac output at 30-minute intervals, simultaneously by pulmonary arterial thermodilution and femoral arterial thermodilution, before, during, and after hemodiafiltration carried out via different venous catheters, recording a total of 78 measurements. The mean Swan-Ganz cardiac output was 2.22 +/- 0.94 L/min, and mean PiCCO cardiac output was 1.94 +/- 0.80 L/min (no significant difference). The mean difference (bias) of differences (limits of agreement) was 0.2812. The differences between the methods increased with higher cardiac output, but the percentage differences in relation to cardiac output remained stable. Good correlation was found between the two methods: single-measure intraclass correlation was 0.8892 (95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.95). There were no differences between the 5.5- and 7.5-FR Swan-Ganz catheters or between the 4- and 5-Fr PiCCO catheters. Femoral arterial thermodilution cardiac output measurements correlated well with pulmonary arterial thermodilution cardiac output measurements in a pediatric animal model.

Síndrome hemofagocítico y linfoma cutáneo de células T

Haemophagocytic syndrome is a rare disorder of immune regulation. Clinical features are fever, haemophagocytosis, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia, lymph nodes enlargement, hypertriglyceridaemia and coagulopathy. Systemic findings may also include pulmonary infiltrates, renal failure and an inappropriate antidiuretic state. It has been described associated to many diseases, like lymphomas, most of them T-cell lymphomas, infections and systemic diseases, among other entities. Haemopoietic cells are actively ingested by monocytes and macrophages in lymph nodes, bone marrow, liver and spleen. This is a diagnostic criteria for haemophagocytic syndrome. The treatment of haemophagocytic syndrome is difficult and requires intensive supportive therapy, treatment of coagulopathy disorders, high-dose corticosteroids and immunosuppressive treatment, although in most cases there is no response to treatment and the evolution is fatal. The T-cell lymphomas that involve subcutaneous tissue and simulate panniculitis are classified recently as primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, and their presentation as inflammatory nodules of the legs are uncommon.

R-citalopram counteracts the antidepressant-like effect of escitalopram in a rat chronic mild stress model

The selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, citalopram, is a racemic mixture of the stereoisomers, S-(+)-citalopram (escitalopram) and R-(-)-citalopram (R-citalopram). R-citalopram has been shown to counteract the 5-HT enhancing properties of escitalopram in acute studies in animals. In the present study we report, for the first time, on an interaction between R-citalopram and escitalopram after repeated dosing in a rat chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. The effect of escitalopram (2.0, 3.9 and 7.8 mg/kg per day), R-citalopram (7.8 mg/kg per day) and escitalopram 3.9 mg/kg per day plus R-citalopram 7.8 mg/kg per day were studied and compared to the effect of citalopram (8.0 mg/kg per day), imipramine and R-fluoxetine (8.9 mg/kg per day). Significant effects relative to a vehicle-treated group were achieved from week 1 for escitalopram (3.9 and 7.8 mg/kg per day), from week 2 for citalopram (8.0 mg/kg per day), from week 3 for R-fluoxetine (8.9 mg/kg per day) and from week 4 for escitalopram (2.0 mg/kg per day) and imipramine (8.9 mg/kg per day). R-citalopram (7.8 mg/kg per day) and escitalopram (3.9 mg/kg per day) plus R-citalopram (7.8 mg/kg per day) did not differ significantly from vehicle. There were no drug-induced effects in non-stressed control groups. In conclusion, escitalopram showed a shorter time to response in the rat CMS model of depression than citalopram, which was faster acting than R-fluoxetine and imipramine. R-citalopram counteracted the effect of escitalopram. The mechanism of action of R-citalopram is, at the moment unclear, but may be relevant to the improved clinical antidepressant activity seen with escitalopram in comparison with citalopram, and may also indicate an earlier response to escitalopram compared to other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Physiology of a colony of Pleurotus pulmonarius grown on medium overlaid with a Cellophane membrane

The physiology of a colony of Pleurotus pulmonarius grown on potato dextrose agar overlaid with a Cellophane membrane (PDA-WC) was studied. On PDA-WC, the colony presented higher biomass density and productivity of fruit body formation (4.84+/-0.23 mg mycelial biomass/cm2 and 23.7+/-3.12 microg ml(-1) h(-1), respectively) than that which developed on potato dextrose agar without Cellophane (PDA-OC; 0.26+/-0.01 mg mycelial biomass/cm2 and 10.8+/-1.57 microg ml(-1) h(-1), respectively). In cultures developed on PDA-WC, intracellular laccases and beta-1,3-glucanases activities were lower [12+/-0.9 arbitrary units (AU)/g mycelial biomass and 1.33+/-0.1 international units (IU)/g mycelial biomass, respectively] than those observed on PDA-OC (20.65+/-1.0 AU/g mycelial biomass and 3.67+/-0.2 IU/g mycelial biomass, respectively). In cultures developed on PDA-WC, intracellular protein and glycogen concentrations were lower (1.9+/-0.9 and 117+/-3.5 mg/g mycelial biomass, respectively) than those observed on PDA-OC (14.3+/-1.1 and 347+/-2.9 mg/g mycelial biomass, respectively). The radial growth rate and the content of glucans in the cell wall were not significantly different between cultures developed on PDA-WC and PDA-OC. These results show that the use of the Cellophane as a tool to study in vitro fungal physiology might affect the interpretation of experimental results, since the physiology under otherwise similar conditions was different on medium with and without Cellophane.

Assessment of thiamin (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) status in an adult Mediterranean population

The aim of the present study was to assess the nutritional status for thiamin (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) in an adult Mediterranean population, in order to identify patterns of intake, groups at risk for deficiency and factors that might influence this risk. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Andalusia, a western Mediterranean region in southern Spain. Nutrient intakes were studied in a random sample of 3390 subjects (1746 men, 1644 women) who were between 25 and 60 years of age. Blood samples were obtained for biochemical assays in a random subsample of 372 subjects (181 men, 191 women). Food consumption was assessed by 48 h recall. Vitamin B1 and B2 were measured as erythrocyte transketolase and as erythrocyte glutathione reductase activation coefficients, respectively. Energy and vitamin intakes were significantly higher in men than in women. Intakes were below two-thirds of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin B1 in 7.80 % of the men and 4.50 % of the woman, and were below this level for vitamin B2 in 18.00 % of the men and 11.70 % of the women. Age, educational level, alcohol use and smoking were also associated with differences in the intake of these nutrients. Biochemical analyses showed that vitamin B1 and B2 status was deficient in 6.40 and 5.30 % of the population, respectively. Although factors such as gender, age, level of education, drinking and smoking can have an effect on the risk of inadequate intake of these nutrients, these factors did not affect biochemical indices of nutritional status in the present study.