New Radiation Dosimetry Estimates for [18F]FLT based on Voxelized Phantoms

3'-Deoxy-3-[¹⁸F]fluorothymidine, or [¹⁸F]FLT, is a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer used in clinical studies for noninvasive assessment of proliferation activity in several types of cancer. Although the use of this PET tracer is expanding, to date, few studies concerning its dosimetry have been published. In this work, new [¹⁸F]FLT dosimetry estimates are determined for human and mice using Monte Carlo simulations. Modern voxelized male and female phantoms and [¹⁸F]FLT biokinetic data, both published by the ICRP, were used for simulations of human cases. For most human organs/tissues the absorbed doses were higher than those reported in ICRP Publication 128. An effective dose of 1.70E-02 mSv/MBq to the whole body was determined, which is 13.5% higher than the ICRP reference value. These new human dosimetry estimates obtained using more realistic human phantoms represent an advance in the knowledge of [¹⁸F]FLT dosimetry. In addition, mice biokinetic data were obtained experimentally. These data and a previously developed voxelized mouse phantom were used for simulations of animal cases. Concerning animal dosimetry, absorbed doses for organs/tissues ranged from 4.47 ± 0.75 to 155.74 ± 59.36 mGy/MBq. The obtained set of organ/tissue radiation doses for healthy Swiss mice is a useful tool for application in animal experiment design.

Candida albicans and non-C. albicans Candida species: comparison of biofilm production and metabolic activity in biofilms, and putative virulence properties of isolates from hospital environments and infections

Candida albicans and, more recently, non-C. albicans Candida spp. are considered the most frequent fungi in hospitals. This study analyzed Candida spp. isolates and compared the frequency of different species, that is, C. albicans and non-C. albicans Candida spp., and the origins of isolates, that is, from hospital environments or infections. Yeast virulence factors were evaluated based on biofilm production and metabolic activity. Hemolysin production and the antifungal susceptibility profiles of isolates were also evaluated. Candida spp. were highly prevalent in samples collected from hospital environments, which may provide a reservoir for continuous infections with these yeasts. There were no differences in the biofilm productivity levels and metabolic activities of the environmental and clinical isolates, although the metabolic activities of non-C. albicans Candida spp. biofilms were greater than those of the C. albicans biofilms (p < 0.05). Clinical samples had higher hemolysin production (p < 0.05) and lower susceptibility to fluconazole (p < 0.05). Non-C. albicans Candida spp. predominated in samples collected from hospital environments and infections (p < 0.05). These species had a lower susceptibility to fluconazole and amphotericin B, and their biofilms had higher metabolic activities than those produced by C. albicans, which may explain the increased incidence of fungal infections with these yeasts during recent years.

Influência do fotoperíodo no desenvolvimento de juvenis de Tambaqui (Colossoma Macropomum)

Cento e sessenta alevinos de tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) (peso médio de 11,01±2,08 g e comprimento total de 7,8±0,18cm) condicionados em dezesseis aquários de 40 litros de água com temperatura de 29,1±0,413°C, densidade de estocagem de 0,25 alevinos/l e aeração constante, com o objetivo de avaliar a quantidade de luz no desempenho produtivo dos peixes. Os tratamentos consistiram dos fotoperíodos: T1= 6 horas de luz:18 horas de escuro (06HL:18HE), T2= 12HL:12HE, T3= 18HL:06HE e T4= 24HL:0HE, com quatro repetições cada. Os alevinos foram alimentados duas vezes ao dia, com ração comercial extrusada (28% de proteína bruta). Diariamente era trocado 40 vezes o volume total da água. Ao final de 32 dias, foi avaliado comprimento total, comprimento padrão, altura, consumo de ração, ganho de peso e sobrevivência. Os resultados demonstraram que os maiores fotoperíodos influenciaram de forma positiva o desempenho produtivo dos alevinos de tambaqui.

Cell surface carbohydrates and in vivo infectivity of glucantime-sensitive and resistant Leishmania (Viannia) guyjanensis cell lines

The cell surface plays an important role in the interaction of parasites with their hosts. Drug resistance in the protozoan Leishmania may involve changes in cell-surface composition, although it is not known whether infectivity is also affected. One sensitive and two glucantime-resistant lines of Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis previously isolated were inoculated into hamsters. The sensitive line caused the disease to manifest earlier than the resistant lines. Imprinting analyses of infected macrophages showed that the sensitive line was more infective than the resistant cell lines. In vitro drug resistance was evaluated and the comparative analyses of dose-response curves showed that the susceptibility pattern of the sensitive line did not change after passage in animals, but a decrease in drug resistance was observed in resistant cell lines recovered from the mammalian host. Cell surface carbohydrates of sensitive and resistant cell lines were analysed before and after passage in animals by agglutination tests with several plant lectins. Passage in animals changed the agglutination pattern for many lectins from all three cell lines. Loss of reactivity to lectins seemed to be correlated with a decrease in infectivity of the parasite-resistant cell lines. This study opens possibilities for exploring the relationship between drug susceptibility, infectivity and surface carbohydrate composition of protozoan parasites.

Racial differences in aortic stiffness in normotensive and hypertensive adults

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether differences exist in the mechanical properties of large arteries between white and black subjects.

DESIGN

Eighty-two white (49 normotensive and 33 untreated hypertensive) and 38 black (24 normotensive and 14 untreated hypertensive) adult male volunteers were studied in a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was measured as an index of arterial stiffness, using a recently developed non-invasive automatic device, and compared between white and black subjects before and after the adjustment for age. The slope of regressions for pulse wave velocity and systolic blood pressure were also compared between racial groups.

RESULTS

In the normotensive group, white subjects presented higher mean values of pulse wave velocity than blacks while the opposite behavior was found in the hypertensive group. After adjustment for age, significant differences in pulse wave velocity between whites and blacks became evident in the normotensive (whites 8.15 +/- 0.04 versus blacks 7.75 +/- 0.02 m/s; P < 0.001) and hypertensive (whites 8.88 +/- 0.02 versus blacks 9.30 +/- 0.17 m/s; P < 0.001) groups. Linear regression analysis for age-adjusted pulse wave velocity and systolic blood pressure showed that the slope was significantly greater in blacks than in whites (0.040 +/- 0.002 versus 0.019 +/- 0.001 m/s; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

These data indicate that there is a greater pressure-dependent increase in aortic stiffness in blacks than in whites. This finding points towards major differences in mechanical properties of large arteries between these racial groups.

Characterization of mat A-2, mat A-3 and deltamatA mating-type mutants of Neurospora crassa

The mating-type locus of Neurospora crassa regulates mating identity and entry into the sexual cycle. The mat A idiomorph encodes three genes, mat A-1, mat A-2, and mat A-3. Mutations in mat A-1 result in strains that have lost mating identity and vegetative incompatibility with mat a strains. A strain containing mutations in both mat A-2 and mat A-3 is able to mate, but forms few ascospores. In this study, we describe the isolation and characterization of a mutant deleted for mat (deltamatA), as well as mutants in either mat A-2 or mat A-3. The deltamatA strain is morphologically wild type during vegetative growth, but it is sterile and heterokaryon compatible with both mat A and mat a strains. The mat A-2 and mat A-3 mutants are also normal during vegetative growth, mate as a mat A strain, and produce abundant biparental asci in crosses with mat a, and are thus indistinguishable from a wild-type mat A strain. These data and the fact that the mat A-2 mat A-3 double mutant makes few asci with ascospores indicate that MAT A-2 and MAT A-3 are redundant and may function in the same pathway. Analysis of the expression of two genes (sdv-1 and sdv-4) in the various mat mutants suggests that the mat A polypeptides function in concert to regulate the expression of some sexual development genes.

Transcriptional analysis of the mtA idiomorph of Neurospora crassa identifies two genes in addition to mtA-1

In Neurospora crassa, mating and heterokaryon formation between opposite mating-types is controlled by a single locus with two alternate forms termed mt A and mt a. Previously, an open reading frame (mt A-1) that confers mating identity and heterokaryon incompatibility was characterized in the 5.3 kb mt A idiomorph. In this study, we describe the structural and transcriptional characterization of two additional genes in the mt A idiomorph, Mt A-2 and mt A-3. The 373 amino acid mt A-2 ORF has 23% identity to the SMR1 ORF of Podospora anserina. DNA sequence analysis of a mutation affecting ascospore to 129 amino acids. The 324 amino acids mt A-3 ORF has an HMG domain and shows 22% amino acid identity to SMR2 of P. anserina. Transcripts from mt A-2 and mt A-3 are constitutively expressed during both vegetative and sexual reproduction. The presence of upstream ORFs in the mt A-2 and mt A-3 transcripts suggests the possibility of post-transcriptional regulation of the expression mt A-2 and mt A-3 polypeptides.