Functional morphology of the tetra fish Astyanax lacustris differs between divergent habitats in the Pantanal wetlands

This study investigated whether the body morphology of the tetra fish Astyanax lacustris (previously Astyanax asuncionensis) varied between populations inhabiting one lagoon (a lentic, shallow environment, with great habitat complexity created by aquatic macrophytes) and an adjacent river (a deeper, lotic environment where aquatic macrophytes are scarce) in a seasonally flooded wetland, despite population mixing during the wet season. Morphological differences matched a priori predictions of the theory relating functional body morphology and swimming performance in fishes between lagoon and river habitats. Observed morphological variation could have resulted from adaptive habitat choice by tetras, predation by piscivores and adaptive phenotypic plasticity during development.

Central nervous system involvement in dengue: a study in fatal cases from a dengue endemic area

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the frequency of CNS infection by dengue virus (DENV) in individuals with fatal outcomes.

METHODS

Samples of 150 individuals suspect of an infection disease and with fatal outcomes were investigated for evidence of the presence of DENV. The sampling was made up of 150 CSF, 120 tissue samples, and 109 blood specimens. The tests used were viral isolation, reverse transcriptase PCR, immunohistochemistry, nonstructural 1 antigen, and immunoglobulin M detection.

RESULTS

Out of 150 studied patients, 84 were dengue positive. Evidence of the presence of DENV was found in 41 CSF, showing the following neurologic diagnosis: 46.3% encephalitis, 34.1% meningoencephalitis, and 19.5% meningitis, giving a frequency of 48.8% of the 84 dengue-positive cases. The major clinical manifestations observed on these individuals were fever, headache, mental irritability, breathless, vomiting, muscle pain, tiredness, abdominal pain, somnolence, restlessness, dizziness, cough, seizure, coma, and neck stiffness.

CONCLUSION

Clinical manifestations and laboratory-positive results in CSF that may indicate the presence of DENV led to consider the invasion of CNS by DENV in these fatal cases studied, and showed that neurologic pathology was an important fatal complication in dengue cases.

The nested assembly of individual-resource networks

1. Much of the current understanding of ecological systems is based on theory that does not explicitly take into account individual variation within natural populations. However, individuals may show substantial variation in resource use. This variation in turn may be translated into topological properties of networks that depict interactions among individuals and the food resources they consume (individual-resource networks). 2. Different models derived from optimal diet theory (ODT) predict highly distinct patterns of trophic interactions at the individual level that should translate into distinct network topologies. As a consequence, individual-resource networks can be useful tools in revealing the incidence of different patterns of resource use by individuals and suggesting their mechanistic basis. 3. In the present study, using data from several dietary studies, we assembled individual-resource networks of 10 vertebrate species, previously reported to show interindividual diet variation, and used a network-based approach to investigate their structure. 4. We found significant nestedness, but no modularity, in all empirical networks, indicating that (i) these populations are composed of both opportunistic and selective individuals and (ii) the diets of the latter are ordered as predictable subsets of the diets of the more opportunistic individuals. 5. Nested patterns are a common feature of species networks, and our results extend its generality to trophic interactions at the individual level. This pattern is consistent with a recently proposed ODT model, in which individuals show similar rank preferences but differ in their acceptance rate for alternative resources. Our findings therefore suggest a common mechanism underlying interindividual variation in resource use in disparate taxa.

Effect of plant neutrophil elastase inhibitor on leucocyte migration, adhesion and cytokine release in inflammatory conditions

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The serine and cysteine peptidase inhibitor, BbCI, isolated from Bauhinia bauhinioides seeds, is similar to the classical plant Kunitz inhibitor, STI, but lacks disulphide bridges and methionine residues. BbCI blocks activity of the serine peptidases, elastase (K(iapp) 5.3 nM) and cathepsin G (K(iapp) 160.0 nM), and the cysteine peptidase cathepsin L (K(iapp) 0.2 nM). These three peptidases play important roles in the inflammatory process.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

We measured the effects of BbCI on paw oedema and on leucocyte accumulation in pleurisy, both induced by carrageenan. Leucocyte-endothelial cell interactions in scrotal microvasculature in Wistar rats were investigated using intravital microscopy. Cytokine levels in pleural exudate and serum were measured by elisa.

KEY RESULTS

Pretreatment of the animals with BbCI (2.5 mg·kg(-1)), 30 min before carrageenan-induced inflammation, effectively reduced paw oedema and bradykinin release, neutrophil migration into the pleural cavity. The number of rolling, adhered and migrated leucocytes at the spermatic fascia microcirculation following carrageenan injection into the scrotum were reduced by BbCI pretreatment. Furthermore, levels of the rat chemokine cytokine-induced neutrophil chemo-attractant-1 were significantly reduced in both pleural exudates and serum from animals pretreated with BbCI. Levels of interleukin-1β or tumour necrosis factor-α, however, did not change.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Taken together, our data suggest that the anti-inflammatory properties of BbCI may be useful in investigations of other pathological processes in which human neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G and cathepsin L play important roles.

Crumpled states of a wire in a two-dimensional cavity with pins

In this paper, we report an extensive experimental study of the configurations of a plastic wire injected into a two-dimensional planar cavity populated with fixed pins. The wire is not allowed to cross any pin, but it can move in a wormlike manner within the cavity until to become jammed in a crumpled state. The jammed packing fraction depends heavily on the topology of the cavity, which depends on the number of pins. The experiment reveals nontrivial entanglement effects and scaling laws which are largely independent of the details of the distribution of pins, the symmetry of the cavity or the type of the wire. A mean-field model for the process is presented and analogies with some basic aspects of statistical thermodynamics are discussed.

Individual-level diet variation in four species of Brazilian frogs

1. Many natural populations exploiting a wide range of resources are actually composed of relatively specialized individuals. 2. This interindividual variation is thought to be a consequence of the invasion of 'empty' niches in depauperate communities, generally in temperate regions. If individual niches are constrained by functional trade-offs, the expansion of the population niche is only achieved by an increase in interindividual variation, consistent with the 'niche variation hypothesis'. 3. According to this hypothesis, we should not expect interindividual variation in species belonging to highly diverse, packed communities. 4. In the present study, we measured the degree of interindividual diet variation in four species of frogs of the highly diverse Brazilian Cerrado, using both gut contents and delta(13)C stable isotopes. 5. We found evidence of significant diet variation in the four species, indicating that this phenomenon is not restricted to depauperate communities in temperate regions. 6. The lack of correlations between the frogs' morphology and diet indicate that trade-offs do not depend on the morphological characters measured here and are probably not biomechanical. The nature of the trade-offs remains unknown, but are likely to be cognitive or physiological. 7. Finally, we found a positive correlation between the population niche width and the degree of diet variation, but a null model showed that this correlation can be generated by individuals sampling randomly from a common set of resources. Therefore, albeit consistent with, our results cannot be taken as evidence in favour of the niche variation hypothesis.

The defensive strike of five species of lanceheads of the genus Bothrops (Viperidae)

We studied the defensive strike of one species of each of five recognized lineages within the genus Bothrops, namely, B. alternatus, B. jararaca, B. jararacussu, B. moojeni and B. pauloensis. The defensive strike of the studied species was in general similar to that of Crotalus viridis and C. atrox, but some important differences were observed. Bothrops alternatus and B. pauloensis struck preferentially from a tight body posture, whereas B. jararaca and B. moojeni from a loose body posture. Defensive strikes were either true or false (during the latter, the mouth remains closed or partially open). Almost all strikes were successful; only on a few occasions snakes missed their target (flawed strikes). Strike variables were very conservative among the five species, especially strike distance and height, and one possible explanation may be related to constraints imposed on strike variables as a way of increasing strike accuracy.

Electrophysiological effects of the aqueous extract of Averrhoa carambola L. leaves on the guinea pig heart

This work aims to describe some electrophysiological changes promoted by the aqueous extract (AEx) from Averrhoa carambola leaves in guinea pig heart. The experiments were carried out on isolated heart or on right atrium-ventricle preparations. In 6 hearts, the extract induced many kinds of atrioventricular blocks (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees); increased the QT interval from 229+/-23 to 264+/-19 ms; increased the QRS complex duration from 27+/-3.1 to 59+/-11 ms, and depressed the cardiac rate from 136+/-17 to 89+/-14b pm. Furthermore, it decreased the conduction velocity of atrial impulse (17+/-3%); reduced the intraventricular pressure (86+/-6%), and increased the conduction time between the right atrium and the His bundle (27+/-6.5%). The conduction time from the His bundle to the right ventricle was not altered. Atropine sulfate did not change either the electrocardiographic parameters or the intraventricular pressure effects promoted by the A. carambola AEx. Based on these results, the popular use of such extracts should be avoided because it can promote electrical and mechanical changes in the normal heart.

Negative inotropic and chronotropic effects on the guinea pig atrium of extracts obtained from Averrhoa carambola L. leaves

It has been reported that star fruit can lead to a fatal outcome in uremic patients. The intoxication syndrome consists of hiccups, mental confusion, dizziness, and vomiting. On the other hand, folk medicine uses teas and infusions of carambola leaves to treat headache, vomiting, cough, insomnia, and diabetes. This motivated us to determine if Averrhoa carambola can act on the contractility and automaticity of the guinea pig heart. We measured the atrial isometric force in stimulated left atria and determined the chronotropic changes in spontaneously beating right atria. The carambola leaf extracts (1.5 mg/ml) abolished the contractile force in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the crude, methanolic, ethanolic, aqueous, and acetic extracts, the aqueous one was the most potent (EC50 = 520 +/- 94 microg/ml; flavonoids and tannins are the main constituents; Na+ and K+ contents in 1.0 mg/ml of aqueous extract were 0.12 +/- 0.016 and 1.19 +/- 0.15 mM, respectively). The aqueous extract abolished the positive Bowditch staircase phenomenon and reduced the inotropic response to CaCl2 (0.17-8.22 mM), events that are dependent on the cellular Ca2+ inward current. The adrenergic, muscarinic or opioid membrane receptors do not seem to participate in the mechanism of action of the cardioactive substance(s). In spontaneously beating atria, the aqueous extract promoted a negative chronotropic effect that was antagonized by 0.1 microM isoproterenol bitartrate. With this agonist, the EC50 of the aqueous extract increased from 133 +/- 58 to 650 +/- 100 microg/ml. These data regarding the effect of A. carambola on guinea pig atrial contractility and automaticity indicate an L-type Ca2+ channel blockade.

Natterins, a new class of proteins with kininogenase activity characterized from Thalassophryne nattereri fish venom

A novel family of proteins with kininogenase activity and unique primary structure was characterized using combined pharmacological, proteomic and transcriptomic approaches of Thalassophryne nattereri fish venom. The major venom components were isolated and submitted to bioassays corresponding to its main effects: nociception and edema. These activities were mostly located in one fraction (MS3), which was further fractionated. The isolated protein, named natterin, was able to induce edema, nociception and cleave human kininogen and kininogen-derived synthetic peptides, releasing kallidin (Lys-bradykinin). The enzymatic digestion was inhibited by kallikrein inhibitors as Trasylol and TKI. Natterin N-terminal peptide showed no similarity with already known proteins present in databanks. Primary structure of natterin was obtained by a transcriptomic approach using a representative cDNA library constructed from T. nattereri venom glands. Several expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained and processed by bioinformatics revealing a major group (18%) of related sequences unknown to gene or protein sequence databases. This group included sequences showing the N-terminus of isolated natterin and was named Natterin family. Analysis of this family allowed us to identify five related sequences, which we called natterin 1-4 and P. Natterin 1 and 2 sequences include the N-terminus of the isolated natterin. Furthermore, internal peptides of natterin 1-3 were found in major spots of whole venom submitted to mass spectrometry/2DGE. Similarly to the ESTs, the complete sequences of natterins did not show any significant similarity with already described tissue kallikreins, kininogenases or any proteinase, all being entirely new. These data present a new task for the knowledge of the action of kininogenases and may help in understanding the mechanisms of T. nattereri fish envenoming, which is an important medical problem in North and Northeast of Brazil.

Antioxidant dietary deficiency induces caspase activation in chick skeletal muscle cells

Apoptosis and necrosis are two distinct forms of cell death that can occur in response to different agents and stress conditions. In order to verify if the oxidative stress induced by dietary selenium and vitamin E deficiencies can lead muscle cells to apoptosis, one-day-old chicks were reared using diets differing in their vitamin E (0 or 10 IU/kg) and selenium (0 or 0.15 ppm) supplementation. Chick skeletal muscle tissue was obtained from 28-day-old animals and used to verify apoptosis occurrence based on caspase activity detection and DNA fragmentation. Antioxidant deficiency significantly increased caspase-like activity assessed by the hydrolysis of fluorogenic peptide substrates (Abz-peptidyl-EDDnp) at lambda exc = 320 nm and lambda em = 420 nm. Proteolytic activation was not accompanied by typical internucleosomal DNA fragmentation detected by field inversion gel electrophoresis. Although the general caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(O-Me) fluoromethyl ketone (Z-VAD-fmk) (0 to 80 muM) did not block caspase-like activity when preincubated for 30 min with muscle homogenates, the hydrolyzed substrates presented the same cleavage profile in HPLC (at the aspartic acid residue) when incubated with the purified recombinant enzyme caspase-3. These data indicate that oxidative stress causes caspase-like activation in muscle cells and suggest that cell death associated with exudative diathesis (dietary deficiency of selenium and vitamin E) can follow the apoptotic pathway.

Glycosaminoglycans affect the interaction of human plasma kallikrein with plasminogen, factor XII and inhibitors

Human plasma kallikrein, a serine proteinase, plays a key role in intrinsic blood clotting, in the kallikrein-kinin system, and in fibrinolysis. The proteolytic enzymes involved in these processes are usually controlled by specific inhibitors and may be influenced by several factors including glycosaminoglycans, as recently demonstrated by our group. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glycosaminoglycans (30 to 250 micro/ml) on kallikrein activity on plasminogen and factor XII and on the inhibition of kallikrein by the plasma proteins C1-inhibitor and antithrombin. Almost all available glycosaminoglycans (heparin, heparan sulfate, bovine and tuna dermatan sulfate, chondroitin 4- and 6-sulfates) reduced (1.2 to 3.0 times) the catalytic efficiency of kallikrein (in a nanomolar range) on the hydrolysis of plasminogen (0.3 to 1.8 microM) and increased (1.9 to 7.7 times) the enzyme efficiency in factor XII (0.1 to 10 microM) activation. On the other hand, heparin, heparan sulfate, and bovine and tuna dermatan sulfate improved (1.2 to 3.4 times) kallikrein inhibition by antithrombin (1.4 microM), while chondroitin 4- and 6-sulfates reduced it (1.3 times). Heparin and heparan sulfate increased (1.4 times) the enzyme inhibition by the C1-inhibitor (150 nM).

Characterization of two cysteine proteinases secreted by Fasciola hepatica and demonstration of their kininogenase activity

We have isolated and purified two cysteine proteinases of molecular weights 25 and 26 kDa, secreted by Fasciola hepatica adult worm. Their 15 N-terminal residues were found to be identical to those of earlier described cathepsin L-like enzymes, isolated from the same source, reported as CL1 and CL2. Radioimmunoassay experiments have shown that these CL1- (25 kDa) and CL2-like (26 kDa) cysteine proteinases mediated kinin release from high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK). Lys-bradykinin (KRPPGFSPFR) was characterized as the kinin released from a synthetic fragment of HMWK from Leu373 to Ile393 (Abz-LGMISLMKRPPGFSPFRSSRI-NH2) labeled with the fluorescent group Abz (ortho-aminobenzoic acid). We examined the activity of CL1- and CL2-like on internally quenched fluorescent peptides containing HMWK sequences, in which Met379-Lys380 or Arg389-Ser390 bonds were present in the middle of the molecules. These peptides were flanked by the fluorescent donor-acceptor pair Abz and EDDnp (N-[2,4-dinitrophenyl] ethylenediamine). Peptidyl-methylcoumarin amides (MCA) were used to study the substrate specificity requirements. The enzymes presented significantly lower Km values at pH 8.0. The inverse was observed with the kcat values, which were higher at pH 5.0.

Permanent and transitory morphometric changes of NADPH-diaphorase-containing neurons in the rat visual cortex after early malnutrition

We investigated the histochemical positivity to NADPH-diaphorase, which reveals nitric oxide synthase activity, in area 17 of rats malnourished early in life, both in the post-weaning period (group M1), and in adulthood after nutritional recovering (group M2). Control pups (C1 and C2 groups) received ad libitum after weaning the same diets as their mothers. Rats of group M2 were nutritionally recovered by receiving the control diet from post-natal day 42 until adulthood. Aldehyde-fixed sections (200-microm thick) through area 17 were processed for NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry following the malic enzyme indirect method. The features of NADPH-diaphorase-containing neurons of area 17 of malnourished young (M1) and adult (M2) rats were analyzed quantitatively in comparison to the matched groups C1 and C2. Permanent changes, represented by increase in the density and dendritic field areas of NADPH-diaphorase-positive cells, and transitory ones, represented by decreased values of soma areas, were observed in area 17 of the M1 and M2 cases. However, some other features, such as dendritic branch angle and number of dendrites per cell in the gray matter, remained unchanged after malnutrition. Thus, the findings indicate a possible relationship between early malnutrition and alterations in nitric oxide synthase-containing cells in the visual cortex. Physiological implications of these data may be related to synaptic plasticity and refinement of developmental brain circuits.

A combination of benznidazole and ketoconazole enhances efficacy of chemotherapy of experimental Chagas' disease

Despite the large number of patients infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, there are no commercial drugs available with high efficacy for use in the clinical treatment of Chagas' disease (American trypanosomiasis). As the prospects of the introduction of new compounds by the pharmaceutical industry are poor, alternative strategies are being designed to identify candidates among drugs already available on the market that could be used in combination to provide a synergic effect and improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. In this paper we investigated a possible synergic effect of drugs in mice inoculated with isolates of T. cruzi susceptible (CL), moderately resistant (Y) and naturally resistant (Colombiana) to benznidazole and nifurtimox. Our data demonstrated that the combination of benznidazole with ketoconazole induced a synergic effect in mice infected with the CL and Y isolate of T. cruzi. No differences were observed, however, in animals infected with the Colombiana isolate, suggesting that the synergic effect of benznidazole and ketoconazole is influenced by the isolate of parasite and that this could be important in further studies searching for useful combinations of drugs. Moreover, we observed that early treatment with ketoconazole could increase the cure rate in animals infected with the Y isolate. No positive effect, in relation to cure rate, was observed with the combination of benznidazole and ofloxacin. Our results re-emphasize the importance of identifying those compounds already on the market with synergic effects able to enhance the cure of T. cruzi infection.

Outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a Portuguese university hospital

Portugal has many weak links in the so-called 'chain of survival' both in the pre-hospital and in-hospital setting. Apart from evaluating the performance of a newly implemented in-hospital cardiac arrest system, we assessed the correlation between different clinical variables and outcome after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). All resuscitation attempts during 1995 were registered using the form recommended by the European Resuscitation Council. One hundred and twenty-five patients either collapsing out-of-hospital (42; 33.6%) or having in-hospital cardiac arrest (83; 66.4%) were included in the study. The number of patients who experienced recovery of spontaneous circulation was 10 (23.8%) in the out-of-hospital group and 35 (42.2%) in the in-hospital one. Of all out-of-hospital patients, 11.9% were discharged from hospital compared with 22.8% of the in-hospital group. Asystole was the initial rhythm in a significant number of arrests. The average call-response interval of the in-hospital cardiac arrest team was under 3 min. The results from this series concur with other reported series. Although good standards of care were achieved, we are aware that this was only an isolated step in the implementation of the 'chain of survival' in our country. The authors conclude that there is an urgent need for a nationwide programme that improves the standards of care for these patients.

Recrudescence induced by cyclophosphamide of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice is influenced by the parasite strain

Reactivation of chronic chagasic patients may occur upon use of immunosuppressive drugs related to kidney or heart transplantation or when they are affected by concomitant HIV infection. This recrudescence, however, does not occur in all chagasic patients exposed to immunosuppressive agents. We therefore investigated the influence of Trypanosoma cruzi strains in the recrudescence of the parasitism in mice at the chronic phase treated with cyclophosphamide, an immunosuppressor that blocks lymphocytes DNA synthesis and therefore controls B cells response. A large variation was detected in the percentages of newly established acute phases in the groups of mice inoculated with the different strains. We suggest that reactivation of chronic T. cruzi infections is influenced by the parasite intrinsic characteristics, a phenomenon that might occur in the human disease.

[Cholera. Its nursing care]

Nursing care to cholera patients. Authors have described procedures used on treatment of cholera patients at Hospital João de Barros Barreto Belém-Pará. They have shown how to send samples to lab tests, and treatment of contaminated hospital materials. They have also described how to make up a cholera treatment unit.

[Evaluation of dipotassium clorazepate in pre-anesthetic medication]

The anxiolytic action of clorazepate 15 mg PO on the eve and 1 hour before the surgical procedure was studied in 50 ASA class 1 patients (18-60 years old, 46-86 kg) scheduled for elective non-oncological surgery. Anxiety, assessed by the anaesthetist employing a modified Hamilton Anxiety Scale, was lower after premedication in 46 patients (p less than 0.01) and only few side-effects were noted. As a conclusion we suggested that clorazepate PO as anaesthetic premedication is suitable for anxiety relief.