Renal ischemia and reperfusion impact the purinergic signaling in a vascular bed distant from the injured site

AIMS

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a public health problem and represents a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and vascular damage. This study aimed to investigate the impact of AKI on purinergic components in mice aorta.

MAIN METHODS

The kidney ischemia was achieved by the occlusion of the left kidney pedicle for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 8 (IR8) and 15 (IR15) days. Renal function was assessed through biochemical assays, while gene expression levels were evaluated by RT-qPCR.

KEY FINDINGS

Analyses of renal parameters showed renal remodeling through mass loss in the left kidney and hypertrophy of the right kidney in the IR15 group. Furthermore, after 15 days, local inflammation was evidenced in the aorta. Moreover, the aorta purinergic components were significantly impacted by the renal ischemia and reperfusion model, with increases in gene expression of the pro-inflammatory purinoceptors P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y6, and P2X4, potentially contributing to the vessel inflammation. The expression of NTPDase2 and ecto-5'-nucleotidase were also significantly increased in the aorta of the same group. In addition, both ATP and AMP hydrolysis were significantly increased in the aorta from IR15 animals, driving the entire purinergic cascade to the production of the anti-inflammatory adenosine.

SIGNIFICANCE

In short, this is the first time that inflammation of the aorta due to AKI was shown to have an impact on purinergic signaling components, with emphasis on the adenosinergic pathway. This seems to be closely implicated in the establishment of vascular inflammation in this model of AKI and deserves to be further investigated.

Efficient feature selection for neural network based detection of flaws in steel welded joints using ultrasound testing

This work studies methods for efficient extraction and selection of features in the context of a decision support system based on neural networks. The data comes from ultrasonic testing of steel welded joints, in which are found three types of flaws. The discrete Fourier, wavelet and cosine transforms are applied for feature extraction. Statistical techniques such as principal component analysis and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test are used for optimal feature selection. Two different artificial neural network architectures are used for automatic classification. Through the proposed approach, it is achieved a high discrimination efficiency by using only 20 features to feed the classifier, instead of the original 2500 A-scan sample points.

Synchronous collision malignant melanoma and adenocarcinoma of the rectum

"Collision tumors" consist of two independent but coexisting tumors. This uncommon situation might be easily mistaken for a composite tumor where one histogenetic event originates from two apparently distinct neoplasms. Colorectal collisions are particularly unusual; here, we report the exceedingly rare case of a 61-year-old man with malignant melanoma and adenocarcinoma colliding in the rectum. Collision tumors have an idiopathic pathophysiology and in fact "accidental meeting" is accepted by many authors. This article discusses the concepts about cancer development, which are overlooked by this hypothesis, another theory to explain that this rare occurrence involves microenvironment changes.

Oviposition and predation by Speciomerus revoili (Coleoptera, Bruchidae) on seeds of Acrocomia aculeata (Arecaceae) in Brasília, DF, Brazil

Oviposition and predation levels by Speciomerus revoili bruchid beetles were quantified on fruits and seeds of the macaúba palm, Acrocomia aculeata, collected from below mother-trees within the Sarah Kubitschek Park of Brasília, DF, Brazil. A maximum of 12 eggs per fruit were found, with high variations observed between samples. No clear pattern was found for the distribution of the number of eggs per fruit, perhaps due to the artificial conditions of the study area, the absence of dispersers and/or the plasticity in the oviposition behavior of the insect. The number of eggs per fruit was not related to fruit size, but was associated with their availability under the tree-mother. This suggests that the density of eggs per fruit is a balance between the availability of this resource and the number of females in the beetle population. The observed mortality rate, from the egg phase to the final larval stages, was over 75%. About 40% of the seeds of Acrocomia aculeata were predated by Speciomerus revoili.

Serum creatine phosphokinase in leptospirosis

Serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and serum glutamic oxaloacetic and pyruvic transaminase (SGOT, SGPT) levels were determined in 61 patients with leptospirosis and 16 with viral hepatitis during the acute phase of illness. The CPK value was elevated in 29 leptospirosis patients and normal in all 16 hepatitis patients. Conversely, mean SGOT and SGPT levels were lower in leptospirosis patients. The CPK determination is a simple test that may provide diagnostic information in a jaundiced patient, particularly when characteristic manifestations of leptospirosis are absent. The pattern of greatly elevated CPK levels with only modest elevations in transaminase values in an acutely jaundiced patient should strongly suggest a diagnosis of leptospirosis.