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la enfermedad pulmonar difusa asociada al consumo de tabaco no ha sido claramente definida, la bronquiolitis respiratoria (RB) es un hallazgo morfológico frecuente en fumadores asintomáticos, se caracteriza por la acumulación de macrófagos pigmentados en los bronquiolos respiratorios. Sólo una pequeña proporción de los sujetos fumadores presenta una respuesta inflamatoria exagerada que compromete el intersticio y espacio alveolar, lo cual corresponde a la bronquiolitis respiratoria asociada a enfermedad pulmonar difusa (RBIID), que se manifiesta por disnea de esfuerzos y tos. la neumonía intersticial descamativa (DIP) se caracteriza por compromiso panlobular, fibrosis intersticial discreta e infiltración masiva del espacio aéreo por macrófagos. El patrón histopatológico de RBIID y DIP se pueden sobreponer, siendo los principales elementos diferenciadores entre ambas entidades, la distribución y extensión de las lesiones: compromiso bronquiolo-céntrico en RBIID y difuso en DIP. Se ha planteado que la RB, RBIID y DIP pueden constituir diferentes fases de una misma enfermedad asociada al consumo de tabaco, lo cual aún es motivo de controversia. Con el propósito de ilustrar este problema, se presenta el caso clínico de un paciente fumador que consultó por disnea progresiva, tos e infiltrados pulmonares bilaterales sugerentes de enfermedad pulmonar difusa asociada al tabaquismo.

Na região da Mata Atlântica, a conversão de florestas a pastagens fez com que vários pequenos cursos de água fossem assoreados. Desta forma, eles passaram a ser habitados por espécies de plantas adaptadas ao ambiente de solos encharcados sendo estes ecossistemas denominados campos úmidos antrópicos. Campos úmidos naturais atuam vigorosamente na remoção de nutrientes dissolvidos tanto pela ação de diversos processos biológicos e físico-químicos. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho testou a hipótese de que as áreas úmidas de origem antrópica (originadas de intenso assoreamento) possuem a mesma função biogeoquímica das áreas úmidas naturais que é o de remoção de nutrientes como o nitrogênio. Por meio da amostragem semanal de água subterrânea em dois poços de aqüífero freático localizados em uma vertente, um dentro do campo úmido e outro a 20 metros acima no sentido do interflúvio, notou-se um decréscimo significativo nas concentrações de amônio e de nitrato quando a água subterrânea entra na referida área úmida. A remoção foi de 84% e 81% de, respectivamente, nitrato e amônio. Estas evidências constituem indícios que estes campos úmidos de origem antrópica atuam de maneira similar os naturais e construídos no tocante à remoção de nitrogênio inorgânico.AbstractIn the Atlantic rain forest region of Brazil the conversion of forest to pasture transformed small streams into wetlands as a consequence of the acute sediment deposition process. Natural and man constructed wetlands are known for theirability to remove substantial amounts of nutrients due to effects of many species of macrophytes. In this context, we raise the hypothesis that the unintentional man created wetlands (due to sediment deposition) have the same biogeochemical effect of natural and constructed wetlands on nutrients such as nitrogen. For this purpose, we installed two wells. The first one was sited in an area adjacent to thestream and within the wetland area. The second one was sited approximately twenty meters upslope. By sampling groundwater on a weekly basis, we show that significant decreases could be detected regarding both ammonium and nitrate. The removal efficiency was 84% and 81%, for nitrate and ammonium, respectively. Despite the fact that the potential processes that remove nitrogen are not clear,these evidences indicate that these man-induced wetlands have the same function of the natural and constructed counterparts.

Individual differences in required drug dosages exist based on the pharmacogenomic (PGx) profiles. This study aimed to assess associations between PGx profiles and adverse drug reactions (ADR) that lead to admissions to the emergency department (ED). ADR cases of the prospective multi-center observational trial in EDs (ADRED study) were analyzed (n = 776) together with the relevant PGx phenotypes of the enzymes CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, and VKORC1. Overall, the allele frequency distribution in this cohort did not differ from the population frequencies. We compared the frequencies of phenotypes in the subgroups with the drugs suspected of certain ADR, in the remaining cases. The frequency distribution of CYP2C19 differed for the ADR bleeding cases suspected of clopidogrel (p = 0.020). In a logistic regression analysis, higher CYP2C19 activity (OR (95% CI): 4.97 (1.73−14.27)), together with age (1.05 (1.02−1.08)), showed an impact on the clopidogrel-suspecting ADRs, when adjusting for the clinical parameters. There was a trend for an association of phenprocoumon-risk profiles (low VKORC1 or CYP2C9 activity) with phenprocoumon-suspecting ADRs (p = 0.052). The PGx impact on serious ADRs might be highest in drugs that cannot be easily monitored or those that do not provoke mild ADR symptoms very quickly. Therefore, patients that require the intake of those drugs with PGx variability such as clopidogrel, might benefit from PGx testing.

Resumen Objetivo: Determinar la frecuencia de reingreso hospitalario y sus factores asociados en pacientes sometidos a resecciones hepáticas o pancreáticas en nuestro centro. Metodología: Se revisaron registros de pacientes sometidos a resecciones hepáticas o pancreáticas entre 2012 y 2014. Se registraron variables biodemográficas, quirúrgicas y reingresos hasta 30 días posalta. Se excluyó la cirugía de urgencia, pacientes fallecidos durante la hospitalización, pacientes sometidos a resecciones hepáticas menores a dos segmentos, cirugías no anatómicas o cirugía no resectiva. El análisis estadístico univariable se realizó con prueba χ2 para variables categóricas y T Student/Mann Whitney para variables continuas. El análisis multivariable se realizó con regresión logística. Resultados: Se incluyeron 116 pacientes, 50,9% mujeres. La estadía promedio fue de 14 días. El adenocarcinoma pancreático fue el diagnóstico más frecuente (25,9%) y 40,5% de los procedimientos quirúrgicos fueron pancreatoduodenectomías. La tasa de reingreso global fue 18,1%, mayor en pancreatectomías respecto a hepatectomías (23,7 vs 12,2% respectivamente p < 0,05). Los factores asociados a reingreso fueron: resección de páncreas, leucocitos preoperatorios, complicaciones posoperatorias y tiempo de estadía hospitalaria. Tras el análisis multivariable, sólo el tiempo hospitalario se asocia de forma independiente al reingreso precoz [OR 1,2 IC 95% 1,1-1,5 (p = 0,001)]. Conclusión: La estadía hospitalaria prolongada es un factor de riesgo consistente en la literatura para la rehospitalización posterior a resecciones hepáticas o pancreáticas. La tasa de reingreso posterior a resecciones hepáticas o pancreáticas es elevada, incluso en centros de alto volumen. Recomendamos el uso de este parámetro como un nuevo instrumento de medición de calidad en los resultados quirúrgicos en nuestro país.

Molecular markers have become an essential tool for genetic analysis. Marker-aided selection (MAS) has demonstrated its efficiency for introgression of major genes. However, most agronomically important traits like tolerance or resistance to biotic and abiotic constraints are quantitative. Quantitative traits loci (QTLs) can be mapped on the genome using statistical procedures and many mapping results are now available. Few results, however, are available for utilisation of this information for introgression of QTLs. Two separate studies were conducted with the aim of introgressing QTLs using markeraided selection, evaluating the selected progenies and assessing the efficiency of marker-aided selection. In both cases, the population used for QTL detection was the reference DH population derived from the cross between IR64 and Azucena. The interesting alleles were coming from the Azucena parent and IR64 was used as the recurrent parent in three cycles of marker-assisted backcrosses. Several QTLs were manipulated at once. The first study, conducted in the Philippines, was directed toward the introgression of alleles for root depth, in order to improve water-use efficiency. The second study conducted in Mali and in France, was directed toward the improvement of partial resistance to rice yellow mottle virus, an increasingly important disease in Africa. The genotype of the BC3F2 progenies was determined to assess the presence of Azucena alleles at the QTLs and the return to the recurrent parent. The phenotypic evaluation of the BC3F3 families showed that the introgressed QTLs were expressed in the new genetic background. It showed also the importance of initial QTL analysis methods. The comparison of our experimental process of MAS with the recommendations of analytic and simulation studies pointed out the methodological flexibility of MAS for QTLs. These were to our knowledge the first examples of markeraided selection for QTLs in rice. This was done on a model cross following QTL detection. For future work, advanced backcross methods may be a way to perform at the same time QTL detection and introgression in an agronomically interesting background.

Many viral pathogens target innate sensing cascades and/or cellular transcription factors to suppress antiviral immune responses. Here, we show that the accessory viral protein U (Vpu) of HIV-1 exerts broad immunosuppressive effects by inhibiting activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. Global transcriptional profiling of infected CD4 +T cells revealed that vpu-deficient HIV-1 strains induce substantially stronger immune responses than the respective wild type viruses. Gene set enrichment analyses and cytokine arrays showed that Vpu suppresses the expression of NF-κB targets including interferons and restriction factors. Mutational analyses demonstrated that this immunosuppressive activity of Vpu is independent of its ability to counteract the restriction factor and innate sensor tetherin. However, Vpu-mediated inhibition of immune activation required an arginine residue in the cytoplasmic domain that is critical for blocking NF-κB signaling downstream of tetherin. In summary, our findings demonstrate that HIV-1 Vpu potently suppresses NF-κB-elicited antiviral immune responses at the transcriptional level.