Trace metals and oxidative status in soft tissues of caged mussels (Aulacomya atra) on the North Patagonian coastline.

This study investigated metal accumulation and oxidative effects in mantle, gill and digestive gland of the ribbed mussel Aulacomya atra from the Argentinean North Patagonian coastline. Mussels were transplanted over an 18-month period from a site with low anthropogenic impact to a harbor site with higher seawater concentration of aluminum, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel and zinc. Total trace metal concentration in seawater did not change throughout the 18-month transplant in either site. A. atra bioaccumulated metals in digestive gland, gills and mantle at different levels. Digestive gland had the highest concentration of metals, especially towards the end of the transplant experiment in the harbor area. Mussels transplanted to the harbor site experienced an upregulation in their antioxidant system, which likely explains the lack of oxidative damage to lipids despite higher metal accumulation. These results demonstrate that A. atra selectively accumulates metals from the water column and their prooxidant effects depend on the tissue antioxidant defenses and the exposure time.

Predominant recurrence polarity among 928 adult international bipolar I disorder patients.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) differ demographically and clinically within subgroups based on the predominant-polarity of major recurrences. METHOD: We tested factors for association with predominantly (≥2 : 1) depressive vs. mania-like episodes with 928 DSM-IV type-I BPD subjects from five international sites. RESULTS: Factors preliminarily associated with predominant-depression included: electroconvulsive treatment, longer latency-to-BPD diagnosis, first episode depressive or mixed, more suicide attempts, more Axis-II comorbidity, ever having mixed-states, ever married, and female sex. Predominant-mania was associated with: initial manic or psychotic episodes, more drug abuse, more education, and more family psychiatric history. Of the 47.3% of subjects without polarity-predominance, risks for all factors considered were intermediate. Expanding the definition of polarity-predominance to ≥51% added little, but shifting mixed-states to 'predominant-depression' increased risk of suicidal acts from 2.4- to 4.5-fold excess over predominant-mania-hypomania, and suicidal risk was associated continuously with increasing proportions of depressive or mixed episodes. CONCLUSION: Subtyping by predominant-polarity yielded predictive associations, including the polarity of first episodes and risk of suicide attempts. Such subtyping may contribute to improve planning of clinical care and to biological studies of BPD.

Effects of growth temperature on polystyrene adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853

The importance of avoiding bacterial adhesion to plastic medical devices is recognized. To better understand the interaction between bacteria and surface, we studied the influence of different growth temperatures (15, 30 and 47°C) on the polystyrene adhesion capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853.

A importância de evitar a adesão bacteriana aos dispositivos médicos plásticos é reconhecida. Para melhor comprender a interaçao entre bactérias e superfices, este estudo avaliou a influência de diferentes temperaturas de cultivo (15, 30 e 47°C) na adesão da Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 ao poliestireno.