Prenatal current-use pesticide exposure and children's neurodevelopment at one year of age in the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) birth cohort, Costa Rica.

BACKGROUND: Pesticide exposure may affect young children's neurodevelopment, but only few cohort studies have addressed possible effects of non-organophosphate pesticides. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated associations between prenatal current-use pesticide exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes among 1-year-old children from the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) birth cohort. METHODS: To determine prenatal pesticide exposure, we measured biomarkers of pyrimethanil, chlorpyrifos, synthetic pyrethroids, and 2,4-D in urine samples among 355 women, 1-3 times during pregnancy. One-year post-partum, we evaluated children's neurodevelopment with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development 3rd edition (BSID-III). We assessed associations between exposures and neurodevelopmental outcomes (composite and z-scores) using single-chemical linear regression models adjusted for possible confounders (maternal education, parity, sex, gestational age at birth, child age, HOME-score, location of assessment, biomarkers of mancozeb), and studied effect-modification by sex. We evaluated non-linear associations of multiple pesticide exposures with Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). RESULTS: We found higher prenatal urinary 2,4-D concentrations were associated with lower language (ßper ten-fold increase = -2.0, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = -3.5, -0.5) and motor (ßper ten-fold increase = -2.2, 95 %CI = -4.2, -0.1) composite scores among all children. Also, higher chlorpyrifos exposure [measured as urinary 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy)] was associated with lower cognitive composite scores (ßper ten-fold increase = -1.9, 95 %CI = -4.7, 0.8), and lower motor composite scores among boys (ßper ten-fold increase = -3.8, 95 % CI = -7.7, 0.1) but not girls (ßper ten-fold increase = 2.3, 95 %CI = -1.6, 6.3, pINT = 0.11). Finally, higher pyrimethanil was associated with lower language abilities among girls, but not boys. Pyrethroid metabolite concentrations did not explain variability in BSID-III composite scores. Associations were similar for BSID-III z-scores, and we found no evidence for non-linear associations or mixture effects. DISCUSSION: Prenatal exposure to common-use pesticides may affect children's neurodevelopment at 1-year of age, some effects may be sex-specific.

Insights into the role of phytohormones regulating pAtNIP5;1 activity and boron transport in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Aiming to counteract B deficiency impacts, plants have developed different strategies in order to reach an optimal growth in soils with limited B availability. These include B transport mechanisms that involves a facilitated transport, via channel proteins, and a high-affinity active transport driven by borate transporters. The AtNIP5;1 channel protein is a member of Major Intrinsic Protein family which facilitates B influx into the roots under low B supply. In order to explore the phytohormone-dependent regulation of AtNIP5;1, the effects of abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, auxins and cytokinins on the activity of AtNIP5;1 promoter were evaluated using the reporter line pNIP5;1-GUS. The results show that ABA treatment increased pAtNIP5;1 activity. Besides, a larger B uptake was found following ABA treatment under B deficiency suggesting a role of ABA inducing B uptake. The ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) caused an induction of AtNIP5;1 expression although did not correlate with higher B concentrations nor with an improvement in root growth. On the contrary, auxins and cytokinins caused slight changes in pAtNIP5;1 induction. Altogether, these results show a regulatory role of phytohormones in AtNIP5;1 promoter what may affect B transport. The herein provided information may contribute to better understand the regulation of B transport in plants towards minimizing B deficiency impacts on agriculture.

Epistasis between TIFAB and miR-146a: neighboring genes in del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/leu.2016.276.

Infestation of Raoiella indica Hirst (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) on Host Plants of High Socio-Economic Importance for Tropical America.

The mite Raoiella indica Hirst was recently introduced into America, where it has shown amazing ability to disseminate and broaden its range of hosts. An experiment was conducted in Cancún, Mexico, to determine infestation levels of this mite on plants recorded as hosts: coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) of cultivars Pacific Tall and Malayan Dwarf, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) hybrids Deli x Ghana and Deli x Nigeria, Dwarf Giant banana (Musa acuminata, AAA subgroup Cavendish), Horn plantain (M. acuminata x Musa balbisiana, AAB subgroup Plantain), lobster claw (Heliconia bihai), and red ginger (Alpinia purpurata). Nursery plants of these host species or cultivars were artificially infested with R. indica in February 2011. In the four replications of 10 plants, each plant was infested with 200 R. indica specimens, and the numbers of infesting mites were recorded for 6 months. A maximum of 18,000 specimens per plant were observed on coconut Pacific Tall and Malayan Dwarf, followed by lobster claw, with a maximum of 1000 specimens per plant. Infestations were minimal for the remaining plants. Mite numbers on all plants declined naturally during the rainy season. All plant materials sustained overlapping mite generations, indicating that they are true hosts. Complementarily, infestation level was determined in backyard bananas and plantains. Correlations of infestation with plant height, distance from coconuts, and exposure to direct sunlight were estimated. Both bananas and plantains were infested by R. indica even when situated far from infested coconut palms. A Spearman correlation was found between infestation and plant height, although it was significant only for Silk plantain.

Effects of Boron on Rhizobium-Legume Cell-Surface Interactions and Nodule Development.

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for the development of nitrogen-fixing root nodules in pea (Pisum sativum). By using monoclonal antibodies that recognize specific glycoconjugate components implicated in legume root-nodule development, we investigated the effects of low B on the formation of infection threads and the colonization of pea nodules by Rhizobium leguminosarum bv viciae. In B-deficient nodules the proportion of infected host cells was much lower than in nodules from plants supplied with normal quantities of B. Moreover, the host cells often developed enlarged and abnormally shaped infection threads that frequently burst, releasing bacteria into damaged host cells. There was also an over-production of plant matrix material in which the rhizobial cells were embedded during their progression through the infection thread. Furthermore, in a series of in vitro binding studies, we demonstrated that the presence of B can change the affinity with which the bacterial cell surface interacts with the peribacteroid membrane glycocalyx relative to its interaction with intercellular plant matrix glycoprotein. From these observations we suggest that B plays an important role in mediating cell-surface interactions that lead to endocytosis of rhizobia by host cells and hence to the correct establishment of the symbiosis between pea and Rhizobium.

Essentiality of Boron for Symbiotic Dinitrogen Fixation in Pea (Pisum sativum) Rhizobium Nodules.

The effect of boron deficiency on symbiotic nitrogen fixation in pea (Pisum sativum) was examined. The absence of boron in the culture medium resulted in a decrease of the number of nodules and an alteration of nodule development leading to an inhibition of nitrogenase activity. Examination of boron-deficient nodules showed dramatic changes in cell walls and in both peribacteroid and infection thread membranes, suggesting a role for boron in the stability of these structures. These results indicate that boron is a requirement for normal nodule development and functionality.

Lectin-like glycoprotein PsNLEC-1 is not correctly glycosylated and targeted in boron-deficient pea nodules.

Symbiosome development was studied in pea root nodules from plants growing in the absence of boron (B). Rhizobia released into the host cells of nodules from B-deficient plants developed to abnormal endophytic forms with an altered electrophoretic lipopolysaccharide pattern. Immunostaining after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electroblotting of nodule homogenates with antibodies that recognize glycoprotein components showed that two previously described lectin-like glycoproteins (PsNLEC-1A and PsNLEC-1B) did not harbor the carbohydrate epitope normally recognized by specific monoclonal antibodies. Material derived from B-deficient nodules, however, still contained three antigenic isoforms with similar electrophoretic mobilities to PsNLEC-1 isoforms A, B, and C. These could be detected following immunoblotting and immunostaining with a specific antiserum originating from the purified PsNLEC protein that had been heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. Immunogold localization of PsNLEC-1 sugar epitopes in B-deficient nodules showed that they were associated mostly with cytoplasmic vesicles rather than normal localization in the symbiosome compartment of mature infected cells. These results suggest that a modification of the glycosyl-moieties of PsNLEC-1 and an alteration of vesicle targeting occur during the development of pea nodules in the absence of B, and that these changes are associated with the development of aberrant nonfunctional symbiosomes.

Bacterial and plant glycoconjugates at the Rhizobium-legume interface.

Many classes of bacterial and plant glycoconjugate have been shown to be involved in establishing the Rhizobium root nodule symbiosis with peas (Pisum sativum). It was demonstrated, using techniques of molecular genetics, that a group of Rhizobium nodulation genes (nod genes) co-operate to synthesize a lipo-oligosaccharide signal molecule that specifically initiates nodule development on legume hosts. An additional gene function, encoded by nodX, has been found to extend the host range of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae to include nodulation of a pea mutant, cultivar Afghanistan; the nodX gene product specifies the addition of an acetyl group to the terminal N-acetylglucosamine residue at the reducing end of the pentasaccharide core of this signal molecule. Several other classes of bacterial glycoconjugate have also been shown by genetic analysis to be essential for normal nodule development and function: these include a capsular extracellular polysaccharide; lipopolysaccharide in the outer membrane; and cyclic glucans present in the periplasmic space. Potential functions for these glycoconjugates are discussed in the context of tissue and cell invasion by Rhizobium. Some plant components involved in symbiotic interactions have been identified by the analysis of nodule-specific gene expression (early nodulins). Several of the cDNA clones encoding these early nodulins specify proline-rich proteins that presumably correspond to cell wall glycoproteins or membrane arabinogalactan proteins. Other plant glycoconjugates have been identified using monoclonal antibodies as probes. A plant glycoprotein present in intercellular spaces has been identified as a component of the luminal matrix of infection threads. Because it attaches to the surface of bacteria and is itself susceptible to oxidative cross-linking, this glycoprotein may be involved in limiting the progress of microbial infections. Endocytosis of bacteria into the plant cytoplasm is apparently driven by direct interactions between the bacterial surface and the plasma membrane that is exposed within an unwalled infection droplet; glycoprotein and glycolipid components of the plant membrane glycocalyx have been defined using monoclonal antibodies. Differentiation of endosymbiotic bacteroids is preceded by differentiation of the plant-derived peribacteroid membrane which encloses the symbiosome compartment. Using a monoclonal antibody that identifies a group of plant membrane-associated, inositol-containing glycolipids, we have identified a very early marker for the differentiation of peribacteroid membrane from plasma membrane.

Intracerebroventricular infusion of hypertonic NaCl increases urinary CGMP in healthy and cirrhotic rats.

Implication of serum atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and endothelin-1 (ET1) in the central nervous system (CNS)-induced natriuresis and hypertension respectively, was investigated in healthy and cirrhotic rats. Both healthy and nonascitic CCl(4)-induced cirrhotic rats under pentobarbital anesthesia received either normotonic (140 mmol/L) or hypertonic (320 mmol/L) NaCl artificial cerebrospinal fluid into the CNS lateral ventricle at a rate of 8.3 microl/min for 120 min. A sham operated group, but not centrally infused, served as matched control. Hypertonic NaCl solution significantly increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) similarly in both healthy (n = 5) ((MAP: 16 mm Hg, 13%) and cirrhotic rats (n = 6) ((MAP: 20 mm Hg, 15%) (ANOVA, p <.001) although the latter showed a slower increment. Under hypertonic NaCl infusion, natriuresis was also significantly increased in a similar manner in both healthy (U (Na) V: baseline: 0.38 +/- 0.22 micromol/min x 100 g; experiment: 2.36 +/- 0.90 micromol/min x 100 g; mean +/- SD) and cirrhotic rats (0.69 +/- 0.48 vs. 3.16 +/- 0.87; p <.001). By contrast, central hypertonic NaCl solutions did not show a significant modification of serum ANP in neither healthy (62 +/- 18 fmol/ml vs. 51 +/- 17 fmol/ml) nor cirrhotic rats (126 +/- 61 vs. 115 +/- 30). Likewise, ET-1 was not significantly modified under central hypertonic NaCl infusion in neither healthy (352 +/- 46 pg/ml vs. 344 +/- 39 pg/ml) nor cirrhotic rats (287 +/- 58 vs. 277 +/- 61). Despite no modification in serum ANP, there was a significant increment in urinary excretion of cGMP under central hypertonic NaCl infusions in bo th healthy (6.8 +/- 4.1 pmol/min x 100 g vs. 13.0 +/- 6.5 pmol/min x 100 g; p <.05) and cirrhotic rats (8.6 +/- 1.7 vs. 11.1 +/- 1.3; p <.05). Our data indicate the preservation of the mechanisms of central natriuresis in a model of non-ascitic CCl(4 )-induced cirrhosis in rats. An increment in urinary cGMP could potentially be implicated in the natriuretic response obtained by intracerebroventricular hypertonic NaCl stimulus in both healthy and cirrhotic rats. The lack of modification of serum ANP and ET-1 does not appear to support a systemic implication of these peptides in the natriuretic and hypertensive responses respectively induced by this manoeuvre.

[Atheroembolic disease. Presentation of a case of multisystemic involvement and review of the literature]. / Enfermedad ateroembólica. Presentación de un caso de afectación multisistémica y revisión de la literatura.

The atheroembolic disease is an entity characterized by obstruction of multiple small arteries by cholesterol crystals. The incidence rises steeply with advancing age and following an invasive procedure involving arteries in patients with atherosclerosis. Actually it has a growing interest due to the increased frequency and to the lack of appropriate therapy. In this paper we report a clinical case of multiple system disease secondary to anticoagulant therapy in a 69 years old patient. We review the pathogenesis, clinical features, laboratory dates and pathology of the disease.

Psychological predictors for health-related quality of life in patients on peritoneal dialysis.

INTRODUCTION: It is currently recognized the impact of different clinical and sociodemographics variables on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (DP), albeit the influence of psychological variable has not been thoroughly studied. The objective of this study is to identify the psychological predictors of HRQL in patients under DP. METHOD: 53 patients on DP participated in the study (49.54 ± 17.03 years, 54.7% women) in whom HRQL was evaluated by the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form and it was obtained information related with psychological variables (depressive and anxious symptoms , alexithymia, health-related locus of control and coping strategies) besides socio-demographical and clinical variables. RESULTS: Patients on DP presented a worse HRQL than general population, particularly in the physical dimension. The comorbility, the number of visits to urgency department, previous hospital admissions, serum albumin and previous treatment with hemodialysis showed a negative impact on several dimensions of HRQL, but depressive symptoms, alexithymia and particularly anxious symptoms were the main determinants of the variability of HRQL in DP patients. We did not obtain a significant relationship between HRQL and the locus of control or the coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients undergoing DP, anxiety, depression and alexithymia are important determinants of HRQL and they should be considered both in the evaluation and the treatment of this population of patients.

Predictores psicológicos de la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en pacientes en tratamiento de diálisis peritoneal / Psychological predictors for health-related quality of life in patients on peritoneal dialysis

Introducción: Actualmente se reconoce el efecto de distintas variables clínicas y sociodemográficas en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) de los pacientes en diálisis peritoneal (DP), pero la influencia de los factores psicológicos no ha sido suficientemente explorada. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar los predictores psicológicos de la CVRS en pacientes en DP. Método: Participaron 53 pacientes en tratamiento en DP (49,54 ± 17,03 años, 54,7% mujeres) enlos que se evaluó su CVRS mediante el Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form y se recogió información de variables psicológicas (síntomas depresivos y ansiosos, alexitimia, locus de control relacionado con la salud y estrategias de afrontamiento), así como de variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Resultados: Los pacientes en DP presentaron peor CVRS que la población general, particularmente en las dimensiones físicas. La comorbilidad, el número de visitas a urgencias, las hospitalizaciones previas, la albúmina, y el tratamiento previo en HD mostraron un efecto negativo en algunas dimensiones de la CVRS, pero los síntomas depresivos, la alexitimia y particularmente los síntomas ansiosos fueron los principales determinantes de la variabilidad en la CVRS de los pacientes en DP. No se encontraron relaciones significativas entre la CVRS y el locus de control o las estrategias de afrontamiento. Conclusiones: En los pacientes en DP, la ansiedad, la depresión y la alexitimia son importantes determinantes de la CVRS, por lo que deberían ser consideradas tanto en la evaluación como en el tratamiento de esta población de enfermos (AU)

Introduction: It is currently recognized the impact of different clinical and sociodemographics variables on the health related quality of life (HRQL) of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (DP), albeit the influence of psychological variable has not been thoroughly studied. The objective of this study is to identify the psychological predictors of HRQL in patients under DP. Method: 53 patients on DP participated in the study (49.54 ± 17.03 years, 54.7% women) in whom HRQL was evaluated by the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form and it was obtained information related with psychological variables (depressive and anxious symptoms ,alexithymia, health-related locus of control and coping strategies) besides socio-demographical and clinical variables. Results: Patients on DP presented a worse HRQL than general population, particularly in the physical dimension. The comorbility, the number of visits to urgency department, previous hospital admissions, serum albumin and previous treatment with hemodialysis showed a negative impact on several dimensions of HRQL, but depressive symptoms, alexithymia and particularly anxious symptoms were the maindeterminants of the variability of HRQL in DP patients. We did not obtain a significant relationship between HRQL andthe locus of control or the coping strategies. Conclusions: Among patients undergoing DP, anxiety, depression and alexithymia are important determinants of HRQL and they should be considered both in the evaluation and the treatment of this population of patients (AU)

Decreased rate of ketone-body oxidation and decreased activity of D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and succinyl-CoA:3-oxo-acid CoA-transferase in heart mitochondria of diabetic rats.

Heart mitochondria from chronically diabetic rats ('diabetic mitochondria'), in metabolic State 3, oxidized 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate at a relatively slow rate, as compared with mitochondria from normal rats ('normal mitochondria'). No significant differences were observed, however, with pyruvate or L-glutamate plus L-malate as substrates. Diabetic mitochondria also showed decreased 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and succinyl-CoA: 3-oxoacid CoA-transferase activities, but cytochrome content and NADH-dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase and acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase activities proved normal. The decrease of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity was observed in diabetic mitochondria subjected to different disruption procedures, namely freeze-thawing, sonication or hypoosmotic treatment, between pH 7.5 and 8.5, at temperatures in the range 6-36 degrees C, and in the presence of L-cysteine. Determination of the kinetic parameters of the enzyme reaction in diabetic mitochondria revealed diminution of maximal velocity (Vmax) as its outstanding feature. The decrease in 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in diabetic mitochondria was a slow-developing effect, which reached full expression 2-3 months after the onset of diabetes; 1 week after onset, no significant difference between enzyme activity in diabetic and normal mitochondria could be established. Insulin administration to chronically diabetic rats for 2 weeks resulted in limited recovery of enzyme activity. G.l.c. analysis of fatty acid composition and measurement of diphenylhexatriene fluorescence anisotropy failed to reveal significant differences between diabetic and normal mitochondria. The Arrhenius-plot characteristics for 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in membranes of diabetic and normal mitochondria were similar. It is assumed that the variation of the assayed enzymes in diabetic mitochondria results from a slow adaptation to the metabolic conditions resulting from diabetes, rather than to insulin deficiency itself.

Epidemiologic identification of infants with low birth weight in urban areas of Latin America: II. A simplified risk score for early prenatal identification in Guatemala City.

A simple, empirically derived instrument is needed in developing countries to identify mothers at risk of delivering low birth weight (LBW) infants, in order to help reduce the incidence of LBW deliveries and provide mothers at high risk with appropriate health care. The study reported here was devoted to developing an instrument of this kind using data obtained before the twenty-sixth week of gestation from an urban study population of 17,135 Guatemalan women. It appears that this instrument could be appropriately applied to urban populations in other developing countries.

Hypophysectomy and adrenalectomy decrease Ca2+-induced swelling of rat liver mitochondria.

Hypophysectomized rats showed significant modifications in Ca2+-induced swelling and MgATP-induced contraction of liver mitochondria. Two-three months after operation, maximal swelling (MS), rate of swelling (VS), maximal contraction (MC) and rate of contraction (VC) were decreased by 77 (MS), 83 (VS), 79 (MC) and 62 (VC) % (in all cases P less than 0.05 as compared with normal rat mitochondria). Treatment of hypophysectomized rats with bovine pituitary extract, for two weeks, counteracted the effect of hypophysectomy, whereas treatment with bovine growth hormone was ineffective. Adrenalectomy produced similar though less extensive modification of Ca2+-induced swelling but failed to affect the MgATP-dependent mitochondrial contraction. Substrate oxidation by hypophysectomized or adrenalectomized rat mitochondria showed no modification of the energy-yielding mechanisms, capable of explaining the observed changes in mitochondrial swelling.

Perinatal data reliability in a large teaching obstetric unit.

In this inter-rater agreement study of antenatal and neonatal variables collected in a large teaching obstetric unit, information routinely collected by hospital staff was compared with that collected by a specially trained physician and a social worker. Agreement between the two sources of data was evaluated using kappa statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients. Excellent agreement was observed for some variables such as maternal and newborn anthropometric measures, and previous birthweight, but there was poor agreement for others such as indicators of physical activity, work during pregnancy and blood pressure measures. Some of the limitations are due to problems in phrasing questions, patients' recall, interviewer bias and abstracting data. We recommend that epidemiological studies should always include a reliability component, proper standardization of personnel and instruments and include, when published, validity data and examples of questions used.

Ultrastructural and biochemical aspects of liver mitochondria during recovery from ethanol-induced alterations. Experimental evidence of mitochondrial division.

To study the morphologic and biochemical changes occuring in liver mitochondria during recovery from ethanol-induced injury, rats fed a 6-month high-alcohol regimen plus a nutritionally adequate diet which did not induce fatty liver were compared with isocalorically fed controls. After this period the alcohol-fed animals displayed striking ultrastructural changes of liver mitochondria and a decreased respiratory activity with succinate or malate-glutamate as substrate. On the contrary, the respiratory rate with I-glycerophosphate was 50% increased. Regression changes were studied after alcohol was withdrawn from the diet. Enlarged mitochondria rapidly disappeared (in 24 hours), although a few megamitochondria were still present after 8 days of abstinence. A similar recovery was observed for the functional alterations. At the end of the experimental period, only a slight decrease of the maximal respiratory rate using malate-glutamate as a substrate was noted. The ultrastructural findings and the morphometric data suggest that the way in which mitochondrial normalization takes place is based on partition of these organelles.