Association of haplotypes of inflammation-related genes with gastric preneoplastic lesions in African Americans and Caucasians.

Identification of biomarkers is needed for development of screening programs to prevent gastric cancer. Because racial differences exist in cancer rates, we aimed to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in inflammation-related genes and gastric preneoplastic lesions in African Americans and Caucasians from Louisiana, USA. Gastric biopsies from 569 adults (361 African Americans and 208 Caucasians) undergoing diagnostic endoscopy were used for histological diagnosis and genomic DNA extraction. Polymorphisms within eight genes (IL1B, IL8, IL6, TNF, PTGS2, ARG1, IL10 and TGFB1) were investigated by TaqMan. The cagA status of Helicobacter pylori infection was assessed by PCR. Haplotype logistic regression models were used to identify variables associated with intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia. African Americans carrying the haplotype IL1B-511T/-31C/+3954T, which includes the three risk-associated alleles at the IL1B locus, were more likely to being diagnosed with intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia than those carrying the most common haplotype T-C-C (adjusted OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.1-5.5). None of the polymorphisms were associated with intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia in Caucasians. Age and cagA-positive status were independent factors associated with these lesions. Haplotypes at the IL1B locus may participate in mediating the susceptibility to gastric carcinogenesis and might be useful as markers of advanced premalignant lesions in African Americans. Interestingly, carriage of IL1B+3954T allele seems to be the key factor, even though the role played by other polymorphisms cannot be excluded.

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in bats from São Paulo city, Brazil.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoan with a worldwide distribution. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies in bats from São Paulo city, Brazil. A total of 616 serum samples were collected from 22 species of bats. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were searched using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT ≥ 1:16) and IgG anti-bat antibodies produced in sheep on samples collected during 2006-2011; 32.62% (201/616) of bats had T. gondii antibodies. The modified agglutination test (MAT ≥ 1:25) was performed on samples collected during 2010-2011; 18.61% (35/188) were seropositive. The concordance between IFAT and MAT (serum samples from 2010 to 2011) by Kappa (95% CI) was 0.144, resulting in a low agreement between the techniques. The specificity and sensitivity of MAT and IFAT have not been evaluated for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in bats. Thus, it was verified that bats are exposed to T. gondii during their lifetime and they are also part of the toxoplasmosis epidemiology.

Kinetic modeling of fructooligosaccharide production using Aspergillus oryzae N74.

In this study, the kinetic for the bioconversion of sucrose to fructooligosaccharides (FOS) by free cells of Aspergillus oryzae N74 was modeled. In addition, the effect of immobilized glucose isomerase (IGI) on FOS production yield was evaluated and considered in the kinetic model. The selected kinetic models were based on a proposed reaction mechanism described by elementary rate equations and modified Michaelis-Menten kinetic equations. The use of IGI allowed to increase the FOS production yield (FOS(Yield)) and to decrease the glucose/fructose (G/F) ratio. At shake flask scale, the FOS(Yield) was increased in 4.7 % (final yield 58.3 %), while the G/F ratio was reduced 6.2-fold. At bench scale, the FOS(Yield) was increased in 2.2 % (final yield 57.3 %), while the G/F ratio was reduced 4.5-fold. The elementary rate equation model was the one that best adjusted experimental data for FOS production using either the fungus biomass or the mixture fungus biomass-IGI, with an overall average percentage error of 7.2. Despite that FOS production yield was not highly improved by the presence of IGI in the reaction mixture, it favored the reduction of residual glucose in the mixture, avoiding the loss of material owe to glucose transformation to fructose that can be used in situ for FOS production by the fructosyltransferase.

Bacilos gramnegativos no fermentadores (BGNNF) aislados en un laboratorio hospitalario / Non fermentative gramnegative bacilli (NFGNB) isolated in a hospital laboratory

Se realizó un estudio prospectivo de los BGNNF, excluyendo Pseudomonas aeruginosa, aislados en el Laboratorio del Hospital "Dr. Julio C. Perrando" de la ciudad de Resistencia (Argentina) con el objeto de conocer su frecuencia y susceptibilidad antimicrobiana. La identificación bacteriana fue realizada mediante pruebas bioquímicas. El mayor porcentaje de BGNNF aislados procedía de sangre (25 por ciento), secreciones respiratoria y orina (23,9 por ciento), siendo Acinetobacter baumannii (34,7 por ciento), Pseudomonas fluorescens/P putida (15,2 por ciento), Stenotrophomonas maltophllia (9,7 por ciento) y Burkholderia cepacia (8,7 por ciento) las especies aisladas con más frecuencia. Se estudió además la distribución de las distintas cepas según el producto patológico y área de hospitalización, realizándose pruebas de sensibilidad a los antimicrobianos a cepas con mayor porcentaje de aislamiento. Se concluye que: 1- los BGNNF son aislados con mayor frecuencia de pacientes internados y comprometidos que de los ambulatorios y 2- la antibioticoterapia debiera ser administrada según el informe del laboratorio de bacteriología