miR-379 links glucocorticoid treatment with mitochondrial response in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal muscle disorder, caused by mutations in the DMD gene and affects approximately 1:5000-6000 male births. In this report, we identified dysregulation of members of the Dlk1-Dio3 miRNA cluster in muscle biopsies of the GRMD dog model. Of these, we selected miR-379 for a detailed investigation because its expression is high in the muscle, and is known to be responsive to glucocorticoid, a class of anti-inflammatory drugs commonly used in DMD patients. Bioinformatics analysis predicts that miR-379 targets EIF4G2, a translational factor, which is involved in the control of mitochondrial metabolic maturation. We confirmed in myoblasts that EIF4G2 is a direct target of miR-379, and identified the DAPIT mitochondrial protein as a translational target of EIF4G2. Knocking down DAPIT in skeletal myotubes resulted in reduced ATP synthesis and myogenic differentiation. We also demonstrated that this pathway is GC-responsive since treating mice with dexamethasone resulted in reduced muscle expression of miR-379 and increased expression of EIF4G2 and DAPIT. Furthermore, miR-379 seric level, which is also elevated in the plasma of DMD patients in comparison with age-matched controls, is reduced by GC treatment. Thus, this newly identified pathway may link GC treatment to a mitochondrial response in DMD.

Strongylodon juangonzalezii, a remarkable new species of Strongylodon (Fabaceae) from Mulanay, Quezon Province, Philippines.

A new species, Strongylodon juangonzalezii Hadsall, Alejado & Cajano, collected from Buenavista Protected Landscape, Mulanay, Quezon, is hereby described. The new species is remarkable for its plagiotropic dense inflorescence made up of 27-31 flowers per cluster in a lateral branch. Flowers are lilac when young, then gradually turn blue when mature. A comparison of the morphology of Strongylodon juangonzalezii and related species of Strongylodon in the Philippines is provided. Detailed illustration based on the holotype and photos from its natural habitat are also included. With this new species, the Philippines now harbors eight endemic species of Strongylodon. A key to distinguish the species is provided.

Toxicity and sublethal effects of six insecticides to last instar larvae and adults of the biocontrol agents Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) and Adalia bipunctata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

To further develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies against crop pests, it is important to evaluate the effects of insecticides on biological control agents. Therefore, we tested the toxicity and sublethal effects (fecundity and fertility) of flonicamid, flubendiamide, metaflumizone, spirotetramat, sulfoxaflor and deltamethrin on the natural enemies Chrysoperla carnea and Adalia bipunctata. The side effects of the active ingredients of the insecticides were evaluated with residual contact tests for the larvae and adults of these predators in the laboratory. Flonicamid, flubendiamide, metaflumizone and spirotetramat were innocuous to last instar larvae and adults of C. carnea and A. bipunctata. Sulfoxaflor was slightly toxic to adults of C. carnea and was highly toxic to the L4 larvae of A. bipunctata. For A. bipunctata, sulfoxaflor and deltamethrin were the most damaging compounds with a cumulative larval mortality of 100%. Deltamethrin was also the most toxic compound to larvae and adults of C. carnea. In accordance with the results obtained, the compounds flonicamid, flubendiamide, metaflumizone and spirotetramat might be incorporated into IPM programs in combination with these natural enemies for the control of particular greenhouse pests. Nevertheless, the use of sulfoxaflor and deltamethrin in IPM strategies should be taken into consideration when releasing either of these biological control agents, due to the toxic behavior observed under laboratory conditions. The need for developing sustainable approaches to combine the use of these insecticides and natural enemies within an IPM framework is discussed.

Kaolin and copper-based products applications: ecotoxicology on four natural enemies.

Lethal and sublethal effects of kaolin clays and two copper-based products on four natural enemies found in olive orchards Anthocoris nemoralis (F.) (Hem. Anthocoridae), Chelonus inanitus (L.) (Hym. Braconidae), Chilocorus nigritus (F.) (Col. Coccinellidae) and Scutellysta cyanea Motschulsky (Hym. Pteromalidae) are described. Both kaolin and copper can be applied for controlling the olive fruit fly and the olive moth, two important pests of this crop. The products did not increase the mortality of any of the insects studied, with the exception of A. nemoralis. The sublethal effects, however, differed depending on the parameter evaluated and the insect studied. Both kaolin and coppers slightly, but significantly, reduced the life span of C. inanitus and S. cyanea. Number of eggs laid by A. nemoralis females were reduced, but not significantly compared to the controls. In the behavioural experiments, clear preference for remaining on kaolin-untreated surfaces when insects were able to choose was observed. Despite having some negative effects, the negative impact on natural enemies was lower than the impact caused by products commonly applied in this crop against the pests stated above. Therefore, both kaolin and copper can be considered as alternative products to be applied in olive orchards if an effective resistance management programme is to be developed. Furthermore, both of them are allowed in organic farming, in which the number of products that can be applied is more restricted.

GI-RADS reporting system for ultrasound evaluation of adnexal masses in clinical practice: a prospective multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical usefulness of a structured reporting system based on ultrasound findings for management of adnexal masses. METHODS: This was a prospective multicenter study comprising 432 adnexal masses in 372 women (mean age, 44.0 (range, 13-78) years) over a 36-month period. Ninety-three (25%) women were postmenopausal and 279 (75%) women were premenopausal. Patients were evaluated with transvaginal ultrasound by one of three examiners expert in gynecological ultrasound. Reporting was provided to referring clinicians according to the Gynecologic Imaging Report and Data System (GI-RADS) classification. A predetermined management protocol was offered to referral clinicians. It was suggested that patients classified as GI-RADS 2 be managed with follow-up scan, patients classified as GI-RADS 3 undergo laparoscopic surgery and patients classified as GI-RADS 4 or 5 be referred to a gynecologic oncologist. Definitive histologic diagnosis was available in 370 cases and 62 additional cases were considered as benign because of spontaneous resolution during follow-up. These outcomes were used as the gold standard for calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (LR+) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-) of GI-RADS classification for identifying adnexal masses at high risk of malignancy, considering GI-RADS 4 and 5 as being malignant. RESULTS: Of the 432 tumors, 112 were malignant and 320 benign. The GI-RADS classification rate was as follows: GI-RADS 2, 92 (21%) cases; GI-RADS 3, 184 (43%) cases; GI-RADS 4, 40 (9%) cases; GI-RADS 5, (27%) 116 cases. Sensitivity for this system was 99.1% (95% CI, 95.1-99.8%), specificity was 85.9% (95% CI, 81.7-89.3%), LR+ was 7.05 (95% CI, 5.37-9.45) and LR- was 0.01 (95% CI, 0.001-0.07). PPV and NPV were 71.1% and 99.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The GI-RADS reporting system performed well in identifying adnexal masses at high risk of malignancy and seems to be useful for clinical decision-making.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in nonobese patients with diabetes: Prevalence and relationships with hemodynamic alterations detected with Doppler sonography().

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence, severity, and hemodynamic features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in nonobese diabetics. METHODS: We studied 100 consecutive nonobese (body mass index [BMI] < 30) patients with type 1 (n = 17) or type 2 (n = 83) diabetes and no known causes of liver disease. Steatosis was diagnosed and graded with ultrasonography. Digital sonographic images of the liver and right kidney were analyzed with dedicated software (HDI-Lab), and the liver/kidney ratio of grey-scale intensity was calculated as an index of the severity of the steatosis. Severity scores ranging from 0 (none) to 5 (severe) were compared with sonographic and Doppler findings (right liver size, portal vein diameter and flow velocity, hepatic and splenic arterial pulsatility indices, hepatic-vein flow profile and A- and S-wave velocities). RESULTS: The prevalence of steatosis was 24% in type I and 80% in type II diabetes (grade 1 in 17%, grade 2 in 34%, grade 3 in 33%, grade 4 in 9%, grade 5 in 7%). In patients with steatosis (especially those with grades 4-5 disease), hepatic volume was increased (p < 0.005). Portal vein diameter was increased in grade 5 steatosis. The hepatic artery pulsatility index was significantly increased, particularly in grades 4 and 5 (p < 0.0001); portal and A-wave velocities were significantly reduced in grades 3-5 (p < 0.001); and the hepatic vein flow profile was altered in 27% (biphasic: 20%, flat: 7%) patients with steatosis, although there was no correlation with severity. CONCLUSIONS: NAFLD is very frequent in nonobese diabetics with type 2 but not type 1 disease, and it is associated with hepatomegaly and liver hemodynamic alterations only when it is severe.

[Morphological approach to facial esthetics: a Tunisian study]. / Approche morphologique de l'esthétique faciale: une étude tunisienne.

Over the course of time, an esthetic standard, molded by a certain number of rules, recognized virtually universally, has gained widespread recognition. Orthodontics, like the rest of the world, accepts this rule. So, we all try in our treatment objectives to conform to a set of standardized "norms" of facial and cephalometric esthetics. Still, one question must be asked: can these norms be the same throughout the four corners of the globe? Having pondered this matter carefully, we attempted to find an answer by undertaking a study of 53 patients with "normal dentitions", all students of dental medicine. On profile cephalograms and profile photographs of these patients, we carried out a variety of esthetic analyses. We then compared the results obtained with orthodontic averages and found that they differed in many points. Should this finding impel us to adopt different esthetic criteria? However, this question may be answered, we retain our essential conviction that we should endeavor to preserve the goal of achieving facial harmony for our patients and that we should know what its criteria are.

Purification and kinetic characterization of an anionic peroxidase from melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivated under different salinity conditions.

The partial characterization of an anionic peroxidase in melon fruit is described. Four melon peroxidase (MPX) isoenzymes were detected in crude extracts after isoelectric focusing. The major MPX isoenzyme (pI = 3.7) was partially purified by including hydrophobic and anion-exchange chromatography in the purification scheme. The sample obtained was used to characterize MPX. This peroxidase did not show activity on ascorbic acid but oxidized guaiacol at a high rate, showing an optimum pH of 5.5 when acting on this last reducing substrate. Melon fruits grown under highly saline conditions showed slightly increased levels of this anionic isoenzyme. Kinetic studies using 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazolinesulfonic acid) (ABTS) as reducing substrate showed that increased salinity in the growth medium did not modify the kinetic parameters of melon peroxidase on both hydrogen peroxide and reducing substrate.

Arrhythmia in early pregnancy: a predictor of first-trimester pregnancy loss.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic significance of cardiac arrhythmia detected in the first trimester. DESIGN: Cases in which embryonic arrhythmia was detected by transvaginal ultrasound between 6 and 9 weeks of gestation were retrospectively identified and reviewed. RESULTS: Embryonic arrhythmia was noted in four of 950 ultrasound examinations. There was associated ventricular bradycardia in three cases, one of which also had an atrial rate below the normal range for gestational age. No cardiac activity was detected at the follow-up examination 1 week later in three cases. In the other, the embryo was alive but there was severe growth delay and the scan the following week confirmed embryonic death. CONCLUSION: This report suggests that arrhythmia in early pregnancy is associated with subsequent pregnancy loss.

Anatomic and mechanical properties of the lateral disc attachment of the temporomandibular joint.

PURPOSE: This study measured the strength to failure of the human temporomandibular joint (TMJ) lateral disc attachment (LDA) using a tension-compression machine. These data were correlated with the LDA location and its morphologic aspects, the age and sex of the subjects, and the amount of the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) inserted in the disc. METHODS: Forty-two TMJs without any obvious internal damage were carefully dissected to preserve the LDA. The width of insertion of the lateral pterygoid muscle fibers in the anterior band, as well as the width of the disc, were measured. The tension test was performed until the complete failure of the sample using a screw machine. RESULTS: Two types of LDA were recognized. In LDA 1, the anterior and posterior bands lateral disc junction were directly inserted on the lateral pole, whereas in LDA 2 this lateral junction was attached behind and below the pole through a sheet of fibrous tissue. The breaking points for LDA 1 (55.8 N) and LDA 2 (28.8 N) were significantly different (P = .03). No correlation was found between the amount of LPM discal fibers insertion, sex, age, or the LDA breaking strength point. CONCLUSION: The LDA 2 insertion strongly suggests that the lateral joint ligament together with the capsule may act as a substitute for the original disc attachment to the lateral pole of the condyle.

[Cervical pregnancy. 3 clinical cases]. / Embarazo cervical. Tres casos clínicos.

Three cases of cervical pregnancy are diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasonography. The authors emphasized the opportune medical treatment, avoiding surgical risk.

[Transvaginal color Doppler in ovarian neoplasms]. / Doppler color transvaginal en tumores ováricos.

Thirty one patients with clinical and sonographic diagnosis of ovarian tumor were studied prospectively, with Transvaginal Color Doppler. There were 24 benign and 7 malignant tumors (4 stage I borderline, I stage IA cistoadenocarcinoma and 2 adenocarcinoma stage III). Six malignant tumors had resistance indexes (IR) from 0.17 to 0.55. In one borderline no vascular signal was obtained. The probability of malignancy increased inversely with the IR from 60%, with RI below 0.60 to 100% with IR below 0.4.

[Doppler study in the management of intrauterine growth retardation]. / El Doppler en el manejo del retardo de crecimiento intrauterino.

Forty-four pregnancies with clinical and sonographic diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) were prospectively studied. A Doppler examination of arcuate and umbilical arteries, fetal descending aorta and medial cerebral artery was done. The results of the Doppler interrogation determined three groups. The first with normal Doppler had the higher birth weight the lesser ponderal deficit and the lesser percent of newborns below the fifth centile. No morbimortality was found in this group. The second group with a mild abnormal Doppler, had a morbidity of 18.8%, and no mortality was found. The third group had the most abnormal Doppler and, showed a perinatal morbidity rate of 28.6% and mortality 42.9%. In our series, the Doppler examination was able to identify among the pregnancies with clinical and sonographic diagnosis of IUGR those with the highest risk of morbimortality (sensibility 100%, specificity 77.8%, positive examination predictive value 50% and negative examination predictive value 100%).

[Echographic-histological correlation in ovarian neoplasms]. / Correlación ecográfico-histológica de tumores ováricos.

One hundred women who had surgical intervention indicated for pelvic masses, were studied prospectively, all of them were investigated and treated in the obstetrical and gynecology Department of the Hospital del Salvador between January 1988 to January 1989. Pelvic tumors were classified following the scheme at the University of Tokyo's Obstetrician and Gynecology Department, which was designated to correlate the echographic image with the tumors histology and especially to distinguish preoperatively the benign or malign nature of the mass. The early diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the general population was not the objective. The classification divides the tumors in 6 groups with two o three subgroups for each one of them the probability of the tumors being benign was high for those in the group one to four (the predictive value of non malignancy was 98.4%) and the possibility of malignancy was high especially in the group 6 (the predictive value for malignancy was 63.6%).