Control of Rhizopus stolonifer in strawberries by the combination of essential oil with carboxymethylcellulose.

Strawberry has a limiting postharvest shelf life, especially because of soft rot. The antifungal activity of the essential oils (EOs) of Eucalyptus staigeriana, Lippia sidoides and Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus was tested in vitro against plant pathogen Rhizopus stolonifer. The chemical composition of the EO with the highest activity and its effects on pathogen morphology were verified. The in vivo antifungal activity of this EO associated with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) coating, in preventive and curative applications, was also evaluated. L. sidoides EO presented the highest in vitro antifungal activity. The analysis of the chemical composition of this EO showed a prevalence of the compound thymol and the scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that L. sidoides EO was able to cause damage to the cell wall and the intracellular components of the pathogen. Strawberries treated with L. sidoides EO associated with CMC presented a reduction in disease severity, especially when treated in a curative way.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding GLUT1 and diabetic nephropathy in Brazilian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Mesangial cells subject to high extracellular glucose concentrations, as occur in hyperglycaemic states, are unable to down regulate glucose influx, resulting in intracellular activation of deleterious biochemical pathways. A high expression of GLUT1 participates in the development of diabetic glomerulopathy. Variants in the gene encoding GLUT1 (SLC2A1) have been associated to this diabetic complication. The aim of this study was to test whether polymorphisms in SLC2A1 confer susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy (DN) in Brazilian type 1 diabetes patients. Four polymorphisms (rs3820589, rs1385129, rs841847 and rs841848) were genotyped in a Brazilian cohort comprised of 452 patients. A prospective analysis was performed in 155 patients. Mean duration of follow-up was 5.6 ± 2.4 years and the incidence of renal events was 18.0%. The rs3820589 presented an inverse association with the prevalence of incipient DN (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.16 - 0.80, p=0.01) and with progression to renal events (HR: 0.20; 95% CI: 0.03 - 0.70; p=0.009). AGGT and AGAC haplotypes were associated with the prevalence of incipient DN and the AGAC haplotype was also associated with the prevalence of established/advanced DN. In conclusion, rs3820589 in the SLC2A1 gene modulates the risk to DN in Brazilian patients with inadequate type 1 diabetes control.

Relationship of thyroid hormone levels and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Alterations in thyroid hormone levels are found associated with inflammation in patients with non-thyroidal illness (NTIS) and are common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Inflammation has also been linked with development of cardiovascular events (CVE) in T2DM. Our objective was to assess whether thyroid hormone abnormalities typical of NTIS in patients with T2DM are related to inflammation and CVE. This was a cross-sectional study of 140 subjects; 70 with T2DM and 70 as a control group paired by age, sex and body mass index (BMI). We recorded age, sex, BMI, waist/hip ratio, diabetes duration, HbA1c, CVE history, serum amyloid A (SAA), TSH, total (T) and free (F) T4 and T3, reverse T3 (rT3) and TT3/rT3 ratio. Patients with T2DM had lower levels of TT4 (p = 0.012), TT3 (p < 0.001), FT3 (p < 0.001) and TT3/rT3 (p = 0.002). They also showed higher FT4 (p < 0.001) and similar TSH levels (p = 0.627) compared to the control group. SAA levels correlated positively with rT3 (r = 0.45; p < 0.001) and inversely with TT3/rT3 (r = -0.38; p = 0.001). Patients with T2DM and history of CVE had higher rT3 (p = 0.006) and lower TT3/rT3 (p = 0.002), along with higher SAA levels (p = 0.002) than patients without this characteristic. Multiple logistic regression showed that factors independently associated with CVE were older age (OR = 1.159, 95 % CI 1.011-1.329), male sex (OR = 4.391, 95 % CI 1.081-17.829) and higher TT3/rT3 (OR = 0.993, 95 % CI 0.987-0.999). We have confirmed the presence of NTIS in T2DM. We also showed that thyroid hormone abnormalities are associated to inflammatory activity and to CVE in these patients.

Sex-specific associations of variants in regulatory regions of NADPH oxidase-2 (CYBB) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) genes with kidney disease in type 1 diabetes.

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy. The superoxide-generating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase 2 (NOX2, encoded by the CYBB gene) and the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) play opposing roles in the balance of cellular redox status. In the present study, we investigated associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the regulatory regions of CYBB and GPX4 with kidney disease in patients with type 1 diabetes. Two functional SNPs, rs6610650 (CYBB promoter region, chromosome X) and rs713041 (GPX4 3'untranslated region, chromosome 19), were genotyped in 451 patients with type 1 diabetes from a Brazilian cohort (diabetic nephropathy: 44.6%) and in 945 French/Belgian patients with type 1 diabetes from Genesis and GENEDIAB cohorts (diabetic nephropathy: 62.3%). The minor A-allele of CYBB rs6610650 was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in Brazilian women, and with the prevalence of established/advanced nephropathy in French/Belgian women (odds ratio 1.75, 95% CI 1.11-2.78, p = 0.016). The minor T-allele of GPX4 rs713041 was inversely associated with the prevalence of established/advanced nephropathy in Brazilian men (odds ratio 0.30, 95% CI 0.13-0.68, p = 0.004), and associated with higher eGFR in French/Belgian men. In conclusion, these heterogeneous results suggest that neither CYBB nor GPX4 are major genetic determinants of diabetic nephropathy, but nevertheless, they could modulate in a gender-specific manner the risk for renal disease in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Comportamento do maracujazeiro amarelo, variedade Afruvec, ante uma população de Fusarium solani, agente causal da podridão do colo / Behaviour of yellow passion fruit, Afruvec variety, in relation to a population of Fusarium solani, causal agent of collar rot

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi verificar o comportamento do maracujazeiro amarelo, variedade Afruvec, ante uma população de Fusarium solani, obtida desse mesmo hospedeiro. O delineamento adotado foi o de blocos ao acaso, contendo dez tratamentos (nove isolados e tratamento testemunha), com quatro repetições, sendo cada parcela representada por um vaso contendo uma planta. Um disco do meio de cultura, colonizado com cada isolado do fungo, foi inoculado no colo ferido das plantas da variedade Afruvec, dois meses após a semeadura. Avaliou-se a patogenicidade, a incidência (número de plantas mortas) e a severidade da doença (comprimento da lesão no colo), até os sessenta dias após a inoculação. A variedade Afruvec foi suscetível ao fungo e apresentou variabilidade quanto à incidência e severidade da doença diante dos diferentes isolados. A população do fungo apresentou variabilidade em relação à agressividade. Com a evidência de diversidade genética na população do fungo, recomenda-se, também, nos testes de seleção de materiais ao patógeno, a avaliação desses materiais em diferentes localidades com histórico da doença ou inoculação com uma mistura de isolados do fungo, a fim de se conhecer a resistência ampla do genótipo ao patógeno.

The objective of the present work was to verify the behavior of yellow passion fruit, Afruvec variety, in relation to a population of Fusarium solani, obtained from this crop. The experimental delineation was random blocks, containing 10 treatments [9 isolates and 1 control treatment], with 4 repetitions, each plot being represented by a vase containing a plant. A disk of culture medium colonized by each isolate of the fungus was inoculated in the wounded collar region of the plants of the Afruvec variety two months after sowing. The appraised parameters were: the pathogenicity, the incidence (number of dead plants) and the severity of the disease (length of the lesion in the collar region), until 60 days after inoculation. The Afruvec variety was susceptible to the fungus and also presented variability as to the severity of the disease and incidence in relation to the different isolates. The population of the fungus showed variability in regard to aggressiveness. In light of the evidence of genetic diversity in the F. solani population, it is also suggested, in the tests of selection of materials to the pathogen, that these materials should be evaluated in different places with a history of the disease or inoculation with a pool of isolates of the fungus, in order to know the wide resistance of the genotype to the pathogen.

[Drug-induced interstitial nephritis. A case report]. / Nefrite interstiziale da farmaci. Descrizione di un caso clinico.

Most instance of drug-induced renal disease are probably due to direct toxicity; the most common immunologically mediated lesion of the kidney due to drugs appears to be interstitial nephritis-fever, skin rash, eosinophilia, eosinophiluria frequently accompany the renal symptoms. One case we report due to ceftriaxone; the disease subsided completely when the treatment with the drug has been stopped.

[Pharmacologic treatment and atopic dermatitis]. / Terapia farmacologica e dermatite atopica.

The role of etiology, pathogenesis and clinical symptoms in children with Atopic Dermatitis is evaluated. Eighteen patients with elimination diet were treated, without cow milk and egg, and with pharmacologic treatment (ketotiphene and cro molyn sodium) for two months. Dietary therapy and treatment however result in a large reduction in clinical symptoms in children affected with Atopic Dermatitis.