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Caso clínico: El tumor renal híbrido se define como aquella neoplasia cuyos componentes están dados por la presencia de oncocitos (oncocitoma) y células cromófobas cuyo diagnóstico preoperatorio es un reto por la gran similitud con el oncocitoma típico. Sus modalidades de presentación incluyen la hereditaria y esporádica, siendo la primera la más frecuente asociándose al compromiso de otros órganos como la piel y el pulmón. Implicaciones clínicas: Presentamos el caso de una paciente femenina de 9 años de edad, estudiante de primaria, a quien de manera incidental se le encuentra masa en flanco izquierdo, no dolorosa a la palpación, fija, de aproximadamente 8 cm, por lo que se realiza ultrasonido, tomografía abdominal así como angiotomografía renal donde se confirma la presencia de una gran masa renal izquierda bien definida, heterogénea por área de necrosis central, sin evidencia de infiltración a estructuras adyacentes o invasión vascular cuyo reporte histopatológico arroja oncocitoma renal hibrido, por lo que es llevada a nefrectomía total laparoscópica, presentando adecuada evolución en su seguimiento. Relevancia: Familiarizarnos con el espectro de masas renales en los escolares es de vital importancia ya que son neoplasias de curso benigno, lo que evita el uso de medidas innecesarias. Conclusión: La rápida identificación permite intervenciones quirúrgicas oportunas con menor morbilidad en los pacientes, por lo que es importante que los diferentes especialistas conozcan sus hallazgos imagenológicos.

Pasar Ikan Lama, located on the Commercial Road, is a well-known commercial area in Medan. The location is close to the city center so that local and foreign tourists easily find it. The place dominates by cloth sales such as kebaya wholesaler center, headscarves, Mukenah, prayer mats, carpets, batik, traditional clothing, and their items are originating from Makah such as dates and zam-zam water. The phenomenon that is now occurring in the Pasar Ikan Lama is an untidy arrangement. Another phenomenon is the strategic position that is adjacent to the historical area. Even so, the Pasar Ikan Lama is still visited. Visitors come not only from Medan but from various regions to foreign countries. The Pasar Ikan Lama can use as a destination or icon for the City of Medan. Therefore, it is necessary to revitalize it to increase vitality in the area of ​​the Pasar Ikan Lama. Revitalization model for the Medan commercial corridor with the concept of suburban retrofitting carried out using the theory of Suburban Retrofitting as a basis, accordingly the idea of Hamid Shirvani as a determinant of needs from a commercial corridor, Lynch theory is beneficial as a determinant of something interesting, potentially to be developed or abolished. The results of the study obtained from this study are the revitalization model of the Medan City commercial corridor with the concept of suburban retrofitting

Introdution: brucellosis is an bacterian zoonosis, caused by Brucella gender, it is responsable about 500 000 human infections per year in the world. Brucelosis is a multisystemic infection with a variable clinic spectre. Neurobrucellosis is a condition that involves the central nervous system, as complication of systemic disease in about 5-7% of the cases with brucellosis. The clinical presentation is changeful: Encefalitis, meningitis, radiculitis, myelitis, neuropathies, subarachnoid hemorrhage, psychiatric manifestations, brain abscess and demyelinating syndromes. Clinical abstract: a 70 years old male , with no degeneratives diseases, personal history of occasional alcoholism, with diagnostic and treatment of brucellosis since march of 2016, without complete scheme. He presented fluctuanting fever for 2 weeks before hospital admission, weight los, syncopes, slow march, inttermitent disorientation, diarrhea and cough. At physical exploration he presented awareness, orientation about space and person but not in time, short-them memory altered , weakness in half left body, muscular force 4/5, osteotendinous reflexes ++/+++. Magnetic resonance shows light enhancement of leptomenynges, subcortical/ cortical nodular lesions, peripheral edema at basal nucleus, talamo, brain stem and cerebellum; and ring enhancing. The antigen pink bengal test and standard agglutination with 2-mercapto,etanol in cerebroespinal fluid show positivity. This patient is in treatmente with specific antibiotics with clinical and radiological image improvement. Conclusion: neurobrucellosis have no typical clinical and radiological image presentation, the Brucella microorganism is isolated in CSF in just 20% of the cases. IRM is an imaging tool useful to show the parenchymal and craneal nerves lesions, meningeal involvement is seen after contrast administration; the most specific findings are: focal cortical brain lesions with ring enhancing and surrounding edema, vascular disturbance and generalized inflammation. Neuroimaging and neurophysiologic evaluation along with microbiological diagnosis are useful in early detection of complications and improve prognosis.

Antibody-based products constitute one of the most attractive biological molecules for diagnostic, medical imagery and therapeutic purposes with very few side effects. Their development has become a major priority of biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, a growing number of modified antibody-based products have emerged including fragments, multi-specific and conjugate antibodies. In this study, using protein engineering, we have functionalized the anti-hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) camelid VHH antibody fragment (cAb-Lys3), by insertion into a solvent-exposed loop of the Bacillus licheniformis β-lactamase BlaP. We showed that the generated hybrid protein conserved its enzymatic activity while the displayed nanobody retains its ability to inhibit HEWL with a nanomolar affinity range. Then, we successfully implemented the functionalized cAb-Lys3 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, potentiometric biosensor and drug screening assays. The hybrid protein was also expressed on the surface of phage particles and, in this context, was able to interact specifically with HEWL while the β-lactamase activity was used to monitor phage interactions. Finally, using thrombin-cleavage sites surrounding the permissive insertion site in the β-lactamase, we reported an expression system in which the nanobody can be easily separated from its carrier protein. Altogether, our study shows that insertion into the BlaP β-lactamase constitutes a suitable technology to functionalize nanobodies and allows the creation of versatile tools that can be used in innovative biotechnological assays.

A new method allowing the simultaneous and automatic determination of potentiometric and impedimetric characteristics of an electrochemical cell is presented. This method is based on a computerized or micro-controlled feedback loop that conditions a potentiostat input signal as a function of its output signal. The embedding of this method in a portable sensor prototype is used to evaluate the versatility and usefulness of this new approach. As this method is active, it is used both for the electrochemical preparation of polyaniline coated electrodes and for their subsequent evaluation in pH-linked sensors such as an antibiotic sensor.

Insertion of heterologous peptide sequences into a protein carrier may impose structural constraints that could help the peptide to adopt a proper fold. This concept could be the starting point for the development of a new generation of safe subunit vaccines based on the expression of poorly immunogenic epitopes. In the present study, we characterized the tolerance of the TEM-1 class A β-lactamase to the insertion of two different peptides, the V3 loop of the gp120 protein of HIV, and the thermostable STa enterotoxin produced by enterotoxic Escherichia coli. Insertion of the V3 loop of the HIV gp120 protein into the TEM-1 scaffold yielded insoluble and poorly produced proteins. By contrast, four hybrid β-lactamases carrying the STa peptide were efficiently produced and purified. Immunization of BALB/c mice with these hybrid proteins produced high levels of TEM-1-specific antibodies, together with significant levels of neutralizing antibodies against STa.

The antifouling properties of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate- co-methyl methacrylate) hydrogels were improved by the surface grafting of a brush of poly(oligoethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate) [poly(OEGA)]. The atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of OEGA (degree of polymerization = 8) was initiated from the preactivated surface of the hydrogel under mild conditions, thus in water at 25 degrees C. The catalytic system was optimized on the basis of two ligands [1,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyl-triethylenetetramine (HMTETA) or tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine (Me6TREN)] and two copper salts (CuIBr or CuICl). Faster polymerization was observed for the Me 6TREN/CuIBr combination. The chemical composition and morphology of the coated surface were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle measurements by the water droplet and captive bubble methods, scanning electron microscopy, and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The hydrophilicity of the surface increased with the molar mass of the grafted poly(OEGA) chains, and the surface modifications were reported in parallel. The antifouling properties of the coatings were tested by in vitro protein adsorption and cell adhesion tests, with green fluorescent protein, beta-lactamase, and lens epithelial cells, as model proteins and model cells, respectively. The grafted poly(OEGA) brush decreased the nonspecific protein adsorption and imparted high cell repellency to the hydrogel surface.

Cataract surgery is a routine ophthalmologic intervention resulting in replacement of the opacified natural lens by a polymeric intraocular lens (IOL). A main postoperative complication, as a result of protein adsorption and lens epithelial cell (LEC) adhesion, growth, and proliferation, is the secondary cataract, referred to as posterior capsular opacification (PCO). To avoid PCO formation, a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chemical coating was created on the surface of hydrogel IOLs. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, "captive bubble" and "water droplet" contact angle measurements, and atomic force microscopy analyses proved the covalent grafting of the PEG chains on the IOL surface while keeping unchanged the optical properties of the initial material. A strong decrease of protein adsorption and cell adhesion depending on the molar mass of the grafted PEG (1100, 2000, and 5000 g/mol) was observed by performing the relevant in vitro tests with green fluorescent protein and LECs, respectively. Thus, the study provides a facile method for developing materials with nonfouling properties, particularly IOLs.

Hydrophilic and adherent polypyrrole coatings were prepared by a two-step electrochemical method. First, α-pyrrole, ω-acrylate polyethylene oxide (Py-PEO-A) dual macromonomer was synthesized by anionic polymerization and electrografted onto (semi)conducting substrates by cathodic polymerization of the acrylic end-group. The obtained adherent coating is hydrophilic and thus swells in water and bears a pyrrole ring, a precursor of the conducting polymer. In a second step, the coating is anodically polarized in a mixture of Py and Py-PEO to give the hydrophilic and adherent polypyrrole. Properties such as morphology, adherence, electroactivity, and hydrophilicity of these coatings were investigated by conventional methods and compared to those of pure polypyrrole coatings. These novel coatings exhibit efficient protein adsorption repellency and are thus good candidates for applications in biomaterials and biosensors.

In order to test the use of a subunit recombinant vaccine for its capacity to induce antibodies against the nonimmunogenic heat-stable enterotoxin STa from Escherichia coli and the TEM-1 beta-lactamase, cattle were immunized with a hybrid protein created by insertion of the STa sequence at position 197 of the TEM-1 beta-lactamase. Specific anti-STa IgG and IgG1 antibodies were detected at low levels, while no IgG2 antibodies were detected. In contrast, high levels of the different anti-TEM IgG subtypes were detected in cattle sera. In addition, beta-lactamase activity was inhibited by the sera. The presence of antibodies against STa and TEM-1 beta-lactamase was assessed in sera from 366 cattle taken from the field. No significant level of IgGs against the toxin or the TEM-1 was detected. A comparison of the antibody level between the immunized and the nonimmunized animals clearly demonstrated that STa was not able to induce a significant level of antibodies in the vaccinated animals. In contrast, a strong antibody response against TEM-1 beta-lactamase was demonstrated.

Insertion of heterologous peptide sequences into a protein carrier may impose structural constraints that could help the peptide to adopt a proper fold. This concept could be the starting point for the development of a new generation of safe subunit vaccines based on the expression of poorly immunogenic epitopes. In the present study, we characterized the tolerance of the TEM-1 class A beta-lactamase to the insertion of two different peptides, the V3 loop of the gp120 protein of HIV, and the thermostable STa enterotoxin produced by enterotoxic Escherichia coli. Insertion of the V3 loop of the HIV gp120 protein into the TEM-1 scaffold yielded insoluble and poorly produced proteins. By contrast, four hybrid beta-lactamases carrying the STa peptide were efficiently produced and purified. Immunization of BALB/c mice with these hybrid proteins produced high levels of TEM-1-specific antibodies, together with significant levels of neutralizing antibodies against STa.

In order to test the use of DNA vaccination for its capacity to induce antibodies against the non-immunogenic heat-stable enterotoxin STa from Escherichia coli, BALB/c mice were immunized with plasmid DNA encoding hybrid proteins made by the insertion of wild type STa or insertion of the Cys6Ala, Cys17Ala and Cys6Ala-Cys17Ala STa mutants at positions 195 or 216 of the TEM-1 beta-lactamase. No STa specific antibodies could be detected after three plasmid injections, but a subsequent boost with native STa peptide was capable of inducing low levels of neutralizing antibodies, as tested in the suckling mouse assay. Highest STa specific responses were found in mice primed with the double mutated STa inserted in position 195. This plasmid induced highest T-cell responses to the TEM-1 protein, indicating that priming of helper T-cell responses to the carrier protein was essential. Mixed IgG1/IgG2a isotypes also reflected this T helper 1 type priming. Moreover, insertion into loop A of the TEM-1 carrier may be more suitable than insertion into loop B, because of reduced competition between carrier and hapten B cell responses.