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The presence of malnutrition in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is high, it can be made worse by SARS-CoV2 infection.

Context. The molecular gas composition in the inner 1 kpc disk of the starburst galaxy M 82 resembles that of Galactic Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). In particular, large abundances of the reactive ions HOC+and CO+have been measured in the nucleus of this galaxy. Two explanations have been proposed for such high abundances: the influence of intense UV fields from massive stars, or a significant role of X-Rays.

Herein, a simple and fast method for the electrocatalytic detection of ethanol using disposable nanostructured screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) is presented for the first time. Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), prepared in the presence of citrate and later purified and dispersed in ultrapure water, were employed in the modification of the SPCEs (SPCE-PtNPs). The synthetized nanoparticles and the catalytic nanostructured solid surface were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Both systems were also characterized using voltammetric techniques. Finally, the PtNPs modified SPCEs were employed for the electro-oxidation of ethanol in an alkaline medium using portable instrumentation. The electrochemical results revealed that PtNPs can effectively enhance the electron transfer between the analyte of interest and the electrode. The content of ethanol was assayed in real samples (alcoholic beverages) revealing an accurate performance. Additionally, a stability study of the nanostructured surface was carried out. The results obtained corroborate the promising catalytic activity of PtNPs in ethanol detection using disposable, cost-effective and miniaturized sensing devices.

Many cancers overexpress a member of the bcl-2 family of inhibitors of apoptosis. To determine the role of these proteins in maintaining cancer cell viability, an adenovirus vector that expresses bcl-xs, a functional inhibitor of these proteins, was constructed. Even in the absence of an exogenous apoptotic signal such as x-irradiation, this virus specifically and efficiently kills carcinoma cells arising from multiple organs including breast, colon, stomach, and neuroblasts. In contrast, normal hematopoietic progenitor cells and primitive cells capable of repopulating severe combined immunodeficient mice were refractory to killing by the bcl-xs adenovirus. These results suggest that Bcl-2 family members are required for survival of cancer cells derived from solid tissues. The bcl-xs adenovirus vector may prove useful in killing cancer cells contaminating the bone marrow of patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Most examples of cell death in animals are controlled by a genetic program that is activated within the dying cell. The apoptotic process is further regulated by a set of genes that act as repressors of cell death. Of these, bcl-2 is expressed in a variety of embryonic and postnatal tissues which suggests a critical role for bcl-2 in organogenesis and tissue homeostasis. Surprisingly, mutant mice with targeted disruption of bcl-2 appear normal at birth and complete maturation of lymphoid tissues before succumbing to fulminant lymphopenia and polycystic renal disease by 2-5 weeks of age. This suggests that there may be genes other than bcl-2 that can regulate apoptosis during development. To begin to investigate this possibility, we have cloned and characterized the murine bcl-x gene, whose human counterpart displays striking homology to bcl-2. The predicted murine bcl-xL gene product exhibits a high level of amino acid identity (97%) to its human counterpart. Just like Bcl-2, the murine bcl-xL gene product can act as a dominant inhibitor of cell death upon growth factor withdrawal. In addition, the bulk of the bcl-xL product localizes to the periphery of mitochondria as assessed by a bcl-xL-tag expression system, suggesting that both Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins prevent cell death by a similar mechanism. bcl-xL is the most abundant bcl-x mRNA species expressed in embryonic and adult tissues. The levels of bcl-xL mRNA appear higher than those of bcl-2 during embryonal development and in several adult organs including bone marrow, brain, kidney and thymus. In addition to bcl-xL, we have identified another form of bcl-x mRNA, bcl-x beta, that results from an unspliced bcl-x transcript. bcl-x beta mRNA is expressed in various embryonic and postnatal tissues. Surprisingly, the expression of bcl-xS (a negative regulator of programmed cell death) was undetectable by a sensitive S1-nuclease assay and polymerase chain reaction analysis of mouse tissues. Based on its tissue and developmental patterns of expression, it appears that bcl-x may play an important role in the regulation of cell death during development and tissue homeostasis.

Previous studies have implicated the bcl-2 protooncogene as a potential regulator of neuronal survival. However, mice lacking functional bcl-2 exhibited normal development and maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS). Since bcl-2 appears dispensable for neuronal survival, we have examined the expression and function of bcl-x, another member of the bcl-2 family of death regulatory genes. Bcl-2 is expressed in neuronal tissues during embryonic development but is down-regulated in the adult CNS. In contrast, Bcl-xL expression is retained in neurons of the adult CNS. Two different forms of bcl-x mRNA and their corresponding products, Bcl-xL and Bcl-x beta, were expressed in embryonic and adult neurons of the CNS. Microinjection of bcl-xL and bcl-x beta cDNAs into primary sympathetic neurons inhibited their death induced by nerve growth factor withdrawal. Thus, Bcl-x proteins appear to play an important role in the regulation of neuronal survival in the adult CNS.

La presencia de malnutrición en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica (ERC) es elevada, puede agravarse por la infección por SARS-CoV-2.

We report a case of acute cholestatic hepatitis in an immunocompetent young male with cytomegalovirus (CMV) primoinfection episode. The severity of the clinical symptoms led to a high-dose treatment with parenteral ganciclovir, with an immediate response and total resolution of symptoms. Therapeutic options are discussed, particularly the use of ganciclovir, even in immunocompetent patients when the severity of the symptoms could demand it.

Context. Monoceros R2, at a distance of 830 pc, is the only ultracompact H iiregion (UC H ii) where the photon-dominated region (PDR) between the ionized gas and the molecular cloud can be resolved with Herschel. Therefore, it is an excellent laboratory to study the chemistry in extreme PDRs (G0> 105in units of Habing field, n> 106cm-3).

We present the first astronomical detection of a diatomic negative ion, the cyanide anion CN-, and quantum mechanical calculations of the excitation of this anion by means of collisions with para-H2. The anion CN-is identified by observing the J= 2–1 and J= 3–2 rotational transitions in the C-star envelope IRC +10216 with the IRAM 30-m telescope. The U-shaped line profiles indicate that CN-, like the large anion C6H-, is formed in the outer regions of the envelope. Chemical and excitation model calculations suggest that this species forms from the reaction of large carbon anions with N atoms, rather than from the radiative attachment of an electron to CN, as is the case for large molecular anions. The unexpectedly high abundance derived for CN-, 0.25% relative to CN, indicates that its detection in other astronomical sources is likely. A parallel search for the small anion C2H-remains inconclusive, despite the previous tentative identification of the J= 1–0 rotational transition. The abundance of C2H-in IRC +10216 is found to be vanishingly small, <0.0014% relative to C2H.

We derive partial-wave unitarity constraints on gauge-invariant interactions of an axionlike particle up to dimension-6 from all allowed 2→2 scattering processes in the limit of large center-of-mass energy. We find that the strongest bounds stem from scattering amplitudes with one external axionlike particle and only apply to the coupling to a pair of SU(2)L gauge bosons. Couplings to U(1)Y and SU(3)C gauge bosons and to fermions are more loosely constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]