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Objectives Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common opportunistic infection and cause of mortality among people living with HIV, and it is possible that it may also influence the evolution of the HIV infection. We assessed the differences between HIV-positive and -negative people infected with TB. Methods The present study is a cross-sectional retrospective study by electronic record revision. We included patients admitted to a tertiary hospital with a diagnosis of TB between 2011 and 2016, comparing those with HIV coinfection with non-HIV patients, according to demographic and clinical characteristics. Results This study included 591 patients, of whom 32% were HIV-coinfected. HIV-TB patients were younger, with a predominance of male gender. Considering TB risk factors, there was a higher prevalence of homelessness and intravenous drug use in the HIV group. In the non-HIV group, direct contact with other patients with TB and immunosuppression were more prevalent. Relative to TB characteristics, the HIV-coinfected group presents with a higher prevalence of disseminated disease and a higher occurrence of previous TB infection. Cancer was the most frequent cause of immunosuppression in the HIV group and the number testing positive for TB via microbiological culture was lower. Assessment of microbiological resistance and in-hospital mortality showed similar numbers in both groups. Conclusions There are few papers comparing clinical course of TB between HIV-infected and non-infected patients. Our study differs from others in the literature as we focused on a country with middling incidence of TB and further characterized the differences between HIV-infected and non-infected patients which can contribute to the management of these patients.

The human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is an ubiquitous multifunctional DNA repair enzyme and a redox signalling protein. Our work addressed the inhibition of APE1 redox function using E3330, as single agent or in combination with docetaxel (DTX), in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. E3330 decreased the colony formation of DTX-treated cells. In addition, E3330 alone significantly reduced the collective cell migration as assessed by the wound-healing assay, whereas the combined treatment decreased chemoinvasion. These results suggest that the inhibition of APE1 redox function might have therapeutic potential by modulating cell migration and invasion in metastatic breast cancer.

Individuals who are born blind due to dense bilateral cataracts and who later regain vision due to cataract surgery provide a unique model to evaluate the effect of early sensory experience in humans. In recent years, several studies have started to assess the functional consequences of early visual deprivation in these individuals, revealing a number of behavioral impairments in visual and multisensory functions. In contrast, the extent to which a transient period of congenital visual deprivation impacts brain structure has not yet been investigated. The present study investigated this by assessing cortical thickness of occipital areas in a group of six cataract‐reversal individuals and a group of six age‐matched normally sighted controls. This analysis revealed higher cortical thickness in cataract‐reversal individuals in the left calcarine sulcus, in the superior occipital gyrus and in the transverse occipital sulcus bilaterally. In addition, occipital cortical thickness correlated negatively with behavioral performance in an audio–visual task for which visual input was critical, and positively with behavioral performance in auditory tasks. Together, these results underscore the critical role of early sensory experience in shaping brain structure and suggest that increased occipital cortical thickness, while potentially compensatory for auditory sensory processing, might be maladaptive for visual recovery in cases of sight restoration. Hum Brain Mapp 36:5265–5274, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipid biosurfactants, produced as a mixture of several compounds by some nonpathogenic yeast. In the current study, separation of individual SLs from mixtures with further evaluation of their surface properties and biologic activity on MDA-MB-321 breast cancer cell line were investigated. SLs were biosynthesized by Starmerella bombicola in a culture media supplemented with borage oil. A reverse-phase flash chromatography method with an automated system coupled with a prepacked cartridge was used to separate and purify the main SLs. Compositional analysis of SLs was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. The following diacetylated lactonic SLs were isolated and purified: C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension at CMC (γCMC ) of the purified SLs showed an increase with the number of double bonds. High cytotoxic effect against MDA-MB-231 cells was observed with C18:0 and C18:1 lactonic SLs. The cytotoxic effects of C18:3 lactonic SL on cancerous cells were for the first time studied. This cytotoxic effect was considerably higher than the promoted by acidic SLs; however, it induced a lower effect than the previously mentioned SLs, C18:0 and C18:1. To our knowledge, for the first time, C18:1 lactonic SL, in selected concentrations, proved to be able to inhibit MDA-MB-231 cell migration without compromising cell viability and to increase intracellular reactive oxygen species.

Thirty patients with peptic ulcers resistant to at least 8 weeks of continuous therapy with full-dose H2-receptor antagonists alone or followed by other anti-ulcer drugs, were treated with the gastric proton pump inhibitor omeprazole (40 mg), administered orally once daily for up to 8 weeks. The study design was non-comparative and open; healing was verified by endoscopy. After only 2 weeks of treatment, 21 out of 23 (91%) duodenal ulcer patients were healed, as well as 2 out of 2 patients with both duodenal and gastric ulcer and 1 out of 3 patients with prepyloric ulcer. After 4 weeks, all duodenal ulcers, 1 out of 2 gastric ulcers and 2 out of 3 pre-pyloric ulcers were healed. A further month of therapy healed the gastric ulcer to give an overall healing rate of 97% and leaving only one patient (pre-pyloric ulcer) unhealed at the end of the study. Of 19 patients suffering ulcer symptoms at entry, only two patients reported any symptoms at 2 weeks and one of these (who remained unhealed) continued to have symptoms throughout the study. One patient reported mild asthenia; otherwise, no clinical or biochemical side-effects were recorded. It is concluded that omeprazole is highly effective in healing refractory peptic ulcers.

The life time of the forging dies still remains a concern and plays an important role on the costs of this process. Latest developments achieved with nanotechnology have proven that thin coatings applied on the surface of the hot forging dies bring technical and economical gains. PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) deposition processes have confirmed their potential to substantially improve the wear resistance of the hot forging dies.