Among patients with unstable angina or myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation, prasugrel did not significantly reduce the frequency of the primary end point, as compared with clopidogrel, and similar risks of bleeding were observed. (Funded by Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo; TRILOGY ACS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00699998.).

Abstract. In 1991 and 1992, a prenatal screening of Trypanosoma cruzi infection was carried out using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence techniques. A total of 840 blood samples from pregnant women, obtained at the Maternity Ward of the Hospital de Clínicas, National University of Asunción (Asunción, Paraguay), and 1,022 samples from the Regional Hospital of the San Pedro Department of Paraguay were examined. It was observed that 7.7% and 10.5%, respectively, of the pregnant women were serologically positive for infection with T. cruzi. When blood samples obtained from newborns on the day of birth or, at the most, on the first few days afterwards were examined by direct microscopic observation, an incidence of congenital transmission of 3% was found. These results are consistent with those of neighboring countries. When a serologic follow-up was conducted on the newborns until six months of age, the incidence of congenital transmission reached 10%. The same incidence rate was obtained when the samples collected during the first days after birth were examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fiftyeight infants born to seropositive mothers were followed-up, two of which were positive by direct microscopic observation at birth, and four who were PCR-positive, but microscopy-negative at birth. None of the infants were positive for IgM at birth. The infected babies were treated with benznidazole and were followed-up by serology and PCR for four years. We conclude that the PCR has a clear advantage over conventional techniques for the early detection of congenital transmission of T. cruzi infection, and for monitoring infants undergoing chemotherapy.

The soybean is an exotic plant introduced in Paraguay in this century; commercial cropping expanded after the 1970s. Inoculation is practiced in just 15 to 20% of the cropping areas, but root nodulation occurs in most sites where soybeans grow. Little is known about rhizobial diversity in South America, and no study has been performed in Paraguay until this time. Therefore, in this study, the molecular characterization of 78 rhizobial isolates from soybean root nodules, collected under field conditions in 16 sites located in the two main producing states, Alto Paraná and Itapúa, was undertaken. A high level of genetic diversity was detected by an ERIC-REP-PCR analysis, with the majority of the isolates representing unique strains. Most of the 58 isolates characterized by slow growth and alkaline reactions in a medium containing mannitol as a carbon source were clustered with strains representative of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Bradyrhizobium elkanii species, and the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences of 5 of those isolates confirmed the species identities. However, slow growers were highly polymorphic in relation to the reference strains, including five carried in commercial inoculants in neighboring countries, thus indicating that the Paraguayan isolates might represent native bradyrhizobia. Twenty isolates highly polymorphic in the ERIC-REP-PCR profiles were characterized by fast growth and acid reactions in vitro, and two of them showed high 16S rDNA identities with Rhizobium genomic species Q. However, two other fast growers showed high 16S rDNA identity with Agrobacterium spp., and both of these strains established efficient symbioses with soybean plants.The soybean [Glycine max L. (Merrill)] plays an important role in the economy of Paraguay and is one of its chief exports (1). This legume was introduced into the country in the 1920s, but commercial cropping started in the 1970s, with seeds from the United States, Argentina, and Japan, and expanded later, with cultivars from Brazil (1, 9). Inoculation is practiced in just 15 to 20% of the cropping areas, but nodulation occurs in the great majority of the sites in the two main producing areas, the states of Alto Paraná and Itapúa.Little is known about rhizobial diversity in South America, and no study has been performed in Paraguay until this time. Furthermore, it is important to investigate the genetic diversity and symbiotic effectiveness of the indigenous rhizobial population, in order to better understand the responses to inoculation. Therefore, in this study, the molecular characterization of 78 rhizobial isolates from soybean root nodules, collected under field conditions in 16 sites located in the two main producing states, was undertaken.Reference strains and soybean rhizobial isolates. Rhizobial strains used for comparison were Bradyrhizobium japonicum SEMIA 566, SEMIA 5079 (also called CPAC 15; same serogroup as SEMIA 566), and SEMIA 5080 (also called CPAC 7) and Bradyrhizobium elkanii SEMIA 587 and SEMIA 5019 (also called 29w and BR 29); th...

No abstract

We investigated the effectiveness and tolerability of azacitidine in patients with World Health Organization-defined myelodysplastic syndromes, or acute myeloid leukemia with 20-30% bone marrow blasts. Patients were treated with azacitidine, with one of three dosage regimens: for 5 days (AZA 5); 7 days including a 2-day break (AZA 5-2-2); or 7 days (AZA 7); all 28-day cycles. Overall response rates were 39.4%, 67.9%, and 51.3%, respectively, and median overall survival (OS) durations were 13.2, 19.1, and 14.9 months. Neutropenia was the most common grade 3-4 adverse event. These results suggest better effectiveness-tolerability profiles for 7-day schedules.

No abstract

No abstract

Rhiodobacter capsulatus Jl has two hydroperoxidases: a catalase-peroxidase and a peroxidase. A mutant strain, AH18, that had no catalase-peroxidase was isolated. The growth rate under aerobic and photosynthetic conditions, respiration, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities, and pigment content of the mutant were similar to those of the wild type. AH18 was more susceptible to killing and to inhibition of nitrogenase by H202 but not by molecular oxygen. The incidences of spontaneous mutations were similar in both strains. Viable counts in aerobic but not anaerobic cultures of AH18 started to decline as soon as the cultures reached the stationary phase, and the rate of cell death was much higher in AH18 than in the wild type. It is inferred that the peroxidase provides protection against H202 in log-phase cells and that the catalase-peroxidase provides protection under the oxidative conditions that prevail in aging cultures. This protective function might be related to the dual activity of the latter as a catalase and a peroxidase or to its capacity to oxidize NADH, NADPH, and cytochrome c.Metabolic activation of molecular oxygen very often results in the production of hydrogen peroxide, which has been shown to be deleterious to most cellular components (12,29). The potential damage is especially significant in cells faced with stresses characteristic of special conditions. For example, photosynthetic organisms are challenged by the photodynamic reactions that enhance partial reduction of 02 (12); in nitrogen-free medium, diazotrophs are vulnerable because of the extreme lability to oxygen of the nitrogen fixation system (35); and elevated steady-state concentrations of toxic oxygen products play a significant role in aging of cells and tissues (15,16,35). Hydrogen peroxide is metabolized by three different types of hydroperoxidases: catalase, peroxidase, and catalase-peroxidase. The typical catalases, which catalyze the dismutation of H202 to 02 and H20, have been isolated from animals, plants, and microorganisms (7, 10). It is generally accepted that the major physiological role of the typical catalase is protection of the cells against the damaging effect of hydrogen peroxide (7). Peroxidase, which catalyzes oxidation of H202 by a large variety of substrates, also may function in detoxifying hydrogen peroxide as well as in various cellular activities of biosynthesis and degradation (12). The catalase-peroxidases, which were only recently classified as a distinct group of enzymes (19,33) tochrome c (unpublished data). These enzymes share biochemical and physicochemical properties with both catalases and peroxidases. Like the typical catalases they are tetramers, with a combined molecular mass of about 240,000 Da, and they have hydrophobic properties exhibited by their binding to phenyl-Sepharose. Unlike typical catalases and similar to peroxidases, the catalase-peroxidases are inactivated by ethanol-chloroform and are not inhibited by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, they have a sharp dependence of their activity...