Search results for "HM"

Evaluation of Immunofluorescence Antibody Test Used for the Diagnosis of Canine Leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean Basin: A Systematic Review and Met…

2015

With an expected sensitivity (Se) of 96% and specificity (Sp) of 98%, the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) is frequently used as a reference test to validate new diagnostic methods and estimate the canine leihmaniasis (CanL) true prevalence in the Mediterranean basin. To review the diagnostic accuracy of IFAT to diagnose CanL in this area with reference to its Se and Sp and elucidate the potential causes of their variations, a systematic review was conducted (31 studies for the 26-year period). Three IFAT validation methods stood out: the classical contingency table method, methods based on statistical models and those based on experimental studies. A variation in the IFAT Se and Sp …

mD3DOCKxb: An Ultra-Scalable CPU-MIC Coordinated Virtual Screening Framework

2017

Molecular docking is an important method in computational drug discovery. In large-scale virtual screening, millions of small drug-like molecules (chemical compounds) are compared against a designated target protein (receptor). Depending on the utilized docking algorithm for screening, this can take several weeks on conventional HPC systems. However, for certain applications including large-scale screening tasks for newly emerging infectious diseases such high runtimes can be highly prohibitive. In this paper, we investigate how the massively parallel neo-heterogeneous architecture of Tianhe-2 Supercomputer consisting of thousands of nodes comprising CPUs and MIC coprocessors that can effic…

Parallel algorithms for large-scale biological sequence alignment on Xeon-Phi based clusters

2016

Computing alignments between two or more sequences are common operations frequently performed in computational molecular biology. The continuing growth of biological sequence databases establishes the need for their efficient parallel implementation on modern accelerators. This paper presents new approaches to high performance biological sequence database scanning with the Smith-Waterman algorithm and the first stage of progressive multiple sequence alignment based on the ClustalW heuristic on a Xeon Phi-based compute cluster. Our approach uses a three-level parallelization scheme to take full advantage of the compute power available on this type of architecture; i.e. cluster-level data par…

The use of morphokinetic as a predictor of implantation.

2017

In recent years the increased efforts intended for improving future outcomes in the laboratory have focused mostly on the search of additional markers of embryo quality to add up present embryo selection criteria. Time-lapse system involves an alternative tool in assisted reproduction techniques, being able to improve the embryo selection from a dynamic and interactive approach while standard embryo assessment implies a subjective and static morphology evaluation and consequently reducing the information gained for embryo selection, time-lapse technology adds several morphokinetic parameters, providing additional input for embryo evaluation. This further information represents a challenge f…

Melatonin in Early Nutrition: Long-Term Effects on Cardiovascular System

2021

Breastfeeding protects against adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the long term. Melatonin is an active molecule that is present in the breast milk produced at night beginning in the first stages of lactation. This indoleamine appears to be a relevant contributor to the benefits of breast milk because it can affect infant health in several ways. The melatonin concentration in breast milk varies in a circadian pattern, making breast milk a chrononutrient. The consumption of melatonin can induce the first circadian stimulation in the infant’s body at an age when his/her own circadian machinery is not functioning yet. This molecule is also a powerful antioxidant with the ability to act on infa…

Targeting of the Leishmania Mexicana cysteine protease CPB2.8 ΔCTE by decorated fused benzo[b] thiophene scaffold.

2016

A potent and highly selective anhydride-based inhibitor of Leishmania mexicana cysteine protease CPB2.8ΔCTE (IC50 = 3.7 μM) was identified. The details of the interaction of the ligand with the enzyme active site were investigated by NMR biomimetic experiments and docking studies. Results of inhibition assays, NMR and theoretical studies indicate that the ligand acts initially as a non-covalent inhibitor and later as an irreversible covalent inhibitor by chemoselective attack of CYS 25 thiolate to an anhydride carbonyl.

2016

Immunologically, active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is characterised by profound immunosuppression, severe systemic inflammatory responses and an impaired capacity to control parasite replication. Neutrophils are highly versatile cells, which play a crucial role in the induction as well as the resolution of inflammation, the control of pathogen replication and the regulation of immune responses. Neutrophil functions have been investigated in human cutaneous leishmaniasis, however, their role in human visceral leishmaniasis is poorly understood. In the present study we evaluated the activation status and effector functions of neutrophils in patients with active VL and after successful anti-l…

In vitro antileishmanial activity of aza-scorpiand macrocycles. Inhibition of the antioxidant enzyme iron superoxide dismutase

2016

The in vitro leishmanicidal activity of a series of nine aza-scorpiand-like macrocycles, recently synthesized, was tested on Leishmania infantum, Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania donovani parasites, using promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes forms. The cytotoxicity of the tested compounds on J774.2 macrophage cells was also measured. Four of the tested compounds (1, 2, 8 and 9) showed selectivity indexes higher than those of the reference drug Glucantime for the three Leishmania species. Moreover, the data on infection rates and on amastigotes showed that compounds 1, 2, 8 and 9 are the most active against the three Leishmania species. The changes in the excretion product profi…

2016

One of the key immunological characteristics of active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a profound immunosuppression and impaired production of Interferon-γ (IFN-γ). However, recent studies from Bihar in India showed using a whole blood assay, that whole blood cells have maintained the capacity to produce IFN-γ. Here we tested the hypothesis that a population of low-density granulocytes (LDG) might contribute to T cell responses hyporesponsiveness via the release of arginase. Our results show that this population is affected by the anticoagulant used to collect blood: the frequency of LDGs is significantly lower when the blood is collected with heparin as compared to EDTA; however, the antico…

2021

Circadian clocks prepare the organism to cyclic environmental changes in light, temperature, or food availability. Here, we characterized the master clock in the brain of a strongly photoperiodic insect, the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, immunohistochemically with antibodies against A. pisum Period (PER), Drosophila melanogaster Cryptochrome (CRY1), and crab Pigment-Dispersing Hormone (PDH). The latter antibody detects all so far known PDHs and PDFs (Pigment-Dispersing Factors), which play a dominant role in the circadian system of many arthropods. We found that, under long days, PER and CRY are expressed in a rhythmic manner in three regions of the brain: the dorsal and lateral protocerebrum …