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“Rickettsia rickettsii infection is being increasingly recognized as an important cause of fatal acute illness in Brazil, where this tick-borne selleck compound disease is designated Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). In this study we report five fatal cases of BSF in employees of an animal shelter in an urban area in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil after a natural disaster on 11 January 2011.

Four of the cases occurred from 27 January to 11 April 2011, while the fifth fatal case was identified in April 2012. Three cases were confirmed by molecular analysis and two by epidemiological linkage. An investigation of BSF was performed in the animal shelter, and blood samples were collected from 115 employees and 117 randomly selected dogs. The presence of high levels (1024-4096) of antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsiae was found in three (26%) employees and 114 (975%) dogs. These findings emphasize the need to consider BSF as a possible cause of undifferentiated febrile illness, especially dengue and leptospirosis, in patients occupationally exposed to dogs heavily infested by ticks,

mainly working at kennels and animal shelters that have inadequate space for the animals housed and frequently providing an environment conducive to exposure to pathogens such as R. rickettsii.”
“AIM: To explore the effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP) in liver ischemia/reperfusion 3MA (IR) injury and alleviation of endoplasmic reticulum stress. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (220-250 g) were divided into three groups, namely, sham, IR, and GSP groups (n = 8 each). A liver IR (70%) model was established and reperfused for 6 h. Prior to reperfusion, the GSP group was administered with GSP (100 mg/kg) for 15 d, and liver histology was then investigated. Serum aminotransferase and inflammatory mediators coupled with superoxide dismutase and methane dicarboxylic aldehyde were detected. Western blot was conducted to analyze

the expression of glucose-regulated protein 78, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein BMS-777607 chemical structure homologous protein, activating transcription factor-4, inositol-requiring enzyme-1, procaspase-12, and nuclear factor-kappa b. Apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL staining. RESULTS: The serum aminotransferase, apoptotic cells, and Suzuki scores decreased in the GSP group compared with the IR group (Ps smaller than 0.05). The methane dicarboxylic aldehyde level was decreased in the GSP group, but the superoxide dismutase level was reversed (Ps smaller than 0.05). Similarly, GSP downregulated the proinflammatory factors and upregulated the levels of anti-inflammatory factors (Ps smaller than 0.05).