Introdução: O Journal Club é um ambiente para troca de informações dentro do contexto médico, diante de uma literatura atualizada e medicina baseada em evidências. Tendo em vista a importância da ...atualização constante de conhecimentos adquiridos e o cenário de isolamento social imposto pela pandemia da COVID-19, o evento Journal Club foi realizado virtualmente, com o objetivo de ampliar o entendimento sobre metodologia científica entre estudantes de medicina por meio da compreensão das diferenças de cada tipo de estudo da pirâmide de evidências a partir da leitura e discussão de artigos científicos. Metodologia: Estudo analítico, prospectivo e transversal realizado em outubro de 2021. O evento Journal Club ocorreu em nove aulas onde foram abordados cada tipo de estudoda pirâmide de evidência. A amostra foi composta por 20 estudantes de medicina. Um questionário foi aplicado no início e ao final do evento para avaliar o conhecimento dos participantes a partir das aulas ministradas, e foi dividido em duas partes, a primeira com dados de identificação do participante e a segunda com 19 questões sobre os tiposde estudos presentes na pirâmide de evidência. Resultados: Observou-se que, após a análise do questionário pré e pós-evento, dentre as 19 questões realizadas, houve um aumento de acertos em 17 entre as quais 3 obtiveram um valor estatístico significativo: questões 1 (p= 0,031), 15 (p=0,039) e 18 (p= 0,016). Discussão: Notou-se aumento dos acertos de questões entre o pré e pós-aulas, podendo indicar uma melhora no entendimento por parte dos acadêmicos acerca do assunto. Além disso, o estudo mostrou uma baixa atuação dos acadêmicos em pesquisas científicas (apenas 25% já se envolveram em algum projeto). Conclusão: A partir da análise do desempenho dos participantes nos questionários pré e pós-evento é possível afirmar que os estudantes de medicina conseguiram ampliar seu conhecimento sobre metodologia científica.
A bacterial consortium was selected in the presence of Cu from sediment samples taken from Sepetiba Bay, Brazil, which is a site historically contaminated by metals. Bacteria were exposed to 0, 1, 6, ...12.5, 25 and 50μg·mL−1 Cu, Pb and Cu+Pb for 11days of bioassay. Results showed Alcanivorax dominance (81%) and cell counts of 108cells·mL−1. However, a reduction in dehydrogenase activity was observed from the fifth day of exposure for all Cu, Pb, and Cu+Pb concentrations tested. Esterase activity tended to increase, indicating higher energy demand to complete the bacterial lifecycle. Pb concentrations in the filtered culture medium (0.2μm) were below the detection limit, indicating biosorption, whereas concentrations of Cu were close to the tested concentrations, indicative of efflux. Results suggest the need for biomarkers, such as esterase and dehydrogenase enzymatic activity, in the assessment of resistance and tolerance of communities previously exposed to stressors.
•A bacterial consortia, mainly Alcanivorax, was selected from contaminated sediments.•Its exposure to Cu, Pb and Cu+Pb was monitored for 11days of bioassay.•The biomass kept 108cells·mL−1 and enzymes showed distinct trends during exposure.•Results indicated lead biosorption and copper efflux for 11days of exposure.•Biomarkers are necessary to assess resistance and tolerance of stressed communities.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Objectives: Children of depressed mothers are at risk of developing mental health problems. We sought to determine whether treatment for maternal depression by community-based health workers would ...decrease behavioral/emotional symptoms in their children. Interventions for maternal depressive symptoms in a low/middle-income country can have a high global impact. Methods: Community-based health workers were trained to deliver a psychosocial intervention for mothers with depression in a primary care setting. A total of 49 mothers and 60 children were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 6 months follow-up. Child behavioral/emotional symptoms were evaluated according to type of change in maternal depressive symptoms: response or remission. Results: An overall decrease in maternal depressive symptoms from baseline to post-intervention and 6 months follow-up were found. Response or remission was associated with better outcomes in child behavioral/emotional symptoms at 6 months follow-up (p = 0.0247, Cohen’s d: 0.76; p = 0.0224, Cohen’s f: 0.44) but not at post-intervention (p = 0.1636, Cohen’s d: 0.48; p = 0.0720, Cohen’s f: 0.33). Conclusions: Improvement in maternal depression was related to decreased behavioral/emotional symptoms in their children. Our results suggest that providing interventions for maternal depression in primary care is a viable strategy to prevent behavioral/emotional symptoms in the next generation. Clinical Trial registration: Brazilian Clinical Trials, number RBR-5qhmb5.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper presents interdisciplinary research focused on the collaborative redesign in schools, in which an inclusive design tool was created for assessing student feedback on their school spaces ...and considering it as input for creating a better learning environment. It was developed by a research team using a participatory approach in schools drawn from architecture, geography, and educational sciences, to provide a comprehensive and intertwined approach to school spaces, communities and learning activities. The “Survey on Student School Spaces” (S3S) tool and its methodology are described here, which is a combination of two procedures: a questionnaire and a walkthrough. The first engages a far-reaching sample of participants and makes use of an online platform, while the latter details and justifies those outputs and involves visiting the school with the participants. The S3S pilot study was implemented in two partner schools, which act as the first project case studies. The data provided by this tool acted as the basis for the design proposal for one of the case studies, which included the students’ feedback and involved all the community in the school’s refurbishment. Finally, a discussion was held on the outputs achieved that may contribute towards a participatory design approach in other schools, the validation of the tool per se, and its potential future development and application.
The effect of severe drought on the functional groups that sustain the base of the mangrove food webs in semi-arid areas is largely unknown. We therefore analyzed the intra-annual variation in the ...assemblages and functional groups of copepods in a shallow, low-inflow estuary of the Brazilian semi-arid coast when the most severe drought ever occurred. The lowest density was found in April (upstream region) and the highest in August (downstream region). Three main functional groups were identified, sorted by spawning strategy, and further subdivided according to feeding strategy, trophic regime, and diel vertical migration behavior. The community was significantly influenced by the extreme drought period, presenting a temporal homogenization in terms of composition, and an expressive and unexpected increase in density in the dry period, possibly due to phytoplankton blooms resistant to hypersalinity and the occurrence of copepod species adapted to stressful conditions. The few stress-tolerant species sustaining the food webs with seasonal variations were observed simplifying the trophic variability. The results indicate that hypersalinity can induce changes in the zooplankton community, increasing copepod mortality risk and, so, promoting alteration in the trophic estuarine dynamic.
CircRNAs are a recently well-known regulator that mediates a variety of biological processes. Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental fungal pathogen that can cause fatal cryptococcal meningitis ...in immunocompromised individuals. However, the involvement of circRNA in cryptococcal infection remains unclear. In this study, high-throughput microarray was performed to identify the circRNA expression profile in cryptococcal meningitis patients. Circ_0001806 was significantly decreased in cryptococcal meningitis individuals. Then the effects of circ_0001806 and its interaction with miRNAs were explored
in vivo
and
in vitro
. The knock-down of circ_0001806 led to higher fungal infection and shorter survival in an experimental murine cryptococcosis model. Transcriptome analysis showed that decreased circ_0001806 regulated pathways related to the host antimicrobe response in T cells. Furthermore,
in vitro
experiments showed that circ_0001806 positively modulates ADM level, decreasing cell apoptosis and G1S arrest in T cells. Finally, we found circ_0001806 exerted its effects by sponging miRNA-126 in T cells. Taken together, our results reveal the role of circRNA-1806/miRNA-126 in the regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis in cryptococcal infection and can provide a new insights of the pathogenesis of cryptococcal infection.
Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in chronic alcoholics in tropical and sub-tropical climates and associated with a >50% mortality rate. Using a ...murine model of alcohol (EtOH) administration, we demonstrated that EtOH enhances Ab-mediated pneumonia leading to systemic infection. Although EtOH did not affect neutrophil recruitment to the lungs of treated mice, it decreased phagocytosis and killing of bacteria by these leukocytes leading to increased microbial burden and severity of disease. Moreover, we determined that mice that received EtOH prior to Ab infection were immunologically impaired, which was reflected in increased pulmonary inflammation, sequential dissemination to the liver and kidneys, and decreased survival. Furthermore, immunosuppression by EtOH was associated with deregulation of cytokine production in the organs of infected mice. This study establishes that EtOH impairs immunity in vivo exacerbating Ab infection and disease progression. The ability of Ab to cause disease in alcoholics warrants the study of its virulence mechanisms and host interactions.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Defense mechanisms (DMs) are strategies used by the individuals to protect the ego. Therefore, compulsive behaviors in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be recognized as DMs. We analyzed how ...DMs changed in a brief cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for OCD. This was a quasi-experimental study with 92 OCD patients (aged 18-60 years). We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview to confirm OCD diagnosis, and we assessed the DMs with the Defense Style Questionnaire at three time points. Through a latent change score modeling, we found that the mature mechanism presented a constant change during the therapy. This mechanism increased in average 0.37 points at each measured moment of CBT, showing a linear trajectory. Neurotic and immature mechanisms showed no significant changes during therapy. The increased use of the mature mechanism can be an indicator of improvement in OCD treatment, showing that patients intensified their more adaptive responses to conflicts.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer structures released by organisms from all kingdoms of life. The diverse biogenesis pathways of EVs result in a wide variety of physical properties and ...functions across different organisms. Fungal EVs were first described in 2007 and different omics approaches have been fundamental to understand their composition, biogenesis, and function. In this review, we discuss the role of omics in elucidating fungal EVs biology. Transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics have each enabled the molecular characterization of fungal EVs, providing evidence that these structures serve a wide array of functions, ranging from key carriers of cell wall biosynthetic machinery to virulence factors. Omics in combination with genetic approaches have been instrumental in determining both biogenesis and cargo loading into EVs. We also discuss how omics technologies are being employed to elucidate the role of EVs in antifungal resistance, disease biomarkers, and their potential use as vaccines. Finally, we review recent advances in analytical technology and multi-omic integration tools, which will help to address key knowledge gaps in EVs biology and translate basic research information into urgently needed clinical applications such as diagnostics, and immuno- and chemotherapies to fungal infections.
Display omitted
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals including over 4700 substances. As a limited number of PFAS is routinely analyzed in human serum, complementary ...analytical methods are required to characterize the overlooked fraction. A promising tool is the total oxidizable precursors (TOP) assay to look for precursors by oxidation to perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA). The TOP assay was originally developed for large volumes of water and had to be adapted for 250 μL of human serum. Optimization of the method was performed on serum samples spiked with model precursors. Oxidative conditions similar to previous TOP assay methods were not sufficient for complete oxidation of model precursors. Prolonged heating time (24 h) and higher oxidant amount (95 mg of Na2S2O8 per 225 μL of serum) were needed for complete conversion of the model precursors and accomplishing PFAA yields of 35–100 %. As some precursors are not fully converted to PFAA, the TOP assay can only provide semi-quantitative estimates of oxidizable precursors in human serum. However, the TOP assay can be used to give indications about the identity of unknown precursors by evaluating the oxidation products, including perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSA) and perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic acids (PFECA). The optimized TOP assay for human serum opens the possibility for high-throughput screening of human serum for undetected PFAA precursors.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
