O estudo objetivou analisar a distribuição espacial da LTA em Tucuruí e a sua relação com variáveis socioambientais e epidemiológicas, no período de 2012 a 2016. Os dados epidemiológicos foram ...obtidos no SINAN da SESPA e os cartográficos, populacionais, unidades de conservação e terras indígenas, foram obtidos no IBGE. Os ambientais foram obtidos no PRODES. As análises dos casos e da relação espacial destes com o desflorestamento utilizaram o Bioestat 5.0 e o ArcGis 10.5.1, respectivamente. O município teve 286 casos confirmados, distribuídos de forma não homogênea em seus setores censitários. Os indivíduos mais acometidos foram do sexo masculino, adultos, pardos, baixo nível de escolaridade e moradores da zona urbana. Foi verificado na série histórica um aumento de casos de LTA e do incremento do desmatamento. A análise espacial mostrou a presença de dois aglomerados de casos localizados na área urbana. Foi observado também a existência de um mosaico de ocupações e terras indígenas. A LTA é um grande e complexo problema de saúde pública em Tucuruí, relacionado à fatores de riscos socioambientais, gerados e condicionados pela insuficiência de políticas públicas no município, que pode ter contribuído para a exposição da população local a vários fatores de risco da doença.
Introdução: os distúrbios psiquiátricos tornaram-se um problema global que leva milhões de pessoas ao uso de medicamentos psicotrópicos. Os efeitos dessas substâncias são amplamente conhecidos quanto ...à tolerância e dependência química, porém, do ponto de vista epigenético, ainda são pouco conhecidos. Objetivos: avaliar a associação entre o uso de drogas psicotrópicas, metilação do gene NR3C1 e sua relação com sintomas sugestivos de depressão em indivíduos entre 20 a 59 anos usuários da rede pública de saúde. Método: 385 voluntários de 20-59 anos, usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde brasileiro foram recrutados para avaliação das condições socioeconômicas, de saúde e de estilo de vida em estudo transversal. O BDI-II avaliou sintomas sugestivos de depressão e o pirosequenciamento avaliou a metilação do DNA de NR3C1. Modelo de regressão de Poisson bivariado e multivariado com variância robusta (p < 0,05) avaliou a associação entre o uso de drogas psicotrópicas e metilação do gene NR3C1. Resultados: sintomas depressivos específicos como irritabilidade, insônia e fadiga foram associados ao uso de medicamentos psicotrópicos. Sintomas de fracasso passado, indecisão e perda de apetite foram associados a padrões de hipermetilação nos CpGs 40 a 47 do gene NR3C1. Além disso, o uso de psicofármacos está associado à redução de 50% na metilação do gene NR3C1, por meio de modelo ajustado com variáveis de confusão socioeconômicas, de saúde e estilo de vida. Conclusão: o uso de drogas psicotrópicas e sintomas específicos depressivos foram associados a alterações na metilação do DNA de NR3C1.
Background
CrossFit is recognized as one of the fastest growing high-intensity functional training modes in the world. However, scientific data regarding the practice of CrossFit is sparse. ...Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the findings of scientific literature related to CrossFit via systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods
Systematic searches of the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Bireme/MedLine, and SciELO online databases were conducted for articles reporting the effects of CrossFit training. The systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines. The Oxford Levels of Evidence was used for all included articles, and only studies that investigated the effects of CrossFit as a training program were included in the meta-analysis. For the meta-analysis, effect sizes (ESs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated and heterogeneity was assessed using a random-effects model.
Results
Thirty-one articles were included in the systematic review and four were included in the meta-analysis. However, only two studies had a high level of evidence at low risk of bias. Scientific literature related to CrossFit has reported on body composition, psycho-physiological parameters, musculoskeletal injury risk, life and health aspects, and psycho-social behavior. In the meta-analysis, significant results were not found for any variables.
Conclusions
The current scientific literature related to CrossFit has few studies with high level of evidence at low risk of bias. However, preliminary data has suggested that CrossFit practice is associated with higher levels of sense of community, satisfaction, and motivation.
Cytokinin is a plant hormone and an important regulator of root growth. Reduced cytokinin levels increase root systems, which can be beneficial for crops grown on nutrient poor and/or dry soils. Our ...study analyzed the effects of increased cytokinin oxidase 5 (
OsCKX5
) expression in rice roots on root morphology, architecture, and nutrient uptake. We fused the
OsCKX5
gene to the strong, root-specific
RCc3
rice promoter and overexpressed it in rice plants. The root-specific expression of
OsCKX5
in the transgenic plants resulted in positive effects on root development without compromising shoot growth. The root system of the transgenic plants exhibited greater volume, length, projection area, a higher number of tips, and enhanced surface area.
OsCKX5
overexpression also resulted in an increased uptake ability of certain macro- and micronutrients, a greater root biomass, deeper root system, and a higher root:shoot ratio, when cultivated on low-fertility soils. We conclude that the enhanced root growth and development by root-specific expression of
OsCKX5
could be advantageous for crops grown on oxidic soils in the tropical regions, with a low availability of certain nutrients, especially P and Zn.
This editorial summarizes the main scientific contributions from 11 papers comprising the Special Issue (SI) “Molecular Basis of Crops and Fruit Plants in Response to Stress”. Here, we collected ...papers from different research groups encompassing molecular studies from monocots (ginger, rice, maize) and eudicots (common hazel, cowpea, pepper, soybean, tomato) species submitted to abiotic stresses as heat, cold, salt, drought, and heavy metals or biotic stresses induced by different viruses, such as BPEV, PepGMV, PMMoV, and TEV. These studies explored different aspects of molecular mechanisms involved in plant stress tolerance, establishing comparative analyses among genotypes/cultivars to identify potential molecular markers of stresses that are now available for future application in biotechnological studies. This SI presents a collection of advanced concepts and emerging strategies for readers and researchers aiming to accelerate plant breeding.
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a pathogen responsible for a wide range of clinical manifestations and potentially fatal conditions. There is a paucity of information on the influence of ...androgens in the immune response to S. aureus infection. In this study, we evaluated the influence of the hormone 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs) and human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBMs) induced by S. aureus.
An in vitro model of MPMs from BALB/c sham males, orchiectomised (OQX) males, and females was used. Cells were inoculated with 10 μL of S. aureus, phage-type 80 or sterile saline (control) for 6 h. The MPMs of OQX males and females were pre-treated with 100 μL of 10
M DHT for 24 h before inoculation with S. aureus. The concentration of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10; total nitrites (NO
); and hydrogen peroxide (H
O
) were measured in the supernatant of MPM cultures. In addition, the toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) genes that are involved in immune responses were analysed. For the in vitro model of HPBMs, nine men and nine women of childbearing age were selected and HPBMs were isolated from samples of the volunteers' peripheral blood. In women, blood was collected during the periovulatory period. The HPBMs were inoculated with S. aureus for 6 h and the supernatant was collected for the analysis of cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12; and GM-CSF, NO
, and H
O
. The HPBMs were then removed for the analysis of 84 genes involved in the host's response to bacterial infections by RT-PCR array. GraphPad was used for statistical analysis with a p value < 0.05.
Our data demonstrated that MPMs from sham males inoculated with S. aureus displayed higher concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and lower concentrations of IL-10, NO
, and H
O
when compared with MPMs from OQX males and females. A similar result was observed in the HPBMs of men when compared with those of women. Previous treatment with DHT in women HPBMs increased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased the levels of IL-10, NO
, and H
O
. The analysis of gene expression showed that DHT increased the activity of the TLR2 and NF-kB pathways in both MPMs and HPBMs.
We found that DHT acts as an inflammatory modulator in the monocyte/macrophage response induced by S. aureus and females exhibit a better immune defence response against this pathogen.
The natural compound ravenelin was isolated from the biomass extracts of Exserohilum rostratum fungus, and its antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, and trypanocidal activities were evaluated. Ravenelin was ...isolated by column chromatography and HPLC and identified by NMR and MS. The susceptibility of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains to ravenelin was determined by microbroth dilution assay. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2) and BALB/c peritoneal macrophages by using MTT. SYBR Green I-based assay was used in the asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Trypanocidal activity was tested against the epimastigote and intracellular amastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. Ravenelin was active against Gram-positive bacteria strains, with emphasis on Bacillus subtilis (MIC value of 7.5 µM). Ravenelin’s antiparasitic activities were assessed against both the epimastigote (IC50 value of 5 ± 1 µM) and the intracellular amastigote forms of T. cruzi (IC50 value of 9 ± 2 µM), as well as against P. falciparum (IC50 value of 3.4 ± 0.4 µM). Ravenelin showed low cytotoxic effects on both HepG2 (CC50 > 50 µM) and peritoneal macrophage (CC50 = 185 ± 1 µM) cells with attractive selectivity for the parasites (SI values > 15). These findings indicate that ravenelin is a natural compound with both antibacterial and antiparasitic activities, and considerable selectivity indexes. Therefore, ravenelin is an attractive candidate for hit-to-lead development.
The envelope (E) protein is an important target for antibodies in flavivirus. Literature reports that the mutation T198F, located at the domain I-II hinge of the E protein, regulates viral breathing ...and increases the accessibility of a distal cryptic epitope located on the fusion loop, having a direct impact in the neutralization of West Nile virus (WNV). Our study aimed to describe, using accelerated molecular dynamics simulations, the effects of the T198F mutation in the flexibility of the E protein of WNV and to elucidate the mechanism that regulates epitope accessibility. The simulation results revealed that the mutation favors the formation of alternative hydrogen bonds, hampering the bending movement between domains I and II. We hypothesized that this is the mechanism by which the T198F mutation, located at the middle of the protein, locks the distal cryptc epitope near a single preferred conformation, rendering it more prone to recognition by antibodies.
Relationship between Th17 immune response and cancer Marques, Hanna Santos; de Brito, Breno Bittencourt; da Silva, Filipe Antônio França ...
World journal of clinical oncology,
10/2021, Volume:
12, Issue:
10
Journal Article
Open access
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and epidemiological projections predict growing cancer mortality rates in the next decades. Cancer has a close relationship with the immune ...system and, although Th17 cells are known to play roles in the immune response against microorganisms and in autoimmunity, studies have emphasized their roles in cancer pathogenesis. The Th17 immune response profile is involved in several types of cancer including urogenital, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and skin cancers. This type of immune response exerts pro and antitumor functions through several mechanisms, depending on the context of each tumor, including the protumor angiogenesis and exhaustion of T cells and the antitumor recruitment of T cells and neutrophils to the tumor microenvironment. Among other factors, the paradoxical behavior of Th17 cells in this setting has been attributed to its plasticity potential, which makes possible their conversion into other types of T cells such as Th17/Treg and Th17/Th1 cells. Interleukin (IL)-17 stands out among Th17-related cytokines since it modulates pathways and interacts with other cell profiles in the tumor microenvironment, which allow Th17 cells to prevail in tumors. Moreover, the IL-17 is able to mediate pro and antitumor processes that influence the development and progression of various cancers, being associated with variable clinical outcomes. The understanding of the relationship between the Th17 immune response and cancer as well as the singularities of carcinogenic processes in each type of tumor is crucial for the identification of new therapeutic targets.
Sorghum bicolor plants were grown in five combinations of NO₃ ⁻:NH₄ ⁺ nutrition (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100) to test the hypothesis that nitrogen nutrition with ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) increases ...tolerance to salinity. Analyses were performed after 10 days of 75 mM NaCl stress. The K⁺ contents in the shoots and roots were reduced under salinity stress; however, salt-stressed plants from NO₃ ⁻:NH₄ ⁺ treatments of 100:0 and 0:100 showed higher K⁺ concentrations in the shoots. Under salinity, Na⁺ accumulation was severely limited in the presence of NH₄ ⁺ (0:100), which positively influenced K⁺/Na⁺ homeostasis. In parallel, NH₄ ⁺-fed plants displayed a substantial accumulation of N-rich amino acids (primarily glutamine and asparagine) in both tissues, which might be fundamental for alleviating NH₄ ⁺ toxicity. These responses were reflected in favorable gas exchange and growth. Whereas the photosynthetic rate (A) of plants treated with 100:0, 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 ratios were unaltered or reduced under salinity stress, plants treated with a ratio 0:100 showed increases in A; this phenomenon was strongly correlated with the higher instantaneous carboxylation efficiency of Rubisco (A/Ci) and total N content in the shoots. As a result, although the leaf area and shoot and root dry mass from all nitrogen treatments were severely reduced through stress, the NH₄ ⁺ supply was effective to alleviate the harmful effects of salinity. The results clearly demonstrate that ammonium nutrition is more advantageous for the growth of S. bicolor under salinity than nitrate nutrition. Our findings suggest that improved plant acclimation induced through NH₄ ⁺ resulted from increased photosynthesis performance, reduced Na⁺ toxicity effects and major N-compound content.
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