This study aimed to investigate the kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics of biosorption of the cationic dye rhodamine B by a low-cost biosorbent prepared from
Aspergillus oryzae
cells. Culture ...medium composition (mineral salts, nitrogen source, and carbon source) influenced removal efficiency, and dye removal increased with increasing biosorbent concentrations until a plateau was reached at 10 g L
−1
. Temperature and dye concentration were directly related to removal, and the highest removal efficiency was obtained at 40 °C and 200 mg L
−1
of dye. The adsorption kinetics was best fitted to a pseudo-second-order model, and equilibrium data were well described by the Freundlich equation. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the biosorption of rhodamine B by
A. oryzae
cells is physical in nature, spontaneous, and more favorable at higher temperatures and dye concentrations. Overall, the results suggest that inactivated
A. oryzae
biomass is a promising biosorbent for the removal of cationic dyes from wastewater.
Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and is associated with long-term physical, neurodevelopmental, and socioeconomic effects. This study updated national preterm birth rates and ...trends, plus novel estimates by gestational age subgroups, to inform progress towards global health goals and targets, and aimed to update country, regional, and global estimates of preterm birth for 2020 in addition to trends between 2010 and 2020.
We systematically searched population-based, nationally representative data on preterm birth from Jan 1, 2010, to Dec 31, 2020 and study data (26 March–14 April, 2021) for countries and areas with no national-level data. The analysis included 679 data points (86% nationally representative administrative data 582 of 679 data points) from 103 countries and areas (62% of countries and areas having nationally representative administrative data 64 of 103 data points). A Bayesian hierarchical regression was used for estimating country-level preterm rates, which incoporated country-specific intercepts, low birthweight as a covariate, non-linear time trends, and bias adjustments based on a data quality categorisation, and other indicators such as method of gestational age estimation.
An estimated 13·4 million (95% credible interval CrI 12·3–15·2 million) newborn babies were born preterm (<37 weeks) in 2020 (9·9% of all births 95% CrI 9·1–11·2) compared with 13·8 million (12·7–15·5 million) in 2010 (9·8% of all births 9·0–11·0) worldwide. The global annual rate of reduction was estimated at –0·14% from 2010 to 2020. In total, 55·6% of total livebirths are in southern Asia (26·8% 36 099 000 of 134 767 000) and sub-Saharan Africa (28·7% 38 819 300 of 134 767 000), yet these two regions accounted for approximately 65% (8 692 000 of 13 376 200) of all preterm births globally in 2020. Of the 33 countries and areas in the highest data quality category, none were in southern Asia or sub-Saharan Africa compared with 94% (30 of 32 countries) in high-income countries and areas. Worldwide from 2010 to 2020, approximately 15% of all preterm births occurred at less than 32 weeks of gestation, requiring more neonatal care (<28 weeks: 4·2%, 95% CI 3·1–5·0, 567 800 410 200–663 200 newborn babies); 28–32 weeks: 10·4% 9·5–10·6, 1 392 500 1 274 800–1 422 600 newborn babies).
There has been no measurable change in preterm birth rates over the last decade at global level. Despite increasing facility birth rates and substantial focus on routine health data systems, there remain many missed opportunities to improve preterm birth data. Gaps in national routine data for preterm birth are most marked in regions of southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which also have the highest estimated burden of preterm births. Countries need to prioritise programmatic investments to prevent preterm birth and to ensure evidence-based quality care when preterm birth occurs. Investments in improving data quality are crucial so that preterm birth data can be improved and used for action and accountability processes.
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation and the UNDP, United Nations Population Fund-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction.
AIM To evaluate the relation between 12 polymorphisms and the development of gastric cancer(GC) and colorectal cancer(CRC).METHODS In this study,we included 125 individuals with GC diagnosis,66 ...individuals with CRC diagnosis and 475 cancer-free individuals. All participants resided in the North region of Brazil and authorized the use of their samples. The 12 polymorphisms(in CASP8,CYP2 E1,CYP19 A1,IL1 A,IL4,MDM2,NFKB1,PAR1,TP53,TYMS,UGT1 A1 and XRCC1 genes) were genotyped in a single PCR for each individual,followed by fragment analysis. To avoid misinterpretation due to population substructure,we applied a previously developed set of 61 ancestryinformative markers that can also be genotyped by multiplex PCR. The statistical analyses were performed in Structure v.2.3.4,R environment and SPSS v.20.RESULTS After statistical analyses with the control of confounding factors,such as genetic ancestry,three markers(rs79071878 in IL4,rs3730485 in MDM2 and rs28362491 in NFKB1) were positively associated with the development of GC. One of these markers(rs28362491) and the marker in the UGT1 A1 gene(rs8175347) were positively associated with the development of CRC. Therefore,we investigated whether the joint presence of the deleterious alleles of each marker could affect the development of cancer and we obtained positive results in all analyses. Carriers of the combination of alleles RP1 + DEL(rs79071878 and rs28361491,respectively) are at 10-times greater risk of developing GC than carriers of other combinations. Similarly,carriers of the combination of DEL + RARE(rs283628 and rs8175347) are at about 12-times greater risk of developing CRC than carriers of other combinations.CONCLUSION These findings are important for the comprehension of gastric and CRC development,particularly in highly admixed populations,such as the Brazilian population.
Intellectual disability (ID) is an early onset impairment in cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior, affecting approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Extreme skewing of X-chromosome ...inactivation (XCI) can be associated with ID phenotypes caused by pathogenic variants in the X chromosome. We analyzed the XCI pattern in blood samples of 194 women with idiopathic ID, using the androgen receptor gene (
AR
) methylation assay. Among the 136 patients who were informative, 11 (8%) presented with extreme or total XCI skewing (≥ 90%), which was significantly higher than expected by chance. Whole-exome data obtained from these 11 patients revealed the presence of dominant pathogenic variants in eight of them, all sporadic cases, resulting in a molecular diagnostic rate of 73% (8/11 patients). All variants were mapped to ID-related genes with dominant phenotypes: four variants in the X-linked genes
DDX3X
(an XCI escape gene; two cases),
WDR45,
and
PDHA1
, and four variants in the autosomal genes
KCNB1, CTNNB1, YY1
, and
ANKRD11
. Three of the autosomal genes had no obvious correlation with the observed XCI skewing. However,
YY1
is a known transcriptional repressor that acts in the binding of the
XIST
long noncoding RNA on the inactive X chromosome, providing a mechanistic link between the pathogenic variant and the detected skewed XCI in the carrier. These data confirm that extreme XCI skewing in females with ID is highly indicative of causative X-linked pathogenic variants, and point to the possibility of identifying causative variants in autosomal genes with a XCI role.
Vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has already been described, while clinical consequences to the fetus are still under investigation. This article reports a case of systemic fetal inflammatory ...response and pericardial effusion. As far as is known, this is the first case of fetal/neonatal cardiac complications related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The ultrarare hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common pediatric liver cancer. HB risk is related to a few rare syndromes, and the molecular bases remain elusive for most cases. We investigated the ...burden of rare damaging germline variants in 30 Brazilian patients with HB and the presence of additional clinical signs. A high frequency of prematurity (20%) and birth defects (37%), especially craniofacial (17%, including craniosynostosis) and kidney (7%) anomalies, was observed. Putative pathogenic or likely pathogenic monoallelic germline variants mapped to 10 cancer predisposition genes (CPGs:
,
and
) were detected in 33% of the patients, only 40% of them with a family history of cancer. These findings showed a predominance of CPGs with a known link to gastrointestinal/colorectal and renal cancer risk. A remarkable feature was an enrichment of rare damaging variants affecting different classes of DNA repair genes, particularly those known as Fanconi anemia genes. Moreover, several potentially deleterious variants mapped to genes impacting liver functions were disclosed. To our knowledge, this is the largest assessment of rare germline variants in HB patients to date, contributing to elucidate the genetic architecture of HB risk.
This study aims to investigate the ability of the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) as a prognostic marker for midterm clinical outcomes three months after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), to ...identify possible predictors of fall in 6MWD in the early postoperative period, and to establish the percentage fall in early postoperative 6MWD, considering the preoperative baseline as 100%.
A prospective cohort of patients undergoing elective CABG were included. The percentage fall in 6MWD was assessed by the difference between preoperative and postoperative day (POD) five. Clinical outcomes were evaluated three months after hospital discharge.
There was a significant decrease in 6MWD on POD5 compared with preoperative baseline values (percentage fall of 32.5±16.5%, P<0.0001). Linear regression analysis showed an independent association of the percentage fall of 6MWD with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and preoperative inspiratory muscle strength. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the best cutoff value of percentage fall in 6MWD to predict poorer clinical outcomes at three months was 34.6% (area under the curve = 0.82, sensitivity = 78.95%, specificity = 76.19%, P=0.0001).
This study indicates that a cutoff value of 34.6% in percentage fall of 6MWD on POD5 was able to predict poorer clinical outcomes at three months of follow-up after CABG. Use of CPB and preoperative inspiratory muscle strength were independent predictors of percentage fall of 6MWD in the postoperative period. These findings further support the clinical application of 6MWD and propose an inpatient preventive strategy to guide clinical management over time.
This study aimed to prepare a complex of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and 6CN10, a poorly water soluble 2-aminothiophene derivative with antifungal properties, by freeze-drying technique. ...The complex was characterized by thermal analysis, infrared/Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, we used the data of the phase solubility study, 1H, and 2D NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling in order to investigate the interactions between 6CN10 and HP-β-CD. The apparent solubility of 6CN10 with HP-β-CD increased more than 29 fold. The phase solubility assay in water at 25 ºC showed an AP-type curve, with an apparent stability constant K1:1 and K1:2 of 96 and 0.1989 M-1, respectively. The results of IR, NMR and docking indicate that 6CN10 is able to form complexes with HP-β-CD (1:1 and 1:2 stoichiometric ratios), generating the formation of inclusion and preferably, non-inclusion complexes. The antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans demonstrated the superior performance of the complex (46.66 µg mL-1) when compared with the free drug (166.66-333.33 µg mL-1). The present study provides useful information for the potential application of complexation with low soluble compounds and about the type of complex formation between 6CN10 and HP-β-CD.
The environmental impact on health is an inevitable by-product of human activity. Environmental health sciences is a multidisciplinary field addressing complex issues on how people are exposed to ...hazardous chemicals that can potentially affect adversely the health of present and future generations. Exposure sciences and environmental epidemiology are becoming increasingly data-driven and their efficiency and effectiveness can significantly improve by implementing the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles for scientific data management and stewardship. This will enable data integration, interoperability and (re)use while also facilitating the use of new and powerful analytical tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in the benefit of public health policy, and research, development and innovation (RDI). Early research planning is critical to ensuring data is FAIR at the outset. This entails a well-informed and planned strategy concerning the identification of appropriate data and metadata to be gathered, along with established procedures for their collection, documentation, and management. Furthermore, suitable approaches must be implemented to evaluate and ensure the quality of the data. Therefore, the 'Europe Regional Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science' (ISES Europe) human biomonitoring working group (ISES Europe HBM WG) proposes the development of a FAIR Environment and health registry (FAIREHR) (hereafter FAIREHR). FAIR Environment and health registry offers preregistration of studies on exposure sciences and environmental epidemiology using HBM (as a starting point) across all areas of environmental and occupational health globally. The registry is proposed to receive a dedicated web-based interface, to be electronically searchable and to be available to all relevant data providers, users and stakeholders. Planned Human biomonitoring studies would ideally be registered before formal recruitment of study participants. The resulting FAIREHR would contain public records of metadata such as study design, data management, an audit trail of major changes to planned methods, details of when the study will be completed, and links to resulting publications and data repositories when provided by the authors. The FAIREHR would function as an integrated platform designed to cater to the needs of scientists, companies, publishers, and policymakers by providing user-friendly features. The implementation of FAIREHR is expected to yield significant benefits in terms of enabling more effective utilization of human biomonitoring (HBM) data.
Enzyme activities in non-tumor and cancer cells, in different cell compartments, were visualized with two small fluorogenic probes: 7-(3-hydroxypropyl)-resorufin (7) and ...7-(3-phosphatepropyl)-resorufin (9), with a primary alcohol and a phosphate group as enzymatic recognition sites. The designed probes were evaluated by in vitro assays, proving that both were biotransformed by their respective enzymes (probe 7 by alcohol dehydrogenases, ADHs, and probe 9 by a protein serine/threonine phosphatase, PSTP). Additionally, joint action of both enzymes (ADH and PSTP) revealed that probe 9 underwent a multi-enzymatic cascade and that phosphate hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step. These probes were evaluated in four human cell lines: prostate cancer cells (PC-3), prostate cells (RWPE-1), breast cancer cells (MCF-7 BUS) and breast cells (MCF-10A). Flow cytometry experiments showed distinct profiles for prostate and breast cells and assays with phosphatase inhibitors confirmed the proposed multi-enzymatic cascade in living cells.
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