Vitamin A is commonly recommended as a treatment for diarrhea and undernutrition; however, little is known about the underlying cellular mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the ...modulation of cell cycle by vitamin A derivatives (retinyl palmitate or retinol) in undernourished intestinal epithelial crypts (IEC-6).
IEC-6 cells were exposed to nutrient deprivation (no serum and no glutamine) and supplemented with retinyl palmitate or retinol at a range of 2 to 20 μM. Proliferation, apoptosis/necrosis, cell cycle process, and gene transcription were assessed.
Nutrient deprivation for 6, 12, 24, or 48 h decreased cell proliferation, and retinyl palmitate further decreased it after 24 and 48 h. Apoptosis rates were reduced by undernourishment and further reduced by retinyl palmitate after 48 h; whereas necrosis rates were unaltered. Undernourishment induced overall cell quiescence, increased percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase and decreased percentage of cells in S phase after 12 h and in G2/M phases at 6, 12, and 24 h after treatment. Both retinoids also showed cell quiescence induction with less cells in G2/M phases after 48 h, whereas only retinol showed significant modulation of G0/G1 and S phases. Both retinoids also increased markers of cell differentiation Fabp and Iap gene transcriptions in about fivefold rates after 42 h. Furthermore, specific gene transcriptions related to MAP kinase signaling pathway regulation of cell differentiation and cell cycle regulation were triggered by retinoids in undernourished IEC-6, with higher levels of expression for Atf2 and C-jun genes.
These findings indicated that both vitamin A derivatives induce further survival mechanisms in undernourished intestinal epithelial crypt cells. These mechanisms include increased cell quiescence, decreased apoptosis, increased cell differentiation, and transcription of genes related to MAP kinase signaling pathway.
•Proliferation and apoptosis are impaired by retinyl palmitate in undernourished intestinal epithelial cells.•Vitamin A derivatives induce further survival and differentiation of undernourished intestinal epithelial cells.•MAP kinase signaling pathway via JNK is triggered by vitamin A derivatives in undernourished intestinal epithelial cells.
This study aimed to identify the prevalence of women in prisons who have already had an HIV test inside prison and the factors associated with this test. A cross-sectional study was carried out with ...1327 women in 15 prisons in 9 states in Brazil. Almost 60% (95% CI: 57.8-63.7) of women have already been tested for HIV in prison. The factors associated with this HIV test were age ≥41 years (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.2-2.9), highest level of education (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.3-2.8), having been arrested 3 or more times (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.3-2.8), having received information about HIV/STI in the lifetime (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1-1.9) and perceived themselves to be at no risk for HIV infection (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.2-2.5), black or mixed race (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.5-0.9) and having a male sexual partner (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.5-0.9). The routine HIV testing in prisons needs to be expanded to promote HIV prevention for a population with limited access to these services outside of prison.
To analyze factors associated with outpatient follow-up of children with congenital syphilis.
A non-concurrent cohort study performed in primary care units and three reference maternity hospitals in ...Fortaleza (Ceará State). Data were collected from September 2013 to September 2016 in the notification forms and in the medical records of hospitalization and outpatient follow-up, and they were presented considering an adequate and inadequate follow-up. Children who attended the primary care unit or referral outpatient clinic during the period recommended by the Ministry of Health were considered adequately followed up and performed the recommended examinations. Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used in the comparative analysis. The estimated risk of adequate non-follow-up was verified by simple and multiple logistic regression.
The total of 460 children with congenital syphilis were notified, of which 332 (72.2%) returned for at least one appointment and were part of the study. Exactly 287 (86.4%) children attended the primary health unit; however, there was no reference to congenital syphilis in 236 (71.1%) medical records and no information on the venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test was found in 264 (79.5%) children. There was nonadherence to subsequent appointments by 272 (81.9%) individuals. The following variables had a statistically significant association with the non-adequate follow-up of the children: marital status of the mothers, number of prenatal appointments, number of pregnancies, blood count, and radiography of long bones.
Most children with congenital syphilis attended primary care for follow-up, but the services do not meet the recommendations of the Brazilian Ministry of Health for adequate follow-up.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been most severe in the poorest regions of Brazil, such as the states of the Northeast Region. The lack of national policies for pandemic control forced state and municipal ...authorities to implement public health measures. The aim of this study is to show the effect of these measures on the epidemic. The highest incidence of COVID-19 among the nine states in the Northeast was recorded in Sergipe, Paraíba and Ceará. Piauí, Paraíba and Ceará were the states that most tested. Factors associated with transmission included the high proportion of people in informal work. States with international airports played an important role in the entry of the virus and the initial spread, especially Ceará. All states applied social distancing measures, banned public events and closed schools. The response was a significant increase in social distancing, especially in Ceará and Pernambuco, a decline in the reproduction rate (Rt), and a separation of the curve of observed cases versus expected cases if the non-pharmacological interventions had not been implemented in all states. Poverty, inequality, and the high rates of informal work provide clues to the intensity of COVID-19 in the region. On the other hand, the measures taken early by the governments mitigated the effects of the pandemic.
Abstract
Background
Prematurity and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are strongly associated. RDS continues to be an important contributor to neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income ...countries. This study aimed to identify clusters of preterm live births and RDS-associated neonatal deaths, and their cooccurrence pattern in São Paulo State, Brazil, between 2004 and 2015.
Methods
Population-based study of all live births with gestational age ≥ 22 weeks, birthweight ≥ 400 g, without congenital anomalies from mothers living in São Paulo State, Brazil, during 2004–2015. RDS-associated neonatal mortality was defined as deaths < 28 days with ICD-10 codes P22.0 or P28.0. RDS-associated neonatal mortality and preterm live births rates per municipality were submitted to first- and second-order spatial analysis before and after smoothing using local Bayes estimates. Spearman test was applied to identify the correlation pattern between both rates.
Results
Six hundred forty-five thousand two hundred seventy-six preterm live births and 11,078 RDS-associated neonatal deaths in São Paulo State, Brazil, during the study period were analyzed. After smoothing, a non-random spatial distribution of preterm live births rate (
I
= 0.78;
p
= 0.001) and RDS-associated neonatal mortality rate (
I
= 0.73;
p
= 0.001) was identified. LISA maps confirmed clusters for both, with a negative correlation (
r
= -0.24;
p
= 0.0000). Clusters of high RDS-associated neonatal mortality rates overlapping with clusters of low preterm live births rates were detected.
Conclusions
Asymmetric cluster distribution of preterm live births and RDS-associated neonatal deaths may be helpful to indicate areas for perinatal healthcare improvement.
The purpose of this study was to investigate tissue repair of excisional wounds in hyperglycemic animals treated with chitosan-alginate membranes (CAM) produced in the presence of glycerol. 8-week ...C57B1 male mice were divided into normoglycemic animals with a 0.9% saline solution topical treatment (CTSF); hyperglycemic animals with 0.9% saline solution topical treatment (DMSF) and hyperglycemic animals with glycerol-plasticized chitosan-alginate membrane topical treatment (DMCAM). On post-wound day three, the DMCAM group presented a lower number of leukocytes, mature mastocytes, a higher number of vessels (p < 0.05), and active mastocytes (p < 0.05) when compared to the CTSF and DMSF groups. There were no differences regarding the distribution, deposition, organization, and thickness of collagen fibers. On day 7 there were no differences in the analysis of fibroblasts, mastocytes, and TGF−β1 and VEGF expressions among the groups. Regarding collagen fibers, the DMCAM group presented slight red-orange birefringence when compared to the CTSF and DMSF groups. On day 14 there was a slight concentration of thinner elastic fibers for the DMCAM group, with a greater reorganization of papillary skin and improved red-orange birefringence collagen fibers, as well as net-shaped orientation, similar to intact skin. In addition, improved elastic fiber organization distributed in the entire neo-dermis and a larger presence of elaunin fibers were observed, in a similar pattern found in the intact skin. The use of CAM in cutaneous lesions boosted tissue repair since there was a smaller number of inflammatory cells and mastocytes, and an improvement in collagen deposition and collagen fibers. These results demonstrate the high potential of plasticized chitosan-alginate membrane for skin wound dressing of hyperglycemic patients.
In the last few decades, attention has been focused on the impacts of contamination in marine benthic populations, while the responses of aquatic organisms to natural alterations, namely changes in ...salinity, have received little attention. In fact, salinity is one of the dominant environmental factors affecting marine bivalves. The ebb and flood of the tide, combined with fresh water inputs from rivers or heavy rainy events, and with extremely dry and hot seasons, can dramatically alter water salinity. Therefore, the salinity of a certain environment can restrict the spatial distribution of a given population, which is especially important when assessing the spread of an invasive species into a new environment. In the present study, the main objective was to understand how clam Venerupis philippinarum copes with salinity changes and, hence biochemical and metabolomic alterations, taking place in individuals submitted to a wide range of salinities were investigated. The results showed that V. philippinarum presented high mortality at lower salinities (0 and 7g/L) but tolerated high salinities (35 and 42g/L). The quantification of ionic content revealed that, clams had the capacity to maintain ionic homeostasis along the salinity gradient, mainly changing the concentration of Na, but also with the influence of Mg and Ca. The results showed a decrease in protein content at lower salinities (0 to 21g/L). Glycogen and glucose increased with increasing salinity gradient. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra of clam aqueous extracts revealed different metabolite profiles at 7, 28 and 42g/L salinities, thus enabling metabolite changes to be measured in relation to salinity.
ABSTRACT Several management practices can increase soil water storage capacity, but their effectiveness to minimize the adverse effects of drought depends on their potential to increase the soil ...available water to plants. Terracing is an effective option to increase soil water storage, but its effect on available water to plants in no-tillage system is still a knowledge gap. In this study, we monitored soil water content at eight layers down to 1.6 m in two zero-order paired catchments for 16 months. Presence of five broad-based terraces in one of the catchments was the main difference between the two. Water availability to plants over time was expressed as a fraction of available water capacity (FAW). Positive differences of FAW between the terraced and non-terraced catchments were noticed over periods of rainfall shortage, but they were barely perceptible in periods of abundant rainfall. Over the 16 months, the frequency of FAW higher than 0.75 was between 46 and 50 % in the non-terraced catchment, and between 67 and 75 % in the terraced catchment. This benefit of terracing is more noticeable in thicker upper-section of the soil profile evaluated and with greater number of terraces upstream from the point of observation. We concluded that terracing in no-tillage turn excess rainfall into noticeable positive increases in available water to plants in the following periods of rainfall shortage.
Clams were able to persist during the 90 days of exposure, but in this case the survival under stressful conditions implied an investment of energy at the expense of growth and shell formation, ...potentially also affecting the ecosystem services related to the harvest of this species. 2 Epigenetic modifications as a molecular mechanism potentially underpinning tolerance to OA The paper on Platynereis spp. from the CO2 vents system on the island of Ischia (Signorini et al.) provided the first evidence of the potential involvement of histone posttranslational modifications (in particular acetylation) in promoting tolerance to OA. The study pointed out that the measurements of calcification and accretion rates are effective tools for monitoring the adverse impacts of OA on reef ecosystems, and they are more sensitive than other metrics related to benthic community composition. 4 The evolution of the DIC carbon isotope signature under OA and its implication for laboratory culturing of marine organisms This represents a methodological paper where the stable isotope approach is used to better understand the physiological processes contributing to the response of organisms to ocean acidification (Zhang et al.). Frequently, the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the initial seawater culture has a distinct 13C/12C ratio, which is far from the equilibrium expected with the isotopic composition of the bubbled CO2, and this aspect is sometimes ignored. To overcome this problem, the authors have proposed a numerical model that can well predict the DIC carbon isotope ratio and its evolutions during bubbling, which can be traced during the experiment.
Distribution, abundance, feeding behaviour, host preference, parity status and human-biting and infection rates are among the medical entomological parameters evaluated when determining the vector ...capacity of mosquito species. To evaluate these parameters, mosquitoes must be collected using an appropriate method. Malaria is primarily transmitted by anthropophilic and synanthropic anophelines. Thus, collection methods must result in the identification of the anthropophilic species and efficiently evaluate the parameters involved in malaria transmission dynamics. Consequently, human landing catches would be the most appropriate method if not for their inherent risk. The choice of alternative anopheline collection methods, such as traps, must consider their effectiveness in reproducing the efficiency of human attraction. Collection methods lure mosquitoes by using a mixture of olfactory, visual and thermal cues. Here, we reviewed, classified and compared the efficiency of anopheline collection methods, with an emphasis on Neotropical anthropophilic species, especially Anopheles darlingi, in distinct malaria epidemiological conditions in Brazil.
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