Incidents of viral outbreaks have increased at an alarming rate over the past decades. The most recent human coronavirus known as COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has already spread around the world and shown R
...values from 2.2 to 2.68. However, the ratio between mortality and number of infections seems to be lower in this case in comparison to other human coronaviruses (such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)). These outbreaks have tested the limits of healthcare systems and have posed serious questions about management using conventional therapies and diagnostic tools. In this regard, the use of nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel strategies in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 and other viral infections. In this review, we discuss the use of nanotechnology for COVID-19 virus management by the development of nano-based materials, such as disinfectants, personal protective equipment, diagnostic systems and nanocarrier systems, for treatments and vaccine development, as well as the challenges and drawbacks that need addressing.
Abstract
Limited information is available about the effect of mid-pregnancy viral infections on the placental expression of efflux transporters and offspring behavior. We hypothesized that maternal ...exposure to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid poly(I:C), a synthetic double-stranded RNA viral mimic, would impair placental cell turnover, the expression of selected ABC transporters and adult offspring behavior. C57BL/6 mice were administered poly(I:C) (10 mg/Kg;ip) or vehicle at gestational day (GD) 13.5 (mid-pregnancy). Dams were euthanized for blood collection 4 h after injection, fetal and placental collection at GD18.5 or allowed to deliver spontaneously at term. At GD 13.5, poly(I:C) induced an acute pro-inflammatory response characterized by an increase in maternal plasma levels of IL-6, CXCL-1 and CCL-2/MCP-1. At GD 18.5, poly(I:C) decreased cell proliferation/death in the labyrinthine and increased cell death in the junctional zones, characterizing a disruption of placental cell turnover. Abca1 and Abcg1 immunolabelling was decreased in the labyrinthine zone, whereas Abca1, Abcg1 and breast cancer resistance transporter (Bcrp) expression increased in the junctional zone. Moreover, adult offspring showed motor and cognitive impairments in the Rotarod and T-water maze tests. These results indicate that viral infection during mid-pregnancy may disrupt relevant placental efflux transporters, as well as placental cell turnover and offspring behavior in adult life.
Aims
This work aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal activities of two types of pyroligneous acid (PA) obtained from slow pyrolysis of wood of Mimosa tenuiflora and of a hybrid of ...Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis.
Methods and Results
Wood wedges were carbonized on a heating rate of 1·25°C min−1 until 450°C. Pyrolysis smoke was trapped and condensed to yield liquid products. Crude pyrolysis liquids were bidistilled under 5 mmHg vacuum yielding purified PA. Multi‐antibiotic‐resistant strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) had their sensitivity to PA evaluated using agar diffusion test. Two yeasts were evaluated as well, Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) and Cryptococcus neoformans. GC‐MS analysis of both PAs was carried out to obtain their chemical composition. Regression analysis was performed, and models were adjusted, with diameter of inhibition halos and PA concentration (100, 50 and 20%) as parameters. Identity of regression models and equality of parameters in polynomial orthogonal equations were verified. Inhibition halos were observed in the range 15–25 mm of diameter.
Conclusions
All micro‐organisms were inhibited by both types of PA even in the lowest concentration of 20%.
Significance and Impact of the Study
The feasibility of the usage of PAs produced with wood species planted in large scale in Brazil was evident and the real potential as a basis to produce natural antibacterial and antifungal agents, with real possibility to be used in veterinary and zootechnical applications.
Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is the major dose-limiting adverse effect of the clinical use ifosfamide (IFOS). The incidence of this side effect can be as high as 75%. Mesna has been used to reduce the ...risk of HC, although 5% of patients who get IFOS treatment may still suffer from HC. In previous studies, our group demonstrated that α-phellandrene (α-PHE) possesses anti-inflammatory activity, which opens the door for its study in the attenuation of HC. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential uroprotective effect of the α-PHE in the mouse model of IFOS-induced HC. In order to analyze the reduction of the urothelial damage, the bladder wet weight, hemoglobin content, and the Evans blue dye extravasation from the bladder matrix were evaluated. To investigate the involvement of neutrophil migration and lipid peroxidation and involvement of enzymatic and endogenous non-enzymatic antioxidants, the tissue markers myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde, nitrite/nitrate (NOx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were evaluated. TNF-α and IL-1β were measured by ELISA immunoassay technique. The results show that pretreatment with α-PHE significantly reduced urothelial damage that was accompanied by a decrease in the activity of MPO, MDA, and NOx levels and prevention of the depletion of SOD and GSH in bladder tissues. In the assessment of cytokines, α-PHE was able to significantly reduce TNF-α level. However, it does not affect the activities of IL-1β. These data confirm that α-PHE exerts potent anti-inflammatory properties and demonstrates that α-PHE represents a promising therapeutic option for this pathological condition.
Objectives were to determine the effect of progesterone (P4) concentration on fertility of lactating dairy cows induced to ovulate follicles of the first follicular wave. Lactating dairy cows (n=989) ...at 38±3d postpartum were balanced by parity and body condition score and randomly assigned to 3 treatments: first follicular wave (FFW), first follicular wave with exogenous P4 (FFWP), or second follicular wave (SFW). All cows had their estrous cycle presynchronized with 2 injections of prostaglandin (PG) F2α given 14d apart. Cows in the FFW and FFWP treatments started the ovulation synchronization protocol 3d after the last PGF2α of the presynchronization protocol, whereas SFW cows received a GnRH injection (100μg of gonadorelin diacetate; Cystorelin, Merial Ltd., Duluth, GA) 3d after the last PGF2α of the presynchronization protocol and started the synchronization protocol 7d later. The synchronization protocol consisted of GnRH on d −10, PGF2α on d −3, and GnRH concurrent with timed artificial insemination (AI) on d 0. Cows in the FFWP treatment received 2 controlled internal drug release inserts containing 1.38g of P4 from d −8 to −3. Progesterone concentration was determined on d −10, −8, −6, −3, and 0 from all cows and at 7, 14, and 21d after AI from a subsample of cows (n=170). Cows (n=715) had their ovaries scanned by ultrasound on d −10, −3, and 7d. Pregnancy was diagnosed at 38 and 66d after AI. Concentration of P4 from study d −8 to −3 was lowest for FFW cows (1.4±0.1ng/mL) and similar between SFW (3.7±0.2ng/mL) and FFWP (3.7±0.1ng/mL) cows. Diameter of the dominant follicle on study d −3 was greater for FFW cows (16.5±0.3mm) than for SFW cows (15.4±0.3mm), but diameter of the dominant follicle of FFWP cows was not different (15.9±0.3mm) compared with that of SFW and FFW cows. The incidence of multiple ovulation was largest for FFW cows (SFW=19.5, FFW=33.6, FFWP=19.0%), but pregnancy per AI (P/AI) at 66d was smallest for FFW cows (SFW=38.9, FFW=22.3, FFWP=32.0%). Anovular cows in the SFW (19.4 vs. 42.8%) and FFWP (22.1 vs. 37.2%) treatments had reduced P/AI compared with cyclic cows, despite having similar or greater P4 concentration from study d −8 to −3, respectively. Estrus and ovulation synchronization protocols for lactating dairy cows must result in growth of ovulatory follicle under P4 concentration >2ng/mL to ensure high P/AI.
ABSTRACT
The morphological diversity of galaxies is a relevant probe of galaxy evolution and cosmological structure formation. However, in large sky surveys, even the morphological classification of ...galaxies into two classes, like late-type (LT) and early-type (ET), still represents a significant challenge. In this work, we present a Deep Learning (DL) based morphological catalogue built from images obtained by the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) Data Release 3 (DR3). Our DL method achieves a purity rate of 98.5 per cent in accurately distinguishing between spiral, as part of the larger category of LT galaxies, and elliptical, belonging to ET galaxies. Additionally, we have implemented a secondary classifier that evaluates the quality of each galaxy stamp, which allows to select only high-quality images when studying properties of galaxies on the basis of their DL morphology. From our LT/ET catalogue of galaxies, we recover the expected colour–magnitude diagram in which LT galaxies display bluer colours than ET ones. Furthermore, we also investigate the clustering of galaxies based on their morphology, along with their relationship to the surrounding environment. As a result, we deliver a full morphological catalogue with 164 314 objects complete up to rpetro < 18, covering ∼1800 deg2, from which ∼55 000 are classified as high reliability, including a significant area of the Southern hemisphere that was not covered by previous morphology catalogues.
Abstract The non-competitive N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist ketamine has been shown to produce cognitive deficits. However, the effects of ketamine on the consolidation ...phase of memory remain poorly characterized. Here we show that systemic administration of ketamine immediately after training dose-dependently impairs long-term retention of memory for a novel object recognition (NOR) task in rats. Control experiments showed that the impairing effects of ketamine could not be attributed to an influence on memory retrieval or sensorimotor effects. In addition, ketamine prevented the increase in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels induced by NOR learning. Our results show for the first time that ketamine disrupts the consolidation phase of long-term recognition memory. In addition, the findings suggest that the amnestic effects of ketamine might be at least partially mediated by an influence on BDNF signaling in the hippocampus.
Designing and deploying telecommunications and broadcasting networks in the challenging terrain of the Amazon region pose significant obstacles due to its unique morphological characteristics. Within ...low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), this research study introduces a comprehensive approach to modeling large-scale propagation loss channels specific to the LoRaWAN protocol operating at 915 MHz. The objective of this study is to facilitate the planning of Internet of Things (IoT) networks in riverside communities while accounting for the mobility of end nodes. We conducted extensive measurement campaigns along the banks of Universidade Federal do Pará, capturing received signal strength indication (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and geolocated point data across various spreading factors. We fitted the empirical close-in (CI) and floating intercept (FI) propagation models for uplink path loss prediction and compared them with the Okumura-Hata model. We also present a new model for path loss with dense vegetation. Furthermore, we calculated received packet rate statistics between communication links to assess channel quality for the LoRa physical layer (PHY). Remarkably, both CI and FI models exhibited similar behaviors, with the newly proposed model demonstrating enhanced accuracy in estimating radio loss within densely vegetated scenarios, boasting lower root mean square error (RMSE) values than the Okumura-Hata model, particularly for spreading factor 9 (SF9). The radius coverage threshold, accounting for node mobility, was 945 m. This comprehensive analysis contributes valuable insights for the effective deployment and optimization of LoRa-based IoT networks in the intricate environmental conditions of the Amazon region.
Purpose
Aging is associated with changes in glucose homeostasis related to both decreased insulin secretion and/or impaired insulin action, contributing to the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes ...(T2D) in the elderly population. Additionally, studies are showing that chronically high levels of circulating insulin can also lead to insulin resistance. In contrast, physical exercise has been a strategy used to improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. However, the molecular alterations resulting from the effects of physical exercise in the liver on age-related hyperinsulinemia conditions are not yet fully established. This study aimed to investigate the effects of 7 days of aerobic exercise on hepatic metabolism in aged hyperinsulinemic rats (i.e., Wistar and F344) and in
Slc2a4
+/−
mice (hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic mice).
Results
Both aged models showed alterations in insulin and glucose tolerance, which were associated with essential changes in hepatic fat metabolism (lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and inflammation). In contrast, 7 days of physical exercise was efficient in improving whole-body glucose and insulin sensitivity, and hepatic metabolism. The Slc2a4
+/−
mice presented significant metabolic impairments (insulin resistance and hepatic fat accumulation) that were improved by short-term exercise training. In this scenario, high circulating insulin may be an important contributor to age-related insulin resistance and hepatic disarrangements in some specific conditions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our data demonstrated that short-term aerobic exercise was able to control mechanisms related to hepatic fat accumulation and insulin sensitivity in aged rodents. These effects could contribute to late-life metabolic health and prevent the development/progression of age-related T2D.
ABSTRACT
The morphological diversity of galaxies is a relevant probe of galaxy evolution and cosmological structure formation, but the classification of galaxies in large sky surveys is becoming a ...significant challenge. We use data from the Stripe-82 area observed by the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) in 12 optical bands, and present a catalogue of the morphologies of galaxies brighter than r = 17 mag determined both using a novel multiband morphometric fitting technique and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for computer vision. Using the CNNs, we find that, compared to our baseline results with three bands, the performance increases when using 5 broad and 3 narrow bands, but is poorer when using the full 12 band S-PLUS image set. However, the best result is still achieved with just three optical bands when using pre-trained network weights from an ImageNet data set. These results demonstrate the importance of using prior knowledge about neural network weights based on training in unrelated, extensive data sets, when available. Our catalogue contains 3274 galaxies in Stripe-82 that are not present in Galaxy Zoo 1 (GZ1), and we also provide our classifications for 4686 galaxies that were considered ambiguous in GZ1. Finally, we present a prospect of a novel way to take advantage of 12 band information for morphological classification using morphometric features, and we release a model that has been pre-trained on several bands that could be adapted for classifications using data from other surveys. The morphological catalogues are publicly available.
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