The present review discuss the relevance and innovative state-of-the-art on molecular diagnosis of leukemia. This morbidity is one of the most common types of cancer with an annual incidence of ...250,000 new cases. The prevalence of leukemia among children up to 15years of age is 30% on all cases of cancer reported in the childhood. The BCR/ABL fusion gene is one of the most important biomarkers in leukemia, being found in all cases of chronic myeloid leukemia and up to 40% of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Genosensors are considered smart devices for identification of BCR/ABL fusion gene in clinical samples. Molecular techniques can contribute to early diagnosis of cancer, monitoring of minimal residual disease and implementation of effective drug therapies. The present review presents the scientific advances in the last decades on DNA biosensors constructed for BCR/ABL fusion gene detection. The assembly of nanostructured platforms, molecular immobilization strategies and analytical performances of the biodevices are discussed. The present review assesses the potential of electrochemical and optical techniques for BCR/ABL fusion gene detection. Electrochemical genosensors based on engineered nanomaterials at the transduction interface are useful to obtain high levels of sensitivity (up to 10−18M). On the other hand, optical genosensors had higher detection limits (10−15M). The analytical response time and reusability of genosensors for BCR/ABL fusion gene identification in small sample volumes (in the order of μL) were discussed. The present review highlighted nanostructured platforms as promising tool for diagnosis and monitoring of BCR/ABL fusion gene in leukemia patients.
Background: The global market has an increasing demand for buffalo by-products due to their unique nutritional characteristics. Many buffalo herds lack suitable breeding control programs, hindering ...the implementation of selection programs. Objective: To evaluate milk production per lactation (MP), lactation length (LL), and calving interval (CI) of a herd of crossbred Murrah buffaloes to support buffalo clustering according to their potential. Methods: Data from 543 lactations between 2002 and 2014 from 105 crossbred Murrah female buffaloes were used. Data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Results: The first components (PCs) were responsible for 92.32% of the total variation, of which 61.45 and 30.87% were explained by the first (PC1) and second (PC2) components, respectively. The cluster analysis allowed three female buffalo groups according to their potentials. Conclusion: Buffalo farmers can make decisions on nutritional, reproductive management and cow culling based on grouping.
AIM： To evaluated the therapeutic and prophylactic effect of thalidomide on 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid （TNBS）-induced colitis. Thalidomide has been reported to downregulate the expression ...of tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α）, IL-12, and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）, hallmarks of intestinal inflammation in Crohn＇s disease （CD）.
METHODS： Male Wistar rats were divided in five groups of ten animals each. Four groups received a rectal infusion of TNBS in ethanol. The first group was sacrificed 7 d after colitis induction. The second and third groups received either thalidomide or placebo by gavage and were sacrificed at 14 d. The fourth group received thalidomide 6 h before TNBS administration, and was sacrificed 7 d after induction. The fifth group acted as the control group and colitis was not induced. Histological inflammatory scores of the colon were performed and lamina propria CD4＋ T cells, macrophages, and VEGF＋ cells were detected by immunohistochemistry. TNF-α and IL-12 were quantified in the supernatant of organ cultures by ELISA.
RESULTS： Significant reduction in the inflammatory score and in the percentage of VEGF＋ cells was observed in the group treated with thalidomide compared with animals not treated with thalidomide. Both TNF-α and IL-12 levels were significantly reduced among TNBS induced colitis animals treated with thalidomide compared with animals that did not receive thalidomide. TNF-α levels were also significantly reduced among the animals receiving thalidomide prophylaxis compared with untreated animals with TNBS-induced colitis. Intestinal levels of TNF-α and IL-12 were significantly correlated with the inflammatory score and the number of VEGF＋ cells.
CONCLUSION： Thalidomide significantly attenuates TNBS-induced colitis by inhibiting the intestinal production of TNF-α, IL-12, and VEGF. This effect may support the use of thalidomide as an alternate approach in selected patients with CD.
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•Microplastics (MPs) interaction with micropollutants increase their toxicity.•Biological degradation of MPs takes excessively long times.•Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) reduce ...time required for MPs oxidation in water.•Intermediates formed during the oxidation of MPs pose no danger to microorganisms.•AOPs efficiency is severely affected by MPs size and shape.
Microplastics have become a hot topic in the scientific community as they promote adverse effects to living beings. Various analytical tools must be used simultaneously for identification and characterization of microplastics and their transformation products in environmental compartments. Despite limitations associated to the reproduction of real conditions of microplastics occurrence in environmental matrices (composition, size, concentration), increased toxicity has been observed as a consequence of their interaction with contaminants of emerging concern and/or heavy metals. Yet, some factors (i.e., pH, particle age and size of microplastic, among others) may affect this phenomenon. Membrane filtration and coagulation-flocculation-settling treatments are non-destructive, needing an additional step to degrade microplastics. Biological treatment has been demonstrated as unsatisfactory (<15% degradation) for microplastics treatment. On the other hand, a few recent works have pointed out advanced oxidation processes as feasible alternatives, since they present high efficiency of microplastic degradation (≈ 30–95%). However, more studies should be conducted to evaluate the performance of advanced oxidation processes on the degradation of microplastics in real matrices under solar irradiation. Identification of transformation products, elucidation of degradation mechanisms, and toxicity assays using in vivo and in vitro tests, as well as computational tools, are needed to improve the assumption of these processes as feasible treatment alternatives. Added to this, tests in larger treatment systems are critical to promote scale up for application in real scale.
The objective of this study was to test a composite of polyester resin and fiberglass in the form of an intramedullary nail for osteosynthesis of femoral fractures in calves. The methodology was ...established based on a previous study that used a bovine femur finite element model to simulate fractures, which were then stabilized by the same nails as proposed in this study. General anesthesia was induced in six calves followed by fracture creation
an oblique incision in the middle third of the femoral diaphysis, and osteosynthesis was immediately performed by retrograde insertion of the composite nail. Locking was achieved by drilling the bone and nail without using a jig and introducing two stainless steel screws proximal and two distal to the fracture line. Five of the six calves achieved complete fracture healing after 60 days. No signs of incompatibility or toxicity of the composite were observed. However, limitations were observed during the surgery, such as difficulty in drilling the nail and trimming the remainder portion of the nail that extended beyond the length of the bone. Small fragments produced by these maneuvers were considered irritating to soft tissues during the postoperative period. It was also found that small cracks in the nail tended to propagate in the form of longitudinal fractures. In conclusion, an intramedullary nail made of polyester resin and fiberglass (a low-cost and easy-to-acquire material) was considered biocompatible and capable of allowing bone healing of femoral fractures in young cattle. However, the development of solutions for the reported limitations is crucial prior to recommending the proposed composite for clinical use.
Austenitic Fe-13.50Mn-3.98Si-9.54Cr-4.51Ni shape memory alloyed with (0.18, 0.42 and 0.96 wt%) Ce was exposed in air at 800 °C. Both 0.18 and 0.42 wt% Cerium additions yielded protective kinetics, ...while the 0.96 wt% Ce content did not change the oxidation resistance. Increased oxidation resistance was related to the growth of a fine-grained oxide layer, slightly wrinkled with a higher Cr content. Cerium also acted as a S scavenger, suppressing its interfacial segregation. In the Ce-free alloy, fast oxide growth occurred in regions where S segregated at the interface, leading to severe wrinkling of the layer, resulting in lower oxidation resistance.
•Mn oxysulfide inclusions within FeMnSiCrNi contributed to poor oxidation resistance.•Interfacial S segregation accelerated the scale growth, causing wrinkling of the oxide.•Cerium acted as a S scavenger, suppressing its interfacial segregation.•Small Cerium levels yielded protective oxidation kinetics.•High cerium content did not positively affect the oxidation resistance.
Mercury (Hg) toxicity in soils depends on Hg species and other physical and chemical attributes, as selenium (Se) hotspots in soils, particularly relevant in Amazonian soils. The study of Hg species ...and their relations in representative locations of the Amazon rainforest biome is critical for assessing the potential risks of Hg in this environment. This work aimed to determine the concentration of total Hg and its species (Hg0, Hg22+ and Hg2+), and to correlate Hgtotal concentration with total elemental composition, magnetic susceptibility, and physicochemical attributes of Amazon soils. Nine sites in the Amazon rainforest biome, Brazil, were selected and analyzed for their chemical, physical, and mineralogical attributes. The clay fraction of the studied Amazon soils is dominated by kaolinite, goethite, hematite, gibbsite, and quartz. Mica was also found in soils from the States of Acre and Amazonas. Hgtotal ranged from 21.5 to 208 μg kg−1 (median = 104 μg kg−1), and the concentrations did not exceed the threshold value established for Brazilian soils (500 μg kg−1). The Hg2+ was notably the predominant species. Its occurrence and concentration were correlated with the landscape position and soil attributes. Hgtotal was moderately and positively correlated with TiO2, clay, and Se. The findings showed that geographic location, geological formation, and pedological differences influence the heterogeneity and distribution of Hgtotal in the studied soil classes. Thus, a detailed characterization and knowledgment of the soil classes is very important to clarify the complex behavior of this metal in the Amazon rainforest biome.
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•Hg2+ was the predominant species in the studied Amazon biome soils.•Hg concentration depends on geomorphological surface and soil types.•Total Hg concentrations was positively correlated to Se occurrence.
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