Here, we present new antimicrobial nanoparticles based on silica nanoparticles (SNPs) coated with a quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). Depending on the ...initial concentration of DDAB, SNPs immobilize between 45 and 275 μg of DDAB per milligram of nanoparticle. For high concentrations of DDAB adsorbed to SNP, a bilayer is formed as confirmed by zeta potential measurements, thermogravimetry, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) analyses. Interestingly, these nanoparticles have lower minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against bacteria and fungi than soluble surfactant. The electrostatic interaction of the DDAB with the SNP is strong, since no measurable loss of antimicrobial activity was observed after suspension in aqueous solution for 60 days. We further show that the antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticle does not require the leaching of the surfactant from the surface of the NPs. The SNPs may be immobilized onto surfaces with different chemistry while maintaining their antimicrobial activity, in this case extended to a virucidal activity. The versatility, relative facility in preparation, low cost, and large antimicrobial activity of our platform makes it attractive as a coating for large surfaces.
The dopamine content in cerebral structures has been related to neuronal excitability and several approaches have been used to study this phenomenon during seizure vulnerability period. In the ...present work, we describe the effects of dopamine depletion after the administration of 6-hidroxidopamine (6-OHDA) into the substantia nigra pars compacta of male rats submitted to the pilocarpine model of epilepsy. Susceptibility to pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), as well as spontaneous and recurrent seizures (SRSs) frequency during the chronic period of the model were determined. Since the hippocampus is one of main structures in the development of this experimental model of epilepsy, the dopamine levels in this region were also determined after drug administration. In the first experiment, 62% (15/24) of 6-OHDA pre-treated rats and 45% (11/24) of those receiving ascorbic acid as control solution progressed to motor limbic seizures evolving to SE, after the administration of pilocarpine. Severeness of seizures during the model´s the acute period, was significantly higher in epileptic experimental rats (56.52%), than in controls (4.16%). In the second experiment, the frequency of seizures in the model's chronic phase did not significantly change between groups. Our data show that dopamine may play an important role on seizure severity in the pilo's model acute period, which seems to be due to dopamine inhibitory action on motor expression of seizure.
The treatment of arterial hypertension (AH) contributes to the reduction of morbidity and mortality. Gender differences are likely to play a role, as non-treatment is associated with clinical and ...sociodemographic aspects. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with non-treatment of AH and gender differences in hypertensive individuals from the ELSA-Brasil cohort. The study was conducted with 5,743 baseline hypertensive cohort participants. AH was considered if there was a previous diagnosis or if systolic blood pressure (SBP) was ≥140 and/or diastolic BP (DBP) was ≥90 mmHg. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data, lifestyle, comorbidities, and use of antihypertensive medications were evaluated through interviews and in-person measurements. Treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi) or other antihypertensive medications and non-treatment were evaluated with multivariate logistic regression. Non-treatment was observed in 32.8% of hypertensive individuals. Of the 67.7% treated individuals, 41.1% received RAASi. Non-treatment was associated with alcohol consumption in women (OR=1.41; 95%CI: 1.15-1.73; P=0.001), lowest schooling level in men (OR=1.70; 95%CI: 1.32-2.19; P<0.001), and younger age groups in men and women (strongest association in males aged 35-44 years: OR=4.58, 95%CI: 3.17-6.6, P<0.001). Among those using RAASi, a higher proportion of white, older individuals, and with more comorbidities was observed. The high percentage of non-treatment, even in this civil servant population, indicated the need to improve the treatment cascade for AH. Public health policies should consider giving special attention to gender roles in groups at higher risk of non-treatment to reduce inequities related to AH in Brazil.
The economic progress and sustainable developments are linked to the optimization and energy conservation. Conventional methods of production and energy utilization usually embed harmful ...environmental impacts, and hence the challenge to scientists to seek for mechanisms of energy production and use which are less harmful or better still free of unfavorable environmental impacts. Studies point out that municipal solid waste has great energy potential and its reuse, specifically the production of biogas from landfills and the recycling of solid waste presents a favorable mechanism to optimize energy use and preserve it. The present investigation includes the energy savings and the avoided emissions of CO
2 to the atmosphere as a result of recycling and production of biogas from landfills in one metropolitan with more than one million inhabitants and in Brazil. The results show that the rate of CH
4 production from the Brazilian waste landfills can avail for Brazil about 41.7
MW and the reuse of recyclables can avail to the energy system an additional quantity of 286
GJ/month enough for the consumption of 318,000 families.
► This paper highlights four fundamental and potential points of solid waste. ► Energy, environmental and social aspects of solid waste as a source of energy in Brazil. ► The use of organic matter deposited in the landfills as mechanism to generate energy from biogas. ► Recycling economizes energy, raw material, creates jobs, income and social inclusion. ► Selective collection and recycling increases the Family Grants and the social inclusion in Brazil.
•Acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine in patients with immune-mediated diseases was high.•COVID-19 vaccine acceptance may be hampered by some comorbidities and treatments.•The short duration of trials ...was the main concern behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
To identify potential predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (C19-VH) in adults with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID).
A total of 1000 IMID patients were enrolled in this web-based cross-sectional study. A standardised and self-administered survey was designed by members of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology Steering Committee for Infectious and Endemic diseases and distributed to IMID patients spread across Brazil.
Of the 908 (90.8%) respondents eligible for analysis, 744 (81.9%) were willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In our multivariable logistic regression model, concurrent malignancy, fibromyalgia, hydroxychloroquine use, and recent corticosteroid pulse therapy were independently associated with higher odds of C19-VH. The short duration of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials was the main reason for C19-VH.
We identified novel characteristics potentially associated with C19-VH among adults with IMID. Greater awareness on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is needed for both IMID patients and attending physicians.
The leaves and stems bark of Memora nodosa (Silva Manso) Miers (Bignoniaceae) are used in Brazilian traditional medicine in the treatment of external ulcers and wounds; its roots are used to treat ...abdominal pain and scabies.
Our aim was to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of Memora nodosa roots ethanolic extract (EMN) and allantoin, a secondary metabolite isolated from this plant.
The EMN and allantoin antinociceptive activity were evaluated in mice using both chemical and heat-induced pain models such as acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin and tail-flick tests. In the formalin test, a pre-treatment with naloxone was used to verify an involvement of opioid receptor in the antinociceptive effect of EMN and allantoin. Pre-treatment with glibenclemide was used to verity an involvement of ATP-sensitive K+channel in the allantoin antinociceptive effect. EMN and allantoin anti-inflammatory activity were assessed by carrageenan-induced paw edema and pleurisy tests.
The treatment with EMN (250, 500 and 1000mg/kg, p.o.) inhibit the acetic acid and formalin (both phases)-induced nociception. However, just at doses 500 and 1000mg/kg increased the latency time in tail-flick test. These results suggest the involvement of both peripheral and central antinociceptive mechanisms. The treatment with allantoin (40, 60 and 80mg/kg p.o.) produced a dose-dependent antinociceptive effect in both phases of formalin-induced nociception test; allantoin (60mg/kg) was not able to increase the latency time in tail flick-test. The pre-treatment with naloxone completely reversed the EMN (1000mg/kg) and allantoin (60mg/kg) effect in the first phase of formalin test; and glibenclamide reversed the allantoin effect. The administration of EMN (250, 500 and 1000mg/kg) and allantoin (60mg/kg) showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in the whole carrageenan-induced paw edema. Furthermore, EMN and allantoin reduced the leukocytes migration and pleural exudate to the pleural cavity.
EMN have significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, which appear to be, at least in part, due to the presence of allantoin. However, allantoin is not responsible for the EMN central antinociceptive activity. Allantoin has peripheral antinociceptive activity that involves the opioid receptor and ATP-sensitive K+channels. Opioid receptors are also involved in the EMN antinociceptive activity. These findings support the use of Memora nodosa in popular medicine and demonstrate that this plant has therapeutic potential for the development of antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory phytomedicines.
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A general decline in foundation species at the rocky intertidal has been observed during the last decades all around the world and primarily related to climate change. In agreement with that trend, ...the mussel aquaculture sector in Galicia (NW Spain), the main production area in Europe, has warned over the last years about a decline in the availability of wild mussel seed from the rocky coast. Here we compile for the first time, mussel seed collection reports by mussel farmers in Galicia for the period 2006–2021. We employed that dataset as a proxy of mussel recruitment evolution in the rocky shore for the last 16 years. Temporal analysis of our data confirmed the reported decline (-148 t yr-1), particularly pronounced from 2012 onwards. The data base also allowed us to analyze inter-annual variability according to both, climatic variations and management scenarios. Since cultivated mussels conform a meta-population with wild mussels from the rocky shore, alterations on the market preferences towards smaller individuals at harvest, could also contribute to a reduction in reproductive output. Our results show a decrease in life-time egg production under certain scenarios. Nonetheless, coastal upwelling seems to be the largest factor conditioning recruitment abundance, explaining as much as 60% of the variability observed. Decline on recruitment abundance was highly modulated by the observed increment in frequency of intense upwelling events, exceeding 500 m3 km-1 s-1 between July and November. Meridional winds also determined the spatial recruitment patterns, pointing to the large role of wind forcing on mussel larval dispersal. Our results highlights how alterations on upwelling regimes related to climate change can interact with mussel population dynamics and also condition aquaculture sustainability and food security.
SUGCT (
C7orf10
) is a mitochondrial enzyme that synthesizes glutaryl-CoA from glutarate in tryptophan and lysine catabolism, but it has not been studied in vivo. Although mutations in
Sugct
lead to ...Glutaric Aciduria Type 3 disease in humans, patients remain largely asymptomatic despite high levels of glutarate in the urine. To study the disease mechanism, we generated
SugctKO
mice and uncovered imbalanced lipid and acylcarnitine metabolism in kidney in addition to changes in the gut microbiome. After
SugctKO
mice were treated with antibiotics, metabolites were comparable to WT, indicating that the microbiome affects metabolism in
SugctKO
mice. SUGCT loss of function contributes to gut microbiota dysbiosis, leading to age-dependent pathological changes in kidney, liver, and adipose tissue. This is associated with an obesity-related phenotype that is accompanied by lipid accumulation in kidney and liver, as well as “crown-like” structures in adipocytes. Furthermore, we show that the
SugctKO
kidney pathology is accelerated and exacerbated by a high-lysine diet. Our study highlights the importance of non-essential genes with no readily detectable early phenotype, but with substantial contributions to the development of age-related pathologies, which result from an interplay between genetic background, microbiome, and diet in the health of mammals.
Using smartphones during a task that requires upright posture is suggested to be detrimental for the overall motor performance. The aim of this study was to determine the role of age and specific ...aspects of cognitive function on walking and standing tasks in the presence of smartphone use.
51 older (36 women) and 50 young (35 women), mean age: 66.5 ± 6.3 and 22.3 ± 1.7 years, respectively, were enrolled in this study. The impact of using a smartphone was assessed during a dynamic (timed up and go, TUG) and a static balance test (performed on a force platform). Multivariate analyses of variance were applied to verify main effects of age, task, estimates of cognitive function and interactions.
Compared to young, older individuals exhibited a poorer performance on the dynamic and on the static test (age effect:
= 0.001 for both variables). Dual-tasking with a smartphone had a negative impact on both groups (task effect:
= 0.001 for both variables). The negative impact, however, was greater in the older group (age × task effect:
= 0.001 for both variables). Executive function and verbal fluency partially explained results of the dynamic and static tests, respectively.
The negative impact of using a smartphone while performing tasks similar to daily activities is higher in older compared to young people. Subclinical deficits in distinct aspects of cognitive function partially explain the decreased performance when dual-tasking.
In 2019, one of Brazil's most significant environmental disasters occurred, involving an oil spill that directly affected Pernambuco state. Contamination along the coast was evaluated by the ...quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fifty seawater samples collected in the summer and winter of 2021. Analysis using fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that for all the samples, levels of dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons (DDPHs) were higher than the regional baseline for tropical western shores of the Atlantic Ocean. GC–MS analyses quantified 17 PAHs in the samples, with highest total PAHs concentrations of 234 ng L−1 in summer and 33.3 ng L−1 in winter, which were consistent with the highest risks observed in ecotoxicity assays. The use of diagnostic ratios showed that the coast was impacted by a mixture of PAHs from petrogenic and pyrolytic sources. The results indicated the need for continuous monitoring of the regions affected by the 2019 spill.
•Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) after the 2019 oil spill in Brazil•Environmental contamination by PAHs in seawater samples from Pernambuco, Brazil•Distribution of PAHs indicated petrogenic and/or pyrogenic sources of contamination.•High environmental risks were detected using ecotoxicity assays.
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