Summary
The addition of nisin into a gelatin matrix can change properties of the film. The aim of this work was to develop gelatin‐based films containing different nisin concentrations in order to ...study their influence on the film's antimicrobial and physical properties and their rheological properties as a film‐forming solution (FFS). The FFS was characterised by rheological assays, and the gelatin‐based active films were characterised and assessed by the effects of nisin concentrations on their various properties, including antimicrobial activity. Nisin's concentration affected not only its viscoelastic properties of FFS but also its film solubility in water, film surface roughness and light barrier. The addition of nisin also slightly modified the water contact angle and the mechanical properties of the gelatin films. Finally, the films demonstrated activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes at concentrations above 56 mg of nisin g−1 of gelatin.
Gelatin‐based films with nisin content above 56 mg/100 g of gelatin show antimicrobial activity. Active gelatin‐based films inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. The presence of nisin in the gelatin matrix does not damage film properties. Nisin and gelatin possess good compatibility because they are peptides.
In utero exposure to immunosuppressive drugs might be a contraindication to rotavirus vaccine, but that may vary according to the immunosuppressive regimen. We evaluated 24 infants born to kidney ...transplanted mothers exposed to 3 immunosuppressants during pregnancy (prednisone, azathioprine, and tacrolimus or cyclosporine) and 31 control infants not exposed to these medications. No differences in adverse events were detected after rotavirus vaccination at 2 and 4 months.
Resumo O objetivo principal deste artigo é discutir a dimensão política de Raízes do Brasil, objeto de debate recente. Abordamos esse problema por meio de uma reconstrução sucinta da trajetória de ...Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, que teria, possivelmente, condicionado seu posicionamento. Entendemos que Sérgio Buarque não fixou em Raízes do Brasil uma mensagem política unívoca e sugerimos que o livro conteria um argumento central com desfecho ambíguo, cuja gênese teria relação com a ambivalência da origem social e geográfica de seu autor.
Abstract This study primary goal is to discuss the political dimension of Raízes do Brasil (Roots of Brazil), a subject of recent controversy. Such issue is approached through a brief reconstruction of the trajectory of Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, which might have had shaped his position. We understand that Sérgio Buarque did not fix a univocal political message in Raízes do Brasil, suggesting that the work contains a central argument with an ambiguous outcome whose genesis would be related to the ambivalence of the social and geographic origin of the author.
Sepsis is characterized by a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an unbalanced host response to microbe infection that can lead to death. Besides being currently the leading cause of death ...in intensive care units worldwide, sepsis can also induce long-term consequences among survivors, such as cognitive impairment. Statins (lipid-lowering drugs widely used to treat dyslipidemia) have been shown to possess pleiotropic anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. These drugs act inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, the limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. In this work, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of simvastatin in an animal model of sepsis. In previous study from our group, statin pretreatment avoided cognitive damage and neuroinflammation in sepsis survivors. Herein, we focused on acute inflammation where sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and the animals were treated with simvastatin (2 mg/kg) 6 h after surgery. We measured plasma biochemical markers of organ dysfunction, cell migration, cell activation, bacterial elimination, production of nitric oxide 24 h after CLP, survival rate for 7 days, and cognitive impairment 15 days after CLP. One single administration of simvastatin 6 h after CLP was able to prevent both liver and kidney dysfunction. In addition, this drug decreased cell accumulation in the peritoneum as well as the levels of TNF-α, MIF, IL-6, and IL-1β. Simvastatin diminished the number of bacterial colony forming units (CFU) and increased the production of nitric oxide production in the peritoneum. Simvastatin treatment increased survival for the first 24 h, but it did not alter survival rate at the end of 7 days. Our results showed that posttreatment with simvastatin hampered organ dysfunction, increased local production of nitric oxide, improved bacterial clearance, and modulated inflammation in a relevant model of sepsis.
Leprosy is a chronic disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which poses a serious public health problem worldwide. Its high incidence in people under 15 years old in Ceará state, Brazil, reflects ...the difficulty of its control. The spectrum of clinical manifestations is associated with the immune response developed, with the Th1 and Th2 responses being related to the paucibacillary and multibacillary forms, respectively. Regulatory T cells (Treg), which can suppress Th1 and Th2 response, have received special attention in the literature and have been associated with development of chronic infections. However, their role in leprosy in individuals under 15 years old has not yet been elucidated. We evaluated the frequency of CD4(+)/CD8(+)CD25(high)FOXP3(+) and CD4(+)/CD8(+)CD25(high)FOXP3(high) cells in leprosy patients and household contacts, in both cases under 15 years old.
PBMC from 12 patients and 17 contacts were cultured for 72 hours with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 (activators) or with activators associated with total sonicated fraction of M. leprae. After culture, the frequency of CD4(+)/CD8(+) Treg was identified by flow cytometry. Cells stimulated by activators and antigen from multibacillary patients showed Treg frequencies almost two times that of the contacts: CD4(+)FOXP3(+) (21.93±8.43 vs. 13.79±8.19%, p = 0.0500), CD4(+)FOXP3(high) (10.33±5.69 vs. 5.57±4.03%, p = 0.0362), CD8(+)FOXP3(+) (13.88±9.19 vs. 6.18±5.56%, p = 0.0230) and CD8(+)FOXP3(high) (5.36±4.17 vs. 2.23±2.68%, p = 0.0461). Furthermore, the mean fluorescence intensity of FOXP3 in Treg was higher in multibacillary patients than in the contacts. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation of the bacillary index and number of lesions with the frequency of all Treg evaluated in patients.
We have demonstrated for the first time that multibacillary leprosy patients under 15 years old have greater CD4(+) and CD8(+) Treg frequencies and these correlate with clinical and laboratorial aspects of disease. These findings suggest the involvement of these cells in the perpetuation of M. leprae infection.
The chitosan microcapsules containing Brazilian red propolis extract (RPE) obtained by spray-drying also called chitosanates of red propolis extract were prepared and characterized using techniques ...of particle size, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, dissolution studies and antibacterial activity. An amount of five compositions of chitosanate hydrogels which were prepared at the concentrations between 16 and 75% of red propolis extract and characterized by particle size analysis showed 2 subpopulations of particle between 0.30 and 8.00 μm. The chitosanates in solid state obtained by spray-drying showed a rounded shape and particle diameter between 1.0 and 30 μm by SEM analysis. The thermal analysis and FTIR data demonstrate encapsulation of the bioactive red propolis extract into chitosan bio-polymeric system, and chemical reaction between chitosan and RPE was not detected. The chitosanates containing 35%, 50% and 75% of red propolis extract demonstrated in vitro release of flavonoids following a concentration-dependent and pH-dependent model. The modified release in simulate gastrointestinal tract conditions was proved. The chitosanates of red propolis extract obtained in the solid state were reversibly dissolved in chitosanate hydrogels in an appropriate dissolution medium to release the active flavonoids from the Brazilian red propolis extract. Antibacterial activity of chitosanates against
Staphylococcus aureus
was demonstrated. The chitosanates loaded with red propolis extract can be easily incorporated into food, in the production of biodegradable films, as a bio-preservative and can be manufactured by the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries as an intermediate bio-product in the form of powder for supplements, capsules and oral emulsifying systems.
Rational structure-based drug design (SBDD) relies on the availability of a large number of co-crystal structures to map the ligand-binding pocket of the target protein and use this information for ...lead-compound optimization via an iterative process. While SBDD has proven successful for many drug-discovery projects, its application to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been limited owing to extreme difficulties with their crystallization. Here, a method is presented for the rapid determination of multiple co-crystal structures for a target GPCR in complex with various ligands, taking advantage of the serial femtosecond crystallography approach, which obviates the need for large crystals and requires only submilligram quantities of purified protein. The method was applied to the human β
-adrenergic receptor, resulting in eight room-temperature co-crystal structures with six different ligands, including previously unreported structures with carvedilol and propranolol. The generality of the proposed method was tested with three other receptors. This approach has the potential to enable SBDD for GPCRs and other difficult-to-crystallize membrane proteins.
Summary
Background
Invasive fungal disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed children. The recognition of patients at risk for candidaemia is paramount to a better ...prognosis.
Objectives
To characterize Candida spp bloodstream infections (BSI) in a reference centre for paediatric oncology and to describe the most prevalent risk factors associated with candida infections.
Patients/Methods
This is a retrospective cohort study carried out with paediatric patients followed up with at the Institute of Pediatric Oncology, Brazil, who presented positive blood culture for Candida spp from January 2004 to December 2016.
Results
Ninety episodes of candidaemia were analysed; patients had a median age of 4.5 years, and 57.8% were males, with a diagnosis of solid tumours in 54.5% of cases. The most common Candida species were C albicans (35.6%), C parapsilosis (30.0%) and C tropicalis (16.7%). C tropicalis BSI was associated with neutropenia and skin lesions. Therapy was successful in 67.1% of the episodes. Older age and thrombocytopenia were associated with therapeutic failure. Death within 30 days occurred in 24.4% of patients; predictive factors were older age and admission to an ICU C parapsilosis candidaemia was a protective factor for death when compared to C albicans.
Conclusion
The main species isolated were C albicans, C parapsilosis and C tropicalis. C tropicalis BSI was associated with neutropenia and skin lesions. The death rate was significant, and a worse prognosis was associated with older age, thrombocytopenia and admission to an ICU C parapsilosis infection proved to be a protective factor against mortality.
To describe the ontogeny of the immune system and the adaptive mechanisms of the immune system in the neonatal period, with an emphasis on transplacental antibody transport and breastfeeding.
...Non-systematic literature review in the PubMed database.
The last two decades have witnessed a great advance in the knowledge of the immune system since conception. Several investigation tools have provided insight on phenomena that were previously inadequately understood. Still expanding, the functional and molecular investigation of various aspects of the immune system will make it possible to understand how intra-uterus maternal-fetal exchanges, the maternal microbiota interacting with the fetus and newborn, and the acquisition of immunological competence occur in healthy and disease scenarios.
In-depth knowledge of the development of the immune system and of the adaptive mechanisms that allow a safer transition to the extrauterine environment are fundamental components of optimizing maternal and young infant vaccination, as well as the strategies associated with full postnatal development, and the early diagnosis and treatment of innate errors of immunity.
In this work, it was evaluated the effect of moisture content on the structural and dielectric properties of cassava starch films by means of Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ...impedancimetric, and gravimetric analysis. The film samples were equilibrated in hermetically sealed desiccators, containing different saturated salts in water in order to promote activity of water between 0.11 and 0.85. The position and amplitude of the peaks in the “fingerprint” region of the FTIR spectra were changed due to the modifications in the interactions between the polymeric chains and water molecules. These effects may be related to the formation of semi‐crystalline regions in the film structure. The dielectric properties of the films were also strongly dependent on the moisture content, showing a non‐linear and a linear region, which was attributed to the domain of bound and free water in the film, respectively. The gravimetric analyzes showed the typical sigmoidal behavior, attributed to the way the water interacts with the biopolymer. Finally, the flexibility of the films increased with water content increasing.
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