Los insectos que inducen las agallas manipulan los perfiles estructurales, histoquímicos y fisiológicos de los tejidos de la planta hospedera para su desarrollo. Nosotros evaluamos las agallas ...inducidas por Eugeniamyia dispar en las hojas de Eugenia uniflora en un intento de responder las siguientes preguntas: (i) ¿Cómo este insecto inductor de agallas cambia los perfiles estructurales e histoquímicos en el órgano de la planta hospedera? (ii) A pesar de las modificaciones estructurales, ¿pueden los tejidos de la agalla mantener la actividad fotosintética? El almidón, las proteínas, los azúcares reductores y las especies reactivas de oxígeno se detectaron principalmente en la capa de tejido nutritivo que rodea a la cavidad larval. A pesar de las modificaciones estructurales, las agallas inducidas por E. dispar en E. uniflora retienen su tejido clorofílico, aunque su cantidad y actividad fotosintética son menores que en las hojas no agalladas. Esta actividad fotosintética reducida, asociado a la presencia de grandes espacios intercelulares, pueden mejorar la difusión de gases y, en consecuencia, evitar la hipoxia y la hipercapnia en los tejidos de las agallas.
We investigated the endogenous production of ghrelin as well as cardiac and pulmonary vascular effects of its administration in a rat model of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH). ...Adult Wistar rats randomly received a subcutaneous injection of MCT (60 mg/kg) or an equal volume of vehicle. One week later, animals were randomly assigned to receive a subcutaneous injection of ghrelin (100 mug/kg bid for 2 wk) or saline. Four groups were analyzed: normal rats treated with ghrelin (n=7), normal rats injected with saline (n=7), MCT rats treated with ghrelin (n=9), and MCT rats injected with saline (n=9). At 22-25 days, right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) pressures were measured, heart and lungs were weighted, and samples were collected for histological and molecular analysis. Endogenous production of ghrelin was almost abolished in normal rats treated with ghrelin. In MCT-treated animals, pulmonary expression of ghrelin was preserved, and RV myocardial expression was increased more than 20 times. In these animals, exogenous administration of ghrelin attenuated PH, RV hypertrophy, wall thickening of peripheral pulmonary arteries, and RV diastolic disturbances and ameliorated LV dysfunction, without affecting its endogenous production. In conclusion, decreased tissular expression of ghrelin in healthy animals but not in PH animals suggests a negative feedback in the former that is lost in the latter. A selective increase of ghrelin mRNA levels in the RV of animals with PH might indicate distinct regulation of its cardiac expression. Finally, ghrelin administration attenuated MCT-induced PH, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and RV hypertrophy, indicating that it may modulate PH.
The article describes the relative frequency ok of risk and protective behaviors for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adults residing in Viçosa, Brazil. A cross-section-al population-based ...study including 1,226 adults living in the municipality. We used a structured questionnaire containing questions sociodemographic and behavioral The risk and protection factors evaluated were: smoking, physical activity, excessive consumption of alcohol and food consumption. The proportion of risk and protection factors was calculated in the total population, according to gender, education and socioeconomic status. The studied population has a high frequency of risk factors for NCDs, such as excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, habit of consuming whole milk, habit of eating meat with visible fat, regular consumption of soft drinks and 78.5% did not achieve the minimum recommendation for physical activity in leisure time. With regard to protective factors, 86.2% of the population reported regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, and 73%, of beans. It was found the highest frequency of risk factors in among males, in younger people and middle socioeconomic status. This population has an urgent need for public policy of municipal planning to change this current scenario.
Recent research has shown that caregiver education and training can be important in determining levels of quality in early childhood, but has mainly considered the education and training of the lead ...teacher. In infant child care, however, classrooms have more than one caregiver with varying levels of education and in Portugal it is less common to have a qualified teacher exclusively assigned to infant classrooms. This study examines the quality of caregiver-child interactions in infant classrooms and its association with caregiver qualifications and training, specifically the level of pre-service education and in-service training of the lead caregiver, whether she is exclusively assigned to an infant classroom or to more classrooms, and the pre-service education of the multiple caregivers in the classroom. Participants were 90 infant classrooms from Porto, Portugal. The CLASS-Infant was used to measure quality of caregiver-infant interactions. Classrooms with one lead caregiver holding at least a bachelor's degree, whether exclusively assigned to the infant classroom or not, showed higher levels of quality. Few effects were found for in-service training. Results suggest that lead teachers with pre-service education in early childhood are likely to play an important role not only directly by interacting with children but also indirectly through team work.
•Infant offspring from DENV/ZIKV-infected dams showed decreased visual acuity.•Pups from all infected dams showed hypolocomotion during infancy of mice.•Both ZIKV and DENV1 infections triggers ...anxiolytic-like behavior in the offspring.•Late BDNF may prevent effects of infection on behavior and optic nerve development.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus structurally and antigenically related to Dengue virus (DENV). Zika virus has been associated with congenital anomalies and most ZIKV outbreaks have occurred in endemic areas of DENV. The present study investigated the effects of prior DENV serotype 1 (DENV1) immunity in immunocompetent female Swiss mice on gestational ZIKV infection in offspring. Physical/reflex development, locomotor activity, anxiety, visual acuity, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were evaluated in offspring during infancy and adolescence. Anti-DENV1 and anti-ZIKV antibodies were detected in sera of the progenitors, whereas no ZIKV genomes were detected in the offspring brain. Pups from dams with only DENV1 immunity presented alterations of physical/reflex development. Pups from all infected dams exhibited time-related impairments in locomotor activity and anxiolytic-like behavior. Offspring from DENV/ZIKV-infected dams exhibited impairments in visual acuity during infancy but not during adolescence, which was consistent with morphometric analysis of the optic nerve. Pups from DENV1-, ZIKV-, and DENV/ZIKV-infected dams exhibited a decrease in BDNF levels during infancy and an increase during adolescence in distinct brain regions. In summary, we found no influence of prior DENV1 immunity on gestational ZIKV infection in offspring, with the exception of alterations of early visual parameters, and an increase in BDNF levels in the hippocampus during adolescence.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the BOAH (Body mass index, Observed apnea, Age, and Hypertension) and No-apnea score's diagnostic values for detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk in shift workers. ...MethodsCross-sectional study with male rotating shift workers and drivers of heavy off-road machinery. The BOAH score is based on body mass index, witnessed apneas during sleep, age, and hypertension. The No-apnea score is based on neck circumference and age. Based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the severity of OSA was categorized as least mild OSA (AHI ≥5/h), moderate to severe OSA (AHI ≥15/h), and severe OSA (AHI ≥30/h). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated. ResultsAmong 119 workers evaluated, 84.0% had AHI ≥5, 46.2% had AHI ≥15, and 14.3% had AHI ≥30. BOAH score with 2 points for AHI ≥5, the AUC was 0.679, and sensitivity and specificity were 41.0% and 94.7%, respectively. No-apnea score with 3 points AHI ≥5, the AUC was 0.692, and sensitivity and specificity were 70.0% and 68.4%, respectively. Furthermore, using at least one of the positive scores, the AUC was higher when compared to the single tests for AHI ≥5 (AUC = 0.727). And when both scores were positive, the AUC was higher for AHI ≥30 (AUC = 0.706). ConclusionIn rotating shift workers and drivers of heavy off-road machinery, BOAH, and No-apnea scores can be helpful tools in identifying individuals at risk for sleep apnea. In addition, matching the scores may increase the prediction of OSA.
Mucosal healing and histological remission are different targets for patients with ulcerative colitis, but both rely on an invasive endoscopic procedure. This study aimed to assess faecal ...calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin as biomarkers for disease activity in asymptomatic ulcerative colitis patients.
This was a multicentric cross-sectional study including 371 patients, who were classified according to their endoscopic and histological scores. These results were evaluated alongside the faecal levels of both biomarkers.
Macroscopic lesions i.e. endoscopic Mayo score ≥1 were present in 28% of the patients, and 9% had active disease according to fht Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity. Moreover, 21% presented with histological inflammation according to the Geboes index, whereas 15% and 5% presented with focal and diffuse basal plasmacytosis, respectively. The faecal levels of calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin were statistically higher for patients with endoscopic lesions and histological activity. A receiver operating characteristic-based analysis revealed that both biomarkers were able to indicate mucosal healing and histological remission with an acceptable probability, and cut-off levels of 150-250 μg/g for faecal calprotectin and 12 μg/g for neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin were proposed.
Faecal calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin levels are a valuable addition for assessment of disease activity in asymptomatic ulcerative colitis patients. Biological levels of the analysed biomarkers below the proposed thresholds can rule out the presence of macroscopic and microscopic lesions with a probability of 75-93%. However, caution should be applied whenever interpreting positive results, as these biomarkers present consistently low positive predictive values.
Thought-shape fusion (TSF) describes the experience of body-related cognitive distortions associated with eating disorder (ED) pathology. In the laboratory TSF has been activated by thoughts about ...fattening/forbidden foods and thin ideals. This study aims at validating a questionnaire to assess the trait susceptibility to TSF (i.e., body-related cognitive distortions) associated with the imagination of thin ideals, and developing an adapted version of the original TSF trait questionnaire, the
(TSF-B). Healthy control women (HC,
= 317) and women diagnosed with subthreshold and clinical EDs (
= 243) completed an online-questionnaire. The factor structure of the TSF-B questionnaire was examined using exploratory (EFA) and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA pointed to a two-factor solution, confirmed by CFA. Subscale 1 was named
, containing five items referring to the imagination of female thin ideals. Subscale 2 was named
, with seven items about pursuing/abandoning attempts to reach one's own thin ideal. The total scale and both subscales showed good convergent validity, excellent reliability, and good ability to discriminate between individuals with subthreshold/clinical EDs and HCs. Results indicate that cognitive distortions are also related to the imagination of thin ideals, and are associated with ED pathology. With two subscales, the TSF-B trait questionnaire appropriately measures this construct. Future studies should clarify whether TSF-B is predictive for the development and course of EDs. Assessing cognitive distortions with the TSF-B questionnaire could improve understanding of EDs and stimulate the development of cognitively oriented interventions.
DRKS-ID: DRKS00005709.
•Anatomical features may define positive strategies for water acquisition and storage.•The degree of methyl-esterification of pectins in bromeliad leaves, at different positions along the rosette, ...can maximize water storage.•The water storage tissue has higher plasticity index than other leaf tissues at different positions along the rosette.•Cell elongation and elasticity depend on the maintenance of HGAs with high methyl-esterified in water storage tissue.
In tank-dependent bromeliads, leaves may exhibit anatomical and functional differences along the apical and basal regions, or according to the different positions in the rosette. Thus, the apical region of the leaf may invest in photosynthetic tissues, while the basal one invests in structures for water and nutrient storage. We suppose here, that differences among the tissue functions are strongly related to anatomical traits, especially the degree of methyl-esterification of pectins in the cell walls, at different positions along the rosette. Thus, the aims of this study were to quantify anatomical variations and describe the pectin composition of the cell wall, along the Aechmea distichantha Lem. rosette, to assess how the different tissues varied. We found that the water storage tissue showed higher variation between the apex and the base of the leaves than the other tissues, with higher expansion between the fourth leaf in development and the outer leaf in the rosette. Moreover, its cells were intensely labeled for epitopes of high methyl-esterified HGs, recognize by JIM7 antibody. The presence of pectin with high methyl-esterified groups in water storage tissue provides greater cell wall elasticity. The chlorenchyma showed the lowest Relative Distance Plasticity Index values, and its development in A. distichantha seems to occur early, in a very young leaf and inside the rosette tank.
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