Monitoring areas susceptible to desertification contributes to the strategic development of regions located in environments of extreme hydric and social vulnerability. Therefore, the objective of ...this study is to evaluate the process of soil degradation in the Desertification Nucleus of Cabrobó (DNC) over the past three decades using remote sensing techniques. This study used primary climatic data from TerraClimate, geospatial data of land use and land cover (LULC), and vegetation indices (SAVI and LAI) via Google Earth Engine (GEE) from Landsat 5/TM and 8/OLI satellites, and established the aridity index (AI) from 1992 to 2022. The results indicated 10 predominant LULC classes with native vegetation suppression, particularly in agriculture and urbanization. SAVI ranged from −0.84 to 0.90, with high values influenced by La Niña episodes and increased rainfall; conversely, El Niño episodes worsened the rainfall regime in the DNC region. Based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), it was possible to correlate normal and severe drought events in the DNC with years under the influence of El Niño and La Niña phases. In summary, the AI images indicated that the DNC remained semi-arid and that the transition to an arid region is a cyclical and low-frequency phenomenon, occurring in specific periods and directly influenced by El Niño and La Niña phenomena. The Mann–Kendall analysis showed no increasing trend in AI, with a Tau of −0.01 and a p-value of 0.97. During the analyzed period, there was an increase in Non-Vegetated Areas, which showed a growing trend with a Tau of 0.42 in the Mann–Kendall analysis, representing exposed soil areas. Annual meteorological conditions remained within the climatic pattern of the region, with annual averages of precipitation and actual evapotranspiration (ETa) close to 450 mm and an average temperature of 24 °C, showing changes only during El Niño and La Niña events, and did not show significant increasing or decreasing trends in the Mann–Kendall analysis.
Vários fármacos têm sido avaliados para o tratamento da COVID-19, mas somente o antiviral remdesivir foi registrado nos órgãos regulatórios dos principais países desenvolvidos para esse fim. TDF e ...FTC demonstraram atividade contra o SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.
Avaliar a eficácia e toxicidade de TDF e TDF/FTC em pacientes com infecção leve a moderada por COVID-19. Secundariamente, avaliamos biomarcadores de citocinas, quimiocinas e fatores de crescimento celular, associados à fisiopatogenia da COVID-19.
Ensaio clínico randomizado, duplo-cego, controlado por placebo, em pacientes com suspeita clínica de infecção respiratória leve a moderada por SARS-CoV-2. O estudo foi aprovado pela CONEP e registrado no ClinicalTrials.gov. Pacientes foram aleatoriamente recrutados para tomarem TDF (300 mg/dia) ou TDF/FTC (300/200 mg/dia) ou placebo (Vit. C - 500 mg/dia), por 10 dias. O parâmetro primário foi o escore de sintomas e sinais preditivos de COVID-19, avaliado no sétimo dia de acompanhamento dos pacientes.
309 pacientes foram recrutados e 226 foram randomizados nos seguintes grupos: (a) 74 no grupo TDF; (b) 74 no grupo TDF/FTC; e (c) 77 no grupo placebo. Dos 226 pacientes, 139 (62%) foram positivos para o teste RT-PCR para SARS-CoV-2. Febre (≥ 37,8°C), ageusia ou disgeusia, anosmia ou disosmia e dois ou mais sintomas ou sinais clínicos foram significativamente associados com a infecção por SARS-CoV-2. Não houve alteração significativa no escore clínico baseado nos sintomas e sinais clínicos entre os grupos de tratamento. Também não houve diferença quanto aos eventos adversos e eventos adversos graves entre os grupos de tratamentos. Nenhum paciente faleceu durante o período total de 28 dias de acompanhamento do protocolo no estudo. Nos parâmetros secundários, pacientes com infecções respiratórias leve a moderadas por SARS-CoV-2 apresentaram maiores concentrações do fator de crescimento celular e citocinas pró-inflamatórias (G-CSF, IL-1β, IL-6 e TNF-α) em relação aos pacientes sem infecção por SARS-CoV-2.
Febre (≥37,8°C), perda de olfato, perda de paladar e dois ou mais sintomas, têm maior predição para o diagnóstico de COVID-19 leve a moderada. A intervenção farmacológica com TDF ou TDF/FTC não alterou o escore de sintomas e sinais clínicos na infeção respiratória leve a moderada em pacientes com SARS-CoV-2 comparados ao grupo placebo.
Leishmaniasis represents a complex of diseases with a broad clinical spectrum and epidemiological diversity, considered a major public health problem. Although there is treatment, there are still no ...vaccines for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Because
spp. is an intracellular protozoan with several escape mechanisms, a vaccine must provoke cellular and humoral immune responses. Previously, we identified the
homolog of receptors for activated C kinase (LACK) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) proteins as strong immunogens and candidates for the development of a vaccine strategy. The present work focuses on the in silico prediction and characterization of antigenic epitopes that might interact with mice or human major histocompatibility complex class I. After immunogenicity prediction on the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) and the Database of MHC Ligands and Peptide Motifs (SYFPEITHI), 26 peptides were selected for interaction assays with infected mouse lymphocytes by flow cytometry and ELISpot. This strategy identified nine antigenic peptides (pL1-H2, pPL3-H2, pL10-HLA, pP13-H2, pP14-H2, pP15-H2, pP16-H2, pP17-H2, pP18-H2, pP26-HLA), which are strong candidates for developing a peptide vaccine against leishmaniasis.
Although postharvest coffee fruit fermentation can improve coffee flavour and quality, the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) can also be a result of microbiological activity, albeit in the later drying ...step of coffee processing. To evaluate the possible occurrence of OTA contamination in postharvest fruit fermentation, fourteen coffees that entailed two different postharvest fruit fermentation times were evaluated. These coffees originated in the surroundings of the village of Pedra Menina in the qualified Denomination of Origin and coffee producer region of Caparaó on the border between Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states in Brazil. All coffees were classified according to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) protocol and 12 achieved specialty level. OTA was determined in all 14 coffees using immunoaffinity for sample clean-up and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for quantification. One sample presented an OTA concentration of 0.75 µg kg
−1
and two samples showed OTA concentrations of 0.87 µg kg
−1
. The other samples had concentrations of OTA below the limit of quantification obtained in this work (0.64 µg kg
−1
). Thus, all samples showed OTA concentrations far below the most stringent maximum residue limit (MRL) of 5 µg kg
−1
established for roasted coffees by European legislation. These low levels were similar to most of the previous results for Brazilian coffees listed and tabled in this work. This comparison showed that OTA contamination due to this kind of postharvest process - fruit fermentation - should not be a concern for producers and consumers of these fermented coffees.
In 2021, our research group published the prominent anticancer activity achieved through the successful combination of two redox centres (
-quinone/
-quinone or quinone/selenium-containing triazole) ...through a copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The combination of two naphthoquinoidal substrates towards a synergetic product was indicated, but not fully explored. Herein, we report the synthesis of 15 new quinone-based derivatives prepared from click chemistry reactions and their subsequent evaluation against nine cancer cell lines and the murine fibroblast line L929. Our strategy was based on the modification of the A-ring of
-naphthoquinones and subsequent conjugation with different
-quinoidal moieties. As anticipated, our study identified several compounds with IC
values below 0.5 µM in tumour cell lines. Some of the compounds described here also exhibited an excellent selectivity index and low cytotoxicity on L929, the control cell line. The antitumour evaluation of the compounds separately and in their conjugated form proved that the activity is strongly enhanced in the derivatives containing two redox centres. Thus, our study confirms the efficiency of using A-ring functionalized
-quinones coupled with
-quinones to obtain a diverse range of two redox centre compounds with potential applications against cancer cell lines. Here as well, it literally takes two for an efficient tango!
Resumo Fundamento Alguns estudos demonstraram uma maior prevalência de óbitos em portadores de fatores de risco cardiovascular (FRC) durante internação por COVID-19. Objetivos Avaliar o impacto do ...alto risco cardiovascular em pacientes internados em terapia intensiva por COVID-19 Métodos Estudo retrospectivo com pacientes admitidos em terapia intensiva, com diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19 por RT-PCR e com pelo menos uma dosagem de troponina durante a internação. Os critérios para definição de paciente de alto risco cardiovascular (ARC) foram: histórico de doença cardiovascular estabelecida (infarto, AVC ou doença arterial periférica), diabetes, doença renal crônica com clearance < 60ml/min ou presença de 3 FRC (hipertensão, tabagismo, dislipidemia ou idade > 65 anos). O desfecho primário deste estudo é mortalidade hospitalar por todas as causas. P<0,05 foi considerado significativo. Resultados Foram incluídos 236 pacientes, média de idade= 61,14±16,2 anos, com 63,1% homens, 55,5% hipertensos e 33,1% diabéticos. Um total de 47,4% dos pacientes apresentavam ARC. Observou-se um aumento significativo da mortalidade conforme aumento do número de fatores de risco (0 FRC: 5,9%; 1 FRC: 17,5%; 2 FRC: 32,2% e ≥3 FRC: 41,2%; p=0,001). Na regressão logística ajustada para gravidade (escore SAPS3), o grupo de alto risco cardiovascular e troponina elevada apresentou maior ocorrência de mortalidade hospitalar (OR 40,38; IC95% 11,78-138,39). Pacientes sem alto risco cardiovascular, mas com troponina elevada, também exibiram associação significativa com o desfecho primário (OR 16,7; IC95% 4,45-62,74). Conclusão Em pacientes internados em terapia intensiva por COVID-19, a presença de alto risco cardiovascular afeta a mortalidade hospitalar somente em pacientes que apresentaram elevação de troponina.
Although the Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic ceased to be a public health emergency by the end of 2016, studies to improve knowledge about this emerging disease are still needed, especially those ...investigating a causal relationship between ZIKV in pregnant women and microcephaly in neonates. However, there are still many challenges in describing the relationship between ZIKV and microcephaly. The few studies focusing on the epidemiological profile of ZIKV and its changes over time are largely limited to systematic reviews of case reports and dispersal mapping of ZIKV spread over time without quantitative methods to analyze patterns and their covariates. Since Brazil has been at the epicenter of the ZIKV epidemic, this study examines the geospatial association between ZIKV and microcephaly in Brazil.
Our study is categorized as a retrospective, ecological study based on secondary databases. Data were obtained from January to December 2016, from the following data sources: Brazilian System for Epidemiological Surveillance, Disease Notification System, System for Specialized Management Support, and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Data were aggregated by municipality. Incidence rates were estimated per 100,000 inhabitants. Analyses consisted of mapping the aggregated incidence rates of ZIKV and microcephaly, followed by a Getis-Ord-Gi spatial cluster analysis and a Bivariate Local Moran's I analysis.
The incidence of ZIKV cases is changing the virus's spatial pattern, shifting from Brazil's Northeast region to the Midwest and North regions. The number of municipalities in clusters of microcephaly incidence is also shifting from the Northeast region to the Midwest and North, after a time lag is considered. Our findings suggest an increase in microcephaly incidence in the Midwest and North regions, associated with high levels of ZIKV infection months before.
The greatest burden of microcephaly shifted from the Northeast to other Brazilian regions at the beginning of 2016. Brazil's Midwest region experienced an increase in microcephaly incidence associated with ZIKV incidence. This finding highlights an association between an increase in ZIKV infection with a rise in microcephaly cases after approximately three months.
Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most prevalent injuries in runners. Unfortunately, a substantial part of injured athletes do not recover fully from PFP in the long-term. Although previous ...studies have shown positive effects of gait retraining in this condition, retraining protocols often lack clinical applicability because they are time-consuming, costly for patients and require a treadmill. The primary objective of this study will be to compare the effects of two different two-week partially supervised gait retraining programs, with a control intervention; on pain, function and lower limb kinematics of runners with PFP. It will be a single-blind randomized clinical trial with six-month follow-up. The study will be composed of three groups: a group focusing on impact (group A), a group focusing on cadence (group B), and a control group that will not perform any intervention (group C). The primary outcome measure will be pain assessed using the Visual Analog Pain scale during running. Secondary outcomes will include pain during daily activities (usual), symptoms assessed using the Patellofemoral Disorders Scale and lower limb running kinematics in the frontal (contralateral pelvic drop; hip adduction) and sagittal planes (foot inclination; tibia inclination; ankle dorsiflexion; knee flexion) assessed using the MyoResearch 3.14-MyoVideo (Noraxon U.S.A. Inc.). The study outcomes will be evaluated before (t0), immediately after (t2), and six months (t24) after starting the protocol. Our hypothesis is that both partially supervised gait retraining programs will be more effective in reducing pain, improving symptoms, and modifying lower limb kinematics during running compared with the control group, and that the positive effects from these programs will persist for six months. Also, we believe that one gait retraining group will not be superior to the other. Results from this study will help improve care in runners with PFP, while maximizing clinical applicability as well as time and cost-effectiveness.
Plant species of the Brazilian Caatinga experience seasonal wet and dry extremes, requiring seasonally different leaf characteristics for optimizing water availability. We investigated if Croton ...blanchetianus Baill exhibits leaf morphoanatomical traits across seasons and positioning in sunlight/natural shade. Leaves of ten 1-3 m tall plants in full sunlight and ten in natural shade were assessed in May, July (wet season), October and December (dry season) 2015 for gas exchange, leaf size, lamina and midrib cross sections (14 parameters), and chloroplast structure (5 parameters). Net photosynthesis was greater during the wet season (21.6 µm
s
) compared to the dry season (5.8 µm
s
) and was strongly correlated with almost all measured parameters (p < 0.01). Shaded leaves in the wet season had higher specific leaf area (19.9 m
kg
in full-sun and 23.1 m
kg
in shade), but in the dry season they did not differ from those in full sun (7.5 m
kg
and 7.2 m
kg
). In the wet season, the expansion of the adaxial epidermis and mesophyll lead to larger and thicker photosynthetic area of leaves. Furthermore, chloroplast thickness, length and area were also significantly larger in full sunlight (2.1 μm, 5.1 μm, 15.2 μm
; respectively) and shaded plants (2.0 μm, 5.2 μm, 14.8 μm
; respectively) during wetter months. Croton blanchetianus exhibits seasonal plasticity in leaf structure, presumably to optimize water use efficiency during seasons of water abundance and deficit. These results suggest that the species is adaptable to the increased drought stress projected by climate change scenarios.
Introdução: A infecção pelo SARS-CoV2, causador da COVID-19, pode apresentar uma ampla variedade de apresentações clínicas. As internações de pacientes com pneumonia grave por SARS-COV-2 podem ...requerer ventilação mecânica e múltiplos procedimentos invasivos, expondo os pacientes a um maior risco de Infecções Relacionadas a Assistência à Saúde (IRAS). Os principais agentes causadores de IRAS globalmente são os patógenos do grupo denominado “ESKAPE”: E. faecium, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa e Enterobacter ssp. Objetivos: O presente estudo busca avaliar incidência e mortalidade por infecções bacterianas secundárias pelo grupo “ESKAPE” em pacientes internados por COVID-19 em uma unidade hospitalar no Sul do Brasil. Metodologia: Estudo retrospectivo, observacional e descritivo, incluindo todos os pacientes com COVID-19 confirmada laboratorialmente, internados em UTI de um Hospital Universitário entre janeiro e dezembro 2021, avaliando culturas positivas e o desfecho da internação. Utilizada regressão logística com análise multivariada para correlação dos dados obtidos. Os pacientes foram divididos em 4 grupos conforme IRAS registrada por culturas: (1) pacientes com COVID-19 e 1 patógeno do grupo “ESKAPE”; (2) pacientes com COVID-19 e 2 ou mais patógenos do grupo “ESKAPE”; (3) pacientes com COVID-19 e infecção por algum outro agente que não “ESKAPE”; (4) pacientes com COVID-19 e sem culturas positivas durante o internamento. Resultados: Foram analisados 836 pacientes, com incidência geral de IRAS detectada de 51,6%, e por patógenos do grupo “ESKAPE” correspondendo a 82,9% do total. Das culturas analisadas, 50,9% foram positivas para A. baumannii; a mortalidade dos pacientes com IRAS por esses patógenos foi superior a 56,8%, sem apresentar diferença estatística entre os pacientes com IRAS por outros patógenos. Pacientes com diagnóstico de IRAS, independente do agente, apresentaram uma maior letalidade e maior tempo de internamento que os pacientes apenas com COVID-19 grave (p<0,001). Conclusão: Infecções secundárias à assistência em saúde aumentam de forma significante o tempo de internação e a letalidade da COVID-19, independente do patógeno, nos pacientes que necessitaram de cuidados intensivos. Por isso é de extrema importância que as instituições de saúde implementem ações de prevenção e controle, sobretudo em unidades COVID-19.
PDF
