Cut-off of the Brief-BESTest to predict falls in people with ILD

Falls are the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Poor balance has been associated with increased risk of falls in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), however little is known about balance in people with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief-BESTest) is a comprehensive balance measure, which allows tailoring balance training, however, its ability to identify risk of falls in people with ILD is unknown. We explored its ability in distinguishing people with ILD with high/low risk of falls. The Brief-BESTest was collected and a ROC curve analysis performed to assess its ability to differentiate between people with ILD with (≥1) and without (0) history of falls. A fall was defined as “an unexpected event when you find yourself unintentionally on the ground, floor or lower level”. History of falls was explored with 2 questions: (1) “Have you had any fall in the last 12 months?” and, if yes, (2) “How many times did you fall down in the last 12 months?”. The optimal cut-off point was identified by the highest Youden index. Differences between people with/without history of falls were explored with independent t-tests. 67 people with ILD (66±12y; 56.7%♀; FVC 80.8±18.8%predicted; DLCO 56.8±22.2%predicted) were included. From these, 20 had, at least, 1 fall in the previous year. People with history of falls were older (63±10 vs. 72±13y, p=0.015), had a worst DLCO (60.8±21.3 vs. 46.8±21.9%predicted, p=0.032) and worst balance (BriefBESTest 17.8±5.2 vs. 13.5±6.4 points, p=0.012) at baseline than those without. A cut-off point of 16 points in the Brief-BESTest for high risk of falls (AUC=0.71; 95%CI 0.56-0.85; 65% sensitivity; 75% specificity; accuracy=0.71) was found. A cut-off of 16 points in the Brief-BESTest may be helpful to easily identify those at risk of falling, and implement tailored interventions to improve balance.publishe

Antitrypanosomal butanolides from Aiouea trinervis

In a search for new antitrypanosomal agents in the Brazilian flora, the ethanol extract of the xylopodium from Aiouea trinervis (Lauraceae) exhibited in vitro activity against the epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. Bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation of the ethanol extract afforded three butanolides, isoobtusilactone A (1), epilitsenolide C2 (2), and epilitsenolide C1 (3). Butanolides 1 and 3 were more active against T. cruzi epimastigotes than the reference drug benznidazole (by 8.9-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively), while 2 proved inactive. Compounds 1 and 3 showed low cytotoxicity in mammalian Vero cells (CC50> 156 μmol L-1) and high selectivity index (SI) values for epimastigotes (SI = 56.8 and 28.6, respectively), and 1 was more selective than benznidazole (SI = 46.5). Butanolide 1 at 24 μmol L-1 also led to cell cycle alterations in epimastigote forms, and inhibited the growth of amastigote cells in more than 70 %. In silico ADMET properties of 1 were also analyzed and predicted favorable drug-like characteristics. This butanolide also complied with Lipinski’s rule of five and was not predicted as interference compound (PAINS). This is the first report on the isolation of these bioactive butanolides under the guidance of in vitro trypanocidal activity against T. cruzi

The combination of high-fat diet-induced obesity and chronic ulcerative colitis reciprocally exacerbates adipose tissue and colon inflammation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study evaluated the relationship between ulcerative colitis and obesity, which are both chronic diseases characterized by inflammation and increases in immune cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice with chronic ulcerative colitis induced by 2 cycles of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in the first and fourth week of the experiment were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity by 8 weeks. The animals were divided into 4 groups (control, colitis, HFD and colitis + HFD).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Obesity alone did not raise histopathology scores, but the combination of obesity and colitis worsened the scores in the colon compared to colitis group. Despite the reduction in weight gain, there was increased inflammatory infiltrate in both the colon and visceral adipose tissue of colitis + HFD mice due to increased infiltration of macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Intravital microscopy of VAT microvasculature showed an increase in leukocyte adhesion and rolling and overexpression of adhesion molecules compared to other groups. Moreover, circulating lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils in the spleen and cecal lymph nodes were increased in the colitis + HFD group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results demonstrated the relationship between ulcerative colitis and obesity as aggravating factors for each disease, with increased inflammation in the colon and adipose tissue and systemic alterations observed in the spleen, lymph nodes and bloodstream.</p

Pharmacological properties of specioside from the stem bark of Tabebuia aurea

Iridoids are secondary metabolites with several biological activities. They are often found in species of the genus Tabebuia Gomes ex A.P. de Candolle. Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook. F. ex S. Moore, Bignoniaceae, is used to treat snake bites in traditional medicine. This study aimed to isolate the specioside - an the iridoid glycoside - from T. aurea, as well as investigate its potential biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antibiofilm, cytotoxic, anti-Trichomonas vaginalis and antitrypanosomal activities. Specioside inhibited leucocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity in mice injected with carrageenan, data that demonstrated its anti-inflammatory potential. However, the additional evaluated biological properties were negligible

Infecção por múltiplos tipos de Papilomavirus humano em mulheres jovens sexualmente ativas

Modelo do estudo: transversal. Objetivo do estudo: estimar a frequência e a distribuição dos tipos de Papilomavírus humano (HPV) em mulheres jovens sexualmente ativas. Metodologia: foram coletadas amostras do canal vaginal e endocérvice de 158 mulheres, com idade entre 18 e 35 anos, por meio da técnica de autocoleta. O DNA-HPV foi extraído e amplificado pela técnica de PCR end point utilizando os primers consensus PGMY09/11. A genotipagem foi executada pela técnica de PCR tipo específico (TSPCR) e por análise dos fragmentos obtidos com o uso de enzimas de restrição (RFLP). Resultados: DNA-HPV foi detectado em 23% das amostras, 92% foram genótipos de alto risco oncogênico (HR), sendo prevalente o HPV45, seguido do HPV16 e 31. Infecções por múltiplos tipos de HPV foram detectadas em 35% das amostras, demonstrando infecção por mais de dois tipos em 22,2% das genotipadas. Maior frequência do DNA-HPV foi observada entre mulheres com idade ≤ 25 anos. Conclusão: Este estudo demostrou alta frequência da infecção pelo HPV em mulheres jovens sexualmente ativas, assim como uma alta prevalência de infecção múltipla com tipos de alto risco oncogênicoStudy design: cross. Study objective: estimate the frequency and distribution types of human papillomavirus (HPV) in sexually active young women. Methods: samples of vaginal and endocervical canal of 158 women, aged between 18 and 35 years were collected through self-collection technique. The HPV DNA was extracted and amplified by PCR end point using the consensus primers PGMY09/11 and genotyping was performed by PCR specific type (TS-PCR) and by analysis of the fragments obtained from the use of restriction enzymes (RFLP). Results: HPV DNA was detected in 23% of participants, 92% were high-risk HPV genotypes (HR), being the prevalent HPV45, followed by HPV16 and 31 infections with multiple HPV types were detected in 35% of samples, indicating infection by more than two types in 22.2% of the genotyped. Higher frequency of HPV DNA was detected in women ≤ 25 old. Conclusion: this demonstrated a high frequency of HPV infection in sexually active young women, as well as a high prevalence of infection with multiple types of high oncogenic ris

Search for dijet resonances in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV and constraints on dark matter and other models

Correction: DOI:10.1016/j.physletb.2017.09.029Peer reviewe