Metabolic Diseases Masquerading As Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Objectives: The overall aim of our research project is to develop a Next Generation Sequencing strategy to identify metabolic disorders in patients with a presumptive diagnosis of primary progressive MS.This Research Project is support by MERCK, SAinfo:eu-repo/semantics/draf

WNK2 inhibits autophagic flux in human glioblastoma cell line

The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/2/485/s1, Figure S1: Validation of WNK2 overexpression by RT-PCR.Autophagy is a cell-survival pathway with dual role in tumorigenesis, promoting either tumor survival or tumor death. WNK2 gene, a member of the WNK (with no lysine (K)) subfamily, acts as a tumor suppressor gene in gliomas, regulating cell migration and invasion; however, its role in autophagy process is poorly explored. The WNK2-methylated human glioblastoma cell line A172 WT (wild type) was compared to transfected clones A172 EV (empty vector), and A172 WNK2 (WNK2 overexpression) for the evaluation of autophagy using an inhibitor (bafilomycin A1—baf A1) and an inducer (everolimus) of autophagic flux. Western blot and immunofluorescence approaches were used to monitor autophagic markers, LC3A/B and SQSTM1/p62. A172 WNK2 cells presented a significant decrease in LC3B and p62 protein levels, and in LC3A/B ratio when compared with control cells, after treatment with baf A1 + everolimus, suggesting that WNK2 overexpression inhibits the autophagic flux in gliomas. The mTOR pathway was also evaluated under the same conditions, and the observed results suggest that the inhibition of autophagy mediated by WNK2 occurs through a mTOR-independent pathway. In conclusion, the evaluation of the autophagic process demonstrated that WNK2 inhibits the autophagic flux in glioblastoma cell line.This project was supported by the Barretos Cancer Hospital Internal Research Funds (PAIP) to Rui Manuel Reis and by the Public Ministry of Labor Campinas (Research, Prevention, and Education of Occupational Cancer Project), Campinas, Brazil. Ana Laura Vieira Alves is the recipient of a FAPESP master fellowship (2016/18907-0)

Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and production of cuticle-degrading enzymes in the presence of Diatraea saccharalis cuticle

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis, is one of the worst pests in Brazilian sugarcane crop, causing high levels of financial losses every year. Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus widely used in the biological control of several agricultural pests. The aims of this study were to: (1) evaluate the pathogenicity of B. bassiana strains against D. saccharalis (2) investigate the production of proteases and chitinase by B. bassiana in the presence of the cuticle of sugarcane borer; and, (3) evaluate the relation between the production of enzymes and pathogenicity of the strains. All isolates tested were pathogenic to D. saccharalis and the mortality ranged from 36 to 88%. The production of enzymes was higher in the medium containing cuticle, showing that the process is stimulated by specific components found in the cuticle of the host. Pr1 activity was higher than Pr2 and both were produced at 24 h. The highest production of chitinase was obtained at 96 h of culture for all strains tested. Levels of specific cuticle-degrading enzymes such as proteases correlated positively with specific virulence parameters. B. bassiana URM2915 showed promising features to be used in a biological control program of D. saccharalis.Key words: Biological control, sugarcane, subtilisin-like protease, trypsin-like protease, chitinase

Desenvolvimento de projeto e produção de modelo em escala reduzida

A produção e o consumo responsável de produtos inovadores, que incorporem o conceito de sustentabilidade, é uma demanda crescente. O conhecimento técnico-científico do designer na produção de mobiliário urbano para espaços públicos o coloca como importante instrumento de aproximação na interface objeto e o homem. O objetivo deste estudo foi o de desenvolver um projeto de mobiliário urbano para tornar o espaço público, área da Central de Laboratórios, em um local receptivo, favorecendo a permanência e possibilitando a integração entre a instalação pré- existente e os indivíduos que circulam por aquele espaço. Para tanto, foram projetados mesa e banco, e, produzido o modelo da mesa em escala reduzida (1:5). Além de considerar os aspectos relativos ao local de instalação do mobiliário e às necessidades existentes, o projeto teve como desafio o aproveitamento da matéria-prima disponível, ripas de eucalipto residuais de outro projeto. O mobiliário urbano, associado a aspectos relacionados à sua função (usabilidade, conforto), pode estimular e facilitar a convivência entre os frequentadores de espaços públicos

Metabolic profiling and antibacterial activity of Eryngium pristis Cham. & Schltdl. - prospecting for its use in the treatment of bacterial infections

Morbidity and mortality of the infected patients by multidrug-resistant bacteria have increased, emphasizing the urgency of fi ght for the discovery of new innovative antibiotics. In this sense, natural products emerge as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. Among the biodiversity, Eryngium pristis Cham. & Schltdl. (Apiaceae Lindl.) is traditionally used to treat thrush and ulcers of throat and mouth, as diuretic and emmenagogue, but scarcely known as an antimicrobial agent. With this context in mind, the goals of this study were to investigate the metabolic profi le and the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extract (EE-Ep) and hexane (HF-Ep), dichloromethane (DF-Ep), ethyl acetate (EAF-Ep) and butanol (BF-Ep) fractions from E. pristis leaves. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed to stablish the metabolic profi le and revealed the presence of 12 and 14 compounds in EAF-Ep and HF-Ep, respectively. β-selinene, spathulenol, globulol, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, and lupeol derivative were some of phytochemicals identifi ed. The antibacterial activity was determined by Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) using the broth micro-dilution against eight ATCC® and fi ve methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical strains. HF-Ep was the most eff ective (MIC ≤ 5,000 μg/μL), being active against the largest part of tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, including MRSA, with exception of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and (ATCC 27853). These results suggest that E. pristis is a natural source of bioactive compounds for the search of new antibiotics which can be an interesting therapeutic approach to recover patients mainly infected by MRSA strains.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Barretos Cancer Hospital Animal Facility: implementation and results of a dedicated platform for preclinical oncology models

The Barretos Cancer Hospital Animal Facility (BCHAF) is a unique facility in Brazil exclusively dedicated to working with animal models for cancer research. In this article, we briefly present our modern facility and the main experiments performed, focusing on mutant strains of mice (PTCH-knockout and ApcMin mice), xenograft models, and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Our results show the progress and challenges in establishing these models and the need for having an appropriate representation of our cancer population to better understand tumor biology and to identify cancer biomarkers, which could be putatively targeted, allowing for personalized therapy.This study was funded by the Public Ministry of Labor Campinas (Research, Prevention and Education of Occupational Cancer) and by Pio XII Foundation, Barretos Cancer Hospital internal funds, Grant Number: 13/2021

O diário de campo utilizado como estratégia de ensino e instrumento de análise do trabalho da enfermagem

A partir dos diários de campo, elaborados durante o estagio das alunas da disciplina Administração em Enfermagem, da Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, realizou-se análises sobre o método funcional para se organizar o trabalho e suas consequências para o cliente e o trabalhador. O objetivo foi analisar a experiência das alunas ao utilizar o diário de campo como estratégia de ensino e instrumento de análise da organização do trabalho da enfermagem. O estágio foi realizado por oito alunas, em um ambulatório localizado em Belo Horizonte/MG, durante oito dias. Após a organização dos relatos identificou-se que as alunas analisaram as consequências do método funcional, o estilo de liderança da coordenadora de enfermagem e questões éticas relacionadas à assistência. Considera-se que o diário permitiu às alunas articularem teoria e prática, evidenciando dificuldades enfrentadas no cotidiano dos serviços de saúde e confrontando-as com o conhecimento produzido na academia. Descritores: Educação de Ensino Superior; Educação em Enfermagem; Aprendizagem; Administração de serviços de saúd

Varíola dos macacos: uma visão geral da doença reemergente no contexto atual: Human Monkeypox: an overview of the emerging disease in 2022

A varíola dos macacos, também conhecida mundialmente como monkeypox, era então uma rara zoonose restrita ao continente africano, porém se encontra atualmente em reemergência mundial, configurando surtos em diversos países ao redor do mundo. considerando-se a relevância atual do assunto em questão, o objetivo da presente revisão foi analisar e elucidar aspectos importantes acerca da varíola dos macacos no cenário mundial atual, dando ênfase para a epidemiologia histórica, etiologia, prevenção, quadro clínico, diagnóstico e manejo terapêutico. Para a elaboração do estudo, foram feitas pesquisas em bases de dados, selecionando-se inicialmente 17 artigos, dos quais 9 se enquadraram para a relevância da pesquisa. Por ser uma endemia atual, instalada há poucos meses, pesquisas recentes ainda são escassas na literatura mundial. A mudança no padrão epidemiológico da doença merece atenção mundial, visto que influencia diretamente na progressão dos casos por meio da transmissão secundária. Considerando-se o aumento do número de casos, medidas de prevenção devem ser instituídas globalmente, assim como novos estudos acerca de terapêuticas específicas e vacinação devem ser realizados nos próximos meses

Parallel adaptation of rabbit populations to myxoma virus.

In the 1950s the myxoma virus was released into European rabbit populations in Australia and Europe, decimating populations and resulting in the rapid evolution of resistance. We investigated the genetic basis of resistance by comparing the exomes of rabbits collected before and after the pandemic. We found a strong pattern of parallel evolution, with selection on standing genetic variation favoring the same alleles in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. Many of these changes occurred in immunity-related genes, supporting a polygenic basis of resistance. We experimentally validated the role of several genes in viral replication and showed that selection acting on an interferon protein has increased the protein's antiviral effect.This work was supported by grants from the Programa Operacional Potencial Humano–Quadro de Referência Estratégica Nacional funds from the European Social Fund and Portuguese Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior to M.C. (IF/00283/2014/CP1256/CT0012), to P.J.E. (IF/00376/2015) and to J.M.A. (SFRH/BD/72381/2010). AM was supported by the European Research Council (grant 647787-LocalAdaptation). FJ was supported by the European Research Council (grant 281668). LL was supported by the European Research Council grant (339941-ADAPT). McFadden Lab is supported by National Institute of Health (NIH) grant R01 AI080607. S.C.G. holds a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, co-funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (098406/Z/12/Z)

Beyond trees: Mapping total aboveground biomass density in the Brazilian savanna using high-density UAV-lidar data

Tropical savanna ecosystems play a major role in the seasonality of the global carbon cycle. However, their ability to store and sequester carbon is uncertain due to combined and intermingling effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change, which impact wildfire regimes and vegetation dynamics. Accurate measurements of tropical savanna vegetation aboveground biomass (AGB) over broad spatial scales are crucial to achieve effective carbon emission mitigation strategies. UAV-lidar is a new remote sensing technology that can enable rapid 3-D mapping of structure and related AGB in tropical savanna ecosystems. This study aimed to assess the capability of high-density UAV-lidar to estimate and map total (tree, shrubs, and surface layers) aboveground biomass density (AGBt) in the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado). Five ordinary least square regression models esti-mating AGBt were adjusted using 50 field sample plots (30 m × 30 m). The best model was selected under Akaike Information Criterion, adjusted coefficient of determination (adj.R2), absolute and relative root mean square error (RMSE), and used to map AGBt from UAV-lidar data collected over 1,854 ha spanning the three major vegetation formations (forest, savanna, and grassland) in Cerrado. The model using vegetation height and cover was the most effective, with an overall model adj-R2 of 0.79 and a leave-one-out cross-validated RMSE of 19.11 Mg/ha (33.40%). The uncertainty and errors of our estimations were assessed for each vegetation formation separately, resulting in RMSEs of 27.08 Mg/ha (25.99%) for forests, 17.76 Mg/ha (43.96%) for savannas, and 7.72 Mg/ha (44.92%) for grasslands. These results prove the feasibility and potential of the UAV-lidar technology in Cerrado but also emphasize the need for further developing the estimation of biomass in grasslands, of high importance in the characterization of the global carbon balance and for supporting integrated fire management activities in tropical savanna ecosystems. Our results serve as a benchmark for future studies aiming to generate accurate biomass maps and provide baseline data for efficient management of fire and predicted climate change impacts on tropical savanna ecosystems