Contributions of IFN-gamma and granulysin to the clearance of Plasmodium yoelii blood stage

P. vivax-infected Retics (iRetics) express human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I), are recognized by CD8+ T cells and killed by granulysin (GNLY) and granzymes. However, how Plasmodium infection induces MHC-I expression on Retics is unknown. In addition, whether GNLY helps control Plasmodium infection in vivo has not been studied. Here, we examine these questions using rodent infection with the P. yoelii 17XNL strain, which has tropism for Retics. Infection with P. yoelii caused extramedullary erythropoiesis, reticulocytosis and expansion of CD8+CD44+CD62L- IFN-gamma-producing T cells that form immune synapses with iRetics. We now provide evidence that MHC-I expression by iRetic is dependent on IFN-gamma-induced transcription of IRF-1, MHC-I and beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) in erythroblasts. Consistently, CTLs from infected wild type (WT) mice formed immune synapses with iRetics in an IFN-gamma- and MHC-I-dependent manner. When challenged with P. yoelii 17XNL, WT mice cleared parasitemia and survived, while IFN-gamma KO mice remained parasitemic and all died. beta2-m KO mice that do not express MHC-I and have virtually no CD8+ T cells had prolonged parasitemia, and 80% survived. Because mice do not express GNLY, GNLY-transgenic mice can be used to assess the in vivo importance of GNLY. Parasite clearance was accelerated in GNLY-transgenic mice and depletion of CD8+ T cells ablated the GNLY-mediated resistance to P. yoelii. Altogether, our results indicate that in addition to previously described mechanisms, IFN-gamma promotes host resistance to the Retic-tropic P. yoelii 17XNL strain by promoting MHC-I expression on iRetics that become targets for CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes and GNLY

Obtenção de farinha de batata-doce biofortificada / Obtaining of biofortified sweetpotato flour

Introduction: Biofortified foods such as beuregard sweetpotato flour (Ipomoea batatas) with high ?-carotene contents play a very important role incombating hypovitaminosisA, reducing malnutrition and ensuring good health. Objective: Obtain biofortified beuregard sweetpotato flour with characteristics that allow its preservation and use in formulated products such as bread, cakes, biscuits and others. Materials and Methods: Beuregard sweetpotatoes that are grown  in São Paulo and Minas Gerais were used. The tubers were  sanitized, weighed in analytical scale, peeled, chopped, bleached, dehydrated in drying ovens and grounded in dim light environment. The flour was weighed, packed and frozen. The calculation of yield, granulometry, centesimal composition (moisture, ash, protein, lipids, carbohydrates and fiber), and physical-chemical characterization (acidity, pH, Brix, water activity, color) was made according to the AOAC; AACC and IAL in triplicate, and the Total Energy Value (VET) by Atwater. Results and Discussion:  The yield of the flour grown in Minas Gerais was lower (9.66%) due to the greater amount of husks. Both flour had more than 50% of particle size < 60ABNT. The results of the São Paulo and Minas Gerais flour analyzes presented, respectively, an average value of 9.76%-9.95% moisture; 3.66%-6.95% ash; 7.38%-9.85% protein; 0.76%-1.39% lipids; 78.89%-71.86% carbohydrates; 9.53%-12.28%  fiber; 351.92Kcal-339.35Kcal VET; 1.91% acidity; 5.62-5.46 pH, 8.10ºBx-9.63ºBx Brix, 0.35-0.33 of water activity and orange color. Its major components are carbohydrates and fibers that, are source of energy. The differences found in the contents of its components can be due to the geographical conditions where they were cultivated. The moisture and acidity are within the maximum allowed value and the physico-chemical characteristics  are ideal for its conservation. Conclusion: The analyzes performed presented patterns of identity and quality that are in agreement with the literature  can be used in combination with other flour for the elaboration of products formulated with a higher content of pro-vitamin A carotenoids

O ABSENTEÍSMO AO ACOMPANHAMENTO NUTRICIONAL NAS UNIDADES DE SAÚDE NO MUNICÍPIO DE RIBEIRÃO PRETO/SP

A mudança dos padrões alimentares da população, associada à inatividade física, tabagismo, consumo de álcool e envelhecimento, contribui para a elevação da prevalência de Doenças Crônicas não Transmissíveis (DCNT), sendo necessário cuidado integral a estes pacientes. Um dos maiores obstáculos da equipe multiprofissional é a baixa adesão ao tratamento terapêutico, pois está  diretamente relacionado na sobrevida e qualidade de vida dos pacientes, além de causar impactos negativos aos cofres públicos e recursos de saúde. Dessa forma, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o absenteísmo no acompanhamento nutricional de pessoas com DCNT nas unidades de saúde do município de Ribeirão Preto-SP, por meio da frequência de atendimentos realizados e de faltas, entre o período de 31/01/2022 a 07/10/2022. Observa-se uma taxa de absenteísmo ao seguimento nutricional de em torno de 40%, sendo mais prevalente durante os atendimentos de acompanhamento individual (37,7%) e  coletivo (35,4%) durante o período observado. Conclui-se que o absenteísmo no acompanhamento nutricional das pessoas com DCNT é consideravelmente elevado. Assim, faz-se importante realizar medidas que  visem a redução do absenteísmo, proporcionando a integralidade e continuidade do cuidado e o uso adequado de recursos e serviços disponíveis em toda rede de saúde

Latin American registry of renal involvement in COVID-19 disease. The relevance of assessing proteinuria throughout the clinical course

The Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension conducted a prospective cohort, multinational registry of Latin American patients with kidney impairment associated to COVID-19 infection with the objective to describe the characteristics of acute kidney disease under these circumstances. The study was carried out through open invitation in order to describe the characteristics of the disease in the region. Eight-hundred and seventy patients from 12 countries were included. Median age was 63 years (54–74), most of patients were male (68.4%) and with diverse comorbidities (87.2%). Acute kidney injury (AKI) was hospital-acquired in 64.7% and non-oliguric in 59.9%. Multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS) due to COVID-19 and volume depletion were the main factors contributing to AKI (59.2% and 35.7% respectively). Kidney replacement therapy was started in 46.2%. Non-recovery of renal function was observed in 65.3%. 71.5% of patients were admitted to ICU and 72.2% underwent mechanical ventilation. Proteinuria at admission was present in 62.4% of patients and proteinuria during hospital-stay occurred in 37.5%. Those patients with proteinuria at admission had higher burden of comorbidities, higher baseline sCr, and MODS was severe. On the other hand, patients with de novo proteinuria had lower incidence of comorbidities and near normal sCr at admission, but showed adverse course of disease. COVID-19 MODS was the main cause of AKI in both groups. All-cause mortality of the general population was 57.4%, and it was associated to age, sepsis as cause of AKI, severity of condition at admission, oliguria, mechanical ventilation, non-recovery of renal function, in-hospital complications and hospital stay. In conclusion, our study contributes to a better knowledge of this condition and highlights the relevance of the detection of proteinuria throughout the clinical course

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Psicología social y moral de COVID-19 en 69 países

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado a todos los ámbitos de la vida humana, incluido el tejido económico y social de las sociedades. Una de las estrategias centrales para gestionar la salud pública a lo largo de la pandemia ha sido el envío de mensajes persuasivos y el cambio de comportamiento colectivo. Para ayudar a los estudiosos a comprender mejor la psicología social y moral que subyace al comportamiento en materia de salud pública, presentamos un conjunto de datos compuesto por 51.404 individuos de 69 países. Este conjunto de datos se recopiló para el proyecto de la Colaboración Internacional en Psicología Social y Moral de COVID-19 (ICSMP COVID-19). Esta encuesta de ciencias sociales invitó a participantes de todo el mundo a completar una serie de medidas morales y psicológicas y actitudes de salud pública sobre COVID-19 durante una fase temprana de la pandemia de COVID-19 (entre abril y junio de 2020). La encuesta incluía siete grandes categorías de preguntas: Creencias sobre COVID-19 y conductas de cumplimiento; identidad y actitudes sociales; ideología; salud y bienestar; creencias morales y motivación; rasgos de personalidad; y variables demográficas. Presentamos los datos brutos y depurados, junto con todos los materiales de la encuesta, las visualizaciones de los datos y las evaluaciones psicométricas de las variables clave.The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic.

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics