A Novel Hybrid Methodology Applied Optimization Energy Consumption in Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

A wireless sensor network’s lifetime is influenced directly by the sensors power management that composes the network. The models applied to the problem aims to optimize the energy usage managing the sensors activation in time intervals, activating only the minimum number of sensors respecting the coverage and connectivity restrictions. However, this problem’s class has a significant computational complexity and many applications. It is necessary to implement methodologies to find the optimal solution, increasing the network’s size, becoming closer to the real ones. This research’s objective is to present a method based on a Partition Heuristic aggregating the Generate and Solve method, improving the results, and increasing the network’s instances size, while maintaining the flexibility and reliability when applied to the homogeneous wireless sensors networks with coverage and connectivity restrictions

Prevalência e determinantes sociais da ideação suicida entre estudantes brasileiros em escolas públicas do ensino médio

Background and Aim: Recent studies have shown an increase in suicidal ideation and behaviors among youths, highlighting solid associations between being poor, being female, being LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender), and suffering discrimination at school and on the internet. Although the social determinants of suicidal ideation are widely debated worldwide, there is a lack of data on these topics concerning young Brazilians. The present study aimed to contribute to filling this gap. Method: The cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of 475 senior high school students (16–17 y-old) from nine public schools in São Paulo, Brazil. Results: Of the total interviewed, 224 reported lifetime suicidal ideation, an unexpectedly high prevalence (47.2%). In the multiple analysis with an estimated adjusted prevalence ratio (PR), same-sex or bisexual attraction (PR = 1.87; 95%CI: 1.5–2.3), studying in night schools (PR = 1.36; 95%CI: 1.1–1.6) — indicative of lower economic status — and being discriminated against at school (PR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.0–1.5) and on the internet (PR = 1.48; 95%CI: 1.2–1.8) were positively associated with lifetime suicidal ideation. The students' self-defined race/ethnicity and gender were not. Conclusions: The results indicate the need to consider the social determinants of mental health in the public debate and intervention programs aimed at youth in Brazil and elsewhere. Enhancing mental health promotion while considering the sociopolitical determinants of health should be a strategic and political priority. It is crucial to have a comprehensive intersectional perspective that reflects on the various forms of domination and how these connect with mental distress and its consequences.Contexto e Objetivo: Estudos recentes mostram um aumento de ideação e comportamentos suicidas entre jovens, havendo fortes associações com ser pobre, ser mulher, ser LGBT (lésbica, gay, bissexual ou transgénero) e sofrer discriminação na escola e/ou na internet. Embora os determinantes sociais da ideação suicida sejam amplamente debatidos em todo o mundo, há uma lacuna sobre esses temas em relação aos jovens brasileiros, o que o presente estudo pretende contribuir para preencher. Métodos: O estudo transversal utilizou uma amostra de conveniência de 475 alunos do ensino médio (16–17 anos) de nove escolas públicas do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Resultados: Do total de entrevistados, 224 deles relataram ideação suicida ao longo da vida, uma prevalência inesperadamente alta (47,2%). Na análise múltipla com estimativa da razão de prevalência (RP) ajustada, atração por pessoas do mesmo sexo ou bissexual (RP = 1,87; IC95%: 1,5–2,3), estudar em escolas noturnas (RP = 1,36; IC95%: 1,1–1,6) — indicativo de menor condição econômica — e ser discriminado em escola (RP = 1,22; IC95%: 1,0–1,5) e na internet (RP = 1,48; IC95%: 1,2–1,8) foram associados positivamente à ideação suicida ao longo da vida. Raça/etnia e gênero dos alunos não foram associados. Conclusões: Os resultados apontam para a necessidade de consideração dos determinantes sociais da saúde mental no debate público e nos programas de intervenção voltados à juventude no Brasil e em outros lugares. O aprimoramento da promoção da saúde mental, levando-se em conta os determinantes sociopolíticos da saúde, deve ser uma prioridade estratégica e política. É crucial uma perspectiva interseccional abrangente que reflita sobre as várias formas de dominação e como estas se conectam com o sofrimento mental e suas consequências

O NOVO CORONAVÍRUS E OS IMPACTOS PSICOLÓGICOS DA QUARENTENA

O ano de 2020 começou com a notícia do surgimento em dezembro de 2019 na cidade chinesa de Wuhan de um novo coronavírus causador da Covid-19, uma doença altamente transmissível e em alguns casos letais. A pandemia do novo coronavírus trouxe efeitos sociais, econômicos e psicológicos em todo o mundo. Diante disso, especialistas recomendaram a quarentena como principal forma de impedir a propagação do vírus. Apesar de serem medidas necessárias deve-se levar em consideração a saúde mental das pessoas submetidas a esse período. Este estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma análise crítica sobre os efeitos da quarentena e propor estratégias para enfrentá-la, além de minimizar seus efeitos. Trata-se de uma revisão narrativa de artigos publicados entre os anos 2018 e 2020, nas plataformas Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, PubMed e no Google Acadêmico. Os achados apontam que a quarentena pode desencadear sintomas psicológicos, sendo os sintomas mais comuns ansiedade, tristeza e raiva, podendo ser pontuais ou se estenderem após o término do isolamento. Contudo, existem estratégias quando adotadas em conjunto, podem minimizar os efeitos psicológicos do isolamento e fazer desse momento menos adoecedor.  Palavras chave: coronavírus, quarentena, saúde mental

Perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes com hérnia inguinal e a realização de herniorrafia inguinal nas regiões do Brasil

An inguinal hernia is a fairly common condition that occurs when a portion of intestine or fatty tissue extends through a weakness in the abdominal wall, resulting in pain and discomfort. In Brazil, the Unified Health System (SUS) is primarily responsible for the care of patients with inguinal hernia. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the epidemiological profile of hospitalizations for inguinal hernia in the SUS from 2018 to 2022, based on secondary data available in the DATASUS database. We sought to produce an ecological, time series study. The information available on the platform is: age range, affected sex and ethnicity. In the years 2018 to 2022, 644,283 hospitalizations for inguinal hernia were carried out in the SUS. This total highlights the age range from 60 to 69 years old, which covers approximately 19.42% of all patients. Another relevant fact is the male predominance in these numbers, with 4 out of every 5 individuals hospitalized for inguinal hernia being men. Regarding ethnicity, 41.07% declared themselves mixed race. Based on the data obtained, we can conclude that inguinal hernia is a very prevalent condition in Brazil, especially among men aged 60 to 69 years.A hérnia inguinal é uma condição bastante comum que ocorre quando uma porção do intestino ou tecido adiposo se protrai através de uma fraqueza na parede abdominal, resultando em dor e desconforto. No Brasil, o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) é o principal responsável pelo atendimento dos pacientes com hérnia inguinal. Diante disso, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar o perfil epidemiológico das internações por hérnia inguinal no SUS no período de 2018 a 2022, com base em dados secundários disponíveis no banco de dados do DATASUS. Buscou-se produzir um estudo ecológico, de série temporal. As informações disponíveis pela plataforma são: faixa etária, sexo acometido e etnia. Nos anos de 2018 a 2022, 644.283 internações por hérnia inguinal foram realizadas no SUS. Desse total, destaca-se a faixa etária que vai dos 60 aos 69 anos, que abrange aproximadamente 19,42% de todos os pacientes. Outro dado relevante é o predomínio masculino nesses números, sendo 4 entre cada 5 indivíduos internados por hérnia inguinal homem. Em relação à etnia, 41,07% declararam-se pardo. Com base nos dados obtidos, pode-se concluir que a hérnia inguinal é uma condição bastante prevalente no Brasil, especialmente entre homens na faixa etária dos 60 aos 69 anos. &nbsp

Microscopic Image Segmentation to Quantification of Leishmania Infection in Macrophages

The determination of infection rate parameter from in vitro macrophages infected by Leishmania amastigotes is fundamental in the study of vaccine candidates and new drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis. The conventional method that consists in the amastigotes count inside macrophages, normally is done by a trained microscope technician, which is liable to misinterpretation and sampling. The objective of this work is to develop a method for the segmentation of images to enable the automatic calculation of the infection rate by amastigotes. Segmentation is based on mathematical morphology in the context of a computer vision system. The results obtained by computer vision system presents a 95% accuracy in comparison to the conventional method. Therefore, the proposed method can contribute to the speed and accuracy of analysis of infection rate, minimizing errors from the traditional methods, especially in situations where exhaustive repetitions of the procedure are required from the technician.A determinação de parâmetros como taxa de infecção em monocultura de macrófagos cultivados in vitro com Leishmania é fundamental no estudo de candidatos vacinais e novos fármacos para o tratamento de leishmanioses. O método convencional que consiste na contagem de amastigotas no interior de macrófagos, normalmente é realizada por um especialista treinado em microscopia óptica, o que está sujeito a erros de interpretação e amostragem. O objetivo do trabalho é desenvolver um método para a segmentação de imagens como etapa preliminar para o cálculo automático da taxa de infecção por amastigotas. A segmentação é baseada em morfologia matemática no contexto de um sistema de visão computacional. Os resultados obtidos pelo método computacional demonstraram acerto de 95% quando comparados ao método convencional. Conclui-se que a metodologia computacional baseada na segmentação de imagem como pré-requisito para o cálculo de taxa de infecção, pode contribuir para a rapidez e a precisão na obtenção dos resultados e na minimização de erros cometidos no método tradicional, especialmente em situações em que exaustivas repetições do procedimento são exigidas ao observador

Lycopene-rich extract from red guava ( Psidium guajava L.) displays cytotoxic effect against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 via an apoptotic-like pathway

This study investigated a lycopene-rich extract from red guava (LEG) for its chemical composition using spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and computational studies. The cytotoxic activity of LEG and the underlying mechanism was studied in human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), murine fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3), BALB/c murine peritoneal macrophages, and sheep blood erythrocytes by evaluating the cell viability with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method and flow cytometry. Spectrophotometry analysis showed that LEG contained 20% of lycopene per extract dry weight. Experimental and theoretical ATR-FTIR suggests the presence of lycopene, whereas MS/MS spectra obtained after fragmentation of the molecular ion [M]+• of 536.4364 show fragment ions at m/z 269.2259, 375.3034, 444.3788, and 467.3658, corroborating the presence of lycopene mostly related to all-trans configuration. Treatment with LEG (1600 to 6.25μg/mL) for 24 and 72h significantly affected the viability of MCF-7 cells (mean half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50]=29.85 and 5.964μg/mL, respectively) but not NIH-3T3 cells (IC50=1579 and 911.5μg/mL, respectively). Furthermore LEG at concentrations from 800 to 6.25μg/mL presented low cytotoxicity against BALB/c peritoneal macrophages (IC50≥800μg/mL) and no hemolytic activity. LEG (400 and 800μg/mL) caused reduction in the cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest, DNA fragmentation, modifications in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and morphologic changes related to granularity and size in MCF-7 cells; however, it failed to cause any significant damage to the cell membrane or display necrosis or traditional apoptosis. In conclusion, LEG was able to induce cytostatic and cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells probably via induction of an apoptotic-like pathway.The authors acknowledge the computational time provided by CENAPAD/SP on the project proj697. Alexandra Plácido is gratefully to FCT by her grant SFRH/BD/97995/2013, financed by POPH–QREN–Tipologia 4.1–Formação Avançada, subsidized by Fundo Social Europeu and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior. The work at REQUIMTE/LAQV received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2013. Adriany das G. N. Amorim is grateful to CAPES by for the doctoral fellowship process no. 99999.004236/2014-09 in Federal University of Piauí (UFPI). Eder A. Barbosa is grateful to PNPD/CAPES for its post-doctoral fellowship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Necessidade de familiares cuidadores de pessoas idosas hospitalizadas em cuidados paliativos/Need of family caregivers of elderly people hospitalized in palliative care

Objetivo: caracterizar o cuidador familiar de pessoas idosas em cuidados paliativos, identificando suas principais necessidades afetadas diante do processo de cuidar. Métodos: estudo descritivo de abordagem quantitativa. Amostra constituída por 205 cuidadores familiares de pessoas idosas em cuidados paliativos internadas em um hospital público do Brasil. Os dados foram coletados a partir de um formulário aplicado durante os meses de agosto a setembro de 2019. Foi realizada análise descritiva a partir das frequências absolutas e relativas das características sociodemográficas, de saúde dos familiares e suas necessidades afetadas. Resultados: na sua maioria (78,5%) dos entrevistados eram mulheres, com idade média de 49 anos (13), casadas (45,4%), pardas (45,9%) e religião católica (48,3%). Vem prestando os cuidados há menos de dois meses (69,3%) e autodeclararam como condição de saúde razoável (41,5%). Como principais necessidades afetadas se destacam o descanso e bem-estar físico (50,7%), conhecer a condição de saúde/doença e tratamento do paciente (82,9%); fazer planos futuros (52,2%) e frequentar espaço religioso (66,3%). Conclusão: as necessidades afetadas apresentadas pelos entrevistados podem interferir diretamente na qualidade de vida dos cuidadores, predispondo às repercussões negativas nos aspectos biopsicossociais que envolvem a vida do familiar que exerce o papel de cuidador

Neuroprotective effects on microglia and insights into the structure–activity relationship of an antioxidant peptide isolated from Pelophylax perezi

© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedTryptophyllins constitute a heterogeneous group of peptides that are one of the first classes of peptides identified from amphibian's skin secretions. Here, we report the structural characterization and antioxidant properties of a novel tryptophyllin-like peptide, named PpT-2, isolated from the Iberian green frog Pelophylax perezi. The skin secretion of P. perezi was obtained by electrical stimulation and fractionated using RP-HPLC. De novo peptide sequencing was conducted using MALDI MS/MS. The primary structure of PpT-2 (FPWLLS-NH2 ) was confirmed by Edman degradation and subsequently investigated using in silico tools. PpT-2 shared physicochemical properties with other well-known antioxidants. To test PpT-2 for antioxidant activity in vitro, the peptide was synthesized by solid phase and assessed in the chemical-based ABTS and DPPH scavenging assays. Then, a flow cytometry experiment was conducted to assess PpT-2 antioxidant activity in oxidatively challenged murine microglial cells. As predicted by the in silico analyses, PpT-2 scavenged free radicals in vitro and suppressed the generation of reactive species in PMA-stimulated BV-2 microglia cells. We further explored possible bioactivities of PpT-2 against prostate cancer cells and bacteria, against which the peptide exerted a moderate antiproliferative effect and negligible antimicrobial activity. The biocompatibility of PpT-2 was evaluated in cytotoxicity assays and in vivo toxicity with Galleria mellonella. No toxicity was detected in cells treated with up to 512 µg/ml and in G. mellonella treated with up to 40 mg/kg PpT-2. This novel peptide, PpT-2, stands as a promising peptide with potential therapeutic and biotechnological applications, mainly for the treatment/prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.This work was financed by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020 - Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031158 – PTDC/BII-BIO/31158/2017. The authors would like to thank the participation and scientific support of the Unit projects UIDB/50006/2020 | UIDP/50006/2020, and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Universal Faixa ‘B’ (grant number 32103/2018-0). A.P. is a recipient of a post-doctoral grant from the project PTDC/BII-BIO/31158/2017. The authors would like to thank the researcher Roberto Resendes (CiBio, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal) for the logistical support in the collection of samples. C.P.A acknowledges FCT-MCTES fellowship PD/BD/136860/2018. A.B.-N. and F.C.D.A.L. acknowledge CNPq (grants 420449/2018-3 and 428211/2018-6) for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novel ocellatin peptides mitigate LPS-induced ROS formation and NF-kB activation in microglia and hippocampal neurons

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Cre-ative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not per-mitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Cutaneous secretions of amphibians have bioactive compounds, such as peptides, with potential for biotechnological applications. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the primary structure and investigate peptides obtained from the cutaneous secretions of the amphibian, Leptodactylus vastus, as a source of bioactive molecules. The peptides obtained possessed the amino acid sequences, GVVDILKGAAKDLAGH and GVVDILKGAAKDLAGHLASKV, with monoisotopic masses of [M + H]± = 1563.8 Da and [M + H]± = 2062.4 Da, respectively. The molecules were characterized as peptides of the class of ocellatins and were named as Ocellatin-K1(1-16) and Ocellatin-K1(1-21). Functional analysis revealed that Ocellatin-K1(1-16) and Ocellatin-K1(1-21) showed weak antibacterial activity. However, treatment of mice with these ocellatins reduced the nitrite and malondialdehyde content. Moreover, superoxide dismutase enzymatic activity and glutathione concentration were increased in the hippocampus of mice. In addition, Ocellatin-K1(1-16) and Ocellatin-K1(1-21) were effective in impairing lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and NF-kB activation in living microglia. We incubated hippocampal neurons with microglial conditioned media treated with LPS and LPS in the presence of Ocellatin-K1(1-16) and Ocellatin-K1(1-21) and observed that both peptides reduced the oxidative stress in hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, these ocellatins demonstrated low cytotoxicity towards erythrocytes. These functional properties suggest possible to neuromodulatory therapeutic applications.Alexandra Plácido is a recipient of a post-doctoral grant from the project FCT (PTDC/BII-BIO/31158/2017). Renato Socodato and Camila Cabral Portugal hold postdoctoral fellowships from FCT (Refs: SFRH/BPD/91833/2012 and FRH/BPD/91962/2012, respectively). This work was funded through project UID/QUI/50006/2013-POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265 (LAQV/REQUIMTE) with financial support from FCT/MEC through national funds and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT 2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio