SAÚDE MENTAL E QUALIDADE DE VIDA DE UNIVERSITÁRIOS

The entry of university students in higher education results in a process of changes and adaptations that can contribute to changes in Mental Health (SM) and Quality of Life (QOL). This study analyze MS and its influence on QOL.  It is a quantitative research, cross-sectional, analytical research, carried out with 103 students, using questionnaires in online versions (sociodemographic, SRQ-20 and Whoqol Bref). In the sample 74.76% are female, 82.51% brown and black, 48.5% sleep for 5 to 6 hours and 50.5% do not practice physical activity. The prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) was 54.6%, with 44.4% predominantly in women, 10.2% of the sample having suicidal ideation. The overall QoL score is 59.44%. The results of this study should serve as a warning to the academic environment, in order to implement psychiatric and psychopedagogical assistance services.La entrada de estudiantes universitarios en la educación superior da como resultado un proceso de cambios y adaptaciones que pueden contribuir a los cambios en la Salud Mental (SM) y la Calidad de Vida (QOL). Esa investigación tubo el objetivo de  analizar la EM y su influencia en la calidad de vida. Es una Investigación analítica cuantitativa, transversal, realizada con  103 estudiantes, utilizando cuestionarios en versiones en línea (sociodemográficas, SRQ-20 y Whoqol Bref). En la muestra estudiada 74.76% son mujeres, 82.51% marrón y negro, 48.5% duermen durante 5 a 6 horas y 50.5% no practican actividad física. La prevalencia de los trastornos mentales comunes (CMD) fue del 54,6%, con 44,4% predominantemente en mujeres, 10,2% de la muestra con ideación suicida. El puntaje general de QoL es 59.44%. Consideraciones finales: Los resultados de este estudio deben servir como una advertencia para el entorno académico, a fin de implementar servicios de asistencia psiquiátrica y psicopedagógica.O ingresso dos universitários no ensino superior resulta em um processo de transformações e adaptações que podem contribuir para alterações na Saúde Mental (SM) e na Qualidade de Vida (QV). Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a SM e sua influência na QV. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa, de corte transversal, analítica, realizada com 103 discentes, utilizando questionários em versões online (sociodemográfico, SRQ-20 e o Whoqol Bref). Na amostra 74,76% são do sexo feminino; 82,51% pardos e negros; em relação ao sono 48,5% dormem de 5 a 6 horas; 50,5% dos universitários não praticam atividade física.  Na amostra a prevalência de Transtornos Mentais Comuns (TMC) foi de 54,6%, sendo 44,4% predominantemente em mulheres. Na pesquisa 10,2% da amostra apresentam ideação suicida e o escore geral da QV equivale a 59,44%. Os resultados desta pesquisa devem servir de alerta ao meio acadêmico, no intuito de implementar serviços psiquiátricos e psicopedagógicos

A produção de conhecimento sobre trabalho docente no Brasil: uma revisão da literatura especializada no assunto

O estudo analisa a produção científica que versa sobre o trabalho docente no Brasil. Trata-se de uma revisão sistemática que avalia artigos científicos publicados entre 2011 e 2017, em língua portuguesa, em periódicos nacionais e internacionais indexados ao Portal de Periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes). Foram analisados, a partir da análise de conteúdo, 122 estudos que, a despeito de sua diversidade teórica, foram agrupados em seis (06) categorias analíticas, a saber: Trabalho docente: natureza e significado; Trabalho docente: política, gestão e avaliação; Precarização e intensificação do trabalho docente; Trabalho docente como ação pedagógica e/ou educativa; Trabalho docente, saúde e qualidade de vida; e, Trabalho docente, mídias e novas tecnologias. As considerações sugerem um amplo processo de precarização, intensificação e controle da atividade docente, bem como o avanço e incorporação de novas mídias e tecnologias. Tais aspectos reconfiguraram as atividades e responsabilidades dos professores com desdobramentos substantivos em sua saúde e qualidade de vida

Characterization of the Earwig, Doru lineare, as a Predator of Larvae of the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda: A Functional Response Study

Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is considered as the most important pest of maize in almost all tropical America. In Argentina, the earwig Doru lineare Eschscholtz (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) has been observed preying on S. frugiperda egg masses in corn crops, but no data about its potential role as a biocontrol agent of this pest have been provided. The predation efficiency of D. lineare on newly emerged S. frugiperda larva was evaluated through a laboratory functional response study. D. lineare showed type II functional response to S. frugiperda larval density, and disc equation estimations of searching efficiency and handling time were (a) = 0.374 and (t) = 182.9 s, respectively. Earwig satiation occurred at 39.4 S. frugiperda larvae

Editorial

Com satisfação publicamos o oitavo número da Revista ComCiência, no qual o(a) leitor(a) poderá acessar artigos originais nas áreas de humanas e biológicas, bem como terá acesso ao conjunto de artigos e resumos expandidos apresentados na VIII Semana de Educação Física do Departamento de Educação/Campus XII da Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB)

Overexpression of circulating MiR-30b-5p identifies advanced breast cancer

Breast cancer (BrC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in women, mainly due to recurrent and/or metastatic events, entailing the need for biomarkers predictive of progression to advanced disease. MicroRNAs hold promise as noninvasive cancer biomarkers due to their inherent stability and resilience in tissues and bodily fluids. There is increasing evidence that specific microRNAs play a functional role at different steps of the metastatic cascade, behaving as signaling mediators to enable the colonization of a specific organ. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the biomarker performance of microRNAs previously reported as associated with prognosis for predicting BrC progression in liquid biopsies. Background Breast cancer (BrC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in women, mainly due to recurrent and/or metastatic events, entailing the need for biomarkers predictive of progression to advanced disease. MicroRNAs hold promise as noninvasive cancer biomarkers due to their inherent stability and resilience in tissues and bodily fluids. There is increasing evidence that specific microRNAs play a functional role at different steps of the metastatic cascade, behaving as signaling mediators to enable the colonization of a specific organ. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the biomarker performance of microRNAs previously reported as associated with prognosis for predicting BrC progression in liquid biopsies. Methods Selected microRNAs were assessed using a quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in a testing cohort of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary (n = 16) and metastatic BrC tissues (n = 22). Then, miR-30b-5p and miR-200b-3p were assessed in a validation cohort #1 of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary (n = 82) and metastatic BrC tissues (n = 93), whereas only miR-30b-5p was validated on a validation cohort #2 of liquid biopsies from BrC patients with localized (n = 20) and advanced (n = 25) disease. ROC curve was constructed to evaluate prognostic performance. Results MiR-30b-5p was differentially expressed in primary tumors and paired metastatic lesions, with bone metastases displaying significantly higher miR-30b-5p expression levels, paralleling the corresponding primary tumors. Interestingly, patients with advanced disease disclosed increased circulating miR-30b-5p expression compared to patients with localized BrC. Conclusions MiR-30b-5p might identify BrC patients at higher risk of disease progression, thus, providing a useful clinical tool for patients’ monitoring, entailing earlier and more effective treatment. Nonetheless, validation in larger multicentric cohorts is mandatory to confirm these findings.Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (PI 74-CI-IPOP-19-2016). JL and CSG are supported by a PhD fellowship from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/ BD/132751/2017 and SFRH/BD/92786/2013, respectively). SS is supported by a PhD fellowship IPO/ESTIMA-1 NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000027. BMC is funded by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (IF/00601/2012

Mapping and assessment of forest ecosystems and their services - Applications and guidance for decision making in the framework of MAES

The aim of this report is to illustrate by means of a series of case studies the implementation of mapping and assessment of forest ecosystem services in different contexts and geographical levels. Methodological aspects, data issues, approaches, limitations, gaps and further steps for improvement are analysed for providing good practices and decision making guidance. The EU initiative on Mapping and Assessment of the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES), with the support of all Member States, contributes to improve the knowledge on ecosystem services. MAES is one of the building-block initiatives supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

MSL2 variants lead to a neurodevelopmental syndrome with lack of coordination, epilepsy, specific dysmorphisms, and a distinct episignature.

Epigenetic dysregulation has emerged as an important etiological mechanism of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Pathogenic variation in epigenetic regulators can impair deposition of histone post-translational modifications leading to aberrant spatiotemporal gene expression during neurodevelopment. The male-specific lethal (MSL) complex is a prominent multi-subunit epigenetic regulator of gene expression and is responsible for histone 4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac). Using exome sequencing, here we identify a cohort of 25 individuals with heterozygous de novo variants in MSL complex member MSL2. MSL2 variants were associated with NDD phenotypes including global developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, and motor issues such as coordination problems, feeding difficulties, and gait disturbance. Dysmorphisms and behavioral and/or psychiatric conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, and to a lesser extent, seizures, connective tissue disease signs, sleep disturbance, vision problems, and other organ anomalies, were observed in affected individuals. As a molecular biomarker, a sensitive and specific DNA methylation episignature has been established. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from three members of our cohort exhibited reduced MSL2 levels. Remarkably, while NDD-associated variants in two other members of the MSL complex (MOF and MSL3) result in reduced H4K16ac, global H4K16ac levels are unchanged in iPSCs with MSL2 variants. Regardless, MSL2 variants altered the expression of MSL2 targets in iPSCs and upon their differentiation to early germ layers. Our study defines an MSL2-related disorder as an NDD with distinguishable clinical features, a specific blood DNA episignature, and a distinct, MSL2-specific molecular etiology compared to other MSL complex-related disorders

Gene-Centric Meta-Analysis of Lipid Traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic Populations

Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) $(p = 8.8×10^{−7} and p = 1.5×10^{−6}$ respectively) and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels $(p = 13.5×10^{−12})$. The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report

Can the understory affect the Hymenoptera parasitoids in a Eucalyptus plantation?

The understory in forest plantations can increase richness and diversity of natural enemies due to greater plant species richness. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the presence of the understory and climatic season in the region (wet or dry) can increase the richness and abundance of Hymenoptera parasitoids in Eucalyptus plantations, in the municipality of Belo Oriente, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. In each eucalyptus cultivation (five areas of cultivation) ten Malaise traps were installed, five with the understory and five without it. A total of 9,639 individuals from 30 families of the Hymenoptera parasitoids were collected, with Mymaridae, Scelionidae, Encyrtidae and Braconidae being the most collected ones with 4,934, 1,212, 619 and 612 individuals, respectively. The eucalyptus stands with and without the understory showed percentage of individuals 45.65% and 54.35% collected, respectively. The understory did not represent a positive effect on the overall abundance of the individuals Hymenoptera in the E. grandis stands, but rather exerted a positive effect on the specific families of the parasitoids of this order