A literature review on cardiovascular risk in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients: implications for clinical management

AbstractIntroductionIn recent years, there has been growing concern about an increasing rate of cardiovascular diseases in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients, which could be associated with side effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy. It is likely that the metabolic disorders related to anti-human immunodeficiency virus treatment will eventually translate into a increased cardiovascular risk in patients submitted to such regimens.ObjectiveTo evaluate if human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy are at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than human immunodeficiency virus infected patients not receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy, or the general population.Research design and methodsWe conducted a computer-based search in representative databases, and also performed manual tracking of citations in selected articles.ResultThe available evidence suggests an excess risk of cardiovascular events in human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons compared to non-human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals. The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy is associated with increased levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein and morphological signs of cardiovascular diseases. Some evidence suggested that human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens are at increased risk of dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, and myocardial infarction, particularly if the highly active antiretroviral therapy regimen contains a protease inhibitor.ConclusionPhysicians must weigh the cardiovascular risk against potential benefits when prescribing highly active antiretroviral therapy. Careful cardiac screening is warranted for patients who are being evaluated for, or who are receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens, particularly for those with known underlying cardiovascular risk factors. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients will lead to the discovery of new drugs that will reduce cardiovascular risk in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy

V as an (ad)vantage?: Understanding the impact of FOP V-label in consumers’ attitude towards vegetarian products: Antecedents and mediators

The change in food choices has been expressed throughout Mediterranean Europe, not only because there is a greater awareness of the health problems associated with traditional diets, but also because of easy access to information, allowing consumers to be more educated regarding their food choices. One of the diets that have been gaining manifestation is the plant-based, more specifically the vegetarian. However, few studies have focused on the importance of promoting products within this category effectively. As such, the present study aims to understand consumers' attitude towards one of the most used symbols to identify vegetarian products, V-Label, as well as to acknowledge whether the attitude towards it has any impact on the intention of purchasing and using those products. Consumers' lack of familiarity with V-Label was notorious in results. They have demonstrated that consumers' attitude towards products with V-Label is positively influenced by antecedent factors, such as utilitarian and hedonic perception and knowledge about the vegetarian diet. Although consumers' attitude towards V-Label products did not show significant differences compared to unlabelled products, it has been shown to have a positive impact on the intention to purchase and use the products. The purchase intention is enhanced if it is mediated by trust in the product. To conclude, contributions were made to management and academic areas, as well as suggestions for future research.A mudança nas escolhas alimentares tem vindo a expressar-se um pouco por toda a Europa Mediterrânica, não só por haver uma maior consciencialização para os problemas de saúde associados às dietas tradicionais, mas também devido ao fácil acesso à informação, permitindo aos consumidores estarem mais educados aquando das suas decisões alimentares. Uma das dietas que tem vindo a ganhar manifestação é a plantbased, mais concretamente a vegetariana. No entanto, poucos estudos se têm concentrado na importância de promover os produtos dentro desta categoria de forma eficaz. Como tal, o presente estudo tem como objetivo perceber qual a atitude do consumidor perante um dos símbolos mais utilizados para identificar os produtos vegetarianos, o V-Label, bem como conferir se a atitude perante o mesmo tem algum impacto na intenção de compra e utilização dos produtos. A falta de familiaridade dos consumidores para com o V-Label foi notória perante os resultados. Os mesmos demonstraram que a atitude do consumidor perante os produtos com V-Label é influenciada positivamente por fatores antecedentes, tais como perceção utilitarista e hedónica e conhecimento sobre a dieta vegetariana. Apesar da atitude do consumidor perante os produtos com V-Label não demonstrar diferenças significativas, comparativamente aos produtos sem selo, a mesma revelou ter impacto positivo na intenção de compra e utilização dos produtos. A intenção de compra é ainda mais reforçada se, inclusive, for mediada por confiança no produto. Para concluir, foram facultadas contribuições para as áreas de gestão e académica, bem como sugestões para investigação futura

A systematic review of the effects of different types of therapeutic exercise on physiologic and functional measurements in patients with HIV/AIDS

Several studies have reported the benefits of exercise training for adults with HIV, although there is no consensus regarding the most efficient modalities. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different types of exercise on physiologic and functional measurements in patients with HIV using a systematic strategy for searching randomized controlled trials. The sources used in this review were the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PEDro from 1950 to August 2012. We selected randomized controlled trials examining the effects of exercise on body composition, muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and/or quality of life in adults with HIV. Two independent reviewers screened the abstracts using the Cochrane Collaboration's protocol. The PEDro score was used to evaluate methodological quality. In total, 29 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Individual studies suggested that exercise training contributed to improvement of physiologic and functional parameters, but that the gains were specific to the type of exercise performed. Resistance exercise training improved outcomes related to body composition and muscle strength, with little impact on quality of life. Aerobic exercise training improved body composition and aerobic capacity. Concurrent training produced significant gains in all outcomes evaluated, although moderate intensity and a long duration were necessary. We concluded that exercise training was shown to be a safe and beneficial intervention in the treatment of patients with HIV

ANÁLISE RETROSPECTIVA DAS ATIVIDADES DE CONTROLE MECÂNICO DE TITYUS SERRULATUS NO MUNICÍPIO DE AMERICANA, SÃO PAULO

A situação epidemiológica do escorpionismo na maioria dos municípios brasileiros apresenta uma tendência linear crescente com elevado risco probabilístico de acidentes e óbitos. Avaliamos os dados numéricos de busca ativa de espécimes de Tityus serrulatus, como metodologia de controle mecânico de escorpiões adotada no município de Americana/SP, em análise retrospectiva do período de 2006 a 2021. Ficou demonstrado que essas atividades contribuem de forma significativa na destinação de espécimes vivos para produção de soro antiescorpiônico. No entanto, não apresenta eficiência no controle de infestações ambientais destes animais peçonhentos. Medidas de controle biológico e/ou químico devem ser incorporadas, através de políticas públicas municipais em saúde, com mais adequado nível de atenção em relação ao manejo integrado de pragas

S100B inhibition protects from chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Studies have correlated excessive S100B, a small inflammatory molecule, with demyelination and associated inflammatory processes occurring in multiple sclerosis. The relevance of S100B in multiple sclerosis pathology brought an emerging curiosity highlighting its use as a potential therapeutic target to reduce damage during the multiple sclerosis course, namely during inflammatory relapses. We examined the relevance of S100B and further investigated the potential of S100B-neutralizing small-molecule pentamidine in chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. S100B depletion had beneficial pathological outcomes and based on promising results of a variety of S100B blockade strategies in an ex vivo demyelinating model, we choose pentamidine to assay its role in the in vivo experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. We report that pentamidine prevents more aggressive clinical symptoms and improves recovery of chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Blockade of S100B by pentamidine protects against oligodendrogenesis impairment and neuroinflammation by reducing astrocyte reactivity and microglia pro-inflammatory phenotype. Pentamidine also increased regulatory T cell density in the spinal cord suggesting an additional immunomodulatory action. These results showed the relevance of S100B as a main driver of neuroinflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and identified an uncharacterized mode of action of pentamidine, strengthening the possibility to use this drug as an anti-inflammatory and remyelinating therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis.This work was funded by grants from Ordem dos Farmacêuticos (AF), Merck KGaA (AF) and Fundação de Ciênciase Tecnologia (UIDB/04138/2020; UIDP/04138/2020) (iMed.ULisboa).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Real-time intracellular temperature imaging using lanthanide-bearing polymeric micelles

Measurement of thermogenesis in individual cells is a remarkable challenge due to the complexity of the biochemical environment (such as pH and ionic strength) and to the rapid and yet not well-understood heat transfer mechanisms throughout the cell. Here, we present a unique system for intracellular temperature mapping in a fluorescence microscope (uncertainty of 0.2 K) using rationally designed luminescent Ln3+-bearing polymeric micellar probes (Ln = Sm, Eu) incubated in breast cancer MDA-MB468 cells. Two-dimensional (2D) thermal images recorded increasing the temperature of the cells culture medium between 296 and 304 K shows inhomogeneous intracellular temperature progressions up to ∼20 degrees and subcellular gradients of ∼5 degrees between the nucleolus and the rest of the cell, illustrating the thermogenic activity of the different organelles and highlighting the potential of this tool to study intracellular processes.publishe

CINTURÕES DE ALTITUDE EM RELEVOS MONTANHOSOS TROPICAIS E A CONJUGAÇÃO ENTRE ZONALIDADE E EXTRAZONALIDADE NOS GEOSSISTEMAS MONTANHOSOS

As principais elevações da fachada atlântica brasileira ostentam cinturões de vegetação e de paisagem fortemente influenciados pelas variações mesoclimáticas que se sucedem dos sopés às superfícies somitais das montanhas tropicais. Na Serra da Mantiqueira, tais sucessões são muito bem marcadas, enfaticamente na estrutura concernente à Serra Fina, elevação cujas cimeiras se aproximam de 2900 metros localizada na divisa entre os estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais. No âmbito da aludida unidade geomorfológica o presente trabalho objetivou interpretar os diferentes cinturões de altitude e suas variações estruturais e dinâmicas, encontrando uma zonação altitudinal bem marcada nas variáveis de estado, notadamente no clima, vegetação e solos, mas também no relevo, elemento invariante do geossistema. Embora a existência de cinturões de altitude seja característica no contexto dos grandes escarpamentos do Brasil Oriental, as elevações mais pronunciadas da Serra Fina associadas à uma identidade litológica própria a destacam como unidade própria, figurando como uma das principais paisagens de exceção em todo o domínio tropical atlântico

Predictors of cardiac involvement in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies

Copyright © 2023 Bandeira, Dourado, Melo, Martins, Fraga, Ferraro, Saraiva, Sousa, Parente, Soares, Correia, Almeida, Dinis, Pinto, Oliveira Pinheiro, Rato, Beirão, Samões, Santos, Mazeda, Chícharo, Faria, Neto, Lourenço, Brites, Rodrigues, Silva-Dinis, Dias, Araújo, Martins, Couto, Valido, Santos, Barreira, Fonseca and Campanilho-Marques. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Objectives: Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are a group of rare disorders that can affect the heart. This work aimed to find predictors of cardiac involvement in IIM. Methods: Multicenter, open cohort study, including patients registered in the IIM module of the Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register (Reuma.pt/Myositis) until January 2022. Patients without cardiac involvement information were excluded. Myo(peri)carditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, conduction abnormalities, and/or premature coronary artery disease were considered. Results: 230 patients were included, 163 (70.9%) of whom were females. Thirteen patients (5.7%) had cardiac involvement. Compared with IIM patients without cardiac involvement, these patients had a lower bilateral manual muscle testing score (MMT) at the peak of muscle weakness [108.0 ± 55.0 vs 147.5 ± 22.0, p=0.008] and more frequently had oesophageal [6/12 (50.0%) vs 33/207 (15.9%), p=0.009] and lung [10/13 (76.9%) vs 68/216 (31.5%), p=0.001] involvements. Anti-SRP antibodies were more commonly identified in patients with cardiac involvement [3/11 (27.3%) vs 9/174 (5.2%), p=0.026]. In the multivariate analysis, positivity for anti-SRP antibodies (OR 104.3, 95% CI: 2.5-4277.8, p=0.014) was a predictor of cardiac involvement, regardless of sex, ethnicity, age at diagnosis, and lung involvement. Sensitivity analysis confirmed these results. Conclusion: Anti-SRP antibodies were predictors of cardiac involvement in our cohort of IIM patients, irrespective of demographical characteristics and lung involvement. We suggest considering frequent screening for heart involvement in anti-SRP-positive IIM patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vitamin C and E Supplementation Effects in Professional Soccer Players Under Regular Training

Exercise training is known to induce an increase in free radical production potentially leading to enhanced muscle injury. Vitamins C and E are well known antioxidants that may prevent muscle cell damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of these supplemental antioxidant vitamins on markers of oxidative stress, muscle damage and performance of elite soccer players. Ten male young soccer players were divided into two groups. Supplementation group (n = 5) received vitamins C and E supplementation daily during the pre-competitive season (S group), while the placebo group (PL group, n = 5) received a pill containing maltodextrin. Both groups performed the same training load during the three-month pre-season training period. Erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes glutathione reductase, catalase and plasma carbonyl derivatives did not show any significant variation among the experimental groups. Similarly, fitness level markers did not differ among the experimental groups. However, S group demonstrated lower lipid peroxidation and muscle damage levels (p < 0.05) compared to PL group at the final phase of pre-competitive season. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that vitamin C and E supplementation in soccer players may reduce lipid peroxidation and muscle damage during high intensity efforts, but did not enhance performance