MicroRNA deregulation and chemotaxis and phagocytosis impairment in Alzheimer's disease

AbstractIntroductionMononuclear phagocytes play a critical role during Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis due to their contribution to innate immune responses and amyloid beta (Aβ) clearance mechanisms.MethodsBlood-derived monocytes (BDMs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) were isolated from blood of AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and age-matched healthy controls for molecular and phenotypic comparisons.ResultsThe chemokine/chemokine receptor CCL2/CCR2 axis was impaired in BDMs from AD and MCI patients, causing a deficit in cell migration. Changes were also observed in MDM-mediated phagocytosis of Aβ fibrils, correlating with alterations in the expression and processing of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2). Finally, immune-related microRNAs (miRNAs), including miR-155, -154, -200b, -27b, and -128, were found to be differentially expressed in these cells.DiscussionThis work provides evidence that chemotaxis and phagocytosis, two crucial innate immune functions, are impaired in AD and MCI patients. Correlations with miRNA levels suggest an epigenetic contribution to systemic immune dysfunction in AD

3D digital breast cancer models with multimodal fusion algorithms

Breast cancer image fusion consists of registering and visualizing different sets of a patient synchronized torso and radiological images into a 3D model. Breast spatial interpretation and visualization by the treating physician can be augmented with a patient-specific digital breast model that integrates radiological images. But the absence of a ground truth for a good correlation between surface and radiological information has impaired the development of potential clinical applications. A new image acquisition protocol was designed to acquire breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and 3D surface scan data with surface markers on the patient's breasts and torso. A patient-specific digital breast model integrating the real breast torso and the tumor location was created and validated with a MRI/3D surface scan fusion algorithm in 16 breast cancer patients. This protocol was used to quantify breast shape differences between different modalities, and to measure the target registration error of several variants of the MRI/3D scan fusion algorithm. The fusion of single breasts without the biomechanical model of pose transformation had acceptable registration errors and accurate tumor locations. The performance of the fusion algorithm was not affected by breast volume. Further research and virtual clinical interfaces could lead to fast integration of this fusion technology into clinical practice.publishersversionpublishe

Isolation of phytopathogenic fungi in seeds Caatinga tree

A qualidade sanitária é um parâmetro que avalia a incidência de patógenos em sementes, principalmente em espécies de produção agrícola, havendo poucos estudos sobre espécies florestais arbóreas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade sanitária em sementes de espécies arbóreas da Caatinga. O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Fitopatologia do Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar da UFCG, campus de Pombal-PB. Foram estudadas sementes de quatro espécies arbóreas: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.): catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.)Poiret: jurema-preta e Libidibia ferrea (Mart) ex Tul.: pau-ferro, as mesmas foram divididas em duas subamostras, sendo uma submetida à desinfestação superficial por imersão em hipoclorito de sódio (NaClO) a 2% por 5 minutos . A sanidade das sementes foi avaliada pelo “blotter test”. Os gêneros fúngicos comumente detectados nas sementes das espécies estudadas foram: Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. e Trichoderma spp.. A desinfestação com hipoclorito de sódio a 2% reduziu a incidência de fungos nas sementes das espécies estudadas. O gênero Aspergillus apresentou o maior número de colônias e diversidade de espécies fúngicas nas sementes tratadas e não tratadas, estando presente em todas as espécies arbóreas. A menor incidência de colônias fúngicas ocorreu na espécie Mimosa tenuiflora.The sanitary quality is a parameter that evaluates the incidence of pathogens in seeds, especially in species of agricultural production, so that there are few studies on forest tree species. This study aims to evaluate the sanitary quality and the effect on seeds of four species from the Caatinga region. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Phytopathology from the Centre for Agri-Food Science and Technology at UFCG, Pombal - PB. Seeds from four species were studied: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret: jurema-preta and Libidibia ferrea (Mart ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: pau-ferro. The seed health was assessed using the “blotter test”. The genera of fungi commonly found in the seeds of the studied species were Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. The disinfection with 2% sodium hypochlorite reduced the incidence of fungi on seeds of the studied species. The genus Aspergillus presented the highest number of colonies and diversity of fungal species in treated and untreated seeds, being present in all four species. The lowest incidence of fungal colonies occurred in the species Mimosa tenuiflora.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Identification of TEM, CfxA, TetM and TetQ genes in periodontic infections

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Challenges and Opportunities to Increase Carbon Sequestration in Subtropical Grazing Lands

Livestock production has a significant environmental footprint. However, adoption of regenerative grazing land management practices can serve as a means of producing food with lower, or even net positive environmental impacts. Globally, much of the grazing land ecosystems are degraded due to improper management. This is particularly true in the southeastern US, where extensive areas of planted pastures are degraded due to inadequate nutrient and soil management. In this presentation, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with increasing soil and ecosystem C sequestration in subtropical grazing lands through regenerative management practices. Introductio

Study of the Potential of Water Treatment Sludges in the Removal of Emerging Pollutants

This research was funded by CENSE through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; UIDB/04085/2020) and through a PhD grant for Rita Dias (SFRH/BD/148793/2019). The authors are also indebted to EPAL AdVT for their financial support to this project. This work was also supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020). Maria Bernardo acknowledges Norma Transitoria DL57/2016 Contract (FCT/MCTES).Presently, water quantity and quality problems persist both in developed and developing countries, and concerns have been raised about the presence of emerging pollutants (EPs) in water. The circular economy provides ways of achieving sustainable resource management that can be implemented in the water sector, such as the reuse of drinking water treatment sludges (WTSs). This study evaluated the potential of WTS containing a high concentration of activated carbon for the removal of two EPs: the steroid hormones 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). To this end, WTSs from two Portuguese water treatment plants (WTPs) were characterised and tested for their hormone adsorbance potential. Both WTSs showed a promising adsorption potential for the two hormones studied due to their textural and chemical properties. For WTS1, the final concentration for both hormones was lower than the limit of quantification (LOQ). As for WTS2, the results for E2 removal were similar to WTS1, although for EE2, the removal efficiency was lower (around 50%). The overall results indicate that this method may lead to new ways of using this erstwhile residue as a possible adsorbent material for the removal of several EPs present in wastewaters or other matrixes, and as such contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.publishersversionpublishe

Environmental hazard assessment of a marine mine tailings deposit site and potential implications for deep-sea mining

Portmán Bay is a heavily contaminated area resulting from decades of metal mine tailings disposal, and is considered a suitable shallow-water analogue to investigate the potential ecotoxicological impact of deep-sea mining. Resuspension plumes were artificially created by removing the top layer of the mine tailings deposit by bottom trawling. Mussels were deployed at three sites: i) off the mine tailings deposit area; ii) on the mine tailings deposit beyond the influence from the resuspension plumes; iii) under the influence of the artificially generated resuspension plumes. Surface sediment samples were collected at the same sites for metal analysis and ecotoxicity assessment. Metal concentrations and a battery of biomarkers (oxidative stress, metal exposure, biotransformation and oxidative damage) were measured in different mussel tissues. The environmental hazard posed by the resuspension plumes was investigated by a quantitative weight of evidence (WOE) model that integrated all the data. The resuspension of sediments loaded with metal mine tails demonstrated that chemical contaminants were released by trawling subsequently inducing ecotoxicological impact in mussels' health. Considering as sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) those indicated in Spanish action level B for the disposal of dredged material at sea, the WOE model indicates that the hazard is slight off the mine tailings deposit, moderate on the mine tailings deposit without the influence from the resuspension plumes, and major under the influence of the resuspension plumes. Portmán Bay mine tailings deposit is a by-product of sulphide mining, and despite differences in environmental setting, it can reflect the potential ecotoxic effects to marine fauna from the impact of resuspension of plumes created by deep-sea mining of polymetallic sulphides. A similar approach as in this study could be applied in other areas affected by sediment resuspension and for testing future deep-sea mining sites in order to assess the associated environmental hazards.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio