Caspase-8 mediates inflammation and disease in rodent malaria

Earlier studies indicate that either the canonical or non-canonical pathways of inflammasome activation have a limited role on malaria pathogenesis. Here, we report that caspase-8 is a central mediator of systemic inflammation, septic shock in the Plasmodium chabaudi-infected mice and the P. berghei-induced experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). Importantly, our results indicate that the combined deficiencies of caspases-8/1/11 or caspase-8/gasdermin-D (GSDM-D) renders mice impaired to produce both TNFalpha and IL-1beta and highly resistant to lethality in these models, disclosing a complementary, but independent role of caspase-8 and caspases-1/11/GSDM-D in the pathogenesis of malaria. Further, we find that monocytes from malaria patients express active caspases-1, -4 and -8 suggesting that these inflammatory caspases may also play a role in the pathogenesis of human disease

Imagem do político brasileiro

The study of political stereotypes has been neglectedby social psychologists. The present research tests the hypothesisthat Brazilians have a negative attitude toward politicians.Secondary objectives of this study were: (a) to test the possibilityof utilizing the telephone as a means of data collection inBrazil; (b) to explore the correspondence between the answersgiven by university students and those offered by several strata ofthe general population. 533 Ss of both sexes took part in the study;they were all residents of the state of Rio de Janeiro. 273 of themwere reached by telephone and chosen by a systematic randomsampling procedure; the remaining were university students. Theresults confirmed the existence of a strong negative image of theBrazilian politician. They are perceived as ambitious (for personalpurposes), insincere, oportunistic, ill intentioned, irresponsible, incompetent, etc. None and All were the most frequent responsesto the questions: (a) which politician is closest to your ideal of apolitician? and (b) which politician is further apart from your idealof a politician? The use of telephone interview proved to be adequateand university students and the rest of the population sampledgave similar responses.O estudo de estereótipos em relação aos políticos tem sido negligenciado por parte dos psicólogos sociais. Neste estudo foi testada a hipótese de que prevalece, entre nós brasileiros, uma atitude negativa para com a classe política. Objetivos secundários da pesquisa foram a verificação da possibilidade de utilização do telefone como meio de coleta de dados no Brasil e a correspondência entre respostas de estudantes universitários e as de membros de outros segmentos da população. Tomaram parte no estudo 533 sujeitos de ambos os sexos, residentes no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Destes, 273 foram contactados por telefone, através de escolha aleatória, e os demais eram universitários. Os resultados confirmaram a existência de uma visão fortemente negativa do político brasileiro. Eles são vistos como ambiciosos, insinceros, oportunistas,mal intencionados, irresponsáveis, incompetentes, etc. Nenhum e Todos foram as respostas mais freqüentes para o político que mais se aproxima e o que mais se afasta, respectivamente, do ideal. O uso do telefone mostrou-se adequado e universitários e demais segmentos da população forneceram respostas semelhantes

Antimicrobial Activity of a Crude Extract and Fractions from Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) O. Kuntze Leaves

SUMMARY. Aqueous EtOH (70%) crude extract of Alternanthera brasiliana leaves and dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanolic fractions of the crude extract were tested against a panel of microrganisms by the broth microdilution method to determine the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The results demonstrate that the crude extract and some fractions showed moderate activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Prototheca zopffi. All samples did not present activity against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. The strongest effect occurred with dichloromethane fraction against the algae P. zopfii, (MIC= 312.5 μg.mL -1 ). These results demonstrate that A. brasiliana have a weak antimicrobial activity that not support the ethno-pharmacological indication of the plant for the treatment of infection diseases nor it's popular names such as "penicillin" and "terramycin" in Brazil . RESUMEN. "Actividad Antimicrobiana del Extracto Bruto y Fracciones de las Hojas de Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) O. Kuntze". El extracto etanólico crudo (70%) y las fracciones diclorometánica, de acetato de etilo y butanólica de las hojas de A. brasiliana fueron analizados en relación a su actividad antimicrobiana. Las concentraciones inhibitorias mínimas (MIC) fueron determinadas usando el método de microdilución en caldo. Los experimentos demostraron que el extracto y algunas fracciones exhibieron moderada acción antimicrobiana, particularmente contra Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisae y Prototheca zopffi. El efecto más fuerte ocurrió con la fracción diclorometánica frente a P. zopfii (MIC 312,5 μg.mL -1 ). La bacteria Escherichia coli y las leveduras Candida albicans y C. glabrata no fueron inhibidas por ninguno de los extractos probados. La baja actividad antimicrobiana de la planta no respalda las indicaciones planteadas por la comunidad para su uso en el tratamiento de procesos infecciosos, ni tampoco sus nombres populares en Brasil, tales como "penicilina" y "terramicina"

CT-based volumetric measures obtained through deep learning: Association with biomarkers of neurodegeneration

INTRODUCTION: Cranial computed tomography (CT) is an affordable and widely available imaging modality that is used to assess structural abnormalities, but not to quantify neurodegeneration. Previously we developed a deep-learning–based model that produced accurate and robust cranial CT tissue classification. // MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 917 CT and 744 magnetic resonance (MR) scans from the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort, and 204 CT and 241 MR scans from participants of the Memory Clinic Cohort, Singapore. We tested associations between six CT-based volumetric measures (CTVMs) and existing clinical diagnoses, fluid and imaging biomarkers, and measures of cognition. // RESULTS: CTVMs differentiated cognitively healthy individuals from dementia and prodromal dementia patients with high accuracy levels comparable to MR-based measures. CTVMs were significantly associated with measures of cognition and biochemical markers of neurodegeneration. // DISCUSSION: These findings suggest the potential future use of CT-based volumetric measures as an informative first-line examination tool for neurodegenerative disease diagnostics after further validation

Antioxidant activity and peroxidase inhibition of Amazonian plants extracts traditionally used as anti-inflammatory

Background: The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to a rich biodiversity of medicinal plants. Several of these plants are used by the local population for the treatment of diseases, many of those with probable anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and anti-peroxidases potential of the ethanol extracts of five plants from the Brazilian Amazon (Byrsonima japurensis, Calycophyllum spruceanum, Maytenus guyanensis, Passiflora nitida and Ptychopetalum olacoides). Methods: DPPH, ABTS, superoxide anion radical, singlet oxygen and the β-carotene bleaching methods were employed for characterization of free radical scavenging activity. Also, total polyphenols were determined. Antioxidant activities were evaluated using murine fibroblast NIH3T3 cell. Inhibition of HRP and MPO were evaluated using amplex red® as susbtract. Results: The stem bark extracts of C. spruceanum and M. guyanensis provided the highest free radical scavenging activities. C. spruceanum exhibited IC50 = 7.5 ± 0.9, 5.0 ± 0.1, 18.2 ± 3.0 and 92.4 ± 24.8 μg/mL for DPPH·, ABTS+·, O2 -· and 1O2 assays, respectively. P. olacoides and C. spruceanum extracts also inhibited free radicals formation in the cell-based assay. At a concentration of 100 μg/mL, the extracts of C. spruceanum, B. japurensis inhibited horseradish peroxidase by 62 and 50 %, respectively. C. spruceanum, M. guyanensis, B. japurensis also inhibited myeloperoxidase in 72, 67 and 56 %, respectively. Conclusions: This work supports the folk use these species that inhibited peroxidases and exhibited significant free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities what can be related to treatment of inflammation. © 2016 de Vargas et al