Ethanol induces the expression of α1(I) procollagen mRNA in a co-culture system containing a liver stellate cell-line and freshly isolated hepatocytes

AbstractTo study the fibrogenic action of ethanol in vitro we used a co-culture system of freshly isolated hepatocytes and a liver stellate cell line (CFSC-2G) developed in our laboratory. Our results show that in this co-culture system ethanol induces the expression of α1(I) procollagen mRNA in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This effect of ethanol was due to its metabolism by alcohol dehydrogenase since 4-methylpyrazole prevented the ethanol-mediated increase in α1(I) procollagen mRNA. Ethanol was more efficient than acetaldehyde in inducing α1(I) procollagen mRNA expression and its effect was protein synthesis-independent. Transfection of either hepatocytes or liver stellate cells with a reporter gene, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT), driven by 3700bp of the mouse α1(I) procollagen promoter demonstrated that only LSC expressed significant CAT activity and that this activity was enhanced by ethanol. Overall, our results suggest that this co-culture system is a useful model to study alcohol-induced fibrogenesis in vitro and that mechanisms other than acetaldehyde formation may also play an important role in alcohol-induced fibrogenesis

Correlação de Pearson entre pigmentos fotossintetizantes e fitomassa de plantas de Aloysia triphylla

A produção de matéria seca das culturas é limitada pelos pigmentos fotossintéticos, um indicador de produtividade que pode ser limitante ao crescimento e desenvolvimento das plantas. O objetivo do estudo foi determinar a correlação entre os pigmentos fotossintéticos e a fitomassa de Aloysia triphylla em resposta a diferentes disponibilidades hídrica. O experimento foi mantido em ambiente protegido na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Campus Frederico Westphalen, sendo conduzido em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro tratamentos, quatro blocos e a unidade experimental composta por 16 plantas/bloco, no período de 28 de agosto de 2015 a 21 de março de 2016. Os tratamentos consistiram de diferentes níveis de disponibilidade hídrica (100, 75, 50 e 25% da capacidade de campo do solo). Foram avaliados: conteúdo de clorofila a, clorofila b, carotenoides, clorofila total, razão clorofila a/b, razão clorofila total/carotenoides e fitomassa seca total, massa seca de folhas e de caule. Para verificar a dependência de uma variável sobre outra os dados foram submetidos à correlação linear de Pearson. Após 152 dias, foi possível observar que houve correlação forte e positiva entre as clorofilas a e b, sendo que ambas apresentaram correlação negativa com a razão clorofila a/b. A clorofila b apresentou correlação com fitomassa total e de folhas. Também se observou que a clorofila total apresentou correlação com todas as variáveis, exceto para as de massa seca de caule e folhas e fitomassa total. Concluiu-se a clorofila b apresenta correlação positiva com massa seca de folhas e fitomassa seca total, e a massa seca de folhas possui correlação positiva com massa seca de caule e fitomassa total de A. triphylla

Is the Frequency in Somatosensory Electrical Stimulation the Key

Somatosensory electrical stimulation (SES) has been proposed as an approach to treat patients with sensory-motor impairment such as spasticity. However, there is still no consensus regarding which would be the adequate SES parameters to treat those deficits. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of applying SES over the forearm muscles at four different frequencies of stimulation (3, 30, 150, and 300 Hz) and in two intervals of time (5′ and 30′) by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation and Hoffmann’s reflex (H-reflex) in healthy volunteers (Experiments  I and II). A group of stroke patients (Experiment  III) was also preliminary evaluated to ascertain SES effects at a low frequency (3 Hz) applied for 30′ over the forearm spastic flexors muscles by measuring the wrist joint passive torque. Motor evoked potentials and the H-reflex were collected from different forearm and hand muscles immediately before and after SES and up to 5′ (Experiment  I) and 10′ (Experiments  I and II) later. None of the investigated frequencies of SES was able to operate as a key in switching modulatory effects in the central nervous system of healthy volunteers and stroke patients with spasticity

Disease activity influences cardiovascular risk reclassification based on carotid ultrasound in patients with psoriatic arthritis

ABSTRACT: Objective. Because the addition of carotid ultrasound (US) into composite cardiovascular (CV) risk scores has been found effective for identifying patients with inflammatory arthritis and high CV risk, we aimed to determine whether its use would facilitate the reclassification of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) into the very high Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) risk category and whether this might be related to disease features. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study involving 206 patients who fulfilled ClASsification for Psoriatic ARthritis criteria for PsA, and 179 controls. We assessed lipid profile, SCORE, disease activity measurements, and the presence of carotid plaques and carotid intima-media thickness by ultrasonography. A multivariable regression analysis, adjusted for classic CV risk factors, was performed to evaluate whether the risk of reclassification could be explained by disease-related features and to assess the most parsimonious combination of risk reclassification predictors. Results. Forty-seven percent of patients were reclassified into a very high SCORE risk category after carotid US compared to 26% of controls (p < 0.001). Patients included in the low SCORE risk category were those who were more commonly reclassified (30% vs 14%, p = 0.002). The Disease Activity Index for PsA (DAPSA) score was associated with reclassification (? 1.10, 95% CI 1.02?1.19; p = 0.019) after adjusting for age and traditional CV risk factors. A model containing SCORE plus age, statin use, and DAPSA score yielded the highest discriminatory accuracy compared to the SCORE-alone model (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve 0.863, 95% CI 0.789?0.936 vs 0.716, 95% CI 0.668?0.764; p < 0.001). Conclusion. Patients with PsA are more frequently reclassified into the very high SCORE risk category following carotid US assessment than controls. This was independently explained by the disease activity.Funding: This work was supported by a grant to I.F-A. from the Spanish Ministry of Health, Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 and by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional -FEDER - (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, FIS PI14/00394, PI17/00083) Professor González-Gay research was supported by European Union FEDER funds and by the “Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria” (grants PI06/0024, PS09/00748, PI12/00060, PI15/00525 and PI18/00043) of the ‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’ (ISCIII, Health Ministry, Spain). It was also partially supported by RETICS Programs RD12/0009 (RIER), RD12/0009/0013 and RD16/0012 from the ‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’ (ISCIII, Health Ministry, Spain)

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research