Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Silica-Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Composite Aerogel: A Promising Electrolyte for Solid-State Sodium Batteries

The transition from fossil fuels is in part limited by our inability to store energy at different scales. Batteries are therefore in high demand, and we need them to store more energy, be more reliable, durable and have less social and environmental impact. Silica-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite aerogels doped with sodium perchlorate were synthesized as novel electrolytes for potential application in solid-state sodium batteries. The aerogels, synthesized by one-pot synthesis, are light (up to 214 kg m−3), porous (~85%), exhibit reduced shrinkage on drying (up to 12%) and a typical silica aerogel microstructure. The formation of a silica network and the presence of PVA and sodium perchlorate in the composite were confirmed by FTIR and TGA. The XRD analysis also shows that a predominantly amorphous structure is obtained, as crystalline phases of polymer and salt are present in a very reduced amount. The effects of increasing polymer and sodium salt concentrations on the ionic conductivity, assessed via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, were studied. At a PVA concentration of 15% (w/w silica precursors), the sodium conduction improved significantly up to (1.1 ± 0.3) × 10−5 S cm−1. Thus, this novel material has promising properties for the envisaged application

Emulating Human Tissues and Organs: A Bioprinting Perspective Toward Personalized Medicine

The lack of in vitro tissue and organ models capable of mimicking human physiology severely hinders the development and clinical translation of therapies and drugs with higher in vivo efficacy. Bioprinting allow us to fill this gap and generate 3D tissue analogues with complex functional and structural organization through the precise spatial positioning of multiple materials and cells. In this review, we report the latest developments in terms of bioprinting technologies for the manufacturing of cellular constructs with particular emphasis on material extrusion, jetting, and vat photopolymerization. We then describe the different base polymers employed in the formulation of bioinks for bioprinting and examine the strategies used to tailor their properties according to both processability and tissue maturation requirements. By relating function to organization in human development, we examine the potential of pluripotent stem cells in the context of bioprinting toward a new generation of tissue models for personalized medicine. We also highlight the most relevant attempts to engineer artificial models for the study of human organogenesis, disease, and drug screening. Finally, we discuss the most pressing challenges, opportunities, and future prospects in the field of bioprinting for tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine (RM).</p

Políticas de atendimento à criança pequena nos países em desenvolvimento Policies for early child care and education in developing countries

Contínuas mudanças econômicas e culturais estão causando transformações no funcionamento das famílias e na educação das crianças pequenas em todas as camadas sociais. Essas transformações têm contribuído para o aumento da demanda e implementação de políticas de educação/cuidado infantil. Avanços políticos e legais têm ocorrido em vários países, nas últimas décadas. Esse processo configura-se sob formas diversas nos países desenvolvidos e nos em desenvolvimento. Naqueles e, em especial, nos países da Comunidade Européia, as justificativas para essas políticas fundamentam-se em um discurso pelos direitos da criança quanto ao acesso à educação e aos bens culturais, e pela igualdade de direitos e oportunidades de homens e mulheres. Já nos países em desenvolvimento, o discurso para ricos e pobres é bastante diferenciado, particularmente quando estabelece políticas para expansão do atendimento. Quando o alvo é a população pobre, negra e de zona rural, essas políticas se pautam por um discurso da necessidade de atender pobremente a pobreza, que transparece de maneira clara nos documentos do Banco Mundial. Neste artigo, propomo-nos a fazer uma reflexão crítica sobre as políticas para a infância nos países em desenvolvimento, tomando a América Latina como estudo de caso.<br>Continuous economical and cultural changes are inducing various transformations in family functioning and young children education and care. Those changes generated an increased demand for early child education policies. During the last decades, various political and legal advances were observed in many countries. This process, however, took diverse configurations in developed and developing countries. In the European Community, more specifically, the discourse funding those policies emphasized both: children's rights to have access to education and cultural goods and the equality of rights and opportunities for men and women. In developing countries, however, the discourse for rich and poor is different, chiefly in what concerns policies for educational expansion. When the target population is poor, rural and colored, the policies follow a needs approach, of attending poorly the poor. It clearly appears in the World Bank documents. In this paper, a critical analysis of the early child education policies in developing countries is proposed, taking Latin America as a case study

Elementos biológicos na configuração do território do rio Doce Biological elements in the River Doce's territory configuration

No médio rio Doce, entre 1930 e 1960, as terras de floresta foram ocupadas pela agricultura e pecuária. No início as culturas agrícolas encontraram condições favoráveis para se expandir, mas não suficientes para se consolidar, antes de dar lugar à pecuária, como é comum na história da agricultura brasileira. As terras cobertas pela floresta foram tomadas pelo capim-colonião (Panicum maximum Jacq. var. maximum) num ritmo maior que o avanço da atividade humana. A gramínea africana encontrou condições excepcionais para se alastrar, dadas pelo relevo, pelo clima e pelo manejo praticado por agricultores e fazendeiros. As suas características biológicas favoreceram o avanço das pastagens. O capim-colonião não diminui a força dos elementos socioeconômicos, marcados por relações de poder em que o fazendeiro levava nítida vantagem, mas entender sua biologia contribui para a compreensão da configuração do território do rio Doce.<br>At the middle Doce river , between 1930 and 1960, the forest lands had been occupied by agriculture and cattle raising. First, the agricultural cultures had found favorable conditions to enlargement, but not enough for consolidating itself, before giving place to cattle, as it is common in the history of Brazilian agriculture. The lands covered by the forest had been invaded by the capim-colonião (Panicum maximum Jacq. var. maximum) in a bigger rhythm than the advance of the human activity. The African grassy found very good conditions to spreading (the relief, the climate and the practices of the farmers. Its biological characteristics had favored the advance of the grass. The capim-colonião does not diminished the force of the socioeconomics elements, marked for power relations where the farmer took clear advantage, but understand its biological aspects contributes for the understanding of the configuration of the territory of the river Doce

Proceedings Of The 23Rd Paediatric Rheumatology European Society Congress: Part Two

PubMe

Respiratory support in patients with severe COVID-19 in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection (ISARIC) COVID-19 study: a prospective, multinational, observational study

Background: Up to 30% of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 require advanced respiratory support, including high-flow nasal cannulas (HFNC), non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV), or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, outcomes and risk factors for failing non-invasive respiratory support in patients treated with severe COVID-19 during the first two years of the pandemic in high-income countries (HICs) and low middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: This is a multinational, multicentre, prospective cohort study embedded in the ISARIC-WHO COVID-19 Clinical Characterisation Protocol. Patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who required hospital admission were recruited prospectively. Patients treated with HFNC, NIV, or IMV within the first 24 h of hospital admission were included in this study. Descriptive statistics, random forest, and logistic regression analyses were used to describe clinical characteristics and compare clinical outcomes among patients treated with the different types of advanced respiratory support. Results: A total of 66,565 patients were included in this study. Overall, 82.6% of patients were treated in HIC, and 40.6% were admitted to the hospital during the first pandemic wave. During the first 24 h after hospital admission, patients in HICs were more frequently treated with HFNC (48.0%), followed by NIV (38.6%) and IMV (13.4%). In contrast, patients admitted in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) were less frequently treated with HFNC (16.1%) and the majority received IMV (59.1%). The failure rate of non-invasive respiratory support (i.e. HFNC or NIV) was 15.5%, of which 71.2% were from HIC and 28.8% from LMIC. The variables most strongly associated with non-invasive ventilation failure, defined as progression to IMV, were high leukocyte counts at hospital admission (OR [95%CI]; 5.86 [4.83-7.10]), treatment in an LMIC (OR [95%CI]; 2.04 [1.97-2.11]), and tachypnoea at hospital admission (OR [95%CI]; 1.16 [1.14-1.18]). Patients who failed HFNC/NIV had a higher 28-day fatality ratio (OR [95%CI]; 1.27 [1.25-1.30]). Conclusions: In the present international cohort, the most frequently used advanced respiratory support was the HFNC. However, IMV was used more often in LMIC. Higher leucocyte count, tachypnoea, and treatment in LMIC were risk factors for HFNC/NIV failure. HFNC/NIV failure was related to worse clinical outcomes, such as 28-day mortality. Trial registration This is a prospective observational study; therefore, no health care interventions were applied to participants, and trial registration is not applicable