Indoor Air Quality in Elderly Centers: Pollutants Emission and Health Effects

The world population is ageing, in particular in the developed world, with a significant increase in the percentage of people above 60 years old. They represent a segment of the population that is more vulnerable to adverse environmental conditions. Among them, indoor air quality is one of the most relevant, as elders spend comparatively more time indoors than younger generations. Furthermore, the recent COVID-19 pandemic contributed immensely to raising awareness of the importance of breathing air quality for human health and of the fact that indoor air is a vector for airborne infections and poisoning. Hence, this work reviews the state of the art regarding indoor air quality in elderly centers, considering the type of pollutants involved, their emission sources, and their health effects. Moreover, the influence of ventilation on air quality is also addressed. Notwithstanding the potential health problems with the corresponding costs and morbidity effects, only a few studies have considered explicitly indoor air quality and its impacts on elderly health. More studies are, therefore, necessary to objectively identify what are the impacts on the health of elderly people due to the quality of indoor air and how it can be improved, either by reducing the pollutants emission sources or by more adequate ventilation and thermal comfort strategies. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This work was financially supported by base funding of the following projects: LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/00511/2020 (LEPABE), and UIDB/50022/2020 (LAETA), funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Fátima Felgueiras gratefully acknowledges the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research, and Technology (FCT) for the financial support through the Grant BD/6521/2020. António Martins thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016—Norma transitória. Teresa Mata gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000107, cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE)

Introduction of exogenous AMF species alters the biological diversity and functionality of AMF communities associated with cowpea

The salinity in arid and semi-arid areas of the world is rapidly expanding due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. The use of inoculants containing beneficial microbes (e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia) is a promising alternative to improve plant production in these regions. Here, we investigated the effect of common agricultural practices such as the use of beneficial microbes as inoculum and crop rotation on cowpea growth and on its association with soil microbes under non- and salt-stressed conditions. Plant experiments were carried out using non-sterilized soil (supplemented or not with NaCl) under greenhouse conditions. Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense BR 3267 strain and a commercial mixture of AMF (Endoplant Riego) were used as inoculants. In parallel, we assessed cowpea growth following succession of buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) with or without prior soil disturbance. Plant and symbiotic parameters, nutrient content in leaves and AMF and root nodule communities through DNA metabarcoding were evaluated. Under non-stressed conditions, inoculation with AMF and/or BR 3267 strain led to significant increase of cowpea biomass production and higher N or P content in leaves. The imposed saline condition affected the cowpea growth although without significantly affecting the symbiotic parameters. Moreover, the increase of AMF propagules available in the soil at buffelgrass sowing through the inoculation of commercial AMF was a determining factor to mitigate the effects of soil tillage and salinity on cowpea growth. The bacterial communities in the root nodules were affected by AMF communities rather by rhizobia inoculation. Benefits of commercial AMF could be explained by changes in the biological and functionality of the AMF communities associated with cowpea. This study reveals that microbial inoculation and crop rotation are effective practices for improvement of cowpea growth and on mitigating the harmful effects of salt

Plasmatic and urinary glycosaminoglycans characterization in mucopolysaccharidosis II Patient treated with enzyme-replacement therapy with Idursulfase

We report the structural characterization of plasmatic and urinary GAGs in a Patient affected by MPS II (Hunter syndrome) before and during the first ten months of enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT). Plasmatic GAGs before ERT were rich in pathological DS consisting of iduronic acid (IdoA) and composed of ~90% \uf044Di4s and trace amounts of disulfated disaccharides. DS was also characterized as the main (~90%) urinary GAG mainly composed of ~90% \uf044Di4s with minor percentages of monosulfated and disulfated disaccharides, in particular \u394Di2,4dis. After 300 days of ERT, plasmatic DS strongly decreased but ~14% of IdoA-rich \uf044Di4s was still detected. Similarly, urinary galactosaminoglycans were mainly composed of 78% \uf044Di4s, ~11% \uf044Di6s and ~4% \uf044Di0s with the persistence of \u394Di2,4dis (~4%). About 40% of IdoA-formed \uf044Di4s were also calculated thus confirming that pathological DS is still present in excreted urinary GAGs during ERT. By considering the % of IdoA, we observed rather similar kinetics of excretion in fluids from the beginning of the treatment. Immediately after the first enzyme infusion, a large amount of abnormal DS is removed from tissues reaching the blood compartment and eliminated via the urine, and this process lasts for about two weeks. After this, the percentage of IdoA-rich material present in biological fluids remains fairly constant over the following nine months of treatment. To date, these are the first data regarding plasmatic and urinary kinetics directly measured on products released by the activity of the recombinant enzyme Idursulfase, iduronate-2-sulfatase, evaluated using specific and sensitive analytical procedures

Dupla inoculação (rizóbio e fungos micorrízicos arbusculares) mitigam efeitos nocivos da salinidade no crescimento do feijão-caupi

A salinidade em áreas áridas e semiáridas do mundo está a expandir rapidamente devido às alterações climáticas e atividades humanas. O uso de inóculos contendo microrganismos benéficos, como fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA) e bactérias simbióticas fixadoras de azoto, aliado ao manejo adequado do solo e das culturas, é uma alternativa promissora para melhorar a produção vegetal nessas regiões. Aqui, investigámos o efeito de práticas agrícolas comuns, nomeadamente a utilização de microrganismos benéficos como inóculo e a perturbação do solo entre a rotação de culturas, no crescimento do feijão-caupi e na sua associação com micróbios do solo sob condições salinas e não salinas. A estirpe Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense BR 3267, e uma mistura comercial de FMA (Endoplant Riego) foram utilizados como inóculos. Paralelamente, avaliámos o crescimento do feijão-caupi, após sucessão ao capim-buffel com ou sem perturbação prévia do solo. Ensaios de plantas em solo não-esterilizado (suplementado ou não com NaCl) foram realizados em dois ciclos de 75 dias em estufa. Parâmetros vegetais e simbióticos e o teor de nutrientes nas folhas foram determinados, bem como a diversidade bacteriana e de FMA em raízes e nódulos de feijão-caupi por meio de sequenciamento DNA metabarcode. Os nossos dados revelaram que os parâmetros simbióticos (número de nódulos e/ou taxa de colonização) foram melhorados no feijão-caupi inoculado com Bradyrhizobium e/ou FMA comercial, o que consequentemente resultou em maior teor de N ou P nas folhas. A salinidade imposta afetou negativamente o crescimento do feijão, porém sem afetar significativamente os parâmetros simbióticos analisados. O aumento de propágulos de FMA disponíveis no solo através da inoculação de FMA comercial foi um fator determinante para mitigar os efeitos do manejo do solo no crescimento do feijão. A perturbação do solo mostrou impacto negativo nos parâmetros vegetais e simbióticos, exceto para o número de nódulos. Além disso, os efeitos positivos do uso de FMA comercial no crescimento do feijão-caupi, em condições controlo ou de salinidade podem ser explicados pelas mudanças na funcionalidade das comunidades de FMA associadas ao feijão-caupi. Por outro lado, as comunidades bacterianas em nódulos ou raízes do feijão não foram afetadas pela inoculação de FMA ou de rizóbios. Este estudo revela que a dupla inoculação (mistura de rizóbio e FMA) e a rotação de culturas, sem a perturbação do solo, são práticas eficazes para melhorar o crescimento do feijão-caupi e mitigar os efeitos nocivos do sal no seu crescimento. Mais, estes resultados também sugerem que os efeitos sinérgicos entre rizóbios e FMA dependem principalmente de um estabelecimento bem-sucedido da simbiose entre FMA e a planta hospedeira e não da comunidade de FMA em si

Nanostructured 3D Constructs Based on Chitosan and Chondroitin Sulphate Multilayers for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Nanostructured three-dimensional constructs combining layer-by-layer technology (LbL) and template leaching were processed and evaluated as possible support structures for cartilage tissue engineering. Multilayered constructs were formed by depositing the polyelectrolytes chitosan (CHT) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on either bidimensional glass surfaces or 3D packet of paraffin spheres. 2D CHT/CS multi-layered constructs proved to support the attachment and proliferation of bovine chondrocytes (BCH). The technology was transposed to 3D level and CHT/CS multi-layered hierarchical scaffolds were retrieved after paraffin leaching. The obtained nanostructured 3D constructs had a high porosity and water uptake capacity of about 300%. Dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) showed the viscoelastic nature of the scaffolds. Cellular tests were performed with the culture of BCH and multipotent bone marrow derived stromal cells (hMSCs) up to 21 days in chondrogenic differentiation media. Together with scanning electronic microscopy analysis, viability tests and DNA quantification, our results clearly showed that cells attached, proliferated and were metabolically active over the entire scaffold. Cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) formation was further assessed and results showed that GAG secretion occurred indicating the maintenance of the chondrogenic phenotype and the chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs

Cytokine Production but Lack of Proliferation in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Chronic Chagas' Disease Cardiomyopathy Patients in Response to T. cruzi Ribosomal P Proteins

Background:Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal P proteins, P2β and P0, induce high levels of antibodies in patients with chronic Chagas' disease Cardiomyopathy (CCC). It is well known that these antibodies alter the beating rate of cardiomyocytes and provoke apoptosis by their interaction with β1-adrenergic and M2-muscarinic cardiac receptors. Based on these findings, we decided to study the cellular immune response to these proteins in CCC patients compared to non-infected individuals.Methodology/Principal findings:We evaluated proliferation, presence of surface activation markers and cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with P2β, the C-terminal portion of P0 (CP0) proteins and T. cruzi lysate from CCC patients predominantly infected with TcVI lineage. PBMC from CCC patients cultured with P2β or CP0 proteins, failed to proliferate and express CD25 and HLA-DR on T cell populations. However, multiplex cytokine assays showed that these antigens triggered higher secretion of IL-10, TNF-α and GM-CSF by PBMC as well as both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells subsets of CCC subjects. Upon T. cruzi lysate stimulation, PBMC from CCC patients not only proliferated but also became activated within the context of Th1 response. Interestingly, T. cruzi lysate was also able to induce the secretion of GM-CSF by CD4+ or CD8+ T cells.Conclusions/Significance:Our results showed that although the lack of PBMC proliferation in CCC patients in response to ribosomal P proteins, the detection of IL-10, TNF-α and GM-CSF suggests that specific T cells could have both immunoregulatory and pro-inflammatory potential, which might modulate the immune response in Chagas' disease. Furthermore, it was possible to demonstrate for the first time that GM-CSF was produced by PBMC of CCC patients in response not only to recombinant ribosomal P proteins but also to parasite lysate, suggesting the value of this cytokine to evaluate T cells responses in T. cruzi infection.Fil: Longhi, Silvia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Atienza, Augusto. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Perez Prados, Graciela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Juan A. Fernández"; ArgentinaFil: Buying, Alcinette. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Balouz, Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Buscaglia, Carlos Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Radleigh. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Tasso, Laura Mónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Bonato, Ricardo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Chiale, Pablo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Pinilla, Clemencia. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Judkowski, Valeria A.. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Gomez, Karina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentin

Presence of extracellular DNA in the Candida albicans biofilm matrix and its contribution to biofilms

DNA has been described as a structural component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in bacterial biofilms. In Candida albicans, there is a scarce knowledge concerning the contribution of extracellular DNA (eDNA) to biofilm matrix and overall structure. This work examined the presence and quantified the amount of eDNA in C. albicans biofilm ECM and the effect of DNase treatment and the addition of exogenous DNA on C. albicans biofilm development as indicators of a role for eDNA in biofilm development. We were able to detect the accumulation of eDNA in biofilm ECM extracted from C. albicans biofilms formed under conditions of flow, although the quantity of eDNA detected differed according to growth conditions, in particular with regards to the medium used to grow the biofilms. Experiments with C. albicans biofilms formed statically using a microtiter plate model indicated that the addition of exogenous DNA (>160 ng/ml) increases biofilm biomass and, conversely, DNase treatment (>0.03 mg/ml) decreases biofilm biomass at later time points of biofilm development. We present evidence for the role of eDNA in C. albicans biofilm structure and formation, consistent with eDNA being a key element of the ECM in mature C. albicans biofilms and playing a predominant role in biofilm structural integrity and maintenance.National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial ResearchFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/28222/2006National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease