The Effects of COVID-19 on the Placenta During Pregnancy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. The virus primarily affects the lungs where it induces respiratory distress syndrome ranging from mild to acute, however, there is a growing body of evidence supporting its negative effects on other system organs that also carry the ACE2 receptor, such as the placenta. The majority of newborns delivered from SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers test negative following delivery, suggesting that there are protective mechanisms within the placenta. There appears to be a higher incidence of pregnancy-related complications in SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers, such as miscarriage, restricted fetal growth, or still-birth. In this review, we discuss the pathobiology of COVID-19 maternal infection and the potential adverse effects associated with viral infection, and the possibility of transplacental transmission

Chromomycin A2 Induces Autophagy in Melanoma Cells

The present study highlights the biological effects of chromomycin A2 toward metastatic melanoma cells in culture. Besides chromomycin A2, chromomycin A3 and demethylchromomycin A2 were also identified from the extract derived from Streptomyces sp., recovered from Paracuru Beach, located in the northeast region of Brazil. the cytotoxic activity of chromomycin A2 was evaluated across a panel of human tumor cell lines, which found IC50 values in the nM-range for exposures of 48 and 72 h. MALME-3M, a metastatic melanoma cell line, showed the highest sensitivity to chromomycin A2 after 48h incubation, and was chosen as a model to investigate this potent cytotoxic effect. Treatment with chromomycin A2 at 30 nM reduced cell proliferation, but had no significant effect upon cell viability. Additionally, chromomycin A2 induced accumulation of cells in G(0)/G(1) phase of the cell cycle, with consequent reduction of S and G(2)/M and unbalanced expression of cyclins. Chromomycin A2 treated cells depicted several cellular fragments resembling autophagosomes and increased expression of proteins LC3-A and LC3-B. Moreover, exposure to chromomycin A2 also induced the appearance of acidic vacuolar organelles in treated cells. These features combined are suggestive of the induction of autophagy promoted by chromomycin A2, a feature not previously described for chromomycins.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundacao Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (FUNCAP-Programa Areas Estrategicas)Univ Fed Ceara, Inst Marine Sci, BR-60165081 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniv Fed Ceara, Dept Physiol & Pharmacol, BR-60430270 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Marine Sci, BR-11030400 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Ceara, Dept Organ & Inorgan Chem, BR-60021970 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilFdn MEDINA, Ctr Excelencia Invest Medicamentos Innovadores An, Granada 18016, SpainUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Marine Sci, BR-11030400 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

IFNAR1-Signalling Obstructs ICOS-mediated Humoral Immunity during Non-lethal Blood-Stage Plasmodium Infection

Funding: This work was funded by a Career Development Fellowship (1028634) and a project grant (GRNT1028641) awarded to AHa by the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC). IS was supported by The University of Queensland Centennial and IPRS Scholarships. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

In vitro and in vivo anticancer properties of a Calcarea carbonica derivative complex (M8) treatment in a murine melanoma model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and the most rapidly expanding cancer in terms of worldwide incidence. Chemotherapeutic approaches to treat melanoma have had only marginal success. Previous studies in mice demonstrated that a high diluted complex derived from <it>Calcarea carbonica </it>(M8) stimulated the tumoricidal response of activated lymphocytes against B16F10 melanoma cells <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here we describe the <it>in vitro </it>inhibition of invasion and the <it>in vivo </it>anti-metastatic potential after M8 treatment by inhalation in the B16F10 lung metastasis model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that M8 has at least two functions, acting as both an inhibitor of cancer cell adhesion and invasion and as a perlecan expression antagonist, which are strongly correlated with several metastatic, angiogenic and invasive factors in melanoma tumors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings suggest that this medication is a promising non-toxic therapy candidate by improving the immune response against tumor cells or even induce direct dormancy in malignancies.</p

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson

Measurement of the top quark pair cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

A measurement of the cross section of top quark pair production in proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is reported. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb -1. Events with an isolated electron or muon and a τ lepton decaying hadronically are used. In addition, a large missing transverse momentum and two or more energetic jets are required. At least one of the jets must be identified as originating from a b quark. The measured cross section, σtt-=186±13(stat.)±20(syst.)±7(lumi.) pb, is in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction

Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at \sqrt{s}=7\TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs(\ttbar) in $pp$ collisions at \sqrt{s}=7 \TeV is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in two different topologies: single lepton (electron $e$ or muon $\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least four jets, and dilepton ($ee$, $\mu\mu$ or $e\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. In a data sample of 2.9 pb-1, 37 candidate events are observed in the single-lepton topology and 9 events in the dilepton topology. The corresponding expected backgrounds from non-\ttbar Standard Model processes are estimated using data-driven methods and determined to be $12.2 \pm 3.9$ events and $2.5 \pm 0.6$ events, respectively. The kinematic properties of the selected events are consistent with SM \ttbar production. The inclusive top quark pair production cross-section is measured to be \sigmattbar=145 \pm 31 ^{+42}_{-27} pb where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measurement agrees with perturbative QCD calculations.Comment: 30 pages plus author list (50 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, CERN-PH number and final journal adde

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters