Atividade antimicrobiana de subfrações padronizadas da planta Arrabidaea chica Verl.

Este estudo analisou o potencial terapêutico de extratos e subfrações padronizadas da planta amazônica Arrabidaea chica, visando seu uso tópico como medicamento e eficácia comprovada em doenças cutâneas

Association between Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 and 2 (HTLV 1/2) infection and tuberculosis: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background HTLV-1 infection alters the immune function and increases the risk of several infectious diseases. In this meta-analysis, we assess the association between HTLV- 1/2 and active tuberculosis (TB). Methods Four databases were searched for relevant articles that describe the frequency of HTLV- 1/2 infection among TB patients and control groups of healthy individuals or patients without a history of TB. Data were analyzed using the EasyMA software. Results The search yielded two hundred and eight articles. Six met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The estimated relative risk of HTLV- 1/2 infection in TB patients was 3.25 times higher than in the population based control groups. Conclusion Patients with active TB have a higher risk of HTLV- 1/2 infection. Prospective studies involving latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in HTLV-1-infected individuals are necessary to evaluate the potential benefit of TB chemoprophylaxis

Assessment of potato peel and agro-forestry biochars supplementation on in vitro ruminal fermentation

UIDB/50006/2020 UIDB/04033/2020 grant ref. PDE/BDE/114434/2016 DL 57/2016 -Norma transitória.Background. The awareness of environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector leverages the adoption of strategies to counteract it. Feed supplements can play an important role in the reduction of the main greenhouse gas produced by ruminants-methane (CH4). In this context, this study aims to assess the effect of two biochar sources and inclusion levels on rumen fermentation parameters in vitro. Methods. Two sources of biochar (agro-forestry residues, AFB, and potato peel, PPB) were added at two levels (5 and 10%, dry matter (DM) basis) to two basal substrates (haylage and corn silage) and incubated 24-h with rumen inocula to assess the effects on CH4 production and main rumen fermentation parameters in vitro. Results. AFB and PPB were obtained at different carbonization conditions resulting in different apparent surface areas, ash content, pH at the point of zero charge (pHpzc), and elemental analysis. Relative to control (0% biochar), biochar supplementation kept unaffected total gas production and yield (mL and mL/g DM, pD0.140 and pD0.240, respectively) and fermentation pH (p D 0.666), increased CH4 production and yield (mL and mL/g DM, respectively, pD0.001) and ammonia-N (NH3-N, pD0.040), and decreased total volatile fatty acids (VFA) production (p < 0.001) and H2 generated and consumed (p ≤ 0.001). Biochar sources and inclusion levels had no negative effect on most of the fermentation parameters and efficiency. Acetic.propionic acid ratio (pD0.048) and H2 consumed (pD0.019) were lower with AFB inclusion when compared to PPB. Biochar inclusion at 10% reduced H2 consumed (p < 0.001) and tended to reduce total gas production (pD0.055). Total VFA production (pD0.019), acetic acid proportion (pD0.011) and H2 generated (pD0.048) were the lowest with AFB supplemented at 10%, no differences being observed among the other treatments. The basal substrate affected most fermentation parameters independently of biochar source and level used. Discussion. Biochar supplementation increased NH3-N content, iso-butyric, iso-valeric and valeric acid proportions, and decreased VFA production suggesting a reduced energy supply for microbial growth, higher proteolysis and deamination of substrate N, and a decrease of NH3-N incorporation into microbial protein. No interaction was found between substrate and biochar source or level on any of the parameters measured. Although AFB and PPB had different textural and compositional characteristics, their effects on the rumen fermentation parameters were similar, the only observed effects being due to AFB included at 10%. Biochar supplementation promoted CH4 production regardless of the source and inclusion level, suggesting that there may be other effects beyond biomass and temperature of production of biochar, highlighting the need to consider other characteristics to better identify the mechanism by which biochar may influence CH4 production.publishersversionpublishe

Cell-cycle and suppressor proteins expression in uterine cervix in HIV/HPV co-infection: comparative study by tissue micro-array (TMA)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The oncoproteins of human papillomavirus (HPVs) directly effect cell-cycle control. We hypothesize that regulatory and cell cycle protein expression might be additionally modified in the cervix of HIV/HPV co-infected women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed the expression of Rb, p27, VEGF and Elf-1 transcriptor factor by immunohistochemistry in 163 paraffin-embeded cervical samples using Tissue Micro-Array (TMA) and correlated this to HIV-1 and HPV infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HIV/HPV co-infection was associated with a significant increase in expression (p < 0.001) of VEGF and p27 in both low and high grade CIN when compared to the cervices of women infected by HPV alone. Decreased Rb expression was evident with increased CIN grade in the cervices of women infected with HPV alone (p = 0.003 average of cells/mm²in CIN I: 17.9, CIN II/III: 4.8, and tumor 3.9). Rb expression increased 3-fold for both low and high grade CIN with HPV/HIV-1 co-infection compared to HPV infection alone but did not reach statistical significance. There was a significant increase in Elf-1 expression in HPV+/HIV- women with CIN II/III and tumor (average of cells/mm²in CIN I: 63.8; CIN II/III: 115.7 and tumor: 112.0, p = 0.005), in comparison to controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Co-infection of HPV and HIV leads to significant increase in the VEGF and p27 expression when compared to HPV+/HIV-negative infection that could facilitate viral persistence and invasive tumor development.</p

Impact of Subsyndromal Delirium Occurrence and Its Trajectory during ICU Stay

Funding Information: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.Despite recent advances in the field, the association between subsyndromal delirium (SSD) in the ICU and poor outcomes is not entirely clear. We performed a retrospective multicentric observational study analyzing mental status during the first 72 h of ICU stay. Of the 681 patients included, SSD occurred in 22.7%. Considering the worst cognitive assessment during the first 72 h, 233 (34%) patients had normal mental status, 124 (18%) patients had SSD and 324 (48%) patients had delirium or coma. SSD was not independently associated with an increased risk of death when compared with normal mental status (OR 95%IC 1.0 vs. 1.35 [0.73–1.49], p = 0.340), but was associated with a longer ICU LOS (7.0 (4–12) vs. 4 (3–8) days, p 23 points. Our findings support the association of SSD with increased ICU LOS, but not with ICU mortality. Monitoring the trajectory of SSD early at ICU admission can help to identify patients with increased risk of conversion from SSD to delirium or coma.publishersversionpublishe

Kinetic characterization of gyroxin, a serine protease from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom

This work describes for the first time the characterization of the enzymatic features of gyroxin, a serine protease from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom, capable to induce barrel rotation syndrome in rodents. Measuring the hydrolysis of the substrate ZFR-MCA, the optimal pH for proteolytic cleavage of gyroxin was found to be at pH 8.4. Increases in the hydrolytic activity were observed at temperatures from 25 degrees C to 45 degrees C, and increases of NaCl concentration up to 1 M led to activity decreases. the preference of gyroxin for Arg residues at the substrate P1 position was also demonstrated. Taken together, this work describes the characterization of substrate specificity of gyroxin, as well as the effects of salt and pH on its enzymatic activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Farmacol, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biofis, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilInst Ciencias Mar UFC, BR-60165081 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniv Estado Amazonas, Escola Super Ciencias Saude INCT, BR-69065001 Manaus, Amazonas, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Farmacol, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biofis, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Phenotypes of lung mononuclear phagocytes in HIV seronegative tuberculosis patients: evidence for new recruitment and cell activation

Mycobacterium tuberculosis preferentially resides in mononuclear phagocytes. The mechanisms by which mononuclear phagocytes keep M. tuberculosis in check or by which the microbe evades control to cause disease remain poorly understood. As an initial effort to delineate these mechanisms, we examined by immunostaining the phenotype of mononuclear phagocytes obtained from lungs of patients with active tuberculosis. From August 1994 to March 1995, consecutive patients who had an abnormal chest X-ray, no demostrable acid-fast bacilli in sputum specimens and required a diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were enrolled. Of the 39 patients enrolled, 21 had microbiologically diagnosed tuberculosis. Thirteen of the 21 tuberculosis patients were either HIV seronegative (n = 12) or had no risk factor for HIV and constituted the tuberculosis group. For comparison, M. tuberculosis negative patients who had BAL samples taken during this time (n = 9) or normal healthy volunteers (n = 3) served as control group. Compared to the control group, the tuberculosis group had significantly higher proportion of cells expressing markers of young monocytes (UCHM1) and RFD7, a marker for phagocytic cells, and increased expression of HLA-DR, a marker of cell activation. In addition, tuberculosis group had significantly higher proportion of cells expressing dendritic cell marker (RFD1) and epithelioid cell marker (RFD9). These data suggest that despite recruitment of monocytes probably from the peripheral blood and local cell activation, host defense of the resident lung cells is insufficient to control M. tuberculosis

Evaluation of MCM-2 Expression in TMA Cervical Specimens

Background:Minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) are highly expressed in actively replicating cells. The need for biological markers for cervical carcinoma and its precursor lesions is emerging. Our main aim was to determine the immunohistochemical expression of MCM-2 in HIV-positive and -negative dysplastic cervical specimens. Methods:Immunohistochemical analysis of MCM-2 was performed in a total of 352 cervical TMA specimens of normal control, low-grade CIN, high-grade CIN and invasive tumor. 38 specimens were from HIV-positive women. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the best cutoff to diagnose high-grade CIN and invasive cervical cancer. Results:In the progression from normal epithelium to high-grade CIN and invasive tumor we found significant differences in the MCM-2 expression (p,0.05). Based on the ROC curve of 80% with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78, expression of MCM-2 to diagnose high-grade CIN and invasive tumor resulted in sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 66%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 57%. HIV-positive cervices revealed a decreasing expression of MCM-2 in both LGCIN and HGCIN compared with HIV-negative specimens (p,0.0001). Conclusions:The present study suggests that immunohistochemical MCM-2 may not be a promising biomarker for diagnosing high-grade CIN and invasive cance

Clonal expansion across the seas as seen through CPLP-TB database: A joint effort in cataloguing Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetic diversity in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem within the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP). Despite the marked variation in TB incidence across its member-states and continued human migratory flux between countries, a considerable gap in the knowledge on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis population structure and strain circulation between the countries still exists. To address this, we have assembled and analysed the largest CPLP M. tuberculosis molecular and drug susceptibility dataset, comprised by a total of 1447 clinical isolates, including 423 multidrug-resistant isolates, from five CPLP countries. The data herein presented reinforces Latin American and Mediterranean (LAM) strains as the hallmark of M. tuberculosis populational structure in the CPLP coupled with country-specific differential prevalence of minor clades. Moreover, using high-resolution typing by 24-loci MIRU-VNTR, six cross-border genetic clusters were detected, thus supporting recent clonal expansion across the Lusophone space. To make this data available to the scientific community and public health authorities we developed CPLP-TB (available at http://cplp-tb.ff.ulisboa.pt), an online database coupled with web-based tools for exploratory data analysis. As a public health tool, it is expected to contribute to improved knowledge on the M. tuberculosis population structure and strain circulation within the CPLP, thus supporting the risk assessment of strain-specific trends