Self-assembled dextrin nanogel as protein carrier : controlled release and biological activity of IL-10

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, which active form is a non-covalent homodimer. Given the potential of IL-10 for application in various medical conditions, it is essential to develop systems for its effective delivery. In previous work, it has been shown that a dextrin nanogel effectively incorporated and stabilized rIL10, enabling its release over time. In this work, the delivery system based on dextrin nanogels was further analyzed. The biocompatibility of the nanogel was comprehensively analyzed, through cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase release, MTS, Live and Dead) and genotoxicity (comet) assays. The release profile of rIL-10 and its biological activity were evaluated in vivo, using C57BL/6 mice. Although able to maintain a stable concentration of IL-10 for at least 4 hours in mice serum, the amount of protein released was rather low. Despite this, the amount of rIL-10 released from the complex was biologically active inhibiting TNF-α production, in vivo, by LPSchallenged mice. In spite of the significant stabilization achieved using the nanogel, rIL-10 still denatures rather quickly. An additional effort is thus necessary to develop an effective delivery system for this cytokine, able to release active protein over longer periods of time. Nevertheless, the good biocompatibility, the protein stabilization effect and the ability to perform as a carrier with controlled release suggest that self-assembled dextrin nanogels may be useful protein delivery systems.Contract grant sponsor: Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), PortugalContract grant number: SFRH/BD/27359/2006Contract grant sponsor: FCTContract grant number: PTDC/BIO/67160/2006; SUDOE-FEDERIMMUNONETSOE1/P1/E01

Hipotireoidismo e suas Implicações no Período Gestacional: uma Revisão de Literatura

Hypothyroidism during pregnancy is a serious health concern, increasing the risk of complications such as miscarriage and neurointellectual disability in offspring. Careful regulation of thyroid hormones is crucial for optimal fetal development. This article is an integrative review that seeks to clarify thyroid disorders in pregnancy and their treatment options. 175 articles from the PubMed database were analyzed, limited to human studies published in English between 2018 and 2023. Eleven articles were selected for analysis. Fetal consumption of maternal thyroid hormone and physiological changes during pregnancy demand an increase in maternal secretion of this hormone. Iodine deficiency can cause thyroid dysfunction, resulting in serious complications in pregnancy and child development. Diagnosing hypothyroidism is challenging, especially in pregnant women. Serum TSH is used as an initial test, and levothyroxine therapy is recommended to prevent complications. Hypothyroidism in pregnancy requires careful regulation of thyroid hormones. Diagnostic complexity highlights the need to consider physiological and ethnic variations. Treatment recommendations vary between organizations, highlighting the need for consensus. Close monitoring and adjustments in therapy are essential, but challenges remain, highlighting the need for more research into treatment limits and the potential benefit of combination therapy to improve long- term quality of life. Keywords: Pregnancy, Hypothyroidism, Thyroid Gland Disease.El hipotiroidismo durante el embarazo es un problema de salud grave que aumenta el riesgo de complicaciones como aborto espontáneo y discapacidad neurointelectual en la descendencia. La regulación cuidadosa de las hormonas tiroideas es crucial para el desarrollo fetal óptimo. Este artículo es una revisión integradora que busca esclarecer los trastornos tiroideos en el embarazo y sus opciones de tratamiento. Se analizaron 175 artículos de la base de datos PubMed, limitados a estudios en humanos publicados en inglés entre 2018 y 2023. Se seleccionaron once artículos para el análisis. El consumo fetal de hormona tiroidea materna y los cambios fisiológicos durante el embarazo exigen un aumento en la secreción materna de esta hormona. La deficiencia de yodo puede causar disfunción tiroidea, lo que resulta en complicaciones graves en el embarazo y el desarrollo infantil. Diagnosticar el hipotiroidismo es un desafío, especialmente en mujeres embarazadas. La TSH sérica se utiliza como prueba inicial y se recomienda el tratamiento con levotiroxina para prevenir complicaciones. El hipotiroidismo durante el embarazo requiere una regulación cuidadosa de las hormonas tiroideas. La complejidad diagnóstica resalta la necesidad de considerar variaciones fisiológicas y étnicas. Las recomendaciones de tratamiento varían entre organizaciones, lo que destaca la necesidad de consenso. La monitorización estrecha y los ajustes en la terapia son esenciales, pero persisten desafíos, lo que destaca la necesidad de realizar más investigaciones sobre los límites del tratamiento y el beneficio potencial de la terapia combinada para mejorar la calidad de vida a largo plazo. Palabras clave: Embarazo, Hipotiroidismo, Enfermedad de la Glándula Tiroides.O hipotireoidismo durante a gravidez pode ocasionar sérios problemas à saúde, aumentando o risco de complicações como aborto espontâneo e deficiência neurointelectual na descendência. A regulação cuidadosa dos hormônios tireoidianos é crucial para o desenvolvimento fetal ideal. Este artigo é uma revisão integrativa que busca esclarecer distúrbios tireoidianos na gravidez e suas opções de tratamento. Foram analisados 175 artigos da base PubMed, limitados a estudos em humanos publicados em inglês entre 2018 e 2023. Onze artigos foram selecionados para a análise. O consumo fetal de hormônio tireoidiano materno e alterações fisiológicas na gravidez demandam um aumento na secreção materna desse hormônio. A deficiência de iodo pode causar disfunção tireoidiana, resultando em complicações graves na gravidez e no desenvolvimento infantil. O diagnóstico do hipotireoidismo é desafiador, especialmente em mulheres grávidas. O TSH sérico é usado como teste inicial, e a terapia com levotiroxina é recomendada para prevenir complicações. O hipotireoidismo na gravidez requer regulação cuidadosa dos hormônios tireoidianos. A complexidade diagnóstica destaca a necessidade de considerar variações fisiológicas e étnicas. Recomendações de tratamento variam entre organizações, destacando a necessidade de consenso. O monitoramento rigoroso e ajustes na terapia são essenciais, mas persistem desafios, evidenciando a necessidade de mais pesquisas sobre limites de tratamento e o potencial benefício da terapia combinada para melhorar a qualidade de vida a longo prazo. Palavras-chave: Gravidez, Hipotireoidismo, Doenças da Glândula Tireoide

Measurement of the t(t)over-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

The top-antitop quark (t (t) over bar) production cross section is measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb(-1). The measurement is performed by analysing events with a pair of electrons or muons, or one electron and one muon, and at least two jets, one of which is identified as originating from hadronisation of a bottom quark. The measured cross section is 239 +/- 2 (stat.) +/- 11 (syst.) +/- 6 (lum.) pb, for an assumed top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV, in agreement with the prediction of the standard model

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in PbPb collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (pt) range up to approximately 60 GeV. The data cover both the low-pt region associated with hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-pt region where the anisotropies may reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium. The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the observed v2 values are found to first increase with pt, reaching a maximum around pt = 3 GeV, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the decline persisting up to at least pt = 40 GeV over the full centrality range measured.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 inverse femtobarns produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO