Mesangial cell abnormalities in spontaneously hypertensive rats before the onset of hypertension

Mesangial cell abnormalities in spontaneously hypertensive rats before the onset of hypertension. To identify kidney biosynthetic abnormalities that may precede the onset of hypertension, we studied the expression of flbronectin (FN) and collagen IV (Coll IV) in young SHR (4 weeks of age) whose systolic blood pressure was normal and similar to that of age-matched control WKY rats. In isolated glomeruli the level of FN protein assessed by immunoblotting tended to be lower in the SHR than in the WKY rats. By Northern analysis the FN/actin mRNA ratio was significantly lower in glomeruli from SHR (0.56 ± 0.47) than in glomeruli from WKY rats (2.0 ± 0.8). These abnormalities were maintained in vitro since the expression of FN was significantly lower in SHR than in WKY cultured mesangial cells (FN/actin mRNA ratio = 0.84 ± 0.46 vs. 1.9 ± 0.7, P = 0.029). No differences in Coll IV mRNA or protein levels were observed in SHR glomeruli and mesangial cells when compared with WKY rats. The levels of aortic FN and Coll IV mRNAs were not different in SHR and WKY rats. In addition, mesangial cells from SHR showed a significantly higher growth rate than those from WKY. The biosynthetic and proliferative abnormalities observed in the SHR mesangial cells appear to reflect genetic characteristics, and could provide novel insights into cellular mechanisms linking the genetics of hypertension with predisposition to glomerular pathology

Modulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation and maturation by combined biochemical and mechanical cues

Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins play a key role during oligodendrogenesis. While fibronectin (FN) is involved in the maintenance and proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), merosin (MN) promotes differentiation into oligodendrocytes (OLs). Mechanical properties of the ECM also seem to affect OL differentiation, hence this study aimed to clarify the impact of combined biophysical and biochemical elements during oligodendrocyte differentiation and maturation using synthetic elastic polymeric ECM-like substrates. CG-4 cells presented OPC- or OL-like morphology in response to brain-compliant substrates functionalised with FN or MN, respectively. The expression of the differentiation and maturation markers myelin basic protein — MBP — and proteolipid protein — PLP — (respectively) by primary rat oligodendrocytes was enhanced in presence of MN, but only on brain-compliant conditions, considering the distribution (MBP) or amount (PLP) of the protein. It was also observed that maturation of OLs was attained earlier (by assessing PLP expression) by cells differentiated on MN-functionalised brain-compliant substrates than on standard culture conditions. Moreover, the combination of MN and substrate compliance enhanced the maturation and morphological complexity of OLs. Considering the distinct degrees of stiffness tested ranging within those of the central nervous system, our results indicate that 6.5 kPa is the most suitable rigidity for oligodendrocyte differentiation

Inovação e interdisciplinaridade: um estudo de caso no desenvolvimento de competências no curso de engenharia civil

A inovação tecnológica é um processo complexo e o desempenho das organizações depende da sua capacidade de evoluir para se manter com sucesso em mercados cada vez mais globais e competitivos. A interdisciplinaridade é parte fundamental da inovação, porque as modernas soluções dependem da atuação integrada das diversas áreas do conhecimento para que os resultados sejam maximizados. A construção de uma abordagem interdisciplinar é, portanto, fundamental para promover a criação de respostas a quaisquer desafios que possam vir a confrontar as sociedades e organizações. Assim, este trabalho define esses conceitos relevantes e faz uma ligação entre o desenvolvimento de diferentes competências e habilidades de forma interdisciplinar reunindo as bases para um processo de inovação tecnológica e acadêmica orientado à solução de problemas reais, através de ampla pesquisa bibliográfica e valendo-se de um estudo de caso aplicado em uma instituição de ensino superior.  A proposta foi seguir as novas Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais dos Cursos de Engenharia (DCN) (MEC, 2019a), pela Resolução MEC nº 2, de 24 de abril de 2019 e propor melhorias nas grades do curso de engenharia civil. Adaptando a nova consciência que o curso pode ter 25% da grade EAD (Ensino a Distância) e que a interdisciplinaridade faz parte da inovação

Inovação e interdisciplinaridade: um estudo de caso no desenvolvimento de competências no curso de engenharia civil

A inovação tecnológica é um processo complexo e o desempenho das organizações depende da sua capacidade de evoluir para se manter com sucesso em mercados cada vez mais globais e competitivos. A interdisciplinaridade é parte fundamental da inovação, porque as modernas soluções dependem da atuação integrada das diversas áreas do conhecimento para que os resultados sejam maximizados. A construção de uma abordagem interdisciplinar é, portanto, fundamental para promover a criação de respostas a quaisquer desafios que possam vir a confrontar as sociedades e organizações. Assim, este trabalho define esses conceitos relevantes e faz uma ligação entre o desenvolvimento de diferentes competências e habilidades de forma interdisciplinar reunindo as bases para um processo de inovação tecnológica e acadêmica orientado à solução de problemas reais, através de ampla pesquisa bibliográfica e valendo-se de um estudo de caso aplicado em uma instituição de ensino superior.  A proposta foi seguir as novas Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais dos Cursos de Engenharia (DCN) (MEC, 2019a), pela Resolução MEC nº 2, de 24 de abril de 2019 e propor melhorias nas grades do curso de engenharia civil. Adaptando a nova consciência que o curso pode ter 25% da grade EAD (Ensino a Distância) e que a interdisciplinaridade faz parte da inovação

Erratum to: The study of cardiovascular risk in adolescents – ERICA: rationale, design and sample characteristics of a national survey examining cardiovascular risk factor profile in Brazilian adolescents

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Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio