O papel das coinfecções por helmintos e a deficiência de micronutrientes na transmissibilidade da hanseníase

Introdução: A hanseníase é uma doença infectocontagiosa que se manifesta por meio de sinais e sintomas dermatoneurológicos. Apresenta alta taxa de prevalência e de detecção de casos novos em vários municípios do Brasil, com destaque para Governador Valadares, em Minas Gerais, e entorno. O estudo da hanseníase associada às helmintíases, especialmente à esquistossomose, torna-se relevante principalmente em zonas rurais, onde ocorre alta incidência dessa verminose. Além das parasitoses, a deficiência nutricional é também considerada um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento dessa doença. Sabe-se que as infecções crônicas por helmintos promovem alterações imunológicas que podem desencadear uma resposta do tipo Th2, e assim favorecer a infecção pelo M. leprae, tornando o indivíduo mais suscetível a desenvolver a forma virchowiana, considerada mais agressiva. Objetivo: investigar o papel de coinfecções parasitárias e deficiências de micronutrientes na transmissão e nas manifestações clínicas da hanseníase. Metodologia: a busca ativa de casos novos de hanseníase teve seu início no distrito rural de Limeira de Mantena (MG), e deu continuidade aos casos diagnosticados no Centro de Referência em Doenças Endêmicas e Programas Especiais (CREDEN-PES/SMS/GV). Em Limeira de Mantena, a comunidade foi convidada a participar de uma palestra sobre hanseníase, e após esclarecimentos sobre a doença, os indivíduos, de maneira voluntária, foram encaminhados para exame dermatoneurológico. Após diagnóstico clínico e coleta de material biológico para os ensaios laboratoriais, procedeu-se ao tratamento. Todos os contatos domiciliares dos pacientes foram agendados para consulta e exames. Foi aplicado questionário para obtenção de dados demográficos e socioeconômicos, e recordatório alimentar para complementar o estudo dos micronutrientes. Amostras de fezes foram solicitadas para realização do exame parasitológico e a coleta de sangue foi realizada para avaliação da produção de citocinas por células mononucleares do sangue periférico, para análise do perfil imunológico dos participantes. Resultado: resultados preliminares mostraram maior produção de IL-10 e menor produção de IFN-g pelos pacientes multibacilares (MB) comparados com indivíduos saudáveis. Exames parasitológicos de fezes apresentaram resultados positivos para S. mansoni, E. coli e. histolytica. Conclusão: as análises estatísticas dos dados obtidos estão em andamento. Vários casos de hanseníase diagnosticados como MB pela classificação operacional da OMS apresentaram infecção pelo S. mansoni

Cytotoxic effects of essential oils from three Lippia gracilis Schauer genotypes on HeLa, B16, and MCF-7 cells and normal human fibroblasts

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oils from three genotypes of Lippia gracilis Schauer (Verbenaceae) and investigate the cytotoxic activities of these oils. Essential oils were extracted from the leaves using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and chemical analysis was performed using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer and flame ionization detector. 3T3, MRC5, B16, HeLa, and MCF-7 cell lines were used to study the in vitro cytotoxicity of the essential oils, and the level of cell death was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test with three replicates. The cytotoxic activity was expressed as the concentration that inhibited 50% of cell growth. The main compound in the essential oil of LGRA-106 was thymol (40.52%), while LGRA-109 and LGRA-201 contained 45.84 and 32.60% carvacrol, respectively, as their major compound. The essential oils of L. gracilis showed cytotoxic activity against both normal and tumor cells at concentrations below 100 μg/mL; this demonstrated the antitumor potential of these essential oils, which should be further investigated

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat

Probing effective field theory operators in the associated production of top quarks with a Z boson in multilepton final states at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe