Sperm characteristics of men at different ages

Background: Knowledge regarding seminal fluid and spermatozoids in the elderly is controversial at best in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the relationship between male age and spermatozoid. Methods: The sperms of 80 healthy adult men, between 21 and 60 years of age, were studied after three to five days of sexual abstinence. Volunteers were distributed into four age groups (n = 20): 21-30, 31-40, 41-50 and 51-60 years of age. Results: No difference regarding the sperm’s physical and chemical characteristics (smell, color, volume, viscosity and pH) was found. The spermatozoid’s mobile forms showed no difference among the four groups. The concentration of spermatozoids proved to be higher in the semen of men of over 41 years of age, while in the 41 to 50 years of age group, the number of oval spermatozoids was higher (p = 0.03), with a less abnormal tapered form (p = 0.02) when compared to the other three groups. Conclusion: More normal forms of spermatozoids are found between 41 and 50 years of age

Expression of recombinant buck (Capra hircus) spermadhesinin a prokaryotic system

The low purification efficiency and the incomplete characterization of buck spermadhesins (Bdhs) prompted us to establish an effective system to produce recombinant Bdhs (rBdhs). The Bdh-4 cDNA was inserted in a prokaryotic expression plasmid pTrcHis TOPO to produce a His6 fusion protein in E. coli Top10 cells. The recombinant clones were selected by growth in ampicillin-containing medium, PCR amplifications and nucleotide sequencing. The recombinant protein synthesis was monitored by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting using a monoclonal anti-His antibody. The expression of the rBdh-4 was achieved at 0.1 to 2.0 mM IPTG after 2 to 6 h of induction. A greater production of rBdh-4 (P < 0.001) was obtained with 0.1 mM IPTG after 2 h of induction. The apparent molecular weight of rBdh-4 was 15.85 ± 0.09 kDa. This result agrees with the theoretical molecular weight of 16.5 kDa predicted from the nucleotide sequence. In conclusion, an effective rBdh-4 expression system was established in order to provide a good tool for studying the biofunctions of buck spermadhesins.(Expressão da espermadesina recombinante de bode (Capra hircus) em sistema procariótico). A baixa eficiência de purificação e a incompleta caracterização das espermadesinas de bode (Bdhs) nos levou a estabelecer um sistema efetivo para produzir as Bdhs recombinantes (rBdhs). O cDNA da Bdh-4 foi inserido no plasmídeo de expressão procariótico pTrcHis TOPO para produzir uma proteína de fusão His6 em células de E.coli Top10. Os clones recombinantes foram crescidos em meio contendo ampicilina, amplificação por PCR e sequenciamento de nucleotídeos. A síntese da proteína recombinante foi monitorada por SDS-PAGE seguida por imunobloting usando anticorpo monoclonal anti-His. A expressão da rBdh-4 foi conseguida de 0,1 a 2,0 mM de IPTG e depois de 2 a 6 H de indução. A maior produção da rBdh-4 (

Mucormicose como um diagnóstico raro em investigação de hemoptise

A mucormicose é uma doença marcada pela alta letalidade e pelo predomínio em pacientes com algum grau de imunossupressão. Possui manifestações clínicas variáveis, podendo acometer diversos sistemas. O diagnóstico é auxiliado através da cultura do agente e por exames de imagem que mostram a localização, extensão e guiam a abordagem cirúrgica possível. O início do tratamento após a suspeita clínica é fundamental para reduzir o impacto dessa infecção

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

Polymorphisms in the MBL2 gene are associated with the plasma levels of MBL and the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α in severe COVID-19

IntroductionMannose-binding lectin (MBL) promotes opsonization, favoring phagocytosis and activation of the complement system in response to different microorganisms, and may influence the synthesis of inflammatory cytokines. This study investigated the association of MBL2 gene polymorphisms with the plasma levels of MBL and inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19.MethodsBlood samples from 385 individuals (208 with acute COVID-19 and 117 post-COVID-19) were subjected to real-time PCR genotyping. Plasma measurements of MBL and cytokines were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry, respectively.ResultsThe frequencies of the polymorphic MBL2 genotype (OO) and allele (O) were higher in patients with severe COVID-19 (p&lt; 0.05). The polymorphic genotypes (AO and OO) were associated with lower MBL levels (p&lt; 0.05). IL-6 and TNF-α were higher in patients with low MBL and severe COVID-19 (p&lt; 0.05). No association of polymorphisms, MBL levels, or cytokine levels with long COVID was observed.DiscussionThe results suggest that, besides MBL2 polymorphisms promoting a reduction in MBL levels and therefore in its function, they may also contribute to the development of a more intense inflammatory process responsible for the severity of COVID-19

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 understanding 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,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 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 underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities 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 organism 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 neglected 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 lost

In vitro embryo production in small ruminants

This paper reviews the technical bases of in vitro embryo production in small ruminants with special attention to the results obtained by our group in Northeastern Brazil. The laparoscopic oocyte recovery in hormonally treated live animals indicates a promising future for the application of this technique to genetic improvement program. New molecular biology tools should provide information to improve the efficiency of in vitro maturation. Furthers efforts have to be made to improve the oocyte maturation and to standardize the semen-capacitating process