Profile of cytokines and soluble TNF receptors in response to moderate and intense exercises in active and remission patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rheumatic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation that is associated with clinical symptoms and disease severity. Therefore, strategies to reduce inflammation, such as physical exercise, have a potential therapeutic role in SLE due to its anti-inflammatory effects. This study sought to compare cytokines and soluble TNF receptors response to: (1) moderate vs. intense aerobic exercise in active SLE (SLEACT) and remission SLE (SELREM) patients; (2) SLEACT vs. SLEREM patients undergoing moderate and intense aerobic exercises; and (3) SLE patients vs. healthy controls (HC) undergoing moderate and intense aerobic exercises. Methods: twelve SLEREM (age: 35.3±5.7 yrs; BMI: 25.6±3.4 kg/m2), 11 SLEACT (age: 30.4±4.5 yrs; BMI: 26.1±4.8 kg/m2) and 10 age-and BMI-matched HC (age: 30.6±5.2 yrs; BMI: 24.1±2.3 kg/m2) performed 30-min sessions of moderate (~50% of VO2max) and intense (~70% of VO2max) exercises. Serum cytokines (INF-γ, IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α) and soluble receptors (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2) were measured at rest, immediately after the exercise, every 30-min during three hours of recovery, and 24 h after the end of exercise session. Results: there were no differences for cytokines and sTNFRs responses between moderate and intense aerobic exercise for SLEACT and SLEREM patients (P\u3e0.05). Similar responses were found when SLEACT and SLEREM patients were compared for moderate and intense exercises, except for 1) serum TNF-α, which was lower in SLEACT than SLEREM patients after moderate exercise (P\u3c0.05); 2) serum sTNFR1, which was higher in SLEREM than SLEACT patients at 30th and 60th minutes of moderate exercise recovery (P=0.027 and P=0.036, respectively); and 3) serum sTNFR2, which remained higher during both sessions of exercise and recovery for SLEREM in comparison to SLEACT patients (P\u3c0.01). Also, a time-effect was observed for serum IL-6 and TNF-α (P\u3c0.05) after intense exercise with a posterior reduction under baseline values, reaching the values experienced by HC. Conclusion: cytokines and sTNFRs were not different in both exercise intensities for SLEACT and SLEREM, except for a few differences, which pointed out to a less inflammatory pattern in SLEACT patients, suggesting that exercise (even more intensive) can be safely performed by SLE patients with active disease. Finally, the reduction shown in serum IL-6 and TNF-α after intense exercise in SLEACT patients supports evidences for an anti-inflammatory effect of exercise and reinforces the importance of physical exercise to SLE treatment

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

Crescimento, digestibilidade e resistência à infecção por patógeno em tilápia-do-nilo alimentada com probióticos

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da suplementação da dieta com os probióticos Lactobacillus plantarum e Saccharomyces cerevisiae, no desempenho zootécnico, digestibilidade e na resistência à infecção por patógeno, em alevinos de tilápia-do-nilo. Foram realizados três ensaios. No primeiro, durante 55 dias, seis grupos de 30 alevinos (2,4±0,5 g) receberam suplementação com probióticos, e outros três grupos não receberam suplementação. No final desse período, no segundo ensaio, os peixes foram desafiados com Aeromonas hydrophila, e a sobrevivência foi avaliada por 96 horas. No terceiro ensaio, com oito peixes por tanque (230,0±10,0 g), avaliou-se a digestibilidade da dieta após a suplementação com os probióticos. A suplementação probiótica melhora significativamente o ganho de peso, a conversão alimentar, as taxas de retenção proteica e energética, assim como a resistência dos animais a Aeromonas hydrophila, após a infecção. A suplementação com Saccharomyces cerevisiae à dieta de tilápia-do-nilo melhora significativamente a digestibilidade da proteína, energia e matéria seca

Crescimento, digestibilidade e resistência à infecção por patógeno em tilápia-do-nilo alimentada com probióticos

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da suplementação da dieta com os probióticos Lactobacillus plantarum e Saccharomyces cerevisiae, no desempenho zootécnico, digestibilidade e na resistência à infecção por patógeno, em alevinos de tilápia-do-nilo. Foram realizados três ensaios. No primeiro, durante 55 dias, seis grupos de 30 alevinos (2,4±0,5 g) receberam suplementação com probióticos, e outros três grupos não receberam suplementação. No final desse período, no segundo ensaio, os peixes foram desafiados com Aeromonas hydrophila, e a sobrevivência foi avaliada por 96 horas. No terceiro ensaio, com oito peixes por tanque (230,0±10,0 g), avaliou-se a digestibilidade da dieta após a suplementação com os probióticos. A suplementação probiótica melhora significativamente o ganho de peso, a conversão alimentar, as taxas de retenção proteica e energética, assim como a resistência dos animais a Aeromonas hydrophila, após a infecção. A suplementação com Saccharomyces cerevisiae à dieta de tilápia-do-nilo melhora significativamente a digestibilidade da proteína, energia e matéria seca