Reviving trinification models through an E6-extended supersymmetric GUT

We present a supersymmetric (SUSY) model based on trinification [SU(3)]^3 and family SU(3)_F symmetries embedded into a maximal subgroup of E8, where the sectors of light Higgs bosons and leptons are unified into a single chiral supermultiplet. The common origin of gauge trinification and of the family symmetry from E8 separates the model from other trinification-based GUTs, as it protects, in particular, the Standard Model fermions from gaining mass until the electroweak symmetry is broken. Furthermore, it allows us to break the trinification symmetry via vacuum expectation values in SU(3)-adjoint scalars down to a left-right symmetric theory. Simultaneously, it ensures the unification of the gauge and Yukawa couplings as well as proton stability. Although the low-energy regime (e.g., mass hierarchies in the scalar sector determined by a soft SUSY-breaking mechanism) is yet to be established, these features are one key to revive the once very popular trinification-based GUTs

Inverse Association between Dietary Iron Intake and Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Case‐Control Studies of the Stop Consortium

Background: Inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the relationship between dietary iron intake and the risk of gastric cancer (GC). Methods: We pooled data from 11 case‐control studies from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Total dietary iron intake was derived from food frequency questionnaires combined with national nutritional tables. We derived the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for quartiles of dietary iron through multivariable unconditional logistic regression models. Secondary analyses stratified by sex, smoking status, caloric intake, anatomical subsite and histological type were performed. Results: Among 4658 cases and 12247 controls, dietary iron intake was inversely associated with GC (per quartile OR 0.88; 95% CI: 0.83–0.93). Results were similar between cardia (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.77–0.94) and non‐cardia GC (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81–0.94), and for diffuse (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69–0.89) and intestinal type (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.79–0.98). Iron intake exerted an independent effect from that of smoking and salt intake. Additional adjustment by meat and fruit/vegetable intake did not alter the results. Conclusions: Dietary iron is inversely related to GC, with no difference by subsite or histological type. While the results should be interpreted with caution, they provide evidence against a direct effect of iron in gastric carcinogenesis

Tecnologias da Embrapa no contexto da redução das desigualdades e geração de renda.

O capítulo em questão trata da meta 10.1 dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável até 2030, progressivamente alcançar e sustentar o crescimento da renda dos 40% da população mais pobre a uma taxa maior que a média nacional. Refere-se ao esforço com vistas a superar a desigualdade de renda por meio de distribuição da riqueza dentro dos países, de modo a possibilitar a expansão das oportunidades, especialmente aos mais vulneráveis. Essa meta está estreitamente relacionada com o ODS 1, que trata da erradicação da pobreza em todas as suas formas e em todos os lugares.bitstream/item/184970/1/CNPC-2018-Tecnologias-da-Embrapa.pd

Near-infrared spectroscopy of blood plasma with chemometrics towards HIV discrimination during pregnancy

Abstract: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs have been one of the hallmarks of success in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In Brazil, access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy has increased, leading to a reduction in new infections among children. Currently, lifelong ART is available to all pregnant, however yet challenges remain in eliminating mother-to-child transmission. In this paper, we focus on the role of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to analyse blood plasma samples of pregnant women with HIV infection to differentiate pregnant women without HIV infection. Seventy-seven samples (39 HIV-infected patient and 38 healthy control samples) were analysed. Multivariate classification of resultant NIR spectra facilitated diagnostic segregation of both sample categories in a fast and non-destructive fashion, generating good accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. This method is simple and low-cost, and can be easily adapted to point-of-care screening, which can be essential to monitor pregnancy risks in remote locations or in the developing world. Therefore, it opens a new perspective to investigate vertical transmission (VT). The approach described here, can be useful for the identification and exploration of VT under various pathophysiological conditions of maternal HIV. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, the potential of NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis as a screening tool for fast and low-cost HIV detection

INSECTICIDE-TREATED BED NETS IN RONDÔNIA, BRAZIL: EVALUATION OF THEIR IMPACT ON MALARIA CONTROL

Mosquito nets treated with long-lasting insecticide (LLINs), when used in compliance with guidelines of the World Health Organization, may be effective for malaria vector control. In 2012, approximately 150,000 LLINs were installed in nine municipalities in the state of Rondônia. However, no studies have assessed their impact on the reduction of malaria incidence. This study analyzed secondary data of malaria incidence, in order to assess the impact of LLINs on the annual parasite incidence (API). The results showed no statistically significant differences in API one year after LLIN installation when compared to municipalities without LLINs. The adoption of measures for malaria vector control should be associated with epidemiological studies and evaluations of their use and efficiency, with the aim of offering convincing advantages that justify their implementation and limit malaria infection in the Amazon Region

The protective effect of dietary folate intake on gastric cancer is modified by alcohol consumption: A pooled analysis of the StoP Consortium

Dietary folate intake has been identified as a potentially modifiable factor of gastric cancer (GC) risk, although the evidence is still inconsistent. We evaluate the association between dietary folate intake and the risk of GC as well as the potential modification effect of alcohol consumption. We pooled data for 2829 histologically confirmed GC cases and 8141 controls from 11 case–control studies from the international Stomach Cancer Pooling Consortium. Dietary folate intake was estimated using food frequency questionnaires. We used linear mixed models with random intercepts for each study to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Higher folate intake was associated with a lower risk of GC, although this association was not observed among participants who consumed >2.0 alcoholic drinks/day. The OR for the highest quartile of folate intake, compared with the lowest quartile, was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.67–0.90, P-trend = 0.0002). The OR per each quartile increment was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.87–0.96) and, per every 100 μg/day of folate intake, was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.84–0.95). There was a significant interaction between folate intake and alcohol consumption (P-interaction = 0.02). The lower risk of GC associated with higher folate intake was not observed in participants who consumed >2.0 drinks per day, ORQ4v Q1 = 1.15 (95% CI, 0.85–1.56), and the OR100 μg/day = 1.02 (95% CI, 0.92–1.15). Our study supports a beneficial effect of folate intake on GC risk, although the consumption of >2.0 alcoholic drinks/day counteracts this beneficial effect. © 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.This study was funded by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (Project number 21378, Investigator Grant). NL and SM are funded under the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia – Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit; UIDB/04750/2020) financed by national funds from the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) and the Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR; LA/P/0064/2020). SM also received funding under the scope of the project “NEON-PC – Neuro-oncological complications of prostate cancer: longitudinal study of cognitive decline” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032358; Ref. PTDC/SAU-EPI/32358/2017) funded by FEDER through the Operational Program Competitiveness and Internationalization, and national funding from FCT, and the EPIUnit – Junior Research – Prog Financing (UIDP/04750/2020). This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the US National Cancer Institute. The study was also supported by the Italian Ministry of Health through the project “Interaction of genomic and dietary aspects in gastric cancer risk: the global StoP project” (Grant number RF-2021-12373951). This research was funded by the AICO/2021/347 grants for consolidated research groups from the Generalitat Valenciana. MHW and CSR also received funding from National Institutes of Health (ZIA CP010212 - Molecular mechanisms of infection-related cancer). [Correction added on 29 May 2024, after first online publication: The funding information has been updated.]

Inverse Association between Dietary Iron Intake and Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Case‐Control Studies of the Stop Consortium

Background: Inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the relationship between dietary iron intake and the risk of gastric cancer (GC). Methods: We pooled data from 11 case‐control studies from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Total dietary iron intake was derived from food frequency questionnaires combined with national nutritional tables. We derived the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for quartiles of dietary iron through multivariable unconditional logistic regression models. Secondary analyses stratified by sex, smoking status, caloric intake, anatomical subsite and histological type were performed. Results: Among 4658 cases and 12247 controls, dietary iron intake was inversely associated with GC (per quartile OR 0.88; 95% CI: 0.83–0.93). Results were similar between cardia (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.77–0.94) and non‐cardia GC (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81–0.94), and for diffuse (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69–0.89) and intestinal type (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.79–0.98). Iron intake exerted an independent effect from that of smoking and salt intake. Additional adjustment by meat and fruit/vegetable intake did not alter the results. Conclusions: Dietary iron is inversely related to GC, with no difference by subsite or histological type. While the results should be interpreted with caution, they provide evidence against a direct effect of iron in gastric carcinogenesis. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This study was supported by the Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Project no. 21378 (Investigator Grant). The Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit; UIDB/04750/2020) and the Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR; LA/P/0064/2020) were funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology—FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education). SM was supported by the project “NEON‐PC—Neuro‐oncological complications of prostate cancer: longitudinal study of cognitive decline” (POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐032358; ref. PTDC/SAU‐EPI/32358/2017), which is funded by FEDER through the Operational Programme competitiveness and Internationalization, and national funding from FCT and the EPIUnit—Junior Research—Prog Financing (UIDP/04750/2020). The authors thank the European Cancer Prevention (ECP) Organization for providing support for the StoP Project meetings and all MCC‐Spain study collaborators (CIBERESP, ISCIII, ISGlobal, ICO, University of Huelva, University of Oviedo, University of Cantabria, ibs.Granada, Instituto Salud Pública de Navarra, FISABIO, Murcia Regional Health Authority and cols)