Predicting Brain Age at Slice Level : Convolutional Neural Networks and Consequences for Interpretability

Funding Information: NE was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior— Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. MM was financed in part by the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa—Brasil (CNPq). Funding Information: Conflict of Interest: BF had a research grant from Pfizer outside of this study.Peer reviewe

ALGUMAS NOTAS ÀS POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS: HISTORICIDADE E POPULAÇÕES

Abstract: the objective of this article is to problematize the historical construction of public policies from Brazil, considering its recent historicity and two specific populations: the homeless people and the LGBT+. We understand that the historicity and the population issue that we have highlighted provide us with analytical questions to think about governability and the historical relationships established between the Brazilian State and the lives under its government. We will be situated in the field of problematization that brings together the theoretical construction and the political-social struggle of militancy in the academy and in social movements, from the social control and the scientific production. We highlight how the current dismantling put the populations we mentioned at risk, while also referring to structural issues of the historical relations between the State and lives in the country, considering the different populations served by Brazilian public policies.Resumen: El objetivo de este artículo es problematizar la construcción histórica de las políticas públicas en Brasil, considerando su historicidad reciente y dos poblaciones específicas: la población callejera y la LGBT+. Entendemos que la historicidad y la cuestión de la población que hemos destacado nos brindan preguntas analíticas para pensar la gobernabilidad y las relaciones históricas establecidas entre el Estado brasileño y las vidas bajo su gobierno. Nos situaremos en el campo de la problematización que conjuga la construcción teórica y la lucha político-social de la militancia en la academia y en los movimientos sociales, a partir del control social y la producción científica. Destacamos cómo el desmantelamiento actual pone en riesgo a las poblaciones mencionadas, al mismo tiempo que también se refieren a cuestiones estructurales de las relaciones históricas entre el Estado y la vida en el país, considerando las diferentes poblaciones atendidas por las políticas públicas brasileñas.O objetivo deste artigo é problematizar a construção histórica das políticas públicas no país, considerando sua historicidade recente e duas populações específicas: a população de rua e a LGBT+. Compreendemos que a historicidade e a questão populacional que destacamos nos fornecem questões analíticas para pensar a governabilidade e as relações históricas estabelecidas entre o Estado brasileiro e as vidas sob seu governo. Estaremos situados no campo de problematização que reúne a construção teórica e a luta político-social da militância na academia e nos movimentos sociais, a partir do controle social e da produção científica. Destacamos como os atuais desmontes colocam em risco as populações que mencionamos, ao mesmo tempo em que também remetem para questões estruturais das relações históricas entre Estado e as vidas no país, considerando as diferentes populações atendidas pelas políticas públicas brasileiras. Palavras-chaves: Políticas públicas. História. População. Rua. LGB

Estudo epidemiológico de esquistossomose no Nordeste do brasil no período de 2019 a 2023

The aim of this article is to carry out an epidemiological analysis of schistosomiasis cases in the Northeast region of Brazil. This is a quantitative and descriptive study, which used data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System related to cases of schistosomiasis in the nine federal units that make up the Northeast region of Brazil, and the period of analysis of the study was from 2019 to 2023. Based on the information collected, it was found that 3606 cases of the disease in the Northeast, with a higher prevalence of cases in the female population, with 2002 cases of the total, in addition the age group of 40 to 59 years was the one that stood out for the highest number of cases, followed by the population of 20 to 39 years as the most affected by the disease in the period of the study. In relation to the Northeastern states, Bahia was the territory that stood out the most with 1,408 cases of schistosomiasis. It can be concluded that schistosomiasis is a public health problem in the Northeast of Brazil, and that public action is needed to tackle it, through basic education measures and measures to control the pathology's intermediate host.Este artigo tem como objetivo realizar uma análise epidemiológica a respeito do quadro de esquistossomose na região do Nordeste brasileiro. Esse trabalho é do tipo quantitativo e descritivo, o qual utilizou dados presentes no sistema de informação de agravos de notificação relacionados aos casos de esquistossomose nas nove unidades federativas quem compõem a região do Nordeste do Brasil, ademais o período de análise do estudo foi de 2019 a 2023. Com base nas informações colhidas, foi constato que 3606 casos da doença no Nordeste, com maior prevalência de casos na população de sexo feminino, com 2002 casos do total, ademais a faixa etária de 40 a 59 anos foi a que se destacou pelo maior número casos, seguida da população de 20 a 39 anos como as mais afetas pela doença no período do estudo. Em relação aos estados do Nordeste, a Bahia foi o território que mais se sobressaiu com 1408 casos de esquistossomose. É possível concluir que a esquistossomose é um problema de saúde pública no Nordeste brasileiro, sendo necessárias ações públicas para o enfrentamento dela, através de medidas em educação básica e medidas de controle do hospedeiro intermediário da patologia

Anti-tumor efficiency of Perillylalcohol/β-Cyclodextrin inclusion complexes in a sarcoma S180-induced mice model

The low solubility and high volatility of perillyl alcohol (POH) compromise its bioavailability and potential use as chemotherapeutic drug. In this work, we have evaluated the anticancer activity of POH complexed with -cyclodextrin (-CD) using three complexation approaches. Molecular docking suggests the hydrogen-bond between POH and -cyclodextrin in molar proportion was 1:1. Thermal analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that the POH was enclosed in the -CD cavity. Also, there was a significant reduction of particle size thereof, indicating a modification of the -cyclodextrin crystals. The complexes were tested against human L929 fibroblasts after 24 h of incubation showing no signs of cytotoxicity. Concerning the histopathological results, the treatment with POH/-CD at a dose of 50 mg/kg promoted approximately 60% inhibition of tumor growth in a sarcoma S180-induced mice model and the reduction of nuclear immunoexpression of the Ki67 antigen compared to the control group. Obtained data suggest a significant reduction of cycling cells and tumor proliferation. Our results confirm that complexation of POH/-CD not only solves the problem related to the volatility of the monoterpene but also increases its efficiency as an antitumor agent.This work was supported by the Banco do Nordeste (grant FUNDECI/2016.0015), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe (Fapitec) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Eliana B. Souto would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) for the project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Proton and Pion Production Relative to the Reaction Plane in Au + Au Collisions at AGS Energies

Results are presented of an analysis of proton and charged pion azimuthal distributions measured with respect to the reaction plane in Au + Au collisions at a beam momentum of about 11 AGeV/c. The azimuthal anisotropy is studied as a function of particle rapidity and transverse momentum for different centralities of the collisions. The triple differential (in rapidity, transverse momentum, and azimuthal angle) distributions are reconstructed. A comparison of the results with a previous analysis of charged particle and transverse energy flow as well as with model predictions is presented.Comment: 23 pages (LaTeX), 12 figure

Proteome profiling of enriched membrane-associated proteins unraveled a novel sophorose and cello-oligosaccharide transporter in Trichoderma reesei

BackgroundTrichoderma reesei is an organism extensively used in the bioethanol industry, owing to its capability to produce enzymes capable of breaking down holocellulose into simple sugars. The uptake of carbohydrates generated from cellulose breakdown is crucial to induce the signaling cascade that triggers cellulase production. However, the sugar transporters involved in this process in T. reesei remain poorly identified and characterized.ResultsTo address this gap, this study used temporal membrane proteomics analysis to identify five known and nine putative sugar transporters that may be involved in cellulose degradation by T. reesei. Docking analysis pointed out potential ligands for the putative sugar transporter Tr44175. Further functional validation of this transporter was carried out in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results showed that Tr44175 transports a variety of sugar molecules, including cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, and sophorose.ConclusionThis study has unveiled a transporter Tr44175 capable of transporting cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, and sophorose. Our study represents the first inventory of T. reesei sugar transportome once exposed to cellulose, offering promising potential targets for strain engineering in the context of bioethanol production

β-cyclodextrin/isopentyl caffeate inclusion complex: synthesis, characterization and antileishmanial activity

Isopentyl caffeate (ICaf) is a bioactive ester widely distributed in nature. Our patented work has shown promising results of this molecule against Leishmania. However, ICaf shows poor solubility, which limits its usage in clinical settings. In this work, we have proposed the development of an inclusion complex of ICaf in -cyclodextrin (-CD), with the aim to improve the drug solubility, and thus, its bioavailability. The inclusion complex (ICaf:-CD) was developed applying three distinct methods, i.e., physical mixture (PM), kneading (KN) or co-evaporation (CO) in different molar proportions (0.25:1, 1:1 and 2:1). Characterization of the complexes was carried out by thermal analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular docking. The ICaf:-CD complex in a molar ratio of 1:1 obtained by CO showed the best complexation and, therefore, was selected for further analysis. Solubility assay showed a marked improvement in the ICaf:-CD (CO, 1:1) solubility profile when compared to the pure ICaf compound. Cell proliferation assay using ICaf:-CD complex showed an IC50 of 3.8 and 2.7 µg/mL against L. amazonesis and L. chagasi promastigotes, respectively. These results demonstrate the great potential of the inclusion complex to improve the treatment options for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniases.This research was funded by Banco do Nordeste (grant FUNDECI/2016.0015), Coordenação Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Ámparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sergipe (FAPITEC) (PROCESSO: 88887.159533/2017-00 extração, encapsulação e caracterização de bioativos para o interesse biotecnologico). Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 301964/2019-0 Chamada 06/2019, and Chamada CNPq nº 01/2019) and from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio