Repeatability and temporal consistency of lower limb biomechanical variables expressing interlimb coordination during the double-support phase in people with and without stroke sequelae

Reliable biomechanical methods to assess interlimb coordination during the double-support phase in post-stroke subjects are needed for assessing movement dysfunction and related variability. The data obtained could provide a significant contribution for designing rehabilitation programs and for their monitorisation. The present study aimed to determine the minimum number of gait cycles needed to obtain adequate values of repeatability and temporal consistency of lower limb kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic parameters during the double support of walking in people with and without stroke sequelae. Eleven post-stroke and thirteen healthy participants performed 20 gait trials at self-selected speed in two separate moments with an interval between 72 h and 7 days. The joint position, the external mechanical work on the centre of mass, and the surface electromyographic activity of the tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius medialis, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus muscles were extracted for analysis. Both the contralesional and ipsilesional and dominant and non-dominant limbs of participants with and without stroke sequelae, respectively, were evaluated either in trailing or leading positions. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used for assessing intra-session and inter-session consistency analysis. For most of the kinematic and the kinetic variables studied in each session, two to three trials were required for both groups, limbs, and positions. The electromyographic variables presented higher variability, requiring, therefore, a number of trials ranging from 2 to >10. Globally, the number of trials required inter-session ranged from 1 to >10 for kinematic, from 1 to 9 for kinetic, and 1 to >10 for electromyographic variables. Thus, for the double support analysis, three gait trials were required in order to assess the kinematic and kinetic variables in cross-sectional studies, while for longitudinal studies, a higher number of trials (>10) were required for kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic variables.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of zinc against mercury toxicity in female rats 12 and 48 hours after HgCl2 exposure

This work investigated the toxicity of inorganic mercury and zinc preventive effects in female rats sacrificed 12 or 48 h after HgCl2 exposure. Female Wistar rats were subcutaneously injected with ZnCl2 (27 mg/kg) or saline (0.9 %), and 24 h later they were exposed to HgCl2 (5 mg/kg) or saline (0.9 %). Rats sacrificed 12 hours after Hg administration presented an increase in kidney weight and a decrease in renal ascorbic acid levels. Zinc pretreatment prevented the renal weight increase. Rats sacrificed 48 h after Hg exposure presented a decrease in body weight gain, an increase in renal weight, a decrease in renal δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity, an increase in serum creatinine and urea levels, and a decrease in kidney total thiol levels. Zinc pretreatment partly prevented the decrease in body weight gain and increase in creatinine levels, in addition to totally preventing renal δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase inhibition. Mercury accumulation in the kidney and liver in both periods was observed after Hg administration. These results show the different Hg effects along the time of intoxication, and a considerably preventive effect of zinc against Hg toxicity

Development of a flow injection method for monitoring cell membrane damage of wine lactic acid bacteria

A flow injection analysis (FIA) system was developed for the determination of phosphate efflux from wine lactic acid bacteria (Oenococus oeni and Lactobacillus hilgardii) as an indication of cell membrane damage. The system allowed the direct injection of the cell suspension, avoiding the filtration step, with minimumsample treatment andminimized reagent consumption. The developed system is characterized by a linear concentration zone between 3.2310 5 and 4.84104 mol L1 PO4 3 and repeatability better than 2.9%. Bacterial suspensions were exposed to a chemical stress with phenolic acids and injected in the FIAsystem at regular intervals. The extracellular concentration of phosphate was measured spectrophotometrically. The experimental results obtained indicate that hydroxycinnamic acids (p-coumaric, ferulic and caffeic) induced faster phosphate leakage rates than hydroxybenzoic acids (vanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic) in both strains tested, which could be related to their higher lipophilic character

S-acylation controls SARS-CoV-2 membrane lipid organization and enhances infectivity

SARS-CoV-2 virions are surrounded by a lipid bilayer that contains membrane proteins such as spike, responsible for target-cell binding and virus fusion. We found that during SARS-CoV-2 infection, spike becomes lipid modified, through the sequential action of the S-acyltransferases ZDHHC20 and 9. Particularly striking is the rapid acylation of spike on 10 cytosolic cysteines within the ER and Golgi. Using a combination of computational, lipidomics, and biochemical approaches, we show that this massive lipidation controls spike biogenesis and degradation, and drives the formation of localized ordered cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich lipid nanodomains in the early Golgi, where viral budding occurs. Finally, S-acylation of spike allows the formation of viruses with enhanced fusion capacity. Our study points toward S-acylating enzymes an

Multi-instrument multi-scale experimental damage mechanics for fibre reinforced composites

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. Reliable investigation of damage in fibre reinforced composites requires concurrent in- and ex-situ application of multiple instruments at different scale: digital image correlation, acoustic emission registration, optical/electron microscopy, C-scan, X-ray imaging and micro-computed tomography. The multi-instrument experimental mechanics allows detailed damage monitoring and inspection

Brazilian network for HIV Drug Resistance Surveillance (HIV-BresNet): a survey of treatment-naive individuals

Introduction: In Brazil, more than 487,450 individuals are currently undergoing antiretroviral treatment. In order to monitor the transmission of drug-resistant strains and HIV subtype distribution in the country, this work aimed to estimate its prevalence and to characterize the nationwide pretreatment drug resistance in individuals recently diagnosed with HIV between 2013 and 2015. Methods: The HIV threshold survey methodology (HIV-THS, WHO) targeting antiretroviral-naive individuals with recent HIV diagnosis was utilized, and subjects were selected from 51 highly populated cities in all five Brazilian macroregions. The HIV pol genotypic test was performed by genomic sequencing. Results: We analysed samples from 1568 antiretroviral-naive individuals recently diagnosed with HIV, and the overall transmitted drug resistance (TDR) prevalence was 9.5% (150 sequences). The regional prevalence of resistance according to Brazilian geographical regions was 9.4% in the northeast, 11.2% in the southeast, 6.8% in the central region, 10.2% in the north and 8.8% in the south. The inhibitor-specific TDR prevalence was 3.6% for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), 5.8% for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and 1.6% for protease inhibitors (PIs)1.0% of individuals presented resistance to more than one class of inhibitors. Overall, subtype B was more prevalent in every region except for the southern, where subtype C prevails. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first TDR study conducted in Brazil with nationwide representative sampling. The TDR prevalence revealed a moderate rate in the five Brazilian geographical regions, although some cities presented higher TDR prevalence rates, reaching 14% in Sao Paulo, for example. These results further illustrate the importance of surveillance studies for designing future strategies in primary antiretroviral therapy, aiming to mitigate TDR, as well as for predicting future trends in other regions of the globe where mass antiretroviral (ARV) treatment was implemented.Brazilian Ministry of HealthUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Lab Virol Mol, Dept Genet IB, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilFdn Med Trop Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, BrazilLAPI Univ Fed Bahia, Hosp Univ Prof Edgar Santos, Lab Pesquisa, Salvador, BA, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Ceara Lacen CE, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Dist Fed, Setor Grandes Areas Norte SGAN 601, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais UFMG, Fac Med, Lab Imunol & Biol Mol DIP, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Mato Grosso Sul, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Pernambuco, Recife, PE, BrazilLab Municipal Curitiba, Curitiba, PR, BrazilFiocruz MS, Lab AIDS & Imunol Mol, Dept Imunol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Hosp Univ Clementino Fraga Filho, Lab Carga Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilInst Biol Exercito, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Rio Grande Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilLab Hosp Nossa Senhora Conceicao, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUNESP, Lab Biol Mol Hemocentro Botucatu, Fac Med, Botucatu, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Lab Pesquisa AIDS, Hosp Clin, Campinas, SP, BrazilInst Adolfo Lutz Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Lab Biol Mol, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Retrovirol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilInst Adolfo Lutz Cent, Lab Retrovirus, Ctr Virol, Nucleo Doencas Sanguineas & Sexuais, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilMinist Saude, Dept Vigilancia Prevencao & Controle DST AIDS & H, Setor Adm Fed Sul SAFS 02, Secretaria Vigilancia Saude, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Brasilia, Programa Pos Grad Saude Colet, Fac Med, Fac Ciencias Saude, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Retrovirol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilBMH: TC 298/12Web of Scienc

A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci.

We conducted a multi-stage, genome-wide association study of bladder cancer with a primary scan of 591,637 SNPs in 3,532 affected individuals (cases) and 5,120 controls of European descent from five studies followed by a replication strategy, which included 8,382 cases and 48,275 controls from 16 studies. In a combined analysis, we identified three new regions associated with bladder cancer on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1: rs1014971, (P = 8 × 10⁻¹²) maps to a non-genic region of chromosome 22q13.1, rs8102137 (P = 2 × 10⁻¹¹) on 19q12 maps to CCNE1 and rs11892031 (P = 1 × 10⁻⁷) maps to the UGT1A cluster on 2q37.1. We confirmed four previously identified genome-wide associations on chromosomes 3q28, 4p16.3, 8q24.21 and 8q24.3, validated previous candidate associations for the GSTM1 deletion (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹) and a tag SNP for NAT2 acetylation status (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹), and found interactions with smoking in both regions. Our findings on common variants associated with bladder cancer risk should provide new insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis

Dermatological diseases of compulsory notification in Brazil

A estruturação do Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Epidemiológica do Brasil, em 1975, tornou obrigatória a notificação de algumas doenças transmissíveis com o objetivo de reduzir a carga destes eventos no país. Entretanto, as alterações no perfil epidemiológico destas doenças, associadas a características da sociedade contemporânea, determinam a constante adequação das atividades de vigilância a este cenário. Neste manuscrito, são descritos epidemiologia, tendências e diagnóstico diferencial das seguintes doenças dermatológicas de notificação compulsória no Brasil: aids, dengue, hanseníase, leishmaniose tegumentar americana, sarampo, rubéola e síndrome da rubéola congênita e sífilis. Também são apresentados os principais desafios atuais para o controle e prevenção para cada uma dessas doenças no BrasilThe development of a Brazilian National Surveillance System in 1975 led to a compulsory reporting of selected infectious diseases aiming to reduce the burden of these events in the country. However, shifts in the epidemiology of these diseases associated with modern life style, demand constant revision of surveillance activities. In this manuscript we present the epidemiology, trends and differential diagnosis of the following compulsory notifiable diseases in Brazil: Aids, dengue fever, hanseniasis, American tegumentary leishmaniasis, measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome and syphilis. Additionally, the current challenges for control and prevention of each disease are presente