The evaluation of a screening tool for children with an intellectual disability: The Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire

The study outlines the evaluation of an intellectual disability screening tool, the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q), with two age groups. A number of aspects of the reliability and validity of the CAIDS-Q were assessed for these two groups, including inter-rater reliability, convergent and discriminative validity. For both age groups, a significant positive relationship was found between full scale IQ and CAIDS-Q score, indicating convergent validity. Significant differences were found in the CAIDS-Q scores between those with and without an intellectual disability, with the former group scoring significantly lower. The sensitivity and specificity of the CAIDS-Q were above 96.7% and 85.5% respectively for the younger group and 90.9% and 94.9% respectively for the older group. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed

Anti-aging and neuroprotective properties of Grifola frondosa and Hericium erinaceus extracts

The following supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/nu14204368/s1. Table S1. Analytes identified by GC/MS on the basis of match with NIST2014 library and the corresponding target ions used to quantify them. Table S2. Yeast strains used in this study. Figure S1 Calibration curve and linear regression curve for ET. Figure S2 Evaluation of interference of fungal extracts on ThT assay. Figure S3. High fungal extract concentrations are toxic for adult flies.Nutrition has relevant consequences for human health and increasing pieces of evidence indicate that medicinal mushrooms have several beneficial effects. One of the main issues in Western countries is represented by the challenges of aging and age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders. Among these, Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects 10 million people worldwide and is associated with α-synuclein misfolding, also found in other pathologies collectively called synucleinopathies. Here, we show that aqueous extracts of two edible mushrooms, Grifola frondosa and Hericium erinaceus, represent a valuable source of β-glucans and exert anti-aging effects in yeast. Their beneficial effects are mediated through the inhibition of the Ras/PKA pathway, with increased expression of heat shock proteins, along with a consistent increase of both mean and maximal lifespans. These fungal extracts also reduce the toxicity of α-synuclein heterologously expressed in yeast cells, resulting in reduced ROS levels, lower α-synuclein membrane localization, and protein aggregation. The neuroprotective activity of G. frondosa extract was also confirmed in a PD model of Drosophila melanogaster. Taken together, our data suggest the use of G. frondosa and H. erinaceus as functional food to prevent aging and age-related disorders, further supporting the neuro-healthy properties of these medicinal mushroom extracts.We acknowledge financial support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through grant “Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2017” to University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences. This research was also supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR): Dipartimenti di Eccellenza Program (2018–2022) Dept. of Biology and Biotechnology “L. Spallanzani”, and Fondo di Ricerca e Giovani (FRG, University of Pavia). M.L. was supported by a fellowship from Fondazione Umberto Veronesi. R.M. was supported by a fellowship from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)

Nanoinformatics: developing new computing applications for nanomedicine

Nanoinformatics has recently emerged to address the need of computing applications at the nano level. In this regard, the authors have participated in various initiatives to identify its concepts, foundations and challenges. While nanomaterials open up the possibility for developing new devices in many industrial and scientific areas, they also offer breakthrough perspectives for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this paper, we analyze the different aspects of nanoinformatics and suggest five research topics to help catalyze new research and development in the area, particularly focused on nanomedicine. We also encompass the use of informatics to further the biological and clinical applications of basic research in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and the related concept of an extended ?nanotype? to coalesce information related to nanoparticles. We suggest how nanoinformatics could accelerate developments in nanomedicine, similarly to what happened with the Human Genome and other -omics projects, on issues like exchanging modeling and simulation methods and tools, linking toxicity information to clinical and personal databases or developing new approaches for scientific ontologies, among many others

Presence of Estrogens and Estrogen Receptor-like Proteins in Solanum glaucophyllum

The synthesis of mammalian steroid hormones by plants has been reported. However, their physiological role in plants is controversial. The existence of receptor molecules as those of animal cells could provide clues into a possible steroid mechanism of action. Solanum glaucophyllum callus cultures were found to contain not only 17β-estradiol and estrone but also abundant estrogen binding sites. These sites were specific for 17β-estradiol (∼550 fmol/mg protein) and could also be competed by the known estrogen receptor (ER) agonist diethylstilbestrol. Antibodies directed against specific sequences of the classical ER α isoform, labelled a ∼67 kDa band which comigrated with the mammalian ER α antigen. ER α-like proteins were tested positive as estrogen binders in Ligand blot experiments using 17β-estradiol macromolecular derivatives as ligands. Our results provide first evidences on the existence of estrogen binding proteins structurally related to the mammalian ER α subtype in a higher plant system

MICROBIOLIZATION WITH TRICHODERMA SPP., COMBINED OR NOT WITH POLYMER, ON THE HEALTH, GERMINATION AND VIGOR OF BLACK OATS AND BARLEY SEEDS

The use of bioprotectors in the coating of seeds is increasing, and these become an alternative for the use of chemical fungicides. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of Trichoderma spp., with or without polymerization, in the control of pathogens associated with black oats (Avena strigosa) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) seeds of the cultivars 'Comum' (black oats) and BRS Cauê (barley), 2014 crop. After asepsis and dried of the seeds, the treatments were applied, using a dose of 5 mL of Trichoderma spp. kg-1 and 10 mL of seed polymer kg-1 of seeds. Sanity tests; germination; germination and emergency rate index; length of seedling (shoot and root); and fresh and dry weight were performed. The coating of oat and barley seeds with Trichoderma spp. was efficient in the control of pathogens, as well as increased the germination and development of the seedlings for both cultures evaluated

FUNGAL DISEASE IN ‘'ERVA-MATE''

“Erva mate” is a native tree, which is very important for the gaucho culture mainly because it serves as raw material for the traditional mate, and other products. Due to the high disease incidence in the “erva mate” plantations and nursery, the lack of information related to the pathogens that occur in this culture and its proper management, many farmers have abandoned these areas to cultivate major crops. This study aimed conduct a survey and identification of major diseases that occur in “erva mate” in the Alto Uruguai Gaucho region. For this, soil samples were collected for posterior serial dilution and quantification of colony forming units (CFUs), and aerial part samples of unhealthy plants for later identification of present pathogens. In the aerial part samples, it was found that the highest incidence in “erva mate” plantations and nurseries was the Fusarium genus, and also identified genre fungi as Colletotrichum, Cylindrocladium and saprophytes as Rhizopus and Cladosporium. Furthermore, it was evident the presence of genus Trichoderma in the soil samples, which is important since this is an antagonist of Fusarium species that are potentially pathogenic to this culture

Medidas antropométricas orofaciais de crianças segundo o tipo facial

RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar as medidas antropométricas orofaciais segundo o tipo facial de crianças do sexo masculino e feminino. Métodos: participaram do estudo 126 crianças, 64 do sexo feminino e 62 do sexo masculino, com idade entre sete anos e 11 anos. As medidas antropométricas orofaciais foram comparadas entre os tipos faciais obtidos por meio da análise cefalométrica. Inicialmente foi realizada análise descritiva dos tipos faciais de acordo com os sexos. Por meio da Análise de Variância, foi realizada a comparação das medidas antropométricas no sexo masculino e feminino isoladamente e, posteriormente, foi realizada a análise independe do sexo. Os dados foram analisados considerando nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: encontrou-se um número maior de braquifaciais, seguidos de mesofaciais e dolicofaciais na totalidade da amostra. Na comparação das medidas antropométricas entre os três tipos faciais, evidenciou-se no sexo masculino diferença significante na medida de terço facial inferior e no sexo feminino, nas medidas da altura facial, terço inferior e lábio inferior. Quando comparadas as medidas antropométricas de forma independente do sexo, evidenciou-se diferença significante no terço inferior, lados direito e esquerdo da face, lábios superior e inferior. Conclusão: como esperado, nas análises de todos os resultados, considerando ou não os sexos, as medidas antropométricas orofaciais foram menores nos braquifaciais, com maior evidência encontrada nas medidas relacionadas ao plano vertical inferior