Autophagy and intermittent fasting: the connection for cancer therapy?

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and its incidence is continually increasing. Although anticancer therapy has improved significantly, it still has limited efficacy for tumor eradication and is highly toxic to healthy cells. Thus, novel therapeutic strategies to improve chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapy are an important goal in cancer research. Macroautophagy (herein referred to as autophagy) is a conserved lysosomal degradation pathway for the intracellular recycling of macromolecules and clearance of damaged organelles and misfolded proteins to ensure cellular homeostasis. Dysfunctional autophagy contributes to many diseases, including cancer. Autophagy can suppress or promote tumors depending on the developmental stage and tumor type, and modulating autophagy for cancer treatment is an interesting therapeutic approach currently under intense investigation. Nutritional restriction is a promising protocol to modulate autophagy and enhance the efficacy of anticancer therapies while protecting normal cells. Here, the description and role of autophagy in tumorigenesis will be summarized. Moreover, the possibility of using fasting as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying this approach, will be presented

Plant development, gas exchanges and pigments of Mesosphaerum suaveolens submitted to osmoconditioning and saline stress

Salinity is one of the main plant abiotic stresses affecting the establishment and development of crops. It is thus a matter of prime importance to search for technologies that minimize the damage caused by salinity. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of salinity stress and osmotic conditioning of seeds on the biomass, gas exchanges and chlorophyll pigments in Mesosphaerum suaveolens (L.) Kuntze. The statistical design adopted was a randomized block design, combined according to the central composite design, referring to electrical conductivities of irrigation water and osmotic potentials, with minimum (- α) and maximum (α) values of 0.5 and 10.0 dS m-1 and 0.0 and -1.0 MPa, respectively, totaling nine combinations. The characteristics of dry biomass, gas exchange and chlorophyll indices were evaluated at 45 days after the beginning of irrigation with saline water. The salinity of irrigation water severely affected the dry biomass and the gas exchanges of M. suaveolens. Irrigation water of electrical conductivity above 3.2 dS m-1 caused reductions in chlorophyll a, b and total contents in M. suaveolens plants. Seed osmoconditioning did not attenuate the negative effects of saline stress on M. suaveolens plants

A enfermagem e o uso da simulação realística durante o período pandêmico: uma revisão integrativa

This study aims to analyze the evidence available in the literature about the use of realistic simulation by nursing during the pandemic period, through the observation of its contributions and how it was applied, answering the following question: “What is the scientific evidence about the contributions the use of realistic simulation during the pandemic period for the training of nursing professionals?”. This is an integrative review prepared in accordance with the regulations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of the year 2020 based on searches in the databases: Online System for Search and Analysis of Medical Literature, Nursing Database , Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences and Spanish Bibliographic Index on Ciencias de La Salud. The screening of studies was carried out by 4 researchers, according to the eligibility criteria, selecting 11 articles that underwent complete reading for data extraction. Studies have shown that the use of this methodology results in the development of necessary skills for nurses, such as critical thinking and technical skills, which makes a great contribution to professional training during the pandemic period.Este estudo tem por finalidade analisar as evidências disponíveis na literatura acerca do uso da simulação realística pela enfermagem, durante o período pandêmico, por meio da observação de suas contribuições e como foi aplicada, respondendo a seguinte pergunta: “Quais as evidências científicas acerca das contribuições do uso da simulação realística durante o período pandêmico para a capacitação dos profissionais de enfermagem?”. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa elaborada conforme as normativas do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses do ano de 2020 a partir de buscas nas bases de dados: Sistema Online de Busca e Análise de Literatura Médica, Base de Dados de Enfermagem, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde e Índice Bibliográfico Español em Ciencias de La Salud. A triagem dos estudos foi realizada por 4 pesquisadores, de acordo com os critérios de elegibilidade, selecionando 11 artigos que passaram por leitura completa para extração de dados. Os estudos demonstraram que o uso desta metodologia resulta no desenvolvimento de competências necessárias ao enfermeiro, como o pensamento crítico e habilidades técnicas, a qual apresenta grande contribuição em treinamentos profissionais durante o período pandêmico

A enfermagem e o uso da simulação realística durante o período pandêmico: uma revisão integrativa

This study aims to analyze the evidence available in the literature about the use of realistic simulation by nursing during the pandemic period, through the observation of its contributions and how it was applied, answering the following question: “What is the scientific evidence about the contributions the use of realistic simulation during the pandemic period for the training of nursing professionals?”. This is an integrative review prepared in accordance with the regulations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of the year 2020 based on searches in the databases: Online System for Search and Analysis of Medical Literature, Nursing Database , Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences and Spanish Bibliographic Index on Ciencias de La Salud. The screening of studies was carried out by 4 researchers, according to the eligibility criteria, selecting 11 articles that underwent complete reading for data extraction. Studies have shown that the use of this methodology results in the development of necessary skills for nurses, such as critical thinking and technical skills, which makes a great contribution to professional training during the pandemic period.Este estudo tem por finalidade analisar as evidências disponíveis na literatura acerca do uso da simulação realística pela enfermagem, durante o período pandêmico, por meio da observação de suas contribuições e como foi aplicada, respondendo a seguinte pergunta: “Quais as evidências científicas acerca das contribuições do uso da simulação realística durante o período pandêmico para a capacitação dos profissionais de enfermagem?”. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa elaborada conforme as normativas do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses do ano de 2020 a partir de buscas nas bases de dados: Sistema Online de Busca e Análise de Literatura Médica, Base de Dados de Enfermagem, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde e Índice Bibliográfico Español em Ciencias de La Salud. A triagem dos estudos foi realizada por 4 pesquisadores, de acordo com os critérios de elegibilidade, selecionando 11 artigos que passaram por leitura completa para extração de dados. Os estudos demonstraram que o uso desta metodologia resulta no desenvolvimento de competências necessárias ao enfermeiro, como o pensamento crítico e habilidades técnicas, a qual apresenta grande contribuição em treinamentos profissionais durante o período pandêmico

Manifestações clínicas da síndrome de Turner: uma revisão de literatura

A Síndrome de Turner (ST), também conhecida como Síndrome de Ullrich-Turner, é um distúrbio genético descrito por Henry Turner em 1938, resultante de uma monossomia do cromossomo sexual. Este estudo revisa a literatura sobre a ST, abordando incidências, sintomas e manifestações associadas em pacientes do sexo feminino. A pesquisa realizou uma revisão de literatura utilizando fontes como Google AcadêmicoⓇ, SciELO e PubMed entre 1998 e 2023, abrangendo textos em português, espanhol e inglês. Descritores em saúde foram usados ​​para seleção e avaliação dos textos. A ST, causada por um cromossomo X anormal, tem uma incidência de 1/2.000 recém-nascidas do sexo feminino. O diagnóstico, baseado no cariótipo, varia de monossomia completa a mosaicismo, com uma heterogeneidade fenotípica que inclui atraso no desenvolvimento puberal e baixa estatura em até 100% dos pacientes. A síndrome está associada a comorbidades como alterações no desenvolvimento sexual, pescoço curto, risco de doenças autoimunes, defeitos morfológicos e tumores gonadais. A ST afeta aproximadamente 1 em cada 2.000 recém-nascidos do sexo feminino, apresentando uma variedade de manifestações clínicas. A baixa estatura é uma característica consistente, e o hipogonadismo primário é comum. O estudo destaca a importância do conhecimento profundo das manifestações clínicas para uma abordagem abrangente e personalizada no cuidado desses pacientes

Total parathyroidectomy in a large cohort of cases with hyperparathyroidism associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1: experience from a single academic center

Most cases of sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism present disturbances in a single parathyroid gland and the surgery of choice is adenomectomy. Conversely, hyperparathyroidism associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (hyperparathyroidism/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1) is an asynchronic, asymmetrical multiglandular disease and it is surgically approached by either subtotal parathyroidectomy or total parathyroidectomy followed by parathyroid auto-implant to the forearm. In skilful hands, the efficacy of both approaches is similar and both should be complemented by prophylactic thymectomy

Aptidão cardiorrespiratória e comportamento da frequência cardíaca em situações semelhantes ao jogo em atletas profissionais de futsal

O futsal é uma modalidade intermitente de alta intensidade que requer treinamento por meio de atividades situacionais envolvendo os metabolismos aeróbio e anaeróbio. A frequência cardíaca (FC) pode ser considerada um grande indicador de fadiga pensando nas características do futsal e em sua relação com a aptidão cardiorrespiratória (ACR). O objetivo do presente estudo foi relacionar a ACR com o comportamento da FC em situações semelhantes às de jogo em atletas profissionais de futsal. Trata-se de um estudo transversal desenvolvido com 20 atletas (21,3 ± 5,8 anos) de uma equipe profissional de futsal (série ouro) do estado do Paraná.  Foram realizadas medidas antropométricas, teste de ACR, análise da FC em jogo simulado e análise dos dados por meio de estatística descritiva e correlação parcial de Pearson. A análise estatística não encontrou diferença significativa entre FC e consumo máximo de oxigênio (VO2 max) (r=0,15). Em relação ao comportamento da FC no jogo simulado, não foram encontradas diferenças estatísticas em nenhuma zona percentual da FC entre as diferentes posições de jogo. Situações expressas durante uma partida de futsal demonstraram que a FC não está associada à ACR, uma vez que os jogadores que apresentam melhor ACR nem sempre conseguem manter valores de FC inferiores em quadra, além disso, fixos, alas e pivôs não apresentaram diferenças estatísticas em relação ao comportamento da FC durante o jogo

On the denaturation mechanisms of the ligand binding domain of thyroid hormone receptors

The ligand binding domain (LBD) of nuclear hormone receptors adopts a very compact, mostly α-helical structure that binds specific ligands with very high affinity. We use circular dichroism spectroscopy and high-temperature molecular dynamics simulations to investigate unfolding of the LBDs of thyroid hormone receptors (TRs). A molecular description of the denaturation mechanisms is obtained by molecular dynamics simulations of the TRα and TRβ LBDs in the absence and in the presence of the natural ligand Triac. The simulations show that the thermal unfolding of the LBD starts with the loss of native contacts and secondary structure elements, while the structure remains essentially compact, resembling a molten globule state. This differs from most protein denaturation simulations reported to date and suggests that the folding mechanism may start with the hydrophobic collapse of the TR LBDs. Our results reveal that the stabilities of the LBDs of the TRα and TRβ subtypes are affected to different degrees by the binding of the isoform selective ligand Triac and that ligand binding confers protection against thermal denaturation and unfolding in a subtype specific manner. Our simulations indicate two mechanisms by which the ligand stabilizes the LBD: (1) by enhancing the interactions between H8 and H11, and the interaction of the region between H1 and the Ω-loop with the core of the LBD, and (2) by shielding the hydrophobic H6 from hydration.CNPqFAPESP (06/00182-8, 06/06831-8

The exposure of the nursing profession in online and print media

OBJECTIVE: to describe the coverage of news concerning the nursing profession in the Portuguese media: informative sites on the Internet and in print media. METHOD: a total of 1,271 health news items were collected in September and October of 2011 (956 online news items and 325 news items originating from the press review of the Portuguese Order of Nurses). Statistical analysis was used to characterize the variables. RESULTS: nurses were the sources of information in 6.6% of cases, suggesting limited media exposure. The health news collected is characterized by a production based on limited information sources, that is, male and official sources, on information disseminated by news agencies focused on economic and political issues in the health field. CONCLUSION: the presence of nurses in the news concerning nursing health is reduced. We suggest that nurses develop public communication skills to disseminate the importance of their profession in society and their relationship with the media

The Liver Plays a Major Role in Clearance and Destruction of Blood Trypomastigotes in Trypanosoma cruzi Chronically Infected Mice

Intravenous challenge with Trypanosoma cruzi can be used to investigate the process and consequences of blood parasite clearance in experimental Chagas disease. One hour after intravenous challenge of chronically infected mice with 5×106 trypomastigotes, the liver constituted a major site of parasite accumulation, as revealed by PCR. Intact parasites and/or parasite remnants were visualized at this time point scattered in the liver parenchyma. Moreover, at this time, many of liver-cleared parasites were viable, as estimated by the frequency of positive cultures, which considerably diminished after 48 h. Following clearance, the number of infiltrating cells in the hepatic tissue notably increased: initially (at 24 h) as diffuse infiltrates affecting the whole parenchyma, and at 48 h, in the form of large focal infiltrates in both the parenchyma and perivascular spaces. Phenotypic characterization of liver-infiltrating cells 24 h after challenge revealed an increase in Mac1+, CD8+ and CD4+ cells, followed by natural killer (NK) cells. As evidence that liver-infiltrating CD4+ and CD8+ cells were activated, increased frequencies of CD69+CD8+, CD69+CD4+ and CD25+CD122+CD4+ cells were observed at 24 and 48 h after challenge, and of CD25−CD122+CD4+ cells at 48 h. The major role of CD4+ cells in liver protection was suggested by data showing a very high frequency of interferon (IFN)-γ-producing CD4+ cells 24 h after challenge. In contrast, liver CD8+ cells produced little IFN-γ, even though they showed an enhanced potential for secreting this cytokine, as revealed by in vitro T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Confirming the effectiveness of the liver immune response in blood parasite control during the chronic phase of infection, no live parasites were detected in this organ 7 days after challenge