Molecular Aspects of Dendritic Cell Activation in Leishmaniasis: An Immunobiological View

Dendritic cells (DC) are a diverse group of leukocytes responsible for bridging innate and adaptive immunity. Despite their functional versatility, DCs exist primarily in two basic functional states: immature and mature. A large body of evidence suggests that upon interactions with pathogens, DCs undergo intricate cellular processes that culminate in their activation, which is paramount to the orchestration of effective immune responses against Leishmania parasites. Herein we offer a concise review of the emerging hallmarks of DCs activation in leishmaniasis as well as a comprehensive discussion of the following underlying molecular events: DC-Leishmania interaction, antigen uptake, costimulatory molecule expression, parasite ability to affect DC migration, antigen presentation, metabolic reprogramming, and epigenetic alterations

Design and protocol of the multimorbidity and mental health cohort study in frailty and aging (MiMiCS-FRAIL):unraveling the clinical and molecular associations between frailty, somatic disease burden and late life depression

BACKGROUND: To explore the mutual relationship between multimorbidity, mental illness and frailty, we have set-up the Multimorbidity and Mental health Cohort Study in FRAILty and Aging (MiMiCS-FRAIL) cohort. At the population level, multimorbidity, frailty and late-life depression are associated with similar adverse outcomes (i.e. falls, disability, hospitalization, death), share the same risk factors, and partly overlap in their clinical presentation. Moreover, these three variables may share a common underlying pathophysiological mechanism like immune-metabolic dysregulation. The overall objectives of MiMiCS-FRAIL are 1) to explore (determinants of) the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between multimorbidity, depression, and frailty among non-demented geriatric outpatients; 2) to evaluate molecular levels of senoinflammation as a broad pathophysiological process underlying these conditions; and 3) to examine adverse outcomes of multimorbidity, frailty and depression and their interconnectedness. METHODS: MiMiCS-FRAIL is an ongoing observational cohort study of geriatric outpatients in Brazil, with an extensive baseline assessment and yearly follow-up assessments. Each assessment includes a comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify multimorbidity and geriatric syndromes, a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview and administration of the PHQ-9 to measure depression, and several frailty measures (FRAIL, Physical Phenotype criteria, 36-item Frailty Index). Fasten blood samples are collected at baseline to assess circulating inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, leukocytes' subpopulations, and to perform immune-metabolic-paired miRome analyses. The primary outcome is death and secondary outcomes are the number of falls, hospital admissions, functional ability, well-being, and dementia. Assuming a 5-year mortality rate between 25 and 40% and a hazard rate varying between 1.6 and 2.3 for the primary determinants require a sample size between 136 and 711 patients to detect a statistically significant effect with a power of 80% (beta = 0.2), an alpha of 5% (0.05), and an R2 between the predictor (death) and all covariates of 0.20. Local ethical board approved this study. DISCUSSION: Frailty might be hypothesized as a final common pathway by which many clinical conditions like depression and chronic diseases (multimorbidity) culminate in many adverse effects. The MiMiCS-FRAIL cohort will help us to understand the interrelationship between these variables, from a clinical perspective as well as their underlying molecular signature

Influence of sanitation on the physico-chemical and microbiological quality of organic and conventional broccoli

The present study was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of chlorinated and ozonized water on the physico-chemical characteristics of broccoli, produced under organic and conventional cultivation procedures. Organic and conventional broccolis were subjected to two sanitation treatments, using chlorine and ozone, and were kept under cold storage for seven days. Analyses of pH, titrable acidity, soluble solids and weight loss were performed and the content of Cu, Mn and Zn was determined. In addition, the presence of pesticides was verified. The results show no influence of the cultivation method or the sanitation treatment on sample weight loss. Cultivation methods and sanitizing treatments affected broccoli pH, titratable acidity, and soluble solids during the evaluation period. No differences regarding the metal content on organic and conventional broccoli were observed. Furthermore, the presence of organochlorine compounds, nor other pesticides, was not detected both in organic and conventional vegetables.Keywords: Brassica oleracea var. Italica, pesticide residues, titrable acidity, soluble solids, pH, metals, ozone, sanitation treatment African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2456-246

A new species of jupati, genus Metachirus Burmeister 1854 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) for the Brazilian Amazon

The brown or pouchless four-eyed opossums or jupatis represent the genus Metachirus with a wide geographical range in the Neotropics. Recent studies show distinct monophyletic clades with high genetic divergence and recognized two species, Metachirus nudicaudatus and Metachirus myosuros. Nevertheless, there is a need for systematic revision with multiple sources of evidence on the taxonomy of Metachirus, which has never been fully revised. Here we describe a new species of Metachirus for the Brazilian Amazon from the Xingu/Tocantins interfluve using the unification of concepts and evolutionary significant units, morphological, genetic, and geographic data. Our analysis reveals a new species within Metachirus as a differentiated Amazonian clade from the Serra dos Carajás region and the Caxiuanã National Forest, both in the Xingu endemism centre. This new species can be distinguished from the type species, M. nudicaudatus and from M. myosuros through discrete external morphological characters, including cranium and dentition, and molecular data with an average degree of divergence, but ancient divergence time for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The Amazon River delimits the distribution of the new species, which also occurs in areas under strong anthropogenic pressure, reinforcing the importance to guide conservation strategies for the region. didelphid; Serra dos Carajás; taxonomy; Xingu/ Tocantins interfluve.acceptedVersio

Efeitos benéficos do uso da curcuma longa l., no tratamento oncológico: Uma revisão / Beneficial effects of the use of curcuma longa l. In oncological treatment: A review

O câncer configura-se como um grave problema de saúde pública, onde múltiplos fatores estão envolvidos em sua etiologia e o aumento da doença é considerado alarmante. Com isso, estratégias terapêuticas para o câncer, através de plantas medicinais, vêm ganhando destaque, entre elas, a Curcuma longa L., que atua como um potente composto anticancerígeno. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos benéficos do uso da Curcuma longa L., no tratamento oncológico. Foram avaliados artigos oriundos de pesquisa bibliográfica, nas bases de dados LILACS, PUBMED e BVS com o tema proposto, totalizando 28 artigos, contudo, somente 14 artigos entraram neste estudo respeitando os critérios de exclusão, sendo 12 internacionais e 2 nacionais com níveis de evidência 1. Como resultado, foi possível verificar que a curcumina é capaz de inibir o crescimento de células cancerígenas e consegue atuar no mecanismo de apoptose celular em diferentes concentrações (0 à 100 ?M). Contudo, ressalta se a necessidade da realização de novos estudos clínicos nesta área para a avaliação do potencial enquanto planta medicinal objetivando benefícios à saúde humana

Leucine-rich diet induces a shift in tumour metabolism from glycolytic towards oxidative phosphorylation, reducing glucose consumption and metastasis in Walker-256 tumour-bearing rats

Leucine can stimulate protein synthesis in skeletal muscle, and recent studies have shown an increase in leucine-related mitochondria! biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation capacity in muscle cells. However, leucine-related effects in tumour tissues are still poorly understood. Thus, we described the effects of leucine in both in vivo and in vitro models of a Walker-256 tumour. Tumour-bearing Wistar rats were randomly distributed into a control group (W; normoprotein diet) and leucine group (LW; leucine-rich diet [normoprotein +3% leucine]). After 20 days of tumour evolution, the animals underwent (18)-fludeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomography (F-18-FDG PET-CT) imaging, and after euthanasia, fresh tumour biopsy samples were taken for oxygen consumption rate measurements (Oroboros Oxygraph), electron microscopy analysis and RNA and protein extraction. Our main results from the LW group showed no tumour size change, lower tumour glucose (F-18-FDG) uptake, and reduced metastatic sites. Furthermore, leucine stimulated a shift in tumour metabolism from glycolytic towards oxidative phosphorylation, higher mRNA and protein expression of oxidative phosphorylation components, and enhanced mitochondria! density/area even though the leucine-treated tumour had a higher number of apoptotic nuclei with increased oxidative stress. In summary, a leucine-rich diet directed Walker-256 tumour metabolism to a less glycolytic phenotype profile in which these metabolic alterations were associated with a decrease in tumour aggressiveness and reduction in the number of metastatic sites in rats fed a diet supplemented with this branched-chain amino acid.9CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informação302863/2013-3; 302425/2016-92012/06955-0; 2014/13334-7; 2015/21890-0; 2017/02739-

Metabolic disorders and post-acute hospitalization in black/mixed-race patients with long COVID in Brazil: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although low-middle income countries have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is scarce information about the impact of long COVID on their population. This study aimed to evaluate long COVID symptomatology, complications (hospital readmission and metabolic disorders), and main clinical features that impact Quality of Life (QoL). METHODS: This cross-sectional study provides a detailed clinical and laboratory picture of individuals who presented residual symptoms after mild to severe acute COVID-19. Between Aug-2020 to Sep-2021, long COVID patients were evaluated in a reference center for long COVID in Bahia State, Brazil. The EQ-5D-5L questionnaire accessed QoL. RESULTS: A total of 1164 (52 ±13.4 years, 57% female, 88% black/mixed-race) were evaluated 2.3 [IQR = 1.6-3.7] months after mild (n = 351, 30.2%), moderate (338, 29.0%) or severe (475, 40.8%) acute illness. Dyspnea (790, 67.9%), fatigue (738, 63.5%), and chest pain (525, 42.9%) were the most frequent residual symptoms regardless of acute severity, affecting the QoL of 88.9% of patients (n/N-826/925), mainly the domains of anxiety/depression and pain/discomfort. High levels of HbA1c were detected for 175 out of 664 patients (26.6%), 40% of them without a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Of note, hospital admission one-to-three months after the acute phase of disease was required for 51 (4.4%) patients. CONCLUSION: In this majority-black/mixed-race population, long COVID was associated with post-acute hospitalization, newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus, and decreased QoL, particularly in women and regardless of disease severity of acute infection, suggesting important implications for health care system

Comportamento alimentar em estudantes da saúde na cidade de Quixadá, CE/ Food Behavior in health students in the city of Quixadá, CE

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral avaliar a tendência de universitários da área da saúde de Quixadá- CE a desenvolver distúrbios do comportamento alimentar. Quanto à metodologia, tratou-se de uma pesquisa de campo, no qual a coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de um questionários, visando identificar o comportamento alimentar dos universitários. Avaliou-se 192 estudantes ambos os sexos, com predominância do sexo feminino. Não houve associação significativa entre os padrões comportamentais quanto a gênero e apenas o padrão comportamental de alimentação emocional se associou com os cursos. Quando analisadas entre si, apenas alimentação emocional e descontrole alimentar apresentaram correlação positiva. Sendo assim são necessários estudos mais amplos nesta área, visando avaliar precocemente os universitários da área da saúde que possam vim a desenvolver distúrbios alimentares, pois este público irá desenvolver trabalhos quando profissionais com a comunidade, tendo em vista que os mesmos podem levar a prejuízos importantes à saúde ao invés de trata-los

Manejo nutricional de pacientes com Lesão por Pressão em Terapia Intensiva / Nutritional management of patients with Intensive Care Pressure Injury

Existem várias complicações frequentes da Lesão por pressão em pacientes graves, impactando diretamente sobre sua recuperação e qualidade de vida. Considerando-se a importância dos aspectos nutricionais para a prevenção e tratamento da LPP nos pacientes internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar e comparar a dieta prescrita pelo o profissional de nutrição com as recomendações da literatura, nos aspectos de oferta calórica e proteica. O estudo foi desenvolvido na UTI de um Hospital da rede pública em Fortaleza. Apesar de não ter sido encontrado na literatura nenhum estudo que comparasse a dieta prescrita pelo nutricionista com as recomendações da literatura, chegou-se à conclusão que o estado nutricional deficiente do paciente de UTI está diretamente correlacionado com o desenvolvimento de lesões por pressão, e que a proteína é de suma importância para a prevenção e tratamento da LPP.