Decreased susceptibility to lipid peroxidation of Goto-Kakizaki rats: Relationship to mitochondrial antioxidant capacity

The respiratory function and the antioxidant capacity of liver mitochondrial preparations isolated from Goto-Kakizaki non-insulin dependent diabetic rats and from Wistar control rats, with the age of 6 months, were compared. It was found that Goto-Kakizaki mitochondrial preparations presented a higher coupling between oxidative and phosphorylative systems, compared to non-diabetic preparations. Goto-Kakizaki mitochondria presented a lower susceptibility to lipid peroxidation induced by ADP/Fe2+, as evaluated by the formation of thiobarbituric acid substances. The decreased susceptibility to peroxidation in diabetic rats was correlated with an increase in mitochondrial vitamin E ([alpha]-tocopherol) content and GSH/GSSG ratio. Moreover, the glutathione reductase activity was significantly increased, whereas the glutathione peroxidase was decreased. Superoxide dismutase activity was unchanged in diabetic rats. Fatty acid analyses showed that the content in polyunsaturated fatty acids of Goto-Kakizaki mitochondrial membranes was significantly higher compared to controls. These results indicate that the lower susceptibility to lipid peroxidation of mitochondria from diabetic rats was related to their antioxidant defense systems, and may correspond to an adaptative response of the cells against oxidative stress in the early phase of diabetes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T99-3X8G9CD-5/1/b5e217dc4a404181393f80ec4d7df98

Decomposition of the Wave Manifold into Lax Admissible Regions and its Application to the Solution of Riemann Problems

We utilize a three-dimensional manifold to solve Riemann Problems that arise from a system of two conservation laws with quadratic flux functions. Points in this manifold represent potential shock waves, hence its name wave manifold. This manifold is subdivided into regions according to the Lax admissibility inequalities for shocks. Finally, we present solutions for the Riemann Problems for various cases and exhibit continuity relative to $L$ and $R$ data, despite the fact that the system is not strictly hyperbolic. The usage of this manifold regularizes the solutions despite the presence of an elliptic region.Comment: 42 pages, 48 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1908.0187

Antimicrobial activity of a library of thioxanthones and their potential as efflux pump inhibitors

The overexpression of efflux pumps is one of the causes of multidrug resistance, which leads to the inefficacy of drugs. This plays a pivotal role in antimicrobial resistance, and the most notable pumps are the AcrAB-TolC system (AcrB belongs to the resistance-nodulation-division family) and the NorA, from the major facilitator superfamily. In bacteria, these structures can also favor virulence and adaptation mechanisms, such as quorum-sensing and the formation of biofilm. In this study, the design and synthesis of a library of thioxanthones as potential efflux pump inhib-itors are described. The thioxanthone derivatives were investigated for their antibacterial activity and inhibition of efflux pumps, biofilm formation, and quorum-sensing. The compounds were also studied for their potential to interact with P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1), an efflux pump present in mammalian cells, and for their cytotoxicity in both mouse fibroblasts and human Caco-2 cells. The results concerning the real-time ethidium bromide accumulation may suggest a potential bacterial efflux pump inhibition, which has not yet been reported for thioxanthones. Moreover, in vitro studies in human cells demonstrated a lack of cytotoxicity for concentrations up to 20 µM in Caco-2 cells, with some derivatives also showing potential for P-gp modulation.This research was supported by national funds through FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the scope of UIDB/04423/2020, UIDP/04423/2020 (Group of Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry-CIIMAR), and under the project PTDC/SAU-PUB/28736/2017 (reference POCI-01–0145-FEDER-028736), co-financed by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the ERDF and by FCT through national funds and structured program of R&D&I ATLANTIDA (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000040), supported by NORTE2020, through ERDF, and CHIRALBIO ACTIVE-PI-3RL-IINFACTS-2019

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Incluye contenido parcial de los autoresAbstract.Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecologicalhealth and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carni-vores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide managementand conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropicalregion: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; andUrsidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropicalcarnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTRO-PICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data wereobtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organi-zations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including cameratrapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature(peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated inthis compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n=79,343; 79.7%) butalso includes non-detection data (n=20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data(n=43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute tomacroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspec-tives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distri-bution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans andsafeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combinedwith other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and relatedecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restric-tion for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of theinformation used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

A scoping review

Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: MMM is funded by a Marie-Sklodowska-Curie (EDGE) Fellowship programme (grant agreement No. 713567). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 643309. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the authors only. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.Objective: To identify the core components of digital behaviour change interventions for weight loss maintenance targeting physical activity, in terms of: (i) behaviour change techniques, (ii) mechanisms of action, (iii) modes of delivery, (iv) dose and (v) tailoring/personalization. In addition, the links between these components were investigated. Methods: A literature search was performed in five electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Two reviewers independently screened the identified articles and extracted data related with the study characteristics and behaviour change techniques, mechanism of action, mode of delivery, dose, and tailoring, using standardized classifications whenever available (e.g. behaviour change techniques taxonomy). Results: Seventeen articles reporting 11 original studies were selected. Two studies were protocols, 9 studies presented results for weight change and all but one showed no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. Eight studies (73%) provided adequate information on behaviour change techniques. Five studies (45%) provided partial information about how the behaviour change techniques were linked to mechanisms of action, and only one study (0.9%) described these links for all the techniques. Around half of the studies reported the modes through which behaviour change techniques were delivered. Descriptions of dose were present in most studies, but with minimal information. The use of tailoring or personalization approaches was mentioned in eight studies (73%), but descriptions of what was tailored and how were minimal. Conclusions: The compilation of information regarding intervention components was difficult due to the lack of information and systematization in reporting across papers. This is particularly true for the reporting of the links between behaviour change techniques and the other core intervention components. This information is crucial to help us understand in the context of behaviour change interventions what works or does not work, how it works and why.publishersversionpublishe

Biologia do Curimbatá (Prochilodus lineatus), Pintado (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans) e Cachara (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) na bacia hidrográfica do Rio Miranda, Pantanal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil.

E analisada a biologia do curimbata (P. lineatus), do pintado (P. corruscans) e da cachara (P. fasciatum) na bacia hidrografia do rio Miranda. Estas especies realizam migracoes ascendentes para reproducao a partir de setembro-outubro. A desova, do tipo total, ocorre nos cursos superiores dos rios Miranda e Aquidauna, principalmente de dezembro a fevereiro. Apos a desova, retornam aos cursos inferiores, onde se espalham pelas areas alagadas, alimentando-se fartamente. Este padrao de migracao esta ligado ao ciclo fluviometrico desses rios. P. lineatus e uma especie detritivora, enquanto P. corruscans e P. fasciatum sao ictiofagas generalistas. Jovens e adultos apresentam distribuicao diferenciada. O crescimento dessas especies e analisado.bitstream/item/37461/1/BP02.pd

Anti-inflammatory potential of Portuguese thermal waters

In light of Medical Hydrology, thermal waters (TW) are all-natural mineral waters that emerge inside a thermal resort and have therapeutic applications. Their beneficial effect has been empirically recognized for centuries, being indicated for symptom alleviation and/or treatment of several diseases, almost all associated with inflammation. Indeed, an anti-inflammatory effect has been attributed to many different Portuguese TW but there is no scientific validation supporting this empiric knowledge. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of 14 TW pertaining to thermal centers located in the Central Region of Portugal, and grouped according to their ionic profile. Mouse macrophage cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a Toll-like receptor 4 agonist, were exposed to culture medium prepared in TW. Metabolism, nitric oxide (NO) production, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression levels and the scavenging capacity of TW, were investigated in vitro. 11 out of 14 TW reduced NO production and/or iNOS expression, and/or scavenging activity, in macrophages exposed to LPS. The sulphated/calcic TW did not show any effect on at least one of the inflammatory parameters evaluated. Two sulphurous/bicarbonate/sodic TW and the sulphurous/chlorinated/sodic TW promoted an increase in NO production and/or iNOS expression. Our results validate, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory properties of Portuguese TW, supporting their therapeutic use in the treatment of inflammation-related diseases and promoting their putative application in cosmetic products and medical devices

Are motivational and self-regulation factors associated with 12 months’ weight regain prevention in the NoHoW study? An analysis of European adults

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecom‑ mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the dataPurpose: Preventing weight regain can only be achieved by sustained changes in energy balance-related behaviors that are associated with weight, such as diet and physical activity. Changes in motivation and self-regulatory skills can support long-term behavioral changes in the context of weight loss maintenance. We propose that experiencing a supportive climate care is associated with enhanced satisfaction of basic psychological needs, intrinsic goals, and autonomous motivation. These factors are expected to be associate with the utilization of self-regulation skills, leading to more sustained behavior changes and ultimately preventing weight regain. This hypothesis was tested in this ancillary analysis of the NoHoW trial, where the study arms were pooled and followed for 12 months. Methods: The NoHoW was a three-center, large-scale weight regain prevention full factorial trial. In this longitudinal study, data were collected in adults who lost > 5% weight in the past year (N = 870, complete data only, 68.7% female, 44.10 ± 11.86 years, 84.47 ± 17.03 kg) during their participation in a 12-month digital behavior change intervention. Weight and validated measures of motivational- and self-regulatory skills-related variables were collected at baseline, six- and 12 months. Change variables were used in Mplus' path analytical models informed by NoHoW's logic model. Results: The bivariate correlations confirmed key mediators' potential effect on weight outcomes in the expected causal direction. The primary analysis showed that a quarter of the variance (r2 = 23.5%) of weight regain prevention was achieved via the mechanisms of action predicted in the logic model. Specifically, our results show that supportive climate care is associated with needs satisfaction and intrinsic goal content leading to better weight regain prevention via improvements in self-regulatory skills and exercise-controlled motivation. The secondary analysis showed that more mechanisms of action are significant in participants who regained or maintained their weight. Conclusions: These results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of action leading to behavior change in weight regain prevention. The most successful participants used only a few intrinsic motivation-related mechanisms of action, suggesting that habits may have been learned. While developing a digital behavior change intervention, researchers and practitioners should consider creating supportive climate care to improve needs satisfaction and intrinsic goal contents. Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN88405328 , registered 12/22/2016.The NoHoW study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement number 643309).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Immunoglobulin G; structure and functional implications of different subclass modifications in initiation and resolution of allergy.

IgE and not IgG is usually associated with allergy. IgE lodged on mast cells in skin or gut and basophils in the blood allows for the prolonged duration of allergy through the persistent expression of high affinity IgE receptors. However, many allergic reactions are not dependent on IgE and are generated in the absence of allergen specific and even total IgE. Instead, IgG plasma cells are involved in induction of, and for much of the pathogenesis of, allergic diseases. The pattern of IgG producing plasma cells in atopic children and the tendency for direct or further class switching to IgE are the principle factors responsible for long-lasting sensitization of mast cells in allergic children. Indirect class switching from IgG producing plasma cells has been shown to be the predominant pathway for production of IgE while a Th2 microenvironment, genetic predisposition, and the concentration and nature of allergens together act on IgG plasma cells in the atopic tendency to undergo further immunoglobulin gene recombination. The seminal involvement of IgG in allergy is further indicated by the principal role of IgG4 in the natural resolution of allergy and as the favourable immunological response to immunotherapy. This paper will look at allergy through the role of different antibodies than IgE and give current knowledge of the nature and role of IgG antibodies in the start, maintenance and resolution of allergy

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Body Image Dissatisfaction and Weight Self-Stigma in Adults

© 2018, The Author(s). Body image dissatisfaction (BID) and weight self-stigma are prevalent and associated with physical and psychological ill-health. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is increasingly employed for both, yet little is known about its effectiveness. Searches of 12 databases identified six studies using online, face-to-face or self-help ACT interventions for BID or weight self-stigma, of varying duration and intensity. Their effectiveness and quality were evaluated. Two reported improved BID, three improved weight self-stigma, and one reported no impact on weight self-stigma. Methodological issues (small sample sizes, lack of allocation concealment, attention control and long-term follow up) impacted the validity of findings. Due to the small number of studies and poor study quality, the effectiveness of ACT for BID and weight self-stigma remains unclear. Nonetheless findings suggest psychological flexibility may facilitate reduction in BID and weight self-stigma and indicate that brief online as well as lengthy face-to-face delivery may be useful. Suggestions for further research are made