Crosstalk between reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory markers in developing various chronic diseases: a review

The inflammation process in the human body plays a central role in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) exert potentially a decisive role in human body, particularly in physiological and pathological process. The chronic inflammation state could generate several types of diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arthritis, especially if it is concomitant with high levels of pro-inflammatory markers and ROS. The respiratory burst of inflammatory cells during inflammation increases the production and accumulation of ROS. However, ROS regulate various types of kinases and transcription factors such nuclear factor-kappa B which is related to the activation of pro-inflammatory genes. The exact crosstalk between pro-inflammatory markers and ROS in terms of pathogenesis and development of serious diseases is still ambitious. Many studies have been attempting to determine the mechanistic mutual relationship between ROS and pro-inflammatory markers. Therefore hereby, we review the hypothetical relationship between ROS and pro-inflammatory markers in which they have been proposed to initiate cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arthritis

Manejo da irrigação utilizando sensor da umidade do solo alternativo Irrigation scheduling using alternative soil moisture sensor

Um sensor alternativo utilizando a medida da capacitância para determinação da umidade do solo foi desenvolvido e calibrado em laboratório, e avaliado por meio da comparação com tensiômetros, no manejo da irrigação da cultura do feijoeiro. Utilizou-se um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 5 repetições e esquema fatorial com dois métodos de manejo (alternativo e tensiometria) além tensões de água no solo (20, 40 e 60 kPa). Observou-se que, independente do método empregado, a produção do feijoeiro foi maior quando submetido a tensão de 39 kPa; entretanto, o manejo da irrigação utilizando-se o método alternativo levou a um número maior de irrigações e também do volume de água aplicado, com consequente redução da eficiência do uso da água em comparação com o uso de tensiômetros.<br>An alternative sensor using a capacitance measurement for determining soil moisture was developed and calibrated in the laboratory and evaluated by comparison with tensiometers in the irrigation of common bean. A completely randomized design was used with five replications and a factorial with two methods of management (alternative and tensiometer) and soil water tensions (20, 40 and 60 kPa). It was observed that regardless of the method, the bean yield was higher when subjected to stress of 39 kPa, however, irrigation management using the alternative method led to a greater number of irrigation and also the volume of water applied, with consequent reduction in water use efficiency compared to the use of tensiometers

Increased synovial fluid levels of soluble CD23 are associated with an erosive status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

Synovial fluid (SF) levels of soluble CD23 (sCD23) were determined in 96 patients presenting with an inflammatory knee effusion (73 with RA and 23 with reactive arthritis (ReA) serving as a control inflammatory non-erosive group) and were correlated with the degree of joint destruction, with local immune parameters (IL-1β, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 and sCD25) and with serum markers of inflammation, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. RA patients, classified as erosive or not according to Larsen’s grade, were separated as follows: (i) 13 patients with non-erosive RA; (ii) 16 RA patients with erosions in hands but not in knees, matched for disease duration with the first group; (iii) 44 RA patients with hand and knee erosions, matched with the second group for rheumatoid factor positivity but of longer disease duration. SF sCD23 levels were significantly increased in both erosive RA groups compared with non-erosive diseases, whether RA or ReA (P < 0·05), whose SF levels were not different. SF IL-10 showed a similar profile to that of SF sCD23 and was the only other parameter characteristic of erosive RA, but no direct correlation was found between the two. SF sCD23 was significantly correlated with IL-12 (r = 0·65, P = 0·0001) and sCD25 (r = 0·39, P = 0·0019) exclusively in the two erosive RA populations. In conclusion, these data showing that increased levels of sCD23 are not only found in the SF of erosive joints but also in knee SF of patients with erosive RA but without knee x-ray-diagnosed erosions suggest that this parameter might be of predictive value for joint destruction. Longitudinal studies are however needed to confirm its potential clinical interest