Obesity increases eosinophil activity in asthmatic children and adolescents

A clear relationship between asthma and obesity has been reported, but the mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of obesity on eosinophil activity (chemotaxis and adhesion) in asthmatic children and adolescents compared with cells from healthy volunteers. Methods: Asthmatic obese (AO), asthmatic non-obese (ANO), non-asthmatic obese (NAO) and non-asthmatic non-obese (NANO) individuals were included in the present study. The chemotaxis of eosinophils after stimulation with eotaxin (300 ng/ml), platelet-activating factor (10 mu M; PAF) and RANTES (100 ng/ml) was performed using a microchemotaxis chamber. The eosinophil peroxidase activity was measured to determine the adhesion activity of eosinophils cultivated on fibronectin-coated plates. The serum leptin, adiponectin, TNF-alpha and IgE levels were quantified using ELISA assays. Results: The serum IgE levels and eosinophil counts were significantly higher in asthmatic (obese and non-obese) individuals compared with non-asthmatic individuals (obese and non-obese). Spontaneous eosinophil chemotaxis was greater in the AO group compared with either the ANO or NANO groups. The activation of eosinophils using eotaxin and PAF increased eosinophil chemotaxis in the AO group. RANTES treatment increased eosinophil chemotaxis in the NAO group compared with the NANO or ANO groups. The activation of eosinophils using eotaxin significantly increased eosinophil adhesion in the AO group compared with other groups. The serum leptin and TNF-alpha levels were higher in obese subjects (asthmatic and non-asthmatic), whereas the levels of adiponectin did not significantly differ among these groups. Conclusion: This study is the first to show increased eosinophilic activity (chemotaxis and adhesion) associated with high serum leptin and TNF-alpha levels in atopic asthmatic obese children and adolescents compared with non-obese healthy volunteers133

The Complex Topology of Chemical Plants

We show that flowsheets of oil refineries can be associated to complex network topologies that are scale-free, display small-world effect and possess hierarchical organization. The emergence of these properties from such man-made networks is explained as a consequence of the currently used principles for process design, which include heuristics as well as algorithmic techniques. We expect these results to be valid for chemical plants of different types and capacities.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures and 1 tabl

The molecular basis, genetic control and pleiotropic effects of local gene co-expression.

Nearby genes are often expressed as a group. Yet, the prevalence, molecular mechanisms and genetic control of local gene co-expression are far from being understood. Here, by leveraging gene expression measurements across 49 human tissues and hundreds of individuals, we find that local gene co-expression occurs in 13% to 53% of genes per tissue. By integrating various molecular assays (e.g. ChIP-seq and Hi-C), we estimate the ability of several mechanisms, such as enhancer-gene interactions, in distinguishing gene pairs that are co-expressed from those that are not. Notably, we identify 32,636 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) which associate with co-expressed gene pairs and often overlap enhancer regions. Due to affecting several genes, these eQTLs are more often associated with multiple human traits than other eQTLs. Our study paves the way to comprehend trait pleiotropy and functional interpretation of QTL and GWAS findings. All local gene co-expression identified here is available through a public database ( https://glcoex.unil.ch/ )

Flocculation of Arthrospira maxima for improved harvesting

The 6th International Conference on Energy and Environment ResearchThe environmental impacts associated with the burning of fossil fuels coupled with growing concerns about security of energy supply, motivated the search for more sustainable forms of energy production, among which came microalgae for biofuels production. However, the commercial production of microalgae biofuels is still not competitive compared to fossil fuels, as it is necessary to solve some process bottlenecks, among which biomass harvesting, that is the focus of this work. Hence, this work intends to study the harvesting of microalga Arthrospira maxima through flocculation by pH variation and/or addition of CaCl2 as flocculant. Thus, it is described the effect of pH variation (in the range 6 to 12), followed by the addition of flocculant, on the harvesting efficiency. Results show that by pH increase over 10 using NaOH, or by flocculation using CaCl2 at a concentration of 0.2-2.0 g/L and at a 1:30 ratio (v/v) of CaCl2/microalgae culture, it is possible to effectively harvest this microalga.Authors thank the financial support of the project IF/01093/2014/CP1249/CT0003 and research grants IF/01093/2014 and SFRH/BPD/112003/2015 funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES, and project UID/EQU/00305/2013 - Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology — CIETI. This work was financially supported by: project UID/EQU/00511/2019 — Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy — LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939 (Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy — LEPABE, UID/EQU/00511/2013) funded by FEDER through COMPETE2020-POCI and by national funds through FCT; Project “LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION” - NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000005, funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).N/

Valorization of used cooking oils through ionic liquid catalyzed biodiesel conversion processes

Why biodiesel? Biodiesel is a source of energy that can replace fossil diesel by reducing environmental impacts. It consists of a mixture of long chain fatty acid alkyl esters and is produced by converting vegetable oils or animal fats by transesterification or esterification processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Perspetivas de utilização de nanomateriais em nanodiagnóstico

Conventional diagnostic methods are exclusively focused on the detection of the symptoms associated to a given pathology. Any process able to determine with anticipation the occurrence of a disease, inclusively before the first symptoms, or providing the means to predict the possibility of occurrence of that disease, would significantly reinforce the effectiveness of the therapy allowing, at the same time, the establishment of prevention measures to avoid its progression. Much of the worldwide health research aims at the development of expedite devices or strategies capable of carrying out the monitoring of first level signs, or able to early detect and quantify biomarkers, usually at very low concentrations, associated to a given illness. In the search for alternative diagnostic methods able to overcome the limitations of available technology nanomaterials assume a decisive role and anticipate extremely promising developments in healthcare medicine. Os métodos de diagnósticos convencionais estão exclusivamente empenhados na deteção de sintomas associados a uma dada patologia. Qualquer processo que permita determinar o mais antecipadamente possível a ocorrência da doença, inclusive antes de surgirem os primeiros indícios, ou que permita avaliar o risco da doença ocorrer, reforçaria significativamente as hipóteses de sucesso da terapia e tornaria até praticável tomar medidas preventivas para evitar a sua progressão. Muita da investigação em curso na área da medicina passa pelo desenvolvimento de estratégias ou dispositivos capazes de efetuar a monitorização, o mais antecipadamente possível, destes indícios, ou então capazes de detetar e quantificar precocemente marcadores biológicos, usualmente em concentrações muito baixas, associados a uma dada patologia. Na pesquisa por métodos de diagnósticos alternativos, aptos a ultrapassar algumas das limitações dos métodos atuais, os nanomateriais assumem um papel decisivo e abrem perspetivas de desenvolvimento extremamente promissoras para a área do nanodiagnóstico.

The effect of Nannochloropsis oceanica feed inclusion on rabbit muscle proteome

Nannochloropsis oceanica is a microalga, highly concentrated in protein and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). It has a recalcitrant cell wall that decreases nutrient digestibility. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Nannochloropsis oceanica feed inclusion on the muscle proteome of fattening rabbits. Twenty rabbits were housed in individual cages for 5 weeks and were fed a control diet (n = 10) and one with 4.45% inclusion of microalga, replacing whole soybean meal (n = 10). After slaughter, samples of gastrocnemius muscle were taken for label-free proteomic analysis. A total of 1497 proteins were identified, 46 with differential abundance. Control rabbits had high abundance of proteins related to protein metabolism, suggesting higher muscle protein turnover. They also had higher abundance of structural proteins, suggesting a less tender meat by comparison with algae-fed rabbits. These had high abundance of proteins related to amino acid catabolism (Phe, Tyr) and synthesis (Gln). In addition, they had high abundance of proteins related to protein breakdown, overall suggesting that more tender meat may result from algae feedinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

FLUTUAÇÃO POPULACIONAL DE Whitius piger (PSEUDOSCORPIONIDA) EM GRANJA AVÍCOLA EM PELOTAS, RS, BRASIL

To evaluate the populational flotation of Whitius piger two monitoring methods were used, a tube type trap and a sandwich type trap. The experiment took place in the period of April 2002 to March of 2003, in an aviary from the Conjunto Agrotécnico Visconde da Graça (CAVG), located at Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During that period 1539 samples of Whitius piger were captured, being the period of larger occurrence in the month of March (312), when the monthly medium temperature was 22,2ºC and the smallest occurrence during the month of June (11), with a monthly medium temperature of 14,5ºC. It has been found that the Whitius piger was present iduring all the 12 months of collection, displaying a larger capture during the months of higher temperatures and a smaller capture in the months of lower temperatures.Para avaliar a flutuação populacional de Whitius piger foram utilizados dois métodos de monitoramento, armadilha do tipo tubo e do tipo sanduíche. O experimento realizou-se no período de abril de 2002 a março de 2003, em aviário do Conjunto Agrotécnico Visconde da Graça (CAVG), localizado em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Nesse período foram capturados 1539 exemplares de Whitius piger, sendo o período de maior ocorrência no mês de março (312), quando a temperatura média mensal foi de 22,2ºC e a menor ocorrência foi no mês de junho (11) com temperatura média mensal de 14,5ºC. O pseudoescorpionideo esteve presente nos 12 meses de coleta, apresentando maior captura nos meses de maior temperatura e menor captura nos meses de menor temperatura

Mineral profiling of muscle and hepatic tissues of Australian Merino, Damara and Dorper lambs: Effect of weight loss

Seasonal weight loss (SWL) is a major constraint to extensive animal production systems. The Australian sheep production is based on merino sheep, a European breed not tolerant to SWL. Tolerant alternative breeds such as the fat-tailed Damara and the Dorper have been increasingly used in Australia and elsewhere, due to their robustness. The aim of this study was to understand the mineral profile of muscle and liver tissues of Australian Merino, Damara and Dorper, when subjected to SWL in order to understand SWL-tolerance physiology. Twenty-four lambs were divided randomly between growing (control) and nutritionally restricted groups for each breed. The trial lasted 42 days. Animals were weighed bi-weekly and at the end of the trial, lambs were slaughtered. Liver and muscle samples were taken immediately after slaughter. Mineral assessment was carried out using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry. Analysis of variance showed mineral concentrations were generally increased in the muscle of restricted animals, mainly because of fat tissue mobilization. An increase in Zn and Fe concentrations indicates an increase of enzymatic activity in the liver of restricted sheep as well as differential abundance of Fe-containing proteins. High concentrations of Cu in the liver of Dorper indicate higher ability to accumulate this element, even under SWLinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The Impact Of Cystic Fibrosis On The Immunologic Profile Of Pediatric Patients

Objective: To compare the immunologic state of 44 pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with a control group consisting of 16 healthy individuals. Methods: CF patients aged 3 to 12 years with moderate to good clinical score were selected for the study. Erythrocytic glutathione, production of reactive oxygen species, cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-8, IL-6, IL-10) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultures under spontaneous and BCG- or PHA-stimulated conditions, serum concentrations of TGF-β2, IgA, IgG, IgM, IgE, and salivary IgA were evaluated. Results: The spontaneous production of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10, the PHA-stimulated production of IL-6, and the serum TGF-β2, IgA, and IgG were increased in samples from CF patients. Healthy subjects had a higher production of TNF-α in response to BCG. Conclusion: Although CF patients appeared clinically stable, the results of their peripheral blood examinations demonstrated an impact on the immune system. 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