Anticholinesterase activity evaluation of alkaloids and coumarin from stems of Conchocarpus fontanesianus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conchocarpus fontanesianus (A. St.-Hill.) Kallunki & Pirani, Rutaceae, popularly known as pitaguara, is a native and endemic tree from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States, Brazil. Based in the information that anticholinesterasic derivatives could act as new prototypes to treatment of Alzheimer disease, this work describes the fractionation guided by evaluation of the anticholinesterase activity of the ethanolic stems extract from C. fontanesianus. This procedure afforded the alkaloids dictamnine (1), gamma-fagarine (2), skimianine (3), and 2-phenyl-1-methyl-4-quinolone (4), as well as the coumarin marmesin (5).222374380Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Use of the semi-automatic in vitro gas production technique for the evaluation of swine cecal microbial fermentation

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o os padrões de fermentação microbiana do ceco de suínos, utilizando-se um modelo aplicado na técnica in vitro de produção de gases para ruminantes. Três tipos de inóculo foram utilizados: ceco de suínos criados ao ar livre (CSF), ceco de suínos criados confinados (CSC) e líquido ruminal de bovino (LRB). Os substratos utilizados derivaram de uma dieta de suínos à base de farelo de soja e de grãos de milho, atendendo as exigências nutricionais dos suínos. Para composição dos substratos, foram estabelecidos diferentes níveis de substituição da dieta basal pela torta da amêndoa da Acrocomia aculeata (AA), coproduto da produção do biodiesel, sendo: BAS - 100% de dieta basal; M10 - 90% de dieta basal e 10% AA; M20 - 80% de dieta basal e 20% AA e o TF - feno de Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp.). A produção de gases foi avaliada nos tempos zero, três, seis, nove, 12, 16, 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas após a incubação. Foram analisados o potencial máximo de produção de gás (A) e o tempo de colonização (L). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente ao acaso, em arranjo fatorial 4 x 3. Os dados de A e L foram submetidos à análise de variância, e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5%. Comparando os inóculos para A (mL/gMS), LRB e CSF apresentaram valores similares, diferindo apenas para TF. O tempo de colonização (L) entre inóculos, o CSC e o CSF apresentaram os menores tempos de colonização quando a ração foi BAS. Com os substratos M10 e M20, o inóculo LRB apresentou o menor tempo, CSF o maior tempo e CSC não diferiu de ambos. Não houve diferença significativa entre os inóculos para o substrato TF. A técnica de produção de gases utilizada para o ceco de suínos apresentou resultados semelhantes aos encontrados para ruminantes. O modelo matemático usado foi adequado para descrever a curva de fermentação no ceco de suínos, mostrando semelhanças entre as microbiotas do ceco e do rúmen.This study aimed to evaluate the microbial fermentation patterns of the pig ceca using the technique of in vitro gas production for ruminants. Three types of inoculums were used: swine ceca raised in a free range system (CSF), swine ceca raised in a conventional confined system (CSC) and bovine rumen fluid (LRB). The substrates used were derived from pig's diet with soybean meal and corn grits, according to the nutritional requirements of swine. The substrates were composed by different set levels of substitution of basal diet by meal almond Acrocomia aculeata (AA), as: BAS - 100% of basal diet; M10 - 90% of basal diet and 10% AA (M10); M20 - 80% of basal diet and 20% AA (M20) and TF - Tifton 85 hay (Cynodon spp.).The gas production was evaluated at times 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours after incubation. The study analyzed the maximum potential of gas production (A) and lag time (L). The experimental design was completely randomized in a 4 x 3 factorial arrangement. The A and L data were submitted to analysis of variance and the averages compared by Tukey 5% test. Comparing the inoculum for A (ml / gDM), LRB, and CS, they showed similar values, differing only for TF. The lag time (L) between inoculum, the CSC and CSF had the lowest colonization times when the meal was BAS. With M10 and M20 substrates, the LRB inoculum showed the lowest time, CSF had the longest time and CSC did not differ from both. There was no significant difference between the inoculum for TF substrate. The gas production technique used for the ceca of pigs showed similar results to those for ruminants. The mathematical model used was adequate to describe the fermentation curve in the ceca of pigs, showing similarities between the microbiota of the ceca and the rumen

Characteristics and Outcomes of Adults Hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Louisville, Kentucky

Background: Patients infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are frequently hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The objective of this study was to define the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP in the city of Louisville, KY. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of 700 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection hospitalized to eight of the adult hospitals in the city of Louisville. Patients with 1) a positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2, 2) fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and 3) an infiltrate at chest imaging were defined as having SARS-CoV-2 CAP. Demographic characteristics of the study population were compared with census data from the city of Louisville. For each patient more than 500 variables were abstracted from electronic medical records and recorded using Research Electronic Data Capture software. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using R version 3.4.0. Results: SARS-CoV-2 CAP was identified in 632 (90%) patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The median age of the patients was 63 years, 53% were females, 31% were black and 12% Hispanic. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (56%), obesity (50%), and diabetes (33%). Mortality was 17% for the total population and 34% for the 249 patients admitted to ICU. For each category of race, ethnicity and comorbidities, the proportion of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP was significantly different when compared to the Louisville population (p \u3c 0.001). Conclusion: Patients of black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and patients with history of hypertension, obesity or diabetes are overrepresented among hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP when compared to the Louisville population. Hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP are likely to require ICU care, with death occurring in approximately one of six hospitalizations

No difference in clinical outcomes for African American and White patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in Louisville, Kentucky

Introduction: Current literature indicates that African American individuals are at increased risk of becoming infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and suffer higher SARS-CoV-2-related mortality rates. However, there is a lack of consensus as to how the clinical outcomes of African American patients differ from those of other groups. The objective of this study was to define the clinical outcomes of African American and White hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Louisville, Kentucky. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP at eight hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky. Severity of CAP at time of hospitalization was evaluated using the pneumonia severity index (PSI), CURB-65 score and SARS-CoV-2 viral load. The following thirteen clinical outcomes were compared: discharge alive to home, time to home discharge, admission to the ICU, length of ICU stay, need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), duration of IMV, development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), development of septic shock, need for vasopressors, development of cardiovascular events, time to cardiovascular events, in-hospital mortality, and time to death. Results: A total of 541 patients were eligible for this study, 343 White (63%) and 198 African American (37%). None of the thirteen clinical outcomes were statistically significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: This study indicates that African American and White patients do not have different clinical outcomes after the point of hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 CAP

Postoperative outcomes in oesophagectomy with trainee involvement

BACKGROUND: The complexity of oesophageal surgery and the significant risk of morbidity necessitates that oesophagectomy is predominantly performed by a consultant surgeon, or a senior trainee under their supervision. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of trainee involvement in oesophagectomy on postoperative outcomes in an international multicentre setting. METHODS: Data from the multicentre Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Study Group (OGAA) cohort study were analysed, which comprised prospectively collected data from patients undergoing oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer between April 2018 and December 2018. Procedures were grouped by the level of trainee involvement, and univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to compare patient outcomes across groups. RESULTS: Of 2232 oesophagectomies from 137 centres in 41 countries, trainees were involved in 29.1 per cent of them (n = 650), performing only the abdominal phase in 230, only the chest and/or neck phases in 130, and all phases in 315 procedures. For procedures with a chest anastomosis, those with trainee involvement had similar 90-day mortality, complication and reoperation rates to consultant-performed oesophagectomies (P = 0.451, P = 0.318, and P = 0.382, respectively), while anastomotic leak rates were significantly lower in the trainee groups (P = 0.030). Procedures with a neck anastomosis had equivalent complication, anastomotic leak, and reoperation rates (P = 0.150, P = 0.430, and P = 0.632, respectively) in trainee-involved versus consultant-performed oesophagectomies, with significantly lower 90-day mortality in the trainee groups (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Trainee involvement was not found to be associated with significantly inferior postoperative outcomes for selected patients undergoing oesophagectomy. The results support continued supervised trainee involvement in oesophageal cancer surgery

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio