“I Was... Put in a Cage” : The Experience of COVID-19 Home Confinement among Older Adults Living Alone in Portugal

This article presents findings of a qualitative study reporting older adults' experiences of solitary home confinement during Portugal's first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Home confinement was marked by negative experiences, with the exception of one participant who had a particularly favorable combination of resources and circumstances. Negative experiences involved losses in several areas, such as being deprived of out-of-home activities, independence and face-to-face social interactions. Losing out-of-home activi-ties and independence promoted a sense of imprisonment, while losing face-to-face social interactions triggered a feeling of physical loneliness. Considering the potential negative implications of these losses, it is crucial to create innovative solutions that can mitigate them in future lockdowns.Peer reviewe

Toxic effects of glibenclamide in fetuses of normoglycemic rats: an alternative therapy for gestational diabetes mellitus

Abstract Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as glucose intolerance first diagnosed during the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The treatment aims at glycemic control through changes in the patient's diet with or without exercise, but some patients need insulin therapy. An alternative would be to use oral hypoglycemic agents such as glibenclamide (GLIB). The present study aims to analyze the toxic effects of GLIB in fetuses of pregnant rats which received 5 or 20mg/kg doses of GLIB. Glycemic dosage reveals no significant difference between control (deionized water) and treated groups, showing that these concentrations of GLIB were not effective to cause hypoglycemia in rats. The vitality of the fetuses in all groups was 100%. GLIB administration promoted increase in weight and significant changes in measures of external morphological parameters of treated fetuses. Histological analysis revealed that liver lobes, lobules and central lobular veins were well defined for all treatments. However, GLIB animals presented a light brownish precipitate into the center-lobular veins and in the liver parenchyma among the hepatocytes. These results indicated a possible passage of the drug through the blood-placental membrane, without serious changes that impair the development of neither bone tissue, nor the liver of these animals

Genetic and epigenetic alterations of cdh1 regulatory regions in hereditary and sporadic gastric cancer

E-cadherin is a key player in gastric cancer (GC) and germline alterations of CDH1, its encoding gene, are responsible for Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) syndrome. This study aimed at elucidating the role of genetic variants and DNA methylation of CDH1 promoter and enhancers in the regulation of gene expression. For this purpose, we analyzed genetic variants of the CDH1 gene through Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) in a series of GC cell lines (NCI-N87, KATO-III, SNU-1, SNU-5, GK2, AKG, KKP) and the corresponding CDH1 expression levels. By bisulfite genomic sequencing, we analyzed the methylation status of CDH1 regulatory regions in 8 GC cell lines, in a series of 13 sporadic GC tissues and in a group of 20 HDGC CDH1-negative patients and 6 healthy controls. The NGS analysis on CDH1 coding and regulatory regions detected genetic alterations in 3 out of 5 GC cell lines lacking functional E-cadherin. CDH1 regulatory regions showed different methylation patterns in patients and controls, GC cell lines and GC tissues, expressing different E-cadherin levels. Our results showed that alterations in terms of genetic variants and DNA methylation patterns of both promoter and enhancers are associated with CDH1 expression levels and have a role in its regulation.This research and its authors were funded by IRCCS IRST (G.T., C.M., R.D. V.A., M.R., F.R., M.C., S.P., G.M., D.C., P.U.) and by FEDER-Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020–Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274) (C.S.J., R.B.-M., A.A., C.O.). This work was also financed by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029 (CANCER)-supported by Norte Portugal Regional Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)–project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016390 (CancelStem) and PTDC/BTM-TEC/30164/2017 (3DChroMe), funded by ERDF, POCI and FCT

Dispersão de machos estéreis de Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) em pomar comercial de manga (Mangifera indica L.) na região Sudoeste da Bahia.

O cultivo de manga é a principal opção econômica do pólo de fruticultura de Anagé, Região Sudoeste da BA. As moscas-das-frutas são pragas quarentenárias e se constituem nos principais problemas fitossanitários da região. Em conformidade com os princípios da Produção Integrada de Frutas, a Técnica do Inseto Estéril (TIE) apresenta-se como uma estratégia de manejo vantajosa e de baixo impacto ambiental. Estudos sobre dispersão de moscamed (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) estéril são necessários para gerar subsídios à implantação da TIE no Brasil. Esse trabalho teve por objetivos estimar a capacidade de dispersão de machos moscamed estéril em pomar comercial de manga e a sua sobrevivência em campo. Cerca de 18.000 machos estéreis de moscamed, linhagem TSL Viena 8, procedentes de Mendonza, Argentina, foram liberados no centro do pomar de 20 ha, às 06h00. Para a recaptura, foram utilizadas armadilhas Jackson, dispostas a cada 25m nas direções N, S, L, O, NO, NE. SO e SE, totalizando 80 armadilhas, num raio máximo de 250 m. No 1º, 3º, 5º, 7º, 9º e 11º dia da liberação, as armadilhas foram expostas às 8h00 e retiradas após uma hora, sendo levadas a uma sala escura, sob lâmpada negra, para contagem de machos estéreis e selvagens. Foram recapturados apenas 22 machos estéreis (0,12%) em 16 armadilhas (20,0%) no primeiro dia após a liberação, sendo que nos demais dias a recaptura foi nula. As recapturas ocorreram principalmente nas armadilhas a sudoeste do ponto de liberação, à distância mínima de 25 metros (SO, NE, NO, SE) e máxima de 250 metros (S). Boa parte dos adultos (40%) foi recapturada num raio de 50m do ponto de liberação. A distância média de dispersão foi de 157,0 m/dia e a área abrangida foi de 29.008,33 m²/dia. A sobrevivência dos machos em campo foi insatisfatóri

Soil carbon stock and indices in sandy soil afected by Eucalyptus Harvest residue management in the South of Brazil.

Abstract: There has been limited research on the effect of eucalyptus harvest residue management on soil organic carbon (SOC) in subtropical environments. This research evaluated the effect on soil C indices of the following eucalyptus harvest residue managements: AR, with all forest remnants left on the soil; NB, where bark was removed; NBr, in which branches were removed; NR, which removed all residues; and NRs, which is same as NR but also used a shade net to prevent the litter from the new plantation from reaching the soil surface. C stocks within the soil depths of 0?20 cm and 0?100 cm increased linearly with the C input from eucalyptus harvest residues. In the layer of 0?20 cm, the lowest soil C retention rate was 0.23 Mg ha−1 year−1, in the NR treatment, while in the AR treatment, the retention rate was 0.68 Mg ha−1 year−1. In the 0?100 cm layer, the highest C retention rate was obtained in the AR (1.47 Mg ha−1 year−1). The residues showed a high humification coefficient (k1 = 0.23) and a high soil organic matter decomposition rate (k2 = 0.10). The carbon management index showed a close relationship with the C input and tree diameter at breast height

A soil quality index for subtropical sandy soils under different Eucalyptus harvest residue managements.

Eucalyptus harvest residues are attractive energy production resources for the forestry industry. However, their removal can have adverse impacts on soil quality and forest productivity, especially in sandy soils. In this study, we assessed the effects of Eucalyptus harvest residue managements with variable intensity on forest productivity and on physical, chemical, and biological indicators of the soil quality. The experiment was conducted in a Quartzipsamment (33 g kg− 1 clay) planted with Eucalyptus saligna in Barra do Ribeiro in southern Brazil. Before the Eucalyptus was planted, residues from the previous rotation were subjected to five different management treatments: (1) FRM, in which all forest residues (bark, branches, leaves, and litter) were allowed to remain on the soil and only trunk wood was removed; (2) FRMB, in which was identical to FRM except that bark was also removed; (3) FRMBr, in which only trunk wood and branches were removed; (4) FRR, which involved removing all types of residues (bark, branches, leaves, and litter); and, (5) FRRs, in which all forest residues from the previous rotation were removed, and leaves and branches from the new plantation were prevented from falling onto the soil surface using a shade net. Six years after planting, soil samples were collected at four different depths (0–2.5, 2.5–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm) to determine 17 soil chemical, physical, and biological indicators. The results were combined into a soil quality index (SQI) using the principal component analysis approach. The SQI reduced by 30%, in the 0–20 cm layer, due to removal of harvest residues from the previous rotation, and collection of litter before it falls on the ground. The main drivers of SQI reduction were the principal components associated with soil organic matter and biological activity. Furthermore, the SQI was positively linearly related to tree height at P < 0.01 and to tree diameter at breast height at P = 0.07. The adverse impact on soil quality and forest productivity in our study indicates that removal of Eucalyptus harvest residues from sandy soils should be avoided

Germinated millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) flour improved the gut function and its microbiota composition in rats fed with high-fat high-fructose diet.

Germinated millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is a source of phenolic compounds that has potential prebiotic action. This study aims at evaluating the action of germinated pearl millet on gut function and its microbiota composition in Wistar rats fed with a high-fat high-fructose (HFHF) diet. In the first stage, lasting eight weeks, the experiment consisted of two groups: AIN93M (n = 10) and HFHF group (n = 20). In the second stage, which lasted ten weeks, the animals of the AIN-93M group (n = 10) were kept, while the HFHF group was dismembered into HFHF (HFHF diet, n = 10) and HFHF + millet (HFHF added 28.6% of germinated millet flour, n = 10) groups. After the 18th week, the urine of the animals was collected for the analysis of lactulose and mannitol intestinal permeability by urinary excretion. The histomorphometry was analyzed on the proximal colon and the fecal pH, concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and sequencing of microbiota were performed in cecum content. The Mothur v.1.44.3 software was used for data analysis of sequencing. Alpha diversity was estimated by Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson indexes. Beta diversity was assessed by PCoA (Principal Coordinate Analysis). The functional predictive analysis was performed with PICRUSt2 software (version 2.1.2?b). Functional traits attributed to normalized OTU abundance were determined by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). In the results, germinated millet flour reduced Oscillibacter genus and Desulfobacterota phylum, while increasing the Eggerthellaceae family. Furthermore, germinated millet flour: increased beta diversity, cecum weight, and cecum/body weight ratio; improved gut histological parameters by increasing the depth and thickness of the crypt and the goblet cell count (p < 0.05); reduced (p < 0.05) the fecal pH and mannitol urinary excretion; increased (p < 0.05) the propionate short-chain fatty acid concentration. Thus, germinated millet has the potential to improve the composition of gut microbiota and the intestinal function of rats fed with an HFHF diet