Previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19

Background: BCG vaccination, originally used to prevent tuberculosis, is known to “train” the immune system to improve defence against viral respiratory infections. We investigated whether a previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19./ Methods: A case-control study comparing the proportion with a BCG vaccine scar (indicating previous vaccination) in cases and controls presenting with COVID-19 to health units in Brazil. Cases were subjects with severe COVID-19 (O2 saturation < 90%, severe respiratory effort, severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock). Controls had COVID-19 not meeting the definition of “severe” above. Unconditional regression was used to estimate vaccine protection against clinical progression to severe disease, with strict control for age, comorbidity, sex, educational level, race/colour, and municipality. Internal matching and conditional regression were used for sensitivity analysis./ Results: BCG was associated with high protection against COVID-19 clinical progression, over 87% (95% CI 74–93%) in subjects aged 60 or less and 35% (95% CI − 44–71%) in older subjects./ Conclusions: This protection may be relevant for public health in settings where COVID-19 vaccine coverage is still low and may have implications for research to identify vaccine candidates for COVID-19 that are broadly protective against mortality from future variants. Further research into the immunomodulatory effects of BCG may inform COVID-19 therapeutic research.

Previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: BCG vaccination, originally used to prevent tuberculosis, is known to "train" the immune system to improve defence against viral respiratory infections. We investigated whether a previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19 METHODS: A case-control study comparing the proportion with a BCG vaccine scar (indicating previous vaccination) in cases and controls presenting with COVID-19 to health units in Brazil. Cases were subjects with severe COVID-19 (O2 saturation < 90%, severe respiratory effort, severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock). Controls had COVID-19 not meeting the definition of "severe" above. Unconditional regression was used to estimate vaccine protection against clinical progression to severe disease, with strict control for age, comorbidity, sex, educational level, race/colour, and municipality. Internal matching and conditional regression were used for sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: BCG was associated with high protection against COVID-19 clinical progression, over 87% (95% CI 74-93%) in subjects aged 60 or less and 35% (95% CI - 44-71%) in older subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This protection may be relevant for public health in settings where COVID-19 vaccine coverage is still low and may have implications for research to identify vaccine candidates for COVID-19 that are broadly protective against mortality from future variants. Further research into the immunomodulatory effects of BCG may inform COVID-19 therapeutic research

ELABORAÇÃO E VALIDAÇÃO DE PROTOCOLO EM TELENUTRIÇÃO

Introduction: Due to all the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for the elaboration of teleconsultation protocols for the continuity of nutritional assistance was highlighted. Objective: To develop, validate and evaluate the effectiveness of the protocol for online nutritional counseling in improving dietary practices. Method: In order to develop the protocol, aspects of in-person care and the Protocol for Use of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population aimed at adults were considered. The development, discussion, adjustments and validation of the telenutrition protocol was carried out in meetings between experts and members of the research group, in which all items and stages were evaluated. A pilot study was also conducted, proposing an online nutritional program with two distinct groups: the multicomponent group - which received the protocol composed of multiple combined strategies, and the traditional group, which received only the nutrition teleconsultations. Effectiveness was assessed by evaluating the score of the dietary practices scale, applied at the beginning and at the end of the study. Results: The development of a telecare protocol in nutrition for nutritional monitoring of patients over a period of 12 weeks, as well as the 11 educational materials that accompany it. In addition, there was also accomplished the validation, which achieved maximum agreement of all items in the protocol. In the pilot study, before the intervention, the multicomponent group had an average score of 43 ± 13.2 points, and after the program, scored 54 ± 5.6 on the scale, indicating an improvement in dietary practices. The traditional group also improved after the follow-up, but to a lesser extent, progressing from 43.3 ± 8.6 to 50.8 ± 6.3 points. Conclusion: an effective teleconsultation protocol in nutrition was developed, which is a crucial tool in improving dietary habits, enabling the organization of care actions through telenutrition and contributing to health promotion.Introdução: com as restrições ocasionadas pela pandemia de Covid-19 evidenciaram-se a necessidade da construção de protocolos de teleconsulta para continuidade da assistência nutricional. Objetivo: elaborar, validar e avaliar a efetividade de um protocolo para aconselhamento nutricional on-line na melhoria das práticas alimentares. Método: para elaboração do protocolo, foram considerados os aspectos do atendimento presencial e o “Protocolo de Uso do Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira” voltado ao público adulto. A elaboração, discussões, adequações e a validação do protocolo de teleconsulta em nutrição se deu nas reuniões cientificas, onde foram avaliados todos os itens do protocolo. Foi também realizado o estudo piloto, sendo proposto um programa nutricional on-line com dois grupos distintos: o multicomponente – que recebeu o protocolo composto pelas estratégias múltiplas combinadas; e o tradicional, que recebeu apenas a teleconsulta em nutrição. A efetividade foi avaliada por meio da avaliação do escore da escala de práticas alimentares, aplicada no início e ao final do estudo. Resultados: destaca-se a elaboração do protocolo de teleatendimento em nutrição para acompanhamento nutricional dos pacientes, por um período de 12 semanas, além dos 11 materiais educativos. Além disso, houve também a validação que atingiu a concordância máxima de todos os itens do protocolo. No estudo piloto, antes da intervenção, o grupo multicomponente apresentava média de 43,0 (13,2) pontos, após o programa pontuou 54,0 (5,6) no escore, evidenciando melhora das práticas alimentares. O grupo tradicional também melhorou após o acompanhamento, porém em menor expressão, evoluindo de 43,3 (8,6) para 50,8 (6,3) pontos.  Conclusão: houve a elaboração de um protocolo efetivo de teleconsulta em nutrição, sendo este uma ferramenta crucial na melhora dos hábitos alimentares, viabilizando a organização das ações assistenciais através da telenutrição e contribuindo na promoção da saúde

Antitumor Effect of Açaí (<i>Euterpe oleracea</i> Mart.) Seed Extract in LNCaP Cells and in the Solid Ehrlich Carcinoma Model

Euterpe oleracea (açaí) fruit has approximately 15% pulp, which is partly edible and commercialized, and 85% seeds. Although açaí seeds are rich in catechins—polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects—almost 935,000 tons/year of seeds are discarded as industrial waste. This work evaluated the antitumor properties of E. oleracea in vitro and in vivo in a solid Ehrlich tumor in mice. The seed extract presented 86.26 ± 0.189 mg of catechin/g of extract. The palm and pulp extracts did not exhibit in vitro antitumor activity, while the fruit and seed extracts showed cytotoxic effects on the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line, inducing mitochondrial and nuclear alterations. Oral treatments were performed daily at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of E. oleracea seed extract. The tumor development and histology were evaluated, along with immunological and toxicological parameters. Treatment at 400 mg/kg reduced the tumor size, nuclear pleomorphism, and mitosis figures, increasing tumor necrosis. Treated groups showed cellularity of lymphoid organs comparable to the untreated group, suggesting less infiltration in the lymph node and spleen and preservation of the bone marrow. The highest doses reduced IL-6 and induced IFN-γ, suggesting antitumor and immunomodulatory effects. Thus, açaí seeds can be an important source of compounds with antitumor and immunoprotective properties

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora