Multifunctional chitosan/gold nanoparticles coatings for biomedical textiles

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), chemically synthesized by citrate reduction, were for the first time immobilized onto chitosan‐treated soybean knitted fabric via exhaustion method. AuNPs were successfully produced in the form of highly spherical, moderated polydisperse, stable structures. Their average size was estimated at ≈35 nm. Successful immobilization of chitosan and AuNPs were confirmed by alterations in the fabric’s spectrophotometric reflectance spectrum and by detection of nitrogen and gold, non‐conjugated C=O stretching vibrations of carbonyl functional groups and residual N‐acetyl groups characteristic bands by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier‐Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. XPS analysis confirms the strong binding of AuNPs on the chitosan matrix. The fabrics’ thermal stability increased with the introduction of both chitosan and AuNPs. Coated fabrics revealed an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of +50, which established their effectiveness in ultraviolet (UV) radiation shielding. They were also found to resist up to 5 washing cycles with low loss of immobilized AuNPs. Compared with AuNPs or chitosan alone, the combined functionalized coating on soy fabrics demonstrated an improved antimicrobial effect by reducing Staphylococcus aureus adhesion (99.94%) and Escherichia coli (96.26%). Overall, the engineered fabrics were confirmed as multifunctional, displaying attractive optical properties, UV‐light protection and important antimicrobial features, that increase their interest for potential biomedical applications.: This research was funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Program – COMPETE and by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the project POCI‐ 01‐0145‐FEDER‐007136 and UID/CTM/00264/2019. A. Zille also acknowledges financial support of the FCT through an Investigator FCT Research contract (IF/00071/2015) and the project PTDC/CTM‐TEX/28295/2017 financed by FCT, FEDER and POCI. This work was funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Program – COMPETE and by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)—under the project POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐007136 and UID/CTM/00264/2019. A. Zille also acknowledges financial support of the FCT through an Investigator FCT Research contract (IF/00071/2015) and the project PTDC/CTM‐ TEX/28295/2017 financed by FCT, FEDER and POCI

Surface modification of bamboo fibers using chitosan and functionalization with AuNPs

In this work, a new surface modification of the bamboo substrate with chitosan was studied, followed by subsequent treatment with gold nanoparticles (AuNP) by the exhaustion method, aiming at obtaining a technical textile with ultraviolet (UV) protection. The treatment with chitosan in the bamboo substrate induced an increase in the AuNP adsorption due to the electrostatic interactions between the chitosan amino groups and the citrate ion that surrounds the AuNP. The nanoparticles were obtained by the chemical reduction method, with some adaptations, using sodium citrate as a reducing agent/stabilizer and chlorouronic acid as precursor. The AuNP were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and reflection, showing an average size of 35 nm. The presence of AuNP on the fiber surface was confirmed by SEM and XRD, with crystallographic peaks characteristic of gold. The UV protection factor was tested on the material, demonstrating excellent results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Simvastatin-induced cardiac autonomic control improvement in fructose-fed female rats

OBJECTIVE: Because autonomic dysfunction has been found to lead to cardiometabolic disorders and because studies have reported that simvastatin treatment has neuroprotective effects, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of simvastatin treatment on cardiovascular and autonomic changes in fructose-fed female rats. METHODS: Female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: controls (n=8), fructose (n=8), and fructose+ simvastatin (n=8). Fructose overload was induced by supplementing the drinking water with fructose (100 mg/L, 18 wks). Simvastatin treatment (5 mg/kg/day for 2 wks) was performed by gavage. The arterial pressure was recorded using a data acquisition system. Autonomic control was evaluated by pharmacological blockade. RESULTS: Fructose overload induced an increase in the fasting blood glucose and triglyceride levels and insulin resistance. The constant rate of glucose disappearance during the insulin intolerance test was reduced in the fructose group (3.4+ 0.32%/min) relative to that in the control group (4.4+ 0.29%/min). Fructose+simvastatin rats exhibited increased insulin sensitivity (5.4+0.66%/min). The fructose and fructose+simvastatin groups demonstrated an increase in the mean arterial pressure compared with controls rats (fructose: 124+2 mmHg and fructose+simvastatin: 126 + 3 mmHg vs. controls: 112 + 2 mmHg). The sympathetic effect was enhanced in the fructose group (73 + 7 bpm) compared with that in the control (48 + 7 bpm) and fructose+simvastatin groups (31+8 bpm). The vagal effect was increased in fructose+simvastatin animals (84 + 7 bpm) compared with that in control (49 + 9 bpm) and fructose animals (46+5 bpm). CONCLUSION: Simvastatin treatment improved insulin sensitivity and cardiac autonomic control in an experimental model of metabolic syndrome in female rats. These effects were independent of the improvements in the classical plasma lipid profile and of reductions in arterial pressure. These results support the hypothesis that statins reduce the cardiometabolic risk in females with metabolic syndrome

Hypertension induces additional cardiometabolic impairments and attenuates aerobic exercise training adaptations in fructose-fed ovariectomized rats

We tested whether hypertension favors the development of additional cardiometabolic changes in fructose-fed ovariectomized rats and how it affects aerobic exercise training (ET) effects. All rats received fructose in drinking water (10%) beginning at weaning, were ovariectomized at 10 weeks of age and divided into the normotensive sedentary (NFOS) and trained (NFOT) and hypertensive sedentary (HFOS) and trained (HFOT) groups. ET was performed on a treadmill. Arterial pressure (AP) was directly recorded; heart rate and AP variabilities were analyzed. Lipoperoxidation (LPO) and antioxidant enzyme levels were measured in the left ventricle. In addition to increased AP levels, when compared with the NFOS group, the hypertensive groups had resting tachycardia, a reduction of 29% in the pulse interval variance (VAR-PI), 19% in RMSSD (root mean square of successive differences, a cardiac parasympathetic index) and 53% in the α-index (spontaneous baroreflex), while the systolic AP variance (VAR-SAP) and its low-frequency band (LF-SAP) were sharply increased. ET did not alter AP levels. Even in the presence of hypertension, ET induced resting bradycardia, decreases of 33% in VAR-SAP and 49% in LF-SAP, and an increase of more than 60% in VAR-PI and the α-index. However, some of these parameters were still impaired relative to those of normotensive rats. LPO was reduced and catalase was increased in both trained groups, with no difference between the normotensive and hypertensive groups. Negative correlations were obtained between LPO and RMSSD (r=-0.60, P<0.05) and α-index (r=-0.63, P<0.05). In conclusion, hypertension augmented the dysfunctions in fructose-fed ovariectomized rats and attenuated metabolic aerobic ET benefits. These changes may be related to cardiovascular autonomic and oxidative stress alterations.Fil: De Brito Monzani, Janaina O.. Universidade Federal do Maranhao; BrasilFil: Sanches, Iris Callado. Universidade São Judas Tadeu ; BrasilFil: Bernardes, Nathalia. Universidade Nove de Julho; BrasilFil: Ponciano, Kátia. Universidade São Judas Tadeu ; BrasilFil: Moraes Silva, Ivana C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Irigoyen, Maria Cláudia. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Llesuy, Susana Francisca. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Química Analítica y Fisicoquímica. Cátedra de Química General e Inorgánica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad Medicina. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular; ArgentinaFil: De Angelis, Kátia. Universidade Nove de Julho; Brasi

Economia, agricultura e clima através de modelo digital do terreno na microrregião Vale do Ipanema | Economy, agriculture and climate through model digital terrain in micro region Vale of Ipanema

Partindo da ideia que a agricultura está amplamente ligada aos fatores climáticos como temperatura e umidade relativa do ar, e que ela pode contribuir para o aumento de renda, geração de emprego, inclusive de verificar novas fronteiras agrícolas e consequentemente o aumento do PIB e IDH, que é considerado baixo na microrregião. Nesse estudo, foi feita a modelagem digital do terreno da microrregião Vale do Ipanema e de seus municípios, para os parâmetros de precipitação, temperatura, PIB, IDH e população. Os municípios analisados foram: Águas Belas, Buíque, Itaíba, Pedra, Tupanatinga e Venturosa.Com as análises climáticas foi possível perceber que a microrregião apresenta uma baixa capacidade hídrica, devido aos períodos longos de estiagem e as chuvas irregulares, mas mesmo assim a economia local se destaca com a maior produção leiteira pernambucana e como um grande contribuinte à agricultura familiar.Starting from the idea that agriculture is largely linked to climatic factors such as temperature and relative humidity, and it can contribute to increased income, employment generation, including checking new agricultural frontiers and hence the increase in GDP and HDI, which is considered low in the micro. In this study, was made the digital terrain modeling of the micro region of Ipanema Valley, and its municipalities for the precipitation parameters, temperature, GDP, HDI and population, in order to view the development of the region studied. Municipalities analyzed were: Águas Belas, Buíque, Itaíba, Pedra, Tupanatinga and Venturosa. With climate analysis was possible to realize that the micro-region has a low water capacity due to long periods of drought and erratic rainfall, yet the economy site stands out with the highest milk production Pernambuco and as a major contributor to family farming

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity