Molecular determinants of the SARS-CoV-2 fusion peptide activity

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, emerged in late 2019 and quickly spread worldwide, resulting in over 125 million infections and 2.7 million deaths as of March 2021 accordingly to the World Health Organization. Despite the great advances achieved by the scientific community in providing crucial information about this virus, we are still far from completely understanding it. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus, meaning that it is encapsulated by a lipid membrane, which needs to be fused to the host membrane to begin the infection process. Fusion between viral and host membrane is catalyzed by the spike (S) glycoprotein. The S-protein is composed of essential elements for the infection mechanism, namely the receptor-binding domain known to bind to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 during the viral entry pathway. Another important region, known as the fusion peptide (FP), plays an essential part in the fusion mechanism, by inserting into and disturbing the host membrane. There is still not a consensus among scientists in terms of the fusion peptide location on the S-protein sequence, with two major candidate regions having been proposed. We recently used a machine learning-based tool developed by us to identify viral FPs with accuracies over 85%. With this tool a putative FP, previously suggested in the literature, has been identified, as well as other proposals including the requirement of more than one FP. To further address this question, we are performing a systematic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 putative FPs, using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, which provide a detailed perspective of how these peptides insert and interact with the membrane. In parallel, we are characterizing these systems experimentally. Additionally we are exploring therapeutic strategies targeting these regions. Given the major role of the FP in the virus infection process, this work provides relevant insights and contributes to the fight against COVID-19.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interference of oropharyngeal dysphagia in food consumption in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis II

PURPOSE: this study aimed to relate the degree of dysphagia and food consumption of individuals with mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II). METHOD: it was included individuals with MPS II of the genetics department at the State University of Alagoas and excluded those with other types of mucopolysaccharidosis and in use of alternative way of supply. There were performed anthropometric, dietetic, speech therapy for dysphagia,clinical evaluation and otorrinolarigologic videoendoscopy swallowing. RESULTS: there were studied 07 individuals, male, between 5 and 14 years old: from them, more than 50% were taking anti-hypertensive and 42.8% had the severe form of disease. Six had serious deficit height / age and over 70% were obese according to Body Mass Index (BMI). Dysphagia was observed in five subjects, with daily average caloric intake 920.15 ± 244.09 calories, against 1264.94 ± 106.85 calories for those without such changes, with significantly greater intraindividual variation in the group of patients with dysphagia (p <0.05). In addition, individuals without dysphagia had higher food intake of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. As for micronutrients, except average daily intake of iron and vitamin E, all other assessed had higher average daily consumption in the group without dysphagia (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: it was observed a high frequency of dysphagia in the studied patients with MPS II, and this was associated with low caloric food consumption and imbalance in the proportion and amount of macronutrients and part of micronutrients.OBJETIVO: o presente estudo visou relacionar o grau de disfagia com o consumo alimentar de indivíduos com mucopolissacaridose II (MPS II). MÉTODO: foram incluídos indivíduos com MPS II do departamento de genética da Universidade Estadual de Alagoas e excluídos aqueles com outros tipos de mucopolissacaridoses, bem como que estivessem em uso de via alternativa de alimentação. Realizadas avaliações antropométrica, dietética, fonoaudiológica para disfagia, clínica otorrinolaringológica e a videoendoscopia da deglutição. RESULTADOS: foram estudados 07 indivíduos, do gênero masculino, entre 5 e 14 anos de idade, dos quais mais de 50% faziam uso de anti-hipertensivo e 42,8% manifestavam a forma grave da doença. Seis deles apresentaram déficit de altura/ idade e mais de 70% encontravam-se obesos segundo o Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC). Foi observada disfagia em cinco deles, com média diária de consumo calórico de 920,15 ± 244,09 calorias, contra 1264,94 ± 106,85 calorias para aqueles sem disfagia, com variação intra-individual significativamente maior no grupo de portadores de disfagia (p < 0,05). Além disso, os indivíduos sem disfagia apresentaram consumo alimentar mais elevado de carboidratos, proteínas e lipídios. Já para os micronutrientes, com exceção da média de consumo diária de ferro e vitamina E, todos os outros avaliados apresentaram médias diárias de consumo maiores no grupo sem disfagia (p < 0,05). CONCLUSÃO: foi observada uma elevada frequência de disfagia nos portadores de MPS II estudados, e isso foi associado ao baixo consumo alimentar calórico e desequilíbrio na proporção e quantidade de macronutrientes e de parte dos micronutrientes.UNCISAL Faculdade de Fonoaudiologia de AlagoasUniversidade Federal de AlagoasCentro de Estudos Superiores de Maceió Escola de Ciências da SaúdeUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Vídeo educativo sobre a medida da pressão arterial: impacto no conhecimento de estudantes de enfermagem / Educational video on blood pressure measurement: impact on nursing students' knowledge

Avaliar o impacto de um vídeo educativo no conhecimento de estudantes de enfermagem sobre o procedimento da medida indireta da pressão arterial utilizando aparelho oscilométrico. Estudo quase-experimental, quantitativo, do tipo antes e depois, realizado com 42 estudantes de enfermagem, por meio do Google Forms. Um instrumento foi utilizado para avaliar o conhecimento teórico dos estudantes, antes e após a apresentação de um vídeo educativo sobre a temática.  As variáveis analisadas foram: preparo do paciente e do ambiente, cuidados com o manguito, manutenção dos equipamentos e procedimento. As respostas dos estudantes foram classificadas como “Correta”, “Parcialmente Correta” e “Incorreta”. Os dados foram analisados através docálculo de frequências absolutas e relativas. Os estudantes demonstraram melhora no conhecimento sobre o intervalo de tempo entre as medidas da pressão arterial (81%) e a escolha do manguito (33,3%). O vídeo educativo teve impacto positivo no conhecimento dos estudantes

Relação entre exame clínico e radiográfico no diagnóstico da osteoartrite equina

oint disease, specifically osteoarthritis, is one of the most prevalent and debilitating diseases affecting athletic horses. Despite technological advances in recent decades, clinical and radiographic examinations are still the most commonly used methods for diagnosis of equine osteoarthritis. Clinical data of 2872 horses were compiled and compared for this study, it were evaluated 146 cases of osteoarthritis and radiographies of 259 affected joints were reviewed in order to verify how far radiographic examination is consistent with the clinical examination, and to correlate the clinical changes with physical activity performed by horses. Records showed that osteoarthritis in the fetlock and pastern joints (digit) when displaying radiographic changes makes horses more prone to show lameness, compared to others who also have osteoarthritis with radiographic evidence, but in the tarsocrural joint. However, radiographic scores do not correlate the radiographic image with the presence or absence of lameness. The type of physical activity performed by the horses had no influence on the frequency of clinical signs of osteoarthritis. The horses with osteoarthritis had an average of 8.4 ± 3.9 years old and were used for ride, western and work with cattle. Among the breeds studied, those that most frequently had horses with osteoarthritis were Mangalarga Marchador, Crioulo and Quarter Horse.A doença articular, especificamente osteoartrite, é uma das afecções mais prevalentes e debilitantes que acometem os equinos atletas. Apesar dos avanços tecnológicos nas últimas décadas, os exames clínico e radiográfico ainda são os meios mais comumente utilizados para o diagnóstico da osteoartrite equina. Neste estudo foram compilados e confrontados dados clínicos de 2872 equinos. Foram avaliados 146 casos de osteoartrite e analisadas radiograficamente 259 articulações com osteoartrite, para verificar quanto o exame radiográfico é condizente com o exame físico, e relacionar alterações clínicas com a modalidade de atividade física executada pelos cavalos. Pode-se constatar que a osteoartrite interfalangeana e metacarpo/metatarso falangeana (dígito) quando exibe alterações radiográficas faz com que os cavalos sejam mais propensos a claudicar, comparativamente a outros que também apresentam osteoartrite evidenciada radiograficamente, porém na articulação do tarso. Contudo, os escores radiográficos não correlacionaram a imagem radiográfica com a presença ou não de claudicação. A modalidade de atividade física não interferiu na frequência dos sinais clínicos de osteoartrite. Os equinos que mais apresentaram osteoartrite possuíam idade média de 8,4 ± 3,9 anos e eram utilizados para romaria, provas de quarto de milha e trabalho com o gado. Dentre as raças estudadas, as que mais frequentemente apresentaram equinos com osteoartrite foram Mangalarga Marchador, Crioulo e Quarto de Milha

Caderno de pós-graduação em direito: direito do trabalho contemporâneo

Os trabalhos científicos ora apresentados são fruto da disciplina Direito do trabalho contemporâneo, ministrada no segundo bimestre de 2022 pela Professora Moara Silva Vaz de Lima. No bimestre, foram elaborados artigos que abordam as novas dinâmicas empregatícias no mundo contemporâneo, sob o prisma do direito do trabalho. Foram selecionados 2 (dois) artigos sobre os assuntos e textos trabalhados durante o bimestre. Os textos são de autoria dos discentes da disciplina, sendo estas: Carolina de Morais Arruda e Ianka Laryssa Santos de Paula

Caderno de pós-graduação em direito: crédito rural e formas de financiamento no setor agrícola, prática processual consumerista e análise de jurisprudência

Os trabalhos científicos ora apresentados são fruto da disciplina Crédito Rural e Formas de Financiamentos no Setor Agrícola pelo Professor Felipe Bianchini e da disciplina Prática Processual Consumerista e Análise de Jurisprudência pela Professora Simone Magalhães, ministradas no terceiro bimestre de 2022. No bimestre, foram elaborados artigos que abordam o tema da disciplina, sob o prisma do Direito Agrário e da Prática Processual Consumerista e Análise de Jurisprudência. Foram selecionados 2 (dois) artigos referentes às temáticas trabalhadas durante o bimestre de cada disciplina, respectivamente. São estes, por sua vez, de autoria dos(as) discentes da disciplina: Carolina Sales Abraham e Hercília Maria Caminha Soares. A disciplina, pois, visa detalhar todas as nuances do processo estatal executivo na tutela dos interesses dos Agronegócios e sujeitos envolvidos, a fim de que os discentes desenvolvam raciocínio lógico-jurídico crítico para atuação jurídica e eficiente na resolução de demandas que envolvam o Agronegócio brasileiro

Brown Spider (Loxosceles genus) Venom Toxins: Tools for Biological Purposes

Venomous animals use their venoms as tools for defense or predation. These venoms are complex mixtures, mainly enriched of proteic toxins or peptides with several, and different, biological activities. In general, spider venom is rich in biologically active molecules that are useful in experimental protocols for pharmacology, biochemistry, cell biology and immunology, as well as putative tools for biotechnology and industries. Spider venoms have recently garnered much attention from several research groups worldwide. Brown spider (Loxosceles genus) venom is enriched in low molecular mass proteins (5–40 kDa). Although their venom is produced in minute volumes (a few microliters), and contain only tens of micrograms of protein, the use of techniques based on molecular biology and proteomic analysis has afforded rational projects in the area and permitted the discovery and identification of a great number of novel toxins. The brown spider phospholipase-D family is undoubtedly the most investigated and characterized, although other important toxins, such as low molecular mass insecticidal peptides, metalloproteases and hyaluronidases have also been identified and featured in literature. The molecular pathways of the action of these toxins have been reported and brought new insights in the field of biotechnology. Herein, we shall see how recent reports describing discoveries in the area of brown spider venom have expanded biotechnological uses of molecules identified in these venoms, with special emphasis on the construction of a cDNA library for venom glands, transcriptome analysis, proteomic projects, recombinant expression of different proteic toxins, and finally structural descriptions based on crystallography of toxins

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (&gt;66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution