Update on treatment of Hepatitis C: promising new molecules for difficult to treat patients: Atualizações no tratamento da Hepatite C: novas moléculas promissoras para pacientes de difícil tratamento

Introduction: Hepatitis C is a disease triggered due to an infection by the hepatitis C virus and presents challenges in its treatment, even with the development of multiple direct-acting antivirals agents. Patients with hepatic decompensation or hepatocellular carcinoma and who have experienced treatment failures due to viral variants depend on the development of new molecules, that can be effective as antivirals or with other alternative properties that collaborate to improve symptoms and to avoid or mitigate clinical consequences. Objective: The aim of this review was to verify which new molecules were discovered and can be promising in face of the still persistent challenges in the treatment of hepatitis C. Method: A narrative review was carried out, searching for the specific keywords in PubMed and Google Scholar and molecules with greater potential to meet the demand of difficult to treat patients were selected. Result: The literature search showed that researchers have been engaged in the identification and discovery of new active compounds using various tools for rational drug design, making possible structural modifications that lead to improved effectiveness and pharmacological properties. Conclusion: Several molecules are in the process of being tested to meet the demands of difficult-to-treat patients, including molecules from natural products, and have the potential to help these patients

COVID-19 diagnosis and SARS-CoV-2 viral load in hospitalized patients versus people with Flu-Like Syndrome

At the beginning of the pandemic, the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) did not to test all suspects cases of COVID-19, thus, hospitalized individuals, health professionals, and symptomatic contacts were prioritized. Contrary to the criteria adopted by the government, the municipality of Botucatu chose to test all people who manifested flu-like syndrome. We aimed to investigate whether positive cases for COVID-19 were more frequent in patients seeking diagnosis via SUS or in the group of people seeking diagnosis via Municipal Health Center and whether the viral load was expressed differently in hospitalized patients (HP) compared to mild symptoms (MHC). Results showed that there were no differences in the percentage between the groups. Regarding the viral load, significant differences were found between the samples from HP and MHC (3-10 days of symptoms), with HP presenting a lower viral load. The results provide significant information about the viral load at different time-lapses

Bioactive Ag3PO4/Polypropylene Composites for Inactivation of SARS-CoV?2 and Other Important Public Health Pathogens

The current unprecedented coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is increasingly demanding advanced materials and new technologies to protect us and inactivate SARS-CoV-2. In this research work, we report the manufacture of Ag3PO4 (AP)/polypropylene (PP) composites using a simple method and also reveal their long-term anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. This composite shows superior antibacterial (against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) and antifungal activity (against Candida albicans), thus having potential for a variety of technological applications. The as-manufactured materials were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, AFM, UV–vis spectroscopy, rheology, SEM, and contact angle to confirm their structural integrity. Based on the results of first-principles calculations at the density functional level, a plausible reaction mechanism for the initial events associated with the generation of both hydroxyl radical •OH and superoxide radical anion •O2– in the most reactive (110) surface of AP was proposed. AP/PP composites proved to be an attractive avenue to provide human beings with a broad spectrum of biocide activity

Integrative Analysis of the Ethanol Tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Ethanol (EtOH) alters many cellular processes in yeast. An integrated view of different EtOH-tolerant phenotypes and their long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is not yet available. Here, large-scale data integration showed the core EtOH-responsive pathways, lncRNAs, and triggers of higher (HT) and lower (LT) EtOH-tolerant phenotypes. LncRNAs act in a strain-specific manner in the EtOH stress response. Network and omics analyses revealed that cells prepare for stress relief by favoring activation of life-essential systems. Therefore, longevity, peroxisomal, energy, lipid, and RNA/protein metabolisms are the core processes that drive EtOH tolerance. By integrating omics, network analysis, and several other experiments, we showed how the HT and LT phenotypes may arise: (1) the divergence occurs after cell signaling reaches the longevity and peroxisomal pathways, with CTA1 and ROS playing key roles; (2) signals reaching essential ribosomal and RNA pathways via SUI2 enhance the divergence; (3) specific lipid metabolism pathways also act on phenotype-specific profiles; (4) HTs take greater advantage of degradation and membraneless structures to cope with EtOH stress; and (5) our EtOH stress-buffering model suggests that diauxic shift drives EtOH buffering through an energy burst, mainly in HTs. Finally, critical genes, pathways, and the first models including lncRNAs to describe nuances of EtOH tolerance are reported here