Functional status and impact of the disease in people with COPD according to symptoms’ burden

Background: COPD is a heterogeneous disease. Better understanding of its trajectory, especially considering symptoms level, may help improving disease management. We described the evolution of functional status and impact of the disease in people with COPD according to symptoms level. Methods: People with COPD were assessed monthly for 6 months. Participants were grouped by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria in low (GOLD A & C) or high (GOLD B & D) symptom burden, based on the baseline values in the modified medical research council dyspnoea scale. Quadriceps muscle strength (QMS)–handheld dynamometry, 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STS) and COPD assessment test (CAT) were collected. Differences within/between groups over time were explored with (non-)parametric mixed ANOVAs and Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Results: 87 people (85%♂, 68±9y, FEV1 51±20pp, 54% high symptoms) participated. People with low symptoms presented higher 1STS (p=0.01) and lower CAT (p<0.01). Improvements in 1STS and CAT over time (p<0.01) were found regardless of group allocation (Fig. 1). There were no group*time interaction or other significant differences. Conclusion: The pattern of progression in functional status and impact of the disease seems similar in people with COPD independently of symptoms’ burden, with improvements in CAT and 1STS over time. Reasons for this finding must be explored.publishe

Alteração da resposta imune mediada por células durante o tratamento com benzonidazol

Coelhos inoculados com tripomastigotas da cepa Ernestina do Trypanosoma cruzi tiveram parasitemias, demonstradas pelo xenodiagnóstico, até cinco meses e meio após a infecção. O tratamento de alguns desses coelhos com benzonidazol, na dose de 8mg/kg durante sessenta dias, após dois meses de infecção, resultou na negativação dos xenos após 30 dias de uso da medicação. Os coelhos chagásicos crônicos, após seis meses de infecção, já tinham a parasitemia subpatente quando foram submetidos a tratamento idêntico àqueles da fase aguda. Em ambos os casos, os coelhos tratados com benzonidazol tiveram títulos de anticorpos humorais semelhantes àqueles verificados nos coelhos chagásicos não- tratados, inclusive durante a quimioterapia. A não alteração da imunidade humoral em coelhos tratados foi comprovada quando animais chagásicos e não chagásicos submetidos ao tratamento produziram títulos de anticorpos hemolíticos idênticos àqueles verificados nos animais não-tratados. Em acentuado contraste, a função imune timo-dependente foi severamente alterada pelo uso do benzonidazol. As reações de hipersensibilidade tardia contra um antígeno sub- celular do T. cruzi foram suprimidas durante a vigência do tratamento dos coelhos chagásicos. Paralelamente, estas reações eram intensas nos coelhos chagásicos não-tratados e negativas em coelhos controles normais. Todavia, as reações cutâneas tornaram-se novamente positivas 10 dias após o tratamento. Foi interessante notar que as reações de hipersensibilidade tardia in vivo, em coelhos imunizados com BCG e testados com PPD ou em coelhos sensibilizados com DNCB também foram suprimidas durante o tratamento com o benzonidazol. Contudo, as reações de imunidade celular contra estes antígenos também reverteram aos valores normais 7 a 10 dias após a suspensão do benzonidazol. Resultados semelhantes foram relatados em relação ao nifurtimox, outra droga utilizada no tratamento da doença de Chagas. O benzonidazol e o nifurtimox são compostos nitro-aromáticos cuja nitrorredução resulta na formação de metabólitos intermediários potencialmente citotóxicos para o protozoário e para as células do hospedeiro.Rabbits inoculated with trypomastigotes of the Ernestina strain of Trypanosoma cruzi showed parasitemias, which were demonstrated by xenodiagnosis during five and half months of the infection. The administration of 8mg/kg/day for 2 months of benznidazole in rabbits with two months infection resulted in persistently negative xenodiagnoses after 30 days of chemotherapy. Also rabbits with chronic Chagas' disease showing negative parasitemia six months after infection were treated with benznidazole. Both groups of rabbits that received intraperitoneal injections of the drug had titers of serum antibodies to the parasite similar to those shown in untreated T. cruzi-infected rabbits. That the humoral antibody response is not altered by the benznidazole was demonstrated in other experiments, which showed that the animals under chemotherapy can produce hemolytic antibody titers as high as those found in Controls as wellas in T. cruzi-infected untreated rabbits. In marked contrast, the thymus-dependent immune function was severely affected by benznidazole. The delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction against a T. cruzi subcellular antigen was suppressed during chemotherapy, whereas the reaction was consistently present in untreated T. cruzi-infected rabbits. However, delayed-type hypersensitivity against the parasite antigen could be elicited 10 days after cessation of treatment. Also delayed hypersensitivity in rabbits immunised with BCG and tested using PPD or in rabbits sensitised to DNCB were also suppressed by benznidazole treatment. It has been shown therefore that both drugs used for treating Chagas' disease can produce profound alterations in the thymus-dependent immune response. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are nitro-aromatic compounds that undergo enzymatic reduction with production of intermediate metabolites that can be strongly cytotoxic for the T. cruzi and for the mammalian cells

COPD profiles and treatable traits using minimal resources: identification, decision tree and longitudinal stability

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly heterogeneous and complex. Hence, personalising assessments and treatments to this population across different settings and available resources imposes challenges and debate. Research efforts have been made to identify clinical phenotypes or profiles for prognostic and therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, such profiles often do not describe treatable traits, focus on complex physiological/ pulmonary measures which are frequently not available across settings, lack validation and/or their stability over time is unknown. Objectives: To identify profiles and their treatable traits based on simple and meaningful measures; to develop and validate a profile decision tree; and to explore profiles’ stability over time in people with COPD. Methods: An observational, prospective study was conducted with people with COPD. Clinical characteristics, lung function, symptoms, impact of the disease (COPD assessment test–CAT), healthrelated quality of life, physical activity, lower-limb muscle strength and functional status were collected cross-sectionally and a subsample was followed-up monthly over six months. A principal component analysis and a clustering procedure with k-medoids were applied to identify profiles. Pulmonary and extrapulmonary (i.e., physical, symptoms and health status, and behavioural/life-style risk factors) treatable traits were identified in each profile based on the established cut-offs for each measure available in the literature. The decision tree was developed with 70% and validated with 30% of the sample, cross-sectionally. Agreement between the profile predicted by the decision tree and the profile defined by the clustering procedure was determined using Cohen’s Kappa. Stability was explored over time with a stability score defined as the percentage ratio between the number of timepoints that a participant was classified in the same profile (most frequent profile for that participant) and the total number of timepoints (i.e., 6). Results: 352 people with COPD (67.4 ± 9.9 years; 78.1% male; FEV1 = 56.2 ± 20.6% predicted) participated and 90 (67.6 ± 8.9 years; 85.6% male; FEV1 = 52.1 ± 19.9% predicted) were followedup. Four profiles were identified with distinct treatable traits. The decision tree was composed by the CAT, age and FEV1% predicted and had an agreement of 71.7% (Cohen’s Kappa = 0.62, p < 0.001) with the actual profiles. 48.9% of participants remained in the same profile whilst 51.1% moved between two (47.8%) and three (3.3%) profiles over time. The overall stability of profiles was 86.8 ± 15%. Conclusions: Profiles and treatable traits can be identified in people with COPD with simple and meaningful measures possibly available even in minimal-resource settings. Regular assessments are recommended as people with COPD may change profile over time and hence their needs of personalised treatment.publishe

Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. Urban ecosystems

Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 requires member states to Map and Assess the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). This report provides guidance for mapping and assessment of urban ecosystems. The MAES urban pilot is a collaboration between the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, volunteering Member States and cities, and stakeholders. Its ultimate goal is to deliver a knowledge base for policy and management of urban ecosystems by analysing urban green infrastructure, condition of urban ecosystems and ecosystem services. This report presents guidance for mapping urban ecosystems and includes an indicator framework to assess the condition of urban ecosystems and urban ecosystem services. The scientific framework of mapping and assessment is designed to support in particular urban planning policy and policy on green infrastructure at urban, metropolitan and regional scales. The results are based on the following different sources of information: a literature survey of 54 scientific articles, an online-survey (on urban ecosystems, related policies and planning instruments and with participation of 42 cities), ten case studies (Portugal: Cascais, Oeiras, Lisbon; Italy: Padua, Trento, Rome; The Netherlands: Utrecht; Poland: Poznań; Spain: Barcelona; Norway: Oslo), and a two-day expert workshop. The case studies constituted the core of the MAES urban pilot. They provided real examples and applications of how mapping and assessment can be organized to support policy; on top, they provided the necessary expertise to select a set of final indicators for condition and ecosystem services. Urban ecosystems or cities are defined here as socio-ecological systems which are composed of green infrastructure and built infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (GI) is understood in this report as the multi-functional network of urban green spaces situated within the boundary of the urban ecosystem. Urban green spaces are the structural components of urban GI. This study has shown that there is a large scope for urban ecosystem assessments. Firstly, urban policies increasingly use urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in their planning process. Secondly, an increasing amount of data at multiple spatial scales is becoming available to support these policies, to provide a baseline, and to compare or benchmark cities with respect to the extent and management of the urban ecosystem. Concrete examples are given on how to delineate urban ecosystems, how to choose an appropriate spatial scale, and how to map urban ecosystems based on a combination of national or European datasets (including Urban Atlas) and locally collected information (e.g., location of trees). Also examples of typologies for urban green spaces are presented. This report presents an indicator framework which is composed of indicators to assess for urban ecosystem condition and for urban ecosystem services. These are the result of a rigorous selection process and ensure consistent mapping and assessment across Europe. The MAES urban pilot will continue with work on the interface between research and policy. The framework presented in this report needs to be tested and validated across Europe, e.g. on its applicability at city scale, on how far the methodology for measuring ecosystem condition and ecosystem service delivery in urban areas can be used to assess urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions

Preparation of a Nanoemulsion with Carapa guianensis

Andiroba (Carapa guianensis) seeds are the source of an oil with a wide range of biological activities and ethnopharmacological uses. However, few studies have devoted attention to innovative formulations, including nanoemulsions. The present study aimed to obtain a colloidal system with the andiroba oil using a low-energy and organic-solvent-free method. Moreover, the preliminary residual larvicidal activity of the nanoemulsion against Aedes aegypti was evaluated. Oleic and palmitic acids were the major fatty acids, in addition to the phytosterol β-sitosterol and limonoids (tetranortriterpenoids). The required hydrophile-lipophile was around 11.0 and the optimal nanoemulsion was obtained using polysorbate 85. The particle size distribution suggested the presence of small droplets (mean diameter around 150 nm) and low polydispersity index (around 0.150). The effect of temperature on particle size distribution revealed that no major droplet size increase occurred. The preliminary residual larvicidal assay suggested that the mortality increased as a function of time. The present study allowed achievement of a potential bioactive oil in water nanoemulsion that may be a promising controlled release system. Moreover, the ecofriendly approach involved in the preparation associated with the great bioactive potential of C. guianensis makes this nanoemulsion very promising for valorization of this Amazon raw material

N-Terminal Prolactin-Derived Fragments, Vasoinhibins, Are Proapoptoptic and Antiproliferative in the Anterior Pituitary

The anterior pituitary is under a constant cell turnover modulated by gonadal steroids. In the rat, an increase in the rate of apoptosis occurs at proestrus whereas a peak of proliferation takes place at estrus. At proestrus, concomitant with the maximum rate of apoptosis, a peak in circulating levels of prolactin is observed. Prolactin can be cleaved to different N-terminal fragments, vasoinhibins, which are proapoptotic and antiproliferative factors for endothelial cells. It was reported that a 16 kDa vasoinhibin is produced in the rat anterior pituitary by cathepsin D. In the present study we investigated the anterior pituitary production of N-terminal prolactin-derived fragments along the estrous cycle and the involvement of estrogens in this process. In addition, we studied the effects of a recombinant vasoinhibin, 16 kDa prolactin, on anterior pituitary apoptosis and proliferation. We observed by Western Blot that N-terminal prolactin-derived fragments production in the anterior pituitary was higher at proestrus with respect to diestrus and that the content and release of these prolactin forms from anterior pituitary cells in culture were increased by estradiol. A recombinant preparation of 16 kDa prolactin induced apoptosis (determined by TUNEL assay and flow cytometry) of cultured anterior pituitary cells and lactotropes from ovariectomized rats only in the presence of estradiol, as previously reported for other proapoptotic factors in the anterior pituitary. In addition, 16 kDa prolactin decreased forskolin-induced proliferation (evaluated by BrdU incorporation) of rat total anterior pituitary cells and lactotropes in culture and decreased the proportion of cells in S-phase of the cell cycle (determined by flow cytometry). In conclusion, our study indicates that the anterior pituitary production of 16 kDa prolactin is variable along the estrous cycle and increased by estrogens. The antiproliferative and estradiol-dependent proapoptotic actions of this vasoinhibin may be involved in the control of anterior pituitary cell renewal

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

The inventory of geological heritage of the state of São Paulo, Brazil: Methodological basis, results and perspectives

An inventory of geological sites based on solid and clear criteria is a first step for any geoconservation strategy. This paper describes the method used in the geoheritage inventory of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and presents its main results. This inventory developed by the geoscientific community aimed to identify geosites with scientific value in the whole state, using a systematic approach. All 142 geosites representative of 11 geological frameworks were characterised and quantitatively evaluated according to their scientific value and risk of degradation, in order to establish priorities for their future management. An online database of the inventory is under construction, which will be available to be easily consulted and updated by the geoscientific community. All data were made available to the State Geological Institute as the backbone for the implementation of a future state geoconservation strategy.The authors acknowledge the Science Without Borders Programme, Process 075/2012, which supported this study and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Process 2011/17261-6. We also thanks C. Mazoca for his help with maps and figures.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio