NMDA receptor remodeling and nNOS activation in mice after unilateral striatal injury with 6-OHDA.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by selective dopaminergic loss. Non dopaminergic neurotransmitters such as glutamate are also involved in PD progression. NMDA receptor/postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95)/neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activation is involved in neuronal excitability in PD. Here, we are focusing on the evaluating these post-synaptic protein levels in the 6-OHDA model of PD. Adult male C57BL/6 mice subjected to unilateral striatal injury with 6-OHDA were assessed at 1-, 2-, or 4-weeks post-lesion. Animals were subjected to an apomorphine-induced rotation test followed by the analysis of protein content, synaptic structure, and NOx production. All biochemical analysis was performed comparing the control versus lesioned sides of the same animal. 6-OHDA mice exhibited contralateral rotation activity, difficulties in coordinating movements, and changes in Iba-1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression during the whole period. At one week of survival, the mice showed a shift in NMDA composition, favoring the GluN2A subunit and increased PSD95 and nNOS expression and NOx formation. After two-weeks, a decrease in the total number of synapses was observed in the lesioned side. However, the number of excitatory synapses was increased with a higher content of GluN1 subunit and PSD95. After four weeks, NMDA receptor subunits restored to control levels. Interestingly, NOx formation in the serum increased. This study reveals, for the first time, the temporal course of behavioral deficits and glutamatergic synaptic plasticity through NMDAr subunit shift. Together, these data demonstrate that dopamine depletion leads to a fine adaptive response over time, which can be used for further studies of therapeutic management adjustments with the progression of PD.

Biofuel from wastewater-grown microalgae: A biorefinery approach using hydrothermal liquefaction and catalyst upgrading.

Third-generation biofuels from microalgae are becoming necessary for sustainable energy. In this context, this study explores the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae biomass grown in wastewater, consisting of 30% Chlorella vulgaris, 69% Tetradesmus obliquus, and 1% cyanobacteria Limnothrix planctonica, and the subsequent upgrading of the produced bio-oil. The novelty of the work lies in integrating microalgae cultivation in wastewater with HTL in a biorefinery approach, enhanced using a catalyst to upgrade the bio-oil. Different temperatures (300, 325, and 350 °C) and reaction times (15, 30, and 45 min) were tested. The bio-oil upgrading occurred with a Cobalt-Molybdenum (CoMo) catalyst for 1 h at 375 °C. Post-HTL, although the hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratio decreased from 1.70 to 1.38-1.60, the oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratio also decreased from 0.39 to 0.079-0.104, and the higher heating value increased from 20.6 to 36.4-38.3 MJ kg-1. Palmitic acid was the main component in all bio-oil samples. The highest bio-oil yield was at 300 °C for 30 min (23.4%). Upgrading increased long-chain hydrocarbons like heptadecane (5%), indicating biofuel potential, though nitrogenous compounds such as hexadecanenitrile suggest a need for further hydrodenitrogenation. Aqueous phase, solid residues, and gas from HTL can be used for applications such as biomass cultivation, bio-hydrogen, valuable chemicals, and materials like carbon composites and cement additives, promoting a circular economy. The study underscores the potential of microalgae-derived bio-oil as sustainable biofuel, although further refinement is needed to meet current fuel standards.

Phylogeny structures species' interactions in experimental ecological communities.

Species' traits and interactions are products of evolutionary history. Despite the long-standing hypothesis that closely related species possess similar traits, and thus experience stronger competition, measuring the effect of evolutionary history on the ecology of natural communities remains challenging. We propose a novel framework to test whether phylogeny influences patterns of coexistence and abundance of species assemblages. In our approach, phylogenetic trees are used to parameterize species' interactions, which in turn determine the abundance of species in a given assemblage. We use likelihoods to score models parameterized with a given phylogeny, and contrast them with models built using random trees, allowing us to test whether phylogenetic information helps to predict species' abundances. Our statistical framework reveals that interactions are indeed structured by phylogeny in a large set of experimental plant communities. Our results confirm that evolutionary history can help predict, and potentially manage or conserve, the structure and function of complex ecological communities.

Spectro-ViT: A vision transformer model for GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS reconstruction using spectrograms.

This study investigated the use of a Vision Transformer (ViT) for reconstructing GABA-edited Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) data from a reduced number of transients. Transients refer to the samples collected during an MRS acquisition by repeating the experiment to generate a signal of sufficient quality. Specifically, 80 transients were used instead of the typical 320 transients, aiming to reduce scan time. The 80 transients were pre-processed and converted into a spectrogram image representation using the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT). A pre-trained ViT, named Spectro-ViT, was fine-tuned and then tested using in-vivo GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS data. Its performance was compared against other pipelines in the literature using quantitative quality metrics and estimated metabolite concentration values, with the typical 320-transient scans serving as the reference for comparison. The Spectro-ViT model exhibited the best overall quality metrics among all other pipelines against which it was compared. The metabolite concentrations from Spectro-ViT's reconstructions for GABA+ achieved the best average R2 value of 0.67 and the best average Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) value of 9.68%, with no significant statistical differences found compared to the 320-transient reference. The code to reproduce this research is available at https://github.com/MICLab-Unicamp/Spectro-ViT.

Lymphocyte Levels and Morbidity and Mortality in Cardiovascular Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

INTRODUCTION: A year ago, in a sample of 113 patients, our research group found that a high number of lymphocytes in the immediate postoperative period was correlated to a poor prognosis in cardiovascular surgeries. This study is an expansion of the initial study in order to confirm this finding. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 338 consecutive patients submitted to cardiovascular surgeries with cardiopulmonary bypass performed at Hospital Universitário Ciências Médicas (Belo Horizonte/Brazil) from 2015 to 2017. We analyzed 39 variables with the outcomes death, hospital stay, and intensive care unit stay. RESULTS: The value of lymphocytes in the immediate postoperative period > 2175.0/mm³ was an indicator of poor prognosis in this sample (P<0.001). The variables female sex, age, high level of European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II, increased stay in the intensive care unit and in the ward, elevation of creatinine in the preoperative period and at intensive care unit discharge, elevation of the percentage of immediate postoperative period segmented neutrophils, high immediate postoperative period neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, fasting hyperglycemia, preoperative critical condition, reintubation, mild or transient acute renal failure, surgical infection, cardiopulmonary bypass, and aortic cross-clamping and mechanical ventilation durations also had an impact on the mortality outcome. CONCLUSION: The value of lymphocytes in the immediate postoperative period > 2175.0/mm3 was an indicator of poor prognosis in cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Correlations between ambient air pollution and the prevalence of hospitalisations and emergency room visits for respiratory diseases in children: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: It is known that exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. This review aimed to summarise observational studies on the impact of short and long-term exposure to ambient air pollution on prevalence of hospitalisations and/or emergency department visits caused by respiratory diseases in children and adolescents. SOURCES: Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched for the years 2018 to December 2022, including studies in any language. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: A total of 15 studies published between 2018 and 15 January 2022 were included in this review. PM2.5 was the most type of particulate matter studied. Short-term exposure to PM2,5, PM10, NO2, SO2 and O3, even at concentrations less than the current health-based guidelines, was significantly correlated with increased risk of outpatient/hospital visits and hospitalisations for respiratory diseases by children. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasise the importance and urgency of long-term control of air pollution and pollution-related diseases, especially among children and adolescents. There is a need for further research employing more homogeneous methodologies for assessing exposure and outcome measurements, in order to enable systematic reviews with meta-analysis.

Results of the 2023 ISBI challenge to reduce GABA-edited MRS acquisition time.

PURPOSE: Use a conference challenge format to compare machine learning-based gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) reconstruction models using one-quarter of the transients typically acquired during a complete scan. METHODS: There were three tracks: Track 1: simulated data, Track 2: identical acquisition parameters with in vivo data, and Track 3: different acquisition parameters with in vivo data. The mean squared error, signal-to-noise ratio, linewidth, and a proposed shape score metric were used to quantify model performance. Challenge organizers provided open access to a baseline model, simulated noise-free data, guides for adding synthetic noise, and in vivo data. RESULTS: Three submissions were compared. A covariance matrix convolutional neural network model was most successful for Track 1. A vision transformer model operating on a spectrogram data representation was most successful for Tracks 2 and 3. Deep learning (DL) reconstructions with 80 transients achieved equivalent or better SNR, linewidth and fit error compared to conventional 320 transient reconstructions. However, some DL models optimized linewidth and SNR without actually improving overall spectral quality, indicating a need for more robust metrics. CONCLUSION: DL-based reconstruction pipelines have the promise to reduce the number of transients required for GABA-edited MRS.

Pressurized pyrolysis of mattress residue: An alternative to landfill management.

Mattresses are a difficult waste to manage in landfills due to their large volume and low density. Pyrolysis treatment could reduce its volume while producing fuel or products valuable for the chemical industry. Pressurized pyrolysis at 400, 450, and 500 °C is carried out in a lab-scale autoclave at initial pressures 4.2, 8.4, and 16.8 bar. Product gas yield increases slightly along with elevated pressure as well as temperature. However, beyond 8.4 bar the initial pressure makes no discernible differences. CO and CO2 are the major gas species followed by CH4. CO contributes the most to the product gas energy content followed by C3 species, C2H6, and H2. Calculated energy content (heating value) is between 2 and 15 MJ·Nm-3. In terms of product gas energy content, low pressure pyrolysis is favorable over high pressure pyrolysis. According to integration areas of chromatographic measurements the liquid phase contains up to 25 % of N-compounds, with benzonitrile being the most abundant, followed by toluene, o-xylene, and ethylbenzene. The solid char maintains constant properties across operating conditions, with carbon and energy contents of approximately 75 wt% and 30 MJ·kg-1, respectively.

Predicting Surgical Resident Performance With Situational Judgment Tests.

PURPOSE: Situational judgment tests (SJTs) have been proposed as an efficient, effective, and equitable approach to residency program applicant selection. This study examined how SJTs can predict milestone performance during early residency. METHOD: General surgery residency program applicants during 3 selection cycles (2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021) completed SJTs. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestone performance data from selected applicants were collected in March and April 2019, 2020, and 2021 and from residents in March 2020, August 2020, March 2021, September 2021, and March 2022. Descriptive statistics and correlations were computed and analysis of variance tests performed to examine differences among 4 SJT performance groups: green, top 10% to 25%; yellow, next 25% to 50%; red, bottom 50%; and unknown, did not complete the SJT. RESULTS: Data were collected for 70 residents from 7 surgery residency programs. Differences were found for patient care ( F3,189 = 3.19, P = .03), medical knowledge ( F3,176 = 3.22, P = .02), practice-based learning and improvement ( F3,189 = 3.18, P = .04), professionalism ( F3,189 = 3.82, P = .01), interpersonal and communication skills ( F3,190 = 3.35, P = .02), and overall milestone score ( F3,189 = 3.44, P = .02). The green group performed better on patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, and overall milestone score. The yellow group performed better than the red group on professionalism and overall milestone score, better than the green group on interpersonal and communication skills, and better than the unknown group on all but practice-based learning and improvement. The red group outperformed the unknown group on all but professionalism and outperformed the green group on medical knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: SJTs demonstrate promise for assessing important noncognitive attributes in residency applicants and align with national efforts to review candidates more holistically and minimize potential biases.

Screening of alkaloids and withanolides isolated from Solanaceae plants for antifungal properties against non-wild type Sporothrix brasiliensis.

Antifungal resistance has often been found in animal sporotrichosis in Southern Brazil. The biological potential of compounds from plants of the Solanaceae family against infectious diseases is known, however, it is still unknown against Sporothrix brasiliensis. This study evaluated the anti-Sporothrix brasiliensis activity, synergism, cytotoxicity, and action mechanism of steroidal lactones (withanolides) and alkaloids isolated from these plants. Pure compounds of withanolide D (WNOD), physalin F (PHYF), withanicandin (WNIC), nicandin B (NICB), solasonine (SSON), and solamargine (SMAR) were tested against 12 Sporothrix brasiliensis isolated from cats (n = 11) and dogs (n = 2) through M38-A2 CLSI. For the compounds with the best activity, a checkerboard assay for synergism, sorbitol protection, and ergosterol effect for action mechanism; and MTT test for cytotoxicity were performed. The withanolides WNOD, PHYF, WNIC, and NICB were not antifungal, but SSON (MIC 0.125-1 mg/mL) and SMAR (MIC 0.5-1 mg/mL) were both fungistatic and fungicidal (MFC 0.5-1 mg/mL for both) against wild-type (WT) and non-WT isolates. The activity of SSON and SMAR was indifferent when combined with itraconazole. In the mechanism of action, cell wall and plasma membrane by complexation with ergosterol seemed to be two target structures of SSON and SMAR. SSON was selected for cytotoxicity, whose cell viability in MDBK cells ranged from 28.85 % to 101.75 %, and was higher than 87.49 % at concentrations ≤0.0015 mg/ml. Only the steroidal alkaloids SSON and SMAR were active against non-WT isolates, being promising antifungal candidates for the treatment of feline and canine sporotrichosis with low susceptibility to itraconazole.

Longitudinal estimates of resting energy expenditure using predictive equations in individuals with excess weight after weight loss: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To determine which resting energy expenditure (REE) predictive equation has the lowest bias in the aggregate level in individuals with excess weight during weight loss interventions. METHODS: Searches were performed in MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CENTRAL and gray literature databases. Longitudinal studies on weight loss interventions which evaluated REE by predictive equations compared to that measured by indirect calorimetry in adults with excess weight at different follow-up times were included. Meta-analyses were performed with the differences between biases of predictive equations of the REE at the different follow-up times of weight loss. RESULTS: Of the total of 2178 occurrences found in the databases, only eight studies were included. The Harris-Benedict (1919) equation showed the smallest differences between bias up to the third month (MD = 103.33 kcal; 95%CI = -39.01; 245.67), in the sixth month (MD = 59.16 kcal; 95%CI = 8.74; 109.57) and at the 12th month (MD = -71.41 kcal; 95%CI = -150.38; 7.55) of weight loss follow-up. Weight loss does not seem to have an effect on bias at different follow-up times. CONCLUSION: Harris-Benedict (1919) equation seems to be the most adequate to assess the REE of individuals with excess weight during weight loss. However, the finding of large estimated predictive intervals may indicate that predictive equations may not be handy tools for individuals losing and regaining weight due to changes other than body weight.

Trunk variability and local dynamic stability during gait after generalized fatigue induced by incremental exercise test in young women in different phases of the menstrual cycle.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify how generalized fatigue along with hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle affects trunk variability and local dynamic stability during gait. Methods: General fatigue was induced by an incremental test on a treadmill, and the menstrual cycle was divided into three phases: follicular, ovulatory, and luteal. Twenty-six healthy, young volunteers (aged 18 to 28 years) who did not use oral contraceptives or other hormonal drugs with a regular menstrual cycle participated in the study. They walked on the treadmill for 4 min at the preferred speed, before the incremental test, followed by four sets of 4 min alternating between walking, also at preferred speed, and resting. From trunk kinematic data, the following were extracted: the mean of the standard deviation along strides, as a measure of variability, and the maximum Lyapunov exponent, as a measure of local dynamic stability (LDS). Results: After the incremental test, variability increased, and LDS decreased. However, they showed a tendency to return to the initial value faster in women compared to previous results for men. In the follicular phase, which has less hormonal release, the volunteers had an almost complete recovery in LDS soon after the first rest interval, suggesting that female hormones can interfere with fatigue recovery. Nevertheless, concerning the LDS, it was significantly lower in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase. Conclusion: Women that are not taking oral contraceptives should be aware that they are susceptible to increased gait instabilities in the pre-menstrual phase after strenuous activities.

RTI-263, a biased neuropeptide S receptor agonist that retains an anxiolytic effect, attenuates cocaine-seeking behavior in rats.

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a neuromodulatory peptide that acts via a G protein-coupled receptor. Centrally administered NPS suppresses anxiety-like behaviors in rodents while producing a paradoxical increase in arousal. In addition, NPS increases drug-seeking behavior when administered during cue-induced reinstatement. Conversely, an NPS receptor (NPSR) antagonist, RTI-118, decreases cocaine-seeking behavior. A biased NPSR ligand, RTI-263, produces anxiolytic-like effects and has memory-enhancing effects similar to those of NPS but without the increase in arousal. In the present study, we show that RTI-263 decreased cocaine seeking by both male and female rats during cue-induced reinstatement. However, RTI-263 did not modulate the animals' behaviors during natural reward paradigms, such as palatable food intake, feeding during a fasting state, and cue-induced reinstatement of sucrose seeking. Therefore, NPSR biased agonists are a potential pharmacotherapy for substance use disorder because of the combined benefits of decreased drug seeking and the suppression of anxiety.

The Role of the Adrenal-Gut-Brain Axis on Comorbid Depressive Disorder Development in Diabetes.

Diabetic patients are more affected by depression than non-diabetics, and this is related to greater treatment resistance and associated with poorer outcomes. This increase in the prevalence of depression in diabetics is also related to hyperglycemia and hypercortisolism. In diabetics, the hyperactivity of the HPA axis occurs in parallel to gut dysbiosis, weakness of the intestinal permeability barrier, and high bacterial-product translocation into the bloodstream. Diabetes also induces an increase in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in the hippocampus. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression behaviors and neuroinflammation are exacerbated in diabetic mice. In this context, we propose here that hypercortisolism, in association with gut dysbiosis, leads to an exacerbation of hippocampal neuroinflammation, glutamatergic transmission, and neuronal apoptosis, leading to the development and aggravation of depression and to resistance to treatment of this mood disorder in diabetic patients.

Diversity and epidemiological profile of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from drinking water in Brazil genotyped using multi-locus sequence typing.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacillus associated with waterborne diseases. The objective of this study was to determine whether particular P. aeruginosa sequence types (STs) were associated with drinking water contamination in Brazil. This was achieved by searching the Pseudomonas PubMLST database, which contains the records for 8358 strains collected between 1938 and 2023. The majority (97.2%) had the complete 7-loci multilocus sequence typing profile and were assigned to 3486 STs. After eBURST (an algorithm used to infer patterns of evolutionary descent among clusters), 1219 groups with single-locus variant and 575 groups with double-locus variant were formed. Brazil was the South American country with the most isolates (n = 219, 58.24%), and the Simpson's index was 0.9392. Of the 219 Brazilian isolates, eight were isolated in water and identified as STs 252, 1417, 1605, 2502, 2620, 3078, and 3312. ST252, 1417, and 3078 have already been isolated from clinical cases worldwide. Furthermore, ST1605 and 2620, after the eBURST, they were grouped in the same clonal complex as STs involved in human infections. In conclusion, P. aeruginosa STs involved in human infections were found in bottled drinking water commercialized in Brazil, revealing that these types of drinking waters can be a vehicle of contamination.

Toward Sustainable Wax Extraction from the Saccharum officinarum L. Filter Cake Byproduct: Process Optimization, Physicochemical Characterization, and Antioxidant Performance.

Saccharum officinarum L. exploitation and processing result in different byproducts, such as filter cake (FC). This study aimed to establish the most suitable experimental conditions to obtain lipophilic bioactive compounds from FC industrial residues, considering their high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, extraction yield, composition, and physicochemical properties. Results indicated that the most appropriate methodology consisted of the pretreatment of the FC sample with H2SO4, followed by ethanolic extraction (B6 method), avoiding energy-consumption FC drying steps and providing ethanol recovery (approx. 90%). The obtained B6 extract yield was 9.59 ± 0.27 g/100 g of FC dry weight, and this methodology proved to be more efficient in obtaining fatty alcohols (20.28 ± 1.48 g/kg extract) and phytosterols (31.56 ± 0.18 g/kg extract) while maintaining lower total monosaccharide concentration (26.19 ± 1.82 mg/g extract). Furthermore, the geographically related multivariate analysis in wax composition and antioxidant activity was evaluated by comparing B6 waxes from Guariba (G) and Univalem (U), both provided by Brazil and collected in June 2020. Overall, the wax composition is affected, but the antioxidant activity is uncompromised, which indicates that the optimized wax extraction method can be applied to FC.