Vitamin D levels reverberate in monocytes modulation in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a severe vitamin D deficiency and increasing epidemiological data suggesting that this deficiency may play a role in overall morbidity and mortality associated with CKD. It is known that vitamin D regulates the immune system, however, in dialysis patients this deficiency and the modulation of proinflammatory cells is unclear. Among these, monocytes arouse interest considering they constitutively express vitamin D receptors. AIM: This study aimed the evaluation of monocytic profile in CKD patients according to vitamin D levels. METHODS: Patients in hemodialysis (HD) were divided into two groups, regarding vitamin D levels: Group 1, vitamin D <26 ng/ml (n = 15) and Group 2, vitamin D ≥26 ng/ml (n = 18). Whole blood was collected aiming evaluation of (a) monocytic populations through CD14 and CD16 expression, (b) reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and (c) apoptosis. RESULTS: We observed that in Group 1, when compared to Group 2, there was a significant increase in intermediate monocytes (CD14++ CD16 + ; 34.7 ± 31.6 vs. 12.1 ± 6.3; p = 0.006, respectively) and decrease in classical ones (CD14 ++ CD16 - ; 45.3 ± 31.8 vs. 70.4 ± 25.1; p = 0.017, respectively). There was no difference between groups regarding nonclassical monocytes (CD14 + CD16 ++ ), as well as to apoptosis and to ROS generation. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that HD patients with lower vitamin D levels might have an intensified inflammatory outline as intermediate monocytes with an inflammatory pattern are increased in this population, when compared with patients with higher levels of vitamin D.

Structural and thermal investigations of an amorphous GaSe9 alloy using EXAFS, cumulant expansion, and reverse Monte Carlo simulations.

In this article, we investigated structural and thermal properties of an amorphous alloy of the Ga-Se system. The amorphous GaSe9 alloy was produced by mechanical alloying and it was studied using EXAFS spectroscopy and cumulant expansion method. We also made reverse Monte Carlo simulations using the total structure factor S(K) obtained from x-ray diffraction and the EXAFS χ(k) oscillations on Se and Ga K edges as input data. Several parameters, such as average coordination numbers and interatomic distances, structural and thermal disorders, asymmetry of the partial distribution functions gij(r), and Einstein and Debye temperatures, were determined. The gij (E)(r) functions were reconstructed from the cumulants C1, C2, and C3 obtained from the Einstein model, and they were compared to the gij (RMC)(r) functions obtained from the simulations. The simulations also furnished the partial bond angle distribution functions Θijℓ(cosθ), which describe the angular distribution of bonds between first neighbors, and give information about the kind of structural units present in the alloy.

Substituição do feno de tifton pela casca de mamona na dieta de ovinos: componentes não-carcaça / Replacement of tifton hay with castor bean hulls in sheep diet: non carcass components

Avaliou-se o efeito da substituição do feno de capim tifton pela casca de mamona, 0, 33, 66 e 100% na dieta de ovinos, sobre o peso e rendimento dos componentes não constituintes da carcaça e o rendimento de buchada e panelada. Vinte e oito animais não castrados, com sete meses de idade e peso inicial médio de 19,5±2,45kg, foram distribuídos em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos e sete repetições, e abatidos após 70 dias de confinamento. Houve decréscimo linear nos pesos da língua (0,084 a 0,079kg), traqueia+pulmão (0,50 a 0,42kg), coração (0,14 a 0,12kg), timo (0,035 a 0,025kg), rins (0,100 a 0,088kg) e peso total dos órgãos (2,14 a 1,90kg) de acordo com o percentual de substituição. O mesmo comportamento foi verificado para os pesos do esôfago (0,051 a 0,045kg), rúmen-retículo (0,73 a 0,64kg), intestino delgado (0,78 a 0,64kg) e total de vísceras (2,17 a 1,92kg). Para os pesos da cabeça (1,99 a 1,66kg), patas (0,86 a 0,73kg), pele (2,49 a 1,99kg), sangue (1,36 a 1,19kg) e total de subprodutos (7,12 a 5,96kg) verificou-se efeito linear negativo de acordo com a substituição. O mesmo foi observado para os pesos de buchada (4,71 a 4,22kg) e panelada (7,55 a 6,61kg). A casca de mamona não deve substituir o feno de capim tifton na dieta de ovinos por causar decréscimo no peso de órgãos, vísceras e subprodutos e influenciar negativamente os pesos e rendimentos de buchada e panelada.

The effects of replacing tifton hay with 0, 33, 66 and 100% of castor bean hulls in the diet of sheep on the non-carcass components of weight and dressing and on the "buchada" and "panelada" yield were evaluated in this research. Twenty-eight non castrated sheep averaging seven months of age and with initial weight of 19.5±2.45kg were assigned to a randomized block design with four treatments and seven replicates, and were slaughtered after 70 days of confinement. A linear decrease of tongue (0.084 to 0.079kg), trachea + lungs (0.50 to 0.42kg), heart (0.14 to 0.12kg), thymus (0.035 to 0.025kg), kidneys (0.100 to 0.088kg) weights and total weight of organs (2.14 to 1.90kg) was observed. The same behavior was observed for the esophagus (0.051 to 0.045kg), rumen-reticulum (0.73 to 0.64kg), small intestine (0.78 to 0.64kg) and total viscera (2.17 to 1.92kg) weights. There was a linear effect for the head (1.99 to 1.66kg), feet (0.86 to 0.73kg), skin (2.49 to 1.99kg), blood (1.36 to 1.19kg) and total by-products (7.12 to 5.96kg) weights according to the treatments and also for "buchada" (4.71 to 4.22kg) and "panelada" (7.55 to 6.61kg) weights. Castor bean hulls should not replace tifton hay because it decreases the weight of organs, viscera and by-products and adversely affects the "buchada" and "panelada" weight and dressing.

Structural investigations on an amorphous Se90Te10 alloy produced by mechanical alloying using EXAFS, cumulant expansion and RMC simulations.

We investigated an amorphous Se(90)Te(10) alloy produced by mechanical alloying using two different approaches. First, we used extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and the cumulant expansion method using the Einstein model for the temperature dependence of the cumulants to obtain the cumulants C(*)(1), C(*)(2), and C(*)(3). From these, we found information about the structure of the alloy as well as the thermal and structural disorder, anharmonicity of the effective interatomic pair potentials, thermal expansion of the Se-Se and Se-Te bonds and asymmetry of the partial distribution functions g(Se-Se)(r) and g(Se-Te)(r). The cumulants C(*)(1), C(*)(2), and C(*)(3) also allowed us to reconstruct the g(EXAFS)(ij)(r,T) functions from EXAFS. Then, we made reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulations using the total structure factor S(K) obtained from synchrotron x-ray diffraction and the EXAFS oscillations χ(k) on the Se K edge as input data to obtain the g(RMC)(ij)(r) functions. Both methods furnished very similar g(ij)(r) functions, and the structural data obtained from them were also very similar. The results obtained from both methods showed the presence of Se-Te pairs indicating that there is alloying at the atomic level. In addition, we could not find any evidence of the presence of Te clusters in the alloy.