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1.
Sensors (Basel) ; 24(10)2024 May 11.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38793903

RESUMO

The traditional aviary decontamination process involves farmers applying pesticides to the aviary's ground. These agricultural defenses are easily dispersed in the air, making the farmers susceptible to chronic diseases related to recurrent exposure. Industry 5.0 raises new pillars of research and innovation in transitioning to more sustainable, human-centric, and resilient companies. Based on these concepts, this paper presents a new aviary decontamination process that uses IoT and a robotic platform coupled with ozonizer (O3) and ultraviolet light (UVL). These clean technologies can successfully decontaminate poultry farms against pathogenic microorganisms, insects, and mites. Also, they can degrade toxic compounds used to control living organisms. This new decontamination process uses physicochemical information from the poultry litter through sensors installed in the environment, which allows accurate and safe disinfection. Different experimental tests were conducted to construct the system. First, tests related to measuring soil moisture, temperature, and pH were carried out, establishing the range of use and the confidence interval of the measurements. The robot's navigation uses a back-and-forth motion that parallels the aviary's longest side because it reduces the number of turns, reducing energy consumption. This task becomes more accessible because of the aviaries' standardized geometry. Furthermore, the prototype was tested in a real aviary to confirm the innovation, safety, and effectiveness of the proposal. Tests have shown that the UV + ozone combination is sufficient to disinfect this environment.


Assuntos
Robótica , Animais , Aves Domésticas , Raios Ultravioleta , Galinhas , Descontaminação/métodos , Desinfecção/métodos , Ozônio/química , Internet das Coisas
2.
Plant Cell Environ ; 47(5): 1865-1876, 2024 May.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38334166

RESUMO

The response of plants to increasing atmospheric CO2 depends on the ecological context where the plants are found. Several experiments with elevated CO2 (eCO2) have been done worldwide, but the Amazonian forest understory has been neglected. As the central Amazon is limited by light and phosphorus, understanding how understory responds to eCO2 is important for foreseeing how the forest will function in the future. In the understory of a natural forest in the Central Amazon, we installed four open-top chambers as control replicates and another four under eCO2 (+250 ppm above ambient levels). Under eCO2, we observed increases in carbon assimilation rate (67%), maximum electron transport rate (19%), quantum yield (56%), and water use efficiency (78%). We also detected an increase in leaf area (51%) and stem diameter increment (65%). Central Amazon understory responded positively to eCO2 by increasing their ability to capture and use light and the extra primary productivity was allocated to supporting more leaf and conducting tissues. The increment in leaf area while maintaining transpiration rates suggests that the understory will increase its contribution to evapotranspiration. Therefore, this forest might be less resistant in the future to extreme drought, as no reduction in transpiration rates were detected.


Assuntos
Dióxido de Carbono , Fotossíntese , Fotossíntese/fisiologia , Florestas , Transporte de Elétrons , Folhas de Planta
3.
J Anat ; 244(5): 708-721, 2024 May.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38234265

RESUMO

Using diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT), we examined the morphology of the oral glands of 12 species of the family Homalopsidae. Snakes of this family exhibit substantial interspecific morphological variation in their oral glands. Particular variables are the venom glands, ranging from large (e.g., Subsessor bocourti) to small (e.g., Erpeton tentaculatum). The supra- and infralabial glands are more uniform in morphology, being the second most developed in almost all the sampled species. Premaxillary glands distinct from the supralabial glands were observed in five species (Myron richardsonii, Bitia hydroides, Cantoria violacea, Fordonia leucobalia, and Gerarda prevostiana), in addition to Cerberus rynchops, the only species in which this condition was previously documented associated with the excretion of salt. In the three species of the saltwater group of homalopsids (C. violacea, F. leucobalia, and G. prevostiana), the premaxillary glands also extend posteriorly, occupying a large area above the supralabial gland, a condition not observed in any other species of snake studied thus far. Character evolution analyses indicate that premaxillary glands differentiated from the supralabial gland and evolved independently three or four times in the family, always in lineages that invaded marine habitats. Our results suggest that the differentiated premaxillary glands are likely salt glands, as is the case in C. rynchops. If corroborated, this increases to six or seven the number of independent evolutionary origins of salt glands in snakes that have undergone an evolutionary transition to marine life.


Assuntos
Colubridae , Glândula de Sal , Animais , Serpentes/anatomia & histologia , Boca , Colubridae/anatomia & histologia , Glândulas Salivares
4.
Antibiotics (Basel) ; 13(1)2024 Jan 14.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38247637

RESUMO

Antimicrobial peptides have been developed based on plant-derived molecular scaffolds for the treatment of infectious diseases. Chenopodin is an abundant seed storage protein in quinoa, an Andean plant with high nutritional and therapeutic properties. Here, we used computer- and physicochemical-based strategies and designed four peptides derived from the primary structure of Chenopodin. Two peptides reproduce natural fragments of 14 amino acids from Chenopodin, named Chen1 and Chen2, and two engineered peptides of the same length were designed based on the Chen1 sequence. The two amino acids of Chen1 containing amide side chains were replaced by arginine (ChenR) or tryptophan (ChenW) to generate engineered cationic and hydrophobic peptides. The evaluation of these 14-mer peptides on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli showed that Chen1 does not have antibacterial activity up to 512 µM against these strains, while other peptides exhibited antibacterial effects at lower concentrations. The chemical substitutions of glutamine and asparagine by amino acids with cationic or aromatic side chains significantly favoured their antibacterial effects. These peptides did not show significant hemolytic activity. The fluorescence microscopy analysis highlighted the membranolytic nature of Chenopodin-derived peptides. Using molecular dynamic simulations, we found that a pore is formed when multiple peptides are assembled in the membrane. Whereas, some of them form secondary structures when interacting with the membrane, allowing water translocations during the simulations. Finally, Chen2 and ChenR significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings demonstrate that Chenopodin is a highly useful template for the design, engineering, and manufacturing of non-toxic, antibacterial, and antiviral peptides.

5.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 590, 2024 Jan 18.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38238326

RESUMO

A safe and effective vaccine with long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) is a global health priority. Here, we develop lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to provide safe and effective delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and show protection against VOCs in female small animal models. Using a library of LNPs encapsulating unique barcoded DNA (b-DNA), we screen for b-DNA delivery after intramuscular administration. The top-performing LNPs are further tested for their capacity of pDNA uptake in antigen-presenting cells in vitro. The lead LNP is used to encapsulate pDNA encoding the HexaPro version of SARS-CoV-2 spike (LNP-HPS) and immunogenicity and protection is tested in vivo. LNP-HPS elicit a robust protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 Gamma (P.1), correlating with reduced lethality, decreased viral load in the lungs and reduced lung damage. LNP-HPS induce potent humoral and T cell responses against P.1, and generate high levels of neutralizing antibodies against P.1 and Omicron (B.1.1.529). Our findings indicate that the protective efficacy and immunogenicity elicited by LNP-HPS are comparable to those achieved by the approved COVID-19 vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer in animal models. Together, these findings suggest that LNP-HPS hold great promise as a vaccine candidate against VOCs.


Assuntos
COVID-19 , DNA de Forma B , Vacinas de DNA , Feminino , Animais , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2/genética , Vacinas de DNA/genética , Nanovacinas , Vacinas contra COVID-19 , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , DNA , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais
6.
Virus Res ; 340: 199291, 2024 Feb.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38065303

RESUMO

Here, the antiviral activity of aminoadamantane derivatives were evaluated against SARS-CoV-2. The compounds exhibited low cytotoxicity to Vero, HEK293 and CALU-3 cells up to a concentration of 1,000 µM. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) of aminoadamantane was 39.71 µM in Vero CCL-81 cells and the derivatives showed significantly lower IC50 values, especially for compounds 3F4 (0.32 µM), 3F5 (0.44 µM) and 3E10 (1.28 µM). Additionally, derivatives 3F5 and 3E10 statistically reduced the fluorescence intensity of SARS-CoV-2 protein S from Vero cells at 10 µM. Transmission microscopy confirmed the antiviral activity of the compounds, which reduced cytopathic effects induced by the virus, such as vacuolization, cytoplasmic projections, and the presence of myelin figures derived from cellular activation in the face of infection. Additionally, it was possible to observe a reduction of viral particles adhered to the cell membrane and inside several viral factories, especially after treatment with 3F4. Moreover, although docking analysis showed favorable interactions in the catalytic site of Cathepsin L, the enzymatic activity of this enzyme was not inhibited significantly in vitro. The new derivatives displayed lower predicted toxicities than aminoadamantane, which was observed for either rat or mouse models. Lastly, in vivo antiviral assays of aminoadamantane derivatives in BALB/cJ mice after challenge with the mouse-adapted strain of SARS-CoV-2, corroborated the robust antiviral activity of 3F4 derivative, which was higher than aminoadamantane and its other derivatives. Therefore, aminoadamantane derivatives show potential broad-spectrum antiviral activity, which may contribute to COVID-19 treatment in the face of emerging and re-emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.


Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Chlorocebus aethiops , Humanos , Animais , Camundongos , Ratos , Tratamento Farmacológico da COVID-19 , Células HEK293 , Células Vero , Amantadina , Antivirais/farmacologia , Antivirais/uso terapêutico
7.
Viruses ; 15(12)2023 12 15.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38140675

RESUMO

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (ß-CoV) betacoronavirus has posed a significant threat to global health. Despite the availability of vaccines, the virus continues to spread, and there is a need for alternative strategies to alleviate its impact. Vitamin D, a secosteroid hormone best known for its role in bone health, exhibits immunomodulatory effects in certain viral infections. Here, we have shown that bioactive vitamin D (calcitriol) limits in vitro replication of SARS-CoV-2 and murine coronaviruses MHV-3 and MHV-A59. Comparative studies involving wild-type mice intranasally infected with MHV-3, a model for studying ß-CoV respiratory infections, confirmed the protective effect of vitamin D in vivo. Accordingly, mice fed a standard diet rapidly succumbed to MHV-3 infection, whereas those on a vitamin D-rich diet (10,000 IU of Vitamin D3/kg) displayed increased resistance to acute respiratory damage and systemic complications. Consistent with these findings, the vitamin D-supplemented group exhibited lower viral titers in their lungs and reduced levels of TNF, IL-6, IL-1ß, and IFN-γ, alongside an enhanced type I interferon response. Altogether, our findings suggest vitamin D supplementation ameliorates ß-CoV-triggered respiratory illness and systemic complications in mice, likely via modulation of the host's immune response to the virus.


Assuntos
Vírus da Hepatite Murina , Pneumonia , Camundongos , Humanos , Animais , Vitamina D , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , Vírus da Hepatite Murina/fisiologia , SARS-CoV-2 , Vitaminas/farmacologia , Vitaminas/uso terapêutico , Dieta
8.
PLoS One ; 18(11): e0287835, 2023.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37939063

RESUMO

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Alcohol screening using a validated tool is a useful way to capture high-risk patients and engage them in early harm reduction interventions. Our objectives were to 1) evaluate the psychometric evidence the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its subscales in the general population of Moshi, Tanzania, and 2) evaluate the usefulness of the tool at predicting alcohol-related harms. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty-nine adults living in Moshi, Tanzania were included in the study. We used the AUDIT and its subscales to determine the classification of harmful and hazardous drinking. To analyze the internal structure of AUDIT and the model adequacy we used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The reliability of AUDIT was analyzed for Cronbach's alpha, Omega 6 and Composite Reliability. The optimal cut off point for the AUDIT was determined by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, using the Youden approach to maximize sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: The median score of the AUDIT was 1 (inter-quartile range: 0-7). The internal structure of the AUDIT showed factor loadings ranging from 0.420 to 0.873. Cronbach's alpha, Omega and Composite Reliability produced values above 0.70. The Average Variance Extracted was 0.530. For the AUDIT, a score of 8 was identified as the ideal cut-off value in our population. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates AUDIT in the general population of Moshi and is one of the only studies in Africa to include measures of the internal structure of the AUDIT and its subscales.


Assuntos
Alcoolismo , Adulto , Humanos , Alcoolismo/diagnóstico , Alcoolismo/epidemiologia , Tanzânia/epidemiologia , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/epidemiologia , Psicometria , Inquéritos e Questionários
9.
Sensors (Basel) ; 23(10)2023 May 09.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37430511

RESUMO

Sub-GHz communication provides long-range coverage with low power consumption and reduced deployment cost. LoRa (Long-Range) has emerged, among existing LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Networks) technologies, as a promising physical layer alternative to provide ubiquitous connectivity to outdoor IoT devices. LoRa modulation technology supports adapting transmissions based on parameters such as carrier frequency, channel bandwidth, spreading factor, and code rate. In this paper, we propose SlidingChange, a novel cognitive mechanism to support the dynamic analysis and adjustment of LoRa network performance parameters. The proposed mechanism uses a sliding window to smooth out short-term variations and reduce unnecessary network re-configurations. To validate our proposal, we conducted an experimental study to evaluate the performance concerning the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) parameter of our SlidingChange against InstantChange, an intuitive mechanism that considers immediate performance measurements (parameters) for re-configuring the network. The SlidingChange is compared with LR-ADR too, a state-of-the-art-related technique based on simple linear regression. The experimental results obtained from a testbed scenario demonstrated that the InstanChange mechanism improved the SNR by 4.6%. When using the SlidingChange mechanism, the SNR was around 37%, while the network reconfiguration rate was reduced by approximately 16%.

11.
Chemosphere ; 319: 138003, 2023 Apr.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36731678

RESUMO

Biodiesel is an alternative to fossil-derived diesel with similar properties and several environmental benefits. Biodiesel production using conventional catalysts such as homogeneous, heterogeneous, or enzymatic catalysts faces a problem regarding catalysts deactivation after repeated reaction cycles. Heterogeneous nanocatalysts and nanobiocatalysts (enzymes) have shown better advantages due to higher activity, recyclability, larger surface area, and improved active sites. Despite a large number of studies on this subject, there are still challenges regarding its stability, recyclability, and scale-up processes for biodiesel production. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to review current modifications and role of nanocatalysts and nanobiocatalysts and also to observe effect of various parameters on biodiesel production. Nanocatalysts and nanobiocatalysts demonstrate long-term stability due to strong Brønsted-Lewis acidity, larger active spots and better accessibility leading to enhancethe biodiesel production. Incorporation of metal supporting positively contributes to shorten the reaction time and enhance the longer reusability. Furthermore, proper operating parameters play a vital role to optimize the biodiesel productivity in the commercial scale process due to higher conversion, yield and selectivity with the lower process cost. This article also analyses the relationship between different types of feedstocks towards the quality and quantity of biodiesel production. Crude palm oil is convinced as the most prospective and promising feedstock due to massive production, low cost, and easily available. It also evaluates key factors and technologies for biodiesel production in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and the USA as the biggest biodiesel production supply.


Assuntos
Petróleo , Óleos de Plantas , Esterificação , Óleos de Plantas/química , Biocombustíveis , Brasil , Indonésia , Malásia
12.
Emerg Infect Dis ; 29(3): 664-667, 2023 03.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36823719

RESUMO

We tested coatis (Nasua nasua) living in an urban park near a densely populated area of Brazil and found natural SARS-CoV-2 Zeta variant infections by using quantitative reverse transcription PCR, genomic sequencing, and serologic surveillance. We recommend a One Health strategy to improve surveillance of and response to COVID-19.


Assuntos
COVID-19 , Procyonidae , Animais , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2 , Brasil/epidemiologia
13.
Clin Rehabil ; 37(3): 407-414, 2023 Mar.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36128900

RESUMO

PURPOSE: To identify the best internal structure of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia in chronic low back pain patients. DESIGN: Questionnaire validation study was designed for this study. SETTING: This study was conducted in physical therapy facility. SUBJECTS: Respondents reporting chronic low back pain (≥3 points on the 11-point Numerical Pain Rating Scale). MAIN MEASURES: We included participants of both sexes, with a self-report of low back pain ≥3 months and with pain intensity ≥3 on the 11-point Numerical Pain Rating Scale; participants also answered the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Pain-Related Catastrophizing Thoughts Scale for low back pain disability and catastrophizing, respectively. The dimensionality and number of items of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia were evaluated using the confirmatory factor analysis. Criterion validity was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient using the original version of the 17-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia as the gold standard. RESULTS: A total of 122 participants were included, with mean values of low back pain duration ≥48 months, pain intensity >5 and disability >8. Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia structure with two domains and nine items was the most suitable, with adequate values in all fit indices (Chi-square/degree of freedom <3, Comparative Fit Index and Tucker-Lewis Index >0.90, and root mean square error of approximation <0.08) and lower Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion values. We observed a high correlation between the 17-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia and the activity avoidance domain (rho = 0.850, P < 0.001) and somatic focus domain (rho = 0.792, P < 0.001) of the nine-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia. CONCLUSION: Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia structure with two domains (activity avoidance and somatic focus) and nine items is the most suitable for patients with chronic low back pain.


Assuntos
Dor Crônica , Dor Lombar , Masculino , Feminino , Humanos , Dor Lombar/diagnóstico , Dor Lombar/terapia , Medo , Cinesiofobia , Teorema de Bayes , Inquéritos e Questionários , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Avaliação da Deficiência , Dor Crônica/diagnóstico , Psicometria
14.
Intern Emerg Med ; 17(8): 2299-2313, 2022 11.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36153772

RESUMO

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented pressure over health care systems worldwide. Hospital-level data that may influence the prognosis in COVID-19 patients still needs to be better investigated. Therefore, this study analyzed regional socioeconomic, hospital, and intensive care units (ICU) characteristics associated with in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients admitted to Brazilian institutions. This multicenter retrospective cohort study is part of the Brazilian COVID-19 Registry. We enrolled patients ≥ 18 years old with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals from March to September 2020. Patients' data were obtained through hospital records. Hospitals' data were collected through forms filled in loco and through open national databases. Generalized linear mixed models with logit link function were used for pooling mortality and to assess the association between hospital characteristics and mortality estimates. We built two models, one tested general hospital characteristics while the other tested ICU characteristics. All analyses were adjusted for the proportion of high-risk patients at admission. Thirty-one hospitals were included. The mean number of beds was 320.4 ± 186.6. These hospitals had eligible 6556 COVID-19 admissions during the study period. Estimated in-hospital mortality ranged from 9.0 to 48.0%. The first model included all 31 hospitals and showed that a private source of funding (ß = - 0.37; 95% CI - 0.71 to - 0.04; p = 0.029) and location in areas with a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (ß = - 0.40; 95% CI - 0.72 to - 0.08; p = 0.014) were independently associated with a lower mortality. The second model included 23 hospitals and showed that hospitals with an ICU work shift composed of more than 50% of intensivists (ß = - 0.59; 95% CI - 0.98 to - 0.20; p = 0.003) had lower mortality while hospitals with a higher proportion of less experienced medical professionals had higher mortality (ß = 0.40; 95% CI 0.11-0.68; p = 0.006). The impact of those association increased according to the proportion of high-risk patients at admission. In-hospital mortality varied significantly among Brazilian hospitals. Private-funded hospitals and those located in municipalities with a high GDP had a lower mortality. When analyzing ICU-specific characteristics, hospitals with more experienced ICU teams had a reduced mortality.


Assuntos
COVID-19 , Humanos , Adolescente , Pandemias , Brasil/epidemiologia , Estudos Retrospectivos , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva , Mortalidade Hospitalar , Estudos de Coortes , Hospitais Gerais , Sistema de Registros
15.
Intern Emerg Med ; 17(7): 1863-1878, 2022 10.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35648280

RESUMO

Previous studies that assessed risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in COVID-19 patients have shown inconsistent results. Our aim was to investigate VTE predictors by both logistic regression (LR) and machine learning (ML) approaches, due to their potential complementarity. This cohort study of a large Brazilian COVID-19 Registry included 4120 COVID-19 adult patients from 16 hospitals. Symptomatic VTE was confirmed by objective imaging. LR analysis, tree-based boosting, and bagging were used to investigate the association of variables upon hospital presentation with VTE. Among 4,120 patients (55.5% men, 39.3% critical patients), VTE was confirmed in 6.7%. In multivariate LR analysis, obesity (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.11-2.02); being an ex-smoker (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.03-2.01); surgery ≤ 90 days (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.14-4.23); axillary temperature (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.22-1.63); D-dimer ≥ 4 times above the upper limit of reference value (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.26-3.67), lactate (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.19), C-reactive protein levels (CRP, OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.18); and neutrophil count (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.005-1.075) were independent predictors of VTE. Atrial fibrillation, peripheral oxygen saturation/inspired oxygen fraction (SF) ratio and prophylactic use of anticoagulants were protective. Temperature at admission, SF ratio, neutrophil count, D-dimer, CRP and lactate levels were also identified as predictors by ML methods. By using ML and LR analyses, we showed that D-dimer, axillary temperature, neutrophil count, CRP and lactate levels are risk factors for VTE in COVID-19 patients.


Assuntos
COVID-19 , Tromboembolia Venosa , Adulto , Anticoagulantes , Brasil/epidemiologia , Proteína C-Reativa , COVID-19/complicações , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Estudos de Coortes , Feminino , Humanos , Lactatos , Masculino , Oxigênio , Sistema de Registros , Fatores de Risco , Tromboembolia Venosa/epidemiologia , Tromboembolia Venosa/etiologia , Tromboembolia Venosa/prevenção & controle
16.
Viruses ; 14(5)2022 05 09.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35632746

RESUMO

The systemic inflammatory response elicited by acute Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy plays a key role in the clinical outcomes in mothers and congenitally infected offspring. The present study aimed to evaluate the serum levels of GDF-3 and inflammasome-related markers in pregnant women during acute ZIKV infection. Serum samples from pregnant (n = 18) and non-pregnant (n = 22) women with acute ZIKV infection were assessed for NLRP3, IL-1ß, IL-18, and GDF3 markers through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ZIKV-negative pregnant (n = 18) and non-pregnant women (n = 15) were used as control groups. All serum markers were highly elevated in the ZIKV-infected groups in comparison with control groups (p < 0.0001). Among the ZIKV-infected groups, the serum markers were significantly augmented in the pregnant women in comparison with non-pregnant women (NLRP3 p < 0.001; IL-1ß, IL-18, and GDF3 p < 0.0001). The IL-18 marker was found at significantly higher levels (p < 0.05) in the third trimester of pregnancy. Bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong positive correlation between GDF3 and NLRP3 markers among ZIKV-infected pregnant women (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001). The findings indicated that acute ZIKV infection during pregnancy induces the overexpression of GDF-3 and inflammasome-related markers, which may contribute to congenital disorders and harmful pregnancy outcomes.


Assuntos
Fator 3 de Diferenciação de Crescimento , Inflamassomos , Infecção por Zika virus , Biomarcadores , Feminino , Fator 3 de Diferenciação de Crescimento/sangue , Humanos , Interleucina-18 , Proteína 3 que Contém Domínio de Pirina da Família NLR , Gravidez , Resultado da Gravidez , Gestantes , Infecção por Zika virus/imunologia
17.
Cytokine ; 154: 155874, 2022 06.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35397248

RESUMO

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected and killed millions of people, but little is known about the risk factors that lead to the development of severe, mild or asymptomatic conditions after infection. The individual immune response and the balance of cytokines and chemokines have been shown to be important for the prognosis of patients. Additionally, it is essential to understand how the production of specific antibodies with viral neutralizing capacity is established. In this context, this study aimed to identify positive individuals for IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 in a large population of blood donors (n = 7837) to establish their immune response profile and to evaluate its viral neutralization capacity. The prevalence found for IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 was 5.6% (n = 441), with male blood donors (61.9%) being more prevalent among the positive ones. The results showed that positive individuals for IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 have high serum concentrations of chemokines, TNF, IFN-γ and IL-10. The analyses showed that the positivity index for IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 is associated with the neutralizing capacity of the antibodies, which, in turn, is significantly related to lower serum concentrations of CCL5 and CXCL10. The results allow us to hypothesize that the development and maintenance of IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in infected individuals occurs in a pro-inflammatory microenvironment well regulated by IL-10 with great capacity for recruiting cells from the innate and adaptive immune systems.


Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais , Doadores de Sangue , COVID-19 , Imunoglobulina G , Anticorpos Antivirais/sangue , COVID-19/sangue , COVID-19/imunologia , Quimiocinas , Feminino , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Interferon gama , Interleucina-10 , Masculino , SARS-CoV-2 , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa
18.
Cells ; 11(3)2022 02 03.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35159341

RESUMO

Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. While inflammation is a host protective response that ensures bacterial clearance, a finely regulated response is necessary to prevent bystander tissue damage. Glucocorticoid (GC)-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) is a GC-induced protein with anti-inflammatory and proresolving bioactions, yet the therapeutical role of GILZ in infectious diseases remains unexplored. Herein, we investigate the role and effects of GILZ during acute lung injury (ALI) induced by LPS and Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. GILZ deficient mice (GILZ-/-) presented more severe ALI, characterized by increased inflammation, decreased macrophage efferocytosis and pronounced lung damage. In contrast, pulmonary inflammation, and damage were attenuated in WT mice treated with TAT-GILZ fusion protein. During pneumococcal pneumonia, TAT-GILZ reduced neutrophilic inflammation and prevented the associated lung damage. There was also enhanced macrophage efferocytosis and bacterial clearance in TAT-GILZ-treated mice. Mechanistically, TAT-GILZ enhanced macrophage phagocytosis of pneumococcus, which was lower in GILZ-/- macrophages. Noteworthy, early treatment with TAT-GILZ rescued 30% of S. pneumoniae-infected mice from lethal pneumonia. Altogether, we present evidence that TAT-GILZ enhances host resilience and resistance to pneumococcal pneumonia by controlling pulmonary inflammation and bacterial loads leading to decreased lethality. Exploiting GILZ pathways holds promise for the treatment of severe respiratory infections.


Assuntos
Pneumonia Pneumocócica , Animais , Glucocorticoides/farmacologia , Inflamação/metabolismo , Zíper de Leucina , Camundongos , Pneumonia Pneumocócica/complicações , Pneumonia Pneumocócica/tratamento farmacológico , Streptococcus pneumoniae/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo
19.
Artigo em Português | LILACS-Express | LILACS | ID: biblio-1410842

RESUMO

O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar o efeito preditor da motivação sobre estado de mindfulness durante a prática esportiva e o papel mediador da paixão pelo esporte nessa relação. Participaram 176 atletas (M= 27,05±9,06 anos) que responderam às escalas de Motivação no Esporte, de Paixão e de Estado de Mindfulness para Atividade Física. A modelagem de equações estruturais mostrou que a motivação intrínseca afetava positivamente a experiência de mindfulness no esporte. Essa relação foi mediada pela paixão harmoniosa. Observou-se dois processos de engajamento com prática esportiva, um associado a comportamento autodeterminado moderado pela paixão harmoniosa, resultando na experiência de mindfulness, e outro proveniente da motivação extrínseca, resultando na paixão obsessiva pela atividade.


This study aimed to verify the predictive effect of motivation over the mindfulness state in sports practice and the mediating role of passion in this relation. A hundred and seventy-six athletes (M= 27,05±9,06 years old) responded to the Motivation in Sport, Passion, and State of Mindfulness scales. Structural equation modeling showed that intrinsic motivation positively affected the experience of mindfulness in sport, and this relationship was moderated by harmonious passion. The results suggest two processes of engagement in sports practice, one emanating from self-determined behavior, mediated by harmonious passion and resulting in mindfulness experience, and another coming from extrinsic motivation, resulting in an obsessive passion for the activity.


Este estudio verificó el efecto predictivo de la motivación sobre el estado de mindfulness en la práctica deportiva y el papel me-diador de la pasión en esta relación. Ciento setenta y seis atletas (M= 27,05±9,06) respondieron a las escalas de Motivación en el Deporte, Pasión y Mindfulness. Los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales mostraronque la motivación intrínseca afectaba positivamente la experiencia de la atención plena en el deporte y que esta relación estaba mediada por una pasión armoniosa. Se observó un proceso de compromiso con las activi-dades deportivas asociado con el comportamiento autodeterminado moderado por la pasión armoniosa y que resulta en la experiencia del mindfulness, y otro que emana de la motivación extrínseca, que resulta en una pasión obsesiva por la actividad.

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