High-Resolution Melting (HRM) for rapid MLST analysis of Neisseria meningitidis.

The genetic characterization of meningococcal isolates is extremely important for the epidemiological monitoring of meningococcal disease, through the identification of circulating epidemic clones, with the purpose of supporting specific actions of Health Surveillance to contain outbreaks. The objective of this work is to determine a strategy for the epidemiological control of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) through the detection of genetic signatures of Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) genes, by the method of high-resolution DNA melting analysis (qPCR-HRM), to identify the main hypervirulent clones circulating in the country. We analyzed 65 cc103 strains, 19 cc11, 38 cc32 and 8 cc41/44 and 17 were not associated to a specific cc. For the abcZ gene a total of 112 strains were tested, 79 for adk and gdh genes, 87 for aroE, 27 for fumC and 70 strains for pdhC gene. The results obtained were compared and validated with nucleotide sequencing. The percentage of correct allele detection for each clonal complex ranged between 77% and 100%. After an active search in PubMLST, it was found that by inserting results from at least 4 alleles in the MLST database, it is possible to determine the clonal complex of 99% to 100% of the deposited samples. The results obtained in this study suggest that it is possible to identify Nm clonal complexes by a combination analysis of melting curves (TM) of four constitutional genes included in the MLST scheme by qPCR-HRM.

Domestic violence against women during the Covid-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

Objectives: This scoping review aims to assess the situation of violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America, mainly in Brazil. Methods: This study consists of a Scoping Review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. To conduct this review, we mapped scientific evidence on domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The inclusion criteria were: journal articles on domestic violence set in Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, in the context of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, published between March 2020 and June of 2021. Articles that were not published in journals, studies focusing on child violence or the elderly population, suicide-related approaches, editorials and letters to readers were excluded. The databases used were: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Embase, COVID-19 Global literature on coronavirus disease, Scopus Preview, Web of Science, LILAC's, Database of the best Evidence-Based Health (Epistemonikos) with the following strategic keywords: "domestic violence" "female'/exp OR female" "domestic violence AND women" "SARS-CoV-19") AND ("domestic violence") SARS-CoV-2" OR "2020-nCoV". The databases above were accessed in July 2021. The articles selected from the databases were synthetized following the double-check procedure and the topics that were most relevant to the subject discussed were separated. The articles used were in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Results: We discussed domestic violence against women in the context of social isolation, showing a significant increase and highlighting aggravating factors - financial instability, exacerbation of the female workload, increase in drug and alcohol consumption, lack of access to care services - and statistics that demonstrate the significant increase in countries such as Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil, especially in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, among other states. Despite the meaningful increase in the number of cases and the aggravating factors for domestic violence against women in Latin America and Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality of underreporting, resulting, among others, from limited legal, social and economic support and the lack of well-prepared intersectoral services may be a limitation in this scenario, since the situation can be even more acute. We presented measures adopted in Brazil and alternatives to confront the critical situation of domestic violence against women, aggravated by social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.The 18 most relevant articles were read twice by each author, following the "Double-Check" protocol. The articles used addressed important questions around the established goals: (a) characteristics of the current scenarios in Latin America and, specifically, in Brazil, with regard to violence against women; (b) factors that intensify this type of violence; (c) numbers that demonstrate an increase in cases; and finally (e) strategies to combat domestic violence against women. A total of 595 articles were found, then, based on the abstracts presented, 18 articles were used to write this scoping review.

Differential expression of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators by M1 and M2 macrophages after photobiomodulation with red or infrared lasers.

In response to stimuli in the microenvironment, macrophages adopt either the M1 or M2 phenotype to coordinate the tissue repair process. Photobiomodulation (PBM) plays an important role in the modulation of acute inflammation, including cellular influx, macrophage polarization, and the release of inflammatory mediators. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of red and infrared PBM on the mRNA expression of cytokines and chemokines in macrophages polarized to the M1 and M2 phenotypes. J774 macrophages activated to induce M1 (lipopolysaccharide + interferon gamma) or M2 (interleukin-4) phenotypes were irradiated with red or infrared PBM (1 J). After 4 and 24 h, gene expression was analyzed by qPCR. PBM at 660 nm decreased the mRNA expression of CCL3, CXCL2, and TNF-α in M1 macrophages and CXCL2 in M2 macrophages 4 h after irradiation. Similarly, PBM at 780 nm decreased mRNA expression levels of CCL3 and IL-6 by M1 macrophages 24 h after irradiation. Moreover, PBM at 780 nm increased the mRNA expression of TGFß1 4 h after irradiation and decreased the expression of this gene after 24 h in M2 macrophages. Although red and infrared PBM were able to modulate and reduce M1/M2a-related markers, infrared laser irradiation promoted a temporal increase in the expression of TGFß1 in M2 macrophages. Thus, depending on the time PBM is used on injured tissue, different parameters can promote optimal results by modulating specific macrophage phenotypes.