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Exploring neighborhood socioeconomic disparity in self-rated health: a multiple mediation analysis
No full textThere is still a need for more empirical investigations to better understand the causal pathways by which neighborhood socioeconomic contexts translate into states of health. This study explored the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic position and health, as well as the role of social cohesion, violence, places to buy healthy food, and sports and leisure spaces in mediating this relationship in a diverse set of neighborhoods in Brazil. We applied a general multiple mediation approach to analyze a cross-sectional survey of 4.046 adults living in 149 neighborhoods in 2008 and 2009. The property value was chosen as an indicator of neighborhood socioeconomic position and self-rated health as the outcome. The four mediators were constructed from the self-perception of the participants. Results: We found that people living in economically advantaged neighborhoods were less likely to report their health as being fair/poor/very poor (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.63, 0.76) than people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and this effect was mediated by the perception of violence in the neighborhoods. On average, 8.4% of the neighborhood socioeconomic disparity in self-rated health may be explained by violence. We did not ascertain as mediators social cohesion, places to buy healthy food, and sports and leisure spaces. Violence perception mediates the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic position and self-rated health. Targeted interventions designed to improve the health status of the population could usefully focus on reducing the level of violence in which people live
Lutzomyia longipalpis Antimicrobial Peptides: Differential Expression during Development and Potential Involvement in Vector Interaction with Microbiota and Leishmania
No full textAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are produced to control bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and
other infectious agents. Sand fly larvae develop and feed on a microbe-rich substrate, and the
hematophagous females are exposed to additional pathogens. We focused on understanding the
role of the AMPs attacin (Att), cecropin (Cec), and four defensins (Def1, Def2, Def3, and Def4)
in Lutzomyia longipalpis, the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in the Americas. Larvae and
adults were collected under different feeding regimens, in addition to females artificially infected by
Leishmania infantum. AMPs’ gene expression was assessed by qPCR, and gene function of Att and Def2
was investigated by gene silencing. The gene knockdown effect on bacteria and parasite abundance
was evaluated by qPCR, and parasite development was verified by light microscopy. We demonstrate
that L. longipalpis larvae and adults trigger AMPs expression during feeding, which corresponds to
an abundant presence of bacteria. Att and Def2 expression were significantly increased in Leishmania infected females, while Att suppression favored bacteria growth. In conclusion, L. longipalpis AMPs’
expression is tuned in response to bacteria and parasites but does not seem to interfere with the
Leishmania cycle
Política de indexação para repositórios institucionais
No full textMariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita, Professora titular em indexação pela UNESP e docente permanente do Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação da UNESP de Marília/SP, além de Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa “Representação Temática da Informação”, convidada pela Fiocruz/Icict para apresentação de trabalho no evento “II Encontro da Rede Sudeste de Repositórios Institucionais”, realizado nos dias 21 a 22 de julho de 2021.Anexamos o vídeo da palestra de Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita durante o II Encontro da Rede Sudeste de Repositórios Institucionais.O presente trabalho apresenta informações relevantes sobre a política de indexação e sua importância para a gestão da informação registrada, contribuindo para dar visibilidade à recuperação da informação em repositórios institucionais e digitais fortalecendo o acesso aberto
Early use of nitazoxanide in mild Covid-19 disease: randomised, placebo-controlled trial
No full textNitazoxanide is widely available and exerts broad-spectrum antiviral activity in vitro. However, there is no evidence of its impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection. In a multicenter, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adult patients presenting up to 3 days after onset of Covid-19 symptoms (dry cough, fever, and/or fatigue) were enrolled. After confirmation of SARS-CoV2 infection by RT-PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab, patients were randomised 1:1 to receive either nitazoxanide (500 mg) or placebo, TID, for 5 days. The primary outcome was complete resolution of symptoms. Secondary outcomes were viral load, laboratory tests, serum biomarkers of inflammation, and hospitalisation rate. Adverse events were also assessed. From June 8 to August 20, 2020, 1575 patients were screened. Of these, 392 (198 placebo, 194 nitazoxanide) were analysed. Median time from symptom onset to first dose of study drug was 5 (4–5) days. At the 5-day study visit, symptom resolution did not differ between the nitazoxanide and placebo arms. Swabs collected were negative for SARS-CoV-2 in 29.9% of patients in the nitazoxanide arm versus 18.2% in the placebo arm (p=0.009). Viral load was also reduced after nitazoxanide compared to placebo (p=0.006). The percent viral load reduction from onset to end of therapy was higher with nitazoxanide (55%) than placebo (45%) (p=0.013). Other secondary outcomes were not significantly different. No serious adverse events were observed. In patients with mild Covid-19, symptom resolution did not differ between nitazoxanide and placebo groups after 5 days of therapy. However, early nitazoxanide therapy was safe and reduced viral load significantly
Will a little change do you good? A putative role of polymorphisms in COVID-19
No full textAn alarming disease caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) named COVID-19 has emerged as an unprecedented public health problem and ignited a world health crisis. As opposed to what was believed at the beginning of the pandemic, the virus has not only spread but persevere causing secondary waves and challenging the concept of herd immunity against viral infections. While the majority of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals may remain asymptomatic, a fraction of individuals may develop low to high-grade severity signs and symptoms of COVID-19. The disease is multifactorial and can progress quickly, leading to severe complications and even death in a few days. Therefore, understanding the pre-existing factors for disease development has never been so pressing. In this scenario, the insights on the mechanisms underlying disease allied to the immune response developed during the viral invasion could shed light on novel predictive factors and prognostic tools for COVID-19 management and interventions. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed several molecules that significantly impacted critically ill COVID-19 patients, leading to the core mechanisms of COVID-19 pathogenesis. Considering these findings and the fact that ACE-2 polymorphisms alone cannot explain disease progress and severity, this review aims at summarizing the most important and recent findings of the research and expert consensus of possible cytokine-related polymorphisms existing in the differential expression of paramount immune molecules that could be crucial for providing guidelines for decision-making and appropriate clinical management of COVID-19
Computational mapping of B Cell epitopes applied to the development of diagnostic tests for Arboviruses
No full textOs autores externos submeteram sua publicação para apresentação de trabalho no evento “International Symposium on Immunobiologicals”, que foi coordenado e organizado pelo Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos (Bio-Manguinhos), da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Destructive genital and oral ulcers in rural patients
No full textA 45-year-old man (Case 1) from a rural area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil presented with a 2-year history of dry cough and an extensive ulcerated genital lesion. Chest radiography showed a bilateral perihilar
infiltrate. A 56-year-old man (Case 2) from the countryside of Rio de Janeiro presented with a 14-month history
of an ulcerated tongue, dysphagia, and weight loss. In both cases, clinical samples were collected for
histologic examination using hematoxylin-eosin and Grocott methenamine silver stains
Streptomyces hygroscopicus UFPEDA 3370: A valuable source of the potent cytotoxic agent nigericin and its evaluation against human colorectal cancer cells
No full textStreptomyces hygroscopicus UFPEDA 3370 was fermented in submerged cultivation and the biomass extract was partitioned, obtaining a fraction purified named EB1. After purification of EB1 fraction, nigericin free acid was obtained and identified. Nigericin presented cytotoxic activity against several cancer cell lines, being most active against HL-60 (human leukemia) and HCT-116 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines, presenting IC50 and (IS) values: 0.0014 μM, (30.0) and 0.0138 μM (3.0), respectively. On HCT-116, nigericin caused apoptosis and autophagy. In this study, nigericin was also screened both in vitro and in silico against a panel of cancer-related kinases. Nigericin was able to inhibit both JAK3 and GSK-3β kinases in vitro and its binding affinities were mapped through the intermolecular interactions with each target in silico
Separator Gel interferences in biochemical analysis and possible solutions: a bibliographic review
No full textEste trabalho é uma revisão bibliográfica sobre as interferências dos tubos de coleta com
gel separador em análises bioquímicas, comparando estes resultados com os obtidos
em tubos com separador mecânico (Barricor). Para tanto, buscamos artigos nas bases
de dados PubMed, Google acadêmico, Scielo e LILACS. Após a aplicação dos critérios
de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionados 21 artigos para a escrita da revisão. Estes
trabalhos mostraram que o gel pode causar instabilidade nas dosagens de íons e de
diversas substâncias orgânicas. Além disso, em alguns casos a análise da amostra fica
impossibilitada devido ao fenômeno de formação do gel flutuante. No entanto, através
do uso do tubo com separador mecânico foi possível minimizar essas interferências e
instabilidades. Outra vantagem está relacionada ao tempo reduzido de centrifugação da
amostra com o tubo de separador mecânico (3 min. vs. 10 min.). Este tipo de separação
também permite uma centrifugação mais eficaz da amostra, com menor contaminação do
plasma com células e plaquetas, quando comparada à centrifugação do soro obtido nos
tubos tradicionais com gel separador. Por estas razões, fica evidente que as amostras de
plasma obtidas em tubos de separação mecânica demonstram ser de melhor qualidade
para as análises bioquímicas
Dendritic cells as double-agents for breast tumor pre-metastatic bone disease establishment
No full textPre-metastatic niche formation at distant sites can be initiated by the primary tumor through "education" of nontumoral cells present in the primary cancerous niche. Among other participants, immune cells and their secreted factors can boost the successful seeding of the distant disease. Accordingly, we showed that RANKL production by breast tumor-primed T cells is required for development of bone metastasis. Pro-osteoclastogenic tumor-specific RANKL+ T cells were shown as messengers from the periphery to the bone marrow, where they alter bone turnover homeostasis in favour of osteoclasts and before tumor colonization. Pre-metastatic T cell-mediated osteolytic disease generates a rich environment that will allow further colonization of the bone cavity by the metastatic clones. Once initial seeding of the bone tissue is achieved, tumor cells can continue the osteolytic process on their own, feeding themselves through the vicious cycle established. More recently, we explored the contribution of dendritic cells for the maintenance of such tumor-specific T cells activity for bone marrow pre-metastatic niche formation. Indeed, dendritic cells can act as both an APC for RANKL+ tumor-specific T cells activation and as an osteoclast-like cell, amplifying the pre-osteolytic phenomena. Here, we discuss the potential differentiation of DCs into OCs for bone pre-osteolytic disease establishment, either directly or through the maintenance of RANKL+ T cell inside the bone marrow. The understanding of the cellular and molecular interactions that build the bone pre-metastatic niche can be directed towards prevention and/or treatment of metastatic bone disease