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Aim: This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of dietary nitrate ingestion through l-arginine supplementation or dehydrated beet consumption on endothelial function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The secondary outcome was to analyze arterial stiffness, plasma nitrate, and nitrate/protein concentration., Methods: In this randomized crossover study, subjects with COPD underwent three series of supplementation: (1) l-arginine, (2) dehydrated beetroot, and (3) a placebo that appeared like the other supplements. Each intervention lasted 14 days, with a 7-day washout period between series. Participants underwent endothelial function assessment using flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), and plasma nitrate levels were measured at the end of each supplementation series., Results: Seventeen subjects (twelve male) completed the study protocol. Only five subjects presented endothelial dysfunction (RHI ≤0.51) at baseline. The mean baseline characteristics included age 66.5 ± 9.4 years, BMI 27.5 ± 4.5 kg/m 2 , FEV 1, 0.79 (0.67-1.06) L. There were no differences (p > 0.05) between the groups or from pre-to post-interventions for RHI and arterial stiffness index (AIx) values, as well as parameters of endothelium-dependent vasodilation, such as blood flow velocity (BFV), shear stress, shear rate, FMD (mm), and FMD%. There was also no differences (p > 0.05) between the groups or from pre-to post-interventions plasma nitrate levels., Conclusions: Acute dietary supplementation with nitrates, at the doses provided, did not show a significant improvement in endothelial function assessed by FMD, EndoPAT, or plasma nitrate levels in COPD. These findings suggest that a higher dose or prolonged supplementation might be required to achieve a therapeutic effect., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest On Behalf of the authors, I declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To identify the clinical discriminative value and determinants of arterial stiffness in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)., Methods: This prospective cohort study included 51 individuals (53.57±9.35 years) diagnosed with T2DM (stage glucose≥126 mg/dL; diagnostic time: 87.4±69.8 months). All participants underwent an initial evaluation of personal habits, medications, and history; arterial stiffness assessment by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) using SphygmoCor; and blood laboratory analysis. A statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, and values of p≤0.05 were considered significant., Results: A cut-off cfPWV value of 7.9 m/s was identified for T2DM [Sensitivity (SE): 90% and Specificity (SP): 80%]. A subgroup analysis revealed higher glycated hemoglobin (Hb1Ac) (p=0.006), obesity (p=0.036), and dyslipidemia (p=0.013) than those with cfPWV ≥7.9 m/s. Multivariate analysis identified higher stage glucose (p=0.04), Hb1Ac (p=0.04), hypertension (p=0.001), and dyslipidemia (p=0.01) as determinant factors of cfPWV; positive and significant correlation between cfPWV and glucose (r=0.62; p=0.0003) and Hb1Ac (r=0.55; p=0.0031)., Conclusions: In T2DM, an indicator of the discriminative value of arterial stiffness was cfPWV of 7.9 m/s. Clinical findings and comorbidities, such as hypertension, glucose, poor glycemic control, and dyslipidemia, were associated with and were determinants of arterial stiffness in T2DM. Reinforcement of monitoring risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glycemic control, seems to be essential to the process of arterial stiffening. Confirmation of this discriminative value in larger populations is recommended.

The conjugation of nanoparticles with antibodies has been successfully applied in sandwich immunoassays for detecting cancer biomarkers. However, two antibodies are necessary to perform such experiment, being one of them functionalized with a signal label for optical or electrochemical assay. This approach is time and cost consuming compared to direct label-free immunoassays. In this study, we propose the synthesis of gold nanoparticles conjugated to anti-PSA antibody to produce a label-free impedimetric immunosensors based on nanostructured Layer-by-Layer (LbL) films. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) detection was performed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy demonstrating a detection mechanism governed by Langmuir-Freundlich adsorption model. This strategy provided a significant sensitivity using 10-fold less antibody than conventional immunosensors, i.e. decreasing costs using a simple approach, with a limit of detection of 0.17 ng mL -1 and an analytical range of 0.1-20 ng mL -1 indicating that our sensor is potentially useful for clinical applications., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

It has been synthesized, characterized and tested a new biomaterial AlgS (sodium alginate functionalized with cysteine) to remove Pb(II) in aqueous media. The maximum Pb(II)-sorption capacity of AlgS (Q max  = 770 mg·g -1 ) is between almost two and nine times higher than other alginate-materials reported in the literature. Techniques, such as TGA/DSC, SEM/EDS, BET, FTIR, UV-Vis, XRD and 13 C solid state-NMR have been used to study the chemical-modification of alginate at oxidation and aminofication stages. The formation of the imine intermediate (C=N), after 24 h of reaction was identified by a UV band at 348 nm. Typical IR-bands of AlgS were identified at 2970, 955, 949 and 1253 cm -1 which are associated to CH, SPb, SH and CN stretching vibrations, respectively. 13 C solid state-NMR spectra of AlgS, show peaks at 33-38 ppm and 55-60 ppm associate to δ (HS-CH 2 -) of cysteine and δ (CN) respectively. The ΔH° and ΔG° negative values for Pb(II) sorption indicate that it is an exothermic process and occur spontaneously. Finally, it was found that the Pb(II) sorption on AlgS is significantly affected by the presence of cationic (Na + , Mg 2+ and Al 3+ ) and anionic (Cl - , NO 3 - ) co-ions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new material (Alg Ox -TSC), based on alginate (Alg) chemically modified with thiosemicarbazide (TSC), has been synthesized and tested as an effective biomaterial to remove Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions in aqueous solutions. The synthesis was carried out by controlling the following steps, i/partial oxidation process of alginate in NaIO 4 to obtain AlgOx, ii/reacting of AlgOx, at 40-45 °C, with TSC in NaBH 4 . Alg Ox -TSC has been characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM/EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-IR), solid state 13 C NMR spectroscopy and Point of Zero Charge (pH PZC ) measuremenmts. In order to enhance the sorption process, the effect of contact time, sorbent dosage, initial concentration and reusability of the novel sorbent were investigated becoming the Alg Ox -TSC a promising material capable of removing high concentrations of heavy metal ions such as Pb(II) (up to 950 mg/g at pH 3) and Cd(II) (up to 300 mg/g at pH 7) in aqueous solutions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the interaction among the determinants of expiratory flow limitation (EFL), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), dysanapsis ratio (DR) and age during cycling at different intensities in young and middle-aged men., Methods: Twenty-two (11 young and 11 middle-aged) men were assessed. Pulmonary function tests (DR), cardiopulmonary exercise tests (VO2peak) and two constant load tests (CLTs) at 75% (moderate intensity) and 125% (high intensity) of the gas exchange threshold were performed to assess EFL. EFL was classified using the percentage of EFL determined from both CLTs (mild: 5%-30%, moderate: 30%-50%, severe: >50%)., Results: Only the middle-aged group displayed EFL at both exercise intensities (p<0.05). However, the number of participants with EFL and the percentage of EFL were only associated with age during high-intensity exercise., Conclusions: There was no interaction between the determinants. However, age was the only factor that was related to the presence of EFL during exercise in the age groups studied.

Objective: To determine whether weight loss in women with morbid obesity subjected to bariatric surgery alters lung function, respiratory muscle strength, functional capacity and the level of habitual physical activity and to investigate the relationship between these variables and changes in both body composition and anthropometrics., Methods: Twenty-four women with morbid obesity were evaluated with regard to lung function, respiratory muscle strength, functional capacity, body composition, anthropometrics and the level of habitual physical activity two weeks prior to and six months after bariatric surgery., Results: Regarding lung function, mean increases of 160 mL in slow vital capacity, 550 mL in expiratory reserve volume, 290 mL in forced vital capacity and 250 mL in forced expiratory volume in the first second as well as a mean reduction of 490 mL in inspiratory capacity were found. Respiratory muscle strength increased by a mean of 10 cmH2O of maximum inspiratory pressure, and a 72-meter longer distance on the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test demonstrated that functional capacity also improved. Significant changes also occurred in anthropometric variables and body composition but not in the level of physical activity detected using the Baecke questionnaire, indicating that the participants remained sedentary. Moreover, correlations were found between the percentages of lean and fat mass and both inspiratory and expiratory reserve volumes., Conclusion: The present data suggest that changes in body composition and anthropometric variables exerted a direct influence on functional capacity and lung function in the women analyzed but exerted no influence on sedentarism, even after accentuated weight loss following bariatric surgery.

The hydroalcoholic extract, prepared from authentic chopped barks of Trichilia catigua, was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography using a diode array detector (200-400 mn). The crude extract was purified by rotation locular counter-current chromatography and the chloroform fraction obtained was clean-up by solid-phase extraction. With the aim of getting preliminary structure information on-line, the methanol fraction thus obtained was analyzed by gradient elution using the diode array detector coupled to a mass spectrometer. The presence of flavalignan in this extract was inferred by the chromatographic band, in the total ion current trace, that had an [M-H](-) = 451. With this information, cinchonain Ib was isolated as a pure compound from the crude hydroalcoholic extract using a solid-phase extraction procedure for the sample clean-up followed by a semi-preparative separation using the reverse mode of elution. The isolated compound, after complete characterization, was used as an external standard for the development and validation of a method for the analysis of this compound in herbal medicines using the ultraviolet as the detector. The validated method has been successfully applied for quantification of cinchonain Ib in commercialized herbal medicines sold as Catuaba in Brazil and also in standard chopped barks of T. catigua.