Search

Luma de O Comini,1 Laura C de Oliveira,1 Luiza D Borges,1 Heloísa H Dias,1 Clara R S Batistelli,1 Luciana S da Silva,2 Tiago R Moreira,3 Rodrigo G da Silva,4 Rosângela M M Cotta1 1Department of Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 2Medicine School, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 3Department of Nursing and Medicine, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 4Clinical Director of the Hemodialysis Service, São João Batista Hospital, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, BrasilCorrespondence: Luma de O CominiDepartment of Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Annex Building of the Biological Sciences Center II, University Campus, s/nº. Sala 101. Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, MG CEP: 36570-900, BrazilTel +55 31 3612-7538Fax +55 31 3612-5187Email lumacominiufv@gmail.comPurpose: To identify the associations between MetS and its components and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a population with arterial hypertension (AH), or diabetes mellitus (DM) accompanied by the Primary Health Care (PHC).Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study with 788 individuals diagnosed with AH and/or DM followed by PHC of Viçosa, Brazil. Anthropometric, biochemical and clinical measures were performed for the diagnosis of MetS and CKD. MetS was identified using the NCEP-ATPIII criteria. CKD was identified by estimating the glomerular filtration rate using the CKD-EPI equation. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the chances of CKD associated with MetS and its components and specific combinations of components.Results: The prevalence of MetS reported in the population was 65.4%, that of hidden CKD was 15.4%. The prevalence of CKD among participants with MetS was 75.2%. The most prevalent component of MetS in the population was AH (96.7%). Elevated fasting blood glucose, central obesity, and reduced HDL-c were significantly associated with an increased chance of CKD (OR = 2.80, 95% CI 1.76–4.45, OR = 1.68, 95% CI, 05–2.71, OR = 1.61, CI 95% 1.03–2.50, respectively). For the multivariate adjustment, the participants with MetS were 2 times more likely to have CKD than those without MetS (OR = 2.07; 95% CI, 1.25–3.44). The combination of three components of MetS high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and elevated fasting blood glucose and the combination of four components of MetS high blood pressure, reduced HDL-c, high fasting blood glucose and abdominal obesity were associated with increased odds of CKD (OR = 2.67, CI 95% 1.70–4.20, OR = 2.50, CI 95% 1.55–4.02, respectively).Conclusion: MetS, as well as its individual or combined components were independently associated with CKD in the population with AH and/or DM accompanied by PHC.Keywords: high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, fasting blood glucose, HDL-c, estimated glomerular filtration rate

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Detection before metastasis and efficient treatment of disease significantly improve patient survival and quality of life. However, limitations in diagnosis and postoperative surveillance are associated with low CRC detection and survival rates. Thus, this project aimed to evaluate the molecular profile of patients diagnosed with CRC, as molecular biomarkers constitute a new frontier for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Methods and Results: 42 patients were included in the study, predominantly male (59.5%), with a median age of 63 years (SD: 10.0; min: 41; max: 83). The majority of primary tumors were located in the rectum (38.1%), in the sigmoid (33.3%) and in the ascending (21.4%) colon. We evaluated the genes KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, EGFR and TP53 using Sanger sequencing. Somatic and germline mutations were found in the KRAS, EGFR and TP53 genes, with the most common somatic alteration being rs121913529 in KRAS. This variant was also strongly associated with alcoholism (p = 0.002). Furthermore, patients with somatic mutations in TP53 had significantly higher mortality compared to those with wild-type alleles (OR: 11.2; 95% CI 1.25-2.45). Conclusions: Our findings support a relationship between alcohol consumption and the rs121913529 mutation, which is classified as pathogenic for colorectal cancer. Thus, further studies investigating the link between alcohol consumption, colorectal carcinogenesis and tumor progression ought to be conducted., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Bonnetia is the most representative genus of the Pantepui woody flora and is among the groups with the greatest endemism in the local flora. The genus has 28 currently recognized species in tropical America, 26 of them endemic to the Pantepui. Here we describe Bonnetiaayangannensis from the summit of Mount Ayanganna tepui in Guyana, providing a morphological description, illustrations, distribution maps, characterization of micromorphology under scanning electron microscopy and leaf venation, comments comparing the new species with closely related species, and a key for the identification of the species of Bonnetia occurring in Guyana. With its restricted distribution threatened by climate change, Bonnetiaayangannensis is assessed in the conservation threat category of Critically Endangered. Its description raises the number of endemic species of Bonnetia in the Pantepui to 27., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Rafael G. Barbosa-Silva, Benjamin M. Torke, Pedro L. Viana.)

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are versatile RNA molecules recently identified as key regulators of gene expression in response to environmental stress. Our primary focus in this study was to develop a robust computational pipeline for identifying structurally identical lncRNAs across replicates from publicly available bulk RNA-seq datasets. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pipeline, we utilized the transcriptome of the thermophilic fungus Thermothelomyces thermophilus and assessed the expression pattern of lncRNAs in conjunction with Heat Shock Proteins (HSP), a well-known protein family critical for the cell's response to high temperatures. Our findings demonstrate that the identification of structurally identical transcripts among replicates in this thermophilic fungus ensures the reliability and accuracy of RNA studies, contributing to the validity of biological interpretations. Furthermore, the majority of lncRNAs exhibited a distinct expression pattern compared to HSPs. Our study contributes to advancing the understanding of the biological mechanisms comprising lncRNAs in thermophilic fungi., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum and dogs are reservoirs for this parasite. For the diagnosis of Leishmania at the species level in dogs in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin (FFPES) samples, colorimetric in situ hybridization (CISH) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) are options, but their sensitivities are not well established. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of these two techniques in FFPES for the diagnosis of the L. infantum infection in dogs using culture as the reference standard. The FFPES of 48 dogs with cutaneous infection by L. infantum confirmed by culture and by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis were examined by CISH and qPCR using specific probes for L. infantum . The sensitivities of qPCR, CISH and their combination were, respectively, 77.0%, 58.0% and 83.3%. The sensitivities of qPCR in dogs with and without clinical signs were, respectively, 74.2% and 82.4%. The sensitivities of CISH in dogs with and without clinical signs were, respectively, 61.3% and 52.9%. The CISH and qPCR showed satisfactory sensitivities for the diagnosis of L. infantum in the FFPES of dogs, even in dogs without clinical signs, and their combination increases the sensitivity for this diagnosis.

Heavy-isotope substitution into enzymes slows down bond vibrations and may alter transition-state barrier crossing probability if this is coupled to fast protein motions. ATP phosphoribosyltransferase from Acinetobacter baumannii is a multi-protein complex where the regulatory protein HisZ allosterically enhances catalysis by the catalytic protein HisG S . This is accompanied by a shift in rate-limiting step from chemistry to product release. Here we report that isotope-labelling of HisG S has no effect on the nonactivated reaction, which involves negative activation heat capacity, while HisZ-activated HisG S catalytic rate decreases in a strictly mass-dependent fashion across five different HisG S masses, at low temperatures. Surprisingly, the effect is not linked to the chemical step, but to fast motions governing product release in the activated enzyme. Disruption of a specific enzyme-product interaction abolishes the isotope effects. Results highlight how altered protein mass perturbs allosterically modulated thermal motions relevant to the catalytic cycle beyond the chemical step., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to everyday life and has had social, political, and financial consequences that will persist for years. Several initiatives with intensive use of technology were quickly developed in this scenario. However, technologies that enhance epidemiological surveillance in contexts with low testing capacity and healthcare resources are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to address this gap by developing a data science model that uses routinely generated healthcare encounter records to detect possible new outbreaks early in real-time., Methods: We defined an epidemiological indicator that is a proxy for suspected cases of COVID-19 using the health records of Emergency Care Unit (ECU) patients and text mining techniques. The open-field dataset comprises 2,760,862 medical records from nine ECUs, where each record has information about the patient's age, reported symptoms, and the time and date of admission. We also used a dataset where 1,026,804 cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. The records range from January 2020 to May 2022. Sample cross-correlation between two finite stochastic time series was used to evaluate the models., Results: For patients with age 18 years, we find time-lag () = 72 days and cross-correlation () ~ 0.82, = 25 days and ~ 0.93, and = 17 days and ~ 0.88 for the first, second, and third waves, respectively., Conclusions: In conclusion, the developed model can aid in the early detection of signs of possible new COVID-19 outbreaks, weeks before traditional surveillance systems, thereby anticipating in initiating preventive and control actions in public health with a higher likelihood of success., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Resorption within cortices of long bones removes excess mass and damaged tissue and increases during periods of reduced mechanical loading. Returning to high-intensity exercise may place bones at risk of failure due to increased porosity caused by bone resorption. We used point-projection X-ray microscopy images of bone slices from highly loaded (metacarpal, tibia) and minimally loaded (rib) bones from 12 racehorses, 6 that died during a period of high-intensity exercise and 6 that had a period of intense exercise followed by at least 35 days of rest prior to death, and measured intracortical canal cross-sectional area (Ca.Ar) and number (N.Ca) to infer remodelling activity across sites and exercise groups. Large canals that are the consequence of bone resorption (Ca.Ar >0.04 mm 2 ) were 1.4× to 18.7× greater in number and area in the third metacarpal bone from rested than exercised animals (p = 0.005-0.008), but were similar in number and area in ribs from rested and exercised animals (p = 0.575-0.688). An intermediate relationship was present in the tibia, and when large canals and smaller canals that result from partial bony infilling (Ca.Ar >0.002 mm 2 ) were considered together. The mechanostat may override targeted remodelling during periods of high mechanical load by enhancing bone formation, reducing resorption and suppressing turnover. Both systems may work synergistically in rest periods to remove excess and damaged tissue., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Anatomy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Anatomical Society.)

Prosthechea jauana has been recognized as an orchid species endemic to the Venezuelan tepui. The first record of P. jauana in Brazil is presented here, also from a tepui in the Southern phytogeographical district of Pantepui in the Serra do Aracá, at the northern border of the Amazonas state. A detailed morphological description and images of the specimen are presented, as well as an updated distribution map, preliminary conservation status assessment, and taxonomic notes about the species. In addition, we provide species' distribution models for P. jauana based on current and future bioclimatic data. Future projections suggest that the geographic distribution of P. jauana will likely be severely affected, with ~79% of its suitable habitat being reduced by 2041-2060 and ~92% by 2061-2080. Prosthechea jauana could represent a flag species and an example of how climate change may affect the endemic Pantepui flora.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the availability of phosphorus (P) in a soil under no-tillage system after successive applications of liquid swine manure (LSM) doses in soil samples collected at different depths and to select the most appropriate chemical extractors. It was used soil with LSM applications for 19 years, using doses of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 m 3  ha -1 and mineral fertilization (350 kg ha -1 in formulation 02-20-18), evaluated at the following depths: 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm. The extractors used were Mehlich-1, Mehlich-3, Prem, Olsen, Bray-1 and Resin. Successive fertilizations with LSM, especially with 100 m 3  ha -1 , increase the availability of P, especially in the 0-10 cm layer, as well adding P in the deeper layers evaluated (20-40 cm). The organic P content in relation to the total P ranged from 16 to 19 %. Bray-1, Olsen and Resin extractors are more efficient in extracting P in soil under no-tillage cultivation after successive fertilizations with liquid swine manure., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) who were treated with kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in the first and second waves of the pandemic in the megalopolis of Sao Paulo, Brazil., Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 10 intensive care units (ICUs). Patients aged ≥18 years, and treated with KRT due to COVID-19-associated AKI were included. We compared demographic, laboratory and clinical data, KRT parameters and patient outcomes in the first and second COVID-19 waves., Results: We assessed 656 patients (327 in the first wave and 329 in the second one). Second-wave patients were admitted later (7.1±5.0 vs. 5.6±3.9 days after the onset of symptoms, p<0.001), were younger (61.4±13.7 vs. 63.8±13.6 years, p = 0.023), had a lower frequency of diabetes (37.1% vs. 47.1%, p = 0.009) and obesity (29.5% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.007), had a greater need for vasopressors (93.3% vs. 84.6%, p<0.001) and mechanical ventilation (95.7% vs. 87.8%, p<0.001), and had higher lethality (84.8% vs. 72.7%, p<0.001) than first-wave patients. KRT quality markers were independently associated with a reduction in the OR for death in both pandemic waves., Conclusions: In the Sao Paulo megalopolis, the lethality of critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated AKI treated with KRT was higher in the second wave of the pandemic, despite these patients being younger and having fewer comorbidities. Potential factors related to this poor outcome were difficulties in health care access, lack of intra-hospital resources, delay vaccination and virus variants., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Samaan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the convergent validity, discriminative validity, and reliability of the Brazilian version of the low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score in a population with low educational and socioeconomic levels., Methods: The LARS score was translated into the Portuguese language by forward- and back-translation procedures. In total, 127 patients from a public hospital in Brazil completed the questionnaires. The convergent validity was tested by comparing the LARS score with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core Module 30 (QLQ-C30) and with patients' self-reported quality of life. For the discriminative validity, we tested the ability of the score to differentiate among subgroups of patients regarding neoadjuvant radiotherapy, type of surgery, and tumor distance from the anal verge. The test-retest reliability was investigated in a subgroup of 36 patients who responded to the survey twice in 2 weeks., Results: The LARS score demonstrated a strong correlation with 5 of 6 items from the EORTC QLQ-C30 (P<0.05) and good concordance with patients' self-reported quality of life (95.3%), confirming the convergent validity. The score was able to discriminate between subgroups of patients with different clinical characteristics related to LARS (P<0.001). The agreement between the test and retest showed that 86.1% of the patients remained in the same LARS category, and there was no significant difference between the LARS score numerical values (P=0.80), indicating good reliability overall., Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the LARS score is a valid and reliable instrument to assess postoperative bowel function in a population with low educational and socioeconomic levels.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an exam widely adopted to monitor cerebral activities regarding external stimuli, and its signals compose a nonlinear dynamical system. There are many difficulties associated with EEG analysis. For example, noise can originate from different disorders, such as muscle or physiological activity. There are also artifacts that are related to undesirable signals during EEG recordings, and finally, nonlinearities can occur due to brain activity and its relationship with different brain regions. All these characteristics make data modeling a difficult task. Therefore, using a combined approach can be the best solution to obtain an efficient model for identifying neural data and developing reliable predictions. This paper proposes a new hybrid framework combining stacked generalization (STACK) ensemble learning and a differential-evolution-based algorithm called Adaptive Differential Evolution with an Optional External Archive (JADE) to perform nonlinear system identification. In the proposed framework, five base learners, namely, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, a Gaussian Process, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator, a Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network, and Support Vector Regression with a radial basis function kernel, are trained. The predictions from all these base learners compose STACK's layer-0 and are adopted as inputs of the Cubist model, whose hyperparameters were obtained by JADE. The model was evaluated for decoding the electroencephalography signal response to wrist joint perturbations. The variance accounted for (VAF), root-mean-squared error (RMSE), and Friedman statistical test were used to validate the performance of the proposed model and compare its results with other methods in the literature, including the base learners. The JADE-STACK model outperforms the other models in terms of accuracy, being able to explain around, as an average of all participants, 94.50% and 67.50% (standard deviations of 1.53 and 7.44, respectively) of the data variability for one step ahead and three steps ahead, which makes it a suitable approach to dealing with nonlinear system identification. Also, the improvement over state-of-the-art methods ranges from 0.6% to 161% and 43.34% for one step ahead and three steps ahead, respectively. Therefore, the developed model can be viewed as an alternative and additional approach to well-established techniques for nonlinear system identification once it can achieve satisfactory results regarding the data variability explanation.

It remains unclear whether a previous history of tropical infectious diseases and a second SARS-COV-2 infection may influence the likelihood of later symptoms. In this prospective cohort study, individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 were followed up by telephone shortly after diagnosis of COVID-19 and again 12 months later. Poisson regression was used to identify the predictors of the highest number of symptoms in the post-COVID-19 syndrome. A total of 1,371 patients with COVID-19, with a mean age of 39.7 ± 11.7 years and 50% female, were followed for 12 months. Reinfection was found in 32 (2.3%) participants, and 806 (58.8%) individuals reported a previous history of dengue, malaria, Zika, chikungunya, leprosy, and visceral leishmaniasis. Eight hundred seventy-seven (63.9%) participants reported late symptoms related to COVID-19. After adjusting for multiple factors, female sex, non-White race, number of acute-phase symptoms, body mass index, and reinfection were independent predictors of higher number of symptoms in post-COVID-19 syndrome. Female sex, non-White race, number of acute-phase symptoms, body mass index, and reinfection, but not previous endemic tropical diseases, were associated with long-term symptoms.

The components and the salivary flow have a direct influence on the composition of the oral microbiota of children and young people with oropharyngeal dysphagia, and studies have already demonstrated the excessive accumulation of supragingival dental calculus in individuals with enteral nutrition. This study aimed to compare the oral hygiene, biochemical, and microbiological aspects of the oral cavity of children and young people with neurological impairment and oropharyngeal dysphagia. Forty children and young people with neurological impairment and oropharyngeal dysphagia were enrolled and divided into two groups: group I, encompassing 20 participants fed via gastrostomy; and group II, encompassing 20 participants fed via the oral route. Oral hygiene and salivary pH and flow were assessed, and a polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate the messenger RNA expressions of Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tanerella forsythia , and Treponema denticola . In groups I and II, the mean Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified scores were 4 and 2, respectively, showing a significant difference; the mean Calculus Index scores were 2 and 0, respectively, showing a significant difference; and the mean pH was 7.5 and 6.0, respectively, showing a significant difference. Bacterial analysis indicated no association between the two groups. It can be concluded that children and young people who use gastrostomy had a poorer oral hygiene, greater dental calculus deposition, and higher salivary pH. The saliva of patients in both groups contained Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tanerella forsythia , and Treponema denticola .

Introduction: Obesity is a pro-inflammatory disease critical for developing breast cancer (BC), which impacts the profiles of systemic inflammatory mediators and determinants of different disease clinical outcomes remains little explored., Methods: A total of 195 patients diagnosed with breast cancer were included. Aiming to exclude chemotherapy interference on circulating mediators, samples were collected at diagnosis, out of the treatment period. Patients were classified as normal weight (BMI up to 24.9 kg/m2) or overweight (BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2). Serum levels of IL-4, IL-12, hydroperoxides, and nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) were measured. Also, tumor expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TGF-β1, CD4 + , and CD8 + lymphocytes were evaluated., Results: IL-4 levels were significantly increased in the overweight BC group (p = 0.0329), including patients with luminal B subtype (p = 0.0443), presence of lymph node metastases (p = 0.0115) and age of diagnosis below 50 years, (p = 0.0488). IL-12 levels were significantly increased in overweight BC patients with lymph node metastases (p = 0.0115). Hydroperoxides were increased in overweight BC patients (p = 0.0437), including those with tumors smaller than 2 cm (p = 0.05). NOx levels were also increased in overweight BC patients, including those with luminal B disorders (p = 0.0443), high-grade tumors (p = 0.0351) and lymph node metastases (p = 0.0155). The expression of iNOS (p < 0.001) and TCD4+ lymphocytes (p = 0.0378) was significantly investigated in tumor biopsies from overweight BC women., Conclusions: These data provide a picture of the influence of excess body weight on inflammatory mediators' systemic and tumoral profiles, especially in patients displaying poor outcome BC., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict to declare., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Purpose: This study evaluated anatomical variations in the root canals of the lower premolars and molars in a Brazilian sub-population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)., Materials and Methods: In total, 121 CBCT images of patients were selected from a database. All images contained lower first and second premolars and molars on both sides of the arch, fully developed roots, and no treatment, resorption, or calcifications. In each image, the root canals of the lower premolars and molars were evaluated according to the Vertucci classification in On-Demand 3D software in the multiplanar reconstruction with dynamic navigation. Twenty-five percent of the images were re-assessed to analyze intraobserver confidence with the kappa test. Data were statistically evaluated with linear regression to evaluate the correlations of anatomic variations with age and sex, and the Wilcoxon test to analyze the laterality of variations, with a significance level of 5%., Results: The intraobserver agreement (0.94) was excellent. In general, the root canals of lower premolars and molars showed a higher prevalence of type I than other Vertucci classification types, followed by type V in premolars and type II in molars. When the molar roots were evaluated separately, type II was more frequent in mesial roots and type I in distal roots. Although age showed no correlations with the results, sex and laterality showed correlations with tooth 45 and the lower second premolars, respectively., Conclusion: The lower premolars and molars of a Brazilian sub-population showed a wide range of root canal anatomic variations., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None, (Copyright © 2023 by Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology.)

Objectives: This analysis examined the clinical and histopathological characteristics of white and red oral mucosal lesions and patient lifestyle behaviors to understand how the lesions changed over 19-23 years, including among patients who developed oral and pharyngeal cancer., Materials and Methods: Seventy-five individuals with red and/or white oral mucosal lesions with clinical diagnoses of smokeless tobacco lesions, leukoplakia, erythroplakia, lichen planus, ulcer, and virus-associated lesions were identified in six Veterans Affairs Medical Center Dental Clinics (VAMC) from 1996 to 2001. Biopsy results and patients' sociodemographic, medical, and tobacco/alcohol use characteristics were obtained. Study dentists used standardized forms to capture information about the lesions. Study participants were re-examined at intervals through January 2002. In 2020, a retrospective review of VAMC and public records ascertained whether participants developed oral cancer or died., Results: The most common red or white oral mucosal lesions among the 75 study participants were leukoplakia (36.0%), smokeless tobacco lesions (26.7%), virus-associated lesions (18.7%), and lichen planus (16.0%). Lesions in 11% of participants with leukoplakia and one-third of participants with lichen planus persisted for 5 years or more. Dysplasia was present in four participants with leukoplakia. Seventeen percent of participants developed a new white or red oral mucosal lesion. Five patients (6.1%) developed oral or pharyngeal cancer, four among participants with leukoplakia (one with prior dysplasia) and one among participants with lichen planus. Four of the cancers developed 6-20 years after enrollment, and only one was at the original lesion site., Conclusions: The occurrence of oral and pharyngeal cancers in some study participants with white and red oral mucosal lesions many years after enrollment reinforces the need for patients, dentists, and health care systems to have better methods to identify and assess the malignant potential of oral lesions, monitor patients over time, and intercept high-risk oral lesions before they become cancerous., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Purpose: To assess the capability of deep convolutional neural networks to classify anatomical location and projection from a series of 48 standard views of racehorse limbs., Materials and Methods: Radiographs ( N = 9504) of horse limbs from image sets made for veterinary inspections by 10 independent veterinary clinics were used to train, validate and test (116, 40 and 42 radiographs, respectively) six deep learning architectures available as part of the open source machine learning framework PyTorch. The deep learning architectures with the best top-1 accuracy had the batch size further investigated., Results: Top-1 accuracy of six deep learning architectures ranged from 0.737 to 0.841. Top-1 accuracy of the best deep learning architecture (ResNet-34) ranged from 0.809 to 0.878, depending on batch size. ResNet-34 (batch size = 8) achieved the highest top-1 accuracy (0.878) and the majority (91.8%) of misclassification was due to laterality error. Class activation maps indicated that joint morphology, not side markers or other non-anatomical image regions, drove the model decision., Conclusions: Deep convolutional neural networks can classify equine pre-import radiographs into the 48 standard views including moderate discrimination of laterality, independent of side marker presence., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Veterinary Record Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Veterinary Association.)

This study aimed to characterize a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain (KP411) recovered from the stool samples of poultry ( Gallus gallus ) in the Brazilian Amazon Region. The whole-genome sequencing of KP411 revealed the presence of an important arsenal of antimicrobial resistance genes to β-lactams ( bla CTX-M-14 , bla TEM-1B , bla KPC-2 , bla SVH-11 ), aminoglycosides [ aph(3″)- Ib, aph(6)-Id, aph(3')-Ia ], sulfonamides ( sul1, sul2 ), quinolones ( oqxAB ), fosfomycin ( fosA KP ), and macrolides [ mph(A) ]. Furthermore, our analyses revealed that the KP411 strain belongs to the ST258 clonal lineage, which is one of the main epidemic clones responsible for the dissemination of KPC-2 worldwide. Our data suggest that food-producing animals may act as reservoirs of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae belonging to the ST258 clone, and, consequently, contribute to their dissemination to humans and the environment.

ATP phosphoribosyltransferase catalyses the first step of histidine biosynthesis and is controlled via a complex allosteric mechanism where the regulatory protein HisZ enhances catalysis by the catalytic protein HisG S while mediating allosteric inhibition by histidine. Activation by HisZ was proposed to position HisG S Arg56 to stabilise departure of the pyrophosphate leaving group. Here we report active-site mutants of HisG S with impaired reaction chemistry which can be allosterically restored by HisZ despite the HisZ:HisG S interface lying ~20 Å away from the active site. MD simulations indicate HisZ binding constrains the dynamics of HisG S to favour a preorganised active site where both Arg56 and Arg32 are poised to stabilise leaving-group departure in WT-HisG S . In the Arg56Ala-HisG S mutant, HisZ modulates Arg32 dynamics so that it can partially compensate for the absence of Arg56. These results illustrate how remote protein-protein interactions translate into catalytic resilience by restoring damaged electrostatic preorganisation at the active site., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The persistence of high consequence public health pathogens in a wastewater treatment system can significantly impact worker safety, as well as the public and downstream water bodies, particularly if the system is forced to shut down the treatment processes. This study utilizes organism viability to compare the persistence of three pathogen surrogates in wastewater using a pilot-scale activated sludge treatment (AST) system, operated to mimic treatment processes of large-scale plants. Bacillus globigii spores, surrogate for Bacillus anthracis, persisted in the AST system for at least a 50-day observation period leading to a possible steady condition far beyond the solid retention time for sludge particles. MS2 bacteriophage, surrogate for Poliovirus and other non-enveloped enteric viruses, was observed for up to 35 days after introduction, which largely and expectedly correlated to the measured solid retention time. Phi-6 bacteriophage, a surrogate for Ebola virus and other enveloped viruses, was detected for no more than 4 days after introduction, even though the AST system was operated to provide three times slower solids removal than for the other surrogates. This suggests Phi-6 is subject to inactivation under AST conditions rather than physical removal. These results may suggest similar persistence for the surrogated pathogens, leading to appropriate consequence management actions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Inselbergs are azonal formations found scattered in different biomes globally. The first floristic list focusing on an inselberg in the Brazilian Amazon is presented here. We aimed to investigate floristic and phylogenetic connections among Neotropical inselbergs and analyze whether environmental variables act as a filter of plant lineages. We used a database compiled from 50 sites spanning three main Neotropical biomes (Amazon, 11 sites, Atlantic Forest, 14 sites, and Caatinga, 25 sites) comprising 2270 Angiosperm species. Our data highlight the vastly different inselberg flora found in each biome. The inselberg floras of the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga show closer phylogenetic ties than those seen in the other biome pairs. The phylogenetic lineages found in all three biomes are also strongly divergent, even within plant families. The dissimilarity between biomes suggests that distinct biogeographical histories might have unfolded even under comparable environmental filtering. Our data suggest that the inselberg flora is more related to the biome where it is located than to other factors, even when the microclimatic conditions in the outcrops differ strongly from those of the surrounding matrix. Relative to the other biomes, the flora of the Caatinga inselbergs has the highest level of species turnover. There is a possibility that plants colonized these rather distant inselbergs even when they were found under very different climatic conditions than those in the Amazonian and Atlantic Forest biomes. It is worth noting that none of the studied inselbergs found in the Caatinga biome is protected. In view of the uniqueness and drought-resilient lineages present in each group of inselbergs, along with their vulnerability to destruction or disturbance and their strong connection with water availability, we stress the need to protect this ecosystem not only to conserve plants potentially useful for ecological restoration but also to preserve the balance of this ecosystem and its connections., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Barbosa-Silva, Andrino, Azevedo, Lucresia, Lovo, Hiura, Viana, Giannini and Zappi.)

Background: The scarce knowledge about the drivers of demand for respiratory health care in the Brazilian Amazon, where the gap of human and physical health care resources is wide, is expanded with two surveys conducted in the west of the region, in Acre state. Potential drivers, informed by a review of twelve recent papers, were classified into seven categories capturing the individual, household, community and macroeconomic dimensions., Methods: Quantitative field surveys were conducted in 2017 and 2019 based on coupled conglomerate-quota randomization sampling. Adults responded about their own health or their children's health. The probability of seeking physician care for the latest episode of respiratory illness or dry cough was analysed with multiple nonlinear regressions, having as covariates the potential predictors informed by the literature., Results: The propensity to seek health care and to purchase medication was larger for children. Influenza-like illness (Despite the exact diagnostic stated by respondents being "influenza", a virus detection test (such as the PCR test) is not commonly applied, as informed by the Acre state public health service. In consistency, the term "influenza-like illness" is used.) was the most frequently diagnosed disease, followed by pneumonia, suggesting that a health care-seeking rate below 40% may perpetuate health impairment and local contagion. Illnesses' severity, including the pain experienced, was the main predictor, revealing that subjective perception was more influential than objective individual and household characteristics., Conclusions: The results suggest that subjective underestimation of respiratory illnesses' consequences for oneself and for local society could prevent health care from being sought. This is in line with some previous studies but departs from those emphasizing the role of objective factors. Social consequences, of, for instance, a macroeconomic nature, need to be highlighted based on studies detecting long-run relationships among health care demand, health and economic performance at the national level. Depending on the intensity of the trade-off between the costs imposed on the health system by increased demand and on the economy by the reduced productivity of the ill, policy could be adopted to change subjective perceptions of illnesses with nudges and educational and informational interventions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to analyze the root and root canal morphology of mandibular first and second molars using CBCT images. A total of 2,400 mandibular molars exams were selected from 600 patients aged between 18 and 75 years. The number of roots, number of root canals, and root canal configuration according to the Vertucci classification were verified. Overall, 94.92% of mandibular first molars and 90.17% of mandibular second molars had two separate roots. Among the biradicular molars, the first molars showed a greater incidence of type IV canals in the mesial root and type I in the distal root. In the second molars, the most common canal form was type IV in the mesial root and type I in the distal root. In the triradicular molars, the type IV and type I configurations were the most common in the mesial root of the first molar and second molar, respectively. In both triradicular molars, there was a prevalence of type I canal in the distal and DL roots. Statistical analysis was performed at a significance level of 0.05. The number of roots was correlated with gender (Spearman test), and the canal's configuration with gender and bilaterality (Wilcoxon test). The subpopulation studied has a high incidence of bilateral symmetry and mandibular molars with two roots with two distinct mesial canals and one distal canal. The bilateral configuration is possible to estimate the number of canals, especially in images that are difficult to visualize, such as atresic canals.

Introduction: Candida krusei and Candida albicans are biofilm-forming drug-resistant yeasts that cause bloodstream infections that can lead to death. Materials & methods: nystatin and itraconazole were combined with two synthetic peptides, PepGAT and PepKAA, to evaluate the synergistic effect against Candida biofilms. Additionally, scanning electron and fluorescence microscopies were employed to understand the mechanism behind the synergistic activity. Results: Peptides enhanced the action of drugs to inhibit the biofilm formation of C. krusei and C. albicans and the degradation of mature biofilms of C. krusei . In combination with antifungal drugs, peptides' mechanism of action involved cell wall and membrane damage and overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, in combination, the peptides reduced the toxicity of drugs to red blood cells. Conclusion: These results reveal that the synthetic peptides enhanced the antibiofilm activity of drugs, in addition to reducing their toxicity. Thus, these peptides have strong potential as adjuvants and to decrease the toxicity of drugs.

The enzyme m 1 A22-tRNA methyltransferase (TrmK) catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group to the N1 of adenine 22 in bacterial tRNAs. TrmK is essential for Staphylococcus aureus survival during infection but has no homolog in mammals, making it a promising target for antibiotic development. Here, we characterize the structure and function of S. aureus TrmK (SaTrmK) using X-ray crystallography, binding assays, and molecular dynamics simulations. We report crystal structures for the SaTrmK apoenzyme as well as in complexes with methyl donor SAM and co-product product SAH. Isothermal titration calorimetry showed that SAM binds to the enzyme with favorable but modest enthalpic and entropic contributions, whereas SAH binding leads to an entropic penalty compensated for by a large favorable enthalpic contribution. Molecular dynamics simulations point to specific motions of the C-terminal domain being altered by SAM binding, which might have implications for tRNA recruitment. In addition, activity assays for SaTrmK-catalyzed methylation of A22 mutants of tRNA Leu demonstrate that the adenine at position 22 is absolutely essential. In silico screening of compounds suggested the multifunctional organic toxin plumbagin as a potential inhibitor of TrmK, which was confirmed by activity measurements. Furthermore, LC-MS data indicated the protein was covalently modified by one equivalent of the inhibitor, and proteolytic digestion coupled with LC-MS identified Cys92 in the vicinity of the SAM-binding site as the sole residue modified. These results identify a cryptic binding pocket of SaTrmK, laying a foundation for future structure-based drug discovery., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective was to evaluate the microclimate and animal thermal comfort indexes in silvopastoral system in the Brazilian semiarid region with different woody cover levels within Caatinga trees. The experiment was carried out at the Teaching, Research and Extension Unit of the Federal Institute of Science and Technology of Ceará, Campus Limoeiro do Norte, in Chapada do Apodi, CE, in 2018. The treatments were forage grown under woody cover of 46.15% (SS46), forage grown under woody cover of 30.00% (SS30), and forage grown under woody cover of 17.64% (SS18). The evaluations were carried out during three consecutive days, in the vegetative, transition, and dormancy periods at 6 a.m.; 10 a.m.; 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.. First, the microclimate variables, relative air humidity (%), wind speed (m s -1 ), dry bulb temperature (°C), wet bulb temperature (°C), black globe temperature (°C), and dew point temperature (°C), were obtained for subsequent calculation of black globe temperature and humidity index and radiant thermal load (W m -2 ). SS46, SS30, and SS18 systems had no differences of black globe temperature and humidity index and radiant thermal load in the sun. There were significant reductions in black globe temperature and humidity index and radiant thermal load within the trees promoting improvement in the thermal environment at times of higher radiation load. The trees promoted better conditions of animal thermal comfort in all silvopastoral arrangements and periods of the year., (© 2021. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

Variability in climatic conditions of low-latitude tropical grass cultivation can affect forage production dynamics. Pasture ecosystems are complex and preferably studied from a multifactorial point of view through multivariate approaches. Therefore, in this study, we characterized different growing conditions for grasses of the Megathyrsus genus through studies conducted in tropical humid and semi-arid conditions. We applied principal component, canonical correlation, and discriminant function analyses to the measurements of agronomic and agrometeorological variables in six studies with Guinea and Massai grasses. The principal component analysis, through the climatic characterization by the first principal component, reflects the contrast between water availability and nitrogen variables and energy supply. Agronomic characterization occurred through the distinction between the density of tillers, forage accumulation, and increase in height, versus the accumulation of stems and dead material. The canonical correlation analysis generated a correlation coefficient of 0.84 between the agronomic and agrometeorological variables. There was a contrast between the dead material accumulation and the other agronomic variables, while the agrometeorological variables showed characteristics similar to the first principal component. Discriminant function 1, with 70.36% separation power, distinguished the cultivation conditions based on the study locations. Grass cultivars were differentiated by discriminant function 2, with a 19.20% separation power. From a multivariate variability analysis, despite the similarities of radiation and temperature in the regions studied, the availability of water and nutrients and measurements of agronomic variables can aid in future modeling studies on forage production., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Macedo, Filho, Cunha, Lopes, da Silva, Junior, Faturi, Cândido and do Rêgo.)

This study evaluate the maxillary anterior teeth anatomy by micro-computed tomography (μCT), about relevant characteristic for endodontic treatment planning. Fifty maxillary central incisors (MCI), lateral incisors (MLI) and maxillary canines (MC) were scanned using a μCT device. Two and three-dimensional parameters at 1 to 5mm distance to the apical foramen, external anatomic characteristics of the teeth and qualitative analysis of the internal anatomy was performed. The roundness and form factor values revealed a circular canal in the apical third in the MCI and MC, whereas MLI showed flattening in the apical third. The linear regression test indicated a progressive increase in the major/minor diameters in the five mm assessed (p < 0.001). The 3D analysis revealed the greatest volume and surface area in MC. The SMI showed a cylindrical geometry of root canals. All teeth presented Vertucci's type I root canal configuration. A mild curvature was prevalent in the MCI (45%) and a moderate one in the MLI (50%) and MC (50%). Palatal shoulder volume was smaller in the MLI (11.46 ± 3.09) than in the MCI (14.15 ± 3.85) and MC (13.95 ± 2.55). The most common exit of main apical foramen was in a central (22%), distolingual (30%) and mesiobuccal position (28%) for MCI, MLI and MC, respectively. Radicular grooves were observed in 2% of MCI and 4% of MLI. Two and three-dimensional data obtained by μCT allowed to observe morphological characteristics of internal/external anatomy of the maxillary anterior teeth. These characteristics may affect the endodontic treatment planning.

Introduction: Multicenter studies involving patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with the disease caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT) in developing countries are scarce. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the demographic profile, clinical picture, risk factors for mortality, and outcomes of critically ill patients with AKI requiring dialysis (AKI-RRT) and with COVID-19 in the megalopolis of São Paulo, Brazil., Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational study was conducted in the intensive care units of 13 public and private hospitals in the metropolitan region of the municipality of São Paulo. Patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit, aged ≥ 18 years, and treated with RRT due to COVID-19-associated AKI were included., Results: The study group consisted of 375 patients (age 64.1 years, 68.8% male). Most (62.1%) had two or more comorbidities: 68.8%, arterial hypertension; 45.3%, diabetes; 36.3%, anemia; 30.9%, obesity; 18.7%, chronic kidney disease; 15.7%, coronary artery disease; 10.4%, heart failure; and 8.5%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Death occurred in 72.5% of the study population (272 patients). Among the 103 survivors, 22.3% (23 patients) were discharged on RRT. In a multiple regression analysis, the independent factors associated with death were the number of organ dysfunctions at admission and RRT efficiency., Conclusion: AKI-RRT associated with COVID-19 occurred in patients with an elevated burden of comorbidities and was associated with high mortality (72.5%). The number of organ dysfunctions during hospitalization and RRT efficiency were independent factors associated with mortality. A meaningful portion of survivors was discharged while dependent on RRT (22.3%)., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.