Uncovering tomato candidate genes associated with drought tolerance using Solanum pennellii introgression lines.

Tomato plants are sensitive to drought stress throughout their growth cycle. To be considered drought-tolerant, a cultivar should display tolerance at all developmental stages. This study aimed to evaluate whether Solanum pennellii introgression lines (ILs) previously selected as drought-tolerant during germination/seedling growth maintained this tolerance in the vegetative/reproductive stage.

Draft Genome Sequences of 17 Campylobacter coli Strains Isolated from Animal and Food Sources in Brazil.

Campylobacter spp. have been reported as one of the most frequent causes of acute gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. Here, we report 17 draft genome sequences of C.

Carbon dots using a household cleaning liquid as a dopant for iron detection in hydroponic systems.

Iron (Fe) is a required micronutrient in plants for the production of chlorophyll and transport of oxygen. A commonly used surrogate for measuring nutrient levels is the measurement of electrical conductivity or total dissolved solids, but this technique is not selective towards any particular dissolved ion. In this study, using a conventional microwave, fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are produced from glucose and a household cleaning product and applied towards monitoring dissolved ferric iron levels in hydroponic systems through fluorescent quenching.

Effect of osteopathic visceral manipulation for individuals with functional constipation and chronic nonspecific low back pain: Randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate the effect of osteopathic visceral manipulation (OVM) on disability and pain intensity in individuals with functional constipation and chronic nonspecific low back pain.

Methods: This study is a randomized controlled trial with a blinded assessor. Seventy-six volunteers with functional constipation and chronic nonspecific low back pain were randomized to two groups: OVM and sham OVM.

Neuroimaging assessment of pediatric cerebral changes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection and perinatal neurologic outcomes are still not fully understood. However, there is recent evidence of white matter disease and impaired neurodevelopment in newborns following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. These appear to occur as a consequence of both direct viral effects and a systemic inflammatory response, with glial cell/myelin involvement and regional hypoxia/microvascular dysfunction.

Management and outcomes of obturator hernias: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Obturator Hernia (OH) is a rare type of abdominal wall hernia. It usually occurs in elderly women with late symptomatic presentation, increasing mortality rates. Surgery is the standard of care for OH, and laparotomy with simple suture closure of the defect is commonly used.

Customized Scaffolds for Direct Assembly of Functionalized DNA Origami.

Functional DNA origami nanoparticles (DNA-NPs) are used as nanocarriers in a variety of biomedical applications including targeted drug delivery and vaccine development. DNA-NPs can be designed into a broad range of nanoarchitectures in one, two, and three dimensions with high structural fidelity. Moreover, the addressability of the DNA-NPs enables the precise organization of functional moieties, which improves targeting, actuation, and stability.

Smoking among Brazilian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The social distancing measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in mental suffering among adolescents, leading to risky consumption of psychoactive substances such as tobacco.

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with tobacco use among adolescents during the COVID-19 social distancing period in Brazil.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study used data from ConVid Adolescentes survey in Brazil.

Tailoring of Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Enhanced Water Pollutants Removal.

The adsorptive performance of mesoporous silica-based materials towards inorganic (metal ions) and organic (dyes) water pollutants was investigated. Mesoporous silica materials with different particle size, surface area and pore volume were prepared and tailored with different functional groups. These materials were then characterised by solid-state techniques, namely vibrational spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, allowing the successful preparation and structural modifications of the materials to be confirmed.

A Polymorph of Dipeptide Halide Glycyl-L-Alanine Hydroiodide Monohydrate: Crystal Structure, Optical Second Harmonic Generation, Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity.

A polymorph of glycyl-L-alanine HI.HO is synthesized from chiral cyclo-glycyl-L-alanine dipeptide. The dipeptide is known to show molecular flexibility in different environments, which leads to polymorphism.

CBCT Assessment of Gubernacular Canals on Permanent Tooth Eruption in Down's Syndrome.

Background: The gubernacular canal (GC) is an important dental structure that enables the alveolar bone ridge cohesion of permanent teeth, although GC absence may indicate a dental eruption that might be associated with certain syndromes such as Down's syndrome. This study aims to correlate the eruptive delay of permanent teeth in individuals with Down's syndrome (Ds) and the gubernacular canal (GC) through cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Methods And Results: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and July 2022 with a total of 31 individuals (G1 = 16 nonsyndromic and G2 = 15 Down's syndrome) who went through imaging evaluation using CBCT with the following acquisition parameters: tube voltage of 95 kVp, tube current of 7 mA, exposure time of 5.

Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees.

Mechanisms of inheritance remain poorly defined for many fitness-mediating traits, especially in long-lived animals with protracted development. Using 6,123 urinary samples from 170 wild chimpanzees, we examined the contributions of genetics, non-genetic maternal effects, and shared community effects on variation in cortisol levels, an established predictor of survival in long-lived primates. Despite evidence for consistent individual variation in cortisol levels across years, between-group effects were more influential and made an overwhelming contribution to variation in this trait.

Effectiveness and safety of multidrug therapy containing clofazimine for paucibacillary leprosy and clarithromycin for rifampicin-resistant leprosy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate leprosy cure and relapse rates as primary outcomes related to two additional strategies for leprosy treatment: clofazimine for paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients and clarithromycin for patients with rifampicin-resistant leprosy.

Methods: We conducted two systematic reviews (protocols CRD42022308272 and CRD42022308260). We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, LILACS, Virtual Health Library and Cochrane Library databases, registers of clinical trial databases and gray literature.

Development and Validation of Prediction Models and Risk Calculators for Posthepatectomy Liver Failure and Postoperative Complications Using a Diverse International Cohort of Major Hepatectomies.

Objective: The study aim was to develop and validate models to predict clinically significant posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) and serious complications [a Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI)>40] using preoperative and intraoperative variables.

Background: PHLF is a serious complication after major hepatectomy but does not comprehensively capture a patient's postoperative course. Adding the CCI as an additional metric can account for complications unrelated to liver function.

High prevalence of mental disorder symptoms among medical and other health specialties residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic put healthcare professionals, including residents (postgraduate trainees of health professions), under intense physical and psychological stress, hence at risk for mental disorders. We evaluated the prevalence of mental disorders among healthcare residents during the pandemic.

Methods: From July to September 2020, residents in medicine and other healthcare specialties in Brazil were recruited.

Bone density and proximal support effects on dental implant stability - Finite element analysis and in vitro experiments.

Objectives: The application of dental implants presents the occurrence of implant failures associated with bone proximal support. This study aims to assess implant behavior, in particular implant stability and strain distribution in the bone at different bone densities, and the effect of proximal bone support.

Material And Methods: Three bone densities (D20, D15, and D10) were considered in the experimental in vitro study, represented by solid rigid polyurethane foam and two conditions of bone support in the proximal region.

The burden of Noncommunicable Diseases in Portuguese Language Countries.

The present study analyzed trends in premature mortality from Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) between 1990 and 2019, the projections up to 2030, and the risk factors (RFs) attributable to these diseases in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the analysis of the burden of premature mortality due to NCDs were used for nine CPLP countries, applying age-standardized rates, using RStudio. Portugal, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, and Guinea Bissau showed declining premature mortality rates caused by NCDs, while East Timor, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Mozambique showed an increase in rates.

Can SARS-CoV-2 screening in oral biopsies aid epidemiological surveillance?

Background: Three years after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Brazil, the outcomes of Federal government omissions in managing the crisis and anti-science stance heading into the pandemic have become even more evident. With over 36 million confirmed cases and nearly 700 000 deaths up to January 2023, the country is one of the hardest-hit places in the world. The lack of mass-testing programs was a critical broken pillar responsible for the quick and uncontrolled SARS-CoV-2 spread throughout the Brazilian population.

Istradefylline induces A2A/P2X7 crosstalk expression inducing pro-inflammatory signal, and reduces AKT/mTOR signaling in melanoma-bearing mice.

ATP and adenosine (ADO) are critical players in the context of cancer. In the tumor microenvironment, the signaling dependent on these molecules, and immune cells, is regulated by an enzymatic chain and purinergic receptors called purinome. Primarily, the A2A receptor (A2AR) has a pro-tumor action since it reduces the immune response and favors the growth of malignant melanoma.

Self-Renewal and Pluripotency in Osteosarcoma Stem Cells' Chemoresistance: Notch, Hedgehog, and Wnt/β-Catenin Interplay with Embryonic Markers.

Osteosarcoma is a highly malignant bone tumor derived from mesenchymal cells that contains self-renewing cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for tumor progression and chemotherapy resistance. Understanding the signaling pathways that regulate CSC self-renewal and survival is crucial for developing effective therapies. The Notch, Hedgehog, and Wnt/β-Catenin developmental pathways, which are essential for self-renewal and differentiation of normal stem cells, have been identified as important regulators of osteosarcoma CSCs and also in the resistance to anticancer therapies.

Relating relational networks: An initial experimental analysis.

Studying relating of relational networks is a complex and challenging task. The main objective of the present study was to demonstrate relating within and across relational networks based on same/opposite and bigger/smaller contextual cues and establish antecedent control. After nonarbitrary pretraining of the contextual cues, two nonsense stimulus classes were established based on comparative relations.

The unrestricted global effort to complete the COOL trial.

Background: Severe complicated intra-abdominal sepsis (SCIAS) has an increasing incidence with mortality rates over 80% in some settings. Mortality typically results from disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, progressive and self-perpetuating bio-mediator generation, systemic inflammation, and multiple organ failure. A further therapeutic option may be open abdomen (OA) management with negative peritoneal pressure therapy (NPPT) to remove inflammatory ascites and attenuate the systemic damage from SCIAS, although there are definite risks of leaving the abdomen open whenever it might possibly be closed.