Saxitoxin potentiates human neuronal cell death induced by Zika virus while sparing neural progenitors and astrocytes.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic declared in Brazil between 2015 and 2016 was associated with an increased prevalence of severe congenital malformations, including microcephaly. The distribution of microcephaly cases was not uniform across the country, with a disproportionately higher incidence in the Northeast region (NE). Our previous work demonstrated that saxitoxin (STX), a toxin present in the drinking water reservoirs of the NE, exacerbated the damaging effects of ZIKV on the developing brain.

Pediatric asthma knowledge: Insights from a Portuguese central hospital study.

Background: Asthma is a common chronic condition in children, with parental and child health literacy affecting health outcomes and asthma control. This study examined pediatric asthma knowledge at a Portuguese central hospital and its determinants.

Methods: We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study, applying the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (QCSA), answered by adolescents and/or caregivers.

Random close packing of semi-flexible polymers in two dimensions: Emergence of local and global order.

Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we systematically study the effect of chain stiffness on the packing ability of linear polymers composed of hard spheres in extremely confined monolayers, corresponding effectively to 2D films. First, we explore the limit of random close packing as a function of the equilibrium bending angle and then quantify the local and global order by the degree of crystallinity and the nematic or tetratic orientational order parameter, respectively. A multi-scale wealth of structural behavior is observed, which is inherently absent in the case of athermal individual monomers and is surprisingly richer than its 3D counterpart under bulk conditions.

Comparative study of intracytoplasmic sperm injection using the traditional holding and the oocyte-holding pipette without aspiration.

Despite the high level of standardization of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique, there are some aspects that deserve special attention and should still be improved. The major drawback of the technique is its invasiveness, as during cytoplasmic aspiration different structures of the oocyte may be lost or damaged. This is partly because the microtools used in ICSI were not specially designed for assisted reproduction but for other medical-biological disciplines.

Availability of emergency contraception in large Brazilian municipalities: a guaranteed right?

Emergency Contraception (EC) is available in Brazil since 1996, when it was adopted as one if the family planning strategies and, in 1998, for use in services assisting victims of sexual violence. In the country, its use is regulated by guidelines. Its access through SUS (Unified Health System), however, does not seem to occur in a standardized manner.

Probiotics, prebiotics and food allergy: a review.

The review was structured in the following sections: 1) Cow's Milk Proteins Allergy (CMA), 2) Food Allergy to Peanuts and 3) Prevention of Food Allergy. In CMA, studies indicate that extensively hydrolyzed casein formula supplemented with GG aids in acquiring tolerance to cow's milk proteins, resolving gastrointestinal symptoms and preventing of other allergic manifestations. In peanut oral immunotherapy (OI), supplementation with CGMCC 1.

Fine-tuning of colloidal polymer crystals by molecular simulation.

Through extensive molecular simulations we determine a phase diagram of attractive, fully flexible polymer chains in two and three dimensions. A rich collection of distinct crystal morphologies appear, which can be finely tuned through the range of attraction. In three dimensions these include the face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, simple hexagonal, and body-centered cubic crystals and the Frank-Kasper phase.

Densest packing of flexible polymers in 2D films.

How dense objects, particles, atoms, and molecules can be packed is intimately related to the properties of the corresponding hosts and macrosystems. We present results from extensive Monte Carlo simulations on maximally compressed packings of linear, freely jointed chains of tangent hard spheres of uniform size in films whose thickness is equal to the monomer diameter. We demonstrate that fully flexible chains of hard spheres can be packed as efficiently as monomeric analogs, within a statistical tolerance of less than 1%.

Copper regulation disturbance linked to oxidative stress and cell death during Zika virus infection in human astrocytes.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) caused neurological abnormalities in more than 3500 Brazilian newborns between 2015 and 2020. Data have pointed to oxidative stress in astrocytes as well as to dysregulations in neural cell proliferation and cell cycle as important events accounting for the cell death and neurological complications observed in Congenital Zika Syndrome. Copper imbalance has been shown to induce similar alterations in other pathologies, and disturbances in copper homeostasis have already been described in viral infections.

Zika Virus Strains and Dengue Virus Induce Distinct Proteomic Changes in Neural Stem Cells and Neurospheres.

Brain abnormalities and congenital malformations have been linked to the circulating strain of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Brazil since 2016 during the microcephaly outbreak; however, the molecular mechanisms behind several of these alterations and differential viral molecular targets have not been fully elucidated. Here we explore the proteomic alterations induced by ZIKV by comparing the Brazilian (Br ZIKV) and the African (MR766) viral strains, in addition to comparing them to the molecular responses to the Dengue virus type 2 (DENV). Neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPSCs) were cultured both as monolayers and in suspension (resulting in neurospheres), which were then infected with ZIKV (Br ZIKV or ZIKV MR766) or DENV to assess alterations within neural cells.

Body mass index and gestational weight gain: relevance in gestational diabetes and outcomes - A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) on blood glucose levels at diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and obstetric/neonatal outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study including 462 women with GDM and singleton pregnancy delivered in our institution between January 2015 and June 2018 and grouped according to BMI/GWG.

Results: The diagnosis of GDM was more likely to be established in the 1 trimester (T) in women with obesity than in normal-weight (55.

Homozygous V377I mutation causing mevalonate kinase.

Hyperimmunoglobulinaemia D syndrome (HIDS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the mevalonate kinase (MVK) gene, located on chromosome 12. The most common mutation identified in MVK gene so far is V377I. Compound heterozygotes that include this variant may exhibit a more severe phenotype of the disease and homozygotes are rarely found in clinical practice probably they express a milder phenotype.

Changes in circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 and its binding proteins in yearling rainbow trout during spring under natural and manipulated photoperiods and their relationships with gill Na, K-ATPase and body size.

Smoltification in salmonids occurs during spring in response to increasing photoperiod to prepare for marine life. Smoltification is associated with increased hypo-osmoregulatory ability and enhanced growth potential, mediated by growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1. Rainbow trout is uniquely insensitive to the induction of smoltification-associated changes by photoperiod, such as the activation of gill Na,K-ATPase (NKA).

Oligomeric α-Synuclein induces skin degeneration in reconstructed human epidermis.

Aged and photoaged skin exhibit fine wrinkles that are signs of epidermal inflammation and degeneration. It has been shown that healthy elderly skin expresses amyloidogenic proteins, including α-Synuclein, which are known to oligomerize and trigger inflammation and neurodegeneration. However, little is known about their putative role in skin physiology and sensitivity.

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes by targeting the Sigma-1 receptor disrupts cytoarchitecture and beating.

SARS-CoV-2 infects cardiac cells and causes heart dysfunction. Conditions such as myocarditis and arrhythmia have been reported in COVID-19 patients. The Sigma-1 receptor (S1R) is a ubiquitously expressed chaperone that plays a central role in cardiomyocyte function.

WIN 55,212-2 shows anti-inflammatory and survival properties in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which can infect several organs, especially impacting respiratory capacity. Among the extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 is myocardial injury, which is associated with a high risk of mortality. Myocardial injury, caused directly or indirectly by SARS-CoV-2 infection, can be triggered by inflammatory processes that lead to damage to the heart tissue.

Pleural effusion and multiple myeloma - more than meets the eye: A case report.

Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 1% of all cancers. It consists of malignant proliferation of plasma cells, which is often associated with hypersecretion of a monoclonal protein. Pleural effusion (PE) in MM is not an uncommon finding, comprising about 6-14% of patients with MM.

SARS-CoV-2 infection of the central nervous system in a 14-month-old child: A case report of a complete autopsy.

Background: Neurological and other systemic complications occur in adults with severe COVID-19. Here we describe SARS-CoV-2 infection complicated by neuroinvasion in the tissues of a child.

Methods: We performed a complete autopsy of a 14-month-old child who died of COVID-19 pneumonitis.

Non-permissive SARS-CoV-2 infection in human neurospheres.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was initially described as a viral infection of the respiratory tract. It is now known, however, that several other organs are affected, including the brain. Neurological manifestations such as stroke, encephalitis, and psychiatric conditions have been reported in COVID-19 patients, but the neurotropic potential of the virus is still debated.

Delayed diagnosis of occult phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor in the foot.

Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumors are the main cause of tumor-induced osteomalacia, a distinctive paraneoplastic syndrome mediated by overproduction of fibroblast growth factor 23, that leads to renal phosphate wasting and hypophosphatemia. Diagnosis of this mesenchymal tumors is difficult and usually delayed for several years. We present the case of a 70-years-old-male with generalized bone pain, multiple pathological fractures and persistent hypophosphatemia, diagnosed with tumor-induced osteomalacia after 4 years of the onset of symptoms.