Worldwide, the indiscriminate and escalating application of pesticides has led to extensive impacts on both the environment and non-target organisms. Phytoremediation, which employs plants to decontaminate environments, is a potential strategy for the mitigation of this damage. The present study assessed the phytoremedial potential of Salvinia auriculata, an aquatic macrophyte known to be effective for the removal of environmental contaminants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biol Rep
November 2023
Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is caused by pathogenic variants in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR) or its associated genes, including apolipoprotein B (APOB), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), and LDLR adaptor protein 1 (LDLRAP1). However, approximately 40% of the FH patients clinically diagnosed (based on FH phenotypes) may not carry a causal variant in a FH-related gene. Variants located at 3' untranslated region (UTR) of FH-related genes could elucidate mechanisms involved in FH pathogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExposure to heavy metals in mining zones is a significant threat, which can affect ecosystem services and contribute to the decline of wild bat populations. The present study investigated the impacts caused by mining on two bat species in central Brazil, the nectarivorous Glossophaga soricina and the frugivorous Carollia perspicillata. The bats were collected from a nickel-mining zone (treatment) and a protected area (control).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats may serve as bioindicators of human impact on landscape ecology. This study aimed to evaluate the health condition of bats from different food guilds captured in two areas with different land use profiles in Brazil and to compare data on the oxidant-antioxidant balance and histopathological changes due to different anthropogenic pressures. Bats were collected from a protected area in Serra do Cipó National Park (SCNP), MG, Brazil, and an area with intense agricultural activity in the municipality of Uberaba (UB), MG, Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStatins are the first-line treatment for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), but response is highly variable due to genetic and nongenetic factors. Here, we explored the association between response and genetic variability in 114 Brazilian adult FH patients. Specifically, a panel of 84 genes was analyzed by exon-targeted gene sequencing (ETGS), and the functional impact of variants in pharmacokinetic (PK) genes was assessed using an array of functionality prediction methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The study aimed to characterize the clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical profile of women with invasive breast cancer, according to the risk for Hereditary Predisposition Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome in a Brazilian population.
Methods: This is a retrospective study performed from a hospital-based cohort of 522 women, diagnosed with breast cancer treated at an oncology referral center in the Southeast region of Brazil, between 2014 and 2016.
Results: Among the 430 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who composed the study population, 127 (29.
Theriogenology
December 2021
The objective of this study was to evaluate extender supplemented with melatonin and freezing curves on the antioxidant enzyme activity, peroxidation lipid and sperm characteristics of cryopreserved Brycon orbignyanus milt. Males (n = 16) and females (n = 5) were hormonally induced with two doses (0.5 mg and 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the frequency and factors associated of the provision of nutrition support (NS) in the last 30 days of life in patients with advanced cancer in the palliative or non-palliative setting.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study in palliative and non-palliative care units at a specialized cancer center for oncology in Brazil. The use of oral nutrition supplements (ONS) and enteral (EN) and parenteral (PN) nutrition in the 30 days before death were assessed.
Arch Endocrinol Metab
May 2021
Objective: Yacon flour is rich in bioactive compounds (phenolic compounds and fructooligosaccharides (FOS)), and may therefore reduce the risk of diseases associated with excess body weight. However, its effect on fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA), intestinal permeability, oxidative stress and inflammation markers has not been studied in adult humans with excess body weight. Thus, we evaluated the effect of the consumption of yacon flour on these variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are composed of a lipid bilayer containing transmembrane and soluble proteins. Subtypes of EVs include ectosomes (microparticles/microvesicles), exosomes, and apoptotic bodies that can be released by various tissues into biological fluids. EV cargo can modulate physiological and pathological processes in recipient cells through near- and long-distance intercellular communication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSupport Care Cancer
October 2021
Objective: To describe overall survival (OS) in 90 days and to evaluate the prognostic factors in patients with advanced cancer and COVID-19.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study carried out at the Palliative Care Unit of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Patients with advanced cancer and COVID-19 confirmed by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction were included.
To explore the association of circulating miRNAs with adiposity, metabolic status and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Serum levels of 372 miRNAs were measured in patients with (n = 6) and without MetS (n = 6) by quantitative PCR array, and dysregulated miRNAs were validated in a larger cohort (MetS, n = 89; non-MetS, n = 144). In the screening study, seven miRNAs were dysregulated in patients with MetS, and miR-421 remained increased in the validation study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Transl Med
January 2021
Statins are the most widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs for cardiovascular diseases prevention. However, some patients are refractory to treatment, whereas others experience statin-related adverse events (SRAE). It has been increasingly important to identify pharmacogenetic biomarkers for predicting statin response and adverse events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Hosp Palliat Care
May 2021
Background: Advanced cancer patients are part of a group likely to be more susceptible to COVID-19.
Aims: To describe the profile of advanced cancer inpatients to an exclusive Palliative Care Unit (PCU) with the diagnosis of COVID-19, and to evaluate the factors associated with death in these cases.
Design: Retrospective cohort study with data from advanced cancer inpatients to an exclusive PCU, from March to July 2020, with severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) occurs when subpopulations of valve cells undergo specific differentiation pathways, promoting tissue fibrosis and calcification. Lipoprotein particles carry oxidized lipids that promote valvular disease, but low-density lipoprotein-lowering therapies have failed in clinical trials, and there are currently no pharmacological interventions available for this disease. Apolipoproteins are known promoters of atherosclerosis, but whether they possess pathogenic properties in CAVD is less clear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats have adapted to many different feeding habits, which are known to induce morphophysiological adaptations in several tissues, especially those particularly involved with absorption, metabolism and excretion. The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) has a very unique diet (blood), which, among other challenges, seems to pose a risk to their kidneys, due to the increased nitrogen excretion imposed by their remarkably high protein meal. Fruit-eating bats (Artibeus lituratus) consume a high carbohydrate diet and may be taken as a suitable species for this dietary comparative study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disease that affects millions of people worldwide.
Objectives: The study protocol FHBGEP was design to investigate the main genomic, epigenomic, and pharmacogenomic factors associated with FH and polygenic hypercholesterolemia (PH).
Methods: FH patients will be enrolled at six research centers in Brazil.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care
February 2021
Context: Due to the need for isolation of inpatients with suspected COVID-19, accuracy in identifying these cases in Emergency Department (ED) has great relevance, especially in Palliative Oncology Care Unit (PCU).
Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of clinical criteria adopted to identify suspected cases of COVID-19 by the ED in PCU.
Methods: All patients admitted to PCU between April and June 2020 from ED were included.
Sci Rep
July 2020
Vitamin D supplementation is widely used. However, there is no consensus on the use and dosage of this supplement and the existing recommendations arise from studies based on the benefits that this nutrient can facilitate in bones. In addition, individual genetics can influence the response to supplementation, therefore, research involving monozygotic twins aims to reduce these differences in phenotypic responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClopidogrel is an essential antiplatelet drug used to prevent thrombosis complications associated with atherosclerosis. However, hepatotoxicity is a potential adverse effect related to clopidogrel therapy. Exosome-derived miRNAs may be useful for improved monitoring of drug response and hepatotoxicity risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicol Environ Saf
February 2018
Deltamethrin (DTM) is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide highly used by farmers and home users. This pesticide has lipophilic properties that facilitate a high absorption and can cause toxicity in non-target organisms. During foraging, the fruit-eating bats Artibeus lituratus are exposed to pesticides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia in the population. MicroRNAs (small endogenous noncoding RNAs) are attractive candidates as biomarkers for AF, especially considering that miRNAs are stable and are detected within easily accessible biofluids such as blood. In this review, we selected twelve studies (2012 to 2016) that were classified according to the sample type.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince their discovery in 2008, cell-free circulating microRNAs have been considered potential biomarkers for various conditions, including pediatric cancer. Diagnosis of pediatric cancer still relies on clinical signs, which sometimes may be non-specific or appear at later stages. Thus, there is a need for a better understanding of molecules that allow a less invasive, early and effective method of cancer diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrition
June 2016
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of açai pulp (Euterpe oleracea Martius) intake on the prevention of oxidative damage by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and biomarkers of protein oxidation in women.
Methods: A nutritional intervention study was conducted with thirty-five healthy women who were asked to consume 200 g/d of açai pulp for 4 wk. Blood samples were collected, and blood pressure and anthropometric parameters were measured before and after the experimental period.
Rev Bras Hematol Hemoter
September 2015
Myeloproliferative neoplasms are caused by a clonal proliferation of a hematopoietic progenitor. First described in 1951 as 'Myeloproliferative Diseases' and reevaluated by the World Health Organization classification system in 2011, myeloproliferative neoplasms include polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis in a subgroup called breakpoint cluster region-Abelson fusion oncogene-negative neoplasms. According to World Health Organization regarding diagnosis criteria for myeloproliferative neoplasms, the presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation is considered the most important criterion in the diagnosis of breakpoint cluster region-Abelson fusion oncogene-negative neoplasms and is thus used as a clonal marker.
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