Scale-dependent interactions enable emergent microrheological stress response of actin-vimentin composites.

The mechanical properties of the mammalian cell regulate many cellular functions and are largely dictated by the cytoskeleton, a composite network of protein filaments, including actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. Interactions between these distinct filaments give rise to emergent mechanical properties that are difficult to generate synthetically, and recent studies have made great strides in advancing our understanding of the mechanical interplay between actin and microtubule filaments. While intermediate filaments play critical roles in the stress response of cells, their effect on the rheological properties of the composite cytoskeleton remains poorly understood.

Renal Transplant in a Child With the Donor Kidney Having 2 Renal Arteries.

Kidney transplant has become the preferred renal replacement therapy for children with end-stage renal disease. The results of kidney transplant have improved enormously due to advances in organ procurement, organ preservation, surgical techniques, and immunosuppressive regimens. Renal transplant is a more cost-effective method versus hemodialysis and provides better quality of life.

Reorganizing chromatin by cellular deformation.

Biologists have the capability to edit a genome at the nanometer scale and then observe whether or not the edit affects the structure of a developing organ or organism at the centimeter scale. Our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving this emergent phenomenon from a multiscale perspective remains incomplete. This review focuses predominantly on recent experimental developments in uncovering the mechanical interplay between the chromatin and cell scale since mechanics plays a major role in determining nuclear, cellular, and tissue structure.

Switchable microscale stress response of actin-vimentin composites emerges from scale-dependent interactions.

The mechanical properties of the mammalian cell regulate many cellular functions and are largely dictated by the cytoskeleton, a composite network of protein filaments, including actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. Interactions between these distinct filaments give rise to emergent mechanical properties that are difficult to generate synthetically, and recent studies have made great strides in advancing our understanding of the mechanical interplay between actin and microtubule filaments. While intermediate filaments play critical roles in the stress response of cells, their effect on the rheological properties of the composite cytoskeleton remains poorly understood.

Vimentin supports cell polarization by enhancing centrosome function and microtubule acetylation.

Cell polarity is important for controlling cell shape, motility and cell division processes. Vimentin intermediate filaments are important for cell migration and cell polarization in mesenchymal cells and assembly of vimentin and microtubule networks is dynamically coordinated, but the precise details of how vimentin mediates cell polarity remain unclear. Here, we characterize the effects of vimentin on the structure and function of the centrosome and the stability of microtubule filaments in wild-type and vimentin-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts.

Vimentin is a key regulator of cell mechanosensing through opposite actions on actomyosin and microtubule networks.

The cytoskeleton is a complex network of interconnected biopolymers consisting of actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. These biopolymers work in concert to transmit cell-generated forces to the extracellular matrix required for cell motility, wound healing, and tissue maintenance. While we know cell-generated forces are driven by actomyosin contractility and balanced by microtubule network resistance, the effect of intermediate filaments on cellular forces is unclear.

Covid-19 Fiocruz Observatory - an analysis of the evolution of the pandemic from February 2020 to April 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the living and working conditions of the entire population of Brazil, having a different and more intense effect on groups considered to be vulnerable. The objective of this article is to present an overview of the evolution of the pandemic in the country according to the bulletins of the Covid-19 Fiocruz Observatory in the period between the declarations of the beginning and end of the Public Health Emergency of National Concern (ESPIN, in Portuguese), February 2020 to April 2022. Several of the indicators adopted in the 69 bulletins published for the analysis of the pandemic were used, such as cases and deaths due to SARIs and COVID-19, age groups, % of occupancy of ICU beds, and vaccination, among others.

Engineering a Cortisol Sensing Enteric Probiotic.

Chronic stress can lead to prolonged adrenal gland secretion of cortisol, resulting in human ailments such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, immunosuppression, and cardiomyopathy. Real time monitoring of chronic increases in cortisol and intervening therapies to minimize the physiological effects of stress would be beneficial to prevent these endocrine related illnesses. Gut microbiota have shown the ability to secrete, respond, and even regulate endocrine hormones.

Dataset on infant mortality rates in Brazil.

Objectives: Surveillance of infant and fetal deaths is of paramount importance in thinking about government strategies to reduce these rates, provide greater visibility of these mortality figures in the country, enable the adoption of prevention measures, as well as contribute to a better record of deaths.

Data Description: The dataset comprises fetal, neonatal, early neonatal, late neonatal, and perinatal Mortality Rates of Brazilian municipalities with their respective information, between 2010 to 2020, aggregated by epidemiological week.

Vimentin supports cell polarization by enhancing centrosome function and microtubule acetylation.

Cell polarity is important for controlling cell shape, motility, and cell division processes. Vimentin intermediate filaments are necessary for proper polarization of migrating fibroblasts and assembly of vimentin and microtubule networks is dynamically coordinated, but the precise details of how vimentin mediates cell polarity remain unclear. Here, we characterize the effects of vimentin on the structure and function of the centrosome and the stability of microtubule filaments in wild-type and vimentin-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (mEFs).

Host Cell Transcriptional Tuning with CRISPR/dCas9 to Mitigate the Effects of Toxin Exposure.

Anthrax infection is caused by, a bacterium that once established within the host releases lethal toxin (LeTx). Anthrax LeTx is internalized by the capillary morphogenesis protein 2/anthrax toxin receptor 2 (CMG2/ANTXR2) cell surface receptor on mammalian cells. Once inside the cell, LeTx cleaves mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), ultimately leading to cell death.

Evaluation of Human Performance Aiding Live Synthetically Engineered Bacteria in a Gut-on-a-Chip.

Synbiotics are a new class of live therapeutics employing engineered genetic circuits. The rapid adoption of genetic editing tools has catalyzed the expansion of possible synbiotics, exceeding traditional testing paradigms in terms of both throughput and model complexity. Herein, we present a simplistic gut-chip model using common Caco2 and HT-29 cell lines to establish a dynamic human screening platform for a cortisol sensing tryptamine producing synbiotic for cognitive performance sustainment.

How to overcome the stagnation of the first dose vaccine coverage curve against coronavirus disease 2019 in Brazil?

Background: A large percentage of the population has not yet started vaccination, for which the increase in coverage is almost null.

Methods: We used segmented regression analysis to estimate trends in the first dose coverage curve.

Results: There has been a slowdown in the application of the first doses in Brazil since epidemiological week 36 (average percent change [APC] 0.

Leaching assessment of cemented bauxite tailings through wetting and drying cycles of durability test.

Disposal of mine tailings can cause negative environmental effects by releasing contaminants to surface and underground water. Alkali activation is a promising technique for immobilizing metals in stabilization/solidification of these wastes. This study evaluates the leaching behavior of cemented bauxite tailings (BT) submitted to weathering conditions.

Geographic accessibility to cancer treatment in Brazil: A network analysis.

Background: Geographic accessibility to healthcare services is a fundamental component in achieving universal health coverage, the central commitment of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). For cancer patients, poor accessibility has been associated with inadequate treatment, worse prognosis, and poorer quality of life.

Methods: We explored nationwide healthcare data from the SUS health information systems, and mapped the geographic accessibility to cancer treatment in two time-frames: 2009-2010 and 2017-2018.

Productive characteristics of feedlot Santa Inês and Dorper lambs: intake, digestibility, feeding behavior, performance, carcass traits, and meat quality.

This study aimed to evaluate the intake, digestibility, feeding behavior, performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of feedlot Santa Inês (locally adapted breed) and Dorper (transboundary breed) lambs. Twenty non-castrated lambs were used (10 from the Santa Inês genetic group and 10 Dorper), with approximately 3 months of age and an initial body weight of 22.95 ± 2.

Sex-specific effects of aging on humoral immune responses to repeated influenza vaccination in older adults.

Older adults (≥65 years of age) bear a significant burden of severe disease and mortality associated with influenza, despite relatively high annual vaccination coverage and substantial pre-existing immunity to influenza. To test the hypothesis that host factors, including age and sex, play a role in determining the effect of repeated vaccination and levels of pre-existing humoral immunity to influenza, we evaluated pre- and post-vaccination strain-specific hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titers in adults over 75 years of age who received a high-dose influenza vaccine in at least four out of six influenza seasons. Pre-vaccination titers, rather than host factors and repeated vaccination were significantly associated with post-vaccination HAI titer outcomes, and displayed an age-by-sex interaction.

Methaemoglobinemia with impending rupture of descending thoracic aneurysm.

Methaemoglobinemia was detected incidentally in the operating room before major aortic surgery. It was treated successfully with methylene blue, and successful replacement of the descending thoracic aorta was done the next day under cardiopulmonary bypass and circulatory arrest.

COVID-19 Seroprevalence and Active Infection in an Asymptomatic Population.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, immediate and scalable testing solutions are needed to direct return to full capacity planning in the general public and across the Department of Defense (DoD). To fully understand the extent to which a population has been affected by COVID-19, active monitoring approaches require an estimation of overall seroprevalence in addition to accurate, affordable, and rapid tests to detect current SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, researchers in the Air Force Research Laboratory's 711th Human Performance Wing, Airman Systems Directorate evaluated the performance of various testing methods for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and viral RNA in asymptomatic adults working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the surrounding area during the period of 23 July 2020-23 Oct 2020.

The Role of Electrode-Site Placement in the Long-Term Stability of Intracortical Microstimulation.

Intracortical microelectrodes are neuroprosthetic devices used in brain-machine interfaces to both record and stimulate neural activity in the brain. These technologies have been improved by advances in microfabrication, which have led to the creation of subcellular and high-density microelectrodes. The greater number of independent stimulation channels in these devices allows for improved neuromodulation selectivity, compared to single-site microelectrodes.

Increasing impact of COVID-19 on young adults: evidence from hospitalisations in Brazil.

Objectives: Concerns about the increasing impact of severe COVID-19 in younger individuals in Brazil came after a recent synchronised country-wide wave of cases in Brazil. This communication analyses how hospitalisations due to COVID-19 changed in the age groups 18-49 years and ≥70 years.

Study Design: Longitudinal study based on secondary data.