Integrative physiological, biochemical, and proteomic analysis of the leaves of two cotton genotypes under heat stress.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), a crucial global fibre and oil seed crop faces diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. Among these, temperature stress strongly influences its growth, prompting adaptive physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes.

Biomarkers.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, is one of the biggest health concerns of the century. Long COVID is one of the major sequelae from the infection and include persistent neurological manifestations. Brain images study suggest that Long COVID patients present distinct brain metabolic alterations.

Biomarkers.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis, and its lasting consequences are not yet fully understood. Epidemiological data suggest that low- and middle-income countries, such as Brazil, will bear a considerable burden of COVID-19-related comorbidities. Individuals who have survived COVID-19 often report persistent symptoms, including neurological manifestations such as brain fog.

Biomarkers.

Background: COVID-19, identified as the greatest health concern of the century, is associated with vascular inflammation and endothelial activation, resulting in multisystemic damage, including to the central nervous system (CNS). Recent investigations indicate a link between endothelial dysfunction, neurological changes, and the development of the so-called long-COVID. Molecules expressed in the endothelium such as P-selectin, E-selectin, and VEGF-A, increased under inflammatory injury, may be associated with conditions like brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.

Public Health.

Background: Despite the increasing number of people with dementia, it remains underdetected worldwide, even in high-income countries. In Brazil, the number of people with dementia is expected to triple by 2050 and diagnosis can be challenging, contributing to high and growing rates of underdiagnosis. At the moment, there is no national estimate of undetected dementia.

Biomarkers.

Background: Long-COVID is characterized by persistent symptoms post-infection with SARS-CoV-2. This condition includes neurological manifestations and has been proposed as a potential risk factor for the development of dementia. Individuals presenting with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease have dysfunctional brain metabolism, including metabolic brain network (MBN) hypoconnectivity.

Developing Topics.

Background: People with young-onset Alzheimer`s disease (YOAD) is a diagnosis given when the neurocognitive process begins before the age of 65 and often presents more global impairments, and the course of the disease is faster. In contrast, in late-onset (LOAD), the most prominent loss occurs in short-term memory. Therefore, the age at onset of the disease may affect global functioning in different ways.

Developing Topics.

Background: Social Cognition (SC) is the ability to recognize and understand socially relevant stimuli, which contributes to an adequate social decision. Different neurological conditions may affect this cognitive domain, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). SC impairments are commonly associated with the progression of the disease and contribute to the dependence of people with AD, influencing their functional disability and the burden on family members and caregivers.

Developing Topics.

Background: The deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques is a classical neuropathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Currently, it is believed that intermediate products of the Aβ fibrillogenesis process, like the β-amyloid oligomers (AβOs), are the most toxic forms, and are involved in neurodegenerative processes in AD. The evaluation of cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with β-amyloid plaque deposition using [F]FDG-PET has been used as a marker of neurodegeneration in AD.

Developing Topics.

Background: The progression of dementia may be followed by decreased sexual activity for People with Alzheimer's Disease (PwAD) and their spouse-carers. We designed this study to investigate the perception of change in sexual activity and sexual satisfaction among couples whose spouses were diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Method: Using a cross-sectional design, we compared 74 dyads of people with Alzheimer´s disease (PwAD) and their spouse-carers, and 21 elderly dyads control.

Developing Topics.

Background: Dementia is a growing concern throughout the developing world and is severely underdiagnosed among the Brazilian population. Despite remarkable progress in the biomarker field in recent years, local testing and validation of plasma biomarkers of AD and dementia is still lacking in Brazil and Latin America.

Method: In this longitudinal cohort study of 145 participants, the diagnostic performance of plasma biomarkers was assessed based on clinical diagnosis and CSF biomarker positivity.

Alzheimer's Imaging Consortium.

Background: Long-COVID is characterized by persistent symptoms post-infection with SARS-CoV-2. This condition includes neurological manifestations and has been proposed as a potential risk factor for the development of dementia. Individuals presenting with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease have dysfunctional brain metabolism, including metabolic brain network (MBN) hypoconnectivity.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Pterocarpanquinone LQB-118 in Murine Peritoneal Macrophages.

Background: Phagocytosis is an important function of macrophages. However, when it's dysregulated, it could compromise homeostasis. Thus, this study aimed to assess the inhibitory activity of pterocarpanquinone LQB 118 on murine macrophage phagocytosis.

Environmental Dissemination of SARS-CoV-2: An Analysis Employing Crassphage and Next-Generation Sequencing Protocols.

This study aimed to investigate the dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in water samples obtained during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic period, employing cross-assembly phage (crAssphage) as a fecal contamination biomarker and next-generation sequencing protocols to characterize SARS-CoV-2 variants. Raw wastewater and surface water (stream and sea) samples were collected for over a month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ultracentrifugation and negatively charged membrane filtration were employed for viral concentration of the wastewater and surface water samples, respectively.

Genetic characterization of paternal lineages by Y-STR in three sample populations in Northeastern Brazil.

Genetic markers of the Y chromosome are powerful tools for investigating paternal ancestry and are widely used in population and forensic genetics. However, in order to obtain statistics with a higher degree of certainty using these markers, it is necessary to obtain haplotypic frequencies from a representative database, as well as knowing the diversity and structure of the population. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of a sample of 1114 unrelated men from three states in the Northeast of Brazil: Paraíba, Pernambuco and Ceará, through the analysis of 23 Y-STRs and to contribute to the expansion of the Brazilian database on these markers.

Towards large-scale quantum optimization solvers with few qubits.

Quantum computers hold the promise of more efficient combinatorial optimization solvers, which could be game-changing for a broad range of applications. However, a bottleneck for materializing such advantages is that, in order to challenge classical algorithms in practice, mainstream approaches require a number of qubits prohibitively large for near-term hardware. Here we introduce a variational solver for MaxCut problems over binary variables using only n qubits, with tunable k > 1.

Sex differences in mitochondrial free-carnitine levels in subjects at-risk and with Alzheimer's disease in two independent study cohorts.

A major challenge in the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the identification of molecular mechanisms linked to specific pathophysiological features of the disease. Importantly AD has a two-fold higher incidence in women than men and a protracted prodromal phase characterized by amnestic mild-cognitive impairment (aMCI) suggesting that biological processes occurring early can initiate vulnerability to AD. Here, we used a sample of 125 subjects from two independent study cohorts to determine the levels in plasma (the most accessible specimen) of two essential mitochondrial markers acetyl-L-carnitine (LAC) and its derivative free-carnitine motivated by a mechanistic model in rodents in which targeting mitochondrial metabolism of LAC leads to the amelioration of cognitive function and boosts epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression.

Tuberculosis healthcare service disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, India and South Africa: A model-based analysis of country-level data.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious disease cause of death worldwide. In recent years, stringent measures to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 have led to considerable disruptions of healthcare services for TB in many countries. The extent to which these measures have affected TB testing, treatment initiation and outcomes has not been comprehensively assessed.

Exposure to Oil Spill Among Fishers on the Brazilian Coast in 2019/2020.

Objective: In 2019/2020, the Brazilian coast was affected by the largest oil spill disaster affecting the extent of the coastline recorded in tropical oceans. The impact on fishing areas and the prohibition of seafood sales and consumption exacerbated small-scale fishers' vulnerability. The small-scale fishers (SSFs) were the most active in protecting fishing territories, carrying out cleanup efforts without adequate personal protective equipment.

Combining Photochemical Oxyfunctionalization and Enzymatic Catalysis for the Synthesis of Chiral Pyrrolidines and Azepanes.

Chiral heterocyclic alcohols and amines are frequently used building blocks in the synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Herein, we report a one-pot photoenzymatic synthesis route for -Boc-3-amino/hydroxy-pyrrolidine and -Boc-4-amino/hydroxy-azepane with up to 90% conversions and >99% enantiomeric excess. The transformation combines a photochemical oxyfunctionalization favored for distal C-H positions with a stereoselective enzymatic transamination or carbonyl reduction step.

Skin Tear Treatment with Hayne in Polymeric Hydrogel: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

A double-blind, randomized, and controlled clinical trial with therapeutic intervention was performed at a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro to evaluate whether the addition of Hayne oleoresin to a carboxypolymethylene hydrogel is more effective in skin tear healing than standard treatment. The sample consisted of 84 patients, predominantly men, with a mean age of 67.37 years.

Regioselective Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution: Theoretical and Experimental Insights into 4-Aminoquinazoline Synthesis as a Privileged Structure in Medicinal Chemistry.

The 4-aminoquinazoline scaffold is a privileged structure in medicinal chemistry. Regioselective nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SAr) for replacing the chlorine atom at the 4-position of 2,4-dichloroquinazoline precursors is well documented in the scientific literature and has proven useful in synthesizing 2-chloro-4-aminoquinazolines and/or 2,4-diaminoquinazolines for various therapeutic applications. While numerous reports describe reaction conditions involving different nucleophiles, solvents, temperatures, and reaction times, discussions on the regioselectivity of the SAr step remain scarce.

Three-Dimensional Ultrasound for Physical and Virtual Fetal Heart Models: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common congenital defect, occurring in approximately 1 in 100 live births and being a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Of note, approximately 25% of these defects are classified as critical, requiring immediate postnatal care by pediatric cardiology and neonatal cardiac surgery teams. Consequently, early and accurate diagnosis of CHD is key to proper prenatal and postnatal monitoring in a tertiary care setting.

Evaluation of Bone Biomarkers in Renal Osteodystrophy.

Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) represents histological bone changes in patients with chronic kidney disease and is classified according to turnover and mineralization. This cross-sectional study evaluates several bone biomarkers and their ability to discriminate turnover and mineralization defects in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Bone-specific [BSAP] and total [tAP] alkaline phosphatase, procollagen-1 N-terminal propeptide [P1NP], C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide [CTX], intact [iPTH] and whole [wPTH] parathyroid hormone, sclerostin [SOST], fibroblast growth factor 23 [FGF-23], vitamin D, osteoprotegerin [OPG], and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand [RANKL] were collected before the bone biopsy.

A Brief History of Cell Culture: From Harrison to Organs-on-a-Chip.

This comprehensive overview of the historical milestones in cell culture underscores key breakthroughs that have shaped the field over time. It begins with Wilhelm Roux's seminal experiments in the 1880s, followed by the pioneering efforts of Ross Granville Harrison, who initiated groundbreaking experiments that fundamentally shaped the landscape of cell culture in the early 20th century. Carrel's influential contributions, notably the immortalization of chicken heart cells, have marked a significant advancement in cell culture techniques.