Parasites and allergy: observations from Brazil.

Brazil is a middle-income country undergoing the epidemiological transition. Effects of changes in daily life habits, and access to clean water, sanitation and urban services on a growing urban population have contributed to a double burden of both infectious and non-communicable chronic diseases. Studies have indicated that parasite infections may modulate the human immune system and influence the development of allergic conditions such as asthma. However, there is no consensus in the published literature on the effects of parasitic infections on allergy, perhaps as a consequence of factors determining the epidemiology of these infections that vary between populations such as age of first infection, duration and chronicity of infections, parasite burden and species, and host genetic susceptibility. In this review, we discuss the observations from Brazil concerning the relationship between parasite infections and allergy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Perspectives on the Trypanosoma cruzi-host cell receptor interaction

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The critical initial event is the interaction of the trypomastigote form of the parasite with host receptors. This review highlights recent observations concerning these interactions. Some of the key receptors considered are those for thromboxane, bradykinin, and for the nerve growth factor TrKA. Other important receptors such as galectin-3, thrombospondin, and laminin are also discussed. Investigation into the molecular biology and cell biology of host receptors for T. cruzi may provide novel therapeutic targets

Screening of antioxidant properties of the apple juice using the front-face synchronous fluorescence and chemometrics

Fluorescence spectroscopy is gaining increasing attention in food analysis due to its higher sensitivity and selectivity as compared to other spectroscopic techniques. Synchronous scanning fluorescence technique is particularly useful in studies of multi-fluorophoric food samples, providing a further improvement of selectivity by reduction in the spectral overlapping and suppressing light-scattering interferences. Presently, we study the feasibility of the prediction of the total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity using front-face synchronous fluorescence spectra of apple juices. Commercial apple juices from different product ranges were studied. Principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the unfolded synchronous fluorescence spectra was used to compare the fluorescence of the entire sample set. The regression analysis was performed using partial least squares (PLS1 and PLS2) methods on the unfolded total synchronous and on the single-offset synchronous fluorescence spectra. The best calibration models for all of the studied parameters were obtained using the PLS1 method for the single-offset synchronous spectra. The models for the prediction of the total flavonoid content had the best performance; the optimal model was obtained for the analysis of the synchronous fluorescence spectra at Delta lambda = 110 nm (R (2) = 0.870, residual predictive deviation (RPD) = 2.7). The optimal calibration models for the prediction of the total phenolic content (Delta lambda = 80 nm, R (2) = 0.766, RPD = 2.0) and the total antioxidant capacity (Delta lambda = 70 nm, R (2) = 0.787, RPD = 2.1) had only an approximate predictive ability. These results demonstrate that synchronous fluorescence could be a useful tool in fast semi-quantitative screening for the antioxidant properties of the apple juices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phonon-driven spin-Floquet magneto-valleytronics in MoS2

Two-dimensional materials equipped with strong spin-orbit coupling can display novel electronic, spintronic, and topological properties originating from the breaking of time or inversion symmetry. A lot of interest has focused on the valley degrees of freedom that can be used to encode binary information. By performing ab initio time-dependent density functional simulation on MoS2, here we show that the spin is not only locked to the valley momenta but strongly coupled to the optical E '' phonon that lifts the lattice mirror symmetry. Once the phonon is pumped so as to break time-reversal symmetry, the resulting Floquet spectra of the phonon-dressed spins carry a net out-of-plane magnetization (approximate to 0.024 mu(B) for single-phonon quantum) even though the original system is non-magnetic. This dichroic magnetic response of the valley states is general for all 2H semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides and can be probed and controlled by infrared coherent laser excitation

The AFLOW Fleet for Materials Discovery

The traditional paradigm for materials discovery has been recently expanded to incorporate substantial data driven research. With the intent to accelerate the development and the deployment of new technologies, the AFLOW Fleet for computational materials design automates high-throughput first principles calculations, and provides tools for data verification and dissemination for a broad community of users. AFLOW incorporates different computational modules to robustly determine thermodynamic stability, electronic band structures, vibrational dispersions, thermo-mechanical properties and more. The AFLOW data repository is publicly accessible online at aflow.org, with more than 1.7 million materials entries and a panoply of queryable computed properties. Tools to programmatically search and process the data, as well as to perform online machine learning predictions, are also available.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Identifies Four New Disease-Specific Risk Loci

Rationale: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a complex disease with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Together, 6 previously identified risk loci only explain a small proportion of the heritability of AAA. Objective: To identify additional AAA risk loci using data from all available genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Methods and Results: Through a meta-analysis of 6 GWAS datasets and a validation study totalling 10,204 cases and 107,766 controls we identified 4 new AAA risk loci: 1q32.3 (SMYD2), 13q12.11 (LINC00540), 20q13.12 (near PCIF1/MMP9/ZNF335), and 21q22.2 (ERG). In various database searches we observed no new associations between the lead AAA SNPs and coronary artery disease, blood pressure, lipids or diabetes. Network analyses identified ERG, IL6R and LDLR as modifiers of MMP9, with a direct interaction between ERG and MMP9. Conclusions: The 4 new risk loci for AAA appear to be specific for AAA compared with other cardiovascular diseases and related traits suggesting that traditional cardiovascular risk factor management may only have limited value in preventing the progression of aneurysmal disease

Queering asylum in Europe : a survey report

This report discusses the data gathered through two surveys carried out in the context of the SOGICA project. SOGICA – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A European human rights challenge – is a four-year (2016-2020) research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) that explores the social and legal experiences of people across Europe claiming international protection on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI).</p

Species diversity of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) during different seasons and in different environments in the district of Taquaruçú, state of Tocantins, Brazil

Phlebotomine sandflies are the vectors for the protozoan parasites that cause leishmaniasis. The present study investigated the species composition of sandfly fauna in the rural district of Taquaruçú, municipality of Palmas, state of Tocantins, Brazil and compared the diversity of species among intradomicile, peridomicile and forest environments during the dry and rainy seasons. Sandflies were collected using CDC light traps over the course of three months during the dry and rainy seasons. A total of 767 specimens were captured, belonging to different 32 species. The most abundant species were Micropygomyia goiana (Martins, Falcão & Silva), Sciopemyia sordellii (Shannon & Del Ponte), Evandromyia carmelinoi (Ryan Fraiha, Lainson & Shaw), Evandromyia termitophila (Martins, Falcão & Silva), Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho) and Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva). The highest species diversity (30) and the greatest percentage of specimens (78.3%) were obtained during the rainy season. During the dry season, the species richness and abundance were greater in domestic environments. However, during the rainy season, the forest displayed the highest species richness and the domestic environment exhibited the greatest species abundance. Several important vector species are reported in this study

Avaliação do curso de gerenciamento online na perspectiva dos egressos

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar curso online na perspectiva do egresso e verificar a relação entre variáveis. Método Estudo quantitativo, descritivo e exploratório, aplicado aos participantes no final de três versões de um curso de atualização onlinena temática de Gerenciamento em Enfermagem. Resultados Os índices de satisfação nas três categorias elencadas, em três anos, apresentaram resultados acima de 75,0%. Os coeficientes obtidos indicaram alta consistência do questionário. Considerando o índice total, a categoria Desempenho do tutor foi a de índice mais alto. Fortes associações entre Autoavaliação e Desempenho do tutor, Autoavaliação e Programa do curso e Desempenho do tutor e Programa do curso foram identificadas. Não houve associação entre as três categorias referidas com as demais variáveis do estudo. Conclusão Os egressos demonstraram satisfação com o curso, que favoreceu a interação e a promoção do conhecimento coletivo no gerenciamento em enfermagem. Foram reconhecidos, também, aspectos que carecem de melhorias, com destaque à capacitação do tutor para mediar discussões e estimular o envolvimento do estudante ao longo do curso