RESUMO

Estudos sobre a fisiologia espermática demonstram que padrões de fertilidade e funcionalidade espermática pós-criopreservação possuem relação importante com a eficiência do metabolismo energético destas células, bem como com a sua capacidade de manter a homeostase oxidativa. Os conhecimentos sobre a relação entre perfil fisiológico de espermatozoides e fertilidade foram e, ainda estão sendo, aprimorados, com o uso de análises de perfis moleculares, com destaque para a metabolômica. As análises moleculares permitiram a identificação de classes de metabólitos importantes na fisiologia espermática, bem como de potenciais biomarcadores de fertilidade, inclusive em bovinos. No entanto, ainda não há disponível uma avaliação isolada capaz de estimar o padrão de fertilidade de amostras seminais. Há vários desafios a serem superados para a validação de biomarcadores de fertilidade, principalmente considerando-se as diferenças entre perfis metabólicos de raças distintas de touros e a heterogeneidade dos ejaculados. A superação destes desafios pode ser iniciada com um maior aproveitamento dos resultados já obtidos e futuros, com a aplicação de análises mais avançadas e com eficácia em elevado número de dados. Para tal, podem ser utilizados modelos estatísticos de inteligência artificial, cuja aplicação pode aumentar a acurácia das observações obtidas, bem como aproximá-las da aplicação pelo setor de produção animal.(AU)

Studies on sperm physiology demonstrate that fertility outcomes and sperm post-cryopreservation have an important relation with sperm energy metabolism efficiency and ability to maintain oxidative homeostasis. Knowledge on sperm physiology has been enhanced, continually, with the application of molecular profiling analysis, focusing on metabolomics. Molecular analysis allowed the identification of important classes of metabolites in sperm physiology, as well as potential fertility biomarkers, including in bovine. Despite all developments, there is still no isolated assessment available capable of estimating fertility on sperm samples. There are several challenges to be overcome for the validation of fertility biomarkers, especially considering the metabolic profiles differences between bull breeds and the ejaculate heterogeneity. Overcoming these challenges could start with the application of more advanced and effective data analysis from research database already obtained, as well as future ones. To this end, statistical models of artificial intelligence can be used, whose application can increase the accuracy of the observations obtained, as well as bringing them closer to the application by the animal production sector.(AU)

Assuntos

RESUMO

As lesões do Traumatismo Cranioencefálico (TCE) de caráter macro ou micro podem comprometer fisicamente e/ou psicologicamente o indivíduo. Sendo uma doença da sociedade moderna que acomete qualquer idade, é considerada principal causa de morbimortalidade no Brasil ao abranger a população economicamente ativa podendo incapacitar de forma temporária ou permanente, consequentemente gerando impacto na qualidade de vida, sendo difícil mensurar o perfil funcional, nível de recuperação e quanto tempo ficará em determinado perfil. Com o objetivo de determinar e classificar o perfil funcional de indivíduos com TCE na alta hospitalar, foi realizado um estudo analítico, observacional e transversal onde foi aplicado a Glasgow Outcome Scale/Escala de Resultado Ampliada de Glasgow (GOSE/ERGA) através de uma ficha para coleta de dados e entrevistas. A população do estudo foi constituída por 26 voluntários, admitidos para tratamento no Hospital Universitário São Francisco de Bragança Paulista-São Paulo com diagnóstico comprovado de TCE por meio de exames de imagem entre setembro/2019 e março de 2020. Encontramos evidências de 88,46% pertencente ao gênero masculino, e 11,54% gênero feminino, onde foram observados média e desvio padrão de idade 35,73±16,76. Entre os tipos de trauma mais comuns o politrauma se sobressaiu com 80,77% e a GOSE/ERGA teve maior indício com 46,15% de escore 8. A maioria dos colaboradores recebeu alta do HUSF com o perfil funcional de boa recuperação e poderão retornar a vida anterior ao trauma. Através das classificações funcionais pode-se orientar profissionais responsáveis pela reabilitação daqueles que foram acometidos pelo trauma e ficaram com sequelas, bem como orientar os familiares e centros de assistência a comunidade.

The lesions caused by a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) of macro or micro character can physically and/or psychologically compromise an individual. Being a disease of modern society that affects any age, it is considered the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil as it covers the economically active population. It can temporarily or permanently disable people, consequently generating an impact on their quality of life, and is difficult to measure their functional profile, level of recovery, and how long they will remain in a given profile. In order to determine and classify the functional profile of individuals with TBI at hospital discharge, an analytical, observational, and cross-sectional study was carried out in which the Glasgow Outcome Scale/Glasgow Extended Outcome Scale (GOSE) was applied through a form for data collection and interviews. The study population consisted of 26 volunteers, admitted for treatment at Hospital Universitario Sao Francisco de Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo with a confirmed diagnosis of TBI through imaging tests between September 2019 and March 2020. We found evidence of 88.46 % belonging to the males, and 11.54% female, where the mean and standard deviation of age 35.73±16.76 were observed. Among the most common types of traumas, polytrauma stood out with 80.77% and GOSE had the highest scores where 46.15% had a score of 8. Most participants of the study were discharged from the HUSF with the functional profile of good recovery and may return to their lives before the trauma. Through functional classifications, it is possible to guide professionals responsible for the rehabilitation of those who were affected by trauma and were left with sequelae, as well as guide family members and community assistance centers.

RESUMO

Mobile genetic elements, including plasmids, drive the evolution of prokaryotic genomes through the horizontal transfer of genes allowing genetic exchange between bacteria. Moreover, plasmids carry accessory genes, which encode functions that may offer an advantage to the host. Thus, it is expected that in a certain ecological niche, plasmids are enriched in accessory functions, which are important for their hosts to proliferate in that niche. Puquio de Campo Naranja is a high-altitude lake from the Andean Puna exposed to multiple extreme conditions, including high UV radiation, alkalinity, high concentrations of arsenic, heavy metals, dissolved salts, high thermal amplitude and low O2 pressure. Microorganisms living in this lake need to develop efficient mechanisms and strategies to cope under these conditions. The aim of this study was to characterize the plasmidome of microbialites from Puquio de Campo Naranja, and identify potential hosts and encoded functions using a deep-sequencing approach. The potential ecological impact of the plasmidome, including plasmids from cultivable and non-cultivable microorganisms, is described for the first time in a lake representing an extreme environment of the Puna. This study showed that the recovered genetic information for the plasmidome was novel in comparison to the metagenome derived from the same environment. The study of the total plasmid population allowed the identification of genetic features typically encoded by plasmids, such as resistance and virulence factors. The resistance genes comprised resistances to heavy metals, antibiotics and stress factors. These results highlight the key role of plasmids for their hosts and impact of extrachromosomal elements to thrive in a certain ecological niche.

RESUMO

The Meloidogyne-based disease complexes (MDCs) are caused by the interaction of different root-knot nematode species and phytopathogenic fungi. These complexes are devastating several important crops worldwide including tomato and coffee. Despite their relevance, little is known about the role of the bacterial communities in the MDCs. In this study 16s rDNA gene sequencing was used to analyze the bacterial microbiome associated with healthy and infested roots, as well with females and eggs of Meloidogyne enterolobii and M. paranaensis, the causal agents of MDC in tomato and coffee, respectively. Each MDC pathosystems displayed a specific taxonomic diversity and relative abundances constituting a very complex system. The main bacterial drivers of the MDC infection process were identified for both crops at order level. While corky-root coffee samples presented an enrichment of Bacillales and Burkholderiales, the corcky-root tomato samples presented an enrichment on Saprospirales, Chthoniobacterales, Alteromonadales, and Xanthomonadales. At genus level, Nocardia was common to both systems, and it could be related to the development of tumor symptoms by altering both nematode and plant systems. Furthermore, we predicted the healthy metabolic profile of the roots microbiome and a shift that may result in an increment of activity of central metabolism and the presence of pathogenic genes in both crops.

RESUMO

Data generated by metagenomic and metatranscriptomic experiments is both enormous and inherently noisy. When using taxonomy-dependent alignment-based methods to classify and label reads, the first step consists in performing homology searches against sequence databases. To obtain the most information from the samples, nucleotide sequences are usually compared to various databases (nucleotide and protein) using local sequence aligners such as BLASTN and BLASTX. Nevertheless, the analysis and integration of these results can be problematic because the outputs from these searches usually show inconsistencies, which can be notorious when working with RNA-seq. Moreover, and to the best of our knowledge, existing tools do not criss-cross and integrate information from the different homology searches, but provide the results of each analysis separately. We developed the HoSeIn workflow to intersect the information from these homology searches, and then determine the taxonomic and functional profile of the sample using this integrated information. The workflow is based on the assumption that the sequences that correspond to a certain taxon are composed of: sequences that were assigned to the same taxon by both homology searches; sequences that were assigned to that taxon by one of the homology searches but returned no hits in the other one.

RESUMO

This study assessed the species composition, distribution, and functional profiles of cyanobacteria in Camamu Bay, a tropical oligotrophic estuarine system on the northeast coast of Brazil, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Surface-water samples were evaluated in two different rainfall periods (rainy and dry seasons), at nine stations in the three hydrodynamic regions of the bay. At a fixed sampling station, on each season, samples were taken over a tidal cycle at 3-h intervals over 12 h. A total of 219 cyanobacterial taxa were identified, demonstrating a diverse community of freshwater, euryhaline, and marine cyanobacteria. The genera of greater relative abundance, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus, corresponded to the picoplankton fraction. Although Camamu Bay has conspicuous marine characteristics, the contribution of freshwater during the rainy season caused variation in cyanobacteria community, with an increase in species richness. Due the high prevalence of Synechococcus (90% of the sequences), the functional analysis revealed only minor differences in gene content between the dry and rainy seasons. In both rainy and dry seasons, an increase in Prochlorococcus relative abundance occurred during high tide, demonstrating the tidal influence in the bay. The environmental characteristics of the bay provide niche conditions for a wide variety of cyanobacteria, including freshwater, euryhaline, and marine strains.

RESUMO

Numerous reports have focused on consensus peptides to determine CD8+ T-cell responses; however, few studies evaluated the functional profile using peptides derived from circulating strains of a specific region. We determined the effector profile and maturation phenotype of CD8+ T-cells targeting the consensus APPEESFRS (AS9) epitope and its variant APPEESFRF (AF9), previously identified. The free energy of binding, maturation phenotype, and polyfunctional profile of both peptides were similar. The magnitude of CD8+ T-cell responses to AF9 was greater than the one elicited by AS9, although the difference was not significant. The polyfunctional profile of AF9 was characterized by CD107a/interleukin-2 (IL-2)/macrophage inflammatory protein beta (MIP1ß) and by interferon gamma (IFNγ)/MIP1ß/tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in response to AS9. TNFα production was significantly higher in response to AF9 than to AS9, and there was a negative correlation between the absolute number of CD8+ T-cell-producing TNFα and the plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load, suggesting a role of this cytokine in the control of HIV replication.

RESUMO

OBJETIVO: Traçar o perfil clínico-funcional de idosos de uma instituição de longa permanência para idosos (ILPI). MÉTODOS: Participaram 47 idosos de uma ILPI de Belo Horizonte/MG. Utilizaram-se questionário com informações sociodemográficas, Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM), Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (GDS), Índice de Katz e Time Up and Go (TUG). Realizou-se análise descritiva (programa SPSS 14.0). RESULTADOS: Os idosos apresentaram média de 73,0 anos (±8,99). A maioria era mulher (51,1%), solteira (46,8%), sem filhos (51,1%) e de baixa escolaridade. O tempo de institucionalização variou de um mês a 25 anos. O motivo de institucionalização mais frequente foi para tratamento (29,8%), e 80,9% relataram receber visitas. Os idosos tomam em média 3,45 medicamentos (±1,87).Apenas 12,8% relataram quedas nos últimos seis meses e 80,9% tinham medo de cair. Cerca de 38,3% não utilizam dispositivo de auxílio à marcha, 12,8% utilizavam cadeira de rodas, 42,5% andador e 6,4% bengala. O desempenho no MEEM foi baixo, sendo que 93,3% apresentaram valores abaixo da nota de corte para escolaridade. Na GDS, 59,6% obtiveram valores que sugerem quadro depressivo. O TUG variou de 0,10 a 1,58 minutos. A maioria relatou ser independente para realizar as atividades do Katz (banhar-se: 80,9%; vestir-se: 83,0%; usar banheiro: 80,9%; transferir-se: 87,2%; micção: 59,6%; evacuação: 61,7%; alimentar-se: 93,6%) e nenhum relatou dependência completa. CONCLUSÕES: O perfil da população de idosos institucionalizados está de acordo com a literatura nos aspectos clínico-demográficos. A maioria dos idosos, entretanto, relatou ser independente para as atividades básicas de vida diária, o que representa boa oportunidade para intervenções que visem prevenir ou minimizar possíveis perdas funcionais.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and functional profile of elderly living in a long-term care institution. METHODS: 47 older adults living in a long-term care institution of Belo Horizonte/MG took part in the study. For a data collection were used a structured socio-demographic questionnaire, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS), Katz Index and Timed Up and Go (TUG). A descriptive statistics were employed by using SPSS14.0. RESULTS: The mean age of the elderly was 73.0 years (±8.99). Most of the elderly was female (51.1%), single (46.8%) without children (51.1%) and with low education. The time of institutionalization ranged from one month to 25 years. The most frequent reason for institutionalization was with purpose of treatment (29.8%) and majority reported receiving visits (80.9%). The elderly took an average of 3.45 medications (±1.87). Only 12.8% reported at least one fall in the last six months and 80.9% reported being afraid of falling. About 38.3% do not use assistive walk device; 12.8% use wheelchair; 42.5%, walker; and 6.4%, cane. The MMSE scores were low, 93.3% were below the cutoff score for their schooling. At GDS, 59.6% were suggesting possible depression. TUG range from 0.10 to 1.58 minutes. Most elderly people reported being independent to perform the activities of Katz (bathing: 80.9%; dressing: 83.0%; toileting: 80.9%; transferring 87.2%; urination 59.6%; defecation: 61.7%; feeding 93.6%) and none reported complete dependence. CONCLUSION: The profile of institutionalized elderly is consistent with the literature on clinical and demographic variables. However, most patients reported being independent for basic activities of daily living, which represents a good opportunity for interventions that aim to prevent or minimize possible losses of function.