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1.
Front Psychol ; 15: 1367913, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38784617

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study tested the acceptability and efficacy of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and compassion-based intervention (LIFEwithIBD) in people with IBD through a two-arm RCT. Methods: Participants were recruited at the Gastroenterology Department of the Coimbra University Hospital between June and September 2019. Of the 355 patients screened, those who accepted to participate were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: experimental group (LIFEwithIBD; n = 25) or control group (waitlist; n = 29). Participants completed self-report measures at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 3-month (T2) and 12-month (T3) follow-ups. Intervention acceptability was assessed. Efficacy was examined using intent-to-treat ANCOVA at post-intervention after adjusting for baseline values of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms (primary outcomes). Linear mixed models for all longitudinal outcomes were also analysed. Inflammatory and disease biomarkers were determined at T0 and T3. Results: Acceptability results revealed a high level of satisfaction and perceived usefulness regarding the intervention. Both groups experienced a significant decrease in stress symptoms and IBD symptom perception at T1. No significant differences were observed at follow-up for the primary outcomes. The experimental group reported significantly lower Crohn's disease Symptom severity at T2 than the control group. Post-hoc analyses designed to mitigate floor effects revealed substantial treatment effects for the experimental group regarding anxiety symptoms. No significant differences were observed in clinical biomarkers from T0 to T3. Conclusion: The LIFEwithIBD intervention shows promising, although preliminary, benefits for managing disease activity and reducing anxiety symptoms in IBD patients with high severity of psychological distress.Clinical trial registration: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03840707, identifier NCT03840707.

2.
Int J Cardiol ; 409: 132161, 2024 May 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38744339

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Studies suggest increased likelihood of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation (CA) in women than in men, indicating that sex may be an independent risk factor for recurrence. Nevertheless, the influence of sex on AF recurrence and underlying mechanisms remains unclear. METHODS: Retrospective, single-centre study including patients undergoing AF CA between 2017 and 2021. Late recurrence (LR) was defined as AF recurrence ≥90 days after ablation, whereas early recurrence (ER) occurred within 90 days. RESULTS: 656 patients (32% women) were included, with a median follow-up period of 26 months. Compared to men, women undergoing CA were older, had higher body mass indexes, and had higher rates of hypertension, thyroid dysfunction, and valvular disease. Women also had increased LR risk after CA (HR 1.76, 95% CI [1.19, 2.59]). A time-split multivariable analysis at one year of follow-up showed no difference in LR risk during the first 12 months after CA (HR 1.19, 95% CI [0.73, 1.94]); however, LR risk increased in women (HR 2.90, 95% CI [1.68, 5.01]) after 12 months. In a sex-stratified analysis, coronary calcium score (CCS) >100 was associated with increased LR risk in men (HR 1.81, 95% CI [1.06, 3.08]), but not in women. Cardiac adipose tissue volume was not associated with increased LR risk. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer women underwent CA than men and LR was more frequent in women, particularly one year after the procedure. CCS was associated with increased LR risk in men.

3.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H ; : 9544119241237356, 2024 Mar 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38523483

ABSTRACT

Stress urinary incontinence often results from pelvic support structures' weakening or damage. This dysfunction is related to direct injury of the pelvic organ's muscular, ligamentous or connective tissue structures due to aging, vaginal delivery or increase of the intra-abdominal pressure, for example, defecation or due to obesity. Mechanical changes alter the soft tissues' microstructural composition and therefore may affect their biomechanical properties. This study focuses on adapting an inverse finite element analysis to estimate the in vivo bladder's biomechanical properties of two groups of women (continent group (G1) and incontinent group (G2)). These properties were estimated based on MRI, by comparing measurement of the bladder neck's displacements during dynamic MRI acquired in Valsalva maneuver with the results from inverse analysis. For G2, the intra-abdominal pressure was adjusted after applying a 95% impairment to the supporting structures. The material parameters were estimated for the two groups using the Ogden hyperelastic constitutive model. Finite element analysis results showed that the bladder tissue of women with stress urinary incontinence have the highest stiffness (α1 = 0.202 MPa and µ1 = 7.720 MPa) approximately 47% higher when compared to continent women. According to the bladder neck's supero-inferior displacement measured in the MRI, the intra-abdominal pressure values were adjusted for the G2, presenting a difference of 20% (4.0 kPa for G1 and 5.0 kPa for G2). The knowledge of the pelvic structures' biomechanical properties, through this non-invasive methodology, can be crucial in the choice of the synthetic mesh to treat dysfunction when considering personalized options.

4.
Proteins ; 92(2): 219-235, 2024 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37814578

ABSTRACT

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is a hematopoietic cytokine composed by a four-helix bundle stabilized by an antiparallel beta-sheet and three disulfide bonds: Cys3-Cys127, Cys24-Cys65, and Cys46-Cys99. IL-4 is involved in several immune responses associated to infection, allergy, autoimmunity, and cancer. Besides its physiological relevance, IL-4 is often used as a "model" for protein design and engineering. Hence, to understand the role of each disulfide in the structure and dynamics of IL-4, we carried out several spectroscopic analyses (circular dichroism [CD], fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR]), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on wild-type IL-4 and four IL-4 disulfide mutants. All disulfide mutants showed loss of structure, altered interhelical angles, and looser core packings, showing that all disulfides are relevant for maintaining the overall fold and stability of the four-helix bundle motif, even at very low pH. In the absence of the disulfide connecting both protein termini Cys3-Cys127, C3T-IL4 showed a less packed protein core, loss of secondary structure (~9%) and fast motions on the sub-nanosecond time scale (lower S2 order parameters and larger τc correlation time), especially at the two protein termini, loops, beginning of helix A and end of helix D. In the absence of Cys24-Cys65, C24T-IL4 presented shorter alpha-helices (14% loss in helical content), altered interhelical angles, less propensity to form the small anti-parallel beta-sheet and increased dynamics. Simultaneously deprived of two disulfides (Cys3-Cys127 and Cys24-Cys65), IL-4 formed a partially folded "molten globule" with high 8-anilino-1-naphtalenesulphonic acid-binding affinity and considerable loss of secondary structure (~50%decrease), as shown by the far UV-CD, NMR, and MD data.


Subject(s)
Disulfides , Interleukin-4 , Protein Conformation , Interleukin-4/chemistry , Disulfides/chemistry , Protein Structure, Secondary , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Circular Dichroism
5.
Sensors (Basel) ; 23(24)2023 Dec 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38139700

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the integration of multimodal sensor systems for an autonomous forestry machine. The utilized technology is housed in a single enclosure which consolidates a set of components responsible for executing machine control actions and comprehending its behavior in various scenarios. This sensor box, named Sentry, will subsequently be connected to a forestry machine from MDB, model LV600 PRO. The article outlines previous work in this field and then details the integration and operation of the equipment, integrated into the forest machine, providing descriptions of the adopted architecture at both the hardware and software levels. The gathered data enables the assessment of the forestry machine's orientation and position based on the information collected by the sensors. Finally, practical experiments are presented to demonstrate the system's behavior and to analyze the methods to be employed for autonomous navigation, thereby assessing the performance of the established architecture. The novel aspects of this work include the physical and digital integration of a multimodal sensor system on a forestry machine, its use in a real case scenario, namely, forest vegetation removal, and the strategies adopted to improve the machine localization and navigation performance on unstructured environments.

6.
Toxics ; 11(11)2023 Nov 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37999589

ABSTRACT

Tributyltin (TBT) is a biocide introduced in the 1960s in antifouling paints. Despite legislation banning its use, its persistence in the environment still causes significant harm to organisms. Tributyltin is a ligand of retinoid X receptors (RXR) and ecdysteroid receptors (EcRs), which in arthropods act as homologs of RXR. Focusing on Metazoan species, this study used genomic and proteomic information from different sources to compare their three-dimensional structure, phylogenetic distribution, and amino acid sequence alterations. The objective was to identify possible patterns that relate organisms' sensitivity to TBT using the species Triops longicaudatus as the basis for the comparisons. The results showed great conservation of this protein across several species when comparing the interaction amino acids described to RXR (an EcR analog) in Homo sapiens. The three-dimensional comparison of RXR showed little conformational variation between different sequences by maintaining the interaction pocket. As for the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) curve, an HC05 = 0.2649 [0.0789-0.7082] µg/L was obtained with no specific distribution between the different taxa. Protein-ligand docking analysis was then used to confirm the SSD curve ranking of species. Still, the results showed an opposite trend that may be related, for example, to differences in the LC50 values used in the calculations. This study serves as the first step for applying bioinformatics techniques to produce information that can be used as an alternative to animal or cellular experimentation. These techniques could be adapted to various chemicals and proteins, allowing for observations in a shorter timeframe and providing information on a broader spectrum.

7.
Cureus ; 15(10): e47753, 2023 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38021972

ABSTRACT

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and remains the first cause of cancer death. The diagnosis of lung cancer is mostly made following evaluation for respiratory signs and symptoms but sometimes the first presentation may be atypical. Some symptoms may be related to the invasion of adjacent structures and others caused by an autoimmune-mediated process when cross-reactivity between tumor antigens and normal nervous tissues is responsible for paraneoplastic syndromes. We present a case of a young woman with a smoking history who first manifested with two uncommon presentations of lung cancer: a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome and a hemorrhagic pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade.

8.
Environ Int ; 179: 108135, 2023 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37647703

ABSTRACT

The study presents a literature review of glyphosate (GLY) occurrence and its breakdown product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), in soils worldwide, but with a specific focus on South America. In addition, an ecological risk approach based on the ecotoxicological endpoints for key soil biota (e.g., collembolans, and earthworms) assessed the impact of GLY and AMPA on these organisms. A generic probabilistic model for human health risk was also calculated for the different world regions. For what reports the risk for edaphic species and the level of pollution under the worst-case scenario, the South American continent was identified as the region of most concern. Nonetheless, other areas may also be in danger, but no risk could be calculated due to the lack of data. Since tropical countries are the top food exporters worldwide, the results obtained in this study must be carefully examined for their implications on a global scale. Some of the factors behind the high levels of these two chemicals in soils are debated (e.g., permissive protection policies, the extensive use of genetically modified crops), and some possible guidelines are presented that include, for example, further environmental characterisation and management of pesticide residues. The present review integrates data that can be used as a base by policymakers and decision-makers to develop and implement environmental policies.


Subject(s)
Crops, Agricultural , Ecosystem , Humans , Plants, Genetically Modified , Environmental Pollution/adverse effects , Glyphosate
9.
Front Public Health ; 11: 1189861, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37427272

ABSTRACT

Background: Estimating and analyzing trends and patterns of health loss are essential to promote efficient resource allocation and improve Peru's healthcare system performance. Methods: Using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (2019), we assessed mortality and disability in Peru from 1990 to 2019. We report demographic and epidemiologic trends in terms of population, life expectancy at birth (LE), mortality, incidence, prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by the major diseases and risk factors in Peru. Finally, we compared Peru with 16 countries in the Latin American (LA) region. Results: The Peruvian population reached 33.9 million inhabitants (49.9% women) in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, LE at birth increased from 69.2 (95% uncertainty interval 67.8-70.3) to 80.3 (77.2-83.2) years. This increase was driven by the decline in under-5 mortality (-80.7%) and mortality from infectious diseases in older age groups (+60 years old). The number of DALYs in 1990 was 9.2 million (8.5-10.1) and reached 7.5 million (6.1-9.0) in 2019. The proportion of DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) increased from 38.2% in 1990 to 67.9% in 2019. The all-ages and age-standardized DALYs rates and YLLs rates decreased, but YLDs rates remained constant. In 2019, the leading causes of DALYs were neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections (LRIs), ischemic heart disease, road injuries, and low back pain. The leading risk factors associated with DALYs in 2019 were undernutrition, high body mass index, high fasting plasma glucose, and air pollution. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru experienced one of the highest LRIs-DALYs rates in the LA region. Conclusion: In the last three decades, Peru experienced significant improvements in LE and child survival and an increase in the burden of NCDs and associated disability. The Peruvian healthcare system must be redesigned to respond to this epidemiological transition. The new design should aim to reduce premature deaths and maintain healthy longevity, focusing on effective coverage and treatment of NCDs and reducing and managing the related disability.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Noncommunicable Diseases , Respiratory Tract Infections , Aged , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , COVID-19/epidemiology , Life Expectancy , Pandemics , Peru/epidemiology , Quality-Adjusted Life Years , Infant , Child, Preschool
10.
Cardiology ; 148(5): 427-433, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37487471

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: There is a well-established association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and coronary artery disease. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a helpful tool to refine cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification and inform on the best strategies for primary CV prevention. This study aims to evaluate the impact of opportunistic screening with CACS on risk stratification and decision of preventive therapies, in patients with AF. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including patients with AF or atrial flutter undergoing cardiac computed tomography for ablation procedure planning, from 2017 to 2019. Baseline clinical and demographical data were collected. CACS was assessed in patients without coronary artery disease using the Agatston method. RESULTS: A total of 474 patients were included (93% with AF, mean age of 58 ± 10 years, 62% male). CACS >0 was present in 254 (54%) patients. According to CACS and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography recommendations, 25% of the patients would be candidates for statin therapy and 17% would be candidates for changes in the current statin intensity; in 11 patients (8%), acetylsalicylic acid would be recommended. CONCLUSION: In our study, more than half of the patients undergoing cardiac computed tomography before AF catheter ablation had CACS above zero. Our findings suggest that an opportunistic evaluation of CACS at the time of ablation can be an important tool to improve CV risk stratification, with important clinical and therapeutic implications.


Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation , Cardiovascular Diseases , Coronary Artery Disease , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Aged , Female , Coronary Artery Disease/complications , Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging , Coronary Artery Disease/surgery , Atrial Fibrillation/complications , Atrial Fibrillation/surgery , Atrial Fibrillation/drug therapy , Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/drug therapy , Calcium , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Cross-Sectional Studies , Risk Factors , Risk Assessment , Coronary Angiography/methods , Predictive Value of Tests
11.
Int J Cardiovasc Imaging ; 39(10): 1997-2003, 2023 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37421577

ABSTRACT

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHCM) has a broad phenotypic spectrum and still poses many diagnostic and prognostic challenges. Our team performed a retrospective study to examine the prognostic value of myocardial deformation obtained with cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking (CMR-TT) analysis in predicting adverse events in AHCM patients. We included patients with AHCM referred to CMR in our department from August 2009 to October 2021. CMR-TT analysis was performed to characterize the myocardial deformation pattern. Clinical, other complementary diagnostic exams characteristics and follow-up data were analysed. Primary endpoint was the composite of all-cause hospitalizations and mortality. During the 12-year period, 51 AHCM patients were evaluated by CMR, with a median age of 64 years-old and male predominance. 56,9% had an echocardiogram suggestive of AHCM. The most frequent phenotype was "the relative form" (43,1%). CMR evaluation revealed a median maximum left ventricle thickness of 15 mm and the presence of late gadolinium enhancement in 78,4%. Applying CMR-TT analysis, median global longitudinal strain was - 14,4%, with a median global radial strain of 30,4% and global circumferential strain of -18,0%. During a median follow-up of 5,3 years, the primary endpoint occurred in 21,3% of patients, with a hospitalization rate of 17,8% and all-cause mortality rate of 6,4%. After multivariable analysis, longitudinal strain rate in apical segments was an independent predictor of the primary endpoint (p = 0,023), showing that CMR-TT analysis could be useful in predicting adverse events in AHCM patients.

12.
Cureus ; 15(6): e40468, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37456495

ABSTRACT

Parvimonas micra and Provetella oralis are two commensal anaerobic bacteria of the human oral cavity. Anaerobic bacteria infections are uncommon and require a high index of suspicion and a quick start of appropriate treatment. We present a patient with multifocal infiltrates compatible with septic embolism (lung, liver, and spleen emboli) and polymicrobial bacteremia with Parvimonas micra and Provetella oralis. Periodontal disease appears to be the main cause of this disseminated infection.

14.
Materials (Basel) ; 16(9)2023 May 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37176428

ABSTRACT

Additive manufacturing technologies have numerous advantages over conventional technologies; nevertheless, their production process can lead to high residual stresses and distortions in the produced parts. The use of numerical simulation models is presented as a solution to predict the deformations and residual stresses resulting from the printing process. This study aimed to predict the tensions and distortions imposed in the gear repair process by directed energy deposition (DED). First, the case study proposed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was analyzed to validate the model and the numerically obtained results. Subsequently, a parametric study of the influence of some of the parameters of DED technology was carried out. The results obtained for the validation of the NIST benchmark bridge model were in agreement with the results obtained experimentally. In turn, the results obtained from the parametric study were almost always in line with what is theoretically expected; however, some results were not very clear and consistent. The results obtained help to clarify the influence of certain printing parameters. The proposed model allowed accounting for the effect of residual stresses in calculating the stresses resulting from gear loading, which are essential data for fatigue analysis. Modeling and simulating a deposition process can be challenging due to several factors, including calibrating the model, managing the computational cost, accounting for boundary conditions, and accurately representing material properties. This paper aimed to carefully address these parameters in two case studies, towards reliable simulations.

15.
Psychol Rep ; : 332941231175614, 2023 May 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37202172

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Mindfulness has been studied under cultivated or dispositional divisions where the latter has strong implications for psychological well-being in meditators and non-meditators alike. In addition, future expectations, or prospections, regarding the occurrence of important events in a person's future have recently been hypothesized to be the main cause behind symptoms of major depression. There is, however, a lack of empirical research looking at possible links between dispositional mindfulness, as understood in its facet structure, and future expectations as understood via perceived risk of occurrence and vividness of mental imagery when prompted to imagine a given list of positive and negative prospective event item lists. Therefore, this research aimed at examining how dispositional mindfulness may be related to probabilistic risk assessments of positive and negative future events (Stage I); and how mental imagery vividness may be moderated by mindfulness facets (Stage II). METHODS: Both stages included healthy participants and incorporated the PROCESS macro for moderated regression analysis done with the SPSS software. Stage I included 204 voluntary college students, and Stage II was conducted online with a public sample of 110 adults. RESULTS: Although no interaction effect was found in Stage I, nonreactivity to inner experience facet of dispositional mindfulness moderated the relationship between negative imagery vividness and psychological distress in Stage II (F(1,103) = 4.00, R2 change=.018, p <.05). CONCLUSIONS: This is a novel finding that could inform a future line of research looking into the relationship between prospection and mindfulness, holding a potential for informing research on mindfulness-based interventions.

16.
Materials (Basel) ; 16(10)2023 May 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37241507

ABSTRACT

Ferrites have been widely studied for their use in the biomedical area, mostly due to their magnetic properties, which gives them the potential to be used in diagnostics, drug delivery, and in treatment with magnetic hyperthermia, for example. In this work, KFeO2 particles were synthesized with a proteic sol-gel method using powdered coconut water as a precursor; this method is based on the principles of green chemistry. To improve its properties, the base powder obtained was subjected to multiple heat treatments at temperatures between 350 and 1300 °C. The samples obtained underwent structural, morphological, biocompatibility, and magnetic characterization. The results show that upon raising the heat treatment temperature, not only is the wanted phase detected, but also the secondary phases. To overcome these secondary phases, several different heat treatments were carried out. Using scanning electron microscopy, grains in the micrometric range were observed. Saturation magnetizations between 15.5 and 24.1 emu/g were observed for the samples containing KFeO2 with an applied field of 50 kOe at 300 K. From cellular compatibility (cytotoxicity) assays, for concentrations up to 5 mg/mL, only the samples treated at 350 °C were cytotoxic. However, the samples containing KFeO2, while being biocompatible, had low specific absorption rates (1.55-5.76 W/g).

17.
Zootaxa ; 5255(1): 347-361, 2023 Mar 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37045250

ABSTRACT

The area destined for agricultural production in Paraná state in Brazil is ~6 million hectares, of which 79% are under no-tillage systems (NTS) that can positively affect earthworm populations. Furthermore, earthworm abundance and richness can be valuable soil quality. This study assessed earthworm communities in long-term no-tillage sites (NTS) and nearby secondary Atlantic Forest (SF) fragments. Sampling was performed in June 2018 and May 2019 using the quantitative Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility handsorting method (ISO-TSBF), complemented by qualitative sampling in three municipalities: Faxinal, Mauá da Serra and Palmeira, in NTS and SF. Eleven earthworm species, belonging to five families (Benhamiidae, Glossoscolecidae, Megascolecidae, Ocnerodrilidae, and Rhinodrilidae) were found along with seven native species (Glossoscolex sp.22, Glossoscolex sp.23, Fimoscolex sp.21, Fimoscolex sp.24, Fimoscolex sp.42, Andiorrhinus duseni and Urobenus brasiliensis) and four exotic or cosmopolitan species (Dichogaster gracilis, Amynthas gracilis, Metaphire californica and Pontoscolex corethrurus). The cosmopolitan P. corethrurus dominated Faxinal and Mauá da Serra, while in Palmeira Fimoscolex and Glossoscolex were the most abundant. Six species belonging to Glossoscolex and Fimoscolex were new to science and must be described. Overall, 239 individuals were found. In 2018 126 individuals were found (76 in NTS and 50 in SF) and in 2019, only 112 individuals were found (45 in NTS and 67 in SF). The highest earthworm abundance was in Faxinal (123 individuals), with 76 individuals in NTS and 47 in SF. In Mauá da Serra the same pattern was observed (SF>NTS), while in Palmeira in overall, fewer individuals (38) were collected (24 in NTS and 14 in SF). The NTS at Faxinal and SF Mauá da Serra in 2019 had only/more exotic/cosmopolitan species, while at the other dates and sites >50% of the specimens sampled were native species. Overall, forests had more native species than exotics: in 2018, natives represented > 75% of all specimens, but in 2019 both Faxinal and Mauá da Serra had more exotic species (> 65%), while at Palmeira, they represented 50% of the individuals. Earthworm total biomass for forest sites was higher in Faxinal (3.2 g) and NTS in Mauá da Serra (1.7 g) in 2019. Overall, the total biomass was higher in SF sites than NTS. Using a classification available for earthworm populations in no-tillage systems, all three sites were considered to have poor quality in terms of abundance (ind m-2), while for species richness, they were considered to have moderate (Faxinal and Mauá da Serra) and good quality (Palmeira).


Subject(s)
Oligochaeta , Animals , Brazil , Forests , Soil , Agriculture
18.
Toxics ; 11(4)2023 Mar 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37112542

ABSTRACT

The effect of the chronic consumption of water contaminated with residual concentrations of DDT's metabolites (DDD-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane and DDE-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) found in the environment were evaluated on the biometric, hematological and antioxidant system parameters of the hepatic, muscular, renal and nervous tissues of Wistar rats. The results showed that the studied concentrations (0.002 mg.L-1 of DDD plus 0.005 mg.L-1 of DDE) could not cause significant changes in the hematological parameters. However, the tissues showed significant alteration in the activity of the antioxidant system represented by the increase in the activity of the enzymes gluthathione S-transferases in the liver, superoxide dismutase in the kidney, gluthathione peroxidase in the brain, and several changes in enzymatic activity in muscle (SOD, GPx and LPO). The enzymes alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) were also evaluated for the amino acids' metabolism in the liver, with ALT showing a significant increase in the exposed animals. In the integrative analysis of biomarkers (Permanova and PCOA), the studied concentrations showed possible metabolic changes and damage to cellular structures evidenced by increased oxidative stress and body weight gain among the treated animals. This study highlights the need for further studies on the impact of banned pesticides still present in soils that may induce adverse effects in organisms that may prevail in future generations and the environment.

19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36767212

ABSTRACT

During large-scale disasters, social support, caring behaviours, and compassion are shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes. This multi-national study aimed to assess the fluctuations in compassion over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (Time 1 n = 4156, Time 2 n = 980, Time 3 n = 825) from 23 countries completed online self-report questionnaires measuring the flows of compassion (i.e., Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales) and fears of compassion toward self and others and from others (i.e., Fears of Compassion Scales) and mental health at three time-points during a 10-month period. The results for the flows of compassion showed that self-compassion increased at Time 3. Compassion for others increased at Time 2 and 3 for the general population, but in contrast, it decreased in health professionals, possibly linked to burnout. Compassion from others did not change in Time 2, but it did increase significantly in Time 3. For fears of compassion, fears of self-compassion reduced over time, fears of compassion for others showed more variation, reducing for the general public but increasing for health professionals, whilst fears of compassion from others did not change over time. Health professionals, those with compassion training, older adults, and women showed greater flows of compassion and lower fears of compassion compared with the general population, those without compassion training, younger adults, and men. These findings highlight that, in a period of shared suffering, people from multiple countries and nationalities show a cumulative improvement in compassion and reduction in fears of compassion, suggesting that, when there is intense suffering, people become more compassionate to self and others and less afraid of, and resistant to, compassion.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Empathy , Male , Humans , Female , Aged , Pandemics , COVID-19/epidemiology , Fear/psychology , Self Report
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