Global Research on Centenarians: A Historical and Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis from 1887 to 2023.

BACKGROUND: Centenarians are considered the most successful human biological aging model. However, the characteristics and patterns of research among centenarians have not been described or analyzed. Thus, this study aimed to disclose the historical landscape of global research on centenarians. METHODS: This bibliometric study investigated historical evidence on centenarian research published in the Scopus database. The bibliometrix package in R was used to perform visual and quantitative analyses of research metrics, trends, and patterns. RESULTS: Of the 2,061 documents included between 1887 and 2023, 84.2% (n=1,736) were published as articles with primary data. We identified international collaboration and annual growth rates of 21.4% and 3.15%, respectively. The United States published the highest number of papers on centenarians (n=786), whereas the publications from Italy had the highest impact (h-index of 90). Based on the frequency of keywords, mortality, genetics, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and immunosenescence are a few of the most studied topics among centenarians, with emerging research related to mitochondrial DNA and comparison of results between nonagenarians and centenarians. Italy, the United States, and China lead the global research collaboration network, collaborating most frequently with Japan and European countries. CONCLUSION: Global research on centenarians has grown over the last 20 years, primarily led by Italy, the United States, and China. Latin American and African countries have conducted little or no research on centenarians. The most widely studied topics include mortality, cognition, immunosenescence, and genetics.

Leveraging citizen science for monitoring urban forageable plants.

Urbanization brings forth social challenges in emerging countries such as Brazil, encompassing food scarcity, health deterioration, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. Despite this, urban areas like the city of São Paulo still boast ample green spaces, offering opportunities for nature appreciation and conservation, enhancing city resilience and livability. Citizen science is a collaborative endeavor between professional scientists and nonprofessional scientists in scientific research that may help to understand the dynamics of urban ecosystems. We believe citizen science has the potential to promote human and nature connection in urban areas and provide useful data on urban biodiversity.

Citizen science data on urban forageable plants: a case study in Brazil.

This paper presents two key data sets derived from the Pomar Urbano project. The first data set is a comprehensive catalog of edible fruit-bearing plant species, native or introduced to Brazil. The second data set, sourced from the iNaturalist platform, tracks the distribution and monitoring of these plants within urban landscapes across Brazil. The study includes data from the capitals of all 27 federative units of Brazil, focusing on the ten cities that contributed the most observations as of August 2023. The research emphasizes the significance of citizen science in urban biodiversity monitoring and its potential to contribute to various fields, including food and nutrition, creative industry, study of plant phenology, and machine learning applications. We expect the data sets presented in this paper to serve as resources for further studies in urban foraging, food security, cultural ecosystem services, and environmental sustainability.

The in vitro antileishmanial activity of essential oil from Aloysia gratissima and guaiol, its major sesquiterpene against Leishmania amazonensis.

Leishmaniases is a tropical disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania for which the current treatment is expensive, besides increasing reports of parasite resistance. This study investigated the anti-Leishmania amazonensis activity of the essential oil from Aloysia gratissima (AgEO) and guaiol, the major sesquiterpene constituent in the oil. Our results showed that AgEO killed promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes at an IC50 of 25 and 0·16 µg mL-1, respectively, while guaiol killed amastigotes at an IC50 of 0·01 µg mL-1. Both AgEO and guaiol were safe for macrophages up to 100 µg mL-1, as evaluated by the dehydrogenase activity, membrane integrity and phagocytic capacity. AgEO and guaiol did not induce nitrite oxide (NO) in resting macrophages and inhibited the production of NO in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages. The ultrastructural analysis suggested that AgEO and guaiol act directly on parasites, affecting promastigotes kinetoplast, mitochondrial matrix and plasma membrane. Together, these results pointed out that AgEO and guaiol could be promising candidates to develop anti-Leishmania drugs.

Biochemical and molecular modulation of CCl4-induced peripheral and central damage by Tilia americana var. mexicanaextracts.

Around the world, species from the genus Tilia are commonly used because of their peripheral and central medicinal effects; they are prepared as teas and used as tranquilizing, anticonvulsant, and analgesic agents. In this study, we provide evidence of the protective effects of organic and aqueous extracts (100 mg/kg, i.p.) obtained from the leaves of Tilia americana var. mexicana on CCl4-induced liver and brain damage in the rat. Protection was observed in the liver and brain (cerebellum, cortex and cerebral hemispheres) by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) using spectrophotometric methods. Biochemical parameters were also assessed in serum samples from the CCl4-treated rats. The T. americana var. mexicana leaf extracts provided significant protection against CCl4-induced peripheral and central damage by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, diminishing lipid peroxidation, and preventing alterations in biochemical serum parameters, such as the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-globulin (γ-GLOB), serum albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (BB), creatinine (CREA) and creatine kinase (CK), relative to the control group. Additionally, we correlated gene expression with antioxidant activity in the experimental groups treated with the organic and aqueous Tilia extracts and observed a non-statistically significant positive correlation. Our results provide evidence of the underlying biomedical properties of T. americana var. mexicana that confer its neuro- and hepatoprotective effects.

Teratoma sacrococcígeo: diagnóstico, evaluación y terapia prenatal / Sacrococcygeal teratoma: diagnosis, evaluation and prenatal therapy

El teratoma sacrococcígeo representa la lesión tumoral más frecuente durante la gestación. Si bien su frecuencia es baja, en asociación con hidrops puede determinar la aparición de insuficiencia cardiaca fetal y posterior muerte fetal in útero. La evaluación prenatal mediante ultrasonografía, debe orientarse hacia la selección de aquellos fetos candidatos a intervención prenatal para mejorar el resultado perinatal de fetos con compromiso hemodinámico que se encuentran bajo la viabilidad. El objetivo de la presente actualización es exponer las herramientas actualmente en uso para realizar dicha evaluación y los resultados de la cirugía prenatal. La puntuación del perfil cardiovascular fetal mediante la ecografía, se propone como una herramienta sensible y útil en la selección de fetos candidatos a intervención prenatal. Tanto la cirugía abierta como el abordaje mínimamente invasivo se exponen como alternativas en el manejo prenatal de fetos candidatos a intervención con sobrevida reportada en torno al 50 y 44 por ciento respectivamente.

The sacrococcygeal teratoma is the most common tumor during prenatal period. Although its frequency is low, together with hydrops could determine the occurrence of fetal heart failure, and subsequent fetal death in utero. Prenatal ultrasonographic evaluation, should be directed toward selection of those fetuses as candidates for prenatal therapy, to improve their perinatal outcome, when they present hemodynamic compromise while they are under fetal viability. The purpose of this update is to expose the tools currently used to conduct the assessment and the results of prenatal surgery. The fetal cardiovascular profile score by ultrasound is proposed as a sensible and useful tool in the selection of candidates for prenatal intervention. Both open surgery as minimally invasive approach are presented as alternatives in the prenatal management of fetus as candidates to intervention, has been reported a survival about 50 and 44 percent respectively.

Calidad microbiológica del agua de unidades odontológicas de una clínica universitaria de Bogotá / Microbiological quality of water in dental units of a university clinic in Bogotá

Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar la calidad microbiológica del agua destinada al uso en unidades odontológicas de una clínica universitaria de Bogotá, mediante el recuento de E. coli, Coliformes Totales, Enterococcus y Pseudomonas, con el fin de mejorar la calidad del agua, optimizar la prestación del servicio y proporcionar una mayor seguridad y confiabilidad a los pacientes y odontólogos. En este trabajo se determina que el agua destinada al uso de las unidades odontológicas no cumple, en lo referente a las características microbiológicas, con lo establecido por la Resolución 2115 del 2007, y la Norma Técnica Colombiana 813 (NTC 813) porque excede los límites aceptables para coliformes totales y Enterococcus, además presenta un importante recuento de Pseudomonas, las cuales al considerar factores como el estado inmunológico del paciente pueden llegar a causar enfermedad.

This study aims to evaluate the microbiological quality of water intended for use in dental units of a university clinic of Bogotá, using the E. coli count, total coliforms, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, in order to improve the quality of the water, optimize service quality, and provide greater safety and reliability to the patients and dentists. In this work, it was determined that the water intended for the use of the dental units does not meet, in regard to the microbiological characteristics, with the provisions of Resolution 2115 of 2007, and the Colombian Technical Standard 813 (NTC 813) because it exceeds the acceptable limits for total coliforms and Enterococcus, it also presents an important count of Pseudomonas which can lead to disease when considering factors such as the immune status of the patient.

Interaction of the monoxenic trypanosomatid Blastocrithidia culicis with the Aedes aegypti salivary gland.

Blastocrithidia culicis is a monoxenous trypanosomatid that inhabits mosquitoes. Although its life cycle in these insects has not been described, we recently demonstrated that B. culicis colonizes the Aedes aegypti digestive tract and is also able to reach the mosquito's haemocoel. In this work, we describe the interaction of B. culicis with the A. aegypti salivary gland in vitro and in vivo. Ultrastructural analysis reveals different steps of the invasion process, beginning with the insertion of the B. culicis anterior flagellum into the basal lamina of the gland and ending with the protozoan inside the salivary gland acini compartment. Carbohydrates are involved in the initial adhesion of B. culicis cells to the salivary glands, as demonstrated by protozoan binding inhibition assays and fluorescent lectin labeling of the trypanosomatid-salivary gland interaction. B. culicis is able to survive after incubation in vitro in the mosquito haemolymph, and trypanosomatid binding to salivary glands was confirmed by the injection of radioactively labeled protozoa into the mosquito haemocoel. These results suggest that salivary gland invasion could be part of the B. culicis life cycle in A. aegypti, raising the possibility that B. culicis can be transmitted by these mosquitoes.