Growth and production of cowpea beans under potassium doses in soil of cerrado in Amapá, Brazil

The cowpea bean [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], a legume of great socioeconomic importance, it was previously cultivated exclusively for subsistence and commercial purposes, especially in the North and Northeast regions. This crop has a low production cost and high nutritional value, in addition to a high potential for productivity growth and expansion to other regions. The objective of this work was to evaluate parameters of growth and production in cowpea culture, as a function of potassium fertilization in soil of the cerrado of Amapá. The parameters of growth and production of the cowpea culture were evaluated, as a function of potassium fertilization in the soil of the cerrado of Amapá. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, using a completely randomized experimental design, with four replications, in a 5x2 factorial scheme, totaling 40 experimental units, which were composed of plastic pots containing 7 dm3 of soil collected from the arable layer (0-20 cm ) of a typical Hyperdystrophic Yellow Argisol, with a sandy clay loam texture, in a cerrado area in the municipality of Porto Grande-AP. The factors consisted of the control treatment (without K), four doses of K (45, 90, 135 and 180 kg ha-1) in the form of potassium chloride, and two cowpea cultivars (Pretinho and BRS Tumucumaque). The cultivar BRS Tumucumaque shows better growth and production of cowpea plants. Doses of 90 kg ha-1 provided greater height (98.75 cm) and stem diameter (10.0 mm). As for production, the dose of 135 kg ha-1 caused greater grain weight gain (5.25 g) and dry mass of pods (13.92 g), and the doses of 90 and 180 kg ha-1 induced greater number and length of pods (3.16 pods) respectively. These results show better responsiveness of the BRS Tumucumaque cultivar at doses of 90, 135 and 180 kg ha-1 in the type of soil where the study was conducted.

Transsexuality in the streets of Campinas: borderline resistance movements towards a humanistic care

According to WHO, transgender people are more likely to suffer from a broad range of health

Issues

high HIV prevalence, low access to health, discrimination, violence, rejection, unemployement, poverty, housing insecurity, and marginalisation. Structural macho-sexism is one of the main causes not only of violence, but also of lack of protective legislation and policy to this population. Developing research regarding transgender people's life experience in the streets and their pathways to healthcare is of major importance to achieve a more equitable society and public health system.

This qualitative research is a chapter of the book “Experiências do Cuidado na Rua” (”Living Care in the Streets”). From the experience of offering care in downtown Campinas to people living in the streets, 2 case reports were selected. The narratives were collected in a field journal. Both participants were female transgenders living in the context of Brazil's Universal Health System. National policy and legislation were confronted with narrative analysis of the participants, to show the barriers to receiving proper and humanistic care.

Some narratives show the clear violence suffered from law enforcement personnel: “We used to be beaten by the Police because we were prostituting ourselves”. Others show a transphobic moralistic context: “Last week a transexual had her heart torn here in Campinas, and a Saint image was put in her chest! I'm afraid to walk alone in the streets at night. “Yet others show a clear transphobic and problematic position from the now president Bolsonaro which reflects in transphobic sympathizers in hate speeches: “Nowadays [after presidential election] we hear in the streets 'let's send them to Bolsonaro!'”, as sending someone to the guillotine.

The narratives show a clear need of global and local actions towards a more accepting society, and actions must be taken in a broad range of fields, such as human rights legislation, policy and surveillance.

Key messages

This research show the neglect for the transgender population and the lack of protective measures, which reflects in access to the health care system and actual care. A growth of discrimination and hate speeches directly related to the election of an extremist-right national administration has been observed.

Nutritional deprivation and LPS exposure as feasible methods for induction of cellular - A methodology to validate for vitro photobiomodulation studies

Previous studies have demonstrated that high biostimulation takes place when cells under stress are subjected to phototherapy by laser or light-emitting-diode (LED) devices. Several studies selected nutritional deprivation by reducing the concentration of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the culture medium or the exposure of cultured cells to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an in vitro cellular stress condition. However, there are no data certifying that these stimuli cause stressful conditions for cultured cells. This investigation assessed the induction of cellular stress by decreasing the concentration of FBS or adding LPS to culture medium. Odontoblast-like cells (MDPC-23) were cultured in complete culture medium (DMEM) containing 10% FBS. After a 12-hour incubation period, the DMEM was replaced by fresh medium containing 10% FBS (control), low concentrations of FBS (0, 0.2, 0.5, 2, or 5%) or LPS from Escherichia coli (10μg/ml). After an additional 12-hour incubation, cell viability, total cell-counting, total protein production, and gene expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were assessed. Data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA complemented by the Tukey test, with 5% considered significant. Cell viability was negatively affected only for 0% FBS, while reduced viable cell numbers and total protein production were detected for FBS concentrations lower than 2%. Higher HSP70 gene expression was also observed for FBS concentrations lower than 2% and for cells exposed to LPS. The nutritional deprivation model with culture medium lower than 2% of FBS can be safely used to induce cellular stress for in vitro photobiomodulation studies.

Prognostication of Mortality in Critically Ill Patients With Severe Infections

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to confirm the prognostic value of pancreatic stone protein (PSP) in patients with severe infections requiring ICU management and to develop and validate a model to enhance mortality prediction by combining severity scores with biomarkers.

METHODS

We enrolled prospectively patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in mixed tertiary ICUs in Switzerland (derivation cohort) and Brazil (validation cohort). Severity scores (APACHE [Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation] II or Simplified Acute Physiology Score [SAPS] II) were combined with biomarkers obtained at the time of diagnosis of sepsis, including C-reactive-protein, procalcitonin (PCT), and PSP. Logistic regression models with the lowest prediction errors were selected to predict in-hospital mortality.

RESULTS

Mortality rates of patients with septic shock enrolled in the derivation cohort (103 out of 158) and the validation cohort (53 out of 91) were 37% and 57%, respectively. APACHE II and PSP were significantly higher in dying patients. In the derivation cohort, the models combining either APACHE II, PCT, and PSP (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.721; 95% CI, 0.632-0.812) or SAPS II, PCT, and PSP (AUC, 0.710; 95% CI, 0.617-0.802) performed better than each individual biomarker (AUC PCT, 0.534; 95% CI, 0.433-0.636; AUC PSP, 0.665; 95% CI, 0.572-0.758) or severity score (AUC APACHE II, 0.638; 95% CI, 0.543-0.733; AUC SAPS II, 0.598; 95% CI, 0.499-0.698). These models were externally confirmed in the independent validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

We confirmed the prognostic value of PSP in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock requiring ICU management. A model combining severity scores with PCT and PSP improves mortality prediction in these patients.

Involvement of the chemokine RANTES (CCL5) in resistance to experimental infection with Leishmania major

The expression and putative role of chemokines during infection with Leishmania major in mice were investigated. CCL5 expression correlates with resistance, and blockade of CCL5 rendered mice more susceptible to infection. CCL5 is part of the cascade of events leading to efficient parasite control in L. major infection.

WIN 17317-3 blocks Ca2+-activated K+ channels and enhances motility of guinea-pig detrusor muscle

Patch-clamp experiments in both clonal GH3 cells and guinea-pig bladder myocytes reveal that 1-benzyl-7-chloro-4-(n-pentylimino)-1,4-dihydroquinoline hydrochloride (WIN 17317-3), a potent blocker of Kv1.3 channels and potential immunomodulator, reduces, in a reversible manner and at low micromolar concentrations, K+ currents through Ca2+-activated high conductance K+ channels (BK channels). Blockade of BK channels is thought to account for the stimulatory effect of WIN 17317-3 on the contractility of guinea-pig bladder. This effect is not modified by tetrodotoxin (1 microM), but is abolished by nifedipine (0.1 microM). In conclusion. WIN 17317-3 lacks selectivity for the Kv1.3 channels, its postulated target for immunosuppression.

Functional effects of uridine triphosphate on human skinned skeletal muscle fibers

Chemically skinned human skeletal muscle fibers were used to study the effects of uridine triphosphate (UTP) on the tension-pCa relationship and on Ca2+ uptake and release by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Total replacement (2.5 mM) of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) with UTP (i) displaced the tension-pCa relationship to the left along the abcissae and increased maximum Ca(2+)-activated tension, both effects being larger in slow- than in fast-type fibers; (ii) markedly reduced Ca2+ uptake by the SR (evaluated by the caffeine-evoked tension) in both fiber types; (iii) had no effect on the rate of depletion of caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ stores during soaking in relaxing solutions; (iv) induced tension in slow- but not in fast-type fibers. The effects on the SR functional properties are consistent with the notion that UTP is a poor substitute for ATP as a substrate for the Ca ATPase pump and as an agonist of the ryanodine-sensitive Ca(2+)-release channel. The UTP-induced tension in human slow-type fibers is attributed to effect(s) of the nucleotide on the tension-pCa relationship of the contractile machinery. The present data reveal important differences between the effects of UTP on human versus rat muscle fibers.

Functional effects of uridine triphosphate on human skinned skeletal muscle fibers

Chemically skinned human skeletal muscle fibers were used to study the effects of uridine triphosphate (UTP) on the tension-pCa relationship and on Ca2+ uptake and release by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Total replacement (2.5 mM) of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) with UTP (i) displaced the tension-pCa relationship to the left along the abcissae and increased maximum Ca2+-activated tension, both effects being larger in slow- than in fast-type fibers; (ii) markedly reduced Ca2+ uptake by the SR (evaluated by the caffeine-evoked tension) in both fiber types; (iii) had no effect on the rate of depletion of caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ stores during soaking in relaxing solutions; (iv) induced tension in slow- but not in fast-type fibers. The effects on the SR functional properties are consistent with the notion that UTP is a poor substitute for ATP as a substrate for the Ca ATPase pump and as an agonist of the ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+-release channel. The UTP-induced tension in human slow-type fibers is attributed to effect(s) of the nucleotide on the tension-pCa relationship of the contractile machinery. The present data reveal important differences between the effects of UTP on human versus rat muscle fibers.Key words: skinned muscle fiber, UTP-induced tension, tension-pCa relationship, sarcoplasmic reticulum, calcium transport.

Bovine serum albumin potentiates caffeine- or ATP-induced tension in human skinned skeletal muscle fibers

Human skinned muscle fibers were used to investigate the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the tension/pCa relationship and on the functional properties of the Ca(2+)-release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In both fast- and slow-type fibers, identified by their tension response to pSr 5.0, BSA (0.7-15 microM) had no effect on the Ca2+ affinity of the contractile proteins and elicited no tension per se in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers. In contrast, BSA (> 1.0 microM) potentiated the caffeine-induced tension in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers, this effect being more intense in slow-type fibers. Thus, BSA reduced the threshold caffeine concentration required for eliciting detectable tension, and increased the amplitude, the rate of rise and the area under the curve of caffeine-induced tension. BSA also potentiated the tension elicited in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers by low-Mg2+ solutions containing 1.0 mM free ATP. These results suggest that BSA modulates the response of the human skeletal muscle SR Ca(2+)-release channel to activators such as caffeine and ATP.

Phase II study of high-dose megestrol acetate in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma

The EORTC Gynaecological Cancer Cooperative Group conducted a phase II study of high dose oral megestrol acetate: 800 mg/day for 1 month followed by 400 mg/day as maintenance treatment, in heavily pretreated patients with ovarian cancer. Of 72 patients included in this study, 54 were fully evaluable for response and toxicity. The response rate was low with only 1 patient having a partial response, 9 patients with stable disease and 44 patients with progressive disease. The toxicity profile was low. However, 1 patient died after 2 months of treatment, and in 3 patients thrombo-embolic events occurred. Weight gain varied in 20 of the 61 patients from 0.5 to 16 kg. This study does not suggest that the overall 10% benefit from hormonal therapy for chemotherapy refractory ovarian cancer will improve by increasing the dose.