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Moura Dias H, Vieira AP, de Jesus EM, de Setta N, Barros G, Van Sluys MA. Functional and comparative analysis of THI1 gene in grasses with a focus on sugarcane. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14973. [PMID: 37214086 PMCID: PMC10194071 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
De novo synthesis of thiamine (vitamin B1) in plants depends on the action of thiamine thiazole synthase, which synthesizes the thiazole ring, and is encoded by the THI1 gene. Here, we investigated the evolution and diversity of THI1 in Poaceae, where C4 and C3 photosynthetic plants co-evolved. An ancestral duplication of THI1 is observed in Panicoideae that remains in many modern monocots, including sugarcane. In addition to the two sugarcane copies (ScTHI1-1 and ScTHI1-2), we identified ScTHI1-2 alleles showing differences in their sequence, indicating divergence between ScTHI1-2a and ScTHI1-2b. Such variations are observed only in the Saccharum complex, corroborating the phylogeny. At least five THI1 genomic environments were found in Poaceae, two in sugarcane, M. sinensis, and S. bicolor. The THI1 promoter in Poaceae is highly conserved at 300 bp upstream of the start codon ATG and has cis-regulatory elements that putatively bind to transcription factors associated with development, growth, development and biological rhythms. An experiment set to compare gene expression levels in different tissues across the sugarcane R570 life cycle showed that ScTHI1-1 was expressed mainly in leaves regardless of age. Furthermore, ScTHI1 displayed relatively high expression levels in meristem and culm, which varied with the plant age. Finally, yeast complementation studies with THI4-defective strain demonstrate that only ScTHI1-1 and ScTHI1-2b isoforms can partially restore thiamine auxotrophy, albeit at a low frequency. Taken together, the present work supports the existence of multiple origins of THI1 harboring genomic regions in Poaceae with predicted functional redundancy. In addition, it questions the contribution of the levels of the thiazole ring in C4 photosynthetic plant tissues or potentially the relevance of the THI1 protein activity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Nathalia de Setta
- Botanica/IB, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Universidade Federal do ABC, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gesiele Barros
- Botanica/IB, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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Torres T, Paiva-Lopes MJ, Gonçalo M, Claro C, Oliveira M, Gomes J, Vieira AP, Amoedo P, Alpalhão M, Nogueira M, Santiago F, Henrique M, Amaro C, Esteves T, Alves J, Cerejeira D, Mendes-Bastos P, Pestana M, Ramos L, Rocha J, Carvalho R, Teixeira L, Selores M, Mota A, Filipe P. Dupilumab for atopic dermatitis: a real-world portuguese multicenter retrospective study. J DERMATOL TREAT 2022; 33:2554-2559. [PMID: 35083945 DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2022.2035309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a difficult-to-treat inflammatory skin disease with a high impact on patients' quality of life. Dupilumab, an IL-4 and IL-13 inhibitor, was the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD and is currently approved in patients aged 6 or older.Methods: This is a nationwide, multicenter, retrospective, 48-week study designed by the Portuguese Group of AD to assess real-world efficacy and safety of dupilumab for the treatment of AD.Results: A total of 169 patients were enrolled, with a mean disease duration of 22.75 (±11.98) years. The percentage of patients achieving an improvement of at least 75% in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) compared to baseline (EASI75 response) at weeks 12 and 48 was 67.6% and 74.1%, respectively. In the same timepoints, 25.0% and 44.1% achieved an EASI90 response. Patient-reported outcome measures also improved throughout the study period. Regarding safety, 32.0% of the patients developed adverse events, with conjunctivitis (26.6%), persistent facial erythema (4.7%), and arthritis/arthralgia (3.6%) as the more frequently reported.Conclusion: Data from real-world populations are crucial to guide clinicians in their daily decisions. This study provides data demonstrating that dupilumab is an effective and safe therapeutic option for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Torres
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - M J Paiva-Lopes
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal.,CEDOC, Nova Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M Gonçalo
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Clinic of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - C Claro
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Egas Moniz, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M Oliveira
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Tondela Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
| | - J Gomes
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
| | - A P Vieira
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
| | - P Amoedo
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João EPE, Porto, Portugal
| | - M Alpalhão
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte EPE, Lisbon, Portugal.,Dermatology University Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.,Dermatology Research Unit, IMM João Lobo Antunes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - M Nogueira
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - F Santiago
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Leiria-Pombal, Leiria, Portugal
| | - M Henrique
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Leiria-Pombal, Leiria, Portugal
| | - C Amaro
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Egas Moniz, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - T Esteves
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital Central do Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
| | - J Alves
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal
| | - D Cerejeira
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal
| | - P Mendes-Bastos
- Dermatology Center, Hospital CUF Descobertas, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M Pestana
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - L Ramos
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - J Rocha
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos, Portugal
| | - R Carvalho
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal.,Nova Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - L Teixeira
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto (ICBAS.UP), Porto, Portugal
| | - M Selores
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - A Mota
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João EPE, Porto, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, CINTESIS, Porto, Portugal
| | - P Filipe
- Department of Dermatology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte EPE, Lisbon, Portugal.,Dermatology University Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.,Dermatology Research Unit, IMM João Lobo Antunes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
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Oldra CM, Lazarotto AK, Wendt GW, Ferreto LE, Follador FAC, Vieira AP. Depression mediates the links between climacteric symptoms and food and nutritional insecurity. Climacteric 2021; 25:311-315. [PMID: 33709860 DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2021.1892628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study is perhaps the first to evaluate the influence of depression on the relationship between climacteric symptoms and food and nutritional insecurity (FNI). METHODS In this cross-sectional study with a relatively large sample of climacteric women (N = 400), sociodemographic and clinical variables were investigated. We measured FNI, depression and climacteric symptoms with psychometrically sound instruments, namely the Brazilian Food Security Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Kupperman Index, respectively. RESULTS Statistically significant differences were observed in the means of FNI according to education, income, marital status, history of depression, use of antidepressants and current depression. Furthermore, depression had strong indirect effects on the relationship between climacteric symptoms and FNI. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that targeting depression could benefit climacteric women, especially those with severe symptoms and in FNI.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Oldra
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - A K Lazarotto
- Faculty of Medicine, University Center of Pato Branco (UNIDEP), Pato Branco, Brazil
| | - G W Wendt
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - L E Ferreto
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - F A C Follador
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - A P Vieira
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
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Abstract
Objective: This study evaluated the associations between food intake - especially omega-3 (n-3) - and depressive symptoms in climacteric women.Methods: Four hundred climacteric women were included in this research. The Kupperman Index, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and a 3-day food diary were used to investigate climacteric symptoms, depressive symptoms, and food intake, respectively. Sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric variables were also explored.Results: Statistically significant associations were observed between depression and climacteric symptoms, climacteric phase, previous history of depression, antidepressant drug use, family income, sleep pattern, and consumption of carbohydrates, fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins C, D, and B12. No association was observed between n-3 consumption and depression.Conclusion: Climacteric symptoms and food intake are important factors linked to depression during the climacteric period. Further studies are needed to clarify the changes in this phase of women's lives, as well as to investigate the role of the diet in the depression treatment or prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Oldra
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - D M Benvegnú
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - D R P Silva
- Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Sergipe, Sao Cristovao, Brazil
| | - G W Wendt
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
| | - A P Vieira
- Health Sciences Center, Western Paraná State University, Francisco Beltrão, Brazil
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Pimenta AFR, Vieira AP, Colaço R, Saramago B, Gil MH, Coimbra P, Alves P, Bozukova D, Correia TR, Correia IJ, Guiomar AJ, Serro AP. Controlled release of moxifloxacin from intraocular lenses modified by Ar plasma-assisted grafting with AMPS or SBMA: An in vitro study. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2017; 156:95-103. [PMID: 28531880 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.04.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Intraocular lenses (IOLs) present an alternative for extended, local drug delivery in the prevention of post-operative acute endophthalmitis. In the present work, we modified the surface of a hydrophilic acrylic material, used for manufacturing of IOLs, through plasma-assisted grafting copolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) or [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA), with the aim of achieving a controlled and effective drug release. The material was loaded with moxifloxacin (MFX), a commonly used antibiotic for endophthalmitis prevention. The characterization of the modified material showed that relevant properties, like swelling capacity, wettability, refractive index and transmittance, were not affected by the surface modification. Concerning the drug release profiles, the most promising result was obtained when AMPS grafting was done in the presence of MFX. This modification led to a higher amount of drug being released for a longer period of time, which is a requirement for the prevention of endophthalmitis. The material was found to be non-cytotoxic for rabbit corneal endothelial cells. In a second step, prototype IOLs were modified with AMPS and loaded with MFX as previously and, after sterilization and storage (30days), they were tested under dynamic conditions, in a microfluidic cell with volume and renovation rate similar to the eye aqueous humour. MFX solutions collected in this assay were tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and the released antibiotic proved to be effective against both bacteria until the 12th day of release.
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Affiliation(s)
- A F R Pimenta
- CQE, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; IDMEC, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - A P Vieira
- CIEPQPF, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - R Colaço
- IDMEC, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - B Saramago
- CQE, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M H Gil
- CIEPQPF, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - P Coimbra
- CIEPQPF, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - P Alves
- CIEPQPF, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - T R Correia
- CICS, Departamento de Ciências Médicas, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - I J Correia
- CICS, Departamento de Ciências Médicas, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - A J Guiomar
- CIEPQPF, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - A P Serro
- CQE, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; CIIEM, Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas Moniz, Caparica, Portugal.
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Paduan-Filho A, Vieira AP, Ramon JGA, Freitas RS. Crossover from one- to three-dimensional behavior in the S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet Cu(N 2H 5) 2(SO 4) 2. J Phys Condens Matter 2016; 28:506004. [PMID: 27792667 DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/28/50/506004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
From experimental and theoretical analyses of magnetic and specific-heat properties, we present the complete magnetic phase diagram of the quasi-1D antiferromagnet Cu(N2H5)2(SO4)2. On cooling and at zero magnetic field this compound enters a 1D regime with short-range magnetic correlations, marked by a broad maximum in the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility at [Formula: see text] K, followed by a tridimensional antiferromagnetically ordered phase below [Formula: see text] K induced by small interchain couplings. The intermediate-temperature 1D regime can be modeled using exact quantum-transfer-matrix calculations, which offer a compatible description of the nonmonotonic behavior of [Formula: see text] as a function of the magnetic field, giving [Formula: see text] K for the intrachain exchange parameter. The analysis of magnetic specific-heat and susceptibility data at low temperature indicates that the interchain exchange couplings are an order of magnitude smaller than the coupling inside the chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Paduan-Filho
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, 05314-970 São Paulo, Brazil
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7
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Nascimento ES, Henriques EF, Vieira AP, Salinas SR. Maier-Saupe model for a mixture of uniaxial and biaxial molecules. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 2015; 92:062503. [PMID: 26764707 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.92.062503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We introduce shape variations in a liquid-crystalline system by considering an elementary Maier-Saupe lattice model for a mixture of uniaxial and biaxial molecules. Shape variables are treated in the annealed (thermalized) limit. We analyze the thermodynamic properties of this system in terms of temperature T, concentration c of intrinsically biaxial molecules, and a parameter Δ associated with the degree of biaxiality of the molecules. At the mean-field level, we use standard techniques of statistical mechanics to draw global phase diagrams, which are shown to display a rich structure, including uniaxial and biaxial nematic phases, a reentrant ordered region, and many distinct multicritical points. Also, we use the formalism to write an expansion of the free energy in order to make contact with the Landau-de Gennes theory of nematic phase transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- E S Nascimento
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 66318, 05314-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - E F Henriques
- Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Caixa Postal 354, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, Brasil
| | - A P Vieira
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 66318, 05314-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - S R Salinas
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 66318, 05314-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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de Setta N, Monteiro-Vitorello CB, Metcalfe CJ, Cruz GMQ, Del Bem LE, Vicentini R, Nogueira FTS, Campos RA, Nunes SL, Turrini PCG, Vieira AP, Ochoa Cruz EA, Corrêa TCS, Hotta CT, de Mello Varani A, Vautrin S, da Trindade AS, de Mendonça Vilela M, Lembke CG, Sato PM, de Andrade RF, Nishiyama MY, Cardoso-Silva CB, Scortecci KC, Garcia AAF, Carneiro MS, Kim C, Paterson AH, Bergès H, D'Hont A, de Souza AP, Souza GM, Vincentz M, Kitajima JP, Van Sluys MA. Building the sugarcane genome for biotechnology and identifying evolutionary trends. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:540. [PMID: 24984568 PMCID: PMC4122759 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Sugarcane is the source of sugar in all tropical and subtropical countries and is becoming increasingly important for bio-based fuels. However, its large (10 Gb), polyploid, complex genome has hindered genome based breeding efforts. Here we release the largest and most diverse set of sugarcane genome sequences to date, as part of an on-going initiative to provide a sugarcane genomic information resource, with the ultimate goal of producing a gold standard genome. Results Three hundred and seventeen chiefly euchromatic BACs were sequenced. A reference set of one thousand four hundred manually-annotated protein-coding genes was generated. A small RNA collection and a RNA-seq library were used to explore expression patterns and the sRNA landscape. In the sucrose and starch metabolism pathway, 16 non-redundant enzyme-encoding genes were identified. One of the sucrose pathway genes, sucrose-6-phosphate phosphohydrolase, is duplicated in sugarcane and sorghum, but not in rice and maize. A diversity analysis of the s6pp duplication region revealed haplotype-structured sequence composition. Examination of hom(e)ologous loci indicate both sequence structural and sRNA landscape variation. A synteny analysis shows that the sugarcane genome has expanded relative to the sorghum genome, largely due to the presence of transposable elements and uncharacterized intergenic and intronic sequences. Conclusion This release of sugarcane genomic sequences will advance our understanding of sugarcane genetics and contribute to the development of molecular tools for breeding purposes and gene discovery. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-540) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Marie-Anne Van Sluys
- Departamento de Botânica - Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, São Paulo 05508-090, SP, Brazil.
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9
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do Carmo E, Vieira AP, Salinas SR. Phase diagram of a model for a binary mixture of nematic molecules on a Bethe lattice. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 2011; 83:011701. [PMID: 21405699 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.83.011701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the phase diagram of a discrete version of the Maier-Saupe model with the inclusion of additional degrees of freedom to mimic a distribution of rodlike and disklike molecules. Solutions of this problem on a Bethe lattice come from the analysis of the fixed points of a set of nonlinear recursion relations. Besides the fixed points associated with isotropic and uniaxial nematic structures, there is also a fixed point associated with a biaxial nematic structure. Due to the existence of large overlaps of the stability regions, we resorted to a scheme to calculate the free energy of these structures deep in the interior of a large Cayley tree. Both thermodynamic and dynamic-stability analyses rule out the presence of a biaxial phase, in qualitative agreement with previous mean-field results.
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Affiliation(s)
- E do Carmo
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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10
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Resende R, Pereira C, Agostinho P, Vieira AP, Malva JO, Oliveira CR. Susceptibility of hippocampal neurons to Abeta peptide toxicity is associated with perturbation of Ca2+ homeostasis. Brain Res 2007; 1143:11-21. [PMID: 17336275 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2007.01.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2006] [Revised: 01/03/2007] [Accepted: 01/15/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Neuritic dystrophy, loss of synapses and neuronal death in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the differential susceptibility of cortical and hippocampal neurons to amyloid-beta (Abeta)-induced toxicity. For that, we have used primary neuronal cultures prepared from rat brain cortex and hippocampus which were treated with the synthetic peptides Abeta25-35 or Abeta1-40. Abeta-induced apoptotic cell death was analyzed by determining caspase-3-like activity. Neuritic dystrophy was evaluated by cobalt staining and MAP2 immunoreactivity. Perturbation of Ca(2+) homeostasis caused by exposure to Abeta was evaluated by determining basal cytosolic calcium levels in the whole neuronal population and by single cell calcium imaging under basal and KCl-depolarization conditions. Finally, levels of GluR2 subunit of glutamate AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-proprionate) receptors were quantified by western blotting. Our results demonstrated that hippocampal neurons in culture are more susceptible than cortical neurons to Abeta-induced apoptosis and also that this mechanism involves the perturbation of Ca(2+) homeostasis. Accordingly, the exposure of hippocampal neurons to Abeta peptides decreases the protein levels of the GluR2 subunit of glutamate AMPA receptors that may be associated with a significant rise of cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, leading to dendritic dystrophy and activation of apoptotic neuronal death.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Resende
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
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Abstract
Though used occasionally, systemic therapies in severe childhood psoriasis have not been systematically investigated. Cyclosporin A (CysA) is effective in adults with severe psoriasis but there are no extensive data regarding the efficacy and safety of its use in childhood psoriasis. In this paper, we describe six children aged between 11 months and 13 years (average: 7.6 years) treated with CysA microemulsion formulation for severe psoriasis, who had been unresponsive to other treatments. The CysA dose ranged from 2 to 4 mg/kg/day, for periods varying from 8 to 105 weeks (mean: 54 weeks). Dose tapering was gradual after lesion improvement and adjusted according to clinical response. Adjuvant therapy with topical steroids, vitamin D3 ointments, coal tar preparations or anthralin was used in all children. Acitretin was used in three patients for short periods. The children were regularly monitored for serum renal and liver function and blood pressure. Improvement of skin lesions was achieved after between 4 and 30 (mean: 12) weeks of treatment, with complete remission in three children. Relapse of lesions occurred in the other children during CysA reduction, but they responded to a dose increase. The treatment was found to be well tolerated and with no significant side-effects. CysA can be used in carefully selected and monitored patients and may represent an alternative tool for severe episodes of psoriasis in children, when other therapies are unsuccessful.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Pereira
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hospital de São Marcos, Braga, Portugal.
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12
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Muzy PT, Vieira AP, Salinas SR. Correlated disordered interactions on Potts models. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 2002; 65:046120. [PMID: 12005939 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.65.046120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2001] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Using a weak-disorder scheme and real-space renormalization-group techniques, we obtain analytical results for the critical behavior of various q-state Potts models with correlated disordered exchange interactions along d(1) of d spatial dimensions on hierarchical (Migdal-Kadanoff) lattices. Our results indicate qualitative differences between the cases d-d(1)=1 (for which we find non-physical random fixed points, suggesting the existence of non-perturbative fixed distributions) and d-d(1)>1 (for which we do find acceptable perturbative random fixed points), in agreement with previous numerical calculations by Andelman and Aharony [Phys. Rev. B 31, 4305 (1985)]. We also rederive a criterion for relevance of correlated disorder, which generalizes the usual Harris criterion.
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Affiliation(s)
- P T Muzy
- Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 66318, 05315-970 São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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Abstract
Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis is a rare cutaneous disorder characterized by recurrent and cyclic skin eruption with variable morphology, occurring during the luteal phase. A case of autoimmune progesterone urticaria in a 47-year-old woman is reported. An intradermal progestin test revealed a strong reactivity against this hormone. Treatment with tamoxifen and leuprolide acetate induced only a partial remission of urticaria. Bilateral oophorectomy was performed with absolute clearing of cutaneous lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Vasconcelos
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital of São João, Porto, Portugal
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Vieira AP, de Rocha OM, Ferreira RF. [Cerebral scintillography in the diagnosis of tumors]. AMB Rev Assoc Med Bras 1976; 22:261-2. [PMID: 1086484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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