DSpace Collection:

Urgent attention needed for mental health challenges arising from prolonged grief during and in the aftermath of COVID-19

2025-02-14T07:20:42Z

Title: Urgent attention needed for mental health challenges arising from prolonged grief during and in the aftermath of COVID-19 Abstract: N/a.

SARS-CoV-2 air sampling: A systematic review on the methodologies for detection and infectivity

2023-11-14T07:19:01Z

Title: SARS-CoV-2 air sampling: A systematic review on the methodologies for detection and infectivity Abstract: This systematic review aims to present an overview of the current aerosol sampling methods (and equipment) being used to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the air, along with the main parameters reported in the studies that are essential to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each method and perspectives for future research regarding this mode of transmission. A systematic literature review was performed on PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus to assess the current air sampling methodologies being applied to SARS-CoV-2. Most of the studies took place in indoor environments and healthcare settings and included air and environmental sampling. The collection mechanisms used were impinger, cyclone, impactor, filters, water-based condensation, and passive sampling. Most of the reviewed studies used RT-PCR to test the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the collected samples. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected with all collection mechanisms. From the studies detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, fourteen assessed infectivity. Five studies detected viable viruses using impactor, water-based condensation, and cyclone collection mechanisms. There is a need for a standardized protocol for sampling SARS-CoV-2 in air, which should also account for other influencing parameters, including air exchange ratio in the room sampled, relative humidity, temperature, and lighting conditions.

Bovine semen sexing: Sperm membrane proteomics as candidates for immunological selection of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm

2023-04-11T06:22:44Z

Title: Bovine semen sexing: Sperm membrane proteomics as candidates for immunological selection of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm Abstract: The use of sexed semen in dairy and beef farms ensures the production of animals of the desired sex, resulting in a reduction of costs and an improvement of environmental sustainability. Several methods have been developed over the years, but most of them were abandoned due to their limited efficacy. Currently, the only commercially available method for the separation of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm is fluorescence-activated cell sorting. However, this technique is expensive and has limited usefulness for the industry, considering that it cannot produce doses of sexed semen with the desired number of sperm for artificial insemination. Immunological methods have emerged as an attractive alternative to flow cytometry and proteomic knowledge of X- and Y-sperm could be useful to the development of a new method. In this review, we identify the main applications of sexed semen, describe the existing methods and highlight future research opportunities in the field. We consider that immunological methods, based on sperm cell's surface proteins differentially expressed between X- and Y-sperm, could be an interesting and promising approach to semen sexing.

Angiogenesis in the Normal Adrenal Fetal Cortex and Adrenocortical Tumors

2023-04-05T06:18:55Z

Title: Angiogenesis in the Normal Adrenal Fetal Cortex and Adrenocortical Tumors Abstract: Simple Summary Pharmacological angiogenesis modulation was robustly demonstrated to be a powerful clinical resource in oncotherapy. Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) often have a poor prognosis for which therapeutic options are limited. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate adrenocortical angiogenesis both under physiological conditions and in ACC could provide important clues on how these processes could be modulated for clinical purposes. This report summarizes the current knowledge on adrenal cortex angiogenesis regulation in physiological conditions and ACC. Embryonic adrenal angiogenesis is regulated by VEGF and Ang-Tie signaling pathways. VEGF angiogenic pathway was initially considered a promising therapeutic target for improving ACC prognosis. However, every single VEGF pathway-targeting clinical trial in ACC so far conducted yielded disappointing results. In contrast, the potential of Ang-Tie pathway-targeting in ACC is yet to be explored. Therefore, further investigation on the role and efficacy of modulating both Ang-Tie and VEGF pathways in ACC is still an unmet need. Angiogenesis plays an important role in several physiological and pathological processes. Pharmacological angiogenesis modulation has been robustly demonstrated to achieve clinical benefits in several cancers. Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are rare tumors that often have a poor prognosis. In addition, therapeutic options for ACC are limited. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate adrenocortical angiogenesis along the embryonic development and in ACC could provide important clues on how these processes could be pharmacologically modulated for ACC treatment. In this report, we performed an integrative review on adrenal cortex angiogenesis regulation in physiological conditions and ACC. During embryonic development, adrenal angiogenesis is regulated by both VEGF and Ang-Tie signaling pathways. In ACC, early research efforts were focused on VEGF signaling and this pathway was identified as a good prognostic factor and thus a promising therapeutic target. However, every clinical trial so far conducted in ACC using VEGF pathway- targeting drugs, alone or in combination, yielded disappointing results. In contrast, although the Ang-Tie pathway has been pointed out as an important regulator of fetal adrenocortical angiogenesis, its role is yet to be explored in ACC. In the future, further research on the role and efficacy of modulating both Ang-Tie and VEGF pathways in ACC is needed.

Barnacles as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters

2022-10-16T10:21:04Z

Title: Barnacles as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters Abstract: The use of barnacles as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters worldwide is reviewed as a critique compilation of the reported studies and presents resume-tables of available data for future reference. The barnacle body reflects both short and long-term metal level environmental variations and the metal bioaccumulation occurs mainly in their granules (relatively inactive pools). The barnacle body is considered as good biomonitoring material and different barnacle species could bioaccumulate metal concentration ranges of 40-153,000 mu g/g of Zn, 20-22,230 mu g/g de Fe, 1.5-21,800 mu g/g of Cu, 5.9 -4742 mu g/g of Mn, 0.1-1000 mu g/g of Pb, 0.7-330 mu g/g of Cd, 0.4-99 mu g/g of Ni and 0.2-49 mu g/g of Cr. However, as the plates ('shells') of barnacle exoskeletons can be affected by metal levels in coastal waters, mainly in their composition and morphology, they are not considered good biomonitoring material. Despite this, the use of a specific barnacle species or group of species in a specific region must firstly be carefully validated and the interpretation of the contaminant bioaccumulation levels should involve specific environmental variations of the region, physiological parameters of the barnacle species and the relationship between the potential toxicity of the contaminant for the environment and their significance for the barnacle species. Barnacles, particularly a widespread cosmopolitan species such as Amphibalanus amphitrite, have a great potential as biomonitors of anthropogenic contamination in coastal waters and have been used worldwide, including Europe (United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Croatia, Spain and Portugal), Asia (India and China), Oceania (Australia), North America (Florida, Massachusetts and Mexico) and South America (Brazil). The use of barnacle species as biomonitors of metal contamination in coastal waters is considered an important and valuable tool to evaluate and predict the ecological quality of an ecosystem.

Antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants: Tackling the black box

2022-10-13T23:08:20Z

Title: Antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants: Tackling the black box Abstract: Wastewater is among the most important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance in urban environments. The abundance of carbon sources and other nutrients, a variety of possible electron acceptors such as oxygen or nitrate, the presence of particles onto which bacteria can adsorb, or a fairly stable pH and temperature are examples of conditions favouring the remarkable diversity of microorganisms in this peculiar habitat. The wastewater microbiome brings together bacteria of environmental, human and animal origins, many harbouring antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although numerous factors contribute, mostly in a complex interplay, for shaping this microbiome, the effect of specific potential selective pressures such as antimicrobial residues or metals, is supposedly determinant to dictate the fate of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and ARGs during wastewater treatment. This paper aims to enrich the discussion on the ecology of ARB& ARGs in urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs), intending to serve as a guide for wastewater engineers or other professionals, who may be interested in studying or optimizing the wastewater treatment for the removal of ARB& ARGs. Fitting this aim, the paper overviews and discusses: i) aspects of the complexity of the wastewater system and/ or treatment that may affect the fate of ARB& ARGs; ii) methods that can be used to explore the resistome, meaning the whole ARB & ARGs, in wastewater habitats; and iii) some frequently asked questions for which are proposed addressing modes. The paper aims at contributing to explore how ARB& ARGs behave in UWTPs having in mind that each plant is a unique system that will probably need a specific procedure to maximize ARB& ARGs removal.

Angiogenesis in NSCLC: is vessel co-option the trunk that sustains the branches?

2019-06-11T17:18:36Z

Title: Angiogenesis in NSCLC: is vessel co-option the trunk that sustains the branches? Abstract: The critical role of angiogenesis in tumor development makes its inhibition a valuable new approach in therapy, rapidly making anti-angiogenesis a major focus in research. While the VEGF/VEGFR pathway is the main target of the approved anti-angiogenic molecules in NSCLC treatment, the results obtained are still modest, especially due to resistance mechanisms. Accumulating scientific data show that vessel co-option is an alternative mechanism to angiogenesis during tumor development in well-vascularized organs such as the lungs, where tumor cells highjack the existing vasculature to obtain its blood supply in a non-angiogenic fashion. This can explain the low/lack of response to current anti-angiogenic strategies. The same principle applies to lung metastases of other primary tumors. The exact mechanisms of vessel co-option need to be further elucidated, but it is known that the co-opted vessels regress by the action of Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a vessel destabilizing cytokine expressed by the endothelial cells of the pre-existing mature vessels. In the absence of VEGF, vessel regression leads to tumor cell loss and hypoxia, with a subsequent switch to a neoangiogenic phenotype by the remaining tumor cells. Unravelling the vessel co-option mechanisms and involved players may be fruitful for numerous reasons, and the particularities of this form of vascularization should be carefully considered when planning anti-angiogenic interventions or designing clinical trials for this purpose. In view of the current knowledge, rationale for therapeutic approaches of dual inhibition of Ang-2 and VEGF are swiftly gaining strength and may serve as a launchpad to more successful NSCLC anti-vascular treatments.