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Introduction: Probiotics provide therapeutic benefits not only in the gut but also other mucosal organs, including the lungs. Objective and design: To evaluate the effects of the probiotic strain L. delbrueckii UFV-H2b20 oral administration in an experimental murine model of A. fumigatus pulmonary infection. BALB/c mice were associated with L. delbrueckii and infected with Aspergillus fumigatus and compared with non-associated group. Methods: We investigated survival, respiratory mechanics, histopathology, colony forming units, cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage, IgA in feces, efferocytosis, production of reactive oxygen species and the cell population in the mesenteric lymph nodes. Results: L. delbrueckii induces tolerogenic dendritic cells, IL-10+macrophages and FoxP3+regulatory T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes and increased IgA levels in feces; after infection with A. fumigatus, increased survival and decreased fungal burden. There was decreased lung vascular permeability without changes in the leukocyte profile. There was enhanced neutrophilic response and increased macrophage efferocytosis. L. delbrueckii-treated mice displayed more of FoxP3+Treg cells, TGF-β and IL-10 levels in lungs, and concomitant decreased IL-1β, IL-17 A, and CXCL1 production. Conclusion: Uur results indicate that L. delbrueckii UFV H2b20 ingestion improves immune responses, controlling pulmonary A. fumigatus infection. L. delbrueckii seems to play a role in pathogenesis control by promoting immune regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/objectives: Phase angle (PhA) serves as a prognostic marker in various clinical scenarios, reflecting oxidative stress and cellular damage. Despite its clinical relevance, its connection with adiposity and cardiovascular risk markers remains underexplored. Hence, our study sought to investigate the relationship between PhA and metabolic, adiposity, and cardiovascular risk parameters among outpatients with cardiology diagnosis. Subjects/methods: Adults aged between 26 and 59 years, under the care of a cardiology unit, were included. Ultrasound imaging was used to assess visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Single-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) [50 kHz] was employed to calculate PhA, from BIA's resistance and reactance measurements. Muscle strength, body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio were also evaluated. Framingham's risk score was calculated to estimate the cardiovascular risk events. Metabolic blood samples' results were obtained from medical records. Results: One hundred and five participants were included in our study. Low PhA was observed in 29.5% of our sample. Higher PhA values were independently and inversely associated with both higher VAT and cardiovascular risk (adjusted OR: 0.79 [95% CI 0.69;0.91], OR: 0.74 [95% CI 0.60;0.89], respectively). Lower PhA values (≤5.59) were goodly associated with high VAT (AUC: 0.82 p < 0.001). Lower PhA values (≤5.06) were fairly associated with higher cardiovascular risk (AUC: 0.70 p = 0.003). Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that PhA is independently and inversely associated with elevated VAT and cardiovascular risk. These findings underscore the potential of PhA as a valuable complementary marker in assessing cardiometabolic health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a theoretical study of the vortex profile of in-plane magnetized PyTM nano-cylinders subjected to the stray field of perpendicular anisotropy Co nano-cylinders. We consider 6 nm thick PyTM cylinders dipolar coupled to 60 nm thick Co cylinders, at distances from 1.5 nm to 30 nm, with diameters (D) ranging from 45 nm to 105 nm. We find considerable reduction of critical diameter for stable PyTM magnetic vortices and spiral-vortex phases, as well as vortex core diameters twice as large as the bulk value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to perform the characterization of electrical properties of niobium pentoxide, Nb2O5, pure and doped with molybdenum, prepared by powder metallurgy route and to do a comparative analysis of the influence of this material when sintered in a muffle or in a microwave oven. The results showed that the doping of the niobium pentoxide with 0.5% or 1% of molybdenum along with the process of sintering in a microwave oven make the material more applicable as a microwave absorber material for electromagnetic radiation in the UHF (ultra-high frequency) range between 0.3 to 3 GHz. The motivation of this work was associated with the fact that in Brazil are located two of the largest niobium reserves in the world. Under this view, the study of the processing of the ceramic materials is important considering possible technological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of embedded technologies has led to increasing demand for bandwidth in telecommunications solutions, this increased the researches related to the architecture of wireless networks and applied electromagnetism. In view of this, the digital transceiver radios need an adequate received signal strength indicator to enable the traffic of information by the radio propagation channel and to provide quality in the data network for the users to exercise the operational activities. The objective of this Letter is to perform the exploratory and variographic analysis of the data collected in the oil fields. Hence, evaluate the behaviour of the surface power distribution received from a wireless system in the frequency range of 5.8 GHz located in the well-automation region called Canto do Amaro, Brazil, where there are frequent communications failures for mobile stations. With the data measured in the measurement campaigns, variogram models were constructed and compared for the construction of interpolation matrices and contour maps, with these results the precision criteria of the kriging methods employed in the study region were established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]