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Sandwich panels are widely used in the naval and aerospace industries to withstand the normal tensile, compressive, and shear stresses associated with bending. The faces of sandwich composites are usually made of metals such as aluminum and, in some studies with composites, using a polymeric matrix, but there are no studies in the literature using a castor oil polyurethane matrix. The core of the panel must keep the faces apart and be rigid perpendicular to them. To begin the work, a study was carried out on the influence of alkaline treatment on sisal fibers to increase the fibers' adhesion to castor oil polyurethane. There are no relevant studies worldwide on the use of this resin and the adhesion of vegetable fibers to this polyurethane. In this work, a study was carried out through a three-point bending test of sandwich panels using faces of composite material with sisal fibers subjected to an alkaline treatment of 10% by weight of sodium hydroxide and an immersion time of 4 h in the dissolution, which was the best chemical treatment obtained initially in a castor oil polyurethane matrix. The honeycomb cores were made by 3D printer and in this study two different printing filament materials, PETG and PLA, and two different core heights were compared. As a result of a traction test, it was observed that sisal fibers with chemical treatment in a castor oil polyurethane matrix can be used in composites, although the stress levels obtained are 50% lower than the stresses obtained in other matrixes such as epoxy resin. The combination of sisal faces in a castor oil polyurethane matrix and honeycomb cores made in a 3D printer showed good properties, which allows the use of renewable, sustainable and less aggressive materials for the environment. In all tests, PETG was 21% to 32% stronger than PLA. Although there was no rupture in the test specimens, the PETG cores deformed 0.5% to 3.6% less than PLA. The composites with PLA were lighter, because the core density was 13.8% lower than the PETG cores. Increasing the height of the honeycomb increased its strength.

Objectives: to identify, according to students' perception, controversies related to the term "pesticide" and its influence on health., Methods: field research, with qualitative analysis via discursive textual analysis. Collective interviews were carried out with students of ninth grade of elementary school from four rural schools in the western region of Paraná., Results: when analyzing students' statements, it was identified that pesticides are part of their reality and that of the local community Controversies related to pesticides and health arose, with emphasis on the form of production and the understanding of the real harm generated by exposure and use of pesticides., Conclusions: approaching pesticides in the context of education and health is essential so that there is a strengthening of discussions, in a critical and contextualized way, in school spaces, expanding the look at the topic as a way of enriching understandings and discourses on the subject.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire society, as well as different work processes. The food industry remained operational since the first cases were reported in Brazil, and activities were only interrupted by municipal health surveillance agencies when COVID-19 cases were identified among workers. This has raised the debate about worker's health and sanitary measures in the work environment., Objectives: To analyze the number of COVID-19 cases between March and September of 2020 among slaughterhouse workers in the state of Paraná and its correlation with food security policies., Methods: This was a quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive study that analyzed secondary data from the Health Department of the state of Paraná, Brazil., Results: A significant number of COVID-19 cases were reported among slaughterhouse workers in Paraná. The importance of workers' health and food security should be discussed, including aspects such as food production, quality, and access. The workers included in this study represent an important workforce that influences food supply to different regions and countries. Considering that the virus is highly contagious and has impacted the lives of local workers and entire communities, the role of the government and collective actions should be emphasized., Conclusions: The monitoring of health surveillance agencies and new cases should be conducted as a strategy to promote prevention and care during the pandemic., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: None

Objective: To compare the risk of severe adverse pregnancy complications in women with preexisting diabetes., Research Design and Methods: Multinational, prospective cohort study to assess the prevalence of newborns free from major congenital malformations or perinatal or neonatal death (primary end point) following treatment with insulin detemir (detemir) versus other basal insulins., Results: Of 1,457 women included, 727 received detemir and 730 received other basal insulins. The prevalence of newborns free from major congenital malformations or perinatal or neonatal death was similar between detemir (97.0%) and other basal insulins (95.5%) (crude risk difference 0.015 [95% CI -0.01, 0.04]; adjusted risk difference -0.003 [95% CI -0.03, 0.03]). The crude prevalence of one or more congenital malformations (major plus minor) was 9.4% vs. 12.6%, with a similar risk difference before (-0.032 [95% CI -0.064, 0.000]) and after (-0.036 [95% CI -0.081, 0.009]) adjustment for confounders. Crude data showed lower maternal HbA 1c during the first trimester (6.5% vs. 6.7% [48 vs. 50 mmol/mol]; estimated mean difference -0.181 [95% CI -0.300, -0.062]) and the second trimester (6.1% vs. 6.3% [43 vs. 45 mmol/mol]; -0.139 [95% CI -0.232, -0.046]) and a lower prevalence of major hypoglycemia (6.0% vs. 9.0%; risk difference -0.030 [95% CI -0.058, -0.002]), preeclampsia (6.4% vs. 10.0%; -0.036 [95% CI -0.064, -0.007]), and stillbirth (0.4% vs. 1.8%; -0.013 [95% CI -0.024, -0.002]) with detemir compared with other basal insulins. However, differences were not significant postadjustment., Conclusions: Insulin detemir was associated with a similar risk to other basal insulins of major congenital malformations, perinatal or neonatal death, hypoglycemia, preeclampsia, and stillbirth., (© 2021 by the American Diabetes Association.)

Almost a billion people worldwide are chronically undernourished. Herein, using a mouse model of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection, we report that a single day of food restriction (FR) markedly increases susceptibility to attenuated enterovirus infection, replication, and disease. These "pro-viral" effects, which are rapidly-reversed by the restoration of food, are mediated by several genes whose expression is altered by FR, and which support CVB3 replication. Central to this is TFEB, a protein whose expression and activation status are rapidly increased by FR. TFEB, which regulates the transcription of >100 genes involved in macroautophagy/autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis, responds similarly to both FR and CVB3 infection and plays a pivotal role in determining host susceptibility to CVB3. We propose that, by upregulating TFEB, FR generates an intracellular environment that is more hospitable to the incoming virus, facilitating its replication. This interplay between nutritional status and enterovirus replication has implications for human health and, perhaps, for the evolution of these viruses. Abbreviations: Atg/ATG: autophagy-related; CAR: Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor; Cas9: CRISPR associated protein 9; Cre: recombinase that causes recombination; CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats; Ctsb /CTSB: cathepsin B; CVB3: coxsackievirus B3; DsRedCVB3: a recombinant CVB3 that encodes the Discosoma red fluorescent protein; EL: elastase; FR: food restriction; GFP: green fluorescent protein; gRNA: guide RNA; HBSS: Hanks Buffered Salt Solution; LYNUS: lysosomal nutrient sensing machinery; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; MFI: mean fluorescence intensity; MOI: multiplicity of infection; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; Nluc: nanoluciferase; NlucCVB3: a recombinant CVB3 encoding nanoluciferase; pfu: plaque-forming unit(s); p.i.: post infection; rCVB: recombinant coxsackievirus B3; RPS6KB/p70S6K: ribosomal protein S6 kinase; RT: room temperature; siRNA: small interfering RNA; TFEB: transcription factor EB; tg: transgenic; TUBB: β-tubulin; UNINF: uninfected; wrt: with respect to; WT: wild type.

Objective: To characterize the clinical presentation and outcomes of Kawasaki disease (KD) in infants <6 months of age as compared to those ≥6 months in Latin America. Methods: We evaluated 36 infants <6 months old and 940 infants ≥6 months old diagnosed with KD in Latin America. We compared differences in laboratory data, clinical presentation, treatment response, and coronary artery outcomes between the two cohorts. Results: The majority (78.1%) of infants and children ≥6 months of age were initially diagnosed with KD, as compared to only 38.2% of infants <6 months. Clinical features of KD were more commonly observed in the older cohort: oral changes (92 vs. 75%, P = 0.0023), extremity changes (74.6 vs. 57.1%, P = 0.029), and cervical lymphadenopathy (67.6 vs. 37.1%, P = 0.0004). Whether treated in the first 10 days of illness or after the 10th day, infants <6 months were at greater risk of developing a coronary artery aneurysm compared to KD patients ≥6 months treated at the same point in the course of illness [ ≤ 10 days (53.8 vs. 9.4%, P = 0.00012); >10 days (50 vs. 7.4%, P = 0.043)]. Conclusion: Our data show that despite treatment in the first 10 days of illness, infants <6 months of age in Latin America have a higher risk of developing a coronary artery aneurysm. Delay in the diagnosis leads to larger coronary artery aneurysms disproportionately in these infants. Thus, suspicion for KD should be high in this vulnerable population., (Copyright © 2020 Moreno, Garcia, Bainto, Salgado, Parish, Rosellini, Ulloa-Gutierrez, Garrido-Garcia, Dueñas, Estripeaut, Luciani, Rodríguez-Quiroz, del Aguila, Camacho-Moreno, Gómez, Viviani, Alvarez-Olmos, de Souza Marques, Faugier-Fuentes, Saltigeral-Simental, López-Medina, Miño-León, Beltrán, Martínez-Medina, Pirez, Cofré, Tremoulet and the REKAMLATINA-2 Study Group Investigators.)

Early and robust T cell responses have been associated with survival from Lassa fever (LF), but the Lassa virus-specific memory responses have not been well characterized. Regions within the virus surface glycoprotein (GPC) and nucleoprotein (NP) are the main targets of the Lassa virus-specific T cell responses, but, to date, only a few T cell epitopes within these proteins have been identified. We identified GPC and NP regions containing T cell epitopes and HLA haplotypes from LF survivors and used predictive HLA-binding algorithms to identify putative epitopes, which were then experimentally tested using autologous survivor samples. We identified 12 CD8-positive (CD8 + ) T cell epitopes, including epitopes common to both Nigerian and Sierra Leonean survivors. These data should be useful for the identification of dominant Lassa virus-specific T cell responses in Lassa fever survivors and vaccinated individuals as well as for designing vaccines that elicit cell-mediated immunity. IMPORTANCE The high morbidity and mortality associated with clinical cases of Lassa fever, together with the lack of licensed vaccines and limited and partially effective interventions, make Lassa virus (LASV) an important health concern in its regions of endemicity in West Africa. Previous infection with LASV protects from disease after subsequent exposure, providing a framework for designing vaccines to elicit similar protective immunity. Multiple major lineages of LASV circulate in West Africa, and therefore, ideal vaccine candidates should elicit immunity to all lineages. We therefore sought to identify common T cell epitopes between Lassa fever survivors from Sierra Leone and Nigeria, where distinct lineages circulate. We identified three such epitopes derived from highly conserved regions within LASV proteins. In this process, we also identified nine other T cell epitopes. These data should help in the design of an effective pan-LASV vaccine., (Copyright © 2020 Sakabe et al.)

Lassa virus infects hundreds of thousands of people each year across rural West Africa, resulting in a high number of cases of Lassa fever (LF), a febrile disease associated with high morbidity and significant mortality. The lack of approved treatments or interventions underscores the need for an effective vaccine. At least four viral lineages circulate in defined regions throughout West Africa with substantial interlineage nucleotide and amino acid diversity. An effective vaccine should be designed to elicit Lassa virus specific humoral and cell mediated immunity across all lineages. Most current vaccine candidates use only lineage IV antigens encoded by Lassa viruses circulating around Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea but not Nigeria where lineages I-III are found. As previous infection is known to protect against disease from subsequent exposure, we sought to determine whether LF survivors from Nigeria and Sierra Leone harbor memory T cells that respond to lineage IV antigens. Our results indicate a high degree of cross-reactivity of CD8+ T cells from Nigerian LF survivors to lineage IV antigens. In addition, we identified regions within the Lassa virus glycoprotein complex and nucleoprotein that contributed to these responses while T cell epitopes were not widely conserved across our study group. These data are important for current efforts to design effective and efficient vaccine candidates that can elicit protective immunity across all Lassa virus lineages., Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: RFG and LMB are co-founders of Zalgen Labs, LLC. The Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium (vhfc.org) is a partnership of academic and industry scientists who are developing diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for LF and other severe diseases. Tulane University and various industry partners have filed United States and foreign patent applications on behalf of the consortium for several of these technologies. If commercial products are developed, consortium members may receive royalties or profits.

In the past two decades, average litter size (ALS) in Entlebucher Mountain dogs decreased by approximately 0.8 puppies. We conducted a GWAS for ALS using the single-step methodology to take advantage of 1632 pedigree records, 892 phenotypes and 372 genotypes (173 662 markers) for which only 12% of the dogs had both phenotypes and genotypes available. Our analysis revealed associations towards the growth differentiation factor 9 gene (GDF9), which is known to regulate oocyte maturation. The trait heritability was estimated at 43.1%, from which approximately 15% was accountable by the GDF9 locus alone. Therefore, markers flanking GDF9 explained approximately 6.5% of the variance in ALS. Analysis of WGSs revealed two missense substitutions in GDF9, one of which (g.11:21147009G>A) affected a highly conserved nucleotide in vertebrates. The derived allele A was validated in 111 dogs and shown to be associated with decreased ALS (-0.75 ± 0.22 puppies per litter). The variant was further predicted to cause a proline to serine substitution. The affected residue was immediately followed by a six-residue deletion that is fixed in the canine species but absent in non-canids. We further confirmed that the deletion is prevalent in the Canidae family by sequencing three species of wild canids. Since canids uniquely ovulate oocytes at the prophase stage of the first meiotic division, requiring maturation in the oviduct, we conjecture that the amino acid substitution and the six-residue deletion of GDF9 may serve as a model for insights into the dynamics of oocyte maturation in canids., (© 2019 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.)

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in C9orf72 are the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (C9 ALS). The main hypothesized pathogenic mechanisms are C9orf72 haploinsufficiency and/or toxicity from one or more of bi-directionally transcribed repeat RNAs and their dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) poly-GP, poly-GA, poly-GR, poly-PR and poly-PA. Recently, nuclear import and/or export defects especially caused by arginine-containing poly-GR or poly-PR have been proposed as significant contributors to pathogenesis based on disease models. We quantitatively studied and compared DPRs, nuclear pore proteins and C9orf72 protein in clinically related and clinically unrelated regions of the central nervous system, and compared them to phosphorylated TDP-43 (pTDP-43), the hallmark protein of ALS. Of the five DPRs, only poly-GR was significantly abundant in clinically related areas compared to unrelated areas (p < 0.001), and formed dendritic-like aggregates in the motor cortex that co-localized with pTDP-43 (p < 0.0001). While most poly-GR dendritic inclusions were pTDP-43 positive, only 4% of pTDP-43 dendritic inclusions were poly-GR positive. Staining for arginine-containing poly-GR and poly-PR in nuclei of neurons produced signals that were not specific to C9 ALS. We could not detect significant differences of nuclear markers RanGap, Lamin B1, and Importin β1 in C9 ALS, although we observed subtle nuclear changes in ALS, both C9 and non-C9, compared to control. The C9orf72 protein itself was diffusely expressed in cytoplasm of large neurons and glia, and nearly 50% reduced, in both clinically related frontal cortex and unrelated occipital cortex, but not in cerebellum. In summary, sense-encoded poly-GR DPR was unique, and localized to dendrites and pTDP43 in motor regions of C9 ALS CNS. This is consistent with new emerging ideas about TDP-43 functions in dendrites.

Purpose: The study investigated the acute effects of different initial restrictive pressures (IRP; tightness of cuffs before inflation with air) on heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and energy expenditure (EE) during constant-load upright cycling., Methods: In a within subject study design, 34 obese men (age = 24·3, n = 18) and women (age = 23·1, n = 16) completed three cycling sessions (two blood flow restriction and one control sessions). The cycling exercise was performed with an external load of 1kp at 50 rpm for 20 min with 1-min rest after the 10th-min. The blood flow restriction (BFR) cuffs were placed on the thigh of both legs during BFR sessions and IRP and IRP of ~40 or ~60 mmHg were applied in random order., Results: There were significant condition × time interactions for HR, SBP, RPE and RER and time × gender interactions for HR and SBP. There were also significant condition and time main effects for HR, SBP, RPE and RER (P<0·01) and a significant condition effect for EE (P<0·05)., Conclusion: The intensity of exercise with BFR was higher and affected by IRP, but the subjects perceived the effort as 'light'. Low-intensity cycling with BFR shows potential to reduce the time requirement per session to elicit greater EE while placing greater demands on the circulatory system., (© 2015 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study aimed to determine whether changes in initial restrictive pressures (IRP, tightness of the cuff before inflation with air) affect tissue oxygenation, lactate production and leg strength before, during and after knee extension exercises. The cuff was positioned on the right thigh, and the IRP of either 40-45 or 60-65 mmHg were applied randomly prior to inflating the cuff to the final restrictive pressure (the pressure reached after inflating the cuff with air). Subjects performed four sets (30, 15, 15 and 15 reps) of isotonic knee extensions with 1-min rest between sets. Tissue oxygenation and blood lactate levels were assessed prior to, during and after exercise, and leg strength was assessed pre- and postexercise. There were significant condition by time interactions (P<0·01) and main effects for both condition (P<0·01) and time (P<0·01) for tissue oxygenation, deoxyhaemoglobin, total haemoglobin. Significant main effects were detected for both condition (P<0·01) and time (P<0·01) for leg strength values. There was only a significant time main effect for lactate concentrations. This study is the first to show that a higher IRP had a significant impact on percent tissue oxygenation, leg strength and deoxygenated haemoglobin accumulation during exercise., (© 2013 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) is used to decrease alcohol consumption, health care costs, and injury recidivism in trauma patients. Despite SBI being mandated for trauma centers, various concerns have led many centers to conduct SBI only on patients with a detectable blood alcohol concentration (BAC). We sought to determine the predictive nature of BAC on hazardous drinking behavior., Study Design: Adult trauma patients were included if they received an SBI before discharge. SBI was administered using a computerized alcohol screening and intervention (CASI) system with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Data regarding demographics, injuries, and BAC were prospectively collected. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of hazardous drinking behavior., Results: Data were complete for 1,340 patients, with a mean age of 43 years (SD 20 years). Sixty-eight percent were male, 33% had detectable BAC, and 19% had hazardous drinking behavior. Multivariate analysis identified age (odds ratio [OR] 0.97 per year), male sex (OR 3.1), BAC (OR 1.009 per mg/dL), detectable BAC (OR 3.9), and legal intoxication (OR 7.8) as independent predictors of hazardous drinking behavior. Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity was a significant negative predictor (OR 0.53) compared with white. Thirty-eight percent of patients with hazardous drinking behavior had no detectable BAC., Conclusions: Younger age, male sex, and higher BAC are early predictors of hazardous drinking behavior in adult trauma patients. Asian/Pacific Islander patients are half as likely to report hazardous drinking behavior compared with white patients. More than one-third of patients with hazardous drinking behavior do not have detectable BAC on admission and are not receiving interventions in centers that screen solely based on BAC., (Copyright © 2012 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This article presents an exploratory-descriptive study structured in a qualitative approach. The main objective was to identify the perception of medical-hospital materials on the work process of professionals in a medium complexity public hospital. Information has been collected using the research question: How does the materials management process influence work process? The report analysis has identified five different categories: lack of autonomy in the choice of materials, lack of maintenance of equipment, bureaucracy in the purchasing process, poor quality and absence of professional involvement in the materials management. It is concluded that the materials management is focused on the nursing direction, which requires greater involvement of other professionals in the materials choice used to reduce the weakness in that process.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the regulation of insulin biosynthesis during the perinatal period. The incorporation of [3H]leucine into total immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and into IRI fractions was measured by a specific immunoprecipitation procedure after incubation, extraction, and gel filtration in isolated 3-day-old rat pancreases without prior isolation of islets. IRI fractions were identified by their elution profile, their immunological properties, and their ability to compete with the binding of 125 I-insulin in rat liver plasma membranes. No specific incorporation of [3H]leucine was found in the IRI eluted in the void volume, making it unlikely that this fraction behaves as a precursor of (pro) insulin in this system. In all conditions tested, the incorporation of [3H]leucine was linearly correlated with time. Optimal concentration of glucose (11 mM) activated six- to sevenfold the [3H]leucine incorporation into IRI. Theophylline or N6O2-dibutyryl- (db) cAMP at 1.6 mM glucose significantly increased the [3H]leucine incorporation. Glucose at 16.7 mM further enhanced the effect of both drugs. Contrarily, somatostatin (1-10 mug/ml) inhibits the rate of [3H]leucine incorporation into IRI in the presence of 11 mM glucose; this effect was observed at 5.5 mM glucose and was not modified by any further increase in glucose concentrations up to 27.5 mM. Theophylline or dbcAMP at 10 mM concentration did not reverse the somatostatin inhibitory effect on either insulin biosynthesis or release. Somatostatin also inhibited both processes in isolated islets from the 3-day-old rat pancreas. High Ca++ concentration in the incubation medium reversed the inhibitory effect of somatostatin on glucose-induced insulin biosynthesis as well as release. In both systems the inhibitory effect of somatostatin on insulin biosynthesis and release correlated well. Glipizide (10-100 muM) AND TOLBUTAMIDE (400 MUM) inhibited the stimulatory effect of glucose, dbcAMP, and theophylline on [3H]leucine incorporation into IRI. The concentrations of glipizide that were effective in inhibiting [3H]leucine incorporation into IRI were smaller than those required to inhibit the phosphodiesterase activity in isolated islets of 3-day-old rat pancreas. These data suggest the following conclusions: (a) the role of the cAMP-phosphodiesterase system on insulin biosynthesis is likely to be greater in newborns than in adults; (b) the greater effectiveness of glucose and the cAMP system on insulin biosynthesis than on insulin release might possibly be related to the rapid accumulation of pancreatic IRI which is observed in the perinatal period; (c) somatostatin, by direct interaction with the endocrine tissue, can inhibit glucose and cAMP-induced insulin biosynthesis as well as release; calcium reverses this inhibition; (d) sulfonylureas inhibit insulin biosynthesis in newborn rat pancreas an effect which has to be considered in the use of these agents in human disease.