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There is controversy concerning the diabetes impact on bone quality, notorious in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal women. One pointed cause might be uncontrolled glycemia. In this study, the effect of chronic hyperglycemia in bone turnover, morphology, and biomechanics was evaluated in female Wistar rats in the presence/absence of estrogens (ovariectomy). Animals (n=28) were divided into sham, ovariectomized (OVX), hyperglycemic (streptozotocin 40 mg/kg, single-dose i.p.-STZ), and hyperglycemic-ovariectomized (STZ + OVX) animals. Blood biomarkers were estimated 60 days postovariectomy. Body weight, vertebral microarchitecture (L4-histomorphometry), femur biomechanical properties (bending tests), tibia ultrastructure (scanning electron microscopy), and femur and urinary calcium (atomic absorption) were also evaluated. The increased PINP/CTX ratio of hyperglycemic animals and the similar ratio between STZ + OVX and healthy animals contrasting with the lower ratio of OVX (in line with its histomorphometric data) suggest a tendency for improved bone formation in hyperglycemic-ovariectomized animals. The increased tibia medullar canal, which contrasts with the unaffected cortical thickness of both hyperglycemic groups while that of OVX decreased, was associated to the increased stiffness and strength of STZ + OVX bones compared to those of OVX, in line with the observed ultrastructure. Concluding, chronic hyperglycemia in ovariectomized female rats causes bone morphological changes that translate positively in the ultrastructure and mechanical properties of cortical bones.

Peanut, Arachishypogaea (Linnaeus, 1753) is an allotetraploid cultivated plant with two subgenomes derived from the hybridization between two diploid wild species, A.duranensis (Krapovickas & W. C. Gregory, 1994) and A.ipaensis (Krapovickas & W. C. Gregory, 1994), followed by spontaneous chromosomal duplication. To understand genome changes following polyploidy, the chromosomes of A.hypogaea , IpaDur1, an induced allotetraploid ( A.ipaensis × A.duranensis ) 4x and the diploid progenitor species were cytogenetically compared. The karyotypes of the allotetraploids share the number and general morphology of chromosomes; DAPI + bands pattern and number of 5S rDNA loci. However, one 5S rDNA locus presents a heteromorphic FISH signal in both allotetraploids, relative to corresponding progenitor. Whilst for A.hypogaea the number of 45S rDNA loci was equivalent to the sum of those present in the diploid species, in IpaDur1, two loci have not been detected. Overall distribution of repetitive DNA sequences was similar in both allotetraploids, although A.hypogaea had additional CMA 3 + bands and few slight differences in the LTR-retrotransposons distribution compared to IpaDur1. GISH showed that the chromosomes of both allotetraploids had preferential hybridization to their corresponding diploid genomes. Nevertheless, at least one pair of IpaDur1 chromosomes had a clear mosaic hybridization pattern indicating recombination between the subgenomes, clear evidence that the genome of IpaDur1 shows some instability comparing to the genome of A.hypogaea that shows no mosaic of subgenomes, although both allotetraploids derive from the same progenitor species. For some reasons, the chromosome structure of A.hypogaea is inherently more stable, or, it has been at least, partially stabilized through genetic changes and selection.

Vegetative propagation constitutes a bottleneck in Eucalyptus globulus genetic improvement programs. This species has excellent properties for pulp production but poor adventitious rooting. Eucalyptus tereticornis is frequently used in hybrid crosses to improve E. globulus adventitious rooting ability. Although environment is important in rooting success, there is still need for genetic improvement. We have used amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) markers, 73 F1 progeny and a two-way pseudo-test cross strategy to construct two genetic linkage maps. In the E. tereticornis map, 268 markers were ordered in fourteen linkage groups (919 cM). The E. globulus map had 200 markers in sixteen linkage groups (967 cM). Results from the PGRI software were compared with MAPMAKER. Framework markers were ordered with 90% average confidence level. Vegetative propagation traits were evaluated in this F1 family in 1995 and 1996. The inheritance of AFLP markers was assessed in a selected and a random sample of F1 individuals. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses were performed using chi-square tests, single marker analysis, interval mapping and composite interval mapping. Three QTL were hypothesized to influence mortality, nine adventitious rooting, four petrification, one sprouting ability and four the instability of adventitious rooting. Most putative QTL were detected in successive years, accounting for 2.6–17.0% of the phenotypic variance of a trait (R2). Estimated standardized gene substitution effects varied between 0.13 and 0.49 phenotypic standard deviations (σp). Heterologous amplification of codominant microsatellite markers developed from E. grandis and E. urophylla was successful in 78% loci screened in the E. tereticornis × E. globulus F1 family. Thirty eight microsatellite loci were mapped to E. tereticornis and 28 to E. globulus . Eleven microsatellite loci heterozygous in the four species allowed us to propose homeologies among eleven linkage groups in E. tereticornis , ten in E. globulus, eight in E. grandis and six in E. urophylla. Putative QTL for vegetative propagation were detected on homeologous linkage groups. Our findings indicate high transferability of microsatellite markers between related eucalypt species and establish foundations for the investigation of synteny in this genus. Genomic research will emphasize the comparison of genes across species using map-based and sequence-based tools.

•Low calf circumference can predict risk of mortality in patients with cancer.•Skeletal muscle index was not associated with mortality after confounder's adjustment.•Easy and cost-effective measurement to screen patients at risk and improve prognosis. Loss of muscle mass is associated with worse outcomes in patients with cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of calf circumference (CC) and skeletal muscle index from computed tomography (CT) to predict mortality in patients with cancer. A single-center prospective study was conducted with patients aged ≥20 y attending a reference center of oncology and who had recent abdominal CT images. Data were collected through a semistructured form and patients’ records and included sociodemographic data (sex, age and ethnicity), clinical data (primary site and staging of tumor and treatments performed), anthropometric variables (body mass index and CC), and outcome (death). Low CC for men was considered to be ≤ 34 cm and for women ≤ 33 cm. Muscle mass was assessed by CT images at the level of L3. The Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for age, sex, and staging of disease was used. A total of 250 patients were evaluated, 52.8% female, with a median age of 63 y (interquartile ratio: 55–73). Normal body mass index was identified in 44.4%; 29.2% had low skeletal muscle index, and 46.4% had low CC. Death by any cause occurred in 16%, and only low CC was a significant predictor of mortality (hazard ratio = 3.01; confidence interval 1.52–5.98; P = 0.002). Low CC can predict risk of mortality in this cohort of patients. The findings suggest the use of CC as a simple, easy, cost-effective anthropometric measurement to quickly screen patients at risk of death who could benefit from targeted care to improve their prognosis.

Adolescence is a complex period of human development in which young people are susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity and an unbalanced diet. This study aimed to analyze the effects of 12 weeks of multi-disciplinary family and individual intervention on cardiometabolic risk parameters in overweight and obese adolescents and compare sub-groups, considering possible differences between sexes (males vs. females vs. intervention approach). Forty-three adolescents (13.73 ± 2.46 years old) of both sexes were divided into two groups: family group (FG) (n = 21; 14.24 ± 2.61 years old) and individual group (IG) (n = 22; 13.23 ± 2.27 years old). The following parameters were evaluated: anthropometry (body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), calculation of body mass index (BMI), and waist–hip ratio (WHR)), body composition (fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat percentage (BF), and visceral fat), biochemical measures (fasting glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-c), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL-c)), and the measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) before and after the interventions. The multi-disciplinary interventions occurred for 12 weeks (three days a week lasting 1 h and 30 min, in which 30 min were dedicated to theoretical interventions (nutrition: nutritional education and psychology: psychoeducation) and 1 h to physical exercises. A time effect was observed for LM, FFM, SMM, FM, and HDL-c, with higher values after intervention and a significant decrease for FM, BF, visceral fat, fasting glucose, TG, TC, LDL-c, and DBP (p < 0.05). However, no group, sub-group, or interaction effects were observed when comparing FG, IG, or sexes (p > 0.05). The responses of the present study show that both multi-disciplinary approaches (family and individual) promoted improvement in the body composition indicators, biochemical markers, and DBP of overweight and obese adolescents independently of the intervention group. Given this finding, health professionals, families, and adolescents could choose the type of intervention based on their preferences.

Leishmaniasis is the generic denomination to the neglected diseases caused by more than 20 species of protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania. The toxic and parenteral-delivered pentavalent antimonials remain to be the first-line treatment. However, all the current used drugs have restrictions. The species Aureliana fasciculata (Vell.) Sendtner var. fasciculata is a native Brazilian species parsimoniously studied on a chemical point of view. In this study, the antileishmanial activity of A. fasciculata was evaluated. Among the evaluated samples of the leaves, the dichloromethane partition (AFfDi) showed the more pronounced activity, with IC50 1.85 µg/ml against promastigotes of L. amazonensis. From AFfDi, two active withanolides were isolated, the Aurelianolides A and B, with IC50 7.61 μM and 7.94 μM, respectively. The withanolides also proved to be active against the clinically important form, the intracellular amastigote, with IC50 2.25 μM and 6.43 μM for Aurelianolides A and B, respectively. Furthermore, withanolides showed results for in silico parameters of absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) similar to miltefosine, the reference drug, and were predicted as good oral drugs, with the advantage of not being hepatotoxic. These results suggest that these compounds can be useful as scaffolds for planning drug design.

This research was funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023) and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology ((M-ERA-NET/0022/2016), Transitional Rule DL 57/2016 (CTTI-57/18-I3BS(5)), and (IF/01285/2015)).

In response to infection, macrophages adapt their metabolism rapidly to enhance glycolysis and fuel specialized antimicrobial effector functions. Here we show that fungal melanin is an essential molecule required for the metabolic rewiring of macrophages during infection with the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus . Using pharmacological and genetic tools, we reveal a molecular link between calcium sequestration by melanin inside the phagosome and induction of glycolysis required for efficient innate immune responses. By remodeling the intracellular calcium machinery and impairing signaling via calmodulin, melanin drives an immunometabolic signaling axis towards glycolysis with activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF-1α) and phagosomal recruitment of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). These data demonstrate a pivotal mechanism in the immunometabolic regulation of macrophages during fungal infection and highlight the metabolic repurposing of immune cells as a potential therapeutic strategy. Macrophages undergo a Warburg-like switch from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis in response to inflammatory stimulus. Here the authors show that fungal melanin can trigger this switch in human macrophages by sequestering calcium in the phagosome and enabling protection against Aspergillus fumigatus infection.

Review articles or literature reviews are a critical part of scientific research. While numerous guides on literature reviews exist, these are often limited to the philosophy of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures, triggering non-parsimonious reporting and confusion due to overlapping similarities. To address the aforementioned limitations, we adopt a pragmatic approach to demystify and shape the academic practice of conducting literature reviews. We concentrate on the types, focuses, considerations, methods, and contributions of literature reviews as independent, standalone studies. As such, our article serves as an overview that scholars can rely upon to navigate the fundamental elements of literature reviews as standalone and independent studies, without getting entangled in the complexities of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures.