Age-related Autoimmune Changes in Lacrimal Glands

Rodrigo G. de Souza,Cintia S. de Paiva,Milton R. Alves 대한면역학회 2019 Immune Network Vol.19 No.1

Aging is a complex process associated with dysregulation of the immune system and low levels of inflammation, often associated with the onset of many pathologies. The lacrimal gland (LG) plays a vital role in the maintenance of ocular physiology and changes related to aging directly affect eye diseases. The dysregulation of the immune system in aging leads to quantitative and qualitative changes in antibodies and cytokines. While there is a gradual decline of the immune system, there is an increase in autoimmunity, with a reciprocal pathway between low levels of inflammation and aging mechanisms. Elderly C57BL/6J mice spontaneously show LGs infiltration that is characterized by Th1 but not Th17 cells. The aging of the LG is related to functional alterations, reduced innervation and decreased secretory activities. Lymphocytic infiltration, destruction, and atrophy of glandular parenchyma, ductal dilatation, and secretion of inflammatory mediators modify the volume and composition of tears. Oxidative stress, the capacity to metabolize and eliminate toxic substances decreased in aging, is also associated with the reduction of LG functionality and the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Although further studies are required for a better understanding of autoimmunity and aging of the LG, we described anatomic and immunology aspects that have been described so far.

Age-related Autoimmune Changes in Lacrimal Glands

Rodrigo G. de Souza,Cintia S. de Paiva,Milton R. Alves 대한면역학회 2019 Immune Network Vol.19 No.1

Multi-mixture herbicides provide management strategies in the control of the aquatic weed Heteranthera reniformis

Úrsula R. Zaidan,Larissa M. Motta,Wendel M. de Souza,Rodrigo M. Faria,Maria C. G. Paiva,Kassio F. Mendes,Francisco Cláudio L. de Freitas 한국작물학회 2021 Journal of crop science and biotechnology Vol.24 No.2

Heteranthera reniformis (mud plantain) is a weed of aquatic habit, which currently causes losses in the production of ornamental plants and irrigated crops, such as rice, and for which there are no herbicides registered in Brazil with proven control effectiveness. This study evaluated the control effectiveness of individual and multi-mixture herbicides (i.e., glyphosate, 2,4-D, triclopyr, paraquat, oxyfluorfen, sulfentrazone, carfentrazone, diuron and S-metolachor) on post-emergence of mud plantain. An organosilicone spreader adjuvant was also evaluated. Weed injury assessments were carried out over time, at 7, 14, 21, 42, and 60 days after application (DAA) of the herbicides. At the end of the study (60 DAA), the weed dry matter was measured. The progress of weed injury was modeled using a time-trend decomposition procedure based on the Locally Eighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOESS) method. Treatments with glyphosate application proved to be more effective in relation to mud plantain injury over time, with a slight emphasis on treatments associated with triclopyr. However, evaluating the dry matter, the treatment with glyphosate alone was more effective; besides, it showed short-range injury variance in the control of H. reniformis . The inclusion of organosilicone adjuvant to some treatments was not quite successful. Regardless of the herbicide used, higher levels of initial injury are a fair predictor of fi nal control effectiveness (i.e., period after the herbicide eff ect). On the other hand, less initial injury corresponded directly to low control effectiveness. The results suggest that the herbicides, glyphosate, triclopyr, and carfentrazone, are suitable for mud-plantain control.

Single-particle characterization of aerosols collected at a remote site in the Amazonian rainforest and an urban site in Manaus, Brazil

Wu, Li,Li, Xue,Kim, HyeKyeong,Geng, Hong,Godoi, Ricardo H. M.,Barbosa, Cybelli G. G.,Godoi, Ana F. L.,Yamamoto, Carlos I.,de Souza, Rodrigo A. F.,Pö,hlker, Christopher,Andreae, Meinrat O.,Ro, Chul Copernicus GmbH 2019 Atmospheric chemistry and physics Vol.19 No.2

<P><p><strong>Abstract.</strong> <span id='page1222'/>In this study, aerosol samples collected at a remote site in the Amazonian rainforest and an urban site in Manaus, Brazil, were investigated on a single-particle basis using a quantitative energy-dispersive electron probe X-ray microanalysis (ED-EPMA). A total of 23 aerosol samples were collected in four size ranges (0.25-0.5, 0.5-1.0, 1.0-2.0, and 2.0-4.0<span class='thinspace'></span><span class='inline-formula'>µ</span>m) during the wet season in 2012 at two Amazon basin sites: 10 samples in Manaus, an urban area; and 13 samples at an 80<span class='thinspace'></span>m high tower, located at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site in the middle of the rainforest, 150<span class='thinspace'></span>km northeast of Manaus. The aerosol particles were classified into nine particle types based on the morphology on the secondary electron images (SEIs) together with the elemental concentrations of 3162 individual particles: (i) secondary organic aerosols (SOA); (ii) ammonium sulfate (AS); (iii) SOA and AS mixtures; (iv) aged mineral dust; (v) reacted sea salts; (vi) primary biological aerosol (PBA); (vii) carbon-rich or elemental carbon (EC) particles, such as soot, tarball, and char; (viii) fly ash; and (ix) heavy metal (HM, such as Fe, Zn, Ni, and Ti)-containing particles. In submicron aerosols collected at the ATTO site, SOA and AS mixture particles were predominant (50<span class='thinspace'></span>%-94<span class='thinspace'></span>% in relative abundance) with SOA and ammonium sulfate comprising 73<span class='thinspace'></span>%-100<span class='thinspace'></span>%. In supermicron aerosols at the ATTO site, aged mineral dust and sea salts (37<span class='thinspace'></span>%-70<span class='thinspace'></span>%) as well as SOA and ammonium sulfate (28<span class='thinspace'></span>%-58<span class='thinspace'></span>%) were abundant. PBAs were observed abundantly in the PM<span class='inline-formula'>₂₋₄</span> fraction (46<span class='thinspace'></span>%), and EC and fly ash particles were absent in all size fractions. The analysis of a bulk PM<span class='inline-formula'>_0.25−0.5</span> aerosol sample from the ATTO site using Raman microspectrometry and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) showed that ammonium sulfate, organics, and minerals are the major chemical species, which is consistent with the ED-EPMA results. In the submicron aerosols collected in Manaus, either SOA and ammonium sulfate (17<span class='thinspace'></span>%-80<span class='thinspace'></span>%) or EC particles (6<span class='thinspace'></span>%-78<span class='thinspace'></span>%) were dominant depending on the samples. In contrast, aged mineral dust, reacted sea salt, PBA, SOA, ammonium sulfate, and EC particles comprised most of the supermicron aerosols collected in Manaus. The SOA, ammonium sulfate, and PBAs were mostly of a biogenic origin from the rainforest, whereas the EC and HM-containing particles were of an anthropogenic origin. Based on the different contents of SOA, ammonium sulfate, and EC particles among the samples collected in Manaus, a considerable influence of the rainforest over the city was observed. Aged mineral dust and reacted sea-salt particles, including mineral dust mixed with sea salts probably during long-range transatlantic transport, were abundant in the supermicron fractions at both sites. Among the aged mineral dust and reacted sea-salt particles, sulfate-containing ones outnumbered those containing nitrates and sulfate<span class='thinspace'></span><span class='inline-formula'>+</span><span class='thinspace'></span>nitrate in the ATTO samples. In contrast, particles containing sulfate<span class='thinspace'></span><span class='inline-formula'>+</span><span class='thinspace'></span>nitrate were comparable in number to particles containing sulfate only in the Manaus samples, indicating