Many Causes Of Death Research Articles

A Comparison of Different Defuzzification Methods on Road Traffic Accidents of Data of Khuzdar Region of Balochistan Province of Pakistan

Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) is an alarming cause of many deaths and injuries. It is considered as a major public health issue. Multiple families have been engraved due to RTAs. Researchers from all over the world are focusing on RTAs because it is a challenging issue. In developed countries, RTAs have been minimized and are being controlled via modern methods of computer science. Similarly, people in Pakistan are facing RTA as their major issue gulping hundreds of lives every day and thousands yearly. In Balochistan province of southern Pakistan, the National Highway 25 (N-25) called Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) road faces severe RTA issues. According to Medical Emergency Response Center (MERC) overall 25,033 accidents have been recorded from Oct-2019 to Oct-2022 with 33,726 injuries and 653 deaths. This shows the alarming condition of N-25 for public and also serious challenges for the traffic controlling authorities. In Khuzdar area, poses every year more than five thousand RTAs happen taking around 250-300 lives and two hundred injuries having 500 to 600 accidents disabled person (ADPs). However, other studies have been focused on generally on fuzzy methods but this study has been used five defuzzification methods which is the new contribution in to the field of fuzzy logics and Artificial intelligence tools. In this research, we have presented a Fuzzy Inferencing System (FIS) for investigating the RTAs with a case study specific to Khuzdar area from Baghbana to Pir Umar. A comparison of five defuzzification methods, namely centroid, bisector, Smallest of Maximum (SOM), Large of Maximum (LOM) and Medium of Maximum (MOM) was made. The results indicated that Large of Maximum (LOM) method is able to provide scalable output which is better in reflecting the ambiguities of the related variables, their membership functions, and associated rules. After comparison of defuzzification method it was seen that these methods can be useful in reduction of the RTAs which will also help the traffic authorities of N-24 MERC, police and other controlling authorities. This study can be useful for the development of other AI methods and a way forward for other researchers.

The Lives Lost to Inequities: Avertable Deaths From Neurologic Diseases in the Past Decade.

Mortality rates for neurologic diseases are increasing in the United States, with large disparities across geographical areas and populations. Racial and ethnic populations, notably the non-Hispanic (NH) Black population, experience higher mortality rates for many causes of death, but the magnitude of the disparities for neurologic diseases is unclear. The objectives of this study were to calculate mortality rates for neurologic diseases by race and ethnicity and-to place this disparity in perspective-to estimate how many US deaths would have been averted in the past decade if the NH Black population experienced the same mortality rates as other groups. Mortality rates for deaths attributed to neurologic diseases, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, were calculated for 2010 to 2019 using death and population data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Census Bureau. Avertable deaths were calculated by indirect standardization: For each calendar year of the decade, age-specific death rates of NH White persons in 10 age groups were multiplied by the NH Black population in each age group. A secondary analysis used Hispanic and NH Asian populations as the reference groups. In 2013, overall age-adjusted mortality rates for neurologic diseases began increasing, with the NH Black population experiencing higher rates than NH White, NH American Indian and Alaska Native, Hispanic, and NH Asian populations (in decreasing order). Other populations with higher mortality rates for neurologic diseases included older adults, the male population, and adults older than 25 years without a high school diploma. The gap in mortality rates for neurologic diseases between the NH Black and NH White populations widened from 4.2 individuals per 100,000 in 2011 to 7.0 per 100,000 in 2019. Over 2010 to 2019, had the NH Black population experienced the neurologic mortality rates of NH White, Hispanic, or NH Asian populations, 29,986, 88,407, or 117,519 deaths, respectively, would have been averted. Death rates for neurologic diseases are increasing. Disproportionately higher neurologic mortality rates in the NH Black population are responsible for a large number of excess deaths, making research and policy efforts to address the systemic causes increasingly urgent.

Anti-cancer Potential of Hypericum spp. with Focus on Hypericum Perforatum: A Review of the Literature

Background and Ams: Cancer is the cause of many deaths and is the second most prevalent cause of death worldwide. Besides its high mortality, cancer can cause emotional and economic burdens on patients and society. Hypericum is known as herbal medicine that has many species. Its anticancer effects have been proven in various articles. It has many active compounds, including flavonoids, phloroglucinols, and phenylpropanoids. The current review aimed to collect data on the anticancer potential of Hypericum on different types of cancer cell lines and their chief mechanisms. Method: A search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar databases to find relevant studies on the anti-cancer potential of Hypericum perforatum and its underlying mechanisms of action in different cancers. The relevant English language articles published up to March 2022 were collected, screened, and reviewed. Results: The anti-cancer effects of Hypericum perforatum were shown against glioblastoma, neuroblastoma, leukemia, and liver, breast, prostate, lung, bladder, colon, skin, and pancreatic cancers. It can induce apoptosis by activating caspase enzymes and inhibit cell growth in different cancer cell lines. Also, the cytotoxic effects of Hypericum perforatum extract on cancer cell lines were shown in in vitro studies. Conclusion: Hypericum perforatum can be proposed as a strong herbal remedy for the treatment of cancer since it is an available and cheap treatment for cancer compared to other treatments, but further clinical trial studies should be performed to confirm these properties.

Determinan Perilaku Pemeriksaan Payudara Sendiri (SADARI) pada Remaja Putri di SMA Se-Kota Kalabahi, Kabupaten Alor

There are many causes of death for women n this world, one of which s breast cancer. Breast cancer s the second largest contributor to the death rate for women after cervical cancer. This disease s a condition where cells n the breast grow rapidly and attack all parts of the body. However, only a small proportion of women perform BSE, namely 25 to 30% of young women who do BSE. This study aims to analyze the determinants of breast self-examination (BSE) behavior n female adolescents at high schools n Kalabahi City, Alor Regency. This research s a quantitative study using a cross sectional study design method. The sample n this study were all young women attending high schools n Kalabahi City, Alor Regency, namely 312 young women. The data analysis used n this study was univariate analysis and bivariate analysis, using the chi-square test with a significant level of 95% (α = 0.05). The results showed that there was a significant relationship between knowledge (ρ-value = 0.000), attitude (ρ-value=0.000), nformation exposure (ρ-value=0.000), family history (ρ-value=0.000), and peer support (ρ-value=0.000) with BSE behavior. Young women are expected to be able to play an active role and have the willingness to seek nformation related to BSE and do so according to the right steps. Schools and health offices are expected to be a source of nformation for young women regarding BSE through various health promotion efforts, especially counseling or socialization related to BSE.

Updating the Know Your Chances Website to Include Smoking Status as a Risk Factor for Mortality Estimates

To make wise decisions about the health risks they face, people need information about the magnitude of the threats as well as the context, such as how risks compare. Such information is often presented by age, sex, and race but rarely accounts for smoking status, a major risk factor for many causes of death. To update the National Cancer Institute's Know Your Chances website to present mortality estimates for a broad set of causes of death and all causes combined by smoking status in addition to age, sex, and race. In this cohort study, mortality estimates using life table methods were calculated with the National Cancer Institute's DevCan software package, combining data from the US National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey-Linked Mortality Files, National Institutes of Health-AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), Cancer Prevention Study II, Nurses' Health and Health Professions follow-up studies, and Women's Health Initiative. Data were collected from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2018, and analyzed from August 27, 2019, to February 28, 2023. Age-conditional probabilities of dying due to various causes and all causes combined, accounting for competing causes of death, for people aged 20 to 75 years over the next 5, 10, or 20 years by sex, race, and smoking status. A total of 954 029 individuals aged 55 years or older (55.8% women) were included in the analysis. Regardless of sex or race, for never-smokers, coronary heart disease represented the highest 10-year chance of death after about 50 years of age, which is higher than for any malignant neoplasm. Among current smokers, the 10-year chance of death due to lung cancer was almost as high as for coronary heart disease in each group. For Black and White female current smokers aged from the mid-40s onward, the 10-year probability of death due to lung cancer was substantially higher than for breast cancer. After 40 years of age, the observed effect of never vs current smoking on the 10-year chance of death due to all causes approximated adding 10 years of age. After 40 years of age when conditioning on smoking status, mortality risk for Black individuals was approximately that of White individuals 5 years older. Using life table methods and accounting for competing risks, the revised Know Your Chances website presents age-conditional mortality estimates according to smoking status for a broad set of causes in the context of other conditions and all-cause mortality. The findings of this cohort study suggest that failing to account for smoking status results in inaccurate mortality estimates for many causes-namely, they are too low for smokers and too high for nonsmokers.

Acute Rubigine® Poisoning in Martinique a French Overseas Department of America: Clinical Characteristics and Prognostic Factors.

Rubigine® is an anti-rust stain remover containing fluorides which is believed to have been the cause of many deaths in Martinique. However, after the modification of its composition in 2006, serious poisoning from old formulas containing fluorides persisted. Our main objective was to determine the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of these intoxications. Methods: Any patient admitted to the Martinique University Hospital for acute Rubigine® poisoning was included from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2016. Usual demographic and clinical data were collected and comparisons between surviving and deceased patients made using a univariate analysis and logistic regression. Results: Fifty-five patients were included (mean age: 43 years; sex ratio M/F: 1.1), and the main clinical characteristics were: changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) (80%), digestive system disorders (75%), and neurological disorders (12%). The main features linked to death were the presence of hydrofluoric acid (p < 0.0001), age over 55 years (p = 0.01), hypocalcemia after the initial intravenous calcium supplementation (p = 0.0003), diarrhea (p < 0.0001), hypersialorrhea (p < 0.0001), myocardial excitability (p < 0.0001), and state of shock (p < 0.0001). Three patients required circulatory support by venous-arterial ECMO. Mortality was 10.9%. Conclusions: Rubigine® poisoning is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. Fortunately, its incidence as well as mortality has sharply decreased in Martinique thanks to the measures taken by the French state. This retrospective work nevertheless shows that acute intoxication by the old formula of Rubigine® remains the main factor of poor prognosis.

Poetry as an Expression of Gratitude towards a Physician: Robert Bloomfield’s “Song” for Doctor Edward Jenner, the Father of Immunology

In human medical and social history, one can encounter the deaths of hundreds, thousands or even millions of people caused by either deadly viruses or other worst diseases prevalent in a whole country or the world. Pandemic diseases are also the cause of many deaths as we experience in today’s world. Today we experience an unprecedented pandemic due to a corona virus called Covid-19, which has caused the deaths of an estimated five million people till now. In the world’s history, we have also observed that people have produced songs, poems, and other literary or artworks to alleviate the challenging situation and help people overcome the extreme stress caused by epidemics or pandemics. When we look at literary history, we witness the existence of literary works produced to appreciate science and the scientists who invented new things and came up with novel ideas. The English poet Robert Bloomfield’s “Song, Sung by Mr. Bloomfield” is one of them. This poem, written in 1803 for the anniversary of Doctor Edward Jenner’s birthday, attracts the attention of today’s readers due to its appreciation of the physician who invented vaccination against smallpox. In this regard, the poem may be considered the expression of gratitude. The purpose of this study is to highlight the elements of praise in the poem to indicate how Bloomfield expressed not only his gratitude to Jenner but also the gratitude that all the other people should feel towards him, and thus constituted an appreciative response to the scientist’s noble act of inventing vaccination against smallpox, a fatal disease.

Potential of natural phenolic antioxidant compounds from Bersama abyssinica (Meliathacea) for treatment of chronic diseases

Chronic diseases including cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer persist for a long time in the course of treatment affecting health and are currently the cause of many deaths. In most cases, the treatment of chronic infectious diseases especially Tuberculosis relies on conventional drugs which are currently becoming fruitless due to drug resistance and unpredicted complications in course of treatment. However, herbal medicines have for a long time been used in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including asthma and heart diseases in Africa. In this study, we extracted metabolites and screened for active compounds with potential free radical scavenging and pharmacological activities from Bersama abyssinica, the plant commonly used in traditional medicine in Tanzania. B. abyssinica root, stembark and leaf were air dried, sequentially extracted in various solvents including petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and methanol to yield extracts and fractions. The extracts and fractions were tested for the presence of several metabolites and antioxidant activity. The analysis of chemical compounds from resultant extracts was done by GC–MS for non-polar factions and LC-MS/MC for moderate polar extracts.High amount of phenolic acid, flavonoids and tannin were identified in ethylacetate fraction compared to ethanol, dichloromethane and petroleum ether. The GC–MS analysis of petroleum ether extract of B. abyssinica stem back yielded twelve (12) compounds with varying composition. The most abundant compounds were 2-Butenoic acid, 3-methyl-, ethyl ester comprising 33.8%, n-Hexadecanoic acid comprising 16.7% and Ethanolpentamethyl- yielded in 16.7%.The LC-MS/MS analysis of Ethyl acetate fractions yielded 20 compounds including; Mangiferin and Isoquercitin were abundant in leaves, stembark and roots. Lastly, ethyl vanillate was identified in both roots and leaves whereas Quercitrin and 7,8-Dimethoxycoumarin were found in stembark and root.These findings indicated that B. abyssinica is rich in phenolic compounds ranging from phenolic acids, flavonoids and coumarin that possess high antioxidant and pharmacological properties potential for treatment of chronic diseases.

Possible Gender Influence in the Mechanisms Underlying the Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Response, and the Metabolic Alterations in Patients with Obesity and/or Type 2 Diabetes.

The number of patients afflicted by type 2 diabetes and its morbidities has increased alarmingly, becoming the cause of many deaths. Normally, during nutrient intake, insulin secretion is increased and glucagon secretion is repressed, but when plasma glucose concentration increases, a state of prediabetes occurs. High concentration of plasma glucose breaks the redox balance, inducing an oxidative stress that promotes chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and impaired insulin secretion. In the same context, obesity is one of the most crucial factors inducing insulin resistance, inflammation, and contributing to the onset of type 2 diabetes. Measurements of metabolites like glucose, fructose, amino acids, and lipids exhibit significant predictive associations with type 2 diabetes or a prediabetes state and lead to changes in plasma metabolites that could be selectively affected by gender and age. In terms of gender, women and men have biological dissimilarities that might have an important role for the development, diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and relevant hazards in both genders, for type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the present review attempts to analyze the influence of gender on the relationships among inflammatory events, oxidative stress, and metabolic alterations in patients undergoing obesity and/or type 2 diabetes.

Avoiding the Production of Polluting and Toxic Chemicals in the Tanning Process

Polluting and potentially toxic chemicals are used in tanning. Sodium sulfide/hydrosulfide are used when the hides are unhaired. These chemicals can be transformed into hydrogen sulfide with a simple change of pH. This gas is highly toxic and is the recurring cause of many deaths and accidents due to suffocation of workers in tanneries around the world. The basic salts of chromium III are the most used chemical to tan. The chromium III used can be transformed by oxidation, even once the leather transformed into a consumer good (shoes, for example), in chromium VI, which is carcinogenic. Both chemicals are present in process floats, in residual floats and in solid waste generated. Chromium III is also present in manufactured leathers. This article aims to describe the problems associated with the use of the aforementioned hazardous materials and deepen the possibility of using less toxic alternative processes to tan. The designed process allows to significantly reduce the pollutant load of the discharged wastewater, facilitates the reuse of the solid waste generated and clearly improve the safety of people at work.

Red blood cell distribution width

Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the main global health problem nowadays. It is the primary cause of many deaths all over the world, as well as associated with many morbidities and consumption of medical resources. Objective To assess the relation between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) level in the blood of COVID-19-infected patients on one side and various criteria of disease severity and mortality risk on the other side, to help answer the question, ‘can we use RDW as a predictor of COVID-19 disease severity?’ Patients and methods This study included 184 adult patients (98 males and 86 females) with positive nasopharyngeal swab for acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection diagnosed at Mansoura University Hospitals. Patients underwent clinical, laboratory, and radiological evaluation of COVID-19 cases with close follow-up till complete cure or death. Cases were divided according to the disease severity into four groups (six mild cases, 45 moderate cases, 48 severe cases, and 85 critical cases). We compared RDW level at the time of hospitalization in the four groups. Results A highly significant difference (P≤0.001) was found between mean RDW in mild and moderate groups compared with severe and critical groups. Moreover, there was a positive linear correlation between RDW level and disease severity (P≤0.001). RDW level more than 13.65 could predict severe disease with 79.2% sensitivity and 66.7% specificity. RDW level more than 13.85 could predict critical disease with 78.8% sensitivity and 66.7% specificity. Mean RDW was significantly lower in cured cases compared with those died owing to COVID-19 complications (P=0.004). RDW level more than 13.95 could predict increased mortality risk, with 73.5% sensitivity and 52.5% specificity. Conclusion Higher RDW levels in COVID-19-infected patients, upon hospital admission, were associated with increased disease severity and mortality risk.

Influence of environmental conditions on the earth pit resistance using earth pit simulator

Introduction: Electrocution is the cause of many deaths in the world annually, that electric current passing between the body and earth can be the reason; thus, it is of great importance to construct the ground protection system using earth pit. This study aimed to investigate the effective environmental conditions on the earth's pit resistance using the simulation method. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 192 different experiments were performed and repeated ten times. The parameters evaluated in this study include soil type, reducing agents type, depth, humidity, electrode type, soil density, and electrode placement shape. The resistance value is measured using a three-point ether tester by changing each of them. The obtained data were statistically analyzed, and the results were presented in tables. Results: According to the results of the experiments, soil density and moisture are considered the most effective parameters in determining the resistance of the earth pit; so that the value of resistance is significantly reduced by changing these two parameters separately or simultaneously. Also, as density and depth of placement increase, the value of resistance in all experiments had a decreasing trend. This study showed that sand was determined as the worst soil type among the soil types due to its high resistance. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, soil density and moisture among the seven parameters under study play a more important role in pit resistance and consequently the severity of an electric shock that should be given more attention to it.

Association between county jail incarceration and cause-specific county mortality in the USA, 1987–2017: a retrospective, longitudinal study

BackgroundMass incarceration has collateral consequences for community health, which are reflected in county-level health indicators, including county mortality rates. County jail incarceration rates are associated with all-cause mortality rates in the USA. We assessed the causes of death that drive the relationship between county-level jail incarceration and mortality.MethodsIn this retrospective, longitudinal study, we assessed the association between county-level jail incarceration rates and county-level cause-specific mortality using county jail incarceration data (1987–2017) for 1094 counties in the USA obtained from the Vera Institute of Justice and cause-specific mortality data for individuals younger than 75 years in the total county population (1988–2018) obtained from the US National Vital Statistics System. We fitted quasi-Poisson models for nine common causes of death (cerebrovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, heart disease, infectious disease, malignant neoplasm, substance use, suicide, and unintentional injury) with county fixed effects, controlling for all unmeasured stable county characteristics and measured time-varying confounders (county median age, county poverty rate, county percentage of Black residents, county crime rate, county unemployment rate, and state incarceration rate). We lagged county jail incarceration rates by 1 year to assess the short-term, by 5 years to assess the medium-term, and by 10 years to assess the long-term associations of jail incarceration with premature mortality.FindingsA 1 per 1000 within-county increase in jail incarceration rate was associated with a 6·5% increase in mortality from infectious diseases (risk ratio 1·065, 95% CI 1·061–1·070), a 4·9% increase in mortality from chronic lower respiratory disease (1·049, 1·045–1·052), a 2·6% increase in mortality induced from substance use (1·026, 1·020–1·032), a 2·5% increase in suicide mortality (1·025, 1·020–1·029), and smaller increases in mortality from heart disease (1·021, 1·019–1·023), unintentional injury (1·015, 1·011–1·018), malignant neoplasm (1·014, 1·013–1·016), diabetes (1·013, 1·009–1·018), and cerebrovascular disease (1·010, 1·007–1·013) after 1 year. Associations between jail incarceration and cause-specific mortality rates weakened as time lags increased, but to a greater extent for causes of death with generally shorter latency periods (infectious disease and suicide) than for those with generally longer latency periods (heart disease, malignant neoplasm, and cerebrovascular disease).InterpretationJail incarceration rates are potential drivers of many causes of death in US counties. Jail incarceration can be harmful not only to the health of individuals who are incarcerated, but also to public health more broadly. Our findings suggest important points of intervention, including disinvestment from carceral systems and investment in social and public health services, such as community-based treatment of substance-use disorders.

John Graunt at 400: Fighting Disease with Numbers

Abstract Demographers, epidemiologists and statisticians working today are building on foundations laid by John Graunt, a London haberdasher born in 1620, who sought to analyse the many causes of death and calculate life expectancy. By Timandra Harkness

Is cerebral palsy a cause of death?

Is cerebral palsy a cause of death?

Application of LISS III and MODIS-derived vegetation indices for assessment of micro-level agricultural drought

Drought in recent years has crippled the livelihoods of millions of people living in India and has also been the cause of many deaths. Puruliya district, India with more than one-third of its population belonging to the backward community has no proper agricultural drought management system. In this study, spatial and temporal characteristics of agricultural drought were examined using indices derived from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Linear Imaging Self Scanning (LISS III) sensor and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor satellite images. MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) results almost match with the results obtained from LISS III NDVI analysis. Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) was prepared from MODIS for a period of 16 years (2000–2016) and subsequently blockwise drought severity maps were generated from MODIS-derived VCI for Kharif and Rabi season. MODIS VCI analysis shows that nearly 34.1% and 76.5% of the study area for Kharif and Rabi season respectively faces drought conditions during the recent year 2015–16. It also shows severe and extreme drought situations for the years 2010–11 and 2005–06 respectively. Blockwise drought severity analysis reveals that Jaipur, Purulia I, Purulia II and Para blocks were chronically drought prone areas. The results indicate significant agreement between NDVI anomaly obtained from MODIS sensor and foodgrain anomaly obtained from crop yield statistics. The outcome of the research may be used for the district’s drought preparedness programme so that proper crop planning and management can be carried out to help in agricultural production.

A comparison of machine learning algorithms for the prediction of Hepatitis C NS3 protease cleavage sites

Abstract Hepatitis is a global disease that is on the rise and is currently the cause of more deaths than the human immunodeficiency virus each year. As a result, there is an increasing need for antivirals. Previously, effective antivirals have been found in the form of substrate-mimetic antiviral protease inhibitors. The application of machine learning has been used to predict cleavage patterns of viral proteases to provide information for future drug design. This study has successfully applied and compared several machine learning algorithms to hepatitis C viral NS3 serine protease cleavage data. Results have found that differences in sequence-extraction methods can outweigh differences in algorithm choice. Models produced from pseudo-coded datasets all performed with high accuracy and outperformed models created with orthogonal-coded datasets. However, no single pseudo-model performed significantly better than any other. Evaluation of performance measures also show that the correct choice of model scoring system is essential for unbiased model assessment.

A Comparison of Machine Learning Algorithms for the Prediction of Hepatitis C NS3 Protease Cleavage Sites

Hepatitis is a global disease that is on the rise and is currently the cause of more deaths than the human immunodeficiency virus each year. As a result, there is an increasing need for antivirals. Previously, effective anti-virals have been found in the form of substrate-mimetic antiviral protease inhibitors. The application of machine learning has been used to predict cleavage patterns of viral proteases to provide information for future drug design. This study has successfully applied and compared several machine learning algorithms to hepatitis C viral NS3 serine protease cleavage data. Results have found that differences in sequence-extraction methods can outweigh differences in algorithm choice. Models produced from pseudo-coded data sets all performed with high accuracy and outperformed models created with orthogonal-coded data sets. However, no single pseudo-model performed significantly better than any other. Evaluation of performance measures also show that the correct choice of model scoring system is essential for unbiased model assessment.

Argentilactone Molecular Targets in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis Identified by Chemoproteomics.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is the cause of many deaths from systemic mycoses. The etiological agents of PCM belong to the Paracoccidioides genus, which is restricted to Latin America. The infection is acquired through the inhalation of conidia that primarily lodge in the lungs and may disseminate to other organs and tissues. The treatment for PCM is commonly performed via the administration of antifungals such as amphotericin B, co-trimoxazole, and itraconazole. The antifungal toxicity and side effects, in addition to their long treatment times, have stimulated research for new bioactive compounds. Argentilactone is a compound that was isolated from the Brazilian savanna plant Hyptis ovalifolia, and it has been suggested to be a potent antifungal, inhibiting the dimorphism of P. brasiliensis and the enzymatic activity of isocitrate lyase, a key enzyme of the glyoxylate cycle. This work was developed due to the importance of elucidating the putative mode of action of argentilactone. The chemoproteomics approach via affinity chromatography was the methodology used to explore the interactions between P. brasiliensis proteins and argentilactone. A total of 109 proteins were identified and classified functionally. The most representative functional categories were related to amino acid metabolism, energy, and detoxification. Argentilactone inhibited the enzymatic activity of malate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and pyruvate dehydrogenase. Furthermore, argentilactone induces the production of reactive oxygen species and inhibits the biosynthesis of cell wall polymers.

Changes in midlife death rates across racial and ethnic groups in the United States: systematic analysis of vital statistics

ObjectiveTo systematically compare midlife mortality patterns in the United States across racial and ethnic groups during 1999-2016, documenting causes of death and their relative contribution to excess deaths.DesignTrend analysis of...