Abstract. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term condition in which theChronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a serious hazard to human health, and has a high prevalence. In developed countries, it is estimated that more than 10% of adults present some degree of CKD (1). Despite a varied initial evolution, which is related to the diversity of its aetiologies -namely genetics, autoimmune-related infections, environmental factors, diet, and drugs -progressive renal disease frequently results in renal fibrosis and finally in renal failure. The mechanisms implicated in renal fibrosis are still poorly understood, and existing therapies are ineffective or only slightly successful, hence it is essential to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the usual development of CKD, and to discover and better understand new strategies for treating this disease. In order to study the biopathology of this disease and to evaluate new treatments, animal models are required. The perfect animal model for renal disease research should have human-like renal anatomy, haemodynamics and physiology, as well as enabling the determination of relevant renal, biochemical and haemodynamic parameters. In all probability, no species can consistently meet all these requirements, and the experimental plan and other constraints often determine the choice of animal models for particular research applications. With this in mind, this review aims to describe and analyze animal models of renal fibrosis and suggest new areas of research. Renal Fibrosis: Aetiology and PathophysiologyDiabetes and hypertension are currently the two principal causes of CKD (2), among other causes such as infectious glomerulonephritis, renal vasculitis, ureteral obstruction, genetic alterations, autoimmune diseases (1) and drugs (3, 4). In general, diabetes causes glomerular hypertension by reducing the afferent arteriolar resistance while stimulating the efferent arterioles (2). Thus, elevated glomerular capillary pressure is one of the major factors in progressive renal sclerosis (5). Diabetes and hypertension gradually lead to glomerular expansion, which causes endothelial dysfunction and haemodynamic changes: loss of the glomerular basement membrane electric charge and its thickening, a decreased number of podocytes, foot-process effacement and mesangial distension have been shown to 1

A B S T R A C TBackground: Undergraduate students are a target for blood donation, as they constitute a young healthy and well-informed group. Aim: To understand motivations and attitudes underpinning the act of blood donation among undergraduate health science students. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study enrolling undergraduate students of a College of Health Sciences in the Northeast of Portugal (January/February, 2017). Data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire covering questions about motivations (n = 8) and attitudes (n = 5) towards the act of blood donation. Participants were classified by donation status into donors (one previous donation) and non-donors (never donated). Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the association between each attitude and motivation on donation status. Odds-ratio (OR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) adjusted for potential confounders, were obtained. Results: Out of 362 participants, 12.7% (n = 46) had ever donated blood and 56.5% (n = 26) of them were regular donors. Out of 316 non-donors, 88.0% (n = 278) will donate blood under request. There were no differences between donors and non-donors regarding the attitudes towards blood donation. From all motivations only "be a civic duty" had a significant impact on donor status, such that participants reporting this motivation are more likely to be blood donors (OR = 2.58; IC95%:1.34-4.99) than their counterparts. Conclusion: This study revealed that 80.0% of undergraduate health science students are non-donors, but they are available to donate blood under request. Campaigns and advertising methods focused on the emergent needs for blood donation could play an important role in the recruitment of new donors among undergraduate students.

Heat (HAE)- and ultrasound (UAE)-assisted extraction methods were implemented to recover anthocyanins from red raspberry. Processing time, ethanol concentration, and temperature or ultrasonic power were the independent variables combined in five-level rotatable central composite designs coupled with response surface methodology (RSM) for processes optimization. The extraction yield and levels of cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside (C3S) and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) were monitored by gravimetric and HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn methods, respectively, and used as response criteria. The constructed theoretical models were successfully fitted to the experimental data and used to determine the optimal extraction conditions. When maximizing all responses simultaneously, HAE originated slightly higher response values (61% extract weight and 8.7 mg anthocyanins/g extract) but needed 76 min processing at 38 °C, with 21% ethanol (v/v), while the UAE process required 16 min sonication at 466 W, using 38% ethanol (v/v). The predictive models were experimentally validated, and the purple-red extracts obtained under optimal condition showed antioxidant activity through lipid peroxidation and oxidative hemolysis inhibition, and antibacterial effects against food-related microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. These results highlight the potential of red raspberry extracts as natural food colorants with bioactive effects and could be exploited by industries interested in the production of anthocyanin-based products.

Purpose. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic treatment with chaetomellic acid A (CAA) on oxidative stress and renal function in a model of renal mass reduction. Methods. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 5/6 nephrectomy (RMR) or sham-operated (SO). One week after surgery, rats have been divided into four experimental groups: RMR: RMR rats without treatment (n = 14); RMR + CAA: RMR rats treated with CAA (n = 13); SO: SO rats without treatment (n = 13); and SO + CAA: SO rats treated with CAA (n = 13). CAA was intraperitoneally administered in a dose of 0.23 µg/Kg three times a week for six months. Results. RMR was accompanied by a significant reduction in catalase and glutathione reductase (GR) activity (p < 0.05) and a decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio. CAA administration significantly increased catalase and GR activity (p < 0.05) and increased GSH/GSSG ratio, but no significant difference between the treated and nontreated groups was found in this ratio. No significant differences were found between the RMR groups in any of the parameters of renal function. However, CAA administration slightly improves some parameters of renal function. Conclusions. These data suggest that CAA could attenuate 5/6 RMR-induced oxidative stress.

Red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) are increasingly popular foods in contemporary diets due to their freshness, nutritional value and health claims. Among the existing cultivars, “Kweli” is one of the most productive and widely cultivated. In this study, the nutritional value and chemical composition of “Kweli” red raspberry were characterized by the official method of food analysis and chromatographic techniques, and its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were tested against biological/biochemical oxidizable substrates and foodborne bacteria and fungi strains, respectively. Carbohydrates (including fructose and glucose, 14.3 and 12.6 g/100 g dw, respectively), proteins (6.8 g/100 g dw), and ashes (3.90 g/100 g dw) were major constituents. The fat content was quite low and constituted mainly by unsaturated fatty acids (58.3%), with a predominance of oleic acid. Fresh red raspberry also contained high levels of citric (2.7 g/100 g) and ascorbic (17 mg/100 g) acids. The anthocyanins (4.51 mg/g extract) cyanidin-O-hexoside and mostly cyanidin-O-sophoroside were identified in the red raspberry hydroethanolic extract, which was able to inhibit thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation (EC50 of 122 µg/mL), oxidative hemolysis (IC50 of 298 µg/mL), and β-carotene bleaching (EC50 of 18.7 µg/mL). In turn, the extract was more effective than the food additive E224 against Bacillus cereus. All these results highlighted the nutritional quality of “Kweli” red raspberry and showed some compositional differences in relation to other cultivars. Therefore, its inclusion in a daily diet can be helpful to obtain nutrients and antioxidants and bring health benefits.

Bacterial resistance is a naturally occurring process. However, bacterial antibiotic resistance has emerged as a major public health problem in recent years. The accumulation of antibiotics in the environment, including in wastewaters and drinking water, has contributed to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Such can be justified by the growing consumption of antibiotics and their inadequate elimination. The conventional water treatments are ineffective in promoting the complete elimination of antibiotics and bacteria, mainly in removing ARGs. Therefore, ARGs can be horizontally transferred to other microorganisms within the aquatic environment, thus promoting the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. In this review, we discuss the efficiency of conventional water treatment processes in removing agents that can spread/stimulate the development of antibiotic resistance and the promising strategies for water remediation, mainly those based on nanotechnology and microalgae. Despite the potential of some of these approaches, the elimination of ARGs remains a challenge that requires further research. Moreover, the development of new processes must avoid the release of new contaminants for the environment, such as the chemicals resulting from nanomaterials synthesis, and consider the utilization of green and eco-friendly alternatives such as biogenic nanomaterials and microalgae-based technologies.

The high prevalence of end-stage renal disease emphasizes the failure to provide therapies to effectively prevent and/or reverse renal fibrosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term treatment with chaethomellic acid A (CAA), which selectively blocks Ha-Ras farnesylation, on renal mass reduction-induced renal fibrosis. Male Wistar rats were sham-operated (SO) or subjected to 5/6 renal mass reduction (RMR). One week after surgery, rats were placed in four experimental groups: SO: SO rats without treatment (n=13); SO+CAA: SO rats treated with CAA (n=13); RMR: RMR rats without treatment (n=14); and RMR+CAA: RMR rats treated with 2 CAA (n=13). CAA was intraperitoneally administered in a dose of 0.23 µg/Kg three times a week for six months. Renal fibrosis was evaluated by two-dimensional ultrasonography and histopathological analysis. The kidneys of the RMR animals treated with CAA showed a significantly decrease in the medullary echogenicity (p<0.05) compared with the RMR rats that received no treatment. Glomerulosclerosis and arteriolosclerosis scores were significantly lower (p<0.001) in the RMR+CAA group when compared with the RMR group. There were no significant differences in interstitial fibrosis, interstitial inflammation and tubular dilatation scores between the RMR+CAA and RMR groups. These data suggest that CAA can be a potential future drug to attenuate the progression of chronic kidney disease.

Addison disease manifesting during the first decade of life has a high likelihood of being the first sign of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.