Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

About: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais is a education organization based out in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Immune system. The organization has 41631 authors who have published 75688 publications receiving 1249905 citations.

Targeting CCL5 in inflammation

Abstract: Introduction: Chemokines play important roles in inflammation and in immune responses. This article will discuss the current literature on the C–C chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), and whether it is a therapeutic target in the context of various allergic, autoimmune or infectious diseases. Areas covered: Small-molecule inhibitors, chemokine and chemokine receptor-deficient mice, antibodies and modified chemokines are the current tools available for CCL5 research, and there are several ongoing clinical trials targeting the CCL5 receptors, CCR1, CCR3 and CCR5. There are fewer studies specifically targeting the chemokine itself and clinical studies with anti-CCL5 antibodies are still to be carried out. Expert opinion: Although clinical trials are strongly biased toward HIV treatment and prevention with blockers of CCR5, the therapeutic potential for CCL5 and its receptors in other diseases is relevant. Overall, it is not likely that specific targeting of CCL5 will result in new adjunct strategies for the treatment ...

Systematic review studies: a guide for careful synthesis of the scientific evidence

Abstract: Introduction: Aggregation of research evidence to guide clinical practice is one of the main reasons for conducting studies that provide a synthesis of the literature, but it is not the only reason. Systematic reviews are designed to be methodical, explicit and replicable. Such studies may help to guide project development, by indicating new directions for further investigations and identifying which research methods have been used within a given area. Methods: Systematic reviews require straightforward questions, search strategy definition, establishment of study inclusion and exclusion criteria and careful analysis of the selected literature. The development process for reviews of this type includes characterization of each selected study, evaluation of their quality, identification of important concepts, comparison of statistical analyses used and conclusions regarding what the literature tells us about a specific intervention. Such reviews also suggest problems/questions that need further investigation. Systematic review studies follow the structure of original articles. Conclusion: Good systematic reviews are important resources, in the light of the accelerated growth of scientific information. These studies help in producing syntheses of the evidence available in the literature on specific interventions, and may help clinicians and researchers in their work process.

Hyperentanglement-assisted Bell-state analysis

Abstract: We propose a simple scheme for complete Bell-state measurement of photons using hyperentangled states---entangled in multiple degrees of freedom. In addition to hyperentanglement, our scheme requires only linear optics and single photon detectors, and is realizable with current technology. At the cost of additional classical communication, our Bell-state measurement can be implemented nonlocally. We discuss the possible application of these results to quantum dense coding and quantum teleportation.

Caatinga: The Scientific Negligence Experienced by a Dry Tropical Forest

Abstract: Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) provide a habitat for a diverse number of species and cover significant land areas. Yet, the amount of scientific research they have attracted is minimal. Recently, an international debate on the generality, consequences and forces keeping SDTFs in a position of relative negligence has begun. This paper assesses and compares biodiversity-related knowledge across the major Brazilian ecosystems to verify in which extent the Caatinga vegetation (a mosaic of scrubs and patches of seasonally dry forest) has been scientifically unappreciated. In fact, Caatinga attracted the lowest scores from semi-quantitative indexes describing biodiversity-survey efforts and knowledge status, with a negligible number of papers published internationally. Caatinga also supports fewer research teams and senior researchers as compared to humid tropical forests (Amazonia and Atlantic Forest). Both the knowledge index and number of published papers were explained by a model combining ecosyste...