Production of split table olives of the Cobrancosa cultivar: a kinetic study of the fermentation profile

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Cobrancosa cultivar olive ripeness on the physicochemical parameters and model their progression profile throughout the fermentation period. Green and turning color olives undertook fermentation due to fruit and environmental microbiota resulting in final brines with the required acidity values and absence of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. The Monod model was used to explain the changes of a(W), total acidity and total phenolic content in the brines, and the same kinetic with inhibition was fitted to the changes of reducing sugar concentration in the brines. The inverse power model was adjusted to salt content in brines, a(W), total acidity, reducing sugars and total phenolic content in the olives. The Naperian logarithmic function was fitted to the changes of the surface color parameter (-a/b) of the fruits. For both olives, the models adjusted to the experimental data were the same, showing a similar trend in the physicochemical profiles, probably due to the previously fruit splitting, which promotes nutrients diffusing into the brines and the influx of salt into the olives during fermentation. However, different model parameters were estimated, depending on the ripeness degree, namely for total acidity, reducing sugars and total phenolic content of the brines, showing lower nutrients diffusion rates from the unripe olive pulp, through the skin into the brine, due to the hardness of the cell wall structures in this maturation stage.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prime Pork – Portugal Gourmet: Projeto de empresa exportadora para a China

Conhecidos de longa data e todos possuidores do mesmo espírito empreendedor, os fundadores deste projeto começaram a traçar o seu percurso em 2012, ao definirem o que queriam fazer, como o queriam fazer e onde o queriam fazer. A empresa terá assim a sua origem em 2015, na sequência do projeto aqui apresentado, com a colaboração de Miguel Russo e Neel Amratlal, coincidindo com a concretização de uma ideia, um projeto, uma mentalidade. A PRIME PORK será uma empresa dinâmica com um espírito jovem, onde todos os seus membros estarão concentrados e focados no seu processo de crescimento e desenvolvimento, tentando alcançar sempre novos objetivos e metas. O crescimento da economia chinesa aliado à cada vez maior procura de produtos alimentares naturais de qualidade levaram esta equipa a querer investigar qual a viabilidade desse negócio. Depois de muita pesquisa teórica e de ir ao terreno ver como tudo funciona com os nossos olhos concluiu-se que os consumidores chineses são realmente apreciadores de produtos importados com qualidade certificada. Com isto, avançou-se com a ideia de levar até aos consumidores chineses uma experiência única e irresistível, ao nível sensorial do paladar, era uma excelente oportunidade por explorar. A parte teórica deste projeto é constituída por estudos sobre o porco ibérico, a evolução do mercado chinês e as suas relações com a Europa e Portugal, em particular. Para avaliar a viabilidade deste projeto foi elaborado um estudo do potencial de mercado e de viabilidade financeira do investimento para o realizar. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, é possível concluir que o projeto é viável

Antibodies For Rickettsia Spp. In Patients With Negative Serology For Dengue Virus, Leptospirosis, And Meningococcal Disease In Municipalities Of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Brazilian spotted fever is an infectious disease with a high mortality rate if not treated early. Differential diagnosis is difficult, as the first clinical signs are non-specific and can be confused with other diseases. The aim of the study was to investigate evidence of infection with Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia parkeri in negative sera samples, collected in 2014, from patients with suspected leptospirosis, dengue fever, and meningococcal disease in Atibaia and Braganca Paulista municipalities of the State of Sao Paulo. Methods: The samples stored at the Institute Adolfo Lutz in Campinas were tested using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with IgG and IgM against R. rickettsii and R. parkeri. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was performed for the sera samples of patients who died (n = 3), those with initial suspicion of meningococcal disease (n = 6), and those with positive IFA results. Results: Of 258 samples from Braganca Paulista, 4 (1.6%) were positive, with IgG titers of 1: 64 and 1: 128 against R. rickettsii and R. parkeri, respectively. Of 155 samples from Atibaia, 2 (1.3%) were positive, with IgG titers of 1: 64 and 1: 128 against R. rickettsii and R. parkeri, respectively. No sample showed positive PCR results. Conclusions: This serological investigation suggests there is evidence of exposure to Rickettsia spp. in residents of areas that have environmental conditions favorable to the spread of bacteria, in which Brazilian spotted fever incidence was not previously confirmed.49556757

Rare genetic variants involved in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a multicenter Brazilian cohort study

IntroductionDespite the existing data on the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), the factors that determine these patients evolution remain elusive. Answers may lie, at least in part, in genetics. It is currently under investigation that MIS-C patients may have an underlying innate error of immunity (IEI), whether of monogenic, digenic, or even oligogenic origin.MethodsTo further investigate this hypothesis, 30 patients with MIS-C were submitted to whole exome sequencing. ResultsAnalyses of genes associated with MIS-C, MIS-A, severe covid-19, and Kawasaki disease identified twenty-nine patients with rare potentially damaging variants (50 variants were identified in 38 different genes), including those previously described in IFNA21 and IFIH1 genes, new variants in genes previously described in MIS-C patients (KMT2D, CFB, and PRF1), and variants in genes newly associated to MIS-C such as APOL1, TNFRSF13B, and G6PD. In addition, gene ontology enrichment pointed to the involvement of thirteen major pathways, including complement system, hematopoiesis, immune system development, and type II interferon signaling, that were not yet reported in MIS-C.DiscussionThese data strongly indicate that different gene families may favor MIS- C development. Larger cohort studies with healthy controls and other omics approaches, such as proteomics and RNAseq, will be precious to better understanding the disease dynamics

The global pendulum swing towards community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of trends, geographical distribution and programmatic orientations, 2005 to 2014

BACKGROUND: There has been a substantial increase in publications and interest in community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) over the last years. This paper examines the growth, geographical distribution and programmatic orientations of the indexed literature on CHWs in LMIC over a 10-year period. METHODS: A scoping review of publications on CHWs from 2005 to 2014 was conducted. Using an inclusive list of terms, we searched seven databases (including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane) for all English-language publications on CHWs in LMIC. Two authors independently screened titles/abstracts, downloading full-text publications meeting inclusion criteria. These were coded in an Excel spreadsheet by year, type of publication (e.g. review, empirical), country, region, programmatic orientation (e.g. maternal-child health, HIV/AIDS, comprehensive) and CHW roles (e.g. prevention, treatment) and further analysed in Stata14. Drawing principally on the subset of review articles, specific roles within programme areas were identified and grouped. FINDINGS: Six hundred seventy-eight publications from 46 countries on CHWs were inventoried over the 10-year period. There was a sevenfold increase in annual number of publications from 23 in 2005 to 156 in 2014. Half the publications were reporting on initiatives in Africa, a third from Asia and 11 % from the Americas (mostly Brazil). The largest single focus and driver of the growth in publications was on CHW roles in meeting the Millennium Development Goals of maternal, child and neonatal survival (35 % of total), followed by HIV/AIDS (16 %), reproductive health (6 %), non-communicable diseases (4 %) and mental health (4 %). Only 17 % of the publications approached CHW roles in an integrated fashion. There were also distinct regional (and sometimes country) profiles, reflecting different histories and programme traditions. CONCLUSIONS: The growth in literature on CHWs provides empirical evidence of ever-increasing expectations for addressing health burdens through community-based action. This literature has a strong disease- or programme-specific orientation, raising important questions for the design and sustainable delivery of integrated national programmes.Scopu

Lineage Analysis of Circulating Trypanosoma cruzi Parasites and Their Association with Clinical Forms of Chagas Disease in Bolivia

Around 30–50% of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in Latin America cause chronic Chagas disease 10–30 years after the primary infection due to lack of effective treatment. The major clinical complications associated with chronic Chagas disease are cardiac myositis (leading to cardiac failure), and autonomous neuroplexus degeneration of the digestive tract that can cause megacolon or megaesophagus. Therefore, there are three major clinical forms of Chagas disease; cardiac, digestive and indeterminate (asymptomatic). The parasites, which can infect humans as well as other mammals, are transmitted by species of triatomines commonly found in the Americas. The parasite is divided in at least six discrete typing units: TcI, TcIIa–e. In humans, the TcI is mainly observed in Central America and northern parts of South America while the TcIIb/d/e is confined mainly to the southern cone of Latin America. We determined which DTU were prevalent in chronic patients in Bolivia, where the three clinical forms and several DTUs of the parasites are present, in order to determine whether there was a link between a particular parasite DTU and a particular clinical outcome. We found a vast majority of TcIId but its kDNA polymorphism showed no association with any of the clinical manifestations of chronic Chagas