Chemical and Bioactive Properties of Red Rice with Potential Pharmaceutical Use

Red rice has been proposed as a super-food. Accordingly, the nutritional properties (AOAC), as well as its chemical composition, including sugars (HPLC-RI), organic acids (UFLC-PDA), tocopherols (HPLD-FD), and phenolic compounds (LC-DAD-ESI/MSn), together with the main bioactive properties (antioxidant, cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and antibacterial activities), were evaluated to access its nutritional benefits and health improvement potential. The most abundant macronutrients found were carbohydrates (87.2 g/100 g dw), proceeded by proteins (9.1 g/100 g dw), fat (2.6 g/100 g dw), and ash (1.1 g/100 g dw). Sucrose and raffinose were the only detected sugars, with sucrose presenting the maximum concentration (0.74 g/100 g dw). MUFAs and PUFAs were the predominant fatty acids (40.7% and 31%, respectively). Among the two detected tocopherol isoforms, γ-tocopherol (0.67 mg/100 g dw) predominated over α-tocopherol. The phenolic compounds profile, majorly composed of flavan-3-ols, should be associated with the detected bioactivities, which may provide biological benefits to human health beyond the primary nutritional effect. Overall, the bioactive potential of red rice was comprehensively accessed.This work was supported by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC): CIMO, UIDB/00690/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/00690/2020), UIDP/00690/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/ 00690/2020), and SusTEC, LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020). A. Fernandes, M.I. Dias, R.C. Calhelha, and J.C.M. Barreira are also grateful for the national funding by FCT. P.I. through the institutional and individual program contract. The authors are grateful to FEDER Cooperación Interreg VI A Espanha—Portugal (POCTEP) 2021–2027 for its financial support provided through the project TRANSCoLAB PLUS 0112_TRANSCOLAB_PLUS_2_P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multibiomarker approach in the clam Ruditapes decussatus to assess the impact of pollution in the Ria Formosa lagoon, South Coast of Portugal

The Ria Formosa lagoon is an ecosystem whose water quality reflects the anthropogenic influence upon the surrounding areas. In this lagoon, the clam Ruditapes decussatus has a great economical importance and has been widely used as a biomonitor. A multibiomarker approach (d-aminolevulinic acid dehy- dratase, metallothionein, lipid peroxidation, acetylcholinesterase, alkali-labile phosphates, DNA damage) was applied to assess the environmental quality of this ecosystem and the accumulation of contaminants and their potential adverse effects on clams. Clams were sampled in different shellfish beds in the period between July 2007 and December 2008 and abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen of seawater and organic matter in the sediment), condition index, metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb), TBTs and PAHs concentrations were measured in clam tissues. Data was integrated using Principal Component Analyses and biomarker indices: IBR (Integrated Biomarker Response) and HSI (Health Status Index). This multibiomarker approach enabled discrimination of a time and space trend between sites with different degrees of anthropogenic contamination, identifying one of them (site 2) as the most stressful and summer months as the most critical period for clams due to an increase of environmental stress (anthropogenic pressure along with extreme environmental conditions, e.g. temperature, dissolved oxygen, organic matter in the sediments, etc). The selected biomarkers provided an integrated response to assess the environmental quality of the system, proving to be a useful approach when complex mixtures of contaminants occur

AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DAS ÁGUAS DAS PRINCIPAIS FONTES PÚBLICAS DE SALVADOR (BA)

Na cidade de Salvador existe uma quantidade expressiva de fontes que no passado foram construÌdas para suprir o abastecimento de ·gua na cidade. Hoje, essas fontes fazem parte da cultura e da histÛria das comunidades as quais est„o inseridas, e apesar da cidade ser contemplada com sistema de abastecimento de ·gua, muitas delas ainda s„o utilizadas a despeito da qualidade de suas ·guas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir para o diagnÛstico da qualidade das ·guas das principais fontes p˙blicas d¥·guas localizadas em Salvador (BA).  Para a escolha das fontes foi usado o critÈrio de que fossem mais utilizadas pela populaÁ„o, principalmente aquelas voltadas para higiene pessoal e consumo humano. Para alcanÁar os objetivos propostos foi realizado levantamento bibliogr·fico, caracterizaÁ„o de usos e coleta de ·gua em 11 fontes (Pedra Furada, Estica, Pedrinhas/Pedreiras, Chega NÍgo, Gravat·, Fonte Nova, Pedreira/PreguiÁa, Santo AntÙnio do Cabula, Santa Luzia, Fonte da Bica/Bom Ju·, Fonte da Bica/Mata Escura), sendo as mesmas avaliadas a partir da seleÁ„o de dez par‚metros fÌsico-quÌmicos (Cor Aparente, pH, OxigÍnio Dissolvido, Temperatura, Turbidez, FÛsforo Total, Cloreto, N-Nitrato, N-Nitrito, NitrogÍnio Amoniacal) e dois microbiolÛgicos (coliformes totais e Escherichia coli). Os par‚metros foram selecionados e adotados com base na legislaÁ„o vigente que normatiza questıes referentes ‡ potabilidade em ·guas. Os resultados do trabalho dever„o contribuir para a ampliaÁ„o do debate em torno da problem·tica da degradaÁ„o ambiental das fontes urbanas da cidade do Salvador (BA), assim como a adoÁ„o de medidas de recuperaÁ„o e revitalizaÁ„o

Effectiveness and safety of first-generation protease inhibitors in real-world patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection in Brazil: a multicenter study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of first-generation protease inhibitors for the treatment of genotype 1 hepatitis C virus-infected patients at Brazilian reference centers. METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional study included hepatitis C virus genotype 1 monoinfected patients treated with Peg-interferon, ribavirin, and either boceprevir (n=158) or telaprevir (n=557) between July 2013 and April 2014 at 15 reference centers in Brazil. Demographic, clinical, virological, and adverse events data were collected during treatment and follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 715 patients, 59% had cirrhosis and 67.1% were treatment-experienced. Based on intention-to-treat analysis, the overall sustained viral response was 56.6%, with similar effectiveness in both groups (51.9% for boceprevir and 58% for telaprevir, p=0.190). Serious adverse events occurred in 44.2% of patients, and six deaths (0.8%) were recorded. Cirrhotic patients had lower sustained viral response rates than non-cirrhotic patients (46.9% vs. 70.6%,

Hospitais: espaços de cura e lugares de memória da saúde

O presente artigo pretende analisar o Hospital Gaffrée e Guinle, construído na década de 1920, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, em um processo de tomada de controle, pela administração pública, da gestão da assistência hospitalar na capital federal. Esse hospital representa o encontro da filantropia com um projeto de saúde pública posto em prática no Distrito Federal à mesma época. A instituição sintetiza também o desenvolvimento da medicina e sua tradução na arquitetura hospitalar, bem como a efervescência intelectual do período, mais especificamente das idéias nacionalistas, interpretadas tanto na escolha do estilo arquitetônico - o neocolonial - quanto na questão da salvação da raça através do combate e controle da sífilis.This paper analyzes the Gaffrée & Guinle Hospital, built in Rio de Janeiro during the 1920s as the result of a process whereby the government took over the management of hospital care in the federal capital. The hospital is the point of convergence between philanthropy and a public healthcare project implemented in the Federal District at that time. It also synthesizes the development of medicine and how the latter translates into hospital architecture, as well as the intellectual effervescence at the time, more specifically the nationalist ideas which can be identified both in the choice of architectural style - namely the neocolonial - and in the theme of salvation of a race through the combat and control of syphilis