The Inhibitory Effects of Curcuma longa

The essential oil from Curcuma longa L. was analysed by GC/MS. The major components of the oil were ar-turmerone (33.2%), α-turmerone (23.5%) and β-turmerone (22.7%). The antifungal activities of the oil were studied with regard to Aspergillus flavus growth inhibition and altered morphology, as preliminary studies indicated that the essential oil from C. longa inhibited Aspergillus flavus Link aflatoxin production. The concentration of essential oil in the culture media ranged from 0.01% to 5.0% v/v, and the concentration of curcumin was 0.01–0.5% v/v. The effects on sporulation, spore viability, and fungal morphology were determined. The essential oil exhibited stronger antifungal activity than curcumin on A. flavus. The essential oil reduced the fungal growth in a concentration-dependent manner. A. flavus growth rate was reduced by C. longa essential oil at 0.10%, and this inhibition effect was more efficient in concentrations above 0.50%. Germination and sporulation were 100% inhibited in 0.5% oil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of A. flavus exposed to oil showed damage to hyphae membranes and conidiophores. Because the fungus is a plant pathogen and aflatoxin producer, C. longa essential oil may be used in the management of host plants

Inhibitory effect of the essential oil of Curcuma longa L. and curcumin on aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus Link

AbstractAflatoxins are highly toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic mycotoxins. Consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated food and commodities poses serious hazards to the health of humans and animals. Turmeric, Curcuma longa L., is a native plant of Southeast Asia and has antimicrobial, antioxidant and antifungal properties. This paper reports the antiaflatoxigenic activities of the essential oil of C. longa and curcumin. The medium tests were prepared with the oil of C. longa, and the curcumin standard at concentrations varied from 0.01% to 5.0%. All doses of the essential oil of the plant and the curcumin standard interfered with mycotoxin production. Both the essential oil and curcumin significantly inhibited the production of aflatoxins; the 0.5% level had a greater than 96% inhibitory effect. The levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production were 1.0 and 42.7μg/mL, respectively, for the samples treated with the essential oil of C. longa L. and curcumin at a concentration of 0.5%

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

PROJETO DE EXTENSÃO “GRUPO DE ESTUDOS EM NEUROCIÊNCIA”: DIVULGANDO NEUROCIÊNCIA E DESPERTANDO VOCAÇÕES

A neurociência é um tema altamente divulgado pela mídia, mas raramente é abordada na grade curricular dos cursos de graduação. Com o intento de mudar este panorama, o Grupo de Estudos em Neurociência (GEN) é um projeto de extensão desenvolvido na Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cujo objetivo é realizar discussões de artigos selecionados pela coordenadora do grupo (ensino), incentivando os participantes a desenvolver projetos de iniciação científica (pesquisa) e promover ações de divulgação da neurociência (extensão), principalmente através da organização da “Semana do Cérebro”, campanha global que promove palestras visando divulgar os conhecimentos da neurociência para a comunidade em geral. Deste modo, o objetivo deste artigo é relatar as experiências do GEN, de modo a incentivar iniciativas semelhantes em outras instituições. Para isso, descrevemos detalhadamente o andamento e as ações do mesmo desde sua criação em 2012 até o presente momento. Como resultado, verificamos que as reuniões semanais do GEN estimulam de modo contínuo a formação de um senso crítico sobre o tema, discutindo questões que são abordadas superficialmente pela mídia. Já as ações extensionistas demonstraram ser relevantes não somente para a divulgação da neurociência, mas também do GEN. As pesquisas vinculadas ao GEN necessitam de mais ações, mas as discussões já despertaram vocações na área de neurociências e uma das comprovações deste fato é a aprovação de alunos em cursos e realização de estágios em centros de excelência na área. Palavras-chave: Extensão Universitária, Cérebro, Divulgação Científica. Extension Project "Study Group on Neuroscience": spreading neuroscience and inspiring vocations Abstract: Neuroscience is a highly publicized issue throughout the media but rarely addressed in the curriculum of undergraduate courses. In order to change this reality, the Study Group on Neuroscience (GEN) is an extension project developed at the Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, has as its main goals the task of promoting  discussions of articles previously selected by the group’s coordinator (teaching), to encourage the participants to develop scientific projects (research) and to deliver lectures on themes related to  neuroscience (extension). These activities are concentrated mainly in the organization of the "Brain Awareness Week", a global campaign which promotes talks with the objective of disseminating knowledge on neuroscience to the general public. Thus, the aim of this paper is to report the experiences of the GEN, in order to encourage similar initiatives in other institutions. For this, we described in detail the progress since its inception in 2012 to date. As a direct result of the activities developed, this paper  aims to report  the experiences of the GEN as a means to encourage similar activities in other institutions. For this, we described in details the progress from the beginning of our project in 2012 until the present moment.  From these actions we perceived that the weekly meetings of the GEN continuously promoted critical thinking on the participants from the discussion on topics that were addressed superficially by the popular media. The extension actions demonstrated not only relevance for the dissemination of neuroscience studies, but also to bring the GEN to attention. Although the pieces of research linked to GEN need further attention, the discussions carried out have helped students finding their vocation in neuroscience  which was evidenced by the approval of students in courses and internships in centers of excellence in this field. Keywords: University Extension, Brain, Science Communication.   Proyecto de Extensión "Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia": la difusión de la neurociencia y despertar vocaciones Resumen: Como la neurociencia es un tema bastante publicitado por los medios de comunicación, sin embargo, raramente es abordada en el plan de estudios de los cursos de graduación. Para intentar cambiar ese panorama, el Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia (GEN) es un proyecto de extensión desarrollado en la Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cuyo objetivo es discutir y debatir sobre los artículos seleccionados por la coordinadora del grupo (enseñanza), motivar a los participantes para que desarrollen proyectos científicos (investigación) y promover acciones de divulgación de Neurociencia (extensión), como la organización de la "Semana del Cerebro ", que es una campaña que promueve conferencias con el objetivo de difundir los conocimientos de la neurociencia para la comunidad en general. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es socializar las experiencias del GEN, con el fin de fomentar iniciativas similares en otras instituciones. Para esto, se describe en detalles las acciones del grupo desde su creación en 2012 hasta la fecha actual. Como resultados, se constató que las reuniones semanales del GEN estimulan continuamente la formación de un sentido crítico sobre el tema, discutiendo temas que son abordados superficialmente por los medios de comunicación. Las acciones de extensión se demostraron no solo ser relevantes para la difusión de la neurociencia, pero también del GEN. Las investigaciones vinculadas al GEN necesitan más acciones, pero las discusiones han despertado vocaciones en la neurociencia y la prueba de esto es la aprobación de estudiantes en cursos y prácticas en centros de excelencia en el área. Palabras clave: Extensión Universitaria,  Cerebro, Comunicación de la Ciencia. </p

PROJETO DE EXTENSÃO “GRUPO DE ESTUDOS EM NEUROCIÊNCIA”: DIVULGANDO NEUROCIÊNCIA E DESPERTANDO VOCAÇÕES

A neurociência é um tema altamente divulgado pela mídia, mas raramente é abordada na grade curricular dos cursos de graduação. Com o intento de mudar este panorama, o Grupo de Estudos em Neurociência (GEN) é um projeto de extensão desenvolvido na Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cujo objetivo é realizar discussões de artigos selecionados pela coordenadora do grupo (ensino), incentivando os participantes a desenvolver projetos de iniciação científica (pesquisa) e promover ações de divulgação da neurociência (extensão), principalmente através da organização da “Semana do Cérebro”, campanha global que promove palestras visando divulgar os conhecimentos da neurociência para a comunidade em geral. Deste modo, o objetivo deste artigo é relatar as experiências do GEN, de modo a incentivar iniciativas semelhantes em outras instituições. Para isso, descrevemos detalhadamente o andamento e as ações do mesmo desde sua criação em 2012 até o presente momento. Como resultado, verificamos que as reuniões semanais do GEN estimulam de modo contínuo a formação de um senso crítico sobre o tema, discutindo questões que são abordadas superficialmente pela mídia. Já as ações extensionistas demonstraram ser relevantes não somente para a divulgação da neurociência, mas também do GEN. As pesquisas vinculadas ao GEN necessitam de mais ações, mas as discussões já despertaram vocações na área de neurociências e uma das comprovações deste fato é a aprovação de alunos em cursos e realização de estágios em centros de excelência na área. Palavras-chave: Extensão Universitária, Cérebro, Divulgação Científica. Extension Project "Study Group on Neuroscience": spreading neuroscience and inspiring vocations Abstract: Neuroscience is a highly publicized issue throughout the media but rarely addressed in the curriculum of undergraduate courses. In order to change this reality, the Study Group on Neuroscience (GEN) is an extension project developed at the Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, has as its main goals the task of promoting  discussions of articles previously selected by the group’s coordinator (teaching), to encourage the participants to develop scientific projects (research) and to deliver lectures on themes related to  neuroscience (extension). These activities are concentrated mainly in the organization of the "Brain Awareness Week", a global campaign which promotes talks with the objective of disseminating knowledge on neuroscience to the general public. Thus, the aim of this paper is to report the experiences of the GEN, in order to encourage similar initiatives in other institutions. For this, we described in detail the progress since its inception in 2012 to date. As a direct result of the activities developed, this paper  aims to report  the experiences of the GEN as a means to encourage similar activities in other institutions. For this, we described in details the progress from the beginning of our project in 2012 until the present moment.  From these actions we perceived that the weekly meetings of the GEN continuously promoted critical thinking on the participants from the discussion on topics that were addressed superficially by the popular media. The extension actions demonstrated not only relevance for the dissemination of neuroscience studies, but also to bring the GEN to attention. Although the pieces of research linked to GEN need further attention, the discussions carried out have helped students finding their vocation in neuroscience  which was evidenced by the approval of students in courses and internships in centers of excellence in this field. Keywords: University Extension, Brain, Science Communication.   Proyecto de Extensión "Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia": la difusión de la neurociencia y despertar vocaciones Resumen: Como la neurociencia es un tema bastante publicitado por los medios de comunicación, sin embargo, raramente es abordada en el plan de estudios de los cursos de graduación. Para intentar cambiar ese panorama, el Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia (GEN) es un proyecto de extensión desarrollado en la Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cuyo objetivo es discutir y debatir sobre los artículos seleccionados por la coordinadora del grupo (enseñanza), motivar a los participantes para que desarrollen proyectos científicos (investigación) y promover acciones de divulgación de Neurociencia (extensión), como la organización de la "Semana del Cerebro ", que es una campaña que promueve conferencias con el objetivo de difundir los conocimientos de la neurociencia para la comunidad en general. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es socializar las experiencias del GEN, con el fin de fomentar iniciativas similares en otras instituciones. Para esto, se describe en detalles las acciones del grupo desde su creación en 2012 hasta la fecha actual. Como resultados, se constató que las reuniones semanales del GEN estimulan continuamente la formación de un sentido crítico sobre el tema, discutiendo temas que son abordados superficialmente por los medios de comunicación. Las acciones de extensión se demostraron no solo ser relevantes para la difusión de la neurociencia, pero también del GEN. Las investigaciones vinculadas al GEN necesitan más acciones, pero las discusiones han despertado vocaciones en la neurociencia y la prueba de esto es la aprobación de estudiantes en cursos y prácticas en centros de excelencia en el área. Palabras clave: Extensión Universitaria,  Cerebro, Comunicación de la Ciencia.

PROJETO DE EXTENSÃO “GRUPO DE ESTUDOS EM NEUROCIÊNCIA”: DIVULGANDO NEUROCIÊNCIA E DESPERTANDO VOCAÇÕES

A neurociência é um tema altamente divulgado pela mídia, mas raramente é abordada na grade curricular dos cursos de graduação. Com o intento de mudar este panorama, o Grupo de Estudos em Neurociência (GEN) é um projeto de extensão desenvolvido na Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cujo objetivo é realizar discussões de artigos selecionados pela coordenadora do grupo (ensino), incentivando os participantes a desenvolver projetos de iniciação científica (pesquisa) e promover ações de divulgação da neurociência (extensão), principalmente através da organização da “Semana do Cérebro”, campanha global que promove palestras visando divulgar os conhecimentos da neurociência para a comunidade em geral. Deste modo, o objetivo deste artigo é relatar as experiências do GEN, de modo a incentivar iniciativas semelhantes em outras instituições. Para isso, descrevemos detalhadamente o andamento e as ações do mesmo desde sua criação em 2012 até o presente momento. Como resultado, verificamos que as reuniões semanais do GEN estimulam de modo contínuo a formação de um senso crítico sobre o tema, discutindo questões que são abordadas superficialmente pela mídia. Já as ações extensionistas demonstraram ser relevantes não somente para a divulgação da neurociência, mas também do GEN. As pesquisas vinculadas ao GEN necessitam de mais ações, mas as discussões já despertaram vocações na área de neurociências e uma das comprovações deste fato é a aprovação de alunos em cursos e realização de estágios em centros de excelência na área. Palavras-chave: Extensão Universitária, Cérebro, Divulgação Científica. Extension Project "Study Group on Neuroscience": spreading neuroscience and inspiring vocations Abstract: Neuroscience is a highly publicized issue throughout the media but rarely addressed in the curriculum of undergraduate courses. In order to change this reality, the Study Group on Neuroscience (GEN) is an extension project developed at the Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, has as its main goals the task of promoting  discussions of articles previously selected by the group’s coordinator (teaching), to encourage the participants to develop scientific projects (research) and to deliver lectures on themes related to  neuroscience (extension). These activities are concentrated mainly in the organization of the "Brain Awareness Week", a global campaign which promotes talks with the objective of disseminating knowledge on neuroscience to the general public. Thus, the aim of this paper is to report the experiences of the GEN, in order to encourage similar initiatives in other institutions. For this, we described in detail the progress since its inception in 2012 to date. As a direct result of the activities developed, this paper  aims to report  the experiences of the GEN as a means to encourage similar activities in other institutions. For this, we described in details the progress from the beginning of our project in 2012 until the present moment.  From these actions we perceived that the weekly meetings of the GEN continuously promoted critical thinking on the participants from the discussion on topics that were addressed superficially by the popular media. The extension actions demonstrated not only relevance for the dissemination of neuroscience studies, but also to bring the GEN to attention. Although the pieces of research linked to GEN need further attention, the discussions carried out have helped students finding their vocation in neuroscience  which was evidenced by the approval of students in courses and internships in centers of excellence in this field. Keywords: University Extension, Brain, Science Communication.   Proyecto de Extensión "Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia": la difusión de la neurociencia y despertar vocaciones Resumen: Como la neurociencia es un tema bastante publicitado por los medios de comunicación, sin embargo, raramente es abordada en el plan de estudios de los cursos de graduación. Para intentar cambiar ese panorama, el Grupo de Estudio sobre Neurociencia (GEN) es un proyecto de extensión desarrollado en la Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP, cuyo objetivo es discutir y debatir sobre los artículos seleccionados por la coordinadora del grupo (enseñanza), motivar a los participantes para que desarrollen proyectos científicos (investigación) y promover acciones de divulgación de Neurociencia (extensión), como la organización de la "Semana del Cerebro ", que es una campaña que promueve conferencias con el objetivo de difundir los conocimientos de la neurociencia para la comunidad en general. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es socializar las experiencias del GEN, con el fin de fomentar iniciativas similares en otras instituciones. Para esto, se describe en detalles las acciones del grupo desde su creación en 2012 hasta la fecha actual. Como resultados, se constató que las reuniones semanales del GEN estimulan continuamente la formación de un sentido crítico sobre el tema, discutiendo temas que son abordados superficialmente por los medios de comunicación. Las acciones de extensión se demostraron no solo ser relevantes para la difusión de la neurociencia, pero también del GEN. Las investigaciones vinculadas al GEN necesitan más acciones, pero las discusiones han despertado vocaciones en la neurociencia y la prueba de esto es la aprobación de estudiantes en cursos y prácticas en centros de excelencia en el área. Palabras clave: Extensión Universitaria,  Cerebro, Comunicación de la Ciencia. </p