Using COSMO-RS to design choline chloride pharmaceutical eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) present interesting properties, mostly connected to their solvation ability, and have been subject to much research in the recent past. Currently, the discovery of new eutectic solvents is accomplished by experimentally measuring the eutectic point of random systems, often using choline chloride as a hydrogen bond acceptor. In this work, the eutectic temperatures of new choline chloride-based eutectic systems were experimentally assessed. These data, along with other previously reported in the literature, were used to evaluate a method based on COSMO-RS to predict the eutectic temperature of choline-chloride based mixtures. The predictive methodology herein developed allows for the quick scanning of a large matrix of systems in order to identify those more promising to be in the liquid state at a given temperature. To validate this method, the eutectic temperature of pharmaceutical drug mixtures was predicted and, then, assessed experimentally, showing that COSMO-RS is useful in the design of liquid drug-based formulations.This work was developed in the scope of the project CICECO e Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013) and Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM, POCI- 01-0145-FEDER-006984 (Ref. FCT UID/EQU/50020/2013), and project MultiBiorefinery (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016403), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate cofinanced by FEDDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. FCT is also acknowledged for funding the project DeepBiorefinery (PTDC/AGRTEC/1191/2014). Marcos Larriba also thanks Ministerio de Eduación, Cultura y Deporte of Spain for awarding him a José Castillejo postdoctoral mobility grant (CAS17/00018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATRIBUTOS EDÁFICOS DE CAVAS DE EXTRAÇÃO DE ARGILA APÓS CULTIVOS PUROS E CONSORCIADOS DE Eucalyptus spp. E Mimosa caesalpiniifolia BENTH (SABIÁ) E QUANTIFICAÇÃO DA PODA DE SABIÁ

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of eucalipt and sabiá in pure and mixed plantings on chemical characteristics of the soil in a clay extraction area and quantify the biomass and nutrients from pruned material of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth (sabiá) plants. Seedlings of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. pellita, E. robusta and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia were planted in both planting systems. Soil analysis were carried out in each plot before, and 24 months after the planting. The Mimosa caesalpiniifolia plants were evaluated regarding survival, height, diameter, crown area and fine roots. Dry biomass of the pruned material at the ages of 12 and 24 months was quantified. Nutrient contents of Na and C were determined. Among the treatments the most adequate for soil reabilitation is E. robusta + sabiá. This mixed planting stimulated increasing C content in the soil and reduction of the salinity. All plantings showed K reduction in the soil. Plants of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia showed lower growth when mixed with E. pellita. Total dry biomass from the pruning of the Mimosa caesalpiniifolia plants (t ha –1) at the age of 12 months of the pure planting was 3.6 ± 0.5 and in the mixed, 1.3 ± 0.1. At the age of 24 months, the values were 11.3 ± 0.4 in the pure planting and 4,6 ± 0.1 in the mixed planting.Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito do plantio de eucalipto e de sabiá em sistemas puros e consorciados sobre características químicas do solo de cavas de extração de argila e quantificar biomassa e nutrientes fornecidos pelo material de plantas podadas de Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth (sabiá). Foram plantadas mudas de Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. pellita, E. tereticornis, E. robusta e Mimosa caesalpiniifolia em plantios puros e consorciados. Realizaram-se análises do solo, por parcela, antes e 24 meses depois do plantio. As plantas de sabiá foram avaliadas quanto a sobrevivência, altura, diâmetro, área de copa e raízes finas. Quantificou-se a matéria seca do material podado aos 12 e 24 meses. Aos doze meses, determinou-se o teor de nutrientes, Na e C, nesse material. Entre os tratamentos testados, o mais promissor para recuperação do solo é o consórcio entre E. robusta+sabiá, por proporcionar aumento no teor de C no solo e contribuir para a redução da salinidade. Em todos os sistemas de plantio testados, houve redução de K no solo. Mimosa caesalpiniifolia apresenta menor crescimento quando consorciado com E. pellita. A biomassa seca total fornecida pela poda do sabiá em t ha-1, aos 12 meses, no plantio puro de sabiá, foi de 3,6±0,5, e no consorciado, de 1,3±0,1; aos 24 meses foi de 11,3±0,4 no puro e de 4,6±0,1 no consorciado

Simultaneous Separation of Antioxidants and Carbohydrates From Food Wastes Using Aqueous Biphasic Systems Formed by Cholinium-Derived Ionic Liquids

project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UID/CTM/50011/2019. Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV, FCT Ref. UID/QUI/50006/2019. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016403. Investigator FCT project IF/00621/2015. Programa Mais Centro under project CENTRO-07-ST24-FEDER-002008. COMPETE: PEst-C/SAU/UI0709/2011.The food industry produces significant amounts of waste, many of them rich in valuable compounds that could be recovered and reused in the framework of circular economy. The development of sustainable and cost-effective technologies to recover these value added compounds will contribute to a significant decrease of the environmental footprint and economic burden of this industry sector. Accordingly, in this work, aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of cholinium-derived bistriflimide ionic liquids (ILs) and carbohydrates were investigated as an alternative process to simultaneously separate and recover antioxidants and carbohydrates from food waste. Aiming at improving the biocompatible character of the studied ILs and proposed process, cholinium-derived bistriflimide ILs were chosen, which were properly designed by playing with the cation alkyl side chain and the number of functional groups attached to the cation to be able to create ABS with carbohydrates. These ILs were characterized by cytotoxicity assays toward human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cell line), demonstrating to have a significantly lower toxicity than other well-known and commonly used fluorinated ILs. The capability of these ILs to form ABS with a series of carbohydrates, namely monosaccharides, disaccharides and polyols, was then appraised by the determination of the respective ternary liquid-liquid phase diagrams at 25 degrees C. The studied ABS were finally used to separate carbohydrates and antioxidants from real food waste samples, using an expired vanilla pudding as an example. With the studied systems, the separation of the two products occurs in one-step, where carbohydrates are enriched in the carbohydrate-rich phase and antioxidants are mainly present in the IL-rich phase. Extraction efficiencies of carbohydrates ranging between 89 and 92% to the carbohydrate-rich phase, and antioxidant relative activities ranging between 65 and 75% in the IL-rich phase were obtained. Furthermore, antioxidants from the IL-rich phase were recovered by solid-phase extraction, and the IL was recycled for two more times with no losses on the ABS separation performance. Overall, the obtained results show that the investigated ABS are promising platforms to simultaneously separate carbohydrates and antioxidants from real food waste samples, and could be used in further related applications foreseeing industrial food waste valorization.publishersversionpublishe

Sesbania virgata (Cav.) Pers. seedlings growth in a degraded area after clay extraction

This experiment intended to evaluate the initial growth of Sesbania virgata (Cav.) Pers. (sesbânia) seedlings planted with distinct fertilizers in a degraded area after clay extraction. The seedlings were inoculated with Rhizobium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete-block design. Each experimental unit had 4 repetitions with 16 seedlings. The treatments were: 1. control; 2. ferkal (0,6 kg hole-1); 3. urban waste (0,8 kg hole-1); 4. sugar cane filter cake (0,6 kg hole-1) and 5. simple super phosphate (0,1 kg hole-1). Along the first 3 months the rate of surviving plants was evaluated. Height and diameter at the soil level had been bimonthly measured until the tenth month of growth. At this time were also measured the N, P and K nutrient contents of the leaves as well as the biomass production. No difference among the treatments had been observed for these variables. Effects of fertilization on the growth and production of biomass were not found out under the conditions of this study. Lenght and superficial thin root area (diameter larger and smaller than 0,3mm) were evaluated 14 months after planting. Higher values of length and thinner superficial area of the smallest roots were verified in comparison to the larger ones (more than 0,3 mm). Urban waste and sugar cane filter cake stimulated root production.O objetivo deste trabalho foi testar o crescimento inicial de mudas de Sesbania virgata (Cav.) Pers. (sesbânia), plantadas em uma área degradada por extração de argila, em covas fertilizadas. As mudas foram inoculadas com rizóbio e fungos micorrízicos arbusculares. O experimento foi instalado em blocos ao acaso, com 4 repetições, sendo as parcelas constituídas por 16 plantas. Os tratamentos foram: 1. testemunha; 2. ferkal (0,6 kg cova-1); 3. composto de lixo urbano (0,8 kg cova-1); 4. torta de filtro (0,6 kg cova-1); e 5. superfosfato simples (0,1 kg cova-1). Nos 3 primeiros meses, foram avaliados os percentuais de sobrevivência e, bimestralmente, o crescimento em altura e diâmetro ao nível do solo, até o 10o mês após o plantio. Nessa ocasião, também foram determinados os teores foliares de N, P e K e a produção de fitomassa, não tendo sido constatada diferença significativa entre os tratamentos para essas variáveis. Não foi verificado efeito da fertilização sobre o crescimento e a produção de fitomassa de sesbânia, nas condições deste estudo. O comprimento e área superficial de raízes finas (diâmetros maiores e menores que 0,3 mm) foram avaliados aos 14 meses, tendo-se constatado diferenças significativas. Verificou-se maior comprimento e superfície de raízes mais finas em comparação àquelas maiores que 0,3 mm de diâmetro. O composto de lixo urbano e a torta de filtro estimularam a produção de raízes

Closely related fungi employ diverse enzymatic strategies to degrade plant biomass

Background Plant biomass is the major substrate for the production of biofuels and biochemicals, as well as food, textiles and other products. It is also the major carbon source for many fungi and enzymes of these fungi are essential for the depolymerization of plant polysaccharides in industrial processes. This is a highly complex process that involves a large number of extracellular enzymes as well as non-hydrolytic proteins, whose production in fungi is controlled by a set of transcriptional regulators. Aspergillus species form one of the best studied fungal genera in this field, and several species are used for the production of commercial enzyme cocktails. Results It is often assumed that related fungi use similar enzymatic approaches to degrade plant polysaccharides. In this study we have compared the genomic content and the enzymes produced by eight Aspergilli for the degradation of plant biomass. All tested Aspergilli have a similar genomic potential to degrade plant biomass, with the exception of A. clavatus that has a strongly reduced pectinolytic ability. Despite this similar genomic potential their approaches to degrade plant biomass differ markedly in the overall activities as well as the specific enzymes they employ. While many of the genes have orthologs in (nearly) all tested species, only very few of the corresponding enzymes are produced by all species during growth on wheat bran or sugar beet pulp. In addition, significant differences were observed between the enzyme sets produced on these feedstocks, largely correlating with their polysaccharide composition. Conclusions These data demonstrate that Aspergillus species and possibly also other related fungi employ significantly different approaches to degrade plant biomass. This makes sense from an ecological perspective where mixed populations of fungi together degrade plant biomass. The results of this study indicate that combining the approaches from different species could result in improved enzyme mixtures for industrial applications, in particular saccharification of plant biomass for biofuel production. Such an approach may result in a much better improvement of saccharification efficiency than adding specific enzymes to the mixture of a single fungus, which is currently the most common approach used in biotechnology.Peer reviewe

Guidelines for the management of neuroendocrine tumours by the Brazilian gastrointestinal tumour group

Neuroendocrine tumours are a heterogeneous group of diseases with a significant variety of diagnostic tests and treatment modalities. Guidelines were developed by North American and European groups to recommend their best management. However, local particularities and relativisms found worldwide led us to create Brazilian guidelines. Our consensus considered the best feasible strategies in an environment involving more limited resources. We believe that our recommendations may be extended to other countries with similar economic standards.Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Canc Estado Sao Paulo, BR-01246000 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Radiol & Oncol, BR-01246903 Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Sirio Libanes, BR-01308050 Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Moinhos de Vento Porto Alegre, BR-90035000 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilOncoctr, BR-30360680 Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Cirurgia, BR-90040060 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilHosp Clin Porto Alegre, BR-90035903 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Ceara, Fac Med, Dept Fisiol & Farmacol, BR-60020180 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilHosp Univ Walter Cantidio, BR-60430370 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilInst Nacl Canc, BR-20230240 Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Disciplina Endocrinol & Metabol, BR-01246903 Sao Paulo, BrazilAC Camargo Canc Ctr, Dept Surg, BR-01509010 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Gastroenterol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Ciencias Saude Porto Alegre, BR-90050170 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilHosp Albert Einstein, BR-05652900 Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Base, Fac Med Sao Jose do Rio Preto, BR-15090000 Sao Paulo, BrazilSanta Casa Sao Jose do Rio Preto, BR-15025500 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, BrazilPontificia Univ Catolica Parana, Hosp Erasto Gaertner, BR-81520060 Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Norte, BR-59300000 Natal, RN, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Coracao, BR-05403900 Sao Paulo, BrazilAC Camargo Canc Ctr, Med Oncol, BR-01509010 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Disciplina Gastroenterol, BR-04021001 Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Sao Rafael, BR-41253190 Salvador, BA, BrazilHosp Canc Barretos, Dept Cirurgia Aparelho Digest Alto & Hepatobiliop, BR-14784400 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Patol, BR-01246903 Sao Paulo, BrazilClin AMO, BR-1950640 Salvador, BA, BrazilHosp Sao Jose, BR-01323001 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Nove de Julho, BR-02111030 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Disciplina Gastroenterol, BR-04021001 Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Epidemiologic aspects of the malaria transmission cycle in an area of very low incidence in Brazil

BACKGROUND: Extra-Amazonian autochthonous Plasmodium vivax infections have been reported in mountainous regions surrounded by the Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo state, Brazil. METHODS: Sixty-five patients and 1,777 residents were surveyed between April 2001 and March 2004. Laboratory methods included thin and thick smears, multiplex-PCR, immunofluorescent assay (IFA) against P. vivax and Plasmodium malariae crude blood-stage antigens and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibodies against the P. vivax-complex (P. vivax and variants) and P. malariae/Plasmodium brasilianum circumsporozoite-protein (CSP) antigens. RESULTS: Average patient age was 35.1 years. Most (78.5%) were males; 64.6% lived in rural areas; 35.4% were farmers; and 12.3% students. There was no relevant history of travel. Ninety-five per cent of the patients were experiencing their first episode of malaria. Laboratory data from 51 patients were consistent with P. vivax infection, which was determined by thin smear. Of these samples, 48 were assayed by multiplex-PCR. Forty-five were positive for P. vivax, confirming the parasitological results, while P. malariae was detected in one sample and two gave negative results. Fifty percent of the 50 patients tested had IgG antibodies against the P. vivax-complex or P. malariae CSP as determined by ELISA. The percentages of residents with IgM and IgG antibodies detected by IFA for P. malariae, P. vivax and Plasmodium falciparum who did not complain of malaria symptoms at the time blood was collected were 30.1% and 56.5%, 6.2% and 37.7%, and 13.5% and 13%, respectively. The same sera that reacted to P. vivax also reacted to P. malariae. The following numbers of samples were positive in multiplex-PCR: 23 for P. vivax; 15 for P. malariae; 9 for P. falciparum and only one for P. falciparum and P. malariae. All thin and thick smears were negative. ELISA against CSP antigens was positive in 25.4%, 6.3%, 10.7% and 15.1% of the samples tested for "classical" P. vivax (VK210), VK247, P. vivax-like and P. malariae, respectively. Anopheline captures in the transmission area revealed only zoophilic and exophilic species. CONCLUSION: The low incidence of malaria cases, the finding of asymptomatic inhabitants and the geographic separation of patients allied to serological and molecular results raise the possibility of the existence of a simian reservoir in these areas

Expanding tropical forest monitoring into Dry Forests: The DRYFLOR protocol for permanent plots

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordSocietal Impact Statement Understanding of tropical forests has been revolutionized by monitoring in permanent plots. Data from global plot networks have transformed our knowledge of forests’ diversity, function, contribution to global biogeochemical cycles, and sensitivity to climate change. Monitoring has thus far been concentrated in rain forests. Despite increasing appreciation of their threatened status, biodiversity, and importance to the global carbon cycle, monitoring in tropical dry forests is still in its infancy. We provide a protocol for permanent monitoring plots in tropical dry forests. Expanding monitoring into dry biomes is critical for overcoming the linked challenges of climate change, land use change, and the biodiversity crisis.Newton FundNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloCYTE