The use of a task through virtual reality in cerebral palsy using two different interaction devices (concrete and abstract) - a cross-sectional randomized study.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is characterised by variable difficulties in muscular action, resulting in inability of the individual to perform functional movement. An option to provide functionality to the individual with CP is the use of computer innovation. The aim of this paper was to verify if there was any performance improvement in a task performed in a virtual environment and if there was transfer to the task performed in the real environment and vice versa in this population. METHODS: A computer program was developed comprising a motor task, but with two possibilities of user interaction: a) concrete interface (with physical contact): in which the individual touches the computer screen to finish the task and b) abstract interface (no physical contact): in which the individual performs a hand movement in front of the Kinect device. Participants were split into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 28 individuals with CP within the ages of 6 and 15 years old. The control group included 28 typically developing individuals mirroring the age and sex of the experimental group. RESULTS: Individuals from both groups were able to improve task performance and retain acquired information. The CP group presented worse performance than the control group in all phases of the study. Further findings showed that the CP group presented better performance in the abstract interface than in the concrete interface, whereas, in the control group, the opposite occurred: their best performance was in the concrete. CONCLUSIONS: Motor tasks performed by individuals with CP through an interface with a more virtual environment feature (abstract interface: Kinect) provided better performance when compared to an interface with a more real characteristic (concrete interface: Touchscreen). TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier - NCT03352440; Date of registration - November 17, 2017

Individual, spatial and inter-sex variation in somatic growth: A study of Piaractus mesopotamicus (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae), a long-distance freshwater Neotropical migratory fish

Growth is a fundamental biological process, driven by multiple endogenous (intra-individual) and exogenous (environmental) factors that maintain individual fitness and population stability. The current study aims to assess whether individual, spatial (headwaters and floodplains) and inter-sex variation occurs in the growth of Piaractus mesopotamicus in the Cuiabá River basin. Samples were collected monthly from July 2006 to July 2007, at two areas in the Cuiabá River basin (headwaters and floodplain). Three growth models (individuals; individuals and sex factors; individuals and areas factors) were developed and compared the fish growth parameters using Akaike information criterion (AIC). The best fit to the length-at-age data was obtained by a model that considered individual variation and sex. The theoretical maximum average length (L∞) was 64.99 cm for females, and 63.23 cm for males. Females showed a growth rate (k) of 0.230 yr-1and males of 0.196 yr-1. Thus, could be concluded that individual variability and sex were the main sources of variation in P. mesopotamicus somatic growth parameters. © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia. All rights reserved

Application Of Molecular Fingerprinting For Analysis Of A Pah-contaminated Soil Microbiota Growing In The Presence Of Complex Pahs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitute a group of priority pollutants which are present at high concentrations in the soils of many industrial contaminated sites. Pollution by these compounds may stimulate growth of organisms able to live in these environments causing changes in the structure of the microbial community due to some cooperative process of metabolization of toxic compounds. A long-term PAH-contaminated soil was stored for several years and used to analyze the native microbiota regarding their ability to grow on pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene, as well as in mixtures of LMW-and HMW-PAHs. Molecular profiles of the microbial community was assessed by PCR-DGGE of 16S rRNA gene, and the number of bands observed in DGGE analyses was interpreted as dominant microbial members into the bacterial community. Results of PAH-contaminated soil microorganisms showed different profiles in the degradative dynamics when some nutrients were added. Predominant species may play a significative role while growing and surviving on PAHs, and some other metabolically active species have emerged to interact themselves in a cooperative catabolism of PAHs.3216369BOONCHAN, S., BRITZ, M.L., STANLEY, G.A., Degradation and mineralization of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by defined fungal-bacterial cocultures (2000) Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 66 (3), pp. 1007-1019BOUCHEZ, M., BLANCHET, D., VANDECASTEELE, J.P., Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by pure strains and by defined strain associations:inhibition phenomena and cometabolism (1995) Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 43 (1), pp. 156-164CANET, R., BIRNSTINGL, J.G., MALCOLM, D.G., LOPEZ-REAL, J.M., BECK, A.J., Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by native microflora and combinations of white-rot fungi in a coaltar contaminated soil (2001) Bioresource Technology, 76 (5), pp. 113-117FORD, T.E., Response of marine microbial communities to anthropogenic stress (2000) Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery, 7 (1), pp. 75-89GAUTHIER, E., DÉZIEL, E., VILLEMUR, R., JUTEAU, P., LÉPINE, F., BEAUDET, R., Initial characterization of new bacteria degrading high-molecular eright poycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons isolated from a 2-year enrichment in a two-liquid-phase culture system (2003) Journal of Applied Microbiology, 94 (1), pp. 301-311JUHASZ, A.L., STANLEY, G.A., BRITZ, M.L., Microbial degradation and detoxification of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain VUN 10,003 (2000) Letters in Applied Microbiology, 30 (5), pp. 396-401KANALY, R.A., HARAYAMA, S., Bioregradation of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by bacteria (2000) Journal of Bacteriology, 182 (8), pp. 2059-2067LAPARA, T.M., KLATT, C.G., CHEN, R., Adaptations in bacterial catabolic enzyme activity and community structure in membrane-coupled bioreactors fed simple synthetic wastewater (2006) Journal of Biotechnology, 121 (1), pp. 368-380LEE, P.H., DOICK, K.J., SEMPLE, K.T., The development of phenanthrene catabolism in soils amended with transformer oil (2003) FEMS Microbiology Letters, 228 (2), pp. 217-223LINDSTROM, J.E., BARRY, R.P., BRADDOCK, J.F., Long-term affect of microbial communities after a subartic oil spill (1999) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 31 (12), pp. 1677-1689MARCOUX, J., DÉZIEL, E., VILLEMUR, R., LÉPINE, F., BISAILLON, J.G., BEAUDET, R., Optimization of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degradation in a two-liquid-phase bioreactor (2000) Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88 (1), pp. 655-662MISHRA, S., JYOT, J., KUHAD, R.C., LAL, B., Evaluation of inoculum addition to stimulate in situ bioremediation of oily-sludge-contaminated soil (2001) Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67 (4), pp. 1675-1681NAKATSU, C.H., TORSVIK, V., OVREÅS, L., Soil community analysis using DGGE of 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction products (2000) Soil Science Society of America Journal, 64 (7), pp. 1382-1388OVREÅS, L., TORSVIK, V., Microbial diversity and community structure in two different agricultural soil communities (1998) Microbial Ecology, 36 (1), pp. 303-315PISKONEN, R., NYYSSÖNEN, M., RAJAMÄKI, T., ITÄVAARA, M., Monitoring and accelerated naphthalenebiodegradation in bioaugmented soil slurry (2005) Biodegradation, 16 (2), pp. 127-134RAMIREZ, N., CUTRIGHT, T., JU, L.K., Pyrene biodegradation in aqueous solutions and soil slurries by Mycobacterium PYR-1 and enriched consortium (2001) Chemosphere, 44 (5), pp. 1079-1086REID, B.J., FERMOR, T.R., SEMPLE, K.T., Feasibility of using muchroom compost for the bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil (2002) Environmental Pollution, 118 (1), pp. 65-73SEI, K., INOUE, D., WADA, K., MORI, K., IKE, M., KOHNO, T., FUJITA, M., Monitoring behavior of catabolic genes and change of microbial community structures in seawater microcosms during aromatic compound degradation (2004) Water Resources, 38 (1), pp. 4405-4414TORSVIK, V., DAAE, F.L., SANDAA, R.A., OVREÅS, L., Novel techniques for analyzing microbial diversity in natural and perturbed environments (1998) Journal of Biotechnology, 64 (1), pp. 53-62VAN ELSAS, J.D., DUARTE, G.F., ROSADO, A.S., SMALLA, R.K., Microbiological and molecular biological methods for monitoring microbial inoculants and their effects in the soil environment (1998) Journal of Microbiological Methods, 32 (2), pp. 133-154VENOSA, A. D.STEPHEN, J. R.MACNAUGHTON, S. J.CHANG, Y.WHITE, D. C. Microbial population changes during bioremediation of an experimental oil spill. In: BELL, C. R.BRYLINSKY, M.JOHNSON-GREEN, P. (Ed.). Microbial biosystems: new frontiers. Kentville: Atlantic Canada Society for Microbial Ecology, 1999. p.759-765VIÑAS, M., SABATÉ, J., ESPUNY, M.J., SOLANAS, A.M., Bacterial community dynamics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation during bioremediation of heavily creosote-contaminated soil (2005) Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71 (1), pp. 7008-701

Cost-effective fibrinolytic enzyme production by microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta using medium supplemented with corn steep liquor

Abstract A fibrinolytic enzyme from the microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta was produced under mixotrophic conditions using different corn steep liquor (CSL) concentrations ( 0 ≤ CLS ≤ 0.75%), purified using a combination of salting out and ion-exchange chromatography, and then biochemical characterized. Cultivation of this microalga using 0.5% CSL led to the highest maximum cell concentration (1.960±0.010 mg L-1) and cell productivity (0.140g L-1 day-1), besides a high fibrinolytic activity of the extract obtained by the homogenization method (102 ±1 U mL-1). The enzyme extracted from the microalgal biomass was 5-fold purified with a 20% yield and was found to have a specific activity of 670 U mg-1. The enzyme, whose molecular weight determined by fibrin zymography was 10 kDa, was shown to be stable at pH 3.0–9.0 and up to 70°C with optimal pH and temperature values of 8.0 and 50°C, respectively. When compared to other fibrinolytic enzymes, this protease stood out for its high fibrinolytic activity, which was enhanced by Fe2+, inhibited by Zn2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, and strongly inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, suggesting that it belongs to the serine metalloprotease family. Moreover, thanks to its thermal stability, the enzyme may be easily preserved and activated under high-temperature conditions

EpiReumaPt- the study of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases in Portugal: a detailed view of the methodology

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) are prevalent and leading causes of disability and consumption of healthcare and social resources. EpiReumaPt is a national population-based survey developed by the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology that aimed to estimate the prevalence of RMDs and determine their impact on function, quality of life, mental health and use of healthcare resources. This article describes in detail the design, methodology and planned analyses of EpiReumaPt. Recruitment started in September 2011 and finished in December 2013. This study involved a three-stage approach. The first step was a face-to-face survey performed by trained interviewers at the household of 10,661 subjects who where randomly selected by a stratified multistage sampling. A highly sensitive screening questionnaire for RMDs was used. Secondly, participants who screened positive (64%) for at least one RMD as well as 20% of individuals with a negative screening were invited for assessment by a rheumatologist. In total, 3,877 subjects participated in this second phase, where they were also invited to donate a blood sample to be stored at the Biobanco-IMM. History and physical examination, followed by appropriate laboratory and imaging tests were performed. At the end of the visit, the rheumatologist established a diagnosis. Finally, a team of three experienced rheumatologists reviewed all the clinical data and defined the diagnoses according to previously validated criteria. The EpiReumaPt dataset, containing data from several questionnaires, various clinical measurements and information from laboratory and imaging tests, comprises an invaluable asset for research. The large amount of information collected from each participant and the large number of participants, with a wide age range covering and being representative of the adults from the entire country, makes EpiReumaPt the largest study of RMDs performed in Portugal