Influência da velocidade específica de crescimento de Monascus purpureus ATCC36928 na produção de pigmentos vermelhos

Os pigmentos vermelhos produzidos por Monascus sp são substitutos de sais de nitrito (conservantes), os quais são precursores de nitrosamina (cancerígeno). O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver o processo de cultivo contínuo para averbar a produção de pigmentos vermelhos estabelecendo valor adequado da velocidade específica de crescimento (μ), apresentado dados de viabilidade celular e morfologia microbiana. Não há na literatura relatos da aplicação de tal processo para Monascus purpureus ATCC36928. Os valores de D aplicados foram de 0,05 h-1, 0,025 h-1 e 0,1 h-1 (μmáx é de 0,15h-1). O maior valor da produção específica de pigmentos vermelhos (0,51UL.g) deu-se sob o menor valor de μ aplicado (0,025h-1) comparando-se à situação, de μ=0,1h-1, para a qual obteve-se 0,22UL.g-1. Menor viabilidade na condição de menor μ aplicado (0,025h-1), com perdas de 32%. A redução do valor de μ resultou no aumento do comprimento das hifas (20%) e do grau de ramificação (240%)

Insomnia: prevalence and associated factors

Nowadays sleep disorders are very common and affect most of the population, the most common may be insomnia. Insomnia is defined as the difficulty of initiating or maintaining sleep it, may also be reflected in an early wake up and by the presence of a non-restful sleep and it is associated with impairment in social and occupational functioning of the individual. Knowing the prevalence and the associated factors of insomnia. This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study. The population is constituted by 205 individuals of both sexes, aged over 18, who were in public places of a city in the north of the country. We applied a questionnaire to all the people who went through these places between 9 am to 7 pm. Insomnia was evaluated using the DSM-IV (Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). We use the Chi-square to study the relation between the independent variables with variable insomnia, adopting a confidence interval of 95%. The prevalence of insomnia was 46.8%. Who suffers more from insomnia are: women in menopause (64.1%), elder people (66.7%) and those with four or fewer years of education (73.9%). There was no significant statistical relationship between the prevalence of insomnia and sex or residence. The causes of insomnia are: concern (48.6%), noise (31.8%) and disease (8.4%). The drugs most consumed by insomniacs are benzodiazepines (79.2%). In this study insomnia affects about half of participants. The presence of insomnia seems to be related with the age increasing, low education and menopausal status in female

Validation of a suggested pre-operative protocol for the prevention of traumatic dental injuries during oroendotracheal intubation: a pilot study

The aim of this study was to develop a protocol for oral pre-operative registration and dental risk assessment by the anaesthesiologist, determining its reliability through the inter-observer agreement between a senior dental student and an internal physician specializing in anaesthesiology. A convenience sample consisting of 35 patients was selected. These were observed during the anaesthesiology consultation, at Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal. The protocol included a self-administered questionnaire and a brief clinical examination by the two observers. A descriptive analysis (qualitative and quantitative variables) was performed. The Fleiss Kappa index was used to measure the degree of agreement between the two observers. In most of the parameters defined, the agreement presented Kappa index values between 0.6 and 1, corresponding to good and excellent correlation, respectively. The general oral status was considered “poor”, with a great number of missing teeth, namely the upper central and lateral incisors. The proposed pre-anaesthetic protocol can be a reliable tool for the anaesthesiologists, which suggests the relevancy of incorporating interdisciplinary training between future health professionals. Further research is needed to assess its implementation, providing information about the pre-operative oral status, preventing intraoperative damage and potential medicolegal litigation

New PLS analysis approach to wine volatile compounds characterization by near infrared spectroscopy (NIR)

This work aims to explore the potential of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to quantify volatile compounds in Vinho Verde wines, commonly determined by gas chromatography. For this purpose, 105 Vinho Verde wine samples were analyzed using Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) transmission spectroscopy in the range of 5435cm1 to 6357cm1. Boxplot and principal components analysis (PCA) were performed for clusters identification and outliers removal. A partial least square (PLS) regression was then applied to develop the calibration models, by a new iterative approach. The predictive ability of the models was confirmed by an external validation procedure with an independent sample set. The obtained results could be considered as quite good with coefficients of determination (R2) varying from 0.94 to 0.97. The current methodology, using NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics, can be seen as a promising rapid tool to determine volatile compounds in Vinho Verde wines.The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/ 04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020–ProgramaOperacionalRegionaldoNorte.Theauthorsalso acknowledge the financial support to Zlatina Genisheva and Cristina Quintelas through the postdoctoral Grants (SFRH/BPD/108868/2015 and SFRH/BPD/101338/2014) provided by FCT – Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Apresentação incomum de hepatite induzida por Epstein-Barr Virus em criança de 15 meses de idade

Objective: We report an atypical case of hepatitis in an infant that could be helpful to physicians of various specialties, as it demonstrates an atypical clinical and laboratorial manifestation of a disease not so common at that age and that could have gone undiagnosed. Case Description: A 15-month-old female, immunocompetent patient was referred to the hospital with a 3-day history of fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. The patient presented with alternation between sleepiness and irritation associated with rapid increase in serum liver enzymes levels, but no jaundice. Neurologic evaluation showed no meningeal signs and no encephalic morphological abnormalities were observed in a cranial CT scan. Treatment consisted of symptomatic medication and daily evaluation for signs of hepatic encephalopa- thy or bleeding. A serological panel showed negative IgM but positive IgG reactivity against Cytomega- lovirus (CMV) and IgM and IgG negative immunoreactivity against HAV. She was not tested for Hepatits B (HBV) or Hepatits C (HCV). Positive immunoreactivity against the Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen (EBV VCA) IgM and negative reactivity against IgG, indicated a diagnosis of EBV-induced acute hepatitis. The patient was discharged asymptomatic after 11 days, with decreasing serum liver enzymes levels. A 15-day follow up evidenced complete remission of symptoms and normalized laboratory tests. Comments: Hepatic involvement in infections by Epstein-Barr Virus is common, presenting with moderate and transient increase in liver enzymes. It can go undetected and resolve spontaneously, while clinical manifestations of hepatitis are infrequent. In this report, we present an unusual case of a pediatric patient with hepatitis induced by EBV infection, along with a review of the literature. According to our search, no other EBV-induced hepatitis case reports have been published involving an immunocompetent patient under 2 years of ageObjetivo: Este relato de uma hepatite em um paciente pediátrico pode trazer benefícios para médicos de diversas especialidades, pois ele demonstra um quadro clínico e laboratorial atípicos de uma doença não tão comum nessa faixa etária e que poderia não ter sido diagnosticada. Descrição do Caso: Uma paciente, de 15 meses de idade, foi referenciada ao hospital com história de 3 dias de febre, vômitos e diarréia. A paciente apresentava alternância entre sonolência e irritação associada com rápida elevação das enzimas hepáticas, mas sem icterícia. Ao exame neurológico não foram evidenciados sinais meníngeos e a tomografia computadorizada de crânio não apresentou altera- ções. O tratamento consistiu em medicação sintomática junto à avaliação diária dos sinais de encefalopatia hepática ou sangramentos. O painel sorológico foi de IgM negativo e IgG positivo para Citomegalovirus (CMV) e IgM e IgG negativos para Anti-HAV. Em contraste, encontrou-se no soro IgM Imunorreativa contra o antígeno do capsídeo do vírus Epstein-Barr (EBV VCA), o que confirmou um diagnóstico de hepatite pelo EBV. A paciente recebeu alta hospitalar assintomática após 11 dias de internação, com declínio dos valores séricos das transaminases. Um acompanhamento após 15 dias da alta evidenciou completa remissão dos sintomas. Comentários: O envolvimento do fígado com infecções pelo vírus Epstein-Barr é comum, apresentando elevações moderadas e transitórias das enzimas hepáticas. Ela pode não ser detectada e ser autolimitada, enquanto manifestações hepáticas são infrequentes. Nesse relato de caso, é apresentado um quadro pediátrico atípico de um paciente que desenvolveu hepatite induzido pela infecção por EBV, além de uma revisão na literatura. De acordo com nossa busca, nenhum outro caso de hepatite induzida por EBV foi publicado envolvendo um paciente imunocompetente com idade inferior a 2 ano

NIR spectroscopy applied to the determination of 2Phenylethanol and LPhenylalanine concentrations in culture medium of Yarrowia lipolytica

BACKGROUND: This work aims at developing a method, based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, to quantify 2phenylethanol (2PE) and Lphenylalanine (LPhe) concentrations during its microbial production by Yarrowia lipolytica. For this purpose, 197 samples obtained from different batch cultures were analyzed using Fourier transform near infrared (FTNIR) transmission spectroscopy in the range of 200 cm1 to 14000 cm1. RESULTS: A principal components analysis (PCA) was performed for clusters identification and outliers removal. A partial least square (PLS) regression was next applied to develop the calibration models, by an iterative method. The predictive ability of the models was confirmed by an external validation procedure with an independent sample set. The obtained results could be considered as promising with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.92 for LPhe and 0.95 for 2PE, and residual prediction deviation (RPD) above three, for the ensemble data. CONCLUSIONS: The described methodology, using NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics, can be seen as a promising fast tool to determine both studied flavor compounds during biotechnological processes as alternative to chromatographic methods.The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge financial support to Cristina Quintelas through a postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/101338/2014) provided by FCT – Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multi-site clinical assessment of Complete Revitalens MPDS in 2981 contact lens wearers across Europe and USA

(MPDS), Complete Revitalens (RevitaLens OcuTec in the US Market), for soft contact lens care in a large “real practice” setting. Method: This is an international multi-center, open-label assessment carried out in 10 countries across Europe and in the USA. Up to 10 subjects who were currently wearing soft contact lenses for at least 1 year and using a MPS as a lens care system were included at each investigational site. Results: Data were collected from 996 European and 1985 American wearers, 75% of those patients wore silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Approximately 94% found the new MPDS “somewhat more effective” to “much more effective” in keeping contact lenses feeling clean and 88% found the new MPDS to be somewhat more effective to much more effective in keeping their lenses feeling comfortable in the evening. Over 93% reported an improvement in vision clearness in the evening after approximately 1 month while using the new MPDS. Wearers with grade 2, 3 or 4 of severity decreased by 11.3, 6.4 and 9.8% over 1 month period for redness, burning and irritation, respectively. After approximately 1 month 83% of wearers declared that they would prefer to use the new MPDS. Conclusions: Over 88% felt their lenses were somewhat to much more comfortable at the end-of-day and 94% found the new MPDS to be somewhat to much more effective in keeping their lenses feeling clean compared to their previous care system.The authors wish to thank the eye care practitioners participating in this study across Europe and USA. The D'Ellis Group for the statistical support and Rafael Guerrero and Will Heydorn from Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. for their contributions in planning and coordinating the European and American branches of the study, respectively. The authors declare no proprietary or financial interest in any of the materials mentioned in this article. This study has been sponsored by Abbott Medical Optics Inc. These results were presented to the American Academy of Optometry Boston, 12-15th, 2011

Distributions and phylogeographic data of rheophilic freshwater fishes provide evidences on the geographic extension of a central-brazilian amazonian palaeoplateau in the area of the present day Pantanal Wetland

The analysis of the distribution patterns presented by examples of freshwater fishes restricted to headwater habitat: the anostomid Leporinus octomaculatus, the characins Jubiaba acanthogaster, Oligosarcus perdido, Moenkhausia cosmops, Knodus chapadae, Planaltina sp., the loricariid Hypostomus cochliodon, and the auchenipterid Centromochlus sp. provided evidences of a relatively recent shared history between the highlands of the upper rio Paraguay and adjoining upland drainage basins. Restricted to headwater of the uplands in the upper rio Paraguay and adjoining basins, these species provide biological evidence of the former extension of the central Brazilian plateau before the origin of the Pantanal Wetland. Disjunction took place due to an ecological barrier to these rheophilic taxa represented tectonic subsidence related to the origin of the Pantanal Wetland. Molecular analysis of Jubiaba acanthogaster revealed that the sample from the upper rio Xingu basin are the sister-group of a clade that includes samples from the upper rio Arinos (upper rio Tapajós) plus the upper rio Paraguay basin, supporting the assumption that the origin of the upper rio Paraguay basin causing vicariance between this basin and the upper rio Tapajós is the least vicariant event in the evolutionary history of the group.A análise do padrão de distribuição apresentado por exemplos de peixes de água doce neotropicais restritos à habitats reofílicos de cabeceira: o anostomídeo Leporinus octomaculatus, os caracídeos Jubiaba acanthogaster, Oligosarcus perdido, Moenkhausia cosmops, Knodus chapadae, Planaltina sp., o loricariídeo Hypostomus cochliodon e o auquenipterídeo Centromochlus sp. fornecem evidências de uma história compartilhada relativamente recente entre as terras altas do alto rio Paraguai e bacias de terras altas vizinhas. Restritas às cabeceiras das áreas altas nas bacias do alto rio Paraguai e bacias vizinhas, estas espécies fornecem evidências biológicas da pretérita extensão do Planalto Central Brasileiro anteriormente a origem tectônica da planície alagável do Pantanal. Disjunções ocorreram devido a barreira ecológica para estes taxons reofílicos representada pela subsidência tectônica associada à origem do Pantanal. A análise molecular de Jupiaba acanthogaster revelou que amostras da bacia do alto rio Xingu consistem no grupo-irmão de um clado mais inclusivo que inclui amostras do alto rio Arinos (alto rio Tapajós) mais o alto rio Paraguai, suportando a suposição de que a origem do alto rio Paraguai causou vicariância entre esta bacia e o alto rio Tapajós no último evento vicariante na história evolutiva do grupo.31932

Dietary intake of young portuguese handball players

The aim of this study was to analyse dietary intake (macronutrients and micronutrients) in young female and male handball athletes. A transversal study was performed with young handball players from sub 16 and 18 Portuguese Handball Federation, who volunteered to participate in this study. Anthropometric (weight and height measure), nutritional intake (using food frequency questionnaire) and position in the game were evaluated. The final sample comprised 64 athletes (48.4% female and 51.6% male). The mean age was 16± 1 years, average body mass index was higher in females (24.1± 3.5kg/m2) than males (23.8± 3.0 kg/m2). Mean energy intake per day was significantly lower in females than males 2167.4± 1185.0 and 2952.9± 1315.8 kcal/day (p= 0.015, 95CI), respectively. According to the recommendations from food, most of the young handball athletes reported a generally higher dietary intake (protein intake was near to the upper recommendation limit; the carbohydrate intake was below and the fat intake higher) and a lower for some micronutrients. A process to identify the athletes that need nutritional support should be considered by handball coaches to optimise their performance and safeguard their healthTo all athletes and their coaches who contributed to the study and to the Portuguese Handball Federationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Are endolysins promising agents in controlling E. coli associated post-weaning diarrhea in piglets?

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) associated infections are the major cause of piglets mortality in weaning and post-weaning period, resulting in significant economic losses to the swine industry. Furthermore, the increase of multidrug resistant ETECs have been recognized a public health danger due to the potential transfer of resistance into the food chain. Bacterio(phages) endolysins are enzymes produced in the end of phage lytic cycle that are responsible for cell lysis. So far, no resistance has been reported, which make endolysins an attractive alternative to antibiotics. In the present work, endolysins were exploited to tackle ETECs in piglets. Two enzymes previously cloned were tested against ETEC SP23 strain exponential cells. First, Lys68 (used herein as proof of concept) was tested alone or in combination with 5 different organics acids (already implemented in the piglets diet) citric, malic, formic, lactic and sorbic acids in 20 mM HEPES, 149 mM PBS and 140.33 mM simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Later, PlyF307 endolysin was also tested with malic and citric acids in SIF. Results demonstrated that both enzymes reduced ETEC concentration in more than 4 orders of magnitude in HEPES. Lys68 together with malic acid displayed the best antibacterial activity in PBS, being able to reduce approximately 1 order of magnitude. However, enzymes efficacy was drastically reduced when tested in buffers that mimicked physiological conditions. In SIF, Lys68 and PlyF307 did not display antibacterial activity. In summary, phage endolysins revealed to be ineffective to treat ETEC bacterial load in more complex environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio