A qualitative study about college students' attitudes, knowledge and perceptions regarding sugar intake

Excessive sugar intake has been associated with multiple health conditions (e.g., higher risk for non-communicable diseases). Hence, health organizations have issued guidelines defining the maximum daily intake of free or added sugars. However, data from several countries suggests that these guidelines are rarely met, particularly by young adults. For example, almost half of Portuguese adolescents and young adults exceed the recommended sugar intake. In this work, we aim to further explore college students' attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions about sugar intake, as well as about sugar intake guidelines. A thematic analysis on data from five focus groups (N = 40) indicated that participants reported difficulty in the comprehension of added/free sugars definition and sugar intake recommendations. Overall, attitudes toward sugar were ambivalent. Sugar was simultaneously perceived as pleasurable and needed, but also as addictive and harmful. Although aware of the potential negative health outcomes associated with excessive sugar intake, most participants did not perceive being at risk due to their youth, exercise habits, or type of diet. The few concerns expressed were mostly associated with the negative impact of high sugar intake on body image (e.g., weight gain). The main barriers to reducing sugar intake identified were environmental (e.g., time restrictions, food available at the university). Still, participants could identify several individual strategies to effectively regulate sugar intake. By identifying knowledge gaps and sources of bias related to sugar consumption, our findings are useful to inform future interventions aiming to address the problem of high sugar intake among university students.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Condicionamento fisiológico de sementes da árvore pioneira Guazuma ulmifolia (Malvaceae) avaliado por análise computadorizada de imagens

Direct seeding is one of the most promising methods in restoration ecology, but low field seedling emergence from pioneer tree seeds still reduces its large scale applicability. The aim of this research was to evaluate seed priming for the pioneer tree species Guazuma ulmifolia. Priming treatments were selected based on seed hydration curves in water and in PEG 8000 solution. Seeds were primed in water for 16 h and in Polyethylene glycol - PEG 8000 (-0.8 MPa for 56 and 88 h) at 20ºC to reach approximately 30% water content. Half of the seed sample of each treatment was dried back to the initial moisture content (7.2%); both dried and non-dried primed seeds as well as the unprimed seeds (control) were tested for germination (percentage and rate) and vigor (electrical conductivity of seed leachates). Seedling emergence percentage and rate were evaluated under greenhouse conditions, while seedling length and uniformity of seedling development were estimated using the automated image analysis software SVIS®. Primed seeds showed the highest physiological potential, which was mainly demonstrated by image analysis. Fresh or dried primed seeds in water for 16 h and in PEG (-0.8 MPa) for 56 h, and fresh primed seeds in PEG for 88 h, improved G. ulmifolia germination performance. It is suggested that these treatments were promising to enhance efficiency of stand establishment of this species by direct seeding in restoration ecology programs.A semeadura direta é um dos métodos mais promissores para a restauração ecológica, mas a baixa emergência de plântulas em campo a partir de sementes de árvores pioneiras ainda limita sua aplicabilidade em larga escala. Avaliou-se a resposta de sementes da espécie florestal pioneira Guazuma ulmifolia ao condicionamento fisiológico. Os tratamentos foram selecionados com base em curvas de hidratação em água e em solução osmótica de Polietilenoglicol - PEG 8000. As sementes foram condicionadas em água por 16 h e em PEG 8000 (-0,8 MPa por 56 e 88 h) a 20ºC, atingindo teor de água de, aproximadamente, 30%. Metade das amostras de cada tratamento foi secada até atingir teor de água próximo ao inicial (7,2%); em seguida, avaliou-se o desempenho das sementes condicionadas submetidas ao não à secagem, além de sementes não condicionadas (testemunha), quanto à germinação (porcentagem e velocidade) e o vigor (condutividade elétrica dos exudatos das sementes). A porcentagem e a velocidade de emergência de plântulas foram avaliadas em condições de casa de vegetação, enquanto que o comprimento de plântulas e a uniformidade de desenvolvimento das plântulas foram estimados usando o software de análise computadorizada de imagens de plântulas SVIS®. As sementes condicionadas fisiologicamente apresentaram potencial fisiológico superior, demonstrado principalmente pelos resultados da análise de imagens. Assim, as sementes condicionadas em água durante 16 h ou em PEG durante 88 h, ambas não submetidas à secagem subsequente, e as condicionadas em PEG durante 56 h e submetidas a secagem, beneficiaram o desempenho germinativo de G. ulmifolia. Sugere-se que esses tratamentos são promissores para aumentar a eficiência de estabelecimento de estande dessa espécie via semeadura direta em programas de restauração ecológica

Blockade of CXCR1/2 chemokine receptors protects against brain damage in ischemic stroke in mice

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic stroke may result from transient or permanent reductions of regional cerebral blood flow. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils have been described as the earliest inflammatory cells to arrive in ischemic tissue. CXCR1/2 receptors are involved in the recruitment of these cells. However, the contribution of these chemokine receptors during transient brain ischemia in mice remains poorly understood. In this work, we investigated the effects of reparixin, an allosteric antagonist of CXCR1/2 receptors, in a model of middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion in mice. METHODS: C57BL/6J male mice treated with reparixin or vehicle were subjected to a middle cerebral artery occlusion procedure 1 h after the treatment. Ninety minutes after ischemia induction, the monofilament that prevented blood flow was removed. Twenty-four hours after the reperfusion procedure, behavioral changes, including motor signs, were analyzed with the SmithKline/Harwell/lmperial College/Royal Hospital/Phenotype Assessment (SHIRPA) battery. The animals were sacrificed, and brain tissue was removed for histological and biochemical analyses. Histological sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, neutrophil infiltration was estimated by myeloperoxidase activity and the inflammatory cytokine IL-iβ was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Pre-treatment with reparixin reduced the motor deficits observed in this model of ischemia and reperfusion. Myeloperoxidase activity and IL-iβ were reduced in the reparixin-treated group. Histological analysis revealed that ischemic injury was also attenuated by reparixin pre-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the blockade of the CXCR1/2 receptors by reparixin promotes neuroprotective effects by reducing the levels of polymorphonuclear infiltration in the brain and the tissue damage associated with middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion

Influence of the storage time of saponified Amazonic vegetable oils on the floatability of apatita / Influência do tempo de armazenamento de óleos vegetais Amazônicos saponificados na floatabilidade de apatita

This study's main objective is verifying the influence of the storage time of collectors reagents, obtained from Amazonian vegetable oils (Buriti and Babassu Coconut), in the apatite's floatability. Collectors were obtained by the oils' alkaline hydrolysis (saponification), made with aqueous and alcoholic solutions of sodium hydroxide at room temperature. The floatability of the apatite was evaluated through microflotation tests, done in a modified Hallimond tube, using a height extender to avoid entrainment. Approximately 1 g of the pure mineral (apatite) was used, with granulometry between 300 and 106 ?m, pH 9.5, conditioning time of 4 minutes and aeration time of 1 minute. These microflotation tests were done every 2 days, from time 0, after the oils' saponification, up to 30 days of storage. The collector concentration used was 6 mg / L, defined from previous experiments. The results showed that the collector reagent, obtained from buriti oil’ saponification in an alcoholic solution of NaOH, presented better results.This study's main objective is verifying the influence of the storage time of collectors reagents, obtained from Amazonian vegetable oils (Buriti and Babassu Coconut), in the apatite's floatability. Collectors were obtained by the oils' alkaline hydrolysis (saponification), made with aqueous and alcoholic solutions of sodium hydroxide at room temperature. The floatability of the apatite was evaluated through microflotation tests, done in a modified Hallimond tube, using a height extender to avoid entrainment. Approximately 1 g of the pure mineral (apatite) was used, with granulometry between 300 and 106 ?m, pH 9.5, conditioning time of 4 minutes and aeration time of 1 minute. These microflotation tests were done every 2 days, from time 0, after the oils' saponification, up to 30 days of storage. The collector concentration used was 6 mg / L, defined from previous experiments. The results showed that the collector reagent, obtained from buriti oil’ saponification in an alcoholic solution of NaOH, presented better results

Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp., in Free-Living Birds in Mainland Portugal

Birds are potential carriers of pathogens affecting humans and agriculture. Aiming to evaluate the occurrence of the top three most important foodborne pathogens in free-living birds in Portugal, we investigated 108 individual fecal samples from free-living birds and one pooled sample of gull feces (n = 50) for the presence of Escherichia coli (pathogenic and non-pathogenic), Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Virulence- and antimicrobial resistance- (AMR) associated genes were detected by PCR and Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS), and phenotypic (serotyping and AMR profiles) characterization was performed. Overall, 8.9% of samples tested positive for pathogenic E. coli, 2.8% for Salmonella spp., and 9.9% for Campylobacter spp. AMR was performed on all pathogenic isolates and in a fraction of non-pathogenic E. coli, being detected in 25.9% of them. Ten of the tested E. coli isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and seven of them were Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. Among Salmonella (n = 3) and Campylobacter (n = 9), only one strain of C. jejuni was identified as MDR. Most of the identified serotypes/sequence types had already been found to be associated with human disease. These results show that free-living birds in Portugal may act as carriers of foodborne pathogens linked to human disease, some of them resistant to critically important antimicrobials.This work was supported by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 773830: One Health European Joint Program, as part of the DiSCoVeR project (Discovering the sources of Salmonella, Campylobacter, VTEC and Antimicrobial Resistance). R.C. was the beneficiary of a fellowship from the same Programme on behalf of FedAMR project.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Proof-of-Concept Study of Multifunctional Hybrid Nanoparticle System Combined with NIR Laser Irradiation for the Treatment of Melanoma

Supplementary Materials - available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/biom11040511/s1The global impact of cancer emphasizes the importance of developing innovative, effective and minimally invasive therapies. In the context of superficial cancers, the development of a multifunctional nanoparticle-based system and its in vitro and in vivo safety and efficacy characterization are, herein, proposed as a proof-of-concept. This multifunctional system consists of gold nanoparticles coated with hyaluronic and oleic acids, and functionalized with epidermal growth factor for greater specificity towards cutaneous melanoma cells. This nanoparticle system is activated by a near-infrared laser. The characterization of this nanoparticle system included several phases, with in vitro assays being firstly performed to assess the safety of gold nanoparticles without laser irradiation. Then, hairless immunocompromised mice were selected for a xenograft model upon inoculation of A375 human melanoma cells. Treatment with near-infrared laser irradiation for five minutes combined with in situ administration of the nanoparticles showed a tumor volume reduction of approximately 80% and, in some cases, led to the formation of several necrotic foci, observed histologically. No significant skin erythema at the irradiation zone was verified, nor other harmful effects on the excised organs. In conclusion, these assays suggest that this system is safe and shows promising results for the treatment of superficial melanoma.The authors would like to thank to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for the essential financial support under the project’s references PTDC/BBB-BMC/0611/2012, UIDB/00645/2020, UIDB/04138/2020 and UIDP/04138/2020 as well as for the PhD fellowships SFRH/BD/148044/2019 and SFRH/BD/147306/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Increase of cd4+cd25highfoxp3+ cells impairs in vitro human microbicidal activity against mycobacterium tuberculosis during latent and acute pulmonary tuberculosis

50204076]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Stringari et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a critical role during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, modulating host responses while neutralizing excessive inflammation. However, their impact on regulating host protective immunity is not completely understood. Here, we demonstrate that Treg cells abrogate the in vitro microbicidal activity against Mtb. Methods We evaluated the in vitro microbicidal activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with active tuberculosis (TB), individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI, TST+/IGRA+) and healthy control (HC, TST-/IGRA-) volunteers. PBMCs, depleted or not of CD4+CD25+ T-cells, were analyzed to determine frequency and influence on microbicidal activity during in vitro Mtb infection with four clinical isolates (S1, S5, R3, and R6) and one reference strain (H37Rv). Results The frequency of CD4+CD25highFoxP3+ cells were significantly higher in Mtb infected whole blood cultures from both TB patients and LTBI individuals when compared to HC. Data from CD4+CD25+ T-cells depletion demonstrate that increase of CD4+CD25highFoxP3+ is associated with an impairment of Th-1 responses and a diminished in vitro microbicidal activity of LTBI and TB groups. Conclusions Tregs restrict host anti-mycobacterial immunity during active disease and latent infection and thereby may contribute to both disease progression and pathogen persistence.publishersversionpublishe

Synthesis, computational and nanoencapsulation studies on eugenol-derived insecticides

A new set of alkoxy alcohols were synthesised by reaction of eugenol oxirane with aliphatic and aromatic alcohols. These eugenol derivatives were evaluated against their effect upon the viability of the insect cell line Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda). The most promising compounds, 4-(3-(tert-butoxy)-2-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol and 4-(2-((4-fluorobenzyl)oxy)-3-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol were submitted to in silico assays to predict possible targets. Throught an Inverted Virtual Screening approach, 23 common pesticide targets were screened and the top 2 targets predicted were further analyzed through molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. In addition, these eugenol derivatives were subjected to encapsulation and release assays using liposome-based nanosystems of egg phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (7:3), with encapsulation efficiencies higher than 90% and release profiles well described by both Korsmeyer-Peppas and Weibull models.This research was funded by the project PTDC/ASP-AGR/30154/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030154) of the COMPETE 2020 program, co-financed by the FEDER and the European Union. The authors also acknowledge the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDERCOMPETE-QREN-EU for financial support to the research centers CQ-UM (UID/QUI/00686/2021), CF-UM-UP (UIDB/04650/2021) and REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). Renato B. Pereira acknowledges the PRIMA Foundation (H2020-PRIMA 2018-Section 2, Project MILKQUA) and FCT (PTDC/QUI-QFI/2870/2020) for the funding. The NMR spectrometer Bruker Avance III 400 was a part of the National NMR Network and was purchased within the framework of the National Program for Scientific Re-equipment, contract REDE/1517/RMN/2005 with funds from POCI 2010 (FEDER) and FCT

Proof-of-Concept Study of Multifunctional Hybrid Nanoparticle System Combined with NIR Laser Irradiation for the Treatment of Melanoma

Abstract: The global impact of cancer emphasizes the importance of developing innovative, effective and minimally invasive therapies. In the context of superficial cancers, the development of a multifunctional nanoparticle-based system and its in vitro and in vivo safety and efficacy characterization are, herein, proposed as a proof-of-concept. This multifunctional system consists of gold nanoparticles coated with hyaluronic and oleic acids, and functionalized with epidermal growth factor for greater specificity towards cutaneous melanoma cells. This nanoparticle system is activated by a near-infrared laser. The characterization of this nanoparticle system included several phases, with in vitro assays being firstly performed to assess the safety of gold nanoparticles without laser irradiation. Then, hairless immunocompromised mice were selected for a xenograft model upon inoculation of A375 human melanoma cells. Treatment with near-infrared laser irradiation for five minutes combined with in situ administration of the nanoparticles showed a tumor volume reduction of approximately 80% and, in some cases, led to the formation of several necrotic foci, observed histologically. No significant skin erythema at the irradiation zone was verified, nor other harmful effects on the excised organs. In conclusion, these assays suggest that this system is safe and shows promising results for the treatment of superficial melanoma