Medial dorsal cutaneous nerve entrapment following inversion ankle sprain

The medial dorsal cutaneous nerve is one of the terminal branches of the superficial peroneal nerve that provides sensory innervation to the dorsum of the foot. It may be prone to injury by direct blow, iatrogenic surgical lesion or in rare situations secondary to ankle sprains. The authors report a case of persistent ankle pain in a female patient caused by a post- traumatic compressive neuropathy of the medial dorsal cutaneous nerve secondary to an ankle sprain which was successfully surgically treated with complete resolution of the symptoms

Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from an urban forest fragment in Central Amazon (Brazil): Effects of opening areas on abundance, richness, and composition

We assessed the immature stages of Ceratopogonidae (Diptera) in artificial containers in an urban forest fragment in Manaus (Brazil), including their behavioral, biological and ecological information. In addition, we evaluated the effects of deforestation in an open and forested area on Ceratopogonidae communities. Immatures were sampled between August 2012 and July 2014 in artificial containers installed in both habitat types. We collected 685 immatures of seven morpho-species of Bezzia Kieffer, Culicoides Latreille, Dasyhelea Kieffer, Forcipomyia Meigen, and Palpomyia Meigen. In the open area, we recorded higher temperature and electrical conductivity values than in the forested area; however, these variables did not differ between seasons. Water volume was higher in open area and in rainy season, while pH was similar in both areas and seasons. Species richness was higher in forested area, but did not differ between seasons. We did not record differences in abundance between areas or seasons. Community composition differed between areas, but not between seasons. We provide the first records of Culicoides (Hoffmania) insignis Lutz and C. (Haematomyidium) quasiparaensis Clastrier in artificial containers from the state of Amazonas. Our results suggest that the preservation of forested areas in Amazonas is fundamental for the maintenance of the life cycle of some species of Ceratopogonidae.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de VectoresFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Rational design of a (S)-selective-transaminase for asymmetric synthesis of (1S)-1-(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)ethanamine

Amine transaminases offer an environmentally sustainable synthesis route for the production of pure chiral amines. However, their catalytic efficiency toward bulky ketone substrates is greatly limited by steric hindrance and therefore presents a great challenge for industrial synthetic applications. We hereby report an example of rational transaminase enzyme design to help alleviate these challenges. Starting from the Vibrio fluvialis amine transaminase that has no detectable catalytic activity toward the bulky aromatic ketone 2-acetylbiphenyl, we employed a rational design strategy combining in silico and in vitro studies to engineer the transaminase enzyme with a minimal number of mutations, achieving an high catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity. We found that, by introducing two mutations W57G/R415A, detectable enzyme activity was achieved. The rationally designed variant, W57F/R88H/V153S/K163F/I259M/R415A/V422A, showed an improvement in reaction rate by more than 1716-fold toward the bulky ketone under study, producing the corresponding enantiomeric pure (S)-amine (enantiomeric excess (ee) value of >99%)

ENZYME ENGINEERING AT ALMAC: Case studies of enzyme discovery and engineering

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Tecnologia para aproveitamento de resíduos da agroindústria sucroalcooleira como biofertilizante organomineral granulad

Aiming to evaluate the use of sugarcane industry waste such as byproducts from vinasse concentration process, it was assessed the organomineral fertilizer BIOFOM (concentrated vinasse, filter cake, boiler ash, soot from chimneys and supplemented with mineral fertilizers). The study included characterization and agronomic potential analysis of a test plant (corn), by noting the differences between mineral fertilizers and BIOFOM fertilization until 45 days after sowing. The technology traditionally used to produce BIOFOM was based on vinasse evaporation with high heat transfer coefficients. It was observed that the technology, which can be formulated according to the needs of any crop, could be used in many cases as mineral fertilizer. Therefore, the use of this organomineral fertilizer reduces waste generation of sugarcane industry351Com o objetivo de avaliar o uso de resíduos da agroindústria sucroalcooleira como vantagens do processo de concentração da vinhaça, utilizou-se o BIOFOM (biofertilizante organomineral formulado com vinhaça concentrada, torta de filtro, cinzas de caldeira e fuligem das chaminés, e complementado com fertilizantes minerais). O presente estudo contemplou a caracterização e a análise do potencial agronômico envolvendo uma planta-teste (milho), observando as diferenças entre os tratamentos (adubação com fertilizante mineral versus adubação com BIOFOM), até 45 dias após a semeadura. A tecnologia (tradicionalmente usada para a produção do BIOFOM) utilizada para concentrar a vinhaça baseou-se na evaporação do resíduo com elevados coeficientes de troca térmica. Observou-se que o BIOFOM, que pode ser formulado de acordo com as necessidades de qualquer cultura, pode substituir, parcial ou totalmente, a utilização do fertilizante mineral. O produto reduz a geração de resíduos da agroindústria sucroalcooleir

A crítica nietzschiana à noção de sujeito e o problema da falência da moral ocidental

O objetivo deste artigo é tentar esclarecer de que forma a crítica nietzschiana à categoria de sujeito provoca abalos nas estruturas fundamentais do pensamento moral ocidental. Para tal, dividimos este trabalho em dois momentos. No primeiro, buscamos compreender o raciocínio que levou Descartes da dúvida metódica até a certeza indubitável do cogito ergo sum. Num segundo momento, passamos ao confronto de Nietzsche versus Descartes. Nesta etapa, examinamos, primeiramente, a crítica que o filósofo do martelo direciona ao argumento do cogito cartesiano, quando ele lança mão de uma espécie de “filosofia da linguagem” para refutar as teses do filósofo francês. Posteriormente, analisamos a doutrina nietzschiana da vontade de potência como uma alternativa, proposta por Nietzsche, à metafísica do sujeito. Por fim, propomos uma reflexão acerca das consequências éticas decorrentes do esfacelamento teórico do “sujeito”

Impact of bacterial cellulose on the physical properties and printing quality of fine papers

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), due to its inherent nanometric scale and strength properties, can be considered as a good candidate to be used in papermaking. This work explored the possibility of using it in the production of fine paper as a wet-end component and for the paper coating. Filler-containing handsheet production was performed with and without the presence of common additives typically used in the furnish of office papers. It was found that, under optimized conditions, BNC mechanically treated by high-pressure homogenization could improve all the evaluated paper properties (mechanical, optical and structural) without impairing the filler retention. However, paper strength was improved only to a small extent (increase in the tensile index of 8% for a filler content of ca. 27.5%). On the other hand, when used at the paper surface, remarkable improvements in the gamut area of >25% in comparison to the base paper and of >40% in comparison to only-starch coated papers were achieved for a formulation having 50% BNC and 50% of carboxymethylcellulose. Overall, the present results highlight the possibility of using BNC as a paper component, particularly when applied at the paper substrate as a coating agent aiming at improving printing quality.Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal is acknowledged by SFRH/BDE/108095/2015 grant and Strategic Research Centre Project (UIDB/00102/2020). This work was also carried out under the Project Inpactus - innovative products and technologies from eucalyptus, Project N.º 21874 funded by Portugal 2020 through European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the frame of COMPETE 2020 nº246/AXIS II/2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development and application of novel engineered transaminase panels assisted by in- silico rational design for the production of chiral amines

There is a high demand for the synthesis of chiral amines as building blocks for a large number of industrially valuable compounds. Transaminases (TAm) offer an enzymatic route for the synthesis of chiral amines that avoids complex chemical synthesis [1]. However, their catalytic efficiency towards bulky ketone substrates is greatly limited by steric hinderance [2]. This poster highlights a rational design strategy of combining in silico and in vitro methods to engineer the transaminase enzyme with a minimal number of mutations, achieving high catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity. The wildtype TAm showed no detectable activity towards the ketone 2-acetylbiphenyl but upon introduction of two mutations detectable enzyme activity was observed. The reaction rate was improved a further 1716-fold with the rationally designed variant, that contained a further 5 mutations, producing the corresponding enantiomeric pure (S)-amine (enantiomeric excess (ee) value of \u3e99%)[3]. In addition, screening of in silico designed (R)-TAm mutant panels in resolution mode offered an attractive and efficient route for the preparation of problematic (S)-amines. A mutant was identified from the panels that gave complete resolution of the racemic amine (high substrate loading) to leave the desired enantiomer at a low enzyme loading fit for process development towards an economically viable scale up process. [1] R. C. Simon, et al, ACS Catal. 2014, 4(1) [2] F. Steffen-Munsberg, et al, ChemCatChem 2013, 5, (1) [3]D.F.A.R.Dourado et al, ACS Catal. 2016, 6 (11