Application of Chinese Jun-Cao technique for the production of Brazilian Ganoderma lucidum strains

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom traditionally used in China against a wide range of diseases such as cancer and also for its prevention. In this work, commercial Chinese strains G. lucidum were compared to wild Brazilian strains aiming to determine the cultivation potential through the use of Jun-Cao. Six formulations were tested and the strains presented good response to the applied method. In general, the mixture between the grass and wood was well suited for the basidiomycetes, contributing to the preparation of substrates that generated better results in Jun Cao

Resistin and visfatin concentrations are related to central obesity and inflammation in Brazilian children.

Background: The evidence that cardiovascular disease begins in childhood and adolescence, especially in the presence of excess weight, is associated with dysfunction on adipokine pro-inflammatory secretion. These affect glucose metabolism and lead to other complications related to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the association of anthropometric and metabolic parameters related to obesity, cardiovascular risk, and insulin resistance with concentrations of resistin and visfatin, in children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed with 178 children of 6?10 years old enrolled in public city schools. Anthropometric data, composition body, clinical, and biochemical were measured according to standard procedures. We used multiple regression models by stepwise method to evaluate the associations of resistin and visfatin with variables of interest. Results: In healthy weight children, resistin was associated with LDL cholesterol, visfatin, atherogenic index, and waist-to-height ratio, whereas in obese children resistin was associated with visfatin and interaction between conicity index and HOMA-AD. Furthermore, in healthy weight children, visfatin was associated to resistin and triceps skinfold thickness and negatively associated to HOMA-AD, while in obese ones visfatin was associated with waistto- height ratio, atherogenic index, resistin, and interaction between trunk adiposity index and adiponectin and was negatively associated with the HOMA-IR index. Conclusions: Our study shows an association between anthropometric and biochemical variables related to visceral fat and inflammation. These results suggest the resistin and visfatin as good pro-inflammatory markers. In addition, both adipokines are strongly related to central obesity, in children

Maturity stage of fruits and factors related to nutritive and texture characters of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) pulp

O experimento foi conduzido com o objetivo de obter informa??es sobre a influ?ncia do est?dio de desenvolvimento do fruto (?poca de coleta) e do tipo de congelamento sobre os componentes nutricionais e de textura da polpa de pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.). Os frutos foram coletados na ?rvore, antes da queda natural; no ch?o, ap?s a queda natural, e ap?s a queda natural, mantidos tr?s dias em condi??o ambiente. Em cada ?poca de coleta, ap?s a retirada da casca dos frutos, um grupo de putamens foi congelado diretamente em freezer, e outro, congelado em nitrog?nio l?quido, antes do congelamento em freezer. Ap?s seis meses, foi retirada a polpa dos putamens para a an?lise dos teores de caroten?ides totais, ? -caroteno, licopeno, vitamina A, prote?nas e lip?dios; teor de celulose, hemicelulose, pectinas total, c?lcio ligado ? parede celular e total, atividade da pectinametilesterase e poligalacturonase. Os resultados indicaram que os teores de pigmentos, lip?dios, prote?nas e atividade da PG aumentaram com o avan?o do est?dio de matura??o dos frutos. Por outro lado, houve diminui??o no teor da celulose com avan?o do est?dio de matura??o, enquanto os teores de hemicelulose e c?lcio n?o foram influenciados pela idade do fruto. O tipo de congelamento interferiu nos teores de pigmentos, maiores na polpa congelada em nitrog?nio l?quido, e na atividade da PG, maior na polpa congelada apenas em freezer. Por ?ltimo, os resultados mostraram que os frutos coletados na ?rvore s?o nutricionalmente inferiores aos coletados ap?s a queda natural.Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)The experiment was carried out with the purpose to obtain information about changes in the constituents responsible for nutritive and texture traits of pequi pulp related with harvest time and types of freezing. Fruits were collected in the tree before natural fall, in the ground after natural fall and in the ground three days after natural fall. In each harvest time, while one batch of the putamens was frozen in liquid nitrogen and afterwards stored in a freezer, another batch was frozen directly in the freezer. After six months the following analyses were performed in the pulp: contents of proteins, total carotenoid, b-carotene, licopene, vitamin A and lipids (nutritive characters); content of cellulose, hemicelluloses, total pectin, total and bound calcium, activity of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectinmethilesterase (PME) of the cell wall. The contents of pigments, lipids, proteins and activity of PG were the highest in the most advanced stages of maturation of fruits. On the other hand the content of cellulose decreased with the advanced stages of maturation whiles the content of hemicelluloses, total and bound calcium were not affected at the stages of maturation of the fruits. The types of freezing affected the contents of pigments; higher in the pulp frozen in liquid nitrogen; and the activity of PG was higher in the pulp frozen directly in the freezer. The fruits collected in the tree showed the lowest eating quality as judged by their lowest contents of pigments, protein and lipids. The results indicate that the most appropriate harvest time to higher quality of pequi fruits is after natural fall

Acute kidney disease and renal recovery : consensus report of the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) 16 Workgroup

Consensus definitions have been reached for both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and these definitions are now routinely used in research and clinical practice. The KDIGO guideline defines AKI as an abrupt decrease in kidney function occurring over 7 days or less, whereas CKD is defined by the persistence of kidney disease for a period of > 90 days. AKI and CKD are increasingly recognized as related entities and in some instances probably represent a continuum of the disease process. For patients in whom pathophysiologic processes are ongoing, the term acute kidney disease (AKD) has been proposed to define the course of disease after AKI; however, definitions of AKD and strategies for the management of patients with AKD are not currently available. In this consensus statement, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) proposes definitions, staging criteria for AKD, and strategies for the management of affected patients. We also make recommendations for areas of future research, which aim to improve understanding of the underlying processes and improve outcomes for patients with AKD

Diagnosis : a future field of medical activity.

O sequenciamento de ?ltima gera??o (NGS) ? um tipo de tecnologia de sequenciamento de DNA que usa o sequenciamento paralelo de m?ltiplos fragmentos pequenos de DNA. Essa tecnologia permitiu um aumento dram?tico na velocidade (e uma diminui??o no custo) na qual o genoma de um indiv?duo pode ser sequenciado. O sequenciamento de Sanger ? usado para confirmar a presen?a de muta??es espec?ficas identificadas pela NGS em situa??es cl?nicas, devido ? maior precis?o dos m?todos tradicionais de sequenciamento, embora essa pr?tica esteja sendo questionada. A NGS pode ser apropriada para diagnosticar dist?rbios gen?ticos suspeitos quando ? improv?vel que o sequenciamento de um ?nico gene forne?a um diagn?stico. Pain?is de genes baseados em NGS s?o usados clinicamente em certas neoplasias hematol?gicas, e os primeiros testes de painel gen?tico para tumores s?lidos. Outras utiliza??es, como o diagn?stico de infec??es e a triagem de pessoas saud?veis continuam sendo investigados.Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is a type of DNA sequencing technology that uses parallel sequencing of multiple small fragments of DNA. This technology has allowed for a dramatic increase in speed (and a decrease in cost) in which an individual's genome can be sequenced. Sanger sequencing is used to confirm the presence of specific mutations identified by NGS in clinical situations due to the greater accuracy of traditional sequencing methods, although this practice is being questioned. NGS may be appropriate to diagnose suspected genetic disorders when single gene sequencing is unlikely to provide a diagnosis. NGS-based gene panels are used clinically in certain hematological malignancies, and the first genetic panel tests for solid tumors. Other uses, such as the diagnosis of infections and the screening of healthy people, continue to be investigated