Exquisite wild mushrooms as a source of dietary fiber: analysis in electron-beam irradiated samples

In the present study, electron-beam irradiation was applied to dried samples of Boletus edulis and Macrolepiota procera to evaluate the effects on their fiber composition. Both species presented an important percentage of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble in different ratios. These high fiber levels are an interesting feature, allowing considering mushrooms as an alternative source of dietary fibers in the highly competitive market of fiber-enriched food products. In B. edulis samples, insoluble fiber and total fiber amounts were significantly lower in samples irradiated with 10 kGy, but soluble fiber had no significant changes for any of the assayed doses, while total available carbohydrates were significantly lower in unirradiated samples. M. procera samples irradiated with 6 kGy presented less total fiber, insoluble fiber and carbohydrates, but the same dose allowed the highest contents in soluble dietary fiber. In general, the irradiated samples, especially for higher doses, gave some significant changes in the total available carbohydrates and dietary fibers content. Nevertheless, the resulting differences still allow considering these species as good natural fiber sources, maintaining their potential health effects, while promoting a clean way to disinfest and decontaminate these highly perishable products.Authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to research centres CIMO (PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011), REQUIMTE (PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2011) and ALIMNOVA research group from UCM. Â. Fernandes and J.C.M. Barreira thank FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for their grants (SFRH/BD/76019/2011 and SFRH/BPD/72802/2010, respectively). Dr. A. Rafalski, for e-beam irradiations and Prof. A. Chmielewski, General Director of the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warsaw, Poland, for allowing e-beam irradiations

Effects of gamma irradiation on macro and microelements of Boletus edulis Bull.: Fr. and Hydnum repandum L.: Fr.

Mushrooms are considered excellent sources of minerals, being necessary to know the levels of essential elements in the edible species [1]. Mineral elements are classified in macro (e.g., Ca, Mg, Na, K) and microelements (e.g., Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn) with functions that include maintaining acid-base balance, osmotic regulation, oxygen transport and enzymatic cofactors [2-3]. Mushrooms need special caution in their conservation. Accordingly, treatments such as gamma rays have been applied to improve their shelf life and reduce health hazards caused by pathogenic microorganisms [4]. In this work, gamma irradiation was applied to Boletus edulis Bull.: Fr. and Hydnum repandum L.: Fr. to assess the effects on the minerals composition. The fruiting bodies were collected in Trás-os-Montes (Northeast of Portugal) in November 2012. Fresh samples were irradiated in experimental equipment with four 60Co sources, at 1 and 2 kGy. The studied mushrooms presented high levels of macro and microelements. Up to the applied doses, some significant differences were observed. However, in most cases, changes did not follow a marked tendency, being more likely to be derived from the natural variability in mineral accumulation as a result of mushroom growth in different ecosystems. Hence, irradiation treatment, using gamma rays up to 2 kGy, is a suitable technique to disinfest and/or decontaminate wild mushrooms, independently of their species or physical state

Electron-beam irradiation at low doses preserves dietary fiber content in Boletus edulis Bull.: Fr. wild mushroom

Mushrooms are considered a good source of non-digestible carbohydrates, which represent a group of dietary fiber with various beneficial health effects to humans e.g., improve the function of the alimentary tract, helps lower postprandrial blood glucose, insuline and cholesterol, strengthens the immune system and antitumor activity [1]. Due to delicate nature, mushrooms suffer severe conservation problems and have to be processed to extend their short shelf-life. Drying is one of the most used processes for preserving mushrooms and, for decontamination, electron-beam irradiation also proved its technological feasibility to be safely used for reduce food losses [2]. In the present study, electron-beam irradiation (2, 6 and 10 kGy) was applied to dried samples of Boletus edulis Bull.: Fr. in order to evaluate the effects on fiber composition. The fruiting bodies were collected in Trás-os-Montes (Northeast of Portugal) in November 2012 and dried at 30 ºC in an oven. The irradiation was performed at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, in Warsaw, Poland. The determination of total available carbohydrate was carried out by the Anthrone method [3]. AOAC enzymatic-gravimetric methods, 993.19 and 991.42 were used for soluble and insoluble dietary fiber analysis [4]. B. edulis presented an important percentage of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble in different ratios. The irradiated samples, especially for higher doses, gave some significant changes in total available carbohydrates and dietary fibers content; but, a lower dose (2 kGy) preserves carbohydrates, soluble and insoluble fiber content. Electron-beam irradiation at low doses is a feasible choice to extend mushrooms shelf-life and preserves the dietary fiber content.FCT and COMPETE/QREN/UE- strategic projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011 (CIMO) and PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2011 (REQUIMTE); grant SFRH/BD/76019/2011 to A. Fernandes and SFRH/BPD/72802/2010 to J. Barreir

Carbon nanotubes applied in neuroscience: prospects and challenges

INTRODUÇÃO: Os nanotubos de carbono (NTCs) são os nanomateriais mais promissores para aplicação terapêutica em doenças neurodegenerativas. Aplicações potenciais incluem sistemas de liberação controlada de fármacos, interfaces elétricas e substratos para crescimento celular. OBJETIVO: Descrever o estado da arte e as perspectivas e desafios da aplicação dos NTCs nas neurociências. MÉTODO: Procedeu-se a uma busca sistemática nos indexadores Medline, Lilacs e SciELO, utilizando os descritores "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "biocompatibility" e "nanotechnology", devidamente agrupados. RESULTADOS: A revisão da literatura evidenciou controvérsias nos estudos relativos à biocompatibilidade dos NTCs, embora tenha ratificado o seu potencial para a neuromedicina e neurociências. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados obtidos apontam a necessidade de estudos padronizados sobre as aplicações e interações dessas nanoestruturas com os sistemas biológicos.BACKGROUND: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most promising nanomaterials for therapeutic application in neurodegenerative diseases. Potential applications include systems for controlled drug delivery, electrical interfaces and substrates for cell growth. OBJECTIVE: To describe the state of art, prospects and challenges of applying CNTs in neuroscience. METHODS: There has been systematic search in Medline, Lilacs and SciELO, using the keywords "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "nanotechnology" and "biocompatibility", properly grouped. RESULTS: The literature review showed controversies in studies on the biocompatibility of CNTs, although it has ratified its potential for neuromedicine and neuroscience. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the need for modeling studies on the applications and interactions of nanostructures with biological systems

Valorization of lignin side-streams into polyols and rigid polyurethane foams—a contribution to the pulp and paper industry biorefinery

Valorization of industrial low-value side-streams are of great interest, contributing to boosts in the circular economy. In this context, lignin side-streams of the pulp and paper industry were oxypropylated to produce biobased polyols and tested in the synthesis of rigid polyurethane (RPU) foams. E. globulus lignins, namely a lignin isolated from an industrial Kraft black liquor and depolymerized lignins obtained as by-products of an oxidation process, were used. RPU foams, synthesized with 100% lignin-based polyols and using a 1.1 NCO/OH ratio, were characterized concerning apparent density, morphology, thermal conductivity, thermal stability, and heat release rate (HRR). Foams containing the lignin-based polyols presented densities varying from 44.7 to 112.2 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity in the range of 37.2–49.0 mW/mK. For the reference foam (sample produced with 100% wt. Daltofoam TP 32015 polyol), values of 70.9 kg/m3 and 41.1 mW/mK were obtained, respectively. The achieved results point out the viability of using the generated lignin-based polyols at 100% content in RPU foams, mainly when depolymerized lignins are used. Moreover, fire retardancy was favored when the lignin-based polyols were introduced. The proposed strategies can contribute to establishing the integrated pulp and paper biorefinery concept where material synthesis (polyols and RPU foams) can be combined with chemical production (vanillin and syringaldehyde).Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), and to UIDB/50020/2020 of the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM—funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); national funding by FCT, PI, through the institutional scientific employment program contract for Isabel P. Fernandes. This work was carried out under the Project No. 33969 Bioblocks—Design of biobased products from renewable lignocellulosic sources as precursors for the bioindustry of chemical synthesis and biomaterials—financed by FEDER through the Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors (POFC) and QREN. To COST Action LignoCOST (CA17128) supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Staphylococcus aureus in Some Brazilian Dairy Industries: Changes of Contamination and Diversity

Staphylococcus aureus, a major food-poisoning pathogen, is a common contaminant in dairy industries worldwide, including in Brazil. We determined the occurrence of S. aureus in five dairies in Brazil over 8 months. Of 421 samples, 31 (7.4%) were positive for S. aureus and prevalence varied from 0 to 63.3% between dairies. Sixty-six isolates from the 31 samples were typed by Multi-Locus Sequence Typing to determine if these isolates were persistent or continuously reintroduced. Seven known sequence types (STs), ST1, ST5, ST30, ST97, ST126, ST188 and ST398, and four new ST were identified, ST3531, ST3540, ST3562 and ST3534. Clonal complex (CC) 1 (including the four new ST), known as an epidemic clone, was the dominant CC. However, there were no indications of persistence of particular ST. The resistance toward 11 antibiotic compounds was assessed. Twelve profiles were generated with 75.8% of strains being sensitive to all antibiotic classes and no Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains were found. The enterotoxin-encoding genes involved in food-poisoning, e.g., sea, sed, see, and seg were targeted by PCR. The two toxin-encoding genes, sed and see, were not detected. Only three strains (4.5%) harbored seg and two of these also harbored sea. Despite the isolates being Methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA), the presence of CC1 clones in the processing environment, including some harboring enterotoxin encoding genes, is of concern and hygiene must have high priority to reduce contamination

Nanotubos de carbono aplicados às neurociências: perspectivas e desafios

BACKGROUND: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most promising nanomaterials for therapeutic application in neurodegenerative diseases. Potential applications include systems for controlled drug delivery, electrical interfaces and substrates for cell growth. OBJECTIVE: To describe the state of art, prospects and challenges of applying CNTs in neuroscience. METHODS: There has been systematic search in Medline, Lilacs and SciELO, using the keywords "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "nanotechnology" and "biocompatibility", properly grouped. RESULTS: The literature review showed controversies in studies on the biocompatibility of CNTs, although it has ratified its potential for neuromedicine and neuroscience. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the need for modeling studies on the applications and interactions of nanostructures with biological systems.INTRODUÇÃO: Os nanotubos de carbono (NTCs) são os nanomateriais mais promissores para aplicação terapêutica em doenças neurodegenerativas. Aplicações potenciais incluem sistemas de liberação controlada de fármacos, interfaces elétricas e substratos para crescimento celular. OBJETIVO: Descrever o estado da arte e as perspectivas e desafios da aplicação dos NTCs nas neurociências. MÉTODO: Procedeu-se a uma busca sistemática nos indexadores Medline, Lilacs e SciELO, utilizando os descritores "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "biocompatibility" e "nanotechnology", devidamente agrupados. RESULTADOS: A revisão da literatura evidenciou controvérsias nos estudos relativos à biocompatibilidade dos NTCs, embora tenha ratificado o seu potencial para a neuromedicina e neurociências. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados obtidos apontam a necessidade de estudos padronizados sobre as aplicações e interações dessas nanoestruturas com os sistemas biológicos

Lower insulin-dose adjusted A1c (IDAA1c) is associated with less complications in Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes treated with hematopoetic stem-cell transplantation and conventional therapy

Objective: To evaluate the association between insulin-dose adjusted A1C (IDAA1c) and microvascular complications (MC) and hypoglycemia in a representative Brazilian population of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Research Design and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on a previous study, “Microvascular Complications in Type 1 Diabetes: a comparative analysis of patients treated with autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (AHST) and conventional medical therapy (CT)”. The 168 patients in that study (144 from CT plus 24 from AHST) were re-subdivided into two groups, according to their IDAA1c values (30 patients had IDAA1c ≤ 9; 138 had IDAA1c > 9). Then, the prevalence of MC (diabetic renal disease, neuropathy, and retinopathy), hypoglycemia (blood glucose <60 mg/dL), and severe hypoglycemic (episode of hypoglycemia that required the assistance of another person to treat) events were compared between the groups. The groups were well-matched on these factors: duration of disease, sex, and age at the time of diagnosis of T1DM. Results: After an average of 8 years after diagnosis, only 6.6% (2/30) of the patients from IDAA1c ≤ 9 group developed any MC, whereas 21.0% (29/138) from the IDAA1c > 9 group had at least one complication (p = 0.044). Regarding hypoglycemic events, the proportion of individuals who reported at least 1 episode of hypoglycemia in the last month was 43.3 and 64.7% from the IDAA1c ≤ 9 and IDAA1c > 9 groups, respectively (p = 0.030). Regarding severe hypoglycemia, the proportion of patients presenting at least one episode in the last month and the rate of episode/patient/month were similar between groups (6.7 vs. 13.2%; p = 0.535; and 0.1/patient/month vs. 0.25/patient/month; p = 0.321). Conclusion: In a representative Brazilian population of T1DM patients, those with IDAA1c ≤ 9 presented a lower frequency of MC, as well as fewer episodes of hypoglycemia, in the month prior to the analysis.publishedVersio

Linha de cuidados em obesidade: protocolo de atenção especializada integral à obesidade e síndrome metabólica do Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio (UFC)

A obesidade é um sério problema de saúde mundial, responsável pelo aumento na incidência de diversas outras doenças, aumento da mortalidade total, e elevação dos custos com saúde. No Brasil, onde as doenças crônicas não comunicáveis dominam o ranking de mortalidade, mais da metade da população está acima do peso. Nesse contexto, o Ministério da Saúde estabeleceu a criação das Linhas de Cuidados direcionadas às doenças crônicas de maior impacto epidemiológico. As linhas de cuidado tem como objetivo coordenar os fluxos assistenciais que devem ser garantidos ao usuário, no sentido de atender às suas necessidades de saúde de maneira integral, e reduzir a fragmentação de serviços do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS).  Este documento propõe diretrizes clínicas para a organização de uma linha de cuidados em obesidade na rede pública de Fortaleza, onde o serviço especializado e multiprofissional será oferecido no Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio