Evaluation of Microencapsulation of The UFV-AREG1 Bacteriophage in Alginate-Ca Microcapsules using Microfluidic Devices

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics and the emergence of resistant microorganisms have become a major challenge for the food industry. The purpose of this work was to microencapsulate the bacteriophage UFV-AREG1 in a calcium alginate matrix using microfluidic devices and to study the viability and efficiency of retention. The microcapsules were added to gel of propylene glycol for use as an antimicrobial in the food industry. The technique showed the number of the phage encapsulation, yielding drops with an average 100-250 $\mu$m of diameter, 82.1 $\pm$ 2% retention efficiency and stability in the gel matrix for 21 days. The gel added to the microencapsulated phage showed efficiency (not detectable on the surface) in reducing bacterial contamination on the surface at a similar level to antimicrobial chemicals (alcohol 70%). Therefore, it was possible to microencapsulate bacteriophages in alginate-Ca and apply the microcapsules in gels for use as sanitizers in the food industry.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Anxiety-like behavior and structural changes of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in gestational protein-restricted male offspring

Animal evidence has suggested that maternal emotional and nutritional stress during pregnancy is associated with behavioral outcomes in offspring. The nature of the stresses applied may differ, but it is often assumed that the mother's hippocampus-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HHPA) axis response releases higher levels of glucocorticoid hormones. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is in a pivotal position to regulate the HHPA axis and the stress response, and it has been implicated in anxiety behavior. In the current study, to search whether BNST structural changes and neurochemical alterations are associated with anxiety-related behavior in adult gestational protein-restricted offspring relative to an age-matched normal protein diet (NP) rats, we conduct behavioral tests and, BNST dendritic tree analysis by Sholl analysis, associated to immunoblotting-protein quantification [11β-HSD2, GR, MR, AT1R, 5HT1A and 5HT2A, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRH) and CRH1]. Dams were maintained either on isocaloric standard rodent chow [with NP content, 17% casein or low protein content (LP), 6% casein] chow throughout their entire pregnancy. Here, in rats subjected to gestational protein restriction, we found: (a) a significant reduction in dendritic length and impoverished dendritic arborization in BNST neurons; (b) an elevated plasmatic corticosterone levels; and (c) associated with enhanced anxiety-like behavior when compared with age-matched NP offspring. Moreover, altered protein (11β-HSD2, GR, MR and type 1 CRH receptors) expressions may underlie the increase in anxiety-like behavior in LP offspring. This work represents the first demonstration that BNST developmental plasticity by maternal protein restriction, resulting in fine structural changes and neurochemical alterations that are associated with modified behavioral states.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2005/54362-4 and 2013/12486-5) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gestational protein restriction induces CA3 dendritic atrophy in dorsal hippocampal neurons but does not alter learning and memory performance in adult offspring

Studies have demonstrated that nutrient deficiency during pregnancy or in early postnatal life results in structural abnormalities in the offspring hippocampus and in cognitive impairment. In an attempt to analyze whether gestational protein restriction might induce learning and memory impairments associated with structural changes in the hippocampus, we carried out a detailed morphometric analysis of the hippocampus of male adult rats together with the behavioral characterization of these animals in the Morris water maze (MWM). Our results demonstrate that gestational protein restriction leads to a decrease in total basal dendritic length and in the number of intersections of CA3 pyramidal neurons whereas the cytoarchitecture of CA1 and dentate gyrus remained unchanged. Despite presenting significant structural rearrangements, we did not observe impairments in the MWM test. Considering the clear dissociation between the behavioral profile and the hippocampus neuronal changes, the functional significance of dendritic remodeling in fetal processing remains undisclosed

Teores de cinzas, cálcio e fósforo de seis híbridos de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense" plantados em duas diferentes épocas e cortados em três diferentes períodos.

Foram avaliados o teor de cinzas e a composição mineral de seis híbridos de sorgo desenvolvidos pela EMBRAPA Milho e Sorgo. Utilizou-se um delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, utilizando-se quatro repetições por híbrido. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância, sendo as interações significativas desdobradas e as médias comparadas utilizando-se o teste de SNK a 5% de probabilidade. Não houve diferença estatística entre as médias dos híbridos para o teor médio de cinzas, sendo que os valores variaram de 6,92 a 7,46 %. Houve diferença significativa (p<0,05) entre as médias dos híbridos para a porcentagem de cálcio e fósforo. O híbrido testemunha BRS 800 apresentou os maiores teores de fósforo. De acordo com os resultados obtidos neste trabalho, conclui-se que os híbridos estudados apresentam boa composição em minerais

Teores de fibra em detergente neutro, fibra em detergente ácido e lignina de seis híbridos de sorgo em duas épocas de plantio e três cortes.

Foram avaliados quatro genótipos experimentais e dois cultivares comerciais de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense" quanto às frações fibrosas fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra em detergente ácido (FDA) e lignina. Os híbridos foram submetidos a três cortes sucessivos, realizados em duas diferentes épocas de plantio. Foi empregado um delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso e a comparação de médias foi efetuada pelo teste de SNK a 5% de probabilidade. Não houve variações significativas de FDN (p< 0,05) entre os híbridos, com as médias situando-se entre 54,68 e 55,74 %. Também não houve variações significativas (p<0,05) entre os híbridos em nenhum dos cortes e épocas avaliadas. Os valores de FDA médios dos híbridos variaram de 24,99 a 25,51 % e não observaram-se diferenças significativas (p<0,05) entre eles. Na segunda época de plantio foi observada semelhança significativa entre os híbridos no primeiro e terceiro cortes. Os teores médios de lignina obtidos nos diferentes híbridos não apresentaram diferenças significativas (p<0,05). Na primeira epoca, não foram observadas diferenças (p<0,05) entre os híbridos. Na segunda época de plantio, os híbridos apresentaram comportamento semelhante à primeira época, quanto à semelhança entre os híbridos nos cortes sucessivos. A média dos valores apresentados na segunda época foi de 6,32 % , superior estatisticamente (p<0,05) ao valor de 5,39 % observado na primeira época

Taxa de rebrota e relação folha/haste de seis cruzamentos interespecíficos de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense" em duas épocas de plantio e três de corte.

Foram avaliados quatro genótipos experimentais e dois cultivares comerciais de "Sorghum bicolor" e "Sorghum sudanense" quanto às características agronômicas taxa de rebrota e relação folha/haste. Os híbridos foram submetidos a três cortes sucessivos, realizados em duas diferentes épocas de plantio. As taxas de rebrota entre os dois cortes, na primeira época, apenas para o cultivar AG 2501C foi observado maior valor na primeira época em relação à segunda, enquanto que para os demais não foram observadas diferenças significativas (p<0,05). Para a segunda taxa de rebrota, obtida entre o segundo e terceiro cortes, os valores variaram entre 0,45 e 1,00 e não foram observadas diferenças entre as taxas de rebrota entre os híbridos nas duas épocas de cultivo. A importância da determinação da relação folha/haste é devida ao fato de que esta relação influi diretamente no valor nutritivo das plantas de sorgo, uma vez que as folhas possuem coeficiente de digestibilidade superior ao das hastes. Observando-se a primeira época de plantio, para o primeiro e terceiro cortes, não foram observadas diferenças significativas (p<0,05) entre os híbridos. Na segunda época, todos os híbridos apresentaram maiores (p<0,05) relações folha/haste no primeiro corte em relação aos cortes posteriores. Comparando-se as médias das épocas não foram observadas diferenças (p<0,05) nos valores médios de 0,80 e 0,91 entre a primeira e segunda épocas, respectivamente

Produção de matéria verde, matéria seca e matéria seca digestível de hibridos de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense".

Foram avaliadas as produções de matéria verde (MV), matéria seca (MS) e matéria seca digestível (MSDG) de seis híbridos de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense". Foram utilizados dois híbridos comerciais e quatro híbridos experimentais. Utilizou-se um delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições de seis híbridos plantados em duas épocas diferentes e submetidos a três cortes consecutivos. As análises foram feitas utilizando-se o teste SNK (p0,05) entre os híbridos para a produção media de MV e MS, com valores variando de 13,63 a 18,37 e 1,71 a 2,28 t/ha, respectivamente. A média de produção de MV e MS da época 2 foi significativamente (p0,05) entre híbridos, com valores entre 0,96 a 1,28 t/ha. Na época 1 não houve diferença entre híbridos dentro de cada corte. A época 2 apresentou média de produção de MSDG superior à época 1. A produção de MSDG apresentou correlação de 0,99 (p<0,0001) com a produção de MS. Não houve diferença entre os híbridos para as produções totais de MSDG, com valores entre 2,87 a 3,86 t/ha

Human papillomavirus testing as an optional screening tool in low-resource settings of Latin America: experience from the Latin American Screening study

Hybrid capture II (HC II) test for oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) was carried out in a cohort of 4284 women at their first clinical visit. Overall prevalence of HPV was 17.1%, decreasing with age from 33.9% among women below 20 years to only 11.0% among those older than 41 years. HPV prevalence was significantly higher among current smokers (odds ratio [OR] ¼ 1.31; 95% CI 1.1–1.6), in women with two or more lifetime sexual partners (OR ¼ 1.9; 95% CI 1.6–2.4), and those women with two or more sexual partners during the past 12 months prior to examination (OR ¼ 1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.2). HPV detection increased in parallel with increasing cytologic abnormality, being highest in women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (P ¼ 0.001). Specificity of the HPV test in detecting histologically confirmed cervical disease was 85% (95% CI 83.9–86.1). Sensitivity of the HPV test in detecting histologic abnormalities increased in parallel with disease severity, ranging from 51.5% for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 to 96.5% for CIN 3 and 100.0% for cancer, with respective decline of positive predictive value. These data suggest that HPV testing with HC II assay might be a viable screening tool among this population with relatively high prevalence of cervical disease

Evaluation of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), Lugol’s iodine (VILI), cervical cytology and HPV testing as cervical screening tools in Latin America

Objectives: To assess the performance indicators of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and visual inspection with Lugol’s iodine (VILI) in four Latin American centres participating in the ongoing Latin AMerican Screening (LAMS) study, in settings with moderate incidence of cervical disease and with poorly to moderately well-organized cervical cancer screening. Setting: Three Brazilian centres (São Paulo, Campinas and Porto Alegre) and one Argentine centre (Buenos Aires) recruited a total of 11,834 healthy women to undergo VIA, VILI, conventional Pap smear and Hybrid Capture II (HCII). Methods: Women who had a positive result from any of these tests were subjected to colposcopy and biopsies (if necessary), and women with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were properly treated. To control for verification bias, 5% of women with normal tests were referred for colposcopy, as were 20% of HCII-negative women. Results: Data on VIA (n = 11,834), VILI (n = 2994), conventional Pap smear (n = 10,138) and HCII (n = 4195) were available for test comparisons, calculating sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Overall test positivity was 11.6% for VIA, 23.0% for VILI, 2.2% for Pap smear (LSIL threshold), 1.1% for Pap smear (HSIL threshold) and 17.1% for HCII. VIA was positive in 61.8% of the women with CIN 1, 57.0% of those with CIN 2, 35.0% of women with CIN 3 and in 21 of 28 (75%) of women with cancer. Approximately 10% of women with no detectable disease had an abnormal VIA. Regarding VILI, 83.3% of women diagnosed with CIN 1 and 62.5% of those with CIN 3 had an abnormal test. VILI failed to detect one of three cases of cancer. Both the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of VIA and VILI in detecting CIN 2 or CIN 3 could be significantly improved depending on the combination with Pap smear or HCII (sensitivity up to 100.0% and specificity up to 99.8%). Conclusions: The LAMS study failed to reproduce the performance figures obtained with VIA and VILI (as stand-alone tests) in some other settings, where the prevalence of cervical disease was higher. However, a combined use of VIA or VILI with the Pap test or HCII allowed specific detection of cervical abnormalities.European Union (EU) - INCO-DEV Programme - Contract# ICA4-CT-2001-10013