Identification of clinical predictors of flare in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a 24-month prospective cohort study

Objective. SLE has a relapsing-remitting course with disease activity flares over time. This study aims to identify clinical predictors of SLE flares.Methods. This prospective cohort study over 24 months included all SLE patients on follow-up at one academic lupus clinic. Flare was defined as an increase in SLEDAI-2K score ≥4 points. Baseline clinical and demographic parameters were compared using survival analysis for time-to-flare outcome with univariate log-rank tests. Variables with significant differences were further evaluated as predictors with multivariate Cox regression models adjusting for potential confounding or contributing factors and hazard ratio (HR) calculation.Results. A total of 202 SLE patients were included. Over the follow-up period, 1083 visits were documented and 16.8% of patients presented with flares. In multivariate analysis, the following parameters emerged as flare predictors: SLE diagnosis up to 25 years of age (HR = 2.14, P = 0.03), lupus nephritis previous to baseline visit (HR = 4.78, P < 0.0001) and immunosuppressor treatment for severe SLE (HR = 3.22, P < 0.001). Baseline disease activity, disease duration and treatment with prednisone or HCQ were not predictive factors.Conclusion. Patients with an SLE diagnosis before age 25 years, lupus nephritis or immunosuppressor treatment for severe SLE present greater HRs for flares, suggesting the need for tighter clinical monitoring. Current immunosuppressive strategies seem to be inefficient in providing flare prevention

Seasonal fluctuations of the airborne pollen in Guarda (Portugal)

Airborne pollen calendars are useful to estimate the flowering season of the different plants as well as to indicate the allergenic potential present in the atmosphere at a given time. In this study, a 1-year survey (from January 2013 to February 2014) is presented of the atmospheric concentration of pollen types in Guarda (Portugal), using a 7-day Hirst volumetric trap. The daily mean concentration of both the number of pollen grains and the main pollen season was determined as well as the bi-hourly variations. The highest airborne pollen concentration was found during early spring and early summer. Contrastingly, December was the month with the lowest pollen concentration. The major pollens sampled were Quercus, Pinaceae, Poaceae, Cupressaceae, Urticaceae, Apiaceae, Oleaceae and Polygonaceae. Some differences were found in the intradiurnal distribution patterns of the pollen types studied, with some taxa types being predominantly sampled in the morning (8:00-10:00 a.m.) while others were more evident in the late evening hours (8-10 p.m.). Finally, these results were compared with the forecast made by the Portuguese Aerobiology Network for the central region of Portugal, revealing some significant differences in the pollination periods

Sewage sludge co-digestion with mango peel liquor: impact of hydraulic retention time on methane yield and bioenergy recovery

As the shift towards renewable energy sources continues, new approaches for energy recovery from sewage sludge must be established. This paper explores the feasibility of implementing full-scale co-digestion of municipal sewage sludge with fruit biowaste through the synergistic effects obtained at laboratory scale. The efficiency/stability of the process was studied for three hydraulic retention times. By using simple tools to evaluate the performance of the anaerobic digestion system, such as the specific methane indicator and the energy potential recovery indicator, it was shown that the shortest retention time of 13 days had the highest methane production and almost doubled the specific methane production, thus contributing to sustainable waste management and energy self-sufficiency of wastewater treatment plants

Use of oak and cherry wood chips during alcoholic fermentation and the maturation process of Rosé wines: impact of phenolic composition and sensory profile

There is a lack of knowledge about the use of di erent wood species on rosé wine production. Thus, this work focused on the impact of the addition of wood chips from oak and cherry trees during the alcoholic fermentation and maturation process on rosé wine characteristics. Therefore, phenolic composition and sensory characteristics were monitored during the rosé wines’ production. The use of wood chips during alcoholic fermentation induced a significant increase of phenolic content in rosé musts. During rosé wine maturation, the wood chip contact induced significantly higher values of colored anthocyanins, color intensity, and polymeric pigments, and significantly lower values of color hue in the corresponding rosé wines. In terms of sensory profile, a tendency for lower scores of “overall appreciation” were attributed to control rosé wine, while significantly higher scores for “color intensity” descriptor were attributed to all rosé wines matured in contact with wood chips. For the majority of phenolic parameters and individual phenolic compounds quantified, a clear and specific influence of the use of oak and cherry wood chips was not detected, except for (+)-catechin, where the rosé wines produced in contact with cherry chips showed the highest values. This study provides relevant information for winemakers about the impact of the use of wood chips on rosé wine qualityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of wine fermentations using fiber optic-mediated UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is widely used in biological sciences, being applied to liquids, pastes, powders, films, fibers, gases and surfaces. It makes possible to characterize proteins, peptides, lipids, membranes and carbohydrates in pharmaceuticals, foods, plants or animal tissues. It can also provide detailed information about the structure and mechanism of action of molecules. UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy has not been used for fermentations characterization. This is possibly attributed to the fact that UV-VIS spectroscopy records transmissions between electron energy levels from molecular orbitals, which do not have a direct relationship with the presence/concentration of compounds, instead of vibrational or structural oscillation of molecular groups as in the infrared region, where such relationship is more straightforward. UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy registers many features such as fluorescence and vibrational resonances due to energy decay of exited electrons, which may provide highly accurate fingerprinting of metabolites and metabolic state of the fermentation, provided that an adequate data treatment and interpretation system is available. In this work we explore the use of fiber optics UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy to characterize wine fermentations of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae collection. This collection comprises 114 strains (among which almost 40 are sequenced strains), between industrial strains used for winemaking, brewing, bakery, distillery (sake, cachaça) and ethanol production, natural isolates obtained in winemaking environments, and also strains from particular environments (e.g. pathogenic strains, isolates from insects, fruits and oak exudates). Individual fermentations were carried out in 100 mL wine (cv. Loureiro) must for each of the 114 strains, and the growth rate, CO2 release and glucose concentration were followed throughout fermentation. When glucose concentration was below 5 g/L, cells were collected and immediately frozen and stored for fiber optics spectroscopy analysis. Transmittance fiber optics UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy was used to record the spectra between 200 and 1200 nm, using a highly sensitive scientific-grade spectrometer (Ocean Optics, QE65000) for maximum resolution. The procedure was performed in a special probe container designed to isolate the environmental light and maintain the probe horizontally, to prevent the deposition of debris in the mirrored surface. The following experimental procedure was performed: spectra were obtained at room temperature at previously stabilized (20 min) light sources; dark spectra were recorded and measurements were taken with linear and electric dark correction. Light spectra were statistically monitored, assessing the reproducibility of the light source by regular light measurements. Twenty spectra replicates were recorded for each fermentation. Results show that after appropriate preprocessing and signal classification, fiber optics UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy is a robust technique for characterize different wine fermentations, being able to characterize and differentiate the fermentation of different strains of S. cerevisiae based on their origins, by each spectroscopic fingerprinting. This technique associated with other physico-chemical information can benefit the creation of an information system capable of providing extremely detailed information about physical processes and molecular biology that will aid both scientists and engineers to study and develop new biotechnological products.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Elemental Composition of Commercial Herbal Tea Plants and Respective Infusions

Funding Information: Funding: This work received funding support from national funds from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), Portugal, through the research units UIDB/04035/2020 (GeoBioTec) and UIDB/00239/2020 (CEF). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This study evaluated the elemental composition of 25 herbal tea plants commonly used in infusions by Portuguese consumers and the contribution to the elemental daily intake of some essential elements. Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), Matricaria chamomilla (L.), and Melissa officinalis (L.) samples are a rich source of K with around 6.0 mg g−1 while the Asteraceae Silybum marianum (L.) and Echinacea angustifolia (DC.) exhibited 4.9 and 5.6 mg g−1 Ca, respectively. The highest concentrations of S and Zn were noted in Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), while the highest concentration of Sr was found in Cassia angustifolia (Vahl.). In general, a large variability in the concentrations among different families and plant organs had been observed, except Cu with levels around 30 µg g−1. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed positive correlations between Zn and S and Sr and Ca, also revealing that Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), Echinacea angustifolia (DC.), Silybum marianum (L.), and Cassia angustifolia (Vahl.) samples, stands out about all other samples regarding the enrichment of macro and micronutrients. The elemental solubility of macronutrients in the infusion is greater than the micronutrient solubility, despite the contribution to the recommended daily intake was weak. As a whole, Cynara scolymus (L.) and Hibiscus sabdariffa (L.) are the species with the best elemental solubilities, followed by Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.). No harmful elements, such as As and Pb, were observed in both the raw material and the infusions.publishersversionpublishe

Elemental Composition of Commercial Herbal Tea Plants and Respective Infusions

This study evaluated the elemental composition of 25 herbal tea plants commonly used in infusions by Portuguese consumers and the contribution to the elemental daily intake of some essential elements. Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), Matricaria chamomilla (L.), and Melissa officinalis (L.) samples are a rich source of K with around 6.0 mg g-1 while the Asteraceae Silybum marianum (L.) and Echinacea angustifolia (DC.) exhibited 4.9 and 5.6 mg g-1 Ca, respectively. The highest concentrations of S and Zn were noted in Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), while the highest concentration of Sr was found in Cassia angustifolia (Vahl.). In general, a large variability in the concentrations among different families and plant organs had been observed, except Cu with levels around 30 g g-1. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed positive correlations between Zn and S and Sr and Ca, also revealing that Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.), Echinacea angustifolia (DC.), Silybum marianum (L.), and Cassia angustifolia (Vahl.) samples, stands out about all other samples regarding the enrichment of macro and micronutrients. The elemental solubility of macronutrients in the infusion is greater than the micronutrient solubility, despite the contribution to the recommended daily intake was weak. As a whole, Cynara scolymus (L.) and Hibiscus sabdariffa (L.) are the species with the best elemental solubilities, followed by Hydrocotyle asiatica (L.). No harmful elements, such as As and Pb, were observed in both the raw material and the infusionsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mathematical modelling of convective drying of Galega kale

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio