Edible flowers: traditional and current use

Flowers have been part of human life since antiquity. Several civilizations have left the legacy of using flowers in art, natural medicine, as well as in cooking to color, flavor and embellish various dishes. Edible flowers (EF) are those that can be consumed without endangering consumer’s health. Although not all countries in the world use flowers for food, their use has increased in general, as well as the interest of researchers from different areas of knowledge, as they are considered new sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, the safety of its use is still questioned due to the lack of more information about the maximum safe amount of daily intake. This review aimed to gather information about the traditional use of EF, safety in consumption and consumers’ perception of these products

DESAFIOS PARA PRODUÇÃO DE MATERIAL DIDÁTICO DIGITAL GAMIFICADO NO GOOGLE CLASSROOM: UM RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA NA PERSPECTIVA DO DOCENTE

The teaching practice in emergency remote teaching has found several challenges. The biggest one is developing engaging digital teaching materials, which call students' attention and interests to solve the activities. Noticing this gap in our practice, we developed a proposal of gamified digital teaching material using the Google classroom platform to students from 5th grade, that are taking Portuguese classes in elementary school. The material aims at offering reading and writing activities by exploring fairy tales, and gamification strategies to improve the students' argumentative competencies, as well as their creativity to produce and to retell stories. Based on previous studies, we understand that purpose of gamification is to get the individual emotionally involved, using games mechanics in favor of promoting the learner's commitment and solving the proposed challenges. In this report, we present examples of activities designed for teaching material, using gamification strategies and reporting the challenges in the teacher´s practice related to this process to elaborate a material that calls students' attention, motivates to read and write, as well as promotes learning, collaboration, interaction, and cooperation.A prática de ensino na modalidade remota tem passado por vários desafios. O maior deles é como elaborar material didático engajador que desperte o interesse dos estudantes pelas atividades de estudo. Percebendo essa lacuna, a partir da nossa prática, desenvolvemos uma proposta de material didático gamificado na plataforma Google Classroom para estudantes do 5° ano do Ensino Fundamental I, para uso em aulas de língua portuguesa. O material visa promover atividades de leitura e de escrita, com objetivo despertar o interesse e o prazer pela leitura, por meio da leitura e produção de conto de fadas, usando as estratégias de gamificação para que os alunos desenvolvam competências argumentativas e criatividade para produzir textos, contar e recontar histórias. Com base em estudos prévios, entendemos que o objetivo da gamificação é fazer com que o indivíduo se envolva emocionalmente, utilizando mecanismos provenientes de jogos, e beneficiando-se pela criação de um ambiente propício ao comprometimento do indivíduo na resolução dos problemas propostos. Neste artigo apresentamos exemplos de atividades elaboradas para uma didática, usando as estratégias de gamificação, e reportamos os desafios na prática docente que envolveram o processo de desenvolvimento, para elaborar um material que desperte o interesse, a motivação e incentive a leitura e a escrita, consequentemente, proporcione a aprendizagem dos estudantes, visando colaboração, interação e cooperação

DIAGNÓSTICO DA EFETIVIDADE DO PLANO DE GERENCIAMENTO DE RESÍDUOS SÓLIDOS DE UMA EMPRESA DE TRANSPORTES VERTICAIS EM BELO HORIZONTE, MG

As empresas geram muitos resíduos sólidos oriundos de suas atividades que, quando são gerenciados de maneira inadequada, podem afetar o meio ambiente, causando alterações significativas. Diante da importância do problema, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a efetividade na execução das práticas de gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos contidas no Plano de Gerenciamento de Resíduos Sólidos de uma empresa de transportes verticais, em Belo Horizonte. O estudo identificou as falhas por meio da realização de um diagnóstico e sugere ações de melhorias para que sejam corrigidas as práticas inadequadas de gerenciamento de resíduos na empresa

Especificidades dos contratos empresariais e a pandemia causada pela covid-19 / Specificities of business contracts and the pandemia caused by covid-19

O presente trabalho aborda as especificidades dos contratos empresariais também denominados de contratos interempresariais, pactuados entre empresários no exercício da atividade econômica. Nesse contexto, houve a exposição da inaplicabilidade das regras consumeristas aos contratos empresariais. Abordou-se a aplicação dos princípios da boa-fé e da função social de acordo com as especificidades do escopo de lucro e da liberdade contratual, pois apesar dos contratos empresariais serem regidos por dispositivos previstos no Código Civil, se diferem dos contratos cíveis. Nessa perspectiva, houve a abordagem de que a intervenção estatal nos contratos empresariais, seja prévia ou posterior, deve ser mitigada, mas que ao ser realizada a fim de evitar, por exemplo, o abuso do poder econômico numa situação de denúncia contratual, precisa observar a presunção de simetria entre as partes, a maior liberdade contratual e a alocação dos riscos acordada. A metodologia utilizada compreendeu a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental a partir do levantamento de referências teóricas relacionadas ao objeto da pesquisa por meio de uma abordagem qualitativa e método hipotético dedutivo. Ao final, além da exposição das especificidades dos contratos empresariais de modo a melhor compreendê-los, chegou-se à constatação de que a pandemia causada pela covid-19 ocasionou a suspensão de diversas atividades empresariais o que viabilizará a intervenção estatal nos contratos empresariais. E diante disso, a intervenção estatal, prévia ou posterior, precisará evitar a ruína empresarial, mas não poderá ser exercida de forma desregrada, pois os contratos empresariais possuem premissas específicas, dentre elas, uma maior liberdade contratual, simetria entre as partes e priorização da alocação dos riscos acordada

Short-term effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation in the nociceptive behavior of neuropathic pain rats in development

Neuropathic pain (NP) is caused by a lesion that triggers pain chronification and central sensitization and it can develop in a different manner, dependent of age. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for treating NP. Then, we aimed to investigate the effects of tDCS and BDNF levels in neuropathic pain rats in development, with 30 days old in the beginning of experiments. Eight-five male Wistar rats were subjected to chronic constriction injury. After establishment of NP, bimodal tDCS was applied to the rats for eight consecutive days, for 20 minutes each session. Subsequently, nociceptive behavior was assessed at baseline, 14 days after surgery, 1 day and 7 days after the end of tDCS. The rats were sacrificed 8 days after the last session of tDCS. An increase in the nociceptive threshold was observed in rats in development 1 day after the end of tDCS (short-term effect), but this effect was not maintained 7 days after the end of tDCS (long-term effect). Furthermore, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were analyzed in the frontal cortex, spinal cord and serum using ELISA assays. The neuropathic pain model showed an effect of BDNF in the spinal cord of rats in development. There were no effects of BNDF levels of pain or tDCS in the frontal cortex or serum. In conclusion, tDCS is an effective technique to relieve nociceptive behavior at a short-term effect in neuropathic pain rats in development, and BDNF levels were not altered at long-term effect

The germline mutational landscape of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in Brazil

The detection of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 is essential to the formulation of clinical management strategies, and in Brazil, there is limited access to these services, mainly due to the costs/availability of genetic testing. Aiming at the identification of recurrent mutations that could be included in a low-cost mutation panel, used as a first screening approach, we compiled the testing reports of 649 probands with pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants referred to 28 public and private health care centers distributed across 11 Brazilian States. Overall, 126 and 103 distinct mutations were identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2, respectively. Twenty-six novel variants were reported from both genes, and BRCA2 showed higher mutational heterogeneity. Some recurrent mutations were reported exclusively in certain geographic regions, suggesting a founder effect. Our findings confirm that there is significant molecular heterogeneity in these genes among Brazilian carriers, while also suggesting that this heterogeneity precludes the use of screening protocols that include recurrent mutation testing only. This is the first study to show that profiles of recurrent mutations may be unique to different Brazilian regions. These data should be explored in larger regional cohorts to determine if screening with a panel of recurrent mutations would be effective.This work was supported in part by grants from Barretos Cancer Hospital (FINEP - CT-INFRA, 02/2010), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, 2013/24633-2 and 2103/23277-8), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Norte (FAPERN), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Ministério da Saúde, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Avon grant #02-2013-044) and National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute (grant #RC4 CA153828-01) for the Clinical Cancer Genomics Community Research Network. Support in part was provided by grants from Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa e Eventos (FIPE) from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, BioComputacional 3381/2013, Rede de Pesquisa em Genômica Populacional Humana), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado da Bahia (SESAB), Laboratório de Imunologia e Biologia Molecular (UFBA), INCT pra Controle do Câncer and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). RMR and PAP are recipients of CNPq Productivity Grants, and Bárbara Alemar received a grant from the same agencyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Determinação de aldeídos totais para avaliar potencial de germinação de sementes de soja

O teste-padrão de germinação é o teste mais usado como referencial para estimar o potencial de germinação de sementes de soja; porém, sua realização demanda tempo, e os pesquisadores reconhecem falhas no teste quando se trata de predizer o comportamento das sementes no campo. Vários métodos alternativos têm sido testados para avaliar a qualidade flsiológica das sementes de soja. Recentemente, pesquisas têm sido feitas em laboratórios da UFV, objetivando identificar genes importantes no processo de germinação e, também, selecionar parâmetros bioquímicos-fisiológicos que correlacionem com a viabilidade e o vigor das sementes de soja. Neste trabalho, determinou-se o teor de aldeídos totais, derivados da hidroperoxidação de lipídeos, extraídos nas primeiros estágios da germinação da semente. Utilizamm-se amostras da variedade de soja UFV-5 submetidas a cinco épocas de retardamento de colheita, após o estádio de maturação Rg (Fehr e Caviness), em intervalos de 15 dias autre as colheitas. Os aldeídos extraídos com etanol a 2% foram determinados em espectrofotômetro, utilizando-se a reação com MBTH (3-metil-2-benzotiazolinona hidrazona). Os dados permitiram concluir que existe estreita relação negativa entre aldeídos extraídos das sementes, nos primeiros estágios de germinação, com seu potencial de germinação, avaliado pela emergência em leito de areia.The standard germination test has been largely used to evaluate seed viability; however, this test is time consuming, and researchers are aware that it may fail to predict germination rate under field conditions. A number of other tests have been devised to evaluate viability and vigor of soybean seed lots. Most recently, attempts have been undertaken in our laboratory towards biochemical approaches searching for genes that are important in the germination process, as well as to select biochemical traits that correlate well with soybean seed viability and vigor. In the present work, total aldehydes derived from lipid hydroperoxidation in the first stage of germination were extracted and evaluated. Seed samples from the cultivar UFV-5 harvesteds at five different periods after the R8 stage (Fehr md Cavinees) at 15-day intervals were used. The aldehydes, extracted with a 2% ethanol solution were measured spectrophotometrically using the reaction with MBTH (3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone). Our data clearly demonstrate 2 narrow negative relatienship between extractable aldehydes from the seeds, in the first stage of germination, and germination potential of soybean seeds as determined by the sand germination test