Effect edible antimicrobial coating in the white blush and anaerobic psychrotrophs baby carrots

[POR] Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade visual e microbiológica de minicenouras submetidas a diferentes concentrações de amido de milho em suspensão utilizado para revestimento comestível. Cenouras cv. Esplanada colhidas aos 90 dias, minimamente processadas na forma de minicenouras, foram imersas em suspensão contendo 2, 3 ou 4% de amido de milho; 1,5 % de quitosana, 2 % de glicerol e 0,4 % de ácido acético glacial e mantidas sob ventilação. Minicenouras não imersas em suspensão, serviram de controle. Em seguida, as minicenouras foram embaladas em bandejas de polipropileno envoltas em filme de polivinilcloreto e mantidas a 5±1ºC, por 12 ou 15 dias. Minicenouras sem revestimento, apresentaram intenso aumento no índice de esbranquecimento, e no quarto dia, apresentaram entre 21 a 60 % de sua superfície esbranquecida. Independente da concentração de amido na suspensão, o índice de esbranquecimento não alterou. As minicenouras tratadas em suspensão contendo 4 % de amido, não apresentaram sintomas visuais de esbranquecimento durante todo o armazenamento. As minicenouras tratadas em suspensão contendo 2 ou 3% de amido, apresentaram até 20% da superfície esbranquecida, nas extremidades, sem comprometer sua qualidade visual. O tempo para secagem do revestimento foi de proximadamente 2,5; 3,5 e 5h para minicenoura tratadas em suspensão com 2, 3 e 4 %, respectivamente, dificultando o uso de suspensão mais concentrada. A velocidade de perda de massa fresca apresentou a mesma tendência para todos os tratamentos. O revestimento utilizado contendo quitosana, inibiu em 1,2 ciclos logs o crescimento de psicotróficos anaeróbicos após 15 dias, em relação ao controle. A suspensão contendo 2 ou 3 % de amido de milho, proporcionou manutenção da coloração característica de minicenoura e inibiu parcialmente o crescimento de psicotróficos anaeróbicos. Apoio financeiro: CAPES, CNPq e FAPEMIG. [ENG] This work aimed to develop an edible antimicrobial coating base on a starch- chitosan matrix to evaluate is effect on baby carrot by means of visual quality and anaerobic Psychrotrophs analyses. Carrots of, Esplanada cultivar were harvested at 90 days after planting, were minimally processed in form of baby carrots and immersed in the suspensión coating based on 2; 3 or 4 % maiz starch (w/v) + 2 % glycerol (v/v) + chitosan (1,5 %, w/v) and 0,4 % glacial acetic acid (v/v). All the samples were placed in extended polystyrene trays, wrapped in polyvinylchloride film and stored at 5±1 ºC for 12 or 15 days. Baby carrot no immersed, presented intense increase whiteness index, and 21 – 60 % at days four whitness surface. Independent of the starch concentration in the suspension, the whiteness index did not modify. The Baby carrot treated in suspension contend 4 % of starch, had not presented visual symptoms of whiteness during the storage. The baby carrots treated in suspension contend 2 or 3% of starch, had presented up to 20 % of the whiteness surface, in the extremities, without compromising its visual quality. The time for drying of the coatings was of approximately 2,5; 3,5 and 5h for baby carrot treated in suspension with 2, 3 and 4 %, respectively, making it difficult the use of more concentred suspension. The speed of mass loss presented the same trend for all the treatments. The use chitosan in the coating, inhibited in 1,2 cycles logs the growth of anaerobic psychrotrophs after 15 days, in relation to the control. The suspensión contend 2 or 3 % of maize starch, provided maintenance of the characteristic coloration of baby carrot and inhibited partially the anaerobic psychrotrophs growth.Os autores agradecem ao prof. Ricardo Henrique Silva Santos e estudantes pelo fornecimento da matéria-prima. À CAPES, CNPq e FAPEMIG pelo apoio financeiro

Pediatric tuberculosis in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro

Aim: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, diagnostic approach, and treatment outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in children living in a high-burden metropolitan area. Methods: This was a retrospective study, based on a medical chart review, involving children under 15 years old treated for TB between 2007 and 2016, in four primary health units (PHU) and three reference centers (RC) in five cities of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. Factors associated with TB treatment setting, microbiological diagnosis, and treatment outcomes were evaluated. Results: A total of 544 children were enrolled; 71% were treated in PHU, 36% were under 5 years old, and 72% had pulmonary TB (PTB). The HIV prevalence was 10% (31/322). Fifty-three percent had at least one microbiological test for TB, 68% of them (196/287) had TB confirmed. Among 222 children with previous TB contact, information on LTBI was available for 78 (35%), and only 17% (13/78) were treated. Extrapulmonary TB (56% vs 32%), microbiologically confirmed TB (77% vs 60%), and HIV positivity (18.5% vs 4.0%) were significantly more frequent in RC. Treatment in RC (odds ratio (OR) 3.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.74–5.44) and PTB (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.34–4.56) were independently associated with a microbiological diagnosis of TB. The treatment success rate was 85%. In the logistic regression analysis, HIV-infected children had a 2.5-fold higher risk of an unfavorable outcome (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.0–6.38; p = 0.05). Conclusions: Opportunities for TB prevention and early TB treatment are missed due to suboptimal close contact screening. Microbiological diagnosis of TB and drug susceptibility testing in children should be made available through more sensitive and accessible tests

Real-Time PCR in HIV/Trypanosoma cruzi Coinfection with and without Chagas Disease Reactivation: Association with HIV Viral Load and CD4+ Level

Chagas disease is endemic in Latin America and is caused by the flagellate protozoan T. cruzi. The acute phase is asymptomatic in the majority of the cases and rarely causes inflammation of the heart or the central nervous system. Most infected patients progress to a chronic phase, characterized by cardiac or digestive involvement when not asymptomatic. However, when patients are also exposed to an immunosuppressant (such as chemotherapy), neoplasia, or other infections such as HIV, T. cruzi infection may develop into a severe disease (Chagas disease reactivation) involving the heart and central nervous system. The current microscopic methods for diagnosing Chagas disease reactivation are not sensitive enough to prevent the high rate of death observed in these cases. Therefore, we propose a quantitative method to monitor blood levels of the parasite, which will allow therapy to be administered as early as possible, even if the patient has not yet presented symptoms

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Saude mental na estrategia saude da familia : revisao da literatura brasileira = Mental health in the Family Health Strategy : a review of Brazilian literature

The Family Health Strategy establishes the principles of the Brazilian Primary Health Care and shares important goals with the Psychiatric Reform. The principles of territory-centered care and longitudinal care should enhance innovative actions of mental health promotion, prevention and rehabilitation. The aim of this review was to analyze the main themes approached by the Brazilian scientific literature concerning mental health in the Family Health Strategy. We read the titles of 267 articles published between 1999 and 2009. We followed specific criteria to select 38 articles for thematic analysis. The main themes were the demands in mental health, the perceptions and practices of health personnel and the role of the psychologist in Primary Care. The publications identified several problems: stereotypical views about mental disorders, the dominance of the hospitalization rationale, and the absence of clinical reports, strategies, qualified support to families and integrated health actions. The qualitative meta-analysis indicated questions that may strengthen the debate on the topic, the reflection on further research and on professional practice in the interface between Mental Health and Family Health