Minimally processed fruit salad enriched with Lactobacillus acidophilus: Viability of anti-browning compounds in the preservation of color

Minimal processing promotes browning of some vegetal tissues due to cell membrane disruption, which results in the release of oxidative enzymes. This study evaluated the efficiency of citric acid, ascorbic acid, sodium metabisulfite and L-cysteine hydrochloride to retard enzymatic browning of minimally processed fruit salad and enriched this product with Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5. Control treatment was fruit salad immersed in water. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and color (L*, a*, b*, index color - CI, browning index - BI, c*, and h°) were analyzed. The viability of L. acidophilus was also evaluated using Rogosa agar in fruit salads containing anti-browning compounds in higher concentrations. PPO presented a significant difference among control and fruit salad treated with ascorbic acid and L-cysteine hydrochloride, indicating the highest anti-browning activity of these compounds. The fruit color was affected by processing and storage time, with a reduction in the values of L* over time. Values of a*, c*, h° angle and CI indicated a predominance of red color in the fruit salad. Salads containing anti-browning compounds in higher concentrations presented viability of L. acidophilus above 7.43 log CFU/g up to the fifth day of storage, indicating that the product can be promised as probiotic. Thus, the fruit salad treated with anti-browning compounds has potential use as a probiotic carrier.Keywords: Fresh-cut fruits, color, ascorbic acid, vegetable matrix, probiotic culture

Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection in Twin Pregnancy

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the preeminent congenital viral infections, and despite its potential morbidity, uncertainty about its physiopathology, prevention and treatment remains until now. We report a case of a dichorionic and diamniotic twin pregnancy in which only one of the fetus had signs of being affected. The first twin had prenatal diagnosis of intrauterine growth restriction and hyperechogenic bowel, attributable to CMV infection, while there was no evidence of infection of the second one. Prenatal treatment was done with maternal administration of valacyclovir and postnatal treatment of the infected newborn with oral valganciclovir with normal neurodevelopment assessment at 12 months corrected age. In this case, maternal CMV infection was not equally transmitted to both fetuses, suggesting that there may be intrinsic fetal and placental factors influencing both transmission and the clinical features of the infection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reprodutibilidade e Validade da Versão Portuguesa da Escala de Fragilidade de Edmonton em Doentes de Cirurgia Cardíaca

Introduction: Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by the loss of functional reserve, associated with higher mortality and less functional survival in cardiac surgery patients. The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) is a comprehensive tool devised for brief frailty detection. To the best of our knowledge, there are no culturally adapted and validated frailty screening tools that enable the identification of vulnerability domains suited for use in the preoperative setting in Portugal. This was the motivation for this study. Objectives: To assess the validity and reproducibility of the Portuguese version of the EFS. Methods: Prospective observational study, in a sample of elective cardiac surgery patients. The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) translation and backtranslation were performed. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and the translated EFS translated, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Mini Mental State Examination Portuguese versions, Katz and Clinical Frailty Scales were administered. To assess validity Mann-Whitney test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, marginal homogeneity test and Kappa coefficient were employed. Reproducibility was assessed estimating kappa coefficient for the frailty diagnosis and the 11 EFS items. Intra-class correlation coefficients and the corresponding 95% confidence interval were estimated using linear mixed effects model. Results: The EFS Portuguese version revealed construct validity for frailty identification, as well as criterion validity for cognition and mood domains. Reproducibility was demonstrated, with k=0.62 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42-0.82) and intraclass correlation (ICC)=0.94 (95% CI 0.89-0.97) in inter-observer test and k=0.48 (95% CI 0.26-0.70) and ICC=0.85 (95% CI 0.72-0.92) in intra-observer test. Conclusions: The EFS Portuguese version is valid and reproducible for use, suiting pre-operative frailty screening in a cardiac surgery setting.Introdução: A fragilidade é uma síndrome multidimensional caracterizada pela perda de reserva funcional, associada a maior mortalidade e menor sobrevivência funcional após cirurgia cardíaca. A Escala de Fragilidade de Edmonton (EFS) é uma ferramenta abrangente de deteção de fragilidade. Não existe ainda em Portugal uma ferramenta de rastreio culturalmente adaptada e validada que permita a identificação de domínios específicos de vulnerabilidade para utilização no pré-operatório. Objetivos: Avaliar a validade e reprodutibilidade da versão portuguesa da EFS. Métodos: Estudo prospetivo observacional, realizado numa amostra de doentes propostos para cirurgia cardíaca. A EFS foi traduzida e retrotraduzida. Colheram-se dados demográficos e clínicos, aplicaram-se as versões traduzidas da EFS, Escala de Depressão Geriátrica e MMSE, as escalas de Katz e Clinical Frailty Scale. Validade avaliada utilizando o teste de Mann-Whitney, o coeficiente de correlação de Spearman, o teste de homogeneidade marginal e o coeficiente Kappa. Reprodutibilidade avaliada pelo cálculo do coeficiente kappa para o diagnóstico de fragilidade e para os 11 itens da escala. Coeficientes de correlação intraclasse e correspondentes intervalos de confiança a 95% estimados usando um modelo linear de efeitos mistos. Resultados: A versão portuguesa da EFS demonstrou validade de constructo, assim como validade de critério nos domínios de cognição e humor. É reprodutível, com k=0,62 (95% IC 0,42-0,82) e CCI=0,94 (95% IC 0,89-0,97) no teste interobservador e k=0,48 (95% IC 0,26-0,70) e CCI=0,85 (95% IC 0,72-0,92) no teste intraobservador. Conclusões: A versão portuguesa da EFS é adequada para rastreio pré-operatório de fragilidade em cirurgia cardíaca.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Portugal and Angola: the politics of a troubled media relationship

In his last text of 2016, published on Christmas day, the editor of Angola’s official newspaper, Jornal de Angola, wrote a ‘message of harmony’ where he chose to focus on diplomatic relations with the former colonial power. José Ribeiro’s reading was clear: “Forty one years after independence the Portuguese elites still treat us impolitely as if we were their slaves” (Ribeiro, 2016). This posture would be reinforced precisely a week later in the first editorial of 2017: “Angola will not cease to be an independent country (…) no longer willing to accept mouldy neo-colonial impositions from abroad” (Ribeiro, 2017).(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Feohifomicosis Producida por Alternaria Infectoria con Presentación Clínica de Múltiples Lesiones Vegetantes en un Paciente Sometido a un Trasplante Renal

The genus Alternaria is one of the most common black moulds and appears to be increasing as a causative agent of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis, particularly among immunosuppressed patients. A 53-year-old patient who had received a kidney transplant presented with multiple verrucous lesions on the distal extremities. Positive histopathology and cultures, in addition to rDNA ITS region sequencing, identified the fungal isolate as Alternaria infectoria. Oral itraconazole was administered for 10 months. A follow-up at 15 months demonstrated no signs of infection. Clinical manifestations of cutaneous alternariosis vary significantly and only a few cases have been described in the literature. Although optimal treatment options remain controversial, this case of phaeohyphomycosis was successfully treated with itraconazole monotherapy

Distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberian Peninsula

We present a dataset that assembles occurrence records of alien tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) in the Iberian Peninsula, a coherent biogeographically unit where introductions of alien species have occurred for millennia. These data have important potential applications for ecological research and management, including the assessment of invasion risks, formulation of preventive and management plans, and research at the biological community level on alien species. This dataset summarizes inventories and data sources on the taxonomy and distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberia Peninsula, comprising known locations from published literature, expert knowledge and citizen science platforms. An expert-based assessment process allowed the identification of unreliable records (misclassification or natural dispersion from native range), and the classification of species according to their status of reproduction in the wild. Distributional data was harmonized into a common area unit, the 10 × 10 km Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system (n = 6,152 cells). The year of observation and/or year of publication were also assigned to the records. In total, we assembled 35,940 unique distribution records (UTM × species × Year) for 253 species (6 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 218 birds and 13 mammals), spanning between 1912 and 2020. The species with highest number of distribution records were the Mediterranean painted frog Discoglossus pictus (n = 59 UTM), the pond slider Trachemys scripta (n = 471), the common waxbill Estrilda astrild (n = 1,275) and the house mouse Mus musculus (n = 4,043), for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, respectively. Most alien species recorded are native to Africa (33%), followed by South America (21%), Asia (19%), North America (12%) and Oceania (10%). Thirty-six species are classified by IUCN as threatened in their native range, namely 2 Critically Endangered (CR), 6 Endangered (EN), 8 Vulnerable (VU), and 20 species Near Threatened (NT). Species maps are provided in DataSet1, as well R code and GIS layers to update them as new records are obtained