Volatile Compounds, Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of <em>Apis mellifera</em> Bee Propolis

Propolis is a wax-like resin collected by bees from tree shoots and/or other botanical sources that is used as glue to seal cracks or open spaces in the hive. Its color varies from green to brown and reddish, depending on its botanical origin. Among the substances that can be found in propolis, low molecular weight compounds, such as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are the most common. Several biological activities are attributed to these classes of substances, such as antifungal, antibacterial, and others. The objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition of volatile compounds present in propolis samples and to analyze their correlation with biological activities

Subprodutos da agroindústria do óleo de palma (dendê) para cultivo de cogumelos comestíveis e nutrição de peixes

Este trabalho teve por objetivos fazer uso dos subprodutos lignocelulósicos da Agroindústria da Palma de Óleo (APO) como substratos para cultivo do cogumelo comestível Pleurotus ostreatus CC389 e utilizar a biomassa pós-colheita ou SMS (inglês: spent mushroom substrate) do P. ostreatus CC389 como um dos ingredientes para formulação de ração para nutrição de alevinos de tambacu. As APOs são estruturadas com uma série de equipamentos e logística que são favoráveis para o cultivo de cogumelos ou pré-tratamento biológico das biomassas vegetais por macrofungos e geração de bioprodutos para aplicação em formulações de ração animal, por exemplo. As autoclaves industriais utilizados nas APOs favorecem a esterilização dos substratos para inoculação do micélio dos macrofungos, assim não necessitando de investimento estrutural para esterilização dos substratos. Aqui também foram utilizados a estratégia de pré-compostagem (7 dias) e esterilização a vapor de uma formulação de substrato para escolha da espécie de Pleurotus. Os resultados quanto ao processo de esterilização dos substratos mostraram a necessidade de buscar embalagens (sacolas) confeccionadas com material plástico que suporte temperaturas acima de 140ºC e 3 Atm, pois as sacolas de polietileno tradicionalmente utilizada para autoclave com 1 Atm de pressão e 121ºC não suportaram e derreteram. As contaminações por fungos “verdes” dos gêneros Trichoderma foram um dos principais problemas, como também o controle da temperatura das salas de cultivo (sem ar-condicionado). Mesmo diante destas adversidades, os resultados da produtividade do Pleurotus ostreatus CC389 foram satisfatórios para a maioria das formulações. As atividades enzimáticas do SMS também foram avaliadas, sendo lacase como predominante. A análise centesimal das formulações e SMS também foram avaliados para compor os ingredientes para nutrição dos alevinos de tambacu. A ração formulada com SMS do cultivo de Pleurotus foi aceita pelos alevinos, que mostraram resultados de digestibilidade semelhantes a ração controle. Deste modo, a agroindústria de palma de óleo apresentam características favoráveis para produção de cogumelos do tipo Pleurotus e insumos para nutrição de peixes (SMS), em função das estruturas físicas, equipamentos e disponibilidade de biomassas lignocelulósicas e proteicas/lipídicas.Palavras-chaves: Biorrefinaria, Agroindústria Palma de óleo, Macrofungos, cogumelos, Nutrição de peixes.

Thermal analysis characterization of PAAm-co-MC hydrogels

This paper reports the thermal characterization of polyacrylamide-co-methylcellulose hydrogels and the constituent monomers (acrylamide and methylcellulose). Polymeric materials can be used to produce hydrogels, which can be natural, synthetic, or a mixture. The hydrogels described here were obtained by free radical polymerization, in the presence of N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide as a cross-linker agent. Four acrylamide concentrations were used for the synthesis of hydrogels: 3.6, 7.2, 14.7, and 21.7% (w/v). The materials so obtained were analyzed by TG, DTG, DSC, and FT-IR. The TG curves of acrylamide and methylcellulose showed three mass loss events. In DSC curves, the acrylamide exhibited one melting peak at 84.5 A degrees C, and methylcellulose indicated one exothermic event. Nevertheless, acrylamide was considered more stable than methylcellulose. The TG curves of the hydrogels exhibited three mass loss events, and on the DSC curves, three endothermic events were observed. It was verified that the different acrylamide proportions influenced the thermic behavior of hydrogels, and that the authors considered the 7.2% hydrogel a promising drug carrier system. The absorption bands were well defined, confirming the presence of the functional groups in the samples.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P &lt; 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)