Desenvolvimento de um bioprocesso para beneficiamento da torta de castanha do BRASIL (Bertholletia excelsa)

A castanha-do-pará, ou castanha-do-Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.) é cultivada em toda a Amazônia e se tornou um dos principais produtos comerciais da Região Norte do Brasil, apresentando uma amêndoa de alto valor energético, com cerca de 60 a 70% de óleo, 15 a 20% de proteínas, sendo estas, uma das mais ricas fontes de aminoácidos sulfurados (8% cisteína e 18% metionina) e selênio, que tem função antioxidante, aumentando assim o interesse do mercado consumidor e de pesquisadores. As amêndoas quebradas ou com algum defeito, geralmente 10% do total, têm seu valor comercial reduzido em 60%, e são utilizadas principalmente por pequenas indústrias para extração do óleo, gerando como subproduto uma torta, rica em proteínas, que geralmente era utilizada como ração animal. Atualmente a torta de castanha-do-pará tem tido aplicação no enriquecimento e preparo de alimentos, como biscoitos, doces, farinhas, pães e outros. Para valorização deste subproduto há alguns estudos que propõem o isolamento, modificação (acetilação) ou concentração da globulina, ou excelsina, uma das principais proteínas da castanha-do-pará, incorporando aos alimentos melhores características funcionais, como emulsificação, viscosidade e solubilidade. O objetivo deste trabalho é promover uma valorização da torta da castanha-do-pará através de um processo enzimático envolvendo enzimas celulolíticas, amilolíticas e proteolíticas, obtendo produtos protéicos, como concentrados, isolados e hidrolisados, ricos em aminoácidos e selênio, de grande interesse para indústria de cosméticos, para formulação de cremes hidratantes e condicionadores capilares, e na indústria alimentícia, como flavorizantes e emulsificantes. Em uma escala piloto, 70% da torta de castanha foram convertidos em produtos, sendo que destes 27% de produtos protéicos (com concentrações de 12% p/p de albumina e 27% p/p de globulina, 7,8% p/p de hidrolisado protéico), 10% de óleo recuperado e 33% de fase emulsionada, que geralmente apresentam uma concentração protéica de 50% p/p. As análises foram feitas, em sua maioria, baseados em métodos espectrofotométricos, como o Lowry, para a determinação de proteínas; Somogyi, para determinação de açúcares redutores, e outros, como o teor de sólidos totais e método micro-Kjeldahl, para determinação de proteínas em amostras sólidas

Simple, Compact, and Multiband Frequency Selective Surfaces Using Dissimilar Sierpinski Fractal Elements

This paper presents a design methodology for frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) using metallic patches with dissimilar Sierpinski fractal elements. The transmission properties of the spatial filters are investigated for FSS structures composed of two alternately integrated dissimilar Sierpinski fractal elements, corresponding to fractal levels k=1, 2, and 3. Two FSS prototypes are fabricated and measured in the range from 2 to 12 GHz to validate the proposed fractal designs. The FSSs with dissimilar Sierpinski fractal patch elements are printed on RT/Duroid 6202 high frequency laminate. The experimental characterization of the FSS prototypes is accomplished through two different measurement setups composed of commercial horns and elliptical monopole microstrip antennas. The obtained results confirm the compactness and multiband performance of the proposed FSS geometries, caused by the integration of dissimilar fractal element. In addition, the proposed FSSs exhibited frequency tuning ability on the multiband frequency responses. Agreement between simulated and measured results is reported

Arginase 1 deficiency presenting as complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia

INTRODUCTION: Argininemia or arginase deficiency is a metabolic disorder caused by pathogenic variants in ARG1 and consists of a variable association of progressive spastic paraplegia, intellectual disability, and seizures. Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of inherited diseases whose main feature is a progressive gait disorder characterized by lower limb spasticity. This study presents 7 patients with arginase 1 deficiency from 6 different families, all with an initial diagnosis of complicated HSP. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical data of 7 patients belonging to six independent families who were diagnosed with hyperargininemia in a neurogenetics outpatient clinic. RESULTS: All patients had lower limb spasticity and six had global developmental delay. Five individuals had intellectual disability and two had epilepsy. Psychiatric abnormalities were seen in two patients. In two participants of this study, MRI disclosed thinning of the corpus callosum. Molecular diagnosis was made by whole exome sequencing. All variants were present in homozygosis; we identified two novel missense variants, one novel frameshift variant, and one previously published missense variant. DISCUSSION: Clinical diagnosis of early onset complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia was made in all patients. Two patients were initially suspected of having SPG11 due to thinning of the corpus callosum. As argininemia may present with a highly penetrant phenotype of spastic paraplegia associated with additional symptoms, this disease may represent a specific entity amongst the complicated HSPs

Clinical Features and Inflammatory Markers in Autoimmune Encephalitis Associated With Antibodies Against Neuronal Surface in Brazilian Patients

Acute encephalitis is a debilitating neurological disorder associated with brain inflammation and rapidly progressive encephalopathy. Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is increasingly recognized as one of the most frequent causes of encephalitis, however signs of inflammation are not always present at the onset which may delay the diagnosis. We retrospectively assessed patients with AE associated with antibodies against neuronal surface diagnosed in reference centers in Northeast of Brazil between 2014 to 2017. CNS inflammatory markers were defined as altered CSF (pleocytosis >5 cells/mm3) and/or any brain parenchymal MRI signal abnormality. Thirteen patients were evaluated, anti-NMDAR was the most common antibody found (10/13, 77%), followed by anti-LGI1 (2/13, 15%), and anti-AMPAR (1/13, 7%). Median time to diagnosis was 4 months (range 2–9 months). Among these 13 patients, 6 (46.1%) had inflammatory markers and when compared to those who did not present signs of inflammation, there were no significant differences regarding the age of onset, time to diagnosis and modified Rankin scale score at the last visit. Most of the patients presented partial or complete response to immunotherapy during follow-up. Our findings suggest that the presence of inflammatory markers may not correlate with clinical presentation or prognosis in patients with AE associated with antibodies against neuronal surface. Neurologists should be aware to recognize clinical features of AE and promptly request antibody testing even without evidence of inflammation in CSF or MRI studies

Impact of COVID-19 on Oral Healthcare for Oncopediatric Patients: The Setting in a Reference Hospital in Northeast Brazil

Objective: To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental care provided to pediatric cancer patients assisted in a referral hospital. Material and Methods: This is an observational, retrospective study based on secondary data extracted from worksheets of dental procedures for patients aged between 0 and 19 years assisted in the pediatric oncology sector of a hospital in João Pessoa, PB, Brazil. Dental procedures performed by the interdisciplinary team of researchers from August 2018 to February 2020 (19 months prior to the pandemic) and from April 2020 to October 2021 (19 months during the pandemic) were totaled and compared. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Results: There was a reduction of 80.2% in dental interventions implemented in the sector during the pandemic, with the number of procedures decreasing from 6,210 (the period before the pandemic) to 1,229 (during the pandemic). Most procedures in both periods were performed for patients assisted in beds, for whom there was a reduction of care provided for 81.2% from 5,275 to 994 procedures. Dental procedures in the outpatient clinic decreased by 74.9%, from 935 to 235. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted dental care provided to pediatric oncology patients by restricting dental procedures to emergency demands, compromising performance prevention and health promotion actions

Field performance of new cowpea cultivars inoculated with efficient nitrogen‑fixing rhizobial strains in the Brazilian Semiarid

The objective of this work was to evaluate the contribution of efficient nitrogen‑fixing rhizobial strains to grain yield of new cowpea cultivars, indicated for cultivation in the Brazilian Semiarid region, in the sub‑medium of the São Francisco River Valley. Two experiments were set up at the irrigated perimeters of Mandacaru (Juazeiro, state of Bahia) and Bebedouro (Petrolina, state of Pernambuco). The treatments consisted of single inoculation of five rhizobial strains – BR 3267, BR 3262, INPA 03‑11B, UFLA 03‑84 (Bradyrhizobium sp.), and BR 3299T (Microvirga vignae) –, besides a treatment with nitrogen and a control without inoculation or N application. The following cowpea cultivars were evaluated: BRS Pujante, BRS Tapaihum, BRS Carijó, and BRS Acauã. A randomized complete block design, with four replicates, was used. Inoculated plants showed similar grain yield to the one observed with plants fertilized with 80 kg ha‑1 N. The cultivars BRS Tapaihum and BRS Pujante stood out in grain yield and protein contents when inoculated, showing their potential for cultivation in the sub‑medium of the São Francisco River Valley.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a contribuição de estirpes de rizóbio, eficientes na fixação de nitrogênio, sobre a produção de grãos de novas cultivares de feijão‑caupi, indicadas para cultivo no Semiárido brasileiro, no Submédio do Vale do Rio São Francisco. Dois experimentos foram implantados nos perímetros irrigados de Mandacaru (Juazeiro, BA) e Bebedouro (Petrolina, PE). Os tratamentos consistiram da inoculação isolada de cinco estirpes de rizóbio – BR 3267, BR 3262, INPA 03‑11B, UFLA 03‑84 (Bradyrhizobium sp.) e BR 3299T (Microvirga vignae) –, além de um tratamento com nitrogênio e de um controle sem inoculação ou aplicação de N. As seguintes cultivares de feijão‑caupi foram avaliadas: BRS Pujante, BRS Tapaihum, BRS Carijó e BRS Acauã. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições. As plantas inoculadas apresentaram produtividade de grãos similar à observada em plantas adubadas com 80 kg ha‑1 de N. As cultivares BRS Tapaihum e BRS Pujante destacaram-se quanto à produtividade e ao teor de proteínas nos grãos, quando inoculadas, o que mostra seu potencial para cultivo na região do Submédio do Vale do São Francisco

A comprehensive assessment of the transcriptome of cork oak (Quercus suber) through EST sequencing

Background: Cork oak (Quercus suber) is one of the rare trees with the ability to produce cork, a material widely used to make wine bottle stoppers, flooring and insulation materials, among many other uses. The molecular mechanisms of cork formation are still poorly understood, in great part due to the difficulty in studying a species with a long life-cycle and for which there is scarce molecular/genomic information. Cork oak forests are of great ecological importance and represent a major economic and social resource in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. However, global warming is threatening the cork oak forests by imposing thermal, hydric and many types of novel biotic stresses. Despite the economic and social value of the Q. suber species, few genomic resources have been developed, useful for biotechnological applications and improved forest management. Results: We generated in excess of 7 million sequence reads, by pyrosequencing 21 normalized cDNA libraries derived from multiple Q. suber tissues and organs, developmental stages and physiological conditions. We deployed a stringent sequence processing and assembly pipeline that resulted in the identification of ~159,000 unigenes. These were annotated according to their similarity to known plant genes, to known Interpro domains, GO classes and E.C. numbers. The phylogenetic extent of this ESTs set was investigated, and we found that cork oak revealed a significant new gene space that is not covered by other model species or EST sequencing projects. The raw data, as well as the full annotated assembly, are now available to the community in a dedicated web portal at http://www.corkoakdb.org. Conclusions: This genomic resource represents the first trancriptome study in a cork producing species. It can be explored to develop new tools and approaches to understand stress responses and developmental processes in forest trees, as well as the molecular cascades underlying cork differentiation and disease response.Peer Reviewe

Prevention of hypertension in patients with pre-hypertension: protocol for the PREVER-prevention trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Blood pressure (BP) within pre-hypertensive levels confers higher cardiovascular risk and is an intermediate stage for full hypertension, which develops in an annual rate of 7 out of 100 individuals with 40 to 50 years of age. Non-drug interventions to prevent hypertension have had low effectiveness. In individuals with previous cardiovascular disease or diabetes, the use of BP-lowering agents reduces the incidence of major cardiovascular events. In the absence of higher baseline risk, the use of BP agents reduces the incidence of hypertension. The PREVER-prevention trial aims to investigate the efficacy, safety and feasibility of a population-based intervention to prevent the incidence of hypertension and the development of target-organ damage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, with participants aged 30 to 70 years, with pre-hypertension. The trial arms will be chlorthalidone 12.5 mg plus amiloride 2.5 mg or identical placebo. The primary outcomes will be the incidence of hypertension, adverse events and development or worsening of microalbuminuria and of left ventricular hypertrophy in the EKG. The secondary outcomes will be fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events: myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, evidence of new sub-clinical atherosclerosis, and sudden death. The study will last 18 months. The sample size was calculated on the basis of an incidence of hypertension of 14% in the control group, a size effect of 40%, power of 85% and P alpha of 5%, resulting in 625 participants per group. The project was approved by the Ethics committee of each participating institution.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The early use of blood pressure-lowering drugs, particularly diuretics, which act on the main mechanism of blood pressure rising with age, may prevent cardiovascular events and the incidence of hypertension in individuals with hypertension. If this intervention shows to be effective and safe in a population-based perspective, it could be the basis for an innovative public health program to prevent hypertension in Brazil.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00970931">NCT00970931</a>.</p