Natural honey to fight Candida infections

Eurobiofilms 2017 - 5th European Congress on Microbial BiofilmsThe incidence of Candida infections (Candidosis) has increased remarkably in the last years, being attributed to the rise in the elderly population, the increasing number of immunocompromised patients, and the widespread use of indwelling medical devices. Candida albicans remains as the most prevalent species of these infections, but a clear rise in the proportion of non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species has been noted. These species have an inherent level of resistance to certain antifungal agents higher than C. albicans though their virulence factors are much less understood. A major virulence factor is the ability to adhere and to form biofilms in medical devices and host tissues, because of a higher tolerance to antifungal therapy. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new strategies to fight these infections. Natural compounds are attracting increased interest in this field, among which honey. AIM: To evaluate honey as a novel strategy to fight C. tropicalis infections.This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novel strategies to fight Candida infections: natural honey

Poster apresentado no "CEB Annual Meeting", em Braga, Portugal, 2017The incidence of Candida infections (Candidosis) has increased remarkably in the last years, being attributed to the rise in the elderly population, the increasing number of immunocompromised patients, and the widespread use of indwelling medical devices. Candida albicans remains as the most prevalent species of these infections, but a clear rise in the proportion of non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species has been noted. These species have an inherent level of resistance to certain antifungal agents higher than C. albicans though their virulence factors are much less understood. A major virulence factor is the ability to adhere and to form biofilms in medical devices and host tissues, because of a higher tolerance to antifungal therapy. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new strategies to fight these infections. Natural compounds are attracting increased interest in this field, among which honey. AIM: To evaluate honey as a novel strategy to fight C. tropicalis infections.This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fractionation of the major whey proteins and isolation of β-Lactoglobulin variants by anion exchange chromatography

A method for the separation and fractionation of the major whey proteins from a whey protein concentrate (WPC80) by anion-exchange chromatography coupled to a Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system is proposed. The method is based on the use of an ionic column (Mono Q) and a salt gradient elution by increasing the ionic strength of the elution buffer (Tris–HCl 20 mM plus 0 to 1 M NaCl). The proposed method was found to be suitable to fractionate the major whey proteins from the WPC80 in different fractions, namely one fraction containing all the a-Lactalbumin and immunoglobulins; another fraction containing all the bovine serum albumin; and two distinct fractions each containing a different variant of b-Lactoglobulin. A 60.5% (w/w) recovery of the two main b-Lactoglobulin variants was obtained

Foreword

Foreword Diadorim Especial 2017Foreword - Diadorim Especial 201

O impacto de biofilmes microbianos na higiene e segurança alimentar

Em 2012 foram reportados na União Europeia 5363 surtos de origem alimentar, resultando em 55453 casos humanos, os quais causaram 5118 hospitalizações e 41 mortes [1]. A maioria dos surtos notificados foi provocada por Salmonella, toxinas bacterianas, vírus e Campylobacter. Além destes microrganismos, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli e Staphylococcus aureus estão também entre os patogénicos alimentares mais problemáticos. A formação de biofilmes nas superfícies de processamento de alimentos é uma das principais causas destes surtos. De facto, todos estes microrganismos apresentam uma grande capacidade para formar biofilmes e estes podem desenvolver-se em todo o tipo de superfícies na indústria alimentar, incluindo aço inoxidável, polipropileno, vidro, etc. Os biofilmes constituem uma fonte de contaminação dos alimentos com que contactam e o seu desprendimento das superfícies causa ainda a contaminação do ambiente circundante. Pode definir-se biofilme como um agregado de células microbianas formado sobre uma superfície ou interface frequentemente envolto numa matriz de substâncias poliméricas, a maioria de origem microbiana [2]. Estas estruturas apresentam uma grande tolerância a agressões externas, nomeadamente a agentes antimicrobianos químicos. A tolerância inerente dos biofilmes a biocidas químicos tem suscitado o interesse no desenvolvimento de métodos alternativos de controlo de patogénicos alimentares. Neste artigo serão abordados os princípios fundamentais de adesão e persistência de patogénicos alimentares nas superfícies alimentares e de contacto com alimentos. Será referido o papel dos biofilmes na resistência cruzada e por fim serão apresentados 2 métodos inovadores de controlo de biofilmes

Teaching methodologies in civil engineering: a multidisciplinary approach

Nowadays universities are rethinking their teaching methodologies not only in order to adapt to the use of new technologies, such as the ICT (information and communication technologies) or the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) but also in order to advance the international students towards a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, this article is the result of a multidisciplinary approach gathering scholars from Portugal and Romania, presenting a set of several teaching methodologies used on the domains of civil engineering. It is based on the experience of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) in Portugal and the Faculty of Constructions, Cadastre and Architecture of the University of Oradea (UO) in Romania. Among other descriptions, the conclusions show that there are several different and common aspects in between the Portuguese and the Romanian experiences. Regarding the common aspects there is the need of finding new teaching methodologies in order to consider the different backgrounds of the international students coming from several countries and continents, having diverse high educational systems. Thus, the international students are encouraged to work together and to actively participate in the development, presentation and discussion of their scientific findings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New solutions to capture and enrich bacteria from complex samples

Current solutions to diagnose bacterial infections though reliable are often time-consuming, laborious and need a specific laboratory setting. There is an unmet need for bedside accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases with a short turnaround time. Moreover, low-cost diagnostics will greatly benefit regions with poor resources. Immunoassays and molecular techniques have been used to develop highly sensitive diagnosis solutions but retaining many of the abovementioned limitations. The detection of bacteria in a biological sample can be enhanced by a previous step of capture and enrichment. This will ease the following process enabling a more sensitive detection and increasing the possibility of a conclusive identification in the downstream diagnosis. This review explores the latest developments regarding the initial steps of capture and enrichment of bacteria from complex samples with the ultimate goal of designing low cost and reliable diagnostics for bacterial infections. Some solutions use specific ligands tethered to magnetic constructs for separation under magnetic fields, microfluidic platforms and engineered nano-patterned surfaces to trap bacteria. Bulk acoustics, advection and nano-filters comprise some of the most innovative solutions for bacteria enrichment.This research is affiliated to the VibrANT project that received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Grant, agreement no 765042. In addition, MGS, TC and LRR acknowledge the fnancial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2020 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684), through national funds and where applicable co-fnanced by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. The same authors also acknowledge BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Honey as a strategy to fight Candida tropicalis in mixed-biofilms with Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Fungal contaminations with Candida species are commonly responsible for several infections, especially when associated to bacteria. The therapeutic approach commonly used is being compromised due to microbial resistances of these microorganisms to antimicrobial agents, especially in biofilm. The use of honey as an antimicrobial agent has been emerging as a valuable solution and proving its potential in planktonic and in biofilm cells. This work aims to assess the effect of different honeys on biofilms of Candida tropicalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The effect of Portuguese heather (PH) and manuka honeys on planktonic growth of Candida was initially evaluated by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Then, the same effect was evaluated in mixed biofilms, by colony-forming units numeration and fluorescence microscopy. The combinations of honey plus fluconazole and gentamicin were also tested. The results showed that the honeys tested enabled a great reduction of C. tropicalis, both in planktonic (12.5% and 25% of MIC for PH and manuka) and in biofilm. In polymicrobial biofilms, the use of PH and manuka honeys was revealed to be a promising choice and an alternative treatment, since they were able to reduce cells from both species. No synergistic effect was observed in antimicrobial combinations assays against polymicrobial biofilms.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004), funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope ofNorte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte and by PTDC/CVT-EPI/4008/2014 project.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prevalência de consumo de suplementos alimentares nos profissionais do Instituto Politécnico de Bragança

Atualmente, o estilo de vida da sociedade, nem sempre permite a ingestão de refeições equilibradas, o que despoleta os indivíduos a recorrer a suplementos alimentares para compensar a deficiente ingestão de certas substâncias, assim como prevenir diversas patologias.(1) Os suplementos alimentares são definidos como géneros alimentícios que se destinam a complementar e ou suplementar o regime alimentar normal e que constituem fontes concentradas de determinadas substâncias, nutrientes ou outras com efeito nutricional ou fisiológico, estremes ou combinadas, comercializadas em forma doseada, tais como cápsulas, pastilhas, comprimidos, pílulas e outras formas semelhantes, saquetas de pó, ampolas de líquido, frascos com conta-gotas e outras formas similares de líquidos ou pós que se destinam a ser tomadas em unidades medidas de quantidade reduzida