Obtaining brandy from the alcoholic fermented cashew tree, Goiano, Brazil: Obtenção de aguardante a partir de fermentado alcoólico de caju-de-árvore-do-cerrado Goiano, Brasil

The process of obtaining the brandy consists of adding yeast to the must to transform the sugar into alcohol, the same microorganism as the fermentation agent.  This work aimed to produce brandy from fermented cashew juice and perform physical-chemical analyses. The following analyses of alcohol at 20 °C,  pH, total acidity, fixed and volatile were performed, as well as the color parameters in the CIEL system, (L*) luminosity (black/white); (a*) coloring in the red/green region and; (b*) coloring in the yellow/blue range; (c*) Chromaticity is the ratio of a*/b*; (h*) saturation and color angle and; (G*) brightness of the measured color.  According to the literature, the results obtained were for alcohol 38.2ºGL and pH 4.53, with an alcoholic degree of 38 to 54% in volume at 20 °C, and its optimum pH for brandy, which is between pH 4.0 and 5.0 at higher levels. The total (38.99) and fixed (3.19) acidity found in this study corroborate the literature regarding volatile acidity, 97.37 mg/100ml of anhydrous alcohol expressed as acetic acid. The L* value (52.59) in the brandy sample presented lighter colors because it was closer to white, as well as the low values of a*(-1.18) and b*(2.47) values evaluated. Chromaticity presented 2.14; chroma defines color intensity, assuming values close to zero for neutral colors (gray) and around 60 for vivid colors. The values obtained for H* were high, whose value obtained 115.51, which characterizes the color of yellow, where hue-angle indicates the saturation of the object's color, is the angle formed between a* and b*. Therefore, they follow the literature and Brazilian legislation based on the results obtained

High frequency of WNT-activated medulloblastomas with CTNNB1 wild type suggests a higher proportion of hereditary cases in a Latin-Iberian population

PurposeMedulloblastomas are the most common primary malignant brain tumors in children. They are divided into molecular subgroups: WNT-activated, SHH-Activated, TP53 mutant or wild type, and non-WNT/non-SHH (Groups 3 and 4). WNT-activated medulloblastomas are usually caused by mutations in the CTNNB1 gene (85%–90%), and most remaining cases of CTNNB1 wild type are thought to be caused by germline mutations in APC. So far, the frequencies of CTNNB1 have been reported mainly in North American and European populations. The aim of this study was to report the frequency of CTNNB1 mutations in WNT-activated medulloblastomas in a Latin-Iberian population and correlate with their clinicopathological characteristics.MethodsA total of 266 medulloblastomas from seven different institutions from Brazil (n=211), Portugal (n=38), and Argentina (n=17) were evaluated. Following RNA and DNA isolation from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues, the molecular classification and CTNNB1 mutation analysis were performed by nCounter and Sanger sequencing, respectively.ResultsWNT-activated medulloblastomas accounted for 15% (40/266) of the series. We observed that 73% of WNT-activated medulloblastomas harbored CTNNB1 mutations. CTNNB1 wild-type cases (27%) were more prevalent in female individuals and suggested to be associated with a worse outcome. Among the CTNNB1 wild-type cases, the available analysis of family history revealed two cases with familiar adenomatous polyposis, harboring APC germline variants.ConclusionWe observed a lower incidence of CTNNB1 mutations in WNT-activated medulloblastomas in our Latin-Iberian cohort compared to frequencies previously described in other populations. Considering that CTNNB1 wild-type cases may exhibit APC germline mutations, our study suggests a higher incidence (~30%) of hereditary WNT-activated medulloblastomas in the Latin-Iberian population