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Discrimination and stigma are significant barriers to healthcare for the LGBTQIAPN+ community, necessitating a deeper analysis of their sociocultural causes. There is a notable gap in the literature regarding the understanding of socio-discursive representations and their impact on the stigmatization and pathologization of sexual minorities in the context of communicable diseases. This study aims to discuss the understanding of the sociodiscursive aspects of the health-disease process, particularly in stigmatized infectious diseases affecting the LGBTQIAPN+ community. The focus is on examining how news articles, or the set of analyzed texts (corpus), shape these perceptions. We conducted documentary research with a qualitative and discursive approach using news articles retrieved from Google News Ⓡ about diseases affecting the LGBTQIAPN+ population from 2011 to 2022. The analysis was based on critical discourse analysis, processed using MAXQDA and IRAMUTEQ software. The identified representations predominantly align with biomedical ideology, manifesting in a discourse that normalizes and medicalizes (normative-curative discourse), and notable for its pathologizing and stigmatizing nature. Six classes were found: Ethical professional dilemmas facing stigma, infection and contamination of the LGBT+ population, prejudice and discrimination in the form of information, stigma related to sexual behavior/orientation, Vulnerability and stigma related to infectious diseases, and strategies for minimizing health risk/stigma for the LGBT+ public. The most relevant analytical categories were related to infectious diseases and sexual identity. These themes were identified, indicating that media representations reinforce stigma and maintain unequal health practices (verticalization) for the LGBT+ community. Understanding these patterns within a broader historical context is crucial for promoting health education and strategies that challenge internalized prejudice. The need to reformulate cultural norms and develop health information and education policies is urgent. These policies should be led by professionals with a comprehensive and humanized vision, addressing the diverse needs of the LGBT+ population., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Pseudobombax marginatum , popularly known as "embiratanha," is widely used by traditional communities as anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent. This study aimed to determine the phytochemical profile as well as cytotoxicity, acute oral toxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity attributed to exposure to aqueous (AqEx) and ethanolic (EtEx) extracts of embiratanha bark. Phytochemical screening was conducted using thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Cell viability was analyzed using MTT assay with human mammary gland adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231) and macrophage (J774A.1) cell lines, exposed to concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50, or 100 µg/ml of either extract. For acute oral toxicity, comet assay and micronucleus (MN) tests, a single dose of 2,000 mg/kg of either extract was administered orally to Wistar rats. TLC analysis identified classes of metabolites in the extracts, including cinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids, hydrolyzable tannins, condensed tannins, coumarins, and terpenes/steroids. In the cytotoxicity assay, the varying concentrations of extracts derived from embiratanha induced no significant alterations in the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells. The lowest concentration of EtEx significantly increased macrophage J774A.1 viability. However, the higher concentrations of AqEx markedly lowered macrophage J774A.1 viability. Animals exhibited no toxicity in the parameters analyzed in acute oral toxicity, comet assay, and MN tests. Further, EtEx promoted a significant reduction in DNA damage index and DNA damage frequency utilizing the comet assay, while the group treated with AqEx exhibited no marked differences. Thus, data demonstrated that AqEx or EtEx of embiratanha may be considered safe at a dose of 2,000 mg/kg orgally under our experimental conditions tested.

This article describes how the Gross Motor Ability Estimator (GMAE) software can provide important information based on the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-66 score of a child with congenital Zika syndrome.A child was assessed at 9, 17, and 25 months of age through the GMFM-66. At 2 years, the child's gross motor ability was estimated and classified according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS).At 2 years of age, the child in this case required assistance to roll and was unable to maintain antigravity trunk posture in sitting position, typical abilities of GMFCS level V.GMAE can be useful to guide health professionals that care for children with lifelong physical and developmental care needs. This is the first study that demonstrated how to use the GMAE in this specific population., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Patient response to antipsychotic drugs varies and may be related to clinical and genetic heterogeneity. This study aimed to determine the performance of clinical, genetic, and hybrid models to predict the response of first episode of psychosis (FEP). patients to the antipsychotic risperidone. We evaluated 141 antipsychotic-naïve FEP patients before and after 10 weeks of risperidone treatment. Patients who had a response rate equal to or higher than 50% on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were considered responders (n = 72; 51%). Analyses were performed using a support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and random forests (RF). Clinical and genetic (with single-nucleotide variants [SNVs]) models were created separately. Hybrid models (clinical+genetic factors) with and without feature selection were created. Clinical models presented greater balanced accuracy 63.3% (confidence interval [CI] 0.46-0.69) with the SVM algorithm than the genetic models (balanced accuracy: 58.5% [CI 0.41-0.76] - kNN algorithm). The hybrid model, which included duration of untreated psychosis, Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale scores, age, cannabis use, and 406 SNVs, showed the best performance (balanced accuracy: 72.9% [CI 0.62-0.84] - RF algorithm). A hybrid model, including clinical and genetic predictors, can provide enhanced predictions of response to antipsychotic treatment., Competing Interests: RAB declares personal fees and non-financial support from Janssen and Ache Laboratórios Farmacêuticos, grants, and personal fees from Roche, outside the submitted work. AG declares personal fees and non-financial support from Janssen, Daiichi Sankyo, Lundbeck, Teva, Cristalia, and Ache Laboratórios Farmacêuticos outside the submitted work. CN declares personal fees and non-financial support from Janssen, Daiichi Sankyo, Lundbeck, Teva, and Ache Laboratórios Farmacêuticos outside the submitted work. No other conflicts of interest declared concerning the publication of this article.

Water stress can lead to physiological and morphological damage, affecting the growth and development of popcorn. The objective of this study was to identify the yield potential of 43 popcorn lines derived from a Latin American germplasm collection, based on agronomic and physiological traits, under full irrigation (WW) and water deficit conditions (WS), aiming to select superior germplasm. The evaluated agronomic traits included the ear length and diameter, number of grains per row (NGR) and rows per ear (NRE), grain yield (GY), popping expansion (EC), volume of expanded popcorn per hectare (VP), grain length (GL), width, and thickness. The physiological traits included the chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and flavonoid content in the leaves. The genetic variability and distinct behavior among the lines for all the agronomic traits under WW and WS conditions were observed. When comparing the water conditions, line L292 had the highest mean for the GY, and line L688 had the highest mean for the EC, highlighting them as the most drought-tolerant lines. A water deficit reduced the leaf greenness but increased the anthocyanin content as an adaptive response. The GY trait showed positive correlations with the VP, NGR, and GL under both water conditions, making the latter useful for indirect selection and thus of great interest for plant breeding targeting the simultaneous improvement of these traits., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by traumatic events, but genetic vulnerability and a history of childhood trauma are additional factors that may increase the risk of PTSD. Thus, our study focused on exploring the interaction between genetic susceptibility, as assessed by polygenic risk score (PRS), and traumatic events., Methods: We evaluated 68 women with PTSD who had been sexually assaulted and 63 healthy controls without a history of sexual assault. DNA was genotyped using the Infinium Global Screening Array (Illumina), and PRS analysis was performed using PRSice. Furthermore, logistic regression models were employed to examine the interaction between childhood trauma, traumatic life events, and PTSD-PRS and how they contribute to the risk of developing PTSD., Results: We found a significant association between PRS, childhood trauma (p = 0.03; OR = 1.241), and PTSD. Additionally, an interaction was observed between PRS, traumatic life events, and childhood trauma, particularly relating to physical and emotional neglect (p = 0.028; OR = 1.010). When examining neglect separately, we found a modest association between emotional neglect and PTSD (p = 0.014; OR = 1.086)., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of considering genetic vulnerability and traumatic experiences in understanding the etiology of PTSD., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Paracoccidioidomycosis is an infection with the potential for environmental dissemination, especially in regions of hot and humid climate, where human cases have been recorded in the Southwestern Amazon of Brazil, specifically in the state of Acre. Despite studies providing information about the presence of these fungi in soil and animal samples, such as armadillos, further investigations are still needed to determine the epidemiological distribution of the genus Paracoccidioides. The aim of this study was to detect the occurrence of Paracoccidioides fungi in the Southwestern Amazon. To achieve this, 60 soil samples were collected from armadillo burrows on rural properties in the in the municipalities of Acrelândia, Bujari, Plácido de Castro, Rio Branco, Sena Madureira, and Senador Guiomard, located in the state of Acre, Brazil. Fungal DNA was extracted from these samples using the DNEASY® PowerSoil kit-Quiagen, followed by Nested PCR technique with ITS4 and ITS5 as external primers, and PBITS-E and PBITS-R as internal primers. DNA amplification products of about 380 bp compatible with Paracoccidioides spp. were detected in six samples (10%), being sequenced and identified as P. brasiliensis. These findings indicate that the soils of the Acre state could be considered a potential source for Paracoccidioides spp., suggesting that local infections are likely., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia.)

Background: The use of a reliable remote cognitive screening test for older adults is crucial for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment. This study aimed to translate and validate the audiovisual Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)for older adults in Brazil., Methods: One hundred and fourteen older adults were recruited from the community and demographic, functional, mood, and cognitive data were collected. Participants were classified into two groups: cognitively healthy or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Statistical analyses were performed in order to assess the validity of the test and the cutoff score., Results: The psychometric properties of the audiovisual MoCA showed good convergent validity. The audiovisual MoCA was represented as a unifactorial adjusted model, the composite reliability value was acceptable and a cutoff point of ≥23 reached adequate sensitivity and specificity at 0.77 and 0.92, respectively., Conclusions: The translated audiovisual MoCA is a valid and reliable cognitive screening test that can be administered remotely in older adults in Brazil. The test demonstrated a great ability to discriminate older adults with MCI from cognitively healthy adults. Future studies should focus on validating the audiovisual MoCA using other target population groups in order to expand the use of this remote screening test., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Bacterial pathogens are leading causes of infections with high mortality worldwide having a great impact on healthcare systems and the food industry. Gold standard methods for bacterial detection mainly rely on culture-based technologies and biochemical tests which are laborious and time-consuming. Regardless of several developments in existing methods, the goal of achieving high sensitivity and specificity, as well as a low detection limit, remains unaccomplished. In past years, various biorecognition elements, such as antibodies, enzymes, aptamers, or nucleic acids, have been widely used, being crucial for the pathogens detection in different complex matrices. However, these molecules are usually associated with high detection limits, demand laborious and costly production, and usually present cross-reactivity. (Bacterio)phage-encoded proteins, especially the receptor binding proteins (RBPs) and cell-wall binding domains (CBDs) of endolysins, are responsible for the phage binding to the bacterial surface receptors in different stages of the phage lytic cycle. Due to their remarkable properties, such as high specificity, sensitivity, stability, and ability to be easily engineered, they are appointed as excellent candidates to replace conventional recognition molecules, thereby contributing to the improvement of the detection methods. Moreover, they offer several possibilities of application in a variety of detection systems, such as magnetic, optical, and electrochemical. Herein we provide a review of phage-derived bacterial binding proteins, namely the RBPs and CBDs, with the prospect to be employed as recognition elements for bacteria. Moreover, we summarize and discuss the various existing methods based on these proteins for the detection of nosocomial and foodborne pathogens.

Antibiotics have shown less efficiency against resistance of pathogenic microorganisms. As a result, research centers have sought therapeutic alternatives against multidrug resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, one of which is using plant extracts. Bamboo extracts are used for several medicinal purposes. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial potential of hydroalcoholic extracts of culms and leaves of the species Guadua aff. lynnclarkiae on strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. We evaluated the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Only the leaves of G. aff. lynnclarkiae showed a bactericidal effect for all tested strains with MBC ranging from 1.55 mg ml-1 to 25 mg ml-1. The culms had bacteriostatic action with MIC ranging from 1.55 mg ml-1 to 6.25 mg ml-1, and bactericidal action at the concentration of 6.25 mg ml-1 only for S. aureus. This study provides bases for the use of this Amazonian native bamboo in bioprospecting.

Fungi exhibit three adverse effects on human health: inflammatory, allergic and toxic effects, these implications affect mainly immunodepressed patients. The objective of this work was to analyze the fungal microbiota of the ambient air of an Intensive Care Unit. Three collections were carried out in an Intensive Care Unit in the city of Rio Branco, Acre, Western Amazon, Brazil from March to May 2017. 126 Petri dishes were exposed with the culture medium Agar Sabouraud with chloramphenicol and Agar Mycosel, considering the distribution of the 21 air conditioners, split residential model. The plates were incubated for seven days at room temperature and the growth of Colony Forming Units was observed. Colony counting and isolation for the morphological characterization of the granted fungi was performed. After quantification, the concentration of fungi per cubic meters of air (CFU.m-3) was settled. The third collection had a larger number of colony forming units with 48.6%. In the total of the analyzed samples, filamentous fungi (85.5%) and yeasts (14.5%) were isolated. Thirteen genera of fungi were identified, with the most frequent filaments being Cladosporium spp. 33.0%, Aspergillus spp. 30.4% and Penicillium spp. 19.6%, and yeasts Candida spp. 52.6%, Trichosporon spp. 36.9%. The colony-forming unit per cubic meter (CFU.m-3) did not shown any difference between the Cores in the same collection period, however in the 1st and 3rd collection, Core 1 had the highest average. The fungal microbiota of this Unit presented thirteen different genera potentially pathogenic, revealing the need for monitoring microorganisms and prevention actions.

Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) is the main transmitter of pathogens that cause human diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, zika and yellow fever. Faced with this problem, this study aims to select fungi with entomopathogenic potential against Ae. aegypti and develop formulations that optimize the control action of entomopathogenic fungi in the semi-field condition. 23 fungal strains native from Amazon were inoculated in Potato-Dextrose-Agar (PDA) culture medium for 14 days and then transferred by scraping to tubes containing 0.9% NaCl solution. To obtain the larvae, eggs were collected using traps in peridomestic environments for 7 days. 20 larvae of Ae. aegypti in 125 mL erlenmeyers containing 20 mL of conidial suspension at a concentration of 1x106 conidia/mL for initial selection and 1×104, 1×105, 1×106 and 1×107 conidia/mL for determination of LC50. Mortality was checked every 24 h for 5 days. The three fungi with the best virulence rates were identified using molecular techniques. The compatibility between fungi at a concentration of 1×106 conidia/mL and oily adjuvants, mineral oil and vegetable oil (andiroba, chestnut and copaiba) at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5 and 1% was evaluated. The germination capacity of 100 conidia per treatment was evaluated after incubation at 28 ºC for 24 h. To evaluate the entomopathogenic potential of the fungal formulations, conidial suspensions (1×106 conidia/mL) were added with 0.1% mineral and vegetable oil. The treatments were submitted to laboratory and semi-field conditions and mortality was verified every 24 h for 5 days. Beauveria sp. (4,458) (LC50 = 8.66× 103), Metarhizium anisopliae (4,420) (LC50 = 5.48×104) and M. anisopliae (4,910) (LC50 = 1.13×105) were significantly more effective in the larval control of Ae. aegypti, in relation to the other fungal morphospecies evaluated. Mineral oil was better compatible in all treatments evaluated. Beauveria sp. (4,458) was considerably less virulent under semi-field conditions. M. anisopliae (4,910) formulated with mineral oil increased larval mortality to 100% on the 4th day in the laboratory and on the 5th day in the semi-field. Fungal formulations developed from native Amazonian isolates represent a promising tool for the development of strategies to control Ae. aegypti.

Herein, A microfluidic device is described, produced with a 3D-printed master mould that rapidly separates and concentrates Escherichia coli directly from whole blood samples, enabling a reduction in the turnaround time of bloodstream infections (BSIs) diagnosis. Moreover, it promotes the cleansing of the blood samples whose complexity frequently hampers bacterial detection. The device comprises a serpentine mixing channel with two inlets, one for blood samples (spiked with bacteria) and the other for magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) functionalized with a (bacterio)phage receptor-binding protein (RBP) with high specificity for E. coli. After the magnetic labelling of bacteria throughout the serpentine, the microchannel ends with a trapping reservoir where bacteria-MNPs conjugates are concentrated using a permanent magnet. The optimized sample preparation device successfully recovered E. coli (on average, 66%) from tenfold diluted blood spiked within a wide range of bacterial load (10 2  CFU to 10 7  CFU mL -1 ). The non-specific trapping, tested with Staphylococcus aureus, was at a negligible level of 12%. The assay was performed in 30 min directly from diluted blood thus presenting an advantage over the conventional enrichment in blood cultures (BCs). The device is simple and cheap to fabricate and can be tailored for multiple bacterial separation from complex clinical samples by using RBPs targeting different species. Moreover, the possibility to integrate a biosensing element to detect bacteria on-site can provide a reliable, fast, and cost-effective point-of-care device., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Low rainfall rates are becoming increasingly frequent because of climate change, causing droughts and threatening world food security. For popcorn, drought is the most limiting abiotic factor for plant's growth and development. Thus, the water deficit directly impacts for crop productivity. Based on knowledge of the genetic basis of traits involved in stages of popcorn germination and seedling development under water stress, genotypes with potential for adaptation to adverse growing conditions can be selected early. Therefore, data on genetic effects and combining ability of 10 popcorn parents were compiled to propose breeding strategies for the development of cultivars with greater adaptation to water stress in the early stages. Forty-five diallel hybrids were evaluated under two different water regimes, that is, water stress and full irrigation. This corresponded to a water retention capacity of 25% and 70% of the germination paper. The plants were watered daily as needed for seven days. A range of factors were evaluated, that is, germination traits including the germination speed index and germination on the seventh day; shoot traits including length and dry weight; and root system including length, dry weight, root-to-shoot ratio, maximum root number, root network area, specific and root network length, and root volume. Breeding for drought adaption in the early stages of popcorn development can be successful when hybrids are used, because of the genetic effects of dominance (ϕ s ). These control the traits evaluated at the seedling stage. The combinations L61 x P2 and L71 x P3 were recommended, in view of the more successful performance estimated for traits related to the shoot and root system., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Carvalho, Khan, Teixeira do Amaral Junior, de Lima, de Souza Silva, Catarino Fuly, Leite, Santos Junior, Viana, de Souza, Vieira and Kamphorst.)

Introduction: Sexual assault and a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1) are transposable elements, and their methylation is used to infer DNA global methylation. DNA methylation can be affected by trauma exposition which in turn would be associated with PTSD. Thus, we investigated if the LINE-1 methylation pattern is related to PTSD symptoms in females with a history of CSA., Methods: This is a case-control study that examined, at baseline (W1), 64 women victims of sexual assault diagnosed with PTSD and 31 patients with PTSD who completed the 1-year follow-up (W2). Participants were categorized into two groups according to the presence of CSA (PTSDCSA+: NW1 = 19, NW2 = 10; PTSDCSA-: NW1 = 45, NW2 = 21). PTSD symptoms (re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, alterations in cognition/mood) were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, and the history of CSA was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. LINE-1 methylation was measured in three sites (CpG1, CpG2, CpG3) located in the 5'UTR region using bisulfite conversion followed by pyrosequencing. Linear regression models were performed to test the relation between LINE-1 CpG sites methylation and PTSD symptoms., Results: We found a negative association between CpG2 methylation and hyperarousal symptoms among those in the PTSDCSA+ group in W1 (adjusted p = 0.003) compared to the PTSDCSA- group ( p > 0.05). Still, no association was observed between other PTSD symptoms and other CpG sites. Further, in the longitudinal analysis, LINE-1 hypomethylation was no longer observed in PTSD participants exposed to CSA., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that LINE-1 methylation may help understand the relationship between trauma and PTSD. However, more studies are needed to investigate LINE-1 as an epigenetic marker of psychiatric disorders., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2023 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective:  The present study evaluated the profile of germline mutations present in patients who underwent genetic counseling for risk assessment for breast cancer (BC), ovarian cancer (OC), and endometrial cancer (EC) with a possible hereditary pattern., Methods:  Medical records of 382 patients who underwent genetic counseling after signing an informed consent form were analyzed. A total of 55.76% of patients (213/382) were symptomatic (personal history of cancer), and 44.24% (169/382) were asymptomatic (absence of the disease). The variables analyzed were age, sex, place of birth, personal or family history of BC, OC, EC, as well as other types of cancer associated with hereditary syndromes. The Human Genome Variation Society (HGVS) nomenclature guidelines were used to name the variants, and their biological significance was determined by comparing 11 databases., Results:  We identified 53 distinct mutations: 29 pathogenic variants, 13 variants of undetermined significance (VUS), and 11 benign. The most frequent mutations were BRCA1 c.470_471delCT, BRCA1 c.4675 + 1G > T, and BRCA2 c.2T> G. Furthermore, 21 variants appear to have been described for the first time in Brazil. In addition to BRCA1/2 mutations, variants in other genes related to hereditary syndromes that predispose to gynecological cancers were found., Conclusion:  This study allowed a deeper understanding of the main mutations identified in families in the state of Minas Gerais and demonstrates the need to assess the family history of non-gynecological cancer for risk assessment of BC, OC, and EC. Moreover, it is an effort that contributes to population studies to evaluate the cancer risk mutation profile in Brazil., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interests to declare., (Federação Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Agaricomycetes are highlighted for producing a variety of compounds and enzymes with nutritional and medicinal properties. However, the knowledge of the diversity of this group of fungi is still insufficient, as well as their biological and enzymatic activities. Thus, the objective of this work is to describe the occurrence, biological and enzymatic activities of Agaricomycetes from the Brazilian Amazon. The present study is a systematic review with the literature search done in the following databases: Scielo, Google Scholar, PubMed and ScienceDirect. The descriptors used were Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, mushroom, antimicrobial activity, antitumor activity, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, immunomodulator, enzymatic activity, and Brazilian Amazon. We used as inclusion criteria articles in Portuguese and English, published between 2010 and 2021 and that had the full text available and presented relevance to the exposed topic, and as exclusion criteria, works not done in the Brazilian Amazon, duplicate articles in the databases search or outside the topic under study. A total of 40 articles, published between 2010 and 2021, were selected for analysis. 230 species of Agaricomycetes fungi were described for the Brazilian Amazon, with the most frequent orders being Polyporales (52.60%), Agaricales (14.35%), and Hymenochaetales (13.91%). Six studies were found on antimicrobial activity for promising Agaricomycete fungi against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and the fungi Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis. For the antioxidant activity, a study described the species Lentinus citrinus with high amounts of antioxidant compounds. For enzymatic activity, five studies reported Agaricomycete fungi producing protease, cellulase, amylase, pectinase, laccase, and xylanase enzymes. This review shows the scarcity of studies on the description and technological potential of Agaricomycetes from the Brazilian Amazon, highlighting the need to encourage the study of this group of organisms.

To compare cell adhesion molecules levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between Zika virus (ZIKV)-exposed neonates with/without microcephaly (cases) and controls, 16 neonates (cases), 8 (50%) with and 8 (50%) without microcephaly, who underwent lumbar puncture (LP) during the ZIKV epidemic (2015-2016) were included. All mothers reported ZIKV clinical symptoms during gestation, all neonates presented with congenital infection findings, and other congenital infections were ruled out. Fourteen control neonates underwent LP in the same laboratory (2017-2018). Five cell adhesion proteins were measured in the CSF using mass spectrometry. Neurexin-1 (3.50 [2.00-4.00] vs. 7.5 [5.00-10.25], P = 0.001), neurexin-3 (0.00 [0.00-0.00] vs. 3.00 [1.50-4.00], P = 0.001) and neural cell adhesion molecule 2 (NCAM2) (0.00 [0.00-0.75] vs. 1.00 [1.00-2.00], P = 0.001) were significantly lower in microcephalic and non-microcephalic cases than in controls. When these two sub-groups of prenatally ZIKA-exposed children were compared to controls separately, the same results were found. When cases with and without microcephaly were compared, no difference was found. Neurexin-3 (18.8% vs. 78.6%, P = 0.001) and NCAM2 (25.0% vs. 85.7%, P = 0.001) were less frequently found among the cases. A positive correlation was found between cephalic perimeter and levels of these two proteins. Neurexin-2 and neurexin-2b presented no significant differences. Levels of three cell adhesion proteins were significantly lower in CSF of neonates exposed to ZIKV before birth than in controls, irrespective of presence of congenital microcephaly. Moreover, the smaller the cephalic perimeter, the lower CSF cell adhesion protein levels. These findings suggest that low CSF levels of neurexin-1, neurexin-3 and NCAM2 may reflect the effects of ZIKV on foetal brain development., (© 2022 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) is a flexuous filamentous virus that belongs to the genus Carlavirus (family Betaflexiviridae). The CPMMV genome contains six open reading frames (ORFs), among which the triple gene block (TGB), encoded by ORFs 2 to 4, has been reported to encode movement proteins for different viruses. The subcellular localization of the TGB proteins of CPMMV isolate CPMMV:BR:MG:09:2 was analysed by transient expression of each protein fused to a fluorophore. Overall, the accumulation pattern and interactions among CPMMV TGB proteins (TGBp) were similar to those of their counterparts from the potex-like group. Considering these similarities, we evaluated the potential interactions between the TGB proteins of CPMMV and of potato virus X, which could complement cell-to-cell movement. The TGBp2 and TGBp3 of PVX had an effect on CPMMV TGBp1, directing it to the plasmodesmata, but the reverse was not true., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

This study evaluates the early effects of COVID-19 vaccine implementation in the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 among those aged < 80 years or ≥ 80 years in the state of Bahia, Brazil. For that, we used data from the Bahia state Secretary of Health platform of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in all age groups, between March 2020 and May 2021, when 82% of COVID-19 vaccines were CoronaVac. Overall, there were 1,012,200 cases and 21,241 deaths due to COVID-19, of which, respectively, 2.3% and 25.3% occurred in patients aged ≥ 80 years. The median proportion of deaths in those ≥ 80 years decreased from 29.8% (27.8%-30.4%) in the pre- to 18.8% (15.6%-18.8%) in the post-vaccine periods (p = 0.04). Significant reduction in the median proportion of deaths from COVID-19 among those aged ≥ 80 years after COVID-19 vaccine implementation was found, which suggests CoronaVac effectiveness against death from COVID-19 in the elderly., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An increasing morbidity and mortality rate has been related to arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti. Compounds with cinnamoyl moiety represent an alternative against mosquitos, considering their larvicidal activity. This study aimed to assess the larvicidal activity of cinnamic ester derivates against Aedes aegypti larvae, along with evaluating their toxicity effect to assess its safety as a larvicide. Ethyl cinnamate demonstrated larvicidal activity (LC 50 =48.59 μg/mL). Morphological changes in larvae were detected, as a degenerative response in the thorax. Through molecular docking, the molecular binding mode between 3b, 3c, and acetylcholinesterase showed strong hydrogen bond interactions. Preliminary in vitro cell viability revealed the non-cytotoxicity of 3c. Ecotoxicity results indicated a sensitivity of Artemia salina to cinnamic esters. The phytotoxicity bioassays show potential for cinnamic compounds to enhance germination and root development. These findings suggest that compound 3c is more suitable as a larvicide since it demonstrated low toxicity., (© 2022 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Bloodstream infections (BSIs) and subsequent organ dysfunction (sepsis and septic shock) are conditions that rank among the top reasons for human mortality and have a great impact on healthcare systems. Their treatment mainly relies on the administration of broad-spectrum antimicrobials since the standard blood culture-based diagnostic methods remain time-consuming for the pathogen's identification. Consequently, the routine use of these antibiotics may lead to downstream antimicrobial resistance and failure in treatment outcomes. Recently, significant advances have been made in improving several methodologies for the identification of pathogens directly in whole blood especially regarding specificity and time to detection. Nevertheless, for the widespread implementation of these novel methods in healthcare facilities, further improvements are still needed concerning the sensitivity and cost-effectiveness to allow a faster and more appropriate antimicrobial therapy. This review is focused on the problem of BSIs and sepsis addressing several aspects like their origin, challenges, and causative agents. Also, it highlights current and emerging diagnostics technologies, discussing their strengths and weaknesses., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.)

This work describes the newly isolated Klebsiella pneumoniae phage vB&#95;KpnS-Carvaje that presents unique features in relation to other phages reported to date. These findings provide new insights into the diversity and evolutionary pathways of Klebsiella phages. The genome characterization of the Carvaje phage revealed that its genome length is approximately 57 kb with 99 open reading frames (ORFs), 33 of which have assigned functions while 66 are unknown. This phage differs from other sequenced Klebsiella phages, showing the closest resemblance (up to 65.32%) with Salmonella phages belonging to the Nonanavirus and Sashavirus genera. Comparisons at the amino acid level and phylogeny analysis among homologous genomes indicate that the Klebsiella Carvaje phage forms a novel sister taxon within the node of the Nonanaviruses and Sashaviruses cluster. Due to the unique features of the Carvaje phage, we propose the constitution of a new genus within the Caudoviricetes class. Further studies include the exploitation of this phage and its identified proteins for the control of Klebsiella infections and as recognition molecules in diagnostic methods., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Escherichia coli is a problematic pathogen that causes life-threatening diseases, being a frequent causative agent of several nosocomial infections such as urinary tract and bloodstream infections. Proper and rapid bacterial identification is critical for allowing prompt and targeted antimicrobial therapy. (Bacterio)phage receptor-binding proteins (RBPs) display high specificity for bacterial surface epitopes and, therefore, are particularly attractive as biorecognition elements, potentially conferring high sensitivity and specificity in bacterial detection. In this study, we elucidated, for the first time, the potential of a recombinant RBP (Gp17) to recognize E. coli at different viability states, such as viable but not culturable cells, which are not detected by conventional techniques. Moreover, by using a diagnostic method in which we combined magnetic and spectrofluorimetric approaches, we demonstrated the ability of Gp17 to specifically detect E. coli in various human specimens (e.g., whole blood, feces, urine, and saliva) in about 1.5 h, without requiring complex sample processing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Costa, Cunha, Freitas and Carvalho.)

Telomeres are short tandem repeats of "TTAGGG" that protect the chromosome ends from deterioration or fusion of chromosomes. Their repeat length shortens with cell division acting as a biomarker of cellular aging. Traumatic stress events during adulthood or childhood have been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and short leukocyte telomere length (LTL). This study investigated whether LTL was associated with PTSD in a Brazilian sample of sexually assaulted civilian women at two time points: baseline and 1-year follow-up. At baseline, we assessed 64 women with PTSD following sexual assault (cases) and 60 women with no previous history of sexual trauma or mental disorders (healthy controls - HC). At follow-up visit, 13 persistent PTSD cases, 11 HCs, and 11 PTSD remitters patients were evaluated. PTSD diagnosis and severity were assessed using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III/IV criteria) and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), respectively. LTL was measured using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the baseline analysis, we observed that LTL was associated with re-experiencing symptoms ( B = -0.16; confidence interval (CI) 95% = -0.027--0.005; Bonferroni-adjusted p -value = 0.02), but no association was observed between other PTSD symptoms and LTL. In the longitudinal analysis, telomere shortening was no longer observed in patients with PTSD and PTSD remitters. In conclusion, our findings indicate that shorter baseline LTL is associated with early stage of PTSD re-experiencing symptoms in recently sexually assaulted women., Competing Interests: RP is paid for their editorial work on the journal Complex Psychiatry. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Carvalho, Coimbra, Xavier, Bugiga, Fonseca, Olff, Polimanti, Mello, Ota, Mello and Belangero.)

Advanced oxidation processes have been used for wastewater treatment due to their capacity to reduce the organic loading and for their fast reactions. In this paper, we explore the viability of isolated and sequential use of electrochemical oxidation and Fenton processes into treatment of real raw urban sewage. The electrochemical process was carried out using DSA®-Cl 2 electrodes and factorial planning in order to investigate the influence of pH, current density, and electrolyte. Fenton reaction was also used and H 2 O 2 and Fe 2+ concentration effects were investigated. The efficiency was estimated by chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and in the optimized conditions the effluent was characterized by turbidity, suspended/dissolved/total solids, ammonia, chloride ions, free chlorine, nitrite, and potassium analysis and bioassays with Artemia ssp. and Lactuca sativa. The study demonstrated that the use of electrochemical technique followed by Fenton allowed an improvement in the degradation of organic matter and reduction of turbidity and solid content, reaching reductions of 86.8, 96.4, 99.4, 56.1, and 66.7% for COD, turbidity, SS, DS, and TS, respectively. The associated treatment also contributed to the reduction of energy consumption by 74.9%, from the 23.9 kWh m -3 observed during the electrochemical treatment isolated to the 6 kWh m -3 during the associated process. All the treatments presented toxicity reduction, with the electrochemical process achieving the best results., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To describe ophthalmic examination and diagnostic values for Schirmer tear test (STT), intraocular pressure (IOP), corneal horizontal diameter (CHD), palpebral fissure length (PFL), fundoscopy, and palpebral conjunctiva microbiota from healthy giant anteaters., Animals Studied: Twelve giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), 11 adults and one juvenile, five males and seven females., Procedures: The animals were submitted to general anesthesia and ophthalmic evaluation with portable slit-lamp biomicroscope, Finoff transilluminator, and fundoscopy, as well as STT, bacterial culture from palpebral conjunctiva, rebound tonometry IOP, and measurement of PFL and CHD. Data compiled were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey tests., Results: The results (mean ± standard deviation) were as follows: STT 8.04 ± 6.21 mm/min; IOP 10.92 ± 2.45 mmHg; PFL 0.75 ± 0.11 cm; CHD 0.96 ± 0.10 cm. Out of the 24 eyes swab samples for bacterial culture, 17 were positive, with three genera of Gram-positive bacteria identified Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus sp., and Corynebacterium sp. Gram-negative bacteria were not isolated from any of the samples., Conclusions: As conservation work in this vulnerable species continues, this report on basic ophthalmic examination and diagnostic parameters will be helpful improve their treatment and care. More ophthalmic studies are encouraged in animals within the Pilosa order., (© 2021 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.)

Aim: To evaluate the cognitive functioning of subjects practicing trance mediumship in Brazil., Method: The study was based on the measurement of cognitive functions of 19 spirits mediums through neuropsychological tests such as the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB), the Verbal Fluency Test (FAS), the digit span test, the cube test, the five digit test (FDT) and an evaluation of mental health through scales such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ), and the Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ). The sample included the participation of spirit mediums divided into two groups. The more experienced group (MEG) with 11 subjects had more than 10 years of mediumistic practice, while the other less experienced group (LEG) with 8 subjects had 1-5 years of experience. The inclusion criteria were psychophonic mediums (who have the ability to communication when deceased beings communicate directly via speaking) with regular trance practices for at least one year. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS statistical package., Results: Regarding performance on the BCSB and digit span test, all subjects reached scores at the median or higher in comparison to standardized scores of Brazilians. Scores of 90% on the cube test and 42% on the FAS were reached in comparison to median or higher values, versus the median of standardized scores among Brazilians. On the FDT, we found statistical significance ( p = 0.038) in the choice stage, with higher performance of subjects whose initial age of trance recognition occurred before 21 years old. On the BDI scale, no participant met the criteria for major depression. The SRQ showed an incidence of common mental disorders in 21% of the sample, which was more prevalent in the LEG ( p = 0.008)., Conclusion: The cognitive functioning of subjects who practice trance mediumship in Brazil is associated with cognitive health. Executive dysfunction may be a tendency in LEG. However, an incidence of common mental disorders in the LEG was observed. Executive processing was higher in the subgroup with early practices of recognizing the phenomenon., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Spindola-Rodrigues, Reis, de Carvalho, de Siqueira, Rocha Neto and Almeida.)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccine in Brazil., Methods: Ecological study assessing all invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) and meningococcal C disease (MenC) cases reported in all age groups, from 2001 to 2019. MCC was implemented in 2010. Data were collected on the DATASUS platform. Joinpoint regression was performed to assess the annual percent change (APC) of the incidence rate., Results: Invasive meningococcal disease incidence decreased in all Brazilian regions from 2001 onwards, without apparent additional reduction attributable to MCC vaccine in the North, Northeast and South. The higher and statistically significant APC reduction in all age groups, in the North and South, and in children <5 years, in the Northeast, occurred between 2001 and 2011 (-15.4%), 2004 and 2012 (-14.4%), and 2001 and 2013 (-10.3%), respectively, before MCC vaccine implementation. Annual incidence of MenC in children under 5 years significantly fell in the North (-6.8%; 2011-2018), Southeast (-40.6%; 2010-2015) and Midwest (-48.6%; 2010-2014), which may be attributable to MCC implementation., Conclusion: Invasive meningococcal disease and MenC behaved differently after MCC vaccine implementation in Brazil during this 18-year time-series analysis. This suggests that the control of IMD should be based on multiple public health care measures and considered on a regional basis., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

A growing body of research demonstrates the association between neighborhood context and health. The underlying biological mechanisms of this association are not fully understood. We conducted a systematic review of studies that investigated the association between neighborhood context and telomere length (TL), a DNA-protein complex that shortens after cell division. Short TL is linked to age-related diseases and may be impacted by chronic stress. Nineteen eligible articles identified through PubMed and Scopus met inclusion criteria. Results demonstrated inconsistent support for the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and short TL. However, findings across several studies provide evidence for an inverse association between perceived neighborhood problems and TL, suggesting that TL may be an important factor in understanding health vulnerabilities associated specifically with negative perceptions of the neighborhood context., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The importance of evaluating how natural organic matter influences the mobility of arsenic species in an ecosystem is an environmental concern. This work aimed to evaluate the interaction between humic substances (HS) and four arsenic species of high toxicity [As(III), As(V), MMA(V), and DMA(V)] (HS-As) under the influence of HS concentration and pH. Next, the complexing capacity (CC) of HS by As(III) was determined in function of pH, ionic strength and co-existing ions. The free arsenic (As free ) was determined after a tangential flow ultrafiltration procedure by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The better HS-As interactions for As(III) and As(V) at pH 10.5 reached 52% and 61%, respectively. The increase in pH and ionic strength, as well as co-existing ions increased the CC, which reached 1.57 mg of As(III) g -1 HS. We proposed a HS-As interaction model based on the inner and outer binding sites of HS from these results. The inner sites were occupied through hydrogen bonds, Pearson acid-base, hydrophobic, and van der Waals interactions for trivalent arsenic species, while the interactions through the outer sites for pentavalent arsenic species were mostly by hydrogen bonds and electrostatic forces. According to ecotoxicological studies against Artemia salina, the presence of HS decreased the toxicity of As(III) and As(V) as the lethal concentration increased from 5.81 to 8.82 mg L -1 and from 8.82 to 13.37 mg L -1 , respectively. From the results through the proposed model, it was possible to successfully understand the interaction dynamic between soil HS and As(III), As(V), MMA(V) and DMA(V) under simulated environmental conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To characterize experimental adhesives containing natural antimicrobial agents (proanthocyanidins, apigenin, tt-farnesol) in the primer and to evaluate their anti-caries effect., Materials and Methods: Natural agents were incorporated in the primer of an experimental adhesive: 4.5% proanthocyanidins (PA), 1 mM apigenin (API), 1 mM apigenin + 5 mM tt-farnesol (API + FAR), and primer without antimicrobial agent (control). Microtensile bond strength (μTBS) to dentin and nanoleakage were measured immediately (n = 7) and after 1 year of storage (n = 7). Water sorption (WS), solubility (SO), and degree of conversion (DC%) of the adhesives were measured. The hardness loss of enamel (n = 6) and dentin (n = 6) at the restorative margin was evaluated after biofilm formation., Results: DC%, nanoleakage, and immediate μTBS were similar for all groups. After 1 year, API + FAR showed higher nanoleakage and lower μTBS than the other groups, which were similar. WS and SO of API + FAR were lower than in the other groups. PA, API, and API + FAR presented less hardness loss than did the control group. At enamel, PA and API presented less hardness loss than the control and API + FAR groups at distances 50 µm and 100 µm; the hardness loss of enamel was similar for all groups 150 µm from the margin., Conclusion: The addition of proanthocyanidins and apigenin to the adhesives decreased the hardness loss of dentin and enamel submitted to biofilm formation, without jeopardizing the physical properties of the adhesives. The combination of apigenin + tt-farnesol decreased the hardness loss of dentin but not of enamel, and decreased the μTBS after 1 year of storage.

Introduction: Photoaging is the process by which ultraviolet rays gradually induce clinical and histological changes in the skin through the production and organization of biological molecules, such as elastin, which is critical to skin strength and elasticity. After exposure to radiation, elastin may undergo alternative mRNA splicing, resulting in modified proteins that contribute to the formation of aging characteristics, such as solar elastosis. The present work aimed to study two different forms of elastin under these conditions: normal elastin and elastin that had been altered in exon 26A., Methods: These different forms of elastin were characterized for gene expression by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and for protein expression by immunohistochemistry of ex vivo skins (from photoexposed and non-photoexposed areas) and in vitro reconstituted skin. In addition, up- and downstream molecules in the elastin signaling cascade were evaluated., Results: As a result, a significant increase in the gene expression of elastin 26A was observed in both ex vivo photoexposed skin tissues and the in vitro photoexposed reconstituted skins. Additionally, significant increases in the gene expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP12) and lysyl oxidase (LOX) were observed in the ex vivo skin model. The evaluation of protein expression levels of some photoaging markers on the reconstituted skin revealed increased tropoelastin and fibrillin-1 expression after photoexposure., Conclusion: This work contributes to a better understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in photoaging, making it possible to obtain new strategies for the development of dermocosmetic active ingredients to prevent and treat skin aging., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative bacterium that has become one of the leading causes of life-threatening healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), including pneumonia and sepsis. Moreover, due to its increasingly antibiotic resistance, K. pneumoniae has been declared a global top priority concern. The problem of K. pneumoniae infections is due, in part, to the inability to detect this pathogen rapidly and accurately and thus to treat patients within the early stages of infections. The success in bacterial detection is greatly dictated by the biorecognition molecule used, with the current diagnostic tools relying on expensive probes often lacking specificity and/or sensitivity. (Bacterio)phage receptor-binding proteins (RBPs) are responsible for the recognition and adsorption of phages to specific bacterial host receptors and thus present high potential as biorecognition molecules. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a novel RBP from the K. pneumoniae phage KpnM6E1 that presents high specificity against the target bacteria and high sensitivity (80%) to recognize K. pneumoniae strains. Moreover, adsorption studies validated the role of gp 86 in the attachment to bacterial receptors, as it highly inhibits (86%) phage adsorption to its Klebsiella host. Overall, in this study, we unravel the role and potential of a novel Klebsiella phage RBP as a powerful tool to be used coupled with analytical techniques or biosensing platforms for the diagnosis of K. pneumoniae infections.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Cancer progression, including invasion and metastasis, is a major cause of death among CRC patients. Current methods for CRC screening commonly consist of a combination of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for stool occult blood detection and invasive procedures such as colonoscopy. Considering the slow progression of CRC, and that symptoms usually emerge at advanced stages, its early diagnostic can limit cancer's spread and provide a successful treatment. Biomarkers have a high potential for the diagnosis of CRC in either blood or stool samples., Methods: In this study, we analysed the diagnostic value of six different biomarkers in stool samples of patients with CRC, advanced adenomas, other lesions and healthy individuals. We have also assessed the overall performance of the combination of these biomarkers for CRC detection., Results: The results indicate that haemoglobin (Hb) and M2-pyruvate kinase (M2-PK) levels were increased in CRC patients in comparison to the controls. Conversely, the concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were not significantly different between the tested groups., Conclusion: The combination of FIT-Hb with the M2-PK levels increased the specificity or sensitivity for CRC detection and thus present potential as faecal diagnostic biomarkers for CRC.

Major themes in pathogen evolution are emergence, evolution of virulence, host adaptation and the processes that underlie them. RNA viruses are of particular interest due to their rapid evolution. The in vivo molecular evolution of an RNA plant virus was demonstrated here using a necrotic isolate of cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) and a susceptible soybean genotype submitted to serial inoculations. We show that the virus lost the capacity to cause necrosis after six passages through the host plant. When a severe bottleneck was imposed, virulence reduction occurred in the second passage. The change to milder symptoms had fitness benefits for the virus (higher RNA accumulation) and for its vector, the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Genetic polymorphisms were highest in ORF1 (viral replicase) and were independent of the symptom pattern. Recombination was a major contributor to this diversity - even with the strong genetic bottleneck, recombination events and hot spots were detected within ORF1. Virulence reduction was associated with different sites in ORF1 associated to recombination events in both experiments. Overall, the results demonstrate that the reduction in virulence was a consequence of the emergence of new variants, driven by recombination. Besides providing details of the evolutionary mechanisms behind a reduction in virulence and its effect under viral and vector fitness, we propose that this recombination-driven switch in virulence allows the pathogen to rapidly adapt to a new host and, potentially, switch back., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults. Bacterial pathogens are recognized to be frequent causative agents, which makes antibacterial treatment crucial for the evolution of these patients. There are several antimicrobial options available in daily practice. However, bacterial resistance is a problem. The chemical, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamics, and safety characteristics of delafloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, are discussed. The data from one phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the use of delafloxacin in adults with community-acquired pneumonia is also discussed, along with findings from other meaningful studies. In vitro data have shown that delafloxacin has broad spectrum activity. Results from phase 2 and phase 3 studies have demonstrated that delafloxacin use is safe. International guidelines have recommended respiratory fluoroquinolones as second option for non-severe cases and must be considered in very severe patients not improving to a betalactam/macrolide combination. Delafloxacin was compared to moxifloxacin in the phase 3 community-acquired pneumonia trial. Serious and life-long adverse events due to fluoroquinolones use have been recently reported. Delafloxacin may possibly replace currently available fluoroquinolones, particularly in the treatment of resistant pathogens, such as ciprofloxacin-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates when other drugs are inefficient.

Drought currently affects several regions worldwide and tends to be more frequent due to climate change. It might compromise food security and the economic structure related to agribusiness. Popcorn has a crucial role in the Brazilian economy, but the cultivars that adapt to water stress, the most prejudicial abiotic stress for crop productivity, are unknown to date. This deficit of popcorn varieties adapted to heat and drought stresses will become more limiting with climate change. Given this scenario, knowing the genetic basis of agronomic traits under stress conditions is essential in promoting crop productivity and plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. Under two contrasting water conditions (WC) and different crop seasons (CS), we aimed to generate information about the combining ability of 10 popcorn progenitors and 15 hybrids through a partial diallel-mating design. The water stress was initiated at the male pre-anthesis stage. Significant genotype * crop seasons (G * CS), genotype * water condition (G * WC), and genotype * crop seasons * water condition (G * CS * WC) interactions were present. Regardless of CS and WC, non-additive effects controlled grain yield (GY), grain number per row (GN), ear length and diameter (ED), and 100-grain weight, while additive effects were present for popping expansion (PE). For each CS, regardless of WC, the cause-effect of GN (2018) and ED (2020) on GY seems to be an opportunity for indirect selection. Utilizing genetically broad-based hybrids is also a good opportunity for obtaining superior genotypes for GY and PE as it is possible to select inbred lines for both of these traits. We recommend the L76 × L61 hybrid for the Brazilian agribusiness context due to its greater productivity and dominance deviations., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Kamphorst, do Amaral Junior, de Lima, Carena, Azeredo, Mafra, Santos, Leite, Schmitt, dos Santos Junior, Bispo, Santos, Oliveira, Pereira, Lamêgo, Carvalho, Gomes, Silva and Campostrini.)

COVID-19 implications are still a threat to global health. In the face of this pandemic, food and nutrition are key issues that can boost the immune system. The bioactivity of functional foods and nutrients (probiotics, prebiotics, water- and fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, glutamine, arginine, nucleotides, and PUFAs) contributes to immune system modulation, which establishes the status of nutrients as a factor of immune competence. These foods can contribute, especially during a pandemic, to the minimization of complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, it is important to support the nutritional strategies for strengthening the immune status, associated with good eating habits, as a way to confront COVID-19.

Nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) have a major impact on mortality worldwide. Enterococcus and Staphylococcus are among the leading causes of HAIs and thus are important pathogens to control mainly due to their increased antibiotic resistance. The gold-standard diagnostic methods for HAIs are time-consuming, which hinders timely and adequate treatment. Therefore, the development of fast and accurate diagnostic tools is an urgent demand. In this study, we combined the sensitivity of magnetoresistive (MR) sensors, the portability of a lab-on-chip platform, and the specificity of phage receptor binding proteins (RBPs) as probes for the rapid and multiplex detection of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus. For this, bacterial cells were firstly labelled with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) functionalized with RBPs and then measured on the MR sensors. The results indicate that the RBP-MNPS provided a specific individual and simultaneous capture of more than 70% of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus cells. Moreover, high signals from the MR sensors were obtained for these samples, providing the detection of both pathogens at low concentrations (10 CFU/ml) in less than 2 h. Overall, the lab-on-chip MR platform herein presented holds great potential to be used as a point-of-care for the rapid, sensitive and specific multiplex diagnosis of bacterial infections., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The identification of traits associated with drought tolerance in popcorn is a contribution to support selection of superior plants under soil water deficit. The objective of this study was to choose morphological traits and the leaf greenness index, measured on different dates, to estimate grain yield (GY) and popping expansion (PE), evaluated in a set of 20 popcorn lines with different genealogies, estimated by multiple regression models. The variables were divided into three groups: morpho-agronomic traits-100-grain weight (GW), prolificacy (PR), tassel length (TL), number of tassel branches, anthesis-silking interval, leaf angle (FA) and leaf rolling (FB); variables related to the intensity of leaf greenness during the grain-filling period, at the leaf level, measured by a portable chlorophyll meter (SPAD) and at the canopy level, calculated as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The inbred lines were cultivated under two water conditions: well-watered (WW), maintained at field capacity, and water stress (WS), for which irrigation was stopped before male flowering. The traits GY (55%) and PE (28%) were most affected by water restriction. Among the morpho-agronomic traits, GW and PR were markedly reduced (>10%). Under dry conditions, the FA in relation to the plant stalk tended to be wider, the FB curvature greater and leaf senescence accelerated (>15% at 22 days after male flowering). The use of multiple regression for the selection of predictive traits proved to be a useful tool for the identification of groups of adequate traits to efficiently predict the economically most important features of popcorn (GY and PE). The SPAD index measured 17 days after male flowering proved useful to select indirectly for GY, while, among the morphological traits, TL stood out for the same purpose. Of all traits, PR was most strongly related with PE under WS, indicating its use in breeding programs. The exploitation of these traits by indirect selection is expected to induce increments in GY and PE.

Objective: The frequency and seasonality of viruses in tropical regions are scarcely reported. We estimated the frequency of seven respiratory viruses and assessed seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza viruses in a tropical city., Methods: Children (age ≤ 18 years) with acute respiratory infection were investigated in Salvador, Brazil, between July 2014 and June 2017. Respiratory viruses were searched by direct immunofluorescence and real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of RSV, influenza A virus, influenza B virus, adenovirus (ADV) and parainfluenza viruses (PIV) 1, 2 and 3. Seasonal distribution was evaluated by Prais-Winsten regression. Due to similar distribution, influenza A and influenza B viruses were grouped to analyse seasonality., Results: The study group comprised 387 cases whose median (IQR) age was 26.4 (10.5-50.1) months. Respiratory viruses were detected in 106 (27.4%) cases. RSV (n = 76; 19.6%), influenza A virus (n = 11; 2.8%), influenza B virus (n = 7; 1.8%), ADV (n = 5; 1.3%), PIV 1 (n = 5; 1.3%), PIV 3 (n = 3; 0.8%) and PIV 2 (n = 1; 0.3%) were identified. Monthly count of RSV cases demonstrated seasonal distribution (b3 = 0.626; P = 0.003). More than half (42/76 [55.3%]) of all RSV cases were detected from April to June. Monthly count of influenza cases also showed seasonal distribution (b3 = -0.264; P = 0.032). Influenza cases peaked from November to January with 44.4% (8/18) of all influenza cases., Conclusions: RSV was the most frequently detected virus. RSV and influenza viruses showed seasonal distribution. These data may be useful to plan the best time to carry out prophylaxis and to increase the number of hospital beds., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: To describe ocular anatomical features and to determine tear production and tonometry in normal anesthetized ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua)., Animals: Eight male and seven female ring-tailed coatis (30 eyes) were evaluated, with ages ranging from 7 months to 10 years old., Procedures: The animals were anesthetized with isoflurane and had STT 1, rebound and applanation tonometry, and palpebral fissure length (PFL) measured in both eyes. Rebound tonometry was measured with both TonoVet® and TonoVet Plus®. All eyes were evaluated with slit-lamp biomicroscopy. Following pharmacological mydriasis, direct fundoscopy was performed. ANOVA and Tukey tests were used for the data analysis., Results: There were upper and lower eyelids, as well as a third eyelid. Eyelashes were present on the upper eyelid, while meibomian glands openings were visible on both. The bulbar conjunctiva was pigmented. The pupil was obliquely horizontally ovoid and teardrop shaped when miotic. The color of the iris and tapetum lucidum varied with age. The optic disk was round, and the retina was holangiotic. The mean ± standard deviation values obtained were as follows: STT: 2.50 ± 2.39 mm/min; rebound tonometry: 9.50 ± 2.43 mmHg (TonoVet®, calibration P), 14.60 ± 2.82 mmHg (TonoVet®, calibration D), 18.93 ± 3.99 mmHg (TonoVet Plus®, calibration dog); applanation tonometry: 18.66 ± 4.16 mmHg; PFL: 10.98 ± 1.67 mm., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Anatomical and clinical ophthalmic data presented in this study are unprecedented for this species. The results can be used as clinical reference parameters, allowing for better care of these species. The lack of data for the Procyonidae family must be regarded as an incentive for more studies., (© 2021 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.)

Not every neonate with congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection (CZI) is born with microcephaly. We compared inflammation mediators in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid obtained from lumbar puncture) between ZIKV-exposed neonates with/without microcephaly (cases) and controls. In Brazil, in the same laboratory, we identified 14 ZIKV-exposed neonates during the ZIKV epidemic (2015-2016), 7(50%) with and 7(50%) without microcephaly, without any other congenital infection, and 14 neonates (2017-2018) eligible to be controls and to match cases. 29 inflammation mediators were measured using Luminex immunoassay and multidimensional analyses were employed. Neonates with ZIKV-associated microcephaly presented substantially higher degree of inflammatory perturbation, associated with uncoupled inflammatory response and decreased correlations between concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers. The groups of microcephalic and non-microcephalic ZIKV-exposed neonates were distinguished from the control group (area under curve [AUC] = 1; P < 0.0001). Between controls and those non-microcephalic exposed to ZIKV, IL-1β, IL-3, IL-4, IL-7 and EOTAXIN were the top CSF markers. By comparing the microcephalic cases with controls, the top discriminant scores were for IL-1β, IL-3, EOTAXIN and IL-12p70. The degree of inflammatory imbalance may be associated with microcephaly in CZI and it may aid additional investigations in experimental pre-clinical models testing immune modulators in preventing extensive damage of the Central Nervous System.