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The phytopathogenic fungus Chrysoporthe cubensis is a relevant source of lignocellulolytic enzymes. This work aimed to compare the profile of lignocellulose-degrading proteins secreted by C. cubensis grown under semi-solid state fermentation using wheat bran (WB) and sugarcane bagasse (SB). The exoproteomes of the fungus grown in wheat bran (WBE) and sugarcane bagasse (SBE) were qualitative and quantitatively analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD046075. Label-free proteomic analysis of WBE and SBE showed that the fungus produced a spectrum of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) with exclusive characteristics from each extract. While SBE resulted in an enzymatic profile directed towards the depolymerization of cellulose, the enzymes in WBE were more adaptable to the degradation of biomass rich in hemicellulose and other non-lignocellulosic polymers. Saccharification of alkaline pre-treated sugarcane bagasse with SBE promoted glucose release higher than commercial cocktails (8.11 g L -1 ), while WBE promoted the higher release of xylose (5.71 g L -1 ). Our results allowed an in-depth knowledge of the complex set of enzymes secreted by C. cubensis responsible for its high lignocellulolytic activity and still provided the identification of promising target proteins for biotechnological applications in the context of biorefinery., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) is a grading system routinely adopted worldwide by physicians to classify patients' overall health status. Concerns have been raised surrounding the subjectiveness of this system, potentially leading to poor inter-rater agreement/reliability. We hypothesized that physicians are overconfident when assigning ASA-PS scores and that presenting them with the ASA-PS definitions/examples would improve accuracy. We therefore evaluated participants' accuracy and self-reported confidence on the ASA-PS Classification System (1) while assigning ASA-PS according to their baseline knowledge/judgment; and (2) after a single exposure to the ASA-PS definitions/examples., Design: Prospective before-and-after web-based study., Participants: 272 anesthesiologists and 114 non-anesthesiologists., Interventions: Participants voluntarily answered a web-based questionnaire consisting of 10 hypothetical cases. They were asked to assign an ASA-PS score and rate their perceived self-confidence level (20-100%) on the accuracy of their assigned score for each case both (1) before and (2) after reviewing the ASA-PS definitions/examples. The correct ASA-PS for each hypothetical case was determined by consensus among investigators., Measurements: Participants' accuracy, self-reported confidence, and calibration of confidence on the application of ASA-PS Classification System. Agreement between measures was tested using kappa coefficient., Results: Anesthesiologists had better accuracy than non-anesthesiologists both on initial [6(5-7) vs. 4(3-5) out of 10; p < 0.001] as well as subsequent [7(6-8) vs. 6(4-7); p < 0.001] ASA-PS score assignments. Participants' self-reported confidence was greater than their accuracy for assigned ASA-PS scores (p < 0.001). ASA-PS agreement between anesthesiologists and non-anesthesiologists was poor (κ < 0.20). Participants' accuracy for hypothetical cases of ASA-PS I, II, and III involving adult patients was overall greater than for ASA-PS IV, V, and III (the latter involving a neonate) for both anesthesiologists and non-anesthesiologists (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Physicians tend to disagree and be overconfident when assigning ASA-PS scores. A brief consultation of the ASA-PS definitions/examples improves the accuracy for both anesthesiologists and non-anesthesiologists., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The phytopathogenic fungus Chrysoporthe cubensis has a great capacity to produce highly efficient enzymes for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The bioinfosecretome of C. cubensis was identified by computational predictions of secreted proteins combined with protein analysis using 1D-LC-MS/MS. The in silico secretome predicted 562 putative genes capable of encoding secreted proteins, including 273 CAZymes. Proteomics analysis confirmed the existence of 313 proteins, including 137 CAZymes classified as Glycosyl Hydrolases (GH), Polysaccharide Lyases (PL), Carbohydrate Esterases (CE) and Auxiliary Activities enzymes (AA), which indicates the presence of classical and oxidative cellulolytic mechanisms. The enzymes diversity in the extract shows fungal versatility to act in complex biomasses. This study provides an insight into the lignocellulose-degradation mechanisms by C. cubensis and allows the identification of the enzymes that are potentially useful in improving industrial process of bioconversion of lignocellulose. SIGNIFICANCE: Chrysoporthe cubensis is an important deadly canker pathogen of commercially cultivated Eucalyptus species. The effective depolymerisation of the recalcitrant plant cell wall performed by this fungus is closely related to its high potential of lignocellulolytic enzymes secretion. Since the degradation of biomass occurs in nature almost exclusively by enzyme secretion systems, it is reasonable to suggest that the identification of C. cubensis lignocellulolytic enzymes is relevant in contributing to new sustainable alternatives for industrial solutions. As far as we know, this work is the first accurate proteomic evaluation of the enzymes secreted by this species of fungus. The integration of the gel-based proteomic approach, the bioinformatic prediction of the secretome and the analyses of enzymatic activity are powerful tools in the evaluation of biotechnological potential of C. cubensis in producing carbohydrate-active enzymes. In addition, analysis of the C. cubensis secretome grown in wheat bran draws attention to this plant pathogen and its extracellular enzymatic machinery, especially regarding the identification of promising new enzymes for industrial applications. The results from this work allowed for explanation and reinforce previous research that revealed C. cubensis as a strong candidate to produce enzymes to hydrolyse sugarcane bagasse and similar substrates., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objectives: To investigate the association among hypertension, tinnitus, and sensorineural hearing loss and evaluate the influence of other covariates on this association., Methods: Baseline data (2008-2010) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) were analyzed. Altogether, 900 participants were evaluated. The baseline assessment consisted of a 7-hour examination to obtain clinical and laboratory variables. Hearing was measured using pure-tone audiometry., Results: Overall, 33.3% of the participants had hypertension. Participants with hypertension were more likely to be older, male, and diabetic compared to those without hypertension. The prevalence of tinnitus was higher among hypertensive participants and the odds ratio for tinnitus was higher in participants with hypertension than in those without hypertension. However, the difference was not significant after adjusting for age. Audiometric results at 250-8,000 Hz were worse in participants with hypertension than in those without hypertension in the crude analysis; however, the differences were not significant after adjustment for age, sex, diagnosis of diabetes, and exposure to noise. No significant difference was observed in hearing thresholds among participants having hypertension for <6 years, those having hypertension for ≥6 years, and individuals without hypertension., Conclusion: Hearing thresholds were worse in participants with hypertension. However, after adjusting for age, sex, diagnosis of diabetes, and exposure to noise, no significant differences were observed between participants with and without hypertension. A higher prevalence of tinnitus was observed in participants with hypertension compared to those without hypertension, but without significance after adjusting for age.

In order to synthesize nanoparticles of galactomannan-g-poly-N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers, galactomannan from fava d'anta was partially hydrolyzed using hydrochloric acid. Degradation reduced the molar mass and increase mannose/galactose molar ratio. This study shows that high molar mass of galatomannan lead to formation of copolymers with particle size in the order of micrometer, however reducing molar mass from 10 6 to 10 4 g mol -1 , thermo-sensitive copolymer with low critical aggregation concentration, transition temperature close to body temperature (37 °C) and particle size in the range of 300-170 nm can be obtained. As a proof of concept, partially degraded galactomannan-g-NIPAm copolymer was used to incorporated indomethacin. Good encapsulation efficiency and a controlled release were observed indicating that this material has potential to be used as nanocarrier system., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This work reports the use of multidimensional HPLC by coupling a restricted access medium (RAM) bovine serum albumin (BSA) octadecyl column (100 x 4.6 mm I.D., 10 microm particle size and 120 A pore size) to an octadecyl Hypersil column (150 x 4.6 mm I.D., 5 microm particle size and 120 A pore size) to the analysis of amoxycillin in human plasma by direct injection. Ion pairing was necessary to extract amoxycillin with good recovery from the plasma proteins. To prepare the spiked samples, aliquots (60 microl) of the appropriated standard solutions were added to each culture tube containing an 180 microl of plasma and a solution of 0.30 mM tetrabuthylammonium phosphate (60 microl). They were vortexed for 15 s and then 290 microl were transferred to autosampler vials. Aliquots (250 microl) of the spiked plasma samples were injected to a column-switching HPLC system. An analysis time of 25 min with no time spent on sample preparation was achieved. The developed method showed good selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision for direct analysis of this polar low wavelength ultraviolet absorption antibiotic using only 180 microl of human plasma. The validated method proved to be reliable and sensitive for the determination of amoxycillin in plasma samples of five healthy volunteers to whom test and reference formulations were administered as an oral dose (500 mg).

DNA hybridisation was used to type 26 samples from lesions of human patients from the Rio Doce Valley (Minas Gerais, Brazil) clinically diagnosed as having cutaneous leishmaniasis, using kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) cloned mini-circle probes specific for the Leishmania mexicana and Leishmania braziliensis complexes. All samples were found to belong to the L. braziliensis complex. When biopsies were pressed directly onto touch blot membranes 38.5% of the samples were positive. The positivity and specificity obtained were both 100% when cultured blotted parasites were used. The results were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using primers specific for the L. mexicana and L. braziliensis complexes.