Search

• Rising damp long-term simulation of Luso-Brazilian historic masonries is presented. • The thickness of the bricks influences the water absorption. • Mortar composition can increase the potential for rising damp. • The thickness of the mortar does not influence considerably the rising damp. Rising damp is a complex phenomenon influenced by heat and moisture transfers and building characteristics. Essentially, rising damp is one of the main mechanisms of the degradation of masonry structures. In general, masonries are affected by the humidity presence due to their materials and local construction techniques. In the case of ancient Brazilian constructions, the high porosity of mortars and bricks, waterproofing lack, and the presence of salts can intensify the degradation mechanism. Thus, this paper has as the main aim to assess the influence of several factors on the rising damp in heritage masonry, such as the thickness of the bricks, the thickness and mortar composition, the type of paint, and the presence of salts. Long-term numerical analyses were performed using computational simulation in the WUFI 2D software, taking as reference the materials properties of the Luso-Brazilian of the Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Church, dating from the 18th century, located in Aracati, in the State of Ceará, Brazil. The results showed that the variation of the factors considered in this study directly influences the rising damp, except for the thickness of the mortar. This study contributes to the understanding of the factors that influence the rising damp mechanism while being helpful to support strategies for rising damp treatment on ancient buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision detection has been widely studied in the last decades. While plenty of solutions exist, certain simulation scenarios are still challenging when permanent contact and deformable bodies are involved. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach based on volumetric splines that is applicable to complex deformable tubes, such as in the simulation of colonoscopy and other endoscopies. The method relies on modeling radial control points, extracting surface information from a triangle mesh, and storing the volume information around a spline path. Such information is later used to compute the intersection between the object surfaces under the assumption of spatial coherence between neighboring splines. We analyze the method's performance in terms of both speed and accuracy, comparing it with previous works. Results show that our method solves collisions between complex meshes with over 300k triangles, generating over 1,000 collisions per frame between objects while maintaining an average time of under 1ms without compromising accuracy. [Display omitted] • Novel approach based on volumetric splines that applies to complex deformable tubes, such as in the simulation of colonoscopy and other endoscopies. • Collision detection and penetration measurements that allow for collision response. • Adaptative accuracy and performance for interactive simulations. • Performance compatible with force feedback and Virtual Reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kombucha is a drink prepared from sweetened black tea fermented using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts (SCOBY). Its growing popularity is associated with its potential nutraceutical properties. This work aimed to investigate the scientific advances associated with kombucha and SCOBY through bibliometrics and a literature review. Scientific articles indexed on the Web of Science published until October 2023 were sought, and a subsequent data analysis was carried out using VOSviewer. There are records on kombucha since 1928, but there has been a massive increase in the last ten years. Its association with functional nutrition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities was detected using a keyword co-occurrence map, thus its nutraceutical potential was confirmed. Nonetheless, the term SCOBY has recently been associated with bacterial cellulose production, given that it can be applied in diverse sectors, such as food, electronics, cosmetics and biomedical industries. SCOBY and kombucha are highlighted as products from the food industry, and arouse worldwide scientific and market interest due to their great potential which has not been thoroughly elucidated yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kombucha is a functional tea brewed through a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). It is applicable to various industrial sectors due to its several noteworthy features. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the following technological aspects of kombucha/SCOBY: (a) the effect of its production parameters on different scales, (b) microbiota features and factors that affect biofilm formation and fermentation so as to demonstrate its potential applications in different industrial sectors, and (d) how its consumption affects human health according to evidence collected in literature. Its production seldom occurs on an industrial scale and studies assessing its large-scale fermentation process are scarce. Various industrial sectors have benefited from SCOBY, such as the food industry, biotechnological processes and biomedicine. However, industrial applications require optimization of some parameters, such as specific equipment for product standardization aimed at cost reduction and process profitability. [Display omitted] • Kombucha is a beverage that grows more in the functional beverage sector. • The expansion process for kombucha is a high challenge in the search for natural fermented beverage. • The potential of SCOBY has been explored for several applications by the industries. • Kombucha and SCOBY are a new biotechnological trend for material, health and cosmetics and food industries. • SCOBY is a promising starter culture in the development of new foods and fermented beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban growth usually triggers environmental imbalances. When the supporting capacity of the watersheds is surpassed, both the natural and the built environment degrade in a negative cycle. In this context, integrating a sustainable urban drainage approach with river restoration concepts, this work proposes a set of guidelines composing a framework to support the urban growth process in lowlands of coastal cities, combining social and natural demands, and improving city resilience to floods. Different tools including mathematical modeling and multi-criteria indexes were combined in this framework and then tested in an exploratory case study in the Vargem Grande district, an expanding coastal area in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. A computational hydrodynamic model –called Urban Flow-Cell Model has been used to provide information on impacts generated by the changes of the urban configuration in the region of interest. The Flood Risk Index and the Urban River Restoration Index were applied to assess risk and estimate environmental restoration effects quantitatively. The results for the applied framework show that sustainable drainage concepts in combination with river restoration measures can support the expansion of the city, meeting social and environmental demands. The expanding area considered in the case study could grow safely when oriented by the proposed framework, while the flooding results could be dramatic worsened in an uncontrolled development. Image 1 • Urban growth can surpass the supporting capacity of a watershed sheltering city. • The built environment can degrade when not recognizing water dynamics. • Even environmentally sensitive areas can support city growth if adequately planned. • Sustainable drainage and river restoration may be coupled to support city growth. • Mathematical models and multi-criteria indexes can meaningfully drive city growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study intends to assess the metal pollution of a eutrophic coastal lagoon, analyzing the long-term and actual metal content in surface sediments, suspended particles, aquatic macrophyte and fish species, and the loads emitted from natural processes and anthropogenic sources, including the relative emission of domestic untreated sewage. Distribution indicated contamination of suspended particles with Cd and the predominance of Pb in the bioavailable form in surface sediments which may explain Cd and Pb contamination in fish. Domestic untreated sewage was an important source of Cu and due to the lagoon's management, this source may be increasing the metal content in the lagoon's surface sediments. Soil loss, atmospheric deposition and solid waste disposal also contributed to metal inputs to the lagoon. Extensive contamination has been prevented by the lagoon's management such as sandbar opening. Metal retention within the watershed soils reduce the effective metal transference and lagoon pollution. • Tropical coastal lagoon was threat by metal contamination. • Soil, atmospheric deposition, solid waste and sewage were the main metal sources. • Suspended particle and bottom sediment were pathways of Cd and Pb fish contamination. • Metal retention in soil reduced the extensive metal transference into the lagoon. • Extensive contamination has also been prevented by the lagoon's sandbar opening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sickness behavior is an expression of a central motivational state triggered by activation of the immune system, being considered a strategy of the organism to fight infection. Sickness behavior is induced by peripheral administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS can increase the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, which induce the activation of the kynurenine pathway (KP) and behavioral alterations. Previous studies have shown that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) has anti-inflammatory properties. Because of this, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of fish oil (FO) supplementation against LPS-induced sickness behavior in aged mice with respect to anhedonia, locomotor activity and body weight. Moreover, we evaluated the ability of FO treatment on the regulation of neuroinflammation (levels of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor factor necrosis-α and interferon-γ), KP biomarkers (levels of tryptophan, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine and quinolinic acid and activities of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase, kynurenine monooxygenase and kynurenine aminotransferase) and serotonergic system (levels of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleactic acid) in the hippocampus, striatum and prefrontal cortex of LPS-treated mice. We found that FO prevented the LPS-mediated body weight loss, anhedonic behavior, reduction of locomotor activity, up-regulation of the proinflammatory cytokines and serotoninergic alterations. We also found that FO was effective in modulating the KP biomarkers, inhibiting or attenuating KP dysregulation induced by LPS. Together, our results indicated that FO may have beneficial effects on LPS induced sickness-behavior in aged mice either by modulating central inflammation, KP and serotonergic signaling (indirectly effect) or by fatty acids incorporation into neuronal membranes (direct effect). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishing is important as it generates employment, income, high-quality food and livelihoods for native communities in many parts of the world. However, when poorly managed, it can cause irreversible overfishing impacts on the ecology of communities. The present study aimed to construct models to estimate the presence probability of young specimens of Thunnus albacares , Thunnus obesus and Xiphias gladius in the Western Equatorial Tropical Atlantic Ocean (WETA) using oceanographic, temporal, and spatial variables. The data used were generated by monitoring the fishing operations of vessels of the pelagic longline fleet in the extreme northeast of Brazil. The Generalized Additive Model was used to estimate the effect of different factors and covariates (oceanographic, temporal, and spatial variables) on the juvenile probability of the presence of the species T. albacares , T. obesus and X. gladius. The capture of juveniles becomes graver in the results obtained annually, for T. albacares ranged between 12.4% and 50.5%, T. obesus ranging from 27.5% to 36.4% and X. gladius from 0% to 13.8% immatures. Models established indicated that water temperature, year, longitude, chlorophyll-a and the interactions between moon phases and latitude, as well as the interactions between quarters and latitude, are statistically significant, influencing the distribution of juveniles of these resources. More efforts and attention should be directed to investigating the distribution of juvenile presence in the WETA, mainly in the southern hemisphere. We want to initiate here a broad discussion and campaign for establishing studies aiming at the constant monitoring of juvenile levels captured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a panorama of the flavor and fragrance (F&F) technological sector, constructed with the use of patent applications worldwide. Information from patent documents was retrieved using databases, yielding 5474 documents related to 2903 patent families for the last 10 years. The information within these documents goes far beyond a mere technical description of technologies. They include data regarding the assignee, year of application, countries where the patents have been applied, the technical sector of technologies and other aspects. These data were grouped by category to determine the actual reality of F&F technologies. The panorama obtained with the patent data showed some curious results. Crossing data regarding patents and markets, it is clear that the largest companies not always are those that apply for the most patents. In this work, the correlation between innovation and the production of patents is discussed. Inside the patent landscape, a specific group of patents has been analyzed. The 416 triadic patents found generated an island within the original landscape with its own environment. This environment and some trends and facts regarding triadic patents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• To date, no study has been carried out on the diversity of Desmonostoc strains. • A large morphological and physiological diversity was found within Desmonostoc. • Photosynthetic parameters indicated that the Desmonostoc spp. were "shading" strains. • Desmonostoc spp. were abundant in freshwater environments. • Information is provided on the diversity of Desmonostoc strains from Brazilian biomes. Cyanobacteria (Phylum Cyanobacteriota) are Gram-negative bacteria capable of performing oxygenic photosynthesis. Although the taxonomic classification of cyanobacteria was for a long time based primarily on morphological characters, the application of other techniques (e.g. molecular phylogeny), especially in recent decades, has contributed to a better resolution of cyanobacteria systematics, leading to a revision of the phylum. Although Desmonostoc occurs as a new genus/cluster and some species have been described recently, relatively few studies have been carried out to elucidate its diversity, which encompasses strains from different ecological origins, or examine the application of new characterization tools. In this context, the present study investigated the diversity within Desmonostoc , based on morphological, molecular, metabolic, and physiological characteristics. Although the usage of physiological parameters is unusual for a polyphasic approach, they were efficient in the characterization performed here. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences put all studied strains (25) into the D1 cluster and indicated the emergence of novel sub-clusters. It was also possible to observe that nif D and nif H exhibited different evolutionary histories within the Desmonostoc strains. Collectively, metabolic and physiological data, coupled with the morphometric data, were in general, in good agreement with the separation based on the phylogeny of the 16S rRNA gene. Furthermore, the study provided important information on the diversity of Desmonostoc strains collected from different Brazilian biomes by revealing that they were cosmopolitan strains, acclimatized to low luminous intensities, with a large metabolic diversity and great biotechnological potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an overview and a short critical review of patented antibiofilm technologies. Patent information was used to determine scenarios that could be used by decision-makers or business intelligence. The study found that academia, mainly from the USA, has been applying for the most patents since 1997. Based on the S-curve analysis, the maturity of this technology sector is emerging. The technological specialization for the 10 most prominent patent applicants and state-of-the-art antibiofilm patents are presented. The high dispersion of patent applicants, the presence of universities among the most active patent applicants, and the content of the patents analyzed are good indicators to infer that developed technologies are close to the academic level. Moreover, many efforts are necessary to bring these technologies into the market. Polymers-N-based, amino acids and peptides, P and S compounds, chelating agents and organometallic complexes, nanoparticles, or composites are claimed to be active against biofilm formation. Such compounds are presented in this work, and in rare cases, they are described as compositions ready for use as marketable products. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fundão Dam rupture released tons of iron ore tailings into the environment. This study analyzes the long-term impacts and provides a possible scenario of Doce River (DR) plume dispersion. For this, water and surface sediment were collected in November 2019 along three Brazilian states to determine metal concentrations and δ13C and δ15N compositions. The δ13C sediment values of the DR plume showed a dispersion pattern mainly to the north but also in areas closer to the south of the DR mouth. Furthermore, the most negative values of δ13C and δ15N were observed in mud, followed by suspended particulate matter, sediment and the dissolved fraction, indicating that geological matrices are involved in the transport of organic matter coupled to metals to the ocean and pointing to the DR as the main source of metals in the region. Thus, this study highlights the need for continuous studies to monitor the environmental and biological conditions in these areas. [Display omitted] • Doce river was affected by the dam failure 4 years ago. • The material transport continues to occur by sediment, SPM and dissolved fraction. • There is still metals enrichment from Doce River to the coastal areas. • The dispersion pattern of the Doce river plumes was from the mouth towards the north. • This data contributes to the monitoring of the Doce river and nearby regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Chronic treatment with hesperidin exerts antidepressant-like effect in the TST. [•] Hesperidin caused a significant decrease in NOX levels in the hippocampus. [•] Antidepressant-like effect of hesperidin was modulated by l-arginine-NO-cGMP pathway. [•] Effect of hesperidin also is associated with an increase in hippocampal BDNF levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The cyanobacterial community from Brazilian mangrove ecosystems was examined using a culture-dependent method. Fifty cyanobacterial strains were isolated from soil, water and periphytic samples collected from Cardoso Island and Bertioga mangroves using specific cyanobacterial culture media. Unicellular, homocytous and heterocytous morphotypes were recovered, representing five orders, seven families and eight genera (Synechococcus, Cyanobium, Cyanobacterium, Chlorogloea, Leptolyngbya, Phormidium, Nostoc and Microchaete). All of these novel mangrove strains had their 16S rRNA gene sequenced and BLAST analysis revealed sequence identities ranging from 92.5 to 99.7% when they were compared with other strains available in GenBank. The results showed a high variability of the 16S rRNA gene sequences among the genotypes that was not associated with the morphologies observed. Phylogenetic analyses showed several branches formed exclusively by some of these novel 16S rRNA gene sequences. BLAST and phylogeny analyses allowed for the identification of Nodosilinea and Oxynema strains, genera already known to exhibit poor morphological diacritic traits. In addition, several Nostoc and Leptolyngbya morphotypes of the mangrove strains may represent new generic entities, as they were distantly affiliated with true genera clades. The presence of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase, polyketide synthase, microcystin and saxitoxin genes were detected in 20.5%, 100%, 37.5% and 33.3%, respectively, of the 44 tested isolates. A total of 134 organic extracts obtained from 44 strains were tested against microorganisms, and 26% of the extracts showed some antimicrobial activity. This is the first polyphasic study of cultured cyanobacteria from Brazilian mangrove ecosystems using morphological, genetic and biological approaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aims: The study investigated the antidepressant-like effect and acute toxicity of 4-phenyl-1-(phenylselanylmethyl)-1,2,3-triazole (Se-TZ), an organoselenium-containing heterocycle compound in mice. Main methods: The antidepressant-like effect of Se-TZ (1–50mg/kg) and its mechanism of action, was analyzed in the tail suspension test (TST) in male C57BL/6J mice. Additionally, the levels of the monoamines and their metabolites in cerebral cortex and hippocampus were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. To investigate the potential acute toxicity caused by Se-TZ, the mice received a single oral dose of Se-TZ (1–50mg/kg), and after 72h were performed the assays. Key findings: The Se-TZ (5-50mg/kg) significantly reduced immobility time in TST without altering locomotor and exploratory activities. The antidepressant-like effect of Se-TZ (25mg/kg) in the TST was prevented by pre-treatment of mice with SCH23390, sulpiride and methysergide, but not with prazosin, yohimbine and propranolol. Se-TZ, increased monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin levels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, whereas norepinephrine turnover was not changed. This study also demonstrated that the Se-TZ, did not cause the acute toxicity in biochemical markers hepatic and renal investigated. The results evidenced that exposure to Se-TZ caused a significant increase in the catalase (CAT) activity in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, however the glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity increased only in the cerebral cortex. Significance: These results suggest that Se-TZ demonstrated antidepressant-like effect, mediated via the central dopaminergic and serotoninergic neurotransmitter systems which may be of interest as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of depressive disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] PMA changes p53, p21 and cyclin D1 levels. [•] PMA mimics the increase in M3 levels observed in normal tissue development. [•] The p21 levels peak in P7 and is concomitant with the decrease in cell proliferation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In vitro – in vivo correlation (IVIVC) allows prediction of the in vivo performance of a pharmaceutical product based on its in vitro drug release profiles and can be used to optimize formulations, set dissolution limits, reduce the number of bioequivalence studies during product development, and facilitate certain regulatory decisions. This review article aimed to assess papers published in the last two decades regarding the use of the IVIVC in the development of oral formulations, to demonstrate the scenario in this area, as well as to describe the main characteristics of the assessed studies. A systematic search of PubMed and Web of Science databases was conducted to retrieve articles reporting the use of the IVIVC in the oral formulation development in the period from 1998 to 2018. The qualified studies were abstracted regarding drug name, dosage form, BCS class, in vitro and in vivo data, level of IVIVC, number of formulations, presence of the validation and predictability. The discussion was supported by these data, which allowed to address broadly strengths and weaknesses in this area. Moreover, a large database has been described in this article containing different IVIVC models, with different substances, providing support to scientists interested in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]