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Introduction: Gaining practical experience in health professions education is a significant challenge. Simulation-based training has emerged as a key solution to this issue, but the high costs associated with advanced equipment and software limit accessibility for many institutions. Hence, to close this gap, this study aims to map the research field of low-cost simulation in health professions education through a bibliometric analysis. Methods: Utilizing a bibliometric study design, we analyzed publications from 2003 to 2022 in the Scopus Database, in accordance to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. Publications discussing low-cost simulation in English were included. Data points such as research design, study location, and outcomes were extracted. The Scival Platform and VosViewer were used to analyze publication trends, prolific institutions, authors, journals, and conceptual and intellectual structure. Results: The study found an increase in low-cost simulation research from 2003 to 2022, with significant growth after 2015. Observational studies predominated (68.57%), with general surgery being the most studied specialty. Less than half of the studies reported cost details, and only 2 compared the low-cost model with a standard. The United States led in scientific production, with notable collaboration networks. The keyword co-occurrence and co-citation analyses highlighted 4 main clusters in low-cost simulation research, emphasizing surgical training. Conclusions: This investigation highlights the expanding interest in low-cost simulation to enhance access to hands-on training in health professions education, especially under financial constraints. However, the research field requires further development, particularly in validating these models against their more expensive counterparts. Such validation is crucial for ensuring the effectiveness and comparability of low-cost simulation. Resumen: Introducción: Adquirir experiencia práctica en la formación de las profesiones sanitarias es un reto importante. El aprendizaje basado en simulación ha surgido como una solución a este problema, pero los elevados costes asociados a los equipos y programas avanzados limitan la accesibilidad de muchas instituciones. De ahí la necesidad de cerrar esta brecha. Este estudio pretende delimitar el campo de investigación de la simulación de bajo costo en la formación de las profesiones sanitarias mediante un análisis bibliométrico. Métodos: Utilizando un diseño de estudio bibliométrico, analizamos las publicaciones de 2003 a 2022 en la base de datos Scopus, siguiendo las directrices de Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020. Se incluyeron las publicaciones que discutían la simulación de bajo coste en inglés. Se extrajeron datos como el diseño de la investigación, la ubicación del estudio y los resultados. La plataforma Scival y VosViewer se emplearon para analizar las tendencias de publicación, las instituciones prolíficas, los autores, las revistas y la estructura conceptual e intelectual. Resultados: El estudio encontró un aumento de la investigación con simulación de bajo coste desde 2003 hasta 2022, con un crecimiento significativo después de 2015. Predominaron los estudios observacionales (68,57%), siendo la cirugía general la especialidad más estudiada. Menos de la mitad de los estudios informaron sobre detalles de costes, y solo dos compararon el modelo de bajo coste con uno estándar. Estados Unidos lideró la producción científica, con notables redes de colaboración. Los análisis de co-ocurrencia de palabras clave y co-citación destacaron cuatro clusters principales en la investigación sobre simulación de bajo coste, con énfasis en la formación quirúrgica. Conclusiones: Esta investigación pone de relieve el creciente interés en la simulación de bajo coste para mejorar el acceso a la formación práctica en la educación de las profesiones de la salud, especialmente bajo restricciones financieras. Sin embargo, el se requiere un mayor desarrollo, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la validación de estos modelos económicos frente a sus homólogos más caros. Dicha validación es crucial para garantizar la eficacia y comparabilidad de las simulaciones de bajo coste.

Electrolytic neutral pickling (ENP) is a process to remove undesired surface oxides formed during the annealing of cold-rolled flat stainless steel products. It is a key production step that ensures the corrosion resistance of the material. However, the process suffers from poor current and energy efficiency, which causes it to be the bottleneck step in the production of a wide range of grades. In this article, a finite element model is implemented and validated using data collected during typical operation in a real industrial cell configuration. While the cell voltage is, in general, overestimated by the model, the slope of the polarization curve is predicted by the model with a relative error of 4%. The by-pass current and the voltage efficiency are evaluated numerically for different values of the cell current. The strip current efficiency (i.e. the relative strip current) is found to be above 90% for a typical cell configuration under typical operating conditions. This value is much larger than most reported values in the literature, and suggests that by-pass current is not the limiting factor in industrial ENP cells. The voltage efficiency, found to be under 20%, and the competition with oxygen evolution, seem to be more concerning points. The low voltage efficiency is mainly due to the high ohmic overpotentials, which account between 50% and 60% of the total cell voltage.

ABSTRACTCoastal herbivorous fishes consume macroalgae, which is then degraded by microbes along their digestive tract. However, there is scarce genomic information about the microbiota that perform this degradation. This study explores the potential of Kyphosus gastrointestinal microbial symbionts to collaboratively degrade and ferment polysaccharides from red, green, and brown macroalgae through in silico study of carbohydrate-active enzyme and sulfatase sequences. Recovery of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from previously described Kyphosus gut metagenomes and newly sequenced bioreactor enrichments reveals differences in enzymatic capabilities between the major microbial taxa in Kyphosus guts. The most versatile of the recovered MAGs were from the Bacteroidota phylum, whose MAGs house enzyme collections able to decompose a variety of algal polysaccharides. Unique enzymes and predicted degradative capacities of genomes from the Bacillota (genus Vallitalea) and Verrucomicrobiota (order Kiritimatiellales) highlight the importance of metabolic contributions from multiple phyla to broaden polysaccharide degradation capabilities. Few genomes contain the required enzymes to fully degrade any complex sulfated algal polysaccharide alone. The distribution of suitable enzymes between MAGs originating from different taxa, along with the widespread detection of signal peptides in candidate enzymes, is consistent with cooperative extracellular degradation of these carbohydrates. This study leverages genomic evidence to reveal an untapped diversity at the enzyme and strain level among Kyphosus symbionts and their contributions to macroalgae decomposition. Bioreactor enrichments provide a genomic foundation for degradative and fermentative processes central to translating the knowledge gained from this system to the aquaculture and bioenergy sectors.IMPORTANCESeaweed has long been considered a promising source of sustainable biomass for bioenergy and aquaculture feed, but scalable industrial methods for decomposing terrestrial compounds can struggle to break down seaweed polysaccharides efficiently due to their unique sulfated structures. Fish of the genus Kyphosus feed on seaweed by leveraging gastrointestinal bacteria to degrade algal polysaccharides into simple sugars. This study reconstructs metagenome-assembled genomes for these gastrointestinal bacteria to enhance our understanding of herbivorous fish digestion and fermentation of algal sugars. Investigations at the gene level identify Kyphosus guts as an untapped source of seaweed-degrading enzymes ripe for further characterization. These discoveries set the stage for future work incorporating marine enzymes and microbial communities in the industrial degradation of algal polysaccharides.

Abstract Oxygen-deficient marine waters referred to as oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) or anoxic marine zones (AMZs) are common oceanographic features. They host both cosmopolitan and endemic microorganisms adapted to low oxygen conditions. Microbial metabolic interactions within OMZs and AMZs drive coupled biogeochemical cycles resulting in nitrogen loss and climate active trace gas production and consumption. Global warming is causing oxygen-deficient waters to expand and intensify. Therefore, studies focused on microbial communities inhabiting oxygen-deficient regions are necessary to both monitor and model the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystem functions and services. Here we present a compendium of 5,129 single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs) from marine environments encompassing representative OMZ and AMZ geochemical profiles. Of these, 3,570 SAGs have been sequenced to different levels of completion, providing a strain-resolved perspective on the genomic content and potential metabolic interactions within OMZ and AMZ microbiomes. Hierarchical clustering confirmed that samples from similar oxygen concentrations and geographic regions also had analogous taxonomic compositions, providing a coherent framework for comparative community analysis.

Motivation: Proteins involved in liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) and membraneless organelles (MLOs) are recognized to be decisive for many biological processes and also responsible for several diseases. The recent explosion of research in the area still lacks tools for the analysis and data integration among different repositories. Currently, there is not a comprehensive and dedicated database that collects all disease-related variations in combination with the protein location, biological role in the MLO, and all the metadata available for each protein and disease. Disease-related protein variants and additional features are dispersed and the user has to navigate many databases, with a different focus, formats, and often not user friendly. Results: We present DisPhaseDB, a database dedicated to disease-related variants of liquid–liquid phase separation proteins. It integrates 10 databases, contains 5,741 proteins, 1,660,059 variants, and 4,051 disease terms. It also offers intuitive navigation and an informative display. It constitutes a pivotal starting point for further analysis, encouraging the development of new computational tools.The database is freely available at http://disphasedb.leloir.org.ar.

This paper proposes a Simplified Finite-Set Model Predictive Power Controller (MPPC) to improve the performance of the Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG). The MPPC is implemented to regulate the stator active and reactive powers of DFIG, minimizing the error between them and their references, with an optimized null vector selection and a reduced number of active vectors, to decrease the computational burden. This reduction is applied in a two-level converter, reducing the test to 4 or 2 active vectors. Simulations and laboratory experiments were performed, showing results for a 0.56 kW DFIG. Finally, it was verified that the proposed system can maintain the stator powers at a reference.

Gammaproteobacteria of the genus Alteromonas are prominent members of pelagic marine microbial communities, playing critical roles in the aerobic degradation of particulate organic matter. Comparative genomic studies of these microorganisms have mainly focused on the metabolic and genomic plasticity of strains isolated primarily from oxygenated environments. In this study, we show that Alteromonas significantly contribute to marine microbial communities from suboxic waters ([O2] < 5 uM) in both the free-living (FL) and particle-attached (PA) fractions, but considerably decrease in abundance in the anoxic waters. The highest proportion of Alteromonas transcripts was found within the secondary fluorescence maximum (SFM) of Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs). This metatranscriptomic information suggests an in situ coupling of Alteromonas iron (Fe) and carbon metabolisms, and a relevant role of the glyoxylate cycle across the different layers of the OMZs. This study demonstrates that Alteromonas is an abundant and active member of the OMZ microbial communities, with a potentially significant impact on the carbon cycling in these ecosystems. These results provide valuable environmental evidence to support previous culture-based studies assessing the physiology and ecology of these ubiquitous marine heterotrophs under low-oxygen conditions.

In recent years, attention has been devoted to proteins forming immiscible liquid phases within the liquid intracellular medium, commonly referred to as membraneless organelles (MLO). These organelles enable the spatiotemporal associations of cellular components that exchange dynamically with the cellular milieu.The dysregulation of these liquid–liquid phase separation processes (LLPS) may cause various diseases including neurodegenerative pathologies and cancer, among others.Until very recently, databases containing information on proteins forming MLOs, as well as tools and resources facilitating their analysis, were missing. This has recently changed with the publication of 4 databases that focus on different types of experiments, sets of proteins, inclusion criteria, and levels of annotation or curation.In this study we integrate and analyze the information across these databases, complement their records, and produce a consolidated set of proteins that enables the investigation of the LLPS phenomenon. To gain insight into the features that characterize different types of MLOs and the roles of their associated proteins, they were grouped into categories: High Confidence MLO associated (including Drivers and reviewed proteins), Potential Clients and Regulators, according to their annotated functions. We show that none of the databases taken alone covers the data sufficiently to enable meaningful analysis, validating our integration effort as essential for gaining better understanding of phase separation and laying the foundations for the discovery of new proteins potentially involved in this important cellular process.Lastly, we developed a server, enabling customized selections of different sets of proteins based on MLO location, database, disorder content, among other attributes (https://mlos.leloir.org.ar).

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis which has become prevalent due to the emergence of resistant M. tuberculosis strains. The use of essential oils (EOs) as potential anti-infective agents to treat microbial infections, including TB, offers promise due to their long historical use and low adverse effects. The current study aimed to investigate the in vitro anti-TB activity of 85 commercial EOs, and identify compounds responsible for the activity, using a biochemometrics approach. A microdilution assay was used to determine the antimycobacterial activity of the EOs towards some non-pathogenic Mycobacterium strains. In parallel, an Alamar blue assay was used to investigate antimycobacterial activity towards the pathogenic M. tuberculosis strain. Chemical profiling of the EOs was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Biochemometrics filtered out putative biomarkers using orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In silico modeling was performed to identify potential therapeutic targets of the active biomarkers. Broad-spectrum antimycobacterial activity was observed for Cinnamomum zeylanicum (bark) (MICs = 1.00, 0.50, 0.25 and 0.008 mg/mL) and Levisticum officinale (MICs = 0.50, 0.5, 0.5 and 0.004 mg/mL) towards M. smegmatis, M. fortuitum, M. gordonae and M. tuberculosis, respectively. Biochemometrics predicted cinnamaldehyde, thymol and eugenol as putative biomarkers. Molecular docking demonstrated that cinnamaldehyde could serve as a scaffold for developing a novel class of antimicrobial compounds by targeting FtsZ and PknB from M. tuberculosis.

Culinary herbs and spices are known to be good sources of natural antioxidants. Although the antioxidant effects of individual culinary herbs and spices are widely reported, little is known about their effects when used in combination. The current study was therefore undertaken to compare the antioxidant effects of crude extracts and essential oils of some common culinary herbs and spices in various combinations. The antioxidant interactions of 1:1 combinations of the most active individual extracts and essential oils were investigated as well as the optimization of various ratios using the design of experiments (DoE) approach. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were used to determine the antioxidant activity, and MODDE 9.1® software (Umetrics AB, Umea, Sweden) was used to determine the DoE. The results revealed synergism for the following combinations: Mentha piperita with Thymus vulgaris methanol extract (ΣFIC = 0.32 and ΣFIC = 0.15 using the DPPH and FRAP assays, respectively); Rosmarinus officinalis with Syzygium aromaticum methanol extract (ΣFIC = 0.47 using the FRAP assay); T. vulgaris with Zingiber officinalis methanol extracts (ΣFIC = 0.19 using the ABTS assay); and R. officinalis with Z. officinalis dichloromethane extract (ΣFIC = 0.22 using the ABTS assay). The DoE produced a statistically significant (R2 = 0.905 and Q2 = 0.710) model that was able to predict extract combinations with high antioxidant activities, as validated experimentally. The antioxidant activities of the crude extracts from a selection of culinary herbs and spices were improved when in combination, hence creating an innovative opportunity for the future development of supplements for optimum health.

Erythropoiesis is the most robust cellular differentiation and proliferation system, with a production of ∼2 × 1011 cells per day. In this fine-tuned process, the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) generate erythroid progenitors, which proliferate and mature into erythrocytes. During erythropoiesis, mitochondria are reprogrammed to drive the differentiation process before finally being eliminated by mitophagy. In erythropoiesis, mitochondrial dynamics (MtDy) are expected to be a key regulatory point that has not been described previously. We described that a specific MtDy pattern occurs in human erythropoiesis from EPO-induced human CD34+ cells, characterized predominantly by mitochondrial fusion at early stages followed by fission at late stages. The fusion protein MFN1 and the fission protein FIS1 are shown to play a key role in the progression of erythropoiesis. Fragmentation of the mitochondrial web by the overexpression of FIS1 (gain of fission) resulted in both the inhibition of hemoglobin biosynthesis and the arrest of erythroid differentiation, keeping cells in immature differentiation stages. These cells showed specific mitochondrial features as compared with control cells, such as an increase in round and large mitochondrial morphology, low mitochondrial membrane potential, a drop in the expression of the respiratory complexes II and IV and increased ROS. Interestingly, treatment with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) inhibitor, cyclosporin A, rescued mitochondrial morphology, hemoglobin biosynthesis and erythropoiesis. Studies presented in this work reveal MtDy as a hot spot in the control of erythroid differentiation, which might signal downstream for metabolic reprogramming through regulation of the mPTP.

Surgical procedures to treat anterior shoulder instability are basically split into 2 groups: those for patients with important bone loss and those for patients with no bone loss. However, there is a gray zone between these procedures in which a bone graft would not be needed but bone grafting would result in a desirable improvement in stabilizing mechanisms. We describe a technique based on the triple soft-tissue block, Bankart reconstruction, and long head of the biceps tenodesis at the anterior glenoid rim. The long head of the biceps would add an anterior restrictor by itself, as well as by tensioning the inferior part of the subscapularis.

Liking is one of the most important psychological processes associated with the reward system, being involved in affective processing and pleasure/displeasure encoding. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the combination of physiological indicators which best predict liking, especially when applied to dynamic stimuli such as videos. There is a lack of a standard methodology to assess likeability over time and therefore in assessing narrative and semantic aspects of the stimulus. We developed a time-dependent method to evaluate the physiological correlates of likeability for three different thematic categories, namely: adventure (AV), comedy (CM), and nature landscape (LS). Twenty-eight healthy adults with ages ranging from 18 to 35 years (average: 23.85 years) were enrolled in the study. The participants were asked to provide likeability ratings for videos as they watched them, using a response box. Three 60-s videos were presented, one for each category, in randomized order while the participant’s physiological data [electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and eye tracking (ET)] was recorded. The comedy video (CM) presented the smallest minimum accumulated normalized rating (ANR; p = 0.013) and the LS video presented the highest maximum ANR (p = 0.039). The LS video presented the longest time for first response (p < 0.001) and the AV video presented the shortest time for maximum response (p = 0.016). The LS video had the highest mean likeability rating with 1.43 ± 2.31 points; and the CM video had the lowest with 0.57 ± 1.77. Multiple linear regression models were created to predict the likeability of each video using the following physiological indicators; AV: power in beta band at C4 and P4 (p = 0.004, adj. R2 = 0.301); CM: alpha power in Fp2 (p = 0.001, adj. R2 = 0.326) and LS: alpha power in P4, F8, and Fp2; beta power in C4 and P4 and pupil size, (p = 0.002, adj. R2 = 0.489). Despite its limitations (e.g., using one 1-min video per category) our findings suggest that there is a considerable difference in the psychophysiological correlates of stimuli with different contextual properties and that the use of time-dependent methods to assess videos should be considered as best practices.

Terminalia sericea is used throughout Africa for the treatment of a variety of conditions and has been identified as a potential commercial plant. The study was aimed at establishing a high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) chemical fingerprint for T. sericea root bark as a reference for quality control and exploring chemical variation within the species using HPTLC metabo3lomics. Forty-two root bark samples were collected from ten populations in South Africa and extracted with dichloromethane: methanol (1:1). An HPTLC method was optimized to resolve the major compounds from other sample components. Dichloromethane: ethyl acetate: methanol: formic acid (90:10:30:1) was used as the developing solvent and the plates were visualized using 10% sulfuric acid in methanol as derivatizing agent. The concentrations of three major bioactive compounds, sericic acid, sericoside and resveratrol-3-O-β-rutinoside, in the extracts were determined using a validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array (UPLC-PDA) detection method. The rTLC software (written in the R-programming language) was used to select the most informative retardation factor (Rf) ranges from the images of the analysed sample extracts. Further chemometric models, including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), were constructed using the web-based high throughput metabolomic software. The rTLC chemometric models were compared with the models previously obtained from ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). A characteristic fingerprint containing clear bands for the three bioactive compounds was established. All three bioactive compounds were present in all the samples, although their corresponding band intensities varied. The intensities correlated with the UPLC-PDA results, in that samples containing a high concentration of a particular compound, displayed a more intense band. Chemometric analysis using HCA revealed two chemotypes, and the subsequent construction of a loadings plot indicated that sericic acid and sericoside were responsible for the chemotypic variation; with sericoside concentrated in Chemotype 1, while sericic acid was more abundant in Chemotype 2. A characteristic chemical fingerprint with clearly distinguishable features was established for T. sericea root bark that can be used for species authentication, and to select samples with high concentrations of a particular marker compound(s). Different chemotypes, potentially differing in their therapeutic potency towards a particular target, could be distinguished. The models revealed the three analytes as biomarkers, corresponding to results reported for UPLC-MS profiling and thereby indicating that HPTLC is a suitable technique for the quality control of T. sericea root bark.

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence of eye symptoms in a non-presbyopic population of video display unit (VDU) users with flat-panel displays. METHODS: One hundred and sixteen VDU users with flat-panel display from an urban population participated in the study; their ages ranging from 20 to 34y. There were 60 females and 56 males. An eye examination to rule out the presence of significant uncorrected refractive errors, general binocular dysfunctions and eye conditions was carried out. In order to determine and quantify the type and nature of eye symptoms, participants were asked to answer written questionnaire and the results were grouped by gender, age and number of hours a day spent using a VDU. RESULTS: Seventy-two percent of participants reported eye symptoms related to VDU use. Eye symptoms from moderate-to-severe were found in 23% of participants. The main symptom was moderate-to-severe tired eyes (14%); followed by sensitivity to bright lights (12%), blurred vision at far distances (10%), eyestrain or dry eye or irritated or burning eyes (9%), difficulty in refocusing from one distance to another or headache (8%) and blurred vision at near or intermediate distances (

Hypersaline environments represent some of the most challenging settings for life on Earth. Extremely halophilic microorganisms have been selected to colonize and thrive in these extreme environments by virtue of a broad spectrum of adaptations to counter high salinity and osmotic stress. Although there is substantial data on microbial taxonomic diversity in these challenging ecosystems and their primary osmoadaptation mechanisms, less is known about how hypersaline environments shape the genomes of microbial inhabitants at the functional level. In this study, we analyzed the microbial communities in five ponds along the discontinuous salinity gradient from brackish to salt-saturated environments and sequenced the metagenome of the salt (halite) precipitation pond in the artisanal Cáhuil Solar Saltern system. We combined field measurements with spectrophotometric pigment analysis and flow cytometry to characterize the microbial ecology of the pond ecosystems, including primary producers and applied metagenomic sequencing for analysis of archaeal and bacterial taxonomic diversity of the salt crystallizer harvest pond. Comparative metagenomic analysis of the Cáhuil salt crystallizer pond against microbial communities from other salt-saturated aquatic environments revealed a dominance of the archaeal genus Halorubrum and showed an unexpectedly low abundance of Haloquadratum in the Cáhuil system. Functional comparison of 26 hypersaline microbial metagenomes revealed a high proportion of sequences associated with nucleotide excision repair, helicases, replication and restriction-methylation systems in all of them. Moreover, we found distinctive functional signatures between the microbial communities from salt-saturated (>30% [w/v] total salinity) compared to sub-saturated hypersaline environments mainly due to a higher representation of sequences related to replication, recombination and DNA repair in the former. The current study expands our understanding of the diversity and distribution of halophilic microbial populations inhabiting salt-saturated habitats and the functional attributes that sustain them.

Este estudo verificou o efeito de diferentes níveis de controle autonômico cardiovascular, medido por meio da potência de alta freqüência (HF) da Variabilidade da Freqüência Cardíaca (VFC), sobre a resposta de recuperação da FC pós-exercício máximo, de indivíduos com mesma condição aeróbica. Para tanto, dois grupos de indivíduos do sexo masculino, sendo um com elevada VFC (GEV; HF = 60,8 ± 7,1 u.n.; VO2max = 48,0 ± 5,7ml.Kg-1.min-1 ) e outro, com baixaVFC (GBV;HF = 35,2 + 9,2 u.n.; VO2max = 49,9 ± 5,6 ml.Kg-1.min-1), foram submetidos a duas avaliações. Em uma delas, foi medida a VFC em repouso, obtida pela análise espectral dos intervalos R-R da FC. Em outra oportunidade, foi feita a medida direta do VO2max em esteira, seguida da determinação da resposta da recuperação da FC (FCRec), durante um minuto. Essa medida foi realizada com os sujeitos deitados em uma maca, na posição supina, imediatamente após o final do teste máximo. Foi realizado o registro contínuo dos intervalos R-R no período de recuperação, sendo considerados, para análise, os valores obtidos a cada 15s. As avaliações foram realizadas segundo uma ordem aleatória, com um intervalo de 48 h entre elas.Os grupos foramsemelhantes quanto aoVO2max (p>0,05) e estatisticamente diferentes quanto à HF (p

Soybean stem necrosis is caused by Cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) and it has been recognized as an emerging and economically important disease in Brazil. No resistant, but only tolerant cultivars have been identified so far, and their genetic control is still unknown. To investigate the inheritance of soybean tolerance to CPMMV, two crosses between tolerant cultivars (BRS 133 x BRSMT Pintado), and between a susceptible (CD 206) and a tolerant cultivar (BRSMT Pintado) were carried out to obtain F2 and F2:3 generations. Quantitative and qualitative analyses applied to the data from greenhouse evaluations showed that there are at least two distinct major genes determining tolerance to CPMMV, one in the soybean cultivar BRS 133 and another in the cultivar BRSMT Pintado, with predominance of additive genetic effects and heritability levels that allow for efficient selection based on early generation means

Echinacea species are popularly included in various formulations to treat upper respiratory tract infections. These products are of commercial importance, with a collective sales figure of $132 million in 2009. Due to their close taxonomic alliance it is difficult to distinguish between the three Echinacea species and incidences of incorrectly labeled commercial products have been reported. The potential of hyperspectral imaging as a rapid quality control method for raw material and products containing Echinacea species was investigated. Hyperspectral images of root and leaf material of authentic Echinacea species (E. angustifolia, E. pallida and E. purpurea) were acquired using a sisuChema shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral pushbroom imaging system with a spectral range of 920–2514 nm. Principal component analysis (PCA) plots showed a clear distinction between the root and leaf samples of the three Echinacea species and further differentiated the roots of different species. A classification model with a high coefficient of determination was constructed to predict the identity of the species included in commercial products. The majority of products (12 out of 20) were convincingly predicted as containing E. purpurea, E. angustifolia or both. The use of ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) in the differentiation of the species presented a challenge due to chemical similarities between the solvent extracts. The results show that hyperspectral imaging is an objective and non-destructive quality control method for authenticating raw material.

Examinamos indicadores de Funcionamiento Diferencial de Ítemes (FDI) asociados a cuatro variables que han demostrado de manera repetida ser factores de riesgo para el logro escolar. Estos factores son el sobre-edad para el grado de matriculación, área de residencia urbana/rural, etnia y género. Para este estudio utilizamos los datos de las evaluaciones nacionales del tercer grado. Dado que en la literatura se reporta con frecuencia que los indicadores de FDI son inestables, utilizamos tres diferentes métodos para estimarlo (chi-cuadrado, Rasch, regresión logística) y evaluamos su consistencia en datos de tres diferentes años de evaluaciones. Encontramos evidencia de FDI. Sin embargo, la eliminación de ítemes con FDI no cambió las diferencias entre grupos que se encontraron en las puntuaciones de las evaluaciones. Los hallazgos sugieren que los factores de riesgo educativo actúan de manera conjunta en esta población guatemalteca y que hay alguna interacción entre estos factores de riesgo para generar sesgo. Concluimos que será de beneficio tomar en cuenta múltiples variables de contexto asociadas al riesgo educativo de forma simultanea al analizar FDI y al desarrollar evaluaciones.

Critical to the design and assessment of interventions for enteropathy and its developmental consequences in children living in impoverished conditions are non-invasive biomarkers that can detect intestinal damage and predict its effects on growth and development. We therefore assessed fecal, urinary and systemic biomarkers of enteropathy and growth predictors in 375 6-26 month-old children with varying degrees of malnutrition (stunting or wasting) in Northeast Brazil. 301 of these children returned for followup anthropometry after 2-6m. Biomarkers that correlated with stunting included plasma IgA anti-LPS and anti-FliC, zonulin (if >12m old), and intestinal FABP (I-FABP, suggesting prior barrier disruption); and with citrulline, tryptophan and with lower serum amyloid A (SAA) (suggesting impaired defenses). In contrast, subsequent growth was predicted in those with higher fecal MPO or A1AT and also by higher L/M, plasma LPS, I-FABP and SAA (showing intestinal barrier disruption and inflammation). Better growth was predicted in girls with higher plasma citrulline and in boys with higher plasma tryptophan. Interactions were also seen with fecal MPO and neopterin in predicting subsequent growth impairment. Biomarkers clustered into markers of 1) functional intestinal barrier disruption and translocation, 2) structural intestinal barrier disruption and inflammation and 3) systemic inflammation. Principle components pathway analyses also showed that L/M with %L, I-FABP and MPO associate with impaired growth, while also (like MPO) associating with a systemic inflammation cluster of kynurenine, LBP, sCD14, SAA and K/T. Systemic evidence of LPS translocation associated with stunting, while markers of barrier disruption or repair (A1AT and Reg1 with low zonulin) associated with fecal MPO and neopterin. We conclude that key noninvasive biomarkers of intestinal barrier disruption, LPS translocation and of intestinal and systemic inflammation can help elucidate how we recognize, understand, and assess effective interventions for enteropathy and its growth and developmental consequences in children in impoverished settings.

Eugenol is a major volatile constituent of clove essential oil obtained through hydrodistillation of mainly Eugenia caryophyllata (=Syzygium aromaticum) buds and leaves. It is a remarkably versatile molecule incorporated as a functional ingredient in numerous products and has found application in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, fragrance, flavour, cosmetic and various other industries. Its vast range of pharmacological activities has been well-researched and includes antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-oxidant and anticancer activities, amongst others. In addition, it is widely used in agricultural applications to protect foods from micro-organisms during storage, which might have an effect on human health, and as a pesticide and fumigant. As a functional ingredient, it is included in many dental preparations and it has also been shown to enhance skin permeation of various drugs. Eugenol is considered safe as a food additive but due to the wide range of different applications, extensive use and availability of clove oil, it is pertinent to discuss the general toxicity with special reference to contact dermatitis. This review summarises the pharmacological, agricultural and other applications of eugenol with specific emphasis on mechanism of action as well as toxicity data.

Marine herbivorous fish that feed primarily on macroalgae, such as those from the genus Kyphosus, are essential for maintaining coral health and abundance on tropical reefs. Here, deep metagenomic sequencing and assembly of gut compartment-specific samples from three sympatric, macroalgivorous Hawaiian kyphosid species have been used to connect host gut microbial taxa with predicted protein functional capacities likely to contribute to efficient macroalgal digestion. Bacterial community compositions, algal dietary sources, and predicted enzyme functionalities were analyzed in parallel for 16 metagenomes spanning the mid- and hindgut digestive regions of wild-caught fishes. Gene colocalization patterns of expanded carbohydrate (CAZy) and sulfatase (SulfAtlas) digestive enzyme families on assembled contigs were used to identify likely polysaccharide utilization locus associations and to visualize potential cooperative networks of extracellularly exported proteins targeting complex sulfated polysaccharides. These insights into the gut microbiota of herbivorous marine fish and their functional capabilities improve our understanding of the enzymes and microorganisms involved in digesting complex macroalgal sulfated polysaccharides. IMPORTANCE This work connects specific uncultured bacterial taxa with distinct polysaccharide digestion capabilities lacking in their marine vertebrate hosts, providing fresh insights into poorly understood processes for deconstructing complex sulfated polysaccharides and potential evolutionary mechanisms for microbial acquisition of expanded macroalgal utilization gene functions. Several thousand new marine-specific candidate enzyme sequences for polysaccharide utilization have been identified. These data provide foundational resources for future investigations into suppression of coral reef macroalgal overgrowth, fish host physiology, the use of macroalgal feedstocks in terrestrial and aquaculture animal feeds, and the bioconversion of macroalgae biomass into value-added commercial fuel and chemical products.

Drug dosage forms contain many components in addition to the active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) to assist in the manufacturing process as well as to optimise drug delivery. Due to advances in drug delivery technology, excipients are currently included in novel dosage forms to fulfil specific functions and in some cases they directly or indirectly influence the extent and/or rate of drug release and absorption. Since plant polysaccharides comply with many requirements expected of pharmaceutical excipients such as non-toxicity, stability, availability and renewability they are extensively investigated for use in the development of solid oral dosage forms. Furthermore, polysaccharides with varying physicochemical properties can be extracted from plants at relatively low cost and can be chemically modified to suit specific needs. As an example, many polysaccharide-rich plant materials are successfully used as matrix formers in modified release dosage forms. Some natural polysaccharides have even shown environmental-responsive gelation characteristics with the potential to control drug release according to specific therapeutic needs. This review discusses some of the most important plant-derived polymeric compounds that are used or investigated as excipients in drug delivery systems.

OBJECTIVE: Compare two different techniques for laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LDN), related to the operative costs and learning curve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between April/2000 and October/2003, 61 patients were submitted to LDN in 2 different reference centers in kidney transplantation. At center A (CA), 11 patients were operated by a pure transperitoneal approach, using Hem-O-LokÒ clips for the renal pedicle control and the specimens were retrieved manually, without using endobags. At center B (CB), 50 patients were also operated by a pure transperitoneal approach, but the renal pedicles were controlled with endo-GIA appliers and the specimens were retrieved using endobags. RESULTS: Operative time (231 ± 39 min vs. 179 ± 30 min; p < 0.000), warm ischemia time (5.85 ± 2.85 min vs. 3.84 ± 3.84 min; p = 0.002) and blood loss (214 ± 98 mL vs. 141 ± 82 mL; p = 0.02) were statistically better in CB, when compared to CA. Discharge time was similar in both centers. One major complication was observed in both centers, leading to an open conversion in CA (9.1%). One donor death occurred in CB (2%). Regarding the recipients, no statistical difference was observed in all parameters analyzed. There was an economy of US$1.440 in each procedure performed in CA, when compared to CB. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the learning curve, the technique adopted by CA, showed no deleterious results to the donors and recipients when compared with the CB. On the other hand, this technique was cheaper than the technique performed in the CB, representing an attractive alternative for LDN, mainly in developing centers.

PF is a serious cutaneous purpuric disease, associated with an intravascular disseminated coagulation syndrome. Among its known causes, besides those of thrombophilia, are viral and bacterial infections, mostly Neisseria meningitidis. During pregnancy there are alterations in the hemostatic mechanism. However, by themselves, they have not been shown to lead to PF. The case of a 22-year-old woman who developed PF during pregnancy, presumably due to her Escherichia coli urinary tract infection, is presented including clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and surgical aspects. She recovered but suffered amputation of the distant phalanges of three toes in the left foot La púrpura fulminans (pf) es una enfermedad cutánea purpúrica aguda asociada a un síndrome de coagulación intravascular diseminada (CID). Sus causas conocidas incluyen infecciones virales y bacterianas así como trombofilias. Es sabido que durante el embarazo existen alteraciones en los mecanismos hemostáticos, sin embargo, no se ha demostrado que estos fenómenos por sí solos ayuden al desarrollo de la PF. Se describe el caso de una mujer de 22 años, quien tuvo PF en circunstancias inusuales tales como el desarrollo de su cuadro durante el embarazo y el origen probable en una infección por E. coli. Se presentan los hallazgos clínicos, las intervenciones médicas y quirúrgicas y el desenlace. La paciente sobrevivió, pero hubo necesidad de amputarle las falanges distales de tres artejos del pie izquierdo.

Oxygen-deficient marine waters referred to as oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) or anoxic marine zones (AMZs) are common oceanographic features. They host both cosmopolitan and endemic microorganisms adapted to low oxygen conditions. Microbial metabolic interactions within OMZs and AMZs drive coupled biogeochemical cycles resulting in nitrogen loss and climate active trace gas production and consumption. Global warming is causing oxygen-deficient waters to expand and intensify. Therefore, studies focused on microbial communities inhabiting oxygen-deficient regions are necessary to both monitor and model the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystem functions and services. Here we present a compendium of 5,129 single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs) from marine environments encompassing representative OMZ and AMZ geochemical profiles. Of these, 3,570 SAGs have been sequenced to different levels of completion, providing a strain-resolved perspective on the genomic content and potential metabolic interactions within OMZ and AMZ microbiomes. Hierarchical clustering confirmed that samples from similar oxygen concentrations and geographic regions also had analogous taxonomic compositions, providing a coherent framework for comparative community analysis.

Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis es el agente etiológico de la Paracoccidioidomicosis (PCM), una de las micosis sistémicas mas importantes en Latinoamérica. Dos genes hsp70 (Clones 2.2 y 1DB5) fueron clonados, caracterizados y secuenciados. El análisis de secuencia mostró que los clones 2.2 y 1DB5 poseen una alta homología con la familia de genes de choque térmico hsp70. Mediante la utilización de fragmentos de ADN provenientes de ambos clones, se determinó la expresión por Northern blot durante la fase de transición a levadura. Nosotros encontramos los niveles mas altos de transcriptos ocurre entre los 30 min y 6 h después de cambiar la temperatura a 37°C. Entre las 36 y 48 h, se reducen los niveles de ARNm. Sin embargo, los niveles de ARNm aumentan a las 72 h hasta alcanzar la fase de levadura. Como resultado del aumento de la temperatura durante la fase de transición micelio a levadura, se incrementa la expresión de genes hsp70 sugiriendo que las proteínas de choque térmico tienen un papel durante el proceso de diferenciación.

Summary: There have been several cases of microvascular repair of traumatically avulsed or amputated ears in the literature. It seems that, if possible at the time of operation, microsurgical techniques yield the best results. However, because of the nature, complexity, and acuity of traumatic injuries, this option is not always feasible. Although the possibility of microsurgical repair exists, the small size of these vessels is often prohibitive, even for a skilled microsurgeon. Here, we present the case of a 4-year-old boy with almost complete amputation of the left ear attached by an inferior narrow skin pedicle after a dog bite. He was treated with primary repair and postoperative hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with good results. This case is another example that even a narrow skin pedicle can contain artery and vein that can supply a large segment of the auricle, making primary repair feasible because of the vascular anatomy and communicating helical arcade. Also, this case demonstrates the successful use of HBOT with a pediatric patient as an adjuvant postoperative therapy.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, has cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids that are essential for bacterial fitness, are antigenic, and could be important in mediating interactions with cells of the eukaryotic host. We show that the spirochetes can acquire cholesterol from plasma membranes of epithelial cells. In addition, through fluorescent and confocal microscopy combined with biochemical approaches, we demonstrated that B. burgdorferi labeled with the fluorescent cholesterol analog BODIPY-cholesterol or (3)H-labeled cholesterol transfer both cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids to HeLa cells. The transfer occurs through two different mechanisms, by direct contact between the bacteria and eukaryotic cell and/or through release of outer membrane vesicles. Thus, two-way lipid exchange between spirochetes and host cells can occur. This lipid exchange could be an important process that contributes to the pathogenesis of Lyme disease.

A hitherto unidentified medicinal plant is here identified for the first time as Pteronia camphorata (L.) L., an aromatic shrub of the Asteraceae family endemic to the western and southern coastal region of South Africa. The plant was described in this journal by Laidler1 in 1928 as ‘D/nhora buchu’, and is one of the important types of buchu used by the Nama people. We report the traditional medicinal uses among San and Nama people, based on our interviews with rural participants. These include the treatment of colds, influenza, chest ailments and tuberculosis, as well as convulsions, haemorrhoids and inflammation of the neck. The major and minor chemical compounds of the essential oil that is produced by the plant are identified, together with the site of accumulation of this volatile oil within the leaf. We also investigated the plant’s antimicrobial activity against a selection of a yeast and two Gram-negative and one Gram-positive bacteria, all of which are associated with respiratory infections. P. camphorata is scientifically poorly known but is an important San and Nama traditional remedy. Our study not only prevents the potential loss of historically important indigenous knowledge, but also provides the first scientific evidence to validate the traditional use of ǀnhora against upper and lower respiratory tract infections, including tuberculosis. This detailed study has wider application in demonstrating the fragility of the oral–traditional knowledge of a scientifically neglected indigenous group. It also highlights the scientific and practical importance of preserving traditional plant-use knowledge within a botanically diverse region. Significance: • Reveals the botanical identity of ǀnhora, an important Nama medicinal plant. • Presents scientific evidence to validate the traditional uses. • Contributes to the cultural heritage of a scientifically neglected indigenous group. • Demonstrates the fragility of oral–traditional knowledge.