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In 2020, a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 was declared. Different institutes proposed diagnostic molecular methods to detect the virus in clinical samples. This study aims to validate and standardize the use of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-based methodology targeting the viral RP gene, as a faster and low-cost diagnostic method for SARS-CoV-2 infections. The results obtained with RT-LAMP (Reverse Transcriptase) were compared to the results of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to assess its sensitivity and specificity. In total, 115 samples (nasopharyngeal samples) were used for detecting SARS-CoV-2 by RT-LAMP, with 43 positives and 72 negatives. The study showed a positive predictive value (PPV) of 90.7% and a negative predictive value (VPN) of 100%. The LAMP assay also demonstrated a high sensitivity of 90.7% and a specificity of 100% (confidence interval 77.9-97.4%) when using the lower detection limit of 40 copies/µL. The RT-LAMP described here has the potential to detect even the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that it may not be significantly affected by gene mutations. The RT-LAMP targeting the RP viral region is faster and less expensive than other molecular approaches, making it an alternative for developing countries.

The parboilization of rice generates 2 L of effluent per kilogram of processed grain. Several methodologies have previously been tested with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of this effluent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioremediation of parboiled rice effluent supplemented with sucrose or residual glycerol from the biodiesel during the cultivation of the Saccharomyces boulardii probiotic. In the first stage of the experiment, cultures were grown in orbital shaker, and five media compositions were evaluated: 1) parboiled rice effluent; 2) effluent supplemented with 1% sucrose; 3) effluent supplemented with 3% sucrose; 4) effluent supplemented with 15 g.L -1 of biodiesel glycerol and 5) standard yeast culture medium (YM). The addition of 1% of sucrose generated the most promising results in terms of cell viability, removal of nitrogen, phosphorus and chemical oxygen demand (COD). From these results, four independent cultures were grown in a bioreactor using effluent +1% of sucrose as the medium. This assays generated a mean of 3.8 g.L -1 of biomass, 1.8 × 10 11  CFU.L -1 , and removal of 74% of COD and 78% of phosphorus. Therefore, the cultivation of Saccharomyces boulardii in parboiled rice effluent supplemented with 1% sucrose may represent a viable method by which the environmental impact of this effluent can be reduced while simultaneously producing probiotic culture for use in animal production., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In a previous paper we showed that the yeast Pichia pastoris X-33 grown in parboiled rice effluent supplemented with glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel industry improved the quality of the effluent. In this paper we show the validation of this yeast (PPE) as probiotic for broilers. Its effect on feed efficiency and immunomodulation was compared with the same yeast grown in yeast peptone dextrose medium (PPY), with Saccharomyces boulardii (SBY) and with the controls fed unsupplemented feed (CON). One-day-old female chicks were vaccinated against infectious bursal disease (IBD) and the titers of anti-IBD antibodies were measured by ELISA. PPE group had the highest mean titres on days 14 and 28 (p<0,05), and at 28 days, 64% of the animals showed seroconvertion. The PPE group also showed the best weight gains at 42 days of age, that, on days 7, 14 and 21 were 19%, 15%, and 8.7% higher, respectively, than the control group. The best feed conversion, 8.2% higher than the control group, was obtained by PPY at 42 days. Histopathological studies did not detect any undesirable effects in the supplemented animals. We concluded that Pichia pastoris X-33 when grown in effluents of the rice parboiling industry supplemented with glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel has probiotic properties for poultry.

Phosphoinositides (PI) are the most extensively studied lipids involved in cell signaling pathways. The bulk of PI is found in membranes where they are substrates for enzymes, such as kinases, phosphatases and phospholipases, which respond to the activation by cell-surface receptors. The outcome of the majority of signaling pathways involving lipid second messengers results in nuclear responses finally driving the cell into differentiation, proliferation or apoptosis. Some of these pathways are well established, such as that of PI-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), which cleaves phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) into the two second messengers diacylglycerol (DAG) and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). Two independent cycles of PI are present inside the cell. One is localized at the plasma membrane, while the most recently discovered PI cycle is found inside the nuclear compartment. The regulation of the nuclear PI pool is totally independent from the plasma membrane counterpart, suggesting that the nucleus constitutes a functionally distinct compartment of inositol lipids metabolism. In this report we will focus on the signal transduction-related metabolism of nuclear PI and review the most convincing evidence that the PI cycle is involved in differentiation programs in several cell systems.