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Wolnei Caumo,1–4 Luciana C Antunes,1 Jéssica Lorenzzi Elkfury,1 Evelyn G Herbstrith,5 Raquel Busanello Sipmann,6 Andressa Souza,7 Iraci LS Torres,1,8 Vinicius Souza dos Santos,1 Randy Neblett9 1Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, 2Pain and Palliative Care Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, 3Laboratory of Pain and Neuromodulation, 4Surgery Department, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, 5School of Psychology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, 6School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 7Postgraduate Program in Health and Human Development, La Salle University Center, Canoas, 8Pharmacology Department, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; 9PRIDE Research Foundation, Dallas, TX, USA Objectives: The primary aim was to assess the psychometric properties (including internal consistency, construct validity, reproducibility, and factor structure) of the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), adapted and validated for a Brazilian population (CSI-BP). Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between the CSI-BP and the serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and determined if the symptoms elicited by the CSI-BP discriminate between subjects who do/do not respond to the conditioned pain modulation (CPM) task, as assessed by change in numeric pain scale (0–10) score. Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a pain clinic in a tertiary teaching hospital. A total of 222 adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain and 63 healthy control subjects completed the CSI-BP and the Brazilian Portuguese pain-catastrophizing scale (BP-PCS). A team of experts translated the CSI according to the international guidelines. Test–retest, item analysis, convergent validity, and factor analysis were performed. Later, a random subsample (n=77) was used to correlate the CSI-BP adjusted index with change in numeric pain-scale score during the CPM task and a BDNF blood sample. Results: The CSI-BP presented strong psychometric properties (test–retest reliability 0.91, Cronbach’s a=0.91). Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a four-factor structure, supporting the original English version. The CSI-BP adjusted index showed moderate positive correlation with the BP-PCS, and classified more than 80% of patients correctly vs healthy controls. Serum BDNF levels explained 27% of the variation in the CSI-BP adjusted index. Subjects with impairment in the descending modulatory system had higher CSI-BP adjusted index scores than subjects who responded normally to the CPM task: 49.35 (12.1) vs 39.5 (12.33), respectively (P

Biosurfactants are natural surfactants produced by bacteria, yeasts or fungi from different substrates, including sugars, oils, and alkanes. Biosurfactants are expected to reach more than USD 2 billion by 2020, with industrial applications in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), removal of contamination by heavy metals, bioremediation, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine. The considerable interest in these biobased products is related to their properties, as biodegradability, production from renewable substrates, low toxicity and biocompatibility, diversity for chemical structure and properties, effectiveness even at extreme conditions of temperature, pH and salinity. Despite the advantages, fermentation must be cost-competitive with chemical synthesis, and many of the potential applications that have been considered for biosurfactants depend on whether they can be produced economically. Fermentation medium can represent approximately 30 % of the cost for a microbial fermentation. In this work we used a medium formulated with distilled water supplemented with 5 % (v/v) corn steep liquor, 5 % (v/v) molasses and 5 % (v/v) soybean waste frying oil as substrates to produce a biosurfactant from Candida bombicola, at 28 °C during 120 h under 200 rpm was first produced in 3.0 L bioreactor. The properties of the biosurfactant, toxicity and environmental application were determined. The isolated biosurfactant showed a yield of 61 g/L. The biosurfactant with a critical micelle concentration of 0.5 % and demonstrated low toxicity to the vegetables. The biosurfactant demonstrated stability with regard to emulsification and surface tension reduction in a range of temperatures (4 to 120 °C) and pH values (2 to 12) as well as tolerance to high concentrations of NaCl (2 to 10 %). The cell-free broth was also effective in oil displacement (90 %) in water. The results obtained with the biosurfactant produced show the promising properties of this biomolecule for use in bioremediation of hydrophobic compounds.

Biofilms can be characterized as a microorganisms community attached to a surface and enveloped by an extra polymeric substances complex array in a moist environment. It is known that the growth and formation way of the biofilm structure induces resistance to several microbial agents, making it impossible to disintegrate and eliminate these structures. These biofilms can settle in the vessels surface, pipes, thermoelectric cooling systems and so forth causing serious economic problems in the most diverse strategic sectors of a country such as nautical, industrial, energy. Search for substances capable of disturbing this formation is desired, since the formation of the biofilm is the crucial stage for the emergence of new organisms that will develop until the climax of the ecological succession with the arrival of macrofouling. These substances when isolated can be ideal inputs for the development of antifouling products and be incorporated into paints and coatings. Thus, the present study aim was synthesize antibacterial substances through chemical modification of natural substances, obtained from vegetable oils, specifically soybean oil (Glycine max (L.)). Selected substances and their variants for the synthesis were chosen based on/supported by studies that demonstrated the antifouling potential of some types of fatty acids and the efficacy of monoglycerides in combating the formation of biofilms. The following substances were synthesized: 9,10-dihydroxy octadecanoic acid; 9,10-dihydroxy octadecanoate; 9- octadecenoate 2,3-dihydroxypropanoyl; 2,3-dihydroxypropanoyl dodecanoate and 9,10-dihydroxy octadecanoate 2,3-dihydroxypropanoyl. For the synthesis of the substances, neutralization reactions using a catalyst base as well as esterification reactions with a polyalcohol (glycerol) and/or hydroxylation reactions by epoxidation were performed. To assess the antimicrobial activity, a rapid antibiogram assay was developed to observe the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa UCP0992 growth obtained from the Cultures Collection of Catholic University of Pernambuco – UNICAP, Brazil. The microorganism Pseudomonas aeruginosa used in this study is reported as a pioneer in the formation of resistant biofilms. Pseudomonas aeruginosa UCP0992 was seeded in Petri dishes containing medium LB then, antibiogram disks (Ø = 6 mm) each containing the synthesized substances to be tested were transferred to the plates and arranged in equidistant positions. Plates were incubated in an oven at 30 °C and the presence or absence of halos around each disc was verified after 24h, indicating whether or not the inhibition occurred. Any halo produced, regardless of its diameter, was considered as inhibition. All synthesized substances showed inhibition halo indicating potential use for application in the microorganisms inhibition and therefore the biofilm removal.

Contamination by petroleum and its by-products causes serious damage, which has awakened great attention to the development and application of innovative technologies for the removal of these contaminants. In this sense, biosurfactants have been successfully applied in recent years as remediation agents in impacted environments. Biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules with hydrophobic and hydrophilic portions that act between fluids of different polarities (oil/water and water/oil), allowing access to hydrophobic substrates and causing a reduction in surface tension, an increase in the area of contact of hydrocarbons enhancing mobility, bioavailability and biodegradation of such compounds in the environment. This work describes the environmental application of a biosurfactant produced from Candida tropicalis UCP 0996 cultivated in a medium formulated with low-cost substrates. Fermentations were conducted in the medium supplemented with 2.5 % waste frying oil, 2.5 % corn steep liquor and 2.5 % molasses at 28 ºC during 120 h under 200 rpm. The medium surface tension was reduced from 55 mN/m to 30.4 mN/m. A Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of 0.6 % was obtained from the isolated biosurfactant. Biosurfactant application demonstrated an ability to disperse 70.95 % of motor oil on seawater surface at 5xCMC. Stone washing tests showed 46.02 and 56.18% removal at 2xCMC and 5xCMC of biosurfactant concentration, respectively, and testing for oil biodegradation showed results around 73.8 % for motor oil biodegradation by indigenous marine bacteria and fungi from the Suape Petrochemical Complex seawater, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The results obtained with the biosurfactant produced by Candida tropicalis UCP 0996 under the conditions tested above show the promising properties of this biomolecule for use in bioremediation of hydrophobic compounds in marine environment.

The oil industries are mainly responsible for the production of oily waters due to the drilling and extraction of petroleum, generating major environmental disturbances. The use of flotation as a separation process of oily waters has been described, although it has been sometimes criticized due to the toxicity of collectors. The development and use of biodegradable surfactants may enhance the further acceptance of this separation technology. Biosurfactants, molecules produced by microorganisms present as a sustainable and promising technology in increasing flotation efficiency by being biodegradable and non-toxic. It is also observed among the biosurfactants characteristics that promote the destabilization or stabilization of emulsions of the water-oil type, the first being the reason why some species can be used as auxiliaries of the flotation process. Thus, this study investigated the potential application of a biosurfactant in the separation of residual oil using a prototype of DAF. The biosurfactant was produced by Candida guilliermondii UCP 0992 grown in a low-cost medium and formulated with 4.0% of corn steep, 2.5% of molasses and 2.5% of soybean residual oil was carried out in a bioreactor 1.2 L at 28 °C for 144 h under 200 rpm. The operation in the prototype was conducted without addition of the biosurfactant and with addition of the biosurfactant in crude form using a central rotational compound design (DCCR), where the influence of the independent variables of effluent flow and biosurfactant flow on the response efficiency variable of separation. According to the results obtained, it was observed that the use of the biosurfactant increased from 40% to 94% the efficiency of the DAF process. The best result was 92% removal in the condition containing biosurfactant flow rate of 0.52 L/min and the effluent flow rate of 3.80 L/min. It is concluded that the use of biosurfactants as auxiliaries in the flotation is a promising alternative in the reduction of the pollution caused by the oily waters generated in the industrial environment.

The effluent production of oily water type has generated many environmental problems for several industries. The use of flotation as a separation process of oily waters has been described, although it has been sometimes criticized due to the toxicity of collectors. The development and use of biodegradable surfactants may enhance the further acceptance of this separation technology. In this sense, the dissolved air flotation (DAF) process continues to be widely used in industries, both for water and wastewater supplies. The use of collectors is essential to improve the efficiency of the process, due to its specific characteristics that facilitate the adhesion of the particles and, consequently, the separation of the pollutants. These surface-active molecules of biological origin also have several advantages over synthetic surfactants such as higher biodegradability, higher foaming, less toxicity, better environmental compatibility, more tolerant to pH, salt, and temperature variation, and higher selectivity for metals and organic compounds and can be synthesized from renewable feedstocks. The aim of this study was to investigate a water-oil separation by DAF, with and without the addition of biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas cepacia CCT 669 in mineral medium and formulated with 2.0% of corn steep and 3.0% of canola waste frying oil at 28°C for 60 h under 200 rpm. The experiments used to compare the effects of the addition of biosurfactant followed an experimental planning CCRD, where the response variable was the separation efficiency. Results indicated the biosurfactant added a considerable value to the process, increasing from 41.0% to 98.0% the separation efficiency, presenting potential of application as a collector of oily contaminants in the DAF process form.

Oil spills, whether in an aquatic or terrestrial environment, cause the imbalance of ecosystems. It is essential to develop actions and strategies for the remediation of such accidents. Currently, chemical surfactants have been used in oil spills, although the use of these agents is increasingly restricted because of their toxic potential. One solution for the remediation of soils contaminated by oils is the use of biosurfactants, which are biodegradable and nontoxic. In this sense, the biosurfactants produced by Candida sphaerica (UCP0995) and Bacillus cereus using low cost substrates were used with their producer microorganisms in the remediation of motor oil contained in sand and sea water. Sand oil bioremediation experiments were carried out for 70 days, while in sea water the period was 30 days. The results showed that the addition of the biosurfactant increased the degradation of the oil in the sand to 90% during the first 15 days of the process using the biosurfactant produced by C. sphaerica, whereas using the B. cereus 90% oil removal was obtained from 60 days of experiment. With regard to the removal of oil in sea water, it was observed that the time in which the experiments were processed had a direct influence on the results, with removal percentages above 90% after30 days of experiment for both biosurfactants. In this way, the biosurfactants produced, besides being obtained from low cost substrates, demonstrated efficiency in the removal of oils in sand and water, allowing the substitution of chemical treatment agents by environmental friendly agents.

Several synthetic surfactants have been used in heavy metals decontamination tests in soils. However, the need of substitution of synthetic compounds by natural tensoactives has motivated researches for the use of surfactants of microbiological nature, the so-called biosurfactants. The use of biosurfactants in bioremediation processes has stood out due to the characteristics of these compounds as biodegradability, reduced toxicity and efficiency in the removal of heavy metals from soils and waters. Thus, a biosurfactant was produced by the yeast Candida guilliermondii UCP 0992 in medium formulated with distilled water supplemented with 4.0% corn steep liquor, 2.5% sugar cane molasses, and 2.5% residual soybean oil. The biosurfactant was initially characterized as an anionic molecule with capacity to reduce the surface tension of the water from 72.0 to 28.0 mN/m in the concentration of 0.42%, corresponding to its critical micelle concentration (CMC). The anionic biosurfactant showed no toxic effect on plant seeds of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and was able to significantly reduce the electrical conductivity of solutions containing heavy metals, demonstrating the ability to complex metal cations, and then applied the removal of metals contained in soil samples from a battery industry. Solutions of the crude and isolated biosurfactant in different concentrations were tested in the mobilization of Iron, Zinc and lead metals contained in the soil. Solutions of HCl were also tested combined with the biosurfactant. The crude biosurfactant, that is, in its most economical form of application, was able to remove 98.9% of Zn, 89.3% of Fe and 89.1% of Pb. The properties of the biosurfactant as well as the results of the metal removal experiments clearly demonstrate the feasibility of applying this biomolecule as a biotechnological additive to remediation processes that consider the preservation and reduction of environmental impacts on ecosystems, essential aspects for the maintenance of life quality and social well- being.

The present paper investigates TiO2 nanoparticle (TiO2-NP) deposition on cotton fabric through a pulsed electrical current in a water/TiO2-NP solution. The experiments used short voltage pulses with an amplitude around 1200 V, an intermediate value between those used in electrophoretic deposition (tens of V) and plasma discharge in liquids (tens of thousands of V). A sequence of pulse trains with five pulses of 1.0 μs delivered electrical energy to the mixture. The electrodes were kept 28 mm apart. An asymmetry appeared in the current waveform when the medium contained TiO2-NPs. The pieces of cotton fabric were characterized using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrical discharge treatment increased the Ti concentration on the fabric surface by as much as 6% according to XPS analysis. XRD analysis confirmed the XPS results for treated samples, indicating the presence of anatase TiO2. In the FTIR analysis, a shoulder at 800 cm−1 was observed and can be associated with coordination interactions between Ti and the OH groups of glucose. The nanoparticle adhesion was verified by observing the cotton fabric surface through field emission gun scanning electron microscopy after multiple washes. Even after 20 washing cycles, there was a considerable amount of nanoparticles on the sample surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bones, lungs, liver, and brain are the main targets of breast cancer (BC) metastases. Cutaneous metastases of malignancies are uncommon, but BC is the most frequent origin of female cutaneous metastases, which can be the initially affected site. Scalp metastases are exceedingly rare (up to 7% of all skin implants), more often occurring in widespread cases; besides, occult BC have been described in less than 1% of these patients. Diagnosis of scalp metastases from BC is reported in a 75-year-old female with a chronic erythematous plaque and superficial telangiectasias on the left occipital region. Histopathological evaluation of the resected lesion was consistent with metastatic adenocarcinoma positive for estrogen receptor (100% of the cells), and progesterone receptor (60% of the cells), besides positivity for GATA3 and Ki67 in 20% of the cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]