Biodegradation of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole in secondary effluent by microalgae-bacteria consortium.

Trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) are bacteriostatic agents, which are co-administered to patients during infection treatment due to their synergetic effects. Once consumed, TMP and SMX end up in wastewater and are directed to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which fail to remove these contaminants from municipal wastewater. The discharge of WWTP effluents containing antibiotics in the environment is a major concern for public health as it contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

The role of disease modifying therapies in late-onset multiple sclerosis: A Portuguese multicentric characterization study.

Introduction: Knowledge about the effect of disease modifying treatment (DMT) in late-onset multiple sclerosis (LOMS, onset ≥50 years-old) is scarce. This study aims to evaluate the association between DMT use and multiple sclerosis (MS) evolution in a LOMS cohort.

Methods: This multicentre, retrospective and observational study included LOMS patients with ≥2 years of follow-up.

Removal of acephate and methamidophos from water: Coagulation and adsorptive treatment approaches.

Pesticides has transformed the agricultural industry, primarily by enhancing productivity. However, the indiscriminate use of such compounds can adversely affect human health and disrupt ecosystem balance. Limited knowledge exists regarding the removal of these compounds from water, particularly for organophosphate pesticides when employing conventional treatment technologies.

Spatial analysis of hospital-related mortality due to COVID-19 among children and adolescents in Brazil.

The objective was to perform a spatial analysis of the hospital mortality rate (HMR) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) attributed to COVID-19 among children and adolescents in Brazil from 2020 to 2021. A cluster method was used to group federal units (FUs) based on HMR. In 2020, clusters with high HMRs were formed by north/northeast FUs.

Role of a typical swine liquid manure treatment plant in reducing elements of antibiotic resistance.

Biological treatment of swine liquid manure may be a favorable environment for the enrichment of bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), raising the alert about this public health problem. The present work sought to investigate the performance of a swine wastewater treatment plant (SWWTP), composed of a covered lagoon biodigester (CLB) followed by three facultative ponds, in the removal of usual pollutants, antibiotics, ARGs (blaTEM, ermB, qnrB, sul1, and tetA), and intI1. The SWWTP promoted a 70% of organic matter removal, mainly by the digester unit.

COVID-19 severe acute respiratory syndrome in Brazilian newborns in 2020-2021.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of cases of COVID-19 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Brazilian newborns (NBs) in 2020 and 2021, recorded in the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (Sistema de Informação da Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe - SIVEP-Gripe).

Methods: The variables analyzed were gender, race/skin color, hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, use of ventilatory support, signs and symptoms (fever, cough, O2 saturation<95%, dyspnea, respiratory distress, diarrhea, and vomiting), progress (death or cure), risk factors/comorbidities. Categorical variables were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies.

Hydrothermal pre-treatment followed by anaerobic digestion for the removal of tylosin and antibiotic resistance agents from poultry litter.

Hydrothermal pretreatment (HPT) followed by anaerobic digestion (AD) is an alternative for harvesting energy and removing organic contaminants from sewage sludge and animal manure. This study investigated the use, in an energetically sustainable way, of HPT and AD, alone or combined, to produce methane and remove tylosin and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) from poultry litter (PL). The results showed that HPT at 80 °C (HPT80), followed by single-stage AD (AD-1S), led to the production of 517.

Effect of inoculum composition on the microbial community involved in the anaerobic digestion of sugarcane bagasse.

In anaerobic digestion (AD), the choice of inoculum type seems to be relevant for methane production for complex substrates, such as lignocellulosic material. Previous work demonstrated that the addition of fresh manure and ruminal fluid to anaerobic sludge improved methane productivity and kinetics of AD of crude sugarcane bagasse (CSB). Considering that the improvement of methane production could be a result of a more adapted microbial community, the present study performed the Next Generation Sequencing analysis to identify changes in the microbiome of anaerobic sludge inoculum, resulting from fresh manure and ruminal fluid addition.

Vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents with food allergy: Association with number of allergens, sun exposure and nutritional status.

Our objective was to describe the serum vitamin D concentrations of children and adolescents with food allergy (FA) and to verify the association between the number of food allergens involved, length of sun exposure, and nutritional status. Through a cross-sectional study, 79 patients with FA, from ages 2 to 15 years, were assessed and followed up in a reference outpatient clinic, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Clinical and biochemical data were collected for analysis of 25(OH)D, calcium, phosphorus, phosphatase, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

Tylosin in anaerobic reactors: degradation kinetics, effects on methane production and on the microbial community.

Tylosin eliminated in animal waste, during therapeutic treatment, can be efficiently removed in anaerobic systems. The present study investigated the influence of tylosin concentration and assessed its degradation kinetics and the microorganisms involved in each stage of its anaerobic digestion (hydrolysis/acidogenesis; acetogenesis; methanogenesis). The results showed a stimulating effect on methane production with increasing tylosin concentration in the poultry litter up to 80 mg kg tylosin (232.

Chitosan effects on monolayers of zwitterionic, anionic and a natural lipid extract from E. coli at physiological pH.

Langmuir monolayers are used to simulate the biological membrane environment, acting as a mimetic system of the outer or the inner membrane leaflet. Herein, we analyze the interaction of membrane models with a partially N-acetylated chitosan (Ch35%) possessing a quasi-ideal random pattern of acetylation, full water solubility up to pH ≈ 8.5 and unusually high weight average molecular weight.

Removal of cephalexin and erythromycin antibiotics, and their resistance genes, by microalgae-bacteria consortium from wastewater treatment plant secondary effluents.

Antibiotics have become a concern in the aquatic environments owing to the potential development of bacterial resistances. Thus, this study evaluated the removal of cephalexin (CEP) and erythromycin (ERY) from a local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, mediated by microalgae-bacteria consortium. Likewise, the removal of correlated antibiotics resistance genes bla and ermB was also assessed.

Cholesterol modulates the interaction between paclitaxel and Langmuir monolayers simulating cell membranes.

The composition of Langmuir monolayers used as cell membrane models is an essential factor for the interaction with biologically-relevant molecules, including pharmaceutical drugs. In this paper, we report the modulation of effects from the antineoplastic drug paclitaxel by the relative concentration of cholesterol in the Langmuir monolayers of ternary mixtures of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and cholesterol. Since the dependence on cholesterol concentration for these monolayers simulating lipid rafts is non-monotonic, we analyzed the surface pressure and compressibility modulus data with the multidimensional projection technique referred to as interactive document mapping (IDMAP).

Nanosized non-proteinaceous complexes III and IV mimicking electron transfer of mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Synthetic biology pursues the understanding of biological processes and their possible mimicry with artificial bioinspired materials. A number of materials have already been used to mimic the active site of simple redox proteins, including nanosized iron oxides due to their redox properties. However, the mimicry of membrane redox protein complexes is still a challenge.

Distribution of genetic elements associated with antibiotic resistance in treated and untreated animal husbandry waste and wastewater.

Animal breeding for meat production based on swine, cattle, poultry, and aquaculture is an activity that generates several impacts on the environment, among them the spread of antibiotic resistance. There is a worldwide concern related to the massive use of antibiotics, which causes selective pressure on the microbial community, triggering bacteria that contain "antibiotic resistance genes." According to the survey here presented, antibiotic resistance-related genes such as tetracyclines (tet), erythromycin (erm), and sulfonamides (sul), as well as the genetic mobile element interferon (int), are the most reported genetic elements in qualitative and quantitative studies of swine, cattle, poultry, and aquaculture manure/wastewater.

Biodegradation of sulfamethoxazole by microalgae-bacteria consortium in wastewater treatment plant effluents.

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been commonly detected in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. SMX and other antibiotics can be considered as environmental contaminants of emerging concern. Due to their toxicity effects and their potential for the development of bacterial resistance their presence in aquatic compartment becomes a threat to human health.

Enhanced chitosan effects on cell membrane models made with lipid raft monolayers.

Langmuir monolayers have been used as cell membrane models, where lipid composition is normally varied to mimic distinct types of membranes. For eukaryotic membranes, for instance, rather than using only zwitterionic phospholipids there is now a trend to employ mixtures to simulate the lipid rafts known to be relevant for various cellular processes. In this study, we demonstrate that effects from chitosans on Langmuir monolayers are considerably higher if lipid raft compositions (ternary mixtures of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC), sphingomyelin (SM) and cholesterol) are used.

Cumulative Effect of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on Regulation of AMPK/SIRT1-PGC-1-SIRT3 Pathway in the Human Erectile Tissue.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVDRF), especially diabetes mellitus (DM), disrupt oxidative stress response. This condition underlies endothelial dysfunction, early manifested in men as erectile dysfunction. The current study is aimed at elucidating the impact of CVDRF in the oxidation responsive AMPK/SIRT1-PGC-1-SIRT3 pathway and related miRNAs in the human corpus cavernosum.

Effects on Medical Students of Longitudinal Small-Group Learning about Breaking Bad News.

Introduction: Delivering bad news is a difficult task for physicians, and medical schools do not always prepare future physicians for this inevitable task.

Objective: To examine training in breaking bad news, to improve medical students' competence and confidence in dealing with this important aspect of clinical practice.

Methods: An exploratory study using a qualitative approach was done at a Brazilian public university's medical school, which receives 30 medical students per semester.

Influence of age and education on the processing of clustering and switching in verbal fluency tasks.

Unlabelled: Verbal fluency (VF) is a widely used tool in neuropsychological assessment.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the influence of age and educational level on clustering and switching in three VF modalities: phonemic (PVF), semantic (SVF) and unconstrained (UVF). We evaluated type of cluster, mean cluster size, and quantity of clusters, intersections, and returns.

Executive functions assessment in patients with language impairment A systematic review.

Acquired language impairments may accompany different conditions. Most recent studies have shown that there is an important relationship between language and cognitive functions, such as executive functions (EF). Therefore, we aimed to investigate which main EF components appear to have the greatest impact in the most prevalent acquired communication disorders in adults, and which neuropsychological tests are being used to evaluate them.

Advances in enzyme bioelectrochemistry.

Bioelectrochemistry can be defined as a branch of Chemical Science concerned with electron-proton transfer and transport involving biomolecules, as well as electrode reactions of redox enzymes. The bioelectrochemical reactions and system have direct impact in biotechnological development, in medical devices designing, in the behavior of DNA-protein complexes, in green-energy and bioenergy concepts, and make it possible an understanding of metabolism of all living organisms (e.g.

Ethanol generation, oxidation and energy production in a cooperative bioelectrochemical system.

Integrating in situ biofuel production and energy conversion into a single system ensures the production of more robust networks as well as more renewable technologies. For this purpose, identifying and developing new biocatalysts is crucial. Herein, is reported a bioelectrochemical system consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, wherein both function cooperatively for ethanol production and its bioelectrochemical oxidation.

The Use of the Anchor System Reduces Postural Sway During Upright Standing Irrespective of Plantar Flexors Muscle Fatigue in Young and Older Adults.

Our purpose was to verify the effects of the use of the anchors on postural control after the fatigue of the plantar flexor muscles in young and older adults. They stood barefoot, with their eyes closed in four conditions combining the use of the anchors and the fatigue. When using the anchors, participants held one cable in each hand and kept the cable taut without removing the loads (125 g) from the ground.

Evidence of short-range electron transfer of a redox enzyme on graphene oxide electrodes.

Direct electron transfer (DET) between redox enzymes and electrode surfaces is of growing interest and an important strategy in the development of biofuel cells and biosensors. Among the nanomaterials utilized at electrode/enzyme interfaces to enhance the electronic communication, graphene oxide (GO) has been identified as a highly promising candidate. It is postulated that GO layers decrease the distance between the flavin cofactor (FAD/FADH2) of the glucose oxidase enzyme (GOx) and the electrode surface, though experimental evidence concerning the distance dependence of the rate constant for heterogeneous electron-transfer (k(het)) has not yet been observed.