Biotransformation of Tropical Fruit By-Products for the Development of Kombucha Analogues with Antioxidant Potential.

Research Background: In a country where millions of people have nutritional needs, innovative ways of producing food from commonly wasted agro-industrial by-products, can be an important alternative for the production of fermented beverages. In light of this, the aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of fruit by-products from acerola, guava and tamarind for the production of fermented beverages.

Experimental Approach: Physicochemical and microbiological parameters, total antioxidant capacity and fermentation kinetics were investigated during the first (at 0, 48, 72, 96 and 168 h) and second fermentation (at 0 and 24 h).

A Comprehensive Investigation of Methanol Electrooxidation on Copper Anodes: Spectroelectrochemical Insights and Energy Conversion in Microfluidic Fuel Cells.

Here, we comprehensively investigated methanol electrooxidation on Cu-based catalysts, allowing us to build the first microfluidic fuel cell (μFC) equipped with a Cu anode and a metal-free cathode that converts energy from methanol. We applied a simple, fast, small-scale, and surfactant-free strategy for synthesizing Cu-based nanoparticles at room temperature in steady state (ST), under mechanical stirring (MS), or under ultrasonication (US). The morphology evaluation of the Cu-based samples reveals that they have the same nanoparticle (NP) needle-like form.

Clarifying Glycerol Electrooxidation Studies on Pd-Based Catalysts: Insights Into Catalytic Performance and Practical Challenges.

Escalating biodiesel production led to a surplus of glycerol, prompting its exploration as a valuable resource in industrial applications. Electrochemical systems have been studied, specifically employing noble metal catalysts like palladium for glycerol electrooxidation. Despite numerous studies on Pd-based catalysts for glycerol electrooxidation, a comprehensive analysis addressing critical questions related to the economic feasibility, global sourcing of Pd, and the thematic cohesion of publications in this field is lacking.

Mapping Conformational Changes in the Saliva Proteome Potentially Associated with Oral Cancer Aggressiveness.

Diverse proteomics-based strategies have been applied to saliva to quantitatively identify diagnostic and prognostic targets for oral cancer. Considering that these targets may be regulated by events that do not imply variation in protein abundance levels, we hypothesized that changes in protein conformation can be associated with diagnosis and prognosis, revealing biological processes and novel targets of clinical relevance. For this, we employed limited proteolysis-mass spectrometry in saliva samples to explore structural alterations, comparing the proteome of healthy control and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients with and without lymph node metastasis.

Epidemiology, Management, and Survival Outcomes of Germ Cell Cancer in Southern Portugal: A Population-Based Study (2008-2012).

Introduction: Building on previous suboptimal survival results, we aimed to perform a study of the epidemiological status, management, and outcomes of germ cell tumors (GCT) in the Portuguese population.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective populational study of GCT cases diagnosed between 2008 and 2012 in southern Portugal. Joinpoint regression was used to compute average annual percentage change (AAPC) in incidence rate.

Specific olfactory deficit patterns observed in seniors and associated with cognitive decline.

Olfactory dysfunction is a common symptom in neurodegenerative disorders and is regarded as a potential early predictor of impending cognitive decline. This study was undertaken in order to determine if olfactory dysfunction observed in the elderly is due to a general loss of smell or the inability to detect specific odours, and if misidentification of odours correlates with cognitive scores. Seniors for the Olfactory Response and Cognition in Aging (ORCA) sub-study were recruited from the Quebec Nutrition and Successful Aging (NuAge) cohort.

SARS-CoV-2 virus classification based on stacked sparse autoencoder.

Since December 2019, the world has been intensely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2. In the case of a novel virus identification, the early elucidation of taxonomic classification and origin of the virus genomic sequence is essential for strategic planning, containment, and treatments. Deep learning techniques have been successfully used in many viral classification problems associated with viral infection diagnosis, metagenomics, phylogenetics, and analysis.

Typic: A Practical and Robust Tool to Rank Proteotypic Peptides for Targeted Proteomics.

The selection of a suitable proteotypic peptide remains a challenge for designing a targeted quantitative proteomics assay. Although the criteria are well-established in the literature, the selection of these peptides is often performed in a subjective and time-consuming manner. Here, we have developed a practical and semiautomated workflow implemented in an open-source program named Typic.

Connecting multiple microenvironment proteomes uncovers the biology in head and neck cancer.

The poor prognosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) is associated with metastasis within the lymph nodes (LNs). Herein, the proteome of 140 multisite samples from a 59-HNC patient cohort, including primary and matched LN-negative or -positive tissues, saliva, and blood cells, reveals insights into the biology and potential metastasis biomarkers that may assist in clinical decision-making. Protein profiles are strictly associated with immune modulation across datasets, and this provides the basis for investigating immune markers associated with metastasis.

Facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers and the general population in Guinea.

Introduction: The advent of the effective COVID-19 vaccine was the most eagerly expected worldwide. However, this hope quickly became hesitation and denial in many countries, including Guinea. Understanding the reasons for low vaccine coverage is essential to achieving herd immunity leading to disease control.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Tuberculosis Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Conakry, Guinea: A Mixed Methods Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on all facets of life and has exacerbated many challenges faced by people living with tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of TB patients in Guinea during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed methods study was conducted using two validated tools to assess HRQoL and qualitative interviews among TB patients enrolled in treatment at 11 health centers in Conakry, Guinea.

Convolutional Neural Network Applied to SARS-CoV-2 Sequence Classification.

COVID-19, the illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus belonging to the family, a single-strand positive-sense RNA genome, has been spreading around the world and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. On 17 January 2022, there were more than 329 million cases, with more than 5.5 million deaths.

Relationship between Resilience and the Impostor Phenomenon among Undergraduate Medical Students.

Introduction: Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is the inability to internalize success and a tendency to attribute success to external causes. Social and institutional support are strategies to avoid the problem, but only partially successful. Resilience has been considered protective against mental health disorders in medical students.

Artificial Intelligence approaches to predict COVID-19 infection in Senegal.

The SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) has become a pandemic and has expanded all over the world. Because of increasing number of cases day by day, it takes time to interpret the data thus the limitations in terms of both treatment and findings are emerged. Due to such limitations, the need for clinical decisions making system with predictive algorithms has arisen.

Health Literacy in Portugal: Results of the Health Literacy Population Survey Project 2019-2021.

Health literacy entails the knowledge, motivation, and competencies to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information in order to make judgments and decisions in everyday life concerning health care, disease prevention, and health promotion to maintain or improve quality of life throughout the life course. It has become an essential concept in public health. It is considered a modifiable determinant of health decisions, health behaviors, health, and healthcare outcomes.

Simultaneous quantification of seven multi-class organic molecules by single-shot dilution differential pulse voltammetric calibration.

The contamination of water sources by anthropogenic activities is a topic of growing interest in the scientific community. Therefore, robust analytical techniques for the determination and quantification of multiple substances are needed, which often require complex and time-consuming procedures. In this context, we describe a univariate calibration method to determine emerging multi-class contaminants in different water sources.

PREVALENCE OF PARASITIC INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN OF BOKE, GUINEA.

Helminthic and intestinal protozoan infections and malaria infections are common in children less than 15 yr old in sub-Saharan Africa, but little is known about these infections in Guinea. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of parasitic infections in children aged less than 15 yr and the relationship of these infections with anemia. The cross-sectional study was done in Dabbis sub-prefecture in the Boke region of Guinea from 18 to 26 March 2017.

SELECTION OF PFCRT 76T AND PFMDR1 86Y MUTANT PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM AFTER TREATMENT OF UNCOMPLICATED MALARIA WITH ARTESUNATE-AMODIAQUINE IN REPUBLIC OF GUINEA.

The use of Amodiaquine monotherapy is associated with the selection of molecular markers of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine (pfcrt and pfmdr1). The decrease in sensitivity and the emergence of P. falciparum resistant to artemisinin-based combination therapy have been reported.

Factors Associated with Malaria Preventive Measures among Pregnant Women in Guinea.

Background: Malaria control interventions have been scaled up, particularly those in pregnant women in Guinea. Despite that, coverage of key malaria preventive measure (MPM) indicators remains low. Therefore, it is vital to understand the reasons behind that, especially for the low coverage of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLIN).

Active and Healthy Aging After COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal and Other European Countries: Time to Rethink Strategies and Foster Action.

The population aging in Europe imposes challenges to societies that require adaptations and responses at various levels to minimize impacts and figuring out opportunities. Portugal has been committed to the World Health Organization and European Union's values and policy frameworks concerning active and healthy aging. In 2017, an inter-ministerial working group developed the National Strategy for Active and Healthy Aging.

Malnutrition prevalence and associated biochemical factors among drug-resistance tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients at key treatment sites in Conakry City, Republic of Guinea.

Introduction: drug-resistant tuberculosis is a major global health problem and a threat to health security given the increase in the number of cases and the challenges associated with care. Besides, the relationship between poor nutritional status and tuberculosis is clearly established. For relevant and evidence-based public health decision-making regarding the management of malnutrition in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis in the initial phase, it is essential to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition and understand the risk factors associated with it.

Nanocomposite gels of poloxamine and Laponite for β-Lapachone release in anticancer therapy.

Nano-hybrid systems have been shown to be an attractive platform for drug delivery. Laponite® RD (LAP), a biocompatible synthetic clay, has been exploited for its ability to establish of strong secondary interactions with guest compounds and hybridization with polymers or small molecules that improves, for instance, cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation or facilitates drug attachment to their surfaces through charge interaction. In this work, LAP was combined with Tetronics, X-shaped amphiphilic PPO-PEO (poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) block copolymers.