Effectiveness of a Nutrition Counseling Intervention on Food Consumption, According to the Degree of Processing: A Community-Based Non-Randomized Trial of Quilombola Communities in South Brazil.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a nutrition counseling intervention on food consumption according to the Nova classification that reflects levels of food processing.

Methods: Controlled community trial was conducted in quilombola communities in the South of Brazil. Four communities were allocated to the control group (CG) and the intervention group (IG), two communities comprised each group.

Obesity modifies the association of race and COVID-19 mortality: analysis of a retrospective cohort from Brazil.

COVID-19 and obesity are two concurrent, interrelated pandemics that share similarities in their social causes, including racism. It is essential to understand how their characteristics are interrelated and the possible role of obesity in the association between race and COVID-19 mortality. We investigated the relationship between race and COVID-19 mortality and the modifying effect of obesity on this relationship.

The effects of blueberry and cranberry supplementation on blood pressure in patients with cardiovascular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Blueberries and cranberries are berry fruits with the highest number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) focusing on blood pressure (BP). This systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs analyzed the effects of blueberry and cranberry supplementation alone and in concert with systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) in patients with cardiometabolic diseases. The searches were performed until August 2023 in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase.

Is the adherence to the food practices recommended by the dietary guidelines for the Brazilian population associated with diet quality?

Purpose: The Brazilian Food Guide (BFG)'s messages are mostly qualitative and focused on food practices, such as meal planning, cooking, and eating modes. This study sough to investigate whether the adherence to these food practices is aligned with diet quality.

Methods: A quota-based subsample of the NutriNet-Brasil Cohort (n = 2052) completed the Food Practices Brazil Scale (FPBr), a 24-item scale assessing the adherence to healthy eating practices recommended by the BFG.

Minimally invasive surgery as a new clinical standard for bone anchored hearing implants-real-world data from 10 years of follow-up and 228 surgeries.

Purpose: To explore the clinical practice development of different surgical techniques when installing bone-anchored hearing implants and their associated trends in outcomes.

Design: Retrospective study of 228 bone-anchored hearing implants in 200 patients, performed over a 10-year period between 2012 and 2022 in a referral hospital.

Method: Real-world data of demography, etiology, surgical setup, complications, and audiological outcomes were collected.

Ultra-processed food and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

Background: The consumption of some food groups is associated with the risk of diabetes. However, there is no evidence from meta-analysis which evaluates the consumption of ultra-processed products in the risk of diabetes. This study aimed to review the literature assessing longitudinally the association between consumption of ultra-processed food and the risk of type 2 diabetes and to quantify this risk through a meta-analysis.

Biochemical features and early adhesion of marine Candida parapsilosis strains on high-density polyethylene.

Aims: Plastic debris are constantly released into oceans where, due to weathering processes, they suffer fragmentation into micro- and nanoplastics. Diverse microbes often colonize these persisting fragments, contributing to their degradation. However, there are scarce reports regarding the biofilm formation of eukaryotic decomposing microorganisms on plastics.

Biofilms of Pseudomonas and Lysinibacillus Marine Strains on High-Density Polyethylene.

Environmental pollution by plastic debris is estimated on a scale of 100 million metric tons, a portion of which is fragmented into micro- and nanoplastics. These fragments are often colonized by bacterial species in marine environments, possibly contributing to the biodegradation of such materials. However, further investigations are necessary to determine the impact of abiotic polymer weathering on biofilm adhesion, as well as the specific biofilm formation strategies employed by marine isolates.

Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra performance for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in a city with high TB incidence in Brazil.

Introduction: Since 2018, World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra use for pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB diagnosis, and suggested that Xpert Ultra should be tested in various populations, with different geographical and epidemiological settings.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with prospective data collection. Outpatients aged >18 years with respiratory symptoms suggestive of pulmonary TB were invited to participate.

SERCA plays a crucial role in the toxicity of a betulinic acid derivative with potential antimalarial activity.

Malaria is one of the most significant infectious diseases that affect poor populations in tropical areas throughout the world. Plants have been shown to be a good source for the development of new antimalarial chemotherapeutic agents, as shown for the discovery of quinine and artemisinin derivatives. Our research group has been working with semisynthetic triterpene derivatives that show potential antimalarial activity toward different strains of Plasmodium falciparum by specifically modulating calcium pathways in the parasite.

Modulation of Zinc Homeostasis in as a Possible Antifungal Strategy against .

is a basidiomycetous yeast that can be found in the environment and is one of the agents of cryptococcosis, a life-threatening disease. During its life cycle, cryptococcal cells take hold inside environmental predators such as amoebae. Despite their evolutionary distance, macrophages and amoebae share conserved similar steps of phagocytosis and microbial killing.

Alterations of zinc homeostasis in response to Cryptococcus neoformans in a murine macrophage cell line.

Aim: To evaluate alterations of zinc homeostasis in macrophages exposed to Cryptococcus neoformans. Materials & methods: Using a fluorescent zinc probe-based flow cytometry and atomic absorption spectrometry, zinc levels were evaluated in J774.A1 cell lines exposed to C.

sRNAs as possible regulators of retrotransposon activity in Cryptococcus gattii VGII.

Background: The absence of Argonaute genes in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus gattii R265 and other VGII strains indicates that yeasts of this genotype cannot have a functional RNAi pathway, an evolutionarily conserved gene silencing mechanism performed by small RNAs. The success of the R265 strain as a pathogen that caused the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver Island outbreaks may imply that RNAi machinery loss could be beneficial under certain circumstances during evolution. As a result, a hypermutant phenotype would be created with high rates of genome retrotransposition, for instance.

Larvicidal activity of natural and modified triterpenoids against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Background: Insecticide resistance to commonly used substances demands new molecules for the chemical control of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti. Because natural product sources have been an alternative to obtain larvicidal compounds, the aim of this study was to evaluate the triterpenoids betulinic (BA) and ursolic (UA) acids and their semi-synthetic derivatives against larval Ae. aegypti.

Effects of zinc transporters on Cryptococcus gattii virulence.

Zinc is an essential nutrient for all living organisms because it is a co-factor of several important proteins. Furthermore, zinc may play an essential role in the infectiousness of microorganisms. Previously, we determined that functional zinc metabolism is associated with Cryptococcus gattii virulence.

Adsorption of human serum proteins onto TREN-agarose: purification of human IgG by negative chromatography.

Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN) - a chelating agent used in IMAC - immobilized onto agarose gel was evaluated for the purification of IgG from human serum by negative chromatography. A one-step purification process allowed the recovery of 73.3% of the loaded IgG in the nonretained fractions with purity of 90-95% (based on total protein concentration and nephelometric analysis of albumin, transferrin, and immunoglobulins A, G, and M).