Sylvatic Mosquito Viromes in the Cerrado Biome of Minas Gerais, Brazil: Discovery of New Viruses and Implications for Arbovirus Transmission.

Studies on animal virome have mainly concentrated on chordates and medically significant invertebrates, often overlooking sylvatic mosquitoes, constituting a major part of mosquito species diversity. Despite their potential role in arbovirus transmission, the viromes of sylvatic mosquitoes remain largely unexplored. These mosquitoes may also harbor insect-specific viruses (ISVs), affecting arboviral transmission dynamics.

An indirect ELISA for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human sera using a baculovirus-expressed recombinant nucleocapsid antigen.

This study focuses on the development and initial assessment of an indirect IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specifically designed to detect of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The unique aspect of this ELISA method lies in its utilization of a recombinant nucleocapsid (N) antigen, produced through baculovirus expression in insect cells. Our analysis involved 292 RT-qPCR confirmed positive serum samples and 54 pre-pandemic healthy controls.

The multispecies stinkbug iflavirus Halyomorpha halys virus detected in the multispecies stinkbug egg parasitoid microwasp, Telenomus podisi (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae).

Wasps are important parasitoids of stinkbugs and frequently exposed to various types of microorganisms through environmental contact and fecal-oral transmission route. Many parasitize stinkbug eggs and are commercially used in the field to control insect population. The parasitoid T.

Expression profiling of Clostridium thermocellum B8 during the deconstruction of sugarcane bagasse and straw.

The gram-positive bacterium Clostridium thermocellum contains a set of carbohydrate-active enzymes that can potentially be employed to generate high-value-added products from lignocellulose. In this study, the gene expression profiling of C. thermocellum B8 was provided during growth in the presence of sugarcane bagasse and straw as a carbon source in comparison to growth using microcrystalline cellulose.

A novel picorna-like virus identified in the cotton boll weevil Anthonomus grandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The cotton boll weevil (CBW; Anthonomus grandis; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is considered the major insect pest of cotton, causing considerable losses in yield and fiber quality. An increase in the boll weevil population due to increasingly inefficient chemical control measures is of great concernamong cotton producers. The absence of conventional or transgenic cultivars with minimal resistance to CBW has stimulated the search for new molecular and biological tools for efficient control of this insect pest.

Visual Acuity alterations in heavily impaired Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) children.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess visual acuity (VA) in Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS)-children to evaluate visual loss. To that end we evaluated 41 CZS - children, from Rio de Janeiro using Teller Acuity Cards.

Methods: To asses VA, we evaluated 41 CZS - children, from Rio de Janeiro using Teller Acuity Cards.

Penicillium polonicum a new isolate obtained from Cerrado soil as a source of carbohydrate-active enzymes produced in response to sugarcane bagasse.

Unlabelled: species have been studied as producers of plant cell wall degrading enzymes to deconstruct agricultural residues and to be applied in industrial processes. Natural environments containing decaying plant matter are ideal places for isolating fungal strains with cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities. In the present study, Cerrado soil samples were used as source of filamentous fungi able to degrade xylan and cellulose.

A Chikungunya Virus Multiepitope Recombinant Protein Expressed from the Binary System Insect Cell/Recombinant Baculovirus Is Useful for Laboratorial Diagnosis of Chikungunya.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus currently distributed worldwide, causing a disease that shares clinical signs and symptoms with other illnesses, such as dengue and Zika and leading to a challenging clinical differential diagnosis. In Brazil, CHIKV emerged in 2014 with the simultaneous introduction of both Asian and East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotypes. Laboratorial diagnosis of CHIKV is mainly performed by molecular and serological assays, with the latter more widely used.

Chikungunya virus produced by a persistently infected mosquito cell line comprises a shorter genome and is non-infectious to mammalian cells.

Although RNA viruses have high mutation rates, host cells and organisms work as selective environments, maintaining the viability of virus populations by eliminating deleterious genotypes. In serial passages of RNA viruses in a single cell line, most of these selective bottlenecks are absent, with no virus circulation and replication in different tissues or host alternation. In this work, Aag-2 cells were accidentally infected with Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Mayaro virus (MAYV).

Easily purified baculovirus/insect-system-expressed recombinant hepatitis B virus surface antigen fused to the N- or C-terminus of polyhedrin.

Baculoviruses are circular double-stranded DNA viruses that infect insects and are widely used as the baculoviral expression vectors (BEVs), which provide a eukaryotic milieu for heterologous expression. The most frequently used vector is based on Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). However, purification of recombinant proteins produced using BEVs is laborious, time-consuming, and often expensive.

Identification of potential new mosquito-associated viruses of adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Tocantins state, Brazil.

Medically important arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are primarily transmitted by the globally distributed mosquito Aedes aegypti. Increasing evidence suggests that the transmission of some viruses can be influenced by mosquito-specific and mosquito-borne viruses. Advancements in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics have expanded our knowledge on the richness of viruses harbored by mosquitoes.

An easy pipeline for one-step purification of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein from insect cell suspension culture.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a range of biotechnological products for detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and evaluation of human seroconversion after infection or vaccination. In this work, we describe an easy pipeline for expression of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein in insect cells followed by its purification via affinity chromatography. The N gene was cloned into the genome of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) via transposition and the resulting recombinant baculovirus was used for infection of lepidopteran Sf9 cells adapted to high-density suspension.

Nursing diagnosis neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A survival analysis.

Purpose: To analyze the short-term survival of the nursing diagnosis of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in hospitalized neonates within the first 24 h of life and over a maximum of 7 days.

Methods: A prospective open cohort study with a longitudinal design was developed with 120 newborns during the first 24 h of life. The survival rate after a nursing diagnosis of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was analyzed for 7 days.

Molecular characterization of a putative new cavemovirus isolated from wild chicory (Cichorium intybus).

A putative new virus with sequence similarity to members of the genus Cavemovirus in the family Caulimoviridae was identified in wild chicory (Cichorium intybus) by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The putative new virus was tentatively named "chicory mosaic cavemovirus" (ChiMV), and its genome was determined to be 7,775 nucleotides (nt) long with the typical genome organization of cavemoviruses. ORF1 encodes a putative coat protein/movement polyprotein (1,278 aa), ORF2 encodes a putative replicase (650 aa), and ORF3 encodes a putative transactivator factor (384 aa).

Correlations Between Dark-Adapted Rod Threshold Elevations and ERG Response Deficits in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize changes in the full-field flash electroretinogram (ERG) in association with psychophysical dark-adapted visual thresholds in patients with genetically characterized Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) either lacking Dp427 (Up 30) or at least Dp260 in addition to Dp427 (Down 30).

Methods: Twenty-one patients with DMD and 27 age-similar controls participated in this study. Dark-adapted (0.

Molecular characterization and sequence analysis of four Brazilian rice stripe necrosis virus isolates.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important food crop for humanity, being cultivated in tropical and temperate regions of the world. This study reports the nearly complete genome sequences of four Brazilian rice stripe necrosis virus (RSNV) isolates.

In-depth quantitative proteomic characterization of organotypic hippocampal slice culture reveals sex-specific differences in biochemical pathways.

Sex differences in the brain of mammals range from neuroarchitecture through cognition to cellular metabolism. The hippocampus, a structure mostly associated with learning and memory, presents high vulnerability to neurodegeneration and aging. Therefore, we explored basal sex-related differences in the proteome of organotypic hippocampal slice culture, a major in vitro model for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms related to neurodegenerative disorders.

Novel N,N-di-alkylnaphthoimidazolium derivative of β-lapachone impaired Trypanosoma cruzi mitochondrial electron transport system.

Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease that is endemic in Latin America and spreading worldwide due to globalization. The current treatments are based on benznidazole and nifurtimox; however, these drugs have important limitations and limited efficacy during the chronic phase, reinforcing the necessity of an alternative chemotherapy. For the last 30 years, our group has been evaluating the biological activity of naphthoquinones and derivatives on T.

Dengue and Zika virus multi-epitope antigen expression in insect cells.

Dengue virus and Zika virus are arthropod-borne flaviviruses that cause millions of infections worldwide. The co-circulation of both viruses makes serological diagnosis difficult as they share high amino acid similarities in viral proteins. Antigens are one of the key reagents in the differential diagnosis of these viruses through the detection of IgG antibodies in serological assays during the convalescent-phase of infections.

Identification and genome sequencing of RNA viruses in the eucalyptus snout beetle Gonipterus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The genomes of two putative new RNA viruses (macula-like virus and bunya-like virus) were identified in total RNA extracted from dead eucalyptus snout beetles (Gonipterus spp.) from a laboratory colony. However, only bunya-like virus was detected in field-collected insects.

Anxiety and depression: a study of psychoaffective, family-related, and daily-life factors in celiac individuals.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of anxiety and depression and its association with psychoaffective, family-related, and daily-life variables of celiac individuals.

Methods: Crosssectional study, developed with 83 celiac patients in Fortaleza. An instrument was applied with variables grouped in the categories: psychoaffective, family-related, and daily-life.

Differences between quality of life and occupational coping of tenured and outsourced nurses.

Objectives: To compare the relation of quality of life to occupational coping and verify the association of these indicators with sociodemographic variables of tenured and outsourced nurses.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out from June to November 2014, with 145 outsourced nurses and 45 tenured nurses. We applied an identification instrument (WHOQOL-bref) and Occupational Coping Scale.

A novel cypovirus found in a betabaculovirus co-infection context contains a poxvirus immune nuclease (poxin)-related gene.

The cassava hornworm (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is an important pest in Brazil. This insect feeds on host plants of several species, especially (cassava) and (rubber tree). Cassava hornworm outbreaks are quite common in Brazil and can cause great impact over crop production.

Accuracy of the clinical indicators of ineffective health management in celiac people.

Objective: to analyze the accuracy of clinical indicators of "Ineffective health management" in celiac patients and to verify associations between sociodemographic characteristics and clinical indicators.

Method: a cross-sectional study, conducted from May to September 2017, with 83 celiac patients, through an interview. Accuracy measures were defined by latent class model.