In Silico Identification of the Laccase-Encoding Gene in the Transcriptome of the Amazon River Prawn (Heller, 1862).

Background: is an opportunistic and omnivorous species that primarily feeds on plant material. Recent studies have shown that Endo-β-1,4-glucanase and Endo-β-1,4-mannanase are expressed in the transcriptome of adult specimens, while juveniles are capable of digesting nutrients from purified cellulose in their diet. In organisms that degrade raw plant material, laccase plays a key role in oxidizing phenolic compounds found in lignin, leading to its depolymerization and increasing access to cellulose and hemicellulose microfibrils.

Increased accessibility of computer-based testing for residency application to a hospital in Brazil with item characteristics comparable to paper-based testing: a psychometric study.

Purpose: With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, online high-stakes exams have become a viable alternative. This study evaluated the feasibility of computer-based testing (CBT) for medical residency applications in Brazil and its impacts on item quality and applicants’ access compared to paper-based testing.

Methods: In 2020, an online CBT was conducted in a Ribeirao Preto Clinical Hospital in Brazil.

Relationship between symptoms and results on spirometry in adults seen in non-tertiary public health facilities presenting with preserved ratio impaired spirometry.

Preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm), defined by reduced forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) without meeting criteria for airway obstruction, is often encountered in clinical practice. The management of this heterogeneous condition in individuals with chronic respiratory symptoms is challenging, especially under limited diagnostic resources. Since 2020, all consecutive patients referred for spirometry at our institution have been invited to participate in our registry.

Can Diet Alter the Intestinal Barrier Permeability in Healthy People? A Systematic Review.

Dietary factors can modify the function of the intestinal barrier, causing permeability changes. This systematic review analyzed evidence on the link between diet or dietary interventions and changes in intestinal barrier permeability (IBP) in healthy individuals. A systematic search for primary studies was conducted using the virtual databases EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus.

Chagas Cardiomyopathy and Myocardial Sympathetic Denervation.

Purpose Of Review: More than a century since its discovery, the pathogenesis of Chagas heart disease (CHD) remains incompletely understood. The role of derangements in the autonomic control of the heart in triggering malignant arrhythmia before the appearance of contractile ventricular impairment was reviewed.

Recent Findings: Although previous investigations had demonstrated the anatomical and functional consequences of parasympathetic dysautonomia upon the heart rate control, only recently, coronary microvascular disturbances and sympathetic denervation at the ventricular level have been reported in patients and experimental models of CHD, exploring with nuclear medicine methods their impact on the progression of myocardial dysfunction and cardiac arrhythmias.

Obesity and Nutrigenetics Testing: New Insights.

Obesity results from interactions between environmental factors, lifestyle, and genetics. In this scenario, nutritional genomics and nutrigenetic tests stand out, with the promise of helping patients avoid or treat obesity. This narrative review investigates whether nutrigenetic tests may help to prevent or treat obesity.

Oil Frying Processes and Alternative Flour Coatings: Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Parameters of Meat Products.

The frying process changes can be desirable and undesirable, involving the physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory aspects, depending on the food and oil properties and the frying process. In this context, alternative flours emerge as a strategy for adding value to the food since they are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, contributing to the variability of ingredients and the full use of food, including residues such as seeds and husks. This narrative review aims to gather current scientific data addressing the alternative flour coatings on breaded meat, mainly chicken, products to evaluate the effects on fried products' nutritional value, physicochemical parameters, and sensory attributes.

A New Murine Undernutrition Model Based on Complementary Feeding of Undernourished Children Causes Damage to the Morphofunctional Intestinal Epithelium Barrier.

Background: Complementary feeding is critical in establishing undernutrition. However, experimental undernourished diets do not represent the amount of nutrients in the complementary diets of undernourished children.

Objectives: To develop, validate, and evaluate the impact of a new murine model of undernutrition on the intestinal epithelium, based on the complementary diet of undernourished children from 7 countries with low-socioeconomic power belonging to the Malnutrition-Enteric Diseases (MAL-ED) cohort study.

Low Occurrence of spp. in Wild Animals in Bahia, Brazil-Population Assessment and Characterization in the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest Biomes.

spp. are known to persist in the environment. Wild animals are believed to act as important reservoirs, with antimicrobial resistance frequently occurring in the environment.

[Genetics of brain networks].

Background: Genetic analyses reveal multiple genes and pathways that are involved in brain networks. Similarly, for psychiatric disorders several genes and reliable changes in brain features have been found, raising the question of the relationship between the two.

Aim: To explore the genetics of brain networks in relation to mental health.

In silico prospecting of the mtDNA of Macrobrachium amazonicum from transcriptome data.

Background: Macrobrachium amazonicum is a freshwater prawn widely distributed in South America that is undergoing speciation, so the denomination "M. amazonicum complex" is used for it. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been used to elucidate this speciation, but heteroplasmies and pseudogenes have been recorded, making separation difficult.

Food safety knowledge among 7th-grade middle school students: A report of a Brazilian municipal school using workshop-based educational strategies.

Practical methodologies that include food safety and hygiene education in pedagogical activities are strategies to prevent foodborne diseases (FBDs). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of 7th-grade middle school students regarding food microbiology and food safety, and to apply workshop-based educational strategies that focus on scientific literacy. The students (144) were initially evaluated using a Likert-scale questionnaire (pre-intervention, Q0) with ten objective questions on microbiology and food safety.

Identifying inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1 as potential repurposed drugs for Chagas' disease.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas' disease, an endemic and neglected disease. The treatment is limited to only two drugs, benznidazole (BZL) and nifurtimox (NFX), introduced more than fifty years ago and no new advances have been made since then. Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPK) are key metabolic enzymes which have gained interest as drug targets of pathogen organisms.

Social Network, Food Patterns, Physical Activity and Associations with Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents from a School in Rural Brazil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the social network, food patterns, physical activity, and their associations with overweight/obesity in adolescents from a school in rural Brazil. Students from a rural school in Northeast Brazil ( = 90) completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, food consumption, physical activity, and a name generator. Social networks were constructed using students' social proximity ties.

Targeted micro-heterogeneity in bioinks allows for 3D printing of complex constructs with improved resolution and cell viability.

Three-dimensional bioprinting is an evolving versatile technique for biomedical applications. Ideal bioinks have complex micro-environment that mimic human tissue, allow for good printing quality and provide high cell viability after printing. Here we present two strategies for enhancing gelatin-based bioinks heterogeneity on a 1-100m length scale resulting in superior printing quality and high cell viability.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Cities from the Southern Region of Bahia State, Brazil: Analysis of Variables Associated in Both Individual and Community Level.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), challenged public health systems worldwide. Individuals in low-income countries/regions are still at individual and community risk concerning inequality, sanitation, and economic conditions. Besides, during the pandemic, the transmission in municipalities and communities in the countryside and less developed regions kept viral spread and required structured and strengthened clinical and laboratory surveillance.

Low Cooking Skills Are Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Undergraduates.

Culinary skills are defined as the confidence, attitude, and the application of one's individual knowledge in performing culinary tasks, and their development may be associated with better diet quality and better health status. This study aimed to analyze the association between cooking skills, overweight, and obesity in undergraduates. This is a descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study, with data collected between October 2020 and March 2021, with undergraduate students ( = 823) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Diet quality is associated with psychobiological, psychological, biological, and physiological factors of individuals, and in the context of prolonged stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can lead to a worsening of the quality of food for undergraduates. This study aimed to analyze diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates.

Methods: Data were collected from 4,799 undergraduate students from all Brazilian regions, from August 2020 to February 2021.

Use of polypyrrole-polystyrene membranes for extracting DNA from plant tissues.

We describe the preparation of a membrane composed of polypyrrole-polystyrene (PPy-PS) and its application in DNA extraction. We adopted the electrospinning technique to prepare polystyrene (PS) membranes, which we used as substrates for incorporating polypyrrole chains through an  chemical procedure. As a model system, we initially investigated the use of PPy-PS membranes for the extraction of salmon sperm DNA from aqueous solutions.

Natural photosensitizer-loaded in micellar copolymer to prevent bovine mastitis: A new post-dipping protocol on milking.

Good management practices such as post-dipping applications (post-milking immersion bath) contribute to the dairy cattle health during lactation and minimize the appearance of mastitis (an infection in the mammary gland). The post-dipping procedure is performed conventionally using iodine-based solutions. The search for therapeutic modalities that are not invasive and do not cause resistance to the microorganisms that cause bovine mastitis instigates the interest of the scientific community.

Food Acquisition, Hygiene, and Generation of Domestic Waste in an Academic Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and the closure of universities as a measure to prevent contamination directly affected academic communities. Access to food, though a basic need and a human right, was seriously affected. This study evaluated the locations and frequency of food acquisition; hand, food, and packaging hygiene habits; and household waste generation in an academic community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparation and Phytotoxicity Evaluation of Cellulose Acetate Nanoparticles.

The use of biocompatible and low-cost polymeric matrices to produce non-phytotoxic nanoparticles for delivery systems is a promising alternative for good practices in agriculture management and biotechnological applications. In this context, there is still a lack of studies devoted to producing low-cost polymeric nanoparticles that exhibit non-phytotoxic properties. Among the different polymeric matrices that can be used to produce low-cost nanoparticles, we can highlight the potential application of cellulose acetate, a natural biopolymer with biocompatible and biodegradable properties, which has already been used as fibers, membranes, and films in different agricultural and biotechnological applications.

Anti-Inflammatory Protein Isolated from Tamarind Promotes Better Histological Aspects in the Intestine Regardless of the Improvement of Intestinal Permeability in a Preclinical Study of Diet-Induced Obesity.

Obesity is associated with metabolic and physiological effects in the gut. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of trypsin inhibitor isolated from tamarind seeds (TTI) in vitro (interaction with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and inhibitory activity against human neutrophil elastase (HNE)), and using intestinal co-cultures of Caco-2:HT29-MTX cell lines inflamed with TNF-α (50 ng/mL) and a Wistar rat model of diet-induced obesity (n = 15). TTI was administered to animals by gavage (10 days), and the treated group (25 mg/kg/day) was compared to animals without treatment or treated with a nutritionally adequate diet.