Synthesis and Advanced NMR Characterization of Ordered 3D Reticular Materials with PolySilicate Nodes and Hydrophobic OrganoSilicone Linkers.

This work describes the synthesis of ordered 3D siloxane-silsesquioxane reticular materials with silicate D4R cubes (SiO), harvested from a sacrificial tetrabutylammonium cyclosilicate hydrate (TBA-CySH) precursor, interlinked with octyl and dicyclopentyl (Cp) hydrocarbon functionalities in a one-step synthesis with organodichlorosilanes. Advanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy allowed us to unravel the molecular order of the nodes and their interconnection by the silicone linkers. In the case of octyl-methyl silicone linkers, changing the silane-to-silicate ratio in the synthesis allowed for tuning the length of the linker between the nodes.

[Experience of setting up a state pharmacovigilance committee during the COVID-19 pandemicExperiencia de la puesta en marcha de un comité estatal de farmacovigilancia durante la pandemia de COVID-19].

Objective: To describe the implementation and pioneering work of a vaccine pharmacovigilance committee in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, for the analysis of events supposedly attributable to vaccination or immunization (ESAVI) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This is a retrospective, mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) case study focusing on the work carried out by the pharmacovigilance committee in the years 2021 and 2022. The minutes of committee meetings were used to describe how the committee operates.

Predictors of severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Brazil: Post hoc analyses of a randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To identify demographic, clinical and immunological factors associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes.

Methods: A large randomised controlled trial of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was undertaken in Brazil. Participants were randomised 1:1 either to receive ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or to a control group.

Tuning and functionalization of logic gates for time resolved programming of bacterial populations.

In order to increase our command over genetically engineered bacterial populations in bioprocessing and therapy, synthetic regulatory circuitry needs to enable the temporal programming of a number of consecutive functional tasks without external interventions. In this context, we have engineered a genetic circuit encoding an autonomous but chemically tunable timer in Escherichia coli, based on the concept of a transcription factor cascade mediated by the cytoplasmic dilution of repressors. As proof-of-concept, we used this circuit to impose a time-resolved two-staged synthetic pathway composed of a production-followed-by-lysis program, via a single input.

Genomic exploration of the fermented meat isolate Staphylococcus shinii IMDO-S216 with a focus on competitiveness-enhancing secondary metabolites.

Background: Staphylococcus shinii appears as an umbrella species encompassing several strains of Staphylococcus pseudoxylosus and Staphylococcus xylosus. Given its phylogenetic closeness to S. xylosus, S.

Interchangeability of different COVID-19 vaccine platforms as booster doses: A phase 3 study mimicking real-world practice.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is over but the highly immunized or naturally exposed global population still requires booster vaccinations against newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. We assessed safety and immunogenicity of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines based on three different platforms in a setting that mimics the current routine practice in Brazil.

Methods: In this phase 3 study from 14 February 2023 to 12 June 2023 we enrolled previously immunized adults to receive an additional booster dose of one of three vaccines.

Refermentation and maturation of lambic beer in bottles: a necessary step for gueuze production.

The production of gueuze beers through refermentation and maturation of blends of lambic beer in bottles is a way for lambic brewers to cope with the variability among different lambic beer batches. The resulting gueuze beers are more carbonated than lambic beers and are supposed to possess a unique flavor profile that varies over time. To map this refermentation and maturation process for gueuze production, a blend of lambic beers was made and bottled, whereby one of them was produced with the old wheat landrace .

The microbial and metabolite composition of Gouda cheese made from pasteurized milk is determined by the processing chain.

Gouda cheeses of different production batches and ripening times often differ in metabolite composition, which may be due to the starter culture mixture applied or the growth of non-starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB) upon maturation. Therefore, a single Gouda cheese production batch was systematically investigated from the thermized milk to the mature cheeses, ripened for up to 100 weeks, to identify the main bacterial species and metabolites and their dynamics during the whole production and ripening. As this seemed to be starter culture strain- and NSLAB-dependent, it requested a detailed, longitudinal, and quantitative investigation.

Decarboxylase activity of the non-starter lactic acid bacterium gives crack defects in Gouda cheese through the production of γ-aminobutyric acid.

Ten Gouda cheese wheels with an age of 31 weeks from six different batch productions were affected by a crack defect and displayed an unpleasant off-flavor. To unravel the causes of these defects, the concentrations of free amino acids, other organic acids, volatile organic compounds, and biogenic amines were quantified in zones around the cracks and in zones without cracks, and compared with those of similar Gouda cheeses without crack defect. The Gouda cheeses with cracks had a significantly different metabolome.

Yeast strains do have an impact on the production of cured cocoa beans, as assessed with Costa Rican Trinitario cocoa fermentation processes and chocolates thereof.

The microbiological and metabolic outcomes of good cocoa fermentation practices can be standardized and influenced through the addition of starter culture mixtures composed of yeast and bacterial strains. The present study performed two spontaneous and 10 starter culture-initiated (SCI) cocoa fermentation processes (CFPs) in Costa Rica with local Trinitario cocoa. The yeast strains IMDO 050523, IMDO 020003, and IMDO 060005 were used to compose starter culture mixtures in combination with the lactic acid bacterium strain IMDO 0611222 and the acetic acid bacterium strain IMDO 0506386.

Egg allergy and yellow fever vaccination.

Objective: Evaluate biomarkers capable of safely guiding Yellow fever vaccine (YFV) vaccination among individuals suspicious of hen's egg allergy, and identify factors associated with a higher risk for adverse events after immunization (AEAI).

Methods: Patients underwent skin prick test (SPT) for standardized allergens: whole egg, egg white, egg yolk; YFV (1:10 dilution; Biomanguinhos-Fiocruz), and intradermal test (IDT; YFV 0.02 mL, 1:100 dilution) and positive and negative controls.

Pertussis antibodies and vaccination coverage among healthcare professionals in Brazil is inadequate: A cross-sectional serological study.

Introduction: Worldwide, tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination coverage of healthcare professionals (HCPs) is below 40%, but this data is not available for Brazil. We hypothesize that a high number of HCPs are not immune to pertussis in Brazil. Main objective was to determine the seroprevalence of anti-pertussis toxin (anti-PT IgG) among HCPs.

Brytella acorum gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel acetic acid bacterium from sour beverages.

Polyphasic taxonomic and comparative genomic analyses revealed that a series of lambic beer isolates including strain LMG 32668 and the kombucha isolate LMG 32879 represent a novel species among the acetic acid bacteria, with Acidomonas methanolica as the nearest phylogenomic neighbor with a valid name. Overall genomic relatedness indices and phylogenomic and physiological analyses revealed that this novel species was best classified in a novel genus for which we propose the name Brytella acorum gen. nov.

A randomized, double-blind, non-inferiority trial comparing the immunogenicity and safety of two seasonal inactivated influenza vaccines in adults.

Background: To enhance the production and availability of influenza vaccines in different regions of the world is paramount to mitigate the global burden of this disease. Instituto Butantan developed and manufactured an embryonated egg-based inactivated split-virion trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine as part of a technology transfer partnership with Sanofi Pasteur.

Methods: This is a phase IV, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, multicenter clinical trial including adults 18-60 and > 60 years recruited during the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season.

Optimization of cacao beans fermentation by native species and electromagnetic fields.

Acid and bitter notes of the cocoa clone Cacao Castro Naranjal 51 (CCN 51) negatively affect the final quality of the chocolate. Thence, the fermentative process of cocoa beans using native species and electromagnetic fields (EMF) was carried out to evaluate the effect on the yield and quality of CCN 51 cocoa beans. The variables magnetic field density (D), exposure time (T), and inoculum concentration (IC) were optimized through response surface methodology to obtain two statistically validated second-order models, explaining 88.

The rotation of primary starter culture mixtures results in batch-to-batch variations during Gouda cheese production.

Industrial production of Gouda cheeses mostly relies on a rotated use of different mixed-strain lactic acid bacteria starter cultures to avoid phage infections. However, it is unknown how the application of these different starter culture mixtures affect the organoleptic properties of the final cheeses. Therefore, the present study assessed the impact of three different starter culture mixtures on the batch-to-batch variations among Gouda cheeses from 23 different batch productions in the same dairy company.

Application of comparative genomics of species facilitates genome-scale metabolic reconstruction of the LMG 23848 and 108B cocoa strains.

species play an import role during cocoa fermentation. However, and are outcompeted during fermentation of the cocoa pulp-bean mass, whereas prevails. In this paper, an approach aimed at delivering some insights into the possible metabolic adaptations of LMG 23848 and 108B, two candidate starter culture strains for cocoa fermentation processes, by reconstructing genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs).

An in-depth multiphasic analysis of the chocolate production chain, from bean to bar, demonstrates the superiority of Saccharomyces cerevisiae over Hanseniaspora opuntiae as functional starter culture during cocoa fermentation.

Hanseniaspora opuntiae is a commonly found yeast species in naturally fermenting cocoa pulp-bean mass, which needed in-depth investigation. The present study aimed at examining effects of the cocoa isolate H. opuntiae IMDO 040108 as part of three different starter culture mixtures compared with spontaneous fermentation, regarding microbial community, substrate consumption, and metabolite production dynamics, including volatile organic compound (VOC) and phytochemical compositions, as well as compositions of the cocoa beans after fermentation, cocoa liquors, and chocolates.

Phylogenomics of a cocoa strain reveals adaptation to a West African fermented food population.

Various yeast strains have been proposed as candidate starter cultures for cocoa fermentation, especially strains of . In the current study, the genome of the cocoa strain IMDO 050523 was unraveled based on a combination of long- and short-read sequencing. It consisted of 16 nuclear chromosomes and a mitochondrial chromosome, which were organized in 20 contigs, with only two small gaps.

Microbiomes Associated With the Surfaces of Northern Argentinian Fruits Show a Wide Species Diversity.

The fiber, vitamin, and antioxidant contents of fruits contribute to a balanced human diet. In countries such as Argentina, several tropical fruits are witnessing a high yield in the harvest season, with a resulting surplus. Fruit fermentation using autochthonous starter cultures can provide a solution for food waste.

Traditional Fermented Foods from Ecuador: A Review with a Focus on Microbial Diversity.

The development of early civilizations was greatly associated with populations' ability to exploit natural resources. The development of methods for food preservation was one of the pillars for the economy of early societies. In Ecuador, food fermentation significantly contributed to social advances and fermented foods were considered exclusive to the elite or for religious ceremonies.

An exploratory analysis of the response to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine in males and females.

Background: There are known differences in vaccine reactogenicity and immunogenicity by sex. Females have been shown to report greater reactogenicity and generate higher humoral and cellular immune responses than males following vaccination with several different vaccines. Whether this is also the case for COVID-19 vaccines is currently unknown, as COVID-19 vaccine study data disaggregated by sex are not routinely reported.

Efficacy and safety of ketone ester infusion to prevent muscle weakness in a mouse model of sepsis-induced critical illness.

In septic mice, 3-hydroxybutyrate-sodium-salt has shown to partially prevent sepsis-induced muscle weakness. Although effective, the excessive sodium load was toxic. We here investigated whether ketone ester 3-hydroxybutyl-3-hydroxybutanoate (3HHB) was a safer alternative.

To culture or not to culture: careful assessment of metabarcoding data is necessary when evaluating the microbiota of a modified-atmosphere-packaged vegetarian meat alternative throughout its shelf-life period.

Background: As the increased consumption of ready-to-eat meat alternatives is a fairly recent trend, little is known about the composition and dynamics of the microbiota present on such products. Such information is nonetheless valuable in view of spoilage and food safety prevention. Even though refrigeration and modified-atmosphere-packaging (MAP) can extend the shelf-life period, microbial spoilage can still occur in these products.