Population-based seroprevalence studies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in low- and middle-income countries are lacking. We investigated the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory ...syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in Sergipe state, Northeast Brazil, using rapid IgM−IgG antibody test and fluorescence immunoassay. The seroprevalence was 9.3% (95% CI 8.5–10.1), 10.2% (95% CI 9.2–11.3) for women and 7.9% (IC 95% 6.8–9.1) for men (P = 0.004). We found a decline in the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies according to age, but the differences were not statistically significant: 0–19 years (9.9%; 95% CI 7.8–12.5), 20–59 years (9.3%; 95% CI 8.4–10.3) and ≥60 years (9.0%; 95% CI 7.5–10.8) (P = 0.517). The metropolitan area had a higher seroprevalence (11.7%, 95% CI 10.3–13.2) than outside municipalities (8.0%, 95% CI 7.2–8.9) (P < 0.001). These findings highlight the importance of serosurveillance to estimate the real impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and thereby provide data to better understand the spread of the virus, as well as providing information to guide stay-at-home measures and other policies. In addition, these results may be useful as basic data to follow the progress of COVID-19 outbreak as social restriction initiatives start to be relaxed in Brazil.
This study investigated a lycopene-rich extract from red guava (LEG) for its chemical composition using spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared ...spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and computational studies. The cytotoxic activity of LEG and the underlying mechanism was studied in human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), murine fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3), BALB/c murine peritoneal macrophages, and sheep blood erythrocytes by evaluating the cell viability with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method and flow cytometry. Spectrophotometry analysis showed that LEG contained 20% of lycopene per extract dry weight. Experimental and theoretical ATR-FTIR suggests the presence of lycopene, whereas MS/MS spectra obtained after fragmentation of the molecular ion M+• of 536.4364 show fragment ions at m/z 269.2259, 375.3034, 444.3788, and 467.3658, corroborating the presence of lycopene mostly related to all-trans configuration. Treatment with LEG (1600 to 6.25μg/mL) for 24 and 72h significantly affected the viability of MCF-7 cells (mean half maximal inhibitory concentration IC50=29.85 and 5.964μg/mL, respectively) but not NIH-3T3 cells (IC50=1579 and 911.5μg/mL, respectively). Furthermore LEG at concentrations from 800 to 6.25μg/mL presented low cytotoxicity against BALB/c peritoneal macrophages (IC50≥800μg/mL) and no hemolytic activity. LEG (400 and 800μg/mL) caused reduction in the cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest, DNA fragmentation, modifications in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and morphologic changes related to granularity and size in MCF-7 cells; however, it failed to cause any significant damage to the cell membrane or display necrosis or traditional apoptosis. In conclusion, LEG was able to induce cytostatic and cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells probably via induction of an apoptotic-like pathway.
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•Lycopene rich extract from red guava (LEG) contains mostly all-trans-lycopene;•LEG exhibited cytotoxicity against human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7);•Fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3) and BALB/c macrophages treated with LEG remained viable;•LEG did not display hemolytic activity on sheep blood erythrocytes;•LEG induced cytostatic and cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 by apoptotic-like pathway.
Bioactive biodegradable films are emerging biomaterials in the food packaging field. This study aims to investigate the effect of different
Cenostigma nordestinum
extracts (leaves, bark, and exudate ...bark) on the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and some physicochemical properties of chitosan films. Different concentrations of the extracts were added to the film matrix and the resulting incorporated films were evaluated for their bioactive, optical, mechanical, and water vapor barrier properties. The extracts of
C. nordestinum
proved to be natural sources of promising bioactive compounds with good antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The films incorporated with
C. nordestinum
extracts were opaquer, more resistant to tension, and less permeable to water vapor when compared to chitosan-control films. The incorporation of 300 µg mL
−1
of the bark extract in the chitosan film increased the tensile strength from 113.97 ± 0.42 to 164.82 ± 0.85 MPa, and reduced the water vapor permeability from 2.11 ± 0.02 to 1.51 ± 0.04 × 10
−10
g (m s Pa)
−1
. Additionally, the incorporated films presented excellent antioxidant capacity and discrete antimicrobial activity. The ongoing results demonstrate that bioactive chitosan-films incorporated with different
C. nordestinum
extracts are quite promising for the production of ecologically sustainable packaging for the food industry.
Composite materials have gained significant attention owing to the synergistic effects of their constituent materials, thereby facilitating their utilization in new applications or in improving the ...existing ones. In this study, a composite based on nickel phthalocyanine (NiTsPc), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), and carbon nanotubes (CNT) was developed and subsequently immobilized on a pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE). The PGE/NiTsPc-ZnONPs-CNT was identified as a selective catalytic hybrid system for detection of neurotransmitter dopamine (DA). The electrochemical and morphological characterizations were conducted using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chronoamperometry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used to detect DA and detection limits of 24 nM and 7.0 nM was found, respectively. In addition, the effects of some possible DA interferents, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and serotonin, on DA response were evaluated. Their presence did not show significant variations in the DA electrochemical response. The high specificity and sensitivity of PGE/NiTsPc-ZnONPs-CNT for DA enabled its direct detection in human serum without sample pretreatment as well as in DA-enriched serum samples, whose recovery levels were close to 100%, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method. In general, PGE/NiTsPc-ZnONPs-CNT is a promising candidate for future applications in clinical diagnosis.
Parasitism by gastrointestinal nematodes is a challenge for small ruminant farming worldwide. It causes productive and economic losses, especially due to parasite resistance to conventional ...anthelmintics. Natural compounds with antiparasitic activity are a potential alternative for controlling these parasites especially when considering the widespread occurrence of anthelmintic resistance. Our objective was to evaluate the activity of anacardic acid, geraniol, cinnamaldehyde and citronellal on Haemonchus contortus isolates with different levels of anthelmintic resistance profiles. These compounds were tested using egg hatch assays (EHAs), larval development tests (LDTs) as well as LDTs on mini-fecal cultures, on the Haemonchus contortus isolates Kokstad (KOK-resistant to all anthelmintics), Inbred-Strain-Edinburgh (ISE-susceptible to all anthelmintics) and Echevarria (ECH-susceptible to all anthelmintics). Effective concentrations to inhibit 50% (EC50) and 95% (EC95) of egg hatching and larval development were calculated. Results for EHA and LDT for all tested compounds, considering EC50 and EC95 values, showed low variation among the studied isolates with most RF values below 2x. All studied compounds showed efficacy against egg hatching and larval development of H. contortus isolates regardless of anthelmintic resistance profiles. The compounds with the smallest EC50 and EC95 values were cinnamaldehyde and anacardic acid making them promising candidates for future in vivo studies.
Understanding the motives influencing food intake is indispensable for effective dietary recommendations aimed at promoting healthy eating in an integrative way. The objective of this study was to ...evaluate food choice motives across two socioeconomically different cities in Brazil. A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample (n = 473) of adults living in both places was evaluated. Food choice motives were assessed by The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) with 15 dimensions, and economic classifications were made according to the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria (CCEB). Data analysis used both a general linear model (GLM) and a Structural Equation Model (SEM) adjusted for age, ethnicity, income and educational degree. Participants were mainly women (74.6%) with a mean age of 36.6 years. Cities were not invariant (Δχ2 = 314.165, p < 0.001) and two distinct prediction models for food choice motives emerged. Fit indices indicate acceptable model fit for both low (CFI = 0.911; TLI = 0.898; RMSEA = 0.041) and high socioeconomic status groups (CFI = 0.808; TLI = 0.717; RMSEA = 0.081). Although cities differ in the prediction models for food choice motives, we demonstrated that there are two main networks of predictors: one related to social context predictors of food choice motives and another related to hedonic-oriented ones. Particularly, hedonic-oriented motives (i.e., pleasure) were the most relevant predictors to the group of high socioeconomic status followed by social context predictors (traditional eating and sociability). On the other hand, the group of low socioeconomic status had most of its predictors related to social context (i.e., visual appeal, traditional eating, sociability, social norms and social image) and also price, but this last one was the least important among the most important predictors.
Candida albicans is a major cause of human infections, ranging from relatively simple to treat skin and mucosal diseases to systemic life-threatening invasive candidiasis. Fungal infections treatment ...faces three major challenges: the limited number of therapeutic options, the toxicity of the available drugs, and the rise of antifungal resistance. In this study, we demonstrate the antifungal activity and mechanism of action of peptides ToAP2 and NDBP-5.7 against planktonic cells and biofilms of C. albicans. Both peptides were active against C. albicans cells; however, ToAP2 was more active and produced more pronounced effects on fungal cells. Both peptides affected C. albicans membrane permeability and produced changes in fungal cell morphology, such as deformations in the cell wall and disruption of ultracellular organization. Both peptides showed synergism with amphotericin B, while ToAP2 also presents a synergic effect with fluconazole. Besides, ToAP2 (6.25 µM.) was able to inhibit filamentation after 24 h of treatment and was active against both the early phase and mature biofilms of C. albicans. Finally, ToAP2 was protective in a Galleria mellonella model of infection. Altogether these results point to the therapeutic potential of ToAP2 and other antimicrobial peptides in the development of new therapies for C. albicans infections.
The aim of this research was to evaluate the peculiarities of the biological rhythms of thermoregulation of goats and sheep in response to heat. Two hundred and thirty animals (115 goats and 115 ...sheep) were analyzed in physiological parameters (surface temperature - ST, rectal temperature - RT, heart rate - HR and respiratory rate - RR), behavioral and water consumption. Furthermore, environmental data were collected and bioclimatic indexes were calculated in order to characterize the microclimate conditions of the installation. The data obtained submitted to ANOVA and compared using Tukey's test (P<0.05). The sheep showed higher (P < 0.05) HR, RR and RT. The goats showed lower (P < 0.05) water consumption and lower feeding time. The sheep had the highest percentage of "sitting" posture and "agonistic behaviors". Goat are less sensitive to heat stress and therefore require a smaller magnitude of the biological mechanisms of thermoregulation, the may be related to greater efficiency in water use and fiber digestion of this specie.
Bedellia somnulentella
Zeller, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Bedelliidae), microlepidoptera leafminer of plants of the Convolvulaceae family, has
Ipomoea batatas
as its main commercial host. The distribution of ...this insect is cosmopolitan, with importance in different regions of the world. The aim was to report the occurrence of
B. somnulentella
in the Atlantic Forest, as well as its host plant and a predator, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Distimake dissectus
var.
edentatus
(Convolvulaceae) plants was damaged in the Atlantic Forest biome in the municipality of Viçosa, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
Agelaia vicina
Saussure, 1854 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) fed on
B. somnulentella
caterpillars and pupae. The record of this insect on
D. dissectus
var.
edentatus
expands the number of its hosts in the Atlantic Forest. The record of the predator
A. vicina
increases the number of enemies and reinforces the importance of Vespidae to reducing populations of the leaf miner
B. somnulentella
in the field.
New licuri-based kefir beverages were obtained using water kefir grains as fermentation inoculum (1, 2.5, and 5%) under different fermentation times (24 and 48 h). Metagenomic sequencing of the kefir ...grains adapted to the aqueous licuri extract revealed Lactobacillus hilgardii and Brettanomyces bruxellensis to be predominant in this inoculum. The excellent adaptation of the kefir grains to the licuri extract raised the possibility of prebiotic action of these almonds. The beverages showed acidity values between 0.33 ± 0.00 and 0.88 ± 0.00 mg lactic acid/100 mL and pH between 3.52 ± 0.01 and 4.29 ± 0.04. The viability of lactic acid bacteria in the fermented beverages was equal to or greater than 108 CFU/mL, while yeasts were between 104 and 105 CFU/mL. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the proximate composition of the formulations, especially in the protein (1.37 ± 0.33–2.16 ± 0.84) and carbohydrate (5.86 ± 0.19–11.51 ± 1.26) contents. In addition, all the samples showed good stability in terms of acidity, pH, and viability for LAB and yeasts during 28 days of storage (4 °C). Overall, the beverages showed a dominant yellow-green color, non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior, and high mean scores in the sensory evaluation. This study provided evidence of the emerging potential of licuri in the plant-based beverage industry.
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