The
mosquito is a vector of severe diseases with high morbidity and mortality rates. The most commonly used industrial larvicides have considerable toxicity for non-target organisms. This study aimed ...to develop and evaluate liquid and solid carrier systems to use pentyl cinnamate (PC), derived from natural sources, to control
larvae. The liquid systems consisting of nanoemulsions with different lecithins systems were obtained and evaluated for stability over 30 days. Microparticles (MPs) were obtained by the spray drying of the nanoemulsions using maltodextrin as an adjuvant. Thermal, NMR and FTIR analysis indicated the presence of PC in microparticles. Indeed, the best nanoemulsion system was also the most stable and generated the highest MP yield. The PC larvicidal activity was increased in the PC nanoemulsion system. Therefore, it was possible to develop, characterize and obtain PC carrier systems active against
larvae.
Plant extracts are increasingly recognized as potential prophylactic agents in poultry production due to their diverse bioactive properties. This study investigated the phytochemical and biological ...properties of Libidibia ferrea (L. ferrea), a plant species native to the Caatinga region of northeastern Brazil. The aim of this study was to identify secondary metabolites and to demonstrate the antimicrobial, antioxidant and protective effects of the plant extract. Three extracts were produced: EHMV, a hydroalcoholic extract from the maceration of pods, and EEMC and EEMV ethanolic extracts from the maceration of peels and pods, respectively, from L. ferrea. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-MS/MS) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) were used to characterize the metabolites and metals. The antimicrobial activity against Salmonella Galinarum (SG), Salmonella pullorum (SP), Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) and Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) was evaluated alone and in combination with probiotic bacteria (Bacillus velenzensis) using agar diffusion and the bactericidal minimum concentration (CBM). The antioxidant potential of the extracts was evaluated in 5 in vitro assays and 6 assays in 3t3 cells. The toxicity of EHMV was tested, and its ability to combat SP infection was demonstrated using a chicken embryo model. The results showed that EHMV exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. The combination of EHMV with BV had synergistic effects, increased antimicrobial activity and induced bacterial sporulation. Composition analysis revealed the presence of 8 compounds, including tannins and phenolic compounds. In vitro antioxidant tests demonstrated that total antioxidant capacity(TAC) activity was increased, and the extract had strong reducing power and notable metal chelating effects. Analysis of 3T3 cells confirmed the protective effect of EHMV against oxidative stress. Toxicity assessments in chicken embryos confirmed the safety of EHMV and its protective effect against SP-induced mortality. EHMV from L. ferrea is rich in proteins and contains essential metabolites that contribute to its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. When associated with probiotic bacteria such as B. velezensis, this extract increases the inhibition of SH, SG, SP, and APE. The nontoxic nature of EHMV and its protective effects on chicken embryos make it a potential supplement for poultry.
Lean management principles include customer focus, continuous improvement and quality through waste reduction for organizations, including IT, bringing benefits such as bringing people together and ...changing paradigms. In this context, this paper presents a literature review on the current characteristics of lean manufacturing applied to information technology departments or companies. The methodology includes the selection of documents from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, a bibliometric study and a literature review with the selected documents. The bibliometric study identified the document type, language, year of publication, authors, author network, author’s H-index, affiliation, keyword clusters, country or territory and field of knowledge. The VOSviewer software was used to create the maps of the author network and keyword clusters. The literature review presented the main topics of Lean IT, which is a relatively new field of knowledge yet to be fully explored and researched. The results showed that there is no typical pattern regarding the number of publications, and that the concept is still much more used in business than in academy. There is no core of well-defined authors. The Lean methodology is not just the so-called "factory floor". It has been adopted by several other areas; although 50% of the documents are concentrated in two areas: Computer Science and Engineering. Hopefully this paper can contribute as a source of data for future studies on lean management within IT.
There was few studies using the simultaneous reduction of fat and sodium chloride, as well as the stability of the meat products with these reductions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of fat ...and sodium chloride reduction in beef burgers during storage. For this, two treatments were produced: T1—without fat and sodium chloride reduction (control) and T2—with 50% fat reduction + 5% fructooligosaccharides and with the replacement of 50% of sodium chloride by potassium chloride. Physicochemical analysis and sensory acceptance were performed. According to results, the pH increased (
p
< 0.05) with 120 days. For the lipid oxidation, there was an interaction between treatments and storage. There was an increase in TBARS with storage for both treatments. T2 had the highest TBARS at 0, 30, and 60 days. For the color before cooking, there was a reduction in the redness (
p
< 0.05) with 90 days. After cooking, the lightness reduced at 90 days, while the redness increased at 90 days. However, the instrumental changes were not perceived by consumers. For the sensory acceptance, there was a reduction in the flavor, texture and overall liking with storage. However, despite the decline, the averages remained in the acceptance zone. The beef burgers were perceived as less juiciness and less salty after storage. Thus, the storage affects the physicochemical characteristics and sensory evaluation of beef burgers low-fat and low-sodium. The results reinforce the need for more studies with the storage of meat products with fat and sodium chloride reduced.
Typha domingensis (Cattail) fiber is a significant natural resource, abundant in cellulose. The study reports the useful utilization of T. domingensis fiber for physicochemical impregnation of silver ...nanoparticles and benzalkonium chloride, in the development of a material with antimicrobial activity. The fibers were pre‐treated with alkaline hydrogen peroxide (bleaching) for partial removal of lignin, pectin and waxes. Subsequently treated in a solution of different concentrations of benzalkonium chloride and Tollens' reagent. The new materials obtained were carefully investigated for their structure and thermal stability, morphology and susceptibility to antimicrobials (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimuruim, and Salmonella enteritidis). Fourier transform infrared spectra showed the presence of benzalkonium chloride. The morphology analysis showed the silver nanoparticles on the surface of the bleached fibers. The susceptibility profile to antimicrobials was confirmed by the formation of inhibition halos (≅11.26 mm). Based on the properties of the materials obtained, it can be concluded that the modified cattail fibers have the potential to be used as a functional filler, or coating, in the development of antimicrobial composites.
Bleached cattail fibers modified by physical–chemical processes of impregnation of silver nanoparticles have the potential to be used as a functional filler, or coating, in the development of antimicrobial composites.
The high mortality rate of candidemia and the limited option for the treatment of
spp. infection have been driving the search for new molecules with antifungal property. In this context, coordination ...complexes of metal ions and ligands appear to be important. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize two new copper(II) complexes with 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil ligands and to evaluate their mutagenic potential and antifungal activity against
. The complexes were synthesized and characterized by infrared vibrational spectroscopy, CHN elemental analysis, UV-Vis experiments and ESI-HRMS spectrometry studies. The antifungal activity was evaluated by broth microdilution against 21 clinical isolates of
species. The mutagenic potential was evaluated by the Ames test. The complexes were Cu(Bipy)Cl₂(thiouracil) (Complex
) and Cu(Bipy)Cl₂(6-methylthiouracil) (Complex
). Complex
showed fungicidal and fungistatic activities against all isolates. Furthermore, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) from 31 to 125 µg/mL and inhibition percentage of 9.9% against the biofilms of
and
were demonstrated. At the concentrations tested, complex
exhibited no mutagenic potential. Complex
and the free ligands exhibited no antifungal activity at the concentrations evaluated. Since complex
presented antifungal activity against all the tested isolates and no mutagenic potential, it could be proposed as a potential new drug for anti-
therapy.
Quality of life (QL) assessments of children with incapacitating diseases, such as cerebral palsy (CP), have often been conducted with the help of the representatives of a child, making QL assessment ...more subjective. The Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé (AUQEI) is a QL assessment designed for children to self-report-it uses images to facilitate the reporting process.
evaluate the psychometric properties of AUQEI when responses are given by children with CP.
Children aged 4 to 12 years (45 with CP and 45 healthy children) gave responses to the questionnaire. The data quality, reliability and validity were assessed. The data loss rate ranged from 8.8% to 46.7%, and was highest for the "autonomy" factor. No floor or ceiling effect was detected. The success rate for reliability of the internal consistency of the items was less than 80% for the "autonomy" factor. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.71 for the instrument and less than 0.5 for the factors. All the factors had a success rate of greater than 80% for the discriminating validity of the items. The factors did not have correlations between each other, thus indicating adequate discriminating validity. Convergent validity was tested and a significant correlation was demonstrated only between the AUQEI "functioning" factor and the Child Health Questionnaire--50-Item (CHQ-PF50) physical summary score (r = 0.31, p = 0.042). The AUQEI scores did not have correlations with the gross motor function scores (p>0.05) as expected for divergent validity. Regarding construct validity, the total AUQEI score obtained by the CP group was lower (median: 47.3) than that of the healthy group (median: 51.0) (p<0.01).
The AUQEI was shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing children with CP when the total score was used. Convergent validity should continue to be tested in future studies.
To isolate Candida albicans (C. albicans) from the urine of hospitalized patients and assess the virulence factors and antifungal susceptibility profiles of the isolates.
Yeasts were identified using ...the chromogenic medium CHROMagar™, the VITEK® 2 system, hypertonic Sabouraud broth, tobacco agar, polymerase chain reaction, and DNA sequencing. The evaluated virulence factors were proteinase production, phospholipase production, and biofilm production on polystyrene. The broth microdilution technique was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration.
All yeasts isolated from urine were identified as C. albicans using both classical and molecular methods. Although 91.3% of the isolates showed no phospholipase activity, 56.5% showed strong proteinase activity and 91.7% produced biofilm. All microorganisms were sensitive to fluconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B, but 56.5% of the yeasts showed resistance to itraconazole.
C. albicans isolates from urine have a high capacity for virulence and can be associated with infectious processes. Furthermore, the high percentage of isolates resistant to itraconazole is important because this antifungal agent is commonly used to treat fungal infections in the hospital environment.
The global rise of infectious disease outbreaks and the progression of microbial resistance reinforce the importance of researching new biomolecules. Obtained from the hydrolysis of chitosan, ...chitooligosaccharides (COSs) have demonstrated several biological properties, including antimicrobial, and greater advantage over chitosan due to their higher solubility and lower viscosity. Despite the evidence of the biotechnological potential of COSs, their effects on trypanosomatids are still scarce. The objectives of this study were the enzymatic production, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of the cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic effects of COSs. NMR and mass spectrometry analyses indicated the presence of a mixture with 81% deacetylated COS and acetylated hexamers. COSs demonstrated no evidence of cytotoxicity upon 2 mg/mL. In addition, COSs showed interesting activity against bacteria and yeasts and a time-dependent parasitic inhibition. Scanning electron microscopy images indicated a parasite aggregation ability of COSs. Thus, the broad biological effect of COSs makes them a promising molecule for the biomedical industry.
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