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Objective: To evaluate the possible association between hyperuricemia and cardiorespiratory fitness levels/nutritional profile, grouped into a single variable, in schoolchildren. Method: Cross-sectional study of 2335 students from Elementary schools, aged 7–17 years of both genders, stratified by conglomerates of a municipality in Southern Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was assessed by the 6-minute run/walk test. The BMI and CRF were grouped into a single variable, considering: (1) low and normal weight/fit; (2) low and normal weight/unfit; (3) overweight-obesity/fit; (4) overweight-obesity/unfit. The Poisson regression (prevalence ratio, PR) was used for the association between hyperuricemia and BMI/CRF ratio with 95% confidence intervals and differences were considered significant when p

Screening of antioxidant potential of dichloromethane and methanolic extracts of twenty-seven seaweeds from the Peniche coast was performed by: total phenolic contents (TPC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Seaweeds revealing the highest antioxidant activity were screened for cytoprotective potential in MCF-7 cells, including the mitochondrial membrane potential analysis and the caspase-9 activity. High correlation was found between TPC of seaweed extracts and their scavenging capacity on DPPH and peroxyl radicals. The highest antioxidant activity was displayed by the methanolic fraction of brown seaweeds belonging to Fucales, however Ulva compressa presented the highest cytoprotective effect by blunting the apoptosis process. These results suggest that high antioxidant activity may not be directly related with high cytoprotective potential. Thus, seaweeds reveal to be a promising source of compounds with potential against oxidative stress. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Justificativa e objetivos: O estresse ocupacional pode estar relacionado ao surgimento de doenças físicas e psíquicas. Objetiva-se avaliar a associação dos aspectos psicossociais do trabalho, de acordo com o Modelo Demanda-Controle, com a ocorrência de transtornos mentais entre os trabalhadores das Estratégias de Saúde da Família em Santa Cruz do Sul, RS. Métodos: estudo com abordagem epidemiológica, de corte transversal e quantitativo. A população alvo do estudo foi constituída por 89 profissionais, entre médicos, enfermeiros, técnicos/auxiliares de enfermagem (TE) e agentes comunitários de saúde, pertencentes às equipes das 11 Estratégias de Saúde da Família do município de Santa Cruz do Sul. Utilizou-se um questionário contendo questões sociodemográficas, ocupacionais e outras pertencentes à Job Stress Scale e ao Self Reporting Questionnaire. Resultados: Constatou-se que 30,1% dos profissionais apresentavam alta demanda e baixo controle sobre o trabalho, resultando em alta exposição ao desenvolvimento de estresse ocupacional. A prevalência de transtorno mental comum nos profissionais submetidos ao trabalho de alta exigência foi de 38%. Conclusão: Frente a esses resultados preocupantes faz-se necessário que se tomem atitudes visando a prevenção ou redução do estresse laboral e do adoecimento no trabalho. DESCRITORES: Estresse Psicológico. Saúde do Trabalhador. Saúde Mental. Atenção Primária à Saúde.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of common mental health disorders among employees of the Family Health Strategy in Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, and to describe sociodemographic and occupational factors associated with these disorders. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative study, conducted from June to August 2013. In total, 83 employees, who worked at 11 family health units in the city, participated. Participants included doctors, nurses, technicians/nursing assistants, and community health workers. The survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire about sociodemographic and occupational issues as well as the matters related to the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Results: The average age of participants was 37.1±8.9 years. The majority of community health workers were female workers who were married, had children, had a per capita income of up to 2 minimum wages, and had completed high school. The general prevalence of common mental health disorders was 19.7%. Mental health disorders were present in all occupational categories, but were more frequent among male nurses (25%), although this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study, in addition to characterizing the population of employees of the Family Health Strategy in Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, in terms of demographic and occupational characteristics, found that psychological distress was present, to varying degrees, in all professional categories evaluated. Given the high prevalence of mental health disorders among these employees, measures are required to ensure the protection and promotion of mental health in this setting.

Methanol, n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts of twelve marine macro-algae (Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Heterokontophyta divisions) from Peniche coast (Portugal) were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activity. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method against Bacillus subtilis (gram positive bacteria) and Escherichia coli (gram negative bacteria). Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as a model for the antifungal activity by evaluating the growth inhibitory activity of the extracts. The high antibacterial activity was obtained by the Asparagopsis armata methanolic extract (10 mm-0.1 mg/disc), followed by the Sphaerococcus coronopifolius n-hexane extract (8 mm-0.1 mg/disc), and the Asparagopsis armata dichloromethane extract (12 mm-0.3 mg/disc) against Bacillus subtilis. There were no positive results against Escherichia coli. Sphaerococcus coronopifolius revealed high antifungal potential for n-hexane (IC50 = 40.2 µg/ml), dichloromethane (IC50 = 78.9 µg/ml) and methanolic (IC50 = 55.18 µg/ml) extracts against Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth. The antifungal potency of the Sphaerococcus coronopifolius extracts was similar with the standard amphotericin B. Asparagopsis armata and Sphaerococcus coronopifolius reveal to be interesting sources of natural compounds with antimicrobial properties.

International audience; The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme ‘Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products’. The scope of that project entitled ‘Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin’ (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules.

O diabetes mellitus (DM) inclui um grupo de doenças metabólicas resultante de disfunção na secreção e/ou ação da insulina. O diagnóstico de DM é definido com base na avaliação da glicemia de jejum(GJ) e hemoglobina glicada (A1C) que também informa a persistência da hiperglicemia. Entretanto novas tecnologias analíticas estão sempre sob constante investigação. A espectroscopia de absorção molecular no infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier (FT-IR) associada à análise multivariada tem surgido como uma alternativa nesse contexto. O presente estudo buscou avaliar a FT-IR, através da técnica de reflectância difusa, para quantificar glicose e A1C em um grupo de indivíduos adultos. O estudo foi composto por 46 pacientes de 32 a 59 anos, com valores GJ de 71,67 a 135 mg/dL e de A1C de 5,3 a 7,2 %. O modelo PLS-DRIFTS para GJ o apresentou RMSECV=1,37 mg/dL e R²=0,995 e para A1C, RMSECV=0,06% R²=0,993 sem exclusão de amostras e usando a faixa de 4000-2401, 2300-600 cm-1. Dessa forma foi possível concluir que FT-IR associada a análise multivariada se mostrou adequado para predizer os parâmetros bioquímicos de glicose e A1C de jejum com um erro mínimo, atendendo os requisitos analíticos da ANVISA para quantificação destes parâmetros.

Antioxidants play an important role as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) chelating agents and, therefore, the screening for potent antioxidants from natural sources as potential protective agents is of great relevance. The main aim of this study was to obtain antioxidant-enriched fractions from the common seaweed Fucus spiralis and evaluate their activity and efficiency in protecting human cells (MCF-7 cells) on an oxidative stress condition induced by H₂O₂. Five fractions, F1-F5, were obtained by reversed-phase vacuum liquid chromatography. F3, F4 and F5 revealed the highest phlorotannin content, also showing the strongest antioxidant effects. The cell death induced by H₂O₂ was reduced by all fractions following the potency order F4 > F2 > F3 > F5 > F1. Only fraction F4 completely inhibited the H₂O₂ effect. To understand the possible mechanisms of action of these fractions, the cellular production of H₂O₂, the mitochondrial membrane potential and the caspase 9 activity were studied. Fractions F3 and F4 presented the highest reduction on H₂O₂ cell production. All fractions decreased both caspase-9 activity and cell membrane depolarization (except F1). Taken all together, the edible F. spiralis reveal that they provide protection against oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂ on the human MCF-7 cellular model, probably acting as upstream blockers of apoptosis. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the identification of 19 Brazilian C. dubliniensis based on the biochemical profile exhibited when tested by the commercial identification kit ID 32C (bioMerieux). Thirteen of the isolates were rigorously identified as C. dubliniensis and the remaining isolates (six) were considered as having a doubtful profile but the software also suggested that there was 83.6% of chances for them to be C. dubliniensis. As well as pointed by the literature the identification obtained by phenotypic tests should be considered presumptive for C. dubliniensis due to variability of this new species. Dezenove culturas de C. dubliniensis isoladas no Brasil, previamente identificadas através de métodos genotípicos, foram avaliadas pelo kit comercial ID 32C (bioMerieux). Treze culturas foram identificadas como C. dubliniensis, mas as demais (seis) evidenciaram perfil duvidoso, embora o software do sistema sugerisse 83,6% de chances das mesmas pertencerem à espécie C. dubliniensis. A literatura tem registrado grande variabilidade fenotípica com esta espécie e, por isto, as identificações obtidas com este sistema deverão ser consideradas como presuntivas.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic fungus that causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised patients (HIV-positive patients), and lymphoproliferative disorders in patients subjected to organ transplantation and other immunosuppressive therapies. This fungus is commonly found in soil and avian excreta, mainly from pigeon and turkey. We describe the isolation and characterization of 17 clinical and 10 environmental (pigeon excreta) isolates from the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul. We analyzed capsule formation, carbon assimilation pattern, canavanine-glycine-bromothymol blue (CGB) reaction, and nitrate and urease tests, as well as susceptibility to antifungal drugs. The genetic variability among C. neoformans isolates was studied using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Eight of 22 arbitrary polymerase chain reaction primers used confirmed genetic polymorphism among the environmental isolates tested, suggesting that it remains feasible to use RAPD analysis as a typing method. Three of the selected primers yielded 10 molecular subclasses. The majority of the clinical isolates were assigned to the molecular subclass F. The RAPD data obtained reinforce the developing consensus about the population structure of this fungus.

In the present study, seasonal changes in semen quality of Lusitano stallions were evaluated to establish the best time for semen cryopreservation. Seasonal changes on testicular size, seminal characteristics and semen freezability were therefore evaluated by optical microscopy and flow cytometry. Five Lusitano stallions belonging to National Stud Farm, “Coudelaria Nacional” were used in the study. Semen was collected in four periods defined as spring (March/April), summer (June/July), autumn (September/October) and winter (December/February). Ejaculates were collected once a week for 4 weeks, and cryopreserved in 0.5-ml plastic straws. Before and after each period of semen collection, testicles of all stallions were measured. For evaluation, one straw per ejaculate, per stallion, and per season was thawed at 37 �C for 30 s and microscopic evaluation (motility) was performed. A flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA, USA) was used to evaluate sperm viability and acrosomal integrity by using the combination of fluorescent probes propidium iodide (PI) and SYBR-14 (LIVE/DEAD Sperm viability Kit (L-7011), Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oregon) for sperm viability. In addition, acrosome integrity was evaluated using the fluorescein labelled lectin from the peanut plant, Arachis hypogea (FITC-PNA, Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, MO) and propidium iodide (PI) probe. Results were evaluated by the Cell-Quest software (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA, USA) and statistical differences by a one-way ANOVA, followed by post hoc comparison tests. The results indicated significant seasonal differences in testicular size and sperm production (p�0.05). Ultrasonographic testicular volume was maximal in March (234.03±15.8 cm3), decreased to a minimum in October and June (203.5±17.0 cm3, 168.6±10.0 cm3, respectively) and started to increase again in January (190.8±8.8 cm3). A significant positive correlation between testicular volume and sperm production (r = 0.66; P� 0.01) was demonstrated, although minimum testicular volume was reached in October while minimum sperm production was registered in January. Viability in frozen-thawed semen from ejaculates collected in autumn was 37.73±2.20% and in summer 40.99±4.08%; the results differ significantly from other seasons: winter 54.26±2.10% and spring 46.71±2.32% (p�0.05). The high number of dead spermatozoa after the freezing‐thawing process in autumn/winter most likely indicates that seasonally related changes in seminal plasma composition may affect semen preservation. Nevertheless, no significant differences were observed for acrosome integrity in different periods of the experiment. An inter-stallion variation was observed for testicular size and sperm production, but testicular size, besides sperm production, was positively correlated in all individual stallions. At the time of semen collection, sperm concentrations determined by photometry showed that both testis size and sperm production of housed Lusitano stallions were affected by season. Testicular size and function were maximal in the spring, but testicular volume was smallest in October, while sperm production continued to decrease till January. The results indicate that in our climatic/latitude conditions, it is preferable to freeze semen during winter/spring period.