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[Display omitted] • All 288 Schistosoma mansoni putative microsatellites were identified. • 27 of 52 published, simple, tri/tetramer microsatellites had ideal characteristics. • No physical characteristic predicted performance in a given parasite population. • 15–20 markers produced small standard deviations for population indices. • Diversity and differentiation were greater for a Kenyan sample than for a Brazilian sample. All Schistosoma mansoni tri- and tetranucleotide repeat microsatellites published as of December 2018 were identified. All 52 were evaluated for autosomal location, strength of amplification, scorability and behavior as single-copy loci by polyacrylamide and capillary gel electrophoresis. Of these, 27 were unique, autosomal, polymorphic, easily scored and single copy as assessed on pooled adult worm DNA from two different continental origins and adult worm clones. These microsatellites were distributed across all seven autosomal chromosomes. On laboratory strains their heterozygosity ranged from 0.22 to 0.77. Individual markers had 5–13 alleles, allelic richness of 2–10 and an effective allele number of 1.3–8.14. Those infected by Schistosoma mansoni carry many genetically distinct, sexually reproducing parasites, therefore, for an individual infection the complete allele frequency profile of their progeny consists of a pool of DNA from multiple diploid eggs. Using a set of 25 microsatellites, we calculated allele frequency profiles of eggs in fecal samples from people in two Brazilian communities separated by 6 km: Jenipapo (n = 80) and Volta do Rio (n = 38). There were no a priori characteristics that could predict the performance of markers in natural infections based on their performance with laboratory strains. Increasing marker number did not change accuracy for differentiation and diversity but did improve precision. Our data suggest that using a random set of 10–20 microsatellites appears to result in values that exhibit low standard deviations for diversity and differentiation indices. All identified microsatellites as well as PCR conditions, allele size, primer sequences and references for all tri- and tetramer microsatellites markers presented in this work are available at: https://sites.google.com/case.edu/cwru-and-fiocruz-wdrc/home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichilia catigua is a tree known as "catuaba", widely distributed in Brazil. Studies carried out with T. catigua barks suggest that plant has antidepressant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiviral, and preventive against brain damage. The aim of this work was to isolate and characterise compounds from the semipurified fraction of T. catigua barks, and to conduct microbiological screening against bacteria and fungi. The crude extract (CE) of "catuaba" was produced by turbo extraction with acetone-water, and later, partitioned to yield ethyl-acetate (EAF) and aqueous (AqF) fractions. From AqF the new catechin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside-(4α→8)-epicatechin was isolated, identified, and described here for the first time. Regarding antimicrobial activity, the extracts presented impressive results, mainly for Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) with MIC of 156.5 μg/mL. The results suggest that extract of T. catigua could potentially be used as an adjuvant to treatment and is a promising candidate for the development of new antimicrobial drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The establishment of candidate genetic determinants associated with tuberculosis (TB) is a challenge, considering the divergent frequencies among populations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between MIF − 794 CATT 5−8 polymorphism and susceptibility to TB. Methods: Case–control study. Patients > 18 years, with pulmonary TB were included. The control group consisted of blood donors and household contacts, not relatives, healthy and > 18 years. MIF − 794 CATT 5−8 were genotyped using sequencing of PCR and capillary electrophoresis. Results: 126 patients and 119 controls were included. The genotype 5/5 was more frequent among cases (15.1%) than in controls (5.9%) (p = 0.019). Cases had more frequently the allele 5 (29.4%) as compared with controls (19.3%) (p = 0.010). Prevalence of 7/X + 8/X genotypes was not different between cases and controls (p = 0.821). There was no difference between patients with alleles 7 and 8 and those with alleles 5 and 6 (p = 0.608). Conclusions: The genotype 5/5 and the allele 5 of MIF − 794 CATT 5−8 were more frequent among TB patients than in controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for genetic studies on G. chacoensis, as well as to evaluate their transferability to other bamboo species. Genomic DNA was isolated from G. chacoensis and its partial sequencing was used to find SSR loci. The obtained sequencing data were de novo assembled using the software CLC Genomics Workbench® 8.0v. The SSR loci primers were identified and designed with the software SSRLocator. The selected markers were validated using 56 plants sampled in seven populations from southern Brazil. The markers with potential polymorphism were selected and fluorescently labeled for characterization by capillary electrophoresis. In total, 92 SSR loci were found in G. chacoensis contigs. Suitable primers were designed for 70 SSR loci, and the remaining 22 SSR loci did not have sequences for primer development. Out of 35 selected SSR markers, after PCR optimization, 10 with high polymorphism potential were characterized. These loci can be used in genetic analyses of G. chacoensis and all of them were successfully transferred to other bamboo species. Non-polymorphic loci require further tests with additional plants, from different populations, to identify possibilities of their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of Next-Generation Sequencing technology, sequencing of short tandem repeats (STRs) allows for a more detailed analysis when compared to size-based fragment methods (capillary electrophoresis-CE). The implementation of high-throughput sequencing can help uncover deeper genetic diversities of different populations. Subjects from the South region of Brazil present a particular and more homogeneous ancestry background when compared to other regions of the country. Both autosomal and Y- STRs have been analyzed in these individuals; however, all analyses published to date encompass data from CE-based fragment analysis. In this study, a genetic analysis of 59 individuals from Southern Brazil was performed on STR sequences. Forensically relevant STRs were PCR-enriched using a prototype of the PowerSeq™ AUTO/Y system (Promega Corp.). Next-generation sequencing was performed on an Illumina MiSeq instrument. The raw data (FASTQ files) were processed using a custom designed sequence processing tool, Altius . Isoalleles, which are sequence-based allelic variants that do not differ in length, were observed in nine autosomal and in six Y- STRs from the core global forensic marker set. The number of distinctive alleles based on sequence was higher when compared to those based on length, 37.3% higher in autosomal STRs and 13.8% higher in Y-STRs. The most polymorphic autosomal locus was D12S391, which presented 38 different sequence-based alleles. Among the loci in the Y chromosome, DYS389II presented the highest number of isoalleles. In comparison to CE analysis, Observed and Expected Heterozygosity, Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) and Genetic Diversity also presented higher values when the alleles were analyzed based on their sequence. For autosomal loci, Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) was 2.6% higher for sequence-based data. Diversity was 9.3% and 6.5% higher for autosomal and Y markers, respectively. In the analysis of the repeat structures for the STR loci, a new allele variant was found for allele 18 in the vWA locus. The STR flanking regions were also further investigated and sixteen variations were observed at nine autosomal STR loci and one Y-STR locus. The results obtained in this study demonstrate the importance of genetic analysis based on sequencing and highlight the diversity of the South Brazilian population when characterized by STR sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A CE-DAD method to separate 17 phenolic compounds from olive oil was optimised. [•] Resolution, runtime and migration time RSD values were evaluated as responses. [•] This was the first optimisation study to evaluate 37 responses simultaneously. [•] Derringer’s desirability function was used to simultaneously optimise the responses. [•] The method was validated and applied to 15 samples found in Brazilian supermarkets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the frequency of spinocerebellar ataxias and of CAG repeats range in different geographical regions of Brazil, and explores the hypothetical role of normal CAG repeats at ATXN1, ATXN2, ATXN3, CACNA1A, and ATXN7 genes on age at onset and on neurological findings. Patients with symptoms and family history compatible with a SCA were recruited in 11 cities of the country; clinical data and DNA samples were collected. Capillary electrophoresis was performed to detect CAG lengths at SCA1, SCA2, SCA3/MJD, SCA6, SCA7, SCA12, SCA17, and DRPLA associated genes, and a repeat primed PCR was used to detect ATTCT expansions at SCA10 gene. Five hundred forty-four patients (359 families) were included. There were 214 SCA3/MJD families (59.6 %), 28 SCA2 (7.8 %), 20 SCA7 (5.6 %), 15 SCA1 (4.2 %), 12 SCA10 (3.3 %), 5 SCA6 (1.4 %), and 65 families without a molecular diagnosis (18.1 %). Divergent rates of SCA3/MJD, SCA2, and SCA7 were seen in regions with different ethnic backgrounds. 64.7 % of our SCA10 patients presented seizures. Among SCA2 patients, longer ATXN3 CAG alleles were associated with earlier ages at onset ( p < 0.036, linear regression). A portrait of SCAs in Brazil was obtained, where variation in frequencies seemed to parallel ethnic differences. New potential interactions between some SCA-related genes were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate for the first time fourteen aliphatic organic acids (AOA) in honeys produced by different species of Brazilian stingless bees (Melipona bicolor, Scaptotrigona bipunctata, Melipona quadrifasciata, and Melipona marginata) and characterize them regarding their physicochemical properties. Thirteen AOAwere quantified in the samples, in which five of them (malonic, fumaric, glycolic, glutaric, and propionic acids) were identified for the first time instingless bee honey (SBH). Acetic, gluconic, and lactic acids were predominant in all the samples analyzed varying from 0.0067 ± 0.0001 to 1.5993 ± 0.0003 g 100 g -1 , 0.0808 ± 0.0007 to 1.3460 ± 0.0006 g 100 g -1 , and 0.0370 ± 0.000 to 0.5760 ± 0.0006 g 100 g -1 , respectively. Most physicochemical properties showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among the samples. However, it was observed that the water activity (Aw) did not differ significantly between honey samples produced by the same species. Moreover, it is important to highlight the high moisture content, Aw, and free acidity that were found in the range of 29.6 to 40.1 g 100 g -1 , 0.75 to 0.84, and 37.8 to 123 mEq kg -1 , respectively. This information reinforces such peculiar characteristics of SBH and a need to deeply investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of honey from different species of stingless bees. In conclusion, it was observed that the honey samples of the different stingless bee species presented a great variation regarding their AOA content, highlighting acetic, gluconic, and lactic acids as the major AOA in all the samples. However, since this was an exploratory study, it was not possible to find any correlation between honey produced by the same species., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: An alternative method for monitoring total trans fatty acids (TTFA) in hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF) and spreadable processed cheese (SPC) using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and indirect UV detection is proposed. This method is a simple, efficient and rapid way to monitor both raw materials and the final SPC product. The importance of printing nutritional tables on product labels, to provide more accurate information to consumers, and incorporation of stricter quality controls during food processing is emphasised. Following calculation of the response factor (Rf ), the CE method was applied to TTFA analysis in SPC samples, and compared with the accepted AOCS gas chromatography (GC) method. According to a paired sample t test, no significant difference was found between the CE and GC methods within the 95% confidence interval for five different brands analysed in genuine duplicate (p-value > 0.05). The optimised CE method was applied to analyse the TTFA content of the hydrogenated vegetable fat raw material and the SPC final product. Based on our results, this optimised CE method can be successfully used for routine analysis of TTFA in SPC samples with a run time of 7.5 min. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, a method for simultaneous determination of amfepramone, fenproporex, sibutramine and fluoxetine was developed by capillary zone electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) using a homemade capillary electrophoretic system. The optimized conditions for the separation of the pharmaceuticals by CZE were as follows: 50mmol L−1 phosphate buffer (pH 5.0) in 50/50 (v/v) mixture of water/acetonitrile as the working electrolyte, 15kV separation voltage, 25°C separation temperature, hydrodynamic injection by gravity using 20cm injection height and 60s injection time. The detection by C4D was carried out by using a homemade detector, which employs a sinusoidal wave generator operating at 600kHz frequency and 2Vpp wave amplitude. The optimized and validated CZE-C4D method was applied for the determination of the studied pharmaceuticals as adulterants in phytotherapeutic formulations commercialized in Brazil for slimming purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article describes the assessment of possible allelopathic potential of organic extracts obtained from leaves of Canavalia ensiformis under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, a systematic evaluation of these extracts was carried out using specific protocols developed in capillary electrophoresis (CE) to determine some groups of secondary metabolites. After the identification and quantification of compounds, the effects of compounds on germination of some common weeds was investigated, which are becoming a real problem in pastures in the state of Path, Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cocaine is one of the most frequently used illicit drug in the world. Therefore, the development of simple and fast methods for the detection of cocaine and common adulterants, diluents and impurities are extremely important in forensic investigations. The present study describes, for the first time, a method based on capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CE-C4D) for the rapid (2.5 min) and simultaneous quantification of cocaine, levamisole, lidocaine, carbonate, borate, chloride, nitrate, nitrite and sulphate. In the experiment, anions were separated in co-electroosmotic mode and cations in counter-electroosmotic mode employing a buffer solution composed by 10.0 mmol L−1 TAPS, 12 mmol L−1 NaOH and 0.2 mmol L−1 CTAB as the background electrolyte (pH = 8.8). The developed CE method demonstrated some interesting analytical characteristics such as: (i) a simple sample pretreatment step (only dilution in water and filtering), (ii) high-throughput screening (24 injections h−1), (iii) proper recovery values (between 72 and 118%), and (iv) an inter-day precision of less than 7% for all analytes. The procedure was successfully applied in the analysis of seized cocaine samples collected by the Integrated Forensics Post (PPI) of the Minas Gerais Civil Police (Uberaba, Minas Gerais State, Brazil), during the year of 2018. Image 1 • CE-C4D for rapid (2.5 min) and simultaneous quantification of adulterants in seized cocaine samples. • Cocaine, levamisole, lidocaine, CO 3 2−, BO 3 3−, Cl−, NO 2 −, NO 3 −, and SO 4 2− peaks in a single run. • The procedure exhibits high-throughput screening, specificity and wide linear range. • The cationic and anionic profile performed on CE-C4D can be used as a screening tool to aid the Police investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Evaluation of DNA databases effectiveness for sexual untested SAKs in Brazil. • The increase of profiles in DNA databases is positively associated with matches. • Upload of evidences' and criminals' profiles optimizes matches. • Our results reflect the recent use of DNA databases in Brazil. Accumulation of sexual assault evidences unsubmitted to forensic DNA testing raises concern and it favors low rates of sexual crimes resolution. However, with the advent of DNA databases, these evidences have provided valuable information for investigations. In Brazil, the use of DNA databases is recent and few studies assessed their contribution to criminal resolution. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of the DNA Database of Goias State, Central Brazil (BPG-SPTC/GO) in the resolution of sexual crimes without suspects through the insertion of profiles obtained from stored untested evidences collected between 2004 and 2018. Samples were submitted to DNA extraction by differential lysis, followed by the amplification of STR autosomal markers, capillary electrophoresis analysis in the ABI 3500 genetic analyzer and insertion in the BPG-SPTC/GO using CODIS 7 software. The rate of eligible samples for insertion and rates related to the obtained matches were evaluated. Statistical analyses were performed with Epi Info ™ v.7 and BioEstat 5.0 software. A total of 275 samples were submitted to DNA testing, 202 out of them (73.5%) presented eligible profiles for insertion. A total of 176 (64%; 176/202) were inserted, one crime scene profile from each case. Overall, 60 hits were generated, all series sexual matches; a higher prevalence of forensic hits was detected (81.7%; 49/60) and a total of 32 criminal investigations were assisted (18.2%; 32/176). As the use of DNA databases in Brazil is recent and Brazilian criminal law has stringent requirements, our results reinforce that the use of DNA databases for stored sexual crimes evidences is a feasible forensic tool and that the increasing of the number of both types of profiles in DNA databases, evidences and criminals, causes positive reflects on the number of matches generated. However, further studies are necessary to evaluate if this effectiveness reflects positively on conviction rates of sexual crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been widely applied in the field of human identification, and features a large number of mtDNA molecules per cell, the exclusively maternal inheritance, lack of recombination and high mutation rate found in the control region, and ensure the high level of polymorphism, mainly in hypervariable regions HV1, HV2 and HV3. However, despite highly polymorphic, one of the limitations of using these regions is that many polymorphisms are highly common, resulting in the presence of sequences shared by more than one individual, or maternal lineages, in different populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the discrimination power of the analysis of hypervariable regions HV1 (16,024–16,365), HV2 (73–340) and HV3 (438–574) of mtDNA in a Brazilian sample containing 290 unrelated individuals. Sequencing was performed using BygDye Terminator v3.1 and capillary electrophoresis was performed on ABI3130. All samples were validated by EMPOP and were classified into 15 haplogroups. Eighty out of 290 individuals presented European haplotypes, 108 showed Amerindian haplotypes and 102 individuals presented African haplotypes. Sixty-nine individuals (23.8%) could not be discriminated by the analysis of hypervariable regions HV1, HV2 and HV3 of mtDNA, and they were distributed in 24 different groups of common sequences. The most common sequence belonged to European haplogroup R0 with 10 individuals showing the same sequence. Trying to increase the discrimination power of common haplotypes and, therefore, individuals, analysis of SNPs in the coding region has been done. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]