Search

Aims: To gather data on agricultural practices in organic farms in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and evaluate their relationship with the microbiological characteristics of samples collected along the production chain. Methods and Results: Practices data were based on field observations and interviews with farmers in 10 selected organic lettuce producing farms. Counts of Enterobacteriaceae and surveys for Salmonella were performed in samples of lettuce (before and after washing), fertilizers, irrigation and washing water, all collected in the same farm. Water samples were also tested for total coliforms and generic Escherichia coli. Isolated Enterobacteriaceae were identified by MALDI‐TOF MS. Contamination of lettuce was influenced by some agricultural practices: chicken manure‐based fertilization resulted in higher Enterobacteriaceae counts in lettuce when compared to other types of manure, whereas pre‐washed lettuces presented lower microbial counts than non‐pre‐washed samples. Salmonella was detected in one lettuce sample by qPCR. Escherichia coli was detected in all irrigation water samples. All sample types contained Enterobacteriaceae species commonly reported as opportunistic human pathogens. Conclusions: The data highlight the need for improvement in the good agricultural practices in the studied farms. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides information on agricultural practices and microbiological characteristics of organic lettuce, contributing to the development of more accurate risk assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objetivo: Avaliar as alterações de índices de saúde bucal e modificações da flora oral durante internação na UTI. Métodos: Estudo prospectivo observacional de pacientes adultos admitidos na UTI do Hospital Sirio-Libanes (junho 2016 a maio de 2017). A saúde bucal foi avaliada por profissional especializado através do índice de placa e mucosa e exame de saúde bucal em três momentos: 24 horas, quarto e oitavo dia de internação. Além disso, dois sítios (saliva e biofilme dentário ou prótese) tiveram sua flora oral avaliada nos mesmos intervalos através da técnica automatizada de espectrometria de massa (MALDI-TOF). Resultados: Foram avaliados 60 pacientes. Destes, 51 permaneceram na UTI quatro dias e 38 oito dias. O SAPS3 foi 51 (41,5-58) e o SOFA 3 (1-6). O índice CPOD (dentes cariados, perdidos e obturados) encontrava-se elevado na admissão [mediana 23,5 (16-32)]. O índice de placa e mucosa foi considerado aceitável em apenas 45% dos pacientes. Durante internação houve melhora no escore de saude bucal à beira-leito. Os principais microorganismos patogênicos presentes em saliva e biofilme foram Candida spp, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus. A frequência de microorganismos patogênicos foi elevada em saliva e biofilme, sem diferença significante no biofilme. Na saliva, houve aumento significante de microrganismos patogênicos durante permanência na UTI [37,9%, 42,4% e 54,5%, nos dias um, quarto e oitavo (p<0,001)]. Conclusão: A saúde bucal de pacientes críticos na admissão é precária. A permanência em UTI se associou a alterações bucais clínicas e microbiológicas significativas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The aim of this work was to correlate metabolic changes with copper ions (Cu +2 ) bioremediation by microalgae C. vulgaris 097 CCMA-UFSCar at low Cu +2 content. The metabolic effects include proteome changes related to fatty acid biosynthesis (value-added product) and carbon fixation (climate change mitigation). Cu +2 , even at low concentration, showed a significant negative impact on C. vulgaris growth. The microalgal bioremediation reached 100, 74, 38 and 26% for Cu +2 content at 0.1; 0.3; 0.6 and 0.9 mg L -1 , respectively. Regarding proteomics, the numbers of proteins reduced (≈37%) from 581 proteins (control) to 369 proteins (0.9 mg of Cu +2  L -1 ) compared to control. The microalgal CO 2 fixation is strictly related to the Calvin cycle, particularly phase 1, in which ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (RuBisCO) produces two phosphoglycerate molecules from CO 2 and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate. Then, phosphoglycerate can be metabolically reduced into glucose. When compared to control, the RuBisCO was underexpressed (≈50%). Similar changes in proteomic profiling of metabolism-related to fatty acid biosynthesis was observed. Nevertheless, no protein was found for the cultivation at 0.9 mg of Cu +2  L -1 . Thus, the analysis of C. vulgaris proteomic data indicated that even at low concentration, Cu +2 lead to drastic metabolic changes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The production of bioactive peptides from organic by-waste materials is in line with current trends devoted to guaranteeing environmental protection and a circular economy. The objectives of this study were i) to optimize the conditions for obtaining bioactive hydrolysates from chicken combs and wattles using Alcalase, ii) to identify the resulting peptides using LC-ESI-MS 2 and iii) to evaluate their chelating and antioxidant activities. The hydrolysate obtained using a ratio of enzyme to substrate of 5% ( w / w ) and 240 min of hydrolysis showed excellent Fe 2+ chelating and antioxidant capacities, reducing Fe 3+ and inhibiting 2, 2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. The mapping of ion distribution showed that a high degree of hydrolysis led to the production of peptides with m / z ≤ 400, suggesting low mass peptides or peptides with multiple charge precursor ions. The peptides derived from the proteins of cartilage like Collagen alpha-2(I), Collagen alpha-1(I), Collagen alpha-1(III) and elastin contributed to generation of bioactive compounds. Hydrolysates from chicken waste materials could be regarded as candidates to be used as ingredients to design processed foods with functional properties.