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Alcohol is the most prevalent legal drug among university students, and it is used recreationally. The objectives of this study were to identify the perceived norms of alcohol use among university students, contrast the students' perception regarding peer alcohol use and the actual alcohol use prevalence, and compare the subjects' own alcohol use with their perception of peer alcohol use. A survey was performed on 275 students of a public university located in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), in 2008. The students' perception about peer alcohol use once in a lifetime and over the last 12 years was correct; but their perception regarding the last 30 days was overestimated. Students consume alcoholic beverages recreationally, mainly at parties and bars with friends and peers. Alcohol use is above established standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This descriptive, qualitative study aims to describe risk factors, in the work environment, for the consumption of alcohol and other drugs, and also to confirm the importance of protective factors. Interview technique was used with 51 nursing students at the Rio de Janeiro State University, who work in the city's health services. RESULTS: students related work as a risk factor for the consumption of drugs such as alcohol, cigarettes and anxiolytics. We conclude that working with participative methodologies, valuing student's former experiences, family and group life, and individual characteristics are essential in the preventive approach. Attention to protective factors is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hass cultivar is one of the most cultivated and distributed avocado varieties throughout the world, having high productivity, nutritional quality, market acceptance and adaptation to different climatic zones (Dreher and Davenport 2013). Anthracnose affects avocado production in tropical and subtropical regions, causing economic losses, especially post-harvest (Fuentes-Aragón et al. 2020). Correct identification of Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose is essential, as different species vary in important phenotypes such as virulence and sensitivity to fungicides (Chen et al. 2016). Twelve samples from batches of avocados with anthracnose were collected in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in September 2023. The observed symptoms were brown to black depressed circular spots, ranging from a few millimeters to 3 cm in diameter on the epicarp of the fruits, covered in center by mucilaginous layers of pathogen sporulation. Isolation was performed directly from the spore masses and monoconidial isolates were cultured in PDA at 25°C for 7 days for morphological characterization and preserved in sterile water at 4°C. One of the morphotypes commonly recovered from lesions, represented by isolate UCBV 362 (Culture Collection COAD 3843), formed fast-growing colonies having white aerial mycelium and intense salmon-colored sporulation. The cylindrical conidia were 13 to 17.5 μm long and 4.5 to 7 μm wide (average 14.5 x 5.7 μm, N=100), produced on conidiophores dispersed in the aerial mycelium or aggregated on melanized conidiomata formed on the agar. The partial sequence of the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II gene (RPB2) from isolate UCBV 362 (GenBank: PQ034617, 1116 nt) showed 99% of coverage and 99.37% of nucleotide identity with the RPB2 sequence of the ex-epitype strain of Colletotrichum nymphaeae ICMP 17918 (=CBS 515.78) (GenBank: JN985506). In a Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic tree composed with RBP2 sequences from reference strains of the Colletotrichum acutatum species complex, the isolate UCBV 362 formed a highly supported clade with the ex-epitype and other reference strains of Colletotrichum nymphaeae, occupying the Clade 2 of the species complex together with C. scovillae and C. simmondsii (Damm et al. 2012). This result shows the reliability of RPB2 for phylogeny and species delimitation within Colletotrichum. To confirm pathogenicity, 10-mm discs from a 7-day-old colony were inoculated at 3 different points on healthy-looking avocado fruits and incubated at 28°C. Uninoculated fruits served as controls. The first symptoms appeared 5 days after inoculation and were similar to those observed in the original samples, while the fruits in the control group remained asymptomatic. The pathogen was reisolated from the lesions and identified morphologically, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Colletotrichum nymphaeae has been associated with avocado anthracnose in Mexico (Fuentes-Aragón et al. 2020). In Brazil, a study based on molecular phylogeny identified Colletotrichum siamense and C. karsti as etiological agents of this disease (Soares et al. 2021). This report expands the range of species that cause avocado anthracnose in Brazil and provides etiological information for the implementation and monitoring of control methods, especially chemical control.

Araucaria angustifolia is a species known for its valuable wood and nuts, but it is threatened with extinction. The plantation of forests for genetic resource conservation is a complementary strategy designed to reduce the species' genetic variability loss. This study aimed to evaluate the technical and economic viability of A. angustifolia for genetic conservation through use. The analyzed provenance and progeny trial was established in 1982 in Itapeva, Brazil. It was structured using a compact family blocks design with 110 open-pollinated progenies from five natural populations, three replicates, ten plants per subplot, and 3.0 m × 2.0 m spacing. After 33 years, the trial was evaluated for total height, diameter at breast height, wood volume, and survival. The variance components and genetic parameter estimates were performed using Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction methods (REML/BLUP) methods with the Selegen software (version 2014). The production and management scenarios were obtained using the SisAraucaria software (version 2003). Sensitivity analysis and economic parameter estimates were obtained through various economic evaluation methods using the Planin software (version 1995). In general, the genetic parameters indicated that the population has enough variability for both conservation and breeding purposes, suggesting technical viability for the establishment of a seed orchard. The economic parameters indicated that the commercialization of wood and araucaria nuts proved to be more profitable than wood production by itself. In conclusion, araucaria genetic conservation through use is a technically and economically viable ex situ conservation strategy.

The objective was to assess differences in productive and reproductive performance, and survival associated with vaginal discharge characteristics and fever in postpartum dairy cows located in western and southern states of the United States. This retrospective cohort study included data from 3 experiments conducted in 9 dairies. Vaginal discharge was evaluated twice within 12 DIM and scored on a 5-point scale. The highest vaginal discharge score observed for each cow was used to allocate them into 1 of 5 possible groups (VD group) as follows: VD 1 and 2 (VD 1/2; n = 1,174) = clear mucus or lochia with or without flecks of pus; VD 3 (n = 1,802) = mucopurulent with <50% pus; VD 4 (n = 1,643) = mucopurulent with ≥50% of pus or nonfetid reddish-brownish mucus, n = 1,643; VD 5 = fetid, watery, and reddish-brownish, n = 1,800. All VD 5 cows received treatment according to each herd's protocol. Rectal temperature was assessed in a subset of VD 5 cows, and subsequently divided into fever (rectal temperature ≥39.5°C; n = 334) and no fever (n = 558) groups. A smaller proportion of cows with VD 5 (67.6%) resumed ovarian cyclicity compared with VD 1/2 (76.2%) and VD 4 (72.9%) cows; however, a similar proportion of VD 5 and VD 3 (72.6%) cows resumed ovarian cyclicity. A smaller proportion of VD 5 (85.8%) cows received at least one AI compared with VD 1/2 (91.5%), VD 3 (91.0%), or VD 4 (91.6%) cows. Although we did not detect differences in pregnancy at first AI according to VD, fewer cows with VD 5 (64.4%) were pregnant at 300 DIM than cows with VD 1/2 (76.5%), VD 3 (76.2%), or VD 4 (74.7%). Hazard of pregnancy by 300 DIM was smaller for VD 5 compared with VD 1/2, VD 3, or VD 4 cows. A greater proportion of VD 5 cows were removed from the herd within 300 DIM compared with other VD groups. Milk production was 760 kg lower within 300 DIM for VD 5 compared with VD 2, VD 3, and VD 4, whereas VD 2, VD 3, and VD 4 had similar milk production. We did not detect an association between fever at diagnosis of VD 5 and reproductive performance or milk production. A greater proportion of VD 5 cows without fever were removed from the herd by 300 DIM compared with VD 5 cows with fever. Differences in productive and reproductive performance, and removal of the herd were restricted to fetid, watery, and reddish-brownish vaginal discharge, which was independent of fever., (© 2024, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

The objective was to evaluate the performance of exploratory models containing routinely available on-farm data, behavior data, and the combination of both to predict metritis self-cure (SC) and treatment failure (TF). Holstein cows (n = 1,061) were fitted with a collar-mounted automated-health monitoring device (AHMD) from -21 ± 3 to 60 ± 3 d relative to calving to monitor rumination time and activity. Cows were examined for diagnosis of metritis at 4 ± 1, 7 ± 1, and 9 ± 1 d in milk (DIM). Cows diagnosed with metritis (n = 132), characterized by watery, fetid, reddish/brownish vaginal discharge (VD), were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 treatments: control (CON; n = 62), no treatment at the time of metritis diagnosis (d 0); or ceftiofur (CEF; n = 70), subcutaneous injection of 6.6 mg/kg of ceftiofur crystalline-free acid on d 0 and 3 relative to diagnosis. Cure was determined 12 d after diagnosis and was considered when VD became mucoid and not fetid. Cows in CON were used to determine SC, and cows in CEF were used to determine TF. Univariable analyses were performed using farm-collected data (parity, calving season, calving-related disorders, body condition score, rectal temperature, and DIM at metritis diagnosis) and behavior data (i.e., daily averages of rumination time, activity generated by AHMD, and derived variables) to assess their association with metritis SC or TF. Variables with P-values ≤0.20 were included in the multivariable logistic regression exploratory models. To predict SC, the area under the curve (AUC) for the exploratory model containing only data routinely available on-farm was 0.75. The final exploratory model to predict SC combining routinely available on-farm data and behavior data increased the AUC to 0.87, with sensitivity (Se) of 89% and specificity (Sp) of 77%. To predict TF, the AUC for the exploratory model containing only data routinely available on-farm was 0.90. The final exploratory model combining routinely available on-farm data and behavior data increased the AUC to 0.93, with Se of 93% and Sp of 87%. Cross-validation analysis revealed that generalizability of the exploratory models was poor, which indicates that the findings are applicable to the conditions of the present exploratory study. In summary, the addition of behavior data contributed to increasing the prediction of SC and TF. Developing and validating accurate prediction models for SC could lead to a reduction in antimicrobial use, whereas accurate prediction of cows that would have TF may allow for better management decisions., (The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

This cross-sectional study aims to describe doubts regarding the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis in pregnancy among primary care professionals in a telehealth service. All teleconsultations (TCs) offered through TelessaúdeRS-UFRGS to primary health care (PHC) services in the state of Rio Grande do Sul between 2018 and 2021 involving syphilis in pregnancy were included. A total of 356 (TCs) were analyzed. The main doubts about syphilis during pregnancy raised by primary care professionals were related to the need for retreatment (35%), diagnostic definition (23%) and initial treatment (16%). In addition, 95% of TCs were suitable for diagnosing and treating syphilis based on the 2020 Brazilian Ministry of Health guideline. This study suggests that TCs can identify failures in the diagnosis and treatment of public health problems and support decision making in PHC involving syphilis in pregnancy., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: The authors declare that being collaborators of TelessaúdeRS-UFRGS raises a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 de Carvalho et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Hatchery performance is often evaluated based on descriptors such as hatchability, 7-d mortality, and cost. In addition to these descriptors, it is useful to include in this analysis aspects of chick quality through post-hatch performance. Realizing the bird's complete genetic potential necessitates meeting various criteria, with effective support for the chick's immune system being among the pivotal factors. To be effective, in ovo vaccination systems must deliver the vaccines to specific sites in the egg, a circumstance that directly depends on when the injection is made. We examined production data to evaluate the impact of in ovo vaccination time on performance parameters of male Ross308AP chicks. A comprehensive survey was conducted examining records from 3,722 broiler flocks produced and raised by the same company under standard nutrition and management conditions. The selected data specifically pertained to flocks that underwent slaughter between 41 and 45 d. In our analysis, 4 different linear models were built, one for each response variable: mean weight (MW), body weight gain (BWG), corrected feeding conversion rate (cFCR), and total mortality (TM). The linear models used in the analyses included as main predictor the timing of in ovo vaccination (440, 444, 448, 452, 456, 458, and 460 h of incubation), and as additional predictors: age of the breeding flock (26-35, 36-55 and 56-66 wks old), slaughter age, identity of the hatchery, and the season at which the data was collected. Our results showed that the timing of in ovo vaccination significantly affected BWG and cFCR, with procedures performed at 460 h of incubation showing the best outcomes. Breeding flock age affected all response variables, with older breeding flocks delivering increased MW, BWG and TM, and middle-aged flocks increased cFCR. Increasing slaughter age reduced BWG while MW, cFCR and TM were all increased. These data emphasize the benefits of performing in ovo vaccination as close as possible to 460 h of incubation to extract the best BWG and cFCR from Ross308AP male broiler., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder that severely impairs the immune system's ability to defend the body against infections. Often referred to as the "bubble boy" disease, SCID gained widespread recognition due to the case of David Vetter, a young boy who lived in a sterile plastic bubble to protect him from germs. SCID is typically present at birth, and it results from genetic mutations that affect the development and function of immune cells, particularly T cells and B cells. These immune cells are essential for identifying and fighting off infections caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. In SCID patients, the immune system is virtually non-existent, leaving them highly susceptible to recurrent, severe infections. There are several forms of SCID, with varying degrees of severity, but all share common features. Newborns with SCID often exhibit symptoms such as chronic diarrhea, thrush, skin rashes, and persistent infections that do not respond to standard treatments. Without prompt diagnosis and intervention, SCID can lead to life-threatening complications and a high risk of mortality. There are over 20 possible affected genes. Treatment options for SCID primarily involve immune reconstitution, with the most well-known approach being hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Alternatively, gene therapy is also available for some forms of SCID. Once treated successfully, SCID patients can lead relatively normal lives, but they may still require vigilant infection control measures and lifelong medical follow-up to manage potential complications. In conclusion, severe combined immunodeficiency is a rare but life-threatening genetic disorder that severely compromises the immune system's function, rendering affected individuals highly vulnerable to infections. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are fundamental. With this respect, newborn screening is progressively and dramatically improving the prognosis of SCID., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: In hematologic cancers, including leukemia, cells depend on amino acids for rapid growth. Anti-metabolites that prevent their synthesis or promote their degradation are considered potential cancer treatment agents. Amino acid deprivation triggers proliferation inhibition, autophagy, and programmed cell death. L-lysine, an essential amino acid, is required for tumor growth and has been investigated for its potential as a target for cancer treatment. L-lysine α-oxidase, a flavoenzyme that degrades L-lysine, has been studied for its ability to induce apoptosis and prevent cancer cell proliferation. In this study, we describe the use of L-lysine α-oxidase (LO) from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum for cancer treatment., Results: The study identified and characterized a novel LO from T. harzianum and demonstrated that the recombinant protein (rLO) has potent and selective cytotoxic effects on leukemic cells by triggering the apoptotic cascade through mitochondrial dysfunction., Conclusions: The results support future translational studies using the recombinant LO as a potential drug for the treatment of leukemia., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Nurses have proven to be fundamental for the expansion and consolidation of primary health care (PHC), as well as the development of digital health strategies. We explored the results of a synchronous telephone teleconsultations service between professionals for nurses in Brazil. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. We retrieved data from teleconsultations registry. All teleconsultations answered by the team of nurses between September 2018 and July 2021 were analyzed regarding the reasons (according to International Classification of Primary Care, 2nd edition - ICPC-2) and decisions of the teleconsultation. Results: There were 9,273 phone teleconsultations registered in the period, requested by 3,125 nurses from all states throughout the country, of which 56.9% called once and 15.9% used the teleconsultations at least 4 times. We found 362 different reasons for solicitations, which were classified according to the ICPC-2 chapters. The most frequent codes were respiratory (25.9%), general and unspecified (21.2%), and skin (21.2%), which corresponded to 68% of the total sample. Most teleconsultations (66.9%) had as outcome the maintenance of the case at PHC. Conclusion: Teleconsultations are widely used and address a broad number of situations. This service may improve the quality of Brazilian PHC and promote the development of clinical reasoning and critical thinking by nurses.

The objective of this study was to identify alterations in the vaginal discharge (VD) metabolome and potential biomarkers to predict metritis development and a cure in dairy cows. This prospective cohort study was conducted on two dairies located in CA and TX. Vaginal discharge was evaluated and collected using the Metricheck ® device. Cows were examined for metritis at 4, 7, and 9 days in milk (DIM). Cows with a fetid, watery, and reddish-brown uterine discharge were classified as having metritis and randomized to receive ceftiofur ( n = 10) or remain untreated ( n = 7). A cure was defined as the absence of a fetid, watery, reddish-brown uterine discharge at 14 d after enrollment. Vaginal discharge samples were collected from 86 cows within 6 h after parturition, at 4 and 7 DIM, at metritis diagnosis, and at 4 and 7 days after metritis diagnosis. Cows with metritis (MET; n = 17) were paired with counterparts without metritis (HTH) of a similar DIM and parity ( n = 34). The uterine metabolome was evaluated using untargeted gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS). Metabolomic data were analyzed using the MetaboAnalyst 5.0. Data were log-transformed and auto-scaled for normalization. Univariate analyses, including the fold-change, were performed to identify the metabolites linked to metritis development and its cure and principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were performed to explain metabolite variance between animals developing or not developing metritis and being cured or not being cured of metritis. Comparing HTH with MET cows at calving, 12 metabolites were upregulated, and one was downregulated. At four and seven DIM, 51 and 74 metabolites, respectively, were altered between MET and HTH cows. After metritis development, three and five metabolites were upregulated in cows that were cured and in cows that received treatment and were cured, respectively. In all scenarios, the metabolites lignoceric, malic, and maleic acids, ornithine, and hypotaurine, which are associated with arginine/aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and taurine/purine metabolism, were upregulated in HTH cows. Metritis was associated with changes in the uterine metabolome. Cows not being cured of metritis had changes in the uterus metabolome independent of receiving ceftiofur or remaining untreated. Metabolome analysis may be an important tool to understand the vaginal discharge changes during postpartum and the dynamics of metritis development and cures and help to identify biomarkers to predict metritis being cured.

Implementing timely and humane euthanasia in dairy farms remains a critical concern. One of the possible barriers for the implementation of timely euthanasia on-farm is dairy workers' attitudes toward the act. The objectives of this study were to investigate dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle euthanasia and their association to individuals' demographic characteristics. A total of 81 workers from 30 dairy farms (ranging in size from less than 500 to more than 3,000 cows) participated in the survey and most participants were caretakers (n = 45; 55.6%) or farm managers (n = 16; 19.8%), with an average work experience of 14.8 years. Dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle (empathy affect, empathy attribution, and negative attitudes about cattle), working environment (relying on others, perceived time constraints) and euthanasia decision-making (feeling comfortable with euthanasia, feeling confident, seeking knowledge, using different sources to obtain advice, having negative attitudes about euthanasia, having insufficient knowledge, having trouble deciding when to euthanize and avoiding if possible) were identified and used for cluster analyses. Cluster analyses identified 3 distinct clusters: (1) confident but uncomfortable with euthanasia (n = 40); (2) confident and comfortable with euthanasia (n = 32); and (3) unconfident, lacking knowledge and detached from cattle (n = 9). Dairy workers' demographic characteristics (age, sex, race and ethnicity, dairy experience, role on-farm, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience) were used as predictors for the risk factor analyses. The risk analysis demonstrated that there were no predictors for cluster 1, but White workers (P = 0.04) and caretakers that had previous euthanasia experience tended to be more likely to be members of cluster 2 (P = 0.07) whereas respondents that worked in farms with 501-1,000 cows were more likely to be grouped in cluster 3. This study provides vital information about variability in dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy euthanasia as well as its association with race and ethnicity, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience. This information can be used to implement appropriate training and euthanasia protocols to increase both human and dairy cattle welfare on-farm., (The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Granular macroscopic chitosan/carboxymethylcellulose polyelectrolytic complexes (CHS/CMC macro-PECs) were produced and tested as adsorbents for six pollutants often present in wastewaters: sunset yellow (YS), methylene blue (MB), Congo red (CR) and safranin (S), cadmium (Cd 2+ ) and lead (Pb 2+ ). The optimum adsorption pH values at 25 °C were 3.0, 11.0, 2.0, 9.0, 10.0, and 9.0 for YS, MB, CR, S, Cd 2+ , and Pb 2+ , respectively. Kinetic studies indicated that the pseudos-econd order model best represented the adsorption kinetics of YS, MB, CR, and Cd 2+ , whereas the pseudo-first order model was the most suitable for S and Pb 2+ adsorption. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Redlich-Peterson isotherms were fitted to experimental adsorption data, with the Langmuir model providing the best fit. The maximum adsorption capacity (q máx ) of CHS/CMC macro-PECs for the removal of YS, MB, CR, S, Cd 2+ , and Pb 2+ was 37.81, 36.44, 70.86, 72.50, 75.43, and 74.42 mg/g, respectively (corresponding to 98.91 %, 94.71 %, 85.73 %, 94.66 %, 98.46 %, and 97.14 %). Desorption assays showed that CHS/CMC macro-PECs can be regenerated after adsorbing any of the six pollutants studied, with possibility of reuse. These results provide an accurate quantitative characterization of the adsorption of organic and inorganic pollutants on CHS/CMC macro-PECs, indicating a novel technological applicability of these two inexpensive, easy-to-obtain polysaccharides for water decontamination., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study described the development of an interactive euthanasia training program and its potential to improve dairy workers' perceived euthanasia decision-making skills and awareness of timely euthanasia by using a survey instrument before and after the program. Training material encompassed euthanasia information over 2 production stages (calves and cows or heifers) and material was delivered on-farm in a case-scenario format (14 cases). During a 3-mo period, 30 different dairy farms were visited and 81 participants were enrolled in this study. Each participant was required to complete a survey pretraining, to complete the case studies from the production stage in which their job responsibility was more closely aligned with (estimated completion time of 1 h), and to complete a survey post-training. Surveys contained 8 statements regarding participants' perceived knowledge of euthanasia practices. The questions were answered on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree, or (5) strongly agree. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were created for each question to investigate the effect of age, sex, dairy experience, farm size, role at the farm, race, previous experience with euthanasia, veterinarian degree, and production stage in the score change, defined by the presence or absence of an increase in the 5-point scale score. Upon completion of the training, respondents were more confident in identifying compromised animals (score change = 0.35), determining when an animal should be euthanized (score change = 0.64), and understanding the importance of timely euthanasia (score change = 0.26). Age and euthanasia experience were significantly associated with the respondents' perceived knowledge; suggesting that younger, less-experienced caretakers on-farm should be prioritized to receive training. The proposed interactive case-based euthanasia training program has proven to be valuable to dairy participants and veterinarians as it provides a means to improve dairy welfare., (© 2023, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of the disease and predict mortality. The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in immune system dysfunction is still not fully understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infects human CD4 + T helper cells, but not CD8 + T cells, and is present in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage T helper cells of severe COVID-19 patients. We demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) directly binds to the CD4 molecule, which in turn mediates the entry of SARS- CoV-2 in T helper cells. This leads to impaired CD4 T cell function and may cause cell death. SARS-CoV-2-infected T helper cells express higher levels of IL-10, which is associated with viral persistence and disease severity. Thus, CD4-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection of T helper cells may contribute to a poor immune response in COVID-19 patients., Competing Interests: NB, GD, Dd, AF, GS, SM, TK, VB, LM, JV, GP, NW, LN, VC, AD, FV, LT, JF, IC, LS, AP, EM, RU, AB, TN, LR, MA, MM, LB, FC, RL, JG, NM, AM, RS, MA, DT, PP, MM, KB, CS, FG, VS, Ed, VF, MC, BC, AP, LC, MD, PR, AG, FP, LS, LB, SS, MP, SW, AS, RC, AV, MV, AD, LV, AF, Ld, TC, HN, HM, RM, DM, MS, JP, PM, MM, AF No competing interests declared, (© 2023, Brunetti, Davanzo, de Moraes et al.)

Objectives: to analyze the implications of precarious work for the organization of work and for the health of nursing professionals in a surgical center., Methods: qualitative, descriptive study in which the interview technique was applied on 30 nursing professionals from a surgical center in a university hospital located in the Southeast region of Brazil. The project was approved by the research ethics committee. Thematic content analysis was applied in the categorization of speeches., Results: precarious work in the surgical center negatively affects the organization of work due to staff turnover, loss of skilled talent, and the need for continuous training of temporary workers. It also affects the quality of care, leading to risks to patient safety and workers' health.Final Considerations: it is important to make work conditions less precarious in order to minimize staff turnover and promote the quality of the service offered and the health of the worker.

Background: Neutral lipid storage disease with myopathy (NLSD-M) is an autosomal recessive disease that manifests itself around the 3rd to 4th decade with chronic myopathy predominantly proximal in the shoulder girdle. Clinical myotonia is uncommon. We will report a rare case of association of pathogenic variants on PNPLA2 and CLCN1 genes with a mixed phenotype of NLSD-M and a subclinical form of Thomsen's congenital myotonia., Case Presentation: We describe a patient with chronic proximal myopathy, subtle clinical myotonia and electrical myotonia on electromyography (EMG). Serum laboratory analysis disclosure hyperCKemia (CK 1280 mg/dL). A blood smear analysis showed Jordan's anomaly, a hallmark of NLSD-M. A genetic panel was collected using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique, which identified two pathogenic variants on genes supporting two different diagnosis: NLSD-M and Thomsen congenital myotonia, whose association has not been previously described., Conclusions: Although uncommon, it is important to remember the possibility of association of pathogenic variants to explain a specific neuromuscular disease phenotype. The use of a range of complementary methods, including myopathy genetic panels, may be essential to diagnostic definition in such cases., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Coordinated and harmonic (synchronous) ventricular electrical activation is essential for better left ventricular systolic function. Intraventricular conduction abnormalities, such as left bundle branch block due to artificial cardiac pacing, lead to electromechanical "dyssynchronopathy" with deleterious structural and clinical consequences. The aim of this review was to describe and improve the understanding of all the processes connecting the several mechanisms involved in the development of artificially induced ventricular dyssynchrony by cardiac pacing, most known as pacing-induced cardiomyopathy (PiCM). The chronic effect of abnormal impulse conduction and nonphysiological ectopic activation by artificial cardiac pacing is suspected to affect metabolism and myocardial perfusion, triggering regional differences in the activation/contraction processes that cause electrical and structural remodeling due to damage, inflammation, and fibrosis of the cardiac tissue. The effect of artificial cardiac pacing on ventricular function and structure can be multifactorial, and biological factors underlying PiCM could affect the time and probability of developing the condition. PiCM has not been included in the traditional classification of cardiomyopathies, which can hinder detection. This article reviews the available evidence for pacing-induced cardiovascular disease, the current understanding of its pathophysiology, and reinforces the adverse effects of right ventricular pacing, especially right ventricular pacing burden (commonly measured in percentage) and its repercussion on ventricular contraction (reflected by the impact on left ventricular systolic function). These effects might be the main defining criteria and determining mechanisms of the pathophysiology and the clinical repercussion seen on patients.

The present work used water-soluble protein concentrates from the microalga Tetradesmus obliquus to stabilize sunflower oil emulsions. Microalgal cells were disrupted by sonication, and proteins were separated from the biomass using two methods, isoelectric and solvent precipitations. The protein extracts were concentrated by lyophilization, and the concentrates were used to produce emulsions with three amounts of Tetradesmus obliquus protein concentrate (TobPC) (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0% w/v). Emulsions were homogenized through sonication and characterized for creaming index, optical microscopy, size distribution, ζ-potential, and rheology. Isoelectric precipitation resulted in TobPC with a high protein content (51.46 ± 2.37%) and a better dispersibility profile. Emulsion stability was higher for both the isoelectric TobPC and control systems than for the TobPC solvent. Solvent TobPC does not efficiently stabilize emulsions at low protein concentrations that showed microscopically larger oil droplets and flocculation spots. A high phase separation velocity was observed for solvent TobPC, probably due to the higher hydrodynamic droplet diameters. The increase in TobPC content in the emulsions resulted in more stable emulsions for all samples. Therefore, Tetradesmus obliquus protein concentrates are a potential emulsifying agent., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Objectives: To analyze the feasibility of using wideband absorbance to verify the patency of pressure equalizing tubes (PETs) in clinical practice and to present the response pattern of this measure for ears with patent PET., Methods: This observational case-control type study evaluated 48 ears of 30 children with severe or profound hearing loss, aged 10-44 months, of both sexes. The subjects were subdivided into two groups: 24 ears with Sheppard type PET (experimental group - EG) and 24 ears with normal middle ear (control group - CG), paired with the EG, according to age, sex, and ear evaluated. To obtain the wideband absorbance, a Middle-Ear Power Analyzer, version 5.0 (Mimosa Acoustics), was used, and absorbance values for pure tone and chirp stimuli were analyzed., Results: There was no influence of ear (right or left) on the measurements obtained. The EG showed higher absorbance values at low frequencies. Although the two stimuli made it possible to identify the difference in acoustic transfer function between the groups studied, compared to pure tone, the chirp stimulus allowed identification of differences in a higher number of frequencies., Conclusions: Ears with a patent PET present an acoustic transfer pattern that differs from that obtained for normal middle ears, with a higher absorbance at low frequencies. Both pure tone and chirp stimuli can be used to identify such differences, nevertheless, the use of chirp stimulus is recommended, since it allows differentiation over a wider frequency range., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest, financial, or otherwise., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the ability of ultrasound (US) bath to improve the hydrolysis of goat milk casein (GMC) by three commercial proteases (Alcalase, Brauzyn and Flavourzyme) using assisted reactions at 60 °C for up to 300 min. Process performance was evaluated based on the rate reaction, final hydrolysis degree, solubility, and antioxidant activity of the hydrolysates. For all enzymes, the US-assisted reaction increased the rate of GMC hydrolysis (up to 120%), the hydrolysis degree (23-48%), and the small peptides formed, i.e., those soluble in trichloroacetic acid (TCA) (up to 40%). Consequently, US-assisted GMC hydrolysis improved the solubility of the hydrolyzed product (up to a 35.7% increase after 300 min of reaction) and, compared to conventional hydrolysis, reduced the time to achieve the maximum solubility by up to 10 times. Regarding the in vitro antioxidant activity, especially for Alcalase, the technology promoted a higher scavenging capacity of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (p < 0.05), thus 10-fold accelerating the production of antioxidant peptides, according to ABTS assays (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the US-assisted enzymatic reaction is a promising technology to improve the hydrolysis rate and yield of the process of obtaining hydrolysates from GMC. Moreover, these hydrolysates showed high solubility and good in vitro antioxidant activity, which demonstrates the potential to be used as food ingredient with nutritional and techno-functional appeal., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The main objective was to characterize behavioral changes in metritic primiparous cows treated with chitosan microparticles (CM) or ceftiofur (CEF). A secondary objective was to compare behavioral patterns of metritic cows with nonmetritic (NMET) cows. Nulliparous Holstein cows (n = 311) were fitted with a neck-mounted automated health-monitoring device (AHMD) from -21 to 60 d relative to calving. Cows diagnosed with metritis (d 0), characterized by watery, fetid, red-brownish uterine discharge within 21 d in milk were assigned randomly to CM (n = 45), intrauterine infusion of 24 g of CM dissolved in 40 mL of sterile distilled water on d 0, 2, and 4; CEF (n = 47), subcutaneous injection of 6.6 mg/kg ceftiofur crystalline-free acid on d 0 and 3; and control (CON; n = 39), no treatment. For comparison, NMET cows (n = 180) were matched with metritic cows according to age at calving and calving date. Postdiagnosis, there was an effect of treatment and an interaction between treatment and time on rumination and activity. The interaction showed that CM had lesser rumination than CEF from d 1 to 11, d 18, and d 20; CM had lesser rumination than CON from d 2 to 8; and CEF was not different from CON. The interaction showed that CM had lesser activity than CON on d 2, from d 6 to 11, and d 13 to 14; CM was not different from CEF; and CEF had lesser activity than CON on d 8, 9, 13, and 14. Prediagnosis, cows in CM, CEF, and CON had lesser rumination and activity than cows in NMET. Postdiagnosis, cows in CM, CEF, and CON had lesser rumination than NMET from d 0 to 2 and had lesser activity than NMET from d 0 to 5. In summary, CM decreased rumination and activity compared with CON, which indicates a negative systemic effect of CM. This may be associated with exacerbated inflammation in the uterus. Additionally, metritic cows had decreased rumination and activity prediagnosis, which may allow for the use of AHMD for metritis diagnosis., (© 2022.)

Background: The retention of human milk nutrients in gastric tubes used to feed premature infants is a challenge to be overcome., Research Aims: To evaluate (1) the performance of six homogenizers (mixing processor, piston valve, ultrasonic bath, ultraturrax, stirring mixer, and ultrasound probe) for the fat retention reduction in gastric tubes; (2) the influence of the best homogenization conditions on the fatty acid and protein profiles of human milk; and (3) the cost/benefit ratio for the inclusion of homogenization as a new step in human milk processing., Methods: The influence of different levels and times of homogenization on reducing fat retention of human milk in probes was evaluated in this comparative prospective cross-sectional study. After homogenization, human milk flowed through a gavage and infusion pump apparatus used for feeding. Fat content was quantified before and after feeding. The techniques that reduced fat globule sizes and/or promoted a lower percentage of fat holding were evaluated for efficiency, variations in the fatty acid and protein profiles, and energy density and operating costs., Results: Homogenization led to a reduction in fat retention in feeding probes. The mixer processor and the ultrasound probe reduced fat retention by 99.23% (SD = 0.07) and 99.95% (SD = 0.02), respectively, and did not negatively influence fatty acid and protein profiles. The mixer processor demonstrated low energy density and low cost for human milk processing., Conclusion: Homogenization promoted reduced fat retention in the feed probe and could help maintain fat nutrients of human milk during enteral feeding.

The retention of human milk (HM) fat in nasogastric probes of infusion pumps can be observed during the feed of infants unable to suck at the mother's breast. The lack of homogenisation of HM could contribute to the fat holding. Therefore, the present study evaluated (i) the influence of homogenisation on milk fat retaining in infant feeding probes and (ii) the in vivo effect of the homogenisation on lipid absorption by Wistar rats. The animals were fed with HM treated following two processing conditions, that is, pasteurised and homogenised-pasteurised. The animals were randomly subdivided into four experimental groups: water-fed (control), pasteurised milk, homogenised-pasteurised milk and pasteurised-skimmed milk. The results of food consumption, mass body gain, corporate metrics and plasma blood levels of total cholesterol did not show any difference (P < 0·05) among the three types of HM used in the experiments. The liver, intestine and intra-abdominal adipose tissue of the four groups of animals presented normal and healthy histology. The composition of fatty acids in the brain tissue of animals fed with homogenised HM increased when compared with the groups fed with non-homogenised HM. These values were 11·08 % higher for arachidonic acids, 6·59 % for DAH and 47·92 % for nervous acids. The ingestion of homogenised HM promoted higher absorption of milk nutrients. Therefore, the addition of the homogenisation stage in HM processing could be an alternative to reduce fat retention in probes and to improve the lipids' absorption in the body.

Malaria is a parasitic infectious disease caused by Plasmodium sp, which was responsible for about 409 thousand deaths only in 2019. The clinical manifestations in patients with malaria, which may include fever and anemia and that can occasionally lead to the death of the host, are mainly associated to the asexual blood stage of parasite. The discovery of novel compounds active against stages of the intraerythrocytic cell cycle has been the focus of many researches seeking for alternatives to the control of malaria. The antimalarial effect of a native cationic polypeptide from the venom of a South American rattlesnake named crotamine, with ability of targeting and disrupting the acidic compartments of Plasmodium falciparum parasite, was previously described by us. Herein, we extended our previous studies by investigating the internalization and trafficking of crotamine in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes at different blood-stages of parasites and periods of incubation. In addition, the effects of several pharmacological inhibitors in the uptake of this snake polypeptide with cell-penetrating properties were also assessed, showing that crotamine internalization was dependent on ATP generated via glycolytic pathway. We show here that crotamine uptake is blocked by the glycolysis inhibitor 2-deoxy-D-glucose, and the most efficient internalization is observed at trophozoite stage of parasite after at least 30 min of incubation. The present data provide important insights into biochemical pathway and cellular features determined by the parasite cycle, which may be underlying the internalization and effects of cationic antimalarials as crotamine., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The objective of this study was to explore perspectives and attitudes about euthanasia specific to the Brazilian dairy cattle industry. Twenty-five Brazilian citizens (13 veterinarians, 4 animal scientists, 3 professors, 3 researchers, 1 dairy owner, and 1 caretaker) participated in one of three focus groups conducted and recorded online (10, 8, and 7 participants per group). Questions regarding euthanasia were posed by a moderator, and the focus group discussions were then transcribed verbatim for analysis. After the initial data analysis, themes were evaluated and collapsed into three major categories: Euthanasia Training and Farm and Human Components. A complex interconnection between the three main themes and multiple subthemes specific to dairy cattle euthanasia was also revealed. The lack of nationally recognized euthanasia guidelines for dairy cattle paired with ineffective and inaccessible euthanasia tools makes it difficult for dairy veterinarians to implement humane protocols for on-farm euthanasia. In addition, logistical factors, particularly, the financial cost of euthanasia and the human-animal bond, play a role in the failure to perform euthanasia when warranted. Future studies should focus on the development of science-based standards and producer training to improve the consistency of on-farm euthanasia in Brazilian dairy operations.

We used computational molecular dynamics (MD) to assess molecular conformations of apo- and holo-forms (respectively without and with Ca 2+ ) of bovine α-lactalbumin (α-La) at different temperatures, and to correlate them with the protein's foaming properties. At 4 °C and 25 °C no major protein conformation changes occurred. At 75 °C, lots of changes were evidenced: the Ca 2+ depletion triggered the complete loss of h2b, h3c helices and S1, S2 and S3 β-sheets, and partial losses of H1, H2 and H3 α-helices. The absence of Ca 2+ in apo-α-La and its leaving from holo-α-La triggered electrostatic repulsion among Asp82, Asp84 and Asp87, leading to the formation of a hydrophobic cluster involving Phe9, Phe31, Ile1, Va42, Ile55, Phe80 and Leu81. These conformational changes were related to an interfacial tension decrease and to a foaming capacity increase, for both apo-α-La and holo-α-La. This study exemplifies how powerful MD is as a tool to provide a better understanding of the molecular origins of food proteins' techno-functionalities., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Several GPCRs (G-protein-coupled receptors) have been reported to exhibit tachyphylaxis, which is an acute loss of functional receptor response after repeated stimuli with an agonist. GPCRs are important clinical targets for a wide range of disorders. Therefore, elucidation of the ligand features that contribute to receptor tachyphylaxis and signaling events underlying this phenomenon is important for drug discovery and development. In this study, we examined the role of ligand-binding kinetics in the tachyphylaxis of AT 1 R (angiotensin II type 1 receptor) using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays to monitor signaling events under both kinetic and equilibrium conditions. We investigated AT 1 R signal transduction and translocation promoted by the endogenous tachyphylactic agonist Ang II (angiotensin II) and its analogs, described previously for inducing reduced receptor tachyphylaxis. Estimation of binding kinetic parameters of the ligands revealed that the residence time of Ang II was higher than that of the analogs, resulting in more sustained G q protein activation and recruitment of β-arrestin than that promoted by the analogs. Furthermore, we observed that Ang II led to more sustained internalization of the receptor, thereby retarding its recycling to the plasma membrane and preventing further receptor responses. These results show that the apparent lack of tachyphylaxis in the studied analogs resulted from their short residence time at the AT 1 R. In addition, our data highlight the relevance of complete characterization of novel GPCR drug candidates, taking into account their receptor binding kinetics as well.

Crotamine is a rattlesnake-derived toxin that causes fast-twitch muscle paralysis. As a cell-penetrating polypeptide, crotamine has been investigated as an experimental anti-cancer and immunotherapeutic agent. We hypothesized that molecules targeting crotamine could be designed to study its function and intervene in its adverse activities. Here, we characterize synthetic crotamine and show that, like the venom-purified toxin, it induces hindlimb muscle paralysis by affecting muscle contraction and inhibits KCNA3 (Kv1.3) channels. Synthetic crotamine, labeled with a fluorophore, displayed cell penetration, subcellular myofiber distribution, ability to induce myonecrosis, and bind to DNA and heparin. Here, we used this functionally validated synthetic polypeptide to screen a combinatorial phage display library for crotamine-binding cyclic peptides. Selection for tryptophan-rich peptides was observed, binding of which to crotamine was confirmed by ELISA and gel shift assays. One of the peptides (CVWSFWGMYC), synthesized chemically, was shown to bind both synthetic and natural crotamine and to block crotamine-DNA binding. In summary, our study establishes a functional synthetic substitute to the venom-derived toxin and identifies peptides that could further be developed as probes to target crotamine. KEY MESSAGES: Synthetic crotamine was characterized as a functional substitute for venom-derived crotamine based on myotoxic effects. A combinatorial peptide library was screened for crotamine-binding peptides. Tryptophan-rich peptides were shown to bind to crotamine and interfere with its DNA binding. Crotamine myofiber distribution and affinity for tryptophan-rich peptides provide insights on its mechanism of action., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The study's objectives were to identify cow-level and environmental factors associated with metritis cure to predict metritis cure using traditional statistics and machine learning algorithms. The data set used was from a previous study comparing the efficacy of different therapies and self-cure for metritis. Metritis was defined as fetid, watery, reddish-brownish discharge, with or without fever. Cure was defined as an absence of metritis signs 12 d after diagnosis. Cows were randomly allocated to receive a subcutaneous injection of 6.6 mg/kg of ceftiofur crystalline-free acid (Excede, Zoetis) at the day of diagnosis and 3 d later (n = 275); and no treatment at the time of metritis diagnosis (n = 275). The variables days in milk (DIM) at metritis diagnosis, treatment, season of the metritis diagnosis, month of metritis diagnostic, number of lactation, parity, calving score, dystocia, retained fetal membranes, body condition score at d 5 postpartum, vulvovaginal laceration score, the rectal temperature at the metritis diagnosis, fever at diagnosis, milk production from the day before to metritis diagnosis, and milk production slope up to 5, 7, and 9 DIM were offered to univariate logistic regression. Variables included in the multivariable logistic regression model were selected from the univariate analysis according to P-value. Variables were offered to the model to assess the association between these factors and metritis cure. Additionally, the univariate logistic regression variables were offered to a recursive feature elimination to find the optimal subset of features for a machine learning algorithms analysis. Cows without vulvovaginal laceration had 1.91 higher odds of curing of metritis than cows with vulvovaginal laceration. Cows that developed metritis at >7 DIM had 2.09 higher odds of being cured than cows that developed metritis at ≤7 DIM. For rectal temperature, each degree Celsius above 39.4°C led to lower odds to be cured than cows with rectal temperature ≤39.4°C. Furthermore, milk production slope and milk production difference from the day before to the metritis diagnosis were essential variables to predict metritis cure. Cows that had reduced milk production from the day before to the metritis diagnosis had lower odds to be cured than cows with moderate milk production increase. The results from the multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that cows developing metritis at >7 DIM, with increase in milk production, and with a rectal temperature ≤39.40°C had increased likelihood of cure of metritis with an accuracy of 75%. The machine learning analysis showed that in addition to these variables, calving-related disorders, season, and month of metritis event were needed to predict whether the cow will cure or not from metritis with an accuracy ≥70% and F1 score (harmonic mean between precision and recall) ≥0.78. Although machine learning algorithms are acknowledged as powerful tools for predictive classification, the current study was unable to replicate its potential benefits. More research is needed to optimize predictive models of metritis cure., (© 2021, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

The objective was to investigate the economic effect of treating dairy cows with metritis using ceftiofur-free acid or leaving them untreated at the time of diagnosis. Cows with a fetid, watery, red-brownish vaginal discharge were diagnosed with metritis (d 0). Data from 875 dairy cows (506 primiparous and 369 multiparous) from 1 herd in northern Florida that had been part of a larger study evaluating different treatments for metritis were used for the economic analysis. Holstein cows with metritis had been randomly assigned to: Ceftiofur (CEF, n = 239) = subcutaneous injection of 6.6 mg/kg of ceftiofur crystalline-free acid in the base of the ear at d 0 and d 3; Untreated (UNT, n = 233) = no treatment applied at metritis diagnosis. Both groups could receive escape therapy if condition worsened. A group of nonmetritic healthy cows (NMET; n = 403) from the same cohort was randomly selected for comparison. Continuous outcomes such as 300-d milk production (kg/cow), milk sales ($/cow), cow sales ($/cow), treatment cost by 60 days in milk ($/cow), reproduction cost ($/cow), replacement cost ($/cow), feeding cost ($/cow), and gross profit per cow ($/cow) were analyzed using the ANOVA (MIXED procedure of SAS version 9.4). Dichotomous outcomes such as pregnancy and culling by 300 d were analyzed using logistic regression (GLIMMIX procedure of SAS). Models included the fixed effects of treatment, parity, and the interaction between treatment and parity. A stochastic analysis was performed with 10,000 iterations using the observed results from each group. The CEF treatment resulted in greater treatment cost by 60 DIM than UNT ($112 vs. $37), but resulted in a greater proportion of pregnant cows (71 vs. 61%) and decreased culling by 300 DIM (29 vs. 39%) compared with UNT. Gross profit was lesser for UNT than NMET ($2,969 vs. $3,426), and CEF was intermediate ($3,219). The stochastic analysis showed that the mean difference in gross profit between UNT and NMET was -$457; saleable milk (49%) and replacement cost (24%) accounted for most of the variation. The mean difference in gross profit between CEF and NMET group was -$207; saleable milk (82%) and initial metritis treatment cost (9%) accounted for most of the variation. The mean difference in gross profit between the UNT and the CEF group was -$250; replacement cost (41%) and cow sales (31%) accounted for most of the variation. In summary, metritis caused large economic losses when left untreated, and CEF reduced those losses by improving fertility, reducing culling and replacement cost, and reducing milk yield losses., (Copyright © 2021 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The treatment of multibacillary cases of leprosy with multidrug therapy (MDT) comprises 12 doses of a combination of rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine. Previous studies have described the immunological phenotypic pattern in skin lesions in multibacillary patients. Here, we evaluated the effect of MDT on skin cell phenotype and on the Mycobacterium leprae -specific immune response. An analysis of skin cell phenotype demonstrated a significant decrease in MRS1 (SR-A), CXCL10 (IP-10) and IFNG (IFN-γ) gene and protein expression after MDT release. Patients were randomized according to whether they experienced a reduction in bacillary load after MDT. A reduction in CXCL10 (IP-10) in sera was associated with the absence of a reduction in the bacillary load at release. Although IFN-γ production in response to M. leprae was not affected by MDT, CXCL10 (IP-10) levels in response to M. leprae increased in cells from patients who experienced a reduction in bacillary load after treatment. Together, our results suggest that CXCL10 (IP-10) may be a good marker for monitoring treatment efficacy in multibacillary patients., 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., (Copyright © 2021 Ferreira, Mendes, de Mattos Barbosa, de Oliveira, Sales, Moraes, Sarno and Pinheiro.)

In Dec 2020 Brazil became one of the worldwide epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 7.2M reported cases. Brazil has a large territory with unequal distribution of healthcare resources including physicians. Resource limitation has been one of the main factors hampering Brazil's response to the COVID-19 crisis. Telemedicine has been an effective approach for COVID-19 management as it allows to reduce the risk of cross-contamination and provides support to remote rural locations. Here we present the analyses of teleconsultations from a countrywide telemedicine service (TelessáudeRS-UFRGS, TRS), that provides physician-to-physician remote support during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. We performed a descriptive analysis of the teleconsultation incoming calls and a text analysis from the call transcripts. Our findings indicate that TRS teleconsultations in Brazil experienced an exponential increment of 802.% during a period of 6 days, after the first death due to COVID-19 was reported. However, the number of teleconsultations cases decreased over time, despite the number of reported COVID-19 cases continuously increasing. The results also showed that physicians in low-income municipalities, based on GDP per capita, are less likely to consult the telemedicine service despite facing higher rates of COVID-19 cases. The text analysis of call transcripts from medical teleconsultations showed that the main concern of physicians were "asymptomatic" patients. We suggest an immediate reinforcement of telehealth services in the regions of lower income as a strategy to support COVID-19 management., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is the third coronavirus to cause severe disease in humans and to spread globally in the past two decades. In this context, several national public health departments, including the Brazilian Ministry of Health, highlighted what was, until then, considered a support service to the health system: telehealth and telemedicine. We intend to present the actions carried out by a national telehealth service in Brazil, both as a Primary Health Care (PHC) support service to professionals and to patients, as well as discussing the potential to reorganize a health system. This is a prevalence study that summarizes the measures adopted by Brazilian Telehealth Center from the 9th to the 27th epidemiological weeks of 2020 to support the health services of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). There was an increase of 76.8% in the demand for telephone teleconsultations during the evaluated period compared to the same period in 2019, with 28.8% of the entire demand arising from doubts related to Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic demanded a quick response, with the organization of materials about the disease, a new team to carry out telemonitoring and teleconsultation activities, in addition to the creation of a manual for teleconsultations in Primary Health Care.

Objectives were to assess reproductive and productive outcomes associated with failure of clinical cure in dairy cows diagnosed with metritis following antimicrobial therapy. This retrospective cohort study included data from 3 experiments performed in 5 dairies. Metritis was characterized by the presence of watery, fetid, reddish-brownish vaginal discharge within 21 DIM (study d 0). Cows not diagnosed with metritis (i.e., cows may have had other diseases postpartum; NoMT; n = 1,194) were paired based on lactation number and calving date. All cows with metritis received antimicrobial therapy (ampicillin or ceftiofur). Clinical cure was evaluated on d 10 based on vaginal discharge score, and cows were categorized as cured (MTC; n = 1,111) or not cured (MTnoC; n = 299). Purulent vaginal discharge (28 ± 3 or 32 ± 3 DIM), cytological endometritis (35 ± 3 or 39 ± 3 DIM), and estrous cyclicity (50 ± 3 and 64 ± 3, 36 ± 3 and 50 ± 3, or 37 ± 5 and 51 ± 5 DIM) were evaluated in subgroups of cows. Proportions of cows with purulent vaginal discharge and cytological endometritis were greatest for MTnoC (91.7 and 91.4%), intermediate for MTC (74.0 and 73.3%), and smallest for NoMT (38.1 and 36.4%). Proportion of cyclic cows was smaller for MTnoC compared with MTC and NoMT (62.0, 71.0, and 71.0%). Pregnancy per artificial insemination following first service was smaller for cows with metritis compared with their counterparts with no metritis (NoMT = 28.1, MTC = 26.1, MTnoC = 22.0%). Pregnancy loss tended to be greater for MTnoC compared with MTC (NoMT = 11.5, MTC = 11.1, MTnoC = 18.4%). Hazard of pregnancy by 300 DIM was smallest for MTnoC, intermediate for MTC, and greatest for NoMT. Death by 60 DIM (3.9, 1.1, and 0.6%) and removal from herd by 300 DIM (26.3, 17.4, and 15.4%) were greatest for MTnoC compared with MTC and NoMT, respectively. Milk production among multiparous cows was smaller for MTnoC compared with MTC and NoMT in the first 10 mo postpartum, whereas MTC produced less milk compared with NoMT only during the first 2 mo postpartum (NoMT = 42.0 ± 0.22, MTC = 40.6 ± 0.28, MTnoC = 37.7 ± 0.54 kg/d). Failure of clinical cure was not associated with milk yield in primiparous cows (NoMT = 35.2 ± 0.31, MTC = 33.9 ± 0.31, MTnoC = 35.0 ± 0.52 kg/d). Cows diagnosed with metritis that do not undergo clinical cure by 10 d of onset of antimicrobial therapy have impaired reproductive performance, reduced milk production, and increased risk of leaving the herd., (Copyright © 2021 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: to identify the types of career anchors of university hospital nurses and alignment with current work, from the perspective of workers' health., Method: a descriptive and quantitative study, developed in a university hospital with 135 nurses, from December 2018 to February 2019. The Career Orientations Inventory was used as an instrument and an instrument to assess the alignment of career anchors to the current job., Results: it was identified that the most frequent anchors were: Security/Stability, Service/Dedication to a Cause, and Lifestyle. Among nurses, 63.7% were not aligned with their career anchor., Conclusion: the alignment factor is not prevalent among nurses, demonstrating that most seek to meet their professional motivations, but do not find it in their current work, which can lead to physical exhaustion and psychological distress.

Chitosan (CH) is a biopolymer derived from chitin, which is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature, after cellulose. Their functional groups -NH 2 and -OH can form intermolecular interactions with water and other molecules, enabling a variety of applications for CH. -NH 2 groups become protonated in acidic solutions, causing an increase in electrostatic repulsion between CH chains, which facilitates their dispersion in aqueous media. Aqueous solutions of acetic acid and/or acetates buffers have been used to disperse CH, but may not be adequate for technological applications, espeacially because of the strong flavor this acid confers to formulations. In this study, 0.125; 0.250; 0.500; 0.750 and 1.000 g (100 g) -1 CH dispersions were prepared in acidic aqueous media (50 mmol L -1 ), not only with acetic (AA), but also with glycolic (GA), propionic (PA), or lactic (LA), acid aiming to evaluate the effects of biopolymer concentration and type of organic acid on: electrical conductivity, pH, density and rheological characteristics of dispersions. Moreover, ζ potential values of CH chains dispersed in these acidic aqueous media were assessed. pH, density and consistency index were influenced by the biopolymer concentration, but not by the acid type. At a given biopolymer concentration, ζ potential signs (+) and values suggested that electrostatic interactions between CH chains and counter-anions occurred, regardless of the type of the organic acid. Thus, at least from a physicochemical point of view, GA, PA or LA showed to be suitable to replace AA when preparing dispersions containing from 0.125 to 1.000 g (100 g) -1 CH for technological purposes, such as thickening or stabilizer in formulated food products., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestIn compliance with Ethical Requirements of the Journal of Food Science and Technology, we inform that all authors are aware with the submission of the present manuscript to JFST. Thus, the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.)

Objectives: to understand the working conditions and strategies adopted by nurse-midwives in maternity hospitals., Methods: a qualitative, descriptive, exploratory study with 20 nurse-midwives from public maternity hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Data were collected from June to September 2018 through semi-structured interviews, submitted to thematic content analysis and discussed in the light of the psychodynamics of work., Results: working conditions are inadequate due to poor infrastructure and resource deficit. Therefore, they develop defensive strategies to mitigate suffering, avoid destabilization of professional identity and minimize losses on care, through material purchase, lunch hour abdication, task reorganization and break implementation., Final Considerations: the strategies adopted hide work precariousness and suggest alienation of workers, evidencing the need to foster political awareness of this collective to promote concrete transformations in their work reality.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a key role in blood pressure regulation process, and its inhibition is one of the main drug targets for the treatment of hypertension. Though various peptides from milk proteins are well-known for their ACE-inhibitory capacity, research devoted to understand the molecular bases of such property remain scarce, specifically for such peptides. Therefore, in this work, computational molecular docking and molecular dynamics calculations were performed to enlighten the intermolecular interactions involved in ACE inhibition by six different casein-derived peptides (FFVAPFPEVFGK, FALPQYLK, ALNEINQFYQK, YLGYLEQLLR, HQGLPQEVLNENLLR and NAVPITPTLNR). Two top ranked docking poses for each peptide (one with N- and the other C-terminal peptide extremity oriented towards the ACE active site) were selected for dynamic simulations (50 ns; GROMOS53A6 force field), and the results were correlated to in vitro ACE inhibition capacity. Two molecular features appeared to be essential for peptides to present high ACE inhibition capacity in vitro : i) to interact with the S1 active site residues (Ala354, Glu384, and Tyr523) by hydrogen bonds; ii) to interact with Zn 2+ coordinated residues (His383, His387, and Glu411) by short-lenght hydrogen bonds, as observed in the cases of ALNEINQFYQK (IACE = 80.7%), NAVPITPTLNR (IACE = 80.7%), and FALPQYLK (IACE = 79.0%). Regardless of the temporal stability of these strong interactions, they promoted some disruption of Zn 2+ tetrahedral coordination during the molecular dynamics trajectories, and were pointed as the main reason for the greatest ACE inhibition by these peptides. On the other hand, peptides with intermediate inhibition capacity (50% < I ACE < 45%) interacted mainly by weaker interactions ( e.g. : electrostatic and hydrophobic) with the Zn 2+ coordinated residues, and were not able to change significantly its tetrahedral coordination structure. These findings may: i) assist the discrimination in silico of "good" and "bad" ACE-inhibitory peptides from other food sources, and/or ii) aid in designing de novo new molecules with ACE-inhibitory capacity. Communicated by Ramaswamy Sarma.

Biopolymers mixtures appear as a strategy to improve sensorial/technological characteristics of gel-like products. Thus, self-sustaining starch (S100/C0) hydrogels were prepared with a partial replacement of the gelling agent by 5.0 % (S95/C5), 7.5 % (S92.5/C7.5), or 10.0 % chitosan (S90/C10), and containing yellow sunset (INS 110). Major visual changes or significant differences on L*a*b* parameters were not observed for starch/chitosan hydrogels. Creep-recovery data was modeled using the simulated annealing algorithm, and relative recovery results showed an increase for S95/C5 (82.6 %), when compared to S100/C0 (72.9 %). After 312 h, chitosan strongly reduced the INS 110 release from hydrogels to an ethanolic solution (3.1∙10 -4 and 4.1∙10 -3 g/100 mL for S95/C5 and S100/C0, respectively) or to a sucrose solution (1.1∙10 -3 and 6.5∙10 -3 g/100 mL for S95/C5 and S100/C0, respectively). Such results highlighted that chitosan not only presented a techno-functionality on starch hydrogels by improving their elasticity but also by hindering the release of yellow sunset., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, we investigated the effects of melatonin supplementation in the culture medium and blastocoel fluid removal (BFR) before vitrification on the quality and viability of in vitro-derived bovine embryos. After fertilization, presumptive zygotes were assigned to one of the following treatments: control, in vitro standard culture (IVC) medium; IVC + M10 -9 , IVC medium supplemented 10 -9  M melatonin; or IVC + M10 -9 BFR, IVC medium supplemented with 10 -9  M melatonin plus BFR on day 7 (D7) of culture. D7 blastocysts were vitrified by the Cryotop method and, after 5 mo of storage, were warmed and incubated for an additional 72 h. The re-expansion rate was evaluated after 2 and 24 h, and the hatching rate was evaluated after 24, 48, and 72 h. At 72 h, the total number of cells (TNC); number of apoptotic cells (NAC); and expression of genes related to oxidative stress (HSPA5), cell metabolism (SLC2A3), cell repair (MSH6), placentation (KRT8 and PLAC8), and implantation (FOSL1) were assessed in the blastocysts. Less than 30% of the control blastocysts re-expanded until 2 h, whereas more than 85% of the IVC + M10 -9 and IVC + M10 -9 BFR blastocysts re-expanded (P < 0.05). The hatching rate of IVC + M10 -9 BFR blastocysts increased at all time points (P < 0.05), reaching 66.8% at 72 h of incubation. The TNC was similar among treatments (P > 0.05), regardless of vitrification/warming and re-cultivation. The NAC:TNC was smaller for melatonin-treated blastocysts (P < 0.05). BFR increased HSPA5 (P = 0.0118) expression and did not affect SLC2A3, MSH6, KRT8, and FOSL1 expression (P > 0.05). In conclusion, melatonin (10 -9  M) supplementation in the culture medium and BFR on D7 of culture increased the hatching rate 24, 48, and 72 h after warming of the vitrified embryos, indicating an improvement in cryotolerance., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)