Community-developed checklists for publishing images and image analyses.

Images document scientific discoveries and are prevalent in modern biomedical research. Microscopy imaging in particular is currently undergoing rapid technological advancements. However, for scientists wishing to publish obtained images and image-analysis results, there are currently no unified guidelines for best practices. Consequently, microscopy images and image data in publications may be unclear or difficult to interpret. Here, we present community-developed checklists for preparing light microscopy images and describing image analyses for publications. These checklists offer authors, readers and publishers key recommendations for image formatting and annotation, color selection, data availability and reporting image-analysis workflows. The goal of our guidelines is to increase the clarity and reproducibility of image figures and thereby to heighten the quality and explanatory power of microscopy data.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia treated via fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion improves outcome in a middle-income country.

OBJECTIVES: A recent European randomized trial - Tracheal Occlusion To Accelerate Lung Growth - demonstrated that fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) is associated with increased postnatal survival among infants with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). However, this differs in middle-income countries such as Brazil, where abortion is illegal and neonatal intensive care is inadequate. This study evaluated the effects of FETO on improving the survival of infants with moderate-to-severe CDH in isolated and non-isolated cases. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study selected 49 fetuses with CDH, a normal karyotype, and a lung-to-head ratio (LHR) of <1 from a single national referral center for fetal surgery in São Paulo, Brazil, between January 2016 and November 2019. FETO was performed between 26 and 29 weeks of gestation. The primary outcomes were infant survival until discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit and survival until six months of age. RESULTS: Forty-six women with singleton fetuses having severe CDH underwent prenatal intervention with FETO. Infant survival rates until discharge and at six months of age were both 38 %. The observed-to-expected LHR increased by 25 % after FETO in neonates who survived until discharge. Spontaneous intrauterine death occurred in four growth-restricted fetuses after FETO. Preterm birth in <37 weeks and preterm rupture of membranes in <34 weeks occurred in 56.5 % (26) and 26 % (12) cases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: FETO may increase neonatal survival in fetuses with severe CDH, particularly in countries with limited neonatal intensive care.

The impact of craniofacial and dental osteogenesis imperfecta manifestations on oral health-related quality of life of children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Craniofacial and oral manifestations of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) can affect the functioning of the stomatognathic system and impact the patient's quality of life. The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship between craniofacial and oral manifestations and the Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of OI children and adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 30 OI patients aged eight to fourteen years old followed up at the Oral Care Center for Inherited Diseases were enrolled in the research. OHRQoL was assessed using the short form of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ) for eight to ten-year-olds (CPQ8-10) and 11 to 14-year-olds (CPQ11-14). The relationship between the OHRQoL index and its assessment domains, OI types, and the presence of dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI), class III malocclusion, and dental agenesis were evaluated. RESULTS: The median CPQ score of patients was 5, and there was no significant difference in OHRQoL between children and adolescents, nor associated with the disease severity or the presence of DI. The oral manifestations evaluated did not directly impact the patients' OHRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that the perception of OHRQoL is similar for both adolescents and children. The oral symptom was the most relevant domain for the index among patients aged eight to fourteen years while the emotional well-being was the most impacted. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: this study makes contributions by indicating that addressing dental care for children and adolescents with OI is important in clinical management and better OHRQoL for this population.

Effectiveness of a minimally processed food-based nutritional counselling intervention on weight gain in overweight pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a nutritional counselling intervention based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods, rather than ultra-processed products, and the practice of physical activities to prevent excessive gestational weight gain in overweight pregnant women. METHODS: This was a two-armed, parallel, randomized controlled trial conducted in primary health units of a Brazilian municipality from 2018 to 2021. Overweight, adult pregnant women (n = 350) were randomly assigned to control (CG) or intervention groups (IG). The intervention consisted of three individualized nutritional counselling sessions based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods rather than ultra-processed products, following the NOVA food classification system, and the practice of physical activities. The primary outcome was the proportion of women whose weekly gestational weight gain (GWG) exceeded the Institute of Medicine guidelines. Adjusted logistic regression models were employed. RESULTS: Complete data on weight gain were available for 121 women of the IG and 139 of the CG. In modified intention-to-treat analysis, there was a lower chance of the IG women having excessive GWG [OR 0.56 (95% CI 0.32, 0.98), p = .04], when compared to the CG. No between-group differences were observed for the other maternal outcomes investigated. CONCLUSION: The present study was unprecedented in demonstrating that nutritional counselling based on the NOVA food classification system, together with encouraging the practice of physical activity, is effective in preventing excessive weight gain in overweight pregnant women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered on July 30th 2018 at Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR-2w9bhc).

Prevalence of urinary dysfunction after minimally invasive surgery for deep rectosigmoid endometriosis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and progression of lower urinary tract symptoms following laparoscopic surgery for deep-infiltrating endometriosis of the rectosigmoid and identify preoperative factors associated with worse postoperative outcomes. METHODS: Prospective, observational study. SETTINGS: single-center, referral hospital for endometriosis. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for deep-infiltrating endometriosis of the rectosigmoid colon between October 2016 and October 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: urinary function was assessed with the validated Portuguese language version of the International Prostate Symptom Score, which is also used in women. The score was collected before and after surgery. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare pre and postoperative scores and the chi-square test compared symptoms categorized by severity. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were assessed and 44 were included. Concerning urinary symptoms after surgery, the irritative symptoms prevailed over the obstructive ones. Additionally, 58.8% and 54.5% of the women reported moderate or severe symptoms at pre and postoperative, respectively. In at least one questionnaire category, the postoperative questionnaire scores increased in ten (22.7%) participants. A statistically significant difference was found comparing the changes from absent/mild to moderate/severe IPSS categories (P = 0.039). No significant changes were identified in any of the International Prostate Symptom Score pre and postoperatively (P = 0.876). CONCLUSIONS: There was a high prevalence of pre and postoperative urinary symptoms. Patients with preoperative moderate/severe International Prostate Symptom Score are at risk of persisting urinary dysfunction after surgery for rectosigmoid deep endometriosis.

Predicting and explaining absenteeism risk in hospital patients before and during COVID-19.

In order to address one of the most challenging problems in hospital management - patients' absenteeism without prior notice - this study analyses the risk factors associated with this event. To this end, through real data from a hospital located in the North of Portugal, a prediction model previously validated in the literature is used to infer absenteeism risk factors, and an explainable model is proposed, based on a modified CART algorithm. The latter intends to generate a human-interpretable explanation for patient absenteeism, and its implementation is described in detail. Furthermore, given the significant impact, the COVID-19 pandemic had on hospital management, a comparison between patients' profiles upon absenteeism before and during the COVID-19 pandemic situation is performed. Results obtained differ between hospital specialities and time periods meaning that patient profiles on absenteeism change during pandemic periods and within specialities.

Characterization of the activity, aggregation, and toxicity of heterodimers of WT and ALS-associated mutant Sod1.

Mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Sod1) have been reported in both familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this study, we investigated the behavior of heteromeric combinations of wild-type (WT) and mutant Sod1 proteins A4V, L38V, G93A, and G93C in human cells. We showed that both WT and mutant Sod1 formed dimers and oligomers, but only mutant Sod1 accumulated in intracellular inclusions. Coexpression of WT and hSod1 mutants resulted in the formation of a larger number of intracellular inclusions per cell than that observed in cells coexpressing WT or mutant hSod1. The number of inclusions was greater in cells expressing A4V hSod1. To eliminate the contribution of endogenous Sod1, and better evaluate the effect of ALS-associated mutant Sod1 expression, we expressed human Sod1 WT and mutants in human cells knocked down for endogenous Sod1 (Sod1-KD), and in sod1Δ yeast cells. Using Sod1-KD cells we found that the WT-A4V heteromers formed higher molecular weight species compared with A4V and WT homomers. Using the yeast model, in conditions of chronological aging, we concluded that cells expressing Sod1 heterodimers showed decreased antioxidant activity, increased oxidative damage, reduced longevity, and oxidative stress-induced mutant Sod1 aggregation. In addition, we also found that ALS-associated Sod1 mutations reduced nuclear localization and, consequently, impaired the antioxidant response, suggesting this change in localization may contribute to disease in familial ALS. Overall, our study provides insight into the molecular underpinnings of ALS and may open avenues for the design of future therapeutic strategies.

Dietary total antioxidant capacity during pregnancy and birth outcomes.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of maternal dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) and main food sources on the risk of preterm birth (PB) and offspring birth size. METHODS: Cohort study that included 733 Brazilian mother-child pairs. Two 24 h dietary recalls were obtained during pregnancy and the usual intake was estimated through the Multiple Source Method. Data of the offspring were extracted from the national live births information system. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship that energy-adjusted DTAC and food sources have with the outcomes. RESULTS: In total, 9.7% of the children were PBs, 6.0% were born with low birth weight (LBW), 6.7% with macrosomia, 9.3% were small for gestational age (SGA) and 16.4% large for gestational age (LGA). The mean energy-adjusted DTAC ± SD was 4.7 ± 2.1 mmol. The adjusted OR (95%CI) of PB for each increasing tertile of maternal DTAC were 0.71 (0.41, 1.30) and 0.54 (0.29, 0.98), when compared with the lowest intake. For LBW, these were 0.25 (0.09, 0.65) and 0.63 (0.28, 1.41). A likelihood of lower odds for PB was found for a higher intake of fruits [0.66 (0.39, 1.09)]. Women with a higher consumption of milk were less likely to have a child with LBW [0.48 (0.23, 1.01)], and children whose mothers reported a higher intake of beans had lower odds of being born LGA [0.61 (0.39, 0.93)]. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that a higher intake of foods with antioxidant activity during pregnancy might reduce the chance of adverse birth outcomes.

Development of new media formulations for cell culture operations based on regression models.

The paper discusses modelling and optimization of multi-component cell culture medium. The specific productivity (Qp) was considered a function of the medium components and possible interactions described by linear factors, two-way interactions and squared terms that results in a high dimensional problem where the number of variables p (represented by the medium components and their interactions) is much larger than the number of observations n. Principal Components Regression (PCR), Partial Least Squares (PLS), Lasso and Elastic Net regressions were compared as modelling tools to deal with a high dimensional [Formula: see text] problem. PCR and PLS regression models resulted in better prediction results and were used for robust optimization of the medium composition by a nonlinear optimization. The case studies show that it is possible to formulate new media that result in higher Qp than the ones provided by the initial media experiments available. Also, the multivariate statistical approach permitted us to select media that is most informative about the optimum thus permitting modelling and optimization with a reduced set of initial experiments.

Study Protocol effectiveness of a nutritional intervention based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods and the practice of physical activities for appropriate weight gain in overweight, adult, pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from observational studies suggests that a greater intake of ultra-processed foods during pregnancy is associated with a higher chance of obesity, increased gestational weight gain, and neonatal adiposity. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutritional intervention based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods and the practice of physical activities for appropriate weight gain in overweight, adult, pregnant women. Additionally, the effect of the intervention on pregnancy outcomes, neonatal adiposity, and the child's weight and height will be investigated. METHODS: This is a two-armed parallel randomized controlled trial that will be conducted at primary health units in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Adult pregnant women who are overweight and receiving prenatal care in the public health system will be included. The women will be randomly allocated into control (standard care) or intervention groups. Those enrolled in the intervention group will participate in three individualized nutritional counselling sessions based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods and the practice of physical activities. The recruitment of the participants will be carried out at seven health facilities over 12 months, with a sample of 300 women expected. Maternal anthropometric, sociodemographic, blood pressure, biochemical, and lifestyle data will be obtained at baseline (up to the 16th week of gestation), and during a second assessment (34th to 36th gestational week). The neonate body composition will be estimated after birth, and data on pregnancy outcomes, weight and height of children at 6, 12 and 24 months of age will be further obtained from medical records. DISCUSSION: This will be the first randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a nutritional intervention based on encouraging the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods and the practice of physical activities for appropriate weight gain in adult, overweight, pregnant women. Furthermore, the effect of the intervention on pregnancy outcomes, neonatal adiposity and the child's weight and height will be evaluated. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos (Rebec) RBR-2w9bhc July 30th 2018 (http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/?q=RBR-2w9bhc+), and RBR-7yx36h June 4th 2019 (http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/?q=RBR-7yx36h+0.

Can Enhanced Techniques Improve the Diagnostic Accuracy of Transvaginal Sonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Rectosigmoid Endometriosis? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the most commonly used examinations for rectosigmoid lesions of deeply infiltrating endometriosis, transvaginal sonography (TVS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to compare their diagnostic accuracy and enhanced or non-enhanced techniques. METHODS: A systematic search was performed until March 2018 without time or language restrictions. Eligibility criteria included studies that compared the accuracy of TVS and MRI for diagnosis of rectosigmoid endometriosis. The quality of the studies was assessed by means of Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations. Bivariate and hierarchical analysis were performed. The difference in the accuracy of TVS and MRI was tested, and heterogeneity was addressed by means of meta-regression, sensitivity, or subgroup analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1754 studies were screened; 105 studies were eligible, and 11 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Overall pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.80, 0.94, and 0.95, respectively. The measures for MRI were 0.82, 0.94, and 0.95, respectively. There was no statistical difference between the accuracy values of TVS and MRI (P = 0.90). The use of bowel preparation and vaginal contrast could enhance the accuracy of MRI. Along with rectosigmoid prevalence, bowel and vaginal contrast explained a significant proportion of the statistical heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Both TVS and MRI showed high diagnostic accuracy for rectosigmoid deeply infiltrating endometriosis lesions. There is no strong evidence suggesting that the two diagnostic methods might differ in specificity or sensitivity, but enhanced techniques may increase the accuracy measures.

Biomaterials and Microfluidics for Drug Discovery and Development.

Microfluidic devices are now one of the most promising tools to mimic in vivo like conditions, either in normal or disease scenarios, such as tumorigenesis or pathogenesis. Together with the potential of biomaterials, its combination with microfluidics represents the ability to more closely mimic cells' natural microenvironment concerning its three-dimensional (3D) nature and continuous perfusion with nutrients and cells' crosstalk. Due to miniaturization and increased experimental throughput, microfluidics have generated significant interest in the drug discovery and development domain. Herein, the most recent advances in the field of microfluidics for drug discovery are overviewed, and the role of biomaterials in 3D in vitro models and the contribution of organ-on-a-chip technologies highlighted.

SMIM1 intron 2 gene variations leading to variability in Vel antigen expression among Brazilian blood donors.

BACKGROUND: There is a significant inter-individual heterogeneity of Vel antigen expression which can lead to inaccuracies on Vel phenotyping of blood donors and, potentially, to hemolytic post-transfusion reactions. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of genetic variants in the SMIM1 intron 2 on the expression of Vel antigen among Brazilian blood donors harboring the c.64_80del17 deletion in heterozygosity. METHODS: Donors presenting the SMIM1 c.64_80del17 in heterozygosity were included in the study and subjected to SMIM1 intron 2 direct sequencing aiming to genotype the following polymorphisms: rs143702418, rs1181893, rs191041962, rs6673829, rs1175550 and rs9424296. RESULTS: SMIM1 intron 2 sequencing was performed on two hundred donors presenting one c.64_80del17 allele. The rs1175550 polymorphism significantly impacted on Vel antigen expression. Variations in the strength of agglutination on Vel phenotyping were also observed according to the rs6673829 genotype, but this difference did not persist with statistical relevance after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The presence of the rs1175550A allele of SMIM1 is significantly and independently associated with a decrease in Vel antigen expression. Even though the population in Brazil is intensely mixed, the allele frequencies obtained in the current study were very similar to that reported for Europeans.

Genome sequence and effectorome of Moniliophthora perniciosa and Moniliophthora roreri subpopulations.

BACKGROUND: The hemibiotrophic pathogens Moniliophthora perniciosa (witches' broom disease) and Moniliophthora roreri (frosty pod rot disease) are among the most important pathogens of cacao. Moniliophthora perniciosa has a broad host range and infects a variety of meristematic tissues in cacao plants, whereas M. roreri infects only pods of Theobroma and Herrania genera. Comparative pathogenomics of these fungi is essential to understand Moniliophthora infection strategies, therefore the detection and in silico functional characterization of effector candidates are important steps to gain insight on their pathogenicity. RESULTS: Candidate secreted effector proteins repertoire were predicted using the genomes of five representative isolates of M. perniciosa subpopulations (three from cacao and two from solanaceous hosts), and one representative isolate of M. roreri from Peru. Many putative effectors candidates were identified in M. perniciosa: 157 and 134 in cacao isolates from Bahia, Brazil; 109 in cacao isolate from Ecuador, 92 and 80 in wild solanaceous isolates from Minas Gerais (Lobeira) and Bahia (Caiçara), Brazil; respectively. Moniliophthora roreri showed the highest number of effector candidates, a total of 243. A set of eight core effectors were shared among all Moniliophthora isolates, while others were shared either between the wild solanaceous isolates or among cacao isolates. Mostly, candidate effectors of M. perniciosa were shared among the isolates, whereas in M. roreri nearly 50% were exclusive to the specie. In addition, a large number of cell wall-degrading enzymes characteristic of hemibiotrophic fungi were found. From these, we highlighted the proteins involved in cell wall modification, an enzymatic arsenal that allows the plant pathogens to inhabit environments with oxidative stress, which promotes degradation of plant compounds and facilitates infection. CONCLUSIONS: The present work reports six genomes and provides a database of the putative effectorome of Moniliophthora, a first step towards the understanding of the functional basis of fungal pathogenicity.

A systematic review on phenolic compounds in Passiflora plants: Exploring biodiversity for food, nutrition, and popular medicine.

Passiflora plants are strategic in the context of biodiversity for food and nutrition. We applied the procedures of a systematic review protocol to study the state of the art on identification of phenolic compounds from Passiflora plants. An automated literature search was conducted using six databases and a combination of seven keywords. All the analytical, chromatographic, and spectroscopic methods were included. The studies were classified according to their method of identification, phenolic classes, and method of extraction. In total, 8,592 abstracts were found, from which 122 studies were selected for complete reading and 82 were selected for further analysis. Techniques of extraction, evaluated parts of the plant and methods of identification were systematized. Studies with leaves were most conspicuous (54.4%), 34 species of Passiflora were evaluated and orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, isovitexin were commonly found structures. A High Performance Liquid Chromatography-diode array detector was the technique most applied, with which the same structures were identified all through the studies, although other unknown structures were detected, but not elucidated. The use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry, which are more sensitive techniques, needs to be intensified, to identify other unconventional compounds detected in Passiflora, to enhance the comprehension of the bioactive compounds in these plants.

Metal-based superoxide dismutase and catalase mimics reduce oxidative stress biomarkers and extend life span of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Aging is a natural process characterized by several biological changes. In this context, oxidative stress appears as a key factor that leads cells and organisms to severe dysfunctions and diseases. To cope with reactive oxygen species and oxidative-related damage, there has been increased use of superoxide dismutase (SOD)/catalase (CAT) biomimetic compounds. Recently, we have shown that three metal-based compounds {[Fe(HPClNOL)Cl2]NO3, [Cu(HPClNOL)(CH3CN)](ClO4)2 and Mn(HPClNOL)(Cl)2}, harboring in vitro SOD and/or CAT activities, were critical for protection of yeast cells against oxidative stress. In this work, treating Saccharomyces cerevisiae with these SOD/CAT mimics (25.0 µM/1 h), we highlight the pivotal role of these compounds to extend the life span of yeast during chronological aging. Evaluating lipid and protein oxidation of aged cells, it becomes evident that these mimics extend the life expectancy of yeast mainly due to the reduction in oxidative stress biomarkers. In addition, the treatment of yeast cells with these mimics regulated the amounts of lipid droplet occurrence, consistent with the requirement and protection of lipids for cell integrity during aging. Concerning SOD/CAT mimics uptake, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, we add new evidence that these complexes, besides being bioabsorbed by S. cerevisiae cells, can also affect metal homeostasis. Finally, our work presents a new application for these SOD/CAT mimics, which demonstrate a great potential to be employed as antiaging agents. Taken together, these promising results prompt future studies concerning the relevance of administration of these molecules against the emerging aging-related diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

Tissue Engineering Strategies for Osteochondral Repair.

Tissue engineering strategies have been pushing forward several fields in the range of biomedical research. The musculoskeletal field is not an exception. In fact, tissue engineering has been a great asset in the development of new treatments for osteochondral lesions. Herein, we overview the recent developments in osteochondral tissue engineering. Currently, the treatments applied in a clinical scenario have shown some drawbacks given the difficulty in regenerating a fully functional hyaline cartilage. Among the different strategies designed for osteochondral regeneration, it is possible to identify cell-free strategies, scaffold-free strategies, and advanced strategies, where different materials are combined with cells. Cell-free strategies consist in the development of scaffolds in the attempt to better fulfill the requirements of the cartilage regeneration process. For that, different structures have been designed, from monolayers to multilayered structures, with the intent to mimic the osteochondral architecture. In the case of scaffold-free strategies, they took advantage on the extracellular matrix produced by cells. The last strategy relies in the development of new biomaterials capable of mimicking the extracellular matrix. This way, the cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation at the lesion site are expedited, exploiting the self-regenerative potential of cells and its interaction with biomolecules. Overall, despite the difficulties associated with each approach, tissue engineering has been proven a valuable tool in the regeneration of osteochondral lesions and together with the latest advances in the field, promises to revolutionize personalized therapies.

Pre-harvest factors related to sensory profile of Passiflora setacea nectars, a wild passion fruit from Brazilian savannah.

BACKGROUND: Passiflora setacea DC. is a passion fruit species native from Brazilian savannah characterized by naturally sweet sensory characteristics. The sensory quality of the pulp can be affected by the growing environment. The effect of training systems (trellis or espalier), seasons (the weather conditions in periods of drought and rain) and addition of seeds to the juice (25%) were evaluated, with emphasis on the sensory quality of P. setacea nectars. RESULTS: Training systems of P. setacea plantation did not influence flavor or aroma of nectars. Season had an effect on texture attributes. Although training system and season had impact on pH, total soluble solid (TSS) content, titratable acidity (TA), polyphenolics and condensed tannins content, these environment factors had no influence on acceptance. Seeds addition had a negative effect on overall liking. Frequency of consumption of passion fruit and functional food did not influence nectar preference whereas being neophilic or having higher level of knowledge about functional foods favored greater acceptance of P. setacea nectars. CONCLUSION: Passiflora setacea nectar is a potential functional beverage, due its bioactive contents. Training system and season had no influence on acceptance as isolated factors. However, there was an interaction between these factors, which could be considered to market projection, as well as the addition of seeds. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

In Vivo Characterization of I91T Sod2 Polymorphism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme Mn-Superoxide Dismutase (Sod2) is essential for mammalian survival. I82T mutation in human Sod2 has been linked to a wide variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as well as some types of cancers. Yeast wild-type (WT) Sod2 and the mutant Sod2 I91T, which corresponds to the human mutant Sod2 I82T, were cloned in sod2Δ strain. Residue I82 is conserved among a variety of species, showing that it has a biological importance. To assess the functionality of Sod2 I91T under oxidative stress, yeast cells were shifted from glucose (fermentative metabolism) to glycerol growth medium (respiratory metabolism). Overexpression of both Sod2 WT and Sod2 I91T increased Sod activity, but in long-term, the mutation brought impairment to Sod function. Aconitase, a sensor of superoxide radical production in vivo, had its activity preserved by overexpressions of both Sod2, in lesser extent in sod2ΔSod2I91T. In respiratory metabolism, sod2ΔSod2WT and sod2ΔSod2I91T showed high viability; although, sod2ΔSod2I91T showed high percentage of cells with mitochondrial function compromised. Moreover, the fitness analysis of mixed cultures showed that sod2ΔSod2I91T was less robust than WT cells. Although overexpression of Sod2 containing I91T mutation allows higher cell viability, longevity of cells is hampered, showing that in long-term this mutation is not neutral. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1078-1086, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.