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A Collapsible Light Trap (CLT) for collecting insects, particularly aquatic insects, is described here. CLT is a modified Pennsylvania Light Trap with the advantage of being collapsible and lightweight to be carried in a small backpack and very easy to set up in the field. CLT is equipped with LED light strip wrapped around a PVC tube and can be connected to a regular 12 V / 7 Ah battery, running for more than 48 uninterrupted hours. Complete CLT weighs 0.8-1.0 kg, depending on the metal used, and the battery weighs around 2 kg, being easily transportable to more remote collecting areas. Over the years, CLTs have been used for collecting and describing the diversity of aquatic insects from Brazil, particularly caddisflies. Depending on the locality, only one trap for one night can collect over a thousand insect specimens and more than 200 individuals of caddisflies.

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This study utilized Bayesian inference in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic markers associated with traits relevant to the adaptation of Hereford and Braford cattle breeds. We focused on eye pigmentation (EP), weaning hair coat (WHC), yearling hair coat (YHC), and breeding standard (BS). Our dataset comprised 126,290 animals in the pedigree. Out of these, 233 sires were genotyped using high-density (HD) chips, and 3750 animals with medium-density (50 K) single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips. Employing the Bayes B method with a prior probability of π = 0.99, we identified and tagged single nucleotide polymorphisms (Tag SNPs), ranging from 18 to 117 SNPs depending on the trait. These Tag SNPs facilitated the construction of reduced SNP panels. We then evaluated the predictive accuracy of these panels in comparison to traditional medium-density SNP chips. The accuracy of genomic predictions using these reduced panels varied significantly depending on the clustering method, ranging from 0.13 to 0.65. Additionally, we conducted functional enrichment analysis that found genes associated with the most informative SNP markers in the current study, thereby providing biological insights into the genomic basis of these traits.

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To evaluate the antibacterial, antibiofilm and antivirulence potential of the main diterpenes from Copaifera spp. oleoresins against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Antimicrobial assays included determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC), Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Biofilm (MICB50), as well as synergistic and antivirulence assays for eight diterpenes against MDR. The tests revealed that two diterpenes (named 1 and 5) showed the best results, with MIC and MBC between 12.5 and 50 µg/mL against most MDR bacteria. These diterpenes exhibited promising MICB50 in concentration between 3.12-25 µg/mL but showed no synergistic antimicrobial activity. In the assessment of antivirulence activity, diterpenes 1 and 5 inhibited only one of the virulence factors evaluated (Dnase) produced by some strains of S. aureus at subinhibitory concentration (6.25 µg/mL). Results obtained indicated that diterpenes isolated from Copaifera oleoresin plays an important part in the search of new antibacterial and antibiofilm agents that can act against MDR bacteria.

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We introduce a Molecular Theory for Compressible Fluids (MOLT-CF) that enables us to compute free energies and other thermodynamic functions for nanoparticle superlattices with any solvent content, including the dry limit. Quantitative agreement is observed between MOLT-CF and united-atom molecular dynamics simulations performed to assess the reliability and precision of the theory. Among other predictions, MOLT-CF shows that the amount of solvent within the superlattice decreases approximately linearly with its vapor pressure and that in the late stages of drying, solvent-filled voids form at lattice interstitials. Applied to single-component superlattices, MOLT-CF predicts fcc-to-bcc Bain transitions for decreasing vapor pressure and for increasing ligand length, both in agreement with experimental results. We explore the stability of other single-component phases and show that the C14 Frank-Kasper phase, which has been reported in experiments, is not a global free-energy minimum. Implications for precise assembly and prediction of multicomponent nanoparticle systems are discussed.

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Finding novel methodologies that enhance the precision, agility, and standardization of drug discovery is crucial for studying leishmaniasis. The slide count is the technique most used to assess the leishmanicidal effect of a given drug in vitro. Despite being consolidated in the scientific environment, it presents several difficulties in its execution, assessment, and results. In addition to being laborious, this technique takes time, both for the preparation of the material for analysis and for the counting itself. Our research group suggests a fresh approach to address this requirement, which involves utilizing nuclear labeling with propidium iodide and flow cytometry to determine the quantity of Leishmania sp. parasites present in macrophages in vitro. Our results show that the fluorescence of infected samples increases as the infection rate increases. Using Pearson's Correlation analysis, it was possible to establish a correlation coefficient (Pearson r = 0.9473) that was strongly positive, linear, and directly proportional to the fluorescence and infection rate variables. Thus, it is possible to infer a mathematical equation through linear regression to estimate the number of parasites in each sample using the Relative Fluorescence Units (RFU) values. This new methodology opens space for the possibility of using this methodological resource in the in vitro quantification of Leishmania in macrophages.

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This study aimed to investigate the effects of diets with and without antibiotics supplementation and diets with 18.5% and 13.0% crude protein (CP) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, disease incidence, fecal microbiota, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of growing pigs. One hundred and eighty pigs (59-day-old; 18.5 ±â€…2.5 kg) were distributed in a randomized complete block design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, nine replicates, and five pigs per pen. The factors were CP (18.5% or 13.0%) and antibiotics (none or 100 mg/kg tiamulin + 506 mg/kg oxytetracycline). Medicated diets were fed from days 59 to 73. After that, all pigs were fed their respective CP diets from 73 to 87 days. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure in SAS version 9.4. From days 59 to 73, pigs fed antibiotics diets had higher (P < 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily weight gain (ADG), gain to feed ratio (G:F), compared to the diets without antibiotics. From days 73 to 87 (postmedicated period), any previous supplementation of antibiotics did not affect pig growth performance. Overall (days 59 to 87), pigs-fed antibiotics diets had higher (P < 0.05) G:F compared to pigs-fed diets without antibiotics. In all periods evaluated, pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had higher (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F compared to pigs fed 13.0% CP. Pigs fed the 13.0% CP diets had lower (P < 0.05) fecal score and diarrhea incidence than those fed 18.5% CP. Pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had improved (P < 0.05) loin area compared to pigs-fed diets with 13.0% CP. At 66 days of age, pigs-fed antibiotics diets had lower (P < 0.05) alpha diversity estimated with Shannon and Simpson compared to the pig-fed diets without antibiotics. At family level, pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had higher (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Streptococcaceae, and lower (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Clostridiaceae at days 66 and 87 compared with pigs fed 13.0% CP. Pigs-fed antibiotics diets had lower (P < 0.05) immunoglobulin G and protein carbonyl concentrations at day 66 compared to the pigs-fed diets without antibiotics. The reduction of dietary CP from 18.5% to 13.0% reduced the growth performance and loin muscle area of growing pigs, although it was effective to reduce diarrhea incidence. Antibiotics improved growth performance, lowered diarrhea incidence, improved components of the humoral immune response, and reduced microbiota diversity. However, in the postmedicated period, we found no residual effect on the general health of the animals, and considering the overall period, only G:F was improved by the use of antibiotics.

Dietary antibiotics have been used in pig farming practices to avoid health problems and improve animal growth performance. However, their use in production animals is considered a global health challenge, due to its association with selection of resistance in zoonotic bacteria. Another negative impact of pig farming that has gained attention is related to environmental pollution due to the excretion of nitrogenous compounds. Reducing dietary crude protein content has become a goal in the pig feed industry due to the limited availability and high cost of dietary protein sources, as well as the aim of enhancing gut health in pigs. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of diets with and without antibiotics supplementation and diets with 18.5% and 13.0% crude protein for pigs. The reduction of dietary crude protein in this study reduced growth performance, although it was effective to reduce diarrhea incidence. Antibiotics improved growth performance, positively affected the overall health of animals, and reduced microbiota diversity. However, during the postmedicated period, we found no residual effect on the general health of the animals, and considering the overall period, only gain to feed ratio was improved by the use of antibiotics.

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Introduction: After three years since the beginning of the pandemic, the new coronavirus continues to raise several questions regarding its infectious process and host response. Several mutations occurred in different regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, such as in the spike gene, causing the emergence of variants of concern and interest (VOCs and VOIs), of which some present higher transmissibility and virulence, especially among patients with previous comorbidities. It is essential to understand its spread dynamics to prevent and control new biological threats that may occur in the future. In this population_based retrospective observational study, we generated data and used public databases to understand SARS-CoV-2 dynamics. Methods: We sequenced 1,003 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from naso-oropharyngeal swabs and saliva samples from Pará from May 2020 to October 2022. To gather epidemiological data from Brazil and the world, we used FIOCRUZ and GISAID databases. Results: Regarding our samples, 496 (49.45%) were derived from female participants and 507 (50.55%) from male participants, and the average age was 43 years old. The Gamma variant presented the highest number of cases, with 290 (28.91%) cases, followed by delta with 53 (5.28%). Moreover, we found seven (0.69%) Omicron cases and 651 (64.9%) non-VOC cases. A significant association was observed between sex and the clinical condition (female, p = 8.65e-08; male, p = 0.008961) and age (p = 3.6e-10). Discussion: Although gamma had been officially identified only in December 2020/January 2021, we identified a gamma case from Belém (capital of Pará State) dated May 2020 and three other cases in October 2020. This indicates that this variant was circulating in the North region of Brazil several months before its formal identification and that Gamma demonstrated its actual transmission capacity only at the end of 2020. Furthermore, the public data analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 dispersion dynamics differed in Brazil as Gamma played an important role here, while most other countries reported a new infection caused by the Delta variant. The genetic and epidemiological information of this study reinforces the relevance of having a robust genomic surveillance service that allows better management of the pandemic and that provides efficient solutions to possible new disease-causing agents.

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Automated industrial processes require a controller to obtain an output signal similar to the reference indicated by the user. There are controllers such as PIDs, which are efficient if the system does not change its initial conditions. However, if this is not the case, the controller must be retuned, affecting production times. In this work, an adaptive PID controller is developed for a DC motor speed plant using an artificial intelligence algorithm based on reinforcement learning. This algorithm uses an actor-critic agent, where its objective is to optimize the actor's policy and train a critic for rewards. This will generate the appropriate gains without the need to know the system. The Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient with Twin Delayed (DDPG TD3) was used, with a network composed of 300 neurons for the agent's learning. Finally, the performance of the obtained controller is compared with a classical control one using a cost function.

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About 8% of the Ecuadorian population suffers some type of amputation of upper or lower limbs. Due to the high cost of a prosthesis and the fact that the salary of an average worker in the country reached 248 USD in August 2021, they experience a great labor disadvantage and only 17% of them are employed. Thanks to advances in 3D printing and the accessibility of bioelectric sensors, it is now possible to create economically accessible proposals. This work proposes the design of a hand prosthesis that uses electromyography (EMG) signals and neural networks for real-time control. The integrated system has a mechanical and electronic design, and the latter integrates artificial intelligence for control. To train the algorithm, an experimental methodology was developed to record muscle activity in upper extremities associated with specific tasks, using three EMG surface sensors. These data were used to train a five-layer neural network. the trained model was compressed and exported using TensorflowLite. The prosthesis consisted of a gripper and a pivot base, which were designed in Fusion 360 considering the movement restrictions and the maximum loads. It was actuated in real time thanks to the design of an electronic circuit that used an ESP32 development board, which was responsible for recording, processing and classifying the EMG signals associated with a motor intention, and to actuate the hand prosthesis. As a result of this work, a database with 60 electromyographic activity records from three tasks was released. The classification algorithm was able to detect the three muscle tasks with an accuracy of 78.67% and a response time of 80 ms. Finally, the 3D printed prosthesis was able to support a weight of 500 g with a safety factor equal to 15.

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The projected increase in life expectancy over the next few decades is expected to result in a rise in age-related diseases, including cancer. Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a worldwide health problem with high rates of morbidity and mortality. In this report, we have critically reviewed the literature reporting the management of older patients with HNC. Older adults are more prone to complications and toxicities secondary to HNC treatment, especially those patients who are frail or have comorbidities. Thus, this population should be screened prior to treatment for such predispositions to maximize medical management of comorbidities. Chronologic age itself is not a reason for choosing less intensive treatment for older HNC patients. Whenever possible, also older patients should be treated according to the best standard of care, as nonstandard approaches may result in increased treatment failure rates and mortality. The treatment plan is best established by a multidisciplinary tumor board with shared decision-making with patients and family. Treatment modifications should be considered for those patients who have severe comorbidities, evidence of frailty (low performance status), or low performance status or those who refuse the recommendations of the tumor board.

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Arsenic is an environmental toxicant known to be a carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. Maternal exposure to arsenic has been associated with fetus malformation and reproductive disorders in male offspring. However, it is unclear the extent to which those effects remain during postnatal development and adulthood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of prenatal arsenic exposure on reproductive parameters of male offspring at peripubertal and adult periods. Pregnant female Wistar rats were exposed to 0 or 10 mg/L sodium arsenite in drinking water from gestational day 1 (GD 1) until GD 21 and male pups were analyzed at postnatal day 44 (PND 44) and PND 70. We observed that some reproductive parameters were affected differently by arsenic exposure at each age evaluated. The body and reproductive organs weights, as well as testicular and epididymal morphology were strongly affected in peripubertal animals and recovered at adult period. On the other hand, the antioxidant genes expression (SOD1, SOD2, CAT and GSTK1) and the endogenous antioxidant system were affected in the testes and epididymides from both peripubertal and adult rats. Finally, an impairment in daily sperm production and in sperm parameters was observed in adult animals. Taken together, our findings show that prenatal arsenic exposure affected reproductive parameters of peripubertal and adult male rats mainly due to oxidative stress. Collectively, those alterations may be affecting fertility potential of adult animals.

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Inflammatory bowel diseases are a group of inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Their prevalence is still low in Brazil, but the incidence is increasing annually. A variety of compounds present in Curcuma longa L., particularly curcumin, have been shown to reduce oxidative stress and aid in the prevention of associated diseases. This study aimed to assess the effect of curcumin transdermal gel on oxidative stress and intestinal inflammation in IL-10 knockout mice. Female mice were divided into four groups: a control group (C0) treated with vehicle and three experimental groups treated with transdermal gel containing 50 (C50), 75 (C75), and 100 (C100) mg curcumin kg-1 body weight. Colon malondialdehyde concentrations were lower in C50 and C75 groups. C100 treatment led to reduced catalase activity in the small intestine, whereas C50, C75, and C100 treatments resulted in decreased catalase activity in the colon. In contrast, superoxide dismutase activity increased in the small intestine of C50 and C75 mice and decreased in the colon of C50, C75, and C100 mice. Glutathione S-transferase activity increased in the small intestine and decreased in the colon of C75 animals. These findings suggest that curcumin transdermal gel exerts a protective effect against oxidative stress.

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The supramolecular organization of soft materials, such as colloids, polymers, and amphiphiles, results from a subtle balance of weak intermolecular interactions and entropic forces. This competition can drive the self-organization of soft materials at the nano-/mesoscale. Modeling soft-matter self-assembly requires, therefore, considering a complex interplay of forces at the relevant length scales without sacrificing the molecular details that define the chemical identity of the system. This mini-review focuses on the application of a tool known as molecular theory to study self-assembly in different types of soft materials. This tool is based on extremizing an approximate free energy functional of the system, and, therefore, it provides a direct, computationally affordable estimation of the stability of different self-assembled morphologies. Moreover, the molecular theory explicitly incorporates structural details of the chemical species in the system, accounts for their conformational degrees of freedom, and explicitly includes their chemical equilibria. This mini-review introduces the general ideas behind the theoretical formalism and discusses its advantages and limitations compared with other theoretical tools commonly used to study self-assembled soft materials. Recent application examples are discussed: the self-patterning of polyelectrolyte brushes on planar and curved surfaces, the formation of nanoparticle (NP) superlattices, and the self-organization of amphiphiles into micelles of different shapes. Finally, prospective methodological improvements and extensions (also relevant for related theoretical tools) are analyzed.

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Recent engineering and neuroscience applications have led to the development of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems that improve the quality of life of people with motor disabilities. In the same area, a significant number of studies have been conducted in identifying or classifying upper-limb movement intentions. On the contrary, few works have been concerned with movement intention identification for lower limbs. Notwithstanding, lower-limb neurorehabilitation is a major topic in medical settings, as some people suffer from mobility problems in their lower limbs, such as those diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, and people with hemiplegia or quadriplegia. Particularly, the conventional pattern recognition (PR) systems are one of the most suitable computational tools for electroencephalography (EEG) signal analysis as the explicit knowledge of the features involved in the PR process itself is crucial for both improving signal classification performance and providing more interpretability. In this regard, there is a real need for outline and comparative studies gathering benchmark and state-of-art PR techniques that allow for a deeper understanding thereof and a proper selection of a specific technique. This study conducted a topical overview of specialized papers covering lower-limb motor task identification through PR-based BCI/EEG signal analysis systems. To do so, we first established search terms and inclusion and exclusion criteria to find the most relevant papers on the subject. As a result, we identified the 22 most relevant papers. Next, we reviewed their experimental methodologies for recording EEG signals during the execution of lower limb tasks. In addition, we review the algorithms used in the preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification stages. Finally, we compared all the algorithms and determined which of them are the most suitable in terms of accuracy.

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BACKGROUND: The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world. Despite that, this biome still includes many areas that are poorly known floristically, including several protected areas, such as the "Floresta Nacional do Rio Preto" ("Flona do Rio Preto"), located in the Brazilian State of Espírito Santo. This study used a published vascular plant species list for this protected area from the "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil" as the basis to synthesise the species richness, endemism, conservation and new species occurrences found in the "Flona do Rio Preto". NEW INFORMATION: The published list of vascular plants was based on field expeditions conducted between 2018 and 2020 and data obtained from herbarium collections available in online databases. Overall, 722 species were documented for the "Flona do Rio Preto", 711 of which are native to Brazil and 349 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. In addition, 60 species are geographically disjunct between the Atlantic and the Amazon Forests. Most of the documented species are woody and more than 50% of these are trees. Twenty-three species are threatened (CR, EN and VU), while five are Data Deficient (DD). Thirty-two species are new records for the State of Espírito Santo. Our results expand the knowledge of the flora of the Atlantic Forest and provide support for the development of new conservation policies for this protected area.

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This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementing arginine (Arg) + glutamine (Gln) replacing antibiotics on performance, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of pigs in the growing phase. One hundred fifty 63-d-old pigs with initial body weight (BW) of 25.0 ± 1.46 kg were distributed in a randomized block design, with three treatments and ten replicates. The three diets were control; antibiotic, control + 100 mg/kg tiamulin and 506 mg/kg oxytetracycline; amino acid, control + 10 g/kg Arg and 2 g/kg Gln. Dietary treatments were fed from 63 to 77 d. Following the treatment period, all pigs were fed the control diet from 77 to 90 d. Data were analyzed using GLIMMIX and UNIVARIATE in SAS 9.4. From 63 to 70 d, pigs fed diets with antibiotics had improved (P < 0.05) average daily feed intake, average daily weight gain (ADG), gain to feed ratio (G:F), and 70-d BW compared to those fed control or amino acid diets. From 70 to 77 d, including antibiotics in the diet increased (P < 0.05) ADG and 77-d BW. From 77 to 90 d, pigs fed control or amino acid diets had greater (P < 0.05) ADG than those fed an antibiotic diet. From 63 to 90 d, although pig performance was not affected (P > 0.05), growth curve of pigs fed the antibiotic diets was different (P < 0.05) from those fed the control and amino acids diets. At 70 d, serum tumor necrosis factor-α and diamine oxidase (DAO) were lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet than the control diet, and pigs fed the amino acid diet had intermediate results. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid diet than the antibiotic diet, and pigs fed the control diet had intermediate results. Serum immunoglobulin A was lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet. At 77 d, DAO and serum immunoglobulin G were lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet. FRAP was lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid and control diets. Serum malondialdehyde was higher (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid diet than those fed the control diet, and pigs fed the antibiotic diet had intermediate results. At 90 d, antibiotics or amino acids did not affect (P > 0.05) serum parameters. Amino acid blend supplementation at the selected doses in this study did not positively affect growing pigs. Although from 63 to 77 d, antibiotics improved performance, when considering the overall study period, growing pigs did not benefit from a diet containing antibiotics.

Dietary antibiotics have been used in pig farming practices to avoid health problems, improving animal growth performance. However, antimicrobial resistance due to the use of antibiotics in farms is considered to be a global health challenge. Arginine and glutamine are amino acids with potential to improve gut health, immune function, and growth performance. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the supplementation of those amino acids as an alternative to the use of dietary antibiotic for pigs. Moreover, after a 14-d treatment phase, we still monitor the pigs to evaluate the carryover effects of the antibiotics and amino acids. Amino acid supplementation at the selected doses in this study did not positively affect pigs. Although during the treatment phase, antibiotics improved performance, when considering the overall study period, pigs did not benefit from a diet containing antibiotics. Thus, antibiotics caused transient alterations in pig performance and should be further investigated, potentially guiding future research on its use and alternative technologies.

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Athenaea velutina is a promising Brazilian shrub with cytotoxic and antimigratory properties against cancer cells. However, the mechanism of induction of cancer cell death and the compounds involved remain unknown. To ascertain these bioactive compounds, bioassay-guided fractionation was performed, alongside the appropriate in vitro tests. A withanolide-rich fraction (FAv_5) from the dichloromethane extract increased cytotoxic activity by 1.5-fold (IC50 = 2.1 µg/mL). Fourteen withanolide steroids were tentatively identified for the first time for this species by mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography (LC MS/MS), including withanolide A, aurelianolide A, and aurelianolide B. FAv_5 significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion with a selectivity index greater than 8 for B16F10 cells. Furthermore, flow cytometry with annexin V fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (V-FITC/PI) staining showed FAv_5 to promote cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1-phase as well as apoptotic cell death. Overall, these findings highlight A. velutina as a source of withanolide-steroids that inhibit cancer cell proliferation through apoptosis and cell cycle blockade mechanisms. Details on the geographic distribution of A. velutina and species conservation strategies have also been highlighted.

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