Da Silva

Department of Cell Biology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 81531-980, PR, Brazil

Graduate College of Cell and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 80035-050, PR, Brazil

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/Gyre-Pagella/Size2/Regular/Main.js PEA—Polytechnic School (POLI-USP), University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil

Acanthamoeba genus can affect humans with diseases such as granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a highly lethal neuroinfection. Several aspects of the disease still need to be elucidated. Animal models of GAE have advanced our knowledge of the disease. This work tested Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) as an animal model of GAE. For this, 32 animals were infected with 1 × 106 A. castellanii trophozoites of the T4 genotype. Ameba recovery tests were carried out using agar plates, vascular extravasation assays, behavioral tests, and histopathological technique with H/E staining. Data were subjected to linear regression analysis, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s test, performed in the GraphPad Prism® 8.0 program, with a significance level of p < 0.05. The results revealed the efficiency of the model. Amebae were recovered from the liver, lungs, and brain of infected animals, and there were significant encephalic vascular extravasations and behavioral changes in these animals, but not in the control animals. However, not all infected animals showed positive histopathology for the analyzed organs. Nervous tissues were the least affected, demonstrating the role of the BBB in the defense of the CNS. Supported by the demonstrated evidence, we confirm the difficulties and the feasibilities of using rats as an animal model of GAE.

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Instituto de Ciência, Engenharia e Tecnologia (ICET), Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Teófilo Otoni 39803-371, MG, Brazil

Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

Abstract Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors of arboviruses such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika, causing a major impact on global economic and public health.

The maturation of Arabica coffee fruits is influenced by both endogenous and external factors. The stage of fruit maturation affects the chemical composition of the beans, which in turn impacts the quality of the coffee beverage. During maturation, the fruit peel changes colour from green to red (cherry), signalling the optimal harvest time and suggesting high fruit quality. However, the degree of redness can vary, indicating different levels of maturity. This study aimed to explore the variation in soluble sugar accumulation in relation to the redness of coffee fruit tissues. We classified ripe fruits into six ripeness categories based on the intensity of the red colour of the epicarp, measured using a colourimeter. We analysed total soluble sugar, sucrose, and starch in three parts: coat (exocarp + mesocarp), coat juice (obtained by squeezing the coat), and beans. Our findings reveal that the variation in sugar in the endosperm does not correspond to changes in the coat, suggesting separate regulation of sugar accumulation, particularly sucrose, which is crucial for coffee quality. Our data indicate that there is no transfer of sucrose and reducing sugars from the red coat to the bean.

The synergistic interactions between nitrogen doses and microbial inoculation in crops indicate the potential for integrated nutrient management strategies in plant cultivation. Therefore, this study investigated the interactive effects of nitrogen doses and Azospirillum brasilense inoculation on wheat flour characteristics in terms of the falling number and color parameters and yields of reducing sugars obtained by subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) from wheat bran. The strip-plot experimental design, bifactorial with three replications, was applied. Factor A was three wheat cultivars: ORS Agile (AGI), ORS Feroz (FER), and TSZ Dominadore (DOM). Factor D was five nitrogen doses in the topdressing: 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 kg ha−1. The lowest value of falling number of 332 s was achieved with flour from FER cultivar using a nitrogen dose of 80 kg ha−1 with A. brasilense inoculation. The SWH produced yields of reducing sugars (YRS) from wheat bran of up to 6.74 ± 0.18 g (100 g of wheat bran)−1 for the cultivar DOM when using a nitrogen dose of 60 kg ha−1 associated with A. brasilense inoculation. In this cultivation condition, the falling number was 408 s and the color parameters were L* of 92.49, a* of −0.26, and b* of 11.91. In the other conditions, the YRS ranged from 2.93 ± 0.63 to 6.52 ± 0.04 g (100 g of wheat bran)−1. Both flour and bran are nutritional products with high application potential, and this study indicated SWH as a promising technique to dissociate the lignocellulosic complex of wheat bran without using hazardous solvents.