Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná

Schiff bases are aldehyde- or ketone-like compounds in which the carbonyl group is replaced by an imine or azomethine group. They are widely used for industrial purposes and also exhibit a broad range of biological activities. This short review compiles examples of the most promising antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral Schiff bases. An overview of synthetic methodologies used for the preparation of Schiff bases is also described.

<h3>Importance</h3> The effects of recruitment maneuvers and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) titration on clinical outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain uncertain. <h3>Objective</h3> To determine if lung recruitment associated with PEEP titration according to the best respiratory-system compliance decreases 28-day mortality of patients with moderate to severe ARDS compared with a conventional low-PEEP strategy. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> Multicenter, randomized trial conducted at 120 intensive care units (ICUs) from 9 countries from November 17, 2011, through April 25, 2017, enrolling adults with moderate to severe ARDS. <h3>Interventions</h3> An experimental strategy with a lung recruitment maneuver and PEEP titration according to the best respiratory–system compliance (n = 501; experimental group) or a control strategy of low PEEP (n = 509). All patients received volume-assist control mode until weaning. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> The primary outcome was all-cause mortality until 28 days. Secondary outcomes were length of ICU and hospital stay; ventilator-free days through day 28; pneumothorax requiring drainage within 7 days; barotrauma within 7 days; and ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month mortality. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 1010 patients (37.5% female; mean [SD] age, 50.9 [17.4] years) were enrolled and followed up. At 28 days, 277 of 501 patients (55.3%) in the experimental group and 251 of 509 patients (49.3%) in the control group had died (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.42;<i>P</i> = .041). Compared with the control group, the experimental group strategy increased 6-month mortality (65.3% vs 59.9%; HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.38;<i>P</i> = .04), decreased the number of mean ventilator-free days (5.3 vs 6.4; difference, −1.1; 95% CI, −2.1 to −0.1;<i>P</i> = .03), increased the risk of pneumothorax requiring drainage (3.2% vs 1.2%; difference, 2.0%; 95% CI, 0.0% to 4.0%;<i>P</i> = .03), and the risk of barotrauma (5.6% vs 1.6%; difference, 4.0%; 95% CI, 1.5% to 6.5%;<i>P</i> = .001). There were no significant differences in the length of ICU stay, length of hospital stay, ICU mortality, and in-hospital mortality. <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> In patients with moderate to severe ARDS, a strategy with lung recruitment and titrated PEEP compared with low PEEP increased 28-day all-cause mortality. These findings do not support the routine use of lung recruitment maneuver and PEEP titration in these patients. <h3>Trial Registration</h3> clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01374022

Experience economy is the last segment in the evolution of the market, and it is characterized by the fact that consumers do not acquire goods, products or services, but experiences that they integrate in their biography, and consequently in their identity. Customer Experience, possibly the latest revolution in business thinking along with the digital transformation, seeks the design and management of truly customer-centric experiences. This revolution is spreading across different sectors, among which the health sector should necessarily be considered. This talk covers the fundamental ideas within the concept of customer experience, as well as it provides information and suggestions about how to design and deliver an optimal patient experience.

, which surrounds and keeps together two fibroin filaments in silk thread used in the cocoon. The recovery and reuse of sericin usually discarded by the textile industry not only minimizes environmental issues but also has a high scientific and commercial value. The physicochemical properties of the molecule are responsible for numerous applications in biomedicine and are influenced by the extraction method and silkworm lineage, which can lead to variations in molecular weight and amino acid concentration of sericin. The presence of highly hydrophobic amino acids and its antioxidant potential make it possible for sericin to be applied in the food and cosmetic industry. The moisturizing power allows indications as a therapeutic agent for wound healing, stimulating cell proliferation, protection against ultraviolet radiation, and formulating creams and shampoos. The antioxidant activity associated with low digestibility of sericin that expands the application in the medical field, such as antitumour, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent, anticoagulant, acts in colon health, improving constipation and protects the body from obesity through improved plasma lipid profile. In addition, the properties of sericin allow its application as a culture medium and cryopreservation, in tissue engineering and for drug delivery, demonstrating its effective use, as an important biomaterial.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is a great interest in cosmetics prepared on natural resources bases and this may restrict the use of synthetic substances. Plants play a relevant role as a source of biologically active natural products with cosmetic and dermatological importance. According to this context, polyphenolic extracts are highlighted because they have proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, antimicrobial, and supporting activity in solar photoprotection. AIMS: The purpose this study were reviewed at reporting the antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds, mainly applied to dermatological therapy, and highlighting the action mechanisms and structure-activity relationship. METHODOLOGY: In September 2017, we performed a literature search in PubMed and Scielo for scientific researches, antioxidant studies, and systemic reviews. The search terms we used were "PHYTOCOSMETICS" AND "ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY" OR "PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS" (from 2000). As inclusion criteria were used relevant original articles, scientific research in the area of interest, and crucial reference articles. Exclusion criteria were: duplicate publications, non-relevant articles and not published in English. RESULTS: The potential cosmetic application of phenolic compounds as natural antioxidants has been attributed to the chemical structure of these compounds, which to interfere in different phases of the oxidation mechanism. CONCLUSION: The use of phenolic extracts emerges as a viable alternative for cosmetic application, ensuring a commitment to sustainability. However, it is of crucial importance to evaluate the toxicity risks of raw materials and finished products.

OBJECTIVES: The antifungal activity of curcumin was evaluated against 23 fungi strains and its in vitro inhibitory effect on the adhesion of Candida species to human buccal epithelial cells (BEC) was also investigated. METHODS: The antifungal susceptibility was evaluated by broth microdilution assay following the CLSI (formerly the NCCLS) guidelines. The inhibitory effect of curcumin on the cell adhesion was performed with Candida species and BEC. RESULTS: Paracoccidioides brasiliensis isolates were the most susceptible to curcumin while the growth of Aspergillus isolates was not affected. Curcumin was much more efficient than fluconazole in inhibiting the adhesion of Candida species to BEC, particularly those strains isolated from the buccal mucosa of AIDS patients. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of antifungal compounds with reduced side effects highlights the importance of studying natural products for this purpose. Curcumin was a more potent antifungal than fluconazole against P. brasiliensis, the causal agent of the neglected disease paracoccidioidomycosis. Curcumin dramatically inhibited the adhesion of Candida species isolated from AIDS patients to BEC, demonstrating that curcumin is a promising lead compound that warrants further investigation into its therapeutical use in immunocompromised patients.

Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of "personalized" oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistant immortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are not reliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, an international task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity "broad-spectrum" therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspects of relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a wide range of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For these targets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which were phytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed for known effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment. Potential contrary or procarcinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixed evidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of the relationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. This novel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types of cancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for future research is offered.

The nephrotoxic drugs have been responsible for about 20% of AKI episodes in inpatients and outpatients. The cisplatin nephrotoxicity is a major limiting factors in 20% of patients who have received the drug, triggering injuries in renal tubular epithelial cells. Cisplatin toxicity is determined by the target tissue and cells accumulation besides the interaction with various subcellular structures and macromolecules. Cisplatin accumulates and interferes with the functioning of different organelles such as mitochondria, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, nuclei and cell membranes, causing inflammation and cell death. This review aims to define the pathophysiology and biochemistry of the cisplatin nephrotoxicity, reviewing the main molecular mechanisms that lead to tubular cisplatin toxicity.

The molecular mechanisms of plant recognition, colonization, and nutrient exchange between diazotrophic endophytes and plants are scarcely known. Herbaspirillum seropedicae is an endophytic bacterium capable of colonizing intercellular spaces of grasses such as rice and sugar cane. The genome of H. seropedicae strain SmR1 was sequenced and annotated by The Paraná State Genome Programme--GENOPAR. The genome is composed of a circular chromosome of 5,513,887 bp and contains a total of 4,804 genes. The genome sequence revealed that H. seropedicae is a highly versatile microorganism with capacity to metabolize a wide range of carbon and nitrogen sources and with possession of four distinct terminal oxidases. The genome contains a multitude of protein secretion systems, including type I, type II, type III, type V, and type VI secretion systems, and type IV pili, suggesting a high potential to interact with host plants. H. seropedicae is able to synthesize indole acetic acid as reflected by the four IAA biosynthetic pathways present. A gene coding for ACC deaminase, which may be involved in modulating the associated plant ethylene-signaling pathway, is also present. Genes for hemagglutinins/hemolysins/adhesins were found and may play a role in plant cell surface adhesion. These features may endow H. seropedicae with the ability to establish an endophytic life-style in a large number of plant species.

Abstract Protecting riparian vegetation around streams is vital in reducing the detrimental effects of environmental change on freshwater ecosystems and in maintaining aquatic biodiversity. Thus, identifying ecological thresholds is useful for defining regulatory limits and for guiding the management of riparian zones towards the conservation of freshwater biota. Using nationwide data on fish and invertebrates occurring in small Brazilian streams, we estimated thresholds of native vegetation loss in which there are abrupt changes in the occurrence and abundance of freshwater bioindicators and tested whether there are congruent responses among different biomes, biological groups and riparian buffer sizes. Mean thresholds of native vegetation cover loss varied widely among biomes, buffer sizes and biological groups: ranging from 0.5% to 77.4% for fish, from 2.9% to 37.0% for aquatic invertebrates and from 3.8% to 43.2% for a subset of aquatic invertebrates. Confidence intervals for thresholds were wide, but the minimum values of these intervals were lower for the smaller riparian buffers (50 and 100 m) than larger ones (200 and 500 m), indicating that land use should be kept away from the streams. Also, thresholds occurred at a lower percentage of riparian vegetation loss in the smaller buffers, and were critically lower for invertebrates: reducing only 6.5% of native vegetation cover within a 50‐m riparian buffer is enough to cross thresholds for invertebrates. Synthesis and applications . The high variability in biodiversity responses to loss of native riparian vegetation suggests caution in the use of a single riparian width for conservation actions or policy definitions nationwide. The most sensitive bioindicators can be used as early warning signals of abrupt changes in freshwater biodiversity. In practice, maintaining at least 50‐m wide riparian reserves on each side of streams would be more effective to protect freshwater biodiversity in Brazil. However, incentives and conservation strategies to protect even wider riparian reserves (~100 m) and also taking into consideration the regional context will promote a greater benefit. This information should be used to set conservation goals and to create complementary mechanisms and policies to protect wider riparian reserves than those currently required by the federal law.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns about the mental health of the world population. Protection measures to prevention the disease impacted education and undergraduate students were exposed to additional stressors. OBJECTIVES: Analyze depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in undergraduates, their respective predictors and the association with satisfaction with life, psychological well-being and coping strategies. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted from September 14 to October 19, 2020, involving undergraduate students enrolled in 33 courses from 5 public university campuses in the state of Parana, Brazil, using: questionnaire with sociodemographic, academic, health and pandemic effects variables; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS); Psychological Well-Being (PWB); BriefCOPE. The convenience sample was composed of 1,224 participants, with 18 years old or older, that completed all research instruments. Spearman correlation and logistic analysis (univariate and multivariate) were applied to the collected data. RESULTS: Most of the undergraduates presented symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (52.5%) and stress (57.5%). Depression, anxiety and stress presented significant correlations in common: negative with satisfaction with life, all dimensions of psychological well-being, and 3 adaptive copings (active coping, planning, positive reframing); positive with 5 maladaptive copings (behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, self-distraction, substance use). In addition, there were 7 common predictors for symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress: female; age 18-24 years old; having a chronic disease; lower scores in 2 dimensions of psychological well-being (positive relations with others, self-acceptance); higher scores in 2 maladaptive copings (self-blame, substance use). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and suggest that higher scores of satisfaction with life, psychological well-being dimensions and adaptive copings may present protective effects in undergraduates during a pandemic crisis.

Feature selection is an important task in machine learning, which can effectively reduce the dataset dimensionality by removing irrelevant and/or redundant features. Although a large body of research deals with feature selection in single-label data, in which measures have been proposed to filter out irrelevant features, this is not the case for multi-label data. This work proposes multi-label feature selection methods which use the filter approach. To this end, two standard multi-label feature selection approaches, which transform the multi-label data into single-label data, are used. Besides these two problem transformation approaches, we use ReliefF and Information Gain to measure the goodness of features. This gives rise to four multi-label feature selection methods. A thorough experimental evaluation of these methods was carried out on 10 benchmark datasets. Results show that ReliefF is able to select fewer features without diminishing the quality of the classifiers constructed using the features selected.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics of digital entrepreneurship and the role of innovation ecosystem in its shaping by applying a multilevel perspective on the phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory in-depth analysis of an IT company in Brazil is conducted using a quasi-mixed method design and three analytical techniques: pattern-matching, data exposure and social network analysis. The study is based on qualitative data, complemented by quantitative data. The case company is investigated within its time (historical development) and spatial (entire ecosystem) dimensions, providing an integrative approach to analysis. Findings The results revealed significant differences in a set of supporting innovation ecosystem’s actors and relationships throughout the development of the company from lower to higher levels of digitalization. The findings are discussed within a framework that links ecosystem’s actors at different layers with different levels of business digitalization. Research limitations/implications This research brings implications to SMEs in high-tech industries that are aiming to transform their business toward greater digitalization, and stresses the importance of strategic partners in innovation ecosystem in this process. Originality/value The novelty of this research is related to how external actors contribute to a company to adapt and create value, and how companies may exploit opportunities by configuring internal resources and external assets from strategic relationships. The study considers digital entrepreneurship in dynamics, distinguishes between different levels of digitalization and prescribes them different enablers and sets of relationships.

A finalidade deste artigo é fazer alguns apontamentos acerca de um tema subexplorado na historiografia brasileira: a trajetória do movimento negro organizado durante a República (1889-2000), com as etapas, os atores e suas propostas. A idéia central é demonstrar que, em todo o período republicano, esse movimento vem desenvolvendo diversas estratégias de luta pela inclusão social do negro e superação do racismo na sociedade brasileira.

Importance: The effects of intensive care unit (ICU) visiting hours remain uncertain. Objective: To determine whether a flexible family visitation policy in the ICU reduces the incidence of delirium. Design, Setting and Participants: Cluster-crossover randomized clinical trial involving patients, family members, and clinicians from 36 adult ICUs with restricted visiting hours (<4.5 hours per day) in Brazil. Participants were recruited from April 2017 to June 2018, with follow-up until July 2018. Interventions: Flexible visitation (up to 12 hours per day) supported by family education (n = 837 patients, 652 family members, and 435 clinicians) or usual restricted visitation (median, 1.5 hours per day; n = 848 patients, 643 family members, and 391 clinicians). Nineteen ICUs started with flexible visitation, and 17 started with restricted visitation. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcome was incidence of delirium during ICU stay, assessed using the CAM-ICU. Secondary outcomes included ICU-acquired infections for patients; symptoms of anxiety and depression assessed using the HADS (range, 0 [best] to 21 [worst]) for family members; and burnout for ICU staff (Maslach Burnout Inventory). Results: Among 1685 patients, 1295 family members, and 826 clinicians enrolled, 1685 patients (100%) (mean age, 58.5 years; 47.2% women), 1060 family members (81.8%) (mean age, 45.2 years; 70.3% women), and 737 clinicians (89.2%) (mean age, 35.5 years; 72.9% women) completed the trial. The mean daily duration of visits was significantly higher with flexible visitation (4.8 vs 1.4 hours; adjusted difference, 3.4 hours [95% CI, 2.8 to 3.9]; P < .001). The incidence of delirium during ICU stay was not significantly different between flexible and restricted visitation (18.9% vs 20.1%; adjusted difference, -1.7% [95% CI, -6.1% to 2.7%]; P = .44). Among 9 prespecified secondary outcomes, 6 did not differ significantly between flexible and restricted visitation, including ICU-acquired infections (3.7% vs 4.5%; adjusted difference, -0.8% [95% CI, -2.1% to 1.0%]; P = .38) and staff burnout (22.0% vs 24.8%; adjusted difference, -3.8% [95% CI, -4.8% to 12.5%]; P = .36). For family members, median anxiety (6.0 vs 7.0; adjusted difference, -1.6 [95% CI, -2.3 to -0.9]; P < .001) and depression scores (4.0 vs 5.0; adjusted difference, -1.2 [95% CI, -2.0 to -0.4]; P = .003) were significantly better with flexible visitation. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients in the ICU, a flexible family visitation policy, vs standard restricted visiting hours, did not significantly reduce the incidence of delirium. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02932358.

This article aims to assess how personality traits, training and entrepreneurial education, social recognition, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial attitude influence entrepreneurial intention to create a new venture among university students in Portugal and Brazil. The additional effects of gender, country of origin, and family background are also evaluated. A conceptual framework based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour is proposed considering a set of hypotheses, which were tested via a survey with a cross-section design applied to a sample of 600 university students from both countries. The results led to the conclusion that personality traits, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial attitude are strong predictors of entrepreneurial intention and that the effects of social recognition and country of origin are not significant.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate medication use (IMU) by elderly people is a public health problem associated with adverse effects on health. There are a number of methods for identifying IMU, some involving clinical judgment and others, consensually generated lists of drugs to be avoided. This review aims to describe studies that used information from insurance company and social security administrative databases to assess IMU among community-dwelling elderly and to present the risk factors most often associated with IMU. METHODS: The paper search was conducted in Medline and Embase, using descriptors combined with free terms in the title or abstract. The limits applied were: publication date from January 1990 to June 2010, species (human) and publication type (excluding editorials, letters and reviews). Excluded were: case studies; studies in hospitals, nursing homes, or hospital emergency departments; studies of specific drugs or groups of drugs; studies exclusively of subgroups of ill, frail elderly or rural populations. Additional studies were identified from reference lists. Data were selected and extracted after independent reading by two of the authors, with disagreements resolved by a third author. The primary outcome assessed was prevalence of IMU, defined as the proportion of elderly who received at least one inappropriate medication. RESULTS: Of the 628 studies, 19 met the inclusion criteria, 78.9% of them conducted in the USA. All papers included used explicit criteria of inappropriateness, most commonly Beers criteria (73.7%) in their three versions (1991, 1997 and 2002). Other methods used included Zhan, which is derived from on Beers criteria and was applied in 21% of the papers selected. The study found that prevalence of IMU ranged from 11.5% to 62.5%. Only 68.4% of the studies included examined inappropriate use-related factors, the most important being female sex, advanced age and larger number of drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the prevalence of IMU among community-dwelling elderly is high and depends partly on the method used to evaluate improper use. Besides the diversity of methods, other factors, such as patient sex, age and number of drugs used concurrently, appear to have influenced the estimates of IMU.

Different regions of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have particular histopathological and molecular characteristics limiting the standard tumor-node-metastasis prognosis classification. Therefore, defining biological signatures that allow assessing the prognostic outcomes for OSCC patients would be of great clinical significance. Using histopathology-guided discovery proteomics, we analyze neoplastic islands and stroma from the invasive tumor front (ITF) and inner tumor to identify differentially expressed proteins. Potential signature proteins are prioritized and further investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and targeted proteomics. IHC indicates low expression of cystatin-B in neoplastic islands from the ITF as an independent marker for local recurrence. Targeted proteomics analysis of the prioritized proteins in saliva, combined with machine-learning methods, highlights a peptide-based signature as the most powerful predictor to distinguish patients with and without lymph node metastasis. In summary, we identify a robust signature, which may enhance prognostic decisions in OSCC and better guide treatment to reduce tumor recurrence or lymph node metastasis.

The feature selection process aims to select a subset of relevant features to be used in model construction, reducing data dimensionality by removing irrelevant and redundant features. Although effective feature selection methods to support single-label learning are abound, this is not the case for multi-label learning. Furthermore, most of the multi-label feature selection methods proposed initially transform the multi-label data to single-label in which a traditional feature selection method is then applied. However, the application of single-label feature selection methods after transforming the data can hinder exploring label dependence, an important issue in multi-label learning. This work proposes a new multi-label feature selection algorithm, RF-ML, by extending the single-label feature selection ReliefF algorithm. RF-ML, unlike strictly univariate measures for feature ranking, takes into account the effect of interacting attributes to directly deal with multi-label data without any data transformation. Using synthetic datasets, the proposed algorithm is experimentally compared to the ReliefF algorithm in which the multi-label data has been previously transformed to single-label data using two well-known data transformation approaches. Results show that the proposed algorithm stands out by ranking the relevant features as the best ones more often.

Recent advances in biomass conversion technologies have shown a promising future toward fermentation during xylitol production. Xylitol is one of the top 12 renewable added-value chemicals that can be obtained from biomass according to US Department of Energy (USDOE). Currently, xylitol accounts for approximately US$823.6 million of annual sales in the market, and this amount is expected to reach US$1.37 billion by 2025. This high demand has been achieved owing to the chemical conversion of hemicellulosic hydrolysates from different lignocellulosic biomasses, which is a costly and non-ecofriendly process. Xylose-rich hemicellulosic hydrolysates are the major raw materials for xylitol production through either chemical or biotechnological routes. Economic production of a clean hemicellulosic hydrolysate is one of the major bottlenecks for xylitol production on the commercial scale. Advancements in biotechnology, such as the isolation of novel microorganisms, genetic manipulation of xylose metabolizing strains, and modifications in the fermentation process, can enhance the economic feasibility of xylitol production on the large scale. Furthermore, xylitol production in integrated biorefineries can be even more economic, given the readily available raw materials and the co-use of steam, electricity, and water, among others. Exploring new biotechnology techniques in integrated biorefineries would open new markets and opportunities for sustainable xylitol production to fulfill the market's growing demands for this sugar alcohol. This article is a review of the advancements reported in the whole biotechnological process for xylitol production, and involve pretreatment technologies, hemicellulosic hydrolysate preparation, xylose conversion into xylitol, and product recovery. Special attention is devoted to current metabolic engineering strategies to improve this bioprocess, as well as to the importance of xylitol production processes in biorefineries.