Developmental impairment in children exposed during pregnancy to maternal SARS-COV2: A Brazilian cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of in-utero exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on offspring's neurodevelopment during the first year of life. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort of babies exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy, and a control group (CG) of unexposed babies in a low-income area in Brazil. Children's neurodevelopment was assessed using the guide for Monitoring Child Development in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness context for both groups (at 1,2,3,4,5,6, 9, and 12 months), and the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) for the exposed group (EG) (at 4, 6 and 12 months). RESULTS: We followed 137 children for 1 year, 69 in the COVID-19-EG, and 68 in the CG. All mothers were unvaccinated at the time of cohort inclusion, and maternal demographics were similar in the two groups. 20.3% of EG children and 5.9% of the CG received a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental delay within 12 months of life (P = 0.013, relative risk = 3.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.19- 9.95). For the EG, the prevalence of neurodevelopment impairment using Ages & Stages Questionnaire was 35.7% at 4 months, 7% at 6 months, and 32.1% at 12 months. CONCLUSION: SARS-CoV-2 exposure was associated with neurodevelopmental impairment, and specific guidelines are needed for the follow-up of these high-risk children to mitigate the long-term effects on children's health.

Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Associated with Mild COVID-19 Infection in an Obstetric Cohort in Brazil.

Previous coronavirus epidemics were associated with increased maternal morbidity, mortality, and adverse obstetric outcomes. Reports for SARS-CoV-2 indicate that the obstetric population is at increased risk for severe illness, although there are still limited data on mild COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. To determine the association between mild COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, and maternal and neonatal outcomes, we performed a prospective cohort study among pregnant women with COVID-19 and a control group. Postnatal depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. We recruited 84 pregnant women with mild COVID-19 and 88 pregnant women without COVID-19. All participants were unvaccinated. The most common acute COVID-19 symptoms were headache (82.1%), loss of smell (81%), and asthenia (77.4%). The median duration of long COVID symptoms was 60 days (interquartile range, 130). Pregnant women with a COVID-19 diagnosis were at greater risk for obstetric ultrasound abnormalities-mainly, fetal growth restriction (relative risk [RR], 12.40; 95% CI, 1.66-92.5), premature birth (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.07-6.43), and postpartum depression (RR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.24-4.21). Our results alert clinicians to the consequences of COVID-19 during pregnancy, even in mild cases, given the increased risk of ultrasound abnormalities, premature birth, long COVID symptoms, and postpartum depression. National guidelines on preventive measures and treatments should be based on scientific evidence, including attention to the impact on health and family needs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eficacia de la Ecografia preoperatoria para orientar la cánula de colecistoscopia. Estudio en cerdos / Preoperative sonography eficacy for cholecystoscopy cannula orientaton, evaluaton on pigs

Antecedentes: la colecistoesclerosis colecistoscópica es un procedimiento de sesión única en etapa de perfeccionamiento, diseñado para lograr la eliminación definitiva de la vesícula biliar con anestesia locorregional. Comprende la remoción de litos y eliminación de epitelio vesicular vía colecistoscópica, para lo cual requiere la colocación de una cánula de colecistoscopia desde la pared abdominal hasta el fondo vesicular. Objetivo: evaluar si la Ecografia preoperatoria es eficaz para definir el lugar donde debe realizarse el ojal de pared, para que permita a la cánula llegar al fondo vesicular, de manera que el eje de la cánula y el eje de la vesícula coincidan, y que el acceso de instrumental a la luz vesicular sea fuido. Material y métodos: se planificó utlizar Ecografia preoperatoria en una serie de operaciones en cerdos, para definir la posición de la vesícula con respecto a las tres dimensiones del espacio, y prolongar en forma virtual el eje del órgano hacia la pared abdominal e identificar el lugar adecuado para confeccionar el ojal de pared. Resultados: se realizó una serie de 5 operaciones de acuerdo con lo planificado; se logró acceder rápidamente con la cánula de colecistoscopia al fondo vesicular y se constató que el eje de la cánula y el eje de la vesícula coincidieron en todos los casos. Conclusiones: la experiencia ofrece un frme indicio de que la Ecografia preoperatoria es muy eficaz para definir el lugar adecuado en la pared abdominal para colocar la cánula de colecistoscopia.

Background: the Cholecystoscopic Cholecystosclerosis is a single session procedure, under enhancing process, which pursues a definitive Gallbladder eliminaton by means of stone removal and mucous membrane ablaton through Operatory Cholecystoscopy, under local-regional anesthesia, and requires the inserton of a Cholecistoscopy Cannula from the abdominal wall toward the gallbladder fundus. Objective: to assess the efectiveness of the Preoperative Sonography when it comes to finding the right place for the Cholecystoscopy Cannula inserton. It is important to achieve the Cholecystoscopy Cannula being introduced in a way that its axis matiches the Gallbladder´s axis, in order to provide a suitable passage for instruments between the Cannula and the Gallbladder´s lumen. Material and Method: preoperative sonography was planned to be performed in a series of surgical interventons on pigs, in order to determine the positon of the gallbladder in its three spatal dimen-sions, allowing a virtual projecton of the organ´s axis toward the abdominal wall, thus pointing to the most suitable place for the Cholecystoscopy Cannula inserton. Results: fve procedures were performed as planned, the Cholecystoscopy Cannula rapidly reached the gallbladder fundus and coincidence between cannula axis and gallbladder axis was achieved in all the cases. Conclusions: preoperative sonography seems to be very eficient for choosing the right place for Cholecystoscopy Cannula inserton accordingly to this experience.

Production, stabilisation and characterisation of silver nanoparticles coated with bioactive polymers pluronic F68, PVP and PVA.

The increasing and alarming panorama of bacterial infections and associated morbidities that occur during medical and hospital procedures makes the development of technologies that aid in controlling such bacterial infections of utmost importance. Recent studies have shown that formulations with metal nanoparticles exhibit good antibacterial properties against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. Moreover, it was demonstrated that some biologically active polymeric materials, when applied in combination with chemical antimicrobial agents, enhance the therapeutic action of the latter. The research effort entertained herein aimed at the physico-chemical characterisation of silver nanoparticles obtained by chemical reduction, stabilised by bioactive polymers polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone, and further co-stabilised by pluronic F68. Scanning electron microscopy images of the nanoparticles produced, coated with different stabilisers, have shown that the chemical nature of the stabilisation effect promoted incorporation of pluronic in the nanoparticles and was closely related to an increase in the silver concentration in the nanoparticle samples obtained via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The study described herein also shows that the nature of the stabiliser favours the interaction of pluronic F68 with samples containing silver nanoparticles.

Recent advances in use of silver nanoparticles as antimalarial agents.

Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases, which has become a great public health problem all over the world. Ineffectiveness of available antimalarial treatment is the main reason behind its menace. The failure of current treatment strategies is due to emergence of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum and drug toxicity in human beings. Therefore, the development of novel and effective antimalarial drugs is the need of the hour. Considering the huge biomedical applications of nanotechnology, it can be potentially used for the malarial treatment. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have demonstrated significant activity against malarial parasite (P. falciparum) and vector (female Anopheles mosquito). It is believed that AgNPs will be a solution for the control of malaria. This review emphasizes the pros- and cons of existing antimalarial treatments and in depth discussion on application of AgNPs for treatment of malaria. The role of nanoparticles for site specific drug delivery and toxicological issues have also been discussed.

Microbial diversification of Diels-Alder cycloadducts by whole cells of Penicillium brasilianum.

Functionalizations of cycloadducts are important steps for the use of Diels-Alder reactions in the construction of complex cyclic or polycyclic molecules from relatively simple starting materials. In the present work, we studied the ability of Penicillium brasilianum to perform microbial transformations of racemic Diels-Alder endo-cycloadducts. Thus, Diels-Alder products, obtained from reacting cyclopentadiene or 2,3-dimethylbutadiene with alkylated para-benzoquinones, were transformed by the resting cells of P. brasilianum producing new functionalized polycyclic compounds. These biotransformations yielded novel products of oxidation and ring closure, reduction of the C=C or C=O in [Formula: see text]-unsaturated system, and allylic hydroxylations. The reduction products (conjugated double bond and carbonyl group) were also synthesized, and the enantioselectivity of both in vitro and in vivo processes was evaluated. In all cases, the microbiological transformations were enantioselective. In silico docking studies of the Diels-Alder cycloadducts with P. brasilianum oxidoreductase "old yellow enzymes" shed more light on these transformations.

An HPLC evaluation of cytochalasin D biosynthesis by Xylaria arbuscula cultivated in different media.

A quantitative profile of cytochalasin D production by Xylaria arbuscula was followed by growing the fungus in rice, Czapek, Czapek enriched with yeast extract, wheat, and corn. This cytochalasin producer, X. arbuscula, was collected as an endophytic fungus from healthy tissues of Cupressus lusitanica (Cupressaceae). A new HPLC method was developed using a synthetic N-acetyl-L-phenylalanine ethyl ester as internal standard, which showed a good correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.9995). The results varied from 6.40 to 39.55 mg per 100 g of culture medium, with wheat being the best medium for cytochalasin D production. The level of any free amino acids in the medium, not necessarily phenylalanine, appeared to be an important factor to enhance cytochalasin D biosynthesis.