This review describes applications of light in photonic therapies, especially photodynamic therapy (PDT) which involves the combination of light, photosensitizer and oxygen. Relevant examples of porphyrins, chlorins and phthalocyanines were chosen and are presented, among the commercially available and presently under study photosensitizers of interest at the moment. Our objective is not to be exhaustive, but discuss the general ideas on PDT and photosensitizers as they demonstrate interaction with light and the human body.

Environmental biotic stress factors act continuously on plants, through multiple molecular interactions that eventually lead to the establishment and progress of symbiotic or pathogenic complex interactions. Proteins and peptides play noteworthy roles in such biological processes, usually being the main effectors since the initial recognizing and elicitor functions until the following transduction, gene regulation and physiological responses activities. Ranging from specific regulators to direct antimicrobial agents, plant or pathogen proteins and peptides comprise the arsenal available to each side in this biological war, resulting from the genetic coding potential inherited by each one. Post-translational research tools have widely contributed with valuable information on how the plant proteome works to achieve, maintain and adjust plant immunity in order to properly cope with the challenging pathogenic derived proteomes. These key proteins and peptides have great biotechnological potential since they represent distinctive features of each pathogen group (fungi, bacteria, viruses and other) in response to molecules of defense of host plants.

The reuse of construction waste (CW) has been increasingly adopted as a way to reduce the environmental impact from inadequate disposal of this material worldwide. The stabilization of soils with cement is a common practice, enabling the use of this material in a variety of projects. However, depending on the type of soil, frequently large quantities of cement are needed, making the technique impracticable. The use of CW in the soil stabilization process may be an alternative for reducing the amount of cement and improving the strength of the mixture. The objective of this work was to investigate the use of CW to partially replace a lateritic clay soil in soil-cement mixtures. Besides the natural soil (S), a mixture of soil and CW (S-CW) was used with proportions of 50% of each. The cement content levels evaluated were 0%, 4%, 6% and 8% and the curing periods varied from 7 to 28 days. The results showed superior strength values for the S-CW compared to the soil-cement. This confirms that the use of CW reduces the percentage of cement necessary for the stabilization of a clayey soil and presents an alternative, more environmentally appropriate destination for this material.

The study of Externally Visible Characteristics (EVC) of pigmentation associated with SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) has become a target in the forensic field due to the possibility of phenotypically characterizing an individual. In Brazil, there are few data that shows the evaluation of some these markers, so further studies are necessary to understand better the pigmentation process related to genetic markers. The aim of this study was to test the association between 8 SNPs  present in HIrisplex tool and EVC to provide a starting point for the development of prediction models for heterogeneous populations like the one in Pernambuco. Were evaluated 176 individuals by associations between self-reported eye, hair and skin color data and polymorphisms. Artificial intelligence tools were used for the prediction models. Significant associations were found between rs1800404 (OCA2), rs6058017 (ASIP), rs16891982 (SLC45A2) and rs1426654 (SLC24A5) with (EVC). The prediction models evaluated showed satisfactory prediction rates, rates above 60% for skin color and above 70% for eyes and hair. The associations found in our data show the importance of SNPs evaluation used in DNA Phenotyping, because of its ability to provide new information in the context of criminal investigations. Our data indicate that is possible to use molecular information to predict phenotypes in miscigenated populations, like the Brazilian population. These polymorphisms could be possible phenotypic predictors for the Pernambuco population.

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Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. In order to make the diagnosis earlier and more accurate, increase the prospect of using microRNA-29b, which targets matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), proteolytic enzymes that play a significant role in the degradation of the important extracellular matrix in progression of cervical carcinogenic lesions. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of expression of microRNA-29b at all histological levels of carcinogenesis and its relationship with MMP-2 in this type of cancer. Methods: RNA was extracted from eighteen paraffin-embedded biopsy samples diagnosed with carcinoma and 19 considerable healthy samples, after which a real-time PCR technician was performed for expression analysis. Results: Our results show underexpression of microRNA-29b and MMP-2. This decrease in expression was statistically significant and differentiated in the histopathological subtypes. In addition, it has been shown that MMP-2 is directly regulated by microRNA-29b. No other studies were found that performed the same analysis on cervical cancers. Conclusion: Our results indicate a potential diagnosis of microRNA-29b and MMP-2 for lesions and cervical cancer, and show a direct association between these molecules.

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