The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of inoculants on chemical composition, dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (aNDF) in vitro degradation, fermentative and effluent losses, microbiology, fermentative profile, and aerobic stability of sugarcane mini-silos. Treatments were randomly distributed to the mini-silos, in which: (1) Control (CON); (2) Lactobacillus buchneri (Lb), addition of Lb at 2.6 × 10 10 cfu/g; (3) Lactobacillus buchneri and Bacillus subtilis (Lb + Bs), addition of Lb at 2.6 × 10 10 cfu/g and Bs at 1 × 10 9 cfu/g; and (4) Chitosan (CHI), addition of 1% of CHI on wet basis of sugarcane ensiled. Treatments 2 and 3 were incorporated to the silage at 2 g/t of natural matter ensiled. Lb and Lb + Bs did not alter the in vitro degradation of DM and NDF. Chitosan incorporation increased the DM content (P = 0.013, 18.7 g/kg DM) and improved (P = 0.029, 45.6 g/kg DM) the NDF in vitro degradation of sugarcane silage. In addition, CHI incorporation showed higher (P = 0.002) DM content in silage than Lb and Lb + Bs. Microbial inoculants (Lb and Lb + Bs) reduced the total losses (P = 0.009) of sugarcane silage. Moreover, CHI incorporation showed lower (P = 0.001, 84.9 g/kg DM) total losses and higher (P = 0.031, 84.8 g/kg DM) dry matter recovery than Lb and Lb + Bs. Lactic acid bacteria concentration was increased (P = 0.001) with additives, and CHI incorporation showed higher (P = 0.001) lactic acid bacteria concentration than silages treated Lb and Lb + Bs. All additives decreased the ethanol concentration in sugarcane silage, but CHI showed lower (P = 0.002) ethanol concentration compared to Lb and Lb + Bs. Inoculants improved the aerobic stability of sugarcane silage. In general, the incorporation of CHI to sugarcane silage showed better results of NDF in vitro degradation and gas and effluent losses than Lb and Lb + Bs. Moreover,

Contamination of kitchen surfaces due to bacteria present in foodstuffs is one of the main causes of foodborne outbreaks. Salmonella infections are an important cause of foodborne disease, and Salmonella Enteritidis is the most common isolate in the past few years. In this study, the adhesion ability of four Salmonella Enteritidis isolates to different materials (polyethylene, polypropylene, and granite) used in kitchens was compared. The results indicated that the two plastic materials were generally less prone to colonization than was the granite. As surface properties of both bacteria and materials are a determinant in the adhesion process, surface hydrophobicity was determined through contact angle measurement, and the roughness of the materials was evaluated through the R(a) and R(z) values by a noncontact laser stylus tracing. The four Salmonella strains showed similar degrees of hydrophilicity, while the materials were hydrophobic, with granite having a very low degree of hydrophobicity (deltaG(lwl) = -4.7 mJ/m2). However, the different extents of adhesion could not be explained in terms of surface hydrophobicity and roughness of the materials tested. The main conclusion to be drawn is that Salmonella adhesion is strongly strain dependent, despite the similar degree of hydrophobicity displayed by all the strains assayed, and this can constitute a factor of virulence among the different serotypes.

Adhesion of microorganisms to food processing surfaces and the problems it causes are a matter of strong concern to the food industry. Contaminated food processing surfaces may act as potential sources of transmission of pathogens in food industry, catering and in the domestic environments. Several studies have shown that adhesion of bacteria to surfaces partly depends upon the nature of the inert surfaces and partly upon the bacterial surface properties. The aim of this study was to compare the adhesion of four different strains of Salmonella Enteritidis to stainless steel 304 (SS 304). The effect of surface hydrophobicity and surface elemental composition on the adhesion process was also analysed. Hydrophobicity was evaluated through contact angle measurements using the sessile drop method. All the strains studied showed positive values of the degree of hydrophobicity (ΔGlwl) and so can be considered hydrophilic while stainless steel revealed a hydrophobic character. Bacterial cell surface composition was measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS results corroborated the similarity of the values of the degree of hydrophobicity obtained by contact angles. The different Salmonella strains showed similar elemental composition and cell surface physico-chemical properties. Nevertheless, S. Enteritidis MUSC presented higher adhesion ability to SS 304 (p<0.05). It can be concluded that the physico-chemical properties of the strain does not explain the ability of adhesion to stainless steel. Other factors like the production of polysaccharides must be considered.

Introduction: Hospital infections caused by Candida spp. are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, particularly those that are critically ill or immunocompromised. In this study, the distributio n of Candida species in isolates from the University Hospital of the Federal University at Grande Dourados and their in vitro susceptibility to antifungal drugs were analyzed. Methods: Yeasts were phenotypically identifi ed using classical methodologies. Antifungal susceptibility tests to amphotericin B and fl uconazole were performed using the broth microdilution technique. Results: A total of 50 Candida isolates were obtained from hospitalized patients during the study period. We analyzed yeast isolates from urine (n=31; 62%), blood (n=12; 24%), and tracheal secretions (n=7; 14%). The following Candida species were identifi ed: C. tropicalis (n=21; 42%), C. albicans (n=18; 36%), C. glabrata (n=10; 20%), and C. krusei (n=1; 2%). Antifungal susceptibility tests demonstrated that C. albicans was susceptible to both antifungal agents. However, 31.2% of the non-C. albicans Candida isolates displayed dose-dependent susceptibility to fl uconazole, and 3.1% were resistant to amphotericin B. Conclusions: In contrast to previous reports, our results indicated that C. tropicalis was the most commonly isolated yeast species among the hospital patients. The predominance of non-C. albicans Candida infections confi rms the importance of species-level identifi cation for implementing appropriate antifungal therapies.

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The high mortality rate of candidemia and the limited option for the treatment of Candida spp. infection have been driving the search for new molecules with antifungal property. In this context, coordination complexes of metal ions and ligands appear to be important. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize two new copper(II) complexes with 2-thiouracil and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil ligands and to evaluate their mutagenic potential and antifungal activity against Candida. The complexes were synthesized and characterized by infrared vibrational spectroscopy, CHN elemental analysis, UV-Vis experiments and ESI-HRMS spectrometry studies. The antifungal activity was evaluated by broth microdilution against 21 clinical isolates of Candida species. The mutagenic potential was evaluated by the Ames test. The complexes were Cu(Bipy)Cl2(thiouracil) (Complex 1) and Cu(Bipy)Cl2(6-methylthiouracil) (Complex 2). Complex 1 showed fungicidal and fungistatic activities against all isolates. Furthermore, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) from 31 to 125 µg/mL and inhibition percentage of 9.9% against the biofilms of C. krusei and C. glabrata were demonstrated. At the concentrations tested, complex 1 exhibited no mutagenic potential. Complex 2 and the free ligands exhibited no antifungal activity at the concentrations evaluated. Since complex 1 presented antifungal activity against all the tested isolates and no mutagenic potential, it could be proposed as a potential new drug for anti-Candida therapy.

The azoles are the class of medications most commonly used to fight infections caused by Candida sp. Typically, resistance can be attributed to mutations in ERG11 gene (CYP51) which encodes the cytochrome P450 14α-demethylase, the primary target for the activity of azoles. The objective of this study was to identify mutations in the coding region of theERG11 gene in clinical isolates of Candidaspecies known to be resistant to azoles. We identified three new synonymous mutations in the ERG11 gene in the isolates of Candida glabrata (C108G, C423T and A1581G) and two new nonsynonymous mutations in the isolates of Candida krusei - A497C (Y166S) and G1570A (G524R). The functional consequence of these nonsynonymous mutations was predicted using evolutionary conservation scores. The G524R mutation did not have effect on 14α-demethylase functionality, while the Y166S mutation was found to affect the enzyme. This observation suggests a possible link between the mutation and dose-dependent sensitivity to voriconazole in the clinical isolate of C. krusei. Although the presence of the Y166S in phenotype of reduced azole sensitivity observed in isolate C. kruseidemands investigation, it might contribute to the search of new therapeutic agents against resistant Candida isolates.

This study aimed to evaluate DNA damage in animal and plant cells exposed to water from the Água Boa stream (Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) by using bioassays, and to identify the chemical compounds in the water to determine the water quality in the area. Through the cytotoxicity bioassay with Allium cepa, using micronucleus test, and comet assay, using Astyanax altiparanae fish, the results indicated that biological samples were genetically altered. Micronuclei were observed in erythrocytes of A. altiparanae after exposure to water from locations close to industrial waste discharge. The highest DNA damage observed with the comet assay in fish occurred with the exposure to water from locations where the presence of metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni) was high, indicating the possibility of genotoxic effects of these compounds. Thus, these results reinforce the importance of conducting genotoxicity tests for developing management plans to improve water quality, and indicate the need for waste management before domestic and industrial effluents are released into the rivers and streams.