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Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand differences in consumer brand engagement (CBE) according to the functional or emotional nature of consumer–brand relationships and its direct and/or indirect impact on brand loyalty (BL). Additionally, the study aims to compare CBE and Satisfaction as predictors of BL, considering the two types of consumer–brand relationships. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was applied to two independent samples. Respondents of one of the samples were asked to recall a brand with which they had a functional relationship, while the other respondents were asked to consider a brand with which they had an emotional relationship. To test research hypotheses, a causal model using SEM was developed. Findings Results validate CBE as a three-dimensional construct, stronger for emotional than functional brand relationships and show its significant direct and indirect impact on BL. Through a comparative analysis, findings also prove that the effects of CBE on BL, directly or indirectly through Satisfaction, are stronger for emotional relationships, while Satisfaction is a stronger direct predictor of BL for functional brand relationships. Originality/value Addressing calls to focus on the impact of specific brand types on engagement, this study allows a better understanding of the moderating role of functional and emotional relationships on CBE. This study further adds to the existing body of knowledge by establishing the mediating role of Satisfaction and comparing the contribution of CBE and Satisfaction to BL according to the nature of consumer–brand relationships. Overall, our findings enhance knowledge on how consumers engage with and become loyal to brands, offering important implications for brand managers.

Aldehydes, particularly acetaldehyde, are carcinogenic molecules and their concentrations in foodstuffs should be controlled to avoid upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) and liver cancers. Highly reactive, acetaldehyde forms DNA and protein adducts, impairing physiological functions and leading to the development of pathological conditions. The consumption of aged beer, outside of the ethanol metabolism, exposes habitual drinkers to this carcinogen, whose concentrations can be over-increased due to post-brewing chemical and biochemical reactions. Storage-related changes are a challenge faced by the brewing industry, impacting volatile compound formation and triggering flavor instability. Aldehydes are among the volatile compounds formed during beer aging, recognized as off-flavor compounds. To track and understand aldehyde formation through multiple pathways during beer storage, consequent changes in flavor but particularly quality losses and harmful compound formation, this systematic review reunited data on volatile compound profiles through gas chromatography analyses from 2011 to 2021. Conditions to avoid flavor instability and successful methods for reducing beer staling, and consequent acetaldehyde accumulation, were raised by exploring the dynamic conversion between free and bound-state aldehydes. Future research should focus on implementing sensory analyses to investigate whether adding aldehyde-binding agents, e.g., cysteine and bisulfite, would contribute to consumer acceptance, restore beer flavor, and minimize acetaldehyde-related health damage.

Studies have shown the benefit of ratios between cell types in full blood count for the diagnosis and prognosis of various pathologies, but its use in the investigation of lymphadenopathy is still controversial. The aim of this study is to assess whether there is a difference between the full blood count ratios of children and adolescents with lymphadenopathy who had benign or malignant causes identified in excisional biopsies during the investigation of lymphadenopathy. This is a cross-sectional observational study. A total of 72 participants between 0 and 17 years old who underwent an excisional lymph node biopsy and had their full blood count collected up to 15 days before the procedure were included. The participants were divided into two groups, malignant and benign, according to the biopsy result. Neutrophils/lymphocytes (N/L), monocytes/lymphocytes (M/L), and platelets/lymphocytes (P/L) ratios were then calculated and compared between the groups. The mean full blood count ratios for the benign and malignant groups, respectively, were: N/L 2.36 × 3.28 (p=0.09), M/L 0.30 × 0.32 (p= 0.722), P/L 180.53 × 191.30 (p=0.249). The use of full blood count ratios as predictors of malignant or benign results has no proven statistical significance. Higher ratio values tend towards malignant results but should be interpreted with caution, as this is only one of the factors to be considered during the investigation.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still causes death in elderly and immunocompromised individuals, for whom the sustainability of the vaccine response may be limited. Antiviral treatments, such as remdesivir or molnupiravir, have demonstrated limited clinical efficacy. Nirmatrelvir, an acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) major protease inhibitor, is clinically effective but has been associated with viral rebound and antiviral resistance. It is thus necessary to study novel and repurposed antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19. We previously demonstrated that daclatasvir (DCV), an inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A protein, impairs SARS-CoV-2 replication by targeting viral RNA polymerase and exonuclease, but the doses of DCV used to inhibit the new coronavirus are greater than the standard human plasma exposure for hepatitis C. Because any potential use of DCV against SARS-CoV-2 would be shorter than that reported here and short-term toxicological studies on DCV show that higher doses are tolerable, we searched for doses of DCV that could protect transgenic mice expressing the human ACE2 receptor (K18-hACE-2) from lethal challenge with SARS-CoV-2. We found that a dose of 60 mg/kg/day provides this protection by reducing virus replication and virus-induced lung insult. This dose is tolerable in different animal models. Taken together, our data provide preclinical evidence that can support phase I clinical trials to confirm the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of new doses of daclatasvir for a short duration in humans to further advance this compound’s utility against COVID-19.

Removal of an endocrine disrupting compound, Bisphenol A (BPA), from water was investigated using two treatment processes, UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation (AOP) and reverse osmosis (membrane separation). Furthermore, changes in estrogenic activity using in vitro yeast estrogen screen assay as well as the adsorption of BPA by the membrane surface were evaluated. The best UV/H2O2 performance was obtained using the highest established values of all parameters, reaching 48% BPA removal. Within the investigated conditions of the AOP, when lower doses of UV were used, a higher removal efficiency was achieved at a higher initial concentration of BPA. However, the same behavior was not observed for the highest UV dose, in which the removal efficiency was not dependent on BPA initial concentration. In both cases, removal efficiency increased as H2O2 concentration increased. The formation of estrogenic by-products was observed in UV/H2O2. The membrane rejection efficiency varied from 60% to 84% and all experiments showed adsorption of BPA by the membrane surface. The RO membrane showed a greater BPA removal efficiency for samples containing 10 μg·L−1 than UV/H2O2 at the evaluated treatment conditions.

Without any realistic prospect of comprehensive global vaccine coverage and lasting immunity, control of pandemics such as COVID-19 will require implementation of large-scale, rapid identification and isolation of infectious individuals to limit further transmission. Here, we describe an automated, high-throughput integrated screening platform, incorporating saliva-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology, that is designed for population-scale sensitive detection of infectious carriers of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Central to this surveillance system is the “Sentinel” testing instrument, which is capable of reporting results within 25 min of saliva sample collection with a throughput of up to 3840 results per hour. It incorporates continuous flow loading of samples at random intervals to cost-effectively adjust for fluctuations in testing demand. Independent validation of our saliva-based RT-LAMP technology on an automated LAMP instrument coined the “Sentinel”, found 98.7% sensitivity, 97.6% specificity, and 98% accuracy against a RT-PCR comparator assay, confirming its suitability for surveillance screening. This Sentinel surveillance system offers a feasible and scalable approach to complement vaccination, to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants, and control future pandemics to save lives.

This work studied the influence of hydrogel’s physical properties (geometry and hierarchical roughness) on the in vitro sorption/release profiles of molecules. To achieve this goal, chitosan (CS) solutions were cast in 3D-printed (3DP) molds presenting intricate shapes (cubic and half-spherical with/without macro surface roughness) and further immersed in alkaline solutions of NaOH and NaCl. The resulting physically crosslinked hydrogels were mechanically stable in aqueous environments and successfully presented the shapes and geometries imparted by the 3DP molds. Sorption and release profiles were evaluated using methyl orange (MO) and paracetamol (PMOL) as model molecules, respectively. Results revealed that distinct MO sorption/PMOL release profiles were obtained according to the sample’s shape and presence/absence of hierarchical roughness. MO sorption capacity of CS samples presented both dependencies of hierarchical surface and geometry parameters. Hence, cubic samples without a hierarchical surface presented the highest (up to 1.2 × greater) dye removal capacity. Moreover, PMOL release measurements were more dependent on the surface area of hydrogels, where semi-spherical samples with hierarchical roughness presented the fastest (~1.13 × faster) drug delivery profiles. This work demonstrates that indirect 3DP (via fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology) could be a simple strategy to obtain hydrogels with distinct sorption/release profiles.

Pregnancy losses negatively affect the cattle industry, impacting economic indices and consequently the entire production chain. Early embryonic failure has been an important challenge in the embryo industry because proper identification of embryo death at the beginning of gestation is difficult. This review aimed to provide a better understanding on reproductive failure and the relationship between early embryonic loss and different reproductive biotechniques. This review also considers insights and possible strategies for reducing early embryonic loss. The strategies addressed are as follows: i) great impact of rigorous embryo evaluation on reducing embryo losses; ii) selection of recipients at the time of transfer, taking into account health and nutritional status, and classification of the corpus luteum using ultrasound, either in area or vascularization; and iii) paternal effect as one of the factors that contribute to pregnancy losses, with a focus on embryo transfer.

Abstract Objective To analyze the quality indicators of a Mobile Emergency Care Service (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência -SAMU) regarding clinical and traumatic calls. Methods This is an analytical study carried out in a SAMU in Paraná that serves 21 municipalities. Collection took place in 13,326 First Responder Service Reports (FRSRs), referring to 2019 and 2020, based on Donabedian’s triad: structure (FRSRs, number of mobile resources and staffing), process (number of calls, overall number of occurrences, reasons for calls for service, departure rate of mobile resources and location of service) and outcome (response time and outcome of service - death), associated by Pearson’s chi-square test. Results The association demonstrated significance for the indicators of sex, age group and year of service. The FRSR indicator showed incomplete data (35.5%), the number of mobile resources totaled 16 Basic Support Units (BSUs) and four Advanced Support Units, higher than that recommended by the Ministry of Health, but with mechanical failures (36). Staffing sizing identified low turnover, as professionals were statutory (92.3%). The mean call rate was 168.2 per thousand inhabitants; of these, 70.67% culminated in the dispatch of a mobile resource for clinical reasons (86.3%) assisted by BSUs (78.9%). The mean response time was 58.7 minutes, and the outcome showed a higher number of deaths in Pole B (83.2%) due to limited access to the service. Conclusion The analysis indicates the need to review the organizational system to reduce response time and improve access to the service. Resumo Objetivo Analisar os indicadores de qualidade de um Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU), referentes aos chamados clínicos e traumáticos. Métodos Estudo analítico realizado em um SAMU no Paraná, que atende 21 municípios. A coleta ocorreu em 13.326 Relatórios de Atendimento do Socorrista (RAS), referentes aos anos de 2019 e 2020, fundamentados na tríade de Donabedian: estrutura (RAS, nº de recursos móveis e dimensionamento de pessoal), processo (quantidade de chamadas, nº geral de ocorrências, motivos dos chamados para atendimento, taxa de saída dos recursos móveis e localização do atendimento) e resultado (tempo de resposta e desfecho do atendimento - óbito), associados pelo teste de Qui-Quadrado de Pearson. Resultados A associação demonstrou significância para os indicadores sexo, faixa etária e ano de atendimento. O indicador RAS evidenciou incompletude de dados (35,5%); o nº de recursos móveis totalizou 16 Unidades de Suporte Básico (USB) e quatro Unidades de Suporte Avançado, superior ao preconizado pelo Ministério da Saúde, mas com falhas mecânicas (36). O dimensionamento de pessoal identificou baixa rotatividade, pois os profissionais eram estatutários (92,3%). A taxa média de chamadas foi 168,2 por mil habitantes, destas 70,67% culminaram com despacho de recurso móvel por motivos clínicos (86,3%) atendidos pela USB (78,9%). O tempo médio de resposta foi de 58,7 minutos, e o desfecho apresentou maior nº de óbitos no Polo B (83,2%), por limitação de acesso ao serviço. Conclusão A análise sinaliza a necessidade de revisão do sistema organizacional, para reduzir o tempo de resposta e melhorar o acesso ao serviço. Resumen Objetivo Analizar los indicadores de calidad de un Servicio de Atención Móvil de Emergencia (SAMU), referentes a las solicitudes clínicas y traumáticas. Métodos Estudio analítico realizado en un SAMU en el estado de Paraná, que atiende 21 municipios. La recopilación de datos se realizó a partir de 13.326 Informes de Atención del Paramédico (RAS, por sus siglas en portugués), referentes a los años 2019 y 2020, fundamentados en el método de Donabedian: estructura (RAS, número de recursos móviles y dotación de personal), proceso (cantidad de solicitudes, número general de casos, motivos de las solicitudes de asistencia, índice de salida de los recursos móviles y lugar de asistencia) y resultado (tiempo de respuesta y desenlace de la asistencia – fallecimiento), asociados mediante la prueba ji cuadrado de Pearson. Resultados La asociación demostró significación en los indicadores sexo, grupo de edad y año de asistencia. El indicador RAS evidenció incompletitud de datos (35,5 %). El número de recursos móviles totalizó 16 Unidades de Soporte Básico (USB) y cuatro Unidades de Soporte Avanzado, superior a lo recomendado por el Ministerio de Salud, pero con fallas mecánicas (36). La dotación de personal identificó baja rotación, ya que los profesionales eran estatutarios (92,3 %). El índice promedio de solicitudes fue 168,2 cada mil habitantes, de las cuales el 70,67 % terminó con el envío del recurso móvil por motivos clínicos (86,3 %) atendidos por la USB (78,9 %). El tiempo promedio de respuesta fue de 58,7 minutos, y el desenlace presentó un mayor número de fallecimientos en el Polo B (83,2 %), por restricción de acceso al servicio. Conclusión El análisis indica la necesidad de revisar el sistema organizativo, para reducir el tiempo de respuesta y mejorar el acceso al servicio.