SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

Background: The interview was conducted with Professor Paulo Wilton da Luz Câmara, who serves as an associate professor at the University of Vassouras, general coordinator of postgraduate lato sensu programs, and deputy coordinator of the Master's in Environmental Sciences. The Professor has extensive academic and corporate experience. Objectives: The main objectives were to understand the importance of corporate experience in the role of a professor and researcher, discuss the evolution of public entrepreneurship policies in Brazil, understand the role of incubators, explore research on renewable energies in the defense sector, and learn about planned innovations for postgraduate programs. Methods: The interview was conducted in a semi-structured format with open-ended questions. The audio was transcribed for subsequent analysis and content structuring. Results: Corporate experience significantly influences academic performance. There has been relative improvement in public entrepreneurship policies, but the involved bodies lack specific knowledge. Incubators are necessary tools to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. The main challenges in renewable energy research for defense are awareness and organizational policy. Planned innovations for postgraduate programs include connecting education levels, shared management, and an open committee. Discussion: The Professor highlights the importance of practical corporate experience in enriching academic performance, noting advances in entrepreneurship policies while emphasizing the need for more specific knowledge. Incubators are seen as essential to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. In the field of renewable energy applied to defense, challenges are related to awareness and organizational policy. Conclusion: The interview underscores the relevance of practical corporate experience in enriching academic performance and the need to improve entrepreneurship policies. Incubators are fundamental to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. Research on renewable energies in defense faces challenges of awareness and organizational policy. Planned innovations for postgraduate programs aim for greater integration and participation.

The article reviews the chemical composition of borehole and surface waters in three villages of one of the regions of Georgia - Kakheti, Gurjaani Municipality. The study was specifically focused on iodine content in waters. It turned out that certain amount of iodine really existed in borehole waters, which means that by everyday drinking of water, the human body gets maybe not the complete required amount of iodine, but at least some part of it. It was also discovered, that according to certain parameters, waters are clean, do not contain heavy metals and can be freely used for drinking and cooking. The chemical composition of the Alazani River was also examined according to all four seasons. This river is interesting because of being used for irrigation of vineyards and fruit gardens.

Background: Antibiotic resistance is currently one of the biggest problems in public health. Infectious diseases are the second human death cause, and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria increases mortality and morbidity rates. There is a growing clinical need for the development of new antibiotics. In this line, WHO issued an alert about 12 bacteria with an urgent need to develop new antibiotics. Aims: This review aims to analyze the current knowledge of their antibacterial activity against the gram-positive pathogens listed by WHO and their extraction techniques. Methods: We systematically reviewed the literature in PubMed, searching publications describing the use of natural extracts as antibiotics over bacteria. The exclusion criteria consisted of limiting papers on natural extracts tested over the bacteria culture related to eleven selected bacteria, according to an alert issued by WHO in 2017, and seven plant extracts. Results: All the gram-positive bacteria present in the WHO alert have been treated, with different degrees of advance, with some of the plant extracts and plant-based compounds reviewed. Currently, they are in the preclinical stage. Edible herbs are more often used, as well as artemisia and wine byproducts. Discussion: Natural products based on plants have shown to be efficient in inhibiting bacterial growth, even in antibiotic-resistant strains. The classical extraction methods are still in use and have been improved with the available technology to improve efficiency and yield. Conclusions: Ongoing evidence shows that plant extracts and plant-based compounds are effective as antibacterial, with minimal effects on the host cell, a promising antibiotic source. Furthermore, they are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and renewable.

This study was designed to prepare vaccines. Cancer vaccines promote the destruction of cancer cells,and the cancer cells contain special antigens on their surface when the vaccine is given, it acts as an antigen to activate the immune system. The IL-2 stimulates the response to a type of cells called T-cell, and outer membrane vesicle (OMV) targeting cancer cells by stimulating the immunity to respond with it two types including innate andadaptive immunity, that lead to stimulating the immune system to reduce mammary adenocarcinoma induction in lab mice using T4-1 cell line breast cancer by taking blood and serum to evaluate the immune system efficacy. The tumor induction success by monitoring mice body weight loss showed the lost weight began in the third week after tumor induction, so 23.2 g at first and second week to 14.35 g at the end of the fourth week, whereas the control animals were weighed 32.37 g. The immunity system efficacy results appear a difference in blood and serum parameters after cancer induction. The result shows an increase in total WBC and monocytes (5900, 0.2 cells/mm respectively) but non significantly decreased in neutrophils and lymphocytes count (2.6, 5.9 cells/mm, respectively). Therefore, the first and second doses of vaccines increased the antibody and complement of the immune system compared with control. While Eliaza data for cytokines profile referred to elevated IL2 (26.5 pg/ml)in the serum of vaccination mice but only significantly decreased in IL6 and IL-22 amount (20.4 and 19.6 pg/ml respectively) comparing with control.

Background: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) appears in individuals asymptomatically and in various symptomatic forms. Symptomatic diversity can result in diagnosis failures, hospitalization, admission to intensive care, multi-organ failure, and death. The causes and risk factors of the severity of disease symptoms are uncertain. This uncertainty can only be resolved by elucidating the effects of host genes and genetic variations on different phenotypes. Aim: This review aimed to emphasize the importance of large-scale genotype-phenotype correlation studies in elucidating the phenotypic diversity in COVID-19 disease. Methods: All publications related to Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) in the PubMed database were searched. PheWAS studies applied to COVID-19 patients have been identified. In addition, studies applied to the genome-wide association study (GWAS)- Electronic health records (EHRs) data and additionally matched to the gene expression data were systematically reviewed. The latest PheWAS methodology and its importance in Large-scale genotype-phenotype correlations are discussed within the context of published COVID-19 studies. Results: According to our PubMed search data, there are few PheWAS studies on COVID-19 disease. This review explains the use of PheWAS studies applied to health records and GWAS data, and colocalization studies applied to expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis to understand the phenotypic variability of COVID-19. Discussion; Although there is a very limited number of PheWAS studies on COVID-19 diseases, these studies have obtained important data. At the current stage, there is a need for such studies in COVID-19 research. Conclusions: PheWAS is an ideal method for large-scale genotype-phenotype correlation studies that can reveal genetic diversity and phenotypic diversity in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Due to their diverse properties, plastic materials are used in numerous sectors. It is possible to produce different articles and plastic objects with reduced costs, being more accessible to the population. Conventional plastics are obtained from petroleum-derived raw materials, a non-renewable resource in which their extraction and refining process cause major environmental impacts. The production of plastic reaches a level of approximately one hundred and forty million tons per year, and the disposal of these materials is increasing, generating a high rate of waste and leading to an increase of pollution since the decomposition of these materials lasts about five hundred years old. Conventional plastics can be replaced by bioplastics, a material obtained from renewable raw materials such as potatoes, cassava, maize, and which, when disposed of under favorable conditions, decomposes faster, as during its degradation process at least one step occurs. Through the metabolism of organisms present in the environment. Starch has been widely used in the production of biodegradable packaging, so the objective of this work was to produce a biodegradable bioplastic from the potato starch. Potato starch, glycerin, hydrogen peroxide, distilled water, and commercial agar were used to produce the bioplastic. Bench-scale bioplastics had good organoleptic characteristics, similar in appearance to a conventional plastic obtained from petroleum. The thickness, moisture content, and solubility of the bioplastics were analyzed, as well as their fruit preservation capacity. The samples produced were rigid and with good resistance.