In this study, we obtained a lipidomic profile of plasma samples from drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) in comparison to healthy controls. The sample cohort consisted of 30 BD and 30 SZ patients and 30 control individuals. An untargeted lipidomics strategy using liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry was employed to obtain the lipid profiles. Data were preprocessed, then univariate (t-test) and multivariate (principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis) statistical tools were applied to select differential lipids, which were putatively identified. Afterward, multivariate receiver operating characteristic tests were performed, and metabolic pathway networks were constructed, considering the differential lipids. Our results demonstrate alterations in distinct lipid pathways, especially in glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and glycerolipids, between SZ and BD patients. The results obtained in this study may serve as a basis for differential diagnosis, which is crucial for effective treatment and improving the quality of life of patients with psychotic disorders.

The objective of this research was to produce bioethanol from rice hulls and to evaluate the recovery and potential use of the residue resulting from the enzymatic hydrolysis step before fermentation. Acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were studied for saccharification of polysaccharides. Fermentation was conducted for up to 24 h with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. After process optimization, it was possible to produce >7.0 mg mL⁻¹ of ethanol after only 2 h of reaction. Characterization of the solid residues from the hydrolyzed rice husk and the in natura rice husk showed that these solids have different characteristics and present different adsorption potentials because the residue has higher silica content. The product has potential use in industrial or laboratorial adsorption processes. The results from this study offer support for the potential use of rice husks for bioethanol generation and use the solid residue from hydrolysis for adsorption.

Spectroscopic methods have already been used as effective tools in several studies involving the detection of cancer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has already been applied in the discrimination of cancer cells and tissues or blood of patients with the disease, observing that this technique requires the use of chemometric algorithms to obtain such results. The aim of this study was to employ a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) with FTIR data in the discrimination of plasma samples from patients with colorectal cancer (RCC) and healthy individuals. Multivariate analysis was performed using PLS-DA of the sample triplicates (n=90) with different types of processing. The best PLS-DA condition was obtained using the 1st derivative, 1 orthogonal signal correction (OSC) and no pre-processing. With 1 factor only, the model presented a mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 0.0004 and coefficient of determination (r^2) of 1.0000. The accuracy, precision and sensitivity of the model were 100%.