The application of multiplex fluorimetric sensor for the analysis of flavonoids content in the medicinal herbs family Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae

BACKGROUND: The aim of our research work was to quantify total flavonoid contents in the leaves of 13 plant species family Asteraceae, 8 representatives of family Lamiaceae and 9 plant species belonging to familyRosaceae, using the multiplex fluorimetric sensor. Fluorescence was measured using optical fluorescence apparatus Multiplex(R) 3 (Force-A, France) for non-destructive flavonoids estimation. The content of total flavonoids was estimated by FLAV index (expressed in relative units), that is deduced from flavonoids UV absorbing properties. RESULTS: Among observed plant species, the highest amount of total flavonoids has been found in leaves ofHelianthus multiflorus (1.65 RU) and Echinops ritro (1.27 RU), Rudbeckia fulgida (1.13 RU) belonging to the family Asteraceae. Lowest flavonoid content has been observed in the leaves of marigold (Calendula officinalis) (0.14 RU) also belonging to family Asteraceae. The highest content of flavonoids among experimental plants of family Rosaceae has been estimated in the leaves of Rosa canina (1.18 RU) and among plant species of family Lamiaceae in the leaves of Coleus blumei (0.90 RU). CONCLUSIONS: This research work was done as pre-screening of flavonoids content in the leaves of plant species belonging to family Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae. Results indicated that statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) in flavonoids content were observed not only between families, but also among individual plant species within one family

A discursive review of the textual use of ‘trapped’ in environmental migration studies: The conceptual birth and troubled teenage years of trapped populations

First mooted in 2011, the concept of Trapped Populations referring to people unable to move from environmentally high-risk areas broadened the study of human responses to environmental change. While a seemingly straightforward concept, the underlying discourses around the reasons for being ‘trapped’, and the language describing the concept have profound influences on the way in which policy and practice approaches the needs of populations at risk from environmental stresses and shocks. In this article, we apply a Critical Discourse Analysis to the academic literature on the subject to reveal some of the assumptions implicit within discussing ‘trapped’ populations. The analysis reveals a dominant school of thought that assisted migration, relocation, and resettlement in the face of climate change are potentially effective adaptation strategies along a gradient of migrant agency and governance

Preferring Diagnoses by Abduction

International audienc

Novel variable neighborhood search heuristics for truck management in distribution warehouses problem

Logistics and sourcing management are core in any supply chain operation and are among the critical challenges facing any economy. The specialists classify transport operations and warehouse management as two of the biggest and costliest challenges in logistics and supply chain operations. Therefore, an effective warehouse management system is a legend to the success of timely delivery of products and the reduction of operational costs. The proposed scheme aims to discuss truck unloading operations problems. It focuses on cases where the number of warehouses is limited, and the number of trucks and the truck unloading time need to be manageable or unknown. The contribution of this article is to present a solution that: (i) enhances the efficiency of the supply chain process by reducing the overall time for the truck unloading problem; (ii) presents an intelligent metaheuristic warehouse management solution that uses dispatching rules, randomization, permutation, and iteration methods; (iii) proposes four heuristics to deal with the proposed problem; and (iv) measures the performance of the proposed solution using two uniform distribution classes with 480 trucks’ unloading times instances. Our result shows that the best algorithm is $\widetilde{OIS}$OIS~ , as it has a percentage of 78.7% of the used cases, an average gap of 0.001, and an average running time of 0.0053 s

Two-Dimensional Isoelectric Focusing OFFGEL, Micro-Fluidic Lab-on-Chip Electrophoresis and FTIR for Assessment of Long-Term Stability of rhG-CSF Formulation

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) has been increasingly recognized from among one of the most abundant families of biosimilars. Upon long-term storage, the rhG-CSF is subject to subtle chemical modifications that rapidly occur and, in particular, produce deaminated variants with divergent charge. Indeed, changes in charge from glutamine deamination may alter the way rhG-SCF will refold and the structure of resulting molecule. To assess this charge heterogeneity, 2-D gel electrophoresis has limited application. Recent micro-fluidic-based technical advances offer a great alternative method to better control liquid volumes on a minute scale. Here, we used IEF OFFGEL-lab-on-chip electrophoresis for 2-D separation of the rhG-CSF peptides according to their isoelectric point (pI) and molecular weight (kDa). We used an rhG-CSF commercial therapeutic formulation, kept refrigerated 24 months after expiry. The samples were analyzed for particulate matter and charge variants. Subsequently, the secondary structure was assessed by FTIR spectroscopy and residual biological activity was recorded. Interestingly, we showed an additional band in the acidic gel area above and below the most intense protein band (fractions 10, 11, and 12 at 22.84s). This observation reveals the presence of the rhG-CSF variant charges without any additional high molecular weight impurity or biological activity decrease. We conclude that after two years of storage, the rhG-CSF solution maintained its native secondary structure with little beta-sheet deviation, as reflected in the 1622 cm(-1) and 1695 cm(-1). These data demonstrated that a combined strategy is a more suitable and accurate analytical assessment of the rhG-CSF and recombinant protein-based biosimilars

A recombinant insect-specific alpha-toxin of Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion confers protection against homologous mammal toxins.

International audienceWe have constructed a cDNA library from venom glands of the scorpion Buthus occitanus tunetanus and cloned a DNA sequence that encodes an alpha-toxin. This clone was efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with two Ig-binding (Z) domains of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus. After CNBr treatment of the fusion protein and HPLC purification, we obtained approximately 1 mg recombinant apha-toxin/l bacterial culture. The toxin, called Bot XIV, displays no toxicity towards mammals but is active towards insects as shown by its paralytic activity against Blatella germanica cockroach and by electrophysiological studies on Periplaneta americana cockroaches. The Bot XIV protein fused to two Z domains is highly immunogenic in mice and induces production of antisera that specifically recognize and neutralize highly toxic components that had been injected into mice. This fusion protein could be very useful for development of potent protective antisera against scorpion venoms