Influence of different bulk agents in the rheological and sensory characteristics of diet and light chocolate

A study was made of various bulk agents as sucrose substitutes in the formulation of chocolate, aiming to obtain a diet product in terms of sucrose and a light product in terms of calories (25% fewer calories than standard formulations containing sucrose) with good sensorial acceptance. The bulk agents used in this study were polydextrose, inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides - FOS, lactitol and maltitol. Sucralose was used as a high intensity sweetener. The light chocolates were analyzed for moisture content (Karl Fischer), particle size (digital micrometer), and rheological properties (Casson plastic viscosity eta(ca), and yield strength, tau(ca)). The moisture content of the light chocolate varied from 1.23 to 2.12%, while particle size varied from 19 to 24 mu m, eta(ca) from 6.60 to 11.00 Pa.s, and tau(ca) from 0.05 to 1.10 Pa. The formulations containing polydextrose, polydextrose and lactitol, and polydextrose and maltitol were selected for a sensory analysis due to their good technological performance and adequate machinability of the chocolate mass in the different stages of the process. The sensory analysis revealed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in the three evaluated formulations in terms of aroma, hardness, melting in the mouth and flavor. There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in the intention to purchase the three chocolate formulations, although a preference was shown for the formulation containing polydextrose (32.60%) and maltitol (15.57%).27361462

Generation of Trophoblast Stem Cells from Rabbit Embryonic Stem Cells with BMP4

Trophoblast stem (TS) cells are ideal models to investigate trophectoderm differentiation and placental development. Herein, we describe the derivation of rabbit trophoblast stem cells from embryonic stem (ES) cells. Rabbit ES cells generated in our laboratory were induced to differentiate in the presence of BMP4 and TS-like cell colonies were isolated and expanded. These cells expressed the molecular markers of mouse TS cells, were able to invade, give rise to derivatives of TS cells, and chimerize placental tissues when injected into blastocysts. The rabbit TS-like cells maintained self-renewal in culture medium with serum but without growth factors or feeder cells, whilst their proliferation and identity were compromised by inhibitors of FGFs and TGF-β receptors. Taken together, our study demonstrated the derivation of rabbit TS cells and suggested the essential roles of FGF and TGF-β signalings in maintenance of rabbit TS cell self-renewal

Advances in exosome therapies in ophthalmology–From bench to clinical trial

During the last decade, the fields of advanced and personalized therapeutics have been constantly evolving, utilizing novel techniques such as gene editing and RNA therapeutic approaches. However, the method of delivery and tissue specificity remain the main hurdles of these approaches. Exosomes are natural carriers of functional small RNAs and proteins, representing an area of increasing interest in the field of drug delivery. It has been demonstrated that the exosome cargo, especially miRNAs, is at least partially responsible for the therapeutic effects of exosomes. Exosomes deliver their luminal content to the recipient cells and can be used as vesicles for the therapeutic delivery of RNAs and proteins. Synthetic therapeutic drugs can also be encapsulated into exosomes as they have a hydrophilic core, which makes them suitable to carry water-soluble drugs. In addition, engineered exosomes can display a variety of surface molecules, such as peptides, to target specific cells in tissues. The exosome properties present an added advantage to the targeted delivery of therapeutics, leading to increased efficacy and minimizing the adverse side effects. Furthermore, exosomes are natural nanoparticles found in all cell types and as a result, they do not elicit an immune response when administered. Exosomes have also demonstrated decreased long-term accumulation in tissues and organs and thus carry a low risk of systemic toxicity. This review aims to discuss all the advances in exosome therapies in ophthalmology and to give insight into the challenges that would need to be overcome before exosome therapies can be translated into clinical practice

Identification and Characterization of Nucleolin as a COUP-TFII Coactivator of Retinoic Acid Receptor β Transcription in Breast Cancer Cells

The orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII plays an undefined role in breast cancer. Previously we reported lower COUP-TFII expression in tamoxifen/endocrine-resistant versus sensitive breast cancer cell lines. The identification of COUP-TFII-interacting proteins will help to elucidate its mechanism of action as a transcriptional regulator in breast cancer.FLAG-affinity purification and multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) identified nucleolin among the proteins interacting with COUP-TFII in MCF-7 tamoxifen-sensitive breast cancer cells. Interaction of COUP-TFII and nucleolin was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation of endogenous proteins in MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer cells. In vitro studies revealed that COUP-TFII interacts with the C-terminal arginine-glycine repeat (RGG) domain of nucleolin. Functional interaction between COUP-TFII and nucleolin was indicated by studies showing that siRNA knockdown of nucleolin and an oligonucleotide aptamer that targets nucleolin, AS1411, inhibited endogenous COUP-TFII-stimulated RARB2 expression in MCF-7 and T47D cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed COUP-TFII occupancy of the RARB2 promoter was increased by all-trans retinoic acid (atRA). RARβ2 regulated gene RRIG1 was increased by atRA and COUP-TFII transfection and inhibited by siCOUP-TFII. Immunohistochemical staining of breast tumor microarrays showed nuclear COUP-TFII and nucleolin staining was correlated in invasive ductal carcinomas. COUP-TFII staining correlated with ERα, SRC-1, AIB1, Pea3, MMP2, and phospho-Src and was reduced with increased tumor grade.Our data indicate that nucleolin plays a coregulatory role in transcriptional regulation of the tumor suppressor RARB2 by COUP-TFII

Desatando a trama das redes assistenciais sobre drogas: uma revisão narrativa da literatura

Acalorados debates sobre determinados modelos de tratamento para usuários de drogas ocorrem no âmbito da academia, das políticas públicas, além da mídia. A rede assistencial sobre drogas é apresentada neste contexto como um importante mecanismo, mas sua construção torna-se um desafio. Assim, realizou-se uma análise crítica da literatura acadêmica acerca das redes assistenciais sobre drogas, na forma de uma revisão narrativa, visando levantar seus desafios e possibilidades de consolidação. Os resultados encontrados foram: a) uma escassez de estudos específicos sobre a rede assistencial sobre drogas; b) cobertura insuficiente e desintegrada frente à demanda de tratamento; c) necessidade de se repensar o papel dos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial para Álcool e outras Drogas, visando seu fortalecimento, expansão, melhoria estrutural e readequação de práticas; d) ausência de análises críticas sobre o processo de construção dos modelos assistenciais sobre drogas nos serviços públicos; e, e) responsabilidade do Estado em fornecer melhores alternativas ao panorama encontrado, avançando no fortalecimento das ações intersetoriais, articulação do cuidado e no aprimoramento das condições de trabalho