Bio-adhesives from soy protein concentrate and montmorillonite: Rheological and thermal behaviour

The incorporation of different amounts of montmorillonite (MMT) to soy protein concentrate (SPC) was used to improve the performance of the bio-nano-adhesive obtained. X-Ray diffraction, rheology, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electronic microscopy were carried out to characterize the adhesives, and dry and wet strength was used to determine the adhesion strength. In the rheological measurement, the incorporation of up to 3 wt% of MMT did not modify the consistency index values of the SPC, while an increase in the flow consistency index for higher concentrations can be observed due to a strong interaction between MMT and the protein. Besides, the flow point values increase four times with respect to the value obtained for SPC alone. The decomposition temperature of SPC increases with the addition of MMT, which provides a tortuous pathway that obstructs the diffusion of volatile products out of the bio-nano-adhesive. Further addition beyond 5 wt% led to the formation of agglomerates, as verified by SEM. Moreover, the roughness of the fractured surface of the matrix can explain the decrease of the net adhesion of the nano-particles to the SPC suspensions.Fil: Bacigalupe, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial - Caucho; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Solarte, Alejandra María. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Mariela Alejandra. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Torres Sanchez, Rosa Maria. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Eisenberg, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. Centro de Plástico; ArgentinaFil: Escobar, Mariano Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial - Caucho; Argentin

Caracterización isoenzimática de nueve variedades botánicas de tigridia pavonia (l. f.) DC

Se estudiaron los patrones de bandeo isoenzimáticos (PBI) de nueve variedades botánicas de Tigridia pavonia (L. f.) DC., especie nativa de México con un alto potencial ornamental. Las variedades fueron recolectadas en tres municipios del Estado de México: Tenancingo (2100 m), Temascaltepec (2250 m) y Temoaya (2600 m). Como fuente de extracción de proteínas se usaron tejidos foliares de cada variedad. En los corrimientos se empleó la técnica de electroforesis horizontal en geles de almidón (SGE). Con SGE fueron ensayadas nueve isoenzimas: aspartato amino transferasa (AAT; EC 2.6.1.1), fosfatasa ácida (ACP; EC 13.1.3.2), catalasa (CAT; EC 1.11.1.6), malato deshidrogenasa (MDH; EC 1.1.1.37), 6-fosfogluconato deshidrogenasa (PGD; EC 1.1.1.44), fosfoglucosa isomerasa (PGI; EC 5.3.1.9), fosfoglucomutasa (PGM; EC 2.7.5.1), fosfohexosa isomerasa (PHI; EC 5.3.1.8) y peroxidasa (POX; EC 1.11.1.7). Se observaron 32 bandas arregladas en 20 PBI: dos para AAT, dos para ACP, dos para CAT, cuatro para MDH, uno para PGD, uno para POX, tres para PGI, tres para PHI y dos para PGM. La isoenzima más polimórfica fue MDH, mientras que PGD y POX no mostraron polimorfismo. Los datos de siete isoenzimas fueron usados para calcular las relaciones genéticas con el método UPGMA. Las variedades de T. pavonia pudieron ser diferenciadas una de otra, excepto las variedades Ángeles de Sandra y Carolina de Dulce, las cuales no pudieron distinguirse con los PBI observados. Las variedades Gloria y Samaria, recolectadas a 2600 m, presentaron mayor variación genética que las recolectadas a 2100 o 2250 m, lo cual podría atribuirse a la altitud. Se concluye que las isoenzimas pueden usarse para la diferenciación genética de variedades de T. pavonia

Efficacy of chestnut and quebracho wood extracts to control Salmonella in poultry

Aims: The study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity and efficacy of chestnut and quebracho wood extracts against Salmonella by in vitro assays and in vivo trials. Methods and results: The extracts showed inhibitory activity against Salmonella determined by the minimum inhibitory concentration method as well as on the adhesion and invasion of S. Gallinarum (SG) and S. Enteritidis (SE) in Caco-2 cells. Also, transmission electron microscopy revealed that extract-treated Salmonella showed disruption of cell walls and membranes, damage of the cytoplasm and tannin-protein aggregations. In addition, efficacy of the extracts to control SG and SE was evaluated in experimental infection trials in laying hens and broilers respectively. SE excretion was significantly reduced on days 5 (P < 0·01) and 12 (P < 0·025) only in the quebracho group. In the fowl typhoid infection model, hens that received the chestnut extract showed a significantly reduced mortality (P < 0·05). Conclusions: Our results evidence that these alternative natural products may be a useful tool to control Salmonella in poultry.Instituto de PatobiologíaFil: Casanova, Natalia Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Redondo, Leandro Martí­n. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Redondo, Leandro Martí­n. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Redondo, Enzo Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Redondo, Enzo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Joaquim, Patricia Estefania. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Dominguez, Johana Natali. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Dominguez, Johana Natali. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Miyakawa, Mariano Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Miyakawa, Mariano Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chacana, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; Argentin

Cell necrosis, intrinsic apoptosis and senescence contribute to the progression of exencephaly to anencephaly in a mice model of congenital chranioschisis

Exencephaly/anencephaly is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality and the most extreme open neural tube defect with no current treatments and limited mechanistic understanding. We hypothesized that exencephaly leads to a local neurodegenerative process in the brain exposed to the amniotic fluid as well as diffuse degeneration in other encephalic areas and the spinal cord. To evaluate the consequences of in utero neural tissue exposure, brain and spinal cord samples from E17 exencephalic murine fetuses (maternal intraperitoneal administration of valproic acid at E8) were analyzed and compared to controls and saline-injected shams (n = 11/group). Expression of apoptosis and senescence genes (p53, p21, p16, Rbl2, Casp3, Casp9) was determined by qRT-PCR and protein expression analyzed by western blot. Apoptosis was measured by TUNEL assay and PI/AV flow cytometry. Valproic acid at E8 induced exencephaly in 22% of fetuses. At E17 the fetuses exhibited the characteristic absence of cranial bones. The brain structures from exencephalic fetuses demonstrated a loss of layers in cortical regions and a complete loss of structural organization in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, dental gyrus and septal cortex. E17 fetuses had reduced expression of NeuN, GFAP and Oligodendrocytes in the brain with primed microglia. Intrinsic apoptotic activation (p53, Caspase9 and 3) was upregulated and active Caspase3 localized to the layer of brain exposed to the amniotic fluid. Senescence via p21-Rbl2 was increased in the brain and in the spinal cord at the lamina I-II of the somatosensory dorsal horn. The current study characterizes CNS alterations in murine exencephaly and demonstrates that degeneration due to intrinsic apoptosis and senescence occurs in the directly exposed brain but also remotely in the spinal cord

Angiotensin-(1-7) through Mas receptor up-regulates neuronal norepinephrine transporter via Akt and Erk1/2-dependent pathways

As angiotensin (Ang) (1-7) decreases norepinephrine (NE) content in the synaptic cleft, we investigated the effect of Ang-(1-7) on NE neuronal uptake in spontaneously hypertensive rats. [ 3H]-NE neuronal uptake was measured in isolated hypothalami. NE transporter (NET) expression was evaluated in hypothalamic neuronal cultures by western-blot. Ang-(1-7) lacked an acute effect on neuronal NE uptake. Conversely, Ang-(1-7) caused an increase in NET expression after 3 h incubation (40 ± 7%), which was blocked by the Mas receptor antagonist, a PI3-kinase inhibitor or a MEK1/2 inhibitor suggesting the involvement of Mas receptor and the PI3-kinase/Akt and MEK1/2-ERK1/2 pathways in the Ang-(1-7)-stimulated NET expression. Ang-(1-7) through Mas receptors stimulated Akt and ERK1/2 activities in spontaneously hypertensive rat neurons. Cycloheximide attenuated Ang-(1-7) stimulation of NET expression suggesting that Ang-(1-7) stimulates NET synthesis. In fact, Ang-(1-7) increased NET mRNA levels. Thus, we evaluated the long-term effect of Ang-(1-7) on neuronal NE uptake after 3 h incubation. Under this condition, Ang-(1-7) increased neuronal NE uptake by 60 ± 14% which was blocked by cycloheximide and the Mas receptor antagonist. Neuronal NE uptake and NET expression were decreased after 3 h incubation with an anti-Ang-(1-7) antibody. Ang-(1-7) induces a chronic stimulatory effect on NET expression. In this way, Ang-(1-7) may regulate a pre-synaptic mechanism in maintaining appropriate synaptic NE levels during hypertensive conditions.Fil: Lopez Verrilli, María Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez Fermepin, Martin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Longo, Nadia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Landa, Maria Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Cerrato, Bruno Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Silvia Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Belisario Enrique. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gironacci, Mariela Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; Argentin

SPINK7 expression changes accompanied by HER2, P53 and RB1 can be relevant in predicting oral squamous cell carcinoma at a molecular level

The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which has a high morbidity rate, affects patients worldwide. Changes in SPINK7 in precancerous lesions could promote oncogenesis. Our aim was to evaluate SPINK7 as a potential molecular biomarker which predicts OSCC stages, compared to: HER2, TP53, RB1, NFKB and CYP4B1. This study used oral biopsies from three patient groups: dysplasia (n = 33), less invasive (n = 28) and highly invasive OSCC (n = 18). The control group consisted of clinically suspicious cases later to be confirmed as normal mucosa (n = 20). Gene levels of SPINK7, P53, RB, NFKB and CYP4B1 were quantified by qPCR. SPINK7 levels were correlated with a cohort of 330 patients from the TCGA. Also, SPINK7, HER2, TP53, and RB1, were evaluated by immunohistofluorescence. One-way Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn's post-hoc with a p < 0.05 significance was used to analyze data. In OSCC, the SPINK7 expression had down regulated while P53, RB, NFKB and CYP4B1 had up regulated (p < 0.001). SPINK7 had also diminished in TCGA patients (p = 2.10e-6). In less invasive OSCC, SPINK7 and HER2 proteins had decreased while TP53 and RB1 had increased with respect to the other groups (p < 0.05). The changes of SPINK7 accompanied by HER2, P53 and RB1 can be used to classify the molecular stage of OSCC lesions allowing a diagnosis at molecular and histopathological levels.Fil: Pennacchiotti, Graciela Laura. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Valdes Garrido, Fabio. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; ChileFil: González Arriaga, Wilfredo Alejandro. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Montes, Héctor Federico. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Odontologia; ArgentinaFil: Parra, Judith Maria Roxana. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Odontologia; ArgentinaFil: Guida, Valeria Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Odontologia; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Silvina Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Guerrero Gimenez, Martin Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Muñoz, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Zoppino, Felipe Carlos Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Caron, Ruben Walter. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Ezquer, Marcelo Eduardo. Universidad del Desarrollo; ChileFil: Ramires Fernández, Ricardo. Universidad Mayor; ChileFil: Bruna, Flavia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Odontologia; Argentin

Changes in prolactin receptor location in prostate tumors

Introduction: Prolactin (PRL) binds its receptor (PRLR) and stimulates cell proliferation, differentiation and survival in prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines via STAT5a, MAPK and AKT. Objective: To evaluate the expression of PRL and PRLR in normal and tumor prostate tissues with different Gleason patterns. Methods: Samples of normal, benign prostatic hyperplasia and PCa with different Gleason patterns were selected from radical prostatectomy. The intensity, location and percentage of stained cells for PRL and PRLR were evaluated by Immunohistochemistry. Co-localization was observed by confocal microscopy. Results: PRL was expressed diffusely and with a mild intensity in the cytoplasm of normal and tumor prostate luminal cells. Its expression only augmented in the Gleason 3 pattern (p 0.0001). The immunostaining intensity and the percentage of positive cells for PRLR did not vary between normal and tumor tissues. However, the location of the PRLR was modified by the tumorigenic process. In non-tumor tissues, PRLR expression was mostly in plasma membrane in the apical zone of epithelial cells. In tumor tissues, it was expressed in intracellular vesicles. The co-localization of PRL and PRLR was demonstrated in normal and tumor tissues suggesting that PRL could be acting in an autocrine and paracrine manner. Conclusion: PRL and its receptor were present in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells of the normal and tumor prostate gland. In tumor tissues, the change in the location and appearance of cryptic PRLRs that store PRL may keep active the different signaling pathways related to cell proliferation and survival.Fil: López Fontana, Gastón. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina. Clinica Andina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Rey Echalecu, Lara Sofía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Santiano, Flavia Eliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: López Fontana, José Rodrigo. Clinica Andina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: López Laur, José Daniel. Clinica Andina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Zyla, Leila Ester. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Valdemoros, Paula. Laboratorio de Anatomía Patológica Vega Valdemoros; ArgentinaFil: Guerrero Gimenez, Martin Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Muñoz, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Silvina Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Bruna, Flavia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Guglielmi, Juan Manuel. Clinica Andina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Caron, Ruben Walter. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: López Fontana, Constanza Matilde. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentin

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO