Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus brasiliensis (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans show immunostimulatory activity on human THP-1 derived macrophages

The (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans from Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus brasiliensis were purified to evaluate their effects on the innate immune system. THP-1 macrophages were used to investigate the induction of the expression of TNF-a, IL1ß, and COX-2 by RT-PCR. The purification of the polysaccharides gave rise to fractions containing 96–98% of glucose. The samples were analyzed by GC–MS, HPSEC and 13C NMR, which confirmed the presence of homogeneous (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans. The ß-glucans were incubated with THP-1 derived macrophages, for 3 h and 6 h to evaluate their effects on the expression of pro-inflammatory genes. Both ß-glucans stimulated the expression of such genes as much as the pro-inflammatory control (LPS). When the cells were incubated with LPS + ß-glucan, a significant inhibition of the expression of IL-1ß and COX-2 was observed for both treatments after 3 h of incubation. By the results, we conclude that the (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans present an immunostimulatory activity when administered to THP-1 derived macrophage

Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus brasiliensis (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans show immunostimulatory activity on human THP-1 derived macrophages

The (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans from Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus brasiliensis were purified to evaluate their effects on the innate immune system. THP-1 macrophages were used to investigate the induction of the expression of TNF-a, IL1ß, and COX-2 by RT-PCR. The purification of the polysaccharides gave rise to fractions containing 96–98% of glucose. The samples were analyzed by GC–MS, HPSEC and 13C NMR, which confirmed the presence of homogeneous (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans. The ß-glucans were incubated with THP-1 derived macrophages, for 3 h and 6 h to evaluate their effects on the expression of pro-inflammatory genes. Both ß-glucans stimulated the expression of such genes as much as the pro-inflammatory control (LPS). When the cells were incubated with LPS + ß-glucan, a significant inhibition of the expression of IL-1ß and COX-2 was observed for both treatments after 3 h of incubation. By the results, we conclude that the (1 ¿ 6)-ß-d-glucans present an immunostimulatory activity when administered to THP-1 derived macrophage

A low power wireless sensor node for the measurement of height variations of coastal sand dunes

in this paper the authors describe the structure of a wireless sensor node designed to measure height variations in coastal sand dunes. The paper focuses on the project and development of a sensing device able to measure the changes of height of sand dunes, based on an array of photoresistors (LDRs), designed to withstand the critical atmospheric conditions of coastal environments. Together with the sensing device, also a power control logic has been studied and developed, to reduce the power consumption leading to an ideal life time of the node of around two years. The sensor node is also provided with wireless communication capabilities based on the ZigBee communication protocol and is integrated in a network infrastructure for remote data collection. The proposed sensor node, together with a minimal network architecture, has been developed and tested directly on the beach to prove its effectiveness. In this paper, the overall structure of the node is described, along with its operating principle and the functioning of the power control logic

Development of a coastal dune vulnerability index for Mediterranean ecosystems: A useful tool for coastal managers?

Coastal dune ecosystems have been severely degraded as a result of excessive natural resource exploitation, urbanisation, industrial growth, and worldwide tourism. Coastal management often requires the use of vulnerability indices to facilitate the decision-making process. The main objective of this study was to develop a Mediterranean dune vulnerability index (MDVI) for sandy coasts, starting from the existing dune vulnerability index (DVI) proposed by Garcia-Mora et al. (2001) related to the oceanic coasts. Given that the Mediterranean sandy coasts are quite different from the Atlantic coasts, several adjustments and integrations were introduced. Our proposed index is based on the following five main group of factors: geomorphological conditions of the dune systems (GCD), marine influence (MI), aeolian effect (AE), vegetation condition (VC), and human effect (HE), for a total of 51 variables derived (and adapted) from the bibliography or proposed for the first time in this study. For each coastal site, a total vulnerability index, ranging from 0 (very low vulnerability) to 1 (very high vulnerability), was calculated as the unweighted average of the five partial vulnerability indices. Index computation was applied to 23 coastal dune systems of two different contexts in Italy, i.e. peninsular and continental island territories representative of the W-Mediterranean Basin, in order to compare the dune systems with different geomorphology, shoreline dynamics, and human pressure. In particular, our research addressed the following two questions: (1) Which variables are the most critical for the Italian coastal systems? (2) How can the coastal dune vulnerability index be used to develop appropriate strategies of conservation and management for these ecosystems? Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling separated the peninsular from the insular sites, both of which were characterised by low to moderate values of vulnerability (0.32 < MDVI < 0.49). The most critical factors for the coastal systems examined in this study were marine negative influence, low stabilising ability of vegetation, and human disturbance. Hence, coastal managers are encouraged to plan specific management actions such as protection of foredunes from marine factors (particularly erosion), to promote dune formation with the reintroduction of native dune builder species and to minimise human pressure where vulnerability depends on these variables

Pharmacobotanic characterization of young stems and stem barks of Rauvolfia sellowii Müll. Arg., Apocynaceae

Rauvolfia sellowii Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae), a Brazilian native tree rich in indole alkaloids, is known as "pau-pra-tudo" and popularly used as hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic and antihypertensive. The aim of this work was to study the anatomy of the young stems and stem barks of this medicinal plant, in order to contribute to the identification of the species as a drug. The plant material was fixed and prepared according to standard microtechniques. The young stems have remaining epidermis, but a suberified peridermis is evident. The phellogen is located in the cortical region, forming suber externally. Underneath the phellogen, lies the phelloderm and collenchymatic region. In the cortex, there are numerous laticifers and some fibers. There is an incomplete sclerenchymatic sheath, consisting of several groups of fibers and stone cells. The stem has internal phloem ordered as isolated groups side by side. Numerous laticifers, calcium oxalate crystals, idioblasts and amyloplasts are found in the cortex, phloem, xylem and pith. The stem bark has many layers of suber and cortical parenchyma, a sheath composed of fibers and stone cells totally lignified, and external phloem. These anatomical characteristic, taken together, can be used as quality control parameters for this species.<br>Rauvolfia sellowii Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae), uma árvore nativa brasileira rica em alcaloides indólicos, é conhecida como "pau-pra-tudo" e utilizada popularmente como hipocolesterolêmica, hipoglicêmica e anti-hipertensiva. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar anatomicamente o caule jovem e a casca caulinar dessa planta medicinal, a fim de contribuir para a identificação e autenticidade da droga. O material vegetal foi fixado e submetido às microtécnicas usuais. O caule jovem possui epiderme remanescente, porém uma periderme suberificada é observada. O felogênio instala-se na região cortical, formando súber externamente. Subjacentes ao felogênio são observadas a feloderme e uma região colenquimática. No córtex, há numerosos laticíferos e algumas fibras. Há uma bainha esclerenquimática incompleta, constituída de vários grupos de fibras e células pétreas. O caule mostra floema interno organizado em grupos isolados lado a lado. Numerosos laticíferos, cristais de oxalato de cálcio, idioblastos e amiloplastos são encontrados no córtex, no floema, no xilema e na medula. A casca do caule possui várias camadas de súber e parênquima cortical, uma bainha composta de fibras e células pétreas totalmente lignificadas, e floema externo. Estes caracteres anatômicos, quando analisados em conjunto, podem ser utilizados como parâmetros para controle de qualidade desta espécie