Essential oils as phytochemical nematodicides with activity against plant parasitic nematodes

Synthetic pesticides used against plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) have been discontinued due to serious environmental and public health concerns. Essential oils (EOs) are promising alternatives given they are easily accessible, show high biological activities, have low environmental impacts, and are subjected to less strict regulatory approval mechanismsWe reviewed the chemical composition of EOs with direct biological activity against the root-knot nematodes (RKNs), plant cyst nematodes (PCNs), and the pinewood nematode (PWN). The compositions (≥10%) of the top 10 most active EOs were compared

Nematode-Mycobiota interactions in Pine Wilt Disease

Pine wilt disease is one of the most important diseases for conifer forests worldwide. This complex disease involves the interaction between three primary biological elements - the plant parasitic nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; the insect-vector Monochamus sp., and the host tree Pinus spp. – and other secondary elements such as endophytic bacteria and fungi. The development of B. xylophilus is strongly associated with fungi that colonize the declining trees, with special impact in their reproduction and number of individuals carried by the vector. In light of previous knowledge, we are focused in obtaining a detailed characterization of the structure and dynamics of the nematode-fungi interactions through culturable and non-culturable approaches with particular emphasis in metagenomics analysis. Our aim is to understand if nematode-associated mycobiota plays a key-role in the development of the disease, in interaction with nematode and insect-vector, and into which extend it can be used to disrupt the disease cycle

Profiling mycobiota communities associated with the Pine Wilt Disease

Pine wilt Disease (PWD) is one of the most damaging diseases for conifer forests worldwide. This complex disease involves the interaction between three primary biological elements - the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the insect-vector Monochamus sp., and the host tree Pinus spp. – and other secondary elements such as endophytic bacteria and fungi. The development of B. xylophilus is strongly associated with fungi that colonize the declining trees, with special impact in their reproduction and number of individuals carried by the vector. In light of previous knowledge, we are focused in obtaining a detailed characterization of the structure and dynamics of the nematode-fungi interactions. Using the ITS2 amplicon-based metagenomic approach, we compared the fungal communities from PWN infected and non-infected P. pinaster trees collected in two distint study sites, Tróia (location where PWN was first detected in 1999) and Seia (northwestern of Portugal)

Comparison of quantification methods for the condensed tannin content of extracts of Pinus pinaster bark

Bark from Pinus Pinaster is an interesting source of polyphenolic natural compounds, that can be used successful1y as total or partial replacement of conventional phenolic resins. These compounds, among other applications, are used as adhesives in the wood agglomerate industry. In this kind of application some problems remain to be solved in order to obtain a Pine extract of commercial value. It is necessary to optimise tije extraction procedure and select a suitable method for the quantification of the tannin content of the bark. In order to study these problems, the tannin extraction from the Pine bark was tested with an alkaline solution (NaOH), and with a fractionation procedure based on a sequence of an organic (ethanol) and aqueous extraction. The phenolic content of each extract or fraction was evaluated by the FolinCiocalteu colorimetric assay for total phenols and two procedures using the Stiasny reaction: the gravimetric Stiasny method and the indirect colorimetric procedure that uses the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent to evaluate the total phenols present in the extract solution before and after it condenses with formaldehyde. The yield value when the alkaline extraction is used is substantially higher than the values obtained with organic or aqueous solutions. However, the selectivity of the process is low. In fact, it was found that the alkaline extract Formaldehyde Condensable Phenolic Material (FCPM) content represents 9596 % of the total phenols content of the extract but this fraction is only ~ 40 % of the total mass of extract. So, the alkaline extract is relatively poor in phenolic material, exhibiting a large variety of non-phenolic extractives. On the other end, ethanol provides a very rich phenolic extract, in which 96 % of total phenols are condensable with formaldehyde, but exhibits a relatively low extraction yield. The aqueous extract presents the lowest extraction yield with low content either in phenolic material as in FCPM, but, as most of the phenolics had already been extracted by the previous organic extraction, especially the low molecular weight fractions, this result was predictable

Design and validation of the INCUE questionnaire: Assessment of primary healthcare Nurses’ basic training needs in palliative care

Many instruments have been created to measure knowledge and attitudes in palliative care. However, not only is it important to acquire knowledge, but also that this knowledge should reach patients and their relatives through application in clinical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test the INCUE questionnaire (Investigación Cuidados Enfermeros/Investigation into Nurses’ Care Understanding of End-of-Life) to assess the basic training needs of primary or home healthcare nurses in palliative care. A questionnaire was developed based on the classical theory of tests and factor analysis models. Initially, 18 experts developed 67 items in two blocks and determined content validity by two rounds of expert panels. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability testing were conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 370 nurses. Some items were observed to have very low homogeneity indices or presented convergence problems and were eliminated. Questionnaire reliability was 0.700 in the theoretical block (KR20 Index) and 0.941 in the practical block (Cronbach’s alpha). The model converges and shows an adequate fit, specifically CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.977 and RMSEA = 0.05. The correlation between the two factors in the model is ρ = 0.63. The questionnaire objectively evaluates primary or home healthcare nurses’ knowledge of palliative care and its practical application, thereby facilitating more efficient training plans.This questionnaire is being developed as part of a project to pinpoint the training needs of primary care nurses in the field of palliative care at the Dr Peset Health Department in Valencia (Project EAPCP19-V01)This project has received funding under the first Call for R + D Grants in Nursing 2019 (UGP-19-258), from the Fundació per al Foment de la Investigació Sanitària i Bioèdica de la Comunitat Valenciana (Fisabio).Enfermerí

Escola de obstetrícia da Universidade de São Paulo: a história contada no livro de atas (1912-1970)

Throughout the 20th Century, Obstetrics education has undergone innumerous changes which have accompanied changes in the maternal and newborn health care model and conceptions concerning professional nursing education and practice. This qualitative and documentary study aimed to describe and analyze the minutes of the meetings of the São Paulo Obstetrics School. The School was founded in 1912 and was adjacent to the University of São Paulo Medical School until 1970, when it was incorporated into the School of Nursing. The minutes have recorded aspects of the School’s operation such as student selection and performance, examinations, teaching programs, curriculum changes, faculty, school calendar, revalidation of foreign diplomas, financial turnover, and other disciplinary, administrative, and legal matters concerning the course. One can infer that the original purpose of creating the School was “in tune” with the broader project of the medical and social elite of the time

Searching for new strategies against biofilm infections: Colistin-AMP combinations against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus single- and double-species biofilms

Antimicrobial research is being pressured to look for more effective therapeutics for the ever-growing antibiotic-resistant infections, and antimicrobial peptides (AMP) and antimicrobial combinations are promising solutions. This work evaluates colistin-AMP combinations against two major pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, encompassing non- and resistant strains. Colistin (CST) combined with the AMP temporin A (TEMP-A), citropin 1.1 (CIT-1.1) and tachyplesin I linear analogue (TP-I-L) was tested against planktonic, single- and double-species biofilm cultures. Overall synergy for planktonic P. aeruginosa and synergy/additiveness for planktonic S. aureus were observed. Biofilm growth prevention was achieved with synergy and additiveness. Pre-established 24 h-old biofilms were harder to eradicate, especially for S. aureus and double-species biofilms; still, some synergy and addictiveness was observed for higher concentrations, including for the biofilms of resistant strains. Different treatment times and growth media did not greatly influence AMP activity. CST revealed low toxicity compared with the other AMP but its combinations were toxic for high concentrations. Overall, combinations reduced effective AMP concentrations, mainly in prevention scenarios. Improvement of effectiveness and toxicity of therapeutic strategies will be further investigated.The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (http://www.fct.pt/), under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/B10/04469/2013 and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684). This study was also supported by FCT and the European Community fund FEDER, through Program COMPETE, and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 -Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. This work was also partially funded by the [14V105] Contract-Programme from the University of Vigo (https://mw.uvigo.gal/ uvigo_en/) and the Agrupamento INBIOMED (http://inbiomed.webs.uvigaes/) from DXPCTSUG-FEDER unha maneira de facer Europa (2012/273) and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (http://ec.europleuiregionaL policy/EN/fundingierdf/) under the Operational Programme Innovative Economy (WNP-POIG.01.04.00-22-052/11).). Lipopharm.pl (http://www.lipopharm.p1/) provided support in the form of salaries for authors DG and WK. The authors also acknowledge the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) (https://www.escmid.org/) for the Research Grant 2014 to Anglia Lourenco, and FCT for the PhD Grant of Paula Jorge (grant number SFRH/BD/88192/2012). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gain in cellular organization of inflammatory breast cancer: A 3D in vitro model that mimics the in vivo metastasis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The initial step of metastasis in carcinomas, often referred to as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), occurs via the loss of adherens junctions (e.g. cadherins) by the tumor embolus. This leads to a subsequent loss of cell polarity and cellular differentiation and organization, enabling cells of the embolus to become motile and invasive. However highly malignant inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) over-expresses E-cadherin. The human xenograft model of IBC (MARY-X), like IBC, displays the signature phenotype of an exaggerated degree of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) <it>in situ </it>by tumor emboli. An intact E-cadherin/α, β-catenin axis mediates the tight, compact clump of cells found both <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>as spheroids and tumor emboli, respectively.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using electron microscopy and focused ion beam milling to acquire <it>in situ </it>sections, we performed ultrastructural analysis of both an IBC and non-IBC, E-cadherin positive cell line to determine if retention of this adhesion molecule contributed to cellular organization.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we report through ultrastructural analysis that IBC exhibits a high degree of cellular organization with polar elements such as apical/lateral positioning of E-cadherin, apical surface microvilli, and tortuous lumen-like (canalis) structures. In contrast, agarose-induced spheroids of MCF-7, a weakly invasive E-cadherin positive breast carcinoma cell line, do not exhibit ultrastructural polar features.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study has determined that the highly metastatic IBC with an exaggerated malignant phenotype challenges conventional wisdom in that instead of displaying a loss of cellular organization, IBC acquires a highly structured architecture.</p> <p>These findings suggest that the metastatic efficiency might be linked to the formation and maintenance of these architectural features. The comparative architectural features of both the spheroid and embolus of MARY-X provide an <it>in vitro </it>model with tractable <it>in vivo </it>applications.</p