Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) urease induces eicosanoid-modulated hemocyte aggregation in the Chagas' disease vector Rhodnius prolixus

AbstractUreases are multifunctional proteins that display biological activities independently of their enzymatic function, such as induction of exocytosis and insecticidal effects. Rhodnius prolixus, a major vector of Chagas' disease, is a model for studies on the entomotoxicity of jack bean urease (JBU). We have previously shown that JBU induces the production of eicosanoids in isolated tissues of R. prolixus. In insects, the immune response comprises cellular and humoral reactions, and is centrally modulated by eicosanoids. Cyclooxygenase products signal immunity in insects, mainly cellular reactions, such as hemocyte aggregation. In searching for a link between JBU's toxic effects and immune reactions in insects, we have studied the effects of this toxin on R. prolixus hemocytes. JBU triggers aggregation of hemocytes after injection into the hemocoel and when applied to isolated cells. On in vitro assays, the eicosanoid synthesis inhibitors dexamethasone (phospholipase A2 indirect inhibitor) and indomethacin (cyclooxygenase inhibitor) counteracted JBU's effect, indicating that eicosanoids, more specifically cyclooxygenase products, are likely to mediate the aggregation response. Contrarily, the inhibitors esculetin and baicalein were inactive, suggesting that lipoxygenase products are not involved in JBU's effect. Extracellular calcium was also necessary for JBU's effect, in agreement to other cell models responsive to ureases. A progressive darkening of the medium of JBU-treated hemocytes was observed, suggestive of a humoral response. JBU was immunolocalized in the cultured cells upon treatment along with cytoskeleton damage. The highest concentration of JBU tested on cultured cells also led to nuclei aggregation of adherent hemocytes. This is the first time urease has been shown to affect insect hemocytes, contributing to our understanding of the entomotoxic mechanisms of action of this protein

Stability Of Gluten Free Sweet Biscuit Elaborated With Rice Bran, Broken Rice And Okara

A challenge to the food sector has been the development of new products incorporating co-products from the food processing industry with minimal impact on their pre-determined structures and adding nutritional quality. In order to add value and develop alternatives for the use of co-products generated during the agroindustrial processing, this work aimed to study the stability of gluten-free sweet biscuits developed with soybean okara, rice bran and broken rice. The formulations were elaborated with increasing percentages of these ingredients and compared with the standard (commercial sweet biscuit) for ten months. The analyses were: weight, diameters (internal and external), thickness, specific volume, instrumental parameters of color, texture, scanning electron microscopy, water activity, proximal composition and isoflavones. The experimental sweet biscuits had characteristics of color, weight, volume and diameters (internal and external) very similar to the commercial, whereas texture, lipids and energy value decreased, and aw, moisture and protein increased during storage. The sweet biscuits showed the same stability when compared to the standard, and the. © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Alimentos, SBCTA. All rights reserved.36229630

Synthesis and luminescence properties of analogues of the green fluorescent protein chromophore

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is extensively used as a biomarker for fluorescence biological imaging. The chromophore in GFP is only fluorescent when confined into the β–barrel of the protein. Similarly, synthetic analogues of the fluorophore of GFP are usually non-emissive in solution, due to free rotation around the aryl-alkene bond and (Z/E)-isomerization of the double bond. Here, the synthesis and characterization of three analogues of the fluorophore of GFP are reported. The introduction of more electron donating substituents induces a red-shift in the absorption and emission. The fluorophores are more emissive in the solid state than in solution, and a study of their crystal structure reveals that the (Z/E)-isomerization is efficiently blocked in the crystals.publishe

Salicornia ramosissima: Secondary metabolites and protective effect against acute testicular toxicity

AbstractSalicornia ramosissima J. Woods is a salt tolerant plant currently used in the human diet, whose genus not only displays great potential as a crop plant in deserts and highly saline soils, but also has value in traditional medicine and exhibits promising biological activities. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of S. ramosissima ethanolic extract on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced testicular damage in a mouse model and identify secondary metabolites present in the tested extract. The histopathological analysis showed that the treatment with the ethanolic extract prior to CCl4 administration prevented significantly the architectural disorder of seminiferous epithelium and germ cell exfoliation. The phytochemical study allowed the identification of known phenolic and aliphatic compounds [ethyl linolenoate (1), sitostanol (2), octadecyl (3) and eicosanyl (4) (E)-ferulates, ethyl (E)-2-hydroxycinnamate (5), scopoletin (6), a triacylglycerol of tetracosanoic acid (7)], and three new compounds: saliramoester, a long chain triester (8), saliramophenone, a propiophenone derivative (9) and saliramopyrrole a pyrrole-3-carbaldehyde derivative (10). Their chemical structures were elucidated using detailed spectroscopic studies (1D and 2D NMR and MS). These results enhance the value of S. ramosissima as an excellent source of structurally interesting phytochemicals and as protective agent against testicular toxicity

X-boson Cumulant Approach To The Topological Kondo Insulators

In this work we present a generalization of our previous work of the X-boson approach to the periodic Anderson model (PAM), adequate to study a novel class of intermetallic 4f and 5f orbitals materials: the topological Kondo insulators, whose paradigmatic material is the compound SmB6. For simplicity, we consider a version of the PAM on a 2D square lattice, adequate to describe Ce-based compounds in two dimensions. The starting point of the model is the 4f - Ce ions orbitals, with J 5/2 multiplet, in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Our technique works well for all of the parameters of the model and avoids the unwanted phase transitions of the slave boson mean field theory. We present a critical comparison of our results with those of the usual slave boson method, that has been intensively used to describe this class of materials. We also obtain a new valence first order transition which we attribute to the dependence of the hybridization.568DIB; Dirección de Investigación, Universidad Nacional de ColombiaColeman, P., (1984) Phys. Rev., 29 (6), p. 3035Dzero, M., Sun, K., Galitski, V., Coleman, P., (2010) Phys. Rev. Lett., 104 (10), p. 106408Dzero, M., Sun, K., Coleman, P., Galitski, V., (2012) Phys. Rev., 85 (4), p. 045130Alexandrov, V., Dzero, M., Coleman, P., (2013) Phys. Rev. Lett., 111 (22), p. 226403Tran, M.T., Takimoto, T., Kim, K.S., (2012) Phys. Rev., 85 (12), p. 125128Legner, M., Rueg, A., Sigrist, M., Phys. Rev., 89, p. 085110Werner, J., Assaad, F.F., (2013) Phys. Rev., 88 (3), p. 035113Franco, R., Figueira, M.S., Foglio, M.E., (2003) Phys. Rev., 66 (4), p. 045112Steglich, F., Geibel, C., Gloss, K., Olesch, G., Schank, C., Wassilew, C., Loidl, A., Stewart, G.F., (1994) J. Low Temperature Phys., 95 (1-2), p. 3Derr, J., Knebel, G., Lapertot, G., Salce, B., Measson, M.-A., Flouquet, J., (2006) J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, 18 (6), p. 2089Natoli, V.D., Cohen, H.M., Fornberg, B., (1996) J. Computacional Phys., 126 (1), p. 9

Study of the reaction of grafting acrylamide onto xanthan gum

AbstractThe present study aimed to study the reaction conditions of grafting of acrylamide on xanthan gum. It was analyzed the influence of reaction conditions, mainly type of initiator activation, initiator concentration and initiator/acrylamide ratio, on graft parameters and copolymer properties. Potassium persulfate was employed as an initiator and heating or N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine was used to activate the initiator. Reaction time and initiator concentration were varied and final values for grafting percentage and grafting efficiency were the same for both methods, whereas speed in reaching these values differs from one technique to another. We found that reaction time was inversely proportional to intrinsic viscosity, likely due to main chain degradation promoted by potassium persulfate (KPS); furthermore, the increasing in the KPS concentration lowers grafting percentage, acrylamide conversion and chain degradation, possibly as a result of O2 formation at high KPS concentrations

Thermal, High Pressure, and Ultrasound Inactivation of Various Fruit Cultivars’ Polyphenol Oxidase: Kinetic Inactivation Models and Estimation of Treatment Energy Requirement

ReviewPolyphenol oxidase (PPO) catalyses the browning reaction during fruit processing and storage. It is considered a threat to clean labels and minimally processed fruit products. Unwanted changes in fruits’ appearance and quality represent a cost to the industry. High pressure and ultrasound, in addition to thermal treatment, are effective in reducing PPO activity and producing high-quality products. PPO from different fruit cultivars behaves differently when submitted to different treatments. A systematic review was conducted, where treatment parameters, PPO inactivation data ( 80% inactivation), and kinetic inactivation parameters (rate constant (k), activation energy (Ea), D-value, and z-value) by different treatments were collected. Additionally, the estimated energy requirements for the inactivation of PPO ( 80%) by different treatments were calculated and compared. Resistance to various treatments varies between fruit cultivars. For the same temperature, the inactivation of PPO by ultrasound combined with heat is more effective than thermal treatment alone, and the high pressure combined thermal process. The majority of the thermal, HPP, and ultrasound inactivation of PPO in fruits followed first-order behaviour. Some fruit cultivars, however, showed biphasic inactivation behaviour. The estimated specific energy requirements calculated based on the mass of processed fruit sample to inactivate 80% polyphenol oxidase for the thermal process was 87 to 255 kJ/kg, while for high pressure processing it was 139 to 269 kJ/kg and for ultrasound it was 780 to 10,814 kJ/kginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable procurement practices in the Brazilian chemical industry context

Sustainable procurement requires an understanding of the full impact of purchase throughout the entire life cycle of the product or service, irrespective of location. The aim is to investigate the adoption of sustainable procurement in some Brazilian chemical companies. Questionnaires were sent to professionals from the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (ABIQUIM) and from thirtyseven associated companies. The results were used to elaborate empirical illustrations about sustainable procurement practices in the Brazilian chemical industry context. Although the companies did not have a prescriptive supplier selection model that incorporates social-environmental criteria, most companies had more restrictive standards than the legislation and they supported suppliers to improve their social-environmental performance. In addition, that actions related to social and environmental issues occur in policies and documents and are reflected through middle and upper management commitments. It indicates that there are some organizational directions to incorporate social and environmental questions. However, no materialization in actions along the procurement process