Cytochrome P450 from Plants: Platforms for Valuable Phytopharmaceuticals

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are important for biotechnology due to their capacity to modify diverse secondary metabolites that may produce chemicals with pharmacological properties. Most terpenes, flavonoids and alkaloids require P450 catalytic functions to reach their biological activity. In the last ten years, several efforts have focused on the expression and production of these three main types of secondary metabolites in engineered microorganisms and plants using P450 of ethnobotanical origin. Despite this, several P450 coding sequences from plant sources are discovered yearly but only a few have been screened by functional genomics. Amongst them, only a few have shown potentials for use in sustainable production of novel drugs and highly valuable products. Cytochrome P450 involvement in the biosynthesis of these products is discussed in this work.Keywords: Biotechnological platforms, Cytochrome P450, Phytopharmaceuticals, Yield improvement, Terpenes, Flavonoids, Alkaloids, Microbial expressio

Is prolonged infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in critically ill patients associated with improved pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and patient outcomes? An observation from the Defining Antibiotic Levels in Intensive care unit patients (DALI) cohort

Objectives:We utilized the database of the Defining Antibiotic Levels in Intensive care unit patients (DALI) study to statistically compare the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and clinical outcomes between prolonged-infusion and intermittent-bolus dosing of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in critically ill patients using inclusion criteria similar to those used in previous prospective studies.Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a prospective, multicentre pharmacokinetic point-prevalence study (DALI), which recruited a large cohort of critically ill patients from 68 ICUs across 10 countries.Results: Of the 211 patients receiving piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in the DALI study, 182 met inclusion criteria. Overall, 89.0% (162/182) of patients achieved the most conservative target of 50% fT(> MIC) (time over which unbound or free drug concentration remains above the MIC). Decreasing creatinine clearance and the use of prolonged infusion significantly increased the PTA for most pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets. In the subgroup of patients who had respiratory infection, patients receiving beta-lactams via prolonged infusion demonstrated significantly better 30 day survival when compared with intermittent-bolus patients [86.2% (25/29) versus 56.7% (17/30); P=0.012]. Additionally, in patients with a SOFA score of >= 9, administration by prolonged infusion compared with intermittent-bolus dosing demonstrated significantly better clinical cure [73.3% (11/15) versus 35.0% (7/20); P=0.035] and survival rates [73.3% (11/15) versus 25.0% (5/20); P=0.025].Conclusions: Analysis of this large dataset has provided additional data on the niche benefits of administration of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem by prolonged infusion in critically ill patients, particularly for patients with respiratory infections

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Ripensare modelli e prassi di valutazione della qualità nella scuola dell’infanzia. Una ricerca esplorativa nel campo della formative educational evaluation Rethinking Models and Practices of Quality Evaluation in the Kindergarten. An Explorative and Qualitative Research in the Field of "Formative Educational Evaluation"

L’articolo descrive il percorso triennale e alcuni principali risultati di una ricerca di educational evaluation condotta, nella prospettiva della ricerca-formazione (Becchi et.al., 1997; Lodini, Vannini, 2006), nella scuola dell’infanzia di un quartiere bolognese. A partire da un uso problematico e critico della scala Sovasi (Harms, Clifford, 1994) e delle specifiche procedure metodologiche previste dal modello della valutazione formativa della qualità della scuola (Bondioli, Ferrari, 2004), la ricerca ha portato a diversi ordini di risultati, sul piano della valutazione sia esterna sia interna. In merito alla valutazione esterna, sono stati osservati i profili Sovasi di 15 sezioni di scuola dell’infanzia, evidenziando le differenze fra i diversi plessi scolastici e individuando le prassi “di qualità” condivise che contraddistinguono le scelte progettuali e didattiche del quartiere e che costituiscono un patrimonio educativo per tutti i contesti 3-6 del Comune di Bologna. In merito alla valutazione interna, sono state monitorate, tramite la scala Sovasi, le 15 sezioni, osservandone i progressivi miglioramenti e promuovendo – nei gruppi di insegnanti e grazie all’uso di specifici strumenti di supporto – prassi di riflessione e di riprogettazione. La ricerca ha infine portato a riflettere criticamente sulla metodologia valutativa utilizzata e a individuare nuovi indicatori e aspetti procedurali utili alla messa a punto di un nuovo strumento di osservazione, complementare e non alternativo alla Scala Sovasi. Il percorso di formative educational evaluation si propone pertanto anche come una ricerca di tipo esplorativo-qualitativa (Lumbelli, 2006), preliminare ad una futura fase di verifica – su di un campione rappresentativo di sezioni di scuola dell’infanzia – della validità di una nuova ipotesi metodologica di valutazione della qualità della scuola dell’infanzia

[Polymorphism g.37190613 G>A of the ELMO1 gene in the Mexican population: potential marker for clinical-surgical pathology]

BACKGROUND: ELMO1 is a gene located at locus 7p14.2-14.1 that codifies a regulatory protein involved in fibrogenesis, cell migration, phagocytosis and apoptosis. This gene presents a single nucleotide polymorphism, which appears to be linked with the development of diabetic nephropathy. OBJECTIVES: Currently, there are no studies in regard to the presence of such polymorphism in the Mexican population. Therefore, the aim of this work was to estimate the frequency rate of alleles and genotypes of polymorphism rs1345365 from ELMO1 in Mexican mestizos who inhabit the west and the southeast regions of Mexico in order to generate reliable data for further association studies. METHODS: There were 322 individuals who were screened for the identification of polymorphism rs1345365 using genomic DNA from leucocytes as a template for PCR-PASA reactions. Amplicons were separated in 7% PAGE and visualized after staining with silver nitrate. RESULTS: The reference allele (A) was the most frequent in both western and southeastern populations of Mexico. In addition, a different genotype distribution was found with respect to other populations. The results of this study indicate that both populations are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. CONCLUSION: This study also reveals a low frequency rate of the ancestral genotype for the polymorphism rs1345365 in mestizos from the western and southeastern regions of Mexico.; Publisher: Abstract available from the publisher.; Language: Spanis