In Vitro Screening of α-Amylase Inhibition by Selected Terpenes from Essential Oils

Purpose: To assess some terpenes from herbal products for possible inhibitory effects on serum α- amylase in order to ascertain their potential usefulness in the prevention and/or treatment of diabetes Type 2.Methods: Solutions of terpenes (citral, eukalyptol, β-pinene, myrcene, eugenol and terpineol) in deonized water were prepared by ultrasonic and manual mixing in four different concentrations ranging from 0.39 – 5.50 µmol cm-3. Commercial sera (with normal-N and high-H enzyme activity) were used as a source of α-amylase. α-Amylase activity was determined by standard methods using an automated analyzer.Results: All the selected terpenes at their maximal concentrations inhibited α-amylase in N-sera in the range 9.68 – 38.70 and 10.71 - 25.00 % for ultrasonic and manual mixing, respectively, while in H-sera, inhibition was in the range 17.10 - 21.05 and 13.58 – 25.92 % for ultrasonic and manual mixing, respectively. Regardless of the concentration of the inhibitor or the method of mixing, citral was the strongest inhibitor of α-amylase.Conclusion: The selected terpenes, in their appropriate concentrations, influence α-amylase activity to varying degrees. Principal component and agglomerative hierarchical analysis reveal that the most significant factor in α-amylase inhibition is the mode of mixing the samples, rather than their concentrations.Keywords: α-Amylase, β-Pinene, Citral, Diabetes, Essential oil, Eugenol, Eukalyptol, Myrcene, Terpenes, Terpineo

Control of the Respiratory Diseases in a Pig Herd Using Data of the Respiratory Organs Examination of Fattening Pigs at a Slaughterhouse

In everyday farming practice, assessment of economical impact of respiratory diseases at herd level relies on the following information: data records on the diseases within the herd, productivity and slaughterhouse records. The data available from the slaughterhouse encompass the number and percentage of low weight pigs, number of diseased animals, the severity of lesions observed at slaughter as well as the amount of discarded organs and carcasses. The aim of this investigation is to improve the assessment of health status of pigs at herd level and design programs for the control of respiratory syndrome in swine based on the analysis of the data collected at slaughter line. In the slaughterhouse, the thoracic cavity organs from 105 fatlings that have reached the slaughter body mass, 20 underweight fatlings and 20 underdeveloped piglets were examined. The weight of both half-carcasses was measured. Tissue samples of altered organs (lungs, mediastinal lympho nodes, tonsils) were collected and subjected to bacteriological analysis. The average weight of both half-carcasses was 81.54kg in fatteners with full slaughter body mass, and 58.29kg and 14.95kg in low-weight fatlings and piglets, respectively. Changes affecting 10% of lung tissue were established in 9 animals, 11-20% in 10 and 21-32% in 10 fatlings. Pathological process is characterized by hepatization of lung tissue, inflammation of the pleura or, even more frequently, adhesions between the visceral and parietal pleura and pericardium. In underweight fatlings, the rates of lung changes were 20% in 5, 11-30% in 3, 40% in 4, and 40% in 6 animals. Applying bacteriological testing, the following microorganisms were isolated: Haemophilus parasuis, Arcanobacterium pyogenes, and Pasteurella multocida. The examination performed at the slaughter line strongly suggested the necessity of designing a new, updated vaccination program taking into consideration the causative agents and vaccination schedule

Swine Dysentery: Practical Observations, Control And Diagnostics

Swine dysentery is a severe mucohemorrhagic enteric disease of pigs which has a large impact on pig production, with important losses caused by mortality and suboptimal performance. The causative agent is Brachyspirahyodysenteriae. The aim of the paper was to evaluate all the available data on B. hyodysenteriae presence on swine farms in Vojvodina region. The material for this research included five swine farms, where certain disorders and health problems in weaned, grower and fattening pigs were detected. Depending on the specificity of each evaluated case and available material, the applied research methods included: anamnestical and clinical evaluation, gross pathological examination, standard bacteriological testing for detection of the presence of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in the tissue samples derived from diseased and/or died pigs. Besides this, in some cases the molecular diagnostic method (RT-PCR) was included. Swine dysentery is a common and important endemic problem in many swine farms in Vojvodina. On endemically infected swine farms transmission mainly occurs by ingestion of infected faeces. All the observed factors affecting disease persistence and transmission on the farm are thoroughly analysed and discussed. Finally, current prophylactic and therapeutic approaches to fight against disease are described

Superspreading: Mechanisms and Molecular Design

The intriguing ability of certain surfactant molecules to drive the superspreading of liquids to complete wetting on hydrophobic substrates is central to numerous applications that range from coating flow technology to enhanced oil recovery. Despite significant experimental efforts, the precise mechanisms underlying superspreading remain unknown to date. Here, we isolate these mechanisms by analyzing coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of surfactant molecules of varying molecular architecture and substrate affinity. We observe that for superspreading to occur, two key conditions must be simultaneously satisfied: the adsorption of surfactants from the liquid–vapor surface onto the three-phase contact line augmented by local bilayer formation. Crucially, this must be coordinated with the rapid replenishment of liquid–vapor and solid–liquid interfaces with surfactants from the interior of the droplet. This article also highlights and explores the differences between superspreading and conventional surfactants, paving the way for the design of molecular architectures tailored specifically for applications that rely on the control of wetting

Variations of Plasmid Content in Rickettsia felis

Background: Since its first detection, characterization of R. felis has been a matter of debate, mostly due to the contamination of an initial R. felis culture by R. typhi. However, the first stable culture of R. felis allowed its precise phenotypic and genotypic characterization, and demonstrated that this species belonged to the spotted fever group rickettsiae. Later, its genome sequence revealed the presence of two forms of the same plasmid, physically confirmed by biological data. In a recent article, Gillespie et al. ( PLoS One. 2007; 2( 3): e266.) used a bioinformatic approach to refute the presence of the second plasmid form, and proposed the creation of a specific phylogenetic group for R. felis. Methodology/ Principal Findings: In the present report, we, and five independent international laboratories confirmed unambiguously by PCR the presence of two plasmid forms in R. felis strain URRWXCal(2)(T), but observed that the plasmid content of this species, from none to 2 plasmid forms, may depend on the culture passage history of the studied strain. We also demonstrated that R. felis does not cultivate in Vero cells at 37 degrees C but generates plaques at 30 degrees C. Finally, using a phylogenetic study based on 667 concatenated core genes, we demonstrated the position of R. felis within the spotted fever group. Significance: We demonstrated that R. felis, which unambiguously belongs to the spotted fever group rickettsiae, may contain up to two plasmid forms but this plasmid content is unstable

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus proposal: Medical treatment of canine epilepsy in Europe

In Europe, the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed for dogs has grown considerably over the last years. Nevertheless, the same questions remain, which include, 1) when to start treatment, 2) which drug is best used initially, 3) which adjunctive AED can be advised if treatment with the initial drug is unsatisfactory, and 4) when treatment changes should be considered. In this consensus proposal, an overview is given on the aim of AED treatment, when to start long-term treatment in canine epilepsy and which veterinary AEDs are currently in use for dogs. The consensus proposal for drug treatment protocols, 1) is based on current published evidence-based literature, 2) considers the current legal framework of the cascade regulation for the prescription of veterinary drugs in Europe, and 3) reflects the authors’ experience. With this paper it is aimed to provide a consensus for the management of canine idiopathic epilepsy. Furthermore, for the management of structural epilepsy AEDs are inevitable in addition to treating the underlying cause, if possible

Genetic Variation Shapes Protein Networks Mainly through Non-transcriptional Mechanisms

Variation in the levels of co-regulated proteins that function within networks in an outbred yeast population is not driven by variation in the corresponding transcripts

Effective treatment of experimental U-87MG human glioblastoma in nude mice with a targeted cytotoxic bombesin analogue, AN-215

Some brain tumours, such as glioblastomas express high levels of receptors for bombesin/gastrin releasing peptide. We investigated whether bombesin/gastrin releasing peptide receptors found in glioblastoma cell lines can be utilised for targeting of a cytotoxic bombesin analogue, AN-215 consisting of a potent derivative of doxorubicin, 2-pyrrolino-doxorubicin (AN-201) linked to a bombesin-like peptide carrier. This study reports the effect of AN-215 on the growth of U-87MG human glioblastomas xenografted into nude mice. High affinity binding of AN-215 to U-87MG tumours was characterised by an IC50 value of 4.0±0.1 nM, as determined by radioreceptor assays. mRNA analyses revealed the presence of mRNA for BN receptor subtypes 1 and 2. Treatment with AN-215 significantly (P<0.05) extended tumour doubling time from 4.54±0.2 days to 8.18±1.8 days and inhibited tumour growth as demonstrated by a 69.6% reduction in final tumour volume (P<0.001) and a 64.6% decrease in tumour weight as compared to controls. Cytotoxic radical AN-201 at the same dose was ineffective. The antitumour effect of AN-215 could be blocked by pretreatment with an excess of a bombesin antagonist, indicating that the action of this cytotoxic analogue is receptor-mediated. Our results suggest that patients with inoperable brain tumours such as malignant gliomas may benefit from targeted chemotherapy based on cytotoxic bombesin analogue AN-215

A review of the international early recommendations for departments organization and cancer management priorities during the global COVID-19 pandemic: applicability in low- and middle-income countries.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that has never been identified in humans before. COVID-19 caused at the time of writing of this article, 2.5 million cases of infections in 193 countries with 165,000 deaths, including two-third in Europe. In this context, Oncology Departments of the affected countries had to adapt quickly their health system care and establish new organizations and priorities. Thus, numerous recommendations and therapeutic options have been reported to optimize therapy delivery to patients with chronic disease and cancer. Obviously, while these cancer care recommendations are immediately applicable in Europe, they may not be applicable in certain emerging and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this review, we aimed to summarize these international guidelines in accordance with cancer types, making a synthesis for daily practice to protect patients, staff and tailor anti-cancer therapy delivery taking into account patients/tumour criteria and tools availability. Thus, we will discuss their applicability in the LMICs with different organizations, limited means and different constraints