Ohmic heating polyphenolic extracts from vine pruning residue with enhanced biological activity

Vine Pruning residue was submitted to conventional heating and ohmic heating (OH) for the extraction of bioactive compounds and analyzed for total phenolic content (TPC), polyphenolic profile, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity and anticancer activity. The OH extracts were obtained using Low electric field (496.0 V/cm) or Intermediate electric field - IEF (840.0 V/cm). The tests were performed using 45 % (v/v) ethanol-water extraction solution at 80 °C at different extraction times (20 to 90 min). The extract that stood out among the others concerning anticancer potential was the one obtained by OH when used, IEF, where the TPC was significantly higher than in the other extracts which correlated with higher antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activity on different tumor cell lines (HepG2, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and Caco2). Vine pruning OH extracts obtained using green solvents by an eco-friendly procedure were revealed as a source of compounds with relevant antioxidant and anticancer activity.This work has been carried out at the Biomass and Bioenergy Research Infrastructure (BBRI)- LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022059, supported by Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (PORTUGAL2020), by Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa 2020) and by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and has been supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 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. Meirielly S. Jesus thanks her fellowship supported by the International Cooperation Program CNPq/CSFat the University of Minho financed by CNPq-Brazilian Federal Agency. Zlatina Genisheva thanks to FCT for the financial support (ref. SFRH/BPD/108868/2015). Ana Cristina Carvalho was supported by the INTERACT project – “Integrated Research Environment, Agro-Chain and Technology”, no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, in its line of research entitled ISAC, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) among children with steady-state sickle cell disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The search for sickle cell disease (SCD) prognosis biomarkers is a challenge. These markers identification can help to establish further therapy, later severe clinical complications and with patients follow-up. We attempted to study a possible involvement of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in steady-state children with SCD, once that this lipid marker has been correlated with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-aggregation, anti-coagulant and pro-fibrinolytic activities, important aspects to be considered in sickle cell disease pathogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We prospectively analyzed biochemical, inflammatory and hematological biomarkers of 152 steady-state infants with SCD and 132 healthy subjects using immunochemistry, immunoassay and electronic cell counter respectively. Clinical data were collected from patient medical records.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 152 infants investigated had a significant positive association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with hemoglobin (P < 0.001), hematocrit (P < 0.001) and total cholesterol (P < 0.001) and a negative significant association with reticulocytes (P = 0.046), leukocytes (P = 0.015), monocytes (P = 0.004) and platelets (P = 0.005), bilirubins [total bilirubin (P < 0.001), direct bilirubin (P < 0.001) and indirect bilirubin (P < 0.001], iron (P < 0.001), aminotransferases [aspartate aminotransferase (P = 0.004), alanine aminotransferase (P = 0.035)], lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.001), urea (P = 0.030), alpha 1-antitrypsin (P < 0.001), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.003), triglycerides (P = 0.005) and hemoglobin S (P = 0.002). Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration was associated with the history of cardiac abnormalities (P = 0.025), pneumonia (P = 0.033) and blood transfusion use (P = 0.025). Lipids and inflammatory markers were associated with the presence of cholelithiasis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We hypothesize that some SCD patients can have a specific dyslipidemic subphenotype characterized by low HDL-C with hypertriglyceridemia and high VLDL-C in association with other biomarkers, including those related to inflammation. This represents an important step toward a more reliable clinical prognosis. Additional studies are warranted to test this hypothesis and the probably mechanisms involved in this complex network of markers and their role in SCD pathogenesis.</p

Development of a water-soluble dextrin-amphotericin B conjugate for the treatment of Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a life-threatening disease with a worldwide distribution and a huge impact especially in immunocompromised patients. Nowadays, the use of amphotericin B, an antifungal agent, or other marketed strategies to overcome this disease exhibit major clinical limitations. Thus, other strategies have been pursued to achieve better clinical treatments and decrease toxicity. In this work, a promising conjugate based on dextrin and amphotericin B was developed. An HPLC-MS detection method was also developed in order to determine the amphotericin B concentration and the encapsulation efficiency. This water-soluble polymer-drug conjugate has shown promising effects against axenic cultures of Leishmania amazonensis parasite and infected macrophages, without being cytotoxic to the latter.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Ricardo Silva-Carvalho gratefully acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the granted scholarship (SFRH/BD/118880/2016).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIOTRANSFORMAÇÃO IN VITRO DE UM COMPOSTO ANTITUMORAL (LQFM 018)

Introdu&ccedil;&atilde;o e objetivos: O composto LQFM 018 foi sintetizado no Laborat&oacute;rio de Qu&iacute;micaFarmac&ecirc;utica Medicinal/FF/UFG, &eacute; um potente agente antitumoral que em ensaiostoxicol&oacute;gicos agudos in vitro, no modelo de vermelho neutro, n&atilde;o apresentou efeito t&oacute;xicosignificativo para as c&eacute;lulas basais. Estudos do metabolismo s&atilde;o de grande import&acirc;nciapara o desenvolvimento de novos f&aacute;rmacos. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi aaplica&ccedil;&atilde;o de metodologia utilizando fungos filamentosos para mimetizar o metabolismohumano do LQFM 018 e possibilitar a prepara&ccedil;&atilde;o in vitro de metab&oacute;litos. Metodologia:LQFM 018 solubilizado em etanol/DMSO foi adicionado ao meio reacional PDSM, napresen&ccedil;a de fungos filamentosos e foi incubados por 96 h a 27&ordm;C sob agita&ccedil;&atilde;o de 200rpm. Acin&eacute;tica reacional foi realizada por Cromatografia em Camada Delgada (CCD). Osderivados obtidos foram extra&iacute;dos com acetato de etila e purificados por Cromatografia emColuna (CC) com S&iacute;lica-gel, para em seguida serem caracterizados por Resson&acirc;nciaMagn&eacute;tica Nuclear (RMN). Resultados e discuss&otilde;es: Foram identificados v&aacute;rios fungoscapazes de catalisar a rea&ccedil;&atilde;o dando origem a cinco prov&aacute;veis metab&oacute;litos Mortierellaisabelina foi a cepa mais promissora. Quantidade suficiente dos metab&oacute;litos para ensaios deatividade antitumoral foram obtidos e ser&atilde;o realizados posteriormente. Conclus&otilde;es: Osfungos filamentosos foram capazes de biotransformar o LQFM 018, produzindo prov&aacute;veismetab&oacute;litos

Two resistance inducers relevant in coffee plant protection show distinct metabolic adjustments.

A good strategy in plant protection is to take advantage of the plant immune system by eliciting the plant?s constitutive defenses. Based on this concept resistance inducers have been developed and are commercially available, such as Bion®. An alternative formulation Greenf orce CuCa was developed by UFLA partners in Brazil which showed promising results for the control of coffee rust ( Hemileia vastatrix ). We established as working hypothesis that resistance inducers impose etabolic adjustments at the cellular level, mainly on photosynthesis and its regulation

Handling Time and Bite Mass Mechanisms in Large Herbivores: Contrasts between Sward Structure and Grazing Methods

Grazing is a time-dependent process where jaw movements of prehension, handling and chewing compete with them (Laca et al. 1994; Ungar et al. 2006). The grazing efficiency is dependent of bite mass and time per bite. Bite mass has been related to sward structure by forage height, structural components (Cangiano et al. 2002). In rotational stocking this effect becomes more pronounced, especially under high grazing down levels. Consequently, there is a progressive reduction in short-term intake rate (Fonseca et al. in press). New management targets should be proposed based on the predominant influence of sward structure in short-term intake rate by grazing animals (Carvalho et al. 2007). We hypothesise that intake potential of animals grazing tropical pastures will be reduced due to higher constraints in bite formation when compared to temperate pastures. This study aimed to investigate the intake process of heifers under the influence of different sward heights and grazing down levels in two contrasting - tropical and temperate - forage species

Enhancing Network Slicing Architectures with Machine Learning, Security, Sustainability and Experimental Networks Integration

Network Slicing (NS) is an essential technique extensively used in 5G networks computing strategies, mobile edge computing, mobile cloud computing, and verticals like the Internet of Vehicles and industrial IoT, among others. NS is foreseen as one of the leading enablers for 6G futuristic and highly demanding applications since it allows the optimization and customization of scarce and disputed resources among dynamic, demanding clients with highly distinct application requirements. Various standardization organizations, like 3GPP's proposal for new generation networks and state-of-the-art 5G/6G research projects, are proposing new NS architectures. However, new NS architectures have to deal with an extensive range of requirements that inherently result in having NS architecture proposals typically fulfilling the needs of specific sets of domains with commonalities. The Slicing Future Internet Infrastructures (SFI2) architecture proposal explores the gap resulting from the diversity of NS architectures target domains by proposing a new NS reference architecture with a defined focus on integrating experimental networks and enhancing the NS architecture with Machine Learning (ML) native optimizations, energy-efficient slicing, and slicing-tailored security functionalities. The SFI2 architectural main contribution includes the utilization of the slice-as-a-service paradigm for end-to-end orchestration of resources across multi-domains and multi-technology experimental networks. In addition, the SFI2 reference architecture instantiations will enhance the multi-domain and multi-technology integrated experimental network deployment with native ML optimization, energy-efficient aware slicing, and slicing-tailored security functionalities for the practical domain.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

A voz dos bandos: colectivos de justiça e ritos da palavra portuguesa em Timor Leste colonial

Este artigo examina as relações entre o discurso da justiça e a prática do ritual nos bandos do governo colonial português em Timor Leste, entre a segunda metade do século XIX e as primeiras décadas do século XX. Os bandos consistiam em ordens e instruções de comando emanadas pelo governador português em Díli, e comunicadas de forma cerimonial por oficiais às populações dos diversos reinos timorenses dispersos pelo país. Bandos eram um instrumento por excelência de governação colonial dos assuntos indígenas, servindo para arbitrar conflitos, punir transgressões e, em geral, instituir realidades no mundo timorense. Contudo, esta instituição assumiu igualmente uma singular expressão nos usos timorenses, servindo bandos para comunicar também as ordens de autoridades tradicionais, os liurais. O artigo acompanha as variações coloniais e indígenas que os bandos adquiriram em Timor Leste, conceptualizando-os enquanto colectivos de justiça. Ao considerar assim os bandos como colectivos – formações heterogéneas em que elementos linguísticos e não linguísticos se combinam na produção de efeitos de poder sobre as populações – o artigo propõe uma via conceptual alternativa às perspectivas linguísticas e literárias de análise do discurso colonial

Preparation of a Nanoemulsion with Carapa guianensis

Andiroba (Carapa guianensis) seeds are the source of an oil with a wide range of biological activities and ethnopharmacological uses. However, few studies have devoted attention to innovative formulations, including nanoemulsions. The present study aimed to obtain a colloidal system with the andiroba oil using a low-energy and organic-solvent-free method. Moreover, the preliminary residual larvicidal activity of the nanoemulsion against Aedes aegypti was evaluated. Oleic and palmitic acids were the major fatty acids, in addition to the phytosterol β-sitosterol and limonoids (tetranortriterpenoids). The required hydrophile-lipophile was around 11.0 and the optimal nanoemulsion was obtained using polysorbate 85. The particle size distribution suggested the presence of small droplets (mean diameter around 150 nm) and low polydispersity index (around 0.150). The effect of temperature on particle size distribution revealed that no major droplet size increase occurred. The preliminary residual larvicidal assay suggested that the mortality increased as a function of time. The present study allowed achievement of a potential bioactive oil in water nanoemulsion that may be a promising controlled release system. Moreover, the ecofriendly approach involved in the preparation associated with the great bioactive potential of C. guianensis makes this nanoemulsion very promising for valorization of this Amazon raw material