Conjugated linoleic acid reduces permeability and fluidity of adipose plasma membranes from obese Zucker rats

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. July 2010; 398 (2): 199-204.Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a dietary fatty acid frequently used as a body fat reducing agent whose effects upon cell membranes and cellular function remain unknown. Obese Zucker rats were fed atherogenic diets containing saturated fats of vegetable or animal origin with or without 1% CLA, as a mixture of cis(c)9,trans(t)11 and t10,c12 isomers. Plasma membrane vesicles obtained from visceral adi- pose tissue were used to assess the effectiveness of dietary fat and CLA membrane incorporation and its outcome on fluidity and permeability to water and glycerol. A significant decrease in adipose membrane fluidity was correlated with the changes observed in permeability, which seem to be caused by the incor- poration of the t10,c12 CLA isomer into membrane phospholipids. These results indicate that CLA supple- mentation in obese Zucker rats fed saturated and cholesterol rich diets reduces the fluidity and permeability of adipose membranes, therefore not supporting CLA as a body fat reducing agent through membrane fluidification in obese fat consumers

Characterization and identification of Aspergillus section flavi isolates from portuguese almonds using a polyphasic approach including MALDI-TOF ICMS

[Excerpt] Introduction: Aspergillus is a large genus, with a complex and ever evolving taxonomy. Section Flavi is one of the most significant sections in the genus, and is one of the best studied among fungi, for the numerous industrial applications as well as for food safety issues. Section Flavi is composed of a large number of very closely related species. While these species are difficult to differentiate morphologically and even genetically, they differ in a characteristic that is of paramount importance for food safety, as some are responsible for the production of the highly toxigenic aflatoxins. Taxonomy and species identification are therefore subject of great interest for scientists aiming to clarify the species concept and limits within the section. In this sense, the establishment of schemes for species and for aflatoxigenic strains identification that are simultaneously accurate, sensitive, robust and expedite is mandatory. At present, reliable identification schemes typically imply the analysis of a wide variety of morphological, biochemical and molecular traits. Recently, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation Time-Of-Flight Intact Cell Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF ICMS) has been used to generate spectra of protein masses in a range of 2,000 to 20,000 Da, which result in a taxa specific fingerprint. This technique has already shown high potentialities to discriminate very closely related taxa, but has rarely been used in fungal species identification, either on its one or as part of a polyphasic scheme of identification. [...

Calmodulin gene as good voucher as MALDI-TOF ICMS to identify portuguese isolates of aspergillus section flavi

Aspergillus is a large genus, with a complex and ever evolving taxonomy. Section Flavi is one of the most significant Sections in the Genus. Taxonomy and species identification is subject of great interest for scientists aiming to clarify the species concept and limits within the section. Furthermore, this Section comprises both toxigenic and non-toxigenic species/strains, with great interest to biotechnology and food industry. Various genes, namely the rRNA (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial LSU-rRNA regions), calmodulin and ~-tubulin genes, have been widely reported as good markers for Aspergillus species identification, because they are rapid and cost-effectiv

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight intact cell mass spectrometry to detect emerging pathogenic Candida species

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight intact cell mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-ICMS) was used to differentiate pathogenic Candida species, difficult to identify by traditional methods such as growth and biochemical reactions. Results showed that species complexes like C. parapsilosis, C. orthopsilosis, and C. metapsilsosis, and very closely related species like C. glabrata and C. bracarensis, and C. albicans and C. dubliniensis could be clearly separated. MALDI-TOF-ICMS stands out as a promising tool for the rapid detection of emerging pathogens.Research leading to these results received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7 2007-2013), Research Infrastructures Action, under grant agreement no. FP7-228310 (EMbaRC project)

“Colorir para agir”: educar pela arte, para a paz

O projeto “Colorir para agir” foi concebido e implementado com o objetivo de alertar para a problemática crescente da violência escolar e contribuir para a prevenção e diminuição das práticas agressivas de crianças em idade escolar, procurando valorizar a convivência harmoniosa entre pares. Aliando a educação não formal às artes, este programa de intervenção desenvolveu um conjunto de atividades no âmbito das artes plásticas, abrangendo 21 crianças, com idades compreendidas entre os 6 e os 13 anos de um Agrupamento de Escolas de Valongo do Vouga, no concelho de Águeda (Portugal). Estas culminaram na realização de um mural gigante pintado na parede exterior da instituição, que ficou como símbolo da não violência escolar e da educação para a paz

Xenografting as a Tool to Preserve Endangered Species: Outcomes and Challenges in Model Systems

The use of testis tissue xenografting as a valuable tool to rescue endangered and genetically valuable individuals that die young or otherwise fail to produce sperm has been the subject of much interest. Although the technique has been successfully applied to a wide variety of species, little is known about what determines the outcome. Furthermore, to improve the applicability of xenografting, new methods to preserve and transport testis tissue from valuable animals are emerging. However, one major issue remains: the application of xenografting implies the development of subsequent ART techniques to produce offspring from the recovered material. This paper focuses on these three aspects of testis tissue xenografting as a tool for rescuing endangered and valuable genetic pools

Quality evaluation of minoxidil topical solutions obtained from magistral pharmacies

The objective of this study was to evaluate quality parameters of magistral topical solutions containing minoxidil (A, B and C), comparing the results with the ones obtained for the industrial formulation. Organoleptic tests, evaluation of the pH and density, centrifuge test, drug content determination, comparison of indicated dosages and in vitro follicular penetration of minoxidil were performed. Regarding the organoleptic properties, differences in color and viscosity were observed between the magistral (composed of minoxidil sulfate) and the industrial formulations (composed of minoxidil base). For pH values, the magistral solutions presented considerably more acidic pH, compared to the industrial sample. For the density test, the samples with the highest ethanol percentages (B and C) presented lower density. In the centrifuge test, none of the samples showed changes. Considering the drug content test, only the industrial sample and the magistral sample C showed drug percentage within the expected (90-110%), indicating lack of correction factor determination by the magistral pharmacies. Furthermore, it was observed that the dosage indicated by the magistral pharmacies do not correspond to the dose indicated by the industry, being significantly lower. All topical solutions tested presented hair follicle penetration of minoxildil, without statistical difference. The results indicate that there is a failure in the magistral pharmacies regarding the production and the indication of dosage of minoxidil topical solutions

Antígenos HLA na febre reumática

Antígenos HLA de classe I (HLA-A e HLA-B) e II (HLA-DR) foram tipificados em um grupo de 91 pacientes com as principais formas de apresentação da febre reumática, ou seja, coréia, cardite ou artrite. Desses pacientes, 33 tinham apenas coréia, 26 apenas cardite, 16 apenas artrite e 16 cardite e artrite. Os antígenos HLA foram tipificados, utilizando-se o teste de microlinfocitotoxicidade dependente de complemento. As freqüências dos antígenos HLA-B49 e HLA-DR1 estavam significantemente aumentadas nos pacientes, quando considerados como um todo, e, ainda, em todos os subgrupos estudados, excetuando-se aquele com coréia, no qual a freqüência do antígeno HLA-DR1 não estava aumentada. Esses resultados indicam que a susceptibilidade imunogenética à febre reumática pode variar de acordo com as manifestações clínicas, apresentadas pelos pacientes.In this study we typed HLA class I and II antigens in a series of patients presenting with the distinct major clinical manifestations of rheumatic fever (RF), i.e, chorea, carditis or arthritis. Ninety-one patients with RF were evaluated for HLA-A, -B and -DR antigens. Thirty- three had pure chorea, 26 pure carditis, 16 pure arthritis, and 16 carditis plus arthritis. HLA antigens were typed by a complement-dependent microlymphocytotoxicity assay. HLA-B49 and HLA-DR1 antigens were overrepresented in the total group of patients with RF and in all the subgroups studied, excluding the chorea subgroup in which the frequency of HLA-DR1 antigen was not increased. The results reported here indicate that immunogenetic susceptibility to RF may vary according to the major clinical manifestation presented by the patient

Mitigation of Ochratoxin A in the food chain, from prevention to remediation

Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by a few filamentous fungi, that are ubiquitous in Nature, being found in many food crops. Their toxicity to humans demands a very strict control under a properly designed food safety program. Also, food losses due to fungal deterioration raise food security concerns. Mitigation actions to avoid or reduce human exposure to mycotoxins start in the field, where most mycotoxin producing fungi are active and mycotoxin accumulation starts. These actions include strategies to prevent mycotoxin-producing fungi from proliferating in the food or feed, to prevent these same fungi to produce the toxins, and to either remove, segregate or degrade the mycotoxins that have been produced. Using the case of ochratoxin A in our food, different strategies to mitigate contamination, from the screening of mycotoxigenic strains, integrated in a preventive approach, to the use of enzymes, as a remediation approach, will be discussed in this presentation. The screening of mycotoxin-producing strains will be discussed based on a microbiome approach, where the producing fungi may be spotted without their isolation, while the use of enzymes will be discussed along with a molecular modelling approach to elucidate enzymatic activity. The authors are grateful for the PhD support grants from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): 2020.05849.BD. (Teresa Vale Dias) and UI/BD/152286/2021 (Joana Santos).The authors are grateful for the PhD support grants from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): 2020.05849.BD. (Teresa Vale Dias) and UI/BD/152286/2021 (Joana Santos).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio