Kryptochroma: a new genus of bark-dwelling crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae)

A recent phylogenetic analysis has shown that the genus Stephanopis comprises several different lineages of bark-dweller crab spiders. The ones with South American distribution that presenta close relationship with other Neotropical genera like Epicadus, Onocolus, Rejanellus and Epicadinus were recovered in a single clade, with good support and stability. Here, we present a taxonomic review of Stephanopis species attributed to the ?pentacantha clade?, proposing the new genus KryptochromaMachado gen. nov. to accommodate them. New distribution records are provided and the following species are described for the first time: Kryptochroma gigas Machado & Viecelli gen. et sp. nov., Kryptochromahilaris Machado & Teixeira gen. et sp. nov., Kryptochroma quadrata Machado & Viecelli sp. nov. and Kryptochroma septata Machado & Teixeira sp. nov. The species Stephanopis borgmeyeri is considered a nomen dubium, Stephanopis aheneus is a junior synonym of Epicadus tuberculatus, Stephanopisquimiliensis is transferred to Ulocymus and Stephanopis stelloides is transferred to Epicadus, being Epicadus stelloides the senior synonym of Stephanopis salobrensis, Stephanopis trilobata and Epicadus caudatus.Fil: Machado, Miguel. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Viecelli, Rafaela. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Guzati, Catherine. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Grismado, Cristian José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Teixeira, Renato A.. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasi

Tratamento do carcinoma pulmonar de não pequenas células, doença avançada, com erlotinib em segunda e terceira linhas. A propósito de dois casos clínicos

AbstractAgents that inhibit the activity of cell membrane receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been an attractive target because EGFR is expressed by 80% of NSCLC. Erlotinib as monotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC after failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimen, prolonged survival and improved quality of life, although modest response rate. Women, Asiens, patients with Adenocarcinoma and never smokers, were more likely than other patients to have a response to erlotinib. This is the group of patients that most commonly have an EGFR mutation. The authors describe two cases, with important control of symptoms and increased time to progression, independently o response rate (stable disease or partial response).Rev Port Pneumol 2008; XIV (Supl 3): S53-S6

Utilizando o método todim para avaliar as melhores empresas para trabalhar

Este artigo expõe uma nova proposta de ordenação das 5 melhores empresas para trabalhar em termos de qualidade do ambiente de trabalho e qualidade na gestão de pessoas utilizando-se do método TODIM como suporte científico para tal. A ordenação inicial, proposta pela revista Você/SA Exame, utiliza como método classificador o índice de felicidade no trabalho, uma soma ponderada de índices resultantes da percepção dos funcionários, das práticas da empresa e da constatação feita por jornalistas em visitas às empresas.Este trabalho, que utiliza o método TODIM, considera esses itens como critérios de avaliação e realiza uma análise comparativa das alternativas. Ao final, é executada uma comparação entre as ordenações e uma análise de sensibilidade, analisando as especificidades de cada método de ordenação e a consistência de seus resultados

Nematodes Affecting Potato and Sustainable Practices for Their Management

Plant-parasitic nematodes are a significant factor limiting potato production and tuber quality in several regions where potato is produced. Overall, parasitic nematodes alone cause an estimated annual crop loss of $ 78 billion worldwide and an average crop yield loss of 10–15%. As a result, sustainable food production and food security are directly impacted by pests and diseases. Degrading land use with monocultures and unsustainable cropping practices have intensified problems associated with plant pathogens. Proper identification of nematode species and isolates is crucial to choose effective and sustainable management strategies for nematode infection. Several nematode species have been reported associated with potato. Among those, the potato cyst nematodes Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp., the root lesion nematode Pratylenchus spp., the potato rot nematode Ditylenchus destructor and the false root-knot nematode Nacobbus aberrans are major species limiting potato yield and leading to poor tuber quality. Here, we report a literature review on the biology, symptoms, damage and control methods used for these nematode species

Galactomannans from novel sources blended with collagen as edible coatings for fruits

The biggest losses (25 % to 80 %) in the quality and amount of fresh fruits occur between their harvest and consumption. Further, one of the most important problems in fruit conservation is their short shelf life. Preservation can be extended by reducing respiration and transpiration rates. This is done by controlling factors such as temperature, relative humidity, gas composition, light and mechanical/physical stress. The galactomannan films and coatings have a no greasy/oily aspect, together with a low caloric content. They became popular in the agriculture due to their permeability to CO2 and/or O2. On the other hand, collagen coatings have been used on meats and sausages to reduce gas and/or water vapour permeability. Blending has become an economical and versatile way to obtain materials with a wide range of desirable properties. In this work galactomannan/collagen blends were studied as coatings from mango and apple fruits. The galactomannans were extracted from Caesalpinia pulcherrima and Adenathera pavonina and mixed with collagen and glycerol. These new galactomannans have mannose:galactose ratios between 2:1 and 3:1, which significantly improve their mechanical properties when used as coatings. The work started by characterizing the surface properties of the fruits and the wetting capacity of the coatings (as determined by the sessile drop method) as well as the fruits respiration rate (determined by measurement of O2 - with an O2 electrode and CO2 - by gas chromatography - in a chamber). The coating composition which presented the best values of wettability was identified for each of the fruits under consideration. Such coatings were characterized in terms of their water vapor, O2 and CO2 permeability values. Results have shown that it is possible to coat mango and apple with galactomannan/collagen blends. However, further research must be undertaken to improve the mechanical properties of these new materials.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eugenol β-amino/β-alkoxy alcohols with selective anticancer activity

Eugenol, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol, is the main constituent of clove essential oil and has demonstrated relevant biological activity, namely anticancer activity. Aiming to increase this activity, we synthesized a series of eugenol β-amino alcohol and β-alkoxy alcohol derivatives, which were then tested against two human cancer cell lines, namely gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) and lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549). An initial screening was performed to identify the most cytotoxic compounds. The results demonstrated that three β-amino alcohol derivatives had anticancer activity that justified subsequent studies, having been shown to trigger apoptosis. Importantly, the most potent molecules displayed no appreciable toxicity towards human noncancer cells. Structure-activity relationships show that changes in eugenol structure led to enhanced cytotoxic activity and can contribute to the future design of more potent and selective drugs.This research was funded by FCT under project PTDC/ASP-AGR/30154/2017 (PO-CI-01-0145- FEDER-030154) of COMPETE 2020, co-financed by FEDER and EU. FCT-Portugal and FEDERCOMPETE/ QREN-EU also gave financial support to the research centres CQ/UM (UIDB/00686/2020) and REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). The NMR spectrometer Bruker Avance III 400 (part of the National NMR Network) was financed by FCT and FEDER. Renato B. Pereira acknowledges PRIMA Foundation (H2020- PRIMA 2018—Section 2, Project MILKQUA) and FCT (PTDC/QUI-QFI/2870/2020) for the funding

A new species of Atractus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from Serra do Cipó, Espinhaço Range, Southeastern Brazil, with proposition of a new species group to the genus

We describe a new species of Atractus from Serra do Cipó, at the southeastern versant of Serra do Espinhaço, an inland mountain range nearly parallel to the Brazilian Atlantic coast. The new species is morphologically similar to A. paraguayensis and A. potschi with which it shares: 15 dorsal scale rows; white occipital region in juvenile specimens; dorsal ground color reddish pink to red (in life) with alternate black transversal spots, blotches or transversal bands; seven upper and lower labial scales; ventrals and subcaudals creamish white; hemipenis slightly bilobed, semicapitate and semicalyculate. The new species differs from both taxa mainly on the basis of exclusive coloration characters (number and shape of transversal bands) and hemipenial morphology (median face of the lobes without ornamentation), besides punctual meristic (number of ventral scales and maxillary teeth) and morphometric (adult snout-vent length) differences. Finally, we provide a discussion regarding the potential affinities of the new species and we redefine some Atractus species groups in order to better accommodate species sharing unique combinations of morphological characters.Descrevemos uma nova espécie de Atractus da Serra do Cipó, na vertente sudeste da Serra do Espinhaço, uma cadeia montanhosa continental aproximadamente paralela à costa Atlântica brasileira. A nova espécie é morfologicamente similar a A. paraguayensis e A. potschi com as quais compartilha: 15 séries de escamas dorsais; região occipital branca em espécimes jovens; coloração dorsal de fundo variando de rosa avermelhado a vermelho (em vida) com pontuações, manchas e/ou bandas transversais pretas; sete supralabiais e infralabiais; ventrais e subcaudais creme esbranquiçado; hemipênis levemente bilobado, semicapitulado e semicaliculado. A nova espécie difere de ambos os táxons principalmente a partir de caracteres exclusivos de coloração (número e forma das bandas transversais), da morfologia hemipeniana (face mediana dos lobos sem ornamentação) além de diferenças merísticas (número de escamas ventrais e dentes maxilares) e morfométricas (comprimento rostro-cloacal dos adultos). Apresenta-se uma discussão sobre as possíveis afinidades da nova espécie e redefinem-se alguns grupos de espécies de Atractus no sentido de acomodar melhor as espécies que compartilham combinações únicas de caracteres morfológicos

Synthesis, computational and nanoencapsulation studies on eugenol-derived insecticides

A new set of alkoxy alcohols were synthesised by reaction of eugenol oxirane with aliphatic and aromatic alcohols. These eugenol derivatives were evaluated against their effect upon the viability of the insect cell line Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda). The most promising compounds, 4-(3-(tert-butoxy)-2-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol and 4-(2-((4-fluorobenzyl)oxy)-3-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol were submitted to in silico assays to predict possible targets. Throught an Inverted Virtual Screening approach, 23 common pesticide targets were screened and the top 2 targets predicted were further analyzed through molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. In addition, these eugenol derivatives were subjected to encapsulation and release assays using liposome-based nanosystems of egg phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (7:3), with encapsulation efficiencies higher than 90% and release profiles well described by both Korsmeyer-Peppas and Weibull models.This research was funded by the project PTDC/ASP-AGR/30154/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030154) of the COMPETE 2020 program, co-financed by the FEDER and the European Union. The authors also acknowledge the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDERCOMPETE-QREN-EU for financial support to the research centers CQ-UM (UID/QUI/00686/2021), CF-UM-UP (UIDB/04650/2021) and REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). Renato B. Pereira acknowledges the PRIMA Foundation (H2020-PRIMA 2018-Section 2, Project MILKQUA) and FCT (PTDC/QUI-QFI/2870/2020) for the funding. The NMR spectrometer Bruker Avance III 400 was a part of the National NMR Network and was purchased within the framework of the National Program for Scientific Re-equipment, contract REDE/1517/RMN/2005 with funds from POCI 2010 (FEDER) and FCT

VEGF gene therapy for angiogenesis in refractory angina: phase I/II clinical trial

OBJECTIVE: Safety, feasibility and early myocardial angiogenic effects evaluation of transthoracic intramyocardial phVEGF165 administration for refractory angina in no option patients. METHODS: Cohort study, in which 13 patients with refractory angina under optimized clinical treatment where included, after cineangiograms had been evaluated and found unfeasible by surgeon and interventional cardiologist. Intramyocardial injections of 5mL solution containing plasmidial VEGF165 where done over the ischemic area of myocardium identified by previous SPECT/Sestamibi scan. Evaluations included a SPECT scan, stress test, Minnesotta QOL questionnaire and NYHA functional class and CCS angina class determinations. RESULTS: There were no deaths or new interventions during the study period. There were no significant variations in SPECT scans, QOL scores and stress tests results during medical treatment in the included patients. After the 3rd post operative month, there was improvement in SPECT segmental scores, SSS (18.38±7.51 vs. 15.31±7.29, P=0.003) and SRS (11.92±7.49 vs. 8.53±6.68, P=0.002). The ischemic area extension, however, had non-significant variation (23.38±13.12% vs. 20.08±13.88%, P=0.1). Stress tests METs varied from 7.66±4.47 pre to 10.29±4.36 METs post-op (P=0.08). QOL score improved from 48.23±18.35 pre to 30.15±20.13 post-op points (P=0.02). NYHA class was 3.15±0.38 pre vs. 1.77±0.83 post-op (P=0.001) and angina CCS class, 3.08±0.64 vs. 1.77±0.83 (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Intramyocardial VEGF165 therapy for refractory angina, in this small trial of no option patients, resulted feasible and safe. Early clinical and scintilographic data showed improvements in symptoms and myocardial perfusion, with regression of ischemia severity in treated areas.OBJETIVO: Avaliar a segurança, viabilidade e efeitos iniciais, clínicos e sobre a perfusão miocárdica, da administração intramiocárdica, transtorácica, de VEGF 165 plasmidial em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana avançada e angina refratária, não passíveis de revascularização percutânea e cirúrgica. MÉTODOS: Ensaio clínico fase I/II. Treze pacientes cardiopatas isquêmicos com angina refratária apesar de tratamento medicamentoso máximo por no mínimo seis meses, não passíveis de revascularização cirúrgica ou por cateter foram submetidos a injeções intramiocárdicas de 2000µg VEGF 165 plasmidial. Os pacientes foram avaliados por cintilografia miocárdica, teste ergométrico, questionário de qualidade de vida (Minnesota) e determinação das classes de insuficiência cardíaca (NYHA) e angina (CCS). RESULTADOS: Não houve óbitos ou reintervenções. Durante o período de tratamento medicamentoso máximo, não se observou diferenças em cintilografias miocárdicas, testes ergométricos e questionários de qualidade de vida, ainda, houve tendência a piora das classes NYHA (P=0,05) e CCS (P=0,05). Três meses após intervenção, observou-se melhora dos escores cintilográficos SSS (18,38±7,51 vs. 15,31±7,29, P=0,003) e SRS (11,92±7,49 vs. 8,53±6,68, P=0,002), porém não na proporção da extensão da área de miocárdio isquêmico (23,38±13,12% vs. 20,08±13,88%, P=0,1). Houve tendência a melhora dos METs nas ergometrias (7,66±4,47 vs. 10,29±4,36, P=0,08), melhora do escore de qualidade de vida (48,23±18,35 vs. 30,15±20,13; P=0,02) e das classes NYHA (3,15±0,38 vs. 1,77±0,83, P=0,001) e CCS (3,08±0,64 vs. 1,77±0,83, P=0,001), no mesmo período. CONCLUSÕES: A terapia demonstrou-se segura e viável nesta série de pacientes. Os resultados iniciais tendem a demonstrar melhora na gravidade da angina e redução da intensidade da isquemia miocárdica.Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul/Fundação Universitária de CardiologiaUFCSPAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Centro Interdisciplinar de Terapia GênicaInstituto de Cardiologia do RS/Fundação Universitária de Cardiologia Laboratório de Cardiologia Molecular e CelularUNIFESP, Centro Interdisciplinar de Terapia GênicaSciEL