Cytochalasins Produced By Xylaria Sp., An Endophytic Fungus From Piper Aduncum [citocalasinas Produzidas Por Xylaria Sp., Um Fungo Endofítico De Piper Aduncum (piperaceae)]

A chemical study on the EtOAc extract produced by Xylaria sp., an endophytic fungus from Piper aduncum, resulted in the isolation of a new cytochalasin 1, along with five known 19,20-epoxycytochalasin D (2), C (3), N (4), Q (5), and R (6). The 1-6 were evaluated against the fungi C. cladosporioides and C. sphaerospermum and only 5 showed weak activity. The cytotoxicity in vitro against HeLA and CHO cells lines were investigated and the cytochalasins 2-4, and 6 showed a strong activity against HeLA. The DNAdamaging activity of 1-6 were also investigated against mutant strains of S. cerevisiae.331020382041Kongsaeree, P., Prabpai, S., Sriubolmas, N., Chanika, V., (2003) J. Nat. Prod., 66, p. 709Hawksworth, D.L., (2001) Mycol. Res., 105, p. 1422Melo, I.S., Azevedo, J.L., (1998) Ecologia Microbiana, p. 448. , Embrapa-CNPMA: JaguariúnaTan, R.X., Zou, W.X., (2001) Nat. Prod. Rep., 18, p. 448Diaz, P.P.D., Maldonaldo, E., Ospina, E., (1985) Rev. Latinoamer. Quím, 15, p. 136Macedo, J.C.B., Olviedo, S.G., (1987) Rev. Soc. Quím. Perú, 53, p. 228Orjala, J., Erdelmeier, C.A.J., Wright, A.D., Rali, T., Stiher, O., (1993) Planta. Medica, 59, p. 546Baldoqui, D.C., (2004) Tese de Doutorado, , Universidade Estadual Paulista, BrasilParmar, V.S., Jain, S.C., Bisht, K.S., Jain, R., Tneja, P., Jha, A., Tyagi, O.D., Boll, P.M., (1997) Phytochemistry, 47, p. 597Strobel, G., Daisy, B., Castillo, U., Harper, J., (2004) J. Nat. Prod., 67, p. 257Crews, P., Rodrigues, J., Jaspars, M., (1998) Organic Structure Analysis, p. 332. , Oxford University Press: New YorkFujii, Y., Tani, H., Ichinoe, M., Nakajima, H., (2000) J. Nat. Prod., 63, p. 132Espada, A., Rivera-Sagredo, A., De La Fuente, J.M., Hueso-Rodriguez, J.A., Elson, S.W., (1997) Tetrahedron., 53, p. 6485Rahalison, I.L., Hamburger, M., Hostettmann, K., Monod, M., Frenk, E., (1991) Phytochem. Anal., 2, p. 199Gunatilaka, A.A.L., Samaranayake, G., Kingston, D.G.I., Hofmann, G., Johnson, R.K.J., (1992) J. Nat. Prod., 55, p. 1648Mosmann, T., (1983) J. Immunol. Methods, 65, p. 55Maier, W., Hammer, U., Dammann, U., Schulz, B., Strack, D., (1997) Planta., 202, p. 36Cafêu, M.C., Silva, G.H., Teles, H.L., Bolzani, V.S., Araújo, A.R., Young, M.C.M., Pfenning, L.H., (2005) Quim. Nova, 28, p. 991Silva, G.H., Teles, H.L., Trevisan, H.C., Young, M.C.M., Pfenning, L.H., Eberlin, M.N., Haddad, R., Araujo, A.R., (2005) J. Braz. Chem. Soc., 16, p. 1463Silva, G.H., Teles, H.L., Zanardi, L.M., Young, M.C.M., Eberlin, M.N., Hadad, R., Pfenning, L.H., Araújo, A.R., (2006) Phytochemistry, 67, p. 1964Teles, H.L., Silva, G.H., Castro Gamboa, I., Bolzani, V.S., Pereira, J.O., Costa-Neto, C.M., Haddad, R., Araújo, A.R., (2005) Phytochemistry, 66, p. 2363Teles, H.L., Sordi, R., Silva, G.H., Castro-Gamboa, I., Bolzani, V.S., Pfenning, L.H., Costa-Neto, C.M., Araújo, A.R., (2006) Phytochemistry, 67, p. 268

Antibacterial evaluation of Styrax pohlii and isolated compounds

The antibacterial activity of the compounds egonol (1) and homoegonol (2), of the crude ethanolic extract of Styrax pohlii (Styracaceae) aerial parts (EE), and of its n-hexane (HF), EtOAc (EF), n-BuOH (BF), and hydromethanolic (HMF) fractions was evaluated against the following microorganisms: Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 6305), S. pyogenes (ATCC 19615), Haemophilus influenzae (ATCC 10211), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031). The broth microdilution method was used for determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) during preliminary evaluation of antibacterial activity. The EE yielded MIC values of 400 µg/mL for S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa and 300 µg/mL for H. influenzae. The HF and EF fractions exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity, with MIC values of 200 µg/mL against S. pneumoniae, but only EF displayed activity against H. influenzae (MIC 200 µg/mL). The best MIC value with compounds 1 and 2 (400 µg/mL) was obtained for (1) against S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. Therefore, 1 exhibited weak antibacterial activity against these standard strains

Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard

Age-Related Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mechanical Reperfusion and 30-Day Mortality for STEMI: Results of the ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 Registry.

BACKGROUND: The constraints in the management of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the COVID-19 pandemic have been suggested to have severely impacted mortality levels. The aim of the current analysis is to evaluate the age-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mechanical reperfusion and 30-day mortality for STEMI within the registry ISACS-STEMI COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter registry was performed in high-volume PPCI centers on four continents and included STEMI patients undergoing PPCI in March-June 2019 and 2020. Patients were divided according to age (< or ≥75 years). The main outcomes were the incidence and timing of PPCI, (ischemia time longer than 12 h and door-to-balloon longer than 30 min), and in-hospital or 30-day mortality. RESULTS: We included 16,683 patients undergoing PPCI in 109 centers. In 2020, during the pandemic, there was a significant reduction in PPCI as compared to 2019 (IRR 0.843 (95%-CI: 0.825-0.861, p < 0.0001). We found a significant age-related reduction (7%, p = 0.015), with a larger effect on elderly than on younger patients. Furthermore, we observed significantly higher 30-day mortality during the pandemic period, especially among the elderly (13.6% vs. 17.9%, adjusted HR (95% CI) = 1.55 [1.24-1.93], p < 0.001) as compared to younger patients (4.8% vs. 5.7%; adjusted HR (95% CI) = 1.25 [1.05-1.49], p = 0.013), as a potential consequence of the significantly longer ischemia time observed during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the treatment of patients with STEMI, with a 16% reduction in PPCI procedures, with a larger reduction and a longer delay to treatment among elderly patients, which may have contributed to increase in-hospital and 30-day mortality during the pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic, mechanical reperfusion and 30-day mortality in ST elevation myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: The initial data of the International Study on Acute Coronary Syndromes - ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction COVID-19 showed in Europe a remarkable reduction in primary percutaneous coronary intervention procedures and higher in-hospital mortality during the initial phase of the pandemic as compared with the prepandemic period. The aim of the current study was to provide the final results of the registry, subsequently extended outside Europe with a larger inclusion period (up to June 2020) and longer follow-up (up to 30 days). METHODS: This is a retrospective multicentre registry in 109 high-volume primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) centres from Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia and North Africa, enrolling 16 674 patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing PPPCI in March/June 2019 and 2020. The main study outcomes were the incidence of PPCI, delayed treatment (ischaemia time >12 hours and door-to-balloon >30 min), in-hospital and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: In 2020, during the pandemic, there was a significant reduction in PPCI as compared with 2019 (incidence rate ratio 0.843, 95% CI 0.825 to 0.861, p75 years) (p=0.015), and was not related to the peak of cases or deaths due to COVID-19. The heterogeneity among centres was high (p<0.001). Furthermore, the pandemic was associated with a significant increase in door-to-balloon time (40 (25-70) min vs 40 (25-64) min, p=0.01) and total ischaemia time (225 (135-410) min vs 196 (120-355) min, p<0.001), which may have contributed to the higher in-hospital (6.5% vs 5.3%, p<0.001) and 30-day (8% vs 6.5%, p=0.001) mortality observed during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous revascularisation for STEMI was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 16% reduction in PPCI procedures, especially among older patients (about 20%), and longer delays to treatment, which may have contributed to the increased in-hospital and 30-day mortality during the pandemic. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04412655