Activity of the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus and of its proteases on Panagrellus sp. larvae

Biological control has been shown to be one of the possible biotechnological applications of fungi and their proteases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nematicidal activity of the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus and its proteases on Panagrellus sp. larvae. Proteolytic activity of P. ostreatus (PLO 06) was measured and characterized at different pHs, temperatures and in the presence of a inhibitor (PMSF). Daily samples of culture medium were collected in order to determine the period of maximum enzyme production. A zymogram showed the profile of several proteases. Predatory activity of the fungus P. ostreatus (PLO 06) was evaluated on Panagrellus sp. larvae (assay A) as well as the nematicidal activity of PLO 06 proteases on the same larvae (assay B). At pH 9 and 60°C, the activity of the proteases reached the maximum. In the presence of inhibitor, there was no proteolytic activity. A sample collected on the fifth day of incubation showed the highest enzyme activity. P. ostreatus demonstrated capture activity on larvae Panagrellus sp. The values of the reduction of the larvae (Assay A) were: day 1 (65.6%); day 2 (77.4%); day 3 (95.2%). The reduction of the larvae (Assay B) was 42%. P. ostreatus (PLO 06) and its proteases were very effective against Panagrellus sp. larvae, demonstrating great potential for use in integrated biological control.Keywords: Pleurotus, protease, Panagrellus sp., biological control, nematicidal. Abbreviation: PMSF, Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride

Do we still need supertrees?

The up-dated species level phylogeny for the carnivores using a supertree approach provides new insights into the evolutionary origin and relationships of carnivores. While the gain in biological knowledge is substantial, the supertree approach is not undisputed. I discuss the principles of supertree methods and the competitor supermatrix approaches. I argue that both methods are important to infer phylogenetic relationships

Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) Among Mammals: Increased Taxon Sampling Alters Interpretations of Key Fossils and Character Evolution

BACKGROUND: Integration of diverse data (molecules, fossils) provides the most robust test of the phylogeny of cetaceans. Positioning key fossils is critical for reconstructing the character change from life on land to life in the water. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We reexamine relationships of critical extinct taxa that impact our understanding of the origin of Cetacea. We do this in the context of the largest total evidence analysis of morphological and molecular information for Artiodactyla (661 phenotypic characters and 46,587 molecular characters, coded for 33 extant and 48 extinct taxa). We score morphological data for Carnivoramorpha, Creodonta, Lipotyphla, and the raoellid artiodactylan Indohyus and concentrate on determining which fossils are positioned along stem lineages to major artiodactylan crown clades. Shortest trees place Cetacea within Artiodactyla and close to Indohyus, with Mesonychia outside of Artiodactyla. The relationships of Mesonychia and Indohyus are highly unstable, however--in trees only two steps longer than minimum length, Mesonychia falls inside Artiodactyla and displaces Indohyus from a position close to Cetacea. Trees based only on data that fossilize continue to show the classic arrangement of relationships within Artiodactyla with Cetacea grouping outside the clade, a signal incongruent with the molecular data that dominate the total evidence result. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Integration of new fossil material of Indohyus impacts placement of another extinct clade Mesonychia, pushing it much farther down the tree. The phylogenetic position of Indohyus suggests that the cetacean stem lineage included herbivorous and carnivorous aquatic species. We also conclude that extinct members of Cetancodonta (whales+hippopotamids) shared a derived ability to hear underwater sounds, even though several cetancodontans lack a pachyostotic auditory bulla. We revise the taxonomy of living and extinct artiodactylans and propose explicit node and stem-based definitions for the ingroup

Nucleofection induces non-specific changes in the metabolic activity of transfected cells

Transfection has become an everyday technique widely used for functional studies in living cells. The choice of the particular transfection method is usually determined by its efficiency and toxicity, and possible functional consequences specific to the method used are normally overlooked. We describe here that nucleofection, a method increasingly used because of its convenience and high efficiency, increases the metabolic rate of some cancer cells, which can be misleading when used as a measure of proliferation. Moreover, nucleofection can alter the subcellular expression pattern of the transfected protein. These undesired effects are independent of the transfected nucleic acid, but depend on the particular cell line used. Therefore, the interpretation of functional data using this technology requires further controls and caution

Qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem e satisfação do paciente atendido em um hospital de ensino

OBJECTIVES: assess the quality of nursing care, the patients' satisfaction and the correlation between both. METHOD: cross-sectional study, involving 275 patients hospitalized at a teaching hospital in the Central-West of Brazil. The data were collected through the simultaneous application of three instruments. Next, they were included in an electronic database and analyzed in function of the positivity, median value and Spearman's correlation coefficients. RESULTS: among the nursing care assessed, only two were considered safe - hygiene and physical comfort; nutrition and hydration - while the remainder were classified as poor. Nevertheless, the patients were satisfied with the care received in the domains assessed: technical-professional, confidence and educational. This can be justified by the weak to moderate correlation that was observed among these variables. CONCLUSION: Despite the quality deficit, the patients' satisfaction level with the nursing care received was high. These results indicate that the institution needs to center its objectives on a continuing evaluation system of the care quality, aiming to attend to the patients' expectations.OBJETIVOS: evaluar la calidad de los cuidados de enfermería, la satisfacción del paciente y la correlación entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudio trasversal con 275 pacientes internados en un hospital de enseñanza de la región Centro-Oeste de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante la aplicación simultánea de tres instrumentos. A seguir, fueron digitalizados en un banco de datos electrónico y analizados en función de la positividad, valor de mediana y coeficientes de correlación de Spearman. RESULTADOS: entre los cuidados de enfermería evaluados, solamente dos fueron considerados seguros - higiene y conforto físico; nutrición e hidratación - y los demás clasificados como pobres. Sin embargo, los pacientes se mostraron satisfechos con los cuidados recibidos en los dominios evaluados: técnico-profesional, confianza y educacional. Eso puede ser justificado por la correlación débil a moderada observada entre esas variables. CONCLUSIÓN: A pesar del déficit de cualidad, fue encontrado alto nivel de satisfacción de los pacientes con los cuidados de enfermería recibidos. Tales resultados indican la necesidad de que la institución centre sus objetivos en un sistema de evaluación permanente de la cualidad del cuidado, visando atender a las expectativas de los pacientes.OBJETIVOS: avaliar a qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem, a satisfação do paciente e a correlação entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudo transversal, realizado com 275 pacientes internados em um hospital de ensino da Região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da aplicação simultânea de três instrumentos. A seguir, foram digitados em banco de dados eletrônico e analisados em função da positividade, valor de mediana e coeficientes de correlação de Spearman. RESULTADOS: dentre os cuidados de enfermagem avaliados, apenas dois foram considerados seguros - higiene e conforto físico; nutrição e hidratação - e os demais foram classificados como pobres. Todavia, os pacientes mostraram-se satisfeitos com os cuidados recebidos nos domínios avaliados: técnico-profissional, confiança e educacional. Isso pode ser justificado pela correlação fraca a moderada observada entre essas variáveis. CONCLUSÃO: apesar do déficit de qualidade, houve alto nível de satisfação dos pacientes com os cuidados de enfermagem recebidos. Tais resultados apontam a necessidade de a instituição centrar seus objetivos num sistema de avaliação permanente da qualidade do cuidado, visando o atendimento das expectativas dos pacientes

Reproductive medicine in northwest Argentina: traditional and institutional systems

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The state of conservation of the traditional cultures of Northwest Argentina is variable and somewhat problematic but to a lesser or a greater extent all the peoples are related to an hegemonic culture. We present a case study carried out in the rural communities of the Yungas biome (Salta) where the extent of isolation varies as does the type of access to public health services. The use of medicinal plants in the area is ordinary and widely spread.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data can be organized in two categories, as medical systems public records (for the regional hospital at Los Toldos), and as ethnobotanical sets. A total of 59 surveys to 40 interviewees were undertaken using a semi structured questionnaire. We present an analysis of the relative importance of the medicinal herbs used in reproductive medicine considering the plants used in the traditional medical system and the factors that can affect the relationship between formal medicine and patients. We further analized how the degree of accessibility to the local hospital influences the diversity of use of plant species used to assist deliveries and to decrease infant mortality in children minor than one year of age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In reproductive medicine, 13 ailments and/or different physiological states are locally identified and treated. Local population uses 108 ethnospecies for this kind of illnesses. According to the local conception the hot/cold imbalance could be the principal cause for reproductive illnesses; pregnancy may have natural or supernatural origin, post partum and menstruation involve similar sanitary risks, and neonatal care has a strong magic connotation. In relation with the formal medicine, the more accessible is the health center the more women assist to it. We have not found a relation between accessibility and infant mortality.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the local reproductive medicine, most of the practices are concerned with the hot/cold balance. According to their importance the factors involved are: the family medicine, the midwife, and the formal doctors. Plants have an important role; however there is a lack of total agreement among the families who use them. Reluctance to institutional deliveries may be due to the weak relationship between patients and doctors, and the lack of logistic assistance to delivering mothers coming from far away locations.</p

Differential expression of 12 histone deacetylase (HDAC) genes in astrocytomas and normal brain tissue: class II and IV are hypoexpressed in glioblastomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glioblastoma is the most lethal primary malignant brain tumor. Although considerable progress has been made in the treatment of this aggressive tumor, the clinical outcome for patients remains poor. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are recognized as promising targets for cancer treatment. In the past several years, HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) have been used as radiosensitizers in glioblastoma treatment. However, no study has demonstrated the status of global <it>HDAC </it>expression in gliomas and its possible correlation to the use of HDACis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare mRNA and protein levels of class I, II and IV of HDACs in low grade and high grade astrocytomas and normal brain tissue and to correlate the findings with the malignancy in astrocytomas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-three microdissected patient tumor samples were evaluated. The histopathologic diagnoses were 20 low-grade gliomas (13 grade I and 7 grade II) and 23 high-grade gliomas (5 grade III and 18 glioblastomas). Eleven normal cerebral tissue samples were also analyzed (54 total samples analyzed). mRNA expression of class I, II, and IV <it>HDACs </it>was studied by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and normalized to the housekeeping gene <it>β-glucuronidase</it>. Protein levels were evaluated by western blotting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that mRNA levels of class II and IV <it>HDACs </it>were downregulated in glioblastomas compared to low-grade astrocytomas and normal brain tissue (7 in 8 genes, <it>p </it>< 0.05). The protein levels of class II HDAC9 were also lower in high-grade astrocytomas than in low-grade astrocytomas and normal brain tissue. Additionally, we found that histone H3 (but not histone H4) was more acetylated in glioblastomas than normal brain tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study establishes a negative correlation between <it>HDAC </it>gene expression and the glioma grade suggesting that class II and IV <it>HDACs </it>might play an important role in glioma malignancy. Evaluation of histone acetylation levels showed that histone H3 is more acetylated in glioblastomas than normal brain tissue confirming the downregulation of <it>HDAC </it>mRNA in glioblastomas.</p

Identifying Regulators for EAG1 Channels with a Novel Electrophysiology and Tryptophan Fluorescence Based Screen

Ether-à-go-go (EAG) channels are expressed throughout the central nervous system and are also crucial regulators of cell cycle and tumor progression. The large intracellular amino- and carboxy- terminal domains of EAG1 each share similarity with known ligand binding motifs in other proteins, yet EAG1 channels have no known regulatory ligands.Here we screened a library of small biologically relevant molecules against EAG1 channels with a novel two-pronged screen to identify channel regulators. In one arm of the screen we used electrophysiology to assess the functional effects of the library compounds on full-length EAG1 channels. In an orthogonal arm, we used tryptophan fluorescence to screen for binding of the library compounds to the isolated C-terminal region.Several compounds from the flavonoid, indole and benzofuran chemical families emerged as binding partners and/or regulators of EAG1 channels. The two-prong screen can aid ligand and drug discovery for ligand-binding domains of other ion channels