Parasites in Forensic Science: a historic perspective

Parasites show a great potential to Forensic Science. Forensic Science is the application of any science and methodology to the legal system. The forensic scientist collects and analyses the physical evidence and produce a report of the results to the court. A parasite is an organism that lives at the expense of another and they exist in any ecosystem. Parasites are the cause of many important diseases. The forensic scientists can use the parasites to identify a crime scene, to determine the murder weapon or simply identify an individual. The applications for parasites in the Forensic Science can be many and more studies should be made in Forensic Parasitology. The most important parasites in Forensic Science are helminths specifically schistosomes. Through history there are many cases where schistosomes were described in autopsies and it was related to the cause of death. Here we review the applications of parasites in Forensic Science and its importance to the forensic scientist.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring plant tissue culture to improve the production of phenolic compounds: a review

Plant tissue and organ culture has been extensively used from the beginning of the XX century for the study and comprehension of some primary biological mechanisms such as morphogenesis. However, with the increasing demand of the market for novel products derived from plants, in vitro culture became a reliable technique for the mass production of plant material. Moreover, the potential to use this technique for the production of some bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, is immense since it allows the manipulation of the biosynthetic routes to increase the production and accumulation of specific compounds. This work intends to make a brief historical review of in vitro culture, highlighting its use for the production of bioactive compounds. Also, emphasizes the importance of phenolic compounds for the consumer as well reviews the metabolic pathways involved in its production in plant cells. Furthermore, it was carried out a comprehensive study on the work developed for the production of plant phenolic compounds in in vitro cultures, as well as on the type of elicitors used to increase of the same production; also a brief highlighting of the phenolic compounds which serve as elicitors. There are numerous reports directed to the production of phenolic extracts in in vitro plant cultures, however there is a lack in the production of individual phenolic compounds mainly due to the complexity of the biosynthetic routes and extraction procedures. Elicitation procedures are often used to increase the production of phenolics, archieving in most cases higher yields than in non-elicitated cultures. The increasing production of bioactive phenolic extracts/compounds allows for their further applicability, namely in the industry of functional foods or in pharmaceutical/medical fields.The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2014) and M.I. Dias grant (SFRH/BD/84485/2012). This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2013, and FEDER funds under the framework of QREN through Project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069

An update on wastewater multi-resistant bacteria : identification of clinical pathogens such as Escherichia coli O25b:H4-B2-ST131-producing CTX-M-15 ESBL and KPC-3 Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella oxytoca

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant reservoirs of bacterial resistance. This work aims to identify the determinants of resistance produced by Gram-negative bacteria in the influent and effluent of two WWTPs in Portugal. A total of 96 wastewater samples were obtained between 2016 and 2019. The numbers of total aerobic and fecal contamination bacteria were evaluated, and genomic features were searched by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Enterobacteriaceae corresponded to 78.6% (n = 161) of the 205 isolates identified by 16sRNA. The most frequent isolates were Escherichia spp. (57.1%, n = 117), followed by Aeromonas spp. (16.1%, n = 33) and Klebsiella spp. (12.7%, n = 26). The remaining 29 isolates (14.1%) were distributed across 10 different genera. Among the 183 resistant genes detected, 54 isolates produced extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL), of which blaCTX-M-15 was predominant (37 isolates; 68.5%). A KPC-3 carbapenemase-producing K. oxytoca was identified (n = 1), with blaKPC-3 included in a transposon Tn4401 isoform b. A higher number of virulence genes (VG) (19 genes) was found in the E. coli 5301 (O25b-ST131-B2) isolate compared with a commensal E. coli 5281 (O25b-ST410-A) (six genes). Both shared five VG [Enterobactin; Aerobactin, CFA/1 (clade α); Type1 (clade γ1); Type IV]. In conclusion, this work highlights the role of relevant clinical bacteria in WWTPs, such as KPC-3-producing K. oxytoca, and, for the first time, a CTX-M-15-producing Ochromobactrum intermedium, a human opportunistic pathogen, and a SED-1-producing Citrobacter farmeri, an uncommon CTX-M-type extended-spectrum beta-lactamase.This work was supported by the European Union LIFE Programme under Grant Agreement LIFE14 ENV/PT/000739—LIFE Impetus (https://life-impetus.eu/), accessed on 1 February 2021.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Angolan cymbopogon citratus used for therapeutic benefits: nutritional composition and influence of solvents in phytochemicals content and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts

Folk medicine is a relevant and effective part of indigenous healthcare systems which are, in practice, totally dependent on traditional healers. An outstanding coincidence between indigenous medicinal plant uses and scientifically proved pharmacological properties of several phytochemicals has been observed along the years. This work focused on the leaves of a medicinal plant traditionally used for therapeutic benefits (Angolan Cymbopogon citratus), in order to evaluate their nutritional value. The bioactive phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts prepared with different solvents (water, methanol and ethanol) were also evaluated. The plant leaves contained ~60% of carbohydrates, protein (~20%), fat (~5%), ash (~4%) and moisture (~9%). The phytochemicals screening revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, and terpenoids in all extracts. Methanolic extracts also contained alkaloids and steroids. Several methods were used to evaluate total antioxidant capacity of the different extracts (DPPH; NO; and H2O2 scavenging assays, reducing power, and FRAP). Ethanolic extracts presented a significantly higher antioxidant activity (p < 0.05) except for FRAP, in which the best results were achieved by the aqueous extracts. Methanolic extracts showed the lowest radical scavenging activities for both DPPH; and NO; radicals

Teores de vitamina E em diferentes variedades de castanea sativa

Vitamina E é a designação comum de uma familia de compostos relacionados, nomeadamente as tocoferóis e as tocotrienóis, caracterizada por conter uma cadeia lateral isoprénica Iigada ao cromanol [1]. A caracterização qualitativa e quantitativa dos diferentes vitâmeros, apesar de estruturalmente similares, é fundamentada pelas diferenças nas respectivas actividades biológicas

Glycosylation with O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) induces vascular dysfunction via production of superoxide anion/reactive oxygen species

Overproduction of superoxide anion (•O2-) and O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc)-modification in the vascular system are contributors to endothelial dysfunction. This study tested the hypothesis that increased levels of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins contribute to •O2- production via activation of NADPH oxidase, resulting in impaired vasodilation. Rat aortic segments and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMCs) were incubated with vehicle (methanol) or PUGNAc (100 µM). PUGNAc produced a time-dependent increase in O-GlcNAc levels in VSMC and decreased endothelium-dependent relaxation, which was prevented by apocynin and Tiron, suggesting that •O2- contributes to endothelial dysfunction under augmented O-GlcNAc levels. Aortic segments incubated with PUGNAc also exhibited increased levels of ROS, assessed by dihydroethidium fluorescence, and augmented •O2- production, determined by lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence. Additionally, PUGNAc treatment increased Nox1 and Nox4 protein expression in aorta and VSMCs. Translocation of p47phox subunit from the cytosol to the membrane was greater in aortas incubated with PUGNAc. VSMCs displayed increased p22phox protein expression after PUGNAc incubation, suggesting that NADPH oxidase is activated in conditions where O-GlcNAc protein levels are increased. In conclusion, O-GlcNAc levels reduce endothelium-dependent relaxation by overproduction of •O2- via activation of NADPH oxidase. This may represent an additional mechanism by which augmented O-GlcNAc levels impair vascular function

Photoluminescence and damage recovery studies in Fe-implanted ZnO single crystals

We report Fe3+-related emission in ion-implanted ZnO single crystals. Iron ions were implanted at room temperature with 100 keV and a fluence of 1×1016 Fe+/cm2, and were submitted to annealing treatments in vacuum and in air. After implantation, the damage raises the minimum yield (χmin) from 2% to 50%. Annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere leads to a reduction of the implantation damage, which is fully recovered after annealing at 1050 °C with a χmin∼3% in the implanted region. With extrinsic excitation, red Fe-related emission is observed at low temperatures. The intensity is dependent on the annealing conditions. For samples annealed in air, the luminescence can be detected up to 120 K. When a comparison is made between unimplanted and post-implanted annealed samples, noticeable changes on near-band-edge and deep-level photoluminescence spectra are observed. A thermally populated structured green emission could be observed in the sample annealed in air, as shown by the temperature-dependent photoluminescence excitation studies

Aboriginal Women Against Violence Project Evaluation Report

In 2008 Joan Harrison’s Support Services for Women received funding under the National Community Crime Prevention Programme (NCCPP) in relation to the Aboriginal Women Against Violence Project. The overall aim of the project was ‘to address family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Liverpool and Campbelltown areas’ (Attorney General’s Funding schedule). The project identified two specific strategies to achieve this general aim: to train local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to become trainer, mentors and advocates in their own communities;to establish an Aboriginal Women Against Violence Committee. This evaluation reports on the agreed outcomes identified in the funding agreement as well as identifying broader lessons arising from the project in relation to addressing violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.Joan Harrison’s Support Services for Wome