Development of electrochemical genosensor for MYCN oncogene detection using rhodamine B as electroactive label

A novel electrochemical genosensor based on a graphite electrode modified with poly(4-aminophenol) has been constructed for prognostic of neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor originating from embryonic precursor cells of the sympathetic nervous system and associated with the amplification of the MYCN oncogene. The genosensor exhibited distinct electrical and morphological properties using rhodamine B as indicator of DNA hybridization. The detection limit was evaluated to be 0.47 μmol L^?1 (n = 3), and the electrochemical genosensor was selective for the complementary DNA, using serum sample. This DNA sensing platform was successfully applied to detect MYCN, an important biomarker for neuroblastoma.     

Insights into the Antimicrobial Activity of Hydrated Cobaltmolybdate Doped with Copper

Molybdates are biocidal materials that can be useful in coating surfaces that are susceptible to contamination and the spread of microorganisms. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of copper doping of hydrated cobalt molybdate, synthesized by the co-precipitation method, on its antibacterial activity and to elucidate the structural and morphological changes caused by the dopant in the material. The synthesized materials were characterized by PXRD, Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC), and SEM-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The antibacterial response of the materials was verified using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) employing the broth microdilution method. The size of the CoMoO₄·1.03H₂O microparticles gradually increased as the percentage of copper increased, decreasing the energy that is needed to promote the transition from the hydrated to the beta phase and changing the color of material. CoMoO₄·1.03H₂O obtained better bactericidal performance against the tested strains of Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) than Escherichia coli (gram-negative). However, an interesting point was that the use of copper as a doping agent for hydrated cobalt molybdate caused an increase of MIC value in the presence of E. coli and S. aureus strains. The study demonstrates the need for caution in the use of copper as a doping material in biocidal matrices, such as cobalt molybdate.     

Highlights on Steroidal Arylidene Derivatives as a Source of Pharmacologically Active Compounds: A Review

Steroids constitute a unique class of chemical compounds, playing an important role in physiopathological processes, and have high pharmacological interest. Additionally, steroids have been associated with a relatively low toxicity and high bioavailability. Nowadays, multiple steroidal derivatives are clinically available for the treatment of numerous diseases. Moreover, different structural modifications on their skeleton have been explored, aiming to develop compounds with new and improved pharmacological properties. Thus, steroidal arylidene derivatives emerged as a relevant example of these modifications. This family of compounds has been mainly described as 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and aromatase inhibitors, as well as neuroprotective and anticancer agents. Besides, due to their straightforward preparation and intrinsic chemical reactivity, steroidal arylidene derivatives are important synthetic intermediates for the preparation of other compounds, particularly bearing heterocyclic systems. In fact, starting from arylidenesteroids, it was possible to develop bioactive steroidal pyrazolines, pyrazoles, pyrimidines, pyridines, spiro-pyrrolidines, amongst others. Most of these products have also been studied as anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents, as well as 5α-reductase and aromatase inhibitors. This work aims to provide a comprehensive overview of steroidal arylidene derivatives described in the literature, highlighting their bioactivities and importance as synthetic intermediates for other pharmacologically active compounds.     

Influence of ethanol and ultrasound on drying,bioactive compounds,and antioxidant activity of strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa)

This study aimed to evaluate the use of ethanol (ET) and ultrasound (US) in convective drying of strawberry slices, as well as the effect on physicochemical, bioactive, and antioxidant parameters. For this, strawberry slices with a thickness of 0.005 m were pretreated with ET (in different volume fractions), US, and a combination of both. Drying kinetics were performed for control strawberry slices (without ET and US) and pretreated with 50% ethanol (ET50), 50% ethanol and ultrasonic (ET50US), 100% ethanol (ET100), and 100% ethanol and ultrasonic (ET100US) at a temperature of 60 °C. Empirical and diffusive models were fitted to the experimental data to describe the drying kinetics, and the fresh and dried slices were analyzed according to the parameters of water activity (aw), water content, total phenolic compounds (TPC), total anthocyanins (ATS), vitamin C and antioxidant activity (AA) (ABTS?+, DPPH?, and FRAP). The use of the ET100US combination provided an increase in the moisture transport process, higher drying rate, shorter process time (570 min), and reduction of a_w to a safe value (a_w <0.5), however, it sharply degraded the TPC, ATS, and AA. The ET50US pre-treatment even with a drying time of 690 min was the most efficient, since the values of TPC, ATS, and vitamin C suffered smaller reductions, where the AA varied in only 10.32%, 13.78% and 6.54% for the methods ABTS?+, DPPH?, and FRAP, respectively when compared to fresh strawberry. In this sense, it can be stated that the pre-treatment with 50% ethanol and ultrasound (ET50US) showed less reduction in the degradation of bioactive and antioxidant properties, and in the minimization of drying time for strawberry slices.     

Vibrational spectroscopy for milk fat quantification: line shape analysis of the Raman and infrared spectra

This paper presents a systematic analysis of the infrared absorption spectra and Raman scattering of the triacylglycerol molecule predominant in raw bovine milk. Gas chromatography measurements were also performed and revealed the palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids as the most predominant fatty acids in the composition of milk. Based on the gas chromatography results, infrared, and Raman spectra of the triacylglycerol with this combination of fatty acids were simulated. The theoretical spectra were compared with the experimental ones of milk fat and fluid raw milk. Assignment of bands of milk fat was proposed, which can be used for a quality monitoring of the product. We also performed a multivariate model of partial least squares from samples of fluid milk with different concentrations of fat. As a result, the most important variables in the projection were selected as vibrational markers for quality monitoring and quantifying of this important constituent of milk. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Double-walled carbon nanocones: stability and electronic structure

We have applied first-principles calculations, based on the density functional theory, toinvestigate the stability and electronic properties of double-walled carbon nanocones,60°60°, 120°120° and 60°120° with different rotation anglesbetween the walls. We have shown that the most favorable double-walled nanocone studiedhere is that of angles of 60°60°, with rotation angle of 36° and distance between apexes of 4.22 Å.We have found that, the interaction between the walls of rotated double-walled nanoconesintroduce geometric distortion in gap states, such as in Fermi level. These results shouldhave consequences on the field emission properties of double-walled carbon nanocones.Additionally, we also investigated the spin polarization of such structures, and we havefound unpaired electrons, which induces a total spin from 1 and 1/2 for 60°60° and 60°120° double cones, respectively.     

The generalizedp-Centdian on network

Since the median approach is based on averaging, it often provides solutions where remote and low-population density areas are discriminated against in terms of accessibility to public facilities, as compared with centrally situated and high-population density areas. On the other hand, locating a facility at the centre may cause a large increase in total distance, thus generating a substantial loss in spacial efficiency. This has led to a search for some compromise solution concept. Halpern has introduced the λ-Centdian as a parametric solution concept based on the bicriteria center median model. He has modeled the corresponding trade-offs with a convex combination of the unweighted center and weighted median objectives. In this paper we study the λ-Centdian like a convex combination of the weighted center and weighted median objectives we called it generalized Centdian problem. This research has been partially supported by Gobierno de Canarias through projects PI1999/116.     

On the hazard rate and reversed hazard rate orderings in two-component series systems with active redundancies

The lifetimes of two-component series systems with two active redundancies are compared using the hazard rate and the reversed hazard rate orders. We study the problem of where to allocate the spares in a system to obtain the best configuration. We compare redundancy at component level vs. system level using the likelihood ratio order. For this problem we find conditions under which there is no hazard rate ordering between the lifetimes of the systems.     

Edgeworth expansion for an estimator of the adjustment coefficient

We establish an Edgeworth expansion for an estimator of the adjustment coefficient R, directly related to the geometric-type estimator for general exponential tail coefficients, proposed in [Brito, M., Freitas, A.C.M., 2003. Limiting behaviour of a geometric-type estimator for tail indices. Insurance Math. Econom. 33, 211-226].Using the first term of the expansion, we construct improved confidence bounds for R. The accuracy of the approximation is illustrated using an example from insurance (cf. [Schultze, J., Steinebach, J., 1996. On least squares estimates of an exponential tail coefficient. Statist. Dec. 14, 353-372]).     

Image denoising using the Gaussian curvature of the image surface

A number of high‐order variational models for image denoising have been proposed within the last few years. The main motivation behind these models is to fix problems such as the staircase effect and the loss of image contrast that the classical Rudin–Osher–Fatemi model [Leonid I. Rudin, Stanley Osher and Emad Fatemi, Nonlinear total variation based noise removal algorithms, Physica D 60 (1992), pp. 259–268] and others also based on the gradient of the image do have. In this work, we propose a new variational model for image denoising based on the Gaussian curvature of the image surface of a given image. We analytically study the proposed model to show why it preserves image contrast, recovers sharp edges, does not transform piecewise smooth functions into piecewise constant functions and is also able to preserve corners. In addition, we also provide two fast solvers for its numerical realization. Numerical experiments are shown to illustrate the good performance of the algorithms and test results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 32: 1066–1089, 2016