Screening of medicinal plants traditionally used in Peruvian Amazon for in vitro antioxidant and anticancer potential

Plants mentioned in this study have numerous records in traditional Peruvian medicine being used in treatment of cancer and other diseases likely to be associated with oxidative stress. Amongst the eight plant species tested, only Dysphania ambrosioides exhibited combinatory antioxidant and anti-proliferative effect on a broad spectrum of cancer cells (DPPH and ORAC values = 80.6 and 687.3 μg TE/mg extract, respectively; IC₅₀ against Caco-2, HT-29 and Hep-G2 = 129.2, 69.9 and 130.6, respectively). Alkaloids and phenolic compounds might significantly contribute to anticancer/antioxidant activity of this plant. The results justify the traditional medicinal use of this plant. Our findings further suggest that D. ambrosioides might serve as a prospective material for further development of novel plant-based antioxidant and/or anti-proliferative agents. Detailed analysis of chemical composition together with toxicology assessments and in vivo antioxidant/anti-proliferative activity of this plant should be carried out in order to verify its potential practical use.     

MALDI MSI Reveals the Spatial Distribution of Protein Markers in Tracheobronchial Lymph Nodes and Lung of Pigs after Respiratory Infection

Respiratory infections are a real threat for humans, and therefore the pig model is of interest for studies. As one of a case for studies, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) caused infections and still worries many pig breeders around the world. To better understand the influence of pathogenic effect of APP on a respiratory system—lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN), we aimed to employ matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF MSI). In this study, six pigs were intranasally infected by APP and two were used as non-infected control, and 48 cryosections have been obtained. MALDI-TOF MSI and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to study spatial distribution of infectious markers, especially interleukins, in cryosections of porcine tissues of lungs (necrotic area, marginal zone) and tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN) from pigs infected by APP. CD163, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and a protegrin-4 precursor were successfully detected based on their tryptic fragments. CD163 and IL-1β were confirmed also by IHC. The protegrin-4 precursor was identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF directly on the tissue cryosections. CD163, IL-1β and protegrin-4 precursor were all significantly (p < 0.001) more expressed in necrotic areas of lungs infected by APP than in marginal zone, TBLN and in control lungs.     

Voltametric,Amperometric, and Chronopotentiometric Determination of Submicromolar Concentrations of Carboxin

New procedures for the determination of pesticide carboxin were developed using differential pulse voltammetry, HPLC with amperometric detection and chronopotentiometry at carbon paste electrode and reticulated vitreous carbon electrode, respectively. Developed procedures based on electrochemical oxidation of carboxin were successfully applied on the determination of carboxin in the model samples of drinking and river water. Limits of detection in samples of river water were in 10^?7 mol L^?1 concentration range for all procedures and electrodes used. All developed procedures proved to be sensitive, accurate and, due to the resistance of the electrode to the passivation, also simple to handle.     

Capillary size exclusion chromatography with picogram sensitivity for analysis of monoclonal antibodies purified from harvested cell culture fluid

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is widely used in the characterization and quality control of therapeutic proteins to detect aggregates. Aggregation is a carefully monitored quality attribute from the earliest stages of clinical development owing to the possibility of eliciting an immunogenic response in the patient. During early stage molecule assessment for cell culture production, small-scale screening experiments are performed to permit rapid turn-around of results so as to not delay timelines. We report the development of a capillary SEC methodology for preliminary molecule assessment to support the evaluation of therapeutic candidates at an early stage of development. By making several key modifications to a commercially available liquid chromatography system, we demonstrate a platform process to perform capillary SEC with excellent precision, picogram sensitivity and good ruggedness. The limit of quantitation was determined to be approximately 15 pg; picogram sensitivity for SEC analysis of monoclonal antibodies had not been achieved prior to this work. In addition, we have developed a method to capture low levels of antibody (1 μg/mL) from harvested cell culture fluid (HCCF) for capillary SEC analysis. Up to 40% recovery efficiency was achieved using this micro-recovery method on 3 mL HCCF samples. Using early stage cell culture transient transfection samples, which typically have much lower titers than stable cell line samples, we demonstrate a consistent method for analyzing aggregates in low protein concentration HCCF samples for molecule assessment and early stage candidate screening.     

The crystal structure of cobalt orthophosphate Co3(PO4)2

The crystal structure of cobalt orthophosphate has been refined by full-matrix least-squares procedures using automatic diffractometer data to a residual R = 0.039 (R_w = 0.058). The space group is $\text{P2}{}_{\mathrm{l}}\text{c}$, with a = 5.063(1), b = 8.361(2), c = 8.788(2) Å, and β = 121.00(2)°. Co₃(PO₄)₂ is isotypic with the previously reported γ-Zn₃(PO₄)₂ and Mg₃(PO₄)₂. Cobalt ions occupy two distinct coordination polyhedra, one five and one six-coordinated, in a ratio of two to one. The structure is described in detail.     

Ionic conductivity in KCl-doped polycrystalline SrCl2

Conductivity studies on polycrystalline SrCl₂ doped with KCl have been carried out. The results are in substantial agreement with published results for single crystal work on SrCl₂, the activation energies being 1.8 eV for the intrinsic region, 0.35 eV for the extrinsic region, and 0.45 eV for the regions in which association of defects occurs. Most significant was the discovery of metastable electrolytes (4–5 mole% KCl in SrCl₂) having a conductivity of 1 × 10^?6 ohm^?1 cm^?1 at room temperature. These supersaturated solutions could be heat cycled up to 72°C, and they retained their initial conductivity after storage for 6 months at room temperature. This indicates that the equilibrium solubility of a dopant is not necessarily the limiting factor for extrinsic conductance in a solid material.     

The crystal structure of α-copper vanadate

The crystal structure of α-copper vanadate has been determined and refined by full-matrix least-squares procedures using automatic diffractometer data to a residual R = 0.050 (R_w = 0.059). The space group is rhombohedral, $\text{R}\text{3}$, with hexagonal unit cell a = 12.857(3) and c = 7.161(2) Å (a_R = 7.797(2) Å and α = 111.06(1)°). On the basis of the detailed structural analysis the contents Cu_7?xV₆O_19?x with x = 0.22 are proposed for the rhombohedral cell. Copper is in the divalent and vanadium in the quadrivalent state. The structure is based on a cubic close-packed array of oxygen ions with the vanadium ion occupying an octahedral site, one copper in a partially occupied octahedral site and the other copper in a tetrahedral site. The latter is one of the few examples of tetrahedrally coordinated copper.     

Bioactive modification of silicon surface using self-assembled hydrophobins from Pleurotus ostreatus

A crystalline silicon surface can be made biocompatible and chemically stable by a self-assembled biofilm of proteins, the hydrophobins (HFBs) purified from the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. The protein-modified silicon surface shows an improvement in wettability and is suitable for immobilization of other proteins. Two different proteins were successfully immobilized on the HFBs-coated chips: the bovine serum albumin and an enzyme, a laccase, which retains its catalytic activity even when bound on the chip. Variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE), water contact angle (WCA), and fluorescence measurements demonstrated that the proposed approach in silicon surface bioactivation is a feasible strategy for the fabrication of a new class of hybrid devices.     

Registering and analyzing rat fMRI data in the stereotaxic framework by exploiting intrinsic anatomical features

The value of analyzing neuroimaging data on a group level has been well established in human studies. However, there is no standard procedure for registering and analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data into common space in rodent fMRI studies. An approach for performing rat imaging data analysis in the stereotaxic framework is presented. This method is rooted in the biological observation that the skull shape and size of rat brain are essentially the same as long as their weights are within certain range. Registration is performed using rigid-body transformations without scaling or shearing, preserving the unique properties of the stable shape and size inherent in rat brain structure. Also, it does not require brain tissue masking and is not biased towards surface coil sensitivity profile. A standard rat brain atlas is used to facilitate the identification of activated areas in common space, allowing accurate region of interest analysis. This technique is evaluated from a group of rats (n=11) undergoing routine MRI scans; the registration accuracy is estimated to be within 400 μm. The analysis of fMRI data acquired with an electrical forepaw stimulation model demonstrates the utility of this technique. The method is implemented within the Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI) framework and can be readily extended to other studies.