Effect of Bauhinia monandra Kurz Leaf Preparations on Embryonic Stages and Adult Snails of Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818), Schistosoma mansoni Cercariae and Toxicity in Artemia salina

Biomphalaria glabrata snails constitute the main vector of schistosomiasis in Brazil, and Bauhinia monandra Kurz, the leaves of which contain BmoLL lectin with biocidal action, is a plant widely found on continents in which the disease is endemic. This work describes the composition of B. monandra preparations and the effect on embryos and adult snails, their reproduction parameters and hemocytes. We also describe the results of a comet assay after B. glabrata exposure to sublethal concentrations of the preparations. Additionally, the effects of the preparations on S. mansoni cercariae and environmental monitoring with Artemia salina are described. In the chemical evaluation, cinnamic, flavonoid and saponin derivatives were detected in the two preparations assessed, namely the saline extract and the fraction. Both preparations were toxic to embryos in the blastula, gastrula, trochophore, veliger and hippo stages (LC₅₀ of 0.042 and 0.0478; 0.0417 and 0.0419; 0.0897 and 0.1582; 0.3734 and 0.0974; 0.397 and 0.0970 mg/mL, respectively) and to adult snails (LC₅₀ of 6.6 and 0.87 mg/mL, respectively), which were reproductively affected with decreased egg deposition. In blood cell analysis, characteristic cells for apoptosis, micronucleus and binucleation were detected, while for comet analysis, different degrees of nuclear damage were detected. The fraction was able to cause total mortality of the cercariae and did not present environmental toxicity. Therefore, B. monandra preparations are promising in combating schistosomiasis since they can control both the intermediate host and eliminate the infectious agent, besides being safe to the environment.     

Trichoderma Enzymes for Degradation of Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A

The contamination of agricultural products with mycotoxins causes risks to animal and human health and severe economic losses. Mycotoxicoses can be reduced by preventing fungal infection using chemical and biological approaches. The chemical strategies can release toxic molecules; therefore, strategies for biological control are being evaluated, such as using nontoxic fungi and their metabolites. This work evaluated the effect of exoenzymes produced by the beneficial fungus Trichoderma afroharzianum strain T22 in degrading Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Ochratoxin A (OTA). The ability of Trichoderma to produce hydrolases was stimulated by using different inducing substrates. The highest AFB1 and OTA degradation activity was obtained using a medium containing lyophilized mushrooms and crude fiber. The T. afroharzianum T22’s ability to reduce mycotoxins may be attributed to peroxidase enzymes. This study showed that T. afroharzianum strain T22 or its peroxidase supplementation could represent a sustainable strategy for the degradation of AFB1 and OTA in feed and food products.     

General electrochemical Minisci alkylation of N-heteroarenes with alkyl halides

Herein, we report, a general, facile and environmentally friendly Minisci-type alkylation of N-heteroarenes under simple and straightforward electrochemical conditions using widely available alkyl halides as radical precursors. Primary, secondary and tertiary alkyl radicals have been shown to be efficiently generated and coupled with a large variety of N-heteroarenes. The method presents a very high functional group tolerance, including various heterocyclic-based natural products, which highlights the robustness of the methodology. This applicability has been further proved in the synthesis of various interesting biologically valuable building blocks. In addition, we have proposed a mechanism based on different proofs and pieces of electrochemical evidence.

Herein, we report, a general, facile and environmentally friendly Minisci-type alkylation of N-heteroarenes under simple and straightforward electrochemical conditions using widely available alkyl halides as radical precursors.     

Nanostructured Polyelectrolyte-based System as a Toolbox for Metal Ions Detection

The capability of certain heavy metal ions to induce fluorescence decrease by a quenching mechanism suggested us to design and build a sensor potentially tunable for different ions at different concentrations. We propose a quenching-based sensor exploiting a nanostructured architecture in which fluorescent molecules (the sensing probe) are entrapped to recognize a specific analyte (heavy metal ions) through an optical transduction. The polyelectrolyte nanostructured system, named nanocapsule, improves the fluorophore-ion quenching sensitivity allowing a micromolar detection. Furthermore we couple our sensor with an electrical device in order to refine the sensing procedure: the electric field created allows a metal ions spatial gradient, necessary to detect a specific element on a single sample solution, avoiding a comparative analysis with an intensity reference value. Results obtained will show the advantages and the potentialities of our system as a smart toolbox for metal ions detection.     

Conformational Analysis of Sulfated α-(1→3)-Linked D-Galactobioses Using the Mm3 Force-Field

Abstract

The conformational maps of eight derivatives of the disaccharide α-D-Galp-(1→3)-β-D-Galp sulfated in different positions were obtained using the MM3 force-field specially parameterized for sulfate ester groups. As occurred with MM2, the conformational flexibility of the glycosidic linkage is only slightly hindered by sulfation. A substantial effect of sulfation of the β-D-galactose unit on position 4 shifts the global minimum to positive Ψ_H (C1′-O3-C3-H3) angles, while sulfation at position 2 of the same unit deepens the well at negative Ψ^H angles. On the other hand, sulfation on the α-D-galactose unit has a lesser effect, which in any case tends to stabilize the minimum at negative Ψ_H angles.     

Navier-stokes equations for compressible fluids: Global existence and qualitative properties of the solutions in the general case

We consider the equations which describe the motion of a viscous compressible fluid, taking into consideration the case of inflow and/or outflow through the boundary. By means of some a priori estimates we prove the existence of a global (in time) solution. Moreover, as a consequence of a stability result, we show that there exist a periodic solution and a stationary solution.     

Spinor Green’s functions via spherical means on products of space forms

We explicitly compute the Green’s function of the spinor Klein–Gordon equation on the Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds of the form _M0×?×_MN$M_0\times ?\times M_N$, with each factor being a space of constant sectional curvature. Our approach is based on an extension of the method of spherical means to the case of spinor fields and on the use of Riesz distributions.     

Impairment of mitochondrial calcium handling in a mtSOD1 cell culture model of motoneuron disease

Background  

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons (MN) in the brain stem and spinal cord. Intracellular disruptions of cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium have been associated with selective MN degeneration, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The present evidence supports a hypothesis that mitochondria are a target of mutant SOD1-mediated toxicity in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and intracellular alterations of cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium might aggravate the course of this neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we used a fluorescence charged cool device (CCD) imaging system to separate and simultaneously monitor cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium concentrations in individual cells in an established cellular model of ALS.     

Characterization of a sCMOS‐based high‐resolution imaging system

The detection system is a key part of any imaging station. Here the performance of the novel sCMOS‐based detection system installed at the ID17 biomedical beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and dedicated to high‐resolution computed‐tomography imaging is analysed. The system consists of an X‐ray–visible‐light converter, a visible‐light optics and a PCO.Edge5.5 sCMOS detector. Measurements of the optical characteristics, the linearity of the system, the detection lag, the modulation transfer function, the normalized power spectrum, the detective quantum efficiency and the photon transfer curve are presented and discussed. The study was carried out at two different X‐ray energies (35 and 50 keV) using both 2× and 1× optical magnification systems. The final pixel size resulted in 3.1 and 6.2 µm, respectively. The measured characteristic parameters of the PCO.Edge5.5 are in good agreement with the manufacturer specifications. Fast imaging can be achieved using this detection system, but at the price of unavoidable losses in terms of image quality. The way in which the X‐ray beam inhomogeneity limited some of the performances of the system is also discussed.     

Vertical link solutions for multilayer optical-networks-on-chip topologies

This paper presents two different approaches that may allow the optical interconnection between superposed levels of multilayer photonic circuits as, for example, in optical-networks-on-chip. The first configuration is based on multi-mode interference devices, while the second one exploits multiple stacked directional couplers. The issues concerning the analytical and numerical design of such devices are discussed, together with a performance analysis in terms of efficiency and footprint.