Secondary Metabolic Profile as a Tool for Distinction and Characterization of Cultivars of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Cultivated in Pará State,Brazil

This study evaluated the chemical compositions of the leaves and fruits of eight black pepper cultivars cultivated in Pará State (Amazon, Brazil). Hydrodistillation and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry were employed to extract and analyze the volatile compounds, respectively. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were predominant (58.5–90.9%) in the cultivars “Cingapura”, “Equador”, “Guajarina”, “Iaçará”, and “Kottanadan”, and “Bragantina”, “Clonada”, and “Uthirankota” displayed oxygenated sesquiterpenoids (50.6–75.0%). The multivariate statistical analysis applied using volatile composition grouped the samples into four groups: γ-Elemene, curzerene, and δ-elemene (“Equador”/“Guajarina”, I); δ-elemene (“Iaçará”/“Kottanadan”/“Cingapura”, II); elemol (“Clonada”/“Uthirankota”, III) and α-muurolol, bicyclogermacrene, and cubebol (“Bragantina”, IV). The major compounds in all fruit samples were monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene, β-pinene, and limonene. Among the cultivar leaves, phenolics content (44.75–140.53 mg GAE·g⁻¹ FW), the enzymatic activity of phenylalanine-ammonia lyase (20.19–57.22 µU·mL⁻¹), and carotenoids (0.21–2.31 µg·mL⁻¹) displayed significant variations. Due to black pepper’s susceptibility to Fusarium infection, a molecular docking analysis was carried out on Fusarium protein targets using each cultivar’s volatile components. F. oxysporum endoglucanase was identified as the preferential protein target of the compounds. These results can be used to identify chemical markers related to the susceptibility degree of black pepper cultivars to plant diseases prevalent in Pará State.     

Syndecan-1 Depletion Has a Differential Impact on Hyaluronic Acid Metabolism and Tumor Cell Behavior in Luminal and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans (PGs) are major components of the glycocalyx. The secreted GAG and CD44 ligand hyaluronic acid (HA), and the cell surface PG syndecan-1 (Sdc-1) modulate the expression and activity of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and adhesion molecules, acting as critical regulators of tumor cell behavior. Here, we studied the effect of Sdc-1 siRNA depletion and HA treatment on hallmark processes of cancer in breast cancer cell lines of different levels of aggressiveness. We analyzed HA synthesis, and parameters relevant to tumor progression, including the stem cell phenotype, Wnt signaling constituents, cell cycle progression and apoptosis, and angiogenic markers in luminal MCF-7 and triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. Sdc-1 knockdown enhanced HAS-2 synthesis and HA binding in MCF-7, but not in MDA-MB-231 cells. Sdc-1-depleted MDA-MB-231 cells showed a reduced CD24-/CD44+ population. Furthermore, Sdc-1 depletion was associated with survival signals in both cell lines, affecting cell cycle progression and apoptosis evasion. These changes were linked to the altered expression of KLF4, MSI2, and miR-10b and differential changes in Erk, Akt, and PTEN signaling. We conclude that Sdc-1 knockdown differentially affects HA metabolism in luminal and triple-negative breast cancer model cell lines and impacts the stem phenotype, cell survival, and angiogenic factors.     

Influence of the composition of the binder and the carbonation on the zeta potential values of hardened cementitious materials

Electroosmotic experiments have been carried out on eight different mixes of hardened cementitious matrixes including concrete, mortar and pastes, different types of binders, carbonated and non-carbonated specimens and different test conditions. From these trials, the zeta potential values have been determined and the optimum experimental parameters and devices have been established. In addition, the influence of the composition of the binder on the zeta potential has been quantified indicating that higher amounts of Al₂O₃ in the binder lead to higher positive values of zeta potential, while the SiO₂ acts just on the opposite side. This has been explained in terms of the different i.e.p. (isoelectric point) for both oxides. Concerning the influence of carbonation, it increases the absolute value of the zeta potential toward more negative values; this behaviour has been attributed to the influence of the specifically adsorbed Ca²⁺ in the negative sites of the surface in the non-carbonated samples.     

Land Use Effect on the CN Model Parameters in a Tropical Dry Environment

Dry tropical forests account for over 1,000,000 km², and there is still lack of knowledge on their hydrologic processes. The curve number (CN) hydrologic model developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is widely applied for runoff determination in various parts of the world, but not so in tropical semiarid regions. This study analyzes the impact of land use changes on the CN model in a tropical semiarid environment, in two catchments of native dry tropical forest and thinned dry tropical forest land use from 2009 to 2012. The CN model was calibrated and validated for the NRCS recommended initial abstraction ratio λ = 0.2, and for λ evaluated from rainfall and runoff data. A reliability analysis was performed using Monte Carlo simulation. Model goodness-of-fit was assessed with statistical criteria. A total of 42 and 40 rainfall-runoff events were analyzed for the native and thinned dry tropical forest, respectively. Characteristic λ values of 0.15 and 0.11 were determined for the two respective catchments. Although CN values were similar for both land uses, CN_λ=0.20 = 80 and CN_{median λ} = 77, the thinned catchment showed a higher CN model parameters variability. The CN model was more sensitive to variations of CN values than to those of λ. This study showed that no matter the vegetation management in a dry tropical forest environment, modeled runoff is not affected by λ, but rather affected by CN, which represents soil, landuse and management.     

Effect of the reaction conditions on the properties of poly(4,4′-diphenylether-1,3,4-oxadiazole)s

Summary Poly(4,4-diphenylether-1,3,4-oxadiazole)s have been prepared by polycondensation of 4,4-diphenylether dicarboxylic acid and hydrazine sulphate, HS, in poly(phosphoric acid), PPA, under different reaction condictions. The products were characterized by viscometry, gel permeation chromatography, ¹H-NMR spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis. Dense membranes have been prepared and submitted to gas transport and wide angle X-ray diffraction, WAXD, experiments. The differences found in permeability and selectivity parameters, as well as in density and WAXD results, are discussed in terms of their solution viscosities and hydrazide repeat unit contents.     

The effect of ceria content on the performance of Pt/CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts in the partial oxidation of methane

The effect of CeO₂ loading (1–20 wt.%) on the properties and catalytic behaviors of CeO₂–Al₂O₃-supported Pt catalysts on the partial oxidation of methane was studied. The catalysts were characterized by S_BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and oxygen storage capacity (OSC). XRD and TPR results showed that the pretreatment temperature of the support influences on the amount of CeO₂ with fluorite structure. The pretreatment temperature of the support and CeO₂ loading influenced the morphology of Pt. OSC analysis showed a significant increase in the oxygen storage capacity per weight of CeO₂ for samples with high CeO₂ loading (12 and 20 wt.%). TPR analyses showed that the addition of Pt promotes the reduction of CeO₂. This effect was more significant for the catalysts with high CeO₂ loading (≥12 wt.%). The dispersion of Pt, measured by the rate of cyclohexane dehydrogenation, increases with increasing of the pretreatment temperature of the support. It was shown that the kind of the support is very important for obtaining of catalysts resistant to carbon formation. The catalysts with high CeO₂ loading (≥12 wt.%) showed the highest catalytic activity and stability in the reaction of partial oxidation of methane due to a higher Pt–CeO₂ interface.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol on Pt–Mo bimetallic electrodes in acid medium

Pt–Mo alloy electrocatalysts were prepared by an arc-melting furnace process to investigate the origin of their enhanced activity toward ethanol oxidation. Two Mo contents were chosen in zones of the binary phase diagram where they are supposed to form either a pure alloy mixture or a solid solution. Pt–Mo alloy catalysts were more active than Pt-alone. Gradual Mo dissolution at the electrode surface was observed after voltammetric and chronoamperometric measurements. The dissolved Mo contributed to the catalytic effect of the electrode as underpotentially deposited (upd) adatoms. This dissolution probably also leads to an increase in the electrode surface roughness. Low molybdenum content in the electrode material enhances the activity toward ethanol oxidation when compared to Pt-alone. Ethanol oxidation was also investigated by in situ infrared reflectance spectroscopy in order to determine the presence of adsorbed intermediates like CO species. Acetaldehyde, acetic acid and CO₂ were also found by spectroscopic experiments.     

meSAT: multiple encodings of CSP to SAT

One approach for solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP) (and related Constraint Optimization Problems (COP)) involving integer and Boolean variables is reduction to propositional satisfiability problem (SAT). A number of encodings (e.g., direct, log, support, order) for this purpose exist as well as specific encodings for some constraints that are often encountered (e.g., cardinality constraints, global constraints). However, there is no single encoding that performs well on all classes of problems and there is a need for a system that supports multiple encodings. We present a system that translates specifications of finite linear CSP problems into SAT instances using several well-known encodings, and their combinations. We also present a methodology for selecting a suitable encoding based on simple syntactic features of the input CSP instance. Thorough evaluation has been performed on large publicly available corpora and our encoding selection method improves upon the efficiency of existing encodings and state-of-the-art tools used in comparison.     

Role of cognitive and functional performance in the interactions between elderly people with cognitive decline and an avatar on TV

The complexity of new information technologies (IT) may limit the access of elderly people to the information society, exacerbating what is known as “the digital divide,” as they appear to be too challenging for elderly citizens regardless of the integrity of their cognitive status. This study is an attempt to clarify how some cognitive functions (such as attention or verbal memory) may determine the interaction of cognitively impaired elderly people with technology. Twenty participants ranging from mild cognitive impairment to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were assessed by means of a neuropsychological and functional battery and were asked to follow simple commands from an avatar appearing on a TV by means of a remote control, such as asking the participant to confirm their presence or to respond Yes/No to a proposal to see a TV program. The number of correct answers and command repetitions required for the user to respond were registered. The results show that participants with a better cognitive and functional state in specific tests show a significantly better performance in the TV task. The derived conclusion is that neuropsychological assessment may be used as a useful complementary tool for assistive technology developers in the adaptation of IT to the elderly with different cognitive and functional profiles. Further studies with larger samples are required to determine to what extent cognitive functions can actually predict older users’ interaction with technology.