Chemical composition of wild and commercial Achillea millefolium L. and bioactivity of the methanolic extract,infusion and decoction

Medicinal plants used in folk medicine are being increasingly studied and used on pharmaceutical, food and nutraceutical fields. Herein, wild and commercial samples of Achillea millefolium L. (yarrow) were chemically characterized with respect to their macronutrients, free sugars, organic acids, fatty acids and tocopherols. Furthermore, in vitro antioxidant properties (free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition) and antitumour potential (against breast, lung, cervical and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines) of their methanolic extract, infusion and decoction (the most consumed forms) was evaluated and compared to the corresponding phenolic profile obtained by high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Data obtained showed that the chemical profiles of wild and commercial samples, and also their methanolic extract, infusion and decoction were similar, varying only in the quantities found. Commercial yarrow have higher content of fat and saturated fatty acids, proteins, ash, energy value, sugars and flavonoids, while the wild sample revealed higher levels of carbohydrates, organic acids, unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic acids. The heterogeneity among the antioxidant and antitumour results of the samples and some low correlations with total phenolic compounds indicates that specific compounds, rather than the totality of them, are involved in the bioactive properties of samples.     

Shiga‐Toxin Genes and Genetic Diversity of Escherichia coli Isolated from Pasteurized Cow Milk in Brazil

This study evaluated the genetic similarity and prevalence of the stx1, stx2, eae, and ehxA genes in Escherichia coli isolated from pasteurized cow milk. Eighty‐seven E. coli isolates from pasteurized cow milk from 22 dairies located in northwestern Paraná state, Brazil, were analyzed. Genetic similarity was evaluated using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence polymerase chain reaction (ERIC‐PCR) and repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence PCR (REP‐PCR). E. coli isolates were also analyzed by PCR to investigate the presence of the stx1, stx2, eae, and ehxA genes. ERIC‐PCR and REP‐PCR clustered 87 bacterial isolates in 76 and 81 genomic profiles, respectively. Both techniques revealed high genetic diversity among the E. coli isolates, confirming the possibility of their use in epidemiological studies. The stx1, stx2, eae, and ehxA virulence genes were not detected in E. coli isolates, indicating a low prevalence of Shiga toxin‐producing E. coli in milk produced in the region studied.     

Isogenic GAA-KO Murine Muscle Cell Lines Mimicking Severe Pompe Mutations as Preclinical Models for the Screening of Potential Gene Therapy Strategies

Pompe disease (PD) is a rare disorder caused by mutations in the acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) gene. Most gene therapies (GT) partially rely on the cross-correction of unmodified cells through the uptake of the GAA enzyme secreted by corrected cells. In the present study, we generated isogenic murine GAA-KO cell lines resembling severe mutations from Pompe patients. All of the generated GAA-KO cells lacked GAA activity and presented an increased autophagy and increased glycogen content by means of myotube differentiation as well as the downregulation of mannose 6-phosphate receptors (CI-MPRs), validating them as models for PD. Additionally, different chimeric murine GAA proteins (IFG, IFLG and 2G) were designed with the aim to improve their therapeutic activity. Phenotypic rescue analyses using lentiviral vectors point to IFG chimera as the best candidate in restoring GAA activity, normalising the autophagic marker p62 and surface levels of CI-MPRs. Interestingly, in vivo administration of liver-directed AAVs expressing the chimeras further confirmed the good behaviour of IFG, achieving cross-correction in heart tissue. In summary, we generated different isogenic murine muscle cell lines mimicking the severe PD phenotype, as well as validating their applicability as preclinical models in order to reduce animal experimentation.     

A virtual sensor for backlash in robotic manipulators

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Gear backlash is a quite serious problem in industrial robots, it causes vibrations and impairs the robot positioning accuracy. Backlash estimation allows...     

A survey on secure multipath routing protocols in WSNs

Routing protocols in wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been substantially investigated by researches. Most state-of-the-art surveys have focused on reviewing the different routing schemes that have been proposed for WSN and classifying them based on the network’s type and protocol’s operation. Security aspects in routing protocols have not been given enough attention, since most of the routing protocols in WSNs have not been designed with security requirements in mind. However, taking into consideration that WSN applications need to support critical infrastructures (i.e., military, healthcare, environmental, etc.), security becomes an issue. And since these infrastructures are highly depended on the availability of resources, focus has especially been given to support a secure, resilient and reliable environment, with multipath routing being one of the added functionalities. The need for security in sensitive WSN application has lead researchers to design secure multipath routing protocols from the beginning or design security extensions for existing protocols. This paper surveys the current state-of-the-art of secure multipath routing protocols in WSNs, classifies the protocols in categories according to their security-related operational objectives, defines a new threat model in the routing procedure and identifies open research issues in the area.     

Bioactivity and chemical characterization in hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds of Chenopodium ambrosioides L.

The bioactive properties (antioxidant and antitumour activities, and hepatotoxicity) of the infusion and methanolic extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L., a plant commonly used in Portuguese folk medicine, were compared. The chemical composition in hydrophilic (sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds) and lipophilic (fatty acids and tocopherols) fractions were determined. In general, the infusion revealed higher antioxidant activity, while the methanolic extract was the only one showing antitumour effects against colon, cervical and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. No toxicity in non-tumour cells was observed either for the infusion or the extract. The studied plant proved to be a good source of natural antioxidants and other bioactive compounds, which may have industrial use. As far as we know, this is the first detailed chemical characterization and bioactivity evaluation of C. ambrosioides methanolic extract and infusion.