HPLC-ESI-MS/MS phenolic profile of ‟Nanicão Corupá” (Musa acuminata)

Abstract “Nanicão Corupá” (Musa acuminata) comes from Southern Brazil. The tropical climate in the region provides unique characteristics, including a sweeter flavor. This difference resulted in a Geographical Indication Recognition and Designation of Origin, recognized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in Brazil. Considering that “Nanicão Corupá” has some peculiarities related to the climate and there are no studies evaluating this banana cultivars, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the qualitative and quantitative phenolic composition of the aerial parts of “Nanicão Corupá” by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS in comparison to 46 commercial standards of phenolic compounds. Aerial parts (flower, leaves, fruit and stem) of “Nanicão Corupá” were collected and macerated in methanolic extracts, which were partitioned with solvents of different polarities (dichloromethane and ethyl acetate). The HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis was performed using the sample pre-treatment, chromatographic and mass spectrometer parameters. Results demonstrated that a total of 11 phenolic compounds were identified in the analyzed samples. The majority of compounds was identified in the ethyl acetate fraction (BFEF) of banana flowers: rutin (36.06 ± 0.23) and isoquercetin (28.83 ± 5). The compounds isoquercetin, naringerin and myricitrin were identified for the first time in the Musa genus.

Acute Changes in Interleukin-6 Level During Four Days of Long-Distance Walking

Background

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has an inflammatory effect, and its concentration in serum increases during exercise. However, no studies have assessed acute changes in IL-6 concentration after consecutive days of extreme and long-term exercise.

Objective

This study aimed to assess acute changes in serum IL-6 concentration during four days of long-distance walking.

Methods

This prospective observational study assessed 25 athletes (aged 44.8 ± 9.1 years), who covered a total of 251 km in four days. Blood samples were collected daily to assess serum IL-6 concentrations. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (with Bonferroni’s post hoc test) and the Kruskal–Wallis H-test (with Dunn’s post hoc test) were used to investigate the differences between the measures.

Results

The serum IL-6 concentrations were higher on the four days of walking (1st day: 26.8 ± 14.8; 2nd day: 14 ± 7.4; 3rd day: 9.4 ± 10.8; 4th day: 4.5 ± 0.2 pg/mL) when compared to pre-walk values (pre-walk: 2.2 ± 2.1 pg/mL; p < 0.001). On the first day, there was a tenfold increase compared to the pre-walk value.

Conclusion

The inflammatory response increased the serum concentration of IL-6 after four days of exercise. With the passing of days, there were reductions but not to baseline values.

Programa de atividade física melhora aspectos da depressão e aptidão física de dependentes químicos

Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar os efeitos da atividade física em caráter de lazer sobre os sintomas de ansiedade e da aptidão física de dependentes químicos e, analisou também algumas valências físicas como promoção de saúde. Por meio de um estudo de campo de carater experimental sem grupo de controle no Centro de Reabilitação e Amparo Bom Jardim – Distrito de Interlândia – Anápolis – Goiás. Participaram do estudo 8 internos adultos, homens, em tratamento voluntário na unidade. Foram realizadas 12 intervenções. Após uma abordagem inicial foi aplicado o questionário de ansiedade e depressão de BECK e os testes de aptidão física antes e depois das intervenções. Após a intervenção, os participantes realizaram maior número de flexões de membro superior (p=0,03) e percorreu maior distância (200m) no teste de aptidão cardiorrespiratória (p=0,002). Foi constado através do inventario de depressão de BECK que 4 internos se encontravam em estado de depressão mínima e 4 apresentavam score moderado de depressão. Com a intervenção foi reduzido o escore de 9 (5) para 3 (3) (p<0,001).  

MR imaging features of high-grade gliomas in murine models: how they compare with human disease, reflect tumor biology, and play a role in preclinical trials

Murine models are the most commonly used and best investigated among the animal models of HGG. They constitute an important weapon in the development and testing of new anticancer drugs and have long been used in preclinical trials. Neuroimaging methods, particularly MR imaging, offer important advantages for the evaluation of treatment response: shorter and more reliable treatment end points and insight on tumor biology and physiology through the use of functional imaging DWI, PWI, BOLD, and MR spectroscopy. This functional information has been progressively consolidated as a surrogate marker of tumor biology and genetics and may play a pivotal role in the assessment of specifically targeted drugs, both in clinical and preclinical trials. The purpose of this Research Perspectives was to compile, summarize, and critically assess the available information on the neuroimaging features of different murine models of HGGs, and explain how these correlate with human disease and reflect tumor biology.

Silkworm salivary glands are not susceptible to Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus

A nuclear polyhedrosis virus isolated from infected Bombyx mori, BmNPV, was used to inoculate silkworms to determine salivary gland cell susceptibility. The salivary gland was removed from infected silkworms at different times post-inoculation and examined by light microscopy. The salivary gland cells did not exhibit any signs of BmNPV infection; however, fat body and tracheal cells, used as positive controls, showed characteristic cytopathological changes caused by BmNPV infection, which confirmed inoculum viability. The morphological distribution of tracheal branches and the basal lamina, which serves as a barrier to viral penetration, are apparently involved in this resistance to infection.

Phagocytosis of latex beads and bacteria by hemocytes of the triatomine bug Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduvidae)

Insect circulating hemocytes are primarily responsible for the immune defense against parasites and pathogens. Here, we have analyzed phagocytosis of both biotic (bacteria) and abiotic (latex) particles by circulating hemocytes of 5th-instar nymphs of the triatomine bug Rhodnius prolixus. The following hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, oenocytoids and adipohemocytes. There was a considerable change in the relative percentage of plasmatocytes and prohemocytes in the hemolymph after challenge with both latex beads and bacteria. Granulocytes and oenocytoids also change their relative percentage in response to latex bead and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. No significant change was observed in adipohemocytes at any time or treatment. Our data demonstrated that plasmatocytes were the only cell type involved in phagocytosis of foreign particles. As in mammal cells, phagocytosis by both zipper and trigger mechanisms were observed for the uptake of latex beads and bacteria. Neither melanization nor micro-aggregation was observed towards latex particles or Escherichia coli. On the other hand, R. prolixus produced a strong melanization reaction against S. aureus, thus showing that differences exist in the responses to E. coli and to S. aureus. Ultrastructural changes observed in plasmatocytes, adipohemocytes and oenocytoids suggest that these hemocyte types are directly involved in the immune defense of R. prolixus against foreign particles.

MIT image reconstruction based on edge-preserving regularization

Tikhonov regularization has been widely used in electrical tomography to deal with the ill-posedness of the inverse problem. However, due to the fact that discontinuities are strongly penalized, this approach tends to produce blurred images. Recently, a lot of interest has been devoted to methods with edge-preserving properties, such as those related to total variation, wavelets and half-quadratic regularization. In the present work, the performance of an edge-preserving regularization method, called ARTUR, is evaluated in the context of magnetic induction tomography (MIT). ARTUR is a deterministic method based on half-quadratic regularization, where complementary a priori information may be introduced in the reconstruction algorithm by the use of a nonnegativity constraint. The method is first tested using an MIT analytical model that generates projection data given the position, the radius and the magnetic permeability of a single nonconductive cylindrical object. It is shown that even in the presence of strong Gaussian additive noise, it is still able to recover the main features of the object. Secondly, reconstructions based on real data for different configurations of conductive nonmagnetic cylindrical objects are presented and some of their parameters estimated.

Unequal X chromosomes in Bradysia hygida (Diptera:Sciaridae) females: karyotype assembly and morphometric analysis

The mitotic chromosomes of Bradysia hygida (Diptera:Sciaridae) neuroblast cells are described together with their morphometric data. Giemsa-stained neuroblast chromosomes from female and male larvae confirm the chromosome number of this species, 2n = 8 (XX) and 2n = 7 (XO), respectively. The karyotype assembly reveals two metacentric autosomic pairs, the A and B chromosomes; a subtelocentric, the C chromosome, the smallest one; and a sexual unequal metacentric pair, X chromosome, in female karyotype and a one sexual metacentric X chromosome in male. The implications of the unequal X chromosome pair are discussed.

Frequency-selective fat suppression MR imaging. Localized asymmetric failure of fat suppression mimicking orbital disease

Our objectives were to further characterize an artifact related to the localized failure of the frequency-selective (FATSAT) fat suppression magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique. We constructed two phantoms simulating human orbital anatomy and imaged them on a 1.5-T MR scanner using (FATSAT) and short T1 inversion recovery (STIR) techniques of fat suppression. The first phantom resembled orbit structural configurations; it was imaged in coronal and axial planes and in varying orientations with respect to the main magnetic field (Z axis) to study the features of the artifact and to reproduce the asymmetry seen in clinical cases. We designed the second phantom to enable quantification of the change in artifact size with change in orientation. We imaged the orbits of a normal human volunteer in similar planes and orientations, and compared the results to clinical cases demonstrating the artifact and true orbital disease. The artifact identified with localized failure of FATSAT fat suppression manifested as regions of hyperintensity maximal at fat-air interfaces, with gradual fading of the increased signal with distance from the interfaces. The artifact was most prominent when the interfaces were perpendicular to the axis of the main magnetic field (Z axis). The regions of increased brightness obscured normal orbital structures but were not associated with alterations in the geometry of these structures. Changes in orientation of the interfaces with respect to the Z axis, both in the phantoms and normal volunteer, reproduced the asymmetry of fat suppression failure seen in clinical cases. The relationship of size of the artifact to change in orientation was non-linear. The artifact was not seen on STIR images. We concluded that failure of FATSAT fat suppression may mimic orbital disease, particularly if asymmetric. As predicted by the Maxwell electromagnetism equation, slight variations in orientation of the fat-air interface to the Z axis may produce large asymmetries in fat suppression failure in the orbit. Confirmation may require either comparison with additional pulse sequences [T1-weighted spin echo (T1W SE) or STIR] or repositioning the patient's head to check for persistence of the finding with varying orientations.