Chemical characterization and antioxidant potential of ecuadorian propolis.

The chemical composition and the antioxidant potential of Ecuadorian propolis samples (n = 19) collected in different provinces were investigated. HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS and GC-EI-MS analysis of the methanol extracts enabled us to define six types of Ecuadorian propolis based on their secondary metabolite composition. 68 compounds were identified, 59 of which are reported for the first time in Ecuadorian propolis.

Expression of pathogenesis-related proteins in transplastomic tobacco plants confers resistance to filamentous pathogens under field trials.

Plants are continuously challenged by pathogens, affecting most staple crops compromising food security. They have evolved different mechanisms to counterattack pathogen infection, including the accumulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. These proteins have been implicated in active defense, and their overexpression has led to enhanced resistance in nuclear transgenic plants, although in many cases constitutive expression resulted in lesion-mimic phenotypes.

High-throughput SuperSAGE for gene expression analysis of Nicotiana tabacum-Rhizoctonia solani interaction.

Objective: The ubiquitous soil pathogen Rhizoctonia solani causes serious diseases in different plant species. Despite the importance of this disease, little is known regarding the molecular basis of susceptibility. SuperSAGE technology and next-generation sequencing were used to generate transcript libraries during the compatible Nicotiana tabacum-R.

Expression of a Nicotiana tabacum pathogen-induced gene is involved in the susceptibility to black shank.

Many host genes induced during compatible plant-pathogen interactions constitute targets of pathogen virulence factors that act to suppress host defenses. In order to identify Nicotiana tabacum L. genes for pathogen-induced proteins involved in susceptibility to the oomycete Phytophthora parasitica var.

'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', Causal Agent of Citrus Huanglongbing, Is Reduced by Treatment with Brassinosteroids.

Huanglongbing (HLB) constitutes the most destructive disease of citrus worldwide, yet no established efficient management measures exist for it. Brassinosteroids, a family of plant steroidal compounds, are essential for plant growth, development and stress tolerance. As a possible control strategy for HLB, epibrassinolide was applied to as a foliar spray to citrus plants infected with the causal agent of HLB, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'.

Attitudes toward self-sampling for cervical cancer screening among primary care attendees living on the US-Mexico border.

Background: Hispanic women living along the US border with Mexico have one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the nation, owing in part to lower rates of screening. The barriers to screening in this population include lack of access to care and fear of and embarrassment about the pelvic examination. Screening for oncogenic or high-risk human papillomavirus during cervical cytology has been added to screening recommendations.

Bioluminescence imaging correlates with tumor progression in an orthotopic mouse model of lung cancer.

Background And Objectives: To determine whether bioluminescence imaging of human lung cancer cells growing in an orthotopic murine model provides a sensitive tool for monitoring tumor progression in athymic nude mice.

Methods: Human lung cancer (A549) cells were stably transfected with the firefly luciferase gene and inoculated into the right lung of athymic nude mice. Seven days after inoculation tumor growth was evaluated using the Kodak in-vivo Imaging System FX and continued to be monitored on a weekly basis.

Black shank resistant tobacco by silencing of glutathione S-transferase.

A glutathione S-transferase gene was amplified from cDNA of Nicotiana tabacum roots infected with Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae. The gene was cloned in sense and anti-sense orientation to an RNAi vector for induced gene silencing, and reduced expression of the gene was detected by RT-PCR.

Phase I study of the combination of docetaxel, temozolomide and cisplatin in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Purpose: In a search for more effective combination chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, we conducted a phase I trial of a novel combination of docetaxel, temozolomide, and cisplatin.

Methods: Patients with inoperable or recurrent metastatic melanoma with a Zubrod performance status of 2 or less and adequate organ function were eligible. The dose of docetaxel was escalated between cohorts of patients, and the doses of temozolomide and cisplatin were fixed.

Chemical characterization of Cuban propolis by HPLC-PDA, HPLC-MS, and NMR: the brown, red, and yellow Cuban varieties of propolis.

Sixty-five samples of propolis were collected from eleven regions of Cuba; methanolic extracts of propolis were prepared from all samples, and a classification method was developed using a combination of NMR, HPLC-PDA, and HPLC-ESI/MS techniques. The analysis of (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra and chromatographic profiles of all propolis extracts allowed the definition of three main types of Cuban propolis directly related to their secondary metabolite classes: brown Cuban propolis (BCP), rich in polyisoprenylated benzophenones, red Cuban propolis (RCP), containing isoflavonoids as the main constituents, and yellow Cuban propolis (YCP), probably with aliphatic compounds. Subsequently, the principal compounds of the brown and red types were characterized by HPLC-ESI/MS analysis.

Biologic and immunomodulatory events after CTLA-4 blockade with ticilimumab in patients with advanced malignant melanoma.

Background: T-regulatory (TR) cells expressing cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) maintain peripheral immune tolerance and negatively affect host immune responses against cancer. The immunobiologic effects of ticilimumab, a human monoclonal antibody against CTLA-4, was administered to patients with metastatic melanoma who participated in a Phase I/II clinical trial.

Methods: Thirty patients who received ticilimumab at a dose of 10 mg/kg monthly (n=20) or 15 mg/kg every 3 months (n=10) were studied at study entry and at 14-day intervals thereafter to assess lymphocyte immunophenotypes, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-10 production, and the expression of TR-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from a subset of patients was studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Polyprenylated benzophenone derivatives from Cuban propolis.

Three new polyprenylated benzophenone derivatives, propolones B-D (5-7), together with garcinielliptone I (8) and hyperibone B (9), were isolated from Cuban propolis. All the structures, including relative configurations, were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and computer-generated molecular modeling.