Microorganisms present in artisanal fermented food from South America.

Artisanal fermented products (foods and beverages) are produced in an artisanal way in many countries around the world. The main purpose of fermentation is to preserve the food, improve its safety, increase the nutritional and health-promoting value and add specific flavours. In South America, there is a great variety of fermented food produced in an artisanal way.

Health properties of oca (Oxalis tuberosa) and yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius).

Andean roots and tubers are underexploited crops; many contain compounds beneficial to health, so a greater knowledge of their properties is important for encouraging their consumption. The aim of this work was to study the content of bioactive compounds of yacon and oca and their effect on intestinal health using as a model rats of the Wistar strain. Two varieties of ocas (Overa and Rosada) and yacon, which contain significant amounts of fructooligosaccharides and phenolic compounds, were chosen.

[Chemical characterization and quantification of fructooligosaccharides, phenolic compounds and antiradical activity of Andean roots and tubers grown in Northwest of Argentina].

There is great interest in consuming foods that can provide the nutrients for a good nutrition and other health beneficial compounds. The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of native foods of the Andean region and to quantify some functional com-ponents. Proximal composition, vitamin C, total phenolic compounds, antiradical activity (DPPH) in peel and pulp, dietary fiber soluble and insoluble, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), total and resistant starch (in tubers and raw roots, boiled and boiled and stored) of 6 varieties of Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), 4 clones of manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius were determined.

Pharmacophore selection and redesign of non-nucleotide inhibitors of anthrax edema factor.

Antibiotic treatment may fail to protect individuals, if not started early enough, after infection with Bacillus anthracis, due to the continuing activity of toxins that the bacterium produces. Stable and easily stored inhibitors of the edema factor toxin (EF), an adenylyl cyclase, could save lives in the event of an outbreak, due to natural causes or a bioweapon attack. The toxin's basic activity is to convert ATP to cAMP, and it is thus in principle a simple phosphatase, which means that many mammalian enzymes, including intracellular adenylcyclases, may have a similar activity.

Structure-based redesign of an edema toxin inhibitor.

Edema factor (EF) toxin of Bacillus anthracis (NIAID category A), and several other toxins from NIAID category B Biodefense target bacteria are adenylyl cyclases or adenylyl cyclase agonists that catalyze the conversion of ATP to 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). We previously identified compound 1 (3-[(9-oxo-9H-fluorene-1-carbonyl)-amino]-benzoic acid), that inhibits EF activity in cultured mammalian cells, and reduces diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) at an oral dosage of 15μg/mouse. Here, molecular docking was used to predict improvements in potency and solubility of new derivatives of compound 1 in inhibiting edema toxin (ET)-catalyzed stimulation of cyclic AMP production in murine monocyte-macrophage cells (RAW 264.

Digital assessment of the reproductive tract versus colposcopy for directing biopsies in women with abnormal Pap smears.

Objective: This study aimed to compare digital camera assessment of the reproductive tract (DART) to colposcopy for the evaluation of abnormal Pap smears.

Materials And Methods: Participants included 207 women with abnormal Pap smears. Colposcopy and DART were performed on each patient by separate examiners with the goal of lesion detection.

Synthesis and screening of small molecule inhibitors of anthrax edema factor.

The synthesis and development of a novel class of molecules that inhibit anthrax edema factor, an adenylyl cyclase, is reported. These molecules are derived from the initial discovery that histidine and imidazole adducts of the prostaglandin PGE(2) reduce the net secretory response of cholera toxin-challenged mice and act directly on the action of anthrax edema factor, a calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase. The simple enones examined in this letter were prepared by palladium-catalyzed Suzuki reaction.

Participation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors on methylmercury-induced DNA damage in rat frontal cortex.

Methylmercury (MeHg) inhibits glutamate uptake by astrocytes, which can contribute to neuronal loss through excitotoxicity. We explored the extent at which this phenomenon is involved in MeHg-induced DNA damage in the rat cortex. MeHg amounts that increase extracellular glutamate (1.