Biological and molecular characterization of a highly divergent johnsongrass mosaic virus isolate from Pennisetum purpureum.

The complete genome sequence (9,865 nucleotides) of a highly divergent johnsongrass mosaic virus isolate (JGMV-CNPGL) was determined using Illumina sequencing. This isolate infected 10 genotypes of gramineous plants including maize. A comparative analysis of the complete genome showed 80 % nucleotide (nt) sequence identity (86 % amino acid (aa) sequence identity) to a johnsongrass mosaic virus isolate from Australia.

Ipsilateral and contralateral foot pronation affect lower limb and trunk biomechanics of individuals with knee osteoarthritis during gait.

Background: Lateral wedges have been suggested for the treatment of individuals with knee osteoarthritis, but it may have undesirable effects on the biomechanics of gait through increased foot pronation. This study investigated the effects of increased unilateral foot pronation on the biomechanics of individuals with knee osteoarthritis during gait.

Methods: Biomechanical data of twenty individuals with knee osteoarthritis were collected while they walked in three conditions: i) flat sandals; ii) wedged sandal on the knee osteoarthritis limb and flat sandal on the healthy limb; and iii) flat sandal on the osteoarthritis and wedged sandal on the healthy limb.

Management of health sector actions in drought situations.

Water is essential for the socio-economic development of a region and also for the survival of human beings. Water scarcity has direct and indirect impacts on the environment, the economy and human health. It can change the profile of morbidity and mortality of diseases, as well as having an impact on the supply of services that are essential public to the quality of life.

Cytocompatibility and biocompatibility of nanostructured carbonated hydroxyapatite spheres for bone repair.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo biological responses to nanostructured carbonated hydroxyapatite/calcium alginate (CHA) microspheres used for alveolar bone repair, compared to sintered hydroxyapatite (HA).

Material And Methods: The maxillary central incisors of 45 Wistar rats were extracted, and the dental sockets were filled with HA, CHA, and blood clot (control group) (n=5/period/group). After 7, 21 and 42 days, the samples of bone with the biomaterials were obtained for histological and histomorphometric analysis, and the plasma levels of RANKL and OPG were determined via immunoassay.

Studying complex system: calcium oscillations as attractor of cell differentiation.

Biological processes, such as the induction of undifferentiated cells to enable neurogenesis, provide complex mechanisms for study. For further insight, subsets of these processes that are governed by metabolic pathways or key molecules called attractors need to be elucidated. In this review, we have focused on the role of calcium as a driving force of neuronal differentiation.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with sodium hyaluronate enhance bone mineralization.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sodium hyaluronate (HY), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and HY-functionalized SWCNTs (HY-SWCNTs) on the behavior of primary osteoblasts, as well as to investigate the deposition of inorganic crystals on titanium surfaces coated with these biocomposites. Primary osteoblasts were obtained from the calvarial bones of male newborn Wistar rats (5 rats for each cell extraction). We assessed cell viability using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay and by double-staining with propidium iodide and Hoechst.

A Global Gait Asymmetry Index.

High levels of gait asymmetry are associated with many pathologies. Our long-term goal is to improve gait symmetry through real-time biofeedback of a symmetry index. Symmetry is often reported as a single metric or a collective signature of multiple discrete measures.

Functionalized nanomaterials: are they effective to perform gene delivery to difficult-to-transfect cells with no cytotoxicity?

Nanodiamonds (NDs), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and gold nanorods (NRs) can be functionalized to promote gene delivery to hard-to-transfect cells with higher transfection efficiency than cationic lipids, and inducing less cell death.

Cataract surgery in patients with nanophthalmos: results and complications.

Purpose: To evaluate phacoemulsification surgery results and complications in patients with nanophthalmos.

Methods: The records of 9 patients with nanophthalmos who had cataract surgery from January 2011 through January 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Nanophthalmos was diagnosed by the presence of an eye with an axial length (AL) less than 20.

The silencing suppressor (NSs) protein of the plant virus Tomato spotted wilt virus enhances heterologous protein expression and baculovirus pathogenicity in cells and lepidopteran insects.

In this work, we showed that cell death induced by a recombinant (vAcNSs) Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) expressing the silencing suppressor (NSs) protein of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was enhanced on permissive and semipermissive cell lines. The expression of a heterologous gene (firefly luciferase) during co-infection of insect cells with vAcNSs and a second recombinant baculovirus (vAgppolhfluc) was shown to increase when compared to single vAgppolhfluc infections. Furthermore, the vAcNSs mean time-to-death values were significantly lower than those for wild-type AcMNPV on larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda and Anticarsia gemmatalis.

Calcium signaling and cell proliferation.

Cell proliferation is orchestrated through diverse proteins related to calcium (Ca(2+)) signaling inside the cell. Cellular Ca(2+) influx that occurs first by various mechanisms at the plasma membrane, is then followed by absorption of Ca(2+) ions by mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, and, finally, there is a connection of calcium stores to the nucleus. Experimental evidence indicates that the fluctuation of Ca(2+) from the endoplasmic reticulum provides a pivotal and physiological role for cell proliferation.

Photosynthetic and antioxidative alterations in coffee leaves caused by epoxiconazole and pyraclostrobin sprays and Hemileia vastatrix infection.

Coffee leaf rust (CLR), caused by Hemileia vastatrix, is a major disease affecting coffee production worldwide. In this study, an in-depth analysis of the photosynthetic performance of coffee leaves challenged or not with H. vastatrix and sprayed with either epoxiconazole (EPO) or pyraclostrobin (PYR) was performed by combining chlorophyll a fluorescence images, photosynthetic pigment pools and the activities of chitinase (CHI), β-1,3-glucanase (GLU), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT).

Graphene-based nanomaterials: biological and medical applications and toxicity.

Graphene and its derivatives, due to a wide range of unique properties that they possess, can be used as starting material for the synthesis of useful nanocomplexes for innovative therapeutic strategies and biodiagnostics. Here, we summarize the latest progress in graphene and its derivatives and their potential applications for drug delivery, gene delivery, biosensor and tissue engineering. A simple comparison with carbon nanotubes uses in biomedicine is also presented.

Early osseointegration driven by the surface chemistry and wettability of dental implants.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of two different commercially available dental implants on osseointegration. The surfaces were sandblasting and acid etching (Group 1) and sandblasting and acid etching, then maintained in an isotonic solution of 0.9% sodium chloride (Group 2).

Quantifying the offensive sequences that result in goals in elite futsal matches.

The aim of this study was to quantify the type of offensive sequences that result in goals in elite futsal. Thirty competitive games in the Spanish Primera Division de Sala were analysed using computerised notation analysis for patterns of play that resulted in goals. More goals were scored in positional attack (42%) and from set pieces (27%) compared to other activities.

Beneficial effects of angiotensin-(1-7) against deoxycorticosterone acetate-induced diastolic dysfunction occur independently of changes in blood pressure.

Mineralocorticoids have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diastolic heart failure. On the contrary, angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) has emerged as a potential strategy for treatment of cardiac dysfunction induced by excessive mineralocorticoid receptor activation. A critical question about the cardioprotective effect of Ang-(1-7) in hypertensive models is its dependence on blood pressure (BP) reduction.

Macaúba (Acrocomia aculeata) cake from biodiesel processing: a low-cost substrate to produce lipases from Moniliella spathulata R25L270 with potential application in the oleochemical industry.

Background: Biodiesel industry wastes were evaluated as supplements for lipase production by Moniliella spathulata R25L270, which is newly identified yeast with great lipolytic potential. Macaúba cake (MC), used for the first time in this work as inducer to produce lipases, and residual oil (RO) were mixed to maximise enzyme production. The lipase secreted was biochemically characterised.

Recessive Resistance Derived from Tomato cv. Tyking-Limits Drastically the Spread of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus.

The tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) causes severe damage to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world. TYLCD is associated with a complex of single-stranded circular DNA plant viruses of the genus Begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) transmitted by the whitefy Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

New method for the determination of bile acids in human plasma by liquid-phase microextraction using liquid chromatography-ion-trap-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Bile acids (BAs) are derived from cholesterol and produced in the liver. The most abundant bile acids in humans are usually conjugated with glycine and taurine and are divided into primary BAs such as cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and secondary BAs like deoxycholic acid (DCA), lithocholic acid (LCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). The differences amongst individual bile acids (BAs) are significant in order to distinguish different pathological processes and exposure to chemical compounds.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of strontium-containing nanostructured carbonated hydroxyapatite/sodium alginate for sinus lift in rabbits.

Various synthetic bone substitutes have been developed to reconstruct bone defects. One of the most prevalent ceramics in bone treatment is hydroxyapatite (HA) that is a useful material as bone substitute, however, with a low rate of biodegradation. Its structure allows isomorphic cationic and anionic substitutions to be easily introduced, which can alter the crystallinity, morphology, biocompatibility, and osteoconductivity.

The movement proteins (NSm) of distinct tospoviruses peripherally associate with cellular membranes and interact with homologous and heterologous NSm and nucleocapsid proteins.

Tospovirus is the only genus containing virus species which infect plants in the Bunyaviridae family. The aims of this study were to understand the in vivo membrane association of the movement protein (NSm) of the tospovirus species Bean necrotic mosaic virus, Chrysanthemum stem necrosis virus, Tomato chlorotic spot virus and Tomato spotted wilt virus and the homologous and heterologous interactions among NSm and nucleocapsid protein (N). The results obtained by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay and chemical treatments after membrane fractionation revealed that the four NSm proteins are associated with the biological membranes with the N- and C-termini oriented to the cytoplasm.

Alzheimer's disease-related misfolded proteins and dysfunctional organelles on autophagy menu.

Autophagy is a housekeeping process responsible for the bulk degradation of misfolded protein aggregates and damaged organelles through the lysosomal machinery. Given its key role as a cellular quality control mechanism, autophagy is now a focus of intense scrutiny in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The hallmarks of this devastating neurodegenerative disease are the accumulation of misfolded amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and hyperphosphorylated tau protein and neuronal loss, which are accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, suggesting that faulty autophagy is a contributing factor to AD pathology.

Comparative analysis of tropaeolin adsorption onto raw and acid-treated kaolinite: optimization by Response Surface Methodology.

The comparative adsorption of Tropaeolin (TP) onto raw kaolinite (RK) and kaolinite submitted to acid treatment (AK) was studied. RK and AK were characterized by zeta potential and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The adsorption was investigated using Composite Central Design (CCD) and the parameters evaluated were initial TP solution concentration, quantity of adsorbent and the pH of the solution.

Succinate causes pathological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through GPR91 activation.

Background: Succinate is an intermediate of the citric acid cycle as well as an extracellular circulating molecule, whose receptor, G protein-coupled receptor-91 (GPR91), was recently identified and characterized in several tissues, including heart. Because some pathological conditions such as ischemia increase succinate blood levels, we investigated the role of this metabolite during a heart ischemic event, using human and rodent models.

Results: We found that succinate causes cardiac hypertrophy in a GPR91 dependent manner.

Lipolytic potential of Aspergillus japonicus LAB01: production, partial purification, and characterisation of an extracellular lipase.

Lipolytic potential of Aspergillus japonicus LAB01 was investigated by describing the catalytic properties and stability of a secreted extracellular lipase. Enzyme production was considered high under room temperature after 4 days using sunflower oil and a combination of casein with sodium nitrate. Lipase was partially purified by 3.