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The common characteristics that make scaffolds suitable for human tissue substitutes include high porosity, microscale features, and pores interconnectivity. Too often, however, these characteristics are limiting factors for the scalability of different fabrication approaches, particularly in bioprinting techniques, in which either poor resolution, small areas, or slow processes hinder practical use in certain applications. An excellent example is bioengineered scaffolds for wound dressings, in which microscale pores in large surface-to-volume ratio scaffolds must be manufactured – ideally fast, precise, and cheap, and where conventional printing methods do not readily meet both ends. In this work, we propose an alternative vat photopolymerization technique to fabricate centimeter-scale scaffolds without losing resolution. We used laser beam shaping to first modify the profile of the voxels in 3D printing, resulting in a technology we refer to as light sheet stereolithography (LS-SLA). For proof of concept, we developed a system from commercially available off-the-shelf components to demonstrate strut thicknesses up to 12.8 ± 1.8 μm, tunable pore sizes ranging from 36 μm to 150 μm, and scaffold areas up to 21.4 mm × 20.6 mm printed in a short time. Furthermore, the potential to fabricate more complex and three-dimensional scaffolds was demonstrated with a structure composed of six layers, each rotated by 45° with respect to the previous. Besides the demonstrated high resolution and achievable large scaffold sizes, we found that LS-SLA has great potential for scaling-up of applied oriented technology for tissue engineering applications.

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are the most cultivated and important vegetable crop in the world. These plants can wilt during crop growth due to fusarium wilt (fusariosis), a disease that damages tomato vascular systems. The Fusarium isolated and analyzed in this work correspond to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici. The isolates were molecularly identified, and analysis was done on the in vitro effects of the nanoemulsions (previously obtained from extracts of Chilean medicinal plants of the genera Psoralea and Escallonia) to inhibit mycelial and conidial germination of the isolates. Subsequently, the nanoemulsions were evaluated under greenhouse conditions for preventive control of fusariosis in the root and crown, with high levels of disease control observed using the highest concentrations of these nanoemulsions, at 250 and 500 ppm.

Resinous exudate obtained from the aerial parts of Adesmia boronioides Hook.f. were evaluated to determine anti-phytopathogenic effects. Briefly, resinous exudate was obtained by dipping fresh plant material in dichloromethane; chemical composition was determined by GC–MS; and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were evaluated against four phytopathogenic bacteria. Resinous exudate yield was 8.5% (resin/fresh plant), of which esquel-6-en-9-one (14.25%), esquel-7-en-9-one (5.86%), and veratric acid (2.59%) were the effective antibacterial compounds. Tested against Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovora, Erwinia amylovora, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas syringae, MICs and MBCs ranged from 16 to 128 µg/mL and 32–256 µg/mL, respectively. These results provide initial evidence that resinous bush A. boronioides is a new and alternative source of substances with agricultural interest.

A series of ten chalcones (7a–j) and five new dihydrochromane–chalcone hybrids (7k–o) were synthesized and identified using spectroscopic techniques (IR, NMR, and MS). All compounds were evaluated in vitro against the B. cinerea and M. fructicola phytopathogens that affect a wide range of crops of commercial interest. All compounds were tested against both phytopathogens using the mycelial growth inhibition test, and it was found that two and five compounds had similar activity to that of the positive control for B. cinerea (7a = 43.9, 7c = 45.5, and Captan®= 24.8 µg/mL) and M. fructicola (7a = 48.5, 7d = 78.2, 7e = 56.1, 7f = 51.8, 7n = 63.2, and Mystic®= 21.6 µg/mL), respectively. To understand the key chalcone structural features for the antifungal activity on B. cinerea and M. fructicola, we developed structure–activity models with good statistical values (r2 and q2 higher than 0.8). For B. cinerea, the hydrogen bonding donor and acceptor and the atomic charge on C5 modulate the mycelial growth inhibition activity. In contrast, dipole moment and atomic charge on C1′ and the carbonyl carbon modify the inhibition activity for M. fructicola. These results allow the design of other compounds with activities superior to those of the compounds obtained in this study.

Freeform tailoring optics are core components in advanced illumination and laser technologies. In this work, we propose an efficient and streamlined optics design method to face the challenges in its implementation. We integrate ray-mapping least squares calculations with freeform surface optimization tools embedded in commercial optical design software. As a result, the complexity of freeform illumination and laser beam shaping design is significantly reduced by only adapting a built-in merit function. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach through three design examples that provide tailored irradiance distributions. Furthermore, the results highlight the efficiency, simplicity and versatility of our approach that can be readily applied to multiple configurations.

Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) is a fungal epidemic disease that has been affecting coffee trees around the world since the 1980s. The early diagnosis of CLR would contribute strategically to minimize the impact on the crops and, therefore, protect the farmers’ profitability. In this research, a cyber-physical data-collection system was developed, by integrating Remote Sensing and Wireless Sensor Networks, to gather data, during the development of the CLR, on a test bench coffee-crop. The system is capable of automatically collecting, structuring, and locally and remotely storing reliable multi-type data from different field sensors, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and multi-spectral cameras (RE and RGN). In addition, a data-visualization dashboard was implemented to monitor the data-collection routines in real-time. The operation of the data collection system allowed to create a three-month size dataset that can be used to train CLR diagnosis machine learning models. This result validates that the designed system can collect, store, and transfer reliable data of a test bench coffee-crop towards CLR diagnosis.

The aim of this study was to synthesize a series of novel and known dihydrocarvone-hybrid derivatives (2–9) and to evaluate mycelial growth activity of hybrid molecules against two strains of Monilinia fructicola, as well as their toxicity. Dihydrocarvone-hybrid derivatives have been synthesized under sonication conditions and characterized by FTIR, NMR, and HRMS. Antifungal efficacy against both strains of M. fructicola was determined by half maximal effective concentration (EC50) and toxicity using the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT). Among the synthesized compounds, 7 and 8 showed the best activity against both strains of M. fructicola with EC50 values of 148.1 and 145.9 µg/mL for strain 1 and 18.1 and 15.7 µg/mL for strain 2, respectively, compared to BC 1000® (commercial organic fungicide) but lower than Mystic® 520 SC. However, these compounds showed low toxicity values, 910 and 890 µg/mL, respectively, compared to Mystic® 520 SC, which was highly toxic. Based on the results, these hybrid compounds could be considered for the development of more active, less toxic, and environmentally friendly antifungal agents against phytopathogenic fungi.

Laser beam shaping has been promising for many applications, such as two-photon polymerization[1], advanced microscopy[2], laser material processing[3]. Typical components are apertures, filters, diffractive optical elements (DOEs), refractive lenses, etc. So far, most designs have been focusing on how to shape a laser beam in a co-axial optical path, whereas certain applications require tilt geometry for a skew optical path [4]. Beam shaping problem is in general an inversed problem, which can be solved by ray-mapping, supporting quadric and Monge-Ampère equation method [5]. Ray-mapping method has its superiority for its high compatibility for various applications. Our previous work has led to a generalized ray-mapping method (A paper under review), which solves the Monge-Ampère equations for versatile input and output irradiance distributions[6]. This method is quite practical and readily to use for optical designers. In this work, we have further investigated its application for a top-hat beam shaping in a slanted illumination configuration.

Materials play a key role in tissue engineering for the construction of 3-dimensional scaffolds that support the formation of a new extracellular matrix. They should be biocompatible, and for the fabrication of functional scaffolds, they should be mechanically robust, provide high resolution and printability factors to use in one-photon polymerization micro-stereolithography (OPP mu-SLA) technologies. Furthermore, applications where those materials are used, such as tissue regeneration or tissue substitutes, require fabrication approaches that allow the scalability of 3D scaffold for their clinical use. Therefore, both materials and technology need to be optimized and improved. We tackle two research tracks, one to provide high resolution and biocompatible materials that can be used in OPP- mu-SLA, and a second one to obtain a new mu-SLA configuration that can boost large-size scaffold fabrication for tissue engineering applications. In this work, we report our progress towards the formulation of a hydrogel based on the prototype resin X HYDRORES INX X100 from XPECT INX and we describe the configuration based on the beam shaping of a laser source to print centimeter scale scaffolds while conserving micro-scale features. We printed scaffolds with a commercial ABS resin and the bio-inert hydrogel from XPECT INX that allow us to compare resolution, printability, and mechanical stability. Our results evidence structures with voxel widths up to 20 mu m and lengths up to 23 mm by using uniform light sheets illumination patterns. This work set new alternatives for the material and the fabrication aspects of additive manufacturing for 3D biofabrication.

Freeform optics reveals many benefits for beam-shaping systems. We propose an approach by reproducible ray mapping functions and surface optimizations to significantly reduce the design complexity of freeform beam shaping optics.

In the present study, seven 2’,4’-dihydroxydihydrochalcone derivatives (compounds 3–9) were synthesized and their capacity as anti-Saprolegnia agents were evaluated against Saprolegnia parasitica, S. australis, S. diclina. Derivative 9 showed the best activity against the different strains, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC) values between 100–175 μg/mL and 100–200 μg/mL, respectively, compared with bronopol and fluconazole as positive controls. In addition, compound 9 caused damage and disintegration cell membrane of all Saprolegnia strains over the action of commercial controls.

Chalcones are a group of molecules with a broad spectrum of biological activities, being especially appealing for their antiproliferative effects on several cancer cell lines. For this reason, we synthesized 23 chalcones with good to excellent yields and assessed their effect on the viability of the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line and on primary human fibroblasts. The results indicated that 18 of these compounds were more active than 5-fluorouracil in the cancer cell line and one of them was more selective than this reference drug. To identify structural features related to the antiproliferative activity of these compounds, as well as, the selectivity on the cancer cell line, a 2D-QSAR analysis was performed. The QSAR model (q2 = 0.803; r2 = 0.836) showed that lipophilicity (CLogP) is the most important factor to increase their cytotoxicity on the cancer cell line. On the other hand, the selectivity QSAR model (q2 = 0.917; r2 = 0.916) showed that changes in the Mulliken’s charge of the carbonyl group and at the C4’ position in the chalcone core can increase the selectivity for SH-SY5Y cell line compared to normal fibroblasts.

Background The antifeedant activity of 18 sesquiterpenoids of the drimane family (polygodial, drimenol and derivatives) was investigated. Results Polygodial, drimanic and nordrimanic derivatives were found to exert antifeedant effects against two insect species, Spodoptera frugiperda and Epilachna paenulata, which are pests of agronomic interest, indicating that they have potential as biopesticide agents. Among the 18 compounds tested, the epoxynordrimane compound (11) and isonordrimenone (4) showed the highest activity [50% effective concentration (EC50 ) = 23.28 and 25.63 nmol cm-2 , respectively, against S. frugiperda, and 50.50 and 59.00 nmol/cm2 , respectively, against E. paenulata]. Conclusion The results suggest that drimanic compounds have potential as new agents against S. frugiperda and E. paenulata. A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis of the whole series, supported by electronic studies, suggested that drimanic compounds have structural features necessary for increasing antifeedant activity, namely a C-9 carbonyl group and an epoxide at C-8 and C-9. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Nylon/saponite nanocomposites were synthesized and characterized. The nanocomposites were prepared by means of a fast, efficient, low cost, and environmentally friendly method. All of the tested preparations resulted in the pre-designed nanocomposites. To this end, delaminated saponites were directly synthesized to be used as a filler in a polymer matrix formed by nylon-6 by the in situ intercalation polymerisation of an ε-caprolactam monomer without the use of surfactants or other organic reagents to organophilise the clay, thus avoiding the drawbacks of contamination. The efficiency of the preparation method increased, and significant savings were achieved in terms of both energy reaction time, savings of 60% and 70%, respectively, by using microwave radiation as an energy source during the synthesis of the nanocomposites. In addition, given that the method that was followed avoids the use of contaminating organophilic agents, it is important to highlight the savings in reagents and the fact that there was zero environmental contamination.

Chalcones are bioactive compounds obtained from either natural sources or synthetic procedures and widely used due to their several biological properties. The most common experimental methodology in obtaining these compounds is Claisen–Schmidt reaction, which is a particular type of aldolic condensation. In this work, we have synthesized 23 chalcones and by density functional theory (DFT) calculation, we have studied the difference in reactivity of the several benzaldehydes and their effects on the yield of this reaction. From molecular orbital descriptors were obtained two quantitative structure–reactivity relationship (QSRR) models based on Hansch’s analysis. The results of this study showed that, for the most benzaldehydes (15 of 23 compounds), their reactivity was correlated with LUMO energy and global Electrophilicity Index (ω) values, which are determined in the first step of Claisen–Schmidt condensation mechanism (nucleophilic addition). Likewise, for the smallest group of benzaldehydes, their reactivity was related to their HOMO and ΔL − H (LUMO − HOMO) energies, which were determined in the second step of the mechanism (trans-elimination). This is the first report of a QSRR model analyzing the yield of chalcone synthesis based on DFT methodology.

Tomando como punto de partida la pregunta ¿las músicas iberoamericanas deberían tener una mayor presencia en los cursos de historia de la música que actualmente se enseñan en los Estados Unidos?, este ensayo analiza asuntos como la diversidad y el tokenismo en la réplica de los principales modelos de producción del conocimiento. Estos asuntos se analizan en relación con el ataque contemporáneo a las humanidades en la academia estadounidense, con el fin de proponer aproximaciones alternativas a la educación y la labor académica que funcionen como modelos críticos de la perspectiva colonialista que ha informado la educación musical por generaciones y el proyecto neoliberal que poco a poco se ha impuesto sobre la academia en los últimos veinte años.

Antecedentes: Las infecciones nosocomiales son aquellas que se adquieren y se manifiestan luego de 48 horas de hospitalizaciónObjetivo: Determinar los gérmenes aislados por cultivos de los recién nacidos diagnosticados como sepsis nosocomial en la unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatales (UCIN), Hospital Nacional Mario Catarino Rivas (HNMCR), en los meses de julio a septiembre del 2015.Pacientes y métodos: Estudio transversal, de los 443 pacientes ingresados a UCIN, 221 neonatos que desarrollaron infección posterior a 48 horas de internamiento. La información se obtuvo del expediente clínico y se procesó en el software estadístico Epi Info 3.02Resultados: De los cultivos obtenidos; (165) 75% resultaron positivos para algún germen específico. Los gérmenes aislados fueron; Pseudomona spp 71 (43%) y Pseudomona aeruginosa 58 (35%), haciendo un total de 78% de sepsis nosocomial por Pseudomona.Conclusión: La sepsis intrahospitalaria es un problema frecuente en UCIN, por lo tanto es necesario el cumplimiento de las normas de vigilancia y control de este tipo de infecciones.Acta Pediátrica Hondureña, Vol. 6, No. 2 /octubre 2015 a marzo 2016: 479-485

Agricultural activity has always been threatened by the presence of pests and diseases that prevent the proper development of crops and negatively affect the economy of farmers. One of these pests is Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), which is a fungal epidemic disease that affects coffee trees and causes massive defoliation. As an example, this disease has been affecting coffee trees in Colombia (the third largest producer of coffee worldwide) since the 1980s, leading to devastating losses between 70% and 80% of the harvest. Failure to detect pathogens at an early stage can result in infestations that cause massive destruction of plantations and significantly damage the commercial value of the products. The most common way to detect this disease is by walking through the crop and performing a human visual inspection. As a result of this problem, different research studies have proven that technological methods can help to identify these pathogens. Our contribution is an experiment that includes a CLR development stage diagnostic model in the Coffea arabica, Caturra variety, scale crop through the technological integration of remote sensing (through drone capable multispectral cameras), wireless sensor networks (multisensor approach), and Deep Learning (DL) techniques. Our diagnostic model achieved an F1-score of 0.775. The analysis of the results revealed a p-value of 0.231, which indicated that the difference between the disease diagnosis made employing a visual inspection and through the proposed technological integration was not statistically significant. The above shows that both methods were significantly similar to diagnose the disease.

Resinous exudate obtained from the aerial parts of

Wearable monitoring devices are now a usual commodity in the market, especially for the monitoring of sports and physical activity. However, specialized wearable devices remain an open field for high-risk professionals, such as military personnel, fire and rescue, law enforcement, etc. In this work, a prototype wearable instrument, based on reconfigurable technologies and capable of monitoring electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, and motion, is presented. This reconfigurable device allows a wide range of applications in conjunction with mobile devices. As a proof-of-concept, the reconfigurable instrument was been integrated into ad hoc glasses, in order to illustrate the non-invasive monitoring of the user. The performance of the presented prototype was validated against a commercial pulse oximeter, while several alternatives for QRS-complex detection were tested. For this type of scenario, clustering-based classification was found to be a very robust option.

Sorption experiments for copper removal were carried out using two different parts of the brown seaweed Lessonia nigrescens (L. nigrescens) as biosorbent. The effect of initial pH, contact time, mass–volume-ratio (M/V) and initial metal concentration was evaluated. The best adsorption capacities were obtained at pH = 3.2 ± 0.2, and to reach equilibrium, 7 days of contact time were necessary for both sections of the seaweed. The maximum experimental uptake achieved was 54.5 mg Cu g−1 by the blades of the alga and 58.5 mg Cu g−1 by the stipes. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models described the equilibrium sorption isotherms very well when using stipes as biosorbent, but the fitting was poor with both models when blades were used as biosorbent. The Ho and McKay pseudo-second order model described the sorption kinetics for stipes and blades satisfactorily.

This work reports on the development of an efficient and ecofriendly ultrasound assisted method for the high yield synthesis (70.0–94.0%) of eighteen oxyalkylated derivatives of 2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone. Synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro biological assays against HT-29 (colorectal), MCF-7 (breast), and PC-3 (prostate) human tumor cell lines, these cell lines are among the ten most aggressive malignancies diagnosed in the world. Cytotoxicity evaluations showed that four of the synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to very high toxic activity against MCF-7 (IC50 = 8.4–34.3 μM) and PC-3 (IC50 = 9.3–29.4 μM) – comparable to 5-fluorouracil (IC50 16.4–22.3 μM). The same compounds only showed moderate activity against HT-29 (IC50 15.3–36.3 μM), closer to daunorubicin (IC50 15.1 μM). Next, although selectivity index (SI) of compounds was weak, compound 18 exhibited a remarkable and selective cytotoxic activity (5.8–10.57) against cancer cells. Outside of these, most compounds significantly reduced cell survival, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspase activity, and decreased mitochondrial membrane permeability. In this sense, a portion of anti-proliferative activity is due to apoptosis. Notwithstanding, due to its remarkable response, chalcone 18 may be a potential alternative as a chemotherapeutic anti-carcinogen.

Melanoma is a highly invasive cancer that resists most conventional treatments. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify alternative anticancer agents able to affect new molecular targets. Drimys winteri (Winteraceae) is a medicinal plant, employed in Brazil and many countries, in folk medicine against a variety of ailments, especially for the treatment of fevers, ulcers, pains, affections of respiratory tract and cancers. Previous phytochemical studies have isolated and identified the presence of diverse classes of secondary metabolites in this plant such as sesquiterpenes. In an ongoing to identify new natural anticancer compounds for the treatment and/or prevention of melanoma, we study the effects of Drimys winteri bark ethyl acetate extract and its sesquiterpenes drimenol, nordrimenone, isonordrimenone and polygodial on human melanoma cells. The treatment of melanoma cells with extract, drimenol, isordrimenone and polygodial resulted in a significant reduction in cell viability. But, polygodial showed the highest inhibitory growth activity. In addition, we reported an apoptotic response after treatment with drimenol, isordrimenone and polygodial that probably involves the reduction of Hsp70 expression and reactive oxygen species production. Alternatively, the inhibition of caspase cascade at higher concentrations, correlated with additional reactive oxygen species increase, probably switches natural product-induced cell death from apoptosis to necrosis. Therefore, this evidence provides a scientific support for the anticancer employ of Drimys winteri in traditional medicinal and suggests that active molecules can be considered potential candidates to be tested also in in vivo models, alone or in combination with chemotherapy agents, for the management of melanoma.

Isocordin 1 and a series of 4-oxyalkyl-isocordoin analogues 2-8 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity effect against human melanoma cells (A2058). Analogues 4, 5, and 6 showed a higher inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 12.91 ± 0.031, 24.88 ± 0.013, and 11.62 ± 0.017, respectively. These analogues, 4, 5, and 6, also induced an apoptotic response at 12.5- and 25-μM concentrations. They inhibited the expression of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Hsp70, a critical factor that promotes tumour cell survival. In contrast, Bax and caspase-9 expression, and caspase-3 enzyme resulted activated. These results were correlated to a DNA fragmentation typical of apoptosis and an increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Alternatively, at higher concentration (50 μM), when the capacity of the cells to sustain Hsp70 synthesis is reduced, our results seem to indicate that necrosis was induced by a further increase in ROS production. Therefore, the central finding in the present study is that these molecules downregulates Hsp70 expression. Altogether, these results suggest that 4-oxyalkyl-isocordoin analogues 4, 5, and 6 deserve to be deeply investigated for a possible application as Hsp70 inhibitor in the management of melanoma.

In this study, resinous exudate from

Six new cyclodiprenyl phenols were synthesized by direct coupling of perillyl alcohol and the appropriate phenol. Their structures were established by IR, HRMS and mainly NMR. Three human cancer cell lines&mdash, breast (MCF-7), prostate (PC-3) and colon (HT-29)&mdash, were used in antiproliferative assays, with daunorubicin and dunnione as positive controls. Results described in the article suggest that dihydroxylated compounds 2&ndash, 4 and monohydroxylated compound 5 display selectivity against cancer cell lines, cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction, and mitochondrial membrane impairment capacity. Compound 2 was identified as the most effective of the series by displaying against all cancer cell lines a cytotoxicity close to dunnione antineoplastic agent, suggesting that the cyclodiprenyl phenols from perillyl alcohol deserve more extensive investigation of their potential medicinal applications.

Optically indistinguishable copies of 3D real objects or holograms are known to be suitable to replace exhibited artistic pieces in museums. In this paper, we discuss holography as an alternative to protect, share and preserve finely crafted gold pieces belonging to the indigenous treasure inherited by Colombians. We present high diffraction efficiency monocolor and color holograms of native goldwork. As reference objects and proof of concept, we use replicas of the renowned and emblematic Poporo Quimbaya, pre-Hispanic gold pendants and anthropomorphic gold pieces. We report experimental details to deal with different types of commercial holographic recording materials, as for example, PFG-03M and PFG- 03C silver halides or C-RT20 photopolymers. And its general feasibility for reproducing high-quality holograms suitable for museum exhibitions or traveling art-collections.

Synthetic holograms have achieved a great impact in a variety of fields like architecture, advertising, army and art, and have proven their importance in advancing the holographic displays as visual communication media. Printing synthetic holograms needs the development of a holographic printer that from a set of 2D images allows to create 3D holographic images of real objects and computer generated objects. With the purpose of developing a holoprinter, we have implemented three related components: i) design and implementation of an optical system for direct writing of hogels, ii) a computational implementation to generate parallax 2D images and finally, iii) the implementation of an opto-mechanical and control system for automatic recording of the synthetic holograms. The three components have been developed under the restricted conditions of our holographic laboratory. In this way, a direct write optical setup was implemented using He-Ne laser, and an optical system for hogel writing with a field of view (FOV) of 60° was designed by using commercial lenses. To generate 2D parallax images, an application was created in the free computer graphics software Blender, applying different camera configurations. And a LabView application was made to automatically control obturation and displacement of the holographic plate. The system developed can record computer generated objects and real objects. Real objects are digitized by using a conventional photographic camera. Reflection full parallax holographic stereograms were recorded on PFG-01 plates and their holographic reconstructions are presented and discussed.

In this study, resinous exudate from Madia sativa was analyzed by GC-MS. The major bioactive compounds 13,14,15-trihydroxylabd-7-ene (14) and 3,14,15-trihydroxylabd-8-ene (15) were isolated and their structures were determined by NMR. The antifungal activity of the resinous exudate and the labdanes compounds was evaluated using the inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi causing root rot of various crops. The evaluation of the resinous exudate showed no inhibition over 50% at 75 mg/L, while compound 15 had the stronger effect on the myceliar growth of P. cinnamomi, with a 94.6% inhibition at 175 mg/L. The same way, the mixture of both compounds in equal parts did not show a synergistic effect but showed similar percentages of mycelial growth inhibition from 25 mg/L with respect to the compounds separately.

A series of novel dihydrochalcone derivatives 2–7 were synthesized from dihydroisorcordoin 1 which was isolated from the aerial parts of Adesmia balsamica. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS. Their anti-oomycete activity was evaluated in vitro against Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia diclina. Some of the newly synthesized compounds exhibited better anti-oomycete activities at low values compared with bronopol and fluconazole as positive controls. Among them, compound 7 exhibited strong activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum oomyceticidal concentration values of 75 and 100 μg/mL, respectively.

This study evaluates the content of polyphenols, flavonoids and anthraquinones from sequential extracts from four algae species from along the Chilean coastline: Desmarestia ligulata , Dictyota kunthii , Laurencia chilensis and Chondracanthus chamissoi . The antioxidant capacity of these extracts was evaluated through three complementary assays: the TRAP, FRAP, and DPPH assays. Additionally, the cytotoxic activity of these extracts was determined through sulforhodamine B assays on two cancer cell lines, one colon (HT-29) and one breast (MCF-7), and one non-tumor control group of epithelial colon cells (CoN). The greatest antioxidant activity was detected in the ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts from L. chilensis in its TRAP potential, ethyl acetate of D. kunthii in its FRAP potential, and finally D. ligulata in its DPPH radical scavenging activity. The activities of this D. ligulata and L. chilensis extracts were significantly correlated with their flavonoid contents. In addition, the dichloromethane extracts from D. kunthii and C. chamissoi showed strong cytotoxic activity against HT-29 and MCF-7; however, the activity was not selective. Future research is necessary to purify the bioactive compounds of interest and improve their selectivity for eventual therapeutic use.

Currently, the most effective treatment for recurrent urinary tract infections in women is antibiotics. However, the limitation for this treatment is the duration and dosage of antibiotics and the resistance that bacteria develop after a long period of administration. With the aim of identifying mainly novel natural agents with antibacterial activity, the present study was undertaken to investigate the biological and phytochemical properties of extracts from the leavesTaraxacum officinale.The structural identification of compounds present in hexane (Hex) and ethyl acetate (AcOEt) extracts was performed by mass spectrometry (GC-MS) spectroscopic techniques and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with the major compounds corresponding to different sesquiterpene lactones (α-santonin, glabellin, arborescin, and estafiatin), monoterpene (9,10-dimethyltricycle [4.2.1.1 (2,5)]decane-9,10-diol), phytosterol (Stigmasta-5,22-dien-3β-ol acetate), terpenes (lupeol acetate, pregn-5-en-20-one-3β-acetyloxy-17-hydroxy, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzaldehyde), and coumarin (benzofuranone 5,6,7,7-a-tetraaldehyde-4,4,7a-trimethyl). The results obtained show that the Hex extract was highly active againstStaphylococcus aureusshowing a MIC of 200 μg/mL and moderately active againstEscherichia coliandKlebsiella pneumoniaewith MIC values of 400 μg/mL and 800 μg/mL for the other Gram-negative strains tested withProteus mirabilisas uropathogensin vitro. Therefore, the effective dandelion extracts could be used in the development of future products with industrial application.

Indexación: Scopus. Advances in the generation of suitable thermosensitive hydrogels for the delivery of cells in neural tissue engineering demonstrate a delicate relationship between physical properties and capabilities to promote cell proliferation and differentiation. To improve the properties of these materials, it is possible to add liposomes for the controlled release of bioactive elements, which in turn can affect the physical and biological properties of the hydrogels. In the present investigation, different hydrogels based on Pluronic F127 have been formulated with the incorporation of chitosan and two types of liposomes of two different sizes. The rheological and thermal properties and their relation with the neurite proliferation and growth of the PC12 cell line were evaluated. Our results show that the incorporation of liposomes modifies the properties of the hydrogels dependent on the concentration of chitosan and the lipid type in the liposomes, which directly affect the capabilities of the hydrogels to promote the viability and differentiation of PC12 cells. © 2017 by the authors. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/10/1122

Antioxidants are known to be beneficial to health. This paper evaluates the potential chemopreventive and anticancer properties of phenolic compounds present in grape juice extracts (GJE) from Autumn Royal and Ribier varieties. The effects of these GJE on viability (SRB day assay) and metastatic potential (migration and invasion parameters) of colon cancer cell lines HT-29 and SW-480 were evaluated. The effects of GJE on two matrix metalloproteinase gene expressions (MMP2 and MMP9) were also evaluated via qRT-PCR. In the former, GJE reduced cell viability in both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. GJE treatment also reduced cell migration and invasion. Moreover, MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expression diminished depending on extract and on cell type.Conclusions. These results provide novel information concerning anticancer properties of selected GJE by revealing selective cytotoxicity and the ability to reduce invasiveness of colon cancer cells.

Currently, the most effective treatment for recurrent urinary tract infections in women is antibiotics. However, the limitation for this treatment is the duration and dosage of antibiotics and the resistance that bacteria develop after a long period of administration. With the aim of identifying mainly novel natural agents with antibacterial activity, the present study was undertaken to investigate the biological and phytochemical properties of extracts from the leaves Taraxacum officinale. The structural identification of compounds present in hexane (Hex) and ethyl acetate (AcOEt) extracts was performed by mass spectrometry (GC-MS) spectroscopic techniques and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with the major compounds corresponding to different sesquiterpene lactones (α-santonin, glabellin, arborescin, and estafiatin), monoterpene (9,10-dimethyltricycle [4.2.1.1 (2,5)]decane-9,10-diol), phytosterol (Stigmasta-5,22-dien-3β-ol acetate), terpenes (lupeol acetate, pregn-5-en-20-one-3β-acetyloxy-17-hydroxy, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzaldehyde), and coumarin (benzofuranone 5,6,7,7-a-tetraaldehyde-4,4,7a-trimethyl). The results obtained show that the Hex extract was highly active against Staphylococcus aureus showing a MIC of 200 μg/mL and moderately active against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with MIC values of 400 μg/mL and 800 μg/mL for the other Gram-negative strains tested with Proteus mirabilis as uropathogens in vitro. Therefore, the effective dandelion extracts could be used in the development of future products with industrial application.

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus. An efficient synthesis of a series of 4-oxyalkyl-isocordoin analogues (2–8) is reported for the first time. Their structures were confirmed by1H-NMR,13C-NMR, and HRMS. Their anti-oomycete activity was evaluated by mycelium and spores inhibition assay against two selected pathogenic oomycetes strains: Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia australis. The entire series of isocordoin derivatives (except compound 7) showed high inhibitory activity against these oomycete strains. Among them, compound 2 exhibited strong activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC) values of 50 µg/mL and 75 µg/mL, respectively. The results showed that 4-oxyalkylated analogues of isocordoin could be potential anti-oomycete agents. http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/6/968

Acanthus mollis is used as ornamental and medicinal plant. The ethnopharmacology reports indicate that extracts have anti-inflammatory activity. Phytoconstituents profile was evaluated by estimating the content of anthraquinones, flavonoids and phenols. In addition, the antioxidant activity was evaluated using four methods: Hydrogen atoms transfer (TRAP, ORAC and DPPH assays), and single electron transfer (FRAP assay). Finally, antifungal activity was determined by the M27-A2 test. The results shown that ethanol extracts have the highest concentration of phenols, anthraquinones and flavonoids. Total antioxidant capacity, extracts of ethyl acetate and ethanol are those with the highest activity, which correlates strongly with the presence of phenols. The antifungal activity measured in various strains of Candida is concentrated in ethyl acetate extracts of flower and leaf ethanol, a phenomenon may be related to antioxidant activity.

In this study, we examined the cytotoxic effects of seven ent-labdane derivatives 1–7 (0–100 μM) in different human cancer cell lines. Our results showed that compounds 1–3 exhibited significant dose-dependent inhibition on the growth of the three different human cell lines, according to the sulphorhodamine B assay and produced morphological changes consistent with apoptosis, as confirmed by Hoestch 3342 staining analysis. They induced apoptosis in various cancer cell lines, as shown by nuclear condensation and fragmentation and caspase 3 activation. Such induction was associated with the depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential. These activities led to the cleavage of caspases and the trigger of cell death process. Overall, the compounds showed potent proapoptotic effects on the two different cancer cell lines, suggesting that the compounds deserve more extensive investigation of their potential medicinal applications.

Natural compounds from Drimys winteri Forst and derivatives exhibited larvicidal effects against Drosophila melanogaster til-til. The most active compound was isodrimenin (4). The highest lethal concentration to the larvae of D. melanogaster was 4.5 ± 0.8 mg/L. At very low concentrations drimenol (1), confertifolin (3), and drimanol (5) displayed antifeedant and larvae growth regulatory activity. The antifeedant results of nordrimanic and drimanic compounds were better in first instar larvae. The EC50 value of polygodial (2) was 60.0 ± 4.2 mg/L; of diol 15 45.0 ± 2.8 mg/L, and of diol 17 36.9 ± 3.7 mg/L, while the new nordrimane compound 12 presented a value of 83.2 ± 3.5 mg/L.

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus. Embothrium coccineum J.R. Forst. & G. Forst is an evergreen tree that has been used as a folk remedy for the treatment of neuralgia, tooth pains, wound healing, and glandular conditions, as well as an antiseptic agent against bacterial infection. The antibacterial activities of sequential extracts (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol) from the leaves of E. coccineum were evaluated by means of the micro-dilution assay against six (Escherichia coli; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Proteus mirabilis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) multiresistant bacteria strains. Ethyl acetate extract showed the best spectra of antibacterial activity against all tested bacteria, and was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for its composition. The results of the present work provide useful baseline information for the potential development and use of nanoparticles and/or nanofibers doped with extracts of E. coccineum in the fight against multiresistant bacteria, which would allow the validation of the traditional use of E. coccineum by native peoples of Patagonia as an antimicrobial agent in the biomedical Field. http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/21/11/1441

The holoprinter technology based on holographic stereograms has generated a fast development in holographic display applications by the holographic recording of a 2D image sequence with information of a 3D scene, which could be real or computer generated. The images used in holographic stereograms initially start from the acquisition of the different image perspectives of the 3D scene by the re -centering camera configuration and then, this images must be rearranged before the optical recording. This paper proposes a method to acquire the required images or hogel images in one step without using rearrange algorithms, the method uses a virtual camera that moves along a virtual rail by conventional computer graphic s software. The proposed method reduced the time required to ob tain the hogel images and enhance the quality of the 3D holographic images; it also can be applied in different computer graphic s software. To validate the method, a full parallax holographic stereogram was made for a computer generated object. Key words: Holographic displays, Holographic stereograms, Holoprinter, Hogel images .

A series of novel oxyalkylchalcones substituted with alkyl groups were designed and synthesized, and the antioomycete activity of the series was evaluated in vitro against Saprolegnia strains. All tested O-alkylchalcones were synthesized by means of nucleophilic substitution from the natural compound 2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone (1) and the respective alkyl bromide. The natural chalcone (1) and 10 synthetic oxyalkylchalcones (2–11) were tested against Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia australis. Among synthetic analogs, 2-hydroxy,4-farnesyloxychalcone (11) showed the most potent activity against Saprolegnia sp., with MIC and MOC values of 125 µg/mL (similar to bronopol at 150 µg/mL) and 175 µg/mL, respectively; however, 2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone (1) was the strongest and most active molecule, with MIC and MOC values of 6.25 µg/mL and 12.5 µg/mL.

The antioxidant properties of different extracts of culen (Psoralea glandulosa L., Fabaceae) herb from Gran Valparaiso location in Chile were evaluated. Antioxidant capacity was assessed in four different model systems. Antioxidant models were examined by measuring the scavenging activity of extracts on 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrylhydrazil (DPPH●) as well as on hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), the oxidant species. In addition, extracts were evaluated by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the total peroxyl radical-trapping potential (TRAP). The amount of dried extract, the content of total phenolics, flavonoids and hydrolyzed sugar were also determined. The leaves extracts from culen expressed very strong scavenging activity, reducing the DPPH● (IC 50 = 1.00 mg/mL to 1.61 mg/mL) and neutralizing H 2 O 2 (IC 50 = 34.29 mg/mL to 64.87 mg/mL). Also, dichloromethane extract of the leaves showed notable index of FRAP (2.71 mM) and TRAP (1.19 mM). The results suggest strong antioxidant potential of dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves of P. glandulosa that could be partially explained by the levels of phenolics (1.65 mg GAE/g dry extract) and flavonoids (55.34 mg QE/g dry extract) respectively.

The resinous exudate, three meroterpenes, namely bakuchiol (1), 3-hydroxybakuchiol (2), 12-hydroxyisobakuchiol (3), and one furanocoumarin, psoralen (4), were isolated from the leaves of culen (Psoralea glandulosa). In addition to these, two semi-synthetic derivatives, bakuchiol acetate (5) and bakuchiol methyl eter (6), were obtained from 1, and were subsequently evaluated in vitro for the inhibitory effect of resin and compounds on the mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea Pers.: Fr. and Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands. The resinous exudate inhibited the mycelial growth of both the pathogens, while bakuchiol (1) exhibited an inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth of B. cinerea up to 94% at a concentration of 150 mg/L and psoralen (4) reduced the mycelial growth of P. cinnamomi up to 80% at a concentration of 150 mg/L. These compounds have the ability of blocking the development of mycelial growth and may be used as a potential biopesticide in the agricultural sector once the in vivo test results have been validated.

Holographic stereogram displays require 2D image sequences with a distribution of multiple perspectives of the object. This paper propose a computational method to generate the required images to record full parallax holographic stereograms.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of phenolic, flavonoid, and anthraquinones from sequential extracts (n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol) of Embothrium coccineum leaves on the antioxidant capacity, cell viability, and toxicity of the same, in order to find possible sources for novel antioxidants for food and pharmaceutical formulations. Antioxidant potential of sequential extracts was analyzed by five different assays: 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity assay (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (H2O2), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP). An in vitro growth inhibition assay was performed using sulphorhodamine dye to quantify cell viability, while an in vivo brine shrimp lethality test was used to quantify toxicity. The dichloromethane extract has a greater efficiency in scavenging free radicals, combined with low toxicity, and no effect exhibited on healthy cells, compared to observations for the other extracts tested. Further research is in progress to identify and separate the active compounds of active extracts and investigate the protective effect of extracts on human dermal fibroblast injury induced by hydrogen peroxide.

Vanillin, o-vanillin, natural and synthetic benzaldehydes and benzyl alcohols were assessed for antiproliferative effects using different human cell lines. Benzyl alcohols were synthesized from benzaldehydes reduced with NaBH4 in methanol solution. A new method for deprotection of ether compounds with TiCl4 solution was achieved with better performance, than previously reported. Twenty four compounds were tested. The in vitro growth inhibition assay was based on sulphorhodamine dye to quantify cell viability. Catechol 9 derived from piperonal as well as compounds 4 and 12 showed higher cytotoxicity on breast and prostate cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and PC-3 respectively). o-Vanillin 5 has the highest cytotoxicity for all cell lines. IC50 values of 35.40 ± 4.2 μM Breast MDA-MB231; 47.10 ± 3.8 μM Prostate PC-3; 72.50 + 5.4 μM Prostate DU-145; 85.10 + 6.5 μM and Colon HT-29, were obtained without toxicity towards dermal human fibroblast (DHF cells).

Ethnopharmacological relevance Psoralea glandulosa L. (Fabaceae) is a medicinal resinous shrub used in Chilean folk medicine as antiseptic in treatment of infections and skin diseases caused by bacteria and fungus. Aim of the study To evaluate the in vitro antifungal activity of the resin and the active components from P. glandulosa against clinical yeast isolates. Materials and methods Active compounds were obtained of the resinous exudate from aerial parts of P. glandulosa . Eight species of yeast were exposed to the resin and two major compounds. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC 80 ) was determined according to the standard broth microdilution method. Results Bakuchiol and 3-hydroxy-bakuchiol demonstrated potent activity with the MIC 80 ranging from 4 to >16 and 0.125 to 16 μg/mL, respectively. The resin had some degree of antifungal activity. Conclusions The overall results provided important information for the potential application of the 3-hydroxy-bakuchiol from P. glandulosa in the therapy of serious infection and skin diseases caused by clinical yeast.