Elucidating the role of oxidative stress in the therapeutic effect of rutin on experimental acute pancreatitis

Introduction: Acute pancreatitis (AP) may be severe and cause hospitalization or death, and the available treatment is insufficient to control pancreatic inflammation and pain. Rutin is a natural flavonoid with the potential to treat AP via anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antioxidant activities.

Aim: This study investigated the beneficial effects of rutin on experimental AP induced by l-arginine administration in mice.

Methods: The l-arginine-induced AP model was used in Swiss mice (n?=?6–8). Mice submitted to AP induction were treated with rutin (37.5, 75, or 150?mg kg^?1, p.o.) or vehicle (saline) after 24, 36, 48, and 60?h of AP induction. Abdominal hyperalgesia, serum enzymes, interleukin (IL)-6 levels, pancreatic inflammatory parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, and 3-nitrotyrosine contents were measured 72?h after induction.

Results: Mice submitted to l-arginine injections developed abdominal hyperalgesia and increased serum amylase, lipase, C-reactive protein and IL-6 concentrations; and increased pancreatic myeloperoxidase activity, edema index, MDA, and 3-nitrotyrosine contents. A marked decrease in catalase activity was observed in the pancreas without alterations of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity compared with the control group. Rutin treatment significantly impaired all the parameters that were altered by AP induction, but increased catalase and SOD activities in the pancreas compared with the vehicle-treated group.

Conclusion: Rutin treatment exerted a protective effect on l-arginine-induced AP by mechanisms involving the reduction of oxidative stress, which suggests that this flavonoid has a potential for future approaches designed for the management of AP.     

Human activities and climate variability drive fast‐paced change across the world's estuarine–coastal ecosystems

Time series of environmental measurements are essential for detecting, measuring and understanding changes in the Earth system and its biological communities. Observational series have accumulated over the past 2–5 decades from measurements across the world's estuaries, bays, lagoons, inland seas and shelf waters influenced by runoff. We synthesize information contained in these time series to develop a global view of changes occurring in marine systems influenced by connectivity to land. Our review is organized around four themes: (i) human activities as drivers of change; (ii) variability of the climate system as a driver of change; (iii) successes, disappointments and challenges of managing change at the sea‐land interface; and (iv) discoveries made from observations over time. Multidecadal time series reveal that many of the world's estuarine–coastal ecosystems are in a continuing state of change, and the pace of change is faster than we could have imagined a decade ago. Some have been transformed into novel ecosystems with habitats, biogeochemistry and biological communities outside the natural range of variability. Change takes many forms including linear and nonlinear trends, abrupt state changes and oscillations. The challenge of managing change is daunting in the coastal zone where diverse human pressures are concentrated and intersect with different responses to climate variability over land and over ocean basins. The pace of change in estuarine–coastal ecosystems will likely accelerate as the human population and economies continue to grow and as global climate change accelerates. Wise stewardship of the resources upon which we depend is critically dependent upon a continuing flow of information from observations to measure, understand and anticipate future changes along the world's coastlines.     

Length–weight relationships for 35 fish species of the Atlantic Forest,SP/RJ—Brazil

Length–weight relationships (LWRs) for 35 freshwater fish species from the SP/RJ coastal basin in Brazil are presented in this paper. Fishes were captured between 2011 and 2015 on an irregular basis using electrofishing, sieves, trawl nets, cast nets and fish‐traps. In this study new LWRs are reported for 28 species, plus the total weight and length for 34 and nine species, respectively. The study provides new information on less‐studied species and can serve as a basis for management and conservation in this area.     

Effects of pH,Salinity, Biomass Concentration,and Algal Organic Matter on Flocculant Efficiency of Synthetic Versus Natural Polymers for Harvesting Microalgae Biomass

This study investigated the effects of pH, salinity, biomass concentration, and algal organic matter (AOM) on the efficiency of four commercial cationic flocculants. The tannin-based biopolymers Tanfloc SG and SL and the polyacrylamide polymers Flopam FO 4800 SH and FO 4990 SH were tested for flocculation of two microalgae models, the freshwater Chlorella vulgaris and the marine Nannochloropsis oculata. Both biomass concentration and AOM presence affected all polymers evaluated, whereas salinity and pH affected only Flopam and Tanfloc, respectively. A restabilization effect due to overdosing was only observed for Flopam polymers and increasing Tanfloc dose resulted in improved efficiency. Flopam polymers showed a significant decrease in the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II as function of polymer dose for Chlorella, which supported the need for toxicological studies to assess the potential toxicity of Flopam. In overall, Tanfloc was not affected by salinity nor presented potential toxicity therefore being recommended for the flocculation of both freshwater and marine species.     

Overall survival in women with breast cancer: the influence of pepsinogen C gene polymorphism

We aimed to study the role of an insertion/deletion polymorphism in the Pepsinogen C (PGC) gene in the clinical outcome of 172 breast cancer patients. The six polymorphic alleles were amplified using PCR. Our results indicate that patients carrying the allele 6 present a higher 5-year survival mean (83.4% of 6 allele carriers were alive at 5 years vs. only 68.6% of noncarriers, p=0.001), suggesting a role for this polymorphism in the outcome of breast cancer patients. We hypothesize that PGC polymorphism can be a predictive biomarker in breast cancer, contributing to an individual profile of great interest in clinical oncology.     

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis), an anciently consumed stimulant from the Amazon rain forest: the seeded-fruit transcriptome

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft-drink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid pathways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family.     

Advanced monitoring of high-rate anaerobic reactors through quantitative image analysis of granular sludge and multivariate statistical analysis

Four organic loading disturbances were performed in lab-scale EGSB reactors fed with ethanol. In load disturbance 1 (LD1) and 2 (LD2), the organic loading rate (OLR) was increased between 5 and 18.5 kg COD m(-3) day(-1), through the influent ethanol concentration increase, and the hydraulic retention time decrease from 7.8 to 2.5 h, respectively. Load disturbances 3 (LD3) and 4 (LD4) were applied by increasing the OLR to 50 kg COD m(-3) day(-1) during 3 days and 16 days, respectively. The granular sludge morphology was quantified by image analysis and was related to the reactor performance, including effluent volatile suspended solids, indicator of washout events. In general, it was observed the selective washout of filamentous forms associated to granules erosion/fragmentation and to a decrease in the specific acetoclastic activity. These phenomena induced the transitory deterioration of reactor performance in LD2, LD3, and LD4, but not in LD1. Extending the exposure time in LD4 promoted acetogenesis inhibition after 144 h. The application of Principal Components Analysis determined a latent variable that encompasses a weighted sum of performance, physiological and morphological information. This new variable was highly sensitive to reactor efficiency deterioration, enclosing variations between 27% and 268% in the first hours of disturbances. The high loadings raised by image analysis parameters, especially filaments length per aggregates area (LfA), revealed that morphological changes of granular sludge, should be considered to monitor and control load disturbances in high rate anaerobic (granular) sludge bed digesters.     

The effects of meteorological factors on airborne fungal spore concentration in two areas differing in urbanisation level

Although fungal spores are an ever-present component of the atmosphere throughout the year, their concentration oscillates widely. This work aims to establish correlations between fungal spore concentrations in Porto and Amares and meteorological data. The seasonal distribution of fungal spores was studied continuously (2005–2007) using volumetric spore traps. To determine the effect of meteorological factors (temperature, relative humidity and rainfall) on spore concentration, the Spearman rank correlation test was used. In both locations, the most abundant fungal spores were Cladosporium, Agaricus, Agrocybe, Alternaria and Aspergillus/Penicillium, the highest concentrations being found during summer and autumn. In the present study, with the exception of Coprinus and Pleospora, spore concentrations were higher in the rural area than in the urban location. Among the selected spore types, spring-autumn spores (Coprinus, Didymella, Leptosphaeria and Pleospora) exhibited negative correlations with temperature and positive correlations both with relative humidity and rainfall level. On the contrary, late spring-early summer (Smuts) and summer spores (Alternaria, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Ganoderma, Stemphylium and Ustilago) exhibited positive correlations with temperature and negative correlations both with relative humidity and rainfall level. Rust, a frequent spore type during summer, had a positive correlation with temperature. Aspergillus/Penicillium, showed no correlation with the meteorological factors analysed. This knowledge can be useful for agriculture, allowing more efficient and reliable application of pesticides, and for human health, by improving the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory allergic disease.