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Fungal diseases are life-threatening to human health and responsible for millions of deaths around the world. Fungal pathogens lead to a high number of morbidity and mortality. Current antifungal treatment comprises drugs, such as azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes and the cure is not guaranteed. In addition, such drugs are related to severe side effects and the treatment lasts for an extended period. Thus, setting new routes for the discovery of effective and safe antifungal drugs should be a priority within the health care system. The discovery of alternative and efficient antifungal drugs showing fewer side effects is time-consuming and remains a challenge. Natural products can be a source of antifungals and used in combinatorial therapy. The most important natural products are antifungal peptides, antifungal lectins, antifungal plants, and fungi secondary metabolites. Several proteins, enzymes, and metabolic pathways could be targets for the discovery of efficient inhibitor compounds and recently, heat shock proteins, calcineurin, salinomycin, the trehalose biosynthetic pathway, and the glyoxylate cycle have been investigated in several fungal species. HSP protein inhibitors and echinocandins have been shown to have a fungicidal effect against azole-resistant fungi strains. Transcriptomic and proteomic approaches have advanced antifungal drug discovery and pointed to new important specific-pathogen targets. Certain enzymes, such as those from the glyoxylate cycle, have been a target of antifungal compounds in several fungi species. Natural and synthetic compounds inhibited the activity of such enzymes and reduced the ability of fungal cells to transit from mycelium to yeast, proving to be promisor antifungal agents. Finally, computational biology has developed effective approaches, setting new routes for early antifungal drug discovery since normal approaches take several years from discovery to clinical use. Thus, the development of new antifungal strategies might reduce the therapeutic time and increase the quality of life of patients.

In this study we present modifications in a phonon confinement model in order to obtain a better description for the Raman spectra of spherical nanocrystals, namely: bare-core, core–shell, and core–multishell. Our new interpretations allow investigating the influences of the interfacial alloying and strain effects on the vibrational spectra of core–shell nanocrystals. The robustness of the modified phonon confinement model was confirmed by precisely describing the Raman spectra of wurtzite CdSe/CdS core–shell magic-sized quantum dots (CS-MSQDs) synthesized directly in aqueous solution by a new route. The CdSe MSQD sample was used as template to growth CdSe/CdS CS-MSQDs with different shell thickness by setting the synthesis temperature. By using our modified model to fit the Raman spectra of samples, we have obtained the size dimensions of CS-MSQDs (core-diameter and shell-thickness), in excellent agreement with the values obtained by the atomic force microscopy results, confirming that the change in the synthesis temperature is a simple and efficient way to control the CdS-shell thickness during the growth process. Furthermore, we have confirmed the formation of an alloy layer (CdSxSe1-x) at the interface of these CdSe/CdS CS-MSQDs and that the strain effects can be neglected for the wurtzite structure.

AbstractBackground:Glomerular diseases are an important cause of end-stage renal disease, especially among young adults. However, clinical and epidemiological surveys involving adolescent populations are scarce. Aim:To determine the pattern of glomerulopathies (GP) in adolescents submitted to renal biopsy. Methods:A retrospective study of patients’ records of the Glomerulopathy Section, UNIFESP (Brazil), was performed Results:Among 72 adolescents (12–18 years) with GP, 15.6 ± 1.5 years, 58.3 females, the most frequent clinical manifestation was nephrotic syndrome (NS, 71) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was the main histological pattern (24), followed by minimal change disease (MCD, 19.5). After comparing the main causes of NS in adolescents with those of adults, we found no statistically significant differences in clinical presentation or outcome. Renal failure-free survival of 1 and 5 years for all GP corresponded to 87.9 and 73.6, respectively (88.5 and 76.3 for NS). Conclusions:NS was the main manifestation; FSGS and MCD were the most common histological diagnoses. Our data suggest the GP and particularly the NS pattern in adolescents is similar to that of adults, pointing to the need for an adaptation in diagnostic and treatment protocols for this age group, a pattern which corresponds more closely to that of adults.Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Maytenus ilicifoliais a medicinal plant used as a tea (infusion) for treatment of stomach ulcers. This tea furnished a polysaccharide after several purification steps, consisting of a freezing−thawing process, Fehling precipitation, ultrafiltration, and dialysis. It consisted of arabinose, galactose, galacturonic acid, 4-O-methylglucuronic acid, rhamnose, and glucose in a 42:41:6:5:4:2 molar ratio. Methylation analysis, controlled Smith degradation, and NMR spectroscopy indicated that it was a type II arabinogalactan containing a (1→3)-linked -d-Galpmain chain, substituted at O-6 by (1→6)-linked -d-Galpchains, which were mainly substituted at O-3 by (1→5)- and (1→3)-linked -l-Arafchains, and nonreducing end-units of -l-Arafand 4-O-Me-GlcpA. This polysaccharide significantly inhibited ethanol-induced gastric lesions in rats with an ED50of 9.3 mg/kg, suggesting that the arabinogalactan liberated from the infusion has a protective anti-ulcer effect.

In this paper general considerations related to the various approaches and parameters influencing the preparation of highly efficient and stable capillary columns for use in liquid chromatography and related techniques are presented and the column production process is discussed in some detail. The different packing methods available for delivering a packing material into a capillary column are discussed from a practical viewpoint. Packing with a gas (dry packing), packing with a liquid solvent or a mixture of solvents (slurry packing), packing with supercritical carbon dioxide, electrokinetic packing, and sol‐gel packing technologies are introduced and discussed throughout the paper. Practical recommendations for obtaining highly efficient (high plate numbers) and stable capillary packed columns are also addressed and discussed.

In the present study, we used the fetal organ culture (FTOC) technique in order to study a putative effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the thymus ontogeny. Functional EGF receptors and more recently the EGF molecule itself, respectively, on the membrane of epithelial components of thymic stroma and on a few thymocytes in adult thymus, had been reported in the literature. We could observe a dose-dependent decrease in cellularity and a progressive retention of thymocytes in the double-negative (CD4-/CD8-) stage of differentiation when exogenous EGF was added. Epidermal growth factor interfered with both fetal stroma growth and thymocyte development at a precise moment, that is, in the passage from double-negative to the double-positive (CD4+/CD8+) stage. After a 7-day FTOC in the presence of EGF, most cells recovered were Thy-1.2+, c-kit+, TSA1-/int, CD3-, and one of CD44high/CD25int, CD44-/CD25int, or CD44-/CD25-. Some developed into γδTCR+ cells with a mature (CD3+) phenotype, but not into αβTCR+ thymocytes. It seems that EGF addition makes the cultures "nonpermissible" for αβTCR+ thymocyte generation. We report here the presence of a high Mr "EGF-like" molecule on the membrane of fetal thymocytes, which role in the observed effects is under investigation. Further biochemical characterization of this molecule is still required, because its presence was only evidenced on the basis of its antigenicity.

In conclusion, GDF-9, especially at a 200 ng/mL inclusion in the culture medium, was actively involved in the in vitro development of collared peccary PAFs. Hippopotamuses are rarely tested for M. bovis infection, and infection has not previously been confirmed in these species. [Extracted from the article]