A Cytotoxic Porphyrin from North Pacific Brittle Star Ophiura sarsii

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the deadliest form of gynecological tumors currently lacking targeted therapies. The ethanol extract of the North Pacific brittle star Ophiura sarsii presented promising anti-TNBC activities. After elimination of the inert material, the active extract was submitted to a bioguided isolation approach using high-resolution semipreparative HPLC-UV, resulting in one-step isolation of an unusual porphyrin derivative possessing strong cytotoxic activity. HRMS and 2D NMR resulted in the structure elucidation of the compound as (3S,4S)-14-Ethyl-9-(hydroxymethyl)-4,8,13,18-tetramethyl-20-oxo-3-phorbinepropanoic acid. Never identified before in Ophiuroidea, porphyrins have found broad applications as photosensitizers in the anticancer photodynamic therapy. The simple isolation of a cytotoxic porphyrin from an abundant brittle star species we describe here may pave the way for novel natural-based developments of targeted anti-cancer therapies.     

Drought stress tolerance and photoprotection in two varieties of olive tree

Abstract

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is adapted to tolerate severe drought and high irradiance levels. Relative electron transport rate (J), photosynthetic efficiency (in terms of F _v /F _m and Φ_PSII), photochemical (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were determined in 2-year old olive plants (cultivars ‘Coratina’ and ‘Biancolilla’) grown under two different light levels (exposed plants, EP, and shaded plants, SP) during a 21-day controlled water deficit. After reaching pre-dawn leaf water potentials of about -6.5 MPa, plants were rewatered for 23 days. During the experimental period, measurements of gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were carried out to study the photosynthetic performance of olive plants. The effect of drought stress and high irradiance levels caused a reduction of gas exchange, J, Φ_PSII and F _v/F _m and this decrease was more marked in EP. Under drought stress, EP showed a higher degree of photoinhibition, a higher NPQ and a lower qP if compared to SP. Coratina was more sensitive to high light and drought stress and had a slower recovery during rewatering. The results confirm that photoprotection is an important factor that affects photosynthetic productivity in olive, and that the degree of this process varies between the cultivars. This information could give a more complete picture of the response of olive trees grown under stressful conditions of semi-arid environments, and could be important for the selection of drought-tolerant cultivars with a high productivity.     

Effect of zeolites on cultures of the marine micro-algae Emiliania huxleyi

The yield of cultures of Emiliania huxleyi, a coccolithophore marine micro-alga species, in natural seawater and in seawater previously exposed to elutriates of ZEBEN-06 and ZESTEC-56, two zeolitic-nature products (ZNPs) (supernatant of 2.0 g l⁻¹ of ZNP in natural seawater, stirred for 30 min) was evaluated. Total concentrations of dissolved trace metals and organic ligands (and respective conditional stability constants) in the initial media and at 7th day cultures were determined, by anodic and cathodic striping voltammetry. The changes introduced by the ZNPs in the media significantly enhanced E. huxleyi growth yield, the effect being more extent in the ZESTEC-56 elutriate. It was observed that both the ZNPs enriched the seawater with trace and not toxic quantities of Mn. In addiction, ZEBEN-06 removed small fractions of Cu and Zn from the media. The ZEBEN-06 elutriate stimulated the cell exudation but that of ZESTEC-56 inhibited exudation. Algae were also incubated in a culture medium with 0.05 g l⁻¹ ZESTEC-56 in situ, and the growth yield was similar to that of the control culture. ZEBEN-06 was not studied in situ because it was hard to distinguish its particles from the cells, during cells counting. The ZESTEC-56 in situ enriched the medium in Mn, Cu, Pb and Cd, but impoverished it in Zn. The cell exudation was about four times higher in the presence of the ZNP in situ. Liberation/adsorption of micro-nutrients at the surface of the zeolites seems to be the cause of the observed changes in the biological response of the algae. The yield of the algal growth has economic relevance in aquaculture. On the other hand, ZNP are cheap, only small amounts (few mg l⁻¹) are required and the addition of some nicro-nutrients may be omitted. Therefore, the inclusion of zeolites in algal cultures in aquaculture may be economically advantageous. However, it is recommendable an previous investigation, in order to select the zeolitic characteristics and concentration that will maximise the algal yield in each particular case (alga nature and seawater trace metal contents).     

Coffee ripeness monitoring using a UAV-mounted low-cost multispectral camera

Coffee beverage quality is highly correlated with the degree of fruit ripeness. In this sense, monitoring fruit ripeness is of utmost importance for harvest planning and, especially for obtaining high-quality beverages. Currently, this process is carried out through manual counts of unripe fruits, which is laborious and limited to a few plants within the field. This study aimed at evaluating the potential of a low-cost multispectral camera for coffee ripeness monitoring in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. For that, five fields of Arabica coffee with distinct characteristics were evaluated. During the coffee ripeness period, four flights were carried using a Phantom 4 Pro quadcopter equipped with a Mapir Survey 3W camera for imagery acquisition. After that, nine vegetation indices (VIs) were obtained. For the same dates, the percentage of unripe fruits was obtained using an irregular grid in all fields. The data was split into two ripeness classes: suitable for harvest (R) with?<?30% of unripe fruits; and not suitable for harvest (U), with?>?30% of unripe fruits. Then, a principal component analysis was used to infer the importance of the VIs to discriminate plants with unripe fruits from those with ripe fruits. The first two principal components explained?>?75% of the variance in the datasets from all coffee fields. The VIs were able to discriminate the ripeness classes (U and R) in most fields; however, their performance was directly influenced by the crop yield and canopy volume.

     

Effects of Intensification of the Amazon River Prawn,Macrobrachium amazonicum,Grow‐out on Effluent Quality

Studies to determine suitable levels of intensification are essential for developing sustainable aquaculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of effluents discharged from ponds stocked with 10 (D10), 20 (D20), 40 (D40), and 80 (D80) postlarvae of Macrobrachium amazonicum/m². Intake and effluent water samples were taken throughout a 5.5‐mo grow‐out cycle. In that study, twelve 0.01‐ha earthen ponds were stocked postlarvae with 0.01 g. Average water exchange rate was 15%/d; water was discharged from the bottom of the ponds. Prawns were fed a commercial feed with 38% crude protein according to their biomass (3–10%) and the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO). In our research, temperature, turbidity, total suspended solids, conductivity, DO, pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), N‐ammonia, N‐nitrite, N‐nitrate, N‐Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus, and soluble orthophosphate were measured every 15 d throughout the experiment in the early morning (0630 to 0730 h). Turbidity was lower in D10 than in D20 and D40 and total phosphorus was higher in D80 than in D10 and D20. An analysis of principal components comparing treatments and intake water showed three groups: intake, D10 and a cluster of D20, D40, and D80. On the basis of the water characteristics found in our study it appears that the farming of M. amazonicum is likely to have a low environmental impact, at least up to a stocking density of 80 prawns/m².     

Epidural anesthesia and postoperatory analgesia with alpha-2 adrenergic agonists and lidocaine for ovariohysterectomy in bitches

The aim of this study was to determine the viability and cardiorespiratory effects of the association of epidural alpha-2 adrenergic agonists and lidocaine for ovariohysterectomy (OH) in bitches. Forty-two bitches were spayed under epidural anesthesia with 2.5 mg/kg body weight (BW) of 1% lidocaine with adrenaline (CON) or in association with 0.25 mg/kg BW of xylazine (XYL), 10 μg/kg BW of romifidine (ROM), 30 μg/kg BW of detomidine (DET), 2 μg/kg BW of dexmedetomidine (DEX), or 5 μg/kg BW of clonidine (CLO). Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (f_R) and arterial pressures were monitored immediately before and every 10 min after the epidural procedure. Blood gas and pH analysis were done before, and at 30 and 60 min after the epidural procedure. Animals were submitted to isoflurane anesthesia if they presented a slightest sign of discomfort during the procedure. Time of sensory epidural block and postoperative analgesia were evaluated. All animals in CON and DEX, 5 animals in ROM and CLO, 4 animals in XYL, and 3 in DET required supplementary isoflurane. All groups, except CLO, showed a decrease in HR. There was an increase in arterial pressures in all groups. Postoperative analgesia lasted the longest in XYL. None of the protocols were totally efficient to perform the complete procedure of OH; however, xylazine provided longer postoperative analgesia than the others.