The Witches' Broom Disease, caused by the hemibiotrophic basidiomycete fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, drastically reduced the production of cocoa in Brazil. Phytosanitation, chemical control, genetically resistant strains, and biological control still leave flaws in the disease eradication process. Effort has been expended in the elucidation of molecular targets, in particular, the structural components of the fungal cell wall, such as the beta(1,3)-D-glucan synthase. This enzyme is essential for the cellular construction of the wall, as it catalyses the formation of beta(1,3)-D-glucans. Protein structure homology modeling approaches are able to determine the structure of proteins without performing experimental steps, considering the barriers related to experimental methods for the structural determination of molecular targets. The presence of the conserved catalytic residues in members of the same glycosyltransferase family and overall structural analysis suggests that they catalyze glycosyl transfer reactions by similar mechanisms. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the three-dimensional model of the enzyme beta(1,3)-D-glucan synthase of M. perniciosa by homology modeling. Both procedures were performed to build the models: a comparative modeling by satisfaction of spatial restraints in MODELLER and a modeling by assembly of rigid bodies in the SWISS-MODEL software. The models were elected based on analysis of the stereochemistry quality and a quantitative assessment of similarity from the obtained models and to templates. A reasonable structural model was obtained of the beta(1,3)-D-glucan synthase enzyme (BegS1). The BegS1 model showed two distinct a/b domains, features of the inverting glycosyltransferase family, and the topology of the folded structure showed 7 beta-strands and 13 alpha-helices. The BegS1 model showed the presence of a catalytic cavity formed by the conserved aspartic acid residues (Asp326, 345, 353, and 354 DDxD motif ) implicated in substrate binding and/ or catalysis. In the BegS1 model, this cavity is near a loop region, as was observed in the GT-2 family structure. It is encouraging to find that the model for BegS1 agrees well with structures from the GT-2 enzyme family.
The P38 MAPK protein is mainly involved in the synthesis of the proinflammatory cytokines IL1 and TNF-alpha and is important in the maintenance and amplification of the inflammatory process. Therefore, this protein presents high potential as a pharmacological target in the search for new treatments for inflammatory diseases. In silico approach has been of great importance to develop quick and inexpensive target identification and way to discover new bioactive molecules. This study used a computer ligand-docking method to screen the compounds from the Bahia semiarid region in silico for their ability to inhibit p38 MAPK activity. The protein crystallographic structure of the p38 MAPK was obtained from the Macromolecular Protein Data Bank. Northeast semiarid molecules were obtained from the ZINC database. The database was screened and a set of 233 molecules were selected as candidates using filtering based on parameters of the rule of Lipinski and Verber. The docking was carried out using the program Autodock Vina in its default configuration. The compound with ZINC databank code: 91596862 was found the most promising compound acoording to their binding free energy value obtained in the docking experiments (11,1 Kcal.mol-1) Intermolecular interactions analysis suggested that Van der Waals interactions are crucial to the ZINC molecule 69481892 in the active site of the p38 MAPK protein. Data resulting from all dockings are significant, although it has low accuracy. Thus, the hypothetical results of these in silico studies should be confirmed by in vitro and/or in vivo tests.
O ano de 2020 foi caracterizado por mudanças e transformações que exigiram adaptações abruptas na sociedade (do latim societăs "associação") e, por conseguinte, nas nações do mundo inteiro devido a disseminação do SARS-CoV-2. As implicações da Pandemia de COVID-19, assim designada pela OMS - Organização Mundial de Saúde em março de 2020, estabeleceu uma espécie de ‘globalização’ em saúde pública [metáfora ao sentido epidemiológico de Pandemia]. Neste contexto, todas as esferas organizacionais da sociedade mundial equipararam-se ao status do “isolamento social” fincando o marco histórico da Terceira Revolução Industrial ou Era Digital como tem sido difundida. A Pandemia de COVID-19 reverberou nos três setores da sociedade (Estado, Mercado e Sociedade Civil) ações inusitadas que embora alicerçada em vasta tecnologia esbarrou na disparidade da divulgação e aplicação das mesmas. Na contramão das adversidades os setores acadêmicos e científicos debruçaram-se nos recursos tecnológicos aglutinando e compartilhando pesquisas, cujos esforços mundiais resultaram na obtenção record de imunizantes (vacina) contra o COVID-19. Contiguamente, os setores de educação divergiam opiniões e planos de ação no ano letivo de 2020 que seguem em ampla discussão para o recém chegado 2021. Neste contexto, como editora chefe da Revista Textura, convidei o diretor geral e gestores educacionais (coordenadores de curso) da Faculdade Maria Milza-FAMAM a apresentarem o panorama desta IES – Instituição de Ensino Superior, situada no Recôncavo da Bahia, Brasil frente a Emergência e Colapsos instituídos pela Pandemia 'COVID-19' e as Implicações no Âmbito Docente.
Filamentous fungi are eukaryotic organisms with several industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Polysaccharides are the principal components of cell walls from Fungi and other organisms like diatoms, and have been reported in the industrial and medical fields as products with a huge number of different biological activities and applications. The objectives of this narrative review were to assess the characterization methods and and biological activities of polysaccharides extracted from the filamentous fungal cell wall. Glucans, chitin and galactomannans are the most common polysaccharide often found in the cell walls of fungi. These polysaccharides can contain different glycosidic linkage either an α or β-configuration and at various positions, such as (1-3,1-4, 1-6), as well as several molecular sizes. This leads to an almost limitless diversity in their structure and biological activity. There are many methods for polysaccharides characterization, among them; the methods commonly used involve Infrared Spectrometry (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (CG-MS). Typically, cell wall polysaccharides from filamentous fungi have been shown to possess complex, important and multifaceted biological activities including mainly antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antinociceptive, antitumor and hypoglycemic activities. Due to the large number of filamentous fungi genus and species capable of producing useful polysaccharides, perform scientific researches, and produce novel scientific knowledge and information are particularly interesting in order to identify polysaccharides with potential biological activity and that can be used for medicinal purposes.
O crescimento da utilização das películas radiográficas gera uma grande quantidade das mesmas, que na grande maioria das vezes não são armazenadas, recolhidas e tratadas de maneira correta, podendo causar danos ao meio ambiente e a saúde. A presença dos elementos prata e chumbo em sua composição pode contaminar os solos e os lençóis freáticos, intoxicando animais e sendo absorvidos pelas plantas, podendo depois ser ingeridos por seres humanos. Desse modo, é importante investir em tecnologias que permitam diminuir a geração de resíduos, além do gerenciamento correto dos materiais em desuso. O objetivo geral dessa pesquisa foi avaliar o conhecimento das películas radiográficas e o acondicionamento das mesmas em três associações de moradores da Zona Rural de Governador Mangabeira-BA. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, educativa e qualitativa de caráter descritivo, com a participação de 90 membros das três associações de moradores estudadas. Foram aplicadas entrevistas semiestruturadas por meio de questionários e os dados foram tabulados e analisados por estatística descritiva utilizando o Software SPSS na versão 22. Verificou-se que 71% dos membros das associações conhecem uma película radiográfica e com relação ao acondicionamento 97% informam que guardam em casa após a consulta médica por um tempo indeterminado, confirmando que existe uma falta de informações sobre como deve ser feito o descarte correto. Conclui-se que a implantação do protocolo de limpeza e reutilização de películas radiográficas contribuirá com a melhora dos impactos econômicos, sociais e culturais, influenciando diretamente na prevenção da saúde humana e evitando a contaminação por chumbo no meio ambiente.
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