The Stevia genus (Asteraceae) comprises around 230 species, distributed from the southern United States to the South American Andean region. Stevia rebaudiana, a Paraguayan herb that produces an intensely sweet diterpene glycoside called stevioside, is the most relevant member of this genus. Apart from S. rebaudiana, many other species belonging to the Stevia genus are considered medicinal and have been popularly used to treat different ailments. The members from this genus produce sesquiterpene lactones, diterpenes, longipinanes, and flavonoids as the main types of phytochemicals. Many pharmacological activities have been described for Stevia extracts and isolated compounds, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activities being the most frequently mentioned. This review aims to present an update of the Stevia genus covering ethnobotanical aspects and traditional uses, phytochemistry, and biological activities of the extracts and isolated compounds.

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The Aurein 1.2 is an anuran antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with a proven lytical activity against bacterial membranes. Previously, we found a differential action of aurein by both experimental and computational methods. This differential action was over membranes of two related probiotic strains, where the main differences between membranes were the number of glycolipids on lipid composition. In the present work, we focused on the differential behavior of the aurein 1.2 at its interaction with bacterium model membranes with different amounts of glycolipids in their composition. We carried out extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by using the coarse-grain force field MARTINI and raising up differential mixtures of phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and monogalactosylglycerol (MG). We found a correlation between the presence of MG in PG/PE mixtures and the difficulty of aurein to stabilize pore structures, suggesting an AMP-resistance factor encoded in the lipid composition of the membrane. Through this study, we hope to shed light on a possible resistance mechanism to AMPs related with the glycolipid content of diverse types of bacterial membranes.

Las etiquetas de productos agroquímicos constituyen un género discursivo de gran circulación en los ámbitos profesionales y académicos relacionados con las Ciencias Agronómicas. Este trabajo presenta la descripción del género basándose en el análisis multinivel de 41 etiquetas en inglés y disponibles en línea. Del análisis se deriva la naturaleza compleja del género en sus diferentes niveles. Entre los hallazgos se puede remarcar la heterogeneidad de potenciales lectores del género y de los contextos de circulación, la preponderancia de la función prescriptiva del género sobre las funciones informativa y la de contacto, y la creciente estandarización de los textos para ajustarlos a normas internacionales. Asimismo, se observaron diferentes tipos de adecuaciones desde lo semántico y formal para hacer los textos más accesibles a los lectores. Con respecto a los recursos formales, se destacan, entre otros, el uso del tiempo presente del indicativo, el uso de la voz pasiva y de los verbos modales y la presencia de distintos recursos paratextuales que sustancian las funciones del género. Se desprende del estudio, la utilidad del marco de análisis usado y las implicancias pedagógicas de los hallazgos en cursos con orientación IFE.