Tityus serrulatus causes numerous scorpion envenomation accidents and deaths worldwide. The symptoms vary from local to systemic manifestations, culminating in pulmonary edema and cardiogenic shock. Among these events, transitory hyperglycemia is a severe manifestation that influences pulmonary edema, hemodynamic alterations, and cardiac disturbances. However, the molecular mechanism that leads to increased glucose levels after T. serrulatus envenomation remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate our hypothesis that hyperglycemia due to scorpion envenomation involves inflammatory signaling in the pancreas. The present study showed that T.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ml385.html  serrulatus venom induces the production of IL-1α and IL-1β in the pancreas, which signal via IL-1R and provoke nitric oxide (NO) production as well as edema in β-cells in islets. Il1r1-/- mice were protected from transitory hyperglycemia and did not present disturbances in insulin levels in the serum. These results suggest that the pathway driven by IL-1α/IL-1β-IL-1R-NO inhibits insulin release by β-cells, which increases systemic glucose concentration during severe scorpion envenomation. A supportive therapy that inhibits NO production, combined with antiserum, may help to prevent fatal outcomes of scorpion envenomation. Our findings provide novel insights into the design of supportive therapy with NO inhibitors combined with antiscorpion venom serum to overcome fatal outcomes of scorpion envenomation.Pyrocystis lunula is considered a model organism due to its bioluminescence capacity linked to circadian rhythms. The mechanisms underlying the bioluminescent phenomenon have been well characterized in dinoflagellates; however, there are still some aspects that remain an enigma. Such is the case of the presence and diversity of the luciferin-binding protein (LBP), as well as the synthesis process of luciferin. Here we carry out a review of the literature in relation to the molecular players responsible for bioluminescence in dinoflagellates, with particular interest in P. lunula. We also carried out a phylogenetic analysis of the conservation of protein sequence, structure and evolutionary pattern of these key players. The basic structure of the luciferase (LCF) is quite conserved among the sequences reported to date for dinoflagellate species, but not in the case of the LBP, which has proven to be more variable in terms of sequence and structure. In the case of luciferin, its synthesis has been shown to be complex process with more than one metabolic pathway involved. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) and the P630 or blue compound, seem to be involved in this process. In the same way, various hypotheses regarding the role of bioluminescence in dinoflagellates are exposed.Black soybean (Glycine max L.) has been used as a traditional medicine because its seed coat contains various natural phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins. The objective of this study was to reveal the genetic variation in the agricultural traits, phytochemicals, and antioxidant activity of 172 Korean black soybean landraces (KBSLs) and establish a relationship among them. The evaluation of three agricultural traits (days to 50% flowering, maturity, and 100-seed weight), six phytochemicals (delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyaniding-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, daidzin, glycitin, and genestin), and four antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)(ABTS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and the total polyphenol content (TPC) of 172 KBSLs were analyzed in 2012 and 2015. The agricultural traits, phytochemicals, and antioxidant activities of the 172 KBSLs showed wide variation among the accessions and years. In correlation analysis, the agricultural traits and phytochemicals showed positive and negative correlations with phytochemicals and antioxidant activity, respectively. The principal component analyses result indicated that phytochemicals accounted for most of the variability in the KBSLs. In clustering analysis, the 172 KBSLs were classified into four clusters. These results could lead to expanding the knowledge of the agricultural traits, phytochemicals, and antioxidant activity of the KBSLs, which are valuable materials for the development of new soybean varieties.The design and preparation of polymers by using biobased chemicals is regarded as an important strategy towards a sustainable polymer chemistry. Herein, two aromatic diols, 4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxyphenol and 2-(4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxyphenoxy)ethanol, have been prepared in good yields through the direct reduction of vanillin and hydroxyethylated vanillin (4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) using NaBH4, respectively. The diols were submitted to traditional polycondensation and polyaddition with acyl chlorides and diisocyanatos, and serials of new polyesters and polyurethanes were prepared in high yields with moderate molecular weight ranging from 17,000 to 40,000 g mol-1. Their structures were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and FTIR, and their thermal properties were studied by TGA and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicating that the as-prepared polyesters and polyurethanes have Tg in the range of 16.2 to 81.2 °C and 11.6 to 80.4 °C, respectively.Sacral nerve stimulation or sacral neuromodulation involves the implantation of a stimulating electrode lead through the sacral foramina. In patients with anatomical sacral anomalies, it can constitute a challenging procedure due to a lack of common reference points present in the normal anatomy. In this study, we present an innovative application of additive manufacturing for the planning of sacral nerve stimulation techniques and related surgical procedures in complex cases, and we verify that the use of personalized patient models may help to manage the presence of sacral anomalies. The use of two alternative additive manufacturing technologies working with thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, including fused deposition modeling as low-cost alternative and laser stereolithography as industrial gold standard, is compared in terms of viability, precision and overall production costs. They pay special attention to fidelity in terms of the bone microstructure reconstruction, which is necessary for adequately planning electrode insertion.