Clinical Trials with Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapies for Osteoarthritis: Challenges in the Regeneration of Articular Cartilage.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a whole-joint disease primarily characterized by the deterioration of hyaline cartilage. Current treatments include microfracture and chondrocyte implantation as early surgical strategies that can be combined with scaffolds to repair osteochondral lesions; however, intra-articular (IA) injections or implantations of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are new approaches that have presented encouraging therapeutic results in animal models and humans. We critically reviewed clinical trials with MSC therapies for OA, focusing on their effectiveness, quality, and outcomes in the regeneration of articular cartilage. Several sources of autologous or allogeneic MSCs were used in the clinical trials. Minor adverse events were generally reported, indicating that IA applications of MSCs are potentially safe. The evaluation of articular cartilage regeneration in human clinical trials is challenging, particularly in the inflammatory environment of osteoarthritic joints. Our findings indicate that IA injections of MSCs are efficacious in the treatment of OA and the regeneration of cartilage, but that they may be insufficient for the full repair of articular cartilage defects. The possible interference of clinical and quality variables in the outcomes suggests that robust clinical trials are still necessary for generating reliable evidence with which to support these treatments. We suggest that the administration of just-sufficient doses of viable cells in appropriate regimens is critical to achieve effective and durable effects. In terms of future perspectives, genetic modification, complex products with extracellular vesicles derived from MSCs, cell encapsulation in hydrogels, and 3D bioprinted tissue engineering are promising approaches with which to improve MSC therapies for OA.

Effect of the Process Parameters on the Adhesive Strength of Dissimilar Polymers Obtained by Multicomponent Injection Molding.

The growing demand in the consumer market for products with sustainable technologies has motivated new applications using overmolded natural fiber composites. Therefore, studies have been conducted mainly to understand the adhesive properties of overmolded parts. In the present study, a polypropylene (PP) composite with 30% coconut fibers without additives was developed with the aid of a corotating twin screw extruder. Subsequently, a multicomponent injection mold was developed based on the geometry of the ISO 527 type I specimen, in which samples overmolded with PP and PP-coconut-fiber composite, with the overlap in the central area, were obtained to evaluate the adhesive strength of dissimilar materials. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bond between PP and PP-coconut-fiber composite under different processing conditions using an adhesive strength testing device to perform a pure shear analysis. The experimental conditions followed a statistical design considering four factors in two levels and a significance level of 5%. The results indicated that adhesive strength increased significantly as the overlap area increased. It was observed that temperature and injection flow rate were the factors that most contributed to strengthening the bonds of dissimilar materials.

Lipid content and fatty acids compositions in commercial cuts of young goat meat / Teor lipídico e perfil de ácidos graxos de cortes comerciais de carne de caprinos juvenis

ABSTRACT: Brazil has the largest herd of goats of the American continent, with more than 9 million head. Goat farming is considered a growing and important activity for the economy, mainly in the northeastern region of Brazil .In this research, were determined the lipid content and the composition of fillet and shank fatty acids of young goats, registered in the inspection sector of the Ministry of Agriculture and marketed in the city of Salvador (Bahia). The average percentage of total lipids in the fillet was 1.68±0.04 and in the shank of 4.02±0.09, this is a significant difference between the cuts (P<0.05). Twenty-seven (27) fatty acids were identified in the cuts, most are palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0) and oleic acid (C18:1ω9) present in 21.32%, 20.39%, 34.49% in the fillet and 21.74%, 21.94%, 33.38% in the shank, respectively. The total sums of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids ranged of 42.75 to 45.23% and 14.04 to 12.35% between fillet and shank cuts, respectively. The ratio of PUFA/SFA was 0.35 for fillet and 0.15 for shank, and the ratio ω6/ω3 was 3.07 for fillet and 2.27 for shank. Therefore, is a significant difference in total lipid content and fatty acid composition in commercial cuts of beef fillet and shank.

RESUMO: O Brasil apresenta a maior população de caprinos do continente americano, com mais de nove milhões de cabeças, a caprinocultura é considerada uma atividade em ascensão e de grande importância para a economia, principalmente da região nordeste. No presente trabalho foram determinados o teor de lipídios totais e o perfil de ácidos graxos de amostras de filé e pernil de caprinos juvenil, registrados em órgãos de inspeção do Ministério da Agricultura e comercializados na cidade de Salvador (Bahia). O percentual médio de lipídios totais no filé foi de 1,68±0,04 e no pernil de 4,02±0,09, com diferenças significativas entre os cortes (p<0,05). Foram identificados nos cortes, vinte e sete ácidos graxos, sendo os majoritários os ácidospalmítico (C16:0), esteárico (C18:0) e oleico (C18:1ω9) presentes em 21,32%, 20,39%, 34,49% no filé, e 21,74%, 21,94%, 33,38% no pernil, respectivamente. Os somatórios totais de ácidos graxos saturados e poli-insaturados variaram de 42,75 a 45,23% e de 14,04 a 12,35%, entre os cortes de filé e de pernil, respectivamente. A razão entre AGPI/AGS foi de 0,35 para o filé e de 0,15 para o pernil, e a razão ω6/ω3 foi de 3,07 para o filé e de 2,27 para o pernil. Constatou-se que existe uma diferença significativa no teor de lipídios totais e da composição de ácidos graxos em cortes comerciais de filé e pernil de carne caprina.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic properties of various Brazilian propolis extracts.

Propolis is known for its biological properties and its preparations have been continuously investigated in an attempt to solve the problem of their standardization, an issue that limits the use of propolis in food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic effects of extracts of red, green, and brown propolis from different regions of Brazil, obtained by ethanolic and supercritical extraction methods. We found that propolis extracts obtained by both these methods showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The extracts obtained by ethanolic extraction showed higher antioxidant activity than that shown by the extracts obtained by supercritical extraction. Ethanolic extracts of red propolis exhibited up to 98% of the maximum antioxidant activity at the highest extract concentration. Red propolis extracts obtained by ethanolic and supercritical methods showed the highest levels of antimicrobial activity against several bacteria. Most extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. None of the extracts analyzed showed activity against Escherichia coli or Candida albicans. An inhibitory effect of all tested ethanolic extracts on the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain epimastigotes was observed in the first 24 h. However, after 96 h, a persistent inhibitory effect was detected only for red propolis samples. Only ethanolic extracts of red propolis samples R01Et.B2 and R02Et.B2 showed a cytotoxic effect against all four cancer cell lines tested (HL-60, HCT-116, OVCAR-8, and SF-295), indicating that red propolis extracts have great cytotoxic potential. The biological effects of ethanolic extracts of red propolis revealed in the present study suggest that red propolis can be a potential alternative therapeutic treatment against Chagas disease and some types of cancer, although high activity of red propolis in vitro needs to be confirmed by future in vivo investigations.