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Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogen causing tuberculosis (TB) a spectrum of disease including acute and asymptomatic latent stages. Identifying and treating latently-infected patients constitutes one of the most important impediments to TB control efforts. Those individuals can remain undiagnosed for decades serving as potential reservoirs for disease reactivation. Tests for the accurate diagnosis of latent infection currently are unavailable. HspX protein (α-crystallin), encoded by Rv2031c gene, is produced in vitro by M. tuberculosis during stationary growth phase and hypoxic or acidic culture conditions. In this study, using standard, and Luminex xMAP® bead capture ELISA, respectively, we report on detection of anti-HspX IgG and IgM antibodies and HspX protein in sera from acute and latent TB patients. For the antibody screen, levels of IgG and IgM antibodies were similar between non-infected and active TB patients; however, individuals classified into the group with latent TB showed higher values of anti-HspX IgM (p = 0.003) compared to active TB patients. Using the bead capture antigen detection assay, HspX protein was detected in sera from 56.5% of putative latent cases (p< 0.050) compared to the background median with an average of 9,900 pg/ml and a range of 1,000 to 36,000 pg/ml. Thus, presence of anti-HspX IgM antibodies and HspX protein in sera may be markers of latent TB.

The presence of dangerous pollutants in different water sources has restricted the availability of this natural resource. Thus, the development of new low-cost and environmentally-friendly technologies is currently required to ensure access to clean water. Various approaches to the recovery of contaminated water have been considered, including the generation of biomaterials with adsorption capacity for dangerous compounds. Research on bioadsorbents has boomed in recent years, as they constitute one of the most sustainable options for water treatment thanks to their abundance and high cellulose content. Thanks to the vast amount of information published to date, the present review addresses the current status of different biosorbents and the principal processes and characterization methods involved, focusing on base biomaterials such as fruits and vegetables, grains and seeds, and herbage and forage. In comparison to other reviews, this work reports more than 60 adsorbents obtained from agricultural wastes. The removal efficiencies and/or maximum adsorption capacities for heavy metals, industrial contaminants, nutrients and pharmaceuticals are presented as well. In addition to the valuable information provided in the literature investigation, challenges and perspectives concerning the implementation of bioadsorbents are discussed in order to comprehensively guide selection of the most suitable biomaterials according to the target contaminant and the available biowastes.

The Apoptosis is an intensely studied mechanism for cancer therapy. Various genes, drugs, and molecules have been combined to potentiate the apoptotic effect against tumor cells. Magnetic nanocomplexes with biopolymers have been proposed as nanocarriers for delivery of active molecules and improve apoptosis induction. To these purpose were formulated magnetic nanoparticles with curcumin coated chitosan (MNPs-CHI-TPP-CUR) and magnetic nanoparticles with pCEM-TRAIL plasmid coated chitosan (MNPs-CHI-TPP-TRAIL) for use alone or in combination to induce the apoptosis of B16F10 tumor cells because curcumin is capable of overexpressing receptors TRAIL required for apoptosis induction. Also, curcumin (CUR) has been used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this work, it was produced and characterized nanoparticles with curcumin and nanoparticles with TRAIL gene. Both types of nanoparticles were ~ 200 nm size. The results showed that the combination of (MNPs-CHI-TPP-CUR) and (MNPs-CHI-TPP-TRAIL) induced a significant increase in cellular death within 48 h compared with the effect of each nanocomplex individually, demonstrating a synergic effect. This is the first description the synergic interaction between TRAIL gene and curcumin drug to improve the apoptosis in cancer cells. Also, it was determined that cellular death was potentiated when the treated cells were exposed to laser photoactivation with wavelengths of 405 nm and 532 nm for 15 min. Graphical abstract

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