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BACKGROUND: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. METHODS: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events.
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Produtos Biológicos , Mídias Sociais , HumanosRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Response surface methodology coupled with statistically designed experiments has been found to be very useful in optimising multivariable processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of two independent variables, a ratio of permeation enhancers/antioxidants (transcutol and ethanolic extract of tetracarpidium conophorum EETC) and stirring rate, on the flux and permeation of gentamicin hydrogel. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A modification of free radical initial polymerization was used to formulate the gentamicin hydrogel. A 32 factorial CCD was then used to investigate the effect of independent variables of the permeation enhancer transcutol: EETC (X1), stirring speed (X2) via 14 formulation batches, which were evaluated for dependent variables flux (Y1) and amount of drug permeated after 12 hours (Y2) ex vivo. RESULTS: The results of ANOVA performed to determine the fit of the models revealed that the models were statistically significant (p<0.05) and did not show lack of fit (R2>0.80). The regression equation generated for flux was Y1=19.35 - 25.82X1 - 0.044X2 + 0.0097X1X2 + 11.86X21 and for cumulative permeation of gentamicin in 12 hours Y2=315.50 - 189.67X1 + 0.28X2 -1.29X1X2 + 123.55X21. The validity of the statistical models used for predicting flux and drug permeation was confirmed by conducting three confirmation experimental runs at the identified optimum conditions. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the experimental results and those predicted by the statistical models. CONCLUSION: The excellent correlation between the predicted and measured values shows the validity of statistical models (R2=0.95). An antioxidant and permeation enhancer has been used for the first time to investigate the influence on dependent variables. Optimization of gentamicin hydrogel using central composite statistical design is valid for the prediction of drug permeation and flux using variables in formulation.
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Dioscorea species is a very important food and drug plant. The tubers of the plant are extensively used in food and drug purposes owing to the presence of steroidal constituent's diosgenin in the tubers. In the present study, we report for the first time that the leaves of Dioscorea composita and Dioscorea floribunda grown under the field conditions exhibited the presence of multicellular oil glands on the epidermal layers of the plants using stereomicroscopy (SM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Essential oil was also isolated from the otherwise not useful herbage of the plant, and gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopy analysis revealed confirmation of the essential oil constituents. Out of the 76 compounds detected in D. floribunda and 37 from D. composita essential oil, major terpenoids which are detected and reported for Dioscorea leaf essential oil are α -terpinene, nerolidol, citronellyl acetate, farnesol, elemol, α -farnesene, valerenyl acetate, and so forth. Elemol was detected as the major constituent of both the Dioscorea species occupying 41% and 22% of D. Floribunda and D. composita essential oils, respectively. In this paper, we report for the first time Dioscorea as a possible novel bioresource for the essential oil besides its well-known importance for yielding diosgenin.
