Laura M. Stefan

National Institute of R&D for Biological Sciecnes · Cellular and Molecular Biology

The aim of this study was to design a dual-layer wound dressing as a new fibrous biomaterial based on the valorization of animal-derived proteins. The first layer was fabricated by the deposition of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) loaded with keratin hydrolysate (KH) via a mono-electrospinning process onto a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) film, which was used...

In recent years, the scientific community has made significant progress in understanding nutrition, leading consumers to shift their preferences away from animal-based protein products and towards natural, plant-based protein sources. This study aimed to determine the nutritional value, in vitro cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity for different s...

The richness and structure of symbiont assemblages are shaped by many factors acting at different spatial and temporal scales. Among them, host phylogeny and geographic distance play essential roles. To explore drivers of richness and structure of symbiont assemblages, feather mites and seabirds are an attractive model due to their peculiar traits....

The present research aims to describe a new methodology to obtain biocompatible hydrogels based on Aloe vera used for wound healing applications. The properties of two hydrogels (differing in Aloe vera concentration, AV5 and AV10) prepared by an all-green synthesis method from raw, natural, renewable and bioavailable materials such as salicylic aci...

The bioactivity of the versatile biodegradable biopolymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) can be obtained by combining it with natural or synthetic compounds. This paper deals with the preparation of bioactive formulations involving the melt processing of PLA loaded with a medicinal plant (sage) and an edible oil (coconut oil), together with an organomodif...

Mg is a material of choice for biodegradable implants. The main challenge for using Mg in temporary implants is to provide protective surfaces that mitigate its rapid degradation in biological fluids and also confer sufficient cytocompatibility and bacterial resistance to Mg-coated surfaces. Even though carbonate mineralization is the most importan...

The aim of this study was to obtain biocomposites consisting of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), bacterial cellulose (BC) and α-tocopherol by a melt processing technique for potential use in biomedical applications. The melt processing and roughness of biocomposites were evaluated and compared to sample without BC. The degradati...

Corrosion protective coatings were grown on pure magnesium in carbonated water containing Ca²⁺ using a simple, green conversion method. Dissolution of the native corrosion product, Mg(OH)2, mediates the surface nucleation of hydroxicarbonates. The pH increase due to CO2 degassing to atmospheric pressure leads to calcite nucleation and lateral growt...

Bioactive collagen–chitosan–lemongrass (COL–CS–LG) membranes were prepared by casting method and analyzed for potential biomedical applications. For COL–CS–LG membranes, LG essential oil release, antioxidant properties, in vitro cytotoxicity and antimicrobial assessments were conducted, as well as free radical determination after gamma irradiation...

Three feather mite species of the genus Brephosceles Hull, 1934 (Alloptidae: Alloptinae) were found on the European storm petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus (Procellariiformes: Hydrobatidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and North-east Atlantic Ocean. Brephosceles holoplax sp. n. is described as a new species; B. pelagicus (Vitzthum, 1921) and B. longirostri...

The skin, which represents about 16% of the total body mass, acts as a protective barrier against external microbial factors [1]. Therefore, damaged tissues, especially burns, require rapid local coverage to avoid infections and to ensure the protective barrier function of the skin [2]. The aim of this study was to design and characterize new hydro...

Severe skin injuries, including burns, represent a real concern for the global health-care system and therefore, there is an increased interest in developing wound dressings, in order to stimulate and enhance skin tissue repair. The aim of this study was to design novel hybrid materials, biomimetic to skin extracellular matrix and enriched with sil...

In this study, sodium alginate film (Alg) was coated with electrospun collagen glue (Col) extracted from rabbit skin waste, loaded with different commercial antimicrobial agents (chitosan, AG425K and ZnONPs) and investigated in terms of morphological, structural and biological properties. The coated nanostructures were characterized using scanning...

Introduction: Nutraceuticals are food or parts of a food that provide medicinal or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. [...]

Concentrated collagen hydrolysate (HC10CC), rabbit collagen glue (RCG), and keratin hydrolysate (KH) were investigated in terms of their extraction from mammalian by-products and processing by electrospinning. The electrospun nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy coupled with the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS...

Bionanocomposites including poly(lactic acid) (PLA), collagen, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared as biocompatible and stable films. Thermal properties of the PLA-based bionanocomposites indicated an increase in the crystallinity of PLA plasticized due to a small quantity of AgNPs. The results on the stability study indicate the promisi...

The influence of spore concentration on the ability of a Trichoderma consortium to colonize the Passiflora caerulea phyllosphere was evaluated by determining the effects of foliar treatments with two spore concentrations, in two repeated treatments, on the morphological, physiological, and ultrastructural characteristics, and on the yield and quali...

In this study, we aimed to obtain gelatin from the marine snail Rapana venosa using acidic and enzymatic extraction methods and to characterize these natural products for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. Marine gelatins presented protein values and hydroxyproline content similar to those of commercial mammalian gelatin, but with higher mel...

The association of natural or synthetic polymers with metal nanoparticles resulted in hybrid [...]

Bionanocomposites based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA), plasticized with commercial tributyl o-acetyl citrate (ATBC) and containing hydrolyzed collagen (HC) up to 10 wt% and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), were prepared by a melt mixing procedure. The properties of antimicrobial PLA based formulations were investigated in terms of morphology (atomic forc...

Bone defects due to trauma or diseases causing bone loss have led to an increased demand for new materialsthat have applications in therapies for bone pathologies. Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), based on 70-SiO⁠2-(26-x)CaO 4P⁠2O⁠5-xCeO⁠2 (x=0, 1 and 5mol % for MBGS, MBGS1Ce and MBGS5Ce) were synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly (E...

Supplimentary material of the paper: "I. Atkinson, E.M. Anghel, S. Petrescu, A. M. Seciu, L. M. Stefan, O.C. Mocioiu, L. Predoana, M. Voicescu, S. Somacescu, D. Culita and M. Zaharescu, Cerium-containing mesoporous bioactive glasses: Material characterization, in vitro bioactivity, biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, evaluation, Microporous and Meso...

Bee pollen contains high levels of bioactive compounds but their bioavailability is restricted to human's diet due to complex external structure of cellular wall. SCOBY fermented pollen contains compounds with prebiotic effects, such as carbohydrates, polyphenols, flavonoids and dietary fibres, but also lactic bacteria and yeasts with probiotic cha...

The bioavailability of pollen bioactive compounds for humans is limited. In this study, our aim was to enhance the health-related benefits of pollen by fermentation with a Kombucha/SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts) consortium. We performed the fermentation of pollen suspended from the beginning with SCOBY on sweetened green tea or on...

Feather mites are useful models for studying speciation due to their high diversity and strong degree of host specialization. However, studies to date have focused on the evolution of higher-level mite taxa while much hidden diversity likely occurs at the level of host genera and species. In this study, we examined the diversity and evolution of fe...

Cruciferous vegetables are known as food with chemopreventive effect due to their high content in bioactive compounds, such as mineral nutrients, including selenium, antioxidants, vitamins and glucosinolates, which were shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, both in vitro and in vivo testing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new...

Cape Verde petrel (Pterodroma feae) is currently considered near threatened, but little is known about its population size, breeding biology and on land threats, jeopardizing its management and conservation. To improve this situation, we captured, marked and recaptured (CMR) birds using mist-nets over 10 years; measured and sexed them; monitored up...

Description of molecular sexing methodology. (DOCX)

Description of POPAN Jolly Seber modelling and model selection. (DOCX)

Carbon and nitrogen values of standard material used stable isotopic analysis. Accepted and mean measured (±standard deviation) values of the standard material used in the stable isotopic analysis performed in this study, as well as, the mean minimum and maximum values obtain in each run. The "n" refers to the number of samples of standards materia...

Examples of Cape Verde petrels brood patches representative of the score used in this article: (A) score 0 –no brood patch (i.e., no evidence of defeathering); (B) score 1 –loss of some down feathers around the edges; (C) score 2 –fully developed brood patch, that in this species occurred when almost all the down feathers fall, but there is still a...

Breeding phenology of Cape Verde petrels obtained from the light and saltwater immersion data of geolocators. (DOCX)

Description of the stable isotope analysis of fur samples. (DOCX)

GPS positions of seven tracked domestic cats from Chã das Caldeiras. (XLSX)

GPS positions over land of tracked Cape Verde petrels breeding in Fogo island. (XLSX)

We developed a new plant biostimulant composition, containing low doses of sodium selenate, glycine betaine and a spray adjuvant. We performed an experiment to test the influence of treatments with this new biostimulant composition, on cabbage and cauliflower crops, cultivated under normal watered and water stress conditions. We aimed to prove that...

It has been performed a complex investigation – morpho-anatomical, physiological, taxonomical and phytochemical one – of Passiflora nutraceutical plants from Hofigal S.A., in the frame of project PNII-PCCA-2013-4-0995, contract 160 (MAIA)/2014. Anatomic analysis of leaf lamina, petiole and stem, provided data with taxonomical importance, leading to...

Periodontitis treatment using occlusive membranes presented variable efficacy due to their rapid degradation in the complex biologic environment of the damaged periodontium. The aim of this study was to prepare novel composites based on collagen, chondroitin sulfate and fibronectin, and to establish the optimal parameters for their photochemical cr...

Based on partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes, the ribosomal 12S rRNA (12S) and ribosomal 16S rRNA (16S), we found that males and females of the two closely related feather mite species, Laminalloptes minor (Trouessart, 1885) and L. simplex (Trouessart, 1885), have been erroneously associated in the revision of the genus Laminalloptes (Atye...

According to classic niche theory, species can coexist in heterogeneous environments by reducing interspecific competition via niche partitioning, e.g. trophic or spatial partitioning. However, support for the role of competition on niche partitioning remains controversial. Here, we tested for spatial and trophic partitioning in feather mites, a di...

Two new species of the feather mite genus Promegninia Gaud & Atyeo, 1967 (Avenzoariidae: Bonnetellinae) are described from procellariids in the northeasterm Atlantic Ocean: Promegninia bulweriae n. sp. from the Bulwer's petrel Bulweria bulwerii (Jardine & Selby) and P. calonectris n. sp. from the Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis (Cory) (Proce...

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Rhinozachvatkinia calonectris sp. n., a new species of the feather mite genus Rhinozachvatkinia Mironov, 1989 (Avenzoariidae: Bonnetellinae), is described from two species of shearwaters in the North-East of the Atlantic Ocean, Calonectris edwardsii (Oustalet) (type host) and Calonectris borealis (Cory) (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae). We compl...

Three new species of the feather mite subfamily Ingrassiinae (Acariformes: Astigmata: Xolalgidae) are described from shearwaters and petrels (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) in the North-East of Atlantic Ocean: Ingrassia calonectris sp. n. from Calonectris borealis (Cory) (type host) and Calonectris edwardsii (Oustalet), Ingrassia micronota sp....

##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

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The feather mite species, Zachvatkinia puffini (Buchholz, 1869) (Acariformes: Avenzoariidae), the type species of the genus Zachvatkinia Dubinin, 1949, is redescribed based on specimens collected from its type host, the Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea Gmelin, 1789 (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae). Zachvatkinia robusta Mironov, 1991 syn. n. from...

The aim of the present paper is to study the compatibility and biocompatibility of new polyester urethane with hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) blends by FT-IR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements. It has been established on the basis of the results obtained and specific interactions that the optima compatibility compositions which assure the good...

Although significant progresses were made in the field of molecular biology of malignant cerebral gliomas, the prognostic of these tumors continues to be reserved. One of the therapeutic failure reasons is the incomplete knowledge regarding the origin of these tumors and cells features, which in fact represent an obstacle in developing a cell and m...

Although significant progresses were made in the field of molecular biology of malignant cerebral gliomas, the prognostic of these tumors continues to be reserved. One of the therapeutic failure reasons is the incomplete knowledge regarding the origin of these tumors and cells features, which in fact represent an obstacle in developing a cell and m...

This paper deals with obtaining and characterization of some bioartificial materials based on polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) with hydrolyzed collagen (HC) and small amounts of natural polymers such as: elastin (ELS), hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulphate (CS). The film samples have been obtained by mixing of the solutions of polyvinyl alcohol and h...

The aim of this paper is to characterize some bioartficial materials based at? polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and hydrolyzed collagen (HC) and to test in vitro biocompatibility on human dermal fibroblasts. The biological analysis (cell proliferation, viability and morphology) showed that broartificial materials present a good biocompatibility, fibroblasts...

The aim of this study was to compare the protective effect of a green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (GTE) and mixtures of GTE with collagen (COL) (GTE-COL I-V) against ultraviolet (UV) radiation using a primary culture of human dermal fibroblasts. Concentrations of GTE up to 25 μg/ml had a significant positive effect on dermal fibroblast prolifer...