Bioengineering

Several fMRI studies have been performed to detect the neural correlates of stable bimanual coordination patterns in humans. Only few of those studies were accompanied by the on-line recording of the relative phase of fingers or hands, but none with high space and time resolutions. Conversely, the high-resolution recording of fingers' kinematics during fMRI would permit the quantification of the instantaneous fingers' positions, from which the instant at which transitions between different bimanual coordination patterns occur might be detected. This information could then be used to analyze fMRI data and detect the neural correlates of pattern transitions. We describe an a-magnetic optic-mechanical device (AMOMeD) able to monitor the fingers' positions during fMRI studies on bimanual coordination with 2 mm space resolution and 1 ms time resolution. From the instantaneous fingers' positions (recorded with an optical fiber system and a dedicated acquisition system), the oscillation amplitude, frequency, velocity and relative phase of fingers' are calculated. The signal from the fMRI trigger can be acquired simultaneously to synchronize the behavioral outcomes with the fMRI analysis. The results of our study show that this device does not affect fMRI signals, and that fMRI data can be processed using the simultaneous behavioral information to detect the brain areas activated during the transitions between different bimanual coordination patterns.

The current study aims for the isolation and physicochemical characterization of inulin from defatted dandelion roots using green extraction techniques, including microwave extraction (MAE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The structure and degree of polymerization of inulin were elucidated by chromatographic techniques, as well as by FTIR and NMR spectroscopies. The color characteristics, water-and oil-holding capacity, solubility, swelling properties, wettability, angle of repose, flowability, and cohesiveness of dandelion inulin were evaluated. Moreover, the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of dandelion inulin were revealed. The results were compared with the conventional extraction and inulin from chicory. Dandelion inulin was evaluated as a powder substance with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 17-24. The highest yield (20%) was obtained by classical extraction; however, UAE and MAE demonstrated the highest purity. FT-IR and NMR spectra revealed that dandelion inulin is glucofructan with a molecular weight of 2.7-3.2 kDa that consists mainly of fructosyl units β-(2→1) linked to one α-D-glucose unit UAE was evaluated as the most perspective technique for the simultaneous extraction of inulin from dandelion roots, with the highest average DP 24 and high purity (82%), molecular mass, total fructose content, swelling index, and oil-holding capacity. Dandelion inulin exhibited intermediate cohesiveness, fair flowability, and moderate antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes 863 and Bacillus subtilis 6633. The physicochemical and functional properties of dandelion inulin reveal its future potential as an additive in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutics formulations as a texture modifier, a fat replacer, and a drug carrier.

About 2.5% of the world population, corresponding to about 177 million individuals, are infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), a small, single-stranded RNA virus. The prevalence of HCV infection among dialysis patients in Japan, Europe, and North America during the 2012 to 2015 period was found to be 8.7% in the DOPPS study. Nosocomial HCV spread in hemodialysis facilities still occurs. Increased hepatic tissue iron has been shown to play a deleterious role in the course of hepatitis C, favor development of fibrosis and cirrhosis and possibly increase the risk of liver cancer in the general population. Regular loss of blood in the hemodialysis circuit, in routine blood sampling for laboratory tests (for uremia monitoring), and in gut due to uremic enteropathy, invariably results in iron deficiency for which patients are commonly treated with intravenous (IV) iron preparations. Data on the effects of IV iron in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C are limited (2 studies) and strongly suggest that parenteral iron may contribute to hepatocellular injury. Iatrogenic iron overload is extremely prevalent among hemodialysis population worldwide. Iron overload and toxicity has emerged as one of the most controversial topic in the management of anemia in dialysis patients. Given the known impact of iron in promoting growth and virulence of HCV and the associated liver disease, it is necessary to use iron therapy cautiously and closely monitor plasma markers of iron metabolism and liver iron stores non-invasively by means of MRI to avoid iron overload in this vulnerable population.

The present study was conducted to assess whether exogenous applied salicylic acid (SA) as a foliar spray could ameliorate the adverse effects of virus infection in two maize cultivars (maize cv. sabaini and maize cv. Nab El-gamal). The plants were grown under normal field conditions for two weeks in sand clay soil, and then sprayed with either 2 or 4 mM SA. Two weeks later, plants were subjected to infection with two different concentrations of virus (TMV1 and TMV2), and were harvested 10 days later. Fresh and dry matter, shoot and root lengths, proline, soluble protein, soluble sugars as well as nitrate reductase activity were measured. Both fresh and dry matter were decreased under virus infection however, SA enhanced the fresh and dry matter production in both cultivars regardless the type of virus or SA concentration used. In roots, both fresh and dry matters were not affected. The shoot length was enhanced by salicylic acid than root length regardless the concentration used or...

Horizon scanning is intended to identify the opportunities and threats associated with technological, regulatory and social change. In 2017 some of the present authors conducted a horizon scan for bioengineering (Wintle et al., 2017). Here we report the results of a new horizon scan that is based on inputs from a larger and more international group of 38 participants. The final list of 20 issues includes topics spanning from the political (the regulation of genomic data, increased philanthropic funding and malicious uses of neurochemicals) to the environmental (crops for changing climates and agricultural gene drives). The early identification of such issues is relevant to researchers, policy-makers and the wider public.

Protein stability arises from a combination of factors which are often difficult to rationalise. Therefore its improvement is better addressed through directed evolution than by rational design approaches. In this study, five rounds of mutagenesis/ recombination followed by high-throughput screening (<10,000 clones) yielded the hit 1B6 showing a 300-fold higher half life at 50uC than that exhibited by the homodimeric wild type PpAzoR azoreductase from Pseudomonas putida MET94. The characterization using fluorescence, calorimetry and light scattering shows that 1B6 has a folded state slightly less stable than the wild type (with lower melting and optimal temperatures) but in contrast is more resistant to irreversible denaturation. The superior kinetic stability of 1B6 variant was therefore related to an increased resistance of the unfolded monomers to aggregation through the introduction of mutations that disturbed hydrophobic patches and increased the surface net charge of the protein. Variants 2A1 and 2A1-Y179H with increased thermodynamic stability (10 to 20uC higher melting temperature than wild type) were also examined showing the distinctive nature of mutations that lead to improved structural robustness: these occur in residues that are mostly involved in strengthening the solvent-exposed loops or the inter-dimer interactions of the folded state.

Climatic changes influence various abiotic and biotic factors affecting agricultural productivity. Current report is first investigation for Aravali district of North Gujarat, India considered semi-arid region having extreme climatic conditions. Physico-chemical, micro and macro nutritional parameters of 20 soil samples were analyzed by biochemical methods and Inductively Coupled PlasmaMass Spectrophotometry (ICP-MS). Screening of potassium, phosphorus and zinc solubilizing bacteria was performed and 8 bacterial isolates displayed mineral solubilization activity. Mineral solubilizing bacteria were identified by 16s rDNA technology. SPSS software was used to perform statistical analysis. Significant variations were noted between the 20 samples in particle size distribution, bulk density, WHC, moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, organic matter, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, calcium and chloride (p&lt;0.02), The bacterial count was 100 f...

Research into hippocampal self-regulation abilities may help determine the clinical significance of hippocampal hyperactivity throughout the pathophysiological continuum of Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we aimed to identify the effects of amyloid-β peptide 42 (amyloid-β42) and phosphorylated tau on the patterns of functional connectomics involved in hippocampal downregulation. We identified 48 cognitively unimpaired participants (22 with elevated CSF amyloid-β peptide 42 levels, 15 with elevated CSF phosphorylated tau levels, mean age of 62.705 ± 4.628 years), from the population-based ‘Alzheimer’s and Families’ study, with baseline MRI, CSF biomarkers, APOE genotyping and neuropsychological evaluation. We developed a closed-loop, real-time functional MRI neurofeedback task with virtual reality and tailored it for training downregulation of hippocampal subfield cornu ammonis 1 (CA1). Neurofeedback performance score, cognitive reserve score, hippocampal volume, number of apolip...

Interleukin 1" (IL-1) is a term used to describe the family of macrophage-derived proteins that me- diate many immune and inflammatory reactions. We have previously described the molecular cloning and sequencing of the cDNA encoding the predominant (neutral) form of human IL-1, which has been designated IL-1 fi. We report here that transfection of simian COS cells with this cDNA clone results in the transcription of IL-1 mRNA and the synthesis of antibody-neutralizable intracellular IL-1 biological activity. In addition, selective deletion of regions of the IL-1 cDNA judged not to be essential for function, on the basis of conserved sequence homology, resulted in localization of a "core" region responsible for a majority of the biological activity. These results permit mapping the active site of IL-1 to a peptide of 6970 molecular weight located within the carboxyl third (between Met-136 and Gln-197) of the IL-1 precursor.

Background: Neurosurgical procedures are complex and require years of training and experience. Traditional training on human cadavers is expensive, requires facilities and planning, and raises ethical concerns. Therefore, the use of anthropomorphic phantoms could be an excellent substitute. The aim of the study was to design and develop a patient-specific 3D-skull and brain model with realistic CT-attenuation suitable for conventional and augmented reality (AR)-navigated neurosurgical simulations. Methods: The radiodensity of materials considered for the skull and brain phantoms were investigated using cone beam CT (CBCT) and compared to the radiodensities of the human skull and brain. The mechanical properties of the materials considered were tested in the laboratory and subsequently evaluated by clinically active neurosurgeons. Optimization of the phantom for the intended purposes was performed in a feedback cycle of tests and improvements. Results: The skull, including a complete representation of the nasal cavity and skull base, was 3D printed using polylactic acid with calcium carbonate. The brain was cast using a mixture of water and coolant, with 4 wt% polyvinyl alcohol and 0.1 wt% barium sulfate, in a mold obtained from segmentation of CBCT and T1 weighted MR images from a cadaver. The experiments revealed that the radiodensities of the skull and brain phantoms were 547 and 38 Hounsfield units (HU), as compared to real skull bone and brain tissues with values of around 1300 and 30 HU, respectively. As for the mechanical properties testing, the brain phantom exhibited a similar elasticity to real brain tissue. The phantom was subsequently evaluated by neurosurgeons in simulations of endonasal skullbase surgery, brain biopsies, and external ventricular drain (EVD) placement and found to fulfill the requirements of a surgical phantom. Conclusions: A realistic and CT-compatible anthropomorphic head phantom was designed and successfully used for simulated augmented reality-led neurosurgical procedures. The anatomic details of the skull base and brain were realistically reproduced. This phantom can easily be manufactured and used for surgical training at a low cost.

Wound healing is a complex process and rapid healing necessitates a proper micro-environment. Therefore, design and fabrication of an efficacious wound dressing is an impressive innovation in the field of wound healing. The fabricated wound dressing in this scenario was designed using a combination of the appropriate coagulating and anti-bacterial materials like fibrinogen (as coagulating agent), nisin (as anti-bacterial agent), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (as anti-bacterial agent), and alginate (as wound healing agent). Biophysical characterization showed that the interaction of fibrinogen and alginate was associated with minor changes in the secondary structure of the protein. Conformational studies showed that the protein was structurally stable at 42 °C, is the maximum temperature of the infected wound. The properties of the hydrogel such as swelling, mechanical resistance, nisin release, antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity, gel porosity, and blood coagulation were assessed...

Optical properties of plasmon coupled silver and gold nanoparticles were studied as a function of the refractive index of the surrounding medium. Our studies confirmed that the effect of changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium was more difficult to demonstrate from an experimental point of view, because of the very high susceptibility of nanoparticles to aggregate in aqueous and organic solvents. Whereas the position of the absorption bands of triiodide in these solvents shows a clear dependence on medium&#39;s refractive index, the surface plasmon band position of silver and gold nanoparticles do not exhibit the same dependence. This is attributed to a non-negligible interaction of these solvents with nanoparticle surfaces.

During the last decades, the role of the vascular endothelium has been well documented and investigated and all the studies that were made lead to the conclusion that this vascular endothelium isn&#39;t just a monolayer and a simple barrier, but a complex organ with various functions. This monolayer provides a &quot;first line&quot; physiological defense against atherosclerosis and it is considered to play an important role in inflammation and angiogenesis. The mature endothelial cells are involved in the repairement of the monolayer injury, thus having a limited capacity of recovery, thing that has lead to the investigation of the circulating endothelial progenitor cells and their role in this vascular healing. Recent studies showed that these cells have a huge role in the fast endothelization of the areas touched by the vascular damage and that several cardiovascular risk factors, but also several cardiovascular diseases decrease the number and function of these helpful and import...

Erythromycin, avermectin and rapamycin are clinically useful polyketide natural products produced on modular polyketide synthase multienzymes by an assembly-line process in which each module of enzymes in turn specifies attachment of a particular chemical unit. Although polyketide synthase encoding genes have been successfully engineered to produce novel analogues, the process can be relatively slow, inefficient, and frequently low-yielding. We now describe a method for rapidly recombining polyketide synthase gene clusters to replace, add or remove modules that, with high frequency, generates diverse and highly productive assembly lines. The method is exemplified in the rapamycin biosynthetic gene cluster where, in a single experiment, multiple strains were isolated producing new members of a rapamycin-related family of polyketides. The process mimics, but significantly accelerates, a plausible mechanism of natural evolution for modular polyketide synthases. Detailed sequence analys...

In this study, the economic analysis of gasification of rice straw was reviewed. Gasifier used in this research was developed by our department. Economic analysis for biofuel preparation and gasification processes were conducted separately. Biofuel preparation process consists of shredding and pelletizing. The unit cost of shredding and pelletizing of rice straw were found 0,079 $.kg -1 and 0,052 $.kg -1 , respectively. The total cost of preparing biofuel was 0,131 $.kg -1 . The cost of hourly biofuel consumption in gasification was 2.67 $.h -1 . The hourly cost of the gasification process was 3.57 $.h -1 . In the end of this research, the unit energy cost of syngas was found 0,146 $.kWh -1 . This research is the part of TUBITAK project (Project Number: 134O434) which was executed by our department.

High cell density (HCD) fed-batch cultures are widely perceived as a requisite for high-productivity polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) cultivation processes. In this work, a reactive pulse feed strategy (based on real-time CO2 or dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements as feedback variables) was used to control an oxygen-limited fed-batch process for improved productivity of medium chain length (mcl-) PHAs synthesized by Pseudomonas putida LS46. Despite the onset of oxygen limitation half-way through the process (14 h post inoculation), 28.8 ± 3.9 g L−1 total biomass (with PHA content up to 61 ± 8% cell dry mass) was reliably achieved within 27 h using octanoic acid as the carbon source in a bench-scale (7 L) bioreactor operated under atmospheric conditions. This resulted in a final volumetric productivity of 0.66 ± 0.14 g L−1 h−1. Delivering carbon to the bioreactor as a continuous drip feed process (a proactive feeding strategy compared to pulse feeding) made little difference on the final vo...

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenously expressed single-stranded RNAs that regulate gene expression post transcriptionally and shape diverse cellular pathways. miRNAs regulate a wide range of biological processes through the recognition of complementary sequences between miRNAs and their target genes. The present investigation aimed at determining in-silico the genetic variability of miRNA genes in some livestock and non-livestock species. Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes? 3&#39;UTR on target gain/loss of human miRNAs were also explored. A total of twenty four mature miRNA sequences and genomic coordinates in three livestock [chicken (5), pig (1) and cattle (9)] and two non-livestock (human (6) and mouse (3)] species were retrieved from the miRBase 15 release. Computational scanning of polymorphisms in the miRNAs revealed 33 and 20 polymorphic sites in livestock and non-livestock species, respectively. Of this, 7 (chicken), 11 (cattle) and 2 (mouse) were...

Dairy farms with as many as 200 cows still handle their wastewaters and solid manures separately. Because of the large volume produced and their low nutrient load, these dairy farm effluents (DE) are costly and time consuming to land spread using conventional equipment, such as the tanker. The purpose of this study was to test the equipment and cost to determine the cost of the equipment adapted for the simplified surface irrigation of DE and to establish best management practices to reduce risks of groundwater contamination. The project was conducted on two dairy farms in South Western of Montreal, Canada, where typical DE were applied to irrigated plots of 0Á5 and 0Á3 ha, respectively, and the groundwater quality was compared to a control plot of the same size. Groundwater quality was monitored for nutrients (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium and pH) and bacterial counts (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, and faecal streptococci). A manure pump and conventional water irrigation pipes were satisfactory in irrigating with the DE without clogging as long as the DE was collected in a tank separate from that of the solid manure. During all applications, subsurface seepage losses occurred, but these would not be lost to the watercourse when applied in quantities respecting irrigation guidelines and on soils where the groundwater table was at or below the depth of the subsurface drains. Nevertheless, these seepage losses represented less than 1% of the total volume of DE applied, and the seepage nutrient and bacterial load was generally less than half of that of the irrigated DE. The surface irrigation system reduced the cost of land spreading DE from CAN $3Á25 m À3 (conventional tanker) to CAN $1Á10 m À3 (surface irrigation). The heavy total potassium load of the DE requires the rotation of the irrigation plot, on an annual basis.

Criterios técnicos para el control de cárcavas, diseño de muros de retención y revegetación de paisajes agrarios: manual del operador en inversiones no productivas / [autores, J.A. Gómez... et al.]. --Sevilla : Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca, Servicio de Publicaciones y Divulgación, 2011 55 p. : il. ; [24] cm. --(Agricultura. Formación) Índice: Introducción; Control de cárcavas; Muros de contención; Setos de vegetación; Bosques isla; Referencias; Anejo 1. Uso de SIG; Anejo 2. Estimación de máximas lluvias diarias en Andalucía; Anejo 3. Ejecución de las plantaciones de setos y bosques islas. D.L. SE 6046-2011 Agricultura. -Paisaje agrario. -Control de la erosión. -Degradación ambiental.

In implant dentistry, large vertical and horizontal alveolar ridge deficiencies in mandibular and maxillary bone are challenges that clinicians continue to face. One of the limitations of porous blocks for reconstruction of bone in large defects in the oral cavity, and in the musculoskeletal system, is that fibrin clot does not adequately fill the interior pores and does not persist long enough to accommodate cell migration into the center of the block. The objective of our work was to develop a gelatin-based gel incorporating platelet-rich plasma (PRP) lysate, to mimic the role that a blood clot would normally play to attract and accommodate the migration of host osteoprogenitor and endothelial cells into the scaffold, thereby facilitating bone reconstruction. A conjugate of gelatin (Gtn) and hydroxyphenyl propionic acid (HPA), an amino-acid-like molecule, was commended for this application because of its ability to undergo enzyme-mediated covalent cross-linking to form a hydrogel ...

Bioengineering of functional lung tissue by using whole lung scaffolds has been proposed as a potential alternative for patients awaiting lung transplant. Previous studies have demonstrated that vascular resistance (Rv) could be altered to optimize the process of obtaining suitable lung scaffolds. Therefore, this work was aimed at determining how lung inflation (tracheal pressure) and perfusion (pulmonary arterial pressure) affect vascular resistance. This study was carried out using the lungs excised from 5 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats. The trachea was cannulated and connected to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device to provide a tracheal pressure ranging from 0 to 15 cmH 2 O. The pulmonary artery was cannulated and connected to a controlled perfusion system with continuous pressure (gravimetric level) ranging from 5 to 30 cmH 2 O. Effective Rv was calculated by ratio of pulmonary artery pressure (P PA ) by pulmonary artery flow (V 0 PA ). Rv in the decellularized lungs scaffolds decreased at increasing V 0 PA, stabilizing at a pulmonary arterial pressure greater than 20 cmH 2 O. On the other hand, CPAP had no influence on vascular resistance in the lung scaffolds after being subjected to pulmonary artery pressure of 5 cmH 2 O. In conclusion, compared to positive airway pressure, arterial lung pressure markedly influences the mechanics of vascular resistance in decellularized lungs.

Organ biofabrication is a potential future alternative for obtaining viable organs for transplantation. Achieving intact scaffolds to be recellularized is a key step in lung bioengineering. Perfusion of decellularizing media through the pulmonary artery has shown to be effective. How vascular perfusion pressure and flow vary throughout lung decellularization, which is not well known, is important for optimizing the process (minimizing time) while ensuring scaffold integrity (no barotrauma). This work was aimed at characterizing the pressure/flow relationship at the pulmonary vasculature and at how effective vascular resistance depends on pressure-and flow-controlled variables when applying different methods of media perfusion for lung decellularization. Lungs from 43 healthy mice (C57BL/6; 7-8 weeks old) were investigated. After excision and tracheal cannulation, lungs were inflated at 10 cmH 2 O airway pressure and subjected to conventional decellularization with a solution of 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Pressure (P PA ) and flow (V 0 PA ) at the pulmonary artery were continuously measured. Decellularization media was perfused through the pulmonary artery: (a) at constant P PA ¼20 cmH 2 O or (b) at constant V 0 PA ¼0.5 and 0.2 ml/min. Effective vascular resistance was computed as R v ¼P PA /V 0 PA . R v (in cmH 2 O/(ml/min)); mean7SE) considerably varied throughout lung decellularization, particularly for pressurecontrolled perfusion (from 29.173.0 in baseline to a maximum of 664.17164.3 (po0.05), as compared with flow-controlled perfusion (from 49.973.3 and 79.575.1 in baseline to a maximum of 114.4713.9 and 211.7770.5 (po0.05, both), for V 0 PA of 0.5 and 0.2 ml/min respectively. Most of the media infused to the pulmonary artery throughout decellularization circulated to the airways compartment across the alveolar-capillary membrane. This

Considering the limited number of available lung donors, lung bioengineering using whole lung scaffolds has been proposed as an alternative approach to obtain lungs suitable for transplantation. However, some decellularization protocols can cause alterations on the structure, composition, or mechanical properties of the lung extracellular matrix. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the acellular lung mechanical properties when using two different routes through the trachea and pulmonary artery for the decellularization process. This study was performed by using the lungs excised from 30 healthy male C57BL/6 mice, which were divided into 3 groups: tracheal decellularization (TDG), perfusion decellularization (PDG), and control groups (CG). Both decellularized groups were subjected to decellularization protocol with a solution of 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. The behaviour of mechanical properties of the acellular lungs was measured after decellularization process. Static (Es...

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a surface-sensitive technique that can enhance the intensity of Raman signal by several orders of magnitude, enabling even the detection of single molecule. This work presents the experimental and theoretical studies of an optical fiber probe with nano-structured end-facet for bio-sensing applications via SERS. The factors affecting the intensity of Raman signal passing through the fiber probe are investigated. These factors include the numerical aperture of the objective lens, the slit width of the spectrometer, the fiber length, and the size of SERS nano-array. The Raman signal loss through fiber compared with optical microscope-based free-space Raman detection is estimated. To further enhance the SERS enhancement factor, a hybrid graphene/Au nano-triangle structure is transferred on the end-facet of the fiber probe to enable SERS. Superimposing graphene layer on Au nano-structure is found to be superior over bare Au nano-structure in terms of the detection sensitivity.

Biological materials possess unique and desirable energy-absorbing mechanisms and structural characteristics worthy of consideration by engineers. For example, high levels of energy dissipation at low strain rates via triggering of crack delocalization combined with interfacial hardening by platelet interlocking are observed in brittle materials such as nacre, the iridescent material in seashells. Such behaviours find no analogy in current engineering materials. The potential to mimic such toughening mechanisms on different length scales now exists, but the question concerning their suitability under dynamic loading conditions and whether these mechanisms retain their energy-absorbing potential is unclear. This paper investigates the kinematic behaviour of an ‘engineered’ nacre-like structure within a high strain-rate environment. A finite-element (FE) model was developed which incorporates the pertinent biological design features. A parametric study was carried out focusing on (i) ...

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) vary in their propensity to cause damage in different regions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in laboratory animals and humans. This may depend on the type of drug formulation as well as the intrinsic pharmacological properties of the drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of NSAIDs, with cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 inhibitory activity but with different potency as inhibitors of prostaglandin production, when given orally as tablet/capsule formulations of NSAIDs for 10 days to pigs, a species that has close resemblance in structure and function of the tract to that in humans. Three capsule or tablet formulations of NSAIDs were given orally to pigs for 10 days. GI bleeding was measured by determination of radioactive iron in the faeces from 59Fe-pre-labelled red blood cells. The blood loss was compared with the pathological changes in the GI mucosa observed at autopsy, mucosal myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as an ind...

Children with central nervous system (CNS) malignancies often suffer from high symptom burden and risk of death. Pediatric palliative care is a medical specialty, provided by an interdisciplinary team, which focuses on enhancing quality of life and minimizing suffering for children with life-threatening or life-limiting disease, and their families. Primary palliative care skills which include basic symptom management, facilitation of goals-of-care discussions, and transition to hospice can and should be developed by all providers of neuro-oncology care. This chapter will review the fundamentals of providing primary palliative care

The impact of added saffron on the characteristics of yoghurt was evaluated during storage. The fat content was lower in the saffron yoghurt. All colour variables were significantly affected by saffron and storage. From the 15th day of storage, bacterial numbers in the saffron yoghurt were higher than those of the control yoghurt. Sensory analysis data suggested that colour, odour and texture impacted consistently on the overall acceptability of the saffron yoghurt. Saffron addition significantly increased polyphenol content and antioxidant activity, providing evidence that the enrichment of natural yoghurt with saffron yields an innovative fermented product useful for supplementing antioxidant dietary intake.

Background: Many recent studies have separately investigated functional and white matter (WM) based structural connectivity, yet their relationship remains less understood. In this paper, we proposed the functional-by-structural hierarchical (FSH) mapping to integrate multimodal connectome data from resting state fMRI (rsfMRI) and the whole brain tractography-derived connectome. Methods: FSH first observes that the level of resting-state functional correlation between any two regions in general decreases as the graph distance of the corresponding structural connectivity matrix between them increases. As not all white matter tracts are actively in use (i.e., "utilized") during resting state, FSH thus models the rsfMRI correlation as an exponential decay function of the graph distance of the rsfMRI-informed structural connectivity or rsSC. rsSC is mathematically computed by multiplying entry-by-entry the tractography-derived structural connectivity matrix with a binary white matter "utilization matrix" U. U thus encodes whether any specific WM tract is being utilized during rsFMRI, and is estimated using simulated annealing. We applied this technique and investigated the hierarchical modular structure of rsSC from 7 depressed subjects and 7 age/gender matched controls. No significant group differences were detected in the modular structures of either the resting state functional connectome or the whole brain tractography-derived connectome. By contrast, FSH results revealed significantly different patterns of association in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and right precuneus, with the depressed group exhibiting stronger associations among regions instrumental in self-referential operations. The results of this study support that enhanced sensitivity can be obtained by integrating multimodal imaging data using FSH, a novel computational technique that may increase power to detect group differences in brain connectomes.

Dendrimers are structurally well-defined, synthetic polymers with sizes and physicochemical properties often resembling those of biomacromolecules (e.g., proteins). As a result, they are promising candidates for peptide-based vaccine delivery platforms. Herein, we established a synthetic pathway to conjugate a human papillomavirus (HPV) E7 protein-derived peptide antigen to a star-polymer to create a macromolecular vaccine candidate to treat HPV-related cancers. These conjugates were able to reduce tumor growth and eradicate E7-expressing TC-1 tumors in mice after a single immunization, without the help of any external adjuvant.

We present a platform for the spatially selective sampling of the plasma membrane of single cells. Optically trapped lipid-coated oil droplets (smart droplet microtools, SDMs), typically 0.5-5 mm in size, composed of a hexadecane hydrocarbon core and fusogenic lipid outer coating (mixture of 1,2-dioleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3phosphatidylcholine) were brought into controlled contact with target colon cancer cells leading to the formation of connecting membrane tethers. Material transfer from the cell to the SDM across the membrane tether was monitored by tracking membrane-localized enhanced green fluorescent protein.

Conventionally, the anaerobic digestion of industrial effluent to biogas constitutes less than 65% methane, which warrants its potential methanation to mitigate carbon dioxide and other anthropogenic gas emissions. The performance of the anaerobic digestion process can be enhanced by improving biochemical activities. The aim of this study was to examine the synergistic effect of the magnetite and bioelectrochemical systems (BES) on anaerobic digestion by comparing four digesters, namely a microbial fuel cell (MFC), microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), MEC with 1 g of magnetite nanoparticles (MECM), and a control digester with only sewage sludge (500 mL) and inoculum (300 mL). The MFC digester was equipped with zinc and copper electrodes including a 100 Ω resistor, whereas the MEC was supplied with 0.4 V on the electrodes. The MECM digester performed better as it improved microbial activity, increased the content of methane (by 43% compared to 41% of the control), and reduced contamina...

Biological systems are dynamical, constantly exchanging energy and matter with the environment in order to maintain the non-equilibrium state synonymous with living. Developments in observational techniques have allowed us to study biological dynamics on increasingly small scales. Such studies have revealed evidence of quantum mechanical effects, which cannot be accounted for by classical physics, in a range of biological processes. Quantum biology is the study of such processes, and here we provide an outline of the current state of the field, as well as insights into future directions.

Background: Detailed molecular analyses of cells from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovium hold promise in identifying cellular phenotypes that drive tissue pathology and joint damage. The Accelerating Medicines Partnership RA/SLE Network aims to deconstruct autoimmune pathology by examining cells within target tissues through multiple highdimensional assays. Robust standardized protocols need to be developed before cellular phenotypes at a single cell level can be effectively compared across patient samples. Methods: Multiple clinical sites collected cryopreserved synovial tissue fragments from arthroplasty and synovial biopsy in a 10% DMSO solution. Mechanical and enzymatic dissociation parameters were optimized for viable cell extraction and surface protein preservation for cell sorting and mass cytometry, as well as for reproducibility in RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Cryopreserved synovial samples were collectively analyzed at a central processing site by a custom-designed and validated 35-marker mass cytometry panel. In parallel, each sample was flow sorted into fibroblast, T-cell, B-cell, and macrophage suspensions for bulk population RNA-seq and plate-based single-cell CEL-Seq2 RNA-seq. Results: Upon dissociation, cryopreserved synovial tissue fragments yielded a high frequency of viable cells, comparable to samples undergoing immediate processing. Optimization of synovial tissue dissociation across six clinical collection sites with ~30 arthroplasty and ~20 biopsy samples yielded a consensus digestion protocol using 100 μg/ml of Liberase™ TL enzyme preparation. This protocol yielded immune and stromal cell lineages with preserved surface markers and minimized variability across replicate RNA-seq transcriptomes. Mass cytometry analysis of cells from cryopreserved synovium distinguished diverse fibroblast phenotypes, distinct populations of memory B cells and antibody-secreting cells, and multiple CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell activation states. Bulk RNA-seq of sorted cell populations demonstrated robust separation of synovial lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and macrophages. Single-cell RNA-seq produced transcriptomes of over 1000 genes/cell, including transcripts encoding characteristic lineage markers identified.

Technological change has driven economic progress in agIiculture and will continue to playa crucial role in the 21st century. The latest wave of technological change in agriculture is based on the ability to specifically modify crop genetics through recombinant DNA techniques. Biotech crop varieties have been adopted on a wide scale in some agronomic crops, but horticultural crops face hurdles for commercialization. Market barriers are blocking the production of biotech horticultural crops that have already been developed. High costs for research, development and regulatory approval combined with the small acreages planted and the diversity of varieties limit the potential for profitable applications of biotechnology for many fruits and vegetables, tree fruits and nuts, and nursery and landscape crops. Like most technological changes in agriculture, the introduction of modem biotechnology has

Codon usage bias (CUB) is extensively found in a wide variety genomes and it is mostly affected by mutation pressure and natural selection. Analysis of CUB helps in studying the evolutionary features of a genome. The SRY gene plays an important role in male reproductive organ and a good candidate to study the evolutionary forces, since little work was reported earlier on this gene. We used bioinformatic methods to analyze the protein-coding sequences of SRY gene in 172 different mammalian species to understand the patterns of codon usage and the evolutionary forces acting on it. We found that the codon bias of SRY gene varies widely across mammals. Relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) value revealed that the codons such as TCG, CCG, CAT, ATT, ACT, GCT, GTT, GCG, GGG and GGT were over-represented. Correspondence analysis indicated that the distribution of codons was more close to the axes indicating that compositional constraints might correlate to codon bias. Z-score analysis on R...

Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) is a novel diffusion-weighted MRI technique that uses the mathematically distinct behavior of water diffusion in separable microscopic tissue compartments to highlight key aspects of the tissue microarchitecture with high conspicuity. RSI can be acquired in less than 5 min on modern scanners using a surface coil. Multiple field gradients and high b-values in combination with postprocessing techniques allow the simultaneous resolution of length-scale and geometric information, as well as compartmental and nuclear volume fraction filtering. RSI also uses a distortion correction technique and can thus be fused to high resolution T2-weighted images for detailed localization, which improves delineation of disease extension into critical anatomic structures. In this review, we discuss the acquisition, postprocessing, and interpretation of RSI for prostate MRI. We also summarize existing data demonstrating the applicability of RSI for prostate cancer dete...

A substantial amount of renewable sugars can be obtained by simply pressing the oil palm frond (OPF) using sugarcane press machine. OPF juice can be utilized as a carbon source for the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB) by using a wild type strain of Cupriavidus necator CCUG 52238 T . Unfortunately, lesser amount of P(3HB) content i.e. 32 wt.% was obtained when 30% (v/v) of OPF juice was supplemented as the sole carbon source in shake flasks experiment. An attempt has been made to further enhanced the P(3HB) production using a mutant strain of Cupriavidus necator NCIMB 11599 in a 2L fed-batch bioreactor. The P(3HB) produced from this study was then characterized for its physical, thermal and mechanical properties. From the fed-batch experiment supplemented with concentrated OPF juice, we managed to obtain higher cell dry mass of 40 g/l with 75 wt.% of P(3HB) accumulation. Images of bacterial cells taken at 60 h of cultivation period with a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) showed the vast majority of microbial cells contained many P(3HB) granules with a few cells autolysis occurred, indicating the suitable time for cells harvesting. Number average molecular weight, mechanical and thermal properties of P(3HB) obtained from OPF juice showed an almost similar properties to those reported in the literature indicating that OPF juice can become viable low-cost substrate alternative in P(3HB) production.