Proteomics analysis of liver pathological calcification suggests a role for the IQ motif containing GTPase activating protein 1 in myofibroblast function

To date the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which liver pathological calcifications occur and are regulated are poorly investigated. To study the mechanisms linked to their appearance, we performed a proteomics analysis of calcified liver samples. To this end, human liver biopsies collected in noncalcified (N), precalcified (P), and calcified (C) areas of the liver were subjected to weak ion exchange chromatography, SDS‐PAGE, and LC‐ESI MS/MS analyses. As we previously demonstrated that alpha‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) expressing myofibroblasts were involved in liver pathological calcification, we performed a targeted analysis of actin cytoskeleton remodeling‐related proteins. This revealed dramatic changes in protein expression patterns in the periphery of the calcified areas. More particularly, we found that IQGAP1 and IQGAP2 proteins were subjected to major expression changes. We show that IQGAP1 expression within P and C areas of the liver correlates with the high abundance of myofibroblasts and that IQGAP1 is specifically expressed in these cells. In addition, we find that IQGAP1 is part of a protein complex including β‐catenin and Rac1 mainly in P and C regions of the liver. These results suggest that IQGAP1 may play a critical role in the regulation of cytoskeleton remodeling in liver myofibroblasts in response to liver injury and consequently impact on their function.     

Variation of Microwave Dielectric Properties in the Glucose Biosensor System

Glucose biosensor is generally based on the reaction between glucose and glucose oxidase, which produces gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. The gluconic acid is a conductive material, while hydrogen peroxide has polar molecules. This article examines the changes of dielectric properties due to the conductive loss below 2 GHz and dipole orientation of above that frequency of this reaction. The difference between the dielectric loss of glucose solution and the dielectric loss of glucose-enzyme reaction can be related to the glucose concentration in the samples, such as orange juice, black grape juice, sugarcane juice, and sapodilla juice. A good sensitivity to these differences due to the effect of ionic conductivity and dipole orientation was found at 1 and 16.44 GHz, respectively. The minimum detection limit of glucose concentration in the proposed technique was about 0.01 M (0.20 g/100 ml) with an optimum reaction ratio of about 1:1 between the enzyme solution and the glucose solution. This technique could benefit the future development of microwave biosensor by which both ionic conductivity and dipole effects can be considered simultaneously.     

Supercritical CO2 sterilization of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene

The aim of this study was to use a benign technique for the sterilization of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which is broadly used in artificial joints. The feasibility of using supercritical (SC) CO₂ modified with additives such as ethanol, water and hydrogen peroxide was assessed for the sterilization of UHMWPE. The operating conditions and the amount of modifiers were changed to achieve a complete inactivation of bacteria such as spores and fungi. Complete inactivation of all microorganisms including spores was achieved within 2 h at 37 °C and 170 bar CO₂, when at least 25 μL hydrogen peroxide was mixed with equal volume of other modifiers. The physio-chemical properties of the polymer were tested for untreated, as well as treated samples. Mechanical strength and elongation of the polymer were measured using an Instron and the oxidation of the polymer was measured using FTIR. Both the physical and chemical properties of the polymer were unchanged after the SC CO₂ sterilization technique.     

Development of fortified biscuit using NaFeEDTA

BACKGROUND: Sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acetate (NaFeEDTA) is a promising iron fortificant for populations consuming high‐phytate diets. It produces fewer organoleptic effects than other fortificants do, especially when the matrix of the food vehicle contains fat, and has a bioavailability two to four times higher than that of ferrous sulfate. This study investigated the effects of varying levels of NaFeEDTA (576–1152 mg kg^?1) on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of Petit Beurre biscuits. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in pH, ash, moisture and breaking strength values among all formulae. The iron content (7.2–14.4 mg per 100 g) of the biscuits increased with increasing fortificant level. During a 60 day storage period the peroxide value increased in both fortified and non‐fortified formulae, especially after 28 days. The addition of NaFeEDTA had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the colour, texture and flavour of fortified biscuits. CONCLUSION: Based on the range proposed for the use of NaFeEDTA as a fortification agent (10 mg iron and 67 mg EDTA per person per day), the results of this study reveal that 720 mg kg^?1 NaFeEDTA (9 mg iron per 100 g) is the optimum level for iron fortification in Petit Beurre biscuits. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Interfacial properties of geocell-reinforced granular soils

To provide an accurate response of Geocells under pull-out conditions such as what happened in retained backfills, interfacial characteristics of Geocell-backfill are required. A series of direct shear tests was carried out to investigate influence of soil physical properties on interfacial properties of Geocell-reinforced granular soils. Variable parameters encompass poorly graded coarse-grained soils with different medium particles sizes (3, 6 and 12?mm), different normal stresses (100, 200 and 300?kPa) and different relative densities (50 and 70%). To compare the developed strength of the shear plane, in unreinforced and Geocell-reinforced statuses, shear characteristics mobilized at the shear plane including friction angle, dilation angle and apparent cohesion have been evaluated. The results indicated improvement of the interface's shear strength characteristics due to the presence of Geocell. The shear strength in the Geocell-soil interface was increased by increasing the medium grain size and relative density of the soil. From the obtained results, for coarse aggregates (cell aspect ratio-ratio of Geocell's cells diameter (b) to the medium grains size (D₅₀)- smaller than 8.5), Geocell reinforcement was two times, at least, more successful than compaction effort, in improving shear characteristics of the unreinforced medium dense fill materials. It has been recommended using Geocells in environments with low normal stress and coarse aggregates. Furthermore, the results clarify that Geocell with cell aspect ratio equal to 4, has the best performance in improvement of interface's shear strength.     

Wound dressing application of castor oil- and CAPA-based polyurethane membranes

Polymer Bulletin - The objective of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of two different types of polyols on properties of synthesized polyurethanes (PUs), to develop biomedical...     

Artificial Muscles Powered by Glucose

Untethered actuation is important for robotic devices to achieve autonomous motion, which is typically enabled by using batteries. Using enzymes to provide the required electrical charge is particularly interesting as it will enable direct harvesting of fuel components from a surrounding fluid. Here, a soft artificial muscle is presented, which uses the biofuel glucose in the presence of oxygen. Glucose oxidase and laccase enzymes integrated in the actuator catalytically convert glucose and oxygen into electrical power that in turn is converted into movement by the electroactive polymer polypyrrole causing the actuator to bend. The integrated bioelectrode pair shows a maximum open‐circuit voltage of 0.70 ± 0.04 V at room temperature and a maximum power density of 0.27 µW cm^?2 at 0.50 V, sufficient to drive an external polypyrrole‐based trilayer artificial muscle. Next, the enzymes are fully integrated into the artificial muscle, resulting in an autonomously powered actuator that can bend reversibly in both directions driven by glucose and O₂ only. This autonomously powered artificial muscle can be of great interest for soft (micro‐)robotics and implantable or ingestible medical devices manoeuvring throughout the body, for devices in regenerative medicine, wearables, and environmental monitoring devices operating autonomously in aqueous environments.     

High‐Temperature Performance of Alumina–Zirconia Composite Coatings Containing Amorphous Phases

Amorphous phases are commonly found in nanostructured plasma‐sprayed coatings. Nonetheless, the role of these phases in the resulting coatings’ properties has remained uninvestigated until now. In the present work, pseudo‐eutectic coatings—based on alumina and 8 wt% yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ)—containing amorphous phases are produced using a suspension‐plasma‐spray process. These composite materials are a potential choice for thermal‐barrier coating applications. The role of the amorphous phase on the performance of the coatings is investigated before and after heat treatment. Results show that, although the amorphous phases in untreated coatings reduce the thermal conductivity, they impair the mechanical properties. However, treatment above the crystallization temperature leads to better mechanical properties as well as enhanced high‐temperature stability of the resulting nanostructure. Moreover, the role of alumina as a stabilizer of high‐temperature YSZ phases (tetragonal and cubic) is confirmed and the high‐temperature phase stability of the alumina–YSZ composite is demonstrated. The amorphous phases are found to crystallize into their corresponding high‐temperature stable phases; i. e., α‐alumina and tetragonal zirconia.     

A localized RBF-MLPG method and its application to elliptic PDEs

The existing local RBF methods use the strong form equation and approximate the solution in local subdomains instead of the whole domain. In the RBF-MLPG method, the unknown solution is approximated by RBFs in the whole domain and testing is done by constructing the weak-form equations over the local subdomains. This paper proposes to approximate the unknown solution locally in the RBF-MLPG method, i.e., in the localized RBF-MLPG method, both solution approximation and testing are treated locally. As a result, the final global matrix becomes sparser and more accurate solutions can be obtained. The method is applied for the numerical solution of elliptic PDEs. The comparison of the results demonstrates the effectiveness of the method.

     

Bioactive monetite‐containing whisker‐like fibers reinforced chitosan scaffolds

The aim of this work was to develop bioactive chitosan scaffolds reinforced with monetite‐containing whisker‐like fibers. The fibers synthesized by homogeneous precipitation were characterized as monetite/hydroxyapatite short fibers (MAFs), using XRD, FTIR and SEM. The pure chitosan and MAFs/chitosan composite scaffolds were produced by freeze‐drying, and characterized with respect to porosity, pore size, swelling behavior, compressive strength and modulus, and in vitro bioactivity. The incorporation of MAFs in chitosan matrices led to increase the pore size, according to the evaluation by FE‐SEM, and decrease the porosity of composite scaffolds. The swelling ratio decreased as MAFs content of scaffolds increased. The compressive strength and modulus of scaffolds were improved by an increase in MAFs content. The noncross‐linked scaffolds with a chitosan: MAFs weight ratio of 1:1 (CW3) showed a porosity of 75.5%, and the strength and modulus of 259 kPa and 2.8 MPa in dry state, respectively. The crosslinking by glutaraldehyde resulted in improved mechanical properties. The strength and modulus of cross‐linked CW3 scaffolds in wet state reached to 345 kPa and 1.8 MPa, respectively. The in vitro bioactivity of the reinforced scaffolds, evaluated by FE‐SEM/EDS, XRD, and ATR‐FTIR, was confirmed by the formation of a carbonated apatite layer on their surfaces when they soaked in simulated body fluid (SBF). The results of this initial study indicate that the monetite‐containing whisker‐like fibers may be an appropriate reinforcement of chitosan scaffolds.