Spontaneous crowding of ribosomes and proteins inside vesicles: a possible mechanism for the origin of cell metabolism

One of the open questions in the origin of life is the spontaneous formation of primitive cell-like compartments from free molecules in solution and membranes. "Metabolism-first" and "replicator-first" theories claim that early catalytic cycles first evolved in solution, and became encapsulated inside lipid vesicles later on. "Compartment-first" theories suggest that metabolism progressively occurred inside compartments. Both views have some weaknesses: the low probability of co-entrapment of several compounds inside the same compartment, and the need to control nutrient uptake and waste release, respectively. By using lipid vesicles as early-cell models, we show that ribosomes, proteins and lipids spontaneously self-organise into cell-like compartments to achieve high internal concentrations, even when starting from dilute solutions. These findings suggest that the assembly of cell-like compartments, despite its low probability of occurrence, is indeed a physically realistic process. The spontaneous achievement of high local concentration might provide a rational account for the origin of primitive cellular metabolism.     

Update on the chemopreventive effects of ginger and its phytochemicals

The rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae), commonly known as ginger, is one of the most widely used spice and condiment. It is also an integral part of many traditional medicines and has been extensively used in Chinese, Ayurvedic, Tibb-Unani, Srilankan, Arabic, and African traditional medicines, since antiquity, for many unrelated human ailments including common colds, fever, sore throats, vomiting, motion sickness, gastrointestinal complications, indigestion, constipation, arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches, pains, cramps, hypertension, dementia, fever, infectious diseases, and helminthiasis. The putative active compounds are nonvolatile pungent principles, namely gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and zingerone. These compounds are some of the extensively studied phytochemicals and account for the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, and gastroprotective activities. A number of preclinical investigations with a wide variety of assay systems and carcinogens have shown that ginger and its compounds possess chemopreventive and antineoplastic effects. A number of mechanisms have been observed to be involved in the chemopreventive effects of ginger. The cancer preventive activities of ginger are supposed to be mainly due to free radical scavenging, antioxidant pathways, alteration of gene expressions, and induction of apoptosis, all of which contribute towards decrease in tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. This review provides concise information from preclinical studies with both cell culture models and relevant animal studies by focusing on the mechanisms responsible for the chemopreventive action. The conclusion describes directions for future research to establish its activity and utility as a human cancer preventive and therapeutic drug. The above-mentioned mechanisms of ginger seem to be promising for cancer prevention; however, further clinical studies are warranted to assess the efficacy and safety of ginger.     

Effects of the addition of mechanically deboned poultry meat and collagen fibers on quality characteristics of frankfurter-type sausages

The effects of mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDPM) and levels of collagen fibers on comminuted, cooked sausage quality characteristics were investigated using the central composite rotatable design of response surface methodology (RSM). Use of collagen fiber as an additive affected the sausage characteristics, but the effect depended on the amount of the MDPM used. While MDPM additions resulted in higher cooking loss and darker and redder frankfurters, the addition of collagen fibers improved cooking yields and contributed to the lightness of the final product. Higher collagen fiber content was also accompanied by a significant increase in frankfurter hardness regardless of the MDPM content. Use of collagen fibers countered the negative effects of MDPM on sausage quality attributes, especially on cooking yields and final product color.     

Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture based mass spectrometry approach to detect transient protein interactions using substrate trapping

The analysis of protein interactors in protein complexes can yield important insight into protein function and signal transduction. Thus, a reliable approach to distinguish true interactors from nonspecific interacting proteins is of utmost importance for accurate data interpretation. Although stringent purification methods are critical, challenges still remain in the selection of criteria that will permit the objective differentiation of true members of the protein complex from nonspecific background proteins. To address these challenges, we have developed a quantitative proteomic strategy combining stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), affinity substrate trapping, and gel electrophoresis followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (geLC-MS/MS) protein quantitation. ATP hydrolysis-deficient vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 4B (Vps4B) was used as the "bait" protein which served as a substrate trap since its lack of ATP hydrolysis enzymatic activity allows the stabilization of its transiently associated interacting proteins. A significant advantage of our approach is the use of our new in-house-developed software program for SILAC-based mass spectrometry quantitation, which further facilitates the differentiation between the bait protein, endogenous bait-interacting proteins, and nonspecific binding proteins based on their protein ratios. The strategy presented herein is applicable to the analysis of other protein complexes whose compositions are dependent upon the ATP hydrolysis activity of the bait protein used in affinity purification studies.     

Spectral polarimetry technique as a complementary tool to ellipsometry of dielectric films

Ellipsometry is a highly sensitive optical technique for coating characterization but usually presents multiple solutions in many cases. To prevent these, a method with addition of a spectral polarimetric technique is proposed. An initial film dispersion curve, independently of its physical thickness, is then provided using the same setup as spectral ellipsometry and at the same sample position, which later is used for thickness determination and dispersion refinement with increase of reliability of results. Characterization of thin TiO2 films with one and two ellipsometric solutions is shown to corroborate the validity of the proposed method.     

Low cost data acquisition module for evaluating the quantitative performance of daylight systems

The search for efficient, auto-sustainable constructions that allows the user a contact with the outer environment has stimulated the development of advanced strategies, in various devices, for the exploitation of the daylight. A low cost data acquisition system was developed in this study, to observe the distribution of the natural light inside a prototype and to evaluate the quantitative performance for redirecting systems. The luminous sensor is a light dependent resistor, that responds to the illuminance with a reduction in the resistance when illuminated, through a log–log dependence. Calibration curves are set up to relate the change of resistance to absolute illuminance. It therefore provides a continuous investigation of the illuminance for various sampled points in the interior test space with a 0.03% digital error due to the 12-bit resolution. The final measured error of 5% is mainly due to the system calibration and resistance memory history. The circuit connects to a standard parallel port of any Personal Computer and supplies 64 analog inputs, one for each luminous sensor. The circuit can be easily modified to attend different quantities of analog inputs or communication ports.     

Blast response of cracked steel box structures repaired with carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite patch

In this paper the blast resistance of cracked steel structures repaired with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite patch are investigated. The switch box which has been subjected to blast loading is chosen to study. The steel material is modelled using isotropic hardening model, pertaining to Von Mises yield condition with isotropic strain hardening, and strain rate-dependent dynamic yield stress based on Cowper and Symonds model. Three different cracked structures are chosen to investigate their capability in dissipating the blast loading. To improve the blast resistance, the cracked steel structures are stiffened using carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite patches. The repaired patches reduce the stress field around the crack as the stress is transferred from the cracked zone to them. This situation prevents the crack from growing and extends the service life of the steel structure. It will be shown that CFRP repairing can significantly increase the blast resistance of cracked steel structures.     

Reclaimed wastewater: impact on soil-plant system under tropical conditions

This study investigated the ionic speciation of reclaimed urban wastewater (RWW), and the impact of increasing RWW irrigation rates on soil properties and plant nutrition under field conditions. Most RWW elements (>66%) are readily available as NH₄⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, SO₄²⁻, Cl⁻, H₃BO₃, Mn²⁺ and Zn²⁺, but in imbalanced proportion for plant nutrition. Lead, Cd, Cr and Al in RWW are mostly bounded with DOM or OH⁻.^.Irrigation with RWW decreased soil acidity, which is beneficial to the acidic tropical soil. Although RWW irrigation builds exchangeable Na⁺ up, the excessive Na⁺ was leached out of the soil profile after a rainy summer season (>400 mm). Benefits of the disposal of RWW to the soil under tropical conditions were discussed, however, the over irrigation with RWW (>100% of crop evapotranspiration) led to a nutritional imbalance, accumulating S and leading to a plant deficiency of P and K.     

Stabilization/solidification of a municipal solid waste incineration residue using fly ash-based geopolymers

The stabilization/solidification (S/S) of a municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash containing hazardous metals such as Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn or Ba by means of geopolymerization technology is described in this paper. Different reagents such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium silicate, potassium silicate, kaolin, metakaolin and ground blast furnace slag have been used. Mixtures of MSWI waste with these kinds of geopolymeric materials and class F coal fly ash used as silica and alumina source have been processed to study the potential of geopolymers as waste immobilizing agents. To this end, the effects of curing conditions and composition have been tested. S/S solids are submitted to compressive strength and leaching tests to assess the results obtained and to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment. Compressive strength values in the range 1-9 MPa were easily obtained at 7 and 28 days. Concentrations of the metals leached from S/S products were strongly pH dependent, showing that the leachate pH was the most important variable for the immobilization of metals. Comparison of fly ash-based geopolymer systems with classical Portland cement stabilization methods has also been accomplished.     

Purification of Nano‐Porous Silicon for Biomedical Applications

Recently, various bio‐medical applications of nanoporous silicon (np‐Si) have been suggested. This work investigates the biocompatibility of np‐Si particles taking into account hazardous residua confined in the pores after preparation. The emphasis is on the potential application of such particles as oxygen photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy of cancer, which requires both negligible toxicity of np‐Si particles in darkness and a high photo‐cyto‐toxic effect due to generation of singlet oxygen under illumination. Considerable amounts of water soluble toxic impurities are found to be present in the nanoporous shell of micrometer‐sized np‐Si particles immediately after their preparation by chemical etching of bulk silicon powder. The effects of several ordinary cleaning treatments are investigated by using thermal effusion mass‐spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. A particular purification procedure is developed, capable to reduce the concentration of residual impurities to levels acceptable for bio‐medical applications while preserving the required photo‐activity of the np‐Si particles.