The Age-Sensitive Efficacy of Calorie Restriction on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and mtDNA Damage in Rat Liver

Calorie restriction (CR) is the most efficacious treatment to delay the onset of age-related changes such as mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the sensitivity of mitochondrial markers to CR and the age-related boundaries of CR efficacy are not fully elucidated. We used liver samples from ad libitum-fed (AL) rats divided in: 18-month-old (AL-18), 28-month-old (AL-28), and 32-month-old (AL-32) groups, and from CR-treated (CR) 28-month-old (CR-28) and 32-month-old (CR-32) counterparts to assay the effect of CR on several mitochondrial markers. The age-related decreases in citrate synthase activity, in TFAM, MFN2, and DRP1 protein amounts and in the mtDNA content in the AL-28 group were prevented in CR-28 counterparts. Accordingly, CR reduced oxidative mtDNA damage assessed through the incidence of oxidized purines at specific mtDNA regions in CR-28 animals. These findings support the anti-aging effect of CR up to 28 months. Conversely, the protein amounts of LonP1, Cyt c, OGG1, and APE1 and the 4.8 Kb mtDNA deletion content were not affected in CR-28 rats. The absence of significant differences between the AL-32 values and the CR-32 counterparts suggests an age-related boundary of CR efficacy at this age. However, this only partially curtails the CR benefits in counteracting the generalized aging decline and the related mitochondrial involvement.     

Thin‐film nanostructure and polymer architecture in semicrystalline syndiotactic poly(p‐methylstyrene)–(cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene) multiblock copolymers

The thin‐film morphology of stereoregular syndiotactic poly(p‐methylstyrene)–(cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene) (sP(pMS–B)) multiblock copolymers has been investigated using tapping mode atomic force microscopy with variation of the polymer composition and monomer block lengths. The morphology of the thin films ranges from isolated circular domains of sP(pMS) embedded into a matrix of polybutadiene (PB) to isolated domains of PB embedded into a matrix of sP(pMS), passing through bicontinuous (jagged) lamellae when the pMS concentration is in the range 20–67 mol%. Multiple folding of the polymer segments, i.e. where reciprocal inclusions of polymer segments to each other phase are able to generate greater domain, has been postulated and validated by considerations on the polymer architecture and the thermal and crystalline behaviour. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessment of intradialysis calcium mass balance by a single pool variable‐volume calcium kinetic model

Introduction: A reliable method of intradialysis calcium mass balance quantification is far from been established. We herein investigated the use of a single‐pool variable‐volume Calcium kinetic model to assess calcium mass balance in chronic and stable dialysis patients. Methods: Thirty‐four patients on thrice‐weekly HD were studied during 240 dialysis sessions. All patients were dialyzed with a nominal total calcium concentration of 1.50 mmol/L. The main assumption of the model is that the calcium distribution volume is equal to the extracellular volume during dialysis. This hypothesis is assumed valid if measured and predicted end dialysis plasma water ionized calcium concentrations are equal. A difference between predicted and measured end‐dialysis ionized plasma water calcium concentration is a deviation on our main hypothesis, meaning that a substantial amount of calcium is exchanged between the extracellular volume and a nonmodeled compartment. Findings: The difference between predicted and measured values was 0.02 mmol/L (range ?0.08:0.16 mmol/L). With a mean ionized dialysate calcium concentration of 1.25 mmol/L, calcium mass balance was on average negative (mean ± SD ?0.84 ± 1.33 mmol, range ?5.42:2.75). Predialysis ionized plasma water concentration and total ultrafiltrate were the most important predictors of calcium mass balance. A significant mobilization of calcium from the extracellular pool to a nonmodeled pool was calculated in a group of patients. Discussion: The proposed single pool variable‐volume Calcium kinetic model is adequate for prediction and quantification of intradialysis calcium mass balance, it can evaluate the eventual calcium transfer outside the extracellular pool in clinical practice.     

Postharvest performance of fresh‐cut ‘Big Top’ nectarine as affected by dipping in chemical preservatives and packaging in modified atmosphere

Fresh‐cut ‘Big Top’ nectarines were dipped in 2% (w/v) ascorbic acid–1% (w/v) calcium lactate and stored at 4 °C for up to 12 days in 10 kPa O₂‐ and 10 kPa CO₂‐modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The used microperforated plastic film allowed O₂ and CO₂ concentrations to reach steady values from the fifth day in storage onwards. Samples stored in MAP after chemical dipping showed the highest visual quality score, slight browning symptoms, increment in firmness and very low ethanol and acetaldehyde content. The chemical dipping also increased antioxidant capacity, probably due to the effect of ascorbic acid. The results suggested that the control of yeasts was mainly exerted by MAP, whereas only a slight effect was achieved by the chemical dipping. Therefore, MAP plus ascorbic acid/calcium lactate dipping was the best combination to preserve phytochemical content, antioxidant capacity and microbiological safety of fresh‐cut nectarines during storage.     

Single-ion-conducting nanocomposite polymer electrolytes based on PEG400 and anionic nanoparticles: Part 2. Electrical characterization

Molecular relaxation and polarization phenomena of twelve single-ion-conducting nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (nCPEs) are studied using Broadband Electrical Spectroscopy (BES). The electrolytes are obtained by combining PEG400 oligomers with increasing amounts of anionic nanofiller comprised of fluorinated-TiO₂ associated with Li⁺ cations (LiFT^®), resulting in [PEG400/(LiFT)_y] systems with 0 ≤ y ≤ 26.4. This new class of [PEG400/(LiFT)_y] electrolytes allows us to achieve a significant single-ion conductivity (1.1·10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C for n_Li/n_O = 0.113) without the addition of lithium salts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest conductivity value reported for this class of electrolytes. This study, in conjunction with the results reported in Part 1, leads us to hypothesize a conduction mechanism in terms of two types of long-range charge-transfer processes. The first charge-transfer occurs at the interface between the filler nanoparticles and filler-PEG domains, while the second occurs through the PEG400 matrix with the assistance of polymer segmental motion. The measured Li⁺ transference numbers confirm that the studied materials are single-ion conductors.     

Fuzzy mathematical morphology for biological image segmentation

Due to the imaging devices, real-world images such as biological images may have poor contrast and be corrupted by noise, so that regions in the images present soft edges and their segmentation turns out to be quite difficult. Fuzzy mathematical morphology can be successfully applied to segment biological images having such characteristics of vagueness and imprecision. In this work we introduce an approach based on fuzzy mathematical morphology to segment images of human oocytes in order to extract the oocyte region from the entire image. The approach applies fuzzy morphological operators to detect soft edges in the oocyte images, followed by morphological reconstruction operators to isolate the oocyte region. The main concepts from fuzzy mathematical morphology are briefly introduced and the results of applying fuzzy morphological operators are reported in low-contrast images of human oocytes.     

Inorganic–organic membranes based on Nafion, [(ZrO2)·(HfO2)0.25] and [(SiO2)·(HfO2)0.28]. Part I: Synthesis,thermal stability and performance in a single PEMFC

This work reports the preparation, characterization and test in a single fuel cell of two families of hybrid inorganic-organic proton-conducting membranes, each based on Nafion and a different “core-shell” nanofiller. Nanofillers, based on either a ZrO₂ “core” covered with a HfO₂ “shell” (ZrHf) or a HfO₂ “core” solvated by a “shell” of SiO₂ nanoparticles (SiHf), are considered. The two families of membranes are labelled [Nafion/(ZrHf)_x] and [Nafion/(SiHf)_x], respectively. The morphology of the nanofillers is investigated with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron diffraction (ED) measurements. The mass fractions of nanofiller x used for both families are 0.05, 0.10 or 0.15. The proton exchange capacity (PEC) and the water uptake (WU) of the hybrid membranes are determined. The thermal stability is investigated by high-resolution thermogravimetric measurements (TGA). Each membrane is used in the fabrication of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) that is tested in single-cell configuration under operating conditions. The polarization curves are determined by varying the activity of the water vapour (a_H2O) and the back pressure of the reagent streams. A coherent model is proposed to correlate the water uptake and proton conduction of the hybrid membranes with the microscopic interactions between the Nafion host polymer and the particles of the different “core–shell” nanofillers.