MS analysis of rheumatoid arthritic synovial tissue identifies specific citrullination sites on fibrinogen

Purpose : Citrullination is a post‐translational modification of arginine residues to citrulline catalyzed by peptidyl arginine deiminases. Induced expression of citrullinated proteins are frequently detected in various inflammatory states including arthritis; however, direct detection of citrullination in arthritic samples has not been successfully performed in the past. Experimental design : Citrullination of human fibrinogen, a candidate autoantigen in arthritis, was studied. Accurate identification of citrullinated fibrinogen peptides from rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue specimens was performed using accurate mass and retention time analysis. Results : A peptide with the sequence ESSSHHPGIAEFPSRGK corresponding to amino acids 559–575 of fibrinogen α‐chain was identified to be citrullinated with an occupancy rate between 1.4 and 2.5%. Citrullination of the peptide KREEAPSLRPAPPPISGGGYRARPAK corresponding to amino acids 52–77 of the fibrinogen β‐chain was identified with an occupancy rate of 1.2%. Conclusions and clinical relevance : We report a proof of principle study for the identification of citrullinated proteins and within them, identification of citrullination sites and quantification of their occupancies in synovial tissue from rheumatoid arthritis patients using high‐resolution MS. Detailed studies on which molecules are citrullinated in arthritis can provide information about their role in immune regulation and serve as novel biomarkers and potentially even as therapeutic targets.     

Electrochemical behavior of carbon paste electrodes modified with methylene green immobilized on two different X type zeolites

Two new modified carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) based on two different X type zeolites, a natural zeolitic volcanic tuff (NZ) and a NaX type synthetic zeolite (SZ), modified with methylene green (MG) were developed. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed a reasonably fast electron transfer rate and a good stability for both investigated electrodes. The observed differences between the electrochemical behavior of MG-NZ-CPEs and MG-SZ-CPEs (the effect of pH on the formal standard potential, the magnitude of the rate constants for heterogeneous electron transfer and electrode response decay) were explained in terms of zeolites structure. The modified electrodes showed moderate electrocatalytic effect towards H₂O₂ reduction and a relatively low limit of detection (0.5 mM for MG-NZ-CPEs).     

Integrating human observer inferences into robot motion planning

Our goal is to enable robots to produce motion that is suitable for human–robot collaboration and co-existence. Most motion in robotics is purely functional, ideal when the robot is performing a task in isolation. In collaboration, however, the robot’s motion has an observer, watching and interpreting the motion. In this work, we move beyond functional motion, and introduce the notion of an observer into motion planning, so that robots can generate motion that is mindful of how it will be interpreted by a human collaborator. We formalize predictability and legibility as properties of motion that naturally arise from the inferences in opposing directions that the observer makes, drawing on action interpretation theory in psychology. We propose models for these inferences based on the principle of rational action, and derive constrained functional trajectory optimization techniques for planning motion that is predictable or legible. Finally, we present experiments that test our work on novice users, and discuss the remaining challenges in enabling robots to generate such motion online in complex situations.     

Anonymous Lightweight Proxy Based Key Agreement for IoT (ALPKA)

Wireless Personal Communications - The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies interconnect a broad range of network devices, differing in terms of size, weight, functionality, and resource...     

Correction to: Power and Resource Allocation in Wireless Communication Network

Wireless Personal Communications - Relying on the fact that, cascaded $$\alpha$$ – $$\mu$$ distribution provide simplified and excellent fitting to the measurement data compared to the other...     

An efficient and innovative method to preserve the harvested plums during storage

This research was undertaken to establish the preservative role of lactic acid (LA) and salicylic acid (SA) included in a gelatin–glycerol film over the harvested plums. The results showed that highest catalase activity was achieved for the plums modified with LA 0.2% wt and with SA 0.00375 M, after 12 days of storage. The most reduced variation of the physical, chemical, and enzymatic parameters was noticed in the plums coated with LA 0.2% wt. Statistical processing showed that the variation of all physical–chemical parameters, excepting catalase is significant. Variation of catalase is significant only in the case of the plums modified with LA 3% wt and of reference plums. Thus, the coating of the harvested plums with a low amount of LA (≤0.2% wt) can be considered as preservation method during storage for 12 days.

Practical applications

Lactic acid (LA) and salicylic acid (SA) were coated on the harvested plums and their role as preservative during the fruit storage was established. The results showed that coating the harvested plums with a gelatin–glycerol film modified with LA at low concentration (≤0.2% wt) is an efficient method for preservation at room temperature for 12 days, taking in consideration that the commercial shelf life of harvested plums is 2–6 weeks, at 0 °C.     

Colorimetric and microscopic study of the thermal behavior of new ceramic pigments

The article studies thermal resistance variation by analyzing the colorimetric parameters correlated with the optical microscopy data of two groups of ceramic pigments obtained by co‐precipitation in aqueous medium of phosphate anion and of a mixture of chromium phosphate with various chromophore cations. This research enabled us to reveal the thermal thresholds/domains within which significant color changes occur, thus allowing the choice of pigments compatible with the thermal varnishing‐glazing processes involved in the manufacture of tesserae for mosaic and stained glass and of colored materials for floor tiles, wall tiles and painted porcelain. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:564–571, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stiffness xanthan hydrogels: synthesis,swelling characteristics and controlled release properties

Summary  New xanthan hydrogels were synthesized at 90 C in water acid media using adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) as crosslinking agent, in the presence of 1-ethyl-3[3-dimethyl amino] propyl carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDCI) as reagent. In these conditions, xanthan chains are in a predominantly helical conformation and through rheological measurements the influence of the temperature over the helix-coil transition was assessed. Xanthan hydrogels with different concentration in polysaccharide and ADH were obtained and characterised by elemental analysis and swelling properties. High concentration of xanthan (i.e. 25gL^-1) is needed to obtain gel due to the low available carboxylic functions in the helical conformation. During the swelling analysis, it was noted that high temperature (i.e. 90 C) favoured the conformational transitions within the network. The drug loading and releasing properties were estimated using methylene blue as model molecule and different experimental pH and ionic strength conditions.     

K2 Transfection System Boosts the Adenoviral Transduction of Murine Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Adenoviral vectors are important vehicles for delivering therapeutic genes into mammalian cells. However, the yield of the adenoviral transduction of murine mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) is low. Here, we aimed to improve the adenoviral transduction efficiency of bone marrow-derived MSC. Our data showed that among all the potential transduction boosters that we tested, the K2 Transfection System (K2TS) greatly increased the transduction efficiency. After optimization of both K2TS components, the yield of the adenoviral transduction increased from 18% to 96% for non-obese diabetic (NOD)-derived MSC, from 30% to 86% for C57BL/6-derived MSC, and from 0.6% to 63% for BALB/c-derived MSC, when 250 transduction units/cell were used. We found that MSC derived from these mouse strains expressed different levels of the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptors (MSC from C57BL/6≥NOD>>>BALB/c). K2TS did not increase the level of the receptor expression, but desensitized the cells to foreign DNA and facilitated the virus entry into the cell. The expression of Stem cells antigen-1 (Sca-1) and 5′-nucleotidase (CD73) MSC markers, the adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potential, and the immunosuppressive capacity were preserved after the adenoviral transduction of MSC in the presence of the K2TS. In conclusion, K2TS significantly enhanced the adenoviral transduction of MSC, without interfering with their main characteristics and properties.