Neuropathic Pain Induces Interleukin-1β Sensitive Bimodal Glycinergic Activity in the Central Amygdala

Neuropathic pain reduces GABA and glycine receptor (GlyR)-mediated activity in spinal and supraspinal regions associated with pain processing. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) alters Central Amygdala (CeA) excitability by reducing glycinergic inhibition in a mechanism that involves the auxiliary β-subunit of GlyR (βGlyR), which is highly expressed in this region. However, GlyR activity and its modulation by IL-1β in supraspinal brain regions under neuropathic pain have not been studied. We performed chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in male Sprague Dawley rats, a procedure that induces hind paw plantar hyperalgesia and neuropathic pain. Ten days later, the rats were euthanized, and their brains were sliced. Glycinergic spontaneous inhibitory currents (sIPSCs) were recorded in the CeA slices. The sIPSCs from CeA neurons of CCI animals show a bimodal amplitude distribution, different from the normal distribution in Sham animals, with small and large amplitudes of similar decay constants. The perfusion of IL-1β (10 ng/mL) in these slices reduced the amplitudes within the first five minutes, with a pronounced effect on the largest amplitudes. Our data support a possible role for CeA GlyRs in pain processing and in the neuroimmune modulation of pain perception.     

Ferroptosis Modulation: Potential Therapeutic Target for Glioblastoma Treatment

Glioblastoma multiforme is a lethal disease and represents the most common and severe type of glioma. Drug resistance and the evasion of cell death are the main characteristics of its malignancy, leading to a high percentage of disease recurrence and the patients’ low survival rate. Exploiting the modulation of cell death mechanisms could be an important strategy to prevent tumor development and reverse the high mortality and morbidity rates in glioblastoma patients. Ferroptosis is a recently described type of cell death, which is characterized by iron accumulation, high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-containing phospholipids, and deficiency in lipid peroxidation repair. Several studies have demonstrated that ferroptosis has a potential role in cancer treatment and could be a promising approach for glioblastoma patients. Thus, here, we present an overview of the mechanisms of the iron-dependent cell death and summarize the current findings of ferroptosis modulation on glioblastoma including its non-canonical pathway. Moreover, we focused on new ferroptosis-inducing compounds for glioma treatment, and we highlight the key ferroptosis-related genes to glioma prognosis, which could be further explored. Thereby, understanding how to trigger ferroptosis in glioblastoma may provide promising pharmacological targets and indicate new therapeutic approaches to increase the survival of glioblastoma patients.     

Influence of copigment derived from Tasmannia pepper leaf on Davidson's plum anthocyanins

Davidson's plum (Davidsonia pruriens, F. Muell.), a native to Australian rainforests, large, crimson-red fruit, which superficially resembles plum, has been commercially cultivated in Australia since 1990s. The current production volume exceeds market demands therefore this study was designed to evaluate the suitability of Davidson's plum extract as a source of anthocyanin-based food colorant. The stability of the Davidson's plum extract towards heat treatment at 95 °C was higher than that of commercial mulberry colorant, but inferior to colorants derived from red cabbage and purple sweetpotato. An addition of a variety of phenolic acids significantly increased color intensity indicating the formation of copigmentation complexes. Commercial chlorogenic acid as well as extract from a native Australian herb rich in chlorogenic acid, Tasmannia pepper leaf (Tasmannia lanceolata, R. Br.), were both tested in model soft drink solutions subjected to light irradiation and heat treatment. In both cases, the addition of the copigment resulted in a lasting increase in color intensity. In conclusion, Davidson's plum extract can successfully be utilized as a source of natural food color. Extract from Tasmania pepper leaf can be used as a co-pigment for Davidson's plum anthocyanins. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The color properties of an anthocyanin colorant derived from the native Australian fruit Davidson's plum are comparable to those of mulberry, which is currently applied as a food colorant in Australian food products. Utilization of Davidson's plum fruit as a source of natural color will allow the industry to increase the range of natural pigments and will create new opportunities for the emerging native food industry.     

Effects of ozonized water and heat treatment on the papaya fruit epidermis

This study examined the effects of O₃ and hot water treatments on the epidermis of Golden papaya fruit. Heat treatments were applied in a hot water brushing (HWB) system. Papayas were brushed under a pressurized hot water rinse stage at 45, 55 and 65 °C for 60 s. In the HWB treatment, 4 ppm ozone was applied to the papayas for 1 or 2 min. The results show that ozone applications did not affect the fruit's cuticular surface, while heat treatments allowed natural fissures on the fruit epidermis to recover. Several crystalloid forms were identified on the epidermis of the papayas after the heat treatments. The predominant crystalloid forms on papayas are tubular and there is a positive response to temperature; the higher the temperature, the larger and more frequent the tubular crystalloids.     

Influence of ring-type internals on the solids residence time distribution in the fuel reactor of a dual circulating fluidized bed system for chemical looping combustion

The intensification of gas-solids contact in the fuel reactor of a chemical looping combustion system is enhanced with the installation of ring-type internals. This can be a key issue for achieving the necessary fuel conversion rates. Wedged rings, previously designed and tested, were found to increase the particle concentration in the counter current section of the fuel reactor and hence, to achieve a more homogeneous particles concentration along this zone. The present work investigates the effect of the mentioned internals on the residence time distribution of particles in the fuel reactor of a dual circulating fluidized bed system for chemical looping. The study was carried out in a cold flow model especially designed for the fluid-dynamic analysis of the system equipped with a recently developed residence time measurement device based on the detection of ferromagnetic tracer particles through inductance measurement. Ring internals proved the positive effect on the particles residence time, the residence time distribution is more symmetric and shows lower dispersion, the flow pattern is more plug-flow-like, these effects are intensified with the reduction of the aperture ratio of the rings. On the other hand, the upward particle transport in the counter-current zone of the fuel reactor also increases with the installation of the rings, increasing the bypass flow of solids through the fuel reactor's return loop (internal circulation). For high internal circulation rates the solids residence time distribution of the fuel reactor is dominated by the bypass effect. The findings may be used for focused design improvement of the investigated fluidized bed system.     

Usability evaluation methods for mobile serious games applied to health: a systematic review

Universal Access in the Information Society - This paper aims to present the results of a systematic review focused on usability evaluation methods for serious games (SG) of mobile devices...     

Synthetic Modular Antibody Construction by Using the SpyTag/SpyCatcher Protein-Ligase System

Efforts to engineer recombinant antibodies for specific diagnostic and therapy applications are time consuming and expensive, as each new recombinant antibody needs to be optimized for expression, stability, bio-distribution, and pharmacokinetics. We have developed a new way to construct recombinant antibody-like “devices” by using a bottom-up approach to build them from well-behaved discrete recombinant antibody domains or “parts”. Studies on antibody structure and function have identified antibody constant and variable domains with specific functions that can be expressed in isolation. We used the SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein ligase to join these parts together, thereby creating devices with desired properties based on summed properties of parts and in configurations that cannot be obtained by using genetic engineering. This strategy will create optimized recombinant antibody devices at reduced costs and with shortened development times.