Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics Reveals Differences in Molecular Mechanism of Atherosclerosis Related and Non-Related to Chronic Kidney Disease

The major cause of mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is atherosclerosis related to traditional and non-traditional risk factors. However, the understanding of the molecular specificity that distinguishes the risk factors for classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CKD-related atherosclerosis (CKD-A) is far from complete. In this study we investigated the disease-related differences in the proteomes of patients with atherosclerosis related and non-related to CKD. Plasma collected from patients in various stages of CKD, CVD patients without symptoms of kidney dysfunction, and healthy volunteers (HVs), were analyzed by a coupled label-free and mass spectrometry approach. Dysregulated proteins were confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All proteomic data were correlated with kidney disease development and were subjected to bioinformatics analysis. One hundred sixty-two differentially expressed proteins were identified. By directly comparing the plasma proteomes from HVs, CKD, and CVD patients in one study, we demonstrated that proteins involved in inflammation, blood coagulation, oxidative stress, vascular damage, and calcification process exhibited greater alterations in patients with atherosclerosis related with CKD. These data indicate that the above nontraditional risk factors are strongly specific for CKD-A and appear to be less essential for the development of “classical” CVD.     

Sorption studies of heavy metal ions on pectin-nano-titanium dioxide composite adsorbent

The Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II) sorption kinetics and equilibrium on hybrid material, composed of pectin and titanium dioxide nanopowder, were examined. Parameters, such as pH and adsorbent dose, were also investigated. The experimental data were better described by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities were 1.37, 0.68, 0.51, and 0.83 mmol/g for Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II), respectively. The introduction of nano-TiO₂ improved the kinetics of the metal ion sorption. The titanium dioxide, despite its small content (6%), contributes to the removal of the examined metal ions and eventually to the adsorption capacity of hybrid beads.     

Synthesis and characterization of cross‐linked poly(sodium acrylate)/sodium silicate hydrogels

Transparent and intumescent polymer‐silicate hydrogels were synthesized by free‐radical polymerization, in the presence of the redox initiators system (potassium persulphate/sodium thiosulphate) and cross‐linking monomer (N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide). Hydrogels obtained in such a manner were rheologically tested and it was found that the same sample with a different sodium acrylate concentration polymerized faster when its content was lower. The spectroscopic and thermal analysis proved that the polymer combines with sodium silicate by hydrogen bonds and during thermal degradation only small polymer fragments and water molecules were released. NMR studies have shown that the content of water glass causes shorter relaxation times. Conducted fire tests showed that glass panes systems filled with the tested hydrogels meet the relevant construction standards and what is their big advantage, a thin 1 mm layer of polymer‐silicate gel is sufficient for this purpose. We believe that these results will contribute to the development of intumescent hydrogels with enhanced fire‐retardant properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:1279–1287 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Toughening of syndiotactic polypropylene with chalk

We hypothesized that polymer crystal anisotropy is advantageous for toughening of polymer composites involving easy slip network of oriented crystalline layers around filler particles. To this end, composites of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) with high concentration of submicrometer calcium carbonate particles were prepared and examined because usual sPP crystals exhibit high packing anisotropy. The specific orientation of sPP lamellae around chalk grains was found, which is supposed to facilitate the plastic deformation of polymer matrices. The compression molded bars of the composite exhibited markedly higher Izod impact strength than those of neat sPP. Toughening was even enhanced in the injection molded composite, for which 4.5‐fold increase in the impact strength was achieved. Injection‐induced orientation of the disordered form I sPP crystals was enhanced in the composite. The injection molded tensile specimens exhibited also a good drawability. Debonding at chalk–sPP interface occurred both during the impact and tensile tests facilitating the plastic deformation of sPP matrix. Chalk did not have any significant influence on the thermal properties of the composites but it affected the rheological behavior, increasing the loss and storage moduli, and the viscosity. Highly filled sPP composite exhibited solid‐like behavior in a molten state with the storage modulus exceeding the loss modulus in the entire frequency range. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43651.     

Competition between two species of nesting gulls: On the importance of timing.

Three experiments examined the role of timing of breeding in the aggressive behavior and territorial relation in a mixed-species colony of great black-backed and herring gulls. In both species, aggression rates and the percentage of intruders to which they responded increased at hatching. Both species were more aggressive toward herring gull intruders than toward the larger great black-backed gulls. Both species won 40–60% of conspecific encounters with neighbors. In general, great black-backed gulls won their encounters with herring gulls and often succeeded in enlarging their territories into those of neighboring herring gulls and eating the eggs of the herring gulls. However, herring gulls with chicks won 70% of their encounters against incubating black-backed gulls, and they continued to win even when the great black-backed gull's young hatched. These observations indicate that the relative timing of the reproductive cycles of different individuals as well as their size influences the outcome of aggressive interactions and influences reproductive success. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension of learning-disabled readers: Task and text variations.

In Exp I, 24 learning-disabled (LD; mean age 155.13 mo) and 24 normal (mean age 130.54 mo) children demonstrated similar skill in title selection and summary sentence writing. In Exp II, 14 LD readers (mean age 154.14 mo) in a reading-with-listening condition detected deviant sentences more accurately than 14 LD readers (mean age 160.64 mo) in a reading-only condition and 14 normal readers (mean age 132.07 mo). Type of deviant sentence, position of deviant sentence, and topic-sentence condition affected all groups similarly, with one exception: The placement of the deviant sentence later in a paragraph did not aid the LD reading-only group as it had the other groups. Findings replicate and extend those of J. P. Williams et al (see record 1982-20880-001) to include a different population and a different presentation mode. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey and taxonomy on energy efficient resource allocation techniques for cloud computing systems

In a cloud computing paradigm, energy efficient allocation of different virtualized ICT resources (servers, storage disks, and networks, and the like) is a complex problem due to the presence of heterogeneous application (e.g., content delivery networks, MapReduce, web applications, and the like) workloads having contentious allocation requirements in terms of ICT resource capacities (e.g., network bandwidth, processing speed, response time, etc.). Several recent papers have tried to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in allocating cloud resources to applications with varying degree of success. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no published literature on this subject that clearly articulates the research problem and provides research taxonomy for succinct classification of existing techniques. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to identify open challenges associated with energy efficient resource allocation. In this regard, the study, first, outlines the problem and existing hardware and software-based techniques available for this purpose. Furthermore, available techniques already presented in the literature are summarized based on the energy-efficient research dimension taxonomy. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing techniques are comprehensively analyzed against the proposed research dimension taxonomy namely: resource adaption policy, objective function, allocation method, allocation operation, and interoperability.     

Atmospheric total ozone column evaluation with a smartphone image sensor

A new method for quantifying the total ozone column (TOC) using a smartphone image sensor has been developed and validated. The TOC has been evaluated for relatively cloud free days at high air masses for solar zenith angles between 49.7° and 76.7° at a sub-tropical site. The method is based on the evaluation of the direct solar irradiances at 305 and 312 nm using the red colour pixel values of the solar disc recorded at these wavelengths by a smartphone camera. Narrow bandpass filters of 2 nm full width at half maximum at each of the two wavelengths were used in turn placed over the camera sensor to directly image the solar disc. The calibration of the pixel values of the solar disc to provide the direct solar irradiances at each of these two wavelengths allowed evaluation of the TOC calibrated to a portable sun photometer. The root mean square error (RMSE) for the smartphone-derived ozone values calibrated to corresponding values from a portable sun photometer was 4.3 Dobson Units (DU). The validation measurements for the smartphone-derived ozone values provided an average residual of 3.5% (up to a maximum of 11%) compared to the corresponding portable sun photometer values, with an RMSE of 8.4 DU during days of intermittent inclement weather conditions. The evaluation of the TOC based on a widely available device such as a smartphone has the potential to increase current citizen science initiatives valued by the general public and school-aged learners by enhancing knowledge and awareness of ozone and the resulting influences on the solar ultraviolet environment.     

Hybrid phenol biosensor based on modified phenoloxidase electrode

Electrolytic deposition has been widely used to immobilize biomacromolecules, and it is always the most important factor to preserve or even increase an activity of the immobilized protein. We report here simple and rather universal method for the highly efficient immobilization of laccase for amperometric biosensing. Laccase from Cerrena unicolor has been successfully immobilized (electrolytic deposition) on the surface of thin, ordered polythiophene films (3-methylthiophene/3-thiopheneacetic acid/N-heptyl-3,6-bis(2-thiophene)carbazole). Two different compounds capable of mediating laccase-catalyzed reactions have been tested by cyclic voltammetry. They exhibited quasi-reversible electrodic behaviour with formal redox potentials ranging from 68 and 918 mV (E⁰vs. SCE). The immersion of the laccase-coated electrode in solution with substrate generated large catalytic currents easily recorded by cyclic voltammetry at low potential scan rates. Considering the fact, that immobilization strategy showed high efficiency, obtained results suggest that method for phenoloxidase immobilization has a great potential of enabling high throughput fabrication of bioelectronics’ devices.