Compendium on Food Crop Plants as a Platform for Pharmaceutical Protein Production

Tremendous advances in crop biotechnology related to the availability of molecular tools and methods developed for transformation and regeneration of specific plant species have been observed. As a consequence, the interest in plant molecular farming aimed at producing the desired therapeutic proteins has significantly increased. Since the middle of the 1980s, recombinant pharmaceuticals have transformed the treatment of many serious diseases and nowadays are used in all branches of medicine. The available systems of the synthesis include wild-type or modified mammalian cells, plants or plant cell cultures, insects, yeast, fungi, or bacteria. Undeniable benefits such as well-characterised breeding conditions, safety, and relatively low costs of production make plants an attractive yet competitive platform for biopharmaceutical production. Some of the vegetable plants that have edible tubers, fruits, leaves, or seeds may be desirable as inexpensive bioreactors because these organs can provide edible vaccines and thus omit the purification step of the final product. Some crucial facts in the development of plant-made pharmaceuticals are presented here in brief. Although crop systems do not require more strictly dedicated optimization of methodologies at any stages of the of biopharmaceutical production process, here we recall the complete framework of such a project, along with theoretical background. Thus, a brief review of the advantages and disadvantages of different systems, the principles for the selection of cis elements for the expression cassettes, and available methods of plant transformation, through to the protein recovery and purification stage, are all presented here. We also outline the achievements in the production of biopharmaceuticals in economically important crop plants and provide examples of their clinical trials and commercialization.     

Face expression recognition system based on ripplet transform type II and least square SVM

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper discusses the development of an efficient and automated system for the recognition of facial expressions, which is essentially an application...     

Soldering of Mg Joints Using Zn-Al Solders

Magnesium has applications in the automotive and aerospace industries that can significantly contribute to greater fuel economy and environmental conservation. The Mg alloys used in the automotive industry could reduce mass by up to 70 pct, providing energy savings. However, alongside the advantages there are limitations and technological barriers to use Mg alloys. One of the advantages concerns phenomena occurring at the interface when joining materials investigated in this study, in regard to the effect of temperature and soldering time for pure Mg joints. Eutectic Zn-Al and Zn-Al alloys with 0.05 (wt pct) Li and 0.2 (wt pct) Na were used in the soldering process. The process was performed for 3, 5, and 8 minutes of contact, at temperatures of 425 °C, 450 °C, 475 °C, and 500 °C. Selected, solidified solder-substrate couples were cross-sectioned, and their interfacial microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The experiment was designed to demonstrate the effect of time, temperature, and the addition of Li and Na on the kinetics of the dissolving Mg substrate. The addition of Li and Na to eutectic Zn-Al caused to improve mechanical properties. Higher temperatures led to reduced joint strength, which is caused by increased interfacial reaction.     

Failure Analysis of a Composite Rudder Stock Using 3D X-ray Microcomputed Tomography

Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention - A failure analysis investigation was performed on the remnants of a carbon fiber rudder stock that fractured during operation on a vessel in an offshore...     

Palm Oil-Rich Diet Affects Murine Liver Proteome and S-Palmitoylome

Palmitic acid (C16:0) is the most abundant saturated fatty acid in animals serving as a substrate in synthesis and β-oxidation of other lipids, and in the modification of proteins called palmitoylation. The influence of dietary palmitic acid on protein S-palmitoylation remains largely unknown. In this study we performed high-throughput proteomic analyses of a membrane-enriched fraction of murine liver to examine the influence of a palm oil-rich diet (HPD) on S-palmitoylation of proteins. HPD feeding for 4 weeks led to an accumulation of C16:0 and C18:1 fatty acids in livers which disappeared after 12-week feeding, in contrast to an accumulation of C16:0 in peritoneal macrophages. Parallel proteomic studies revealed that HPD feeding induced a sequence of changes of the level and/or S-palmitoylation of diverse liver proteins involved in fatty acid, cholesterol and amino acid metabolism, hemostasis, and neutrophil degranulation. The HPD diet did not lead to liver damage, however, it caused progressing obesity, hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia. We conclude that the relatively mild negative impact of such diet on liver functioning can be attributed to a lower bioavailability of palm oil-derived C16:0 vs. that of C18:1 and the efficiency of mechanisms preventing liver injury, possibly including dynamic protein S-palmitoylation.     

Analysis of indole compounds in edible Basidiomycota species after thermal processing

Methanolic extracts of processed fruiting bodies of six edible mushroom species (Basidiomycota) - Armillaria mellea, Boletus badius, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Lactarius deliciosus collected from natural habitats and Pleurotus ostreatus of commercial origin - were analysed for the presence of non-hallucinogenic indole compounds. Thermal processing was designed in such a way that it mimicked conditions used for cooking of mushroom dishes, since only a narrow group of mushrooms can be eaten raw, while indole compounds are thermolabile. All processed extracts were shown to contain l-tryptophan (up to 8.92 mg/100 g dw). The contents of the remaining compounds, 5-methyltryptophan, tryptamine, melatonin, indoleacetonitrile and indole, varied in different species (from 0.71 to 6.55 mg/100 g dw). Extract of processed C. cibarius fruiting bodies contained l-tryptophan, 5-methyltryptophan, tryptamine, melatonin, indoleacetonitrile and indole (1.96-4.94 mg/100 g dw) whereas l-tryptophan (2.78 mg/100 g dw) and tryptamine (2.77 mg/100 g dw) were the only indole compounds identified in the processed fruiting bodies of A. mellea.     

Synthesis of polymer membranes of different porosity and their application for phenol removal from liquid phase

Preparation of polymeric membranes based on polyethersulfone (PES) modified by adding different amounts of a pore-forming agent (PVP) is presented, and potential application of the membranes obtained for removal of phenol from the liquid phase is examined. The addition of various amounts of PVP has been shown to bring about changes in the content of the surface oxygen groups, but has no significant effect on the chemical character of the groups and acidic groups dominate. Filtration by phenol solution leads to significant changes in the total content of surface oxides; however, the acidic groups remain dominant. Membranes characterized by higher porosity exhibited more stable and higher rejection ratio for phenol removal. Although all the membranes were characterized by similar rejection ratios for phenol removal, the cake resistance (Rc) and pore resistance (Rp) values were found to depend significantly on the structure and porosity of the membrane applied for filtration.     

Modification of non‐Newtonian flow behavior of aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) by conducting polypyrrole prepared by in situ polymerization of pyrrole

The rheological behavior of an aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and polypyrrole (PPY) dispersions prepared by ferric chloride (FeCl₃)‐catalyzed polymerization of pyrrole was investigated at 12°C using a coaxial rotational viscometer. The results show that the addition of a low dose of FeCl₃ to the PVA solution greatly influences its rheology. The prominent shear‐thickening (dilatant) nature of PVA turns significantly pseudoplastic (shear thinning) in the presence of FeCl₃. Polypyrrole‐loaded PVA was obtained in a stable, optically clear dispersion by in situ polymerization of pyrrole in an aqueous PVA solution (5%) using FeCl₃ as the oxidative catalyst at 12°C. The PPY dispersions in aqueous PVA systems having a low loading of PPY and low Fe⁺³ content retain the dilatant character of an aqueous PVA solution; however, for an aqueous PVA system having a relatively high PPY loading and also a high Fe⁺³ content, prominent pseudoplastic (shear thinning) behavior is exhibited. The odd novel rheological patterns exhibited by a PVA solution in the absence and presence of FeCl₃ and the PVA–PPY dispersions containing FeCl₃ under different sets of conditions are explained on the basis of the complexation of PVA by Fe⁺³ and related ions and also as a consequence of some degree of H‐bonding and chemical grafting between the support polymer PVA and the PPY formed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3737–3741, 2004