Proteomic analysis of secretory proteins and vesicles in vascular research

The release of proteins and membrane vesicles in the bloodstream regulates diverse vascular processes, both physiological, such as angiogenesis and haemostasis, and pathological, such as atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis. Proteomics, beside its canonical application for the expression profiling in cells and organs, can be applied to the study of secreted proteins and microvesicles, which play a significant role in the homeostasis of the vasculature, and the development of the atherosclerotic disease.     

eCRM 2.0 applications and trends: The use and perceptions of Greek tourism firms of social networks and intelligence

Although previous CRM studies treat eCRM as a synonymous with 1:1 communications and personalised service at an individual basis, web 2.0 further enables firms and users to generate customer value and build customer relations through social networking, co-learning, co-production and collaboration. The paper advocates the development of eCRM 2.0 strategies aiming at exploiting both the networking and social/customer intelligence of web 2.0 by integrating and engaging customers and communities along firms’ value chain operations. The usage and readiness of Greek tourism firms to embark on eCRM 2.0 strategies was examined by conducting an e-mail survey and focused groups with tourism professionals. Despite the low adoption rates of eCRM 2.0, respondents were aware and greatly concerned about the practical implications of this field, which in turn elucidated an agenda for future research studies.     

Development of a quantitative lateral flow immunoassay for the detection of aflatoxins in maize

An immunoassay-based lateral flow device for the quantitative determination of four major aflatoxins in maize has been developed. The one-step assay has performance comparably with that of other screening methods, as confirmed by the intra- and the inter-day precision of the data (RSD 10-22%), and can be completed in 10 min. Quantification was obtained by acquiring images of the strip and correlating intensities of the coloured lines with analyte concentration by means of a stored calibration curve carried out by diluting aflatoxins in the extract from a blank maize sample. Limit of detection (1 μg kg?1) and dynamic range (2-40 μg kg?1) allows the direct assessment of aflatoxin contamination in maize at all levels of regulatory relevance. All reagents are immobilized on the lateral flow device. In addition, very simple sample preparation, using an aqueous buffered solution, has been demonstrated to allow the quantitative extraction of aflatoxins. Twenty-five maize samples were extracted with the aqueous medium and analyzed by the developed assay. A good correlation was observed (y = 0.97x + 0.07, r2= 0.980) when data was compared with that obtained through an official method. The developed method is reliable, rapid and allows for application outside the laboratory as a point-of-use test for screening purposes.     

Upregulation of miR145 and miR126 in EVs from Renal Cells Undergoing EMT and Urine of Diabetic Nephropathy Patients

Simple SummaryDiabetic nephropathy is one of the most frequent complications of diabetes, resulting from diffuse damage to different kidney cells. The identification of subjects at risk is mandatory to prevent its development and provide appropriate therapies reducing the unmanageable evolution towards end-stage kidney disease. The aim of this work was to identify urinary-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) miRNA cargo to be used as biomarker of kidney damage in diabetic patients. The miRNA profile was then correlated with the molecular mechanism associated with the glomerular and tubular damage using a diabetic-like model. In patients, miR145 and miR126 in urinary EVs increased together with albuminuria. MiR145 and miR126 increased in parallel in EVs from renal epithelial cells undergoing transition to a fibrotic mesenchymal phenotype. These data unveiled a role for miR126 and miR145 as the biomarkers of damage progression and proteinuria development in diabetic nephropathy. AbstractDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is a severe kidney-related complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the most frequent cause of end-stage kidney disease. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) present in the urine mainly derive from the cells of the nephron, thus representing an interesting tool mirroring the kidney’s physiological state. In search of the biomarkers of disease progression, we here assessed a panel of urinary EV miRNAs previously related to DN in type 2 diabetic patients stratified based on proteinuria levels. We found that during DN progression, miR145 and miR126 specifically increased in urinary EVs from diabetic patients together with albuminuria. In vitro, miRNA modulation was assessed in a model of TGF-β1-induced glomerular damage within a three-dimensional perfusion system, as well as in a model of tubular damage induced by albumin and glucose overload. Both renal tubular cells and podocytes undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition released EVs containing increased miR145 and miR126 levels. At the same time, miR126 levels were reduced in EVs released by glomerular endothelial cells. This work highlights a modulation of miR126 and miR145 during the progression of kidney damage in diabetes as biomarkers of epithelial to mesenchymal transition.     

Flutter Phenomenon in Aeroelasticity and Its Mathematical Analysis

The present paper is the last part of a three-part survey paper, in which I give a review of several research directions in the area of mathematical analysis of flutter phenomenon. Flutter is known as a structural dynamical instability, which occurs in a solid elastic structure interacting with a flow of gas or fluid and consists of violent vibrations of the structure with rapidly increasing amplitudes. The focus of this paper is a collection of models of fluid-structure interaction, for which precise mathematical formulations are available. My main interest is in the analytical results on such models: the results that can be used to explain flutter and its qualitative and even quantitative treatments. This study does not pretend to be a comprehensive review of an enormous engineering literature on analytical, computational, and experimental aspects of the flutter problem. I present a brief exposition of the results obtained in several selected papers or groups of papers. In this paper, I concentrate on the most well-known cases of flutter, i.e., flutter in aeroelasticity. Namely, I discuss aircraft flutter in historical retrospective and outline some future directions of flutter analysis. The last two sections of the paper are devoted to the precise analytical results obtained in my several recent works on a specific aircraft wing model in a subsonic, inviscid, incompressible airflow. I also mention that in the previous papers (Parts I and II of the survey), I discuss such topics as: (1) bending–torsion vibrations of coupled beams; (2) flutter in transmission lines; (3) flutter in rotating blades; (4) flutter in hard disk drives; (5) flutter in suspension bridges; and (6) flutter of blood vessel walls.     

Structure-rheology relationships of long-chain branched polypropylene: Comparative analysis of acrylic and allylic coagent chemistry

The relationship between product structure and melt-state rheological properties is established for series of branched PP derivatives prepared by the radical-mediated grafting of tri-functional coagents. Peroxide-initiated, solvent-free additions of linear PP to triallyl trimesate (TAM), trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and triallyl phosphate (TAP) at high temperature are shown to produce bimodal molecular weight and branching distributions. Low-frequency dynamic shear viscosities as well as extensional viscosities are shown to be highly responsive to a hyper-branched chain population, whose abundance and molecular weight correlate with the kinetic chain length of the grafting process, and the propensity of a coagent to oligomerize.     

Shelf life of ready to use peeled shrimps as affected by thymol essential oil and modified atmosphere packaging

In this work the influence of different packaging strategies on the shelf life of ready to use peeled shrimps was investigated. First, the effectiveness of the coating (Coat) and the active coating loaded with different concentrations of thymol (Coat-500, Coat-1000, and Coat-1500) on the quality loss of the investigated food product packaged in air was addressed; afterwards, the thymol concentration that had shown the best performance was used in combination with MAP (5% O₂; 95% CO₂). Microbial cell load of main spoilage microorganisms, pH and sensorial quality were monitored during the refrigerated storage. Results of the first step suggested that the sole coating did not affect the microbial growth. A slight antimicrobial effect was obtained when the coating was loaded with thymol and a concentration dependence was also observed. Moreover, the active coating was effective in minimizing the sensory quality loss of the investigated product, it was particularly true at the lowest thymol concentration. In the second step, the thymol concentration (1000 ppm) that showed the strike balance between microbial and sensorial quality was chosen in combination with MAP. As expected, MAP significantly affected the growth of the mesophilic bacteria. In particular, a cell load reduction of about 2 log cycle for the samples under MAP respect to that in air was obtained. Moreover, the MAP packaging inhibited the growth of the Pseudomonas spp. and hydrogen sulphide-producing bacteria. The MAP alone was not able to improve the shelf life of the uncoated samples. In fact, no significant difference between the control samples packaged in air and MAP was observed. Whilst, the use of coating under MAP condition prolonged the shelf life of about 6 days with respect to the same samples packaged in air. Moreover, when the MAP was used in combination with thymol, a further shelf life prolongation with respect to the samples packaged in air was observed. In particular, a shelf life of about 14 days for the active coating under MAP compared to the same samples in air (5 days) was obtained.     

Evaluating and comparing three community small-scale wind electrification projects

Electrification systems based on renewable energy have proven suitable for providing electricity autonomously to rural communities. Among the technical options available, wind systems are increasingly getting attention. In the northern mountains of Peru, at 3800 m.a.s.l., three community wind electrification projects have been implemented. The technical solutions used in each project are different: wind vs. hybrid photovoltaic-wind systems; individual equipment vs. microgrids. This study aims to describe, evaluate and compare these three small-scale community wind electrification projects. The evaluation of the three projects was carried out by comparing previous and present scenario; attention has been focused on project design and technical aspects, socio-economic impacts and sustainability and management model. These three examples shed light on both the advantages and disadvantages of different technological options as well as on appropriate community-level management models.