Chromatoid body and small RNAs in male germ cells

The chromatoid body (CB) is a germ granule in the cytoplasm of postmeiotic haploid round spermatids that is loaded with RNA and RNA-binding proteins. Following the discovery of small non-coding RNA-mediated gene regulation and the identification of PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) that have crucial roles in germ line development, the function of the CB has slowly begun to be revealed. Male germ cells utilise small RNAs to control the complex and specialised process of sperm production. Several microRNAs have been identified during spermatogenesis. In addition, a high number of piRNAs are present both in embryonic and postnatal male germ cells, with their expression being impressively induced in late meiotic cells and haploid round spermatids. At postmeiotic stage of germ cell differentiation, the CB accumulates piRNAs and proteins of piRNA machinery, as well as several other proteins involved in distinct RNA regulation pathways. All existing evidence suggests a role for the CB in mRNA regulation and small RNA-mediated gene control, but the mechanisms remain uncharacterised. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge of the CB and its association with small RNA pathways.     

Antireflective subwavelength-structured surfaces with enhanced color properties

We present a study on subwavelength-structured surfaces with optimized color properties and antireflection properties in the range of the visible spectrum. Problematic blueness of the nanostructured surface has been eliminated under viewing angles from 0 to 35 deg by designing and optimizing the antireflective surface parameters. The rigorous diffraction theory is used to minimize the surface reflection by simultaneously keeping the chromaticity coordinates of the reflected light in the white domain. The theoretical results are experimentally verified, and the (x,y)-chromaticity coordinates of the surface are shown to be independent of the structure of the surface on small periods.     

Biodegradation of Aqueous Organic Matter over Seasonal Changes: Bioreactor Experiments with Indigenous Lake Water Bacteria

Artificial groundwater recharge for drinking water production involves infiltration of surface water through sandy soil and its capture into a groundwater aquifer. The transformation of aqueous organic matter is one of the central issues in this process. The purpose of this work was to assess the potential of indigenous microorganisms in the source water to contribute in the aqueous organic matter biodegradation. For this purpose, microorganisms were enriched from the source water in a fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) and used for kinetic studies on biodegradation of organic matter at ambient temperature range. Lake water (total organic carbon 5.8?mg?L?1) was continuously fed to the FBR containing porous carrier material to support biomass retention. In the inlet and outlet water there were on average 21±6 and 13±5×105?cells?mL?1, respectively. Biofilm accumulation (as volatile solids) reached 13.1?mg?g?1 dw carrier. In the continuous-flow mode and the batch tests, the highest oxygen consumption rate appeared in the summer, followed by the fall, spring, and winter. At low temperatures, the biodegradation of aqueous organic matter was relatively rapid initially for labile fractions followed by a slower phase for refractory fractions. The average temperature coefficient (Q10) in the system was 2.3 illustrating a strong temperature dependency of oxygen consumption. The isotopic analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon δ13CDIC analysis revealed 27 and 69% mineralizations of dissolved organic carbon at 23 and 6°C over 65 and 630 min, respectively. These results can be used to construct additional input parameters in modeling applications of artificial groundwater recharge process. The biological component especially, i.e., the biodegradation, is difficult to predict for on-site applications without experimental proof and thus the interpretation in this study will help formulate design predictions for the process.     

Opening the POD: A therapeutic application of Husserl's phenomenology.

Draws a distinction between meaning-oriented and object-oriented therapies. The method of E. Husserl (1931) is directly applied to a wide range of psychological problems and a phenomenon becomes manifest that is characterized as phenomenologically observable dictate (POD). This POD is the source of a variety of undesirable cognitions, feelings, and memories. After the isolation of a POD is accomplished, a specific technique can be used to address and dispose of it as though it were a physical object. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial and temporal changes in Actinobacterial dominance in experimental artificial groundwater recharge

Artificial groundwater recharge (AGR) is used in the drinking water industry to supplement groundwater resources and to minimise the use of chemicals in water treatment. This study analysed the spatial and temporal changes of microbial communities in AGR using two test systems: a nutrient-amended fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) and a sand column. Structural changes in the feed lake water (Lake Roine), FBR, and sand column bacterial communities were determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and the length heterogeneity analysis of amplified 16S rRNA genes (LH-PCR). Two clone libraries were created to link the LH-PCR results to the dominant bacterial groups. The lake water bacterial community was relatively stable, with three bands dominating in all LH-PCR products. The most dominant fragment accounted for up to 72% and was derived from Actinobacteria. Based on the clone libraries and LH-PCR data, Actinobacteria also dominated in the unattached bacterial community of the FBR, whereas several Proteobacterial groups were more abundant on the FBR carrier particles. In the stabilised AGR system a major change in the community structure of the lake water bacteria took place during passage within the first 0.6 m in the sand column as the community composition shifted from Actinobacteria-dominated populations to a diverse, mainly Proteobacterial communities. Concurrently, most of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was removed at this stage. In summary, the study showed that the make-up of microbial communities in experimental AGR systems responded to changes in their environment. LH-PCR showed potential as a method to determine microbial community dynamics in long-term studies at real-scale AGR sites. This is the first step to provide data on microbial community dynamics in AGR for drinking water production.     

Electrospun highly corrosion-resistant polystyrene–nickel oxide superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating

A key challenge in producing superhydrophobic coatings (SHC) is to tailor the surface morphology on the micro-nanometer scale. In this work, a feasible and straightforward route was employed to manufacture polystyrene/nickel oxide (PSN) nanocomposite superhydrophobic coatings on aluminum alloys to mitigate their corrosion in a saline environment. Different techniques were employed to explore the influence of the addition of NiO nanoparticles to the as-prepared coatings. PSN-2 composite with?~?4.3 wt% of NiO exhibited the highest water contact angle (WCA) of 155°?±?2 and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) of 5°.

Graphic abstract

EIS Nyquist plots of 3 g of electrospun polystyrene coatings (a) without and with (b) 0.1, (c) 0.15, and (d) 0.2 g of NiO.

     

Nitric Oxide Donors for Cardiovascular Implant Applications

In an era of increased cardiovascular disease burden in the ageing population, there is great demand for devices that come in to contact with the blood such as heart valves, stents, and bypass grafts that offer life saving treatments. Nitric oxide (NO) elution from healthy endothelial tissue that lines the vessels maintains haemostasis throughout the vasculature. Surgical devices that release NO are desirable treatment options and N‐diazeniumdiolates and S‐nitrosothiols are recognized as preferred donor molecules. There is a keen interest to investigate newer methods by which NO donors can be retained within biomaterials so that their release and kinetic profiles can be optimized. A range of polymeric scaffolds incorporating microparticles and nanomaterials are presenting solutions to current challenges, and have been investigated in a range of clinical applications. This review outlines the application of NO donors for cardiovascular therapy using biomaterials that release NO locally to prevent thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia (IH) and enhance endothelialization in the fabrication of next generation cardiovascular device technology.     

Bioelectricity production on xylose with a compost enrichment culture

An exoelectrogenic culture was enriched on 1.0 g/L xylose from a compost sample in two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Electricity production was optimized by changing mixing type, external resistance, xylose concentration and pH. Furthermore, the changes in microbial communities after each optimization step were monitored with PCR-DGGE. Electricity production was highly dependent on operational conditions that affected power densities (PD), Coulombic efficiencies (CE), substrate degradation, utilization of soluble metabolites for electricity production and stability of MFC performance. The optimum operational conditions for electricity production were without mixing, 100 Ω external resistance, 0.5 g/L xylose and pH 7. With optimized operational conditions PD of 590 mW/m² and CE of 82% were obtained. Microbial community composition, consisting mainly of Geobacter sulfurreducens, Escherichia coli, Sphaerochaeta sp. TQ1 and Bacteroides species, was mainly affected by MFC configuration, i.e. electrical connections, which likely affected the anode potential.     

Natural organic matter (NOM) removal and structural changes in the bacterial community during artificial groundwater recharge with humic lake water

This study evaluated the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and structural changes in the microbial community during infiltration of humic lake water at three artificial groundwater recharge (AGR) sites in Finland. The three sites were at waterworks in H?meenlinna, Jyv?skyl? and Tuusula, sites A, B and C, respectively. Site A used groundwater recharge by both basin and sprinkling infiltration, site B used only sprinkling infiltration, and site C used only basin infiltration. Reductions of total organic carbon at sites A, B and C were 91%, 84% and 74%, respectively, in the winter, and 88%, 77% and 73%, respectively, in the summer. The Finnish national recommended value of 2 mg/l for TOC was achieved at all sites and the TOC of natural groundwater at site C was much lower, at 0.6 mg/l. Large molecular fractions of NOM were removed more efficiently than the smaller ones. Total amount of DAPI-stained cells decreased during infiltration at sites A, B and C in winter by 94%, 94% and 75% and in summer by 96%, 97% and 94%, respectively. Bacterial communities in raw waters and extracted groundwaters were diverse with changes occurring during infiltration, which was shown by DNA extraction followed by PCR of 16S rRNA genes and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting. While the natural groundwater microbial community was diverse, it was different from that of the extracted groundwater in the AGR area. Simultaneous organic carbon removal and the decrease of bacterial counts during infiltration indicated biodegradation. In addition, the changing DGGE profiles during the process of infiltration, demonstrated that changing environmental conditions were reflected by changes in bacterial community composition.