Consumption of Bilberries Controls Gingival Inflammation

Bioactive molecules in berries may be helpful in reducing the risk of oral diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of bilberry consumption on the outcome of a routine dental clinical parameter of inflammation, bleeding on probing (BOP), as well as the impact on selected biomarkers of inflammation, such as cytokines, in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in individuals with gingivitis. Study individuals who did not receive standard of care treatment were allocated to either a placebo group or to groups that consumed either 250 or 500 g bilberries daily over seven days. The placebo group consumed an inactive product (starch). A study group, receiving standard of care (debridement only) was also included to provide a reference to standard of care treatment outcome. Cytokine levels were assayed using the Luminex MagPix system. The mean reduction in BOP before and after consumption of test product over 1 week was 41% and 59% in the groups that consumed either 250 or 500 g of bilberries/day respectively, and was 31% in the placebo group, and 58% in the standard of care reference group. The analysis only showed a significant reduction in cytokine levels in the group that consumed 500 g of bilberries/day. A statistically significant reduction was observed for IL-1β (p = 0.025), IL-6 (p = 0.012) and VEGF (p = 0.017) in GCF samples in the group that consumed 500 g of bilberries daily. It appears that berry intake has an ameliorating effect on some markers of gingival inflammation reducing gingivitis to a similar extent compared to standard of care.     

Mixed gels of fine-stranded and particulate networks of gelatin and whey proteins

Mixed gels of gelatin and whey protein concentrate were investigated, as well as their pure systems, by tensile tests and by dynamic oscillatory measurements. The systems were studied for homogeneous particulate whey protein gels at pH 5.4 and for inhomogeneous particulate whey protein gels at pH 4.6. The influence on the systems of the Bloom number of the gelatin component has also been investigated. Results of the fracture properties, such as stress and strain at fracture, indicate a transition in rheological properties. Results of the elastic modulus, obtained by tensile measurements, as well as the storage modulus, obtained by dynamic oscillatory measurements, both agree with predictions for phase inversions from the Takayanagi models as modified by Clark, which are in agreement with the fracture properties. The transition points are different for the different mixed gel series but take place between 1 and 3 wt% gelatin and 8 wt% whey protein concentrate, depending on factors such as the microstructure of the whey protein concentrate. Dynamic oscillatory measurements showed that gel formation of whey protein concentrate is unaffected by the presence of gelatin, which is in agreement with light microscopy results. Light microscopy revealed that the mixed gel systems were bicontinuous and that the whey protein network structure was unaffected by the presence of gelatin. It is postulated that the predicted phase inversions of the mixed gels are due to a shift in rheological properties without any phase inversions in the microstructure.     

Role of cofactors in protein folding

Although cofactors are essential components of many proteins to attain biological activity, the role of cofactors in protein folding is not well understood. Biophysical characterization of four types of cofactor-binding proteins (with copper, flavin moiety, iron-sulfur cluster, and heme cofactors, respectively) provides the following insights. (1) The presence of the cofactor often stabilizes the native protein. (2) The cofactor has the ability to interact specifically with the unfolded polypeptide. (3) The presence of the cofactor is sometimes essential for the polypeptide to fold. (4) Coordination of the cofactor prior to polypeptide folding can dramatically accelerate formation of the functional protein.     

The reciprocal relationship between physical activity and depression in older European adults: A prospective cross-lagged panel design using SHARE data.

Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the reciprocal nature of the physical activity-depressive symptoms relationship in 17,593 older adults from 11 European countries older adults (M age = 64.07, SD = 9.58) across two-year follow-up. Also, gender and age were examined as potential moderators of this relation. Method: A two-wave cross-lagged panel design and latent change score models with structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline (T1) and follow-up (T2) using the EURO-D scale, capturing the two factors of affective suffering and motivation. Physical activity was measured at T1 and T2 as frequency of moderate physical activity and vigorous physical activity. Results: Cross-sectional latent variable analyses revealed that higher levels of physical activity at T1 and T2 were associated with lower levels of affective suffering and motivation at T1 and T2. Physical activity at T1 was significantly associated with affective suffering and motivation at T2. The relations of depressive symptoms at T1 with physical activity at T2 were not significant. However, a cross-lagged model showed best model fit, supporting a reciprocal prospective relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in older adults. Latent change in depressive symptoms factors was related to latent change in physical activity indicating complex and dynamic associations across time. Conclusions: Regular physical activity may be a valuable tool in the prevention of future depressive symptoms in older adults, and depressive symptoms may also prevent older adults from engaging in regular physical activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of New Potential Interaction Partners for Human Cytoplasmic Copper Chaperone Atox1: Roles in Gene Regulation?

The human copper (Cu) chaperone Atox1 delivers Cu to P_1B type ATPases in the Golgi network, for incorporation into essential Cu-dependent enzymes. Atox1 homologs are found in most organisms; it is a 68-residue ferredoxin-fold protein that binds Cu in a conserved surface-exposed Cys-X-X-Cys (CXXC) motif. In addition to its well-documented cytoplasmic chaperone function, in 2008 Atox1 was suggested to have functionality in the nucleus. To identify new interactions partners of Atox1, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen with a large human placenta library of cDNA fragments using Atox1 as bait. Among 98 million fragments investigated, 25 proteins were found to be confident interaction partners. Nine of these were uncharacterized proteins, and the remaining 16 proteins were analyzed by bioinformatics with respect to cell localization, tissue distribution, function, sequence motifs, three-dimensional structures and interaction networks. Several of the hits were eukaryotic-specific proteins interacting with DNA or RNA implying that Atox1 may act as a modulator of gene regulation. Notably, because many of the identified proteins contain CXXC motifs, similarly to the Cu transport reactions, interactions between these and Atox1 may be mediated by Cu.     

Mixed gels of gelatin and whey proteins, formed by combining temperature and high pressure

Mixed and pure gels of gelatin and whey protein concentrate (WPC) were formed by using temperature and high pressure simultaneously. Combining these gel formation methods enables the two polymer networks to set at the same time. The microstructure of the gels was studied by means of light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the rheological properties by means of dynamic oscillatory measurements and tensile tests. The pH values investigated were 5.4, 6.8 and 7.5. The isoelectric point of the WPC is around pH 5.2 and that of gelatin between pH 7.5 and 9. At pH 5.4, the mixed gel formed a phase-separated system, with a gelatin continuous network and spherical inclusions of the WPC. The storage modulus (G) of the mixed gel was similar to that of a pure gelatin gel. At pH6.8, the mixed gel formed a phase-separated system, composed of an aggregated network and a phase with fine strands. The aggregated network proved to be made up of both gelatin and WPC, and the fine strands were formed of gelatin. The mixed gel at pH 6.8 showed a high G compared with the pure gels, which decreased significantly when the gelatin phase melted. At pH 7.5 the mixed gel was composed of one single aggregated network, in which gelatin and WPC were homogeneously distributed. It was impossible to distinguish the gelatin from the WPC in the mixed network. The mixed gel at pH 7.5 showed a significantly higher G than the pure gels. As the gelatin phase was melted out for the mixed gel, a large decrease in G was observed. The pure gelatin gels, formed by a temperature decrease under high pressure, proved to be pH-dependent, showing an increase in aggregation as the pH increased from 5.4 to 7.5. A fine-stranded, transparent gelatin gel was formed at pH 5.4, while an aggregated, opaque gel was formed at pH 7.5. The stress at fracture for the gelatin gels decreased as the aggregation, and consequently the pore size, increased.     

Electrospinning of degradable elastomeric nanofibers with various morphology and their interaction with human fibroblasts

Artelon® (degradable poly(urethane urea) elastomer) was electrospun into scaffolds for tissue engineering. The diameter of the electrospun fibers, studied by scanning electron microscopy, ranged from 100 nm to a few μm, with an average diameter of 750 nm. The molar mass of the polymer had a major influence on the morphology of the scaffold. Furthermore, aging of the polymer solution caused changes in viscosity, as measured by stress sweeps between 13.5–942 Pa that affected the morphology. The electrospun Artelon mats exhibited about the same elongations to break, both exceeding 200%, measured by tensile tests. The degradation study showed similar degradation behavior in electrospun mats and solids. In vitro study showed that human fibroblasts not only adhere to the surface but also migrate, proliferate, and produce components of an extracellular matrix. These results strongly support the use of electrospun Artelon as a scaffold in tissue engineering. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Numerical solution of multicolumn adsorption processes under periodic countercurrent operation

Numerical solutions of the dimensionless equations describing multicolumn adsorption processes are presented. The columns are operated in series and move periodically countercurrent to a continuous fluid flow. Results are given for intraparticle mass transfer resistance separately and in combination with film resistance assuming a linear adsorption isotherm. Comparisons are made with columns in periodic operation and in continuous countercurrent operation. The utilization of the particles in a multicolumn arrangement, or equivalently in a pulsed bed system, compared to that in a column in continuous countercurrent operation is commonly about 80% for two columns in series and more than 90% for four columns in series, when the total column lengths and the fluid flowrates are the same.     

Calibration, pose and novel views from single images of constrained scenes

We exploit the common constraint of having a right-angle corner of two rectangular planes in the scene in order to calibrate a perspective projection camera and compute its pose relative to the coordinate system defined by the corner. No metric information about the corner is assumed. The camera is constrained to have its image x- and y-axes to be orthogonal with the same scale factor, which is valid for most real-world cameras. We then reproject the image of the corner to an arbitrary viewpoint. We can also compute the metric properties of the scene to scale. We report experimental results with subjectively acceptable quality. The approach shows the power of exploiting constraints that are abundant in typical architectural scenes.     

An adaptive mutation in adenylate kinase that increases organismal fitness is linked to stability-activity trade-offs

Protein function is a balance between activity and stability. However, the relevance of stability-activity trade-offs for protein evolution and their impact on organismal fitness have been difficult to determine. Previously, we have linked organismal survival at increasing temperatures to adaptive changes to a single protein sequence through allelic replacement of an essential gene, adenylate kinase (adk), in a thermophile. In vivo continuous evolution of the temperature-sensitive thermophile has shown that the first step toward increased organismal fitness is mutation of glutamine-199 to arginine in the mesophilic enzyme (AKsub Q199R). Here, we show that although substitution of Arg-199 did confer a modest increase in stability (0.6 kcal mol(-1)at 20 degrees C; DeltaT(m) = 3.0 degrees C), it is a large change in the activity profile of the enzyme that is responsible for its exceptional robustness during the earlier experimental evolution study. Kinetic studies of AKsub Q199R show that it has a strong loss of enzymatic activity (>50%) at lower temperatures (20-45 degrees C) and a subsequent increase at elevated temperatures. The stability-activity trade-off observed for AKsub Q199R was linked to the rigidification of the overall structure through stabilization of a polypeptide loop containing Arg-199 that is part of the ATP-binding site of the enzyme. Structural analysis revealed the formation of new ionic interactions facilitated by Arg-199. Our results suggest that stability-activity trade-offs are employed readily as an evolutionary strategy during natural selection to increase organismal fitness.