A New Strategy for As(V) Biosensing Based on the Inhibition of the Phosphatase Activity of the Arsenate Reductase from Thermus thermophilus

Arsenic (As) pollution is a widespread problem worldwide. In recent years, biosensors based on enzymatic inhibition have been developed for arsenic detection, making the study of the effect of inhibitors on the selected enzymatic activity crucial for their setup. The arsenate reductase of Thermus thermophilus HB27, TtArsC, reduces As(V) into As(III), but is also endowed with phosphatase activity. This work investigates the inhibitory effects of As(V) and As(III) on phosphatase activity by taking advantage of a simple colorimetric assay; the results show that both of them are non-competitive inhibitors affecting the Vmax but not the K_M of the reaction. However, their Ki values are different from each other (15.2 ± 1.6 μM for As(V) and 394.4 ± 40.3 µm with As(III)), indicating a higher inhibitory effect by As(V). Moreover, the inhibition-based biosystem results to be selective for As(V) since several other metal ions and salts do not affect TtArsC phosphatase activity; it exhibits a sensitivity of 0.53 ± 0.03 mU/mg/μM and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.28 ± 0.02 μM. The good sensitivity and specificity for As(V) point to consider inhibition of TtArsC phosphatase activity for the setup of a novel biosensor for the detection of As(V).     

Xanthenylacetic Acid Derivatives Effectively Target Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 6 to Inhibit Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Growth

Despite the increasing incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide, current pharmacological treatments are still unsatisfactory. We have previously shown that lysophosphatidic acid receptor 6 (LPAR6) supports HCC growth and that 9-xanthenylacetic acid (XAA) acts as an LPAR6 antagonist inhibiting HCC growth without toxicity. Here, we synthesized four novel XAA derivatives, (±)-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)propanoic acid (compound 4 – MC9), (±)-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)butanoic acid (compound 5 – MC6), (±)-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)hexanoic acid (compound 7 – MC11), and (±)-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)octanoic acid (compound 8 – MC12, sodium salt) by introducing alkyl groups of increasing length at the acetic α-carbon atom. Two of these compounds were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and quantum mechanical calculations, while molecular docking simulations suggested their enantioselectivity for LPAR6. Biological data showed anti-HCC activity for all XAA derivatives, with the maximum effect observed for MC11. Our findings support the view that increasing the length of the alkyl group improves the inhibitory action of XAA and that enantioselectivity can be exploited for designing novel and more effective XAA-based LPAR6 antagonists.     

Acquisition of customer’s tailor measurements for 3D clothing design using virtual reality devices

Over recent years, various virtual prototyping technologies have been developed to innovate apparel industry. For each step of the garment design process one can find dedicated tools (from body acquisition to garment modelling and simulation) with the aim of making the process easier and faster. However, most of them are based on expensive solutions both for hardware and software systems. In this paper, we focus the attention on the first step of the made-to-measure garment design, i.e. customer’s measures acquisition. We present a plug-in, named Tailor Tracking, which permits to get the measurements by interacting with the customer’s avatar using hands as in the traditional way. Tailor Tracking has been developed using low cost devices, such as Microsoft Kinect sensor, Leap motion device and Oculus Rift, and open source libraries, such as Visualisation Toolkit (VTK) and Qt. The proposed approach is based on the use of multiple Kinect v2 to simultaneously acquire both customer’s body and motion. This permits to emulate the customer’s postures required to take the correct measurements. In addition, a virtual measuring tape is made available to replicate the one commonly used by the tailor. A men shirt has been considered as case study and a tailor and 14 people with no skills in garment design and different levels of experience in virtual reality technology have been involved to preliminary test Tailor tracking. Finally, tests as well as results reached so far are presented and discussed. Results have been considered quite good; however, some critical measures have been identified as well as future developments. Anyway, Tailor Tracking can represent an alternative solution to the existing approaches that automatically extract anthropometric measures from the customer’s avatar.     

Synthesis,structural characterization and luminescent properties of Tb3+-doped AgLaP2O7 phosphors

Silver lanthanum diphosphates doped with terbium, AgLa_1-xTb_xP₂O₇ (x=0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%), were prepared by solid state reaction at T=500°. The obtained compounds were investigated by means of a multi-methodological approach, involving the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDS) for morphological investigation and semi-quantitative chemical analysis, respectively; powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) for structural characterization and Rietveld refinement; Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies for qualitative study. Finally, emission spectra were collected in order to detect the fluorescence properties of the compounds.The unit cell parameters and the space group of all the family members were determined by PXRD data. The compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic Pnma space group, with the AgLaP₂O₇ cell constants equal to: a?=?8.6706(1) Å, b?=?5.3218(1) Å, c?=?12.8839(1) Å and cell volume V?=?594.51(1) ų. A decreasing trend for unit cell parameters was observed at increase of dopant concentration. For the pure phase, the investigation was completed with the structure solution via Direct Methods and Rietveld refinement. The crystal structure consists of compact layers of LaO₉ polyhedra, down the c axis, bridged by P₂O₇ diphosphate groups and by zig-zag chains of AgO₉ polyhedra down b.The FTIR and Raman analysis supports the chemical structure, highlighting the deformation (δPO₃) and stretching (νPO₃) vibration of PO₃ groups, and the characteristic bands of P₂O₇^4- groups attributed to the symmetric and asymmetric stretching (ν_s and ν_as) of P-O-P bridge, respectively.The luminescence properties of Tb³⁺ activating ion in AgLa_1-xTb_xP₂O₇ (x=1%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) were also examined. No concentration quenching of the main ⁵D₄-→⁷F₅ emission, responsible for the well known green emission of Tb³⁺ ion, was observed in the studied concentration range, whereas a concentration quenching of the emission from ⁵D₃ level, due to ⁵D₃^-→⁵D₄ cross relaxation process, was revealed.     

Colour after colorimetry

This paper presents a critical overview of some of the uses, misuses and open problems in colour measurement, characterisation and reproduction. A series of ground truths, pitfalls and open problems regarding colorimetry and its relationship with human colour vision is presented.     

Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide in the Management of Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a severe condition characterized by the systemic formation of microthrombi complicated with bleeding tendency and organ dysfunction. In the last years, it represents one of the most frequent consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The pathogenesis of DIC is complex, with cross-talk between the coagulant and inflammatory pathways. The objective of this study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory action of ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA) in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced DIC model in rats. Experimental DIC was induced by continual infusion of LPS (30 mg/kg) for 4 h through the tail vein. Um-PEA (30 mg/kg) was given orally 30 min before and 1 h after the start of intravenous infusion of LPS. Results showed that um-PEA reduced alteration of coagulation markers, as well as proinflammatory cytokine release in plasma and lung samples, induced by LPS infusion. Furthermore, um-PEA also has the effect of preventing the formation of fibrin deposition and lung damage. Moreover, um-PEA was able to reduce the number of mast cells (MCs) and the release of its serine proteases, which are also necessary for SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results suggest that um-PEA could be considered as a potential therapeutic approach in the management of DIC and in clinical implications associated to coagulopathy and lung dysfunction, such as COVID-19.     

Detection and identification of wild yeasts in Champús, a fermented Colombian maize beverage

The aim of this study was to identify and characterise the predominant yeasts in Champús, a traditional Colombian cereal-based beverage with a low alcoholic content.Samples of Champús from 20 production sites in the Cauca Valley region were analysed. A total of 235 yeast isolates were identified by conventional microbiological analyses and by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2. The dominant species were: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Issatchenkia orientalis, Pichia fermentans, Pichia kluyveri var. kluyveri, Zygosaccharomyces fermentati, Torulospora delbruekii, Galactomyces geotrichum and Hanseniaspora spp. Model Champús systems were inoculated with single strains of some isolated sporogenus species and the aromatic profiles were analysed by SPME. Analysis of data showed that Champús strains produced high amounts of esters. The aromatic compounds produced by Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts from Champús can exert a relevant influence on the sensory characteristics of the fermented beverage. The Champús strains could thus represent an important source for new yeast biotypes with potential industrial applications.     

On‐Chip Detection of Rolling Circle Amplified DNA Molecules from Bacillus Globigii Spores and Vibrio Cholerae

For the first time DNA coils formed by rolling circle amplification are quantified on‐chip by Brownian relaxation measurements on magnetic nanobeads using a magnetoresistive sensor. No external magnetic fields are required besides the magnetic field arising from the current through the sensor, which makes the setup very compact. Limits of detection down to 500 Bacillus globigii spores and 2 pM of Vibrio cholerae are demonstrated, which are on the same order of magnitude or lower than those achieved previously using a commercial macro‐scale AC susceptometer. The chip‐based readout is an important step towards the realization of field tests based on rolling circle amplification molecular analyses.