The Proteomic Landscape of Resting and Activated CD4+ T Cells Reveal Insights into Cell Differentiation and Function

CD4+ T cells (T helper cells) are cytokine-producing adaptive immune cells that activate or regulate the responses of various immune cells. The activation and functional status of CD4+ T cells is important for adequate responses to pathogen infections but has also been associated with auto-immune disorders and survival in several cancers. In the current study, we carried out a label-free high-resolution FTMS-based proteomic profiling of resting and T cell receptor-activated (72 h) primary human CD4+ T cells from peripheral blood of healthy donors as well as SUP-T1 cells. We identified 5237 proteins, of which significant alterations in the levels of 1119 proteins were observed between resting and activated CD4+ T cells. In addition to identifying several known T-cell activation-related processes altered expression of several stimulatory/inhibitory immune checkpoint markers between resting and activated CD4+ T cells were observed. Network analysis further revealed several known and novel regulatory hubs of CD4+ T cell activation, including IFNG, IRF1, FOXP3, AURKA, and RIOK2. Comparison of primary CD4+ T cell proteomic profiles with human lymphoblastic cell lines revealed a substantial overlap, while comparison with mouse CD+ T cell data suggested interspecies proteomic differences. The current dataset will serve as a valuable resource to the scientific community to compare and analyze the CD4+ proteome.     

Traversing the advantageous role of samarium doped spinel nanoferrites for photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants

The present work reportes the pertinence of samarium(Sm) doped spinel nanoferrites as magnetically recoverable photocatalyst for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater.Thus,a series of Sm substituted spinel nano ferrites,MSm_xFe_(2-x)O_4(M=Ni,Co;x=0,0.02,0.06,0.1) we re synthesized via sol-gel methodology.The effect of Sm doping on the structural,morphological,optical and magnetic properties of pristine nanoferrites was investigated systematically.Further,the fabricated samples were explored as photocatalysts for the oxidative degradation of antibiotics(ofloxacin and norfloxacin) and dyes(methyl orange and safranin O).The Sm doped nanoferrites exhibit astonishing catalytic efficacy that can be attributed to higher surface area,octahedral site preference of Sm ions and reduced band gap.The synthesized nanoferrites display excellent recyclability which enables them to be utilized as potential photocatalysts for wastewater treatment.     

Relationship between the process parameters and the saturation point in electrophoretic deposition

We used the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process to fabricate a composite with glass frit and investigated the EPD parameters to find the optimum deposition time by understanding the relationship between the process parameters of zeta potential (ZP), pH, deposition yield and saturation point in a slurry. A binder and a dispersing agent were mixed properly with glass frit (0.2–25 μm, d₅₀ = 8.77 μm) in an ethyl alcohol medium for the preparation of the slurry. The pH and ZP were in an inverse relationship to each other due to the generation of H₃O⁺ ions with the addition of the dispersing agent in the slurry. The acidic nature of the slurry resulted in a decrease of the pH and an increase of the ZP. Otherwise, the pH increased with the addition of the glass frit in the slurry because H₃O⁺ ions were absorbed on the glass frit. Therefore, the OH^? ions correspondingly increased. The saturation point of EPD was strongly correlated with the variation of the pH in the slurry; this is caused by a chemical reaction between the ethyl alcohol and the ions that make up the glass frit. An adjustment of the pH variation and the saturation point in the slurry can be established with respect to the optimum deposition time in the slurry.     

Fermentative hydrogen production by two novel strains of Enterobacter aerogenes HGN-2 and HT 34 isolated from sea buried crude oil pipelines

Present study investigated fermentative hydrogen production of two novel isolates of Enterobacter aerogenes HGN-2 and HT 34 isolated from oil water mixtures. The two isolates were identified as novel strains of E. aerogenes based on 16S rRNA gene. The batch fermentations of two strains from glucose and xylose were carried out using economical culture medium under various conditions such as temperature, initial pH, NaCl, Ni⁺/Fe⁺⁺, substrate concentrations for enhanced fermentation process. Both the strains favoured wide range of pH (6.5–8.0) at 37 °C for optimum production (2.20–2.23 mol H₂/mol-glucose), which occurred through acetate/butyrate pathway. At 55 °C, both strains favoured 6.0–6.5 and acetate type fermentation was predominant in HT 34. Hydrogen production by HT 34 from xylose was highly pH dependant and optimum production was at pH 6.5 (circa 1.98 mol-H₂/mol-xylose) through acetate pathway. The efficiency of the strain HGN-2 at pH 6.5 was 1.92–1.94 mol-H₂/mol-xylose, and displayed both acetate and butyrate pathways. At 55 °C, very low hydrogen production was detected (less than 0.5 m mol/mol-xylose).     

Synthesis of iron nano-catalyst using Acalypha indica leaf extracts for biogas production from mixed liquor volatile suspended solids

A simple, rapid and eco-friendly procedure was adopted to synthesize iron nano-catalyst (FeNCs) using the leaf extracts of Acalypha indica. The effectiveness of synthesized FeNCs was evaluated for the biogas production from mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS). The FeNCs were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope and X-Ray Diffraction. The catalytic activity of the synthesized additives of FeNCs during the anaerobic process showed a drastic reduction in the hydraulic retention time of 6days for biogas production 85–90%. This study also showed a significant increase in the total biogas production when MLVSS supplemented with 0.3 g/L FeNCs. The aforementioned additive yielded 0.345 (L/g volatile solids reduced) biogas which is relatively lesser (63%) when compared with the control 0.25 (L/g VS reduced) and their bulk salts 0.055 (L/g VS reduced).     

Post-Translational Modification and Secretion of Azelaic Acid Induced 1 (AZI1), a Hybrid Proline-Rich Protein from Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis EARLI-type hybrid proline-rich proteins (HyPRPs) consist of a putative N-terminal secretion signal, a proline-rich domain (PRD), and a characteristic eight-cysteine-motif (8-CM). They have been implicated in biotic and abiotic stress responses. AZI1 is required for systemic acquired resistance and it has recently been identified as a target of the stress-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK3. AZI1 gel migration properties strongly indicate AZI1 to undergo major post-translational modifications. These occur in a stress-independent manner and are unrelated to phosphorylation by MAPKs. As revealed by transient expression of AZI1 in Nicotiana benthamiana and Tropaeolum majus, the Arabidopsis protein is similarly modified in heterologous plant species. Proline-rich regions, resembling arabinogalactan proteins point to a possible proline hydroxylation and subsequent O-glycosylation of AZI1. Consistently, inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase reduces its apparent protein size. AZI1 secretion was examined using Arabidopsis protoplasts and seedling exudates. Employing Agrobacterium-mediated leaf infiltration of N. benthamiana, we attempted to assess long-distance movement of AZI1. In summary, the data point to AZI1 being a partially secreted protein and a likely new member of the group of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Its dual location suggests AZI1 to exert both intra- and extracellular functions.     

Oxidative Stability of Ghee Incorporated with Clove Extracts and BHA at Elevated Temperatures

Higher levels of phenolics were found in steam distilled clove extract (256.5 mg of GAE/g) than its oleoresin (177.1 mg of GAE/g). Antioxidant potential using β-carotene–linoleic acid model of butylated hydroxy anisol, steam distilled and clove oleoresin were 92.39, 85.51, and 77.88%, respectively, at 200 ppm. Radical scavenging activity of butylated hydroxy anisol, extracts of steam distilled and oleoresin were found to be 91.77, 88.93, and 80.84%. Oxidative stability of ghee with butylated hydroxy anisol was highest followed by steam distilled extract and oleoresin throughout 21 days of storage at 80 ± 1°C. During deep frying, steam distilled clove extract had strong antioxidant activity as compared to others.     

Biohydrogen production by Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum TERI S7 from oil reservoir flow pipeline

Thermophilic dark fermentative hydrogen producing bacterial strain, TERI S7, isolated from an oil reservoir flow pipeline located in Mumbai, India, showed 98% identity with Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum by 16S rRNA gene analysis. It produced 1450–1900 ml/L hydrogen under both acidic and alkaline conditions; at a temperature range of 45–60 °C. The maximum hydrogen yield was 2.5 ± 0.2 mol H₂/mol glucose, 2.2 ± 0.2 mol H₂/mol xylose and 5.2 ± 0.2 mol H₂/mol sucrose, when the respective sugars were used as carbon source. The cumulative hydrogen production, hydrogen production rate and specific hydrogen production rate by the strain TERI S7 with sucrose as carbon source was found to be 1704 ± 105 ml/L, 71 ± 6 ml/L/h and 142 ± 13 ml/g/h respectively. Major soluble metabolites produced during fermentation were acetic acid and butyric acid. The strain TERI S7 was also observed to produce hydrogen continuously up to 48 h at pH 3.9.     

Patient monitoring using ad hoc wireless networks: reliability and power management

In the health care domain, a major challenge is how to provide better health care services to an increasing number of people using limited financial and human resources. Wireless patient monitoring has the potential to support these multiple and conflicting requirements. However, the current quality and reliability of patient monitoring have not been very satisfactory due to the unpredictable and spotty coverage of infrastructure-oriented wireless networks. Ad hoc wireless networks can be formed among mobile and wearable patient-monitoring devices for improving the coverage of patient monitoring when infrastructure-oriented networks are not accessible. In this article, we provide support for reliable wireless patient monitoring by presenting several protocols for power management of devices, assisted power control, and sleep strategy. The performance results show that high reliability of message delivery can be obtained while maintaining a level of power conservation.     

The dissolution of iron in the hydrochloric acid leach of titania slag obtained from plasma melt separation of metalized ilmenite

This work is concerned with the determination of leaching characteristics of titania rich slag by hydrochloric acid. This can be considered as an alternative to selective iron dissolution and insolubilization of TiO₂ in the form of synthetic rutile. The relevant criteria for titania slag leaching in hydrochloric acid are studied, including the acid concentration, experimental parameters and solid/liquid ratio, which controls the acid/slag molar ratio as well as effect of reduction. Ilmenite or metalized ilmenite, when smelted/melted under thermal plasma gives titania rich slag and iron metal as products. Preparation of upgraded feedstock from titania slag depends on leachability of it by mineral acids. The data reveals that the optimum conditions involve working with 6 M acid with a solid/liquid ratio of 1/20 at room temperature for 1 hour, using slag ground to less than 74 μm. The results will have significant impact on production of upgraded feed stock.