Perfluorooctanesulfonate and related fluorochemicals in human blood from several countries

Perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride based compounds have been used in a wide variety of consumer products, such as carpets, upholstery, and textiles. These compounds degrade to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a persistent metabolite that accumulates in tissues of humans and wildlife. Previous studies have reported the occurrence of PFOS, perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA) in human sera collected from the United States. In this study, concentrations of PFOS, PFHxS, PFOA, and PFOSA were measured in 473 human blood/serum/plasma samples collected from the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Belgium, Italy, Poland, India, Malaysia, and Korea. Among the four perfluorochemicals measured, PFOS was the predominant compound found in blood. Concentrations of PFOS were the highest in the samples collected from the United States and Poland (>30 ng/mL); moderate in Korea, Belgium, Malaysia, Brazil, Italy, and Colombia (3 to 29 ng/mL); and lowest in India (<3 ng/mL). PFOA was the next most abundant perfluorochemical in blood samples, although the frequency of occurrence of this compound was relatively low. No age- or gender-related differences in the concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were found in serum samples. The degree of association between the concentrations of four perfluorochemicals varied, depending on the origin of the samples. These results suggested the existence of sources with varying levels and compositions of perfluorochemicals, and differences in exposure patterns to these chemicals, in various countries. In addition to the four target fluorochemicals measured, qualitative analysis of selected blood samples showed the presence of other perfluorochemicals such as perfluorodecanesulfonate (PFDS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) in serum samples, at concentrations approximately 5- to 10-fold lower than the concentration of PFOS. Further studies should focus on identifying sources and pathways of human exposure to perfluorochemicals.     

Acetylation-Specific Interference by Anti-Histone H3K9ac Intrabody Results in Precise Modulation of Gene Expression

Among Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), lysine acetylation plays a pivotal role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression, mediated by chromatin modifying enzymes. Due to their activity in physiology and pathology, several chemical compounds have been developed to inhibit the function of these proteins. However, the pleiotropy of these classes of proteins represents a weakness of epigenetic drugs. Ideally, a new generation of epigenetic drugs should target with molecular precision individual acetylated lysines on the target protein. We exploit a PTM-directed interference, based on an intrabody (scFv-58F) that selectively binds acetylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9ac), to test the hypothesis that targeting H3K9ac yields more specific effects than inhibiting the corresponding HAT enzyme that installs that PTM. In yeast scFv-58F modulates, gene expression in a more specific way, compared to two well-established HAT inhibitors. This PTM-specific interference modulated expression of genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and function. In mammalian cells, the scFv-58F induces exclusive changes in the H3K9ac-dependent expression of specific genes. These results suggest the H3K9ac-specific intrabody as the founder of a new class of molecules to directly target histone PTMs, inverting the paradigm from inhibiting the writer enzyme to acting on the PTM.     

Antimicrobial Combined Action of Graphene Oxide and Light Emitting Diodes for Chronic Wound Management

Innovative non-antibiotic compounds such as graphene oxide (GO) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may represent a valid strategy for managing chronic wound infections related to resistant pathogens. This study aimed to evaluate 630 nm LED and 880 nm LED ability to enhance the GO antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus- and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-resistant strains in a dual-species biofilm in the Lubbock chronic wound biofilm (LCWB) model. The effect of a 630 nm LED, alone or plus 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALAD)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) (ALAD-PDT), or an 880 nm LED on the GO (50 mg/l) action was evaluated by determining the CFU/mg reductions, live/dead analysis, scanning electron microscope observation, and reactive oxygen species assay. Among the LCWBs, the best effect was obtained with GO irradiated with ALAD-PDT, with percentages of CFU/mg reduction up to 78.96% ± 0.21 and 95.17% ± 2.56 for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. The microscope images showed a reduction in the cell number and viability when treated with GO + ALAD-PDT. In addition, increased ROS production was detected. No differences were recorded when GO was irradiated with an 880 nm LED versus GO alone. The obtained results suggest that treatment with GO irradiated with ALAD-PDT represents a valid, sustainable strategy to counteract the polymicrobial colonization of chronic wounds.     

Olive Oil in the Mediterranean Diet and Its Biochemical and Molecular Effects on Cardiovascular Health through an Analysis of Genetics and Epigenetics

Human nutrition is a relatively new science based on biochemistry and the effects of food constituents. Ancient medicine considered many foods as remedies for physical performance or the treatment of diseases and, since ancient times, especially Greek, Asian and pre-Christian cultures similarly thought that they had beneficial effects on health, while others believed some foods were capable of causing illness. Hippocrates described the food as a form of medicine and stated that a balanced diet could help individuals stay healthy. Understanding molecular nutrition, the interaction between nutrients and DNA, and obtaining specific biomarkers could help formulate a diet in which food is not only a food but also a drug. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the role of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil on cardiovascular risk and to identify their influence from the genetic and epigenetic point of view to understand their possible protective effects.     

Degradation of LiCoO2 in aqueous lithium–air batteries

The degradation behaviour of aqueous rechargeable lithium cobalt oxide–air batteries in 5 M LiNO₃ aqueous solution is observed by electrochemical characterizations. At lower scan rates of cyclic voltammetry, the three pairs of redox peaks at E _SCE = 0.79/0.67, 0.89/0.85 and 1.15/0.97 V are proven to produce good reversibility. The small separation of the peaks is proportionally consistent with the Li⁺ diffusion coefficients of 2.82 × 10^?7 cm² s^?1 (anodic) and 1.76 × 10^?7 cm² s^?1 (cathodic). The lithium cobalt oxide–air batteries have a higher initial specific discharge capacity of 114.35 mA h g^?1, which fades to 83% (after the first 10 cycles) and 52% (after 50 cycles). As the specific discharge capacity decreases, the resistance increases. The dissolution of Li⁺ is mainly attributed to these degradations. Further analyses of the batteries' degradation are performed by morphological and structural characterizations of the cathode material. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of autochthonous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains on volatile profile of Negroamaro wines

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast species predominating the alcoholic fermentation of grape must. The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of indigenous S. cerevisiae strains biodiversity on the aroma of wines from Negroamaro grapes. Grapes collected in two different Negroamaro producing micro districts in Salento (Southern Italy), were subjected to natural fermentation and two indigenous S. cerevisiae populations were isolated. Fifteen strains for each of the two populations were selected and tested by micro fermentation assay in order to evaluate their specific contribute to the volatiles composition and sensory impact of the produced wines. The aromatic profile of wines obtained by each selected strain was characterized by different contents of acetates, ethyl esters of fatty acids, higher alcohols, thus showing to be related to the strains geographical origin. The sensorial analysis of wines produced by the six best performing strains confirmed that they are good candidates as industrial starter cultures, This study indicates that the use of a “microarea-specific” starter culture is a powerful tool to enhance the peculiarity of wines deriving from specific areas.     

Neural networks applied to a large biological database to analyse dairy breeding patterns

The paper recounts the investigation of a dairy sire prediction capability based on Cascade Correlation neural networks to study influences relating the performance of offspring to their parents. The context of the problem is the artificial insemination breeding program for the Australian dairy industry. The networks are used to screen observed information in the database to relate it to best combinations of dam and sire. The voluminous data is quite noisy and is subject to genetic and environmental influences. The intention is to extract linear and nonlinear relationships from among the input variables without specifying their form. A number of scenarios are employed which recast the data into different forms. In particular, it was discovered that the problem could be restructured and the data supplemented with transformed data to produce succinct input patterns of manageable dimensionality, which allowed for a substantially improved predictive capability. It was then found that reasonable daughter predictions could be obtained of about 10%, as measured by her milk production. Results are compared with those obtained using two alternate neural network methods. Crude statistical methods are employed to evaluate the performance of the neural networks.     

Oxidation at boron doped diamond electrodes: an effective method to mineralise triazines

The electrochemical oxidation of cyanuric acid (CA) is examined by bulk electrolyses at boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode. The influence of operating conditions on the reaction trend is investigated and suitable conditions for oxidative demolition of CA are individuated. In particular a strong effect of current density and pH is evidenced, being neutral pH and high current the most favourable conditions to achieve CA mineralisation. The paper also presents the results from atrazine (2-Cl-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine) and 2-Cl-4,6-diammino-1,3,5-triazine oxidation at BDD anode. Triazine compounds are scarcely degraded even with powerful methods such as photocatalytic TiO₂-mediated processes, being CA generally obtained as final product of their oxidation. Individuation of favourable conditions for CA demolition has allowed to find suitable conditions to mineralise also triazine compounds.