IgGs-Abzymes from the Sera of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Recognize and Hydrolyze miRNAs

Autoantibodies-abzymes hydrolyzing DNA, myelin basic protein, and oligosaccharides have been revealed in the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, specific microRNAs are found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, which are characterized by increased expression. Autoantibodies, specifically hydrolyzing four different miRNAs, were first detected in the blood of schizophrenia patients. Here, we present the first evidence that 23 IgG antibodies of MS patients effectively recognize and hydrolyze four neuroregulatory miRNAs (miR-137, miR-9-5p, miR-219-2-3p, and miR-219-5p) and four immunoregulatory miRNAs (miR-21-3p, miR-146a-3p, miR-155-5p, and miR-326). Several known criteria were checked to show that the recognition and hydrolysis of miRNAs is an intrinsic property of MS IgGs. The hydrolysis of all miRNAs is mostly site-specific. The major and moderate sites of the hydrolysis of each miRNA for most of the IgG preparations coincided; however, some of them showed other specific sites of splitting. Several individual IgGs hydrolyzed some miRNAs almost nonspecifically at nearly all internucleoside bonds or demonstrated a combination of site-specific and nonspecific splitting. Maximum average relative activity (RA) was observed in the hydrolysis of miR-155-5p for IgGs of patients of two types of MS—clinically isolated syndrome and relapsing-remitting MS—but was also high for patients with primary progressive and secondary progressive MS. Differences between RAs of IgGs of four groups of MS patients and healthy donors were statistically significant (p < 0.015). There was a tendency of decreasing efficiency of hydrolysis of all eight miRNAs during remission compared with the exacerbation of the disease.     

The AFLATOX® Project: Approaching the Development of New Generation,Natural-Based Compounds for the Containment of the Mycotoxigenic Phytopathogen Aspergillus flavus and Aflatoxin Contamination

The control of the fungal contamination on crops is considered a priority by the sanitary authorities of an increasing number of countries, and this is also due to the fact that the geographic areas interested in mycotoxin outbreaks are widening. Among the different pre- and post-harvest strategies that may be applied to prevent fungal and/or aflatoxin contamination, fungicides still play a prominent role; however, despite of countless efforts, to date the problem of food and feed contamination remains unsolved, since the essential factors that affect aflatoxins production are various and hardly to handle as a whole. In this scenario, the exploitation of bioactive natural sources to obtain new agents presenting novel mechanisms of action may represent a successful strategy to minimize, at the same time, aflatoxin contamination and the use of toxic pesticides. The Aflatox^® Project was aimed at the development of new-generation inhibitors of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. proliferation and toxin production, through the modification of naturally occurring molecules: a panel of 177 compounds, belonging to the thiosemicarbazones class, have been synthesized and screened for their antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic potential. The most effective compounds, selected as the best candidates as aflatoxin containment agents, were also evaluated in terms of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and epi-genotoxicity to exclude potential harmful effect on the human health, the plants on which fungi grow and the whole ecosystem.     

Engineering of Janus-Like Dendrimers with Peptides Derived from Glycoproteins of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1: Toward a Versatile and Novel Antiviral Platform

Novel antiviral nanotherapeutics, which may inactivate the virus and block it from entering host cells, represent an important challenge to face viral global health emergencies around the world. Using a combination of bioorthogonal copper-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar alkyne/azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) and photoinitiated thiol–ene coupling, monofunctional and bifunctional peptidodendrimer conjugates were obtained. The conjugates are biocompatible and demonstrate no toxicity to cells at biologically relevant concentrations. Furthermore, the orthogonal addition of multiple copies of two different antiviral peptides on the surface of a single dendrimer allowed the resulting bioconjugates to inhibit Herpes simplex virus type 1 at both the early and the late stages of the infection process. The presented work builds on further improving this attractive design to obtain a new class of therapeutics.     

Direct-Ink-Writing of Electroactive Polymers for Sensing and Energy Storage Applications

Considering the high levels of materials used in the fields of electronics and energy storage systems, it is increasingly necessary to take into consideration environmental impact. Thus, it is important to develop devices based on environmentally friendlier materials and/or processes, such as additive manufacturing techniques. In this work, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) are prepared by direct-ink-writing (DIW) by varying solvent evaporation temperature and fill density percentage. Different morphologies for both polymers are obtained, including dense films and porous membranes, as well as different electroactive β-phase content, thermal and mechanical properties. The dielectric constant and piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient for dense films reaches up to 16 at 1 kHz and 4 pC N⁻¹, respectively for PVDF-HFP with a fill density of 80 and a solvent evaporation temperature of 50 °C. Porous structures are developed for battery separator membranes in lithium-ion batteries, with a highest ionic conductivity value of 3.8 mS cm⁻¹ for the PVDF-HFP sample prepared with a fill density of 100 and a solvent evaporation temperature of 25 °C, the sample showing an excellent cycling performance. It is demonstrated that electroactive films and membranes can be prepared by direct-ink writing suitable for sensors/actuators and energy storage systems.     

Curing of mixtures of epoxy resins and 4‐methyl‐1,3‐dioxolan‐2‐one with several initiators

Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A or 3,4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3,4‐epoxycyclohexane carboxylate were mixed with different proportions of 4‐methyl‐1,3‐dioxolan‐2‐one and cured using lanthanide triflates as initiators. In order to compare the materials obtained, conventional initiators such as boron trifluoride complexes and N,N‐dimethylaminopyridine were also tested. The curing process was followed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform IR in attenuated total reflectance mode. This technique proved that the carbonate accelerates the curing process because it helps to form the active initiating species, although it was not chemically incorporated into the network and remained entrapped in the material. The DSC kinetic study was also reported. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2086–2093, 2006     

Carbonaceous adsorbents from sewage sludge and their application in a combined activated sludge-powdered activated carbon (AS-PAC) treatment

In this study, waste biological sludge is converted to an adsorbent by chemical activation with sulphuric acid. The adsorbent obtained is then applied to the aerated vessel of an activated sludge process treating glucose and phenol to improve the quality of the treated effluent. The sludge-based carbonaceous adsorbent was found to be mesoporous in nature, with a good adsorption capacity for large molecular weight compounds and limited removal efficiency for smaller molecules such as phenol. The addition of carbon, either sludge-based or commercial, enhanced phenol removal from 58% to 98.7% and from 87% to 93% the organic matter removal as measured by the chemical oxygen demand (COD) when operated with feed concentrations of 100 mg phenol/l and 2500 mg COD/l. No differences were found between the activated sludge-activated carbon bench scale continuous reactors operating with either commercial or sludge-based adsorbents in spite of the higher adsorption capacity of the former. It is suggested that powdered adsorbent bioregeneration in the combined AS-PAC system may be impaired by the obstruction of pores due to bacterial growth, the effect being more important for the commercial activated carbon with a narrower pore size distribution.     

A low-cost real time virtual system for postural stability assessment at home

Background and objective

The degeneration of the balance control system in the elderly and in many pathologies requires measuring the equilibrium conditions very often. In clinical practice, equilibrium control is commonly evaluated by using a force platform (stabilometric platform) in a clinical environment.In this paper, we demonstrate how a simple movement analysis system, based on a 3D video camera and a 3D real time model reconstruction of the human body, can be used to collect information usually recorded by a physical stabilometric platform.

Methods

The algorithm used to reconstruct the human body model as a set of spheres is described and discussed. Moreover, experimental measurements and comparisons with data collected by a physical stabilometric platform are also reported. The measurements were collected on a set of 6 healthy subjects to whom a change in equilibrium condition was stimulated by performing an equilibrium task.

Results

The experimental results showed that more than 95% of data collected by the proposed method were not significantly different from those collected by the classic platform, thus confirming the usefulness of the proposed system.

Conclusions

The proposed virtual balance assessment system can be implemented at low cost (about 500$) and, for this reason, can be considered a home use medical device. On the contrary, astabilometric platform has a cost of about 10,000$ and requires periodical calibration. The proposed system does not require periodical calibration, as is necessary for stabilometric force platforms, and it is easy to use. In future, the proposed system with little integration can be used, besides being an emulator of a stabilometric platform, also to recognize and track, in real time, head, legs, arms and trunk, that is to collect information actually obtained by sophisticated optoelectronic systems.     

Polymerization characteristics of a dye of anthraquinone

A technical dye of the anthraquinone type was analyzed by GPC, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Along with the polymerizable component, N-[4-amino-3-methoxyanthraquinonyl-(1)] methacrylamide (I), it contained a saturated admixture, N-[4-amino-3-methoxyanthraquinonyl-(1)]-2-chloro-2-methylpropionamide (II). The homopolymerization of I was carried out, and admixture II was isolated and characterized. The copolymerization of the dye with styrene and methyl methacrylate was verified, and the retardation effect of II on the polymerization of these monomers was evaluated.