Composites based on high-density polyethylene,polylactide and calcium carbonate: effect of calcium carbonate nanoparticles as co-compatibilizers

Polymer Bulletin - Investigating the compatibility mechanism of hybrid composites based on two polymers and one mineral nanofiller is a challenge that needs to be better understood. This study...     

CircRNAs as Potential Blood Biomarkers and Key Elements in Regulatory Networks in Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. It is a disease that encompasses a variety of molecular alterations, including in non-coding RNAs such as circular RNAs (circRNAs). In the present study, we investigated hsa_circ_0000211, hsa_circ_0000284, hsa_circ_0000524, hsa_circ_0001136 and hsa_circ_0004771 expression profiles using RT-qPCR in 71 gastric tissue samples from GC patients (tumor and tumor-adjacent samples) and volunteers without cancer. In order to investigate the suitability of circRNAs as minimally invasive biomarkers, we also evaluated their expression profile through RT-qPCR in peripheral blood samples from patients with and without GC (n = 41). We also investigated the predicted interactions between circRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-RBP using the KEGG and Reactome databases. Overall, our results showed that hsa_circ_0000211, hsa_circ_0000284 and hsa_circ_0004771 presented equivalent expression profiles when analyzed by different methods (RNA-Seq and RT-qPCR) and different types of samples (tissue and blood). Further, functional enrichment results identified important signaling pathways related to GC. Thus, our data support the consideration of circRNAs as new, minimally invasive biomarkers capable of aiding in the diagnosis of GC and with great potential to be applied in clinical practice.     

Spatial and temporal trends of perfluorinated compounds in Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Alaska

Wildlife from remote locations have been shown to bioaccumulate perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in their tissues. Twelve PFCs, consisting of perfluorinated carboxylic (PFCA) and sulfonic (PFSA) acids as well as the perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) precursor perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA), were measured in livers of 68 beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) collected from two subpopulations, Cook Inlet and eastern Chukchi Sea, in Alaska between 1989 and 2006. PFOS and PFOSA were the dominant compounds measured in both beluga stock populations, with overall median concentrations of 10.8 ng/g and 22.8 ng/g, respectively. Long-chain perfluorocarboxylates, PFCAs (9 to 14 carbons), were detected in more than 80% of the samples. Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTriA) made up a large percentage of the PFCAs measured with median concentrations of 8.49 ng/g and 4.38 ng/g, respectively. To compare differences in location, year, sex, and length, backward stepwise multiple regression models of the individual and total PFC concentrations were used. Spatially, the Cook Inlet belugas had higher concentrations of most PFCAs and PFOS (p < 0.05); however, these belugas had a lower median concentration of PFOSA when compared to belugas from the eastern Chukchi Sea (p < 0.05). Temporal trends indicated most PFCAs, PFHxS, PFOS, and PFOSA concentrations increased from 1989 to 2006 (p < 0.05). Males had significantly higher concentrations of PFTriA, ΣPFCA, and PFOS (p < 0.05). Perfluorononanic acid (PFNA) and PFOS showed a significant decrease in concentration with increasing animal length (p < 0.05). These observations suggest the accumulation of PFCs in belugas is influenced by year, location, sex, and length.     

Physicochemical,nutritional and functional properties of marama bean flour

Marama bean is a protein-rich, underutilised, drought-tolerant legume in sub-Saharan Africa. Its utilisation may be increased through value addition into protein-rich flours. Defatted flour from unheated and dry-heated (150 °C/20 min) whole marama beans (UMF and HMF) were analysed for physicochemical and protein-based functional properties. Heating significantly increased in vitro protein digestibility of marama bean flour. Of functional importance are the high levels of tyrosine present in marama bean flours. Heating significantly reduced protein solubility and emulsifying capacity of marama bean flours whilst water absorption capacity was improved. Foaming capacity was not affected by heating. UMF could be useful in food systems requiring high emulsifying capacity, but would not be suitable for applications requiring high water absorption and foaming capacity. Due to its high protein contents, marama bean flour could be used to increase the protein quality of cereal-based foods to help alleviate protein-energy nutrition in the region.     

Neurodevelopmental Disorders Associated with PSD-95 and Its Interaction Partners

The postsynaptic density (PSD) is a massive protein complex, critical for synaptic strength and plasticity in excitatory neurons. Here, the scaffolding protein PSD-95 plays a crucial role as it organizes key PSD components essential for synaptic signaling, development, and survival. Recently, variants in DLG4 encoding PSD-95 were found to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder with a variety of clinical features including intellectual disability, developmental delay, and epilepsy. Genetic variants in several of the interaction partners of PSD-95 are associated with similar phenotypes, suggesting that deficient PSD-95 may affect the interaction partners, explaining the overlapping symptoms. Here, we review the transmembrane interaction partners of PSD-95 and their association with neurodevelopmental disorders. We assess how the structural changes induced by DLG4 missense variants may disrupt or alter such protein–protein interactions, and we argue that the pathological effect of DLG4 variants is, at least partly, exerted indirectly through interaction partners of PSD-95. This review presents a direction for functional studies to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of deficient PSD-95, providing clues for therapeutic strategies.     

Rapid detection of Salmonella in pet food: design and evaluation of integrated methods based on real-time PCR detection

Reducing the risk of Salmonella contamination in pet food is critical for both companion animals and humans, and its importance is reflected by the substantial increase in the demand for pathogen testing. Accurate and rapid detection of foodborne pathogens improves food safety, protects the public health, and benefits food producers by assuring product quality while facilitating product release in a timely manner. Traditional culture-based methods for Salmonella screening are laborious and can take 5 to 7 days to obtain definitive results. In this study, we developed two methods for the detection of low levels of Salmonella in pet food using real-time PCR: (i) detection of Salmonella in 25 g of dried pet food in less than 14 h with an automated magnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction method and (ii) detection of Salmonella in 375 g of composite dry pet food matrix in less than 24 h with a manual centrifugation-based nucleic acid preparation method. Both methods included a preclarification step using a novel protocol that removes food matrix-associated debris and PCR inhibitors and improves the sensitivity of detection. Validation studies revealed no significant differences between the two real-time PCR methods and the standard U.S. Food and Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual (chapter 5) culture confirmation method.     

Cold sintering process: A new era for ceramic packaging and microwave device development

Cold sintering process (CSP) is an extremely low‐temperature sintering process (room temperature to ~200°C) that uses aqueous‐based solutions as transient solvents to aid densification by a nonequilibrium dissolution‐precipitation process. In this work, CSP is introduced to fabricate microwave and packaging dielectric substrates, including ceramics (bulk monolithic substrates and multilayers) and ceramic‐polymer composites. Some dielectric materials, namely Li₂MoO₄, Na₂Mo₂O₇, K₂Mo₂O₇, and (LiBi)_0.5MoO₄ ceramics, and also (1?x)Li₂MoO₄?xPTFE and (1?x)(LiBi)_0.5MoO₄?xPTFE composites, are selected to demonstrate the feasibility of CSP in microwave and packaging substrate applications. Selected dielectric ceramics and composites with high densities (88%‐95%) and good microwave dielectric properties (permittivity, 5.6‐37.1; Q × f, 1700‐30 500 GHz) were obtained by CSP at 120°C. CSP can be also used to potentially develop a new co‐fired ceramic technology, namely CSCC. Li₂MoO₄?Ag multilayer co‐fired ceramic structures were successfully fabricated without obvious delamination, warping, or interdiffusion. Numerous materials with different dielectric properties can be densified by CSP, indicating that CSP provides a simple, effective, and energy‐saving strategy for the ceramic packaging and microwave device development.     

Peaceful,Pleasant and Private: The British Domestic Garden as an Ordinary Landscape

This paper uses narrative accounts of private gardens in Britain from the Mass-Observation Archive (MO) to explore ideas of landscape, privacy and attachment that emerge from daily practices and routines in these ordinary domestic spaces. We argue for the domestic garden as a vernacular or ordinary landscape that displays tensions between the private and the public nature of home within ambivalent emotional responses. Extended personal narratives offer privileged access to a site of intense engagement and carefully guarded privacy, yet with varying levels of attachment. The garden is a space well described in Britain in its public form but less well known as a private, everyday landscape. In this way a cultural landscape study becomes a contemporary critical geography of an ordinary space.     

TiAl金属间化合物与42CrMo钢的真空扩散连接

对TiAl金属间化合物与 4 2CrMo钢进行了真空扩散连接。采用扫描电镜对连接接头的显微组织和成分分布进行了初步地分析。研究发现 ,母材与中间层发生了扩散反应 ,采用加入中间层的真空扩散连接TiAl金属间化合物与 4 2CrMo钢具有良好的可焊性。