A unified model of property integration for batch and continuous processes

This article aims to present a general model for synthesis of property‐based resource conservation networks. The proposed model is applicable to batch and continuous processes. Therein, the process systems are characterized by properties instead of composition that is found in most published works to date in the area of resource conservation. By treating continuous process as a special case of batch processes, both kinds of operations can be optimized with a unified model that is developed on the basis of a superstructure. The overall framework of property network is adopted, where material reuse/recycle, interception, and waste treatment are all taken into consideration. Apart from direct reuse/recycle, interception devices are employed to improve stream properties for further recovery, whereas effluent treatment is needed for compliance with environmental discharge limits. In addition, storage vessels are employed in batch processes to override intrinsic time constraint. Four case studies are solved to illustrate the proposed approach. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

The Genomic 3′ UTR of Flaviviruses Is a Translation Initiation Enhancer

Viruses rely on the cellular machinery of host cells to synthesize their proteins, and have developed different mechanisms enabling them to compete with cellular mRNAs for access to it. The genus Flavivirus is a large group of positive, single-stranded RNA viruses that includes several important human pathogens, such as West Nile, Dengue and Zika virus. The genome of flaviviruses bears a type 1 cap structure at its 5′ end, needed for the main translation initiation mechanism. Several members of the genus also use a cap-independent translation mechanism. The present work provides evidence that the WNV 5′ end also promotes a cap-independent translation initiation mechanism in mammalian and insect cells, reinforcing the hypothesis that this might be a general strategy of flaviviruses. In agreement with previous reports, we show that this mechanism depends on the presence of the viral genomic 3′ UTR. The results also show that the 3′ UTR of the WNV genome enhances translation of the cap-dependent mechanism. Interestingly, WNV 3′ UTR can be replaced by the 3′ UTR of other flaviviruses and the translation enhancing effect is maintained, suggesting a molecular mechanism that does not involve direct RNA-RNA interactions to be at work. In addition, the deletion of specific structural elements of the WNV 3′ UTR leads to increased cap-dependent and cap-independent translation. These findings suggest the 3′ UTR to be involved in a fine-tuned translation regulation mechanism.     

Conjugated linoleic acid content in fermented goat milk as affected by the starter culture and the presence of free linoleic acid

The effect of yoghurt starter cultures and probiotic Lactobacillus casei on the formation of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and microbial populations of fermented goat milk was investigated during 35 days of cold storage. The addition of hydrolysed sunflower oil as a source of free linoleic acid was investigated. The fermentation process enhanced the content of the cis9, trans11‐CLA isomer in milk, whereas the trans10, cis12‐CLA isomer was not detected in goat milk or control fermented milks. The use of both starters generated trans10, cis12‐CLA only when hydrolysed sunflower oil was supplemented. Populations of streptococci and lactobacilli were affected by the presence of hydrolysed sunflower oil.     

Ultrathin Shell Double Emulsion Templated Giant Unilamellar Lipid Vesicles with Controlled Microdomain Formation

A microfluidic approach is reported for the high‐throughput, continuous production of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) using water‐in‐oil‐in‐water double emulsion drops as templates. Importantly, these emulsion drops have ultrathin shells; this minimizes the amount of residual solvent that remains trapped within the GUV membrane, overcoming a major limitation of typical microfluidic approaches for GUV fabrication. This approach enables the formation of microdomains, characterized by different lipid compositions and structures within the GUV membranes. This work therefore demonstrates a straightforward and versatile approach to GUV fabrication with precise control over the GUV size, lipid composition and the formation of microdomains within the GUV membrane.     

Antiretroviral Therapy-Induced Dysregulation of Gene Expression and Lipid Metabolism in HIV+ Patients: Beneficial Role of Antioxidant Phytochemicals

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has continued to be the subject of study since its discovery nearly 40 years ago. Significant advances in research and intake of antiretroviral therapy (ART) have slowed the progression and appearance of the disease symptoms and the incidence of concomitant diseases, which are the leading cause of death in HIV+ persons. However, the prolongation of ART is closely related to chronic degenerative diseases and pathologies caused by oxidative stress (OS) and alterations in lipid metabolism (increased cholesterol levels), both of which are conditions of ART. Therefore, recent research focuses on using natural therapies to diminish the effects of ART and HIV infection: regulating lipid metabolism and reducing OS status. The present review summarizes current information on OS and cholesterol metabolism in HIV+ persons and how the consumption of certain phytochemicals can modulate these. For this purpose, MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases were consulted to identify publications investigating HIV disease and natural therapies and their associated effects.     

Integration of Maps Enables a Cytogenomics Analysis of the Complete Karyotype in Solea senegalensis

The Pleuronectiformes order, which includes several commercially-important species, has undergone extensive chromosome evolution. One of these species is Solea senegalensis, a flatfish with 2n = 42 chromosomes. In this study, a cytogenomics approach and integration with previous maps was applied to characterize the karyotype of the species. Synteny analysis of S. senegalensis was carried out using two flatfish as a reference: Cynoglossus semilaevis and Scophthalmus maximus. Most S. senegalensis chromosomes (or chromosome arms for metacentrics and submetacentrics) showed a one-to-one macrosyntenic pattern with the other two species. In addition, we studied how repetitive sequences could have played a role in the evolution of S. senegalensis bi-armed (3, and 5–9) and acrocentric (11, 12 and 16) chromosomes, which showed the highest rearrangements compared with the reference species. A higher abundance of TEs (Transposable Elements) and other repeated elements was observed adjacent to telomeric regions on chromosomes 3, 7, 9 and 16. However, on chromosome 11, a greater abundance of DNA transposons was detected in interstitial BACs. This chromosome is syntenic with several chromosomes of the other two flatfish species, suggesting rearrangements during its evolution. A similar situation was also found on chromosome 16 (for microsatellites and low complexity sequences), but not for TEs (retroelements and DNA transposons). These differences in the distribution and abundance of repetitive elements in chromosomes that have undergone remodeling processes during the course of evolution also suggest a possible role for simple repeat sequences in rearranged regions.     

Vitamin D Deficiency and COVID-19: A Biological Database Study on Pathways and Gene-Disease Associations

Vitamin D (VD) is a fat-soluble vitamin, and pivotal for maintaining health. Several genetic markers have been related to a deficient VD status; these markers could confer an increased risk to develop osteoporosis and other chronic diseases. A VD deficiency could also be a determinant of a severe COVID-19 disease. This study aimed to interrogate genetic/biological databases on the biological implications of a VD deficiency and its association with diseases, to further explore its link with COVID-19. The genetic variants of both a VD deficiency and COVID-19 were identified in the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) catalog and other sources. We conducted enrichment analyses (considering corrected p-values < 0.05 as statistically significant) of the pathways, and gene-disease associations using tools, such as FUMA, REVIGO, DAVID and DisGeNET, and databases, such as the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO). There were 26 and 46 genes associated with a VD deficiency and COVID-19, respectively. However, there were no genes shared between the two. Genes related to a VD deficiency were involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, retinol, drugs and xenobiotics, and were associated with the metabolic syndrome and related factors (obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus), as well as with neoplasms. There were few enriched pathways and disease connections for the COVID-19-related genes, among which some of the aforementioned comorbidities were also present. In conclusion, genetic factors that influence the VD levels in the body are most prominently associated with nutritional and metabolic diseases. A VD deficiency in high-risk populations could be therefore relevant in a severe COVID-19, underlining the need to examine whether a VD supplementation could reduce the severity of this disease.     

Identification of a Novel Lipase with AHSMG Pentapeptide in Hypocreales and Glomerellales Filamentous Fungi

Lipases are enzymes that hydrolyze triglycerides to fatty acids and glycerol. A typical element in lipases is a conserved motif of five amino acids (the pentapeptide), most commonly G-X-S-X-G. Lipases with the pentapeptide A-X-S-X-G are present in species of Bacillus, Paucimonas lemoignei, and the yeast Trichosporon asahii; they are usually thermotolerant and solvent resistant. Recently, while searching for true lipases in the Trichoderma harzianum genome, one lipase containing the pentapeptide AHSMG was identified. In this study, we cloned from T. harzianum strain B13-1 the lipase ID135964, renamed here as ThaL, which is 97.65% identical with the reference. We found that ThaL is a lid-containing true lipase of cluster III that belongs to a large family comprising highly conserved proteins in filamentous fungi in the orders Hypocreales and Glomerellales, in which predominantly pathogenic fungi are found. ThaL was expressed in conidia, as well as in T. harzianum mycelium, where it was cultured in liquid minimal medium. These results—together with the amino acid composition, absence of a signal peptide, mitochondrial sorting prediction, disordered regions in the protein, and lineage-specific phylogenetic distribution of its homologs—suggest that ThaL is a non-canonical effector. In summary, AHSMG-lipase is a novel lipase family in filamentous fungi, and is probably involved in pathogenicity.     

Effect of intercell pilot signals on cellular CDMA forward link

In cellular CDMA, the implementation of pilot channels on the forward link enables accurate coherent detection and synchronous transmission. In conjunction with concatenated Walsh sequences, this results in significant capacity gain. However, the undesirable co‐channel interference introduced by these intercell pilot signals is seldom addressed. Our analysis indicates that ignoring its effect can overestimate the capacity by as much as 15%. A partial implementation of multiuser detection is proposed to recover most of the degradation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genetic differentiation between sole (Solea solea) and Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) by PCR–RFLP analysis of a 12S rRNA gene fragment

PCR–RFLP analysis was applied to the identification of two closely related flatfish species: sole (Solea solea) and Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides). Amplification of DNA isolated from fish muscle samples was carried out using a set of primers flanking a region of 321 base pairs (bp) from the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Restriction endonuclease analysis based on sequence data of this DNA fragment revealed the presence of polymorphic sites for AciI and MwoI endonucleases. The restriction profiles obtained by agarose gel electrophoresis when amplicons were cut with AciI and MwoI enzymes allowed the unequivocal identification of sole and Greenland halibut species. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry