The Glioblastoma Microenvironment: Morphology,Metabolism, and Molecular Signature of Glial Dynamics to Discover Metabolic Rewiring Sequence

Different functional states determine glioblastoma (GBM) heterogeneity. Brain cancer cells coexist with the glial cells in a functional syncytium based on a continuous metabolic rewiring. However, standard glioma therapies do not account for the effects of the glial cells within the tumor microenvironment. This may be a possible reason for the lack of improvements in patients with high-grade gliomas therapies. Cell metabolism and bioenergetic fitness depend on the availability of nutrients and interactions in the microenvironment. It is strictly related to the cell location in the tumor mass, proximity to blood vessels, biochemical gradients, and tumor evolution, underlying the influence of the context and the timeline in anti-tumor therapeutic approaches. Besides the cancer metabolic strategies, here we review the modifications found in the GBM-associated glia, focusing on morphological, molecular, and metabolic features. We propose to analyze the GBM metabolic rewiring processes from a systems biology perspective. We aim at defining the crosstalk between GBM and the glial cells as modules. The complex networking may be expressed by metabolic modules corresponding to the GBM growth and spreading phases. Variation in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) rate and regulation appears to be the most important part of the metabolic and functional heterogeneity, correlating with glycolysis and response to hypoxia. Integrated metabolic modules along with molecular and morphological features could allow the identification of key factors for controlling the GBM-stroma metabolism in multi-targeted, time-dependent therapies.     

Non-hydrolytic sol–gel route to a family of hybrid mesoporous aluminosilicate ethanol dehydration catalysts

Journal of Materials Science - Hybrid materials are intensely studied for potential applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Organic groups at the catalyst surface can modify not only its...     

How the inclusion of mushroom powder can affect the physicochemical characteristics of pasta

In this study, a partial substitution of durum wheat semolina with three different species of mushrooms (white button, shitake and porcini) was undertaken to increase the nutritional value of the pasta. The cooking properties and textural characteristics of the pasta produced were also determined. The results showed that the addition of mushroom powder increased the cooking loss, as well as firmness and resistance of the uniaxial tension of the pasta. Porcini mushroom incorporation significantly decreased the swelling index, water absorption index and moisture content values of the cooked pasta, while, for the white button and shiitake mushrooms, there was no noticeable effect on either index compared with the control sample (containing exclusively durum wheat semolina). The addition of shiitake mushroom powder resulted in pasta with the highest firmness and tensile strength.     

Localization of self-generated synthetic footstep sounds on different walked-upon materials through headphones

This paper focuses on the localization of footstep sounds interactively generated during walking and provided through headphones. Three distinct experiments were conducted in a laboratory involving a pair of sandals enhanced with pressure sensors and a footstep synthesizer capable of simulating two typologies of surface materials: solid (e.g., wood) and aggregate (e.g., gravel). Different sound delivery methods (mono, stereo, binaural) as well as several surface materials, in the presence or absence of concurrent contextual auditory information provided as soundscapes, were evaluated in a vertical localization task. Results showed that solid surfaces were localized significantly farther from the walker’s feet than the aggregate ones. This effect was independent of the used rendering technique, of the presence of soundscapes, and of merely temporal or spectral attributes of sound. The effect is hypothesized to be due to a semantic conflict between auditory and haptic information such that the higher the semantic incongruence the greater the distance of the perceived sound source from the feet. The presented results contribute to the development of further knowledge toward a basis for the design of continuous multimodal feedback in virtual reality applications.     

Barrier properties in hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber compounds containing organoclays and perfluoropolyether additives

Elastomeric compounds from hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, organomodified clay, and perfluoropolyether (PFPE) additives were prepared. Characterization of the materials included X‐ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile mechanical properties testing, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and solvent permeability measurements, from which the solubility coefficient (S) and diffusion coefficient (D) values were determined. A synergistic effect of the two additives was observed because the presence of clay reduced D, whereas PFPE mainly decreased S. Increasing the mixing time facilitated the dispersion of the clay layers. DMA and the diffusivity data were used to estimate the aspect ratios of the solid inclusions in the rubber. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Hard and easy sinterable B4C-TiB2-based composites doped with WC

B₄C-TiB₂ composites were contaminated with WC to study the effect on densification, microstructure and properties. WC was introduced through a mild or a high energy milling with WC-6?wt%Co spheres or directly as sintering aid to 50?vol% B₄C / 50?vol%TiB₂ mixtures. High energy milling was very effective in improving the densification thanks to the synergistic action of WC impurities, acting as sintering aid, and size reduction of the starting TiB₂-B₄C powders. As a result, the sintering temperature necessary for full densification decreased to 1860?°C and both strength and hardness benefited from the microstructure refinement, 860?±?40 MPa and 28.5?±?1.4?GPa respectively. High energy milling was then adopted for producing 75?vol% B₄C/25?vol% TiB₂ and 25?vol% B₄C/ 75vol%TiB₂ mixtures. The B₄C-rich composition showed the highest hardness, 32.2?±?1.8?GPa, whilst the TiB₂-rich composition showed the highest value of toughness, 5.1?±?0.1?MPa?m^0.5.