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.     

Mycotoxin Biomarkers of Exposure: A Comprehensive Review

To date, the use of biomarkers has become generally accepted. Biomarker‐driven research has been proposed as a successful method to assess the exposure to xenobiotics by using concentrations of the parent compounds and/or metabolites in biological matrices such as urine or blood. However, the identification and validation of biomarkers of exposure remain a challenge. Recent advances in high‐resolution mass spectrometry along with new analytical (post‐acquisition data‐mining) techniques will improve the quality and output of the biomarker identification process. Chronic or even acute exposure to mycotoxins remains a daily fact, and therefore it is crucial that the mycotoxins’ metabolism is unravelled so more knowledge on biomarkers in humans and animals is acquired. This review aims to provide the scientific community with a comprehensive overview of reported in vitro and in vivo mycotoxin metabolism studies in relation to biomarkers of exposure for deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenon‐X, T‐2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, ochratoxin A, citrinin, fumonisins, zearalenone, aflatoxins, and sterigmatocystin.     

Stability of DON and DON-3-glucoside during baking as affected by the presence of food additives

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common mycotoxins of cereals worldwide, and its occurrence has been widely reported in raw wheat. The free mycotoxin form is not the only route of exposure; modified forms can also be present in cereal products. Deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (DON-3-glucoside) is a common DON plant conjugate. The mycotoxin concentration could be affected by food processing; here, we studied the stability of DON and DON-3-glucoside during baking of small doughs made from white wheat flour and other ingredients. A range of common food additives and ingredients were added to assess possible interference: ascorbic acid (E300), citric acid (E330), sorbic acid (E200), calcium propionate (E282), lecithin (E322), diacetyltartaric acid esters of fatty acid mono- and diglycerides (E472a), calcium phosphate (E341), disodium diphosphate (E450i), xanthan gum (E415), polydextrose (E1200), sorbitol (E420i), sodium bicarbonate (E500i), wheat gluten and malt flour. The DON content was reduced by 40%, and the DON-3-glucoside concentration increased by >100%, after baking for 20 min at 180°C. This confirmed that DON and DON-3-glucoside concentrations can vary during heating, and DON-3-glucoside could even increase after baking. However, DON and DON-3-glucoside are not affected significantly by the presence of the food additives tested.     

Deposition of thick and 50% porous YpSZ layer by spraying nitrate solution in a low pressure plasma reactor

The deposition of Yttria partially Stabilized Zirconia (YpSZ) for Thermal Barrier Coating application (TBC) is a current topic of interest. The TBC must exhibit high thickness (100–300 μm), vertical cracks in order to be a strain tolerant layer, and high porosity to decrease the thermal conductivity. In this paper, a solution of nitrate salt is introduced into a low pressure plasma discharge (600 Pa, 80–220 W) to obtain YpSZ layers.Several analytical techniques were used to study the characteristics and the stability of the YpSZ layers obtained in the low pressure plasma reactor. Optical emission spectroscopy indicated that the oxidant chemistry in the plasma is responsible for the formation of the oxide and the elimination of the nitrates at low temperature (T < 300 °C on the layer). SEM, water porosimetry, thermal diffusivity and XRD analyses were performed to study the effect of the parameters (power of the plasma discharge, post-treatment, heat treatment) on the structure, the morphology and the stability of YpSZ coatings. For example, it was observed that YpSZ is 50% porous in all cases and that the nanostructures of the coating resist against high temperature conditions (1200 °C/5 h).     

Easy extrusion of honeycomb-shaped monoliths using Moroccan natural clays and investigation of their dynamic adsorptive behavior towards VOCs

In the present work, honeycomb-shaped monoliths were easily extruded using local natural clays without the need of chemical binders. This finding allows significant cost reduction, in terms of not only additives and solvents but also the energy consumption required for their elimination by thermal treatment. The extruded monoliths were subject to mechanical strength testing in addition to the study of their thermal behavior, structural and textural properties. Moreover, one of their potential uses as VOCs adsorbents was evaluated in comparison with conventional packed bed by investigating their dynamic adsorptive and desorption behavior towards a model VOC of o-xylene type.     

Rheological Properties of Honey from Burkina Faso: Loss Modulus and Complex Viscosity Modeling

This study evaluated the rheological behavior of Burkina Faso honey and the use of exponential and polynomial models to predict the influence of chemical composition and temperature on the viscoelastic parameters: complex viscosity (η*) and loss modulus (G’’). Samples were first characterized by evaluating: water activity, 5-hydroxy methyl furfural, sugars (fructose, glucose, and sucrose), electrical conductivity, moisture, and color. Dynamic rheological properties were obtained at different temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40°C). All the honeys displayed Newtonian behavior. Complex viscosity and loss modulus can be predicted based on the chemical composition and temperature using polynomial models (R² > 98.00%).     

A Fittingness Factor-Based Spectrum Management Framework for Cognitive Radio Networks

In order to increase cognitive radios (CRs) operation efficiency, there has been an increasing interest in strengthening awareness level about spectrum utilisation. In this respect, this paper proposes to exploit the fittingness factor concept to capture the suitability of spectral resources exhibiting time-varying characteristics to support a set of heterogeneous CR applications. First, a new knowledge management functional architecture for optimizing spectrum management has been constructed. It integrates a set of advanced statistics capturing the influence of the dynamic radio environment on the fittingness factor. Then, a knowledge manager (KM) exploiting these statistics to monitor time-varying suitability of spectrum resources has been proposed to support the spectrum selection (SS) decision-making process. In particular, a new Fittingness Factor-based strategy combining two SS and spectrum mobility (SM) functionalities has been proposed, following either a greedy or a proactive approach. Results have shown that, with a proper fittingness factor function, the greedy approach efficiently exploits the KM support at low loads and the SM functionality at high loads to introduce significant gains in terms of the user dissatisfaction probability. The proactive approach has been shown to maintain the introduced performance gain while minimizing the signalling requirements in terms of spectrum handover rate.