Comparative Proteomic and Metabolomic Analysis of Human Osteoblasts,Differentiated from Dental Pulp Stem Cells,Hinted Crucial Signaling Pathways Promoting Osteogenesis

Population aging has been a global trend for the last decades, which increases the pressure to develop new cell-based or drug-based therapies, including those that may cure bone diseases. To understand molecular processes that underlie bone development and turnover, we followed osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) using a specific induction medium. The differentiation process imitating in vivo osteogenesis is triggered by various signaling pathways and is associated with massive proteome and metabolome changes. Proteome was profiled by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography and comprehensively quantified by ion mobility-enhanced mass spectrometry. From 2667 reproducibly quantified and identified proteins, 432 were differentially abundant by strict statistic criteria. Metabolome profiling was carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance. From 27 detected metabolites, 8 were differentially accumulated. KEGG and MetaboAnalyst hinted metabolic pathways that may be involved in the osteogenic process. Enrichment analysis of differentially abundant proteins highlighted PPAR, FoxO, JAK-STAT, IL-17 signaling pathways, biosynthesis of thyroid hormones and steroids, mineral absorption, and fatty acid metabolism as processes with prominent impact on osteoinduction. In parallel, metabolomic data showed that aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, as well as specific amino acids, likely promote osteodifferentiation. Targeted immunoassays validated and complemented omic results. Our data underlined the complexity of the osteogenic mechanism. Finally, we proposed promising targets for future validation in patient samples, a step toward the treatment of bone defects.     

The effects of presalting methods from injection to pickling, on the yields of heavily salted cod (Gadus morhua)

The production of heavy-salted cod (Bacalao) has changed from being a single-step process (kench) salting to a multistep procedure varying between producers and countries. Presalting by injection, brining, or pickling is increasingly applied prior to pile (dry) salting. This article describes the effects of different presalting methods (injection and brining, brining only, and pickling) on yield and chemical composition of salted cod fillets, in comparison to a single-kench salting step. The procedures used influenced the weight yields and chemical composition of the products. Injection was significantly different from other methods in increasing weight yields throughout brining, dry salting, and rehydration. The yield of nitrogenous compounds tended to be lower for injected and brine-salted fillets, mainly due to higher losses of nonprotein nitrogen. Practical Application: Salting procedures for cod have changed rapidly in recent years. Injection is increasingly used as a presalting method. It has been suggested to have strong effects on weight yields of salted cod products. This article describes the effects of injection on weight yields on products in salted, rehydrated, and cooked stage.     

The effect of heat processing on the functional properties of pectin contained in olive mill wastewater

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of prolonged heat processing (180 min at 50-80 °C) on the functional and rheological properties of pectin, derived from olive mill wastewater (OMW). It was shown that a low temperature blanching of OMW at 60 °C, activates endogenous pectin methyl esterase and promotes demethylation, despite the high concentration of phenols. Activation of the enzyme resulted in enhanced solubilization and subsequent partial degradation of pectin. The induced degradation impaired pectin grade and resulted in loss of gelling functionality. An alternative heating process at 80 °C resulted in negligible enzyme induced degradation of the pectin and improved gelling properties of the recovered material, despite the lower solubilization of the pectin. The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of the temperature effect on pectin functional properties and can be utilized in order to optimize pectin recovery from OMW.     

Functional properties and chemical composition of fractionated brown and yellow linseed meal (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Considering its high content of protein and dietary fiber, linseed meal is a remarkable source for food ingredient and food additive production. In this study, brown and yellow linseed meal (Linum usitatissimum L.) were fractionated via pH control, to obtain five linseed meal fractions rich in protein and fiber. The fractions were characterized by measuring functional properties, proximate and carbohydrate composition, and lignan contents. Acid soluble protein fractions were characterized by lower emulsification capacities and foaming activities in comparison to a commercial soy protein isolate. Alkaline soluble protein fractions showed emulsification activities comparable to whole egg and relatively high contents of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) of 110 mg/g DM and 56.2 mg/g DM, respectively. The good emulsification and foaming activities, as well as the enriched concentration of SDG and therefore high nutritional value, make especially the alkaline soluble protein fraction highly interesting for food ingredient production.     

Clarification of high-added value products from olive mill wastewater

The objective of the current study is to investigate the clarification of two high-added value products (pectin containing solution and phenol containing beverage) recovered from olive mill wastewater. For this purpose, both liquids were processed with four types of ultrafiltration (100, 25, 10 and 2 kDa) and one nanofiltration membranes under optimum transmembrane pressure. Retention coefficients and performance parameters were monitored for each experiment. The membranes of 25 and 100 kDa showed very satisfying results with regard to the concentration of pectin solutions as they were able to separate it from cations and phenols. The membrane of 25 kDa was also able to partially remove the heavier fragments of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and flavonols, and simultaneously to sustain the antioxidant properties of the phenol containing beverage in the permeate stream. Finally, nanofiltration clarified the beverage from cations that passed in the permeate stream, but this process resulted in loss of antioxidant compounds, too.     

Amplified Spontaneous Emission Properties of Semiconducting Organic Materials

This paper aims to review the recent advances achieved in the field of organic solid-state lasers with respect to the usage of semiconducting organic molecules and oligomers in the form of thin films as active laser media. We mainly focus on the work performed in the last few years by our research group. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) properties, by optical pump, of various types of molecules doped into polystyrene films in waveguide configuration, are described. The various systems investigated include N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), several perilenediimide derivatives (PDIs), as well as two oligo-phenylenevinylene derivatives. The ASE characteristics, i.e., threshold, emission wavelength, linewidth, and photostability are compared with that of other molecular materials investigated in the literature.     

LICRED: A Versatile Drop‐In Vector for Rapid Generation of Redox‐Self‐Sufficient Cytochrome P450s

Cytochromes P450 (P450s) are a family of haem‐containing oxidases with considerable potential as tools for industrial biocatalysis. Organismal genomes are revealing thousands of gene sequences that encode P450s of as yet unknown function, the exploitation of which will require high‐throughput tools for their isolation and characterisation. In this report, a ligationindependent cloning vector “LICRED” is described that enables the high‐throughput generation of libraries of redox‐self‐sufficient P450s by fusing a range of P450 haem domains to the reductase of P450RhF (RhF‐Red) in a robust and generically applicable way. Cloning and expression of fusions of RhF‐Red with the haem domains of P450cam and P450‐XplA resulted in soluble, active, redox‐self‐sufficient, chimeric enzymes. In vitro studies also revealed that electron transfer from NADPH to haem was primarily intramolecular. The general applicability of the LICRED platform was then demonstrated through the creation of a library of RhF‐Red fusion constructs by using the diverse complement of P450 haem domains identified in the genome of Nocardia farcinica. The resultant fusion‐protein library was then screened against a panel of substrates; this revealed chimeric enzymes competent for the hydroxylation of testosterone and methyltestosterone, and the dealkylation of 7‐ethoxycoumarin.     

Hydraulische Charakterisierung von Störungskernzonen in kristallinen Festgesteinen am Beispiel der Talhof-Störung (Ostalpen)

The hydrogeological assessment of a rock mass can be significantly influenced by fault zones acting either as conduits, barriers, or a combined conduit-barrier system. At the Talhof-fault (Semmering-Rax, Austria) the internal structure of a core zone with respect to the hydraulic properties was investigated and compared to results of packer tests. The fault rocks are built up by cataclasites and cacirites with a planar fabric parallel to the fault zone boundaries. Samples were taken with steel pipes in three orientations with reference to a kinematic coordinate system along a scan line. The samples were analysed with respect to grain size distribution, mineralogical composition and hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic conductivity was determined in the laboratory with tri-axial penetration cells resulting in values ranging from 1,7?10^?7 m/s to 4,2?10^?11 m/s. The analyses suggest a homogeneous and anisotropic hydraulic behaviour of the core zone despite its heterogeneous, fine layered internal structure. The hydraulic conductivity parallel to the fault plane is two orders of magnitude higher than normal to the fault plane. The results correspond well with data from packer tests also from fault rocks of the Talhof fault system and the same tectonic units, giving additional information about the fault domains within the test intervals.     

Enzymatic improvement of guar‐based thickener for better‐quality silk screen printing

Guar galactomannan (referred to as guar gum) is a versatile polysaccharide, obtained from the seeds of the shrub Cyamopsis tetragonolobus, which finds several applications in either its native or chemically modified form. For textile printing, guar gum can also be partially depolymerised in order to promote dye penetration, improve swelling in water and achieve the desired rheological properties. Guar gum is obtained from guar seeds by a thermo‐mechanical process that leaves ca. 3% of largely insoluble proteins in the gum, originating from the endosperms aleurone layer. When printing silk fabrics with acid or premetallised dyes, guar endogenous insoluble proteins bind tightly to anionic dyes, causing deposition of coloured aggregates on the fabric. This causes imperfections on the printed fabric in the form of tiny, but visible, ‘dots’, which lowers the quality of the final articles. In order to eliminate ‘dotting’, a novel printing thickener composed of depolymerised guar gum mixed with a bioengineered subtilisin protease has been developed. Upon solubilisation of the gum, and during preparation of the printing paste mixture, the protease hydrolyses guar gum insoluble proteins, generating soluble peptides that are washed off by the post‐printing treatments of the fabric. This enzymatic application prevents ‘dotting’ and significantly improves the quality of the silk print, without any measurable tensile strength loss of the fabric.