Development of a new ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) with Cd2+ ions based on divinylbenzene copolymers containing amidoxime groups

Polymer Bulletin - In this study, we synthesized a new ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) based on introduction of amidoxime groups in acrylonitrile, complexation with Cd2+ ions and polymerization with...     

Quantitative Proteomic Approach Reveals Altered Metabolic Pathways in Response to the Inhibition of Lysine Deacetylases in A549 Cells under Normoxia and Hypoxia

Growing evidence is showing that acetylation plays an essential role in cancer, but studies on the impact of KDAC inhibition (KDACi) on the metabolic profile are still in their infancy. Here, we analyzed, by using an iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics approach, the changes in the proteome of KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells in response to trichostatin-A (TSA) and nicotinamide (NAM) under normoxia and hypoxia. Part of this response was further validated by molecular and biochemical analyses and correlated with the proliferation rates, apoptotic cell death, and activation of ROS scavenging mechanisms in opposition to the ROS production. Despite the differences among the KDAC inhibitors, up-regulation of glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid synthesis emerged as a common metabolic response underlying KDACi. We also observed that some of the KDACi effects at metabolic levels are enhanced under hypoxia. Furthermore, we used a drug repositioning machine learning approach to list candidate metabolic therapeutic agents for KRAS mutated NSCLC. Together, these results allow us to better understand the metabolic regulations underlying KDACi in NSCLC, taking into account the microenvironment of tumors related to hypoxia, and bring new insights for the future rational design of new therapies.     

Extracellular Vesicles in CNS Developmental Disorders

The central nervous system (CNS) is the most complex structure in the body, consisting of multiple cell types with distinct morphology and function. Development of the neuronal circuit and its function rely on a continuous crosstalk between neurons and non-neural cells. It has been widely accepted that extracellular vesicles (EVs), mainly exosomes, are effective entities responsible for intercellular CNS communication. They contain membrane and cytoplasmic proteins, lipids, non-coding RNAs, microRNAs and mRNAs. Their cargo modulates gene and protein expression in recipient cells. Several lines of evidence indicate that EVs play a role in modifying signal transduction with subsequent physiological changes in neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis and network circuit formation and activity, as well as synaptic pruning and myelination. Several studies demonstrate that neural and non-neural EVs play an important role in physiological and pathological neurodevelopment. The present review discusses the role of EVs in various neurodevelopmental disorders and the prospects of using EVs as disease biomarkers and therapeutics.     

Evaluation of Atmospheric and Vacuum Residues Using Molecular Distillation and Optimization

The term atmospheric residue describes the material at the bottom of the atmospheric distillation tower having a lower boiling point limit of about 340°C; the term vacuum residue (heavy petroleum fractions) refers to the bottom of the vacuum distillation, which has an atmospheric equivalent boiling point (AEBP) above 540°C. In this work, the objective is to evaluate the behavior of different kinds of Brazilian atmospheric and vacuum residues using molecular distillation. The Falling Film Molecular Distillator was used. For the results obtained through this process, a significant range of temperature can be explored avoiding the thermal decomposition of the material. So these results are very important to the refinery decisions and improvements. The Experimental Factorial Design results showed that the temperature has more influence on the process than the feed flow rate, when a higher percentage of distillate is required.     

Approximation of ill-posed boussinesq equations

In this paper we compare the dynamics on the centre manifold of the solutions of an ill-posed Boussinesq equation with a well-posed version. We show that the dynamics in the centre manifold of the ill-posed equation tracks the dynamics of the well-posed equation. Our results give partial justification to the long-wave perturbation theory.     

Local residence time,residence revolution,and residence volume distributions in twin‐screw extruders

This work was aimed at studying the overall, partial, and local residence time distributions (RTD); overall, partial and local residence revolution distributions (RRD) and overall, partial and local residence volume distributions (RVD) in a co‐rotating twin screw extruder, on the one hand; and establishing the relationships among them, on the other hand. Emphasis was placed on the effects of the type and geometry of mixing elements (a gear block and various types of kneading elements differing in staggering angle) and process parameters on the RTD, RRD and RVD. The overall and partial RTD were directly measured in‐line during the extrusion process and the local ones were calculated by deconvolution based on a statistical theory. The local RTD allowed comparing the mixing performance of mixing elements. Also it was confirmed both experimentally and theoretically that specific throughput, defined as a ratio of throughput (Q) over screw speed (N), controlled all the above three types of residence distributions, be they local, partial or overall. The RRD and RVD do not provide more information on an extrusion process than the corresponding RTD. Rather they are different ways of representing the same phenomena. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 48:19–28, 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

JaTS: a fully portable seismic tomography software based on Fresnel wavepaths and a probabilistic reconstruction approach

JaTS, a Java 2D seismic tomography software, is presented. It implements original algorithms achieving optimal accuracy with reasonable computing costs. A second-order Fast Marching Method (FMM) is used for solving the eikonal equation, therefore enabling a fast and robust computation of seismic traveltimes between sources and receivers. The wavepaths are materialized by Fresnel volumes rather than by conventional rays. This approach accounts for complex velocity models and has the advantage of considering the effects of the wave frequency in the velocity model resolution. The model is computed by a Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique (SIRT) which has been reformulated to integrate Fresnel wavepaths by using a probabilistic approach. In addition, various utilities are implemented, such as a tapering filter, used to decrease artifact effects occurring in the vicinity of the sources and receivers. The software also offers the possibility of reconstructing the velocity field on a grid larger than the one used for the wave propagation computation. This contributes to stabilize the estimated values. All of the seismic processing tools have been integrated with a user-friendly graphical interface. JaTS represents a tightly integrated tool suite that supports the entire process of importing the SG2 field records, first-break picking, forward modeling and velocity-field computing across multiple platforms.     

The antimicrobial effect of wine on Listeria innocua in a model stomach system

A model stomach, containing a food matrix and a synthetic gastric fluid, was used to study the bactericidal effect of ingested wine on Listeria innocua. Volumes of wine equivalent to the ingestion of one glass and half a bottle, led, over a period of less than 2 h, to a reduction of 3 and 4 logarithmic cycles of the initial population respectively. The influence of ethanol and organic acids, wine constituents with known antimicrobial properties, was investigated. Ethanol exhibited a higher bactericidal effect than the mixture of the main wine organic acids. When testing the organic acids separately, malic and lactic acids were found to have the strongest effect. The combination of ethanol with the organic acids acted synergistically but to a lesser extent than wine itself. The results suggest that the ingestion of wine during a meal may diminish the quantity of Listeria persisting further in the alimentary tract.     

Infrared and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopic studies of silica, [(Cp)2ZrCl2] and trimethylaluminum interactions

Infrared and UV–vis studies of metallocene immobilization on silica are reported here. The results have indicated changes in the Zr coordination sphere of metallocene depending on the immobilization route used. The reaction of [(Cp)₂ZrCl₂] with silica formed [(Cp)₂ZrCl]⁺[SiO]⁻ species. The same metallocene, reacting with TMA modified silica, formed monomethylated and dimethylated species by the substitution of chloro for methyl ligands, stabilized on the surface by interaction with “MAO-like” species (methylaluminoxane, MAO). These monomethylated and dimethylated cationic zirconium species are the active centers for the polymerization reaction. Different order of TMA addition in the silica modification step generated surface species of a similar nature, differing in their relative quantities. The highest amount of these active species was obtained when the support was added to the TMA solution rather than adding the TMA solution to the silica support. This was the most significant parameter affecting catalytic activity in ethylene polymerization.