Leptin Signaling in Obesity and Colorectal Cancer

Obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC) are among the leading diseases causing deaths in the world, showing a complex multifactorial pathology. Obesity is considered a risk factor in CRC development through inflammation, metabolic, and signaling processes. Leptin is one of the most important adipokines related to obesity and an important proinflammatory marker, mainly expressed in adipose tissue, with many genetic variation profiles, many related influencing factors, and various functions that have been ascribed but not yet fully understood and elucidated, the most important ones being related to energy metabolism, as well as endocrine and immune systems. Aberrant signaling and genetic variations of leptin are correlated with obesity and CRC, with the genetic causality showing both inherited and acquired events, in addition to lifestyle and environmental risk factors; these might also be related to specific pathogenic pathways at different time points. Moreover, mutation gain is a crucial factor enabling the genetic process of CRC. Currently, the inconsistent and insufficient data related to leptin’s relationship with obesity and CRC indicate the necessity of further related studies. This review summarizes the current knowledge on leptin genetics and its potential relationship with the main pathogenic pathways of obesity and CRC, in an attempt to understand the molecular mechanisms of these associations, in the context of inconsistent and contradictory data. The understanding of these mechanisms linking obesity and CRC could help to develop novel therapeutic targets and prevention strategies, resulting in a better prognosis and management of these diseases.     

A comparative study of the electrochemical deposition of molybdenum oxides thin films on copper and platinum

Molybdenum oxides thin films electrochemical deposition was performed using solutions of peroxo-polymolybdate at pH 2.3 and ammonium molybdate at pH 5.5 as precursors and smooth copper and platinum as supports. The deposition has been carried out at constant potentials in the range of −600 to −800 mV vs. Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl). The thin films deposited on copper were then heated at 350 and 450 °C in argon. In the case of thin films deposited from ammonium molybdate and heated at 450 °C, the XRD spectra reveal, along with MoO₂, the presence of Cu₆Mo₅O₁₈ phase. For the thin films prepared from peroxo-polymolybdate and subjected to the same heat treatment, the only XRD phase present was MoO₂. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis was performed on samples prepared by scraping away the thin films (molybdate precursors) from the copper support. Before heat treatment, the AFM images of the as-deposited thin film reveal a granular morphology, with diameters in the 20–80 nm range.     

Zn2x(CuIn)1−xS2 photocatalysts synthesis by a hydrothermal process using H4EDTA as complexing agent

The study of the Zn_2x(CuIn)_1−xS₂ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) solid solutions formation by hydrothermal synthesis using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (H₄EDTA) as a complexant and surfactant agent is reported for the first time. Different synthesis parameters were varied: the H₄EDTA concentration, the initial pH value, the Tu concentration, the duration and temperature of autoclaving process. The as obtained powders were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV/vis/NIR diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS). The XRD and EDX results show that, with a careful adjustment of the reaction conditions, especially of the H₄EDTA concentration and initial pH value of the precursor solution, a mixture of solid solutions with sphalerite type structure can be obtained, which transforms into a single phase solid solution after heat treatment. The particles, as revealed by SEM investigations, have nanoporous hexagonal microplates morphology, about 1 μm thick and several microns in diameter. The Cu_0.159In_0.111Zn_1.778S₂ photocatalyst obtained by this method presents photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions containing S²⁻ ions as sacrificial agent, even without cocatalyst.     

Induced Pluripotency: A Powerful Tool for In Vitro Modeling

One of the greatest breakthroughs of regenerative medicine in this century was the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka. iPSCs originate from terminally differentiated somatic cells that have newly acquired the developmental capacity of self-renewal and differentiation into any cells of three germ layers. Before iPSCs can be used routinely in clinical practice, their efficacy and safety need to be rigorously tested; however, iPSCs have already become effective and fully-fledged tools for application under in vitro conditions. They are currently routinely used for disease modeling, preparation of difficult-to-access cell lines, monitoring of cellular mechanisms in micro- or macroscopic scales, drug testing and screening, genetic engineering, and many other applications. This review is a brief summary of the reprogramming process and subsequent differentiation and culture of reprogrammed cells into neural precursor cells (NPCs) in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) conditions. NPCs can be used as biomedical models for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), which are currently considered to be one of the major health problems in the human population.     

SOFSPEC: A pragmatic approach to automated specification verification

This paper describes a system for the automatic verification of commerical application specifications—SOFSPEC. After having established a relationship to the other requirement specification approaches, the user interface and the database schema are presented. The database schema is based on the entity/relationship model and encompasses four entities and six relationships with a varying number of attributes. These are briefly outlined. Then, the paper describes how these entities and relations are checked against one another in order to ascertain the completeness and consistency of the specification before it is finally documented.