Classification of Amyloidosis by Model-Assisted Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics

Amyloidosis is a rare disease caused by the misfolding and extracellular aggregation of proteins as insoluble fibrillary deposits localized either in specific organs or systemically throughout the body. The organ targeted and the disease progression and outcome is highly dependent on the specific fibril-forming protein, and its accurate identification is essential to the choice of treatment. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics has become the method of choice for the identification of the amyloidogenic protein. Regrettably, this identification relies on manual and subjective interpretation of mass spectrometry data by an expert, which is undesirable and may bias diagnosis. To circumvent this, we developed a statistical model-assisted method for the unbiased identification of amyloid-containing biopsies and amyloidosis subtyping. Based on data from mass spectrometric analysis of amyloid-containing biopsies and corresponding controls. A Boruta method applied on a random forest classifier was applied to proteomics data obtained from the mass spectrometric analysis of 75 laser dissected Congo Red positive amyloid-containing biopsies and 78 Congo Red negative biopsies to identify novel “amyloid signature” proteins that included clusterin, fibulin-1, vitronectin complement component C9 and also three collagen proteins, as well as the well-known amyloid signature proteins apolipoprotein E, apolipoprotein A4, and serum amyloid P. A SVM learning algorithm were trained on the mass spectrometry data from the analysis of the 75 amyloid-containing biopsies and 78 amyloid-negative control biopsies. The trained algorithm performed superior in the discrimination of amyloid-containing biopsies from controls, with an accuracy of 1.0 when applied to a blinded mass spectrometry validation data set of 103 prospectively collected amyloid-containing biopsies. Moreover, our method successfully classified amyloidosis patients according to the subtype in 102 out of 103 blinded cases. Collectively, our model-assisted approach identified novel amyloid-associated proteins and demonstrated the use of mass spectrometry-based data in clinical diagnostics of disease by the unbiased and reliable model-assisted classification of amyloid deposits and of the specific amyloid subtype.     

Industrial applications of sheet stamping simulation using new finite element models

The paper is aimed to present industrial applications of sheet stamping simulation using new finite element formulations developed in the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering in Barcelona. Theoretical formulation is briefly reviewed. Both continuum and shell elements have been considered. The new shell elements developed are based on a geometrically exact shell model treating the shell as one-director Cosserat surface. The formulation of the continuum elements employs the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient tensor into its elastic and plastic parts. The new finite element models have been implemented in the in-house explicit dynamic code STAMPACK. A number of practical problems of sheet metalforming have been solved with the program. Some of the problems, namely stamping of a kitchen sink, hydraulic forming of an aeronautical part and stamping of a food can, have been presented in the paper. The examples give an idea of practical information that can be obtained from the computer simulation of a forming process. The results confirm a good behaviour of the formulation and program used in the industrial applications.     

NUMISTAMP: a research project for assessment of finite-element models for stamping processes

This paper describes the objectives and current status of the research project NUMISTAMP currently under development at the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering of (CIMNE) located in Barcelona, Spain. The aim of this project is the assesment of different finite element models for simulation of sheet stamping processes. The models currently analyzed include: quasistatic viscoplastic flow and elastoplastic solid models and explicit dynamic models. Both shell and continuum elements are considered in most of these cases. The paper presents an overview of the basic features of the different models. Examples of application including some benchmark test cases proposed at NUMISHEET are also presented.     

The Rab Geranylgeranyl Transferase Beta Subunit Is Essential for Embryo and Seed Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Auxin is a key regulator of plant development affecting the formation and maturation of reproductive structures. The apoplastic route of auxin transport engages influx and efflux facilitators from the PIN, AUX and ABCB families. The polar localization of these proteins and constant recycling from the plasma membrane to endosomes is dependent on Rab-mediated vesicular traffic. Rab proteins are anchored to membranes via posttranslational addition of two geranylgeranyl moieties by the Rab Geranylgeranyl Transferase enzyme (RGT), which consists of RGTA, RGTB and REP subunits. Here, we present data showing that seed development in the rgtb1 mutant, with decreased vesicular transport capacity, is disturbed. Both pre- and post-fertilization events are affected, leading to a decrease in seed yield. Pollen tube recognition at the stigma and its guidance to the micropyle is compromised and the seed coat forms incorrectly. Excess auxin in the sporophytic tissues of the ovule in the rgtb1 plants leads to an increased tendency of autonomous endosperm formation in unfertilized ovules and influences embryo development in a maternal sporophytic manner. The results show the importance of vesicular traffic for sexual reproduction in flowering plants, and highlight RGTB1 as a key component of sporophytic-filial signaling.     

Combined EBSD and Computer-Assisted Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Spark Plasma Sintering Parameters on the Structure of Porous Materials

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The paper presents the experimental, numerical, and theoretical investigation of the microstructure of nickel aluminide samples manufactured by spark...     

Sintering Behavior and Mechanical Properties of NiAl,Al2O3, and NiAl-Al2O3 Composites

It is commonly known that the properties of sintered materials are strongly related to technological conditions of the densification process. This paper shows the sintering behavior of a NiAl-Al₂O₃ composite, and its individual components sintered separately. Each kind of material was processed via the powder metallurgy route (hot pressing). The progress of sintering at different stages of the process was tested. Changes in the microstructure were examined using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Metal-ceramics interface was clean and no additional phases were detected. Correlation between the microstructure, density, and mechanical properties of the sintered materials was analyzed. The values of elastic constants of NiAl/Al₂O₃ were close to intermetallic ones due to the volume content of the NiAl phase particularly at low densities, where small alumina particles had no impact on the composite’s stiffness. The influence of the external pressure of 30 MPa seemed crucial for obtaining satisfactory stiffness for three kinds of the studied materials which were characterized by a high dense microstructure with a low number of isolated spherical pores.     

Rapeseed oil‐based polyurethane foams modified with glycerol and cellulose micro/nanocrystals

A rapeseed oil‐based polyol (ROPO) was synthesized using chemical modification of the rapeseed oil (RO) by epoxidation reaction followed by oxirane ring‐opening with diethylene glycol. The ROPO was used in the formulation of low‐density green polyurethane (PU) foams. The use of glycerol as hydroxyl component, water as a reactive blowing agent and micro/nanocellulose (MNC) as a reinforcement increases the content of natural components in the formulations with important effects on the final foam properties. The ROPO and their intermediate products are characterized by analytical techniques and FTIR spectroscopy, while the final PU foams are characterized by morphological and mechanical analysis. The results show that the addition of glycerol increases the modulus and yield stress. The incorporation of MNC in small amounts is enough to increase the modulus at low temperatures. Both modifiers cause an increase in water absorption and the fragility of the cell walls, reflected in the micrographs of the foams. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41602.     

Effect of different rapeseed-oil-based polyols on mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams

Two rapeseed-oil-based polyols were synthesized by partial epoxidation of the double bonds in fatty acid chains and overall opening oxirane rings by using diethylene glycol. Flexible polyurethane foams with varied isocyanate index and modified by partial substitution of petrochemical polyether triol with rapeseed-oil-derived polyols were obtained. Bio-polyols: Polyol I and Polyol II differed in functionalities (2.5 and 5.2, respectively) and hydroxyl values (114 and 196 mg KOH/g, respectively). Influence of the bio-polyols on mechanical properties, resilience, apparent density, and cellular structure of synthesized foams was investigated. Compression properties were examined and compared via determining compression values and compression stress—strain characteristics, as well as tensile strength and elongation at break were estimated. Foams modified with Polyol I had higher values of resilience and elongation at break than those with Polyol II, while higher tensile and compression strength and superior cell structure were observed in the case of foams modified with Polyol II. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012