Farm Animal Serum Proteomics and Impact on Human Health

Due to the incompleteness of animal genome sequencing, the analysis and characterization of serum proteomes of most farm animals are still in their infancy, compared to the already well-documented human serum proteome. This review focuses on the implications of the farm animal serum proteomics in order to identify novel biomarkers for animal welfare, early diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of infectious disease treatment, and develop new vaccines, aiming at determining the reciprocal benefits for humans and animals.     

High SPARC Expression Starting from Dysplasia,Associated with Breast Carcinoma,Is Predictive for Bone Metastasis without Enhancement of Plasma Levels

In order to become established in the skeleton, metastatic cells disseminating from the breast carcinoma need to acquire organ-specific traits. There are no effective predictors for who will develop bone metastasis to guide long-term predictive therapy. Our purpose was to individuate events critical for bone colonization to make a molecular classification of breast carcinoma useful for bone-metastasis outcome. In dysplasia adjacent to carcinoma and in pair-matched specimens of bone metastasis we examined SPARC expression and localization as well as Endothelin 1/ET_AR signals by immunohistochemistry, and the evaluation of plasma levels of SPARC by ELISA was also performed. In patients with breast carcinoma metastasizing to bone, SPARC and Endothelin 1/ET_AR axis were highly expressed from dysplasia until bone metastasis, but the SPARC plasma level was as low as that of normal women, in contrast to patients that never develop bone metastasis, suggesting that circulating SPARC was counter adhesive. Altogether, the early identification of SPARC/Endothelin 1/ET_AR in dysplastic lesions would be important to devise therapies preventing metastasis engraftment, since often carcinoma cells spread to distant organs at the time or even before patients present with cancer.     

Microbes versus microbes: control of pathogens in the food chain

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Education reform in the United States: National policy in support of local efforts for school improvement.

School reform (SR) must be systemic, coherent, and expect accountability for student progress. SR must ensure that all of its component parts are in alignment. Professionals involved in education (ED) must work collaboratively in new ways to effect reform. Psychologists are key to such collaboration. Two decades of SR have taught us lessons that lead to changes in the 30-yr-old legislation that authorizes the investments of federal funds in programs to help elementary and secondary school students achieve. Title I, the centerpiece of the Elementary and Secondary ED Act of 1965, as amended by the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, is revamped to incorporate the lessons of local and state efforts to improve their schools. In addition, a movement toward establishing national goals of what students are expected to learn and be able to do at certain times in their educational development resulted in enactment of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994). The US Department of ED has identified 5 themes for comprehensive ED improvement to be successful. It is the responsibility of all professionals involved in the educational process to commit themselves to be a part of, and a catalyst for, change to move our schools to ultimately provide a high-quality ED for all children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of process modification and presence of H2O2 in the synthesis of samaria-doped ceria powders for fuel cell applications

A fundamental step for a sustainable industrial development based on “H₂ Economy” is the implementation of fuel cell technology, in terms of new devices, materials and convenient processes for their production. Rare earth doped ceria oxides are suitable materials for the new generations of cells and their cost effective production becomes fundamental as the price of rare earths is increasing. In this view, our study investigates a modified method of co-precipitation of Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9−x (SDC) evaluating the effects of adding of H₂O₂ in the process. The parameters controlled were the molar ratio [H₂O₂]/[M³⁺], (M³⁺ = Ce³⁺, Sm³⁺ present in starting nitrate salts solutions) and the pH of precipitation; in some cases the precipitates were also treated under reflux at 373 K overnight. The powder catalysts, both as fresh precipitates and calcined oxides were analyzed via N₂ adsorption (BET), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) techniques and their morphological, structural and redox properties were correlated with the synthesis parameters used. The electrical conductivity properties of these materials have also been investigated via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the results compared with those of a commercial oxide. The synthesis approach was shown to be very versatile in the development of materials with properties exploitable for applications in catalysis and in intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (IT-SOFC) systems.     

Beyond Haemostasis and Thrombosis: Platelets in Depression and Its Co-Morbidities

Alongside their function in primary haemostasis and thrombo-inflammation, platelets are increasingly considered a bridge between mental, immunological and coagulation-related disorders. This review focuses on the link between platelets and the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and its most frequent comorbidities. Platelet- and neuron-shared proteins involved in MDD are functionally described. Platelet-related studies performed in the context of MDD, cardiovascular disease, and major neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders are transversally presented from an epidemiological, genetic and functional point of view. To provide a complete scenario, we report the analysis of original data on the epidemiological link between platelets and depression symptoms suggesting moderating and interactive effects of sex on this association. Epidemiological and genetic studies discussed suggest that blood platelets might also be relevant biomarkers of MDD prediction and occurrence in the context of MDD comorbidities. Finally, this review has the ambition to formulate some directives and perspectives for future research on this topic.     

The survival of hepatitis A virus in fresh produce

Fresh produce has been repeatedly implicated as the source of human viral infections, including infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the HAV adsorption capacity of the surface of various fresh vegetables that are generally eaten raw and the persistence of the HAV. To this end, the authors experimentally contaminated samples of lettuce, fennel, and carrot by immersing them in sterile distilled water supplemented with an HAV suspension until reaching a concentration of 5 log tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50)/ml. After contamination, the samples were stored at 4 degrees C and analysed at 0, 2, 4, 7, and 9 days. To detect the HAV, RT-nested-PCR was used; positive samples were subjected to the quantitative determination using cell cultures. The three vegetables differed in terms of their adsorption capacity. The highest quantity of virus was consistently detected for lettuce, for which only a slight decrease was observed over time (HAV titre = 4.44 +/- 0.22 log TCID50/ml at day 0 vs. 2.46 +/- 0.17 log TCID50/ml at day 9, before washing). The virus remained vital through the last day of storage. For the other two vegetables, a greater decrease was observed, and complete inactivation had occurred at day 4 for carrot and at day 7 for fennel. For all three vegetables, washing does not guarantee a substantial reduction in the viral contamination.     

Terahertz Radiation Effects and Biological Applications

We present a brief overview of the literature on biological applications and experimental data on the effects of THz radiation. The region of the electromagnetic spectrum from 0.1 to 10 THz is a frontier area for research in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and medicine. This area has recently begun to be filled by a variety of sources of high quality radiation with a wide range of new technologies related to it. New sources have led to new science in many areas, as scientists begin to become aware of the opportunities for research progress in their fields using THz radiation. Therefore the opportunities for THz science in chemistry and biology are wide ranging. Some of them will extend the range of already established work, many others have not yet been realized but show great promise, and the rest fall somewhere in between.     

Enhancement of the em field inside a local probe microscope

Abstract

We deal with the two-dimensional scattering problem of an incoming monochromatic p-polarized wave inside a tip—surface junction of a local probe microscope. We find enhancement of the field with lateral size less than 40nm and a maximum of the order of 10⁴. This result is very encouraging for experimental work on the aperture less-SNOM (perturbation mode). The solution is obtained by means of the method of discrete sources.