Determination of complex type free,non-conjugated oligosaccharide glucose unit values in tomato xylem sap for early detection of nutrient deficiency

Although knowledge on glycan biosynthesis and processing is continuously maturing, there are still a limited number of studies that examine biological functions of N-glycan structures in plants, which remain virtually unknown. Here, the statistical correlation between nutrient (nitrogen) deficiency symptoms of crops and changes in 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS)-labeled complex type free oligosaccharides is reported. While deficiency symptoms are predicted by multispectral images and Kjeldahl digestion, APTS-labeled complex type free oligosaccharides are identified by their glucose unit (GU) values in tomato xylem sap, using capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). Given the limited number of structures obtained from plants, archived in the literature, in the future, it is intended to create an open access database of promising indicators, namely, glycan structures that are presumably responsible for the nutrient deficiency caused stress in plants ( http://glycoplants.org ).     

The Purinergic Landscape of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the key energy intermediate of cellular metabolic processes and a ubiquitous extracellular messenger. As an extracellular messenger, ATP acts at plasma membrane P2 receptors (P2Rs). The levels of extracellular ATP (eATP) are set by both passive and active release mechanisms and degradation processes. Under physiological conditions, eATP concentration is in the low nanomolar range but can rise to tens or even hundreds of micromoles/L at inflammatory sites. A dysregulated eATP homeostasis is a pathogenic factor in several chronic inflammatory diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). T2DM is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance and impairment of insulin production from pancreatic β-cells in a landscape of systemic inflammation. Although various hypoglycemic drugs are currently available, an effective treatment for T2DM and its complications is not available. However, counteracting systemic inflammation is anticipated to be beneficial. The postulated eATP increase in T2DM is understood to be a driver of inflammation via P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) activation and the release of inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, P2X7R stimulation is thought to trigger apoptosis of pancreatic β-cells, thus further aggravating hyperglycemia. Targeting eATP and the P2X7R might be an appealing novel approach to T2DM therapy.     

Green chemical synthesis for well-defined and sharply distributed SiO2@FexOy particles

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Using a non-toxic precursor, we created a green chemical synthesis for colloidal spheres with a core@shell structure having a silica core and an iron...     

A 1.82 m<Superscript>2</Superscript> ring laser gyroscope for nano-rotational motion sensing

We present a fully active-controlled He–Ne ring laser gyroscope operating in square cavity having a side length of 1.35 m. The apparatus is designed to provide a very low mechanical and thermal drift of the ring cavity geometry and is conceived to be operative in two different orientations of the laser plane, in order to detect rotations around the vertical or the horizontal direction. Since June 2010, the system is active inside the Virgo interferometer central area with the aim of performing high-sensitivity measurements of environmental rotational noise. So far, continuous unattended operation of the gyroscope has been longer than 30 days. The main characteristics of the laser, the active remote-controlled stabilization systems and the data acquisition techniques are presented. An offline data processing, supported by a simple model of the sensor, is shown to improve the effective long-term stability. A rotational sensitivity at the level of \(10^{-8}~\mathrm{rad}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}\) below 1 Hz, very close to the required specification for the improvement of the Virgo suspension control system, is demonstrated for the configuration where the laser plane is horizontal.     

Surfactant protein B amount and kinetics in newborn infants: an optimized procedure

Surfactant protein B (SP‐B) plays a key role in surfactant homeostasis affecting its biophysical properties and physiological function. Recently, a method to measure SP‐B amount and kinetics from tracheal aspirates (TAs) became available. The main objective of this study was to improve the critical steps of the procedure to obtain a better SP‐B sensitivity. We administered a 24 h continuous infusion of 1 mg/kg/h of 1¹³ C‐leucine to ten newborn infants. SP‐B was isolated from serial TAs and its fractional synthesis rate, secretion time, peak time and half life were derived from ¹³ C enrichment curves obtained by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. SP‐B amount in TAs was also assessed. During the extraction step, acidification and organic solvent ratio optimization doubled the recovery of SP‐B from TAs, so did the elongation of the propylation time (from 20 min to 1 h) with enhanced leucine derivatization yield. Measurement of ¹³ C leucine enrichments, and therefore all SP‐B kinetics parameters, were successfully calculated in all TAs samples due to the increase of SP‐B yield. SP‐B amount was 0.29 (0.16–0.41) % of total phospholipids with a minimum value of 0.08% belonging to one of the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) patients. In conclusion, this new procedure enables accurate determination of SP‐B kinetics even in the presence of low protein amount like in preterm RDS patients. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous measurement of phosphatidylglycerol and disaturated-phosphatidylcholine palmitate kinetics from alveolar surfactant. Study in infants with stable isotope tracer, coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometry

Disaturated-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) are respectively the first and the third most abundant phospholipid in human alveolar surfactant. Their concentration decreases in airway surfactant of adults and infants with respiratory distress syndrome and cystic fibrosis. In this study, we used mass spectrometry (IRMS) to investigate the turnover of DSPC and PG in tracheal aspirates (TA) obtained from infants with normal or diseased lungs. We studied eight infants requiring mechanical ventilation: two with no lung disease, four with diaphragmatic hernia, one with ATP-binding cassette sub-family A member 3 heterozygote mutation and one with sepsis. Patients received deuterated water for 48 h as metabolic precursors of palmitate-DSPC and palmitate-PG. Serial TAs were obtained every 6 h for five days or until extubation. DSPC and PG were isolated from TA by column and high-performance thin layer chromatography. Deuterium enrichments of palmitate-DSPC and PG residues were measured by IRMS coupled with a gas chromatographer. Median secretion time (ST), peak time (PT) and fractional synthesis rate (FSR) were 3.7 [0.9- 13.4] h, 71.0 [52.2 - 85.2] h and 6.6 [6.3 - 11.1] %/day for DSPC and 19.3 [6.4 - 22.8] h, 49.0 [33.0 - 52.5] h and 5.8 [4.8 - 10.9] %/day for PG. This study shows that it is feasible to use deuterium derived from body water to trace simultaneously airway surfactant DSPC and PG in humans. When compared within the same patient, DSPC and PG had similar fractional synthesis rates, but PG had a shorter PT, suggesting differences in the life cycle of these essential surfactant components.     

DNA tracking within a nanochannel: device fabrication and experiments

Fabrication of nanochannels is drawing considerable interest due to its broad applications in nanobiotechnology (e.g. biomolecular sensing and single DNA manipulation). Nanochannels offer distinct advantages in allowing a slower translocation and multiple sensing spots along the channel, both of which improve the read-out resolution. However, implementing electrodes inside the nanochannel has rarely been demonstrated to our knowledge. The device described in this work is a Si-Glass anodically bonded Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) device of a few millimetres in size capable of performing DNA manipulation. The LOC device structure is based on two mainstream microchannels interconnected by nanochannels. DNA, once trapped within the nanochannel, has been tracked throughout the length of the channel and the data have been recorded and analysed.