Keratan sulphate in the tumour environment

Keratan sulphate (KS) is a bioactive glycosaminoglycan (GAG) of some complexity composed of the repeat disaccharide D-galactose β1→4 glycosidically linked to N-acetyl glucosamine. During the biosynthesis of KS, a family of glycosyltransferase and sulphotransferase enzymes act sequentially and in a coordinated fashion to add D-galactose (D-Gal) then N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) to a GlcNAc acceptor residue at the reducing terminus of a nascent KS chain to effect chain elongation. D-Gal and GlcNAc can both undergo sulphation at C6 but this occurs more frequently on GlcNAc than D-Gal. Sulphation along the developing KS chain is not uniform and contains regions of variable length where no sulphation occurs, regions which are monosulphated mainly on GlcNAc and further regions of high sulphation where both of the repeat disaccharides are sulphated. Each of these respective regions in the KS chain can be of variable length leading to KS complexity in terms of chain length and charge localization along the KS chain. Like other GAGs, it is these variably sulphated regions in KS which define its interactive properties with ligands such as growth factors, morphogens and cytokines and which determine the functional properties of tissues containing KS. Further adding to KS complexity is the identification of three different linkage structures in KS to asparagine (N-linked) or to threonine or serine residues (O-linked) in proteoglycan core proteins which has allowed the categorization of KS into three types, namely KS-I (corneal KS, N-linked), KS-II (skeletal KS, O-linked) or KS-III (brain KS, O-linked). KS-I to -III are also subject to variable addition of L-fucose and sialic acid groups. Furthermore, the GlcNAc residues of some members of the mucin-like glycoprotein family can also act as acceptor molecules for the addition of D-Gal and GlcNAc residues which can also be sulphated leading to small low sulphation glycoforms of KS. These differ from the more heavily sulphated KS chains found on proteoglycans. Like other GAGs, KS has evolved molecular recognition and information transfer properties over hundreds of millions of years of vertebrate and invertebrate evolution which equips them with cell mediatory properties in normal cellular processes and in aberrant pathological situations such as in tumourogenesis. Two KS-proteoglycans in particular, podocalyxin and lumican, are cell membrane, intracellular or stromal tissue–associated components with roles in the promotion or regulation of tumour development, mucin-like KS glycoproteins may also contribute to tumourogenesis. A greater understanding of the biology of KS may allow better methodology to be developed to more effectively combat tumourogenic processes

Fire Retardancy and Leaching Resistance of Pine Wood Impregnated with Melamine Formaldehyde Resin in-Situ with Guanyl-Urea Phosphate/Boric Acid

This work aimed at finding ways to improve the leaching resistance of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood impregnated with water soluble fire retardant (FR). Sapwood specimens of Scots pine (10 × 10 × 50 mm) were impregnated with aqueous solution of guanyl-urea phosphate (GUP)/boric acid (BA). Limiting oxygen index (LOI) revealed that treatment could improve the fire performance. At the same time, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) illustrated increased thermal stability after the treatment. However, since the FR itself was not fixed within the wood cell wall, it was extracted during water leaching (EN 84), and the wood lost its fire retarding property. The resistance to leaching of FR from the treated wood can be primarily improved while maintaining high fire retarding performance and thermal stability of treated wood by mixing melamine-formaldehyde (MF) resin with GUP/BA before impregnation to the wood. To mix GUP/BA to MF solution, due to the acidic nature of GUP/BA, the condensation/polymerisation reaction would be accelerated in an undesired way even if the solution was adjusted to non-acidic by NaOH. The resulting solution would not penetrate deeply into the wood structure, whilst it would be difficult to re-use the FR solution. In order to avoid the reaction proceeding in an undesired way, introducing 0.5 wt% of pentaerythritol to the GUP/BA/MF solution can decrease the reaction rate. Additionally, it improved the weight percentage gain (WPG) and fire retarding performance, without significantly influencing the leaching resistance and thermal stability. Overall, it is suggested that such a treatment could be a suitable methodology for producing exterior-use fire-retardant pine wood.ISBN för värdpublikation: 978-3-030-41234-0, 978-3-030-41235-7</p

Discovery of the triple asteroidal system 87 Sylvia

After decades of speculation(1), the existence of binary asteroids has been observationally confirmed(2,3), with examples in all minor planet populations(4). However, no triple systems have hitherto been discovered. Here we report the unambiguous detection of a triple asteroidal system in the main belt, composed of a 280-km primary ( 87 Sylvia) and two small moonlets orbiting at 710 and 1,360 km. We estimate their orbital elements and use them to refine the shape of the primary body. Both orbits are equatorial, circular and prograde, suggesting a common origin. Using the orbital information to estimate its mass and density, 87 Sylvia appears to have a rubble-pile structure with a porosity of 25 - 60 per cent. The system was most probably formed through the disruptive collision of a parent asteroid, with the new primary resulting from accretion of fragments, while the moonlets are formed from the debris, as has been predicted previously(5)