Impact of an external electron acceptor on phosphorus mobility between water and sediments

The present work assessed the impact of an external electron acceptor on phosphorus fluxes between water-sediment interface. Microcosm experiments simulating a sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) were carried out and phosphorus was extracted by an optimized combination of three methods. Despite the low voltage recorded, ∼96 mV (SMFC with carbon paper anode) and ∼146 mV (SMFC with stainless steel scourer anode), corresponding to a power density of 1.15 mW/m2 and 0.13 mW/m2, it was enough to produce an increase in the amounts of metal bound phosphorus (14% vs 11%), Ca-bound phosphorus (26% vs 23%) and refractory phosphorus (33% vs 28%). These results indicate an important role of electroactive bacteria in the phosphorus cycling and open a new perspective for preventing metal bound phosphorus dissolution from sediments.The authors are indebted and grateful to the Regional Department of Water Resources and Land Planning (Azores) and its staff. The authors also acknowledge the Grant SFRH/BPD/8052812011 from the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal, awarded to Gilberto Martins

Predictors of functional outcome vary by the hemisphere of involvement in major ischemic stroke treated with intra-arterial therapy: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Conflicting data exists regarding the effect of hemispheric lateralization on acute ischemic stroke outcome. Some of this variability may be related to heterogeneous study populations, particularly with respect to the level of arterial occlusion. Furthermore, little is known about the relationship between stroke lateralization and predictors of outcome. The purpose of this study was to characterize the impact of stroke lateralization on both functional outcome and its predictors in a well-defined population of anterior circulation proximal artery occlusions treated with IAT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-five consecutive left- and 35 consecutive right-sided stroke patients with intracranial ICA and/or MCA occlusions who underwent IAT were retrospectively analyzed. Ischemic change on pre-treatment imaging was quantified. Reperfusion success was graded using the Mori scale. Good outcome at three months was defined as an mRS ≤ 2. Left- and right-sided strokes were compared for outcome and its predictors.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>Of 70 patients with median NIHSS score of 18 (IQR, 14-21), 19 (27.1%) had a good outcome. There were 21 terminal ICA and 49 MCA occlusions. There was no difference in the rate of good outcomes between left- (n = 9) and right-sided (n = 10) strokes (p = 0.99). There were no significant differences in occlusion level, age, ischemic change on initial imaging and degree of reperfusion between left- and right-sided strokes. Left-sided strokes had higher baseline NIHSS scores (p = 0.02) and lower admission SBP (p = 0.009). Independent predictors of outcome for left-sided strokes were NIHSS (p = 0.0002) and reperfusion (p = 0.006), and for right-sided strokes were age (p = 0.002) and reperfusion (p = 0.003). In univariate analysis, pre-treatment ischemic change on NCCT was associated with outcome only for left-sided strokes (p = 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In anterior circulation proximal artery occlusions treated with IAT, hemispheric lateralization influences the clinical and imaging predictors of outcome. Most notably, NIHSS predicts outcome only for the left-sided strokes in this population. This finding has important implications for outcome prediction in the acute setting and indicates a need for stroke severity scales more sensitive to right hemispheric deficits.</p

Proteomic Analysis and Functional Validation of a Brassica oleracea Endochitinase Involved in Resistance to Xanthomonas campestris

Black rot is a severe disease caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), which can lead to substantial losses in cruciferous vegetable production worldwide. Although the use of resistant cultivars is the main strategy to control this disease, there are limited sources of resistance. In this study, we used the LC-MS/MS technique to analyze young cabbage leaves and chloroplast-enriched samples at 24 h after infection by Xcc, using both susceptible (Veloce) and resistant (Astrus) cultivars. A comparison between susceptible Xcc-inoculated plants and the control condition, as well as between resistant Xcc-inoculated plants with the control was performed and more than 300 differentially abundant proteins were identified in each comparison. The chloroplast enriched samples contributed with the identification of 600 additional protein species in the resistant interaction and 900 in the susceptible one, which were not detected in total leaf sample. We further determined the expression levels for 30 genes encoding the identified differential proteins by qRT-PCR. CHI-B4 like gene, encoding an endochitinase showing a high increased abundance in resistant Xcc-inoculated leaves, was selected for functional validation by overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Compared to the wild type (Col-0), transgenic plants were highly resistant to Xcc indicating that CHI-B4 like gene could be an interesting candidate to be used in genetic breeding programs aiming at black rot resistance

The Human Melanoma Proteome Atlas—Complementing the melanoma transcriptome

The MM500 meta‐study aims to establish a knowledge basis of the tumor proteome to serve as a complement to genome and transcriptome studies. Somatic mutations and their effect on the transcriptome have been extensively characterized in melanoma. However, the effects of these genetic changes on the proteomic landscape and the impact on cellular processes in melanoma remain poorly understood. In this study, the quantitative mass‐spectrometry‐based proteomic analysis is interfaced with pathological tumor characterization, and associated with clinical data. The melanoma proteome landscape, obtained by the analysis of 505 well‐annotated melanoma tumor samples, is defined based on almost 16 000 proteins, including mutated proteoforms of driver genes. More than 50 million MS/MS spectra were analyzed, resulting in approximately 13,6 million peptide spectrum matches (PSMs). Altogether 13 176 protein‐coding genes, represented by 366 172 peptides, in addition to 52 000 phosphorylation sites, and 4 400 acetylation sites were successfully annotated. This data covers 65% and 74% of the predicted and identified human proteome, respectively. A high degree of correlation (Pearson, up to 0.54) with the melanoma transcriptome of the TCGA repository, with an overlap of 12 751 gene products, was found. Mapping of the expressed proteins with quantitation, spatiotemporal localization, mutations, splice isoforms, and PTM variants was proven not to be predicted by genome sequencing alone. The melanoma tumor molecular map was complemented by analysis of blood protein expression, including data on proteins regulated after immunotherapy. By adding these key proteomic pillars, the MM500 study expands the knowledge on melanoma disease

Phosphorus–iron interaction in sediments : can an electrode minimize phosphorus release from sediments?

All restoration strategies to mitigate eutrophication depend on the success of phosphorus (P) removal from the water body. Therefore, the inputs from the watershed and from the enriched sediments, that were the sink of most P that has been discharged in the water body, should be controlled. In sediments, iron (hydr)oxides minerals are potent repositories of P and the release of P into the water column may occur upon dissolution of the iron (hydr)oxides mediated by iron reducing bacteria. Several species of these bacteria are also known as electroactive microorganisms and have been recently identified in lake sediments. This capacity of bacteria to transfer electrons to electrodes, producing electricity from the oxidation of organic matter, might play a role on P release in sediments. In the present work it is discussed the relationship between phosphorus and iron cycling as well as the application of an electrode to work as external electron acceptor in sediments, in order to prevent metal bound P dissolution under anoxic conditions.The authors are grateful to two anonymous reviewers of a previous version of the manuscript for the constructive comments and suggestions. The authors also acknowledge the Grant SFRH/BPD/80528/2011 from the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal, awarded to Gilberto Martins