Lamin A/C and emerin regulate MKL1/SRF activity by modulating actin dynamics

Laminopathies, caused by mutations in the LMNA gene encoding the nuclear envelope proteins lamins A and C, represent a diverse group of diseases that include Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy (EDMD), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, and Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS).1 The majority of LMNA mutations affect skeletal and cardiac muscle by mechanisms that remain incompletely understood. Loss of structural function and disturbed interaction of mutant lamins with (tissue-specific) transcription factors have been proposed to explain the tissue-specific phenotypes.1 We report here that lamin A/C-deficient (Lmna−/−) and Lmna N195K mutant cells have impaired nuclear translocation and downstream signaling of the mechanosensitive transcription factor megakaryoblastic leukaemia 1 (MKL1), a myocardin family member that is pivotal in cardiac development and function.2 Disturbed nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of MKL1 was caused by altered actin dynamics in Lmna−/− and N195K mutant cells. Ectopic expression of the nuclear envelope protein emerin, which is mislocalized in Lmna mutant cells and also linked to EDMD and DCM, restored MKL1 nuclear translocation and rescued actin dynamics in mutant cells. These findings present a novel mechanism that could provide insight into the disease etiology for the cardiac phenotype in many laminopathies, whereby lamins A/C and emerin regulate gene expression through modulation of nuclear and cytoskeletal actin polymerization

Reduction of saltiness and acrylamide levels in palm sugar-like flavouring through buffer modification and the addition of calcium chloride.

Palm sugar-like flavouring (PSLF) is a type of flavour product that is formed by heating amino acids and sugar under specific heating conditions. Unfortunately, PSLF has a salty taste and contains high amounts of acrylamide. Hence, the objective of this research was to reduce saltiness and acrylamide without negatively affecting the aroma properties of PSLF. A decrease in the sodium phosphate (NaHPO4) buffer concentration from 0.20 to 0.02 M was found to reduce sodium to approximately 15% of the level found in original PSLF. A further decrease (~25%) in the sodium content was achieved by removing monobasic sodium phosphate (NaH2PO4) from the buffer system. Meanwhile, the addition of CaCl2 at 20–40 mg/L reduced the acrylamide content in PSLF by as much as 58%. A CaCl2 concentration of 20 mg/mL was most favourable as it most efficiently suppressed acrylamide formation while providing an acceptably high flavour yield in PSLF. In view of the high acrylamide content in PSLF, additional work is necessary to further reduce the amount of acrylamide by controlling the asparagine concentration in the precursor mixture

Cloning of a novel phytase from an anaerobic rumen bacterium, Mitsuokella jalaludinii, and its expression in Escherichia coli

The full length phytase gene of Mitsuokella jalaludinii was successfully cloned and was found to be 1047 bp in length, with 348 amino acids, and was designated as PHY7 phytase gene. A comparison of the sequence of PHY7 phytase gene of M. jalaludinii with various microbial phytase gene sequences showed that it was not similar to those from other bacteria except Selenomonas ruminatium, thus suggesting that they may both express a new class of phytase. The PHY7 phytase gene was subsequently subcloned into bacterial expression vector, pET32a, for expression in Escherichia coli strain Rosetta-gami. Expression of the recombinant phytase gene was optimized and characterized. The recombinant phytase was estimated to be approximately 55 kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis. The recombinant phytase exhibited optimum activity at 55°C, pH 4.5 and showed good pH stability from pH 3.5 to 5.5 (>78% relative activity). Metal ions such as Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+ were found to exert significant stimulatory effect on the recombinant phytase activity while Cu2+, Fe3+, and Zn2+ greatly inhibited the enzyme activity. The recombinant phytase showed moderate resistance to trypsin proteolysis, but susceptible to pepsin proteolysis. The results of the study showed that several characteristics of recombinant phytase were slightly different from the native enzyme. Unfavourable characteristics such as reduced pH stability and metal ion effects should be taken into consideration during feed enzyme formulation

Studies on the storage stability of fermented red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) drink

The objective of this work was to study the effect of storage temperatures and duration on the stability of fermented red dragon fruit drink (FRDFD) on its betacyanins content, physicochemical and microbiological qualities (BPM) and determining sensory acceptability. Results showed that both storage temperatures and duration have a significant effect on betacyanins content and physicochemical properties of FRDFD. Aerobic mesophilic and yeast and mold counts were lower than 1 × 103 CFU/mL for FRDFD stored at both temperatures. The loss of betanin (16.53–13.93 g/L) at 4 °C was 15.73% with no significant changes in physicochemical properties from week two onwards compared to 56.32% (16.53–7.22 g/L) of betanin loss at 25 °C. At week eight, FRDFD stored at 4 °C still contained 13.93 g/L betanin with a pH value of 3.46, suggested its potential as a functional drink which is sensory acceptable (mean score > 80% using hedonic test) among consumers

Study on bioaccessibility of betacyanins from red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Betacyanins are bioactive dietary phytochemicals which can be found in red dragon fruit (RDF). Therefore, the bioaccessibility of betacyanins that present in fermented red dragon fruit drink (RDFD) and pressed red dragon fruit juice (RDFJ) was accessed in simulated gastric and intestinal digestion. Results disclosed that betacyanins from RDFD and RDFJ suffered minor loss (< 25%) at gastric-like environment but greater loss was observed during the intestinal phase digestion. After subjected to intestinal digestion, RDFD retained 46.42% of betanin while RDFJ retained 43.76%, with betanin concentration of 17.12 mM and 12.37 mM, respectively. Findings also revealed that RDFD exhibited higher antioxidant capacity compared to RDFJ after subjected to intestinal digestion, with values of 0.88 mM Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 0.85 mM TEAC, respectively. The data suggests that betacyanins that present in RDF are bioaccessible while fermentation able to enhance the bioavailability with more betacyanins retained after intestinal digestion

Syngas-Enriched hydrogen production via catalytic gasification of water hyacinth using renewable palm kernel shell hydrochar

Syngas produced from biomass gasification has emerged as a highly promising substitute for conventional fossil fuel, catering to various industrial applications while ensuring minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Water hyacinth (WH) has been a major concern due to its invasive nature and uncontrollable growth which impedes aquatic growth and urban management. Fortunately, WH is a potential biomass feedstock due to the comparable cellulose and hemicellulose contents alongside high carbon content and high calorific value which reflects good biofuel properties. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the conversion of WH biomass via catalytic air gasification for syngas-enriched hydrogen production using palm kernel shell hydrochar (PKSH). A parametric study was conducted in a lab-scale fixed-bed downdraft gasifier based on the response surface methodology coupled with Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD). The combined interaction effects of the influencing parameters investigated are temperature (600–800 °C), biomass particle size (2–6 mm), catalyst loading (0–10 wt%), and air flow rate (1–3 L/min). Temperature was revealed to be the primary factor with significant influence on the H2 and CO output. Maximum syngas (30.09 vol%) compositions of 11.14 vol% H2 and 18.95 vol% CO were obtained at 800 °C with a particle size of 6 mm and air flow rate of 2 L/min alongside 5 wt% PKSH catalyst loading

MOOCs - Corporate Workplace Stress Management

The rift of workplace stress requires innovative rethinking to be addressed evocatively. Stress is a physiological response triggered by an external event that causes the individual to experience emotional, physical and cognitive symptoms. In2019, 94% of American worker’s reported sufferingstressat theirworkplace. Around 23% of them described theirstresslevels as high, while 6% said their levels ofstresswere extremely high. In Malaysia, a survey has signified thatMalaysianemployees are overworked,and sleep-deprived, with 51% travail from at least one dimension ofwork-relatedstressas well as 53% getting less than seven hours of sleep in 24 hours. For that reason, this project is aimed at establishing a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)-Corporate Workplace Stress Management with the objective to succour individual or workers to reduce stress. This course is established in 6 modules; namely, (1) introduction to stress, (2) consequences of workplace stress, (3) introduction to stress management, (4) stress management in the workplace, (5) stress assessment tools, and (6) stress-free workplace. Upon completion of these modules, learners should be able to evaluate the workplace stress, practice personal and interpersonal stress management and suggestapproaches to creating a conducive working environment as part of stress reduction effort. They will be given certification to become a certified trainer to promote a life-long-learning by conducting online or face-to-face training. In the aspect of financial sustainability, value prepositions, and business model, these modules will be commercialized with minimum charges to cover the operation cost and MOOCs facilities. Notably, the modules received positive testimonials from MOOCs experts to foster deliberation of promising MOOCs-Corporate Workplace Stress Management movement and implementation

Fermentation of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) for betalains concentration

Red dragon fruits (RDF) contain high levels of health-promoting betalains but its bioavailability in plasma is low (< 1.0%). Therefore, fermentation technique was adopted to improve the yield of betalains presenting in fermented red dragon fruit drink (FRDFD) via concentration. Fermentation of RDF was carried out with autochthonous strains. The objectives of present study were to evaluate 1) the effects of fermentation duration 2) white refined cane sugar to flesh ratio and 3) types of sugar on betalainic (betanin, isobetanin) and non-betalainic phenolic compounds in FRDFD using HPLC-DAD, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) assay. Results indicated that all fermentation parameters showed a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the yields of betalainic (betanin, isobetanin) and non-betalainic phenolic compounds in FRDFD. The best fermentation parameters were 7 days fermentation at 10% white refined cane sugar to flesh ratio. The highest concentration of betanin, TPC and TFC achieved were 131.68 g/L, 1136.85 mg GAE/100mL and 10.39 mg CE/100mL respectively. The concentration of betanin obtained through best fermentation parameters (131.68 g/L) in present study has increased nine-fold compared to non-optimized fermentation (14.23 g/L). This indicated that fermentation is a potential economic processing technique to concentrate bioactive compounds present in functional drinks

Retrospective cohort study to investigate the 10-year trajectories of disease patterns in patients with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus on subsequent cardiovascular outcomes and health service utilisation: a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus (DM) and are major disease burdens in all healthcare systems. Given their high impact on morbidity, premature death and direct medical costs, we need to optimise effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of primary care for patients with HT/DM. This study aims to find out the association of trajectories in disease patterns and treatment of patients with HT/DM including multimorbidity and continuity of care with disease outcomes and service utilisation over 10 years in order to identify better approaches to delivering primary care services. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A 10-year retrospective cohort study on a population-based primary care cohort of Chinese patients with documented doctor-diagnosed HT and/or DM, managed in the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) public primary care clinics from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2019. Data will be extracted from the HA Clinical Management System to identify trajectory patterns of patients with HT/DM. Complications defined by ICPC-2/International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes, all-cause mortality rates and public service utilisation rates are included as independent variables. Changes in clinical parameters will be investigated using a growth mixture modelling analysis with standard quadratic trajectories. Dependent variables including effects of multimorbidity, measured by (1) disease count and (2) Charlson's Comorbidity Index, and continuity of care, measured by the Usual Provide Continuity Index, on patient outcomes and health service utilisation will be investigated. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression will be conducted to estimate the effect of multimorbidity and continuity of care after stratification of patients into groups according to respective definitions. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Hong Kong-the HA Hong Kong West Cluster, reference no: UW 19-329. The study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04302974