Iter Community: Prototyping an Environment for Social Knowledge Creation and Communication

This article focuses on the features and challenges of Iter Community (IC), a new collaborative research environment which aims to aid social knowledge creation for the communities that have formed around Iter’s discovery tools and publication platforms. The underlying vision of IC as a flexible environment for communication, exchange, and collaboration is explained via the history and conceptual framework of IC, preliminary details concerning its infrastructure and features, and a brief examination of the Social Edition of the Devonshire Manuscript as an IC pilot project

Oat Protein Concentrates with Improved Solubility Produced by an Enzyme-Aided Ultrafiltration Extraction Method

The aim of this study was to develop an extraction method to produce highly functional oat protein concentrates. We investigated the possibility of combining enzyme-aided slightly alkaline (pH 8.0) extraction with ultrafiltration and subsequent diafiltration for concentration of the extracted oat proteins. A further aim was to study how the deamidation of oat proteins with protein-glutaminase (PG) improves the solubility of proteins as a function of the following parameters: pH (6.0–9.0), enzyme dosage (4–20 U/g protein), and incubation time (1–4 h) with response surface methodology (RSM). Furthermore, we investigated selected functional properties, such as heat-induced gelation and solubility, of the oat protein concentrates. The chosen parameters for the enzymatic deamidation pre-treatment process by PG were as follows: pH 8.0, dosage 11.0 U/g protein, and an incubation time of 4 h (1 h at native pH and 3 h at pH 8.0). Two oat protein concentrates were produced, non-deamidated and ultrafiltered, and deamidated and ultrafiltered, with protein concentrations of 45.0 and 52.4%, respectively. The solubility of both oat protein concentrates was significantly improved at neutral and slightly alkaline pH compared to the solubility of proteins extracted from the starting material. Additionally, both oat protein concentrates produced equally strong heat-induced gel-like structures at a protein concentration of 10%

Texturization of a Blend of Pea and Destarched Oat Protein Using High-Moisture Extrusion

Grain protein fractions have great potential as ingredients that contain high amounts of valuable nutritional components. The aim of this study was to study the rheological behavior of destarched oat and pea proteins and their blends in extrusion-like conditions with a closed cavity rheometer. Additionally, the possibility of producing fibrous structures with high-moisture extrusion from a blend of destarched oat and pea protein was investigated. In the temperature sweep measurement (60-160 degrees C) of the destarched oat protein concentrate and pea protein isolate blend, three denaturation and polymerization sections were observed. In addition, polymerization as a function of time was recorded in the time sweep measurements. The melting temperature of grain proteins was an important factor when producing texturized structures with a high-moisture extrusion. The formation of fibrillar structures was investigated with high-moisture extrusion from the destarched oat and pea protein blend at temperatures ranging from 140 to 170 degrees C. The protein-protein interactions were significantly influenced in the extruded samples. This was due to a decrease in the amount of extractable protein in selective buffers. In particular, there was a decrease in non-covalent and covalent bonds due to the formation of insoluble protein complexes.Peer reviewe

The effect of deamidation and lipids on the interfacial and foaming properties of ultrafiltered oat protein concentrates

The aim of this study was to investigate the air-water interfacial and foaming properties of oat protein concentrates produced by an enzyme-aided ultrafiltration method with and without deamidation. A further aim was to determine the role of polar and non-polar lipids at the air-water interface and in foams. The deamidated and ultrafiltered oat protein concentrate (DE-UF-OPC) exhibited higher surface tension compared to the ultrafiltered oat protein concentrate (UF-OPC). DE-UF-OPC had a significantly higher negative zeta potential value (−50 mV) compared to the UF-OPC (−38 mV) at pH 7.0. The higher net charge of the DE-UF-OPC may have decreased the equilibrium concentration of oat proteins at the interfacial layer due to higher repulsion between them. Both of the ethanol extracted OPCs exhibited higher surface tension values most likely due to the partial denaturation of albumins and/or globulins. Removal of the majority of non-polar lipids had no effect on the equilibrium surface tension of OPCs. DE-UF-OPC and UF-OPC exhibited some, but limited foaming ability. The removal of non-polar lipids significantly improved the foamability and stability of DE-UF-OPC and UF-OPC, but the removal of polar lipids only improved the foamability of DE-UF-OPC.Peer reviewe

Effects of angiotensin II blockade on cardiomyocyte regeneration after myocardial infarction in rats

Peer reviewe

Inhibition of let-7c Regulates Cardiac Regeneration after Cryoinjury in Adult Zebrafish

The let-7c family of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) is expressed during embryonic development and plays an important role in cell differentiation. We have investigated the role of let-7c in heart regeneration after injury in adult zebrafish. let-7c antagomir or scramble injections were given at one day after cryoinjury (1 dpi). Tissue samples were collected at 7 dpi, 14 dpi and 28 dpi and cardiac function was assessed before cryoinjury, 1 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi and 28 dpi. Inhibition of let-7c increased the rate of fibrinolysis, increased the number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive cardiomyocytes at 7 dpi and increased the expression of the epicardial marker raldh2 at 7 dpi. Additionally, cardiac function measured with echocardiography recovered slightly more rapidly after inhibition of let-7c. These results reveal a beneficial role of let-7c inhibition in adult zebrafish heart regeneration

Alterations of Cardiac Protein Kinases in Cyclic Nucleotide-Dependent Signaling Pathways in Human Ischemic Heart Failure

ObjectivesImpaired protein kinase signaling is a hallmark of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Inadequate understanding of the pathological mechanisms limits the development of therapeutic approaches. We aimed to identify the key cardiac kinases and signaling pathways in patients with IHD with an effort to discover potential therapeutic strategies.MethodsCardiac kinase activity in IHD left ventricle (LV) and the related signaling pathways were investigated by kinomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and integrated multi-omics approach.ResultsProtein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase G (PKG) ranked on top in the activity shift among the cardiac kinases. In the IHD LVs, PKA activity decreased markedly compared with that of controls (62% reduction, p = 0.0034), whereas PKG activity remained stable, although the amount of PKG protein increased remarkably (65%, p = 0.003). mRNA levels of adenylate cyclases (ADCY 1, 3, 5, 9) and cAMP-hydrolysing phosphodiesterases (PDE4A, PDE4D) decreased significantly, although no statistically significant alterations were observed in that of PKGs (PRKG1 and PRKG2) and guanylate cyclases (GUCYs). The gene expression of natriuretic peptide CNP decreased remarkably, whereas those of BNP, ANP, and neprilysin increased significantly in the IHD LVs. Proteomics analysis revealed a significant reduction in protein levels of “Energy metabolism” and “Muscle contraction” in the patients. Multi-omics integration highlighted intracellular signaling by second messengers as the top enriched Reactome pathway.ConclusionThe deficiency in cAMP/PKA signaling pathway is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of IHD. Natriuretic peptide CNP could be a potential therapeutic target for the modulation of cGMP/PKG signaling.Peer reviewe

Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Adipose Tissue Glucose Metabolism in Different Depots in Patients With or Without Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE We investigated fat distribution and tissue-specific insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (GU) in seven fat compartments (visceral and subcutaneous) and skeletal muscle in morbidly obese patients with (T2D) and without (ND) type 2 diabetes before and 6 months after bariatric surgery. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 23 obese patients (BMI 43.0 ± 3.6 kg/m2; 9 T2D and 14 ND) were recruited from a larger, randomized multicenter SLEEVEPASS study. MRI (for fat distribution) and [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose PET (for GU) studies were performed for the obese patients before and 6 months postsurgery; 10 lean subjects served as control subjects and were studied once. RESULTS At baseline, visceral fat GU was 30 ± 7% of muscle GU in control subjects and 57 ± 5% in obese patients. Visceral and deep subcutaneous fat were more abundant (despite same total fat mass) and less insulin sensitive in T2D than ND; in both, GU was impaired compared with control subjects. Postsurgery, visceral fat mass decreased (∼40%) more than subcutaneous fat (7%). Tissue-specific GU was improved, but not normalized, at all sites in T2D and ND alike. The contribution of visceral fat to whole-body GU was greater in T2D than ND but decreased similarly with surgery. Subcutaneous fat made a fourfold greater contribution to whole-body GU in obese versus lean subjects (15% vs. 4%) both before and after surgery. CONCLUSIONS Bariatric surgery leads to sustained weight loss and improves tissue-specific glucose metabolism in morbidly obese patients. We conclude that 1) enhanced visceral fat accumulation is a feature of T2D, 2) severe obesity compromises muscle insulin sensitivity more than fat insulin sensitivity, and 3) fat mass expansion is a sink for plasma glucose