Metaproteome analysis reveals that syntrophy, competition, and phage-host interaction shape microbial communities in biogas plants

Background: In biogas plants, complex microbial communities produce methane and carbon dioxide by anaerobic digestion of biomass. For the characterization of the microbial functional networks, samples of 11 reactors were analyzed using a high-resolution metaproteomics pipeline. Results: Examined methanogenesis archaeal communities were either mixotrophic or strictly hydrogenotrophic in syntrophy with bacterial acetate oxidizers. Mapping of identified metaproteins with process steps described by the Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 confirmed its main assumptions and also proposed some extensions such as syntrophic acetate oxidation or fermentation of alcohols. Results indicate that the microbial communities were shaped by syntrophy as well as competition and phage-host interactions causing cell lysis. For the families Bacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Clostridiaceae, the number of phages exceeded up to 20-fold the number of host cells. Conclusion: Phage-induced cell lysis might slow down the conversion of substrates to biogas, though, it could support the growth of auxotrophic microbes by cycling of nutrients. © 2019 The Author(s)

Systematic review of antiepileptic drugs’ safety and effectiveness in feline epilepsy

Understanding the efficacy and safety profile of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in feline epilepsy is a crucial consideration for managing this important brain disease. However, there is a lack of information about the treatment of feline epilepsy and therefore a systematic review was constructed to assess current evidence for the AEDs’ efficacy and tolerability in cats. The methods and materials of our former systematic reviews in canine epilepsy were mostly mirrored for the current systematic review in cats. Databases of PubMed, CAB Direct and Google scholar were searched to detect peer-reviewed studies reporting efficacy and/or adverse effects of AEDs in cats. The studies were assessed with regards to their quality of evidence, i.e. study design, study population, diagnostic criteria and overall risk of bias and the outcome measures reported, i.e. prevalence and 95% confidence interval of the successful and affected population in each study and in total

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force recommendations for systematic sampling and processing of brains from epileptic dogs and cats

Traditionally, histological investigations of the epileptic brain are required to identify epileptogenic brain lesions, to evaluate the impact of seizure activity, to search for mechanisms of drug-resistance and to look for comorbidities. For many instances, however, neuropathological studies fail to add substantial data on patients with complete clinical work-up. This may be due to sparse training in epilepsy pathology and or due to lack of neuropathological guidelines for companion animals. The protocols introduced herein shall facilitate systematic sampling and processing of epileptic brains and therefore increase the efficacy, reliability and reproducibility of morphological studies in animals suffering from seizures. Brain dissection protocols of two neuropathological centres with research focus in epilepsy have been optimised with regards to their diagnostic yield and accuracy, their practicability and their feasibility concerning clinical research requirements. The recommended guidelines allow for easy, standardised and ubiquitous collection of brain regions, relevant for seizure generation. Tissues harvested the prescribed way will increase the diagnostic efficacy and provide reliable material for scientific investigations

Nuclear Morphometry using a Deep Learning-based Algorithm has Prognostic Relevance for Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors

Variation in nuclear size and shape is an important criterion of malignancy for many tumor types; however, categorical estimates by pathologists have poor reproducibility. Measurements of nuclear characteristics (morphometry) can improve reproducibility, but manual methods are time consuming. In this study, we evaluated fully automated morphometry using a deep learning-based algorithm in 96 canine cutaneous mast cell tumors with information on patient survival. Algorithmic morphometry was compared with karyomegaly estimates by 11 pathologists, manual nuclear morphometry of 12 cells by 9 pathologists, and the mitotic count as a benchmark. The prognostic value of automated morphometry was high with an area under the ROC curve regarding the tumor-specific survival of 0.943 (95% CI: 0.889 - 0.996) for the standard deviation (SD) of nuclear area, which was higher than manual morphometry of all pathologists combined (0.868, 95% CI: 0.737 - 0.991) and the mitotic count (0.885, 95% CI: 0.765 - 1.00). At the proposed thresholds, the hazard ratio for algorithmic morphometry (SD of nuclear area $\geq 9.0 \mu m^2$) was 18.3 (95% CI: 5.0 - 67.1), for manual morphometry (SD of nuclear area $\geq 10.9 \mu m^2$) 9.0 (95% CI: 6.0 - 13.4), for karyomegaly estimates 7.6 (95% CI: 5.7 - 10.1), and for the mitotic count 30.5 (95% CI: 7.8 - 118.0). Inter-rater reproducibility for karyomegaly estimates was fair ($\kappa$ = 0.226) with highly variable sensitivity/specificity values for the individual pathologists. Reproducibility for manual morphometry (SD of nuclear area) was good (ICC = 0.654). This study supports the use of algorithmic morphometry as a prognostic test to overcome the limitations of estimates and manual measurements

Differential Phosphorylation of Ribosomal Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana Plants during Day and Night

Protein synthesis in plants is characterized by increase in the translation rates for numerous proteins and central metabolic enzymes during the day phase of the photoperiod. The detailed molecular mechanisms of this diurnal regulation are unknown, while eukaryotic protein translation is mainly controlled at the level of ribosomal initiation complexes, which also involves multiple events of protein phosphorylation. We characterized the extent of protein phosphorylation in cytosolic ribosomes isolated from leaves of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana harvested during day or night. Proteomic analyses of preparations corresponding to both phases of the photoperiod detected phosphorylation at eight serine residues in the C-termini of six ribosomal proteins: S2-3, S6-1, S6-2, P0-2, P1 and L29-1. This included previously unknown phosphorylation of the 40S ribosomal protein S6 at Ser-231. Relative quantification of the phosphorylated peptides using stable isotope labeling and mass spectrometry revealed a 2.2 times increase in the day/night phosphorylation ratio at this site. Phosphorylation of the S6-1 and S6-2 variants of the same protein at Ser-240 increased by the factors of 4.2 and 1.8, respectively. The 1.6 increase in phosphorylation during the day was also found at Ser-58 of the 60S ribosomal protein L29-1. It is suggested that differential phosphorylation of the ribosomal proteins S6-1, S6-2 and L29-1 may contribute to modulation of the diurnal protein synthesis in plants

Microcavity-integrated graphene photodetector

The monolithic integration of novel nanomaterials with mature and established technologies has considerably widened the scope and potential of nanophotonics. For example, the integration of single semiconductor quantum dots into photonic crystals has enabled highly efficient single-photon sources. Recently, there has also been an increasing interest in using graphene - a single atomic layer of carbon - for optoelectronic devices. However, being an inherently weak optical absorber (only 2.3 % absorption), graphene has to be incorporated into a high-performance optical resonator or waveguide to increase the absorption and take full advantage of its unique optical properties. Here, we demonstrate that by monolithically integrating graphene with a Fabry-Perot microcavity, the optical absorption is 26-fold enhanced, reaching values >60 %. We present a graphene-based microcavity photodetector with record responsivity of 21 mA/W. Our approach can be applied to a variety of other graphene devices, such as electro-absorption modulators, variable optical attenuators, or light emitters, and provides a new route to graphene photonics with the potential for applications in communications, security, sensing and spectroscopy.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Development, characterization, and stability of O/W pepper nanoemulsions produced by high-pressure homogenization

Interest in the utilization of bioactive plant compounds in foods has increased due to their biochemical activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, etc.), and as alternatives in the reduction of the use of high concentrations of chemical substances. However, some of these additives are hydrophobic, thus being harder to disperse into the food matrix, which is generally water-based. A good alternative is the use of low concentrations of these compounds as nanoemulsions. The objective of the present study was to develop oil-in-water nanoemulsions containing dedo-de-moça pepper extract for food applications. Research in the development of these nanoemulsions was carried out using a high-speed homogenizer, followed by a high-pressure homogenizer. The influence of the following parameters was assessed: type and concentration of surfactants, hidrophilic-lipophilic balance, lipid/aqueous phase ratio, surfactant/oil ratio, pepper extract composition in nanoemulsion, and processing conditions. Nanoemulsions were evaluated by environmental (centrifugal and thermal) and storage stabilities, characterized by average droplet size and -potential measurements, color, interfacial tension, atomic force, and cryo-scanning electron microscopy. Those with average droplet size between 132 ± 2.0 and 145 ± 1.0 nm were developed depending on working pressure and number of cycles; -potential was around 36.71 ± 0.62 mV and the best nanoemulsion was stable to centrifugation and most of the thermal stresses. Droplets were characterized with cryo-scanning electron microscopy as being spherical, homogeneous, and stable, and remained stable when stored at 4 °C and room temperature for over 120 days. The pepper nanoemulsion, developed in the present study, has potential applications in the food industry.The first author gratefully acknowledges the CNPq and CAPES (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Program Science without Boarder) for the BSWE^ PhD (Process 236877/2012-1) fellowship, and CAPES for the national PhD fellowship. The last author acknowledges the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Brazil, for the grant (CEPID-FoRC, 2013/07914-8).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio