Formation and functional properties of protein–polysaccharide electrostatic hydrogels in comparison to protein or polysaccharide hydrogels

Protein and polysaccharide mixed systems have been actively studied for at least 50 years as they can be assembled into functional particles or gels. This article reviews the properties of electrostatic gels, a recently discovered particular case of associative protein–polysaccharide mixtures formed through associative electrostatic interaction under appropriate solution conditions (coupled gel). This review highlights the factors influencing gel formation such as protein–polysaccharide ratio, biopolymer structural characteristics, final pH, ionic strength and total solid concentration. For the first time, the functional properties of protein–polysaccharide coupled gels are presented and discussed in relationship to individual protein and polysaccharide hydrogels. One of their outstanding characteristics is their gel water retention. Up to 600 g of water per g of biopolymer may be retained in the electrostatic gel network compared to a protein gel (3–9 g of water per g of protein). Potential applications of the gels are proposed to enable the food and non-food industries to develop new functional products with desirable attributes or new interesting materials to incorporate bioactive molecules

Examining Factors that Support Continued Use of Assistive Technology by Postsecondary Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities are attending postsecondary institutions in growing numbers. As such, disability service providers on campuses are providing more accommodations, including assistive technology (AT). AT can help students with a variety of learning needs; however, many students discontinue use despite the benefits that this technology can provide. To increase our understanding of discontinued use of AT, we collected both quantitative questionnaire data and open-ended written qualitative data. First, we examined three factors theorized to relate to continued use of AT and found that individual factors were more important than the environment or characteristics of the technology itself. Second, we investigated students’ experiences with AT training and determined that the quality of the training experience and not simply attending training, was related to continued use of AT. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for individuals providing training to students. Collectively, the results provide the basis for suggestions concerning support and services offered to students utilizing AT

Anti-glomerular basement membrane disease, ulcerative colitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis: link or co-incidence?

International audienceUlcerative colitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and anti-glomerular basement membrane disease (anti-GBM) are three rare immune diseases with incompletely under-stood pathogenic mechanisms. We describe here the case of a 29-year-old man with ulcer-ative colitis and primary sclerosing cholang -itis who, eight years later, developed anti-GBM disease with destruction of all glomeruli leading to end-stage kidney disease. Association of these three immune diseases in the same patient has never been described. Because HLA-mediated susceptibility cannot be incriminated completely in our case, we hypothesize that environmental factors or previous immunosuppressive treatment used might be the link

Human prostate supports more efficient replication of HIV-1 R5 than X4 strains ex vivo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to determine whether human prostate can be productively infected by HIV-1 strains with different tropism, and thus represent a potential source of HIV in semen, an organotypic culture of prostate from men undergoing prostatic adenomectomy for benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) was developed. The presence of potential HIV target cells in prostate tissues was investigated using immunohistochemistry. The infection of prostate explants following exposures with HIV-1 R5, R5X4 and X4 strains was analyzed through the measure of RT activity in culture supernatants, the quantification of HIV DNA in the explants and the detection of HIV RNA+ cells <it>in situ</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prostate characteristics were retained for 2^1/2weeks in culture. Numerous potential HIV-1 target cells were detected in the prostate stroma. Whilst HIV-1 R5_SF162strain consistently productively infected prostatic T lymphocytes and macrophages, the prototypic X4_IIIBstrain and a primary R5X4 strain showed less efficient replication in this organ.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The BPH prostate is a site of HIV-1 R5 replication that could contribute virus to semen. A limited spreading of HIV-1 X4 and R5X4 in this organ could participate to the preferential sexual transmission of HIV-1 R5 strains.</p

Genetic, serological and biochemical characterization of Leishmania tropica from foci in northern Palestine and discovery of zymodeme MON-307

Background Many cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have been recorded in the Jenin District based on their clinical appearance. Here, their parasites have been characterized in depth. Methods Leishmanial parasites isolated from 12 human cases of CL from the Jenin District were cultured as promastigotes, whose DNA was extracted. The ITS1 sequence and the 7SL RNA gene were analysed as was the kinetoplast minicircle DNA (kDNA) sequence. Excreted factor (EF) serotyping and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) were also applied. Results This extensive characterization identified the strains as Leishmania tropica of two very distinct sub-types that parallel the two sub-groups discerned by multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) done previously. A high degree of congruity was displayed among the results generated by the different analytical methods that had examined various cellular components and exposed intra-specific heterogeneity among the 12 strains. Three of the ten strains subjected to MLEE constituted a new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307, and seven belonged to the known zymodeme MON-137. Ten of the 15 enzymes in the profile of zymodeme MON-307 displayed different electrophoretic mobilities compared with the enzyme profile of the zymodeme MON-137. The closest profile to that of zymodeme MON-307 was that of the zymodeme MON-76 known from Syria. Strains of the zymodeme MON-307 were EF sub-serotype A2 and those of the zymodeme MON-137 were either A9 or A9B4. The sub-serotype B4 component appears, so far, to be unique to some strains of L. tropica of zymodeme MON-137. Strains of the zymodeme MON-137 displayed a distinctive fragment of 417 bp that was absent in those of zymodeme MON-307 when their kDNA was digested with the endonuclease RsaI. kDNA-RFLP after digestion with the endonuclease MboI facilitated a further level of differentiation that partially coincided with the geographical distribution of the human cases from which the strains came. Conclusions The Palestinian strains that were assigned to different genetic groups differed in their MLEE profiles and their EF types. A new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307 was discovered that seems to be unique to the northern part of the Palestinian West Bank. What seemed to be a straight forward classical situation of L. tropica causing anthroponotic CL in the Jenin District might be a more complex situation, owing to the presence of two separate sub-types of L. tropica that, possibly, indicates two separate transmission cycles involving two separate types of phlebotomine sand fly vector

Use of hydroxyethyl starch in leukocytapheresis procedures does not increase renal toxicity

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134412/1/trf13795.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134412/2/trf13795_am.pd

MI-GWAS: a SAS platform for the analysis of inherited and maternal genetic effects in genome-wide association studies using log-linear models

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several platforms for the analysis of genome-wide association data are available. However, these platforms focus on the evaluation of the genotype inherited by affected (i.e. case) individuals, whereas for some conditions (e.g. birth defects) the genotype of the mothers of affected individuals may also contribute to risk. For such conditions, it is critical to evaluate associations with both the maternal and the inherited (i.e. case) genotype. When genotype data are available for case-parent triads, a likelihood-based approach using log-linear modeling can be used to assess both the maternal and inherited genotypes. However, available software packages for log-linear analyses are not well suited to the analysis of typical genome-wide association data (e.g. including missing data).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An integrated platform, Maternal and Inherited Analyses for Genome-wide Association Studies <b>(</b>MI-GWAS) for log-linear analyses of maternal and inherited genetic effects in large, genome-wide datasets, is described. MI-GWAS uses SAS and LEM software in combination to appropriately format data, perform the log-linear analyses and summarize the results. This platform was evaluated using existing genome-wide data and was shown to perform accurately and relatively efficiently.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The MI-GWAS platform provides a valuable tool for the analysis of association of a phenotype or condition with maternal and inherited genotypes using genome-wide data from case-parent triads. The source code for this platform is freely available at <url>http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/sbrr/mi-gwas.htm</url>.</p

State-of-The-Art and Applications of 3D Imaging Sensors in Industry, Cultural Heritage, Medicine, and Criminal Investigation

3D imaging sensors for the acquisition of three dimensional (3D) shapes have created, in recent years, a considerable degree of interest for a number of applications. The miniaturization and integration of the optical and electronic components used to build them have played a crucial role in the achievement of compactness, robustness and flexibility of the sensors. Today, several 3D sensors are available on the market, even in combination with other sensors in a “sensor fusion” approach. An importance equal to that of physical miniaturization has the portability of the measurements, via suitable interfaces, into software environments designed for their elaboration, e.g., CAD-CAM systems, virtual renders, and rapid prototyping tools. In this paper, following an overview of the state-of-art of 3D imaging sensors, a number of significant examples of their use are presented, with particular reference to industry, heritage, medicine, and criminal investigation applications