A mediator for malaria stickiness in A versus O blood

© 2015 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.Malaria is thought to have shaped the worldwide distribution of human ABO blood but the underlying molecular details of this process have only recently started to be revealed. A new study provides insights on how malaria parasites interact with ABO blood group sugars, mediating rosetting events that cause severe disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A model for uphill droplet motion

This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.This paper focuses on the behaviour of a liquid droplet over the surface of a treated solid substrate. It deals with the use of surface tension forces induced by setting up a gradient of wettability to allow the evacuation of the dispersed phase. The main aim is to present a new model capable of predicting the motion of a droplet of known volume over a surface with a wettability gradient that explicitly takes contact angle hysteresis into account. Several authors have established a phenomenological footprint radius, from which the droplet starts moving. Our model, provides a relationship to find this critical droplet size. The results show that the contact angle hysteresis parameter appears to be a key issue in droplet dynamics and in the accurate prediction of droplet motion

Does the association of prostate cancer with night-shift work differ according to rotating vs. fixed schedule? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Recent studies suggested that the relation between night-shift work and prostate cancer may differ between rotating and fixed schedules. Objectives: We aimed to quantify the independent association between night-shift work and prostate cancer, for rotating and fixed schedules. Methods: We searched MEDLINE for studies assessing the association of night-shift work, by rotating or fixed schedules, with prostate cancer. We computed summary relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using the inverse variance method and quantified heterogeneity using the I2 statistic. Meta-regression analysis was used to compare the summary RR estimates for rotating and fixed schedules, while reducing heterogeneity. Results: A total of nine studies assessed the effect of rotating and, in addition, four of them provided the effect of fixed night-shift work, in relation to daytime workers. Rotating night-shift work was associated with a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer (RR = 1.06, 95% CI of 1.01 to 1.12; I2 = 50%), but not fixed night-shift work (RR of 1.01, 95% CI of 0.81 to 1.26; I2 = 33%). In meta-regression model including study design, type of population, and control of confounding, the summary RR was 20% higher for rotating vs. fixed schedule, with heterogeneity fully explained by these variables. Conclusions: This is the first meta-analysis suggesting that an increased risk of prostate cancer may be restricted to workers with rotating night shifts. However, the association was weak and additional studies are needed to further clarify this relation before it can be translated into measures for risk reduction in occupational settings

Experimental analysis of the effect of a wettability gradient on condensation heat transfer coefficient

The use of surfaces with wettability gradient aims to cover the surface with drops of small size to allow a large heat exchange. Thus, the action of the wettability gradient on the surface of the substrate is twofold: on the one hand, it allows the preservation of a dropwise condensation regime for which the heat exchange coefficient is particularly important and, on the other hand it allows the evacuation of the dispersed phase, thus promoting a renewal of the surface with very important heat exchanges during the nucleation phase. Thereby, a heat transfer enhancement factor up to 3.4 has been experimentally measured.Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .International centre for heat and mass transfer.American society of thermal and fluids engineers

Estudio del comportamiento mecánico del hormigón de ultra- altas prestaciones (UHPC) reforzado con fibras híbridas y con consumo reducido de cemento

This article evaluated mechanical behavior of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) reinforced with hybrid steel and polypropylene fibers, with cement consumption of 250 kg/m³ and application of confining pressure in fresh state. The consistency of the mixture was analyzed, as well as mechanical properties of compressive strength, flexural strength and toughness. The percentages of hybridization were 50 to 100% of metal fibers and 0 to 50% of polypropylene fibers. Results showed that the compressive strength of the composite was 180 MPa (26100 psi), despite its low cement consumption of 250 kg/m³ (2.08 lb/gal), with 80% steel fibers and 20% polypropylene fibers. The combination of fibers increased the mixture’s toughness. For the composition with 80% steel fibers and 20% polypropylene fibers, the strength for large deformations increased by 191% compared with the mixture with 100% steel fibers, pointing out the benefits of hybridization.En este trabajo se evaluó el comportamiento mecánico de los hormigones de ultra-altas prestaciones (UHPC) reforzados con fibras híbridas de acero y polipropileno, con un consumo de cemento de 250 kg/m3 y aplicando una presión de confinamiento en su estado fresco. Se analizó la consistencia de la mezcla, las propiedades mecánicas de las resistencias a la compresión y flexión, así como la tenacidad. Se usaron porcentajes de hibridación del 50 al 100% de fibras metálicas y de 0 al 50% de fibras de polipropileno. Los resultados muestran que la resistencia a la compresión del compuesto fue de 180 MPa (26.100 psi), a pesar de su bajo consumo de cemento, de 250 kg/m³ (2,08 lb/gal), con 80% de fibras de acero y 20% de fibras de polipropileno. La combinación de fibras incrementó la tenacidad de la mezcla. Para esta misma composición, la resistencia para las grandes deformaciones aumentó en un 191% en comparación con la mezcla que contenía un 100% de fibras de acero, demostrando así los beneficios de la hibridación

The unusually large Plasmodium telomerase reverse-transcriptase localizes in a discrete compartment associated with the nucleolus

Telomerase replicates chromosome ends, a function necessary for maintaining genome integrity. We have identified the gene that encodes the catalytic reverse transcriptase (RT) component of this enzyme in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (PfTERT) as well as the orthologous genes from two rodent and one simian malaria species. PfTERT is predicted to encode a basic protein that contains the major sequence motifs previously identified in known telomerase RTs (TERTs). At ∼2500 amino acids, PfTERT is three times larger than other characterized TERTs. We observed remarkable sequence diversity between TERT proteins of different Plasmodial species, with conserved domains alternating with hypervariable regions. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that PfTERT is expressed in asexual blood stage parasites that have begun DNA synthesis. Surprisingly, rather than at telomere clusters, PfTERT typically localizes into a discrete nuclear compartment. We further demonstrate that this compartment is associated with the nucleolus, hereby defined for the first time in P.falciparum

Targeting liver stage malaria with metformin

Copyright: © 2019, American Society for Clinical InvestigationDespite an unprecedented 2 decades of success, the combat against malaria - the mosquito-transmitted disease caused by Plasmodium parasites - is no longer progressing. Efforts toward eradication are threatened by the lack of an effective vaccine and a rise in antiparasite drug resistance. Alternative approaches are urgently needed. Repurposing of available, approved drugs with distinct modes of action are being considered as viable and immediate adjuncts to standard antimicrobial treatment. Such strategies may be well suited to the obligatory and clinically silent first phase of Plasmodium infection, where massive parasite replication occurs within hepatocytes in the liver. Here, we report that the widely used antidiabetic drug, metformin, impairs parasite liver stage development of both rodent-infecting Plasmodium berghei and human-infecting P. falciparum parasites. Prophylactic treatment with metformin curtails parasite intracellular growth in vitro. An additional effect was observed in mice with a decrease in the numbers of infected hepatocytes. Moreover, metformin provided in combination with conventional liver- or blood-acting antimalarial drugs further reduced the total burden of P. berghei infection and substantially lessened disease severity in mice. Together, our findings indicate that repurposing of metformin in a prophylactic regimen could be considered for malaria chemoprevention.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal) PTDC/SAU-MET/118199/2010 to LMS and European Research Council Proof of Concept Grant to MMM (ERC-2015-PoC-DL3–713691-REUSE4MALARIA).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GLUT1-mediated glucose uptake plays a crucial role during Plasmodium hepatic infection.

Intracellular pathogens have evolved mechanisms to ensure their survival and development inside their host cells. Here, we show that glucose is a pivotal modulator of hepatic infection by the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei and that glucose uptake via the GLUT1 transporter is specifically enhanced in P. berghei-infected cells. We further show that ATP levels of cells containing developing parasites are decreased, which is known to enhance membrane GLUT1 activity. In addition, GLUT1 molecules are translocated to the membrane of the hepatic cell, increasing glucose uptake at later stages of infection. Chemical inhibition of GLUT1 activity leads to a decrease in glucose uptake and the consequent impairment of hepatic infection, both in vitro and in vivo. Our results reveal that changes in GLUT1 conformation and cellular localization seem to be part of an adaptive host response to maintain adequate cellular nutrition and energy levels, ensuring host cell survival and supporting P. berghei hepatic development

Intake and Performance of Yearling Steers Grazing Guineagrass (Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia) Pasture Supplemented with Different Energy Sources.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-25T23:23:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 sergioEffectsofthePatternofEnergySupplyontheEfficiencyofNitrogenUtilizationforMicrobialProteinSynthesisintheNonLSantanaetal20132646.pdf: 211493 bytes, checksum: 1205da89debf93c7b0f83fe64018e21f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-24201