Immunohistochemical expression of types I and III collagen antibodies in the temporomandibular joint disc of human foetuses

The objective was to study the morphology of the articular disc and analyse the immunohistochemical expression of types I and III collagen markers in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc of human foetuses of different gestational ages. Twenty TMJ from human foetuses supplied by Universidade Federal de Uberaba with gestational ages from 17 to 24 weeks were studied. the gestational age of the foetuses was determined by measuring the crown-rump (CR) length. Macroscopically, the foetuses were fixed in 10% formalin solution and dissected by removing the skin and subcutaneous tissue and exposing the deep structures. Immunohistochemical markers of type I and III were used to characterize the existence of collagen fibres. Analysis of the immunohistochemical markers of types I and III collagen revealed the presence of heterotypical fibril networks.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Morfol & Genet, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Patol, Lab Patol Mol, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilSanta Casa São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Patol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Complutense Madrid, Dept Anat & Embryol 2, E-28040 Madrid, SpainUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Morfol & Genet, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Patol, Lab Patol Mol, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

NOTCH Activation Promotes Valve Formation by Regulating the Endocardial Secretome.

The endocardium is a specialized endothelium that lines the inner surface of the heart. Functional studies in mice and zebrafish have established that the endocardium is a source of instructive signals for the development of cardiac structures, including the heart valves and chambers. Here, we characterized the NOTCH-dependent endocardial secretome by manipulating NOTCH activity in mouse embryonic endocardial cells (MEEC) followed by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. We profiled different sets of soluble factors whose secretion not only responds to NOTCH activation but also shows differential ligand specificity, suggesting that ligand-specific inputs may regulate the expression of secreted proteins involved in different cardiac development processes. NOTCH signaling activation correlates with a transforming growth factor-β2 (TGFβ2)-rich secretome and the delivery of paracrine signals involved in focal adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and remodeling. In contrast, NOTCH inhibition is accompanied by the up-regulation of specific semaphorins that may modulate cell migration. The secretome protein expression data showed a good correlation with gene profiling of RNA expression in embryonic endocardial cells. Additional characterization by in situ hybridization in mouse embryos revealed expression of various NOTCH candidate effector genes (Tgfβ2, Loxl2, Ptx3, Timp3, Fbln2, and Dcn) in heart valve endocardium and/or mesenchyme. Validating these results, mice with conditional Dll4 or Jag1 loss-of-function mutations showed gene expression alterations similar to those observed at the protein level in vitro These results provide the first description of the NOTCH-dependent endocardial secretome and validate MEEC as a tool for assaying the endocardial secretome response to a variety of stimuli and the potential use of this system for drug screening.We thank C. Martí Gómez-Aldaraví for help with graphic representation and critical reading of the manuscript, and S. Bartlett for English editing. RTC is supported by a Foundation La Caixa PhD fellowship (Ref LCF/BQ/ES15/10360023). LLZ is supported by a Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral contract (Ref: RYC-2016-20917). JLdlP is funded by grants SAF2016-78370-R, CB16/11/00399 (CIBER CV), and RD16/0011/0021 (TERCEL) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and grants from the Fundación BBVA (Ref.: BIO14_298) and Fundación La Marató TV3 (Ref.: 20153431). JV is supported by grants BIO2015-67580-P and CB16/11/00277 (CIBER CV) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and Carlos III Institute of Health-Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (Grant ProteoRed-PRB3-IPT17/0019-ISCIII-SGEFI/ERDF), the Fundación La Marató TV3 (Ref. 122/C/2015) and “La Caixa” Banking Foundation (project code HR17-00247). The cost of this publication was supported in part with funds from the ERDF. The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505).S

Sensorless Capacitor Voltage Balancing of a Grid-Tied, Single-Phase Hybrid Multilevel Converter with Asymmetric Capacitor Voltages using Dynamic Programming

This paper shows a sensorless capacitor voltage balancing control approach for a grid-connected, single-phase hybrid multilevel inverter based on an NPC main stage with a voltage stiff DC-link and an arbitrary number of H-Bridge modules (capacitor modules) with asymmetric capacitor voltages. Using nearest-level control, a model predictive control (MPC) approach with a prediction horizon of one time step is chosen to find an optimal switching-state combination among the redundant switching combinations to balance the capacitor voltages as quick as possible. Using the Lyapunov stability criterion, it is shown that an offline calculated optimal switching-state sequence for each discrete output voltage level can be used to operate the inverter without using any voltage sensors for the capacitor voltages. To validate the stability of the approach, a laboratory inverter with a resistive load is operated with the offline calculated optimal switching-state sequences and it is shown that the capacitor voltages converge to their desired reference voltages

An overview of the spindle assembly checkpoint status in oral cancer

Abnormal chromosome number, or aneuploidy, is a common feature of human solid tumors, including oral cancer. Deregulated spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is thought as one of the mechanisms that drive aneuploidy. In normal cells, SAC prevents anaphase onset until all chromosomes are correctly aligned at the metaphase plate thereby ensuring genomic stability. Significantly, the activity of this checkpoint is compromised in many cancers. While mutations are rather rare, many tumors show altered expression levels of SAC components. Genomic alterations such as aneuploidy indicate a high risk of oral cancer and cancer-related mortality, and the molecular basis of these alterations is largely unknown. Yet, our knowledge on the status of SAC components in oral cancer remains sparse. In this review, we address the state of our knowledge regarding the SAC defects and the underlying molecular mechanisms in oral cancer, and discuss their therapeutic relevance, focusing our analysis on the core components of SAC and its target Cdc20.CESPU [02-GCQF-CICS-2011N, 01-GCD-CICS-09; 02-GCD-CICS-09, 05-GCD-CICS-2011]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) [CEQUIMED-PEst-OE/SAU/UI4040/2011]

Informal Trade of Psychoactive Herbal Products in the City of Diadema, SP, Brazil: Quality and Potential Risks

The present study aimed to assess the quality and risks involved in the consumption of psychoactive herbal products (PHs) that are available through informal commerce in the city of Diadema, SP, Brazil. Methods of ethnography were used to conduct the fieldwork during which four dealers were selected to record the collection, handling, packaging, types of PHs marketed, and their therapeutic purposes. in addition, lots of the PHs selected were purchased from the dealers and analyzed using microbiology and pharmacognosy techniques. 217 PHs were recorded and categorized into two main groups: stimulants (67%) and depressants (27%) of the central nervous system; sixteen of them were selected, and their 52 lots were acquired. the deficiencies observed in handling and packaging these lots by dealers were confirmed by microbiological analysis; 80.8% of them presented risk according to the indicators defined by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. the pharmacognostic analysis confirmed the authenticity of only 9 to 16 PHs analyzed. in addition, descriptions of contraindications, adverse reactions, and drug interactions were found in the literature for the PHs. the results of this study allow the observation of the priorities for the sanitary adequacy of the popular trade of herbs.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)AFIP-Associacao Fundo de Incentivo a PesquisaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med Prevent, BR-04038034 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Ctr Estudos Etnobot & Etnofarmacol, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Dept Farm, BR-05508000 São Paulo, BrazilAdolfo Lutz Inst, Ctr Medicamentos Cosmet & Saneantes, BR-01246902 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Bandeirante Anhanguera, BR-02071013 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med Prevent, BR-04038034 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Ctr Estudos Etnobot & Etnofarmacol, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Electrically transmissive alkyne-anchored monolayers on gold

Well-ordered, tightly-packed (surface coverage 0.97 × 10−9 mol cm−2) monolayer films of 1,4-bis((4-ethynylphenyl)ethynyl)benzene (1) on gold are prepared via a simple self-assembly process, taking advantage of the ready formation of alkynyl C–Au σ-bonds. Electrochemical measurements using [Ru(NH3)6]3+, [Fe(CN)6]3−, and ferrocenylmethanol [Fe(η5-C5H4CH2OH)(η5-C5H5)] redox probes indicate that the alkynyl C–Au contacted monolayer of 1 presents a relatively low barrier for electron transfer. This contrasts with monolayer films on gold of other oligo(phenylene ethynylene) derivatives of comparable length and surface coverage, but with different contacting groups. Additionally, a low voltage transition (Vtrans = 0.51 V) from direct tunneling (rectangular barrier) to field emission (triangular barrier) is observed. This low transition voltage points to a low tunneling barrier, which is consistent with the facile electron transport observed through the C–Au contacted self-assembled monolayer of 1.P. C. and J. L. S. are grateful for financial assistance from Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad from Spain and fondos FEDER in the framework of projects MAT2016-78257-R and CTQ2015-70174-P, respectively. J. L. S. also acknowledges the funded project Hierarchical Self Assembly of Polymeric Soft Systems, “SASSYPOL”, from the 7th Framework Programme (CEE, Ref-607602). L. H., S. M., J. L. S, and P. C. acknowledge support from DGA/Fondos FEDER (construyendo Europa desde Aragón) for funding PLATON (E31_17R) and CLIP (E47_17R) research groups. R. J. N. thanks EPSRC for funding (EP/M029522/1, EP/K007785/1, EP/M014169/1 and EP/M005046/1), and P. J. L. also gratefully acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (FT120100073; DP140100855).Peer reviewe

Magnetic Nanoclusters Increase the Sensitivity of Lateral Flow Immunoassays for Protein Detection: Application to Pneumolysin as a Biomarker for Streptococcus pneumoniae

Lateral flow immunoassays for detecting biomarkers in body fluids are simple, quick, inexpensive point-of-care tests widely used in disease surveillance, such as during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Improvements in sensitivity would increase their utility in healthcare, food safety, and environmental control. Recently, biofunctional magnetic nanoclusters have been used to selectively label target proteins, which allows their detection and quantification with a magneto-inductive sensor. This type of detector is easily integrated with the lateral flow immunoassay format. Pneumolysin is a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin and one of the most important protein virulence factors of pneumonia produced by Streptococcus pneumoniae. It is recognized as an important biomarker for diagnosis in urine samples. Pneumonia is the infectious disease that causes the most deaths globally, especially among children under five years and adults over 65 years, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. There especially, a rapid diagnostic urine test for pneumococcal pneumonia with high sensitivity and specificity would be helpful in primary care. In this work, a lateral flow immunoassay with magnetic nanoclusters conjugated to anti-pneumolysin antibodies was combined with two strategies to increase the technique's performance. First, magnetic concentration of the protein before the immunoassay was followed by quantification by means of a mobile telephone camera, and the inductive sensor resulted in detection limits as low as 0.57 ng (telephone camera) and 0.24 ng (inductive sensor) of pneumolysin per milliliter. Second, magnetic relocation of the particles within the test strip after the immunoassay was completed increased the detected signal by 20%. Such results obtained with portable devices are promising when compared to non-portable conventional pneumolysin detection techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The combination and optimization of these approaches would have excellent application in point-of-care biodetection to reduce antibiotic misuse, hospitalizations, and deaths from community-acquired pneumonia

A Prolegomenon to the Systematics of South American Cottontail Rabbits (Mammalia, Lagomorpha, Leporidae: Sylvilagus): Designation of a Neotype for S. brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758), and Restoration of S. andinus (Thomas, 1897) and S. tapetillus Thomas, 1913.

A critical issue with species names derived from Linnaeus’ 10th edition of the Systema Naturae is the lack of holotypes, which in many instances has led to taxonomic confusion and uncertainty, as well as an unstable taxonomy. In the particular case of the South American cottontail, currently known as Sylvilagus brasiliensis, Linnaeus listed the type locality as “America Meridionali,” or South America. As a result, S. brasiliensis was ascribed a widespread distribution in North and South America, over an area estimated as approximately 1.09 × 107 Km2, and containing upwards of 37 named subspecies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136089/1/MP205.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136089/2/MP205_SupplementaryFigs.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136089/3/MP205_Appendix1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136089/4/MP205_Appendix 2.xlsxDescription of MP205.pdf : Main ArticleDescription of MP205_SupplementaryFigs.pdf : Additional FiguresDescription of MP205_Appendix1.pdf : Dataset - MapsDescription of MP205_Appendix 2.xlsx : Datase