Stability of Aspartic Acid at 77°K under Gamma Radiation in a Comet Cores Simulation: Implications for Chemical Evolution Studies

The synthesis of organic matter in a simulated primitive environment (terrestrial or extraterrestrial) has been widely studied. The stability of organic matter of biological significance, exposed to energy fields in primitive conditions, is equally important in the context of chemical evolution. We present a detailed analysis of the stability of prebiotic organic molecules under the effect of ionizing radiation at a low temperature, simulating a comet core. The laboratory simulation consists of icy phases of prototype organic matter and a mineral in a physical mixture. This chemical system was irradiated with gamma radiation at 77°K. The icy phases are methanol, formic acid, and aspartic acid in aqueous solution, in the presence of sodium montmorillonite as silicates surface.Our results show the stability of aspartic acid in this comet core simulation. We have been identified some radiolytic products of this mixture: ethylene glycol, glycolaldehyde, formamide, alanine, glycine and succinic acid. The products were identified by Gas Chromatography (GC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS). The protection role of the clay in the radiolysis of aspartic acid was observed in this mixture. This result may be due to an energy transfer from the clay. At pH=4, aspartic acid is adsorbed onto the clay at the interlayer channel as is shown in the X-ray diffractograms (XRD)

Radiolysis of the Glycolaldehyde-Na+Montmor- illonite and Glycolaldehyde-Fe3+Montmorillonite Systems in Aqueous Suspension under Gamma Radiation Fields: Implications in Chemical Evolution

The stability and reactivity of organic molecules with biological and pre-biological significance in primitive conditions are of paramount importance in chemical evolution studies. Sugars are an essential component in biological systems for the different roles that they play in living beings. The objective of the present work is to study the gamma radiolysis of aqueous solutions of glycolaldehyde, the simplest sugar and aqueous suspensions of glycolaldehyde-Na+-montmorillonite and glycolaldehyde-Fe3+Montmorillonite. Our results indicate that the radiolysis of the aqueous solutions of glycolaldehyde (0.03M), oxygen free, mainly produce the linear dimer known as eritriol (122 g/mol) and a sugar-like compound with six carbon atoms (180 g/mol). The experiments with the clay suspensions show that clays can adsorb glycolaldehyde and protect it from gamma irradiation. Additionally, it was observed that depending on the cation present in the clay, the percentage and the product (monomer or cyclic dimer) adsorption was different. In the case of Fe3+ Montmorillonite, this clay catalyzed the decomposition of glycolaldehyde, forming small amounts non-identified products. The analysis of these systems was performed by ATR-FTIR, UV spectroscopy, liquid chromatography (UHPLC-UV), and HPLC coupled to a mass spectrometry

Study of L-Glutamic Acid in Solid State for its Possible Use as a Gamma Dosimeter at Different Temperatures (77, 195 and 295 K)

The experimental response of the dosimeter as a function of the irradiation temperature plays an important role, and this effect has consequences in the practical applications of dosimetry. In this work, L-glutamic acid (2-aminopentanedioic acid) is proposed to be a good response, easy to handle, and a cheap gamma dosimeter. For this purpose, polycrystalline samples were irradiated with gamma rays at 77, 195, and 295 K and doses in the kiloGray range (43–230 kGy). The potential use of the glutamic acid system as a chemical dosimeter is based on the formation of stable free radicals when the amino acid is exposed to ionizing radiation. The observed species in these experiments were attributed to deamination and decarboxylation reactions that were studied using electron spin resonance (ESR). The results indicate that the analysis generates a linear response as the irradiation dose increases in a reliable range for industrial and research purposes at three different temperatures

Study of Solid-State Radiolysis of Behenic, Fumaric, and Sebacic Acids for their Possible Use as Gamma Dosimeters Measured Via ATR-FT-IR Spectroscopy

The intensive use of ionizing radiation has promoted the constant investigation of adequate dosimetric systems in the measurement of doses applied in irradiated products. The objective of this work is to propose gamma dosimetric systems, using carboxylic acids in a solid state and measuring the change via infrared spectroscopy (carboxylic acid/ ATR-FT-IR1). We worked with three systems: (1) behenic acid/ATR-FT-IR, (2) sebacic acid/ATR-FT-IR, and (3) fumaric acid/ATR-FT-IR. The change in absorbance corresponding to the stretching vibration frequency of the carbonyl group to the absorbed dose (in the range of kGy) was measured. The results showed that the acid/ATR-FT-IR systems have a linear response with respect to the absorbed dose, for behenic acid/ATR-FT-IR from 0 to 122 kGy, for ATR-FT-IR sebacic acid from 0 to 61 kGy, and for fumaric acid/ATR-FT-IR from 0 to 34 kGy. The results indicated that the linear response of the absorbance dose in the three systems allows us to continue studying other variables to be able to propose them as chemical dosimeters

Spectrophotometric Study of Polymeric DyesGels After a Gamma Irradiation Process for its Possible Use as a Radiation Dosimeter

This work aims to evaluate a dosimetric system composed of green malachite supported in agarose. Previous work showed that solutions of green malachite irradiated at 1 to 40 kGy present a linear behavior. This system is a gel composed of green malachite (2.5×10–3 M), sodium benzoate (1%),and agarose (1%) that was exposed tovarious doses of gamma irradiation. The irradiated systems were measured with a UV-V is spectrophotometer at 619 nm. Experimental parameters (such as dose rate, doses, and temperature) were controlled and optimized for reproducible and reliable results. More studies are needed to propose a dosimeter in the system in the range of 1.8 to 4.0 kGy

Gamma Dosimetry Using Some Dyes in Organic Solvents Solutions at 295 and 77 K

The aim of this work is to study the behavior under irradiation of different dyes (green malachite, methyl orange, red cresol, and bromothymol blue) in organic solvents (acetone and methanol) at different gamma doses and different temperatures to propose them as possible dosimeters for low-temperature applications. For this purpose, organic dissolutions were irradiated with gamma rays in the kiloGray (kGy) range at 77 and 295 K, and the color bleaching of the solutions was followed spectrophotometrically (UV-Vis range). The response curves at different temperatures show the linear range interval from 10 to 40 kGy with correlation coefficients of 0.999 and 0.998 for some systems. This is the main reason to continue carrying out studies that allow the proposal of these systems as chemical dosimeters

Melt processability, characterization, and antibacterial activity of compression-molded green composite sheets made of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) reinforced with coconut fibers impregnated with oregano essential oil

New packaging materials based on green composite sheets consisting of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and coconut fibers (CFs) were obtained by twin-screw extrusion (TSE) followed by compression molding. The effect of varying the CF weight content, i.e. 1, 3, 5, and 10wt.-%, and the screw speed during melt processing, i.e. 75, 150, and 225rpm, on both the aspect ratio and dispersion of the fibers was analyzed and related to the properties of the compression-molded sheets. Finally, the CFs were impregnated with oregano essential oil (OEO) by an innovative spray coating methodology and then incorporated into PHBV at the optimal processing conditions. The functionalized green composite sheets presented bacteriostatic effect against Staphylococcus aureus from fiber contents as low as 3wt.-%. Therefore, the here-prepared CFs can be successfully applied as natural vehicles to entrap extracts and develop green composites of high interest in active food packaging to provide protection and shelf life extension.This research was funded by the EU H2020 project YPACK (reference number 773872), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) project AGL2015-63855-C2-1-R, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684), and the BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Prof. Sergio Torres-Giner wants to thank the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FP1405, ActInPak, for financial support during his Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the University of Minho.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of a Three-week Core Training Program on Different Unstable Platforms

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Effects of Gamma Irradiation on Curcumin

In this study, remnants concentrations of curcumin in Curcuma longa (organic turmeric powder) were determined after it was exposed to irradiation doses of 1, 2 and 3 kGy. Curcumin analysis was performed using the analyte-sensitive impulse differential polarography technique (LOD: 0.621 ppm and LOQ: 2.130 ppm). The results obtained showed a decreasing concentration of curcumin as a function of the irradiation dose. This reduction is low in terms of affecting the product’s quality with respect to its concentration

SMAC is expressed de novo in a subset of cervical cancer tumors

BACKGROUND: Smac/Diablo is a recently identified protein that is released from mitochondria after apoptotic stimuli. It binds IAPs, allowing caspase activation and cell death. In view of its activity it might participate in carcinogenesis. In the present study, we analyzed Smac expression in a panel of cervical cancer patients. METHODS: We performed semi quantitative RT-PCR on 41 cervical tumor and 6 normal tissue samples. The study included 8 stage I cases; 16 stage II; 17 stage III; and a control group of 6 samples of normal cervical squamous epithelial tissue. RESULTS: Smac mRNA expression was below the detection limit in the normal cervical tissue samples. In contrast, 13 (31.7%) of the 41 cervical cancer biopsies showed detectable levels of this transcript. The samples expressing Smac were distributed equally among the stages (5 in stage I, 4 in stage II and 4 in stage III) with similar expression levels. We found no correlation between the presence of Smac mRNA and histology, menopause, WHO stage or disease status. CONCLUSIONS: Smac is expressed de novo in a subset of cervical cancer patients, reflecting a possible heterogeneity in the pathways leading to cervical cancer. There was no correlation with any clinical variable