WOUND HEALING IN HUMANS BY OPTIMIZATION OF LOW FREQUENCY SIGNAL FOR PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY

A wound, in clinical terms, is any tissue injury that causes skin rupture which penetrates epidermis and dermis layers leading to uncovering of underneath tissues or organs. Wounds can be superficial or deep, acute or chronic, with minor to serious implications depending on the source, extent, and location. Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMF) may have varying effects depending on the type of target tissue. Triggering a biological event requires a specific signal to be applied. The effectiveness of a PEMF device is mostly determined by the waveforms utilized in conjunction with the pulsing frequency. Choosing the right PEMF signal is a crucial step in developing a device that can address the challenges associated with chronic wound healing and speed up the healing process. Therefore, the optimization of the signal generator unit in the PEMF system for wound healing applications is a necessity before starting the further process. Hence, the present work of optimization of the PEMF system was carried out by selecting an optimal signal on the signal generator which produces a significant quantity of current in the particular tissue site to provide improved wound healing results. A total of 120 signal generator designs were simulated and optimized to six signal generators having frequencies of 10Hz, 20Hz, 30Hz, 40Hz, 50Hz, and 100Hz and duty cycle 25%. For both groups, the average frequency and duty cycle were calculated and tested using independent samples t-test to see if there were any differences between them. No statistically significant difference was found for frequency (p=0.9977) and duty cycle (p=0.5090). Because of the necessity of the right PEMF signal selection for every trial to be successful, this work will act as a gateway for selecting, understanding,` and considering the proper signal which could initiate the respective biological effect and accelerate the wound healing process

Modulation of cytosolic RNase activity by endogenous RNase inhibitor in rat vaginal epithelial cells on estradiol administration

AbstractThe cytosolic, alkaline RNase in rat vaginal epithelial cells (VEC) from normal, immature rats was found to be present largely in the free, active form unlike in many other mammalian tissues where it is known to be present in a latent form as a complex with RNase inhibitor (RNasin). Estradiol (E2) administration induced expression of RNasin activity in the VEC from such animals and caused virtually total inhibition of cytosolic RNase activity in these cells by 12 h after the hormone injection. These changes may have metabolic implications in relation to other biochemical events stimulated by estradiol in rat VEC

Comparing the Meta-Proteomic Composition of Fermented Yeast Plant Proteome

Beer commonly contains proteins such as hordeins, non-specific lipid-transfer protein 1 (LTP-1), and protein Z. The normal physiological functions of these proteins include seed storage and lipid transfer, but in beer they influence desirable beverage characteristics like head foam, aroma, and the formation of chill haze. Prior beer proteomics studies have detected variations in barley protein content across different brewing stages while others have observed changes due to known behavior of yeasts (ie. flocculation). Previous studies have mainly assessed samples brewed under lab conditions. Our study, in a departure from earlier studies, addresses the gap in research examining the proteome profiles of commercial beers. We compare the abundance of specific proteins in multiple species across different types of beer and cider to determine the proteomic impact of brewing conditions and ingredients by comparing the proteins in our beer and cider samples to data from previously published studies. We isolated proteins from our samples by performing a sample preparation protocol developed by the Protein Research Group (PRG), a subgroup of the Association of Biomolecular Resources Facilities (ABRF). Once peptides were cleaned, quantified, and recovered we analyzed samples by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis at the UNC Proteomics Core Facility. We assessed our proteomic workflow by comparing the number of proteins we identified with other beer proteomics datasets. Protocol validity and reproducibility was assessed through PCA plots and Pearson correlations among sample replicates. Overrepresentation analysis of yeast proteins highlights functional biological pathways that contribute to desirable protein expression and correspond to yeast genes. We studied other ingredient-related effects by comparing protein abundances of barley and yeast proteins previously explored by beer proteomic literature to make predictions about beer quality. This allowed us to evaluate differences in sample preparation and LC-MS methods, as well as to compare beer protein results with the other 50 participants of the ABRF PRG beer study from around the world. Our research will contribute to the growing body of research in the field of beer proteomics.Bachelor of Scienc

Intrinsic Localized Modes Observed in the High Temperature Vibrational Spectrum of NaI

Inelastic neutron measurements of the high-temperature lattice excitations in NaI show that in thermal equilibrium at 555 K an intrinsic mode, localized in three dimensions, occurs at a single frequency near the center of the spectral phonon gap, polarized along [111]. At higher temperatures the intrinsic localized mode gains intensity. Higher energy inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering measurements on a room-temperature NaI crystal indicate that the creation energy of the ground state of the intrinsic localized mode is 299 meV.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures Revised version; final versio

RNA Processing

International audienceRNAs can be either transcribed directly as functional species or as molecules that require post-transcriptional processing by ribonucleases. Most messenger RNAs fall into the first category, while most structural RNAs fall into the second. There are, however, some specific examples of mRNAs that undergo processing to shorter, more stable species with a higher translational yield. Most of the work in this field has been performed in E. coli and, more recently, in B. subtilis. In this chapter, I will first describe some examples of mRNA processing these two organisms and then compare their pathways of stable RNA maturation. While there is some degree of overlap between their RNA processing enzymes and pathways, for the most part they are remarkably different, far more divergent than was ever predicted before the sequencing of their respective genomes. None of the late steps in rRNA maturation are conserved between the two bacteria, for example. In addition, B. subtilis utilizes an enzyme with 5’ exoribonuclease activity for mRNA and rRNA processing, whereas E. coli does not appear to possess a 5’ exoribonuclease. These observations highlight the importance of studying more than one model bacterial system in fine detail

Quantitative tissue proteome profile reveals neutrophil degranulation and remodeling of extracellular matrix proteins in early stage gallbladder cancer

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with a poor prognosis. It is important to understand the molecular processes associated with the pathogenesis of early stage GBC and identify proteins useful for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Here, we have carried out an iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of tumor tissues from early stage GBC cases (stage I, n=7 and stage II, n=5) and non-tumor controls (n=6) from gallstone disease (GSD). We identified 357 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) based on ≥ 2 unique peptides and ≥ 2 fold change with p value < 0.05. Pathway analysis using the STRING database showed, ‘neutrophil degranulation’ to be the major upregulated pathway that includes proteins such as MPO, PRTN3, S100A8, MMP9, DEFA1, AZU, and ‘ECM organization’ to be the major downregulated pathway that includes proteins such as COL14A1, COL1A2, COL6A1, COL6A2, COL6A3, BGN, DCN. Western blot and/or IHC analysis confirmed the elevated expression of MPO, PRTN3 and S100A8 in early stage of the disease. Based on the above results, we hypothesize that there is an increased neutrophil infiltration in tumor tissue and neutrophil degranulation leading to degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins promoting cancer cell invasion in the early stage GBC. Some of the proteins (MPO, MMP9, DEFA1) associated with ‘neutrophil degranulation’ showed the presence of ‘signal sequence’ suggesting their potential as circulatory markers for early detection of GBC. Overall, the study presents a protein dataset associated with early stage GBC

A missing operationalization: entrepreneurial competencies in multinational enterprise subsidiaries

We seek to provide a comprehensive operationalization of firm-specific variables that constitute multinational enterprise subsidiary entrepreneurial competencies. Towards this objective, we bring together notions from the fields of entrepreneurship and international business. Drawing on an empirical study of 260 subsidiaries located in the UK, we propose a comprehensive set of scales encompassing innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, learning, intra-multinational networking, extra-multinational networking and autonomy; which capture distinct subsidiary entrepreneurial competencies at the subsidiary level. Research and managerial implications are discussed

Human surfactant protein D alters oxidative stress and HMGA1 expression to induce p53 apoptotic pathway in eosinophil leukemic cell line

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright: © 2013 Mahajan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Surfactant protein D (SP-D), an innate immune molecule, has an indispensable role in host defense and regulation of inflammation. Immune related functions regulated by SP-D include agglutination of pathogens, phagocytosis, oxidative burst, antigen presentation, T lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine secretion, induction of apoptosis and clearance of apoptotic cells. The present study unravels a novel ability of SP-D to reduce the viability of leukemic cells (eosinophilic leukemic cell line, AML14.3D10; acute myeloid leukemia cell line, THP-1; acute lymphoid leukemia cell lines, Jurkat, Raji; and human breast epithelial cell line, MCF-7), and explains the underlying mechanisms. SP-D and a recombinant fragment of human SP-D (rhSP-D) induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, and dose and timedependent apoptosis in the AML14.3D10 eosinophilic leukemia cell line. Levels of various apoptotic markers viz. activated p53, cleaved caspase-9 and PARP, along with G2/M checkpoints (p21 and Tyr15 phosphorylation of cdc2) showed significant increase in these cells. We further attempted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of rhSP-D induced apoptosis using proteomic analysis. This approach identified large scale molecular changes initiated by SPD in a human cell for the first time. Among others, the proteomics analysis highlighted a decreased expression of survival related proteins such as HMGA1, overexpression of proteins to protect the cells from oxidative burst, while a drastic decrease in mitochondrial antioxidant defense system. rhSP-D mediated enhanced oxidative burst in AML14.3D10 cells was confirmed, while antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, abrogated the rhSP-D induced apoptosis. The rhSP-D mediated reduced viability was specific to the cancer cell lines and viability of human PBMCs from healthy controls was not affected. The study suggests involvement of SP-D in host’s immunosurveillance and therapeutic potential of rhSP-D in the eosinophilic leukemia and cancers of other origins.Department of Biotechnology, Indi

Role of Escherichia coli YbeY, a highly conserved protein, in rRNA processing

The UPF0054 protein family is highly conserved with homologues present in nearly every sequenced bacterium. In some bacteria, the respective gene is essential, while in others its loss results in a highly pleiotropic phenotype. Despite detailed structural studies, a cellular role for this protein family has remained unknown. We report here that deletion of the Escherichia coli homologue, YbeY, causes striking defects that affect ribosome activity, translational fidelity and ribosome assembly. Mapping of 16S, 23S and 5S rRNA termini reveals that YbeY influences the maturation of all three rRNAs, with a particularly strong effect on maturation at both the 5′- and 3′-ends of 16S rRNA as well as maturation of the 5′-termini of 23S and 5S rRNAs. Furthermore, we demonstrate strong genetic interactions between ybeY and rnc (encoding RNase III), ybeY and rnr (encoding RNase R), and ybeY and pnp (encoding PNPase), further suggesting a role for YbeY in rRNA maturation. Mutation of highly conserved amino acids in YbeY, allowed the identification of two residues (H114, R59) that were found to have a significant effect in vivo . We discuss the implications of these findings for rRNA maturation and ribosome assembly in bacteria.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79139/1/MMI_7351_sm_FigS1-3_TableS1-2.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79139/2/j.1365-2958.2010.07351.x.pd