Microbial fuel cells: a green and alternative source for bioenergy production

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) represents one of the green technologies for the production of bioenergy. MFCs using microalgae produce bioenergy by converting solar energy into electrical energy as a function of metabolic and anabolic pathways of the cells. In the MFCs with bacteria, bioenergy is generated as a result of the organic substrate oxidation. MFCs have received high attention from researchers in the last years due to the simplicity of the process, the absence in toxic by-products, and low requirements for the algae growth. Many studies have been conducted on MFC and investigated the factors affecting the MFC performance. In the current chapter, the performance of MFC in producing bioenergy as well as the factors which influence the efficacy of MFCs is discussed. It appears that the main factors affecting MFC’s performance include bacterial and algae species, pH, temperature, salinity, substrate, mechanism of electron transfer in an anodic chamber, electrodes materials, surface area, and electron acceptor in a cathodic chamber. These factors are becoming more influential and might lead to overproduction of bioenergy when they are optimized using response surface methodology (RSM)

Why are MD simulated protein folding times wrong?

The question of significant deviations of protein folding times simulated using molecular dynamics from experimental values is investigated. It is shown that in the framework of Markov State Model (MSM) describing the conformational dynamics of peptides and proteins, the folding time is very sensitive to the simulation model parameters, such as forcefield and temperature. Using two peptides as examples, we show that the deviations in the folding times can reach an order of magnitude for modest variations of the molecular model. We, therefore, conclude that the folding rate values obtained in molecular dynamics simulations have to be treated with care

New "light" for one-world approach toward safe and effective control of animal diseases and insect vectors from leishmaniac perspectives

Light is known to excite photosensitizers (PS) to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of oxygen. This modality is attractive for designing control measures against animal diseases and pests. Many PS have a proven safety record. Also, the ROS cytotoxicity selects no resistant mutants, unlike other drugs and pesticides. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) refers to the use of PS as light activable tumoricides, microbicides and pesticides in medicine and agriculture.Here we describe "photodynamic vaccination" (PDV) that uses PDT-inactivation of parasites, i.e. Leishmania as whole-cell vaccines against leishmaniasis, and as a universal carrier to deliver transgenic add-on vaccines against other infectious and malignant diseases. The efficacy of Leishmania for vaccine delivery makes use of their inherent attributes to parasitize antigen (vaccine)-presenting cells. Inactivation of Leishmania by PDT provides safety for their use. This is accomplished in two different ways: (i) chemical engineering of PS to enhance their uptake, e.g. Si-phthalocyanines; and (ii) transgenic approach to render Leishmania inducible for porphyrinogenesis. Three different schemes of Leishmania-based PDV are presented diagrammatically to depict the cellular events resulting in cell-mediated immunity, as seen experimentally against leishmaniasis and Leishmania-delivered antigen in vitro and in vivo. Safety versus efficacy evaluations are under way for PDT-inactivated Leishmania, including those further processed to facilitate their storage and transport. Leishmania transfected to express cancer and viral vaccine candidates are being prepared accordingly for experimental trials.We have begun to examine PS-mediated photodynamic insecticides (PDI). Mosquito cells take up rose bengal/cyanosine, rendering them light-sensitive to undergo disintegration in vitro, thereby providing a cellular basis for the larvicidal activity seen by the same treatments. Ineffectiveness of phthalocyanines and porphyrins for PDI underscores its requirement for different PS. Differential uptake of PS by insect versus other cells to account for this difference is under study.The ongoing work is patterned after the one-world approach by enlisting the participation of experts in medicinal chemistry, cell/molecular biology, immunology, parasitology, entomology, cancer research, tropical medicine and veterinary medicine. The availability of multidisciplinary expertise is indispensable for implementation of the necessary studies to move the project toward product development

Triple negative breast carcinoma is a prognostic factor in Taiwanese women

© 2009 Lin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Human Angiostrongyliasis Outbreak in Dali, China

Angiostrongyliasis, caused by the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is a potentially fatal food-borne disease. It is endemic in parts of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and the Caribbean. Outbreaks have become increasingly common in China due to the spread of efficient intermediate host snails, most notably Pomacea canaliculata. However, infections are difficult to detect since the disease has a rather long incubation period and few diagnostic clinical symptoms. Reliable diagnostic tests are not widely available. The described angiostrongyliasis epidemic in Dali, China lasted for eight months. Only 11 of a total of 33 suspected patients were clinically confirmed based on a set of diagnostic criteria. Our results demonstrate that the rapid and correct diagnosis of the index patient is crucial to adequately respond to an epidemic, and a set of standardized diagnostic procedures is needed to guide clinicians. Integrated control and management measures including health education, clinical guidelines and a hospital-based surveillance system, should be implemented in areas where snails are a popular food item

Inhibitory effect on expression of angiogenic factors by antiangiogenic agents in renal cell carcinoma

Since it has been widely recognised that renal cell carcinoma is refractory to standard therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, a new modality of treatment is needed. One of the potential alternative therapies for renal cell carcinoma may be inhibition of angiogenesis. In this study, we analysed the inhibitory effects of several potential agents on expression of angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, which are the main mediators in angiogenesis of renal cell carcinoma. We used medroxyprogesterone acetate, interferon-alpha, interferon-gamma, minocycline hydrochrolide and genistein, which are known to be antiangiogeneic. Northern blot analyses revealed that, among the five agents examined, genistein had a strong inhibitory effect on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and basic fibroblast growth factor mRNA. Medroxyprogesterone acetate and interferon-alpha did not significantly decrease the level of either vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA or basic fibroblast growth factor mRNA. Interferon-gamma and minocycline had mild inhibitory effects on vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and basic fibroblast growth factor mRNA expression. Genistein also inhibited both vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and basic fibroblast growth factor mRNA expression after treatment with epidermal growth factor and hypoxia. These findings suggest that one of the mechanisms of the inhibition of angiogenesis by genistein is suppression of the expression of the angiogenic factors vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in renal cell carcinoma

Computational Analysis of mRNA Expression Profiles Identifies MicroRNA-29a/c as Predictor of Colorectal Cancer Early Recurrence

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading malignant cancers with a rapid increase in incidence and mortality. The recurrences of CRC after curative resection are sometimes unavoidable and often take place within the first year after surgery. MicroRNAs may serve as biomarkers to predict early recurrence of CRC, but identifying them from over 1,400 known human microRNAs is challenging and costly. An alternative approach is to analyze existing expression data of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) because generally speaking the expression levels of microRNAs and their target mRNAs are inversely correlated. In this study, we extracted six mRNA expression data of CRC in four studies (GSE12032, GSE17538, GSE4526 and GSE17181) from the gene expression omnibus (GEO). We inferred microRNA expression profiles and performed computational analysis to identify microRNAs associated with CRC recurrence using the IMRE method based on the MicroCosm database that includes 568,071 microRNA-target connections between 711 microRNAs and 20,884 gene targets. Two microRNAs, miR-29a and miR-29c, were disclosed and further meta-analysis of the six mRNA expression datasets showed that these two microRNAs were highly significant based on the Fisher p-value combination (p = 9.14×10−9 for miR-29a and p = 1.14×10−6 for miR-29c). Furthermore, these two microRNAs were experimentally tested in 78 human CRC samples to validate their effect on early recurrence. Our empirical results showed that the two microRNAs were significantly down-regulated (p = 0.007 for miR-29a and p = 0.007 for miR-29c) in the early-recurrence patients. This study shows the feasibility of using mRNA profiles to indicate microRNAs. We also shows miR-29a/c could be potential biomarkers for CRC early recurrence

Masked mRNA is stored with aggregated nuclear speckles and its asymmetric redistribution requires a homolog of mago nashi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many rapidly developing systems rely on the regulated translation of stored transcripts for the formation of new proteins essential for morphogenesis. The microspores of the water fern <it>Marsilea vestita </it>dehydrate as they mature. During this process both mRNA and proteins required for subsequent development are stored within the microspores as they become fully desiccated and enter into senescence. At this point microspores become transcriptionally silent and remain so upon rehydration and for the remainder of spermatogenesis. Transcriptional silencing coupled with the translation of preformed RNA makes the microspore of <it>M. vestita </it>a useful system in which to study post-transcriptional regulation of RNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have characterized the distribution of mRNA as well as several conserved markers of subnuclear bodies within the nuclei of desiccating spores. During this period, nuclear speckles containing RNA were seen to aggregate forming a single large coalescence. We found that aggregated speckles contain several masked mRNA species known to be essential for spermatogenesis. During spermatogenesis masked mRNA and associated speckle proteins were shown to fragment and asymmetrically localize to spermatogenous but not sterile cells. This asymmetric localization was disrupted by RNAi knockdown of the <it>Marsilea </it>homolog of the Exon Junction Complex core component Mago nashi.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A subset of masked mRNA is stored in association with nuclear speckles during the dormant phase of microspore development in <it>M. vestita</it>. The asymmetric distribution of specific mRNAs to spermatogenous but not sterile cells mirrors their translational activities and appears to require the EJC or EJC components. This suggests a novel role for nuclear speckles in the post-transcriptional regulation of transcripts.</p

Overexpression of Prothymosin Alpha Predicts Poor Disease Outcome in Head and Neck Cancer

In our recent study, tissue proteomic analysis of oral pre-malignant lesions (OPLs) and normal oral mucosa led to the identification of a panel of biomarkers, including prothymosin alpha (PTMA), to distinguish OPLs from histologically normal oral tissues. This study aimed to determine the clinical significance of PTMA overexpression in oral squamous cell hyperplasia, dysplasia and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).Immunohistochemistry of PTMA protein was performed in HNSCCs (n = 100), squamous cell hyperplasia (n = 116), dysplasia (n = 50) and histologically normal oral tissues (n = 100). Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the association of PTMA overexpression with clinicopathological parameters and disease prognosis over 7 years for HNSCC patients.<0.001). Chi-square analysis showed significant association of nuclear PTMA with advanced tumor stages (III+IV). Kaplan Meier survival analysis indicated reduced disease free survival (DFS) in HNSCC patients (p<0.001; median survival 11 months). Notably, Cox-multivariate analysis revealed nuclear PTMA as an independent predictor of poor prognosis of HNSCC patients (p<0.001, Hazard's ratio, HR = 5.2, 95% CI = 2.3–11.8) in comparison with the histological grade, T-stage, nodal status and tumor stage.Nuclear PTMA may serve as prognostic marker in HNSCC to determine the subset of patients that are likely to show recurrence of the disease

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente