Self-organization of developing embryo using scale-invariant approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-organization is a fundamental feature of living organisms at all hierarchical levels from molecule to organ. It has also been documented in developing embryos.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, a scale-invariant power law (SIPL) method has been used to study self-organization in developing embryos. The SIPL coefficient was calculated using a centro-axial skew symmetrical matrix (CSSM) generated by entering the components of the Cartesian coordinates; for each component, one CSSM was generated. A basic square matrix (BSM) was constructed and the determinant was calculated in order to estimate the SIPL coefficient. This was applied to developing <it>C. elegans </it>during early stages of embryogenesis. The power law property of the method was evaluated using the straight line and Koch curve and the results were consistent with fractal dimensions (fd). Diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) was used to validate the SIPL method.</p> <p>Results and conclusion</p> <p>The fractal dimensions of both the straight line and Koch curve showed consistency with the SIPL coefficients, which indicated the power law behavior of the SIPL method. The results showed that the ABp sublineage had a higher SIPL coefficient than EMS, indicating that ABp is more organized than EMS. The fd determined using DLA was higher in ABp than in EMS and its value was consistent with type 1 cluster formation, while that in EMS was consistent with type 2.</p

Applicability of non-invasively collected matrices for human biomonitoring

With its inclusion under Action 3 in the Environment and Health Action Plan 2004–2010 of the European Commission, human biomonitoring is currently receiving an increasing amount of attention from the scientific community as a tool to better quantify human exposure to, and health effects of, environmental stressors. Despite the policy support, however, there are still several issues that restrict the routine application of human biomonitoring data in environmental health impact assessment. One of the main issues is the obvious need to routinely collect human samples for large-scale surveys. Particularly the collection of invasive samples from susceptible populations may suffer from ethical and practical limitations. Children, pregnant women, elderly, or chronically-ill people are among those that would benefit the most from non-invasive, repeated or routine sampling. Therefore, the use of non-invasively collected matrices for human biomonitoring should be promoted as an ethically appropriate, cost-efficient and toxicologically relevant alternative for many biomarkers that are currently determined in invasively collected matrices. This review illustrates that several non-invasively collected matrices are widely used that can be an valuable addition to, or alternative for, invasively collected matrices such as peripheral blood sampling. Moreover, a well-informed choice of matrix can provide an added value for human biomonitoring, as different non-invasively collected matrices can offer opportunities to study additional aspects of exposure to and effects from environmental contaminants, such as repeated sampling, historical overview of exposure, mother-child transfer of substances, or monitoring of substances with short biological half-lives

Preparativos de celulasas comerciales y aplicaciones en procesos extractivos

The extractive industry of compounds of interest such as essential and edible oils, production of fruit or vegetable juices, the extraction of pigments, flavoring and aroma, faces problems, as they are the process of time consumption and low extraction efficiency, due to the complex chemical nature of food compounds. The importance and demand of these food natural products has caused the development of new biotechnological treatments, as the application of enzymes as an alternative to diminish these problems. The hydrolases that have the capacity to degradate the polysaccharides that constitute the cell wall of the plant tissues such as the cellulose, the hemicellulose and the pectin, receive actually a major attention mainly in the food industry. Reason why in the last few decades, in particular the commercial cellulolytic and the multiple activity preparations have been applied successfully to facilitate and to increase the release of interest compounds or for improving the technological process by means of the enzymatic predigestion of the cell wall of the plant tissues. The present contribution is an overview of the potentiality of the cellulytic enzymatic preparations or multiple activity preparations on different processes of extraction.La industria extractiva de compuestos de interés, tales como, la extracción de aceites esenciales y comestibles, la producción de jugos de fruta o de vegetales, la extracción de pigmentos, saborizantes y aromas, enfrenta problemas (el consumo de tiempo del proceso y la eficiencia de la extracción) debido a la naturaleza química compleja de los vegetales. La importancia y la demanda de estos productos naturales alimenticios ha propiciado el desarrollo de nuevas propuestas biotecnológicas, siendo una de ellas la aplicación de enzimas, como una alternativa para minimizar estos problemas. Las hidrolasas que tienen la capacidad de degradar los polisacáridos que constituyen la pared celular de los tejidos vegetales tales como la celulosa, la hemicelulosa y la pectina, reciben en la actualidad mayor atención principalmente en la industria alimentaría. Por lo que en las últimas décadas, en particular los preparados celulolíticos comerciales y los preparados con actividad múltiple, se han aplicado con éxito para facilitar y aumentar la liberación de productos de interés y para mejorar el proceso tecnológico mediante la predigestión enzimática de la pared celular de los tejidos vegetales. La presente aportación es una revisión bibliográfica sobre la potencialidad de los preparados enzimáticos celulolíticos o con actividad múltiple sobre diferentes procesos de extracción