Rescattering effects on resonances production in small systems with ALICE at the LHC

Recent multiplicity-dependent analyses of pp and p--Pb collision data have revealed that particle production shares similar features with that in heavy-ion collisions. Studies using resonances could help to understand the possible onset of collective-like phenomena and the presence of a hadronic phase in small collision systems. Measurements of the differential yields of resonances with different lifetime, mass, quark content, and quantum numbers could enable understanding the mechanisms that influence the shape of particle momentum spectra, lifetime of the hadronic phase, strangeness production, parton energy loss, and collective effects. New ALICE results on various hadronic resonances in small collision systems at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies, including the multiplicity dependence measurements of $\Lambda$(1520) and K$^*$(892)$^{\pm}$ and the production of $\phi$-meson pairs are presented here. Results will be also compared with model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, conference proceeding for SQM 202

Rare codon content affects the solubility of recombinant proteins in a codon bias-adjusted Escherichia coli strain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The expression of heterologous proteins in <it>Escherichia coli </it>is strongly affected by codon bias. This phenomenon occurs when the codon usage of the mRNA coding for the foreign protein differs from that of the bacterium. The ribosome pauses upon encountering a rare codon and may detach from the mRNA, thereby the yield of protein expression is reduced. Several bacterial strains have been engineered to overcome this effect. However, the increased rate of translation may lead to protein misfolding and insolubilization. In order to prove this assumption, the solubility of several recombinant proteins from plants was studied in a codon bias-adjusted <it>E. coli </it>strain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The expression of eight plant proteins in <it>Escherichia coli </it>BL21(DE3)-pLysS and BL21(DE3)-CodonPlus-pRIL was systematically studied. The CodonPlus strain contains extra copies of the <it>argU</it>, <it>ileY</it>, and <it>leuW </it>tRNA genes, which encode tRNAs that recognize the codons AGA/AGG, AUA and CUA, respectively (RIL codons). The level of expression and solubility of the recombinant proteins were analyzed by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting. We found that for all proteins the solubility was at least 25% in the BL21(DE3)-pLysS strain. However, when expressed in the BL21(DE3)-CodonPlus-pRIL strain, proteins having more than 5% of amino acids coded by RIL codons were localized mainly in the insoluble fraction. Also, their expression caused retarded growth and low cell yield in the codon bias-adjusted strain at all temperatures tested. On the contrary, the solubility of proteins containing less than 5% of amino acids coded by RIL codons remained unchanged in both strains and their expression caused no effect on cell growth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show that the expression of heterologous proteins coded by high RIL codon content coding sequences in a codon bias-adjusted strain is detrimental for their solubility. Our data support the hypothesis that the possible elimination of translational pauses that increase translation rate leads to protein misfolding and aggregation. This stresses the importance of strain selection according to codon content in any scheme where a large amount of biologically active product is desirable.</p

Prevalence of gastroschisis at birth: Retrospective study

[No abstract available

Tumor cellular and microenvironmental cues controlling invadopodia formation

During the metastatic progression, invading cells might achieve degradation and subsequent invasion into the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the underlying vasculature using invadopodia, F-actin-based and force-supporting protrusive membrane structures, operating focalized proteolysis. Their formation is a dynamic process requiring the combined and synergistic activity of ECM-modifying proteins with cellular receptors, and the interplay with factors from the tumor microenvironment (TME). Significant advances have been made in understanding how invadopodia are assembled and how they progress in degradative protrusions, as well as their disassembly, and the cooperation between cellular signals and ECM conditions governing invadopodia formation and activity, holding promise to translation into the identification of molecular targets for therapeutic interventions. These findings have revealed the existence of biochemical and mechanical interactions not only between the actin cores of invadopodia and specific intracellular structures, including the cell nucleus, the microtubular network, and vesicular trafficking players, but also with elements of the TME, such as stromal cells, ECM components, mechanical forces, and metabolic conditions. These interactions reflect the complexity and intricate regulation of invadopodia and suggest that many aspects of their formation and function remain to be determined. In this review, we will provide a brief description of invadopodia and tackle the most recent findings on their regulation by cellular signaling as well as by inputs from the TME. The identification and interplay between these inputs will offer a deeper mechanistic understanding of cell invasion during the metastatic process and will help the development of more effective therapeutic strategies

Pembuatan Alat Garasi Mobil Automatic Berbasis Mikrokontroler Atmega 16

Saat ini dunia semakin berkembang dan maju di bebagai bidang. Pekembangan bidang teknologi dan Komputerisasi ataupun Semikomputerisasi pada dunia USAha sangat beragam adanya, dengan menggunakan system komputerisasi yang mempermudah manusia mengakomodir semua aktifitas dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Perkembangan system tersebut, mencakup juga teknologi penyediaan system yang bekerja secara otomatis untuk menghemat waktu dan tenaga, salah satunya perkembangan teknologi adalah “Grasi Otomatis Sensor Foto Dioda Berbasis Mikrokontroler”. Masalah yang sering dihadapi oleh pemilik kendaraan yang akan memasukkan kendaraan kedalam Garasi adalah perlunya bantuan dari orang lain untuk membukan dan menutup Garasi, jika tidak ada yang membantu maka pemilik kendaraan butuh waktu untuk turun terlebih dahulu dan membuka Garasi sendiri, hal tersebut jelas membutuhkan waktu dan tenaga untuk membuka dan menutup garasi mobil. Dengan adanya permasalahan diatas pada penelitian ini penulis mempunyai tujuan untuk menciptakan inovasi dengan menciptakan alat untuk membuka dan menutup Garasi mobil otomatis. Dalam aplikasinya alat ini berfungsi sebagai garasi (Tempat Kendaraan) otomatis yang bisa membuka secara otomatis saat ketika kendaraan berada di depan garasi dan menutup secara otomatis juga saat beberapa meter kendaraan sudah keluar dari garasi dan pada gari juga ada lampu indicator yang menandakan ada tidak kendaaran didalam garasi. Kelebihan alat ini adalah driver tidak perlu lagi turun untuk membuka garasi saat inggin memasukan kendaraan dan mengeluarkan kendaraanya secara otomatis garasi ini akan terbuka dan menutup sendiri

Inverse association of circulating SIRT1 and adiposity. A study on underweight, normal weight, and obese patients

Context: Sirtuins (SIRTs) are NAD+-dependent deacetylases, cellular sensors to detect energy availability, and modulate metabolic processes. SIRT1, the most studied family member, influences a number of tissues including adipose tissue. Expression and activity of SIRT1 reduce with weight gain and increase in conditions of starvation. Objective: To focus on SIRT1 plasma concentrations in different conditions of adiposity and to correlate SIRT1 with fat content and distribution, energy homeostasis and inflammation in under-weight, normal-weight, and obese individuals. Materials and Methods: 21 patients with anorexia nervosa, 26 normal-weight and 75 patients with obesity were evaluated. Body fat composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, ultrasound liver adiposity, echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT), inflammatory (ESR, CRP, and fibrinogen), and metabolic (FPG, insulin, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides) parameters, calculated basal metabolic rate (BMR) and plasma SIRT1 (ELISA) were measured. Results: SIRT1 was significantly higher in anorexic patients compared to normal-weight and obese patients (3.27 ± 2.98, 2.27 ± 1.13, and 1.36 ± 1.31 ng/ml, respectively). Linear regression models for each predictor variable adjusted for age and sex showed that SIRT1 concentration was inversely and significantly correlated with EFT, fat mass %, liver fat content, BMR, weight, BMI, WC, LDL-cholesterol, insulin, ESR. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that age and EFT were the best independent correlates of SIRT1 (β = -0.026 ± 0.011, p = 0.025, and β = -0.516 ± 0.083, p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Plasma SIRT1 shows a continuous pattern that inversely follows the whole spectrum of adiposity. SIRT1 significantly associates with EFT, a strong index of visceral fat phenotype, better than other indexes of adiposity studied here

Chemotherapeutic Drugs and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Focus on Doxorubicin, Trastuzumab, and Sunitinib.

Many cancer therapies produce toxic side effects whose molecular mechanisms await full elucidation. The most feared and studied side effect of chemotherapeutic drugs is cardiotoxicity. Also, skeletal muscle physiology impairment has been recorded after many chemotherapeutical treatments. However, only doxorubicin has been extensively studied for its side effects on skeletal muscle. Chemotherapeutic-induced adverse side effects are, in many cases, mediated by mitochondrial damage. In particular, trastuzumab and sunitinib toxicity is mainly associated with mitochondria impairment and is mostly reversible. Vice versa, doxorubicin-induced toxicity not only includes mitochondria damage but can also lead to a more robust and extensive cell injury which is often irreversible and lethal. Drugs interfering with mitochondrial functionality determine the depletion of ATP reservoirs and lead to subsequent reversible contractile dysfunction. Mitochondrial damage includes the impairment of the respiratory chain and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential with subsequent disruption of cellular energetic. In a context of increased stress, AMPK has a key role in maintaining energy homeostasis, and inhibition of the AMPK pathway is one of the proposed mechanisms possibly mediating mitochondrial toxicity due to chemotherapeutics. Therapies targeting and protecting cell metabolism and energy management might be useful tools in protecting muscular tissues against the toxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs