Microbiological Diversity and Associated Enzymatic Activities in Honey and Pollen from Stingless Bees from Northern Argentina.

Honey and pollen from and , stingless bees from northern Argentina, presented a particular microbiological profile and associated enzymatic activities. The cultured bacteria were mostly spp. (44%) and spp.

Machine learning enables non-Gaussian investigation of changes to peripheral nerves related to electrical stimulation.

Electrical stimulation of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is becoming increasingly important for the therapeutic treatment of numerous disorders. Thus, as peripheral nerves are increasingly the target of electrical stimulation, it is critical to determine how, and when, electrical stimulation results in anatomical changes in neural tissue. We introduce here a convolutional neural network and support vector machines for cell segmentation and analysis of histological samples of the sciatic nerve of rats stimulated with varying current intensities.

Comparative oil extraction from mutt (Myliobatis goodei) liver by enzymatic hydrolysis: free versus immobilized biocatalyst.

Background: The development and fine-tuning of biotechnological processes for fish oil extraction constitute a very important focus to contribute to the development of a food industry based on fish consumption. This work lies in a comparative analysis of the oil extraction yield of Myliobatis goodei livers using free and immobilized enzymes.

Results: An immobilized biocatalyst was designed from the cell-free extract of a Bacillus sp.

Tuning surface interactions on MgFeO nanoparticles to induce interfacial hyperactivation in Candida rugosa lipase immobilization.

Lipase adsorption on solid supports can be mediated by a precise balance of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. A suitable fine-tuning could allow the immobilized enzyme to display high catalytic activity. The objective of this work was to investigate how pH and ionic strength fluctuations affected protein-support interactions during immobilization via physical adsorption of a Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) on MgFeO.

Interfacial Hyperactivation of Lipase onto CaFeO Nanoparticles: pH and Ionic Strength Fine-Tuning to Modulate Protein-Support Interactions.

The current study provides a comprehensive look of the adsorption process of lipase (CRL) on CaFeO iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs). Protein-support interactions were identified across a broad range of pH and ionic strengths (mM) through a response surface methodology, surface charge determination, and spectroscopic and in silico analyses. The maximum quantity of immobilized protein was achieved at an ionic strength of 50 mM and pH 4.

Implementation of clinical assistants in a pediatric oncology department: An impact analysis.

Bureaucratic and administrative tasks associated with health care provision have historically fallen on health care professionals, which is one among the factors contributing to low job satisfaction and lower productivity. Incorporating new professional roles that help to better respond to the needs of both patients and professionals can increase the quality and efficiency of service provision. This article aims to evaluate the impact of the clinical assistant's introduction in the Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children's Hospital's pediatric oncology department, in terms of (i) displacement of activity loads carried out by this new professional role and the consequent time freed up for physicians, (ii) physicians' satisfaction and (iii) efficiency of the new care model.

Electrical Stimulation Induced Current Distribution in Peripheral Nerves Varies Significantly with the Extent of Nerve Damage: A Computational Study Utilizing Convolutional Neural Network and Realistic Nerve Models.

Electrical stimulation of the peripheral nervous system is a promising therapeutic option for several conditions; however, its effects on tissue and the safety of the stimulation remain poorly understood. In order to devise stimulation protocols that enhance therapeutic efficacy without the risk of causing tissue damage, we constructed computational models of peripheral nerve and stimulation cuffs based on extremely high-resolution cross-sectional images of the nerves using the most recent advances in computing power and machine learning techniques. We developed nerve models using nonstimulated (healthy) and over-stimulated (damaged) rat sciatic nerves to explore how nerve damage affects the induced current density distribution.

Oocytes as a Powerful Cellular Model to Study Foreign Fully-Processed Membrane Proteins.

The use of oocytes in electrophysiological and biophysical research constitutes a long and successful story, providing major advances to the knowledge of the function and modulation of membrane proteins, mostly receptors, ion channels, and transporters. Earlier reports showed that these cells are capable of correctly expressing heterologous proteins after injecting the corresponding mRNA or cDNA. More recently, the oocyte has become an outstanding host-cell model to carry out detailed studies on the function of fully-processed foreign membrane proteins after their microtransplantation to the oocyte.

Molecular Events behind the Selectivity and Inactivation Properties of Model NaK-Derived Ion Channels.

Y55W mutants of non-selective NaK and partly K-selective NaK2K channels have been used to explore the conformational dynamics at the pore region of these channels as they interact with either Na or K. A major conclusion is that these channels exhibit a remarkable pore conformational flexibility. Homo-FRET measurements reveal a large change in W55-W55 intersubunit distances, enabling the selectivity filter (SF) to admit different species, thus, favoring poor or no selectivity.

Electrical Stimulation Induced Current Distribution in Peripheral Nerves Varies Significantly with the Extent of Nerve Damage: A Computational Study Utilizing Convolutional Neural Network and Realistic Nerve Models.

Although electrical stimulation is an established treatment option for multiple central nervous and peripheral nervous system diseases, its effects on the tissue and subsequent safety of the stimulation are not well understood. Therefore, it is crucial to design stimulation protocols that maximize therapeutic efficacy while avoiding any potential tissue damage. Further, the stimulation levels need to be adjusted regularly to ensure that they are safe even with the changes to the nerve due to long-term stimulation.

Vernalization Requirement, but Not Post-Vernalization Day Length, Conditions Flowering in Carrot ( L.).

Carrots require a certain number of cold hours to become vernalized and proceed to the reproductive stage, and this phenomenon is genotype-dependent. Annual carrots require less cold than biennials to flower; however, quantitative variation within annuals and biennials also exists, defining a gradient for vernalization requirement (VR). The flowering response of carrots to day length, after vernalization has occurred, is controversial.

Electrode Spacing and Current Distribution in Electrical Stimulation of Peripheral Nerve: A Computational Modeling Study using Realistic Nerve Models.

Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves has long been used and proven effective in restoring function caused by disease or injury. Accurate placement of electrodes is often critical to properly excite the nerve and yield the desired outcome. Computational modeling is becoming an important tool that can guide the rapid development and optimization of such implantable neural stimulation devices.

Disposable point-of-care portable perfusion phantom for quantitative DCE-MRI.

Purpose: To develop a disposable point-of-care portable perfusion phantom (DP4) and validate its clinical utility in a multi-institutional setting for quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (qDCE-MRI).

Methods: The DP4 phantom was designed for single-use and imaged concurrently with a human subject so that the phantom data can be utilized as the reference to detect errors in qDCE-MRI measurement of human tissues. The change of contrast-agent concentration in the phantom was measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Peimine, an Anti-Inflammatory Compound from Chinese Herbal Extracts, Modulates Muscle-Type Nicotinic Receptors.

bulbs are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat several illnesses. Peimine (Pm), an anti-inflammatory compound from , is known to inhibit some voltage-dependent ion channels and muscarinic receptors, but its interaction with ligand-gated ion channels remains unexplored. We have studied if Pm affects nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), since they play broad functional roles, both in the nervous system and non-neuronal tissues.

Hybridization and polyploidization effects on LTR-retrotransposon activation in potato genome.

Hybridization and polyploidization are major forces in plant evolution and potatoes are not an exception. It is proposed that the proliferation of Long Terminal Repeat-retrotransposons (LTR-RT) is related to genome reorganization caused by hybridization and/or polyploidization. The main purpose of the present work was to evaluate the effect of interspecific hybridization and polyploidization on the activation of LTR-RT.

Profound neonatal lactic acidosis and renal tubulopathy in a patient with glycogen storage disease type IXɑ2 secondary to a pathogenic variant in .

The phenotype of individuals with glycogen storage disease (GSD) IX appears to be highly variable, even within subtypes. Features include short stature, fasting hypoglycemia with ketosis, hepatomegaly, and transaminitis. GSD IXɑ2 is caused by hemizygous pathogenic variants in , and results in deficiency of the phosphorylase kinase enzyme, particularly in the liver.

A novel mitochondrial Kv1.3-caveolin axis controls cell survival and apoptosis.

The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 plays an apparent dual physiological role by participating in activation and proliferation of leukocytes as well as promoting apoptosis in several types of tumor cells. Therefore, Kv1.

Addressing Sustainable Social Change for All: Upcycled-Based Social Creative Businesses for the Transformation of Socio-Technical Regimes.

The global challenges caused by socio-economic inequalities, climate change and environmental damage caused to ecosystems, require changes in human behavior at all organizational levels, including companies, governments, communities, and individuals. In this context, it is important to analyse how social and creative companies that work in the fashion and industrial design recycling sector can address sustainable social change. In this paper, we propose an analysis in the countries of the global South.

Modulation of Function, Structure and Clustering of K Channels by Lipids: Lessons Learnt from KcsA.

KcsA, a prokaryote tetrameric potassium channel, was the first ion channel ever to be structurally solved at high resolution. This, along with the ease of its expression and purification, made KcsA an experimental system of choice to study structure-function relationships in ion channels. In fact, much of our current understanding on how the different channel families operate arises from earlier KcsA information.

Scaffold-Free Bioprinter Utilizing Layer-By-Layer Printing of Cellular Spheroids.

Free from the limitations posed by exogenous scaffolds or extracellular matrix-based materials, scaffold-free engineered tissues have immense clinical potential. Biomaterials may produce adverse responses, interfere with cell-cell interaction, or affect the extracellular matrix integrity of cells. The scaffold-free Kenzan method can generate complex tissues using spheroids on an array of needles but could be inefficient in terms of time, as it moves and places only a single spheroid at a time.

Modulation of the potassium channel KcsA by anionic phospholipids: Role of arginines at the non-annular lipid binding sites.

The role of arginines R64 and R89 at non-annular lipid binding sites of KcsA, on the modulation of channel activity by anionic lipids has been investigated. In wild-type (WT) KcsA reconstituted into asolectin lipid membranes, addition of phosphatidic acid (PA) drastically reduces inactivation in macroscopic current recordings. Consistent to this, PA increases current amplitude, mean open time and open probability at the single channel level.