Flexible active-site loops fine-tune substrate specificity of hyperthermophilic metallo-oxidases.

Hyperthermophilic ('superheat-loving') archaea found in high-temperature environments such as Pyrobaculum aerophilum contain multicopper oxidases (MCOs) with remarkable efficiency for oxidizing cuprous and ferrous ions. In this work, directed evolution was used to expand the substrate specificity of P. aerophilum McoP for organic substrates.

Mechanistic insights into glycoside 3-oxidases involved in C-glycoside metabolism in soil microorganisms.

C-glycosides are natural products with important biological activities but are recalcitrant to degradation. Glycoside 3-oxidases (G3Oxs) are recently identified bacterial flavo-oxidases from the glucose-methanol-coline (GMC) superfamily that catalyze the oxidation of C-glycosides with the concomitant reduction of O to HO. This oxidation is followed by C-C acid/base-assisted bond cleavage in two-step C-deglycosylation pathways.

Food Losses and Waste: A Needed Assessment for Future Policies.

About one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. For this reason, food losses and waste has become a key priority within worldwide policy circles. This is a major global issue that not only threatens the viability of a sustainable food system but also generates negative externalities in environmental terms.

Didactic platform for DC motor speed and position control in Z-plane.

This paper describes how to implement a low-cost didactic platform designed to teach or reinforce discrete control theory concepts. The controllers used in this work (P, PI, PD, and PID) are suitable for undergraduate students but the same platform could be used to explain and test advanced controllers to graduate students. This document shows, step by step, how to control a DC motor speed and position, along with the most common problems and its solutions, commonly overlooked in the literature.

From fault detection to one-class severity discrimination of 3D printers with one-class support vector machine.

The lack of faulty condition data reduces the feasibility of supervised learning for fault detection or fault severity discrimination in new manufacturing technologies. To deal with this issue, one-class learning arises for building binary discriminative models using only healthy condition data. However, these models have not been extrapolated to severity discrimination.

Efficiency of Site-Specific Clicked Laccase-Carbon Nanotubes Biocathodes towards O Reduction.

A maximization of a direct electron transfer (DET) between redox enzymes and electrodes can be obtained through the oriented immobilization of enzymes onto an electroactive surface. Here, a strategy for obtaining carbon nanotube (CNTs) based electrodes covalently modified with perfectly control-oriented fungal laccases is presented. Modelizations of the laccase-CNT interaction and of electron conduction pathways serve as a guide in choosing grafting positions.

Multiple implications of an active site phenylalanine in the catalysis of aryl-alcohol oxidase.

Aryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO) has demonstrated to be an enzyme with a bright future ahead due to its biotechnological potential in deracemisation of chiral compounds, production of bioplastic precursors and other reactions of interest. Expanding our understanding on the AAO reaction mechanisms, through the investigation of its structure-function relationships, is crucial for its exploitation as an industrial biocatalyst. In this regard, previous computational studies suggested an active role for AAO Phe397 at the active-site entrance.

Bridges of biomaterials promote nigrostriatal pathway regeneration.

Repair of central nervous system (CNS) lesions is difficulted by the lack of ability of central axons to regrow, and the blocking by the brain astrocytes to axonal entry. We hypothesized that by using bridges made of porous biomaterial and permissive olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG), we could provide a scaffold to permit restoration of white matter tracts. We implanted porous polycaprolactone (PCL) bridges between the substantia nigra and the striatum in rats, both with and without OEG.

Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant Proteus mirabilis Clones Carrying a Novel Integron-Borne in a Tertiary Hospital.

This study aimed to characterize multidrug-resistant clones carrying a novel class 1 integron-borne In was inserted into a large conjugative plasmid that also carried The production of carbapenemases in that are intrinsically resistant to polymyxins and tigecycline is very worrisome, representing a serious challenge to clinicians and infection control teams.

Fermented milk containing Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-1518 reduces bacterial translocation in rats treated with carbon tetrachloride.

Probiotics can prevent pathological bacterial translocation by modulating intestinal microbiota and improving the gut barrier. The aim was to evaluate the effect of a fermented milk containing Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-1518 on bacterial translocation in rats with carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced cirrhosis.

Probing the Surface of a Laccase for Clues towards the Design of Chemo-Enzymatic Catalysts.

Systems featuring a multi-copper oxidase associated with transition-metal complexes can be used to perform oxidation reactions in mild conditions. Here, a strategy is presented for achieving a controlled orientation of a ruthenium-polypyridyl graft at the surface of a fungal laccase. Laccase variants are engineered with unique surface-accessible lysine residues.

Institutions and Cultural Diversity: Effects of Democratic and Propaganda Processes on Local Convergence and Global Diversity.

In a connected world where people influence each other, what can cause a globalized monoculture, and which measures help to preserve the coexistence of cultures? Previous research has shown that factors such as homophily, population size, geography, mass media, and type of social influence play important roles. In the present paper, we investigate for the first time the impact that institutions have on cultural diversity. In our first three studies, we extend existing agent-based models and explore the effects of institutional influence and agent loyalty.

Steroid hydroxylation by basidiomycete peroxygenases: a combined experimental and computational study.

The goal of this study is the selective oxyfunctionalization of steroids under mild and environmentally friendly conditions using fungal enzymes. With this purpose, peroxygenases from three basidiomycete species were tested for the hydroxylation of a variety of steroidal compounds, using H2O2 as the only cosubstrate. Two of them are wild-type enzymes from Agrocybe aegerita and Marasmius rotula, and the third one is a recombinant enzyme from Coprinopsis cinerea.

Predicting the pathological features of the mesorectum before the laparoscopic approach to rectal cancer.

Pelvic anatomy and tumour features play a role in the difficulty of the laparoscopic approach to total mesorectal excision in rectal cancer. The aim of the study was to analyse whether these characteristics also influence the quality of the surgical specimen. We performed a prospective study in consecutive patients with rectal cancer located less than 12 cm from the anal verge who underwent laparoscopic surgery between January 2010 and July 2013.

VSL#3 probiotic treatment decreases bacterial translocation in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Probiotics can prevent pathological bacterial translocation in cirrhosis by modulating intestinal microbiota and improving gut barrier and immune disturbances. To evaluate the effect of probiotic VSL#3 on bacterial translocation, intestinal microbiota, gut barrier and inflammatory response in rats with experimental cirrhosis.

Methods: Forty-six Sprague-Dawley rats with CCl4 -induced cirrhosis were randomized into two groups: VSL#3 group (n = 22) that received VSL#3 in drinking water, and water group (n = 24) that received water only.

Microbiome composition by pyrosequencing in mesenteric lymph nodes of rats with CCl4-induced cirrhosis.

Background: The cross talk between the gut microbiota and the immune system, which is essential to maintain homeostasis, takes place at the intestinal lymphoid tissue such as the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). Here, we investigated the presence of bacterial DNA in MLNs of control and cirrhotic rats and its relationship with inflammatory responses.

Methods: The MLN microbiome of cirrhotic rats with ascites, which was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), was compared to that of control rats using quantitative real-time PCR and pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.

Modulation of inflammatory response in a cirrhotic rat model with induced bacterial peritonitis.

Bacterial peritonitis is a severe complication in patients with cirrhosis and ascites and despite antibiotic treatment, the inflammatory response to infection may induce renal dysfunction leading to death. This investigation evaluated the effect of TNF-α blockade on the inflammatory response and mortality in cirrhotic rats with induced bacterial peritonitis treated or not with antibiotics. Sprague-Dawley rats with carbon-tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis were treated with an intraperitoneal injection of 10(9) CFU of Escherichia coli diluted in 20 mL of sterile water to induce bacterial peritonitis and randomized to receive subcutaneously-administered placebo, ceftriaxone, anti-TNF-α mAb and ceftriaxone, or anti-TNF-α mAb alone.

Reliability of the inter-rectus distance measured by palpation. Comparison of palpation and ultrasound measurements.

An increased inter-rectus distance (IRD) is a common condition in late pregnancy and in the postnatal period. The condition is difficult to assess. Palpation is the most commonly used method to assess IRD.

Test-retest and intrarater reliability of 2-dimensional ultrasound measurements of distance between rectus abdominis in women.

Study Design: Single-group test-retest reliability study.

Objectives: To evaluate the test-retest intraobserver reliability of 2-dimensional ultrasound measurement of the distance between the rectus abdominis muscles, the interrectus distance (IRD).

Background: Diastasis recti is defined as the separation of the 2 rectus abdominis muscles, with a reported prevalence of between 30% and 70% in women during pregnancy and in the postpartum period.

Gene expression signatures and molecular markers associated with clinical outcome in locally advanced head and neck carcinoma.

The purpose of this study was to identify molecular markers associated with tumor recurrence and survival in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We studied the expression profile of 63 pre-treatment tumor biopsies obtained from locally advanced HNSCCs treated with standard treatments. Cluster analysis identified three tumor subtypes associated with significant differences in local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) (P<0.

[A retrospective study about 11 cases of Esthesioneuroblastomas treated in Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau between 2000 and 2008 and literature review].

INTRODUCTION. Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a very uncommon malignant tumor with a neuroectodermal origin that usually involves the anterior cranial fossa and nasal cavity. OBJECTIVES.

[Head and neck sarcomas. Our experience].

Introduction: Head and neck sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumours that vary greatly in clinical presentation, with different histopathological and biological characteristics.

Material And Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with sarcoma located in the head and neck treated in our centre over a period of 25 years.

Results: During the study period, a total of 25 patients were diagnosed with sarcomas in the head and neck, accounting for 0.

Olfactory ensheathing glia enhances reentry of axons into the brain from peripheral nerve grafts bridging the substantia nigra with the striatum.

Reconstruction of lost axonal pathways in the central nervous system (CNS) is possible with the use of peripheral nerve grafts (PNG). However, these permit the entry of axons, while their reentry back into the CNS is compromised. Olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) may permit this reentry of axons if cografted with PNG.