Polyhydroxykanoate-Assisted Photocatalytic TiO Films for Hydrogen Production.

The photocatalytic production of hydrogen using biopolymer-immobilized titanium dioxide (TiO) is an innovative and sustainable approach to renewable energy generation. TiO, a well-known photocatalyst, benefits from immobilization on biopolymers due to its environmental friendliness, abundance, and biodegradability. In another way, to boost the efficiency of TiO, its surface properties can be modified by incorporating co-catalysts like platinum (Pt) to improve charge separation.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from animal by-products: Development of a pneumatic feeding system for solid fat/protein-emulsions.

Fat-containing animal by-product streams are locally available in large quantities. Depending on their quality, they can be inexpensive substrates for biotechnological processes. To accelerate industrial polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastic production, the development of efficient bioprocesses that are based on animal by-product streams is a promising approach to reduce overall production costs.

Low-quality animal by-product streams for the production of PHA-biopolymers: fats, fat/protein-emulsions and materials with high ash content as low-cost feedstocks.

Objective: The rapid accumulation of crude-oil based plastics in the environment is posing a fundamental threat to the future of mankind. The biodegradable and bio-based polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can replace conventional plastics, however, their current production costs are not competitive and therefore prohibiting PHAs from fulfilling their potential.

Results: Different low-quality animal by-products, which were separated by thermal hydrolysis into a fat-, fat/protein-emulsion- and mineral-fat-mixture- (material with high ash content) phase, were successfully screened as carbon sources for the production of PHA.

Recovery of the PHA Copolymer P(HB--HHx) With Non-halogenated Solvents: Influences on Molecular Weight and HHx-Content.

Biodegradable and biocompatible polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are promising alternatives to conventional plastics. Based on the chain length of their monomers they are classified as () or () PHA polymers. The type of monomers, the composition and the molecular weight (MW) define the polymer properties.

Combinatory Biomarker Use of Cortical Thickness, MUNIX, and ALSFRS-R at Baseline and in Longitudinal Courses of Individual Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative process affecting upper and lower motor neurons as well as non-motor systems. In this study, precentral and postcentral cortical thinning detected by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were combined with clinical (ALS-specific functional rating scale revised, ALSFRS-R) and neurophysiological (motor unit number index, MUNIX) biomarkers in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The unicenter sample included 20 limb-onset classical ALS patients compared to 30 age-related healthy controls.

Dopaminergic lesioning impairs adult hippocampal neurogenesis by distinct modification of α-synuclein.

Nonmotor symptoms of cognitive and affective nature are present in premotor and motor stages of Parkinson's disease (PD). Neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons, persists throughout the mammalian life span in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis may be severely affected in the course of PD, accounting for some of the neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression and cognitive impairment.

Interdependence of Pes1, Bop1, and WDR12 controls nucleolar localization and assembly of the PeBoW complex required for maturation of the 60S ribosomal subunit.

The PeBoW complex is essential for cell proliferation and maturation of the large ribosomal subunit in mammalian cells. Here we examined the role of PeBoW-specific proteins Pes1, Bop1, and WDR12 in complex assembly and stability, nucleolar transport, and pre-ribosome association. Recombinant expression of the three subunits is sufficient for complex formation.

The BRCT domain of mammalian Pes1 is crucial for nucleolar localization and rRNA processing.

The nucleolar protein Pes1 interacts with Bop1 and WDR12 in a stable complex (PeBoW-complex) and its expression is tightly associated with cell proliferation. The yeast homologue Nop7p (Yph1p) functions in both, rRNA processing and cell cycle progression. The presence of a BRCT-domain (BRCA1 C-terminal) within Pes1 is quite unique for an rRNA processing factor, as this domain is normally found in factors involved in DNA-damage or repair pathways.

Dominant-negative Pes1 mutants inhibit ribosomal RNA processing and cell proliferation via incorporation into the PeBoW-complex.

The nucleolar PeBoW-complex, consisting of Pes1, Bop1 and WDR12, is essential for cell proliferation and processing of ribosomal RNA in mammalian cells. Here we have analysed the physical and functional interactions of Pes1 deletion mutants with the PeBoW-complex. Pes1 mutants M1 and M5, with N- and C-terminal truncations, respectively, displayed a dominant-negative phenotype.

Maternal HIV type 1 infection suppresses MMP-1 expression in endothelial cells of uninfected newborns: nonviral vertical transmission of HIV type 1-related effects.

HIV-1 infection is associated with vascular alterations. This is accompanied by an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and Kaposi's sarcoma, an endothelial cell-derived tumor. We investigated the impact of maternal HIV-1 infection on phenotype and gene expression of endothelial cells in newborns.

Mammalian WDR12 is a novel member of the Pes1-Bop1 complex and is required for ribosome biogenesis and cell proliferation.

Target genes of the protooncogene c-myc are implicated in cell cycle and growth control, yet the linkage of both is still unexplored. Here, we show that the products of the nucleolar target genes Pes1 and Bop1 form a stable complex with a novel member, WDR12 (PeBoW complex). Endogenous WDR12, a WD40 repeat protein, is crucial for processing of the 32S precursor ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and cell proliferation.

EBV latent membrane protein-1 protects B cells from apoptosis by inhibition of BAX.

Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) promotes tumorigenesis by inhibiting apoptosis. We show that an important antiapoptotic activity of LMP-1 is the inhibition of Bcl2-associated protein X (Bax), a potent proapoptotic protein. BAX expression was regulated by LMP-1 activation of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) via the C-terminal activation region 1 (CTAR-1) and CTAR-2.

HIV-1 Tat increases the adhesion of monocytes and T-cells to the endothelium in vitro and in vivo: implications for AIDS-associated vasculopathy.

HIV-1-infected patients exhibit severe damages of the aortic endothelium, develop angioproliferative lesions such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), and have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. An increased adhesion of leukocytes to the endothelium is a common pathogenic parameter of AIDS-associated vascular diseases. Here we show that the HIV-1 Tat protein, a regulatory protein of HIV-1 released by infected cells, and TNF-alpha, a cytokine increased in sera and tissues of HIV-1-infected patients, activate synergistically the adhesion of leukocytes to endothelial cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Guanylate-binding protein-1 expression is selectively induced by inflammatory cytokines and is an activation marker of endothelial cells during inflammatory diseases.

During angiogenesis and inflammatory processes, endothelial cells acquire different activation phenotypes, whose identification may help in understanding the complex network of angiogenic and inflammatory interactions in vivo. To this goal we investigated the expression of the human guanylate-binding protein (GBP)-1 that is highly induced by inflammatory cytokines (ICs) and, therefore, may characterize IC-activated cells. Using a new rat monoclonal antibody raised against GBP-1, we show that GBP-1 is a cytoplasmic protein and that its expression in endothelial cells is selectively induced by interferon-gamma, interleukin-1alpha, interleukin-1beta, or tumor necrosis factor-alpha, but not by other cytokines, chemokines, or growth factors.