Effect of leaf digestion and artemisinin solubility for use in oral consumption of dried Artemisia annua leaves to treat malaria.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Artemisia annua L. produces the antimalarial sesquiterpene lactone, artemisinin (AN), and was traditionally used by the Chinese to treat fever, which was often caused by malaria.

Aim Of The Study: To measure effects of plant-based and dietary components on release of artemisinin and flavonoids from A.

GEMINI: a computationally-efficient search engine for large gene expression datasets.

Background: Low-cost DNA sequencing allows organizations to accumulate massive amounts of genomic data and use that data to answer a diverse range of research questions. Presently, users must search for relevant genomic data using a keyword, accession number of meta-data tag. However, in this search paradigm the form of the query - a text-based string - is mismatched with the form of the target - a genomic profile.

Experimental and numerical measurements of adhesion energies between PHEMA and PGLYMA with hydroxyapatite crystal.

Synthetic orthopaedic materials consisting of a single bioinert polymeric material do not meet the complex biological and physical requirements of scaffold-guided bone tissue repair and regeneration. Of particular interest is the design of biocompatible hydrogel-hydroxyapatite composite bone substitutes with outstanding interfacial adhesion that would warranty the ability for the composite to withstand functional loadings without exhibiting brittle fractures during the dynamic guided tissue regeneration. For this purpose, the hydroxylated side chain of chemically cross-linked poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) is substitute with a carboxylated side chain to make poly (glycerol methacrylate) (pGLYMA).

A Markov random field approach to group-wise registration/mosaicing with application to ultrasound.

In this paper we present a group-wise non-rigid registration/mosaicing algorithm based on block-matching, which is developed within a probabilistic framework. The discrete form of its energy functional is linked to a Markov Random Field (MRF) containing double and triple cliques, which can be effectively optimized using modern MRF optimization algorithms popular in computer vision. Also, the registration problem is simplified by introducing a mosaicing function which partitions the composite volume into regions filled with data from unique, partially overlapping source volumes.

Engineered cartilaginous tubes for tracheal tissue replacement via self-assembly and fusion of human mesenchymal stem cell constructs.

There is a critical need to engineer a neotrachea because currently there are no long-term treatments for tracheal stenoses affecting large portions of the airway. In this work, a modular tracheal tissue replacement strategy was developed. High-cell density, scaffold-free human mesenchymal stem cell-derived cartilaginous rings and tubes were successfully generated through employment of custom designed culture wells and a ring-to-tube assembly system.

Compartment calcium model of frog skeletal muscle during activation.

Skeletal muscle contraction is triggered by a rise in calcium (Ca(2+)) concentration in the myofibrillar space. The objective of this study was to develop a voltage dependent compartment model of Ca(2+) dynamics in frog skeletal muscle fibers. The compartment model corresponds to the myofibrillar space (MS) and a calcium store, the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR).

Pharmacokinetics of artemisinin delivered by oral consumption of Artemisia annua dried leaves in healthy vs. Plasmodium chabaudi-infected mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Chinese have used Artemisia annua as a tea infusion to treat fever for >2000 years. The active component is artemisinin. Previously we showed that when compared to mice fed an equal amount of pure artemisinin, a single oral dose of dried leaves of Artemisia annua (pACT) delivered to Plasmodium chabaudi-infected mice reduced parasitemia at least fivefold.

Cholesterol stabilizes fluid phosphoinositide domains.

Local accumulation of phosphoinositides (PIPs) is an important factor for a broad range of cellular events including membrane trafficking and cell signaling. The negatively charged phosphoinositide headgroups can interact with cations or cationic proteins and this electrostatic interaction has been identified as the main phosphoinositide clustering mechanism. However, an increasing number of reports show that phosphoinositide-mediated signaling events are at least in some cases cholesterol dependent, suggesting other possible contributors to the segregation of phosphoinositides.

Simulated digestion of dried leaves of Artemisia annua consumed as a treatment (pACT) for malaria.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Artemisinin (AN) is produced by Artemisia annua, a medicinal herb long used as a tea infusion in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever; it is also the key ingredient in current artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) effective in treating malaria. Recently we showed that dried leaves from the whole plant Artemisia annua that produces artemisinin and contains artemisinin-synergistic flavonoids seem to be more effective and less costly than ACT oral malaria therapy; however little is known about how digestion affects release of artemisinin and flavonoids from dried leaves.

Material And Methods: In the current study we used a simulated digestion system to determine how artemisinin and flavonoids are released prior to absorption into the bloodstream.

Exploitation of diagnostic computed tomography scans to assess the impact of nutrition support on body composition changes in respiratory failure patients.

Background: Assessment of nutritional status in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is limited. Computed tomography (CT) scans that include the first to fifth lumbar region completed for diagnostic purposes measures fat and lean body mass (LBM) depots and are frequently done in ICU populations and can be used to quantify fat and LBM depots. The purpose of this study was to assess if these scans could measure change in skeletal muscle (SKT), visceral adipose (VAT), and intermuscular adipose (IMAT) tissue and to examine the association between the amount of energy and protein received and changes in these depots.

Whitening of the electromyogram for improved classification accuracy in prosthesis control.

The electromyogram (EMG) signal has been used as the command input to myoelectric prostheses. A common control scheme is based on classifying the EMG signals from multiple electrodes into one of several distinct classes of user intent/function. In this work, we investigated the use of EMG whitening as a preprocessing step to EMG pattern recognition.

At high temperature lipid production in Ettlia oleoabundans occurs before nitrate depletion.

Temperature and light intensity effects on biomass and lipid production were investigated in Ettlia oleoabundans to better understand some fundamental properties of this potentially useful but poorly studied microalgal species. E. oleoabundans entered dormant state at 5 °C, showed growth at 10 °C, and when exposed to light at 70 μmol photons per square meter per second at 10 °C, cells reached a biomass concentration of >2.

The effect of roots and media constituents on trichomes and artemisinin production in Artemisia annua L.

KEY MESSAGE : Rooting of Artemisia annua increases trichome size on leaves and helps drive the final steps of the biosynthesis of the sesquiterpene antimalarial drug, artemisinin. Artemisia annua produces the antimalarial drug, artemisinin (AN), which is synthesized and stored in glandular trichomes (GLTs). In vitro-grown A.

Atomic force and super-resolution microscopy support a role for LapA as a cell-surface biofilm adhesin of Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Pseudomonas fluorescence Pf0-1 requires the large repeat protein LapA for stable surface attachment. This study presents direct evidence that LapA is a cell-surface-localized adhesin. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed a significant 2-fold reduction in adhesion force for mutants lacking the LapA protein on the cell surface compared to the wild-type strain.

Using time-frequency analysis of the photoplethysmographic waveform to detect the withdrawal of 900 mL of blood.

Background: We designed this study to determine if 900 mL of blood withdrawal during spontaneous breathing in healthy volunteers could be detected by examining the time-varying spectral amplitude of the photoplethysmographic (PPG) waveform in the heart rate frequency band and/or in the breathing rate frequency band before significant changes occurred in heart rate or arterial blood pressure. We also identified the best PPG probe site for early detection of blood volume loss by testing ear, finger, and forehead sites.

Methods: Eight subjects had 900 mL of blood withdrawn followed by reinfusion of 900 mL of blood.

Trichomes + roots + ROS = artemisinin: regulating artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin is a highly effective sesquiterpene lactone therapeutic produced in the plant, Artemisia annua. Despite its efficacy against malaria and many other infectious diseases and neoplasms, the drug is in short supply mainly because the plant produces low levels of the compound. This review updates the current understanding of artemisinin biosynthesis with a special focus on the emerging knowledge of how biosynthesis of the compound is regulated in planta.

Artemisinin production in Artemisia annua: studies in planta and results of a novel delivery method for treating malaria and other neglected diseases.

Artemisia annua L. produces the sesquiterpene lactone, artemisinin, a potent antimalarial drug that is also effective in treating other parasitic diseases, some viral infections and various neoplasms. Artemisinin is also an allelopathic herbicide that can inhibit the growth of other plants.

Binding, inactivation, and adhesion forces between antimicrobial peptide cecropin P1 and pathogenic E. coli.

The antimicrobial peptide cecropin P1 (CP1) exhibits broad spectrum activity against planktonic bacteria, including Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, its activity when attached to a substrate has not been thoroughly studied.

Fabrication of protein nanotubes using template-assisted electrostatic layer-by-layer methods.

One-dimensional protein nanostructures offer many advantages for biomedical applications. Rather than fabricate primary nanostructures with inorganic materials and then functionalize with proteins, it is desirable to develop a fabrication method to make nanostructures that are entirely protein. Fabrication of protein and polymer nanostructures is possible by layer-by-layer assembly within nanoporous templates.

Sugars proportionately affect artemisinin production.

Little is known about the effect of sugars in controlling secondary metabolism. In this study, sugars alone or in combination with their analogs were used to investigate their role in the production of the antimalarial drug, artemisinin, in Artemisia annua L. seedlings.

The structure and function of heavy metal transport P1B-ATPases.

P(1B)-type ATPases transport heavy metals (Cu+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Co2+, Cd2+, Pb2+) across membranes. Present in most organisms, they are key elements for metal homeostasis. P(1B)-type ATPases contain 6-8 transmembrane fragments carrying signature sequences in segments flanking the large ATP binding cytoplasmic loop.

Activation of Archaeoglobus fulgidus Cu(+)-ATPase CopA by cysteine.

CopA, a thermophilic ATPase from Archaeoglobus fulgidus, drives the outward movement of Cu(+) across the cell membrane. Millimolar concentration of Cys dramatically increases ( congruent with 800%) the activity of CopA and other P(IB)-type ATPases (Escherichia coli ZntA and Arabidopsis thaliana HMA2). The high affinity of CopA for metal ( congruent with 1 microM) together with the low Cu(+)-Cys K(D) (<10(-10)M) suggested a multifaceted interaction of Cys with CopA, perhaps acting as a substitute for the Cu(+) chaperone protein present in vivo.

Influence of advanced electromyogram (EMG) amplitude processors on EMG-to-torque estimation during constant-posture, force-varying contractions.

Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between surface electromyogram (EMG) and torque exerted about a joint. Most studies have used conventional EMG amplitude (EMGamp) processing, such as rectification followed by low-pass filtering, to pre-process the EMG before relating it to torque. Recently, advanced EMGamp processors that incorporate signal whitening and multiple-channel combination have been shown to significantly improve EMGamp processing.

Alteration of biomass and artemisinin production in Artemisia annua hairy roots by media sterilization method and sugars.

Transformed root cultures of Artemisia annua grown in autoclaved medium show large variations in biomass and artemisinin production regardless of the culture conditions or clonal type. However, using filter-sterilized sugars singly or in combination while holding the carbon level in the medium constant resulted in an unexpected variability in biomass production and artemisinin yield. Autoclaving results in variable hydrolysis of sucrose in the culture medium.

Nanoscale investigation of pathogenic microbial adhesion to a biomaterial.

Microbial infections of medical implants occur in more than 2 million surgical cases each year in the United States alone. These increase patient morbidity and mortality, as well as patient cost and recovery time. Many treatments are available, but none are guaranteed to remove the infection.