Curcumin Attenuates Environment-Derived Osteoarthritis by Sox9/NF-kB Signaling Axis.

Inflammation has a fundamental impact on the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA), a common form of degenerative arthritis. It has previously been established that curcumin, a component of turmeric (), has anti-inflammatory properties. This research evaluates the potentials of curcumin on the pathophysiology of OA in vitro.

Dyeing of m-Aramid Fibers in Ionic Liquids.

Aramids represent a class of high-performance fibers with outstanding properties and manifold technical applications, e.g., in flame-retardant protective clothing for firefighters and soldiers.

Suspect screening of micropollutants and their transformation products in advanced wastewater treatment.

Transformation products (TPs) of organic micropollutants are still rarely considered in monitoring of wastewater and aquatic environments. For example, occurrence data of ozonated TPs in full-scale wastewater systems is largely lacking. In this study, the efficiency of a suspect screening strategy including 245 previously reported compounds and their TPs was evaluated for assessing the occurrence of different compound classes and their ozonated TPs in wastewater samples collected at different steps of an advanced treatment process including ozonation.

Contaminant screening of wastewater with HPLC-IM-qTOF-MS and LC+LC-IM-qTOF-MS using a CCS database.

Non-target analysis has become an important tool in the field of water analysis since a broad variety of pollutants from different sources are released to the water cycle. For identification of compounds in such complex samples, liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry are often used. The introduction of ion mobility spectrometry provides an additional separation dimension and allows determining collision cross sections (CCS) of the analytes as a further physicochemical constant supporting the identification.

Tandem anion and cation exchange solid phase extraction for the enrichment of micropollutants and their transformation products from ozonation in a wastewater treatment plant.

The presence of organic micropollutants and their transformation products (TPs) from biotic and abiotic processes in aquatic environments is receiving intense public and scientific attention. Yet a suitable sample preparation method that would enable extraction and enrichment of a wide range of such compounds from water is missing. The focus of this paper was to develop an enhanced solid phase extraction (SPE) protocol which enabled isolation of parent compounds and low molecular weight transformation products (that are produced after treatment of water with ozone) from different water matrices.

Malate as a key carbon source of leaf dark-respired CO2 across different environmental conditions in potato plants.

Dissimilation of carbon sources during plant respiration in support of metabolic processes results in the continuous release of CO2. The carbon isotopic composition of leaf dark-respired CO2 (i.e.

Distribution of platinum and other traffic related metals in sediments and clams (Corbicula sp.).

Platinum is part of traffic-emitted metals since the introduction of automotive catalyst converters. Still, automobile emissions are one of the major sources for metals in European river systems. However, field data on Pt is scarce and there is a lack of knowledge concerning the distribution and biological availability of Pt.

A simple structure-based model for the prediction of HIV-1 co-receptor tropism.

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 enters host cells through interaction of its V3 loop (which is part of the gp120 protein) with the host cell receptor CD4 and one of two co-receptors, namely CCR5 or CXCR4. Entry inhibitors binding the CCR5 co-receptor can prevent viral entry. As these drugs are only available for CCR5-using viruses, accurate prediction of this so-called co-receptor tropism is important in order to ensure an effective personalized therapy.

Greenhouse gas budget (CO2, CH4 and N2O) of intensively managed grassland following restoration.

The first full greenhouse gas (GHG) flux budget of an intensively managed grassland in Switzerland (Chamau) is presented. The three major trace gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured with the eddy covariance (EC) technique. For CO2 concentrations, an open-path infrared gas analyzer was used, while N2O and CH4 concentrations were measured with a recently developed continuous-wave quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS).

Connection between multimetal(loid) methylation in methanoarchaea and central intermediates of methanogenesis.

In spite of the significant impact of biomethylation on the mobility and toxicity of metals and metalloids in the environment, little is known about the biological formation of these methylated metal(loid) compounds. While element-specific methyltransferases have been isolated for arsenic, the striking versatility of methanoarchaea to methylate numerous metal(loid)s, including rare elements like bismuth, is still not understood. Here, we demonstrate that the same metal(loid)s (arsenic, selenium, antimony, tellurium, and bismuth) that are methylated by Methanosarcina mazei in vivo are also methylated by in vitro assays with purified recombinant MtaA, a methyltransferase catalyzing the methyl transfer from methylcobalamin [CH₃Cob(III)] to 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid (CoM) in methylotrophic methanogenesis.

Progress in Arabidopsis starch research and potential biotechnological applications.

For the past decade, Arabidopsis has been the model higher plant of choice. Research into leaf starch metabolism has demonstrated that Arabidopsis is a useful system in which to make fundamental discoveries about both starch biosynthesis and starch degradation. This review describes recent discoveries in these fields and illustrates how such discoveries might be applied in the green biotechnology sector to improve and diversify our starch crops.

Regulation of starch metabolism: the age of enlightenment?

Starch and sucrose are the primary products of photosynthesis in the leaves of most plants. Starch represents the major plant storage carbohydrate providing energy during the times of heterotrophic growth. Starch metabolism has been studied extensively, leading to a good knowledge of the numerous enzymes involved.

Predicting Bevirimat resistance of HIV-1 from genotype.

Background: Maturation inhibitors are a new class of antiretroviral drugs. Bevirimat (BVM) was the first substance in this class of inhibitors entering clinical trials. While the inhibitory function of BVM is well established, the molecular mechanisms of action and resistance are not well understood.

Biofortification of essential nutritional compounds and trace elements in rice and cassava.

Plant biotechnology can make important contributions to food security and nutritional improvement. For example, the development of 'Golden Rice' by Professor Ingo Potrykus was a milestone in the application of gene technology to deliver both increased nutritional qualities and health improvement to wide sections of the human population. Mineral nutrient and protein deficiency as well as food security remain the most important challenges for developing countries.

Production of vasoactive substances by human umbilical vein endothelial cells after incubation with serum from preeclamptic patients.

Objective: To determine the in vitro effect of serum from preeclamptic patients on the proliferation, viability and secretion of vasoactive substances by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).

Study Design: HUVEC were incubated for 24h with sera from 16 preeclamptic, 19 healthy pregnant and 8 healthy nonpregnant women. Proliferation rates were determined by cell counting and vitality by trypan blue staining.