A comparison of dorsal and heel plate foot tracking methods on lower extremity dynamics

The primary method to model ankle motion during inverse dynamic calculations of the lower limb is through the use of skin-mounted markers, with the foot modeled as a rigid segment. Motion of the foot is often tracked via the use of a marker cluster triad on either the dorsum, or heel, of the foot/shoe. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate differences in calculated lower extremity dynamics during the stance phase of gait between these two tracking techniques. In an analysis of 7 subjects, it was found that sagittal ankle angles and sagittal ankle, hip and knee moments were strongly correlated between the two conditions, however, there was a significant difference in peak ankle plantar flexion and dorsiflexion angles. Frontal ankle angles were only moderately correlated and there was a significant difference in peak ankle eversion and inversion, resulting in moderate correlations in frontal plane moments and a significant difference in peak hip adductor moments. We demonstrate that the technique used to track the foot is an important consideration in interpreting lower extremity dynamics for clinical and research purposes.     

Inhibition of Personally-Relevant Angry Faces Moderates the Effect of Empathy on Interpersonal Functioning

While empathy is typically assumed to promote effective social interactions, it can sometimes be detrimental when it is unrestrained and overgeneralized. The present study explored whether cognitive inhibition would moderate the effect of empathy on social functioning. Eighty healthy young adults underwent two assessments six months apart. Participants’ ability to suppress interference from distracting emotional stimuli was assessed using a Negative Affective Priming Task that included both generic and personally-relevant (i.e., participants’ intimate partners) facial expressions of emotion. The UCLA Life Stress Interview and Empathy Quotient were administered to measure interpersonal functioning and empathy respectively. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that higher empathy was associated with worse concurrent interpersonal outcomes for individuals who showed weak inhibition of the personally-relevant depictions of anger. The effect of empathy on social functioning might be dependent on individuals’ ability to suppress interference from meaningful emotional distractors in their environment.     

Directed evolution of an endoinulinase from Talaromyces purpureogenus toward efficient production of inulooligosaccharides

Inulinases are fructofuranosyl hydrolases that target the β‐2,1 linkage of inulin and hydrolyze it into fructose, glucose and inulooligosaccharides (IOS), the latter are of growing interest as dietary fibers. Inulinases from various microorganisms have been purified, characterized and produced for industrial applications. However, there remains a need for inulinases with increased catalytic activity and better production yields to improve the hydrolysis process and fulfill the growing industrial demands for specific fibers. In this study, we used directed enzyme evolution to increase the yield and activity of an endoinulinase enzyme originated from the filamentous fungus Talaromyces purpureogenus (Penicillium purpureogenum ATCC4713). Our directed evolution approach yielded variants showing up to fivefold improvements in soluble enzyme production compared to the starting point which enabled high‐yield production of highly purified recombinant enzyme. The distribution of the enzymatic reaction products demonstrated that after 24 h of incubation, the main product (57%) had a degree of polymerization of 3 (DP3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of directed enzyme evolution to improve inulooligosaccharide production. The approach enabled the screening of large genetic libraries within short time frames and facilitated screening for improved enzymatic activities and properties, such as substrate specificity, product range, thermostability and pH optimum. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:868–877, 2018     

Parasitoids ofPlutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae) in South Africa: An annotated list

Larvae and pupae of diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), were collected weekly for two years on unsprayed cabbage plots. Samples were taken to the laboratory and parasitoids that emerged were identified and their incidence determined. Parasitoids were active throughout the year and parasitism was high (reaching 90–100%) except in the winter months of June–August when it was low. Twenty one species were reared: the egg-larval parasitoidsChelonus curvimaculatus Cameron and Chelonus sp. (Braconidae); the larval parasitoidsApanteles eriophyes Nixon,Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov),Habrobracon brevicornis (Wesmael) (Braconidae) andPeribaea sp. (Tachinidae); the larvalpupal parasitoidsDiadegma sp.,Itoplectis sp. (Ichneumonidae) andOomyzus sokolowskii (Kurdjumov) (Eulophidae); the pupal parasitoidsBrachymeria sp.,Hockeria sp. (Chalcididae),Diadromus collaris Gravenhorst (Ichneumonidae) andTetrastichus howardi (Olliff) (Eulophidae); and the hyperparasitoidsAphanogmus fijiensis (Ferrière) (Ceraphronidae),Brachymeria sp.,Hockeria sp.Proconura sp. (Chalcididae),Mesochorus sp. (Ichneumonidae),Pteromalus sp. (Pteromalidae),Eurytoma sp. (Eurytomidae) andTetrastichus sp. (Eulophidae).     

Scrutiny of electrochemically-driven electrocatalysis of C-19 steroid 1α-hydroxylase (CYP260A1) from Sorangium cellulosum So ce56

Direct electrochemistry and bioelectrocatalysis of a newly discovered C-19 steroid 1α-hydroxylase (CYP260A1) from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum So ce56 were investigated. CYP260A1 was immobilized on screen-printed graphite electrodes (SPE) modified with gold nanoparticles, stabilized by didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (SPE/DDAB/Au). Cyclic voltammograms in argon-saturated substrate free 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, and in enzyme-substrate complex with androstenedione demonstrated a redox processes with a single redox couple of E^0′ of −299 ± 16 mV and −297.5 ± 21 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively. CYP260A1 exhibited an electrocatalytic activity detected by an increase of the reduction current in the presence of dissolved oxygen and upon addition of the substrate (androstenedione) in the air-saturated buffer. The catalytic current of the enzyme correlated with substrate concentration in the electrochemical system and this dependence can be described by electrochemical Michaelis-Menten model. The products of CYP260A1-depended electrolysis at controlled working electrode potential of androstenedione were analyzed by mass-spectrometry. MS analysis revealed a mono-hydroxylated product of CYP260A1-dependent electrocatalytic reaction towards androstenedione.     

XPO1 Inhibition Preferentially Disrupts the 3D Nuclear Organization of Telomeres in Tumor Cells

Previous work has shown that the three‐dimensional (3D) nuclear organization of telomeres is altered in cancer cells and the degree of alterations coincides with aggressiveness of disease. Nuclear pores are essential for spatial genome organization and gene regulation and XPO1 (exportin 1/CRM1) is the key nuclear export protein. The Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compounds developed by Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPT‐185, KPT‐330/selinexor, and KPT‐8602) inhibit XPO1 nuclear export function. In this study, we investigated whether XPO1 inhibition has downstream effects on the 3D nuclear organization of the genome. This was assessed by measuring the 3D telomeric architecture of normal and tumor cells in vitro and ex vivo. Our data demonstrate for the first time a rapid and preferential disruption of the 3D nuclear organization of telomeres in tumor cell lines and in primary cells ex vivo derived from treatment‐naïve newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Normal primary cells in culture as well as healthy lymphocyte control cells from the same patients were minimally affected. Using both lymphoid and non‐lymphoid tumor cell lines, we found that the downstream effects on the 3D nuclear telomere structure are independent of tumor type. We conclude that the 3D nuclear organization of telomeres is a sensitive indicator of cellular response when treated with XPO1 inhibitors. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 2711–2719, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.