Cellulose nanocrystals from celery stalk as quercetin scaffolds: A novel perspective of human holo-transferrin adsorption and digestion behaviours

In this study, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were synthesized from celery stalks to be used as the platform for quercetin delivery. Additionally, CNCs and CNCs–quercetin were characterized using the results of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and zeta potential, while their interactions with human holo-transferrin (HTF) were also investigated. We examined their interaction under physiological conditions through the exertion of fluorescence, resonance light scattering, synchronized fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer techniques. The data from SEM and TEM exhibited the spherical shape of CNCs and CNCs–quercetin and also, a decrease was detected in the size of quercetin-loaded CNCs from 676 to 473 nm that indicated the intensified water solubility of quercetin. The success of cellulose acid hydrolysis was confirmed based on the XRD results. Apparently, the crystalline index of CNCs–quercetin was reduced by the interaction of CNCs with quercetin, which also resulted in the appearance of functional groups, as shown by FTIR. The interaction of CNCs–quercetin with HTF was also demonstrated by the induced quenching in the intensity of HTF fluorescence emission and Stern–Volmer data represent the occurrence of static quenching. Overall, the effectiveness of CNCs as quercetin vehicles suggests its potential suitability for dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products.     

Delayed epidermal permeability barrier formation and hair follicle aberrations in Inv-Cldn6 mice

Homozygous mice overexpressing Claudin-6 (Cldn6) exhibit a perturbation in the epidermal differentiation program leading to a defective epidermal permeability barrier (EPB) and dehydration induced death ensuing within 48 h of birth [Turksen, K., Troy, T.C., 2002. Permeability barrier dysfunction in transgenic mice overexpressing claudin 6. Development 129, 1775-1784]. Their heterozygous counterparts are also born with an incomplete EPB; however, barrier formation continues after birth and normal hydration levels are achieved by postnatal day 12 allowing survival into adulthood. Heterozygous Inv-Cldn6 mice exhibit a distinct coat phenotype and histological analysis shows mild epidermal hyperkeratosis. Expression of K5 and K14 is aberrant, extending beyond the basal layer into the suprabasal layer where they are not co-localized suggesting that their expression is uncoupled. There is also atypical K17 and patchy K15 expression in the basal layer with no K6 expression in the interfollicular epidermis; together with marked changes in late differentiation markers (e.g. profilaggrin/filaggrin, loricrin, transglutaminase 3) indicating that the normal epidermal differentiation program is modified. The expression compartment of various Cldns is also perturbed although overall protein levels remained comparable. Most notably induction of Cldn5 and Cldn8 was observed in the Inv-Cldn6 epidermis. Heterozygous Inv-Cldn6 animals also exhibit subtle alterations in the differentiation program of the hair follicle including a shorter anagen phase, and altered hair type distribution and length compared to the wild type; the approximately 20% increase in zig-zag hair fibers at the expense of guard hairs and the approximately 30% shorter guard hairs contribute to coat abnormalities in the heterozygous mice. In addition, the transgenic hair follicles exhibit a decreased expression of K15 as well as some hair-specific keratins and express Cldn5 and Cldn18, which are not detectable in the wild type. These data indicate that Cldn6 plays a role in the differentiation processes of the epidermis and hair follicle and supports the notion of a link between Cldn regulation and EPB assembly/maintenance as well as the hair cycle.     

An improved method for extraction of high-quality total RNA from oil seeds

Biotechnology Letters - Seeds of oilseed plants that contain large amounts of oil, polysaccharides, proteins and polyphenols are not amenable to conventional RNA isolation protocols. The presence...     

Synthesis and characterization of new Pd(II) complexes of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-ethylphenylalanate

Complex (S,S)-[Pd{C₆H₄(CH₂CHNH₂CO₂CH₂CH₃)}(μ-Br)]₂ (3) was prepared following the method by Vicente and Saura-Llamas (Organometallics 26:2768–2776, 2007), by the reaction of l-ethylphenylalanate and Pd(OAc)₂ in 1:1 molar ratio under acetonitrile heating conditions and subsequently treating with NaBr. In addition, the cleavage of halogeno-bridge of the complex 3 via nucleophilic attack of some neutral ligands such as triphenylphosphine, pyridine, 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine and piperidine were investigated and the corresponding complexes (S)-[Pd{C₆H₄(CH₂CHNH₂CO₂CH₂CH₃)(Y)(Br)}] (4a–f) were obtained in moderate yields. The six-member orthopalladated complexes were characterized by ¹H-NMR, ³¹P-NMR, FT-IR and elemental analysis techniques.     

Automated Detection of Actinic Keratoses in Clinical Photographs

Background

Clinical diagnosis of actinic keratosis is known to have intra- and inter-observer variability, and there is currently no non-invasive and objective measure to diagnose these lesions.

Objective

The aim of this pilot study was to determine if automatically detecting and circumscribing actinic keratoses in clinical photographs is feasible.

Methods

Photographs of the face and dorsal forearms were acquired in 20 volunteers from two groups: the first with at least on actinic keratosis present on the face and each arm, the second with no actinic keratoses. The photographs were automatically analysed using colour space transforms and morphological features to detect erythema. The automated output was compared with a senior consultant dermatologist’s assessment of the photographs, including the intra-observer variability. Performance was assessed by the correlation between total lesions detected by automated method and dermatologist, and whether the individual lesions detected were in the same location as the dermatologist identified lesions. Additionally, the ability to limit false positives was assessed by automatic assessment of the photographs from the no actinic keratosis group in comparison to the high actinic keratosis group.

Results

The correlation between the automatic and dermatologist counts was 0.62 on the face and 0.51 on the arms, compared to the dermatologist’s intra-observer variation of 0.83 and 0.93 for the same. Sensitivity of automatic detection was 39.5% on the face, 53.1% on the arms. Positive predictive values were 13.9% on the face and 39.8% on the arms. Significantly more lesions (p<0.0001) were detected in the high actinic keratosis group compared to the no actinic keratosis group.

Conclusions

The proposed method was inferior to assessment by the dermatologist in terms of sensitivity and positive predictive value. However, this pilot study used only a single simple feature and was still able to achieve sensitivity of detection of 53.1% on the arms.This suggests that image analysis is a feasible avenue of investigation for overcoming variability in clinical assessment. Future studies should focus on more sophisticated features to improve sensitivity for actinic keratoses without erythema and limit false positives associated with the anatomical structures on the face.     

Pollen morphology of Astragalus section Hymenostegis (Fabaceae) and evaluation of its systematic implications

Astragalus is with nearly 3000 described species the largest genus of flowering plants. So far analyses of pollen characters have only been conducted for a few species of the groups within the genus. Here we analyse pollen grains of 22 species representative for Astragalus section Hymenostegis using scanning electron microscopy. We found the basic shape of the pollen grains to be oblate-spheroidal and apertures to be tricolpate as for other eudicots. The sculpturing pattern of the exine is micro-reticulate. Pollen grains show low morphological variation among different species of this section, but differences occur between sections of the genus. We conclude that the vast morphological differentiation that occurred during the rapid radiation of section Hymenostegis was not accompanied by comparable differentiation in pollen morphology.     

Topical application of aminopeptidase N-neutralizing antibody accelerates wound closure

Upon release from keratinocytes, 14-3-3 sigma (also known as stratifin) acts on the dermal fibroblast and modulates its production of extracellular matrix proteins. Subsequent to the recent identification as a receptor responsible for stratifin-mediated matrix turnover in dermal fibroblasts, aminopeptidase N has been implicated in the regulation of epidermal?Cdermal communication and expression of key matrix proteases and adhesion molecules. In light of the growing importance of aminopeptidase N in modulation of the fibroblast phenotype, the present study evaluates the potential of targeting the ectoenzyme in cutaneous repair, and demonstrates that neutralization of aminopeptidase N led to acceleration of wound closure. This was attributed to at least in part an increase of collagen deposition and fibroblast contractility in the granulation tissue. These findings confirmed the important role of aminopeptidase N in post-injury tissue remodeling and wound contraction.     

Study on allergenicity of Thuja orientalis pollen grains in rat

Cupressaceae pollen allergy is an important cause of pollen allergy throughout the world. Prevalence of allergy to Cupressaceae pollen has increased significantly during the winter over the past 3 decades because of extensive planting of cypress trees for different purposes. Thuja orientalis (Cupressaceae) is a naturally grown plant in Iran and is widely cultivated as a common ornamental plant in this country and other ones. Allergenicity of its pollen has been established, but to this day no allergenic component has been detected. The aim of this research is to study allergenicity and evaluate the immunoglobulin E reactivity to T. orientalis pollen extracts. Pollen grains were directly collected from mature male cones of trees. Pollen proteins were extracted and were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Total protein content of pollen extracts was measured by Bradford assay. Immunoblotting using the serum of sensitized rats showed a single immunogenic band at about 44KD in pollen extracts. Result of this research proved that pollen grains of T. orientalis are allergenic.     

Design of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) Biosensor for Immunodiagnostic of E. coli O157:H7 Using Gold Nanoparticles Conjugated to the Chicken Antibody

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most important pathogens in food-borne diseases and is the main cause of the pseudo pandemic development of hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Also E. coli O157:H7 is the most common serotype of Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli. Traditional methods for detecting E. coli O157:H7 are expensive, time-consuming, and less sensitive. A method with high sensitivity and high-resolution optical detection is utilizes the LSPR property of spherical gold nanoparticles (GNP). In this work, we constructed a novel nano-bio probe to detect E. coli O157:H7 by synthesizing citrate gold nanoparticle conjugated (non-covalent bond) with specific chicken anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibody (IgY) by changing the pH of the nanoparticles’ environment. UV-visible and DLS methods were used to confirm the bonding between the antibody and nanoparticles and the LSPR sensitivity of the nano-bio probe was evaluated by ELISA method. We could optically detect this bacterium in less than 2 h by measuring the LSPR band λ max shifts of GNPs. The sensitivity of this novel biosensor was determined by about 10 CFU/ml, using the LSPR property of spherical gold nanoparticles. So that, the LSPR λ max red shifted from 530 to 543 nm in presence of 10 CFU bacterium. In conclusion, this nano biosensor can be used to detect this important pathogen among the clinical specimens.