Estimating Environmental Behavior Without Performing a Life Cycle Assessment

Many authors have agreed on the interest of considering environmental concerns in the early stages of product development. However, most eco‐design tools are based on life cycle assessment principles and require a model to give information about the product's environmental performance. This modeling can have negative effects on team performance and on the potential for innovation, not to mention on the project's duration. Additionally, the model requires information that is not available in the early design stages. This article analyzes the potential of inferring conclusions about the life cycle stages with the highest impact by using similar products. From a database of previous products, environmental profile estimations are carried out, that is, the assessments of the contribution of each life cycle stage to the total impact and the variability of this measure. It is then possible to discard—or ensure consideration of—life cycle stages. Furthermore, the level of the conclusions is assessed on a five‐point scale. The proposed approach is applied to four case studies with different levels of abstraction and the relevance of the conclusions is assessed. The article resolves the problems regarding potential for estimating the distribution of the environmental impacts along the life cycle.     

2-Deoxyglucose combined with wild-type p53 overexpression enhances cytotoxicity in human prostate cancer cells via oxidative stress

Overexpression of the tumor suppressor gene, wild-type p53 (wtp53), using adenoviral vectors (Adp53) has been suggested to kill cancer cells by hydroperoxide-mediated oxidative stress [1,2] and nutrient distress induced by the glucose analog, 2-deoxyglucose (2DG), has been suggested to enhance tumor cell killing by agents that induce oxidative stress via disrupting hydroperoxide metabolism [3,4]. In the current study clonogenic cell killing of PC-3 and DU-145 human prostate cancer cells (lacking functional p53) mediated by 4 h exposure to 50 plaque forming units (pfus)/cell of Adp53 (that caused the enforced overexpression of wtp53) was significantly enhanced by treatment with 2DG. Accumulation of glutathione disulfide was found to be significantly greater in both cell lines treated with 2DG+Adp53 and both cell lines treated with 2DG+Adp53 showed a approximately 2-fold increases in dihydroethidine (DHE) and 5-(and-6)-carboxy-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (CDCFH(2)) oxidation, indicative of increased steady-state levels of O(2)(.-) and hydroperoxides, respectively. Finally, overexpression of catalase or glutathione peroxidase using adenoviral vectors partially, but significantly, protected DU-145 cells from the toxicity induced by 2DG+Adp53 treatment. These results show that treatment of human prostate cancer cells with the combination of 2DG (a nutrient stress) and overexpression of the tumor suppressor gene, wtp53, enhances clonogenic cell killing by a mechanism that involves oxidative stress as well as allowing for the speculation that inhibitors of glucose and hydroperoxide metabolism can be used in combination with Adp53 gene therapy to enhance therapeutic responses.     

Calcium and Magnesium in Dal Lake,a High Altitude Marl Lake in Kashmir Himalayas

Monthly sampling of calcium and magnesium in the in- and outflows of Dal Lake revealed high concentrations of both during summer. The monthly inputs, outputs and retentions of these alkaline earths were estimated. The lake on an overall basis showed the retention of calcium but not of magnesium. This was suspected to be related and affected by variable flushing rates of water. Most of the calcium and magnesium was present in sediments and only a small fraction in the water and in macrophytes. The calcium balance is discussed in relation to the P-balance.     

Fabrication of Silver Chevron Arrays as an Efficient and Stable SERS Substrate: Implications in Biological Sensing

Plasmonics - Although glancing angle deposited silver substrates offer an excellent figures for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing, the chemical instability issues of silver...     

Identification and comparative analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica juncea</Emphasis> pathogenesis-related genes in response to hormonal,biotic and abiotic stresses

Pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs) are the antimicrobial proteins which are commonly used as signatures of defense signaling pathways and systemic acquired resistance. However, in Brassica juncea most of the PR proteins have not been fully characterized and remains largely enigmatic. In this study, full-length cDNA sequences of SA (PR1, PR2, PR5) and JA (PR3, PR12 and PR13) marker genes were isolated from B. juncea and were named as BjPR proteins. BjPR proteins showed maximum identity with known PR proteins of Brassica species. Further, expression profiling of BjPR genes were investigated after hormonal, biotic and abiotic stresses. Pre-treatment with SA and JA stimulators downregulates each other signature genes suggesting an antagonistic relationship between SA and JA in B. juncea. After abscisic acid (ABA) treatment, SA signatures were downregulated while as JA signature genes were upregulated. During Erysiphe cruciferarum infection, SA- and JA-dependent BjPR genes showed distinct expression pattern both locally and systemically, thus suggesting the activation of SA- and JA-dependent signaling pathways. Further, expression of SA marker genes decreases while as JA-responsive genes increases during drought stress. Interestingly, both SA and JA signature genes were induced after salt stress. We also found that BjPR genes displayed ABA-independent gene expression pattern during abiotic stresses thus providing the evidence of SA/JA cross talk. Further, in silico analysis of the upstream regions (1.5 kb) of both SA and JA marker genes showed important cis-regulatory elements related to biotic, abiotic and hormonal stresses.     

Three-dimensional visualization and quantification of water content in the rhizosphere

? Despite the importance of rhizosphere properties for water flow from soil to roots, there is limited quantitative information on the distribution of water in the rhizosphere of plants. ? Here, we used neutron tomography to quantify and visualize the water content in the rhizosphere of the plant species chickpea (Cicer arietinum), white lupin (Lupinus albus), and maize (Zea mays) 12 d after planting. ? We clearly observed increasing soil water contents (θ) towards the root surface for all three plant species, as opposed to the usual assumption of decreasing water content. This was true for tap roots and lateral roots of both upper and lower parts of the root system. Furthermore, water gradients around the lower part of the roots were smaller and extended further into bulk soil compared with the upper part, where the gradients in water content were steeper. ? Incorporating the hydraulic conductivity and water retention parameters of the rhizosphere into our model, we could simulate the gradual changes of θ towards the root surface, in agreement with the observations. The modelling result suggests that roots in their rhizosphere may modify the hydraulic properties of soil in a way that improves uptake under dry conditions.     

Cellular Metabolites Enhance the Light Sensitivity of Arabidopsis Cryptochrome through Alternate Electron Transfer Pathways

Cryptochromes are blue light receptors with multiple signaling roles in plants and animals. Plant cryptochrome (cry1 and cry2) biological activity has been linked to flavin photoreduction via an electron transport chain comprising three evolutionarily conserved tryptophan residues known as the Trp triad. Recently, it has been reported that cry2 Trp triad mutants, which fail to undergo photoreduction in vitro, nonetheless show biological activity in vivo, raising the possibility of alternate signaling pathways. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana cry2 proteins containing Trp triad mutations indeed undergo robust photoreduction in living cultured insect cells. UV/Vis and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy resolves the discrepancy between in vivo and in vitro photochemical activity, as small metabolites, including NADPH, NADH, and ATP, were found to promote cry photoreduction even in mutants lacking the classic Trp triad electron transfer chain. These metabolites facilitate alternate electron transfer pathways and increase light-induced radical pair formation. We conclude that cryptochrome activation is consistent with a mechanism of light-induced electron transfer followed by flavin photoreduction in vivo. We further conclude that in vivo modulation by cellular compounds represents a feature of the cryptochrome signaling mechanism that has important consequences for light responsivity and activation.     

Salusin-α attenuates inflammatory responses in vascular endothelial cells

Atherosclerosis accounts for numerous cardiovascular diseases, and cytokines have a critical role in acceleration or suppression of disease. Salusin-α presents a new class of bioactive peptides that can have anti-atherogenic properties. Therefore, the effects of salusin-α on the expression of some pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and on TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were examined. The involvement of the NF-κB pathway in effects of salusin-α in HUVECs was checked using Bay 11-7082 as an NF-κB inhibitor. The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-8, and IL-18 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1Ra was assessed by real-time PCR. The protein levels of cytokines were measured by the ELISA method. Salusin-α suppressed both mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and induced mRNA and protein expression of IL-1Ra in HUVECs. Salusin-α suppressed TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in HUVECs. The down-regulatory or up-regulatory effects of salusin-α on expression of cytokines could not be influenced by Bay 11-7082 pretreatment. Our findings indicate anti-inflammatory effects of salusin-α and suggest a novel peptide-based therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.     

Prevalence and Association of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis with Disease Course in Patients with Ulcero-Constrictive Ileocolonic Disease

Background

Association of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and Crohn’s disease (CD) has been controversial due to contradictory reports. Therefore, we determined the prevalence of MAP in patients with CD and intestinal tuberculosis (ITB) and its association with clinical course.

Methodology

Blood and intestinal biopsies were taken from 69 CD, 32 ITB patients and 41 patients with haemorrhoidal bleed who served as controls. qPCR targeting of MAP-specific IS900 gene was used to detect the presence of MAP DNA. qPCR results were further validated by sequencing. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the presence of MAP antigen in biopsy specimens. CD and ITB patients were followed-up for disease course and response to therapy.

Principal Findings

The frequency of MAP-specific DNA in biopsies by qPCR was significantly higher in CD patients (23.2%, p = 0.03) as compared to controls (7.3%). No significant difference in intestinal MAP presence was observed between ITB patients (12.5%, p = 0.6) and controls (7.3%). MAP presence in blood of CD patients was 10.1% as compared to 4.9% in controls while no patients with ITB were found to be positive (p = 0.1). Using IHC for detection of MAP antigen, the prevalence of MAP in CD was 2.9%, 12.5% in ITB patients and 2.4% in controls. However, long-term follow-up of the patients revealed no significant associations between clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes with MAP positivity.

Conclusion

We report significantly high prevalence of MAP in intestinal biopsies of CD patients. However, the presence of MAP does not affect the disease course and treatment outcomes in either CD or ITB patients.