Digital transformation—life cycle assessment of digital services,multifunctional devices and cloud computing

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment -     

Purification of rabies virus glycoprotein produced in Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells: An efficient immunoaffinity method

Most rabies vaccines are based on inactivated virus, which production process demands a high level of biosafety structures. In the past decades, recombinant rabies virus glycoprotein (RVGP) produced in several expression systems has been extensively studied to be used as an alternative vaccine. The immunogenic characteristics of this protein depend on its correct conformation, which is present only after the correct post-translational modifications, typically performed by animal cells. The main challenge of using this protein as a vaccine candidate is to keep its trimeric conformation after the purification process. We describe here a new immunoaffinity chromatography method using a monoclonal antibody for RVGP Site II for purification of recombinant rabies virus glycoprotein expressed on the membrane of Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells. RVGP recovery achieved at least 93%, and characterization analysis showed that the main antigenic proprieties were preserved after purification.     

A9C sensitive Cl? - accumulation in A. thaliana root cells during salt stress is controlled by internal and external calcium

The involvement of chloride in salt stress symptoms and salt tolerance mechanisms in plants has been less investigated in the past. Therefore, we studied the salt-induced chloride influx in Arabidopsis expressing the GFP-based anion indicator Clomeleon. High salt concentrations induce two phases of chloride influx. The fast kinetic phase is likely caused by membrane depolarization, and is assumed to be mediated by channels. This is followed by a slower "saturation" phase, where chloride is accumulated in the cytoplasm. Both phases of chloride uptake are dependent on the presence of external calcium. In general: with high [Ca²⁺] less chloride is accumulated in the cytoplasm. Surprisingly, also the internal calcium availability has an impact on chloride transport. A complete block of the second phase of chloride influx is achieved by the anion channel blocker A9C and trivalent cations (La³⁺, Gd³⁺, and Al³⁺). Other channel blockers and diuretics were found to inhibit the process partially. The results suggest that several transporter species are involved here, including electroneutral cation-chloride-cotransporters, and a part of chloride possibly enters the cells through cation channels after salt application.     

A Mixed Methods Approach of End-of-Life Care,Social Rites,and Bereavement Outcomes: A Transnational Perspective

Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry - The current article focused on examining the potential benefits of the End-of-Life (EoL) informal caregiving, communication, and ritualistic behaviors in...     

Synthesis and evaluation of the antimalarial,anticancer, and caspase 3 activities of tetraoxane dimers

The synthesis of a range of mono spiro and dispiro 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane dimers is described. Selected molecules were examined in in vitro assays to determine their antimalarial and anticancer potential. Our studies reveal that several molecules possess potent nanomolar antimalarial and single digit micromolar antiproliferative IC₅₀s versus colon (HT29-AK and leukemia (HL60) cell lines.     

Advances,challenges and tools in characterizing bacterial serine,threonine and tyrosine kinases and phosphorylation target sites.

Introduction: The cellular response to infection by bacterial pathogens involves a complex and highly regulated series of pathways that carry messages to various parts of the cell. These messages are transferred using post-translational modifications including phosphorylation by kinases. Understanding the host’s signaling pathways is valuable in identifying potential treatment targets, but the bacterial signaling pathways and host-pathogen crosstalk are equally important to the development of therapeutics.

Areas covered: This review summarizes some of the recent findings related to the bacterial phosphoproteome and especially serine/threonine/tyrosine sites, including methods and considerations for identifying novel phosphosites. We also consider the bioinformatics tools that have been developed to sift through the large volume of data in these studies and connect them to biologically relevant knowledge about pathways and function. Literature databases used include PubMed and Google Scholar from April 2018 to December 2018.

Expert opinion: While the field has developed significantly in the past decade of research, high-quality experimental sequence data remains the limiting factor to future research into bacterial phosphoproteomics. As more proteomes are explored, it will be easier to tailor tools and techniques to prokaryotes. It will be necessary to consider the phosphoproteome in the broader biological context, through interdisciplinary collaborations.