Childhood and Young Adult Overweight/Obesity and Incidence of Depression in the SUN Project

This study included 11,825 participants of a Spanish dynamic prospective cohort based on former students from University of Navarra, registered professionals from some Spanish provinces, and university graduates from other associations, followed‐up for 6.1 years. We aimed to assess the association between childhood or young adult overweight/obesity and the risk of depression. Participants were asked to select which of nine figures most closely represented their body shape at ages 5 and 20 years. Childhood and young adult overweight/obesity was defined as those cases in which participants reported body shape corresponding to the figures 6–9 (more obese categories) at age 5 or 20, respectively. A subject was classified as incident case of depression if he/she was initially free of depression and reported physician‐made diagnosis of depression and/or the use of antidepressant medication in at least one of biannual follow‐up questionnaires. The association between childhood and young adult overweight/obesity and incidence of depression was estimated by multiple‐adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Overweight/obesity at age 5 years predicted an increased risk for adult depression (HR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.06–2.12), and a stronger association was observed at age 20 years ((HR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.22–4.08), (subjects younger than 30 years at recruitment were excluded from this last analysis)). Childhood or young adult overweight/obesity was associated with elevated risk of adult depression. These results, if causal and confirmed in other prospective studies, support treating childhood and young adult overweight/obesity as part of comprehensive adult depression prevention efforts.     

CKD-EPI and Cockcroft-Gault Equations Identify Similar Candidates for Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Clinical guidelines suggest neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy prior to cystectomy in the setting of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). A creatinine clearance (CrCl) >60 mL/min is frequently used to characterize cisplatin-eligible patients, and use of the CKD-EPI equation to estimate CrCl has been advocated. From a prospectively maintained institutional database, patients with MIBC who received cystectomy were identified and clinicopathologic information was ascertained. CrCl prior to surgery was computed using three equations: (1) Cockcroft-Gault (CG), (2) CKD-EPI, and (3) MDRD. The primary objective was to determine if the CG and CKD-EPI equations identified a different proportion of patients who were cisplatin-eligible, based on an estimated CrCl of >60 mL/min. Cisplatin-eligibility was also assessed in subsets based on age, CCI score and race. Actuarial rates of neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy use were also reported. Of 126 patients, 70% and 71% of patients were found to be cisplatin-eligible by the CKD-EPI and CG equations, respectively (P = 0.9). The MDRD did not result in significantly different characterization of cisplatin-eligibility as compared to the CKD-EPI and CG equations. In the subset of patients age >80, the CKD-EPI equation identified a much smaller proportion of cisplatin-eligible patients (25%) as compared to the CG equation (50%) or the MDRD equation (63%). Only 34 patients (27%) received neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Of the 92 patients who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 64% had a CrCl >60 mL/min by CG. In contrast to previous reports, the CKD-EPI equation does not appear to characterize a broader span of patients as cisplatin-eligible. Older patients (age >80) may less frequently be characterized as cisplatin-eligible by CKD-EPI. The discordance between actual rates of neoadjuvant chemotherapy use and rates of cisplatin eligibility suggest that other factors (e.g., patient and physician preference) may guide clinical decision-making.     

Conversion of furfural into furfuryl alcohol by saccharomyces cervisiae 354

The influence of aeration, stirring conditions, and the addition of furfural on the yield and productivity of furfural – furfuryl alcohol bioconversion by the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 354 was investigated. The formation of furfuryl alcohol increases up to 32 hours of incubation corresponding to the addition of furfural, while the cell growth essentially ceased at 20 hours. The conversion of furfural into furfuryl alcohol under anaerobic and low aeration conditions was 70% and the productivity 0.5g · 1^?1 · h^?1, when the final concentrationof of furfural amounted to 35 g · 1^?1.     

Oenological characterisation of indigenous strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. cerevisiae</Emphasis> isolated in a biodynamic winery in the Cortona DOC area

Genotypic and technological characterisation of the S. cerevisiae population isolated in a biodynamic winery in the Cortona DOC area was performed to gain better knowledge of the variables that influence winemaking. The oenological performance of 11 S. cerevisiae strains was evaluated with physiological tests; strain typing was performed through analysis of interdelta sequences and 26S rDNA sequencing. The analysis revealed a remarkable variability in terms of S. cerevisiae strains, despite the homogeneity of wine features, underlining the high levels of biodiversity characterising biodynamic agriculture. Some strains were found in wines of different vintages, suggesting the presence of an established microbiota in the winery. Oenological tests demonstrated that while some yeasts provided reliable oenological performance, other strains were not able to accomplish prompt and effective alcoholic fermentation, or were characterised by spoilage characteristics, such as excessive production of volatile phenols or acetic acid. Indigenous strains of S. cerevisiae could be a useful instrument for reliable winemaking without altering the native microbiota of each oenological environment. However, characterisation of their oenological suitability, and the application of practices able to drive the evolution of microbiota, must be employed to reduce the risk of wine spoilage.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Burkholderia xenovorans</Emphasis> LB400 possesses a functional polyhydroxyalkanoate anabolic pathway encoded by the <Emphasis Type="Italic">pha</Emphasis> genes and synthesizes poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) under nitrogen-limiting conditions

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable bioplastics that are synthesized by diverse bacteria. In this study, the synthesis of PHAs by the model aromatic-degrading strain Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 was analyzed. Twelve pha genes including three copies of phaC and five copies of the phasin-coding phaP genes are distributed among the three LB400 replicons. The phaC1ABR gene cluster that encodes the enzymes of the PHA anabolic pathway is located at chromosome 1 of strain LB400. During the growth of strain LB400 on glucose under nitrogen limitation, the expression of the phaC1, phaA, phaP1, phaR, and phaZ genes was induced. Under nitrogen limitation, PHA accumulation in LB400 cells was observed by fluorescence microscopy after Nile Red staining. GC-MS analyses revealed that the PHA accumulated under nitrogen limitation was poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). LB400 cells grown on glucose as the sole carbon source under nitrogen limitation accumulated 40?±?0.96% PHB of the cell dry weight, whereas no PHA was observed in cells grown in control medium. The functionality of the phaC1 gene from strain LB400 was further studied using heterologous expression in a Pseudomonas putida KT40C1ZC2 mutant strain derived from P. putida KT2440 that is unable to synthesize PHAs. Interestingly, KT40C1ZC2[pVNC1] cells that express the phaC1 gene from strain LB400 were able to synthesize PHB (33.5% dry weight). This study indicates that B. xenovorans LB400 possesses a functional PHA synthetic pathway that is encoded by the pha genes and is capable of synthesizing PHB.     

In vivo knockdown of antisense non‐coding mitochondrial RNAs by a lentiviral‐encoded shRNA inhibits melanoma tumor growth and lung colonization

The family of non‐coding mitochondrial RNAs (ncmtRNA) is differentially expressed according to proliferative status. Normal proliferating cells express sense (SncmtRNA) and antisense ncmtRNAs (ASncmtRNAs), whereas tumor cells express SncmtRNA and downregulate ASncmtRNAs. Knockdown of ASncmtRNAs with oligonucleotides induces apoptotic cell death of tumor cells, leaving normal cells unaffected, suggesting a potential application for developing a novel cancer therapy. In this study, we knocked down the ASncmtRNAs in melanoma cell lines with a lentiviral‐encoded shRNA approach. Transduction with lentiviral constructs targeted to the ASncmtRNAs induced apoptosis in murine B16F10 and human A375 melanoma cells in vitro and significantly retarded B16F10 primary tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, the treatment drastically reduced the number of lung metastatic foci in a tail vein injection assay, compared to controls. These results provide additional proof of concept to the knockdown of ncmtRNAs for cancer therapy and validate lentiviral–shRNA vectors for gene therapy.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Paenibacillus</Emphasis> sp. A59 GH10 and GH11 Extracellular Endoxylanases: Application in Biomass Bioconversion

The cost-efficient degradation of xylan to fermentable sugars is of particular interest in second generation bioethanol production, feed, food, and pulp and paper industries. Multiple potentially secreted enzymes involved in polysaccharide deconstruction are encoded in the genome of Paenibacillus sp. A59, a xylanolytic soil bacterium, such as three endoxylanases, seven GH43 β-xylosidases, and two GH30 glucuronoxylanases. In secretome analysis of xylan cultures, ten glycoside hydrolases were identified, including the three predicted endoxylanases, confirming their active role. The two uni-modular xylanases, a 32-KDa GH10 and a 20-KDa GH11, were recombinantly expressed and their activity on xylan was confirmed (106 and 85 IU/mg, respectively), with differences in their activity pattern. Both endoxylanases released mainly xylobiose (X2) and xylotriose (X3) from xylan and pre-treated biomasses (wheat straw, barley straw, and sweet corn cob), although only rGH10XynA released xylose (X1). rGH10XynA presented optimal conditions at pH 6, with thermal stability at 45–50 °C, while rGH11XynB showed activity in a wider range of pH, from 5 to 9, and was thermostable only at 45 °C. Moreover, GH11XynB presented sigmoidal kinetics on xylan, indicating possible cooperative binding, which was further supported by the structural model. This study provides a detailed analysis of the complete set of carbohydrate-active enzymes encoded in Paenibacillus sp. A59 genome and those effectively implicated in hemicellulose hydrolysis, contributing to understanding the mechanisms necessary for the bioconversion of this polysaccharide. Moreover, the two main free secreted xylanases, rGH10XynA and rGH11XynB, were fully characterized, supporting their potential application in industrial bioprocesses on lignocellulosic biomass.     

Ultrasonic Welding of Thermoplastic Composite Coupons for Mechanical Characterization of Welded Joints through Single Lap Shear Testing

This paper presents a novel straightforward method for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic-composite coupons in optimum processing conditions. The ultrasonic welding process described in this paper is based on three main pillars. Firstly, flat energy directors are used for preferential heat generation at the joining interface during the welding process. A flat energy director is a neat thermoplastic resin film that is placed between the parts to be joined prior to the welding process and heats up preferentially owing to its lower compressive stiffness relative to the composite substrates. Consequently, flat energy directors provide a simple solution that does not require molding of resin protrusions on the surfaces of the composite substrates, as opposed to ultrasonic welding of unreinforced plastics. Secondly, the process data provided by the ultrasonic welder is used to rapidly define the optimum welding parameters for any thermoplastic composite material combination. Thirdly, displacement control is used in the welding process to ensure consistent quality of the welded joints. According to this method, thermoplastic-composite flat coupons are individually welded in a single lap configuration. Mechanical testing of the welded coupons allows determining the apparent lap shear strength of the joints, which is one of the properties most commonly used to quantify the strength of thermoplastic composite welded joints.