TGF-ß Regulates Cathepsin Activation during Normal and Pathogenic Development

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Environmental Life Cycle Costing and Sustainability: Insights from Pollution Abatement and Resource Recovery in Wastewater Treatment

The relationship between environmental life cycle costing (ELCC) and sustainability was explored using two detailed wastewater case studies. The case studies were selected to increase the tension between existing market values and values for sustainability; the first case study considered incremental change to an existing plant and the second considered a paradigm shift in wastewater treatment. Pollution control provided the greatest cost savings for the first case study and provided a “win‐win” result—meeting existing standards and saving money. However, benefits for pollution control beyond current standards were not captured, which emphasized the role of standards to internalize as well as limit the values considered in ELCC. In the second case study, the value of water had the potential to change the focus of wastewater design from pollution abatement to resource recovery. However, social acceptance of recovered water and market access for resources created large risk for investment. The ELCC was also sensitive to the discount rate which limited longer‐term considerations. Other sustainability values such as scarcity and ecological thresholds were not captured. The ELCC code of practice suggests including such costs if likely in the foreseeable future; defining these values may also clarify the role of ELCC to evaluate sustainability over the life cycle.     

Digestive proteolysis in the Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata: Activity-based profiling and imaging of a multipeptidase network

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata, is a major pest of potato plants, and its digestive system is a promising target for development of pest control strategies. This work focuses on functional proteomic analysis of the digestive proteolytic enzymes expressed in the CPB gut. We identified a set of peptidases using imaging with specific activity-based probes and activity profiling with selective substrates and inhibitors. The secreted luminal peptidases were classified as: (i) endopeptidases of cathepsin D, cathepsin L, and trypsin types and (ii) exopeptidases with aminopeptidase (cathepsin H), carboxypeptidase (serine carboxypeptidase, prolyl carboxypeptidase), and carboxydipeptidase (cathepsin B) activities. The proteolytic arsenal also includes non-luminal peptidases with prolyl oligopeptidase and metalloaminopeptidase activities. Our results indicate that the CPB gut employs a multienzyme network of peptidases with complementary specificities to efficiently degrade ingested proteins. This proteolytic system functions in both CPB larvae and adults and is controlled mainly by cysteine and aspartic peptidases and supported by serine and metallopeptidases. The component enzymes identified here are potential targets for inhibitors with tailored specificities that could be engineered into potato plants to confer resistance to CPB.     

The Zeus of Kharkov Psychology

The controversial questions of the relations between L.S. Vygotsky’s theory of development of higher mental functions and A.N. Leontiev’s activity theory are considered in the context of the theoretical principles of the research of P.I. Zinchenko. In the author’s view, these theories are mutually complementary and potentially could be combined into a single theory. A survey of the key results of the research conducted by Zinchenko in voluntary and involuntary mediated memory is presented. Thanks to the high heuristic potential of the cultural-historical and activity-based approaches, original methodologies were developed and empirical studies were performed on fundamental mnemic effects, which much later were independently “rediscovered” in cognitive psychology (including the generation effect and the depth-of-processing effect). The patterns identified by P.I. Zinchenko in the development of mediated voluntary and involuntary memory are also of great importance in the context of current research in the age-related development of memory.     

Using BEES to select cost-effective green products

The BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) software brings to your fingertips a powerful technique for balancing the environmental and economic performance of building products. The tool is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible, and transparent. Version 2.0 of the Windows™-based decision support software, aimed at designers, builders, and product manufacturers, includes actual environmental and economic performance data for 65 building products. The purpose is to support purchasing decisions by providing key science-based information often lacking in ‘green’ product selection. The intended result is a cost-effective reduction in building-related contributions to environmental problems. Contribution of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and not subject to copyright in the United States. NIST does not endorse any particular brand, product, or service.     

活性蛋白质表达谱分析与病毒学研究

活性蛋白质表达谱（activity-based protein profiling, ABPP）分析技术是功能蛋白质组学的一种策略,属于化学蛋白质组学的一部分.它借助化学小分子从功能角度直接切入蛋白质组的研究,能够直接对蛋白质组中感兴趣的靶酶蛋白的活性进行检测,为药物的发现提供强有力的支持.因此,ABPP技术被认为是基于功能的新一代蛋白质组学技术.随着ABPP分析技术和方法的不断成熟,其应用领域也不断扩展.最近一系列研究表明, 今后ABPP分析技术可能成为病毒学研究的又一重要武器.本文综述了ABPP分析技术的基本原理及其在病毒学研究中的应用.     

‘Design,synthesis, and strategic use of small chemical probes toward identification of novel targets for drug development’

Chemical probes are essential tools used to study and modulate biological systems. Here, we describe some of the recent scientific advancement in the field of chemical biology, as well as how the advent of new technologies is redefining the criteria of ‘good’ chemical probes and influencing the discovery of valuable drug leads. In this review, we report selected examples of the usage of linkered and linker-free chemical probes for target identification, biological discovery, and general mechanistic understanding. We also discuss the promises of chemogenomics libraries in phenotypic screens, as well as the limitation of their usage to identify the modulation of new targets and biology.     

基于医疗成本项目标准化核算的成本控制研究

首先对医疗成本项目进行分类标准化处理，统一和规范医疗作业成本项目；在此基础上借助作业成本法，通过对医疗项目的价值分析与优化，达到节约卫生资源，控制医疗成本的目的；最后，通过实例和数学模型证明医疗成本项目标准化核算下的医疗成本控制的有效性。     

Activity-based probes as a tool for functional proteomic analysis of proteases

Traditional proteomics methodology allows global analysis of protein abundance but does not provide information on the regulation of protein activity. Proteases, in particular, are known for their multilayered post-translational activity regulation that can lead to a significant difference between protease abundance levels and their enzyme activity. To address these issues, the field of activity-based proteomics has been established in order to characterize protein activity and monitor the functional regulation of enzymes in complex proteomes. In this review, we present structural features of activity-based probes for proteases and discuss their applications in proteomic profiling of various catalytic classes of proteases.