The increasing prevalence and severity of obesity in children and adolescents has provided greater emphasis on the wide variety of comorbid conditions and complications that can be experienced as a ...consequence of obesity. These complications can occur both in the short term and in the long term. Some complications, earlier thought to be long-term issues, which would only occur in adulthood, have now been shown to occur in children and adolescents. These findings have raised concerns about the overall health experience of those who develop obesity early in life and have even raised questions about whether the obesity epidemic might shorten the life span of the current generation of children. In this paper, I will examine current knowledge regarding the different organ systems that may be impacted by childhood obesity.
Impedance biosensors are a class of electrical biosensors that show promise for point‐of‐care and other applications due to low cost, ease of miniaturization, and label‐free operation. Unlabeled DNA ...and protein targets can be detected by monitoring changes in surface impedance when a target molecule binds to an immobilized probe. The affinity capture step leads to challenges shared by all label‐free affinity biosensors; these challenges are discussed along with others unique to impedance readout. Various possible mechanisms for impedance change upon target binding are discussed. We critically summarize accomplishments of past label‐free impedance biosensors and identify areas for future research.
•Biorefined seaweed residues demonstrated high potential for producing biogas.•Ambient extractions cascade improved the CH4 and biodegradation potentials.•Average CH4 yields on an annual basis were ...found between 107 and 405 mL gVS−1.•Seasonal composition and harvest site greatly affect digestion performance.
Very recently, integrated biorefinery approaches are being developed with the aim to produce high-value products for a variety of industries in conjunction with green energy from sustainable biomass. Macroalgae (seaweed) have been regarded as more sustainable compared to terrestrial crops, since they do not occupy land for growth. Macroalgal biomass changes greatly according to species and harvest season, which affects its chemical energy potential. This study was conducted seasonally on five species of brown seaweed over a yearlong period to investigate the effects of chemical composition variations, bioproducts extraction processes and inoculum acclimatation on methane production. As a result of the bioproducts extraction, it was found the seaweed residues exhibit a great potential to produce methane. Stoichiometric methane yield and C:N ratio changed in favour of an improved digestibility with bioconversion rates greater than 70% in some instances, i.e. achieved by Laminaria species and on the West coast Fucus serratus. The two Laminaria species investigated also presented the highest CH4 production rate, with Laminaria digitata reaching 523 mL CH4 gVS−1 and L. saccharina peaking at 535 mL CH4 gVS−1 with acclimatised and non-acclimatised sludge respectively.
Human seasonal influenza viruses evolve rapidly, enabling the virus population to evade immunity and reinfect previously infected individuals. Antigenic properties are largely determined by the ...surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA), and amino acid substitutions at exposed epitope sites in HA mediate loss of recognition by antibodies. Here, we show that antigenic differences measured through serological assay data are well described by a sum of antigenic changes along the path connecting viruses in a phylogenetic tree. This mapping onto the tree allows prediction of antigenicity from HA sequence data alone. The mapping can further be used to make predictions about the makeup of the future A(H3N2) seasonal influenza virus population, and we compare predictions between models with serological and sequence data. To make timely model output readily available, we developed a web browser-based application that visualizes antigenic data on a continuously updated phylogeny.
Display omitted
•First phylogeographic study of Afroedura pondolia.•Reveals cryptic speciation in a forest-living gecko from the east coast of South Africa.•Reveals biogeographic patterns associated ...with forest fragmentation due to climatic oscillations.•Subtle, yet non-observable, morphological differences distinguish candidate species.•A. pondolia is a species complex comprising four species.
We assess the phylogeographic structure and test several species delimitation methods in the forest-living Pondo flat-gecko, Afroedura pondolia, by sampling specimens from across the entire distribution in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Phylogenetic results, using Bayesian inferences and maximum likelihood, from the combined mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data derived from four partial loci (ND4, cyt b, PRLR and RAG1), suggest the presence of four geographically discrete clades, which represent candidate species. We applied four species-delimitation methods (ABGD, bGMYC, PTP and STACEY), the results of which were largely incongruent in the number of putative species nested within A. pondolia. Multivariate morphological analyses indicate statistically significant differences among the four candidate species, corroborating the presence of four cryptic species within A. pondolia. Divergence-time estimates suggest that cladogenesis was driven by forest fragmentation from the late Miocene to the Plio/Pleistocene with the onset of more pronounced xeric climatic conditions causing forest fragmentation.
Benzotetramisole promotes the catalytic asymmetric 2,3-rearrangement of allylic quaternary ammonium salts (either isolated or prepared in situ from p-nitrophenyl bromoacetate and the corresponding ...allylic amine), generating syn-α-amino acid derivatives with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to >95:5 dr; up to >99% ee).
Usually the dense extracellular structure in fibrotic tissues is described as extracellular matrix (ECM) or simply as collagen. However, fibrosis is not just fibrosis, which is already exemplified by ...the variant morphological characteristics of fibrosis due to viral versus cholestatic, autoimmune or toxic liver injury, with reticular, chicken wire and bridging fibrosis. Importantly, the overall composition of the ECM, especially the relative amounts of the many types of collagens, which represent the most abundant ECM molecules and which centrally modulate cellular functions and physiological processes, changes dramatically during fibrosis progression.
We hypothesize that there are good and bad collagens in fibrosis and that a change of location alone may change the function from good to bad. Whereas basement membrane collagen type IV anchors epithelial and other cells in a polarized manner, the interstitial fibroblast collagens type I and III do not provide directional information. In addition, feedback loops from biologically active degradation products of some collagens are examples of the importance of having the right collagen at the right place and at the right time controlling cell function, proliferation, matrix production and fate. Examples are the interstitial collagen type VI and basement membrane collagen type XVIII. Their carboxyterminal propeptides serve as an adipose tissue hormone, endotrophin, and as a regulator of angiogenesis, endostatin, respectively.
We provide an overview of the 28 known collagen types and propose that the molecular composition of the ECM in fibrosis needs careful attention to assess its impact on organ function and its potential to progress or reverse. Consequently, to adequately assess fibrosis and to design optimal antifibrotic therapies, we need to dissect the molecular entity of fibrosis for the molecular composition and spatial distribution of collagens and the associated ECM.
Display omitted
Laminaria. sp. seaweeds have been recognised the potential to greatly contribute to the generation of renewable gaseous fuel via anaerobic digestion. Seaweed feedstock has been documented to ...consistently vary its biochemical composition with seasons, which affects stability of biomethane production. As currently seaweeds are too costly for use as third generation feedstock for biofuels, this paper investigates the biogas potential of the algal waste streams from the existing bio-industry. Analytical tests identified an improved digestibility of extracted residues (C:N > 20). Fermentation with and without inoculum acclimatation revealed the interaction between compositional seasonality and inoculum type to significantly affect methane production from the extracted samples. Summer’s composition has the most significant impact on methane production, with best results achieved with acclimatised inoculum (433 ml CH4 gVS−1 and final biodegradation of about 90%). Organics concentration (tCOD) and ash:volatile (A:V) ratio also play a major role in the bioconversion process. In particular, digestion with acclimatised inoculum better responds to A:V fluctuations across seasons, which produced the highest average methane yield of 334 ml gVS−1. Pretreatments are required to increase the biodegradation index in spring and summer when not using acclimatation.
•Biorefined L. hyperborea residues demonstrated improved digestibility (C:N > 20).•Seasonal composition and inoculum type to significantly affect methane production.•The ratio of ash to volatile solids in spring and winter of 0.21 is the lowest recorded.•Summer yielded the most with 433 ml CH4 gVS−1 with acclimatised inoculum.
Cold air plasma (CAP) can generate plasma-activated liquids (PALs) with high concentrations of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS), e.g., nitrites, with antimicrobial properties.
We ...investigated the concentrations of ROS and RNS in saline PAL. We assessed planktonic bacterial inactivation by PAL and the decontamination of contaminated cleaning cloths.
Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was treated with an air-driven CAP jet for 90 or 300 s to generate PAL. The ROS and RNS were measured using quantitative fluorescent (2,7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate) and colourimetric (Greiss) assays. Isolates of MRSA and Escherichia coli were incubated in PAL overnight and inactivation measured through colony forming unit (cfu) assays. Sections of cleaning cloths were incubated with MRSA and E. coli, and treated with PAL for 1 h. Bacterial inactivation was measured through resazurin reduction assays.
Nitrites increased from 0.1 μM in untreated PBS to 49.1 μM and to 94.0 μM in 90- and 300-s CAP-treated PAL, respectively. ROS increased from 30 μM in untreated PBS to 75 μM and to 103 μM in 90- and 300-s CAP-treated PAL, respectively. 90-s PAL reduced MRSA and E. coli viability (P<0.05) and 300-s PAL resulted in more than a 7-log reduction of both. One-hour treatment of contaminated cleaning cloths in PAL resulted in a 55% and 73% reduction in viable MRSA and E. coli, respectively (P<0.05).
Inactivation of planktonic bacteria correlated with ROS and RNS concentrations. PAL reduced bacteria contaminated cleaning cloths. PAL has potential as a hospital disinfectant, including cleaning cloths.
Ene-reductases (EREDs) catalyze the reduction of electron-deficient CC bonds. Herein, we report the first example of ERED-catalyzed net reduction of CC bonds of enimines (α,β-unsaturated imines). ...Preliminary studies suggest their hydrolyzed ring-open ω-amino enones are the likely substrates for this step. When combined with imine reductase (IRED)-mediated CN reduction, the result is an efficient telescoped sequence for the preparation of diastereomerically enriched 2-substituted saturated amine heterocycles.
PDF
