Q-Naturale® is a natural food-grade surfactant isolated from the bark of the Quillaja saponaria Molina tree. The major surface active components of Q-Naturale® are believed to be saponin-based ...amphiphilic molecules. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of this natural surfactant for forming and stabilizing emulsions with a synthetic surfactant (Tween 80) that is widely used in the food industry. We examined the influence of homogenization pressure, number of passes, and emulsifier concentration on the particle size produced. Q-Naturale® was capable of forming relatively small droplets (d < 200 nm) at low surfactant-to-oil ratios (SOR < 0.1) using high pressure homogenization (microfluidization), but the droplets were not as small as those produced using Tween 80 under similar conditions (d < 150 nm). Q-Naturale®-coated droplets were stable to droplet coalescence over a range of pH values (2–8), salt concentrations (0–500 mM NaCl) and temperatures (20–90 °C). However, some droplet flocculation was observed under highly acidic (pH 2) and high ionic strength (≥400 mM NaCl) conditions, which was attributed to screening of electrostatic repulsion. Indeed, Q-Naturale®-coated droplets had a relatively high negative charged at neutral pH that decreased in magnitude with decreasing pH. These results indicate that Q-Naturale® is an effective natural surfactant that may be able to replace synthetic surfactants in food and beverage products.
This paper describes the use of a new natural surfactant (saponin) to form and stabilize oil-in-water emulsions suitable for use in foods and beverages. This manuscript compares the performance of this natural surfactant with a synthetic surfactant for forming and stabilizing emulsions. Display omitted
Photoreceptor transplantation is a potential future treatment for blindness caused by retinal degeneration. Photoreceptor transplantation restores visual responses in end-stage retinal degeneration, ...but has also been assessed in non-degenerate retinas. In the latter scenario, subretinal transplantation places donor cells beneath an intact host outer nuclear layer (ONL) containing host photoreceptors. Here we show that host cells are labelled with the donor marker through cytoplasmic transfer-94±4.1% of apparently well-integrated donor cells containing both donor and host markers. We detect the occurrence of Cre-Lox recombination between donor and host photoreceptors, and we confirm the findings through FISH analysis of X and Y chromosomes in sex-discordant transplants. We do not find evidence of nuclear fusion of donor and host cells. The artefactual appearance of integrated donor cells in host retinas following transplantation is most commonly due to material transfer from donor cells. Understanding this novel mechanism may provide alternate therapeutic strategies at earlier stages of retinal degeneration.
Mammoths provide a detailed example of species origins and dispersal, but understanding has been impeded by taxonomic confusion, especially in North America. The Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi ...was thought to have evolved in North America from a more primitive Eurasian immigrant. The earliest American mammoths (1.5 million years ago), however, resemble the advanced Eurasian M. trogontherii that crossed the Bering land bridge around that time, giving rise directly to M. columbi. Woolly mammoth M. primigenius later evolved in Beringia and spread into Europe and North America, leading to a diversity of morphologies as it encountered endemic M. trogontherii and M. columbi, respectively. In North America, this included intermediates ("M. jeffersonii"), suggesting introgression of M. primigenius with M. columbi. The lineage illustrates the dynamic interplay of local adaptation, dispersal, and gene flow in the evolution of a widely distributed species complex.
Cells of the innate immune system produce cytokines and lipid mediators that strongly influence the outcome of mycobacterial infection. In the case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the lung is a ...critical site for this interaction. Here, we review current information on the role of the major innate cytokine pathways both in controlling initial infection as well as in promoting and maintaining adaptive T-cell responses that mediate host resistance or immunopathology. Understanding this important feature of the host-pathogen interaction can provide major insights into the mechanisms of virulence and can lead to new approaches for immunological intervention in tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.
Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, but their impact on communities and the mechanisms driving those impacts are varied and not well understood. This study employs ...functional diversity metrics and guilds—suites of species with similar traits—to assess the influence of an invasive tree (
Tamarix
spp.) on riparian plant communities in the southwestern United States. We asked: (1) What traits define riparian plant guilds in this system? (2) How do the abundances of guilds vary along gradients of
Tamarix
cover and abiotic conditions? (3) How does the functional diversity of the plant community respond to the gradients of
Tamarix
cover and abiotic conditions? We found nine distinct guilds primarily defined by reproductive strategy, as well as growth form, height, seed weight, specific leaf area, drought and anaerobic tolerance. Guild abundance varied along a covarying gradient of local and regional environmental factors and
Tamarix
cover. Guilds relying on sexual reproduction, in particular, those producing many light seeds over a long period of time were more strongly associated with drier sites and higher
Tamarix
cover.
Tamarix
itself appeared to facilitate more shade-tolerant species with higher specific leaf areas than would be expected in resource-poor environments. Additionally, we found a high degree of specialization (low functional diversity) in the wettest, most flood-prone, lowest
Tamarix
cover sites as well as in the driest, most stable, highest
Tamarix
cover sites. These guilds can be used to anticipate plant community response to restoration efforts and in selecting appropriate species for revegetation.
Closely related to causes of various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, septic shock, and coeliac disease; tyrosine nitration is considered as one of the most important post-translational ...modification in proteins. Inside a cell, protein modifications occur accurately by the action of sophisticated cellular machinery. Specific enzymes present in endoplasmic reticulum accomplish this task. The identification of potential tyrosine residues in a protein primary sequence, which can be nitrated, is a challenging task.
To counter the prevailing, laborious and time-consuming experimental approaches, a novel computational model is introduced in the present study. Based on data collected from experimentally verified tyrosine nitration sites feature vectors are formed. Later, an adaptive training algorithm is used to train a back propagation neural network for prediction purposes. To objectively measure the accuracy of the proposed model, rigorous verification and validation tests are carried out.
Through verification and validation, a promising accuracy of 88%, a sensitivity of 85%, a specificity of 89.18% and Mathew's Correlation Coefficient of 0.627 is achieved.
It is concluded that the proposed computational model provides the foundation for further investigation and be used for the identification of nitrotyrosine sites in proteins.
Virus infection induces different cellular responses in infected cells. These include cellular stress responses like autophagy and unfolded protein response (UPR). Both autophagy and UPR are ...connected to programed cell death I (apoptosis) in chronic stress conditions to regulate cellular homeostasis via Bcl2 family proteins, CHOP and Beclin-1. In this review article we first briefly discuss arboviruses, influenza virus, and HIV and then describe the concepts of apoptosis, autophagy, and UPR. Finally, we focus upon how apoptosis, autophagy, and UPR are involved in the regulation of cellular responses to arboviruses, influenza virus and HIV infections.
Abbreviation: AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; ATF6: Activating Transcription Factor 6; ATG6: Autophagy-specific Gene 6; BAG3: BCL Associated Athanogene 3; Bak: BCL-2-Anatagonist/Killer1; Bax; BCL-2: Associated X protein; Bcl-2: B cell Lymphoma 2x; BiP: Chaperon immunoglobulin heavy chain binding Protein; CARD: Caspase Recruitment Domain; cART: combination Antiretroviral Therapy; CCR5: C-C Chemokine Receptor type 5; CD4: Cluster of Differentiation 4; CHOP: C/EBP homologous protein; CXCR4: C-X-C Chemokine Receptor Type 4; Cyto c: Cytochrome C; DCs: Dendritic Cells; EDEM1: ER-degradation enhancing-a-mannosidase-like protein 1; ENV: Envelope; ER: Endoplasmic Reticulum; FasR: Fas Receptor;G2: Gap 2; G2/M: Gap2/Mitosis; GFAP: Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; GP120: Glycoprotein120; GP41: Glycoprotein41; HAND: HIV Associated Neurodegenerative Disease; HEK: Human Embryonic Kidney; HeLa: Human Cervical Epithelial Carcinoma; HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus; IPS-1: IFN-β promoter stimulator 1; IRE-1: Inositol Requiring Enzyme 1; IRGM: Immunity Related GTPase Family M protein; LAMP2A: Lysosome Associated Membrane Protein 2A; LC3: Microtubule Associated Light Chain 3; MDA5: Melanoma Differentiation Associated gene 5; MEF: Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast; MMP: Mitochondrial Membrane Permeabilization; Nef: Negative Regulatory Factor; OASIS: Old Astrocyte Specifically Induced Substrate; PAMP: Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern; PERK: Pancreatic Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase; PRR: Pattern Recognition Receptor; Puma: P53 Upregulated Modulator of Apoptosis; RIG-I: Retinoic acid-Inducible Gene-I; Tat: Transactivator Protein of HIV; TLR: Toll-like receptor; ULK1: Unc51 Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1; UPR: Unfolded Protein Response; Vpr: Viral Protein Regulatory; XBP1: X-Box Binding Protein 1
The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in the treatment of macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion ...(RVO) in Afghanistan.
A retrospective analysis was conducted of all RVO cases that underwent intravitreal ant-VEGF injection at the two leading hospitals in Kabul. The main outcome measures were visual acuity and central retinal thickness as determined by optical coherence tomography. Information was also collected on the distance traveled by each patient and the frequency of injections.
One hundred and twenty-five eyes of 121 patients (86 males) with RVO were identified as having undergone treatment, with a mean age of 53.1 years (range 20-80). The only agent used was bevacizumab. The mean central retinal thickness reduced from 624.2 ± 24.9 μm at the baseline to 257.8 ± 5.7 μm following treatment (
< 0.001). There was a small increase in visual acuity from 1.33 LogMAR at the baseline to 1.13 LogMAR following the most recent injection (
= 0.03, paired
-test). The mean distance traveled by patients was 173.9 km (range 2-447 km).
Despite the challenges of health-care provision in Afghanistan, this review shows that the use of intravitreal bevacizumab has provided an effective treatment for macular edema after RVO.
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