Search

RNA can fold back on itself to adopt a wide range of structures. These range from relatively simple hairpins to intricate 3D folds and can be accompanied by regulatory interactions with both metabolites and macromolecules. The last 50 yr have witnessed elucidation of an astonishing array of RNA structures including transfer RNAs, ribozymes, riboswitches, the ribosome, the spliceosome, and most recently entire RNA structuromes. These advances in RNA structural biology have deepened insight into fundamental biological processes including gene editing, transcription, translation, and structure-based detection and response to temperature and other environmental signals. These discoveries reveal that RNA can be relatively static, like a rock; that it can have catalytic functions of cutting bonds, like scissors; and that it can adopt myriad functional shapes, like paper. We relate these extraordinary discoveries in the biology of RNA structure to the plant way of life. We trace plant-specific discovery of ribozymes and riboswitches, alternative splicing, organellar ribosomes, thermometers, whole-transcriptome structuromes and pan-structuromes, and conclude that plants have a special set of RNA structures that confer unique types of gene regulation. We finish with a consideration of future directions for the RNA structure–function field.

The present review provides a comprehensive outlook toward the possibilities of developing a functional in vitro liver tissue model on a paper platform. To this end, we first addressed the suitabil...

This review paper focuses on the gender disparity and causes of gender inequality and sheds light on the important studies on the topic. It also sheds light on the pay parity and performance literature. This review paper also sheds light on the definition, conceptualization, and measurement of employee performance. This review paper has also shown a number of studies that linked the relationship between pay fairness, organizational justice and employee performance. This review paper summarizes these findings and suggests areas where more inquiry is needed to resolve conflicting results. Around more than 50 papers have been studies out of which 12 studies and few blogs and articles are taken into consideration which provides enough evidence to justify that Gender Inequality, Pay Parity could affect Corporate Performance.

This white paper was developed to provide leukapheresis guidance for the collection of mononuclear cells from adult and pediatric patients who are destined for immune effector cell (IEC) therapies for commercial and research applications. Currently, there is considerable variability in leukapheresis processes and limited published information regarding best practices relevant to new cellular therapies, especially IECs. Herein the authors address critical leukapheresis questions in five domains to help guide consistent collection processes and ensure high-quality products. The first four domains are onboarding, pre-collection, collection and post-collection, with protocol feasibility, preparation, care and follow-up of the patient/donor at each step, respectively, and technical considerations during collection. The fifth domain of quality assurance focuses on ensuring product potency, purity, safety and auditing.The American Society for Apheresis (ASFA) Clinical Applications Committee (IEC Therapy Subcommittee) was charged by the society's board of directors with working collaboratively with other ASFA committees and organizations, including the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies, American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, National Marrow Donor Program and International Society for CellGene Therapy, to develop guidelines regarding leukapheresis collection of cells destined for the manufacture of IEC therapies. After a review of the literature and discussion with members of the involved committees and various institutions, a draft guidance was created and circulated for comment and revision.Critical aspects of apheresis that could affect the quality and quantity of the leukapheresis product were identified. These areas were then discussed and reviewed. After consensus, the best practice guidelines were proposed and accepted.In the current era of rapid growth of IEC therapies, it is important to address critical leukapheresis steps to provide high-quality products and more consistent practices and to eliminate redundant efforts.

This paper reports the development of fluorescent-linked immunosorbent paper-based assay for exosome detection. The paper-based device was fabricated with sandwich lamination for easy handling and was coated with exosome-specific antibody as a biosensing platform to detect exosome sample from the cell culture media. This assay employed fluorescent detection which is followed by tagging fluorophore-conjugated detecting antibody on exosome samples. The fluorescent readout was evaluated and quantified from image processing software. This assay can detect high concentration of exosome samples (~ 1010 exosome/mL). However, this assay has encountered various challenges. First, the exosome concentration prepared from cell culture media from cancer-derived ovarian and mesothelial cell lines may be insufficient to reach detectable range. Second, chemical contamination from exosome isolation kits may affect assay sensitivity. Therefore, assay optimization and minimizing chemical contamination are required which could enhance assay specificity and sensitivity.

Background Brucellosis, as a serious zoonotic infectious disease, has been recognized as a re-emerging disease in the developing countries worldwide. In china, the incidence of brucellosis is increasing each year, seriously threatening the health of humans as well as animal populations. Despite a quite number of diagnostic methods currently being used for brucellosis, innovative technologies are still needed for its rapid and accurate diagnosis, especially in area where traditional diagnostic is unavailable. Methodology/Principal findings In this study, a total of 22 B cell linear epitopes were predicted from five Brucella outer membrane proteins (OMPs) using an immunoinformatic approach. These epitopes were then chemically synthesized, and with the method of indirect ELISA (iELISA), each of them displayed a certain degree of capability in identifying human brucellosis positive sera. Subsequently, a fusion protein consisting of the 22 predicted epitopes was prokaryotically expressed and used as diagnostic antigen in a newly established brucellosis testing method, nano-ZnO modified paper-based ELISA (nano-p-ELISA). According to the verifying test using a collection of sera collected from brucellosis and non-brucellosis patients, the sensitivity and specificity of multiepitope based nano-p-ELISA were 92.38% and 98.35% respectively. The positive predictive value was 98.26% and the negative predictive value was 91.67%. The multiepitope based fusion protein also displayed significantly higher specificity than Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen. Conclusions B cell epitopes are important candidates for serologically testing brucellosis. Multiepitope fusion protein based nano-p-ELISA displayed significantly sensitivity and specificity compared to Brucella LPS antigen. The strategy applied in this study will be helpful to develop rapid and accurate diagnostic method for brucellosis in human as well as animal populations., Author summary Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonosis in the world and has caused tremendous economic losses in agriculture and animal husbandry in many countries. Developing rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic methods is very important for early detection and treatment of brucellosis patients. In this study, a novel diagnostic technique, nano-ZnO modified paper ELISA, was established. The antigen used in this technique was a fusion protein containing multiple B cell epitopes, which were predicted from Brucella major outer membrane proteins such as Bp26, Omp31, Omp16, Omp2b and Omp25. Comparing to traditional LPS antigen, this multiepitope based antigen displayed considerably higher sensitivity and higher specificity in laboratory. With the strategy described in this paper, more efficient epitopes and protein antigen can be identified in the future. Currently, LPS antigen is only prepared from live Brucella, while protein antigen can be produced in large quantities in prokaryotic expression system. In addition to nano-p-ELISA, this protein antigen can also be used for development other methods such as fluorescent polarization assay (FPA) and immunochromatographic assay (ICA) to meet the varied demand for brucellosis testing.

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using extracellular vesicles (EVs) as potential therapeutic agents or natural drug delivery systems in kidney-related diseases. However, a detailed and targeted report on the current condition of extracellular vesicle research in kidney-related diseases is lacking. Therefore, this prospective study was designed to investigate the use of bibliometric analysis to comprehensively overview the current state of research and frontier trends on extracellular vesicle research in kidney-related diseases using visualization tools.Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was searched to identify publications related to extracellular vesicle research in kidney-related diseases since 1999. Citespace, Microsoft Excel 2019, VOSviewer software, the R Bibliometrix Package, and an online platform were used to analyze related research trends to stratify the publication data and collaborations.Results: From 1 January 1999 to 26 June 2022, a total of 1,122 EV-related articles and reviews were published, and 6,486 authors from 1,432 institutions in 63 countries or regions investigated the role of extracellular vesicles in kidney-related diseases. We found that the number of articles on extracellular vesicles in kidney-related diseases increased every year. Dozens of publications were from China and the United States. China had the most number of related publications, in which the Southeast University (China) was the most active institution in all EV-related fields. Liu Bi-cheng published the most papers on extracellular vesicles, while Clotilde Théry had the most number of co-citations. Most papers were published by The International Journal of Molecular Sciences, while Kidney International was the most co-cited journal for extracellular vesicles. We found that exosome-related keywords included exosome, exosm, expression, extracellular vesicle, microRNA, microvesicle, and liquid biopsy, while disease- and pathological-related keywords included biomarker, microRNA, apoptosis, mechanism, systemic lupus erythematosus, EGFR, acute kidney injury, and chronic kidney disease. Acute kidney disease (AKI), CKD, SLE, exosome, liquid biopsy, and extracellular vesicle were the hotspot in extracellular vesicle and kidney-related diseases research.Conclusion: The field of extracellular vesicles in kidney-related disease research is rapidly growing, and its domain is likely to expand in the next decade. The findings from this comprehensive analysis of extracellular vesicles in kidney-related disease research could help investigators to set new diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic ideas or methods in kidney-related diseases.

Companies are turning to social media marketing as the newest means of promoting their products and services. Instagram, a photo-sharing app for mobile devices, has emerged as a critical marketing tool. This research aims to determine which of the three Instagram marketing strategies is the most effective in terms of growing a following, increasing brand recognition, and boosting sales. Many secondary sources were also used to support the primary research. Instagram users in the city of Ahmedabad were surveyed to gather information. T-tests, Chi-Square, and descriptive statistics were used to examine the data further. A recent study found that Instagram users take a variety of things into account when deciding whether or not to follow a brand or post about a product or service. According to our survey, the vast majority of those who responded were utilizing Instagram to promote their brands and increase sales on their e-commerce sites. Generally, Instagram users create traffic by arranging their grids attractively, publishing consistently, following Instagram trends, and offering discounts and coupons. Marketers may use Instagram to their advantage by creating unique and engaging content. Because of Instagram's emphasis on visual features such as photographs and videos, marketers now have a new channel through which to reach customers. Customers and businesses may converse more easily and casually on Instagram because of the platform's more relaxed atmosphere.

Radiometric assays have widely been used for measuring protein kinase activity for decades. In addition, several non-radiometric kinase assay formats have been developed over the years, including luciferase-based and fluorescence-based assays. However, radiometric assays are still considered as the "gold standard" for protein kinase assays, because of their direct readout, high sensitivity, reproducibility, reliability, and very low background signals. These radiometric assays rely on P81 phosphocellulose paper to capture the phosphorylated substrate and wash out unreacted [γ-32P] ATP. However, recently the production of P81 was discontinued by the manufacturer, causing major concern within the protein kinase research community. The advantages of radiometric assays over other kinase assay methods call for an urgent alternative to the discontinued P81 paper. In this report, we demonstrate that the LSA-50 paper is a worthy alternative for radiometric protein kinase assays originally using P81 phosphocellulose paper. ispartof: ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY vol:630 ispartof: location:United States status: published

The article presents the main themes of journalistic texts probably written by Helena Radlińska, and published on the pages of the underground magazine ‘Pismo Młodych’ addressed to the Gray Ranks Assault Groups. The selected topics, referring to the main concepts of Radlińska’s social pedagogy, were distinguished as a result of a qualitative content analysis. The synthesis of the content addressed to the fighting youth and their instructors, leads to a conclusion regarding the generational message that Radlińska directed to the younger generation fighting against the invader during World War II. The text reveals a less known part of the journalistic work of the scientist from the war period. Artykuł prezentuje główne tematy tekstów publicystycznych, napisanych prawdopodobnie przez Helenę Radlińską na łamach pisma konspiracyjnego „Pismo Młodych”, adresowanego do Grup Szturmowych Szarych Szeregów. Wyłonione tematy, odwołujące się do głównych pojęć pedagogiki społecznej Radlińskiej, zostały wyodrębnione w efekcie przeprowadzonej jakościowej analizy treści. Synteza treści adresowanych do młodzieży walczącej i ich instruktorów prowadzi do konkluzji dotyczącej przekazu pokoleniowego, jaki Radlińska kierowała do młodszej generacji walczącej z okupantem podczas II wojny światowej. Tekst odsłania mniej znaną kartę twórczości publicystycznej uczonej z okresu wojennego.

Filter paper provides an excellent matrix for retention of proteins containing a cellulose binding domain. To use this capability for manipulating recombinant fusion proteins, binding and elution parameters were explored and procedures developed for small scale purification, modification and assay. Proteins were tagged with the cellulose binding domain from theC thermocellumCipB gene via a cleavable linker. Filter paper disks of 6mm diameter were able to bind up to 80 μg protein although there was a substantial dependence on molecular size. Different means of introducing fusion proteins to the disks allow either binding within 20 minutes from microliter volumes or slower binding from milliliter volumes. Elution with protease in small volumes yielded greater than 10 μg amounts with concentrations in the 1-2 mg/ml range. To demonstrate their utility, disks were used for small scale protein purification, covalent modification of protein, immunoprecipitation, and in a binding assay. These versatile methods allow parallel processing of multiple samples and may find many uses when only small amounts of protein are needed.

The paper-disc soil method is a soil algal bioassay used to assess soil water transfer in polluted soils. Although this ecotoxicological method was first established in 2016 to assess soil pollution, quantitative toxicity assessments of Cu- or Ni-treated soil and in situ or ex situ soils polluted with other heavy metals (HMs) have not been widely conducted. In this study, the paper-disc soil method was validated under different test conditions. The validated paper-disc soil method was used to quantitatively investigate the toxicity of four HMs (As, Cd, Cr, and Zn). Based on the results, the test species, initial inoculation concentration in the algal-dispersed solution, water content, light intensity, and exposure duration were proposed as Chlorococcum infusionum, 3 × 10

Aiming towards simplifying sample preparation procedure, the present work explores use of unmodified laboratory filter paper as sorbent for extraction of nine basic drugs (five antidepressants, four benzodiazepines, and ketamine) from human blood samples and their analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The procedure termed as cellulose paper sorptive extraction (CPSE) is straightforward. It involves adsorption of target analytes from deproteinized diluted blood samples on the unmodified cellulose paper followed by elution into 2 mL of methanol. Multivariate optimization, consisting of Placket-Burman design (PBD) and central composite design (CCD), was used to screen and optimize significant factors for CPSE. The proposed method follows the principles of green analytical chemistry (GAC), as the unmodified filter paper used as the sorbent is inexpensive and biodegradable. The technique is easy to perform and requires only 2 mL of MeOH during the entire extraction procedure. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection and quantification for the target analytes were estimated to be in the range of 0.003-0.035 and 0.010-0.117 µg mL

We have assembled ten interesting manuscripts submitted by developmental biologists in Japan [...]

Background Neck pain is one of the most frequently reported musculoskeletal complaints among adults; its prevalence in the world is ranging from 16.7 to 75.1%. It can have an impact on a person’s physical, psychological, and social well-being. Along with pain, disability, muscle weakness, and alterations in the posture, neck pain patients are likely to develop affection of the respiratory function as reported in numerous studies. However, these patients are primarily managed with a musculoskeletal perspective with little or no emphasis to the changes observed in the respiratory system. There is a paucity of literature evaluating the need for respiratory rehabilitation in these patients. Main body All relevant published literature related to respiratory dysfunction in patients with chronic neck pain were critically reviewed in this study. Patients having chronic neck pain were found to have alterations in respiratory function in terms of reduced lung volumes, reduced chest mobility, and decreased respiratory muscle strength. Various factors such as decreased cervical range of motion, decreased strength of deep neck flexors and extensors, forward head posture, and pain are known to cause these dysfunctions. Respiratory system intervention in the form of breathing re-education and respiratory exercises are significantly proven to improve treatment outcomes. Conclusion There is limited literature relating to respiratory dysfunction and its management in neck pain patients. Incorporation of both respiratory and musculoskeletal assessments can enhance their treatment outcomes. Additionally, it can be suggested to consider intervention in the form of respiratory rehabilitation while strategizing treatment goals for these patients.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jcb-10.1177_0271678X221119760 for Transfer function analysis of dynamic cerebral autoregulation: a CARNet white paper 2022 update by Ronney B Panerai, Patrice Brassard, Joel S Burma, Pedro Castro, Jurgen AHR Claassen, Johannes J van Lieshout, Jia Liu, Samuel JE Lucas, Jatinder S Minhas, Georgios D Mitsis, Ricardo C Nogueira, Shigehiko Ogoh, Stephen J Payne, Caroline A Rickards, Andrew D Robertson, Gabriel D Rodrigues, Jonathan D Smirl David M Simpson in Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism

Selective modulation of retinaldehyde dehydrogenases (RALDHs)-the main aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes converting retinal into retinoic acid (RA), is very important not only in the RA signaling pathway but also for the potential regulatory effects on RALDH isozyme-specific processes and RALDH-related cancers. However, very few selective modulators for RALDHs have been identified, partly due to variable overexpression protocols of RALDHs and insensitive activity assay that needs to be addressed. In the present study, deletion of the N-terminal disordered regions is found to enable simple preparation of all RALDHs and their closest paralog ALDH2 using a single protocol. Fluorescence-based activity assay was employed for enzymatic activity investigation and screening for RALDH-specific modulators from extracts of various spices and herbs that are well-known for containing many phyto-derived anti-cancer constituents. Under the established conditions, spice and herb extracts exhibited differential regulatory effects on RALDHs/ALDH2 with several extracts showing potential selective inhibition of the activity of RALDHs. In addition, the presence of magnesium ions was shown to significantly increase the activity for the natural substrate retinal of RALDH3 but not the others, while His-tag cleavage considerably increased the activity of ALDH2 for the non-specific substrate retinal. Altogether we propose a readily reproducible workflow to find selective modulators for RALDHs and suggest potential sources of selective modulators from spices and herbs.

The blood brain barrier (BBB) protects the central nervous system from toxins and pathogens in the blood by regulating permeation of molecules through the barrier interface. In vitro BBB models described to date reproduce some aspects of BBB functionality, but also suffer from incomplete phenotypic expression of brain endothelial traits, difficulty in reproducibility and fabrication, or overall cost. To address these limitations, we describe a three-dimensional (3D) BBB model based on a hybrid paper/nanofiber scaffold. The cell culture platform utilizes lens paper as a framework to accommodate 3D culture of astrocytes. An electrospun nanofiber layer is coated onto one face of the paper to mimic the basement membrane and support growth of an organized two-dimensional layer of endothelial cells (ECs). Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived ECs and astrocytes are co-cultured to develop a human BBB model. Morphological and spatial organization of model are validated with confocal microscopy. Measurements of transendothelial resistance and permeability demonstrate the BBB model develops a high-quality barrier and responds to hyperosmolar treatments. RNA-sequencing shows introduction of astrocytes both regulates EC tight junction proteins and improves endothelial phenotypes related to vasculogenesis. This model shows promise as a model platform for future in vitro studies of the BBB.

The 2019 outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan (Hubei province of China) has given rise to a pandemic spread of virus, more than 240 million incidences and a death toll larger than 5 million people. COVID-19 has set off large efforts in research, therapy and patient care, as well as public and private debates in every imaginable form. A number of scientists used the publication platforms provided by the Federation of the European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) to present their research data, reviews, opinions and other contributions relating to COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, I highlight the recent COVID-19 papers which have been published and collected in a Virtual Issue in FEBS Letters, and discuss their implications towards understanding the molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infections, vaccine development and antiviral discovery strategies.

The medical autopsy (also called hospital or clinical autopsy) is a highly specialised medical procedure, which requires professional expertise and suitably equipped facilities. To ensure high standards of performance, the Working Group of Autopsy Pathology of the European Society of Pathology (ESP) suggests a code of practice as a minimum standard for centres performing medical autopsies. The proposed standards exclusively address autopsies in adults, and not forensic autopsies, perinatal/or paediatric examinations. Minimum standards for organisation, standard of premises, and staffing conditions, as well as minimum requirements for level of expertise of the postmortem performing specialists, documentation, and turnaround times of the medical procedure, are presented. Medical autopsies should be performed by specialists in pathology, or by trainees under the supervision of such specialists. To maintain the required level of expertise, autopsies should be performed regularly and in a number that ensures the maintenance of good practice of all participating physicians. A minimum number of autopsies per dedicated pathologist in a centre should be at least 50, or as an average, at least one autopsy per working week. Forensic autopsies, but not paediatric/perinatal autopsies may be included in this number. Turnaround time for final reports should not exceed 3 weeks (14 working days) for autopsies without fixation of brain/spinal cord or other time-consuming additional examinations, and 6 weeks (30 working days) for those with fixation of brain/spinal cord or additional examinations.

The application of cosmetics is indispensable in our current society. In recent years, with an increasing awareness of the long-term health benefits of naturally sourced ingredients, plant-based cosmetic products have gained increasing attention. Lilium belongs to the Liliaceae family, which is one of the main plant families used in cosmetics for skin care treatment. A large number of studies have shown that Lilium plants are rich in components such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides, with high potential for cosmetic applications. However, the application of lilies in cosmetics has not been systematically reported. This knowledge gap can easily lead to the neglect of its application in cosmetics because lilies are most familiar as ornamental plants. Integrating academic papers and patent publications, we analyzed the potential cosmetic application ingredients in lily, as well as their applications in cosmetics and related efficacy. Patent analysis showed that applications for lily-related cosmetic patents are mainly concentrated in East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan. The application of lilies involves all aspects of cosmetics, such as sunscreens, facial cleansers, facial masks, conditioners, and so on. Its functions are also rich and diverse, including antiaging, radiation protective, whitening, moisturizing, freckle removal, acne treatment, and hair regeneration promotion. In addition, lilies are compatible with the application of other herbs. Moreover, with a change in people’s consumption concepts and the consideration of long-term health benefits, lily-based food and medicine innovation with health care and beautification effects may be a promising direction.

A moving-bed bioreactor (MBB) could intensify growth of adherent mammalian cells for viral vaccines. A continuously fed sterile paper passing through a thin liquid layer as a flexible cell substrate is a new concept for bioprocess intensification (BPI). Paper could enable cell expansion with reduced footprint and reduced media consumption as the first stage of a 2-stage growth + infection continuous process. This study focused only on cell growth (stage 1). We report a simple 32 mm paper disc method to evaluate growth of adherent Madin Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK CCL-34) adapted to 5% FBS to confluence on unmodified papers to screen substrates. Bibulous paper was found to be the best substrate for proliferation of MDCK. An MBB process was simulated using paper discs to test growth to confluence (stage 1). Growth was characterized using staining, image analysis; confocal microscopy. Cells grew on the surface of bibulous paper to a confluence of >90% in 192 h. Extending this concept by stabilizing MDCK on paper (end of stage 1) by engineering cells to survive freezing or lyoprotection would enable live cells to be shipped as modules to multiple manufacturing sites for infection resulting in rapid, reproducible viral vaccine manufacture.

Here, we have assembled five interesting manuscripts that deserve special attention [...]