Comprehensive Profiling of Secretome Formulations from Fetal- and Perinatal Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells

We previously reported that c-KIT+ human amniotic-fluid derived stem cells obtained from leftover samples of routine II trimester prenatal diagnosis (fetal hAFS) are endowed with regenerative paracrine potential driving pro-survival, anti-fibrotic and proliferative effects. hAFS may also be isolated from III trimester clinical waste samples during scheduled C-sections (perinatal hAFS), thus offering a more easily accessible alternative when compared to fetal hAFS. Nonetheless, little is known about the paracrine profile of perinatal hAFS. Here we provide a detailed characterization of the hAFS total secretome (i.e., the entirety of soluble paracrine factors released by cells in the conditioned medium, hAFS-CM) and the extracellular vesicles (hAFS-EVs) within it, from II trimester fetal- versus III trimester perinatal cells. Fetal- and perinatal hAFS were characterized and subject to hypoxic preconditioning to enhance their paracrine potential. hAFS-CM and hAFS-EV formulations were analyzed for protein and chemokine/cytokine content, and the EV cargo was further investigated by RNA sequencing. The phenotype of fetal- and perinatal hAFS, along with their corresponding secretome formulations, overlapped; yet, fetal hAFS showed immature oxidative phosphorylation activity when compared to perinatal ones. The profiling of their paracrine cargo revealed some differences according to gestational stage and hypoxic preconditioning. Both cell sources provided formulations enriched with neurotrophic, immunomodulatory, anti-fibrotic and endothelial stimulating factors, and the immature fetal hAFS secretome was defined by a more pronounced pro-vasculogenic, regenerative, pro-resolving and anti-aging profile. Small RNA profiling showed microRNA enrichment in both fetal- and perinatal hAFS-EV cargo, with a stably- expressed pro-resolving core as a reference molecular signature. Here we confirm that hAFS represents an appealing source of regenerative paracrine factors; the selection of either fetal or perinatal hAFS secretome formulations for future paracrine therapy should be evaluated considering the specific clinical scenario.     

Coffee with jelly or unbuttered toast: Commissions and omissions are dissociable aspects of everyday action impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

Relative to our understanding of the memory and language deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), little is known about problems with everyday action performance (i.e., meal preparation, grooming). The resource theory proposes that everyday action problems are best explained by a unitary deficit in general cognitive resources. However, recent research suggests that omission and commission errors may reflect dissociable aspects of action impairment, with only omissions associated with resource limitations. This study examined everyday action performance in 70 participants with AD who also underwent a neuropsychological evaluation. First, correlation and principal component analyses were performed to examine the construct(s) that might explain everyday action impairment. Second, relations between everyday task component(s) and neuropsychological tests were examined by using correlation and regression analyses. Third, differences in everyday action error patterns were examined among participants of comparable overall impairment levels. Results showed omission and commission errors were uncorrelated and distinct components of everyday action performance, predicted by different neuropsychological tests, and differentially distributed even among participants with comparable overall impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Energy-ecological efficiency of the fuel cell electric vehicle powered by different biofuels

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - This paper examines the net environmental impact for the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, in special the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (SOFCEV), by...     

Conditional neural sequence learners for generating drums’ rhythms

Neural Computing and Applications - Machine learning has shown a successful component of methods for automatic music composition. Considering music as a sequence of events with multiple complex...     

Protein profile and antioxidant capacity of processed seeds from two common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds are an economical protein source rich in bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity. In this work, we evaluated processed seeds from two common bean cultivars regarding protein profile and antioxidant capacity before and after enzymatic digestion in vitro. We provided protein maps by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) of seeds germinated during 36 h and 72 h. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that protein abundance had more variation on germination times than the cultivar ones. Seeds germinated for 36 h showed greater antioxidant capacity compared to germination for 72 h and cooking, before and after enzymatic digestion. In protein isolates, cooking associated with digestion provided better antioxidant capacity. Germination time influences protein expression as well as the antioxidant capacity of common beans. Furthermore, in vitro digestion increases the antioxidant capacity of cooked bean protein isolates.     

PTFE–PMMA core–shell colloidal particles as building blocks for self‐assembled opals: synthesis,properties and optical response

A seeded surfactant‐free methyl methacrylate emulsion polymerization is employed to prepare core–shell particles with predetermined size and narrow size distribution. The particle size is determined by the ratio between methyl methacrylate (MMA, shell) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, core). Monodisperse particles in the 100–350 nm range are obtained. These particles are used to grow colloidal photonic crystals (opals) of very high optical quality, thus indirectly demonstrating the excellent control of microbead size distribution achieved by this preparation technique. The optical properties of the opals are investigated by means of reflectance and polarized‐angle‐resolved transmittance spectroscopies. These data provide a rough determination of the effective refractive index of the system, which is favorably compared with values obtained by simple effective medium models. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

The synthesis of multilayer graphene materials by the fluorination of carbon nanodiscs/nanocones

Multilayer carbonaceous nanomaterial has been synthesized using a two-step process: carbon nanodiscs/nanocones were fluorinated using either the direct reaction with pure F₂ gas or the thermal decomposition of solid fluorinating agent (TbF₄). Then the fluorinated parts were removed by treatment at 600 °C in air. When the fluorine atoms are homogenously dispersed, using fluorination by TbF₄, thinning due to thermal defluorination results in multilayer materials with 7–10 nm of thickness and 400–500 nm of width. Such resulting materials and the fluorinated precursors have been characterized by solid state NMR, TGA, XRD, SEM, TEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy.