De Novo Transcriptome Analysis of the Venom of Latrodectus geometricus with the Discovery of an Insect-Selective Na Channel Modulator

The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is a predator of a variety of agricultural insects and is also hazardous for humans. Its venom is a true pharmacopeia representing neurotoxic peptides targeting the ion channels and/or receptors of both vertebrates and invertebrates. The lack of transcriptomic information, however, limits our knowledge of the diversity of components present in its venom. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) carry out a transcriptomic analysis of the venom, and (2) investigate the bioactivity of the venom using an electrophysiological bioassay. From 32,505 assembled transcripts, 8 toxin families were classified, and the ankyrin repeats (ANK), agatoxin, centipede toxin, ctenitoxin, lycotoxin, scorpion toxin-like, and SCP families were reported in the L. geometricus venom gland. The diversity of L. geometricus venom was also uncovered by the transcriptomics approach with the presence of defensins, chitinases, translationally controlled tumor proteins (TCTPs), leucine-rich proteins, serine proteases, and other important venom components. The venom was also chromatographically purified, and the activity contained in the fractions was investigated using an electrophysiological bioassay with the use of a voltage clamp on ion channels in order to find if the neurotoxic effects of the spider venom could be linked to a particular molecular target. The findings show that U24-ctenitoxin-Pn1a involves the inhibition of the insect sodium (Nav) channels, BgNav and DmNav. This study provides an overview of the molecular diversity of L. geometricus venom, which can be used as a reference for the venom of other spider species. The venom composition profile also increases our knowledge for the development of novel insecticides targeting voltage-gated sodium channels.

Analytical Pyrolysis of the Fungal Melanins from Ochroconis spp. Isolated from Lascaux Cave, France

Analytical pyrolysis is a tool widely used for investigating the nature of macromolecules. This technique has been applied with success for solving the chemical structure of geo- and biopolymers. However, with complex macromolecules, such as fungal melanins, analytical pyrolysis presents some drawbacks due to the fact that they rarely can be obtained in a pure grade and contains a mixture of polysaccharides, chitin, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, among other materials. Analytical pyrolysis permits the characterization of the compounds co-extracted or linked to the melanin. Nevertheless, our data revealed that under the conditions usually employed in the pyrolysis of melanins, the technique presented serious limitations due to the complex structure and diversity of components that suffer extensive thermal degradation through secondary reactions with the production of considerable number of artifacts. To the light of pyrolysis data, the melanin of Ochroconis spp. is not based on 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) or 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN), and it is suggested that it could be a type of pyomelanin, based on the polymerization of homogentisic acid and other phenolic compounds.

Theory of systems with chaos of chemical composition in nature and technology

According to the theory developed by the author, a substance is built from statistical ensembles more general than atoms, molecules, and supramolecular structures, namely, from multicomponent systems with chaos of chemical composition (MSCC). Any imperfect substance exists in the form of multicomponent systems with chaos of composition and consists of an infinite number of components. It is shown that all natural and man-made substances are MHS, with varying degrees of chemical chaos. According to the theory, MSCC with small composition chaos are distinguished, which are identified as individual substances and systems with significant chaos – multicomponent mixtures. Natural MSCC with significant Gaussian compositional chaos include hydrocarbon systems, for example, natural gases, fuel fractions, gas condensates, space systems, for example, interstellar dust and gas clouds, geochemical, and biogeochemical objects. Technogenic MSCC are obtained by processing natural systems, such as coal tar, and oil refining. Biogenic MSCC include humic acids, blood plasma, etc. Individual substances (colorblind) are Poisson systems with chaos of chemical composition, or systems with small chaos of composition. MSCC are objects that manifest themselves as a whole in physicochemical processes. These systems are qualitatively different from conventional mixtures by a certain statistical law of the distribution of the composition according to physicochemical properties and have thermodynamic and kinetic features. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture does not comply with the law of consistency. To characterize such systems, it is proposed to use the informational entropy of the composition and the entropy of the diversity of components. The point of view on matter as a system with chaos of composition is justified, one of the laws of evolution of which is the increase in the entropy of the diversity of states, which is the source of evolution of the MSCC.

Perceived value of service innovation: a conceptual framework

Purpose – This paper aims at better understanding the intention to adopt service innovation in a business context by analyzing the nature of perceived value. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses Holbrook's approach on value, applied to a B2B context, in order to better understand the nature of the perceived value of a new service. A qualitative study on 33 firms is carried out through two steps: an exploratory stage and an understanding stage. Findings – The results show different aspects of the service innovation value in a business market, identify various recipients of this value, and underline how the level of newness in the service impacts the nature of perceived value. More generally, this research provides an analytical framework of service innovation value for a firm in a B2B market. Research limitations/implications – This study aims at broadening previous research that studied the perceived value of offerings in a B2B context by considering various types of perceived value of a service innovation. Also, Holbrook's frame of analysis was adapted to the B2B context. In order to make the conclusions more relevant, it would be necessary to enlarge the sample, introduce other service innovations and to carry out a quantitative study. Practical implications – To market their service innovation, companies can adopt a positioning on other criteria than price or quality/performance and communicate with various recipients. Originality/value – The paper highlights the diversity of components of service innovation value (not only economic and functional components but also emotional, symbolic, altruistic, interactional components of value).

A broad screen for targets of immune complexes decorating arthritic joints highlights deposition of nucleosomes in rheumatoid arthritis

Deposits of Ig and complement are abundant in affected joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in animal models of RA in which antibodies are demonstrably pathogenic. To identify molecular targets of the Igs deposited in arthritic joints, which may activate local inflammation, we used a combination of mass spectrometry (MS) and protein microarrays. Immune complexes were affinity-purified from surgically removed joint tissues of 26 RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Proteins complexed with IgG were identified by proteomic analysis using tandem MS. A striking diversity of components of the extracellular matrix, and some intracellular components, copurified specifically with IgG from RA and OA tissues. A smaller set of autoantigens was observed only in RA eluates. In complementary experiments, IgG fractions purified from joint immune complexes were tested on protein microarrays against a range of candidate autoantigens. These Igs bound a diverse subset of proteins and peptides from synovium and cartilage, different from that bound by normal serum Ig. One type of intracellular protein detected specifically in RA joints (histones H2A/B) was validated by immunohistology and found to be deposited on the cartilage surface of RA but not OA joints. Thus, autoantibodies to many determinants (whether deposited as “neoantigens” or normal constituents of the extracellular matrix) have the potential to contribute to arthritic inflammation.

Process and Material Requirements for Successful Heterogonous Passive Component Integration in RF System

Applications using rf radios operating at frequencies above 1GHz are proliferating. The highest operating frequencies continue to increase and applications above 10GHz and up to 77GHz are already emerging. Systems become more complex and devices need to operate at several different frequency bands using different wireless standards. The rf-front end sections of these devices are characterized by a high diversity of components, in particular high precision passive components. In order to be produced cost-effectively, these elements need to be integrated along with the semiconductor devices. This paper describes the requirements for successful integration of rf-passive devices and proposes multilayer thin film technology as an effective rf-integration technology.

Process and Material Requirements for Successful Heterogonous Passive Component Integration in RF System

Applications using rf radios operating at frequencies above 1GHz are proliferating. The highest operating frequencies continue to increase and applications above 10GHz and up to 77GHz are already emerging. Systems become more complex and devices need to operate at several different frequency bands using different wireless standards. The rf-front end sections of these devices are characterized by a high diversity of components, in particular high precision passive components. In order to be produced cost-effectively, these elements need to be integrated along with the semiconductor devices. This paper describes the requirements for successful integration of rf-passive devices and proposes multilayer thin film technology as an effective rf-integration technology.

Editorial

Givcn the nature of the process of education, the human groups for whom education is designed and with whom educating is, to a great degree, an intimate, social interaction, even the most superficial examination of the elements involved reveals a diversity of components which span most, if not all, aspects of human life. Some time ago it was recognized that our own education and the education of our fellow humans extends in length and breadth far outside the formal classrooms of primary, secondary, and postsecondary education. This said, it is not at all difficult to identify components of education such as life-long learning, social responsibilities, citizenship, gender based issues, and helping people develop their potential. What a contr8st these postmodern concepts of education make when compared with traditionally espoused notions of "back to basics" and "the three Rs", which, even as I write, are still perceived by many in the community to be by far the most suitable concepts by which wc may cope with the present and try to facc;; the future. This edition presents articles on education which are widely varied in nature, but nonetheless have application to the profession as manifest in its many forms. They have relevance, also, to important aspects of the ways in which we socialize and are socialized within the context of education and educating. These articles, then, are presented to encourage the examination of education through somewhat different lenses and to invite questions pertaining to where we are and where we are going.

On the Inefficiency of Being Efficient

Decisionmaking in the industrialized nations of the western world increasingly can be characterized by its scale and speed of implementation. Another facet of decisionmaking is the narrowness with which problems are defined and the equally narrow range of alternatives sought for solution. This paper documents these elements of decisions and also sketches out a number of scenarios where such an approach has led to unexpected, and often undesirable, consequences. An alternative view of complex decisions, based on these scenarios, is developed. It relies heavily not on optimization as its pivotal criterion but rather upon the persistence of the decisionmaking unit, which is ultimately our society. Examples are presented which illustrate the counterproductive nature of many optimizing solutions. The argument is made that in an uncertain world, such as the one in which we live, optimizing approaches to decisions cannot succeed in the longer run because their assumptions about the constancy of our world do not hold up. Accordingly, a more flexible framework is suggested which values the complexity and uncertainty of the socioecological systems within which we must operate. The stability of these systems is seen to be a critical consideration of decisions, and several aspects of stability are presented which have been overlooked in the past. The paper is concluded with a number of points which it is argued should be explicitly accounted for in future decisionmaking frameworks. Among the points stressed are: the desirability of making small scale decisions and implementing them slowly; the need to acknowledge the limits of what is knowable and thus the role of uncertainty; the virtues of maintaining a diversity of components in our socioecological systems; and finally the need to keep decision options open.