The Association of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 to Plasma Low-Density Lipoproteins: An Evaluation of Different Methods

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 (PCSK9) is key regulator of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism. A significant proportion of PCSK9 is believed to be associated with LDL in plasma as it circulates, although this finding is still a matter of debate. The purpose of this study was to establish an experimental method to investigate the presence of such an interaction in the bloodstream. Methods: We compared a number of well-established methods for lipoprotein (LP) isolation to clarify whether PCSK9 associates differently to circulating lipoproteins, such as KBr gradient ultracentrifugation, physical precipitation of ApoB-LPs, fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and iodixanol gradient ultracentrifugation. Results: Our data show heterogeneity in PCSK9 association to lipoproteins according to the method used. Two methods, iodixanol ultracentrifugation and column chromatography, which did not involve precipitation or high salt concentration, consistently showed an interaction of PCSK9 with a subfraction of LDL that appeared to be more buoyant and have a lower size than average LDL. The percent of PCSK9 association ranged from 2 to 30% and did not appear to correlate to plasma or LDL cholesterol levels. Conclusions: The association of PCSK9 to LDL appeared to be sensitive to high salt concentrations. FPLC and iodixanol gradient ultracentrifugation appeared to be the most suitable methods for the study of this association.

Juveniles and undersized fish in small-scale fisheries: gillnets are not less implied than trawling

Of particular concern in commercial fishing catch is 'size bycatch', i.e., the death of early stages of resources that would reach a marketable value when they turn into adults. This event is frequently associated with trawling because of the lower size selectivity of this gear as compared to gillnets. However, this is expected when small-scale fisheries (SSF) employ gillnets simultaneously in setnets + driftnets that mix multiple mesh sizes. This work analyzes fishing captures and compares characteristics of fish catch from gillnets and trawlers with respect to size at first maturation, legal size of capture, and expected discards. Data were obtained from 2007-2021 for SSF in Southern Brazil. A total of 112 fish species were represented in the data. Gillnets exploited fewer species than trawlers; however, most of these constitute fishing resources in the study region. Of the 19 species whose maturation size is known, nine occurred in gillnets as juveniles, and of the 14 species for which the legal size of capture is established, seven occurred in gillnets in prohibited sizes. Gillnets and trawlers presented size bycatch and affected different species between them, with four resources that were present in bycatch from both gillnets and trawlers. The broad range of mesh sizes employed by SSF warns of the discarding of undersized captures, and stresses the importance of policies addressing gillnet management.

Evaluations of An Algorithm for Large Multivariate Optimization

Many simulation-driven engineering and scientific problems require finding an optimum of a function with many variables. Such settings pose a challenge for standard algorithms due to the large search space which in turn can lead to poor final results. Therefore this paper proposes a new simplified approach in which the dimension of the problem is dynamically reduced during the search to formulate a problem of lower size (dimension) which is easier to solve. A main novelty of the algorithm is its simplicity. Numerical experiments show the potential of this approach.

Laser Activated and Electroless Metalized Polyurethane Coatings Containing Copper(II) L-Tyrosine and Glass Microspheres

Polyurethane coatings containing copper(II) L-tyrosine and glass microspheres were laser irradiated and underwent electroless metallization. Various sizes of glass microspheres were incorporated into the polyurethane coating matrix in order to examine their effects on surface activation and electroless metallization. The surface of the coatings was activated by using ArF excimer laser emitting ultraviolet radiation (λ = 193 nm) using different number of laser pulses and their fluence. The effects of surface activation and metallization were evaluated mainly based on optical and scanning electron microcopies (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the presence of glass microspheres enabled the reduction in copper complex content, intensified the ablation process (higher cone-like structures created) and resulted in higher content of copper metallic seeds. On the other hand, the glass microspheres concentration, which was higher for lower size microspheres, was advantageous for obtaining a fully metallized layer.

The Influence of Nd and Sm on the Structure and Properties of Sol-Gel-Derived TiO2 Powders

TiO2 nanopowders modified by Nd and Sm were prepared using the sol-gel technique. It was found by XRD analysis that the samples containing Sm are amorphous up to 300 °C, while those with Nd preserve a mixed organic-inorganic amorphous structure at higher temperatures (400 °C). The TiO2 (rutile) was not detected up to 700 °C in the presence of both modified oxides. TiO2 (anatase) crystals found at about 400 °C in the Sm-modified sample exhibited an average crystallite size of about 25–30 nm, while doping with Nd resulted in particles of a lower size—5–10 nm. It was established by DTA that organic decomposition is accompanied by significant weight loss occurring in the temperature range 240–350 °C. Photocatalytic tests showed that the samples heated at 500 °C possess photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation toward Malachite green organic dye. Selected compositions exhibited good antimicrobial activity against E. coli K12 and B. subtilis.

Little brainiacs and big dummies: Are we selecting for stupid, stout, or small dogs?

Background: Brain size has been associated with intelligence of various orders and families of animals, leading to the concept of encephalization. Brain size scales with body weight between species within mammals to approximately the 0.67 power. However, within species, this scaling exponent appears to be much smaller (approximately 0.27 power). Aim: We examined whether this relationship has persisted in dogs over the 120 years since this was originally observed. Methods: Comparative cross-sectional study of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data obtained from 127 dogs, compared to historical data from 157 dogs and 24 non-dog canid species. Results: Brain size in dogs measured by MRI had a scaling exponent virtually identical to that observed previously (0.24 vs. 0.26). However, the proportionality constant was smaller, suggesting that dogs in the study cohort had relatively smaller brains than the historical cohort. Absolute brain size appeared to have both a lower and upper limit in dogs. When compared to non-dogs canids, the most appropriate “representative” size for a “typical dog” when examining allometric scaling across Canidae appeared to be approximately 10–15 kg. Conclusions: We interpreted the slight reduction in relative brain size to be a function of increased obesity in the study cohort compared to dogs examined 120 years ago. Further, we suggest that dog brains have a finite lower size limit. Finally, concepts of encephalization should not be applied to dogs.

First approximations to the energy release of giant dikes at Cerberus Fossae, Mars

<p>Historical dike intrusions in the vicinity of volcanic edifices on Earth are known to produce swarms of seismic activity with cumulative seismic moments between 1·10<sup>12</sup> and 1·10<sup>20</sup> Nm, equivalent to moment magnitudes between 2 and 7. On Mars, long linear graben systems are likely to host giant dike complexes at depth, which possibly produced significant seismicity during their intrusion. Not only this, but dike intrusions are also candidates to produce crustal seismicity at present day, which may be detected during the lifespan of the InSight mission. In this work we infer the possible geometry of dikes underneath Cerberus Fossae, and make estimations of the energy released during their intrusion.</p><p>We used cross section area balancing on topographic profiles orthogonal to several of the Cerberus Fossae graben to estimate proxies for the geometry of the underlying dikes (aperture, height, depth, etc.). This technique has already been used to approximate dike properties at the nearby Elysium Fossae, with successful results. At Cerberus Fossae, the obtained dike aspect ratios are consistent with sublinear scaling, which is characteristic of fluid-induced fractures (as expected for dikes). These results support the presence of giant dikes underneath Cerberus, which may be up to 700 m thick, 140 km long, and have heights of up to 20 km.</p><p>Additionally, we used the inferred geometries and assumptions about the host rock mechanical properties to estimate various energy quantities related to dike intrusion, and compared them with the energy releases in terrestrial diking episodes. Two calculations are of special interest; M<sub>d</sub>, the energy associated to dike inflation, and M<sub>s</sub>, an approximation to the cumulative seismic moment release. The obtained M<sub>d</sub> values are between 3.1·10<sup>20</sup> and 5.0·10<sup>21</sup> Nm, and are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude larger than the equivalent moments in terrestrial events. M<sub>s</sub> was calculated from M<sub>d</sub> with two key assumptions; 1) that all aseismic energy was released by the dike, and 2) values of seismic efficiency (the percentage of seismic relative to the total energy released) based on terrestrial examples. The obtained M<sub>s</sub> are between 6.3·10<sup>19</sup> and 2.2·10<sup>21</sup> Nm, which are equivalent to moment magnitudes of 6.5 and 7.9. These are comparable to, albeit slightly larger than, the cumulative moments of some of the largest terrestrial diking events, such as the first episode in the Manda-Hararo sequence (Ethiopia, 2005, M<sub>s </sub>= 6.2) or the Miyake-jima event (Japan, 2000, M<sub>s </sub>= 6.8).</p><p>The Elysium volcanic province is thought to have been active until very recent times, and possibly even at present day. If this is the case, then intrusions in the lower size of the spectrum investigated at Cerberus, and smaller-sized events, may be detected by InSight as a series of crustal seismic events with cumulative moment magnitudes <6. Further research is needed to fully assess the validity of the comparisons between terrestrial and Martian events, and the possible energy releases of dike-induced marsquakes.</p>

Structural Study of Wheat Gliadin in Different Solvents by Spectroscopic Techniques

Physicochemical properties of gliadin in different solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), H2O, and aqueous ethanol) and pH (9.8, 6.8, and 1.2) were investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential (ZP), and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Gliadin-DMSO and gliadin-deionized water (H2O) (pH 9.8) showed a lower size distribution, whereas samples solubilized in 60% aqueous ethanol presented a lower size distribution only at pH 1.2. ZP analysis showed that gliadin-H2O (pH 9.8) was the most stable evaluated system. ZP results of gliadin-DMSO indicated an unstable system, with the coexistence of several protein conformations. ATR-FTIR analysis showed that, in H2O, most protein conformations were β-sheets, while in DMSO a band at 1660 cm−1 appeared to be related to protein unfolding. The techniques proved to be effective in monitoring conformation and stability of all gliadin/solvent systems. Such information can be used in the development of new gliadin-based materials.

Improved Water-Tree Resistances of SEBS/PP Semi-Crystalline Composites under Crystallization Modifications

Water-tree resistances of styrene block copolymer/polypropylene (SEBS/PP) composites are investigated by characterizing crystallization structures in correlation with the dynamic mechanical properties to elucidate the micro-structure mechanism of improving insulation performances, in which the accelerated aging experiments of water trees are performed with water-knife electrodes. The water-tree morphology in spherulites, melt-crystallization characteristics and lamella structures of the composite materials are observed and analyzed by polarizing microscopy (PLM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Dynamic relaxation and stress-strain characteristics are specifically studied by means of a dynamic thermomechanical analyzer (DMA) and electronic tension machine, respectively. No water-tree aging occurs in both the highly crystalline PP and the noncrystalline SEBS elastomer, while the water trees arising in SEBS/PP composites still has a significantly lower size than that in low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Compared with LDPE, the PP matrix of the SEBS/PP composite represent a higher crystallinity with a larger crystallization size in consistence with its higher mechanical strength and lower dynamic relaxation loss. SEBS molecules agglomerate as a “island” phase, and PP molecules crystallize into thin and short lamellae in composites, leading to the blurred spherulite boundary and the appreciable slips between lamellae under external force. The high crystallinity of the PP matrix and the strong resistance to slips between lamellae in the SEBS/PP composite essentially account for the remarkable inhibition on water-tree growth.