Transferrin coated nanoparticles: Study of the bionano interface in human plasma

It is now well established that the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) in a biological environment is immediately modified by the adsorption of biomolecules with the formation of a protein corona and it is also accepted that the protein corona, rather than the original nanoparticle surface, defines a new biological identity. Consequently, a methodology to effectively study the interaction between nanomaterials and the biological corona encountered within an organism is a key objective in nanoscience for understanding the impact of the nanoparticle-protein interactions on the biological response in vitro and in vivo. Here, we outline an integrated methodology to address the different aspects governing the formation and the function of the protein corona of polystyrene nanoparticles coated with Transferrin by different strategies. Protein-NP complexes are studied both in situ (in human plasma, full corona FC) and after washing (hard corona, HC) in terms of structural properties, composition and second-order interactions with protein microarrays. Human protein microarrays are used to effectively study NP-corona/proteins interactions addressing the growing demand to advance investigations of the extrinsic function of corona complexes. Our data highlight the importance of this methodology as an analysis to be used in advance of the application of engineered NPs in biological environments

Perceptions of diversity among URI undergraduate students: An ethnographic study

This ethnographic research project explored URI student experiences and perceptions of cultural and racial diversity on campus. Given the URI’s office of Community, Equity, and Diversity’s explicit goal “to create an inclusive and supportive environment where each individual can thrive”, my goal was to understand how students, in their own words, understood, experienced, and described diversity in their daily lives across campus. Data was gathered using the methods of participant-observation, visual documentation, semi-structured interviews, and on-line surveys. A grounded theory approach was applied to the data analysis, which allowed me to generate and discover theory that emerged from the data itself. It was found that although the majority of students do feel that their cultural heritage is represented at URI, many students do not believe URI is a racially diverse community. Further, more than half of survey respondents reported to have experienced racism on campus, either directly, or to have witnessed acts of racism. The most common places where racist behavior has been experienced according to respondents, are “walking around campus,” “in the classroom”, and “in housing.” The findings from the present study aim to contribute to the growing literature about how students perceive and experience diversity on the college campus

Comparative analysis of gait and speech in Parkinson's disease: hypokinetic or dysrhythmic disorders?

International audienceGait and speech are automatic motor activities which are frequently impaired in Parkinson's disease (PD). Obvious clinical similarities exist between these disorders but were never investigated. We propose to determine whether there exist any common features in PD between spatiotemporal gait disorders and temporal speech disorders. Gait and speech were analyzed on eleven PP undergoing deep-brain-stimulation of the sub-thalamic-nucleus (STN-DBS) and eleven control subjects (CS) under 3 conditions of velocity (natural, slow and speed). The patients were tested with and without L-Dopa and stimulator ON or OFF. Locomotor parameters were recorded using an optoelectronic system. Speech parameters were recorded with a headphone while subjects were reading a short paragraph. The results confirmed that PP walk and read more slowly than controls. Patient's difficulties in modulating walking and speech velocities seem to be due mainly to an inability to internally control the step length and the interpause-speech duration ISD. STN-DBS and levodopa increased patients' walking velocity by increasing the step length. STN-DBS and levodopa had no effect on speech velocity but restored the patients' ability to modulate the ISD. The walking cadence and speech index of rythmicity (SPIR) tended to be lower in patients and were not significantly improved by STN-DBS or levodopa. Speech and walking velocity as well as ISD and step length were correlated in both groups. Negative correlations between SPIR and walking cadence were observed in both groups Similar fundamental hypokinetic impairment and probably a similar rhythmic factor affected similarly the patients' speech and gait. These results suggest a similar physiopathological process in both walking and speaking dysfunction

Pembuatan Homepage Untuk Perusahaan Properti

Bisnis properti adalah bisnis yang sangat berkembang saat ini. Hal ini dapat kita lihat dari semakin banyaknya agen properti yang berdiri. Hal ini dikarenakan kebutuhan akan properti terutama perumahan adalah kebutuhan primer. Setiap orang pasti membutuhkan tempat tinggal. Selain sebagai tempat tinggal, properti juga sering dijadikan sebagai ajang investor. Agen properti memiliki fungsi yang sangat penting dalam jual beli properti. Ini disebabkan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, yang terlalu sibut dengan pekerjaan mereka sehingga tidak mempunyai waklu untuk mencari pembeli bila mereka. ingin menjual properti yang mereka miliki. Demikian juga orang yang mencari properti. Karena itu jasa makelar sangat dibutuhkan untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Media cetak seperti koran, juga menjadi sarana yang digunakan orang untuk mencari dan menjual properti. Namun jasa agen properti masih lebih menguntungkan karena agen properti memiliki manajemen yang lebih teratur. Agen properti mengumpulkan banyak properti yang akan dijual, dan juga memiliki tenaga pemasaran yang lebih berpengalaman. Banyak cara yang ditempuh untuk memasarkan properti. mulai dari cara tradisional yaitu dari mulut ke mulut, maupun melalui ikian-iklan di media cetak. Dalam Tugas Akhir ini penulis hendak memberikan suatu alternatif baru dalam memasarkan properti, yaitu melalui media Intemet. Internet saat ini sudah berkembang sangat luas. Jutaan orang yang telah memanfaatkan sarana Intemet. ini menyebabkan lnternet menjadi iirana baru untuk bisnis. Kalau dulu Internet hanya digunakan sebatas mempromosikan barang suatu perusahaan, tetapi sekarang Internet sudah bisa menjadi ajang jual beli Sekarang ini banyak ditemui site-site yang menyediakan layanan online shopping. Orang dapat mellihat-lihat produk yang ditawarkan di Internet dan dapat membelinya melalui Internet. Cara pembayaran yang umumnya digunakan di lntemet adalah dengan menggunakan kartu kredit. Hal ini menimbulkan masalah baru, yaitu masalah keamanan data kartu kredit tersebut, karena data tersebut bisa saja digunakan oleh orang lain. Namun setiap masalah selalu ada penyelesaiannya. Pembuatan homepage untuk agen properti dapat membantu dalam bidang pemasaran. Keuntungan yang dapat diperoleh dengan memanfaatkan Internet untuk pemasaran properti antara lain: Konsumen dapat mengakses homepage agen properti dimana saja dan kapan saja, asal dapat berhubungan dengan lnternet. Ini berarti orang dapat mencari informasi tentang properti yang terdaftar di agen properti tersebut 24 jam sehari. Konsumen dapat memperoleh informasi yang lebih lengkap tentang properti dibandingkan informasi iklan di media cetak Iklan di koran biasanya cuma bertahan beberapa hari saja, tergantung pemasangannya. Tetapi melalui homepage tersebut konsumen dapat mengakses data properti yang sudah terdaftar selama properti tersebut belum tefual. Konsumen dapat membayar tanda jadi bila tertarik pada suatu properti secara online. Pembayann dilakukan dengan kartu kredit, tentu saja dilakukan pengamanan terhadap data kartu kredit tersebut dengan melakukan transaksi yang aman (secure transaction) memanfaatkan Secure Socket Layer (SSL

O metodzie intertekstualnej edukacji. Dziewczyna z perłą Jana Vermeera van Delft i Adama Zagajewskiego

The article examines the subject matter of broadly understood contextual learning in modern Polish-language education. Contextual education, also formerly known as correspondence of arts, is hardly a new issue in teaching of Polish language and literature, yet there is still a need to update it and provide teachers philologically prepared for their work, with tools for work with various texts of culture. The article is an another proposal of intertextual analysis and interpretation of two products of culture: the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer and the poem Dziewczynka Vermeera [Vermeer’s Girl] by Adam Zagajewski. It presents a method of work with an iconic and literary text at a lesson of Polish, showing how one can perform, step by step, a complementary analysis and interpretation of texts belonging to two different sign systems. To this end, the method employs the model of “reading of paintings”, functioning for many years in the French education, as well as elements of classic Polish-philology analysis of a poetic tex

Protein corona and nanoparticles: How can we investigate on?

Nanoparticles (NPs) represent one of the most promising tools for drug-targeting and drug-delivery. However, a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics that happen after their in vivo administration is required. Particularly, plasma proteins tend to associate to NPs, forming a new surface named the 'protein corona' (PC). This surface is the most exposed as the 'visible side' of NPs and therefore, can have a strong impact on NP biodistribution, targeting efficacy and also toxicity. The PC consists of two poorly delimited layers, known as 'hard corona' (HC) and 'soft corona' (SC), that are affected by the complexity of the environment and the formed protein-surface equilibrium during in vivo blood circulation. The HC corona is formed by proteins strongly associated to the NPs, while the SC is an outer layer consisting of loosely bound proteins. Several studies attempted to investigate the HC, which is easier to be isolated, but yielded poor reproducibility, due to varying experimental conditions. As a consequence, full mapping of the HC for different NPs is still lacking. Moreover, the current knowledge on the SC, which may play a major role in the 'first' interaction of NPs once in vivo, is very limited, mainly due to the difficulties in preserving it after purification. Therefore, multi-disciplinary approaches leading to the obtainment of a major number of information about the PC and its properties is strongly needed to fully understand its impact and to better support a more safety and conscious application of nanotechnology in medicine

IgG and fibrinogen driven nanoparticle aggregation

A thorough understanding of how proteins induce nanoparticle (NP) aggregation is crucial when designing in vitro and in vivo assays and interpreting experimental results. This knowledge is also crucial when developing nano-applications and formulation for drug delivery systems. In this study, we found that extraction of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from cow serum results in lower polystyrene NPs aggregation. Moreover, addition of isolated IgG or fibrinogen to fetal cow serum enhanced this aggregation, thus demonstrating that these factors are major drivers of NP aggregation in serum. Counter-intuitively, NP aggregation was inversely dependent on protein concentration; i.e., low protein concentrations induced large aggregates, whereas high protein concentrations induced small aggregates. Protein-induced NP aggregation and aggregate size were monitored by absorbance at 400 nm and dynamic light scattering, respectively. Here, we propose a mechanism behind the protein concentration dependent aggregation; this mechanism involves the effects of multiple protein interactions on the NP surface, surface area limitations, aggregation kinetics, and the influence of other serum proteins.We thank Professor Sara Linse for scientific discussions and advice and Professor Patrik Brundin for enabling access to the light microscope. The project received financial support from Nanometer structure consortium at Lund University (nmC@LU), Lars Hierta Foundation, and the research school FLAK of Lund University

Novel probiotic approach to counter Paenibacillus larvae infection in honey bees

© 2019, The Author(s). American foulbrood (AFB) is a highly virulent disease afflicting honey bees (Apis mellifera). The causative organism, Paenibacillus larvae, attacks honey bee brood and renders entire hives dysfunctional during active disease states, but more commonly resides in hives asymptomatically as inactive spores that elude even vigilant beekeepers. The mechanism of this pathogenic transition is not fully understood, and no cure exists for AFB. Here, we evaluated how hive supplementation with probiotic lactobacilli (delivered through a nutrient patty; BioPatty) affected colony resistance towards a naturally occurring AFB outbreak. Results demonstrated a significantly lower pathogen load and proteolytic activity of honey bee larvae from BioPatty-treated hives. Interestingly, a distinctive shift in the microbiota composition of adult nurse bees occurred irrespective of treatment group during the monitoring period, but only vehicle-supplemented nurse bees exhibited higher P. larvae loads. In vitro experiments utilizing laboratory-reared honey bee larvae showed Lactobacillus plantarum Lp39, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1, and Lactobacillus kunkeei BR-1 (contained in the BioPatty) could reduce pathogen load, upregulate expression of key immune genes, and improve survival during P. larvae infection. These findings suggest the usage of a lactobacilli-containing hive supplement, which is practical and affordable for beekeepers, may be effective for reducing enzootic pathogen-related hive losses

Protein Coating of DNA Nanostructures for Enhanced Stability and Immunocompatibility

Fully addressable DNA nanostructures, especially DNA origami, possess huge potential to serve as inherently biocompatible and versatile molecular platforms. However, their use as delivery vehicles in therapeutics is compromised by their low stability and poor transfection rates. This study shows that DNA origami can be coated by precisely defined one-to-one protein-dendron conjugates to tackle the aforementioned issues. The dendron part of the conjugate serves as a cationic binding domain that attaches to the negatively charged DNA origami surface via electrostatic interactions. The protein is attached to dendron through cysteine-maleimide bond, making the modular approach highly versatile. This work demonstrates the coating using two different proteins: bovine serum albumin (BSA) and class II hydrophobin (HFBI). The results reveal that BSA-coating significantly improves the origami stability against endonucleases (DNase I) and enhances the transfection into human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. Importantly, it is observed that BSA-coating attenuates the activation of immune response in mouse primary splenocytes. Serum albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood with a long circulation half-life and has already found clinically approved applications in drug delivery. It is therefore envisioned that the proposed system can open up further opportunities to tune the properties of DNA nanostructures in biological environment, and enable their use in various delivery applications.Peer reviewe