Improved Device for Passive Foot Dorsiflexion for Prevention of DVT

Postoperative patients are often too fatigued to walk around and often lay in bed for extended periods of time. This could lead to the development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT is a condition where blood accumulates in the veins instead of being pushed back to the heart. This can cause the formation of blood clots that can eventually lead to pulmonary embolism resulting in death. DVT is a condition that affects about 900,000 people in the United States. Since it is such a prevalent condition, it is important to develop methods of prevention for this condition. The aim of this project is to construct a device that will prevent DVT using dorsiflexion of the foot. Currently, the major solution for this problem in postoperative patients is having the patient move around sooner. However, some patients are unable to do this, so this device will be especially influential for these patients. A current medical solution for this problem is the use of anticoagulants which prevent the formation of blood clots by thinning the blood and allowing for better flow. However, this solution is not always feasible with every patient. Another solution for DVT is the use of massagers that are activated when the muscle does not contract enough. The aim of the massager is to physically get the blood moving back towards the heart. The aim of this project was to create a device that dorsiflexes the foot thereby creating the muscle contraction required. The functional prototype includes a motor and a pulley system that help in raising a platform to create the dorsiflexion. The device implements the use of a microcontroller and a circuit in order to have automatic movement. The total cost for the prototype was around $400. However, this cost could be significantly reduced. A major cost was the cost of construction by the metal shop, reducing this cost could lower the total cost to about$300 or less. This device can be really beneficial in hospitals and also has applications outside of the hospital in residential settings. There is definitely great commercial potential for this product because it is a better alternative to the current solutions.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1073/thumbnail.jp

La Vida e historia del rey Apolonio [¿Zaragoza, Juan Hurus, 1488?] y su trayectoria genérica*

En el artículo se analiza la diversa trayectoria genérica de la Vida e historia del rey Apolonio [¿Zaragoza, Juan Hurus, 1488?] desde una triple perspectiva. Por su origen, remonta a la Historia Apollonii regis Tyri, narración de origen clásico próxima a las novelas griegas. Su recepción hispánica se aleja de su género de creación, pues el texto es traducción de un capítulo de las Gesta romanorum, y se presentaría, impreso junto a los Siete sabios de Roma, como una historia ejemplar. Por último, la crítica moderna ha optado por insertarlo en la serie de los «romances de materia clásica» y en el género editorial de las «historias caballerescas breves»

Sterol 3β-glucosyltransferase biocatalysts with a range of selectivities, including selectivity for testosterone

The main objectives of this work were to characterise a range of purified recombinant sterol 3β-glucosyltransferases and show that rational sampling of the diversity that exists within sterol 3β-glucosyltransferase sequence space can result in a range of enzyme selectivities. In our study the catalytically active domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae 3β-glucosyltransferase was used to mine putative sterol 3β-glucosyltransferases from the databases. Selected diverse sequences were expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli and shown to have different selectivities for the 3β-hydroxysteroids ergosterol and cholesterol. Surprisingly, three enzymes were also selective for testosterone, a 17β-hydroxysteroid. This study therefore reports for the first time sterol 3β-glucosyltransferases with selectivity for both 3β- and 17β-hydroxysteroids and is also the first report of recombinant 3β-glucosyltransferases with selectivity for steroids with a hydroxyl group at positions other than C-3. These enzymes could therefore find utility in the pharmaceutical industry for the green synthesis of a range of glycosylated compounds of medicinal interest

Structural Studies of the Atypical Rio2 Kinase and N-Acetylglutamate Synthase

Rio2 is required for small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation. It is specifically involved in site D cleavage of the 20S rRNA to produce the mature 18S rRNA. Loss of Rio2p is lethal and a decrease of Rio2p activity results in 20S accumulation in the cytoplasm. One of the goals of this thesis was to crystallize Rio2 from a eukaryotic organism in order to determine the structural differences between eukaryotic and archaeal versions. Another goal was to define the importance of individual domains. Yeast Rio2 was the first eukaryotic protein purified, but it formed only microcrystals. Human Rio2 was purified next, but the solubility was too low to set up crystal trays. Finally, Rio2 from Chaeotomium thermophilum was purified and crystals were obtained. The structure revealed a possibly inhibitory alpha helix blocking the active site. The role of the N-terminal winged helix domain of Rio2 in yeast was investigated and found not to be necessary for binding of Rio2p to the ribosome. The crystal structure of the first N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) was also determined. The crystal structure of NAGS complexed with acetyl-CoA and with CoA plus N-acetylglutamate was determined at 2.5 and 2.6-Å resolution. Each NAGS consists of an N-terminal amino acid kinase domain (AAK) domain and a C-terminal N-acetlyltransferase (NAT) domain connected by three amino acids. The monomers form a six membered ring with a trimer of dimers symmetry. The AAK domains form two dimeric contacts with other AAK domains. Each AAK domain interacts with the NAGS domain of another monomer at the polar ends of the ring. The NAGS domain contains the active site. The AAK domain is believed to bind arginine and also helps to bind acetyl-CoA. Structural insights suggest a one step mechanism in which both substrates bind and the acetyl group is directly passed from acetyl-CoA to the alpha amino group of gluatamate. In addition, collaborative work on the structural characterization of the MphR(A) protein is reported

Functional analysis of UDP-sugar: sterol glucosyltransferases

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are essential for the biosynthesis and diversification of many therapeutically important natural products. Of these, UDP-sugar: sterol glucosyltransferases (UGTs) (2.4.1.173) catalyse the synthesis of therapeutically important steryl glycosides (SGs). Guided by the sequence similarity with a previously characterised N-terminally truncated UGT from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (UGT51), this study reports the cloning of the gene fragment encoding the C-terminal catalytic domains from related yeasts and the expression and characterisation of their encoded products produced. N-terminally histidine tagged proteins were purified for in vitro assays against a panel of sterol and steroidal acceptors. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and kinetic analysis led to the successful characterisation of two novel UGTs from Pichia angusta and Kluyveromyces lactis. In addition, testosterone was shown to be utilized by all UGTs, including the previously characterised S. cerevisiae UGT51. Random mutagenesis of UGTs and homology modelling of the S. cerevisiae UGT revealed structural similarities with family 1 bacterial glycopeptide GTs. Given the structural and mechanistic similarities among GT family 1 UGTs, this approach may provide a template for genetic manipulation of novel UGTs from other members of the GT superfamily with a better understanding of catalytic domains and for broadening their scope in drug development. It may also aid the development of a generic process in the synthesis of SGs

Models of everywhere revisited: a technological perspective

The concept ‘models of everywhere’ was first introduced in the mid 2000s as a means of reasoning about the environmental science of a place, changing the nature of the underlying modelling process, from one in which general model structures are used to one in which modelling becomes a learning process about specific places, in particular capturing the idiosyncrasies of that place. At one level, this is a straightforward concept, but at another it is a rich multi-dimensional conceptual framework involving the following key dimensions: models of everywhere, models of everything and models at all times, being constantly re-evaluated against the most current evidence. This is a compelling approach with the potential to deal with epistemic uncertainties and nonlinearities. However, the approach has, as yet, not been fully utilised or explored. This paper examines the concept of models of everywhere in the light of recent advances in technology. The paper argues that, when first proposed, technology was a limiting factor but now, with advances in areas such as Internet of Things, cloud computing and data analytics, many of the barriers have been alleviated. Consequently, it is timely to look again at the concept of models of everywhere in practical conditions as part of a trans-disciplinary effort to tackle the remaining research questions. The paper concludes by identifying the key elements of a research agenda that should underpin such experimentation and deployment

In vitro studies on effects of plant growth regulators on callus and suspension culture biomass yield from Gymnema sylvestre R.Br

Callus cultures were initiated from nodal segments and leaf explants of Gymnema sylvestre on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium containing basic salts and 30 g/l sucrose supplemented with different concentrations (0.10, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 mg/l) of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), -naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), kinetin (KN) and 6-benzyladenine (BA). Callus induction was observed in 0.5 mg/l of 2, 4-D supplemented medium for both explants. At the initial stage, some parts of explants enlarged and gave raise to pale yellowish calli after 2-3 weeks of incubation. The harvested cell biomass was subjected to extraction of active principles. In this study, cell biomass extracts were compared with extracts from leaves of naturally growing gymnema plants. HPLC analysis of these extracts showed that the main components of the active principles namely gymnemic acids and gymnemagenin were present in sufficiently large amounts in the cultured undifferentiated cell

Horsegram [Macrotyloma uniflorum]: an underutilized pulse crop as a sustainable plant-based protein

This publication is a review. The PDF incorrectly states research article