570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
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Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a skin infection caused by a single-celled parasite that is transmitted by the bite of a phlebotomine sandfly. CL is the most common form of leishmaniasis characterized by localized lesions in the skin and mucous membranes. The disease is prevalent in all countries around the Mediterranean Basin. In this paper, we describe spatiotemporal and eco-epidemiological parameters of CL in Libya. Moreover, we explored current spatiotemporal distributions of CL cases and explored the future projection of the disease. Our study indicates the presence of higher risk of CL in the coastal regions of Libya. Future projection until 2060 showed a trend of increasing incidence of CL in the north-western part of Libya, a spread along the coastal region and a possible emergence of new endemics in the north-eastern districts of Libya. These scenarios should be considered by health authorities in order to develop appropriate intervention strategies and plan effective control programs.
The growing demand for cost-effective nucleic acid detection assays leads to an increasing number of different isothermal amplification reaction methods. However, all of the most efficient methods suffer from highly complex assay conditions due to the use of complicated primer sets and/or auxiliary enzymes. The present study describes the application of a new linker moiety that can be incorporated between a primer and a secondary target binding site which can act both as a block to polymerase extension as well as a hinge for refolding. This novel “hinge-primer” approach results in an efficient regeneration of the primer binding site and thus improves the strand-displacement and amplification process under isothermal conditions. Our investigations revealed that the reaction with forward and reverse hinge-primer including an abasic site is very efficient. The assay complexity can be reduced by combining the hinge-primer with a corresponding linear primer. Furthermore, the reaction speed can be increased by reducing the length of the amplified target sequence. We tested the sensitivity down to 104 copies and found a linear correlation between reaction time and input copy number. Our approach overcomes the usually cumbersome primer-design and extends the range of isothermal amplification methods using a polymerase with strand-displacement activity.
Kaffee ist das wohl populärste Heißgetränk weltweit. Zwei botanische Arten sind für den Weltmarkt von Bedeutung und unterscheiden sich bezüglich ihres Anbaugebietes und der Inhaltsstoffe. Kaffee enthält über 850 bisher identifizierte Aromastoffe, welche den Geschmack bilden. Außerdem haben die Prozessierung der geernteten Kirsche bis zur Bohne, das Röstprofil und das Aufbrühen einen großen Einfluss darauf. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Auswirkung der Prozessierungsmethode auf ausgewählte Inhaltsstoffe mit Hilfe der Flüsssig-Chromatographie-Tandem-Massenspektroskopie (LC-MS/MS) untersucht. Dafür wurden drei Prozessierungsmethoden, die unterschiedlich viel Wasser für das Ablösen des Fruchtfleisches von den Kaffeekirschen benötigen, und zwei Kultursorten miteinander verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten einen geringfügig höheren Gehalt der zwei wichtigsten Inhaltsstoffe Koffein und Chlorogensäure in den Bohnen, bei deren Prozessierung im Eco-Pulper-Verfahren weniger Wasser eingesetzt wurde. Bis auf einen verringerten Gehalt an Saccharose wurde für weitere wichtige Inhaltsstoffe (Acrylamid, Niacin, Zitronensäure und Vanillin) kein signifikanter Unterschied bei höherem Wassereinsatz gefunden. Insofern man die untersuchten Inhaltsstoffe als Qualitätsmarker betrachtet, ist im Vergleich zu den anderen Prozessierungsmethoden das Eco-Pulper-Verfahren die beste Wahl, insbesondere da es als wassersparende Methode einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur Nachhaltigkeit des Kaffeeanbaus leistet.
Leishmania species are protozoan parasites and the causative agents of leishmaniasis, a vector borne disease that imposes a large health burden on individuals living mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Different Leishmania species are responsible for the distinct clinical patterns, such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis, with the latter being potentially fatal if left untreated. For this reason, it is important to perform correct species identification and differentiation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is an analytical spectroscopic technique increasingly being used as a potential tool for identification of microorganisms for diagnostic purposes. By employing mid-infrared (MIR) spectral data, it is not only possible to assess the chemical structures but also to achieve differentiation supported by multivariate statistic analysis. This work comprises a pilot study on differentiation of Leishmania species of the Old World (L. major, L. tropica, L. infantum, and L. donovani) as well as hybrids of distinct species by using vibrational spectroscopic fingerprints. Films of intact Leishmania parasites and their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were characterized comparatively with respect to their biochemical nature and MIR spectral patterns. The strains’ hyperspectral datasets were multivariately examined by means of variance-based principal components analysis (PCA) and distance-based hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). With the implementation of MIR spectral datasets we show that a phenotypic differentiation of Leishmania at species and intra-species level is feasible. Thus, FTIR spectroscopy can be further exploited for building up spectral databases of Leishmania parasites in view of high-throughput analysis of clinical specimens.
Kenyan coffee is classified by defects after grading by the ‘Devonshire method.’ The method involves classification of the coffee beans into different classes based on the raw and roasted coffees and cup quality, with class one being the best and ten the poorest. In this study, the relationship between classification of the coffee and the content of sucrose, trigonelline, caffeine and chlorogenic acids was determined by simultaneous LC-MS analysis. By using the sensory variables the class 3 coffee portrayed the best quality, followed by class 4 and 5 which were placed further distinctively from the other classes (6, 7, 8 and 9). The class 3 coffee had a high percent of non-defective beans with 94.31% and class 9 had a high defect count at 79.53% hence the defective beans increased with decrease in coffee class. The caffeine concentration in green coffee for class 3 coffee was significantly different from the rest of the coffees at 1.23 ± 0.00g/100g. A higher content of trigonelline levels was observed as the quality of the green coffee decreased in classes 6, 7 and 8. The highest level of sucrose in green coffee beans was observed in class 3 coffee and the lowest in the class 9. Lower content of chlorogenic acids were observed among the high quality coffees i.e. class 3, 4 and 5 with class 3 having the lowest while a higher content was observed among the lower quality coffees i.e. classes 6, 7 and 9 with class 6 having a higher content was it significantly different in class 6 compared to 7 and 9?. Quantities of different chemical components among the classes are clear indicators that the classification method used on the Kenyan coffees brings out the differences in coffee quality based on the analysis of the green and the roasted coffees.
Dimorfolido-N-trichloroacetylphosphorylamide (HL1) and dimorfolido-N-benzoylphosphorylamide (HL2) as representatives of carbacylamidophosphates were synthesized and identified by the methods of IR, 1H, and 31P NMR spectroscopy. In vitro HL1 and HL2 at 1 mM concentration caused cell specific and time-dependent decrease of leukemic cell viability. Compounds caused the similar gradual decrease of Jurkat cells viability at 72 h (by 35%). HL1 had earlier and more profound toxic effect as compared to HL2 regardless on leukemic cell line. Viability of Molt-16 and CCRF-CEM cells under the action of HL1 was decreased at 24 h (by 32 and 45%, respectively) with no substantial further reducing up to 72 h. Toxic effect of HL2 was detected only at 72 h of incubation of Jurkat and Molt-16 cells (cell viability was decreased by 40 and 45%, respectively).
It was shown that C60 fullerene enhanced the toxic effect of HL2 on leukemic cells. Viability of Jurkat and CCRF-CEM cells at combined action of C60 fullerene and HL2 was decreased at 72 h (by 20 and 24%, respectively) in comparison with the effect of HL2 taken separately.
In silico study showed that HL1 and HL2 can interact with DNA and form complexes with DNA both separately and in combination with C60 fullerene. More stable complexes are formed when DNA interacts with HL1 or C60 + HL2 structure. Strong stacking interactions can be formed between HL2 and C60 fullerene. Differences in the types of identified bonds and ways of binding can determine distinction in cytotoxic effects of studied compounds.
Subunit vaccines often require adjuvants to elicit sustained immune activity. Here, a method is described to evaluate the efficacy of single vaccine candidates in the preclinical stage based on cytokine and gene expression analysis. As a model, the recombinant human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion protein (RSV-F) was produced in CHO cells. For comparison, wild-type and glycoengineered, afucosylated RSV-F were established. Both glycoprotein vaccines were tested in a commercial Human Artificial Lymph Node in vitro model (HuALN®). The analysis of six key cytokines in cell culture supernatants showed well-balanced immune responses for the afucosylated RSV-F, while immune response of wild-type RSV-F was more Th1 accentuated. In particular, stronger and specific secretion of interleukin-4 after each round of re-stimulation underlined higher potency and efficacy of the afucosylated vaccine candidate. Comprehensive gene expression analysis by nCounter gene expression assay confirmed the stronger onset of the immunologic reaction in stimulation experiments with the afucosylated vaccine in comparison to wild-type RSV-F and particularly revealed prominent activation of Th17 related genes, innate immunity, and comprehensive activation of humoral immunity. We, therefore, show that our method is suited to distinguish the potency of two vaccine candidates with minor structural differences.