https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/37907/1/document_18186_1.pdf

Structural and functional stabilization of protein entities: state-of-the-art.

Plant roots perform a myriad of functions right from the anchorage of plants to storage of reserve food material for the adverse weather. Roots forage around the soil for acquisition of ions and water and continually develop new branches. However, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating root development and differentiation. We have endeavoured to decipher the genetic regulation of root formation in tomato by screening mutants defective in root development. We have isolated several mutants with altered morphology of roots. These mutants have been characterized for their phenotypes throughout the life cycle. In this report we show that for few of the mutants the vigour of plant is directly related to modification in the root structure. The potential utility of these mutants in understanding root development and also improving yield of tomato is discussed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency

In the last decades, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have become increasingly attractive to medical applications due to their unique properties such as small size, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, high sensitivity and multiplexing capability. FBGs have been employed in the development of surgical tools, assistive devices, wearables, and biosensors, showing great potentialities for medical uses. This paper reviews the FBG-based measuring systems, their principle of work, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing. Strengths, weaknesses, open challenges, and future trends are also discussed to highlight how FBGs can meet the demands of next-generation medical devices and healthcare system.

/pdf/fiber-bragg-gratings-for-medical-applications-and-future-4zkfznppij.pdf

Fiber Bragg Gratings for Medical Applications and Future Challenges: A Review

Enzymes are efficient catalysts designed by nature to work in physiological environments of living systems. The best operational conditions to access and convert substrates at the industrial level are different from nature and normally extreme. Strategies to isolate enzymes from extremophiles can redefine new operational conditions, however not always solving all industrial requirements. The stability of enzymes is therefore a key issue on the implementation of the catalysts in industrial processes which require the use of extreme environments that can undergo enzyme instability. Strategies for enzyme stabilization have been exhaustively reviewed, however they lack a practical approach. This review intends to compile and describe the most used approaches for enzyme stabilization highlighting case studies in a practical point of view.

/pdf/practical-insights-on-enzyme-stabilization-vk9beq56mk.pdf

Practical insights on enzyme stabilization.

Improved oxidative stability of fish oil emulsion by grafted ovalbumin-catechin conjugates.

In this study, several proteins (albumin, lysozyme, insulin) and model compounds (Trp, Tyr, homopolypeptides) were used to demonstrate the origin of the fluorescence observed upon their excitation at 220–230 nm. In the last 10 years we have observed a worrying increase in the number of articles claiming that this fluorescence originates from the protein backbone, contrary to the established knowledge that UV protein emission is due to aromatic amino acids only. Overall, our data clearly demonstrate that the observed emission upon excitation at 220–230 nm is due to the excitation of Tyr and/or Trp, with subsequent emission from the lowest excited state (i.e. the same as obtained with 280 nm excitation) in agreement with Kasha's rule. Therefore, this fluorescence peak does not provide any information on backbone conformation, but simply reports on the local environment around the aromatic side chains, just as any traditional protein emission spectrum. The many papers in reputable journals erroneously reporting this peak assignment, contradicting 5 decades of prior knowledge, have led to the creation of a new dogma, where many authors and reviewers now take the purported backbone fluorescence as an established fact. We hope the current paper helps counter this new situation and leads to a reassessment of those papers that make this erroneous claim.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2016/ra/c6ra23426g

On the purported “backbone fluorescence” in protein three-dimensional fluorescence spectra

Patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) printed models have been increasingly used in cardiology and cardiac surgery, in particular, showing great value in the domain of congenital heart disease (CHD). CHD is characterized by complex cardiac anomalies with disease variations between individuals; thus, it is difficult to obtain comprehensive spatial conceptualization of the cardiac structures based on the current imaging visualizations. 3D printed models derived from patient’s cardiac imaging data overcome this limitation by creating personalized 3D heart models, which not only improve spatial visualization, but also assist preoperative planning and simulation of cardiac procedures, serve as a useful tool in medical education and training, and improve doctor–patient communication. This review article provides an overall view of the clinical applications and usefulness of 3D printed models in CHD. Current limitations and future research directions of 3D printed heart models are highlighted.

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/8/4/522/pdf

Personalized Three-Dimensional Printed Models in Congenital Heart Disease

Current visualization techniques of complex congenital heart disease (CHD) are unable to provide comprehensive visualization of the anomalous cardiac anatomy as the medical datasets can essentially only be viewed from a flat, two-dimensional (2D) screen. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has therefore been used to replicate patient-specific hearts in 3D views based on medical imaging datasets. This technique has been shown to have a positive impact on the preoperative planning of corrective surgery, patient-doctor communication, and the learning experience of medical students. However, 3D printing is often costly, and this impedes the routine application of this technology in clinical practice. This technical note aims to investigate whether reducing 3D printing costs can have any impact on the clinical value of the 3D-printed heart models. Low-cost and a high-cost 3D-printed models based on a selected case of CHD were generated with materials of differing cost. Quantitative assessment of dimensional accuracy of the cardiac anatomy and pathology was compared between the 3D-printed models and the original cardiac computed tomography (CT) images with excellent correlation (r=0.99). Qualitative evaluation of model usefulness showed no difference between the two models in medical applications.

https://qims.amegroups.com/article/download/23486/22417

Yin How Wong

Papers

On the purported “backbone fluorescence” in protein three-dimensional fluorescence spectra

Personalized Three-Dimensional Printed Models in Congenital Heart Disease

Quantitative and qualitative comparison of low- and high-cost 3D-printed heart models

Protein stabilizing potential of simulated honey sugar cocktail under various denaturation conditions

Neutron-activated theranostic radionuclides for nuclear medicine.