Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Monitoring And Modelling The Dynamics Of The Cellular Glycolysis Pathway: A Review And Future Perspectives, Nitin Patil, Hugh Byrne, Orla L. Howe, Paul A. Cahill

Articles

Background

The dynamics of the cellular glycolysis pathway underpin cellular function and dysfunction, and therefore ultimately health, disease, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Evolving our understanding of this fundamental process and its dynamics remains critical.

Scope of review

This paper reviews the medical relevance of glycolytic pathway in depth and explores the current state of the art for monitoring and modelling the dynamics of the process. The future perspectives of label free, vibrational microspectroscopic techniques to overcome the limitations of the current approaches are considered.

Major conclusions

Vibrational microspectroscopic techniques can potentially operate in the niche area of limitations of other …

Cu(Ii) Phenanthroline-Phenazine Complexes Dysregulate Mitochondrial Function And Stimulate Apoptosis, Garret Rochford, Zara Molphy, Kevin Kavanagh, Malachy Mccann, Michael Devereux, Andrew Kellett, Orla L. Howe

Articles

Herein we report an in-depth study on the cytotoxic mechanism of action of four developmental cytotoxic copper(II) complexes: [Cu(phen)2]2+ (Cu-Phen); [Cu(DPQ)(Phen)]2+ (Cu-DPQ-Phen); [Cu(DPPZ)(Phen)]2+; and [Cu(DPPN)(Phen)]2+ (where Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, DPQ = dipyrido[3,2-f:20,30-h]quinoxaline, DPPZ = dipyrido[3,2-a:20,30-c]phenazine, and DPPN = benzo[i]dipyrido[3,2-a:20,30-c]phenazine). This complex class is known for its DNA intercalative properties and recent evidence—derived from an in vivo proteomic study—supports the potential targeting of mitochondrial function. Therefore, we focused on mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis related to cytotoxic activity and the potential impact these agents have on mitochondrial function. The Cu(II) complexes demonstrated superior activity regardless of aromatic extension within the phenazine ligand to the …

Urban Aerobiological Risk Mapping Of Ornamental Trees Using A New Index Based On Lidar And Kriging: A Case Study Of Plane Trees, Raúl Pecero-Casimiro, Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez, Rafael Tormo-Molina, Alejandro Monroy-Colín, Inmaculada Silva-Palacios, Juan Pedro Cortés-Pérez, Ángela Gonzalo-Garijo, J. M. Maya-Manzano

Articles

Ornamental trees bring benefits for human health, including reducing urban pollution. However, some species, such as plane trees (Platanus sp.), produce allergenic pollen. Consequently, urban maps are a valuable tool for allergic patients and allergists, but they often fail to include variables that contribute to the “building downwash effect”, such as the width and shape of streets and the height of buildings. Other factors that directly influence pollen dispersion (slopes and other geographical features) also have not traditionally been discussed. The LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) technique enables one to consider these variables with high accuracy. This work proposes …

Relationship Of Ndvi And Oak (Quercus)Pollen Including A Predictive Model In The Sw Mediterranean Region, Rocío González-Naharro, Elia Quirós, Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez, Inmaculada Silva-Palacios, J. M. Maya-Manzano, Rafael Tormo-Molina, Raúl Pecero-Casimiro, Alejandro Monroy-Colin, Ángela Gonzalo-Garijo

Articles

Techniques of remote sensing are being used to develop phenological studies. Our goal is to study the correlation among the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) related with oak trees included in three set data polygons (15, 25 and 50 km to aerobiological sampling point as NDVI-15, 25 and 50), and oak (Quercus) daily average pollen counts from 1994 to 2013. The study was developed in the SW Mediterranean region with continuous pollen recording within the mean pollen season of each studied year. These pollen concentrations were compared with NDVI values in the locations containing the vegetation under a study based …

Evaluation Of Levels Of Antibiotic Resistance In Groundwater-Derived E. Coli Isolates In The Midwest Of Ireland And Elucidation Of Potential Predictors Of Resistance, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds, Matthieu Pot, Catherine Adley, Michael Ryan

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Antibiotic-resistant (pathogenic and non-pathogenic) organisms and genes are now acknowledged as significant emerging aquatic contaminants with potentially adverse human and ecological health impacts, and thus require monitoring. This study is the first to investigate levels of resistance among Irish groundwater (private wells) samples; Escherichia coli isolates were examined against a panel of commonly prescribed human and veterinary therapeutic antibiotics, followed by determination of the causative factors of resistance. Overall, 42 confirmed E. coli isolates were recovered from a groundwater-sampling cohort. Resistance to the human panel of antibiotics was moderate; nine (21.4%) E. coli isolates demonstrated resistance to one or more …

Extraction And Quantification Of Sinapinic Acid From Irish Rapeseed Meal And Assessment Of Angiotensin-I Converting Enzyme (Ace-I) Inhibitory Activity, Leah Quinn, Steven Gray, Steve Meaney, Stephen Finn, Padraig Mcloughlin, Maria Hayes

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Phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids, are known to play a protective role against the development of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this work was to generate a phenolic acid extract from Irish rapeseed meal, to determine the quantity of sinapinic acid (SA) in this fraction and to assess the ability of this fraction to inhibit the enzyme angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE-I; EC 3.4.15.1). A crude phenolic extract (fraction 1), free phenolic acid containing extract (fraction 2), and an extract containing phenolic acids liberated from esters (fraction 3) were generated from Irish rapeseed meal using a methanol:acetone:water solvent mixture (7:7:6). The …

A Natural, Calcium-Rich Marine Multi-Material Complex Preserves Bone Structure, Composition And Strength In An Ovariectomized Rat Model Of Osteoporosis, Orlaith Brennan, Joseph Sweeney, Brian O'Meara, Amro Widaa, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne, Denis O'Gorman, Fergal O'Brien

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Calcium supplements are used as an aid in the prevention of osteopenia and osteoporosis and also for the treatment of patients when used along with medication. Many of these supplements are calcium carbonate based. This study compared a calcium-rich, marine multi-mineral complex (Aquamin) to calcium carbonate in an ovariectomised rat model of osteoporosis in order to assess Aquamin’s efficacy in preventing the onset of bone loss. Animals were randomly assigned to either non-ovariectomy control (Control), ovariectomy (OVX) plus calcium carbonate, ovariectomy plus Aquamin or ovariectomy plus Aquamin delay where Aquamin treatment started 8 weeks post OVX. At the end of …

Evaluation Of Chemical Immersion Treatments To Reduce Microbial Populations In Fresh Beef, Ahmed Kassem, Joseph Meade, James Gibbons, Kevina Mcgill, Ciara Walsh, James Lyng, Paul Whyte

Articles

The aim of the current study was to assess the ability of a number of chemicals (acetic Acid (AA), citric acid (CA) lactic acid (LA), sodium decanoate (SD) and trisodium phosphate (TSP)) to reduce microbial populations (total viable count, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes) on raw beef using an immersion system. The following concentrations of each chemical were used: 3 & 5% for AA, CA, LA, SD and 10 & 12% for TSP. Possible synergistic effects of using combinations of two chemicals sequentially (LA +CA and LA +AA) were also investigated. L*, a* and b* values …