Publications

Itaconate accumulates and manifests antibacterial activity in macrophages upon bacterial infection. Convincing evidence substantiates that itaconate transports across the plasma membrane and vacuolar membrane. But the molecular bases underlying the bidirectional transport of itaconate across membranes and how it affects intracellular bacterial replication remain elusive. Here, we identify MCT1 and MCT4 as bidirectional transporters of itaconate. In addition to modulating itaconate concentration as transporters at the plasma membrane, MCT1 and MCT4 function as itaconate transporters at Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV). Upon Salmonella infection, MCT1 and MCT4 transport itaconate into SCV facilitated by RAB32. Itaconate is also secreted out of cells through MCT1 and MCT4 as the infection persists. The suppression of MCT1 and MCT4-dependent itaconate secretion generally increases the concentration of itaconate and the prevalence of itaconate-targeted Salmonella intracellularly, consequently inhibiting Salmonella replication. Our study offers valuable insights into itaconate transport during bacterial infection and sheds light on the development of itaconate-dependent therapeutic strategies.

We present a seed-mediated approach for producing silver nanoplates with customizable size and thickness, offering high yield and precise optical properties. Leveraging ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in the seed-mediated synthesis, we employ small single-crystal silver seeds as a foundation. The interaction between Ag+ and EDTA at different pHs dynamically controls silver complexation/reduction kinetics during seed overgrowth, yielding truncated nanoplates with superior optical responses. The pH adjustment within the range of 8 to 10.5 enables manipulation of nanoplate growth, resulting in a flexible optical response spanning 519 to 1006 nm associated with morphological changes (size and thickness). Additionally, nanoplate overgrowth extends plasmon resonance up to ca. 2000 nm. Notably, the incorporation of Adenosine 5’-monophosphate (AMP) enhances nanoplate stability and more important, enables precise thickness adjustment, independent of growth kinetics. Our method offers a systematic approach to tailor nanoplate morphology and optical properties with unprecedented precision.

Extrusion-based 3D food printing is one of the most common ways to manufacture complex shapes and personalized food. A wide variety of food raw materials have been documented in the last two decades for the fabrication of personalized food for various groups of people. This review aims to highlight the most relevant and current information on the use of protein raw materials as functional 3D food printing ink. The functional properties of protein raw materials, influencing factors, and application of different types of protein in 3D food printing were also discussed. This article also clarified that the effective and reasonable utilization of protein is a vital part of the future 3D food printing ink development process. The challenges of achieving comprehensive nutrition and customization, enhancing printing precision and accuracy, and paying attention to product appearance, texture, and shelf life remain significant.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is the most important oil crop in Romania. The grain yield is determined by the yield components, respectively those elements participating to the yield formation, such as: plant population (number of plants per hectare), head diameter (cm), number of grains per head, grain weight per head (g), weight of thousand seeds (g). Water deficit is considered to be an important yield-limiting factor of sunflower. However, sunflower is considered to be a crop well adapted to drought conditions, better adapted than maize. The aim of the paper was to present the results regarding yield components and grain yield obtained at an assortment of Romanian sunflower hybrids studied under drought conditions from South Romania. Also, it was aimed to evaluate the impact of drought on the sunflower yield components and grain yield compared to those values obtained under favourable conditions. The study was realised under field conditions in the year 2012, which was characterised as being a drought year. Researches were performed at an assortment of ten sunflower hybrids created in Romania, respectively: PRO 112, PRO 111, PF 100, PRO 229, PRO 121, PRO 122, PRO 131, PRO 132, PRO 141, and PRO 142. The study was implemented in three different locations in South Romania. Under drought conditions of 2012, the most affected yield component at the studied sunflower hybrids was head diameter. Compared to values obtained in favourable climatic conditions, in average for the studied sunflower hybrids the grain yield represented 70.0%. Under the same conditions, in average for ten maize hybrids, the grain yield represented only 37.8% from the values obtained under favourable climatic conditions. This is showing that sunflower is a better adapted crop to water stress than maize.

Novel plasmonic thin films based on electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of citrate-stabilized Au nanoparticles (NPs) and ammonium pillar[5]arene (AP[5]A) have been developed. The supramolecular-induced LbL assembly of the plasmonic nanoparticles yields the formation of controlled hot spots with uniform interparticle distances. At the same time, this strategy allows modulating the density and dimensions of the Au aggregates, and therefore the optical response, on the thin film with the number of AuNP-AP[5]A deposition cycles. Characterization of the AuNP-AP[5]A hybrid platforms as a function of the deposition cycles was performed by means of visible-NIR absorption spectroscopy, and scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, showing larger aggregates with the number of cycles. Additionally, the surface enhanced Raman scattering efficiency of the resulting AuNP-AP[5]A thin films has been investigated for three different laser excitations (633, 785, and 830 nm) and using pyrene as Raman probe. The best performance was shown by the AuNP-AP[5]A film obtained with two deposition cycles ((AuNP-AP[5]A)₂) when excited with a 785 laser line. The optical response and SERS efficiency of the thin films were also simulated using the M³ solver and employing computer aided design models built based on SEM images of the different films. The use of host molecules as building blocks to fabricate (AuNP-AP[5]A)₂) films has enabled the ultradetection, in liquid and gas phase, of low molecular weight polyaromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, with no affinity for gold but toward the hydrophobic AP[5]A cavity. Besides, these plasmonic platforms allowed achieving quantitative detection within certain concentration regimes. Finally, the multiplex sensing capabilities of the AuNP-AP[5]A)₂ were evaluated for their ability to detect in liquid and gas phase three different PAHs.

Abstract How tumors evolve affects cancer progression, therapy response, and relapse. However, whether tumor evolution is driven primarily by selectively advantageous or neutral mutations remains under debate. Resolving this controversy has so far been limited by the use of bulk sequencing data. Here, we leverage the high resolution of single-cell DNA sequencing (scDNA-seq) to test for clock-like, neutral evolution. Under neutrality, different cell lineages evolve at a similar rate, accumulating mutations according to a molecular clock. We developed and benchmarked a test of the somatic clock based on single-cell phylogenies and applied it to 22 scDNA-seq datasets. We rejected the clock in 10/13 cancer and 5/9 healthy datasets. The clock rejection in seven cancer datasets could be related to known driver mutations. Our findings demonstrate the power of scDNA-seq for studying somatic evolution and suggest that some cancer and healthy cell populations are driven by selection while others seem to evolve under neutrality.