Packing Of Units Research Articles

Global screening of base excision repair in nucleosome core particles

DNA damage is a fundamental molecular cause of genomic instability. Base excision repair (BER) is one line of defense to minimize the potential mutagenicity and/or toxicity derived from damaged nucleobase lesions. However, BER in the context of chromatin, in which eukaryotic genomic DNA is compacted through a hierarchy of DNA-histone protein interactions, is not fully understood. Here, we investigate the activity of BER enzymes at 27 unique geometric locations in a nucleosome core particle (NCP), which is the minimal unit of packaging in chromatin. The BER enzymes include uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG), AP endonuclease 1 (APE1), DNA polymerase β (Pol β), and DNA ligase IIIα complexed with X-ray repair cross complementing group 1 (LigIIIα/XRCC1). This global analysis of BER reveals that initiation of the repair event by UDG is dictated by the rotational position of the lesion. APE1 has robust activity at locations where repair is initiated whereas the repair event stalls at the Pol β nucleotide incorporation step within the central ∼45 bp of nucleosomal DNA. The final step of the repair, catalyzed by LigIIIα/XRCC1, is achieved only in the entry/exit regions of the NCP when nick sites are transiently exposed by unwrapping from the histones. Kinetic assays further elucidate that the location of the damaged lesion modulates enzymatic activity. Notably, these data indicate that some of the BER enzymes can act at a significant number of locations even in the absence of chromatin remodelers or other cellular factors. These results inform genome wide maps of DNA damage and mutations and contribute to our understanding of mutational hotspots and signatures.

Exploring key metrics of sterilization services using cost analysis

ABSTRACT Sterilization services not only impact service delivery processes directly but also account for a substantial portion of total costs. Therefore, accurate resource measurement becomes imperative for efficient resource utilization. This research aims to draw a framework for calculating the package and autoclave unit cost within a sterilization unit and to pinpoint sterilization unit-specific findings distinct from those of other service provider departments. To achieve this, we collected and analyzed cost data from a public hospital in Trabzon, Türkiye, for 2021 and 2022. Subsequently, the unit cost of the package and autoclave of the sterilization unit was calculated based on the collected data. Our analysis considered various cost components, such as equipment maintenance, personnel salaries, and utility expenses. Through our research, we identified key factors influencing the sterilization process. The findings guided decision-makers in prioritizing areas for efficient and sustainable service provision. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of our developed framework in cost analysis, highlighting its potential impact on resource management practices in healthcare settings. Additionally, insights into decision-making processes regarding in-house versus outsourced provision of sterilization services can inform managerial decisions and resource allocation strategies more effectively.

Greenhouse gas equivalents and water consumption of product sample packaging in dermatology

Sampling refers to the free supply of small product samples. In this process, the packaging can be disproportionate to the contents leading to raw material consumption and, in the case of poor recyclability, environmental pollution. In this article, calculations regarding the ratio between packaging and product weight for commonly used types of packaging (sachet, tube, jar) of dermatological product samples are presented. The usefulness of sampling is discussed considering environmental and economic criteria. A total of 43 dermatological product samples from different manufacturers were manually weighed and classified. Packaging was disassembled into its structural components. The proportional weights or the weight of the bottle/tube body were calculated with database values for the respective material in terms of greenhouse gas equivalents (CO2eq) and freshwater consumption. Subsequently, atotal sum for the impact of each packaging was formed. Only the material and manufacturing process were considered because there were no valid data available for transport, utilization, and end of life (EoL) impacts. The smallest and lightest product sample (1.24 g) generated ca. 15 g CO2eq and approximately 700 ml of freshwater consumption. The largest and heaviest product sample (37 g) generated 53 g CO2eq and 5.78 l of freshwater consumption. Assuming an annual distribution of 10 million units of the 43product samples examined here, ca. 8000 t of CO2eq are produced by the packaging alone. Additionally, 880,000,000 l of water are used and approximately 2300 t of packaging waste are generated. Sampling shows an unfavorable ratio between CO2eq/water consumption and utility, especially in comparison to larger units of packaging. Millions of product samples are distributed annually in doctor's practices, hospitals and pharmacies, particularly in dermatology. The practice of sampling should be questioned both ecologically and economically.

Factors influencing customer purchase behavior through purchase intention on green cosmetic product

Introduction: The cosmetic industry provides several plastic packaging problems for the environment. It has been shown that 120 billion units of packaging are produced annually by the global cosmetic industry. Campaigns for environmentally friendly products for cosmetic packaging are growing. This study aims to determine the effect of plastic packaging on the environment. Methods: Research on environmentally friendly cosmetic products was conducted by distributing online questionnaires distributed through online platforms. The total respondents of the questionnaire were 215 generation z people who were then analyzed with PLS-SEM. Findings: The results showed that personal norms have a significant effect both directly and mediated by green purchase intention on green purchase behavior. Conclusion: However, environmental concern does not have a significant effect, even though it has been mediated by green purchase intention on green purchase behavior in environmentally friendly cosmetic products in Indonesia. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study explores the factors influencing the purchasing behaviour of eco-friendly cosmetic products among Indonesian Generation Z and reveals the critical role of personal norms in driving sustainable consumption. This study provides valuable insights for the cosmetic industry in developing effective marketing strategies for eco-friendly products.

Enterococcus spp. in fish: Analysis of the presence and resistance in samples from Tri-City, Poland.

The growing concern over antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens necessitates comprehensive assessments of its prevalence and associated risks in various food products. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence of Enterococcus spp. in samples of fish purchased at various points of sale in the Tricity region. The selection of products (n = 74) was based on their availability and included both fish caught in the Baltic region and products imported from, Vietnam, China, Norway, and European Union (EU) countries. For bacterial isolation, samples were inoculated into selective broth, and the growth of enterococci was assessed based on turbidity. Positive cultures were confirmed by a change in color in bromocresol purple broth and were isolated on Slanetz-Bartley agar. Bacteria were present in all tested samples regardless of the degree of raw material processing as follows: frozen (F)- 55%, fresh/raw (FS)- 70.6%, thawed (DF)- 30%, smoked (S)- 50%, and the packaging methods, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)- 34.4%, unit packaging (UP)- 75%, and sold in bulk (SB)- 76.9%, with an overall frequency of occurrence of 58.1%. The number of bacteria ranged from not detected to 4.28-log cfu/g, with the lowest mean values for thawed fish and those packed in MAP. Tests conducted on 24 strains isolated from samples showed their varied sensitivity to tetracyclines. Single cases of multidrug resistance of the tested strains were also observed. The conducted statistical analysis did not show statistically significant differences in the count of enterococci based on the origin, degree of processing, or packaging (p < 0.05). Moreover, differences in strain sensitivity to ampicillin were observed. Detected cases of resistance, especially to tetracycline, require careful monitoring and action to limit the health risks associated with resistant bacterial strains in food products.

P-523 Single molecule chromatin footprinting reveals only low occurrence of nucleosomes at multiple loci throughout chromatin of human and mouse spermatozoa

Abstract Study question What fraction of spermatozoa from mouse and human semen contain nucleosomes at specific loci? What chromatin features affect nucleosome retention in spermatozoa? Summary answer On average, 1-2% mouse spermatozoa and 5-9% human spermatozoa contain nucleosomes at sampled genomic loci, with moderately higher frequencies at unmethylated regions of DNA. What is known already Nucleosomes constitute the basic packaging and gene regulatory unit of DNA in eukaryotic cells. During final stages of spermatogenesis in mammals, however, most nucleosomes are replaced by protamines. Previous global chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing studies reported the presence of nucleosomes at gene regulatory and other genomic regions. Such nucleosomes were proposed to convey intergenerational inheritance of epigenetic information. Additional studies revealed that infertile men with decreased success of assisted reproductive therapy have protamine deficiency or displayed more widely distributed nucleosomes in their sperm genome. Direct links between altered levels of nuclear proteins and fertilizing potential of sperm have, however, not been established. Study design, size, duration We conducted a case study on nucleosome retention levels in sperm from four selected fertile human samples. This study was complemented in mice, in which we characterized the dynamic changes in nucleosome frequencies at genomic loci during differentiation of haploid spermatids into spermatozoa, and their responses in mutant spermatozoa lacking DNA methylation at certain loci. Participants/materials, setting, methods We used the single-molecule sequencing technique called Nucleosome Occupancy and Methylome Sequencing to quantify nucleosome occupancy rates at selected loci in spermatozoa from ejaculated semen of four fertile semen donors. We also profiled round spermatids, early and late elongating spermatids and spermatozoa of C57BL/6J wild-type mice as well as spermatozoa of mice conditionally deficient for the methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, lacking DNA methylation at certain genomic regions. Main results and the role of chance To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify nucleosome occupancy in mouse male gametes and human spermatozoa at single-molecule resolution. In mice, we observed that chromatin remodelling during spermatid elongation resulted in a progressive loss of nucleosomes and their positioning, a transient gain in global chromatin accessibility which was succeeded by increasing chromatin inaccessibility and nuclear compaction. In both human and mouse sperm, we profiled nucleosome occupancy levels at different genomic loci and measured only low percentages, ranging from ∼1-2% in mouse and 5-9% in human. In both organisms we observed a near two-fold higher nucleosome occupancy at loci being unmethylated at their DNA over loci being highly methylated. Mice partially deficient in genomic DNA methylation manifested a similar fold increase in nucleosome occupancy in absence of DNA methylation. These data reveal a moderate modulatory role for DNA methylation established in spermatogonial stages in regulating nucleosome eviction during spermiogenesis. The overall low nucleosome occupancy frequencies in mammalian spermatozoa suggest a stochastic or random rather than a programmed role of nucleosomes in regulating paternal gene expression during ensuing embryonic development. Limitations, reasons for caution Amplicon-based sequencing provides deep sequencing coverage for selected genomic loci. We lack, however, information on the distribution of nucleosomes among loci within the genome of single spermatozoa. In human, we studied a limited number of human donors. Wider implications of the findings This study resolves a long-standing question on the frequency and local distribution of nucleosomes in murine and human spermatozoa. The variability in nucleosome occupancy between spermatozoa within and between samples of human individuals inspires further investigations into the relationship between chromatin states and quality of individual spermatozoa for embryonic development. Trial registration number SNCTP000003654

Development of the formulation and technology of a new fish culinary product "Cream cheese fish from blue catfish" enriched with iodine of kelp of the White Sea

Expanding the range of products based on the rational use of available fish resources is a current direction for the development of the food industry of the Russian Federation. Blue catfish, a little-used fishery item in the Northern Basin, was chosen as a raw material for the development of a fish culinary paste product. Blue catfish meat is significantly watered (up to 93 % of the total mass), as a result there are currently no technologies for deep processing of fish for food purposes. During the research, the technology of a new fish culinary product "Fish cream cheese from blue catfish, enriched with iodine from White Sea kelp" has been proposed in an assortment, and recipes have been developed, optimized in the MatLab program. The amino acid composition of blue catfish meat as well as indicators of the nutritional value of new products have been considered. The energy value of 100 g of product varies from 120 to 150 kcal, the mass fraction of protein is 8.5–11 %; fat – 9–13 %; carbohydrates – 2–2.5 %. The iodine content in a unit of consumer packaging of the product "Cream cheese fish from blue catfish with pickled seaweed" was experimentally established to be 340 mcg per 100 g; a 44 g serving of this product contains 100 % of the recommended daily intake of the micronutrient (150 mcg). The developed product "Cream cheese fish from blue catfish with pickled seaweed" can be classified as "enriched with iodine" when the amount of its daily consumption (25 g) is indicated on the consumer packaging.

An Examination and Analysis of the Packaging Unit to Reduce Waste

An Examination and Analysis of the Packaging Unit to Reduce Waste

Enhancing the Activity of a Carbon Nitride Photocatalyst by Constructing a Triazine-Heptazine Homojunction.

Establishing homojunctions at the molecular level between different but physicochemically similar phases belonging to the same family of materials is an effective approach to promoting the photocatalytic activity of polymeric carbon nitride (CN) materials. Here, we prepared a CN material with a uniform distribution of homojunctions by combining two synthetic strategies: supramolecular assemblies as the precursor and molten salt as the medium. We designed porous CN rods with triazine-heptazine homojunctions (THCNs) using a melem supramolecular aggregate (Me) and melamine as the precursors and a KCl/LiBr salt mixture as the liquid reaction medium. The triazine/heptazine ratio is controlled by varying the relative amounts of the chosen precursors, and the molten salt treatment enhances the structural order of the interplanar packing units for the THCN skeleton, leading to rapid charge migration. The resulting built-in electric field induced by the triazine-heptazine homojunction enhances photogenerated charge separation; the optimal THCN catalyst exhibits an excellent H2 evolution rate via photocatalytic water splitting, which is ∼24 times as high as that of reference bulk CN, with long-term stability.

Approaching the re-design of reusable packaging from an environmental perspective: a case study in the railway sector

The production of railway vehicles determines the handling of a large amount of materials which are transferred from suppliers to production site using industrial packaging. The activity here described is part of the MORIMB project, which dealt with the reduction of waste related to railway sector; wood, plastic, cardboard and metal fasteners are the typical materials which are adopted for such packaging.The study is motivated from the evidence that, due to the peculiarities of the transported components, most of the packaging units were different from standardized formats therefore they were frequently used for a single transport and subsequently scrapped. An applicative methodology for the analysis, redesign, and evaluation of environmental and economic impacts was defined, with particular attention to packaging reusability. An adaptation of the DMAIC approach was used to analyze the various components and find solutions reusability and performance improvement, especially in terms of volume efficiency and component protection. Depending on the item to be transported, specific crates have been designed and structurally verified according to existing technical regulation, and their sustainability has been analyzed considering environmental and economic impact during production, transport and storage phase; appropriate scenarios regarding distance travelled and volume occupancy were defined. The case study presented in detail in this work concerns the concept of special crates for the transport of passenger seats – a key component for train production - for which an increase in packaging density and a reduction of transportation costs was achieved. Other case studies were also considered.

A filtered beam search based heuristic algorithm for packing unit circles into a circular container

A constructive method for addressing the circular packing problem is proposed based on the filtered beam search framework, with the goal of minimizing the radius of a circular container that can hold N unit circles without overlapping. To position each circle in the container, the proposed method employs a corner-occupying placement strategy. Since there are often multiple possible positions for a circle to be packed, the method employs two steps to select the best placement. The positions are quickly assessed in the first phase, known as the filtering phase. In the second phase, known as the beam selection phase, a computationally intensive strategy is used to evaluate the positions more accurately. To balance the accuracy and efficiency of the method, two parameters are utilized, namely filterwidth and beamwidth. These parameters control the pruning operations in the tree-based search procedure. The performance of the proposed method is assessed utilizing two sets of 19 publicly available instances from the literature, and a comparative analysis is conducted against five constructive-based algorithms and one global optimization method. The computational results demonstrate its competitive performance, surpassing all constructive-based reference algorithms. Furthermore, a thorough investigation is conducted into the suggested method's parameter settings and essential components.

Sequence Dependence in Nucleosome Dynamics.

The basic packaging unit of eukaryotic chromatin is the nucleosome that contains 145-147 base pair duplex DNA wrapped around an octameric histone protein. While the DNA sequence plays a crucial role in controlling the positioning of the nucleosome, the molecular details behind the interplay between DNA sequence and nucleosome dynamics remain relatively unexplored. This study analyzes this interplay in detail by performing all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of nucleosomes, comparing the human α-satellite palindromic (ASP) and the strong positioning "Widom-601" DNA sequence at time scales of 12 μs. The simulations are performed at salt concentrations 10-20 times higher than physiological salt concentrations to screen the electrostatic interactions and promote unwrapping. These microsecond-long simulations give insight into the molecular-level sequence-dependent events that dictate the pathway of DNA unwrapping. We find that the "ASP" sequence forms a loop around SHL ± 5 for three sets of simulations. Coincident with loop formation is a cooperative increase in contacts with the neighboring N-terminal H2B tail and C-terminal H2A tail and the release of neighboring counterions. We find that the Widom-601 sequence exhibits a strong breathing motion of the nucleic acid ends. Coincident with the breathing motion is the collapse of the full N-terminal H3 tail and formation of an α-helix that interacts with the H3 histone core. We postulate that the dynamics of these histone tails and their modification with post-translational modifications (PTMs) may play a key role in governing this dynamics.

Performance analysis of a complex process industrial unit utilizing intuitionistic fuzzy-based integrated framework

PurposeAn integrated intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) modelling-based framework for examining the performance analysis of a packaging unit (PU) in three different stages has been proposed.Design/methodology/approachFor the series and parallel configuration of PU, a mathematical model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy Lambda–Tau (IFLT) approach was developed in order to calculate various reliability parameters at various spreads. For determining membership and non-membership function-based reliability parameters for the top event, AND/OR gate transitions expression was employed.FindingsFor 15%–30% spread, unit’s availability for the membership function falls by 0.006442%, and it falls even more by 0.014907% with an increase in spread from 30% to 45%. In contrast, for 15%–30% spread, the availability of non-membership function-based systems reduces by 0.007491% and further diminishes. Risk analysis has presented applying an emerging approach called intuitionistic fuzzy failure mode and effect analysis (IFFMEA). For each of the stated failure causes, the output values of the intuitionistic fuzzy hybrid weighted Euclidean distance (IFHWED)-based IFFMEA have been tabulated. Failure causes like HP1, MT6, FB9, EL16, DR23, GR27, categorized under subsystems, namely hopper, motor, fluidized bed dryer, distributor, grader and bin, respectively, with corresponding IFFMEA output scores 1.0975, 1.0190, 0.8543, 1.0228, 0.9026, 1.0021, were the most critical one to contribute in the system’s failure.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the proposed framework lies in the fact that the results obtained for both reliability and risk aspects mainly depend on the correctness of raw data provided by the experts. Also, an approximate model of PU is obtained from plant experts to carry performance analysis, and hence more attention is required in constructing the model. Under IFLT, reliability parameters of PU have been calculated at various spreads to study and analyse the failure behaviour of the unit for both membership and non-membership function in the IFS of [0.6,0.8]. For both membership- and non-membership-based results, availability of the considered system shows decreasing trend. To improve the performance of the considered system, risk assessment was carried using IFFMEA technique, ranking all the critical failure causes against IFHWED score value, on which more attention should be paid so as to avoid sudden failure of unit.Social implicationsThe livelihood of millions of farmers and workers depends on sugar industries. So perpetual running of these industries is very important from this viewpoint. On the basis of findings of reliability parameters, the maintenance manager could frame a correct maintenance policy for long-run availability of the sugar mills. This long-run availability will generate revenue, which, in turn, will ensure the livelihood of the farmers.Originality/valueMathematical modelling of the considered unit has been done applying basic expressions of AND/OR gate. IFTOPSIS approach has been implemented for ranking result comparison obtained under IFFMEA approach. Eventually, sensitivity analysis was also presented to demonstrate the stability of ranking of failure causes of PU.

The environmental impacts of reusable rice packaging: An extended comparative life cycle assessment

Plastic packaging recycling has gained momentum as it can improve the circularity of this typical linear product. However, reuse ranks as a preferred strategy over recycling because product reuse can reduce material usage compared to product recycling and keeps material value higher for a longer time. Such reusable plastic packaging requires, besides a more robust product design, an additional return system. It is crucial to minimize the impact of this product system and ensure that reusable plastic packaging is not only more circular, but also more environmentally friendly than its single-use alternative. For this purpose, understanding the factors contributing to its environmental impact is key. In this paper, a new design of reusable packaging for two kilogram rice is compared with a conventional fully-optimized single-use packaging using a prospective extended life cycle assessment, including a circularity (using material flow analysis and specific circularity indicators, among which the Material Circularity Index), environmental impact (using a life cycle assessment with 16 midpoint indicators) and packaging-related food losses and waste assessment (using the food-to-packaging ratios). On average, the reusable rice packaging could be reused five times, due to losses at the distribution, use, and reuse preparation phase. While the reusable packaging scores better on the circularity indicators (a Material Circularity Index of 91 %, compared with 39 % for single-use packaging), its global warming and fossil resource depletion impact are respectively two and three times higher, considering a functional unit of one kilogram cooked rice to be consumed. The reusability and return rate, providing the retention of reusable packaging at the reuse preparation and use phase, respectively, were identified as the most determinative parameters by the sensitivity analysis. If these parameters could be optimized to a value of 99.75 %, corresponding to a total of 16 uses, the climate change impact of reusable packaging would be lower than its conventional single-use counterpart. The high food-to-packaging ratios (more than 18 for all impact categories) point to the importance of reducing food waste. If the packaging design could reduce food losses in the product system with 0.2 %, the reusable packaged rice would have a lower water use and mineral and metal resource use impact compared to the single-use packaged rice, despite the higher environmental impact of the reusable packaging unit itself. Therefore, this should be prioritized when further optimizing the reusable packaging design.

Faktor Faktor Yang Berhubungan Dengan Kelelahan Kerja Pada Tenaga Kerja Bongkar Muat (TKBM) Unit Pengantongan Pupuk di Pelabuhan Tanjung Emas Semarang Tahun 2022

When a person experiences fatigue due to work, the body’s physical and mental abilities tend to decrease which causes workers to be less careful when working. Fatigue due to work contributes 50% to work accidents. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between age, nutritional status, length of work and workload with work fatigue in the loading and unloading workers at the Fertilizer Packing Unit at Tanjung Emas Port Semarang.This research is a quantitative research with a cross sectional design. Fatigue data was collected using a reaction timer, workload was measured using a Nasa- TLX questionnaire, nutritional status was measured using a weight scale dan microtoise , while age and years of service were measured using a questionnaire. The sample in this study amounted to 58 morning shift respondents who were taken with a simple random sampling method. Data analysis using Rank Spearman Test Based on the result of univariate analysis, it is known that the majority of respondents are 36-49 years old (43,1%). The most nutritional status was obesity, which amounted to 48,3%, some respondents had worked less than 15 years (55,2%). Most of the respondents experienced a high workload of 60,3%, the majority of respondents experienced work fatigue, heavy work fatigue with a total of 72,4%. Based on the results of the Rank Spearman test, there is a relationship between age and work fatigue with a result of p=&lt;0,001, there is no relationship between nutritional status and work fatigue with a result of p=0,231, there is a relationship between work period and work fatigue with a result of p=&lt;0,001, there is a relationship between workload with work fatigue with the result p=&lt;0,001.

Life cycle assessment of pharmaceutical and clinical packaging required for medication administration practices

PurposeDigital closed-loop medication administration (CLMA) is a prime example of how digitalization in healthcare can reduce time and costs while simultaneously increasing patient safety. However, in contrast to its social and economic benefits, associated environmental impacts have never been investigated. Since the required amount of packaging material is seen as a major subject of criticism, we assess associated environmental burdens using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to identify hotspots and provide adaptation recommendations.MethodsDigital, as well as conventional paper-based medication management (PBMM), involve two types of packaging: pharmaceutical packaging (blisters or bottles), containing purchased medication, and clinical packaging (unit doses or medical dispensers) for medication dispensation. Therefore, a cradle-to-grave life cycle model was established comparing impacts at pharmaceutical packaging level, clinical packaging level, and a combined level. While PBMM requires small, blistered boxes, CLMA requires large, bottled packages. Therefore, the functional unit allows to compare different box sizes but inhibits comparing medication from different manufacturers. Primary data is obtained from University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf which practices state-of-the-art CLMA. PBMM data is obtained in three dispenser scenarios, varying the reusability of medical dispensers. The life cycle impact assessment was performed for five impact categories using CML 2001(2016) method.Results and discussionAll compared blistered pharmaceutical packaging options yield higher impacts than their bottled counterparts. Cardboard and package inserts result in up to 40 times higher impacts for blisters than for bottles, which, however, is attributed to the methodology of comparing different box sizes. Yet, this does not influence the required amount of blister laminate. All blister materials were found to result in higher environmental burdens, peaking in nearly 240 times higher ozone depletion impacts for polyvinylchloride/polychlorotrifluoroethylene blisters. In terms of clinical packaging, two of three dispenser scenarios result in higher environmental burdens than the respective unit dose scenario. Only if reused, 7.2 times this trend is reversed. When combining selected impacts from both pharmaceutical and clinical impacts, all three dispenser scenarios perform worse than the unit dose scenario.ConclusionsPackaging impacts are lowest if unit dose dispensation is combined with bottled pharmaceutical packaging. Given a specific pharmaceutical packaging, dispensation via medical dispensers may perform better, if they are comprehensively reused. With this study, the authors disproved that packaging impacts are generally higher for CLMA than for PBMM. However, both systems certainly comprise other processes and materials like consumed paper or energy to run required digital infrastructure, which should be subject to future studies.

Plant histone variants at the nexus of chromatin readouts, stress and development

Histones are crucial proteins that are involved in packaging the DNA as condensed chromatin inside the eukaryotic cell nucleus. Rather than being static packaging units, these molecules undergo drastic variations spatially and temporally to facilitate accessibility of DNA to replication, transcription as well as wide range of gene regulatory machineries. In addition, incorporation of paralogous variants of canonical histones in the chromatin is ascribed to specific functions. Given the peculiar requirement of plants to rapidly modulate gene expression levels on account of their sessile nature, histones and their variants serve as additional layers of gene regulation. This review summarizes the mechanisms and implications of distribution, modifications and differential incorporation of histones and their variants across plant genomes, and outlines emerging themes.

Updating nucleosome positions within individual genes using molecular modeling methods and mnase sequencing data

Organization of chromatin plays an important role in regulating the genetic machinery of the cell. The basic unit of chromatin packaging is a nucleosome, which harbors DNA of about 145 base pairs in length. The packaging of genetic material and its accessibility to transcription enzymes and other regulatory chromatin proteins depends on the positions of nucleosomes. MNase sequencing is used to examine nucleosome positions in a genome. MNase sequencing data are sufficient for detecting the presence of nucleosomes on the sequence, but a determination of the precise locations of nucleosomes can be problematic. Accurate determination of nucleosome positions requires additional data filtering and processing. In this study, using MNase sequencing data, a combined method based on geometric analysis of nucleosome chain molecular models is proposed for selecting possible nucleosome positions. The developed algorithm efficiently eliminates inaccessible nucleosome chain combinations and conformationally prohibited nucleosome positions.

New Cosmetic Carriers to Reduce Water Consumption and Waste

Beauty industry produces each year about 120 billion of packaging units, 60% of which are made by plastic materials, invading the oceans as waste microparticles, toxic for animals and humans.

Abstract 15 A State-Run Public Cord Blood Collection Program

Abstract Introduction The Arizona Public Cord Blood Program was created in 2011 by the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre, a sub-section of the Arizona Department of Health Services, to advance the collection and increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse cord blood units available for transplantation, as well as promote awareness of the benefits of cord blood stem cells through our educational partner, Save the Cord Foundation (STCF). Objectives Create a sustainable program for women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to have the opportunity to donate cord blood, with the primary goal of transplantation, and secondary goal of providing non-transplantable cord blood units for research. A second objective was to educate the residents of the state of Arizona about cord blood stem cells and the need for their preservation. Methods A portion of state lottery funds supports the program monetarily. Those funds are provided to four collection hospitals who employ "cord blood consenters" whose responsibility it is to consent patients, assist delivery providers with collections, and package and ship cord blood units to our partner cord blood bank at MD Anderson Cancer Center. There are also two clinical coordinators who educate and train hospital staff on quality collection practices, with special emphasis on the importance of high volume, sterile collections. STCF provides education across the state to expectant parents, healthcare providers, schools, and the public about the need for cord blood stem cell donation for transplant and research. Results Since 2011, the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program has banked hundreds of racially and ethnically diverse cord blood units with the National Marrow Donor Program, and has had 86 life-saving cord blood units matched with patients in need around the globe. This innovative program has not only expanded cord blood awareness and promoted the preservation of cord blood; it has resulted in the creation of an economic engine for the state of Arizona that is an attractant for STEM based businesses and careers. Discussion A decade later, the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program has proven to be a sustainable model for collecting and providing suitable cord blood units for transplant to diverse patient populations.