Use of conditioning time to investigate the mechanisms of interactions of selected fatty acids on hematite Part II laboratory investigations

It is the aim of this paper to examine the effects of conditioning time on the flotation of hematite using three technical grade fatty acid reagents as providing additional evidence on their mechanism of interaction with the hematite surface. Various mechanisms have been postulated as occurring as conditioning time is increased. Both physical (e.g. conditioning time and power input) and chemical (nature, dispersion and solubility of the adsorbing species) contribute to the mechanisms of attachment of collector. In this paper, the mechanism of attachment of oleate to hematite can be readily explained by chemisorption, but the mechanism of attachment of lauric acid appears to be physical adsorption at neutral pH. The flotation of hematite with a mixture of tallow-type fatty acids (palmitic, stearic and oleic acids) is very sensitive to conditioning time, and suggests that, even though flotation is very effective at short conditioning times, it is very susceptible to the presence of fines and their associated high surface areas. It is therefore obvious that both the physical and chemical conditions contribute to the mechanisms of adsorption of fatty acids on iron-containing oxide minerals and must be understood in order to optimise the flotation of these minerals in an industrial situation.     

Metabolism of phospholipids in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an important model organism for the study of fundamental questions in eukaryotic cell and molecular biology. A plethora of cellular processes are membrane associated and/or dependent on the proper functioning of cellular membranes. Phospholipids are not only the basic building blocks of cellular membranes; they also serve as precursors to numerous signaling molecules. In this review, we describe the biosynthetic pathways leading to major S. pombe phospholipids, how these pathways are regulated, and what is known about degradation and turnover of fission yeast phospholipids. This review also addresses the synthesis, regulation and the role of water-soluble phospholipid precursors. The last chapter of the review is devoted to the use of S. pombe for the biotechnological production of value-added lipid molecules.     

Metabolism of Storage Lipids and the Role of Lipid Droplets in the Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Storage lipids, triacylglycerols (TAG), and steryl esters (SE), are predominant constituents of lipid droplets (LD) in fungi. In several yeast species, metabolism of TAG and SE is linked to various cellular processes, including cell division, sporulation, apoptosis, response to stress, and lipotoxicity. In addition, TAG are an important source for the generation of value-added lipids for industrial and biomedical applications. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a widely used unicellular eukaryotic model organism. It is a powerful tractable system used to study various aspects of eukaryotic cellular and molecular biology. However, the knowledge of S. pombe neutral lipids metabolism is quite limited. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current knowledge of the homeostasis of storage lipids and of the role of LD in the fission yeast S. pombe with the aim to stimulate research of lipid metabolism and its connection with other essential cellular processes. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of fission yeast in lipid biotechnology and recent achievements in the use of S. pombe in the biotechnological production of valuable lipid compounds.     

Carbon Chain Length Modulates MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Killing Mechanisms by Mitochondrially Targeted Aryl−Urea Fatty Acids

Targeting the tumor cell mitochondrion could produce novel anticancer agents. We designed an aryl−urea fatty acid ( 1 g ; 16({[4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoyl}amino)hexadecanoic acid) that disrupted the mitochondrion and decreased MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell viability. To optimize the aryl−ureas the present study evaluated mitochondrial targeting by 1 g analogues containing alkyl chains between 10–17 carbons. Using the dye JC-1, the C12−C17 analogues efficiently disrupted the mitochondrial membrane potential (IC₅₀s 3.5±1.2 to 7.6±1.1 μM) and impaired ATP production; shorter analogues were less active. 7-Aminoactinomycin D/annexin V staining and flow cytometry showed that these agents activated the killing mechanisms of necrosis and apoptosis to varying extents (7-aminoactinomycin D/annexin V staining ratios 4.3–6.0). Indeed, 1 g and its C17 analogue preferentially activated necrosis and apoptosis, respectively (ratios 2.1 and 16). Taken together, alkyl chain length is a determinant of mitochondrial targeting by aryl−ureas and can be varied to develop analogues that activate apoptosis or necrosis in a regulated fashion.     

Volatile organic compound profiles of yoghurt produced from cow's milk with different somatic cell counts

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of somatic cell count (SCC) of raw cow's milk on the volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles of yoghurt. Test yoghurt samples were produced from three batches of cow's milk with low, medium and high SCC, respectively. The VOCs were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. A lower diacetyl and acetoin content and a higher content of 2‐heptanone, and butanoic and hexanoic acids were established in the yoghurt samples from batches with high SCC of above 1 000 000 cells/cm³. The increased SCC of cow's milk had a negative effect on the volatile organic compound profiles of yoghurt.     

Kinetic Characteristics of Amino Acid Salt Crystallization in Methanol‐Water System

Nucleation and growth mechanisms and kinetics of crystals of an amino acid salt were investigated in a methanol‐water system by measuring and evaluating the induction time as a function of the supersaturation ratio and temperature in batch salting out crystallization experiments. Discrimination between the possible crystallization mechanisms, and estimation of the kinetic parameters were carried out using nonlinear parameter identification. The results concerning the growth mechanism obtained were checked additionally by measuring the induction time as a function of number density of seed crystals.     

A comprehensive study of hazelnut oil composition with comparisons to other vegetable oils,particularly olive oil.

Crude and refined hazelnut oils from different countries were characterised by major and minor compounds. Fatty acids, triacylglycerides, waxes, sterols, methyl-sterols, terpenic and aliphatic alcohols, tocopherols, tocotrienols and hydrocarbons were identified and quantified by gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The levels of these chemical compounds in hazelnut oils together with the equivalent carbon numbers and triacylglyceride carbon numbers, were compared with the results of analyses of samples of other vegetable oils. The statistical procedure of cluster analysis was used to characterise hazelnut oils versus other edible oils.     

Effect of γ-Irradiation on Phenolic Acids in Strawberries

ABSTRACT: The content of phenolic acids in strawberries was determined before and after gamma-irradiation in the dose range 1 to 10 kGy. Fresh whole strawberries were irradiated, acid-base-hydrolyzed, and purified on polyamide columns. The compounds were analyzed by reversed-phase chromatography and detected with a diode-array detector. Dose/concentration relationships were obtained for gallic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, and caffeic acid. Whereas radiolysis of the individual acids in aqueous solutions led to their efficient degradation and to a notable hydroxylation, in the complex matrix of food no hydroxylation products were formed and only the amount of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid was affected by irradiation (build up: 0.68 ± 0.04 mg kg⁻¹kGy⁻¹).     

具有除草活性的双膦酸衍生物的研究动态

许多含双膦酸结构单元的化合物都显示了良好的除草活性,本文对这类化合物的结构特点、生物活性以及相关的研究动态进行了归纳和概述。