Spurenstoffabtrennung mit keramischen Nanofiltrationsmembranen als Rotationsscheibenfilter

Reducing micropollutant pollution of water bodies is an important objective of water management and an integral part of environmental policy. Ceramic nanofiltration membranes were developed as multichannel membranes of increased membrane area and rotating disk filters. The membranes developed show retention of over 80 % for PEG 400. The membranes are currently being tested for the separation of micropollutants from wastewater contaminated with pharmaceuticals. With the help of a downstream oxidative process, the trace substances remaining in the permeate are degraded.     

Advanced Postirradiation Characterization of Nuclear Fuels Using Pulsed Neutrons

Methods for postirradiation characterization of bulk (cm³) irradiated materials or even spent nuclear fuels are sparse due to their extremely radioactive nature. While several methods exist to characterize smaller volumes (<?1 mm³) of such samples, selecting these volumes from larger samples is challenging. X-ray-based methods are prohibitive due to the strong γ-radiation from the sample flooding the detectors. Neutron-based methods available in the proximity of irradiation reactors allow for thermal neutron radiography or computed tomography using a small reactor source, but one cannot assess isotope distributions or microstructural features such as phases, texture, or strain from diffraction measurements due to flux limitations. We present herein a pathway to provide pulsed neutron characterization of bulk irradiated samples using time-of-flight neutron diffraction for microstructural characterization and energy-resolved neutron imaging for assessment of isotopic densities and distributions. Ultimately, laser-driven pulsed neutron sources may allow deployment of these techniques pool-side at irradiation reactors.

     

Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Subcutaneous and Omental Adipose Tissue Reveals Increased Lipid Turnover in Dairy Cows Supplemented with Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Phosphoproteomics is a cutting-edge technique that can be utilized to explore adipose tissue (AT) metabolism by quantifying the repertoire of phospho-peptides (PP) in AT. Dairy cows were supplemented with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, n = 5) or a control diet (CON, n = 5) from 63 d prepartum to 63 d postpartum; cows were slaughtered at 63 d postpartum and AT was collected. We performed a quantitative phosphoproteomics analysis of subcutaneous (SC) and omental (OM) AT using nanoUPLC-MS/MS and examined the effects of CLA supplementation on the change in the phosphoproteome. A total of 5919 PP were detected in AT, and the abundance of 854 (14.4%) were differential between CON and CLA AT (p ≤ 0.05 and fold change ± 1.5). The abundance of 470 PP (7.9%) differed between OM and SC AT, and the interaction treatment vs. AT depot was significant for 205 PP (3.5% of total PP). The integrated phosphoproteome demonstrated the up- and downregulation of PP from proteins related to lipolysis and lipogenesis, and phosphorylation events in multiple pathways, including the regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, mTOR signaling, insulin signaling, AMPK signaling, and glycolysis. The differential regulation of phosphosite on a serine residue (S777) of fatty acid synthase (FASN) in AT of CLA-supplemented cows was related to lipogenesis and with more phosphorylation sites compared to acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase (ACSS2). Increased protein phosphorylation was seen in acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACACA;8 PP), FASN (9 PP), hormone sensitive lipase (LIPE;6 PP), perilipin (PLIN;3 PP), and diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DAGLA;1 PP) in CLA vs. CON AT. The relative gene expression in the SC and OM AT revealed an increase in LIPE and FASN in CLA compared to CON AT. In addition, the expression of DAGLA, which is a lipid metabolism enzyme related to the endocannabinoid system, was 1.6-fold higher in CLA vs. CON AT, and the expression of the cannabinoid receptor CNR1 was reduced in CLA vs. CON AT. Immunoblots of SC and OM AT showed an increased abundance of FASN and a lower abundance of CB1 in CLA vs. CON. This study presents a complete map of the SC and the OM AT phosphoproteome in dairy cows following CLA supplementation and discloses many unknown phosphorylation sites, suggestive of increased lipid turnover in AT, for further functional investigation.     

Sintering behavior,microstructure and thermoelectric properties of calcium cobaltite thick films for transversal thermoelectric multilayer generators

The sintering behavior and the thermoelectric performance of Ca₃Co₄O₉ multilayer laminates were studied, and a multilayer thermoelectric generator was fabricated. Compacts and multilayer samples with anisotropic microstructure and residual porosity were obtained after conventional sintering at 920 °C, whereas dense and isotropic multilayer samples were prepared by firing at 1200 °C and reoxidation at 900 °C. A hot-pressed sample has a dense and anisotropic microstructure. Samples sintered at 920 °C exhibit low electrical conductivity due to the low density, whereas the Seebeck coefficient is not sensitive to preparation conditions. However, thermal conductivity of multilayers is very low, and, hence acceptable ZT values are obtained. A transversal multilayer thermoelectric generator (TMLTEG) was fabricated by stacking layers of Ca₃Co₄O₉ green tapes, AgPd conductor printing, and co-firing at 920 °C. The TMLTEG has a power output of 3 mW at ΔT = 200 K in the temperature interval of 25 °C to 300 °C.     

Solution Structure and Dynamics of the Small Protein HVO_2922 from Haloferax volcanii

Past sequencing campaigns overlooked small proteins as they seemed to be irrelevant due to their small size. However, their occurrence is widespread, and there is growing evidence that these small proteins are in fact functionally very important in organisms found in all kingdoms of life. Within a global proteome analysis for small proteins of the archaeal model organism Haloferax volcanii, the HVO_2922 protein has been identified. It is differentially expressed in response to changes in iron and salt concentrations, thus suggesting that its expression is stress-regulated. The protein is conserved among Haloarchaea and contains an uncharacterized domain of unknown function (DUF1508, UPF0339 family protein). We elucidated the NMR solution structure, which shows that the isolated protein forms a symmetrical dimer. The dimerization is found to be concentration-dependent and essential for protein stability and most likely for its functionality, as mutagenesis at the dimer interface leads to a decrease in stability and protein aggregation.