Functional properties and chemical composition of fractionated brown and yellow linseed meal (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Considering its high content of protein and dietary fiber, linseed meal is a remarkable source for food ingredient and food additive production. In this study, brown and yellow linseed meal (Linum usitatissimum L.) were fractionated via pH control, to obtain five linseed meal fractions rich in protein and fiber. The fractions were characterized by measuring functional properties, proximate and carbohydrate composition, and lignan contents. Acid soluble protein fractions were characterized by lower emulsification capacities and foaming activities in comparison to a commercial soy protein isolate. Alkaline soluble protein fractions showed emulsification activities comparable to whole egg and relatively high contents of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) of 110 mg/g DM and 56.2 mg/g DM, respectively. The good emulsification and foaming activities, as well as the enriched concentration of SDG and therefore high nutritional value, make especially the alkaline soluble protein fraction highly interesting for food ingredient production.     

Clarification of high-added value products from olive mill wastewater

The objective of the current study is to investigate the clarification of two high-added value products (pectin containing solution and phenol containing beverage) recovered from olive mill wastewater. For this purpose, both liquids were processed with four types of ultrafiltration (100, 25, 10 and 2 kDa) and one nanofiltration membranes under optimum transmembrane pressure. Retention coefficients and performance parameters were monitored for each experiment. The membranes of 25 and 100 kDa showed very satisfying results with regard to the concentration of pectin solutions as they were able to separate it from cations and phenols. The membrane of 25 kDa was also able to partially remove the heavier fragments of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and flavonols, and simultaneously to sustain the antioxidant properties of the phenol containing beverage in the permeate stream. Finally, nanofiltration clarified the beverage from cations that passed in the permeate stream, but this process resulted in loss of antioxidant compounds, too.     

Amplified Spontaneous Emission Properties of Semiconducting Organic Materials

This paper aims to review the recent advances achieved in the field of organic solid-state lasers with respect to the usage of semiconducting organic molecules and oligomers in the form of thin films as active laser media. We mainly focus on the work performed in the last few years by our research group. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) properties, by optical pump, of various types of molecules doped into polystyrene films in waveguide configuration, are described. The various systems investigated include N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), several perilenediimide derivatives (PDIs), as well as two oligo-phenylenevinylene derivatives. The ASE characteristics, i.e., threshold, emission wavelength, linewidth, and photostability are compared with that of other molecular materials investigated in the literature.     

LICRED: A Versatile Drop‐In Vector for Rapid Generation of Redox‐Self‐Sufficient Cytochrome P450s

Cytochromes P450 (P450s) are a family of haem‐containing oxidases with considerable potential as tools for industrial biocatalysis. Organismal genomes are revealing thousands of gene sequences that encode P450s of as yet unknown function, the exploitation of which will require high‐throughput tools for their isolation and characterisation. In this report, a ligationindependent cloning vector “LICRED” is described that enables the high‐throughput generation of libraries of redox‐self‐sufficient P450s by fusing a range of P450 haem domains to the reductase of P450RhF (RhF‐Red) in a robust and generically applicable way. Cloning and expression of fusions of RhF‐Red with the haem domains of P450cam and P450‐XplA resulted in soluble, active, redox‐self‐sufficient, chimeric enzymes. In vitro studies also revealed that electron transfer from NADPH to haem was primarily intramolecular. The general applicability of the LICRED platform was then demonstrated through the creation of a library of RhF‐Red fusion constructs by using the diverse complement of P450 haem domains identified in the genome of Nocardia farcinica. The resultant fusion‐protein library was then screened against a panel of substrates; this revealed chimeric enzymes competent for the hydroxylation of testosterone and methyltestosterone, and the dealkylation of 7‐ethoxycoumarin.     

Hydraulische Charakterisierung von Störungskernzonen in kristallinen Festgesteinen am Beispiel der Talhof-Störung (Ostalpen)

The hydrogeological assessment of a rock mass can be significantly influenced by fault zones acting either as conduits, barriers, or a combined conduit-barrier system. At the Talhof-fault (Semmering-Rax, Austria) the internal structure of a core zone with respect to the hydraulic properties was investigated and compared to results of packer tests. The fault rocks are built up by cataclasites and cacirites with a planar fabric parallel to the fault zone boundaries. Samples were taken with steel pipes in three orientations with reference to a kinematic coordinate system along a scan line. The samples were analysed with respect to grain size distribution, mineralogical composition and hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic conductivity was determined in the laboratory with tri-axial penetration cells resulting in values ranging from 1,7?10^?7 m/s to 4,2?10^?11 m/s. The analyses suggest a homogeneous and anisotropic hydraulic behaviour of the core zone despite its heterogeneous, fine layered internal structure. The hydraulic conductivity parallel to the fault plane is two orders of magnitude higher than normal to the fault plane. The results correspond well with data from packer tests also from fault rocks of the Talhof fault system and the same tectonic units, giving additional information about the fault domains within the test intervals.     

Enzymatic improvement of guar‐based thickener for better‐quality silk screen printing

Guar galactomannan (referred to as guar gum) is a versatile polysaccharide, obtained from the seeds of the shrub Cyamopsis tetragonolobus, which finds several applications in either its native or chemically modified form. For textile printing, guar gum can also be partially depolymerised in order to promote dye penetration, improve swelling in water and achieve the desired rheological properties. Guar gum is obtained from guar seeds by a thermo‐mechanical process that leaves ca. 3% of largely insoluble proteins in the gum, originating from the endosperms aleurone layer. When printing silk fabrics with acid or premetallised dyes, guar endogenous insoluble proteins bind tightly to anionic dyes, causing deposition of coloured aggregates on the fabric. This causes imperfections on the printed fabric in the form of tiny, but visible, ‘dots’, which lowers the quality of the final articles. In order to eliminate ‘dotting’, a novel printing thickener composed of depolymerised guar gum mixed with a bioengineered subtilisin protease has been developed. Upon solubilisation of the gum, and during preparation of the printing paste mixture, the protease hydrolyses guar gum insoluble proteins, generating soluble peptides that are washed off by the post‐printing treatments of the fabric. This enzymatic application prevents ‘dotting’ and significantly improves the quality of the silk print, without any measurable tensile strength loss of the fabric.     

Chromenopyrazoles: non-psychoactive and selective CB₁ cannabinoid agonists with peripheral antinociceptive properties

The unwanted psychoactive effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists have limited their development as medicines. These CB?-mediated side effects are due to the fact that CB? receptors are largely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS). As it is known that CB? receptors are also located peripherally, there is growing interest in targeting cannabinoid receptors located outside the brain. A library of chromenopyrazoles designed analogously to the classical cannabinoid cannabinol were synthesized, characterized, and tested for cannabinoid activity. Radioligand binding assays were used to determine their affinities at CB? and CB? receptors. Structural features required for CB?/CB? affinity and selectivity were explored by molecular modeling. Some compounds in the chromenopyrazole series were observed to be selective CB? ligands. These modeling studies suggest that full CB? selectivity over CB? can be explained by the presence of a pyrazole ring in the structure. The functional activities of selected chromenopyrazoles were evaluated in isolated tissues. In?vivo behavioral tests were then carried out on the most effective CB? cannabinoid agonist, 13?a. Chromenopyrazole 13?a did not induce modifications in any of the tested parameters on the mouse cannabinoid tetrad, thus discounting CNS-mediated effects. This lack of agonistic activity in the CNS suggests that this compound does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, 13?a can induce antinociception in a rat peripheral model of orofacial pain. Taking into account the negative results obtained with the hot-plate test, the antinociception induced by 13?a in the orofacial test could be mediated through peripheral mechanisms.     

New insights into the heating mechanisms and self-regulating abilities of manganite perovskite nanoparticles suitable for magnetic fluid hyperthermia

The heating and self-regulating abilities of La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO(3+Δ) ferromagnetic nanoparticles for magnetic fluid hyperthermia are studied. The samples, synthesized by the Glycine Nitrate Process, present non-agglomerated particles but are partially constituted by polycrystalline nanoparticles, displaying average crystallite diameters ranging from 21 to 31 nm. The strontium content of these nanoparticles, between 0.14 and 0.39, is associated with non-stoichiometry effects in the materials, and both govern their Curie temperatures (T(C)), which range between 13 and 86 °C, respectively. Heating experiments carried out on samples suspended in an aqueous agarose gel and with different alternating magnetic fields derive unexpected maximum temperatures that cannot be explained on the basis of static magnetization data. The measurement of the thermal dependence of the specific absorption rate (SAR) of nanopowders by adiabatic magnetothermia reveals the existence of a dissipation peak just below T(C), which is assigned to a Hopkinson peak. This thermal dependence of SAR, together with a simple thermal model that considers a linear approximation for the heat power losses, is crucial to clarify the behavior observed in heating experiments and also to discuss the possibilities of the samples as self-regulating hyperthermia mediators. This analysis emphasizes that, for the correct design of a self-regulating system, the heat power losses determined by the surrounding conditions must be taken into account as well as the heating capacity of the magnetic nanoparticles.