Flux and transmission of β-casein during cold microfiltration of skim milk subjected to different heat treatments

Raw skim milk was subjected to different heat treatments: thermization (65°C, 20 s), pasteurization (72°C, 15 s), and no heat treatment (milk was microfiltered using 1.4-µm membranes at 50°C for bacteria removal; 1.4 MF). The milk (thermized, pasteurized, and 1.4 MF) was cooled and stored at 2°C until processing (at least 24 h) with cold (～6°C) microfiltration using a benchtop crossflow pilot unit (Pall Membralox XLAB 5, Pall Corp., Port Washington, NY) equipped with 0.1-µm nominal pore diameter ceramic Membralox membrane (ET1-070, α-alumina, Pall Corp.). The flux was monitored during the process, and β-casein transmission and removal were calculated. The study aimed to indicate the conditions that should be applied to maximize β-casein passage through the membrane during cold microfiltration (5.6 ± 0.4°C) of skim milk. The proper selection of heat treatment parameters (temperature, time) of the feed before the cold microfiltration process will increase β-casein removal. It is not clear whether the difference in β-casein transmission between 1.4 MF, thermized, and pasteurized milk results from the effect of heat treatment conditions on β-casein dissociation from the casein micelles or on passage of β-casein through the membrane. The values of the major parameters (permeation flux and tangential flow velocity, through the wall shear stress) responsible for a proper membrane separation process were considerably lower than the critical values. It seems that the viscosity of the retentate has a great effect on the performance of the microfiltration membranes for protein separation at refrigerated temperatures.     

Quest for the Molecular Basis of Improved Selective Toxicity of All-Trans Isomers of Aromatic Heptaene Macrolide Antifungal Antibiotics

Three aromatic heptaene macrolide antifungal antibiotics, Candicidin D, Partricin A (Gedamycin) and Partricin B (Vacidin) were subjected to controlled cis-trans → all trans photochemical isomerization. The obtained all-trans isomers demonstrated substantially improved in vitro selective toxicity in the Candida albicans cells: human erythrocytes model. This effect was mainly due to the diminished hemotoxicity. The molecular modeling studies on interactions between original antibiotics and their photoisomers with ergosterol and cholesterol revealed some difference in free energy profiles of formation of binary antibiotic/sterol complexes in respective membrane environments. Moreover, different geometries of heptaene: sterol complexes and variations in polyene macrolide molecule alignment in cholesterol-and ergosterol-containing membranes were found. None of these effects are of the crucial importance for the observed improvement of selective toxicity of aromatic heptaene antifungals but each seems to provide a partial contribution.     

Prognostic Impact and Functional Annotations of KIF11 and KIF14 Expression in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Genomic instability (GIN) has an important contribution to the pathology of colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, we selected mitosis and cytokinesis kinesins, KIF11 and KIF14, as factors of potential clinical and functional value in CRC, as their aberrant expression has been suspected to underlie GIN. We examined the expression and the prognostic and biological significance of KIF11 and KIF14 in CRC via in-house immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays, public mRNA expression datasets, as well as bioinformatics tools. We found that KIF11 and KIF14 expression, at both the protein and mRNA level, was markedly altered in cancer tissues compared to respective controls, which was reflected in the clinical outcome of CRC patients. Specifically, we provide the first evidence that KIF11 protein and mRNA, KIF14 mRNA, as well as both proteins together, can significantly discriminate between CRC patients with better and worse overall survival independently of other relevant clinical risk factors. The negative prognostic factors for OS were high KIF11 protein, high KIF11 protein + low KIF14 protein, low KIF11 mRNA and low KIF14 mRNA. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the gene sets related to the cell cycle, DNA replication, DNA repair and recombination, among others, were positively associated with KIF11 or KIF14 expression in CRC tissues. In TCGA cohort, the positive correlations between several measures related to GIN and the expression of KIFs were also demonstrated. In conclusion, our results suggest that CRC patients can be stratified into distinct risk categories by biological and molecular determinants, such as KIF11 and KIF14 expression and, mechanistically, this is likely attributable to their role in maintaining genome integrity.     

Simulation System for Analysis of Specialized Mobile Robots

The aim of this paper is to present the simulation system for analysis of specialized mobile robots, which is equipped with a supporting human operator (on–board or teleoperator) computer system. Simulation is performed in real time, using a computer system and a mobile robot. Visualization of the environment simulation, movements of the vehicle, and behavior of the human operator are done by computer animation and partly by a mobile robot and its physical environment. The performance of the control unit in different environmental conditions, including detection of obstacles using different sensors, can be observed using a mobile robot moving in a simulated environment configured according to experimental requirements.     

Effect of zone annealing on LARC-CPI thermoplastic polyimide

Mechanical properties and structure were studied for undrawn and zone-drawn films of LARC-CPI thermoplastic polyimide. The dynamic modulus of undrawn glassy material ranged from about 1.8 to 4.3 GPa, depending upon the degree of crystallinity. After zone drawing to draw ratio of 3.6–4.0, the dynamic glassy modulus was increased to a maximum of 9.5 GPa. The highest moduli were attained in samples that were multiply zone-drawn. The maximum-achievable draw ratio increased with the maximum drawing temperature, but the semicrystalline nature of the starting material limited the ultimate drawability. For the first time, highly oriented crystalline films were obtained for X-ray diffraction and preliminary crystal structure analysis. The crystal lattice was fit to the orthorhombic crystal system, and the results indicate that the lattice parameters are a = 8.0 ± 0.2 Å, b = 5.9 ± 0.2 Å, and c = 36.5 ± 0.3 Å. The value of the c-axis lattice parameter is very close to the fully extended chain length of the monomer repeat unit. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Diurnal variability of human operator attention disengagement and chronotype: an fMRI-based case study

The main objective of this study was to analyse diurnal variations during attention disengagement operations on a neuronal level in a group of subjects representing extreme chronotypes. The parietal lobes of the participants were scanned four times per day for activity changes using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while the subjects performed the task at hand. The findings provide credible evidence of the existence of variability in the activity patterns and levels of the parietal lobes. The activity patterns and levels depend on both the participants’ chronotype as well as time of day. The morning type showed stronger activation of the left parietal lobe, while the evening type showed stronger activation of the right parietal lobe. There was a visible decrease in parietal lobe activity during the post-lunch dip, independent of the subjects’ chronotype. Such variability of parietal lobe activity may suggest that humans are more likely to make errors during task performance at certain times of the day as opposed to others.     

Sorption of Cd(II)-MGDA Complexes on Polyacrylate Anion Exchangers

The possibility of polyacrylic anion exchangers application in the removal of Cd(II) complexes with MGDA (methylglycinediacetic acid) from aqueous solutions was presented. Batch sorption experiments were performed using Amberlite IRA 458 and Amberlite IRA 958. The initial solution pH, the initial concentration of sorbed complexes in the molar ratio M(II)-MGDA = 1:1, the temperature, as well as the contact time were varied. The kinetics of Cd(II) sorption in the presence of MGDA was analyzed. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich models were also applied to describe the adsorption isotherm. The values of the thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°) indicated that in the majority of cases the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. From the determined breakthrough curves, the distribution coefficients and the ion exchange capacities were calculated.     

Comparison of the effects of different chemical activation methods on properties of carbonaceous adsorbents obtained from cherry stones

A method for obtaining activated carbons from cherry stones by chemical activation with NaOH is described. Carbonaceous adsorbents were obtained by two methods of activation (physical mixing and impregnation) and two variants of thermal treatment (at a constant or increasing temperature). Cherry stones were proved to be effective cheap precursors of carbon adsorbents, characterised by large pore volume (ranging from 0.22 to 0.47 cm³/g) and good sorption abilities (iodine number from 343 to 996 mg/g). The activated carbons obtained usually have strongly microporous structure and acidic surface character. The best physicochemical properties and adsorption properties towards iodine were found to be shown by the carbon samples obtained by physical mixing of the precursor or char with the activating agent followed by activation at 600 °C.