A new high-pressure micronisation process for the gentle processing of high molecular mass gelatine

This article introduces a new high-pressure process for the gentle drying, micronisation and formulation of high molecular mass gelatine. Spray drying of gelatine solutions is a well-established process for very low molecular weight gelatine, aqueous solutions containing low gelatine concentrations or gelatine solutions containing viscosity reducing additives. In the introduced process, supercritical CO₂ was applied to micronised aqueous gelatine solutions and was then expanded from high pressure into a spraying chamber to remove the water content by extraction and evaporation under moderate conditions. The resulting product was analysed using common powder analysis methods. Aqueous gelatine solutions with a dry mass content of up to 50 wt.% with a molecular mass of 156,000 g mol^?1 were pulverised and dried with this process, with only limited degradation by hydrolysis during processing.     

The 2006 Human Liver Proteome Project (HLPP) Workshops

In 2006, scientists participating to the Human Liver Proteome Project (HLPP) launched by the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) convened on two occasions to present and discuss their progress. A workshop was held over two days in May in Bilbao, Spain, and a brief 3-hour meeting was held in October in conjunction with the 5(th) HUPO World Congress in Long Beach, California. Highlights included progress on (i) the construction of the human normal liver proteome expression profile and of subcellular proteomes; (ii) establishment of a liver ORFeome bank and of a liver antibody bank; (iii) identifications of protein-protein interaction maps in the liver; (iv) application of a robust strategy for quantitative proteomics; and (v) the characterization of fatty liver diseases using mouse models.     

Therapeutic Targeting of Fumaryl Acetoacetate Hydrolase in Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type I

Fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) is the fifth enzyme in the tyrosine catabolism pathway. A deficiency in human FAH leads to hereditary tyrosinemia type I (HT1), an autosomal recessive disorder that results in the accumulation of toxic metabolites such as succinylacetone, maleylacetoacetate, and fumarylacetoacetate in the liver and kidney, among other tissues. The disease is severe and, when untreated, it can lead to death. A low tyrosine diet combined with the herbicidal nitisinone constitutes the only available therapy, but this treatment is not devoid of secondary effects and long-term complications. In this study, we targeted FAH for the first-time to discover new chemical modulators that act as pharmacological chaperones, directly associating with this enzyme. After screening several thousand compounds and subsequent chemical redesign, we found a set of reversible inhibitors that associate with FAH close to the active site and stabilize the (active) dimeric species, as demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy. Importantly, the inhibitors are also able to partially restore the normal phenotype in a newly developed cellular model of HT1.     

Microstructural and Nano‐Mechanical Characterisation of Multicomponent Composites Nanocrystalline Matrix

Multicomponent, Ti‐based, in situ formed composites with a nanocrystalline matrix are a promising new type of material for structural applications. The materials exhibit an excellent combination of mechanical properties resulting from the composite microstructure. This paper contains a detailed introduction to such materials and a review of the most recent developments in the specific areas of microstructural and nano‐mechanical characterization.     

Phase equilibrium (solid-liquid-gas) in polyethyleneglycol-carbon dioxide systems

Phase equilibria (solid-liquid-gas) for polyethyleneglycol (with molar masses 1500, 4000, 8000 and 35 000 g mol⁻¹) and carbon dioxide mixtures were determined. It was found that the S-L-V lines in P-T projection for all polyethyleneglycols studied show a temperature minimum and a temperature maximum. These phenomena have not been reported previously in the literature. If a reduced temperature (obtained by dividing the temperature of the solid-liquid transition under pressure by the melting point of PEG at 1 bar) is introduced, the S-L transition of all binary systems are represented by one line. The solubility of CO₂ in liquid polyethyleneglycols is influenced by pressure and temperature, and is almost independent of the molecular mass of polyethyleneglycol. In a P-T projection, the vapour-liquid equilibrium is represented by a straight line if isopleths are plotted as a function of the reduced temperature. By combining the P-T_red projections of the S-L and L-V transitions, one master diagram can obtained which is valid for all binary mixtures of polyethyleneglycol and CO₂ in the pressure and temperature range investigated.     

Anemia and malaria in a Yanomami Amerindian population from the southern Venezuelan Amazon

OBJECTIVE: To review experience with 20 women treated for sciatic hernia between 1993 and 1997. METHODS: Patients with chronic pelvic pain and sciatic hernias, identified retrospectively from chart review, were seen during a 46-month period that covered the surgical experience at our institution and included approximately 1100 cases. The median length of follow-up was 13 months (range 3-36). RESULTS: Sciatic hernia was diagnosed in 20 white women with chronic pelvic pain and was treated using laparoscopy. In 14 cases the hernias were right sided, in five they were left sided, and in one they were bilateral. All sciatic hernias contained the ipsilateral ovary alone or with its fallopian tube. All 20 patients reported symptomatic relief at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Sciatic hernia is a cause of chronic pelvic pain and should be considered in the differential diagnosis.     

Unexpected oxidation behavior of Cu nanoparticles embedded in porous alumina films produced by molecular layer deposition

This work reports an unexpected oxidation behavior of Cu nanoparticles embedded in porous Al(2)O(3) confinements that are produced by annealing alucone (an organic-inorganic hybrid material) deposited by molecular layer deposition. An oxidation of such encapsulated Cu nanoparticles by annealing in air produces Cu oxide nanoparticles attached to the outer surface of the hollow Al(2)O(3) nanostructures, which is in strong contrast to bare or compact, nonporous Al(2)O(3)-coated Cu nanoparticles, which result in hollow oxide nanospheres or do not undergo oxidation, respectively. The conversion from encapsulated Cu to supported oxide nanoparticles is explained by a concerted pore-assisted diffusion and oxidation mechanism. The micropores in the films, having diameters of several angstroms, permit a selective out-diffusion of Cu atoms and prevent the inward diffusion of oxygen. The subsequent oxidation occurs at the pore entrances, which work as multiple nucleation sites for the formation of oxide nanoparticles with a small size and good dispersion.     

Anodic film growth on tantalum in dilute phosphoric acid solution at 20 and 85 °C

The effects of current density and temperature on the anodic films formed on tantalum in dilute H₃PO₄ (0.06%wt) solution have been studied by transmission electron microscopy, using ultramicrotomed sections, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Two-layered films have been identified, comprising an inner relatively pure Ta₂O₅ layer, adjacent to the metal/film interface, and an outer layer containing incorporated PO₄³⁻ anions. The total amount and depth of incorporated phosphorus species increase with increasing current density and decreasing temperature, in correspondence with the enhancement of the electric field. The formation conditions for the films include those relevant to the commercial anodising of tantalum for capacitors for which the extent of phosphorus incorporation is shown to be comparatively low.