Uptake and metabolism of exogenous eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid in minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells

Minimal deviation hepatoma 7288 C cells were cultured in Swim's medium containing 10% serum for 48 hr. The growth medium was replaced with serum free media containing different concentrations of [1-14C] eicosa-8,11,14-trienoic acid and the cells were incubated for 24 hr. Incorporation into cell lipids, oxidation to CO2, and desaturation to arachidonic acid were studied. The oxidation of the acid was very low. It was preferentially incorporated into the polar lipids of the cell. The incorporation depended on the number of cells and fatty acid concentration. Saturation of the cells with the acid was reached when 144.7 nmoles per mg of cellular protein were incorporated. The acid was desaturated readily to arachidonic acid. The nmoles of eicosatrienoic acid converted to arachidonic acid per mg of cellular protein were hyperbolic function of the acid incorporated. Maximal desaturation, 23 nmoles per mg of cellular protein, was reached when the cells were saturated with the acid. The calculations of the desaturation capacity and of the endogenous pool of eicosatrienoic acid available for desaturation in the cell are discussed.     

Electrostatic microresonators from doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin films

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of flexural electrostatic microresonators based on doped thin-film hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon processed at temperatures below 110/spl deg/C using surface micromachining on glass substrates. The microelectromechanical structures are bridges made of either phosphorus-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (n/sup +/-a-Si:H) deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or boron-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (p/sup +/-nc-Si:H) deposited by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). The microbridges, which are suspended over an aluminum (Al) gate electrode, are electrostatically actuated and the mechanical resonance is detected in vacuum using an optical detection method. The resonance frequency and energy dissipation mechanisms involved in thin-film silicon based microresonators are studied as a function of the geometrical dimensions of the structures. Resonance frequencies up to 36 MHz are observed and a Young's modulus of 147 GPa is extracted for n/sup +/-a-Si:H, and of 165 GPa for the p/sup +/-nc-Si:H films. Quality factors as high as 5000 and 2000 are observed for the n/sup +/-a-Si:H and p/sup +/-nc-Si:H resonators, respectively, and are limited by surface losses. The effect on the resonance frequency and quality factor of depositing a metal layer on the thin-film silicon structural layer is studied.     

Explicit incorporation of prior anatomical information into a nonrigid registration of thoracic and abdominal CT and 18-FDG whole-body emission PET images

The aim of this paper is to develop a registration methodology in order to combine anatomical and functional information provided by thoracic/abdominal computed tomography (CT) and whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) images. The proposed procedure is based on the incorporation of prior anatomical information in an intensity-based nonrigid registration algorithm. This incorporation is achieved in an explicit way, initializing the intensity-based registration stage with the solution obtained by a nonrigid registration of corresponding anatomical structures. A segmentation algorithm based on a hierarchically ordered set of anatomy-specific rules is used to obtain anatomical structures in CT and emission PET scans. Nonrigid deformations are modeled in both registration stages by means of free-form deformations, the optimization of the control points being achieved by means of an original vector field-based approach instead of the classical gradient-based techniques, considerably reducing the computational time of the structure registration stage. We have applied the proposed methodology to 38 sets of images (33 provided by standalone machines and five by hybrid systems) and an assessment protocol has been developed to furnish a qualitative evaluation of the algorithm performance.     

Fabrication of fritless chromatographic microchips packed with conventional reversed-phase silica particles

This paper describes the development and study of a disposable and inexpensive microfluidic chip, fabricated from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) incorporating conventional chromatographic reversed-phase silica particles (C18) without the use of frits, permanent physical barriers, tapers, or restrictors. The packing of C18 modified silica particles into the microfluidic channels is made possible by the hydrophobic nature and excellent elasticity of PDMS. Keystone-, clamping-, and anchor-effects provide the stability and the compactness of the packing and attenuated wall-effects were observed.     

Role of polyamines in diet. Importance of polyamines in infant nutrition

The first studies indicating polyamines as important growth factors in breast milk began during the nineties of last century. Nevertheless, it is still not well known the role they play in infant nutrition or what the recommended intake would be for this population group. In recent years, there has been increased attention of the international scientific community towards polyamines, not only due to the important role they play in the cellular metabolism, but also to their possible implication in some diseases and during the development of the human organism. Bearing in mind that the content in polyamines of the infant formula is around tenfold less than in breast milk, it would be recommended to gain insight into this theme in order to guarantee correct nutrition during lactation.     

Sugarcane Bagasse Drying in a Cyclone: Influence of Device Geometry and Operational Parameters

Sugarcane bagasse is becoming more and more commonly used in generating electrical energy, steam, and bioethanol. Drying is important in sugarcane and other types of biomass because it can be used to improve the calorific value and overall energetic use. In this work, sugarcane bagasse was treated by drying in a cyclonic dryer. The influence of the geometry of the device (the conical part of the cyclone) and process parameters (bagasse mass flow rate and temperature) were tested. The modification on the conical part was related to two different angles and with two different inferior outlets (B). Experimental design was carried out for each geometry. The independent variables were the drying agent temperature (35 to 275°C) and the bagasse mass flow rate (0.1 × 10^?2 to 2.9 × 10^?2 kg s^?1). The air flow rate was kept constant at 7.5 × 10^?2 kg s^?1. The dependent variables were moisture reduction (MR) and average particle residence time (t_res) in the cyclonic dryer. For both cyclonic geometries, it was observed that MR was directly proportional to the temperature and inversely proportional to the bagasse mass flow rate. t_res was also inversely proportional to the bagasse mass flow rate. Decreasing B tended to increase tres and MR.     

Synthesis of a Magnetic Fe3O4/RGO Composite for the Rapid Photo-Fenton Discoloration of Indigo Carmine Dye

In the last years, dye wastewater pollution became a major problem due to its toxicity and environmental restrictions. Indigo carmine is an indigoid dye that is largely used, and it is known by its toxicity and stability. In this work, we synthesized a magnetite/reduced graphene oxide (Fe₃O₄/RGO) composite with approximately 90%wt of Fe₃O₄ and used in the indigo carmine dye photo-Fenton discoloration (accompanied by UV–Vis spectrometry analysis). By using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Laser Raman Spectroscopy (LRS), Magnetization Curves (VSM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses it was observed that Fe₃O₄ particles of?~?21 nm were successfully anchored on reduced graphene sheets. Zeta potential showed that the Fe₃O₄/RGO composite has a less negative electrostatic behavior in ultrapure water (??46.9 mV) than the bare RGO (??77.7 mV), promoting the attraction of indigo carmine molecule. Magnetic studies proved the ferromagnetic character of the composite with a saturation magnetization of 43 emu/g, thus promoting the easy separation from the reaction medium. In the first 5 min of reaction with the composite, the solution was completely discolored. The composite was recovered, and its reuse also showed total discoloration in the first 30 min of reaction. After first indigo carmine discoloration cycle, XPS results showed that Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ atomic ratio was maintained, which can explain the total discoloration in the second cycle.

     

Enhancement of trehalose production in dairy propionibacteria through manipulation of environmental conditions

We have shown that the ability to produce trehalose is widespread within the genus Propionibacterium. Eighteen strains isolated from dairy sources were screened for trehalose synthesis; the effect of environmental conditions on trehalose production was evaluated in Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii NIZO B365, a strain that accumulated high amounts of this disaccharide. Lactose was the best carbohydrate source for trehalose production, whereas lactate, the substrate that led to the highest specific growth rate, was a poor precursor. Trehalose was consumed after exhaustion of the carbon source in the medium, suggesting its role as a reserve compound. The production of trehalose was not affected by lowering the growth temperature from 30 to 20 degrees C. On the other hand, the maximum trehalose accumulation increased from about 200 to 400 mg of trehalose/g of cell protein upon decreasing the pH from 7.0 to 4.7, by increasing the concentration of NaCl to 2% (w/v), or during growth under aerobic conditions (50% air saturation, 24 microM O(2), pH 7.0). In the absence of NaCl, trehalose accumulated concomitantly with growth, but an increase in salinity triggered a high trehalose production already in the early exponential growth phase. The data provide evidence for a dual function of trehalose as a reserve compound and as a stress-response metabolite. Moreover, P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii NIZO B365 was able to produce high levels of trehalose in skim milk, which is promising for the implementation of fermented dairy products.