Cylindrospermopsin degradation in sediments--the role of temperature, redox conditions, and dissolved organic carbon

One possible consequence of increasing water temperatures due to global warming in middle Europe is the proliferation of cylindrospermopsin-producing species from warmer regions. This may lead to more frequent and increased cylindrospermopsin (CYN) concentrations in surface waters. Hence, efficient elimination of CYN is important where contaminated surface waters are used as a resource for drinking water production via sediment passage. Sediments are often characterized by a lack of oxygen and low temperature (i.e. approx. 10 °C). The presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is not only known to enhance but also to retard contaminant degradation by influencing the extent of lag phases. So far CYN degradation has only been investigated under oxic conditions and at room temperature. Therefore, the aim of our experiments was to understand CYN degradation, focusing on the effects of i) anoxic conditions, ii) low temperature (i.e. 10 °C) in comparison to room temperature (23 ± 4 °C) and iii) DOC on lag phases. We used two natural sandy sediments (virgin and preconditioned) and surface water to conduct closed-loop column experiments. Anoxic conditions either inhibited CYN degradation completely or retarded CYN breakdown in comparison to oxic conditions (T_1/2 (oxic) = 2.4 days, T_1/2 (anoxic) = 23.6 days). A decrease in temperature from 20 °C to 10 °C slowed down degradation rates by a factor of 10. The presence of DOC shortened lag phases in virgin sediments at room temperature but induced a lag phase in preconditioned sediments at 10 °C, indicating potential substrate competition. These results show that information on physico-chemical conditions in sediments is crucial to assess the risk of CYN breakthrough.     

Power and Measures of Effect Size in Analysis of Variance With Fixed Versus Random Nested Factors.

Ignoring a nested factor can influence the validity of statistical decisions about treatment effectiveness. Previous discussions have centered on consequences of ignoring nested factors versus treating them as random factors on Type I errors and measures of effect size (B. E. Wampold & R. C. Serlin, see record 2000-16737-003). The authors (a) discuss circumstances under which the treatment of nested provider effects as fixed as opposed to random is appropriate; (b) present 2 formulas for the correct estimation of effect sizes when nested factors are fixed; (c) present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the consequences of treating providers as fixed versus random on effect size estimates, Type I error rates, and power; and (d) discuss implications of mistaken considerations of provider effects for the study of differential treatment effects in psychotherapy research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DLC‐coated pure bioplastic foil

Polymers made of renewable resources increasingly replace conventional plastic materials made of petroleum. Socalled bioplastics can be found e. g. in food industry, for agricultural usage or in the medical field. The range of applications can be further expanded with specialized coating of their surface. Especially in case of food packaging and the usage within medical devices as well as the storage of these composite materials, sterilization or at least the partial reduction of microbial growth is an important issue which needs to be addressed early in the production process. In this work, a commercially available polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) pure bioplastic foil of 50 μm thickness was coated with 100 nm of diamond‐like carbon (DLC) and afterwards treated by four different standard methods of sterilization and / or disinfection, namely deep‐freezing, ultraviolet irradiation, autoclaving and immersion in ethanol. The surface morphology of treated DLC‐coated and uncoated samples was investigated and compared to the untreated DLC‐coated and uncoated samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Measurements exhibited damage of the composite for autoclaved and in ethanol immersed samples, whereas deep‐frozen and ultraviolet irradiated samples showed no structural changes. These findings clearly demonstrate deep‐freezing and ultraviolet irradiation to be appropriate methods for the disinfection and sterilization, respectively, of the DLC‐coated pure bioplastic foil.     

产业用纺织品——成功顺应潮流

产业用纺织品被传统纺织国家寄予厚望。它是全世界中小型企业创新的驱动力。欧瑞康巴马格在世界首次推出土工格栅的完整生产系统,凭借其先进的技术和符合市场需要的解决方案推动了产业用纺织品的发展,使客户迈向成功。     

Smaller,Stronger, More Stable: Peptide Variants of a SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Miniprotein

Based on the structure of a de novo designed miniprotein (LCB1) in complex with the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, we have generated and characterized truncated peptide variants of LCB1, which present only two of the three LCB1 helices, and which fully retained the virus neutralizing potency against different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). This antiviral activity was even 10-fold stronger for a cyclic variant of the two-helix peptides, as compared to the full-length peptide. Furthermore, the proteolytic stability of the cyclic peptide was substantially improved, rendering it a better potential candidate for SARS-CoV-2 therapy. In a more mechanistic approach, the peptides also served as tools to dissect the role of individual mutations in the RBD for the susceptibility of the resulting virus variants to neutralization by the peptides. As the peptides reported here were generated through chemical synthesis, rather than recombinant protein expression, they are amenable to further chemical modification, including the incorporation of a wide range of non-proteinogenic amino acids, with the aim to further stabilize the peptides against proteolytic degradation, as well as to improve the strength, as well the breadth, of their virus neutralizing capacity.     

Entstehung und Aufbau farbiger Schichten auf rostfreiem Stahl: II. Verfärbungen unter den Bedingungen in einer Geschirrspülmaschine

Composition and formation of coloured layers on stainless steel: II. Discolorations formed under the conditions in an automatic dish-washer Discolorations can appear on stainless dishes or pots upon cleansing in a dish-washer, also the stainless steel components of the dish-washers can show such discolorations after long use. These discolorations are caused by corrosion of the stainless steel at a high redox potential of the electrolyte and intermediate pH-values. Such corrosive conditions result from a content of organic acid in the cleansing agent. The alloying elements Cr, Ni and Fe are dissolved under formation of complexes and an unsoluble, coloured oxyhydrate is enriched on the surface, which stems from a small Ti-content of the steels. This thin golden yellow or bluish violet passive layer is very corrosion resistant. The process can be avoided if there are no strongly oxidizing components in the cleansing agent.     

The role of lipoxygenase-isoforms in atherogenesis

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) form a heterogeneous family of lipid-peroxidizing enzymes, and several LOX-isoforms (12/15-LOX, 5-LOX) have been implicated in atherogenesis. However, the precise role of these enzymes is still a matter of discussion. 12/15-LOXs are capable of oxidizing lipoproteins (low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) to atherogenic forms, and functional inactivation of this enzyme in murine atherosclerosis models slows down lesion formation. In contrast, rabbits that overexpress this enzyme were protected from lesion formation when fed a lipid-rich diet. To contribute to this discussion, we recently investigated the impact of 12/15-LOX overexpression on in vitro foam cell formation. When 12/15-LOX-transfected J774 cells were incubated in culture with modified LDL, we found that intracellular lipid deposition was reduced in the transfected cells when compared with the corresponding control transfectants. This paper briefly summarizes the current status of knowledge on the biological activity of different LOX-isoforms in atherogenesis and will also provide novel experimental data characterizing the role of 12/15-LOX in cellular LDL modification and for in vitro foam cell formation.