Effect of natural and synthetic antioxidants incorporation on the gas permeation properties of poly(lactic acid) films

Gas permeation properties (permeability, diffusivity and solubility coefficients) were determined for carbon dioxide and oxygen in poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films enriched with 0, 2, 4 and 10 wt.% of different antioxidants, at three temperatures, 284, 293 and 303 K, using a time-lag apparatus. Three antioxidants, a natural, α-tocopherol (AT), and two synthetic, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), were tested. DSC results show that the polymer glass transition temperature slightly decreases with the increase of the antioxidant content. The crystallinity degree of PLA films decreases with the addition of BHT and TBHQ, whereas the incorporation of AT increases the crystallinity of PLA films. The permeability towards water vapour, at 299 K and 45% of relative humidity, and surface energy show a decreased in the wettability of the prepared materials with the increase of the antioxidants content. The incapacity to measure gas permeation in PLA films with 10 wt.% of AT and BHT incorporated was due to phase separation, proved by SEM images. The CO₂ and O₂ permeation results show that PLA barrier properties can be improved by the incorporation of antioxidants but are strongly dependent on the amount and structure of the antioxidant added.     

Effects of freezing/thawing on the microstructure and the texture of smoked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The changes in microstructure and texture during smoking of fresh and frozen/thawed Atlantic salmon was studied in fish from three different origins; ocean-ranched Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from Iceland and two groups of farmed Atlantic salmon from northern and western Norway. The muscle fibers from the frozen and thawed fish shrank, and the extracellular space increased compared to the fresh muscle. The muscle fibers from salmon fillets with smaller fiber diameter shrank to a less extent than fibers from salmon material with a larger fiber diameter. After smoking the space between the fibers and the fiber shrinkage increased to a higher extent in the muscle from the salmon that were frozen prior to smoking than muscle smoked from fresh salmon. The initial cross-sectional area of the fibers was not found to be related to the yield during smoking.     

The q-ary image of a qm-ary cyclic code

For (n, q)=1 V a q^m-ary cyclic code of length n and with generator polynomial g(x), we show that there exists a basis for F(q^m) over F_q with respect to which the q-ary image of V is cyclic, if and only if: (i) g(x) is over F_q; or (ii) g(x)=g₀(x)(x-γ^-q(μ)), g₀(x) is over F_q, F_q≠F(q^k)=F_q(γ)⊂F(q^m ), μ an integer modulo k, and w^m-γ has a divisor over F(q^k) of degree e=m/k; or (iii) g(x)=g₀ (x) Π_μϵs(x-γ(-q^μ)), g ₀(x) is over F_q, F_q≠F(q^k)=F_q(γ)⊂F(q^m ), S a set of integers module k of cardinality k-1 and w^m -μ has a divisor over F(q^k) of degree e=m/k. In all of the above cases, we determine all of the bases with respect to which the q-ary image of V is cyclic     

Effect of sulfite or nitrite on the ATP content and the carbohydrate metabolism in yeast

Summary Low concentrations of sulfite or nitrite (about 0.5 mmol) when applied at pH 3.6, caused a rapid and drastic decrease of the concentration of ATP in yeast cells. Under these conditions, alcoholic fermentation was inhibited by sulfite and to a lesser extent by nitrite. Ethanol consumption under aerobic conditions was shown to be more sensitive to nitrite than to sulfite. This indicates a higher sensitivity of respiratory processes to nitrite than to sulfite. Among 15 enzyme activities assayed in extracts from yeast cells after incubation with sulfite or nitrite, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was shown to be the most sensitive. Analysis of the steady-state concentrations of intermediates of alcoholic fermentation in intact yeast cells also implies inhibition by sulfite or nitrite of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase step of fermentation. In contrast to nitrite, sulfite had an additional effect by accumulating the intracellular steady state concentration of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate 10 to 100-fold over the concentration in the absence of sulfite.In vitro studies on the equilibrium catalyzed by triosephosphate isomerase or aldolase confirmed the postulated shift of equilibrium concentrations by a formation of complex of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate with sulfite.

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Wirkung von Sulfit und Nitrit auf den ATP-Gehalt und den Kohlenhydrat-Stoffwechsel von Hefe

Zusammenfassung Konzentrationen von Sulfit oder Nitrit um 0.5 mmol bewirken bei der Inkubation mit Hefe bei pH 3,6 in wenigen Minuten einen starken Abfall der ATP-Konzentration in den Zellen. Unter diesen Bedingungen wird die alkoholische Gärung durch Sulfit oder Nitrit gehemmt. Der Alkoholabbau unter aeroben Bedingungen ist empfindlicher gegen Nitrit als gegen Sulfit. Dies deutet auf eine höhere Empfindlichkeit der Atmungskette gegenüber Nitrit als gegenüber Sulfit. Unter 15 verschiedenen Enzymen, deren Aktivität nach der Inkubation von Hefezellen mit Sulfit oder Nitrit in Extrakten bestimmt wurde, erwies sich Glycerinaldehyd-3-phosphat-dehydrogenase als am empfindlichsten. Die Analyse stationärer Konzentrationen von Zwischenprodukten der alkoholischen Gärung in intakten Hefezellen unter der Einwirkung von Sulft oder Nitrit deutet auf Blokkade bei der Glycerinaldehyd-3-phosphat-dehydrogenase-Reaktion. Außerdem erhöht Sulfit die intrazelluläre stationäre Konzentration von Glycerinaldehyd-3-phosphat 10 bis 100 fach gegenüber den Konzentrationen bei Abwesenheit von Sulfit. In-vitro-Versuche über die Beeinflussung des von Triosephosphat-Isomerase oder Aldolase katalysierten Gleichgewichts ergaben bei Gegenwart von Sulfit eine Verschiebung dieser Gleichgewichte in Richtung Glycerinaldehyd-3-phosphat durch Komplexbildung dieser Substanz mit Sulfit.

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Franz Lingens at the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Discovering dispatching rules from data using imitation learning: A case study for the job-shop problem

Dispatching rules can be automatically generated from scheduling data. This paper will demonstrate that the key to learning an effective dispatching rule is through the careful construction of the training data, \(\{\mathbf {x}_i(k),y_i(k)\}_{k=1}^K\in {\mathscr {D}}\), where (i) features of partially constructed schedules \(\mathbf {x}_i\) should necessarily reflect the induced data distribution \({\mathscr {D}}\) for when the rule is applied. This is achieved by updating the learned model in an active imitation learning fashion; (ii) \(y_i\) is labelled optimally using a MIP solver; and (iii) data need to be balanced, as the set is unbalanced with respect to the dispatching step k. Using the guidelines set by our framework the design of custom dispatching rules, for a particular scheduling application, will become more effective. In the study presented three different distributions of the job-shop will be considered. The machine learning approach considered is based on preference learning, i.e. which dispatch (post-decision state) is preferable to another.     

Functional humanization of an anti-CD30 Fab fragment for the immunotherapy of Hodgkin's lymphoma using an in vitro evolution approach

CD30, the so-called Reed-Sternberg antigen, constitutes a promising cell-specific target for the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Starting from the previously characterized cognate HRS3 mouse monoclonal antibody, the bacterially produced functional Fab fragment was humanized by grafting the CDRs from the mouse antibody framework on to human immunoglobulin consensus sequences. This procedure led to a 10-fold decreased antigen affinity, which surprisingly was found to be mainly due to the VH domain. To improve the antigen-binding activity, an in vitro evolution strategy was employed, wherein random mutations were introduced into the humanized VH domain by means of error-prone PCR, followed by a filter sandwich Escherichia coli colony screening assay for functional Fab fragments using a recombinant extracellular domain of the CD30 antigen. After three cycles of in vitro affinity maturation, the optimized Fab fragment huHRS3-VH-EP3/1 was identified, which carried four exchanged residues within or close to the VH CDRs and had an affinity that was almost identical with that of the murine HRS3 Fab fragment. The resulting humanized Fab fragment was fully functional with respect to CD30 binding both in ELISA with the recombinant antigen and in FACS experiments with CD30-positive L540CY cells. In the light of the previously successful clinical application of an alphaCD30 x alphaCD16 bispecific mouse quadroma antibody derived from HRS3, the humanized Fab fragment comprises an important step towards the construction of a fully recombinant therapeutic agent. The combination of random mutagenesis and colony filter screening assay that was successfully applied here should be generally useful as a method for the rapid functional optimization of humanized antibody fragments.     

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of cod liver oil in supercritical carbon dioxide

Enzymatic alcoholysis of cod liver oil, with an immobilized lipase, was carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide. The enzyme was catalytically active under the experimental conditions used. The reaction medium was investigated to preferentially extract ethyl esters, synthesized during the course of the experiment, from the unconverted cod liver oil substrate and side-products. The effect of pressure changes on the amount of tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and ethyl esters, present in both the extract and the remaining lipid residue, was determined. Furthermore, the fatty acid compositions of the lipid classes were analyzed, and the relative amounts of both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid to palmitic acid were determined. The results show that it is possible to preferentially extract the synthesized ethyl esters at low pressures. The extract collected at 9 MPa contained 64 g ethyl esters/100 g extract, while the total amount of all other lipid classes detected was 19 g/100 g extract. As the pressure was increased, the relative amount of the other lipid classes detected in the extract, especially triglycerides, was enhanced. The relative amounts of both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid to palmitic acid increased for some lipid classes in the extract. This increase was most pronounced for the monoglyceride lipid class. The integration of biocatalysis and product fractionation, applied in this study, suggests that the potential for biocatalysis in industrial processes is considerably wider than had been thought.     

The transmission of vibration through gloves: effects of push force, vibration magnitude and inter-subject variability

The extent to which a glove modifies the risks from hand-transmitted vibration is quantified in ISO 10819:1996 by a measure of glove transmissibility determined with one vibration magnitude, one contact force with a handle and only three subjects. This study was designed to investigate systematically the vibration transmissibility of four 'anti-vibration' gloves over the frequency range 16-1600 Hz with 12 subjects, at six magnitudes of vibration (0.25-8.0 ms(-2) r.m.s.) and with six push forces (5 N to 80 N). The four gloves showed different transmissibility characteristics that were not greatly affected by vibration magnitude but highly dependent on push force. In all conditions, the variability in transmissibility between subjects was as great as the variability between gloves. It is concluded that a standardised test of glove dynamic performance should include a wide range of hands and a range of forces representative of those occurring in work with vibratory tools. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The transmission of vibration through anti-vibration gloves is highly dependent on the push force between the hand and a handle and also highly dependent on the hand that is inside the glove. The influence of neither factor is well reflected in ISO 10819:1996, the current standard for anti-vibration gloves.