Quantification of Choline-containing Compounds in Malignant Breast Tumors by 1H MR Spectroscopy Using Water as an Internal Reference at 1.5 T

The quantification of choline-containing compounds (Cho) in breast tumors by proton MR spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) has been of great interest because such compounds have been linked to malignancy. In this study, an internal reference method for the absolute quantification of Cho metabolite in malignant breast tumors was presented using a clinical 1.5 T scanner. We performed in vitro measurements to examine the accuracy of absolute quantification using four phantoms of known choline chloride concentrations. There was a high correlation between the calculated concentrations by MRS and the known concentrations (r ² > 0.98). We applied the technique to in vivo breast study conducted on 45 patients with biopsy-confirmed breast cancer. After T ₁ and T ₂ relaxation times were corrected, the Cho levels in this work had a range of 0.76 – 21.20 mmol/kg from 34 MR spectra of 32 patients with malignant breast lesions. This result was rather consistent with the previously published value (i.e., 1.38 – 10 mmol/kg, Bolan et al. in Magn Reson Med 50:1134–1143, 2003). Therefore, we conclude that the internal method using the fully relaxed water as a reference could be used for quantifying Cho metabolite accurately in breast cancer patients using a clinical 1.5 T scanner.     

Production and characterization of digestion‐resistant starch by the reaction of Neisseria polysaccharea amylosucrase

Recombinant amylosucrase (200 U/mL) from Neisseria polysaccharea was used to produce digestion‐resistant starch (RS) using 1–3% (w/v) corn starches and 0.1–0.5 M sucrose incubated at 35°C for 24 h. Characterization of the obtained enzyme‐modified starches was investigated. Results show that the yields of the enzyme‐modified starches were inversely proportional to the original amylose contents of corn starches. After enzymatic reaction, insoluble RS contents increased by 22.3 and 20.7% from 6.9% of waxy and 7.7% of normal corn starches, respectively, using 3.0% starch as acceptor and 0.3 M sucrose as donor, while amylomaize VII showed the lowest increase (8.5%) in RS content. The crystalline polymorph of these enzyme‐modified starches resulted in the B‐type immediately after enzymatic reaction. The enzyme‐modified starches displayed higher melting peak temperatures (85.6–100.6°C) compared to their native starch counterparts (70.1–78.4°C). After enzymatic reaction, pasting temperature increased in waxy (71.9 → 77.6°C) and normal corn starches (75.3 → 80.6°C), and the peak viscosity of waxy corn starches increased from 264 to 349 RVU, whereas that of normal corn starches decreased from 235 to 66 RVU.     

Application of ultra high pressure (UHP) in starch chemistry

Ultra high pressure (UHP) processing is an attractive non-thermal technique for food treatment and preservation at room temperature, with the potential to achieve interesting functional effects. The majority of UHP process applications in food systems have focused on shelf-life extension associated with non-thermal sterilization and a reduction or increase in enzymatic activity. Only a few studies have investigated modifications of structural characteristics and/or protein functionalities. Despite the rapid expansion of UHP applications in food systems, limited information is available on the effects of UHP on the structural and physicochemical properties of starch and/or its chemical derivatives included in most processed foods as major ingredients or minor additives. Starch and its chemical derivatives are responsible for textural and physical properties of food systems, impacting their end-use quality and/or shelf-life. This article reviews UHP processes for native (unmodified) starch granules and their effects on the physicochemical properties of UHP-treated starch. Furthermore, functional roles of UHP in acid-hydrolysis, hydroxypropylation, acetylation, and cross-linking reactions of starch granules, as well as the physicochemical properties of UHP-assisted starch chemical derivatives, are discussed.     

Hydrogenation of CO to methane over mesoporous nickel-iron-alumina xerogel nano-catalysts

Mesoporous nickel-iron-alumina xerogel ((40-x)Ni(x)FeAX) nano-catalysts with different iron content (x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10) were prepared by a single-step sol-gel method for use in the methane production from carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The effect of iron content on the catalytic performance of (40-x)Ni(x)FeAX catalysts was investigated. In the methanation reaction, yield for CH4 decreased in the order of 35Ni5FeAX > 32.5Ni7.5FeAX > 30Ni10FeAX > 37.5Ni2.5FeAX > 40Ni0FeAX. This indicated that optimal iron content of mesoporous nickel-iron-alumina xerogel nano-catalyst was required for maximum production of CH4 in the methanation reaction. Experimental results revealed that optimal CO dissociation energy and large H2 adsorption ability of the catalyst were favorable for methane production. Among the catalysts tested, 35Ni5FeAX catalyst, which retained the most optimal CO dissociation energy and the largest H2 adsorption ability, exhibited the best catalytic performance in terms of conversion of CO and yield for CH4 in the methanation reaction. CO dissociation energy and H2 adsorption ability of the catalyst played a key role in determining the catalytic performance of (40-x)Ni(x)FeAX in the methanation reaction.     

A Reliable Communication Protocol for Multiregion Mobile Agent Environments

A mobile agent system is regarded as an attractive technology when developing distributed applications. However, mobility makes it more difficult to trace agents. It is also more complex for agents to communicate with each other in a reliable manner. Therefore, a reliable communication protocol is necessary to control and monitor mobile agents and deliver messages between them. In this paper, a new Reliable Communication Protocol (RCP) is proposed for a multiregion mobile agent computing environment. RCP is implemented on the ODDUGI mobile agent system. Analysis and evaluation show that RCP fulfills the following design goals: reliability, asynchrony, timeliness, location dependency, scalability, and communication cost.     

Involvement of the p38 MAPK-NLRC4-Caspase-1 Pathway in Ionizing Radiation-Enhanced Macrophage IL-1β Production

Macrophages are abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and are crucial in regulating tumor malignancy. We previously reported that ionizing radiation (IR) increases the production of interleukin (IL)-1β in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophages, contributing to the malignancy of colorectal cancer cells; however, the mechanism remained unclear. Here, we show that IR increases the activity of cysteine-aspartate-specific protease 1 (caspase-1), which is regulated by the inflammasome, and cleaves premature IL-1β to mature IL-1β in RAW264.7 macrophages. Irradiated RAW264.7 cells showed increased expression of NLRC4 inflammasome, which controls the activity of caspase-1 and IL-1β production. Silencing of NLRC4 using RNA interference inhibited the IR-induced increase in IL-1β production. Activation of the inflammasome can be regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)s in macrophages. In RAW264.7 cells, IR increased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Moreover, a selective inhibitor of p38 MAPK inhibited LPS-induced IL-1β production and NLRC4 inflammasome expression in irradiated RAW264.7 macrophages. Our results indicate that IR-induced activation of the p38 MAPK-NLRC4-caspase-1 activation pathway in macrophages increases IL-1β production in response to LPS.     

Characteristics of physically modified starches

Food Science and Biotechnology - Starch is an abundant natural, non-toxic, biodegradable polymer. Due to its low price, it is used for various purposes in various fields such as the cosmetic,...