Impact of oxygen addition during enological fermentation on sterol contents in yeast lees and their reactivity towards oxygen

During enological fermentations, superfluous oxygen consumption by yeast cells is observed. The superfluous oxygen consumed by the yeast cells is mainly related to the operation of non-respiratory oxygen consumption pathways resulting in an overall decrease in the total sterol fraction in yeast. On the other hand, yeast lees remaining at the end of alcoholic fermentations exhibit specific oxygen utilization rates ranging from 1 to 4 micromol O2 h- 10(-10) cells from the second to the thirteenth month of wine aging. This oxygen consumption capacity of yeast lees was independent of residual cell viability. In this study, we investigated the potential relationship between the oxygen added to commercial yeast strains during enological fermentation and the capacity of the corresponding yeast lees to interact with oxygen. Additions of low (7 mg l(-)) and excess (37 mg l(-1)) amounts of oxygen at the end of the cell growth phase were compared in terms of repercussions on the oxygen consumption activity of the corresponding yeast lees. As expected, the superfluous oxygen consumption by yeast cells during fermentation had a positive influence on the fermentation kinetics and increased cell biomass formation. Oxygen consumption rates and the total capacity of oxygen consumption by the corresponding yeast lees clearly decreased when oxygen was added during fermentation. This marked decrease in yeast lees reactivity towards oxygen was concomitantly related to an increase in ergosterol synthesis and to oxygen-dependent sterol degradation. Such degradation occurred when oxygen was added in excess. Therefore, oxygenation control during fermentation appears to be a potential way to optimize both the fermentation kinetics and control yeast lees reactivity towards oxygen. For practical applications, oxygenation control during alcoholic fermentation may be considered as a general tool for decreasing the highly reductive effect of yeast lees during wine aging.     

Laminarin in the dietary fibre concept

Dietary fibres consist of edible plant polysaccharides that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine but undergo complete or partial fermentation in the colon. Seaweeds, notably Laminaria spp, are particularly rich in polysaccharides resistant to hydrolysis in the upper gastrointestinal tract and are, in consequence, considered as dietary fibres. Most of the carbohydrates from Laminaria spp are thought to be indigestible by humans. The main storage polysaccharide of these algae is laminarin, a β‐polymer of glucose. The aims of this work were, on the one hand, to compare various methods of extraction of laminarin by partial characterisation of the product obtained and, on the other hand, to study the fate of this polysaccharide and its effects in the gastrointestinal tract in order to determine its potential as a dietary fibre in human nutrition. Among four methods tested to extract laminarin, the best appeared to be a hot HCl‐based method. Human digestive enzymes did not hydrolyse laminarin, so this polysaccharide can be considered as a dietary fibre. After ingestion by rats, this polysaccharide was not found in faeces of these animals. It did not increase the intestinal transit and stool output in vivo, but it increased the contractile response of the stomach to acetylcholine in vitro. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Parallel multiple access interference cancellation in optical DS-CDMA systems

This paper investigates the Parallel Interference Cancellation technique in Direct Sequence Optical Code Division Multiple Access (ds-ocdma) system. In the proposed system, the estimated interference is removed from the received signal. We have developped a new approach to obtain the analytical expression of error probability in chip synchronous case, for Optical Orthogonal Codes (ooc). We have shown that under specific conditions between codes parameters and users’ number, the interference can be completely neutralized. Simulation results have validated the theoretical analysis. It is shown that the proposed receiver is effective in reducing significantly the effects of Multiple Access Interference (mai) compared to other interference cancellation systems.     

DNA extraction using a tetramethyl orthosilicate-grafted photopolymerized monolithic solid phase

A novel high-capacity, high-efficiency DNA extraction method is described using a photopolymerized silica-based monolithic column in a fused-silica capillary. Development involved investigation of the composition of the sol-gel monomer, fabrication conditions, and surface modifications in order to optimize the binding capacity. Extraction capacity and efficiency with the 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM) monolith formulations fabricated in capillaries were investigated using a simple three-step procedure consisting of sample loading, washing of the solid phase, and elution of the DNA using a low ionic strength Tris buffer at pH 8. Once the TMSPM monomer concentration was optimized to yield a monolith with maximum test stability (robustness) and minimum back pressure, the monolith surface was modified by the grafting of tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) for increased DNA binding capacity. After the examination of a variety of TMOS concentrations, 85% v/v TMOS was found to be optimal for DNA extraction without any obvious changes to the monolith structure. The reduction of time allowed for TMSPM hydrolysis prior to UV polymerization from 20 to 5 min led to a lower back pressure of the monolith, enabling better TMOS derivatization and therefore higher binding capacity. Minimal buffer volume (as low as 1 muL) was required to elute DNA from the solid phase, providing a DNA concentrating effect potentially important for downstream processes. While experimentation employed monolithic columns that were 12 cm in length, reduction of the length to 2 cm still allowed for a DNA binding capacity of at least 100 ng of prepurified human genomic DNA and extraction efficiencies greater than 85%. Extraction of low sample volumes (submicroliter) of human whole blood were successfully performed, with extraction efficiencies from the 2-cm monolithic column higher than those obtained from a commercial DNA extraction kit. These results position this novel matrix as an attractive alternative for solid-phase extraction of DNA and other biologically active molecules in microscale devices.     

Real-time multiplex PCR: An accurate method for the detection and quantification of 35S-CaMV promoter in genetically modified maize-containing food

A very sensitive and new real-time multiplex PCR method for the quantification of genetically modified (GM) maize crops in food materials was developed and validated for an ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detection System. In the assay described, fluorescence-labelled TaqMan probes were chosen to detect the amplified DNA fragments during PCR. In this multiplex approach, maize-specific DNA (zein) and 35S-CaMV promoter-specific DNA fragments are amplified in the same tube. The method was tested for the detection and quantification of the four maize events that are approved in Europe and contain the 35S-CaMV promoter: Bt11, Bt176, Mon810 and T25 maize. Quantification was based on a standard curve prepared from certified maize flour reference material prepared by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements. Quantification within the range of the standard curve (0.05-1% GM maize) and up to 100% was possible. Repeatability of the method for each GM maize event was determined; coefficients of variations ranged from 28-40%. In addition, three internal Nestlé laboratories successfully applied this method and comparable results were obtained.     

Catalytic Mononitration of Phenol Using <Emphasis Type="Italic">iso-</Emphasis>Propyl Nitrate Over Zeolite Catalysts

Mononitration of phenol was investigated using iso-propyl nitrate as a nitrating agent over various zeolite catalysts under different reaction conditions. Zeolite Hβ with a low Si/Al ratio (12.5) was found to be an active catalyst for nitration of phenol under reflux conditions in dichloroethane, producing 2- and 4-nitrophenols in a ratio of around 1:1. However, zeolites H-mordenite, HY and Hβ (with high Si/Al ratio—150 or 300) gave 2-nitrophenol as the major product (ortho/para ratio = ca. 2–3).     

Optimization of passive microwave devices through geometrical parameterization—Application to the design of a cylindrical dual‐mode cavity filter

A new algorithm, based on geometrical parameterization and finite element method is presented for the optimization of microwave devices. Using geometrical parameterization, the field quantities are expressed as a polynomial in design parameters. Automatic differentiation is used for calculation of higher order derivatives. To ensure continuous gradients, an integrated mesh deformation algorithm is deployed to morph initial finite elements mesh into the perturbed geometry. The resulting parametric model is deployed through quadratic surface reconstruction to find local minimum at each stage. The convergence of the optimization through the reconstructed surfaces is discussed. As an example, a 5‐pole dual‐mode cavity filter is designed and optimized using the presented algorithm. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2009.     

Two-Dimensional protein map of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Construction of a gene–protein index

This publication marks the beginning of the construction of a gene–protein index that relates proteins which are resolved on the two-dimensional protein map of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with their corresponding genes. We report the identification of 36 novel polypeptide spots on the yeast protein map. They correspond to the products of 26 genes. Together with the polypeptide spots previously identified, this raises to 41 the number of genes whose products have been identified on the protein map. The proteins identified here are concerned with four major areas of yeast cellular physiology: carbon metabolism, heat shock, amino acid biosynthesis and purine biosynthesis. Given the molecular weight and isoelectric point of the identified proteins, and the codon-usage bias of the corresponding genes, it can be estimated that 25 to 35% of all the soluble yeast proteins are detectable under the labelling and running gel conditions used in this study.     

A poly(cyclopentadithiophene) matrix suitable for electrochemically controlled DNA delivery

A conducting polymer is tested for DNA delivery trials. The conducting matrix used is successful for electrochemical delivery of DNA accumulated by covalent immobilization. The electrochemical process consists of the reduction of arylsulfonamide moieties, which occur as linker groups. The specific design of the polymer allows the electronic properties to be promoted, making available the cleavage potential in physiological media. The amount of DNA released from a modified platinum electrode is investigated by quartz crystal microbalance. The released species used to prove the system performance are long sequences of DNA strands, which are amplified by PCR after liberation and identified by electrophoresis migration.     

Hybrid sol gel coating: A solution to prevent interactions between plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) and injectable drugs?

During the infusion of drugs with medical devices in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) release of plasticizers in the injectable solution and/or sorption of drugs on PVC may occur. Thus, patient safety and/or effectiveness of his therapy may be altered. In this study, we assessed the efficiency of a sol gel hybrid coating in preventing plasticizers' release (di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) from PVC matrix and drug sorption into PVC. Remaining concentrations of drugs and plasticizer's concentration released after migration tests were assessed by liquid chromatography. Migration processes were followed by Fourier Transform Infrared – Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR‐ATR) spectroscopy and PVC surface changes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An evaluation of the mechanical properties of both uncoated and coated polymer was done. The hybrid coating protects PVC from plasticizers leaching. Sorption of drugs tested is also limited. However, the protection against plasticized PVC interactions isn't optimal, probably due to a degradation of the layer, as shown on SEM microphotographs. Furthermore improvements might provide an efficient barrier to advert risks impaired to PVC interactions, to provide patient care safety. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40145.