Microencapsulated Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus gasseri in Combination with Quercetin Inhibit Colorectal Cancer Development in ApcMin/+ Mice

Recent studies have suggested that flavonoids such as quercetin and probiotics such as Bifidobacterium bifidum (Bf) and Lactobacillus gasseri (Lg) could play a relevant role in inhibiting colon cancer cell growth. Our study investigated the role of dietary supplementation with microencapsulated probiotics (Bf and Lg) along with quercetin in the development of mouse colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Adenomatous polyposis coli/multiple intestinal neoplasia (Apc^Min/+) mice were fed a standard diet or the same diet supplemented with microencapsulated probiotics (Bf and Lg strains, 10⁷ CFU/100 g food) or both probiotics strains plus microencapsulated quercetin (15 mg/100 g food) for 73 days. Changes in body and organ weights, energy metabolism, intestinal microbiota, and colon tissue were determined. The expression of genes related to the Wnt pathway was also analyzed in colon samples. Results: Dietary supplementation with microencapsulated probiotics or microencapsulated probiotics plus quercetin reduced body weight loss and intestinal bleeding in Apc^Min/+ mice. An improvement in energy expenditure was observed after 8 weeks but not after 10 weeks of treatment. A supplemented diet with microencapsulated Bf and Lg reduced the number of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and adenomas by 45% and 60%, respectively, whereas the supplementation with Bf, Lg and quercetin decreased the number of ACF and adenomas by 57% and 80%, respectively. Microencapsulated Bf and Lg in combination with quercetin could exert inhibition of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the colon of Apc^Min/+ mice Conclusions: The administration of microencapsulated Bf and Lg, individually or in combination with quercetin, inhibits the CRC development in Apc^Min/+ mice.     

Performance of Green Solvents in the Extraction of Sunflower Oil from Enzyme-Treated Collets

The main goal of this work is to evaluate the extraction of sunflower oil from enzyme-treated collets using ethanol and isopropanol (IPA) as solvents. The sunflower collets are pretreated with the multienzyme complex Viscozyme L prior to solvent extraction by the Soxhlet method. The influence of the moisture content of the collets, pretreatment, processing time, and solvent type on the amount of total extracted material and the oil extraction efficiency is studied. Some quality parameters such as phospholipid content of the oil and chlorogenic acid content of the residual meal are also analyzed. At low moisture content (7%) the solvents exhibit similar oil extraction ability (98–99%), but with increasing moisture the extraction efficiency of ethanol decreases to about 85%, while no significant differences are observed for IPA. The enzymatic treatment increases the extraction efficiency for all times, especially for ethanol. It is observed that IPA is more efficient in the extraction compared to ethanol, and the amount of nonlipid material is reduced by ≈70%. In addition, the oil extracted with IPA have lower phospholipid content and the residual meal presents a higher chlorogenic acid content. Practical Applications:This work would contribute toward the use of green solvents in the extraction of sunflower oil from collets. Ethanol and isopropanol, used as solvents, present attractive advantages, including low toxicity, good operational security, as well as being obtained from a renewable source. The obtained data provide up-to-date information on the use of these alcohols in the extraction of sunflower oil from collets and the influence of operating conditions, such as moisture content, enzymatic pretreatment of the collets, and the extraction time. Information about oil and meal quality is also reported.     

Indoor atmospheric corrosion in Cuba. A report about indoor localized corrosion

Indoor weight loss of steel, chloride, sulphur compounds and dust deposition rate were determined in six storehouses having different characteristics. Relative humidity and temperature were determined in three storehouses. A model for indoor corrosion of steel depending on time of exposure and deposition of dust, sulphur compounds and chlorides is proposed. Dust deposition plays an important role indoors. The position of the sample has also a significant influence on corrosion. Indoor corrosion aggressivity in Cuban storehouses ranges in classification IC3 and IC4 according to the new ISO proposal of indoor aggressivity.A report about the presence of localized corrosion indoors (filiform like) using a special designed sample is made.     

Analysis of chill-cast NiAl intermetallic compound with copper additions

This study carried out a characterization of chill-cast NiAl alloys with copper additions, which were added to NiAl, such that the resulting alloy composition occurred in the β-field of the ternary NiAlCu phase diagram. The alloys were vacuum induction melted and casted in copper chill molds to produce ingots 0.002 m thick, 0.020 m wide, and 0.050 m long. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed in chill-cast ingots identified mainly the presence of the β-(Ni,Cu)Al phase. As-cast ingots showed essentially no ductility at room temperature except for the Ni₅₀Al₄₀Cu₁₀ alloy, which showed 1.79% of elongation at room temperature. Ingots with this alloy composition were then heat treated under a high-purity argon atmosphere at 550 °C (24 h) and cooled either in the furnace or in air, until room temperature was reached. β-(Ni,Cu)Al and γ′(Ni,Cu)₃Al were present in specimens cooled in the furnace and β-(Ni,Cu)Al, γ′(Ni,Cu)₃Al plus martensite-(Ni,Cu)Al were present in specimens cooled in air. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that martensite transformation was the result of a solid-state reaction with M _s ∼ 470 and M _f ∼ 430 °C. Tensile tests performed on bulk heat-treated ingots showed room-temperature ductility between 3 and 6%, depending on the cooling media.     

Isobutane/2-butene alkylation on MCM-22 catalyst. Influence of zeolite structure and acidity on activity and selectivity

The catalytic behavior of the novel MCM-22 zeolite for the continuous alkylation of isobutane with 2-butene has been investigated at a temperature of 50°C, 2.5 MPa total pressure, and a variety of olefin space velocities. At high olefin conversions the MCM-22 zeolite showed a very high initial cracking activity attributable to strong Brønsted acid sites, as well as to the existence of strong diffusional restrictions of the TMP's (formed inside the zeolite) to exit through the channels. At short times on stream (TOS), TMP's account for ca. 40% of the C₈ fraction. The olefin conversion and the cracking activity rapidly decline with TOS, while the alkylate product became richer in dimethylhexenes, indicating a predominance of 2-butene dimerization and a loss of hydrogen transfer activity as the catalyst aged. Moreover, MCM-22 gives less TMP's than large-pore zeolites (USY, beta, mordenite), but more than the mediumpore ZSM-5 at similar 2-butene conversion. The latter catalyst was much more selective for olefin dimerization than for isobutane alkylation, presumably because formation of the bulkier TMP's was strongly impeded in its smaller pores.     

Bayesian bivariate generalized Lindley model for survival data with a cure fraction

The cure fraction models have been widely used to analyze survival data in which a proportion of the individuals is not susceptible to the event of interest. In this article, we introduce a bivariate model for survival data with a cure fraction based on the three-parameter generalized Lindley distribution. The joint distribution of the survival times is obtained by using copula functions. We consider three types of copula function models, the Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern (FGM), Clayton and Gumbel–Barnett copulas. The model is implemented under a Bayesian framework, where the parameter estimation is based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. To illustrate the utility of the model, we consider an application to a real data set related to an invasive cervical cancer study.     

Interactional Order and Constructed Ways of Seeing with Touchless Imaging Systems in Surgery

While surgical practices are increasingly reliant on a range of digital imaging technologies, the ability for clinicians to interact and manipulate these digital representations in the operating theatre using traditional touch based interaction devices is constrained by the need to maintain sterility. To overcome these concerns with sterility, a number of researchers are have been developing ways of enabling interaction in the operating theatre using touchless interaction techniques such as gesture and voice to allow clinicians control of the systems. While there have been important technical strides in the area, there has been little in the way of understanding the use of these touchless systems in practice. With this in mind we present a touchless system developed for use during vascular surgery. We deployed the system in the endovascular suite of a large hospital for use in the context of real procedures. We present findings from a study of the system in use focusing on how, with touchless interaction, the visual resources were embedded and made meaningful in the collaborative practices of surgery. In particular we discuss the importance of direct and dynamic control of the images by the clinicians in the context of talk and in the context of other artefact use as well as the work performed by members of the clinical team to make themselves sensable by the system. We discuss the broader implications of these findings for how we think about the design, evaluation and use of these systems.     

Autocalibration with the Minimum Number of Cameras with Known Pixel Shape

In 3D reconstruction, the recovery of the calibration parameters of the cameras is paramount since it provides metric information about the observed scene, e.g., measures of angles and ratios of distances. Autocalibration enables the estimation of the camera parameters without using a calibration device, but by enforcing simple constraints on the camera parameters. In the absence of information about the internal camera parameters such as the focal length and the principal point, the knowledge of the camera pixel shape is usually the only available constraint. Given a projective reconstruction of a rigid scene, we address the problem of the autocalibration of a minimal set of cameras with known pixel shape and otherwise arbitrarily varying intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. We propose an algorithm that only requires 5 cameras (the theoretical minimum), thus halving the number of cameras required by previous algorithms based on the same constraint. To this purpose, we introduce as our basic geometric tool the six-line conic variety (SLCV), consisting in the set of planes intersecting six given lines of 3D space in points of a conic. We show that the set of solutions of the Euclidean upgrading problem for three cameras with known pixel shape can be parameterized in a computationally efficient way. This parameterization is then used to solve autocalibration from five or more cameras, reducing the three-dimensional search space to a two-dimensional one. We provide experiments with real images showing the good performance of the technique.     

The anodic oxidation of thiocyanate ion dissolved as KSCN in dimethylsulphoxide

The anodic oxidation of SCN⁻ ion dissolved as KSCN in dimethylsulphoxide, on platinum electrodes, was investigated at ca 25, 60 and 160°C by means of various non-stationary electrochemical techniques. At low temperatures one anodic and two main cathodic processes were found. The anodic oxidation of SCN⁻ ion yields as primary product the SCN radical, which readily produces (SCN)₂. The latter can be in part reduced back to SCN⁻ ion, because it reacts in part yielding solvated hydrogen ions which cause the second cathodic reaction. In the region of 60°C, no (SCN)₂ cathodic current is observed. In the region of 160°C the only reaction is SCN⁻ ion oxidation and the primary product polymerizes to (SCN)_x, which forms a film on the electrode, causing passivation.

On the basis of kinetic data obtained for the different reactions, a mechanism for the anodic oxidation of the SCN⁻ ion and for the passivating film formation is suggested. The second process only partly fits the Müller model for the electrochemical growth of insoluble layers.     

Modelling the effects of human papillomavirus in cervical cells

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, after breast cancer. The prevalence of this malignant disease is estimated at 1.4 million cases worldwide, causing about 290,000 deaths and 500,000 new cases per year, of which 80% correspond to women living in developing countries. In this work we propose a family of ordered models for basal cells of the cervix corresponding to different stages ranging from normal cells to the formation of precancerous lesions. We analyse the first member of the family analytically and for the second member we developed a non-standard numerical method in order to extract some biological information.