Magnetically modified spent coffee grounds for dyes removal

Large amounts of spent coffee grounds are discharged from food industries, for example, during the instant coffee manufacture. Although part of them is reused as compost and animal feed, most of the coffee grounds are burned as a waste. However, this material can be used as a biosorbent for xenobiotics removal. Spent coffee grounds were magnetically modified by contact with water-based magnetic fluid. This new type of magnetically responsive biocomposite materials can be easily separated by means of commercially available magnetic separators or strong permanent magnets. Magnetic coffee grounds can be used as an inexpensive magnetic adsorbent for the removal of water-soluble dyes. Seven dyes (crystal violet, malachite green, amido black 10B, Congo red, Bismarck brown Y, acridine orange and safranin O) were used to study the adsorption process. The dyes adsorption could be described with the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacities reached the value 73.4 mg of dye per g of dried magnetically modified coffee grounds for acridine orange; it corresponds to 276.6 μmol g⁻¹. This adsorbent can also be used for magnetic solid-phase extraction of crystal violet from extremely diluted solutions. To conclude, magnetic modification of spent coffee grounds resulted in the formation of a new, promising adsorbent for selected xenobiotics removal.     

Polar compounds dominate in vitro effects of sediment extracts

Sediment extracts from three polluted sites of the river Elbe basin were fractionated using a novel online fractionation procedure. Resulting fractions were screened for mutagenic, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated, transthyretin (TTR)-binding, and estrogenic activities and their potency to inhibit gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) to compare toxicity patterns and identify priority fractions. Additionally, more than 200 compounds and compound classes were identified using GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, and HPLC-DAD methods. For all investigated end points, major activities were found in polar fractions, which are defined here as fractions containing dominantly compounds with at least one polar functional group. Nonpolar PAH fractions contributed to mutagenic and AhR-mediated activities while inhibition of GJIC and estrogenic and TTR-binding activities were exclusively observed in the polar fractions. Known mutagens in polar fractions included nitro- and dinitro-PAHs, azaarenes, and keto-PAHs, while parent and monomethylated PAHs such as benzo[a]pyrene and benzofluoranthenes were identified in nonpolar fractions. Additionally, for one sample, high AhR-mediated activities were determined in one fraction characterized by PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and PCNs. Estrone, 17β-estradiol, 9H-benz[de]anthracen-7-one, and 4-nonylphenol were identified as possible estrogenic and TTR-binding compounds. Thus, not only nonpolar compounds such as PAHs, PCBs, and PCDD/Fs but also the less characterized and investigated more polar substances should be considered as potent mutagenic, estrogenic, AhR-inducing, TTR-binding, and GJIC-inhibiting components for future studies.     

HRV scaling exponent identifies postinfarction patients who might benefit from prophylactic treatment with amiodarone

Analysing the Holter recordings collected at baseline during the European Myocardial Infarction Amiodarone Trial (EMIAT), we evaluate the possibility of using alpha, the slope of the power spectrum of heart rate variability signals (HRV) in the vicinity of f = 0, for postinfarction risk stratification. We found no relevant difference in the values of alpha for the placebo population. On the contrary, in the amiodarone arm, the distinction in the survival rates of those with high or low alpha-values was highly significant. Moreover, high risk patients with respect to alpha (higher values) did not seem to benefit from amiodarone. The results suggest that alpha might convey physiologic information that is different than what is expressed by other HRV characteristics, such as the triangular index. When combining high risk patients in term of triangular index (<20) and low risk patients with respect to alpha (相似文献   

Studies on the Authenticity of Local Wines by Spectroscopic and Chemometric Analysis

The authenticity of 91 wines produced in Cyprus from both indigenous and other vine varieties were investigated by a holistic approach, using, advanced technology such as SNIF-NMR （site-specific natural isotopic fractionation-nuclear magnetic resonance） and 1R-MS （isotope ratio-mass spectrometry） for the determination of the stable isotopes and ICP （inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy） for some heavy metals. The spectroscopic characteristics were evaluated statistically using different chemometric methods. The dependency of the D/H （deuterium/hydrogen） ratio of the methylene site in the ethanol molecule （D/H）ll and also theδ ^18O values of the wine water, were the most useful discriminators. Isotopic results allow us to have a complete idea about the regional variability of the isotopes. Among the metals, Ni followed by Pb was the ones with the highest discrimination value. The determined concentrations of Pb, Ni, Cr and Cd that are related to the safety of wines were within the acceptable limits that have been established by the OIV （international organization of vine and wine） or comparable with the results of the wines of other European countries. The study of the correlation between the load of heavy metals and isotopes in wines showed a dependence on the grape variety but not the geographical location of the vineyard. This is probably due to the close proximity of wine regions in Cyprus.     

Pellet starters in layering technique using concentrated drug solution

Characteristics of inert starters in drug solution layering are important for successful active pellet formation. Four types of starters composed of sucrose or microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) or lactose and MCC were compared in our study. The active pellets were prepared using Wurster type apparatus. Yield and pellet quality parameters were determined. The highest yield (85.66-89.41%) was obtained for cores composed of MCC due to their insolubility in water (the drug solvent) and good mechanical properties. On the contrary, soluble and brittle sucrose cores dissolved partially during the process forming undesirable agglomerates and giving lower yield (76.2%). All pellet samples showed good flow properties and drug content from 82.4 to 94.5% of the theoretical drug amount.     

Tissue-Engineering the Fibrous Pancreatic Tumour Stroma Capsule in 3D Tumouroids to Demonstrate Paclitaxel Response

Pancreatic cancer is a unique cancer in that up to 90% of its tumour mass is composed of a hypovascular and fibrotic stroma. This makes it extremely difficult for chemotherapies to be delivered into the core of the cancer mass. We tissue-engineered a biomimetic 3D pancreatic cancer (“tumouroid”) model comprised of a central artificial cancer mass (ACM), containing MIA Paca-2 cells, surrounded by a fibrotic stromal compartment. This stromal compartment had a higher concentration of collagen type I, fibronectin, laminin, and hyaluronic acid (HA) than the ACM. The incorporation of HA was validated with alcian blue staining. Response to paclitaxel was determined in 2D MIA Paca-2 cell cultures, the ACMs alone, and in simple and complex tumouroids, in order to demonstrate drug sensitivity within pancreatic tumouroids of increasing complexity. The results showed that MIA Paca-2 cells grew into the complex stroma and invaded as cell clusters with a maximum distance of 363.7 µm by day 21. In terms of drug response, the IC₅₀ for paclitaxel for MIA Paca-2 cells increased from 0.819 nM in 2D to 3.02 nM in ACMs and to 5.87 nM and 3.803 nM in simple and complex tumouroids respectively, indicating that drug penetration may be significantly reduced in the latter. The results demonstrate the need for biomimetic models during initial drug testing and evaluation.     

Anticonvulsant Effects of Topiramate and Lacosamide on Pilocarpine-Induced Status Epilepticus in Rats: A Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and Inflammation

Background: Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological disorder characterized by a prolonged epileptic activity followed by subsequent epileptogenic processes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the early effects of topiramate (TPM) and lacosamide (LCM) treatment on oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in a model of pilocarpine-induced SE. Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups and the two antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), TPM (40 and 80 mg/kg, i.p.) and LCM (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.p.), were injected three times repeatedly after pilocarpine administration. Rats were sacrificed 24 h post-SE and several parameters of oxidative stress and inflammatory response have been explored in the hippocampus. Results: The two drugs TPM and LCM, in both doses used, succeeded in attenuating the number of motor seizures compared to the SE-veh group 30 min after administration. Pilocarpine-induced SE decreased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels while increasing the catalase (CAT) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), and IL-1β levels compared to the control group. Groups with SE did not affect the TNF-α levels. The treatment with a higher dose of 30 mg/kg LCM restored to control level the SOD activity in the SE group. The two AEDs, in both doses applied, also normalized the CAT activity and MDA levels to control values. In conclusion, we suggest that the antioxidant effect of TPM and LCM might contribute to their anticonvulsant effect against pilocarpine-induced SE, whereas their weak anti-inflammatory effect in the hippocampus is a consequence of reduced SE severity.     

Upgrading Vienna's wastewater treatment plant - linking point source emissions to Environmental Quality Standards

The new water quality protection approach of the EU combines the control of emissions with instream Environmental Quality Standards (=EQS). Since 1 April 2006 and actually relevant in the version of 2010 in Austria, priority substances from list A of the EUROPEAN DIERECTIVE 76/464 and further EQS of relevant chemical substances (list B), identified by a national risk assessment, have to be reached to achieve a good ecological state in the surface water (Edict for Water Quality Standards, 2006; changes to the Edict for Water Quality Standards 2010). The practical assessment of these substances after point source emissions is prescribed in the Edict, but rarely carried out. In this paper, two substances, namely: (1) ammonium (list B); and (2) nonylphenol, an endocrine disrupting compound (list A) are presented to discuss: (i) the improvement of treatment efficiency due to the upgrade of a large Waste Water Treatment Plant (=WWTP); (ii) the relevance of mixing processes and modelling as a method to control EQS after point source emissions; and (iii) the improvement of water quality in the ambient surface waters. It is shown that the improved treatment in the case of nonylphenol leads to emission values which fall below the EQS, making an assessment unnecessary. In the case of ammonium emission, values are significantly reduced and violation of EQS is avoided, while mixing modelling is shown to be a suitable instrument to address the resulting instream concentrations at different border conditions.