The Use of a Novel Ferulic Acid Esterase from Lactobacillus acidophilus K1 for the Release of Phenolic Acids from Brewer's Spent Grain

In this work, an extracellular ferulic acid esterase was produced in bioreactor cultivations of Lactobacillus acidophilus K1 strain. The enzyme was partially purified using ultrafiltration (10 kDa), dialysis (4–6 kDa) and Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (Sepharose CM, Sephacryl S‐300). A considerable increment of enzyme activity (31‐fold) in the final preparation was achieved. Two distinct bands (approx. 21.5 kDa and 39 kDa) were obtained after SDS‐PAGE. A high similarity of the purified enzyme (LC‐MS/MS analysis) to tannase and ferulic acid esterase from Burkholderia ambifaria MEX‐5 was obtained. The optimal pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 6.3 and 37°C, respectively. The enzyme preparation effectively released phenolic acids (mainly ferulic and p‐coumaric acid) from brewer's spent grain. This novel enzyme preparation can be used for the utilisation of a valuable and inexpensive by‐product of the brewing industry.     

Finishing works after welding of structures made of rust-resistant,high-alloy steels

In this paper, problems that occur when working with welds formed of high-alloy steels to restore their passive layers, damaged as a result of temperature impact, are discussed. Particular attention was paid to the procedures concerning aggressive etching agents during and after completion of the passivation processes (waste neutralization and utilization).     

Nutrient and polyphenolic composition of industrial strawberry press cake

The objective of the present work was to determine the nutrient and polyphenolic composition of dried strawberry press cake (SPC), as well as that of its seedless fraction, termed exhausted strawberry flesh (ESF). The study materials were obtained over three consecutive years from an industrial facility manufacturing concentrated fruit juices. On average, SPC consists of 40 % seeds, 3.5 % sand, and about 55 % ESF. In the dry matter of SPC and ESF, the mean content of fat is 9.8 and 3.5 %, protein 17.3 and 20.4 %, and total polyphenols 3,449 and 5,410 mg/100 g, respectively. Both materials are rich in total dietary fiber, whose content amounts to 60 %. The predominant polyphenols in SPC and ESF are flavanols and ellagitannins, which collectively constitute over 95 % of the determined total polyphenol content. In ESF composition, of note is the high content of the strawberry ellagitannin, agrimoniin, which is approximately 1,000 mg/100 g DW (dry weight). SPC has the disadvantage of being highly contaminated with sand (3.4 %), which accumulates in ESF (5.6 %). However, as compared to SPC, ESF contains approximately 20 % more proteins and almost three times less fat. Based on our results, it appears that SPC may be considered a potential raw material for seed recovery. Moreover, dried strawberry press cake, and especially its seedless fraction (ESF), despite substantial contamination with sand, may be used as rich and widely available raw material for the extraction of proanthocyanidins and/or ellagitannins, and especially dimeric agrimoniin.     

Self-centeredness and selflessness: A theory of self-based psychological functioning and its consequences for happiness.

The theoretical model presented in this paper emerged from several different disciplines. This model proposes that the attainment of happiness is linked to the self, and more particularly to the structure of the self. We support the idea that the perception of a structured self, which takes the form of a permanent, independent and solid entity leads to self-centered psychological functioning, and this seems to be a significant source of both affliction and fluctuating happiness. Contrary to this, a selfless psychological functioning emerges when perception of the self is flexible (i.e., a dynamic network of transitory relations), and this seems to be a source of authentic-durable happiness. In this paper, these two aspects of psychological functioning and their underlying processes will be presented. We will also explore the potential mechanisms that shape them. We will conclude with an examination of possible applications of our theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simultaneous handover scheme for IEEE 802.11 WLANs with IEEE 802.21 triggers

Handover performance in wireless networks is important, especially nowadays, when multimedia services are becoming increasingly available over the wireless devices. However, users expect uncompromised mobility when using the service. Thus, the support of multimedia services is not possible if handover is inefficient. At the same time it is clear that a strict separation between IP Layer and the Link Layer results in built-in sources of delay. The paper discusses the IEEE 802.11 and Mobile IPv4 handover performance in practical scenarios. We introduce a new simultaneous handover scheme with IEEE 802.21 triggers. In order to verify the handover performance, simulation experiments have been conducted, whose results are also presented and discussed.     

XPS studies of perovskites surface instability caused by Ar+ ion and electron bombardment and metal deposition

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study the influence of low energy Ar⁺ ion bombardment, electron bombardment and Pt deposition on the SrTiO₃ (STO) single crystal electronic structure. Atomic composition changes were found and attributed to chemical reconstruction of the STO surface. A clear correlation between the presence of conducting, low Ti oxidation states in valence band and core level changes was detected. A strong effect caused by electron irradiation was ascribed to the electroreduction process. The influence of lanthanum doping on surface instability of STO was also discussed. The La doped sample (STO: 3,75% La) was found to be modified upon Pt metal deposition to a higher degree than pure STO crystal.     

A system for rapid large-area monitoring of gamma dose rates in the environment based on MCP-N (LiF:Mg,Cu,P) TL detectors

One lesson learned from the Chernobyl accident was that the spatial distribution of far-field contamination was strongly non-uniform due to local variation of atmospheric conditions, such as wind direction, rain etc. An environmental monitoring system using highly sensitive thermoluminescent LiF:Mg,Cu,P (MCP-N) detectors has been completed and field-tested. The system consists of 3000 MCP-N detectors in 1000 TLD cards (three TLDs per card), two Mikrolab automatic TL readers, heating ovens, and specially developed software which includes a database for rapid evaluation of results. The main dosimetric parameters of MCP-N dosemeters, such as thermally-induced fading, light sensitivity, minimum detectable dose, self-dose, zero-dose, energy response up to 6-7 MeV, influence of annealing and readout conditions on detector stability, have been tested. About 100 locations over an area of about 15,000 km2 in the south of Poland were selected for measurements lasting from 4 days to 3 months. The kerma rates measured over a 4 day screening period agree well with kerma rates determined over a 75 day monitoring period. Results from short- and long-term exposure periods agree well with those performed using MTS-N (LiF:Mg,Ti) over southern Poland in 1985, before the Chernobyl accident. Thus, using the system based on MCP-N detectors, one is able simultaneously to monitor environmental radiation kerma rates at a large number of locations over periods of four days or less. Provided natural background kerma rates at selected monitoring points are available prior to the accident, the system can be applied to assess kerma rates rapidly in the environment, following a nuclear accident.     

Quantifier-free logic for nondeterministic theories

We develop a quantifier-free logic for deriving consequences of multialgebraic theories. Multialgebras are used as models for nondeterminism in the context of algebraic specifications. They are many sorted algebras with set-valued operations. Formulae are sequents over atoms allowing one to state set-inclusion or identity of 1-element sets (determinacy). We introduce a sound and weakly complete Rasiowa–Sikorski (R–S) logic for proving multialgebraic tautologies. We then extend this system for proving consequences of specifications based on translation of finite theories into logical formulae. Finally, we show how such a translation may be avoided—introduction of the specific cut rules leads to a sound and strongly complete Gentzen system for proving directly consequences of specifications. Besides giving examples of the general techniques of R–S and the specific cut rules, we improve the earlier logics for multialgebras by providing means to handle empty carriers (as well as empty result-sets) without the use of quantifiers, and to derive consequences of theories without translation into another format and without using general cut.     

Automatic diatom identification using contour analysis by morphological curvature scale spaces

A method for automatic identification of diatoms (single-celled algae with silica shells) based on extraction of features on the contour of the cells by multi-scale mathematical morphology is presented. After extracting the contour of the cell, it is smoothed adaptively, encoded using Freeman chain code, and converted into a curvature representation which is invariant under translation and scale change. A curvature scale space is built from these data, and the most important features are extracted from it by unsupervised cluster analysis. The resulting pattern vectors, which are also rotation-invariant, provide the input for automatic identification of diatoms by decision trees and k-nearest neighbor classifiers. The method is tested on two large sets of diatom images. The techniques used are applicable to other shapes besides diatoms. Andrei C. Jalba received his B.Sc. (1998) and M.Sc. (1999) in Applied Electronics and Information Engineering from “Politehnica” University of Bucharest, Romania. He recently obtained a Ph.D. degree at the Institute for Mathematics and Computing Science of the University of Groningen, where he now is a postdoctoral researcher. His research interests include computer vision, pattern recognition, image processing, and parallel computing. Michael Wilkinson obtained an M.Sc. in astronomy from the Kapteyn Laboratory, University of Groningen (RuG) in 1993, after which he worked on image analysis of intestinal bacteria at the Department of Medical Microbiology, RuG. This work formed the basis of his Ph.D. at the Institute of Mathematics and Computing Science (IWI), RuG, in 1995. He was appointed as researcher at the Centre for High Performance Computing (also RuG) working on simulating the intestinal microbial ecosystem on parallel computers. During that time he edited the book “Digital Image Analysis of Microbes” (John Wiley, UK, 1998) together with Frits Schut. After this he worked as a researcher at the IWI on image analysis of diatoms. He is currently assistant professor at the IWI. Jos B.T.M. Roerdink received his M.Sc. (1979) in theoretical physics from the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Following his Ph.D. (1983) from the University of Utrecht and a 2-year position (1983--1985) as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Diego, both in the area of stochastic processes, he joined the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science in Amsterdam. There he worked from 1986-1992 on image processing and tomographic reconstruction. He was appointed associate professor (1992) and full professor (2003), respectively, at the Institute for Mathematics and Computing Science of the University of Groningen, where he currently holds a chair in Scientific Visualization and Computer Graphics. His current research interests include biomedical visualization, neuroimaging and bioinformatics. Micha Bayer graduated from St. Andrews University, Scotland, with an M.Sc. in Marine Biology in 1994. He obtained his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from there in 1998, and then followed this up with two postdoctoral positions at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland, first on the ADIAC and then on the DIADIST project. In both of these projects he was responsible for establishing the collections of diatom training data to be used for the pattern recognition systems. From 2002–2003 he was enrolled for an M.Sc. in information technology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and is now working as a grid developer at the National e-Science Centre at Glasgow University. Stephen Juggins is a senior lecturer at the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle. His research focuses on the use of diatoms for monitoring environmental change and on the analysis of ecological and palaeoecological data. He has worked in Europe, North America and Central Asia on problems of river water quality, historical lake acidification, coastal eutrophication and Quaternary climate change.