Black liquor detoxification by laccase of Trametes versicolor pellets

Black liquors from a soda pulping mill were treated with the white‐rot fungus Trametes versicolor to detoxify and reduce colour, aromatic compounds and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The fungus was used in the form of pellets in aerated reactors (fluidized, stirred and air‐pulsed reactors). Reductions in colour and aromatic compounds of 70–80% and in COD of 60% were achieved. During the different experiments, laccase activity was detected but neither lignin peroxidase (LiP) nor manganese peroxidase activities were detected, although T versicolor is able to produce these enzymes. Experiments also showed a LiP activity inhibitory effect produced by lignin. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between laccase production and toxicity reduction. This correlation responds to the equation Laccase production = 1.57 LN (toxicity reduction) ?16.40. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Aberrant Expression of Long Non Coding RNA HOTAIR and De-Regulation of the Paralogous 13 HOX Genes Are Strongly Associated with Aggressive Behavior of Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) are rare diseases occurring in the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. They are characterized by the loss of epithelial tubular gland elements, and by the increased expression of neuroendocrine markers. GEP-NENs are subdivided into two histo-pathological types, gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (GEP-NECs). According to WHO 2017 and 2019 classification criteria are graded and staged in four categories, NET-G1, NET-G2, NET-G3, and NEC-G3. The molecular characterization of these tumors can be fundamental for the identification of new diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of the paralogous 13 HOX genes, normally involved in embryogenic development and frequently deregulated in human cancers, and of the HOX regulating lncRNA HOTAIR in GEP-NENs. The expression of HOX genes is gradually lost in the transition from GEP NET G1 to NET/NEC G3 tumors, while HOTAIR expression, inversely correlated with HOX genes expression and weakly expressed in low-grade GEP NENs, becomes aberrant in NET G3 and NEC G3 categories. Our data highlights their potential role in the molecular stratification of GEP-NENs by suggesting new prognostic markers and potential therapeutic targets.     

Analysis of digital images into energy-angular momentum modes

The measurement of continuous wave fields by a digital (pixellated) screen of sensors can be used to assess the quality of a beam by finding its formant modes. A generic continuous field F(x, y) sampled at an N × N Cartesian grid of point sensors on a plane yields a matrix of values F(q(x), q(y)), where (q(x), q(y)) are integer coordinates. When the approximate rotational symmetry of the input field is important, one may use the sampled Laguerre-Gauss functions, with radial and angular modes (n, m), to analyze them into their corresponding coefficients F(n, m) of energy and angular momentum (E-AM). The sampled E-AM modes span an N2-dimensional space, but are not orthogonal--except for parity. In this paper, we propose the properly orthonormal "Laguerre-Kravchuk" discrete functions Λ(n, m)(q(x), q(y)) as a convenient basis to analyze the sampled beams into their E-AM polar modes, and with them synthesize the input image exactly.     

Science, politics and image in Valencia: a review of urban discourse in the Spanish City

In the urban sphere, discourse is fundamental to the social and political construction of urban reality. The urban landscape is, in part, a result of those discourses. It is, as Richard Schein suggests, a discourse materialized. The production of these discourses throughout urban history both represented and constructed urban reality at any given time. For much of history, the written word was central to such discursive representations, literary formulations and even biological metaphors that sought to interpret the city both for local inhabitants and outsiders. Today, the photographic image has usurped the former dominance of the word. This article uses archival research to trace historical representations of Valencia, Spain, a European Mediterranean city with a strong medieval tradition. Beginning with a focus on the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century, when Valencia was economic ‘head’ of the Kingdom of Aragon, this paper will follow how the city developed in concert with evolving intellectual and political representations of it. In doing so, I highlight the important and enduring role of the organic metaphor as a device which framed intellectual and political discourse, and ultimately planning and governing strategies, into urbanism of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (as reflected in the writings of Patrick Geddes). Throughout Valencia’s history, urban discourse has availed itself of biological and medical metaphors, even metaphors drawn from the field of physics, in order to construct a generally agreed-upon image of the urban society at particular historical moment. Analysing the role of such metaphors in urban discourse is fundamental to any full understanding of development in the Mediterranean city, historical or contemporary.     

Synthesis and structural characterisation of solid solutions Crx Ti1-2x-yVx+yO2at atmospheric pressure

Abstract

Solid solutions Cr_x Ti_1-2x-y V_x+yO₂ (0<x<0·15; 0·08<y<0·10) with rutile structure have been synthesised by firing mixtures of Cr₂O₃ , V₂O₅ , and TiO₂ (anatase) in air at 800–1200°C and characterised by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. An excess of vanadium content over the chromium content was investigated to include V ₄₊ in the solid solutions. A decrease in the c lattice parameter with increase in the degree of substitution x and a constancy with temperature in the rutile unit cell parameters were observed in the 900–1200°C range. The thermal stability of these rutile solid solutions and the colouration of glazes containing 5 wt-% samples indicate their potential for use as ceramic pigments.     

Infrastructures and tools for multiagent systems for the new generation of distributed systems

In order for multiagent systems to be included in real domains (media and Internet, logistics, e-commerce, and health care), infrastructures and tools for multiagent systems should provide efficiency, scalability, security, management, monitoring, and other features related to building real applications. Thus, infrastructures and tools that support multiagent systems are needed, especially those that promote the adoption of agent-based systems by designers and programmers in both academia and industry. This special issue is a selection of contributions whose preliminary versions were presented at the ITMAS 2010 workshop, which was held in conjunction with the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-agent Systems.     

Partial identities as a foundation for trust and reputation

This paper explores the relationships between the hard security concepts of identity and privacy on the one hand, and the soft security concepts of trust and reputation on the other hand. We specifically focus on two vulnerabilities that current trust and reputation systems have: the change of identity and multiple identities problems. As a result, we provide a privacy preserving solution to these vulnerabilities which integrates the explored relationships among identity, privacy, trust and reputation. We also provide a prototype of our solution to these vulnerabilities and an application scenario.     

Dietary exposure and risk assessment of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins,polychlorinated dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls of the population in the Region of Valencia (Spain)

Dietary exposure of the Valencia Region population to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and PCBs was assessed in the Region of Valencia in 2010–2011. A total of 7700 food samples were collected. Occurrence data were combined with consumption data to estimate dietary exposure in adults (>15 years of age) and young people (6–15 years of age). The estimated intake was calculated by a probabilistic approach. Average intake levels (upper-bound scenario) were 1.58 and 2.76 pg toxic equivalent (TEQ) kg^?1 body weight (bw) day^?1 for adults and young people, respectively. These average intakes are within range of the tolerable daily intake of 1–4 pg WHO-TEQ kg^?1 bw day^?1 recommended by WHO, and slightly above the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 14 pg TEQ kg^?1 bw week^?1 and the Provisional tolerable monthly intake of 70 pg TEQ kg^?1 bw month^?1 set by the Scientific Committee on Food and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food, respectively. These results show that the contamination levels in food and therefore the exposure of the general population to PCDD/Fs and PCBs have declined in this region and therefore show the efficiency of the European risk-management measures. In terms of risk characterisation, the results showed that, under the upper-bound scenario, 22% of the adult and 58% of the young people population could exceed the TWI.     

Grain Filters

Motivated by operators simplifying the topographic map of a function, we study the theoretical properties of two kinds of grain filters. The first category, discovered by L. Vincent, defines grains as connected components of level sets and removes those of small area. This category is composed of two filters, the maxima filter and the minima filter. However, they do not commute. The second kind of filter, introduced by Masnou, works on shapes, which are based on connected components of level sets. This filter has the additional property that it acts in the same manner on upper and lower level sets, that is, it commutes with an inversion of contrast. We discuss the relations of Masnou's filter with other classes of connected operators introduced in the literature. We display some experiments to show the main properties of the filters discussed above and compare them.     

The structural plasticity of the C terminus of p21Cip1 is a determinant for target protein recognition

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory protein p21(Cip1) might play multiple roles in cell-cycle regulation through interaction of its C-terminal domain with a defined set of cellular proteins such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), calmodulin (CaM), and the oncoprotein SET. p21(Cip1) could be described as an intrinsically unstructured protein in solution although the C-terminal domain adopts a well-defined extended conformation when bound to PCNA. However, the molecular mechanism of the interaction with CaM and the oncoprotein SET is not well understood, partly because of the lack of structural information. In this work, a peptide derived from the C-terminal domain of p21(Cip1) that covers the binding domain of the three above-mentioned proteins was used to demonstrate that the C-terminal domain of p21 recognizes multiple ligands through its ability to adopt multiple conformations. The conformation is dictated by tertiary contacts rather than by the primary sequence of the protein. Our results suggest that the C-terminal domain of p21(Cip1) adopts an extended structure when bound to PCNA and probably when bound to the oncoprotein SET, but an alpha helix when bound to CaM.