复合二氧化钛膜的研制

用溶胶 -凝胶法在多孔α -Al2 O3陶瓷衬底上制备了TiO2 微孔膜 ,经激光光散射仪、X -射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜、孔率计等对胶粒的大小、膜的结构、形貌和孔径分布等进行了表征 ,发现在孔直径为 0 .5μm的多孔载体上经浸渍 -干燥 -焙烧过程 ,能制得对牛血清白蛋白 (BSA)有 73.5%～ 92 .7%截留率、通量在 0 .2MPa压差下约 52L/(m2 ·h)的超滤膜 .     

牛血清蛋白在亲水硅片表面吸附的原子力显微成像

本文用原子力显微术（AFM）研究了牛血清白蛋白（BSA）在亲水硅片表面的吸附，硅片表面经亲水处理后，将牛血清蛋白（BSA）吸附在表面，采用轻敲模式，可获得清晰的AFM图像，牛血清蛋白（BSA）的AFM图像表明：BSA在亲水硅片表面是单分子，水平吸附在硅片表面，且吸颗粒状；1mg/ml的BSA在吸附30min后为饱和吸附。BSA到达硅表面后，蛋白中可移动的带正电荷的基团可以趋向亲水表面，使BSA与硅表面的静电相互作用由斥力变为吸引力，BSA可以稳定地吸附在亲水硅片表面。     

锌酞菁的微波合成及牛白蛋白测定研究

以邻苯二腈、硫酸锌为原料,采用微波固相法合成了锌酞菁。将锌酞菁磺化所得的磺酸基锌酞菁溶液与牛白蛋白作用将导致共振瑞利散射显著增强。在470nm处存在一共振散射强峰,牛白蛋白在0.25～20μg/mL的浓度范围内与散射强度（ΔI）呈线性关系,磺酸基锌酞菁溶液对牛白蛋白的检测限为0.17μg/mL,并且方法有较好的选择性。由此建立一种用共振散射光谱测定牛白蛋白的简便、快速的新方法。     

In Vitro Reactivity of the Glucose Degradation Product 3,4-Dideoxyglucosone-3-ene (3,4-DGE) towards Abundant Components of the Human Blood Circulatory System

3,4-Dideoxyglucosone-3-ene (3,4-DGE) is a glucose degradation product present in processed foods and medicinal products. Additionally, its constant formation from 3-deoxyglucosone in plasma has been suggested. Due to its α,β-unsaturated dicarbonyl moiety, 3,4-DGE is highly reactive and has shown harmful effects in vitro. Here, we investigated the impact of major components of the human blood circulatory system on 3,4-DGE in vitro. Under physiological conditions, plasma concentrations of human serum albumin (HSA) reacted efficiently with 3,4-DGE, resulting in only 8.5% of the initial 3,4-DGE concentration after seven hours (vs. 83.4% without HSA, p < 0.001). Thereby, accessible thiol groups were reduced from 0.121 to 0.064 mol/mol HSA, whereas ketoprofen binding and esterase-like activity of HSA were not affected. Plasma concentrations of glutathione (GSH) reacted immediately and completely with 3,4-DGE, leading to two stereoisomeric adducts. Plasma concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG) bound to 3,4-DGE to a lower extent, resulting in 62.6% 3,4-DGE after seven hours (vs. 82.2% in the control, p < 0.01). Immobilized human collagen type IV did not alter 3,4-DGE concentrations. The results indicated that particularly HSA, GSH, and IgG readily scavenge 3,4-DGE after its appearance in the blood stream, which may be associated with a reduced antioxidative and cytoprotective activity for the living cells and, thus, the human organism by blocking free thiol groups.     

Albumin Binds Doxorubicin via Self–Assembling Dyes as Specific Polymolecular Ligands

Congo red (CR) type self–assembled ribbon–like structures (SRLS) were previously shown to interact with some proteins, including albumin. SRLS also complex with some drugs with a flat, ring–shaped structure with aromatic characteristics, intercalating them into their ribbon structure. The combination of interaction with proteins and drug binding by SRLS enables the use of such systems for immunotargeting. It is especially interesting in the case of chemotherapeutic agents. The present experiments aimed to show that the model carrier system composed of supramolecular albumin and Congo red efficiently binds doxorubicin (Dox) and that the drug can be released at reduced pH. The presented results come from the studies on such complexes differing in the molar ratio of CR to Dox. The following methods were used for the analysis: electrophoresis, dialysis, gel filtration, spectral analysis, and analysis of the size of the hydrodynamic radius using the dynamic light scattering method (DLS). The applied methods confirmed the formation of the CR–Dox complex, with large dimensions and changed properties compared with free CR. The presented results show that albumin binds both CR and its complex with Dox. Various CR–Dox molar ratios, 5:1, 2:1, and 1:1, were analyzed. The confirmation of the possibility of releasing the drug from the carriers thus formed was also obtained. The presented research is important due to the search for optimal solutions for the use of SRLS in drug immunotargeting, with particular emphasis on chemotherapeutic agents.     

Electroseparation of an antibacterial peptide fraction from snow crab by-products hydrolysate by electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membranes

Recently, a snow crab by-products hydrolysate has demonstrated antibacterial properties due to a peptide with a molecular weight of about 800 Da, but only at high concentration. Consequently, peptide hydrolysate has been fractionated to obtain peptides in a more purified form. The aim of this work was to separate a snow crab by-products hydrolysate by electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membranes (EDUF). EDUF, which allows separation of molecules according to their charges and molecular weights, was used to recover and concentrate the active antibacterial fraction. Two different ultrafiltration membranes (20 and 50 kDa) and two electrical field strengths (2 and 14 V/cm) were used as separation parameters. After EDUF separation, the 300-600 Da peptide molecular weight range was the most recovered with an abundance of 94%. Moreover, fractionation at 14 V/cm with ultrafiltration membranes of 50 kDa allowed the recovery of an anionic fraction which showed antibacterial properties on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Listeria innocua HPB 13.     

Proteomics in the Diagnosis of Endometriosis: Opportunities and Challenges

The non‐surgical diagnosis of endometriosis is still challenging for the clinician. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging can be used to diagnose ovarian endometriotic cysts and deep infiltrating endometriosis; but their performance is poor in the diagnosis of initial stages of endometriosis. CA‐125 and other serum markers (such as CA 19‐9, serum protein PP14, interleukins, and angiogenetic factors) have been measured in women with endometriosis but they are not reliable for the diagnosis of the disease. Although several studies used proteomics technologies to identify plasmatic markers of endometriosis, the non‐invasive diagnosis of endometriosis is far from being achieved. In this issue, Manousopoulou et al. compare the integrated quantitative proteomic profile of eutopic endometrium and serum of women with endometriosis and controls. 1214 proteins are differentially expressed in the eutopic endometrium and 404 proteins in the serum of the two study groups. 21 proteins are aberrantly expressed in both eutopic endometrium and serum of women with endometriosis. More work is needed to assess if the differentially expressed proteins identified in this study can be used as clinical markers of endometriosis.     

Co-products of beef processing enhance non-haem iron absorption in an in vitro digestion/caco-2 cell model

Beef processing produces high volumes of protein rich, low value, ‘waste’ co-products such as offal. Beef improves uptake of low bioavailable non-haem iron (found in vegetables, fortificants, supplements) and this effect is dubbed the ‘meat-factor’, although the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we investigate whether bovine co-products (kidney, lung, heart) not previously studied share this enhancing potential. This was determined by coupled in vitro digestion of co-products and subsequent caco-2 cell ferritin formation (an intracellular iron storage protein). In this study we show that bovine co-products significantly increase caco-2 cells’ response to non-haem iron from infant rice cereal. The presence of these co-products, (kidney, lung and heart), increased relative uptake (by 207.13%, 171.21%, 265.28%, respectively), to a greater extent than beef (30.23%). Our findings present a novel function for co-products of beef processing that may have potential as food ingredients to improve non-haem iron bioavailability, thus adding value.     

Blood parameters of young calves at abattoirs are related to distance transported and farm of origin

Nonreplacement dairy calves, or bobby calves, are fasted and transported to abattoirs from as young as 5 d of age in Australia. The aims of this cross-sectional observational study were (1) to assess the welfare status, as measured by blood parameters, of bobby calves in the commercial supply chain after transport and lairage, and (2) to assess whether distance and duration of transport are risk factors for poor bobby calf welfare, as measured by blood parameters. We hypothesized that bobby calves transported greater distances would be more likely to show evidence of compromised welfare, as measured by blood indicators of hydration, energy status, and muscle fatigue or damage. We also hypothesized that there would be a large amount of variability in indicators of energy status between calves from different farms. We analyzed blood samples collected at slaughter over a spring and an autumn calving period from 4,484 Australian bobby calves aged approximately 5 to 14 d old from 3 different states, after transport, fasting, and lairage. Packed cell volume (PCV), plasma glucose, and serum urea, total protein, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and creatine kinase (CK) were measured. Radio frequency identification ear tag data were used to estimate the distance that the calves were transported and to identify the farm of origin. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models, except for BHB, which was analyzed using a Goodman-Kruskal gamma test due to left censoring of the data. Twelve percent of calves showed evidence of anemia (PCV less than 0.23 L/L), and 11% had urea concentrations consistent with dehydration (urea more than 7.7 mmol/L). Thirty-six percent of calves had CK activity above normal resting values, and 1% of calves had CK >2,000 U/L, indicating muscle fatigue or damage. Distance transported had significant effects on all blood variables except urea and BHB. With increasing distance transported, calves were more likely to show evidence of a negative energy balance (low plasma glucose) or dehydration (high PCV or total protein). The estimated effect of distance overall was small, but for calves transported more than 500 km, plasma glucose concentration declined more per kilometer. The calves' farm of origin accounted for a reasonable amount of the random variation between calves for plasma glucose (20%). Our results suggest that longer transport distances may increase the risk of poor calf welfare (dehydration, negative energy balance) after transport, and on-farm calf management (e.g., nutrition, timing of feeding before transport) may affect transported calves' energy status; improving this area could result in better energy availability during fasting.