Nisin expression production from Lactococcus lactis in milk whey medium

BACKGROUND: Nisin is a commercially available bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 and used as a natural agent in the biopreservation of food. In the current investigation, milk whey, a byproduct from dairy industries was used as a fermentation substrate for the production of nisin. Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 was developed in a rotary shaker (30 °C/36 h/100 rpm) using two different media with milk whey (i) without filtration, pH 6.8, adjusted with NaOH 2 mol L^?1 and without pH adjustment, both autoclaved at 121 °C for 30 min, and (ii) filtrated (1.20 µm and 0.22 µm membrane filter). These cultures were transferred five times using 5 mL aliquots of broth culture for every new volume of the respective media. RESULTS: The results showed that culture media composed of milk whey without filtration supplied L. lactis its adaptation needs better than filtrated milk whey. Nisin titers, in milk whey without filtration (pH adjusted), was 11120.13 mg L^?1 in the second transfer, and up to 1628‐fold higher than the filtrated milk whey, 6.83 mg.L^?1 obtained in the first^t transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Biological processing of milk byproducts (milk whey) can be considered a profitable alternative, generating high‐value bioproducts and contributing to decreasing river disposals by dairy industries. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fire performance of wood (Pinus radiata) treated with fire retardants and a wood preservative

In this work, we co‐formulated an oil‐borne copper naphthenate/permethrin wood preservative system with synthetic polymer‐based fire‐retardant additives prior to the impregnation of Pinus radiata sapwood. We evaluated what effect, if any, the preservative had upon the fire performance properties of the fire retardants and whether the fire retardants impacted on the fungicidal and termiticidal efficacy of the preservative. The fire retardants included halogenated and phosphorus‐based systems. A mass loss calorimeter, in conjunction with a thermopile, was used to measure the time to ignition and the peak heat release rate (PHRR) from which the fire performance index (FPI) was determined. The preservative properties were evaluated using termite and soil‐block decay bioassays. In summary, we found that the rate of fire growth was reduced when the fire retardants were used in combination with the wood preservative. We also found that the PHRR was a better determinant of fire performance than the FPI. The performance of the wood preservative was enhanced against fungal decay and termite attack when used in combination with the fire retardants. The fire retardants also demonstrated some wood preservative properties of their own. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling diffusion-controlled kinetics in equilibrium and driven alloys

Summary We introduce a very simple model for thermally activated atomic migration on a lattice, and several techniques to handle it. For thermodynamical systems, the model can be used for simulating decomposition paths taking into account relevant metallurgical features. Close to equilibrium, the simplest mean-field approximation of the model can be linearized with respect to the departure from equilibrium; one then gets a microscopic interpretation of classical phenomenological coefficients, such as mobility, interfacial transfer coefficient, rate constants for the coupled relaxation of concentration and order fields. Further away from the equilibrium, the nonlinearities can be taken into account in a consistent way. For driven alloys, i.e. alloys submitted to external forcing, forced atomic migration is added to the model and new features emerge: the model is supported by several experimental results some of which confirmed its predictions a posteriori.     

Design and Characterization of the CLIMPAQ,Chamber for Laboratory Investigations of Materials,Pollution and Air Quality*

A test chamber has been developed in order to provide a small and simple emission testing facility capable of testing construction products in a climate where the important climatic parameters such as temperature, ventilation rate and air velocity can be varied independently around typical indoor values. The test chamber CLIMPAQ is made of panes of window glass. Other main surface materials are stainless steel and eloxated aluminium. The chamber has a volume of 50.9 litres and is designed to meet the requirements for quantifying air pollution. In this investigation human subjects acted as air pollution judges, and chemical characterization of the air pollution was carried out. Carpet, linoleum, wall paint and seal- ant were tested simultaneously in the CLIMPAQ and in four other chambers ranging from a full-scale chamber of 28 m³ to a field and laboratory emission cell of 3.5· 10^?5m³. Product ranking is the same in all chambers for the sensory measurements. Emission rates based on sensory measurements differ for all products less than 100 % except for tests in a 3-litre chamber where emission rates were higher. Chemical measurements differ up to approximately 10 times for the same product in different chambers. Deviations appear to be the result of different environmental parameters in the various chambers. Low air concentrations or high specific ventilation rates seem to increase emissions, while differences in air velocities and sink properties may also be the cause of differences in emission rates.     

Biosorption of heavy metals by Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Effects of nutrient conditions

Studies took place to investigate the effects of different nutrient conditions on the biosorption ability and selectivity of heavy metals by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After having grown in media supplemented with additional glucose, ammonium, phosphate or cysteine, the yeast was exposed to an equimolar solution of lead, cadmium, zinc and copper. Lead removal from a mixed solution was significantly higher than that of copper, followed by zinc and cadmium. Generally, yeasts from cysteine-rich media showed greatest sorption capacity whereas phosphate addition influenced zinc selectivity. In addition, glucose, fructose and sucrose as carbon sources were examined. Cultures grown in glucose had a better uptake than those cultivated with fructose at an incubation time of 30 min.     

提高炮采工作面块煤率的爆破技术

通过小规模爆破试验，用线性回归方法对块煤进行筛分分析，指出影响炮采工作面块煤率的因素是炸药性能、装药结构、爆破参数、起爆顺序、时间间隔等。     

The determinants of heat-shock element-directed lacZ expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Heat-shock induction of heat-shock protein genes is due to a specific promoter element (the heat-shock element, HSE). This study used lacZ under HSE control (HSE-lacZ) to characterize HSE activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells of different physiological states and differing genetic backgrounds. In batch fermentations HSE-lacZ induction by heat shock was maximal in exponential growth, and showed marked decline with the approach to stationary phase. Expression in the absence of heat shock was unaffected by growth phase, indicating that the growth-dependent expression of many yeast heat-shock genes uses promoter elements in addition to the HSE. Heat-induced expression was strongly influenced by the temperature at which cultures were grown. While basal, uninduced expression was constant during growth at different temperatures to 30 degrees C, induction by transfer to 39 degrees C was reduced by increases in growth temperature as low as 18-24 degrees C. Maximal HSE-lacZ induction (30- to 50-fold) was in cultures grown at low temperatures (18-24 degrees C), then heat shocked at 39 degrees C. Ethanol was a poor inducer. Mutations having little effect on HSE-lacZ expression included a respiratory petite; ubi4 (which inactivates the poly-ubiquitin gene); also ubc4 and ubc5 (which each inactivate one of the ubiquitin ligases involved in degradation of aberrant protein). pep4-3 increased both basal and induced beta-galactosidase about two-fold, probably because of slower turnover of this enzyme in pep4-3 strains.     

The integral experiment on beryllium with D-T neutrons for verification of tritium breeding

A clean benchmark experiment on beryllium was performed with D-T neutrons at the FNS facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The main objective was to verify the integral data related to the tritium production on lithium isotopes. Tritium production rates, as well as activation reaction rates were measured inside the beryllium assembly that was shaped as a pseudo-cylindrical slab with an area-equivalent diameter of 628 mm and a thickness of 355 mm. Experimental results were analyzed with a three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport code MCNP-4C and FENDL/MC-2.0, JENDL-3.2/3.3 neutron transport libraries. Evaluation of reaction rates was based on the cross section data taken from the JENDL Dosimetry File and ENDF B-VI data libraries. Analysis shows that all calculation combinations (transport and activation cross section libraries) used for evaluation of reaction rates give data that is agreeable with measured values within 10%.     

肿瘤血管内皮生长因子受体PET示踪剂研究进展

摘要：本文对血管内皮细胞生长因子（VEGF）的结构、功能及生理作用，VEGFR的靶向抗肿瘤新生血管生成治疗，VEGF的PET示踪剂分类，采用18F标记的VEGFR酪氨酸激酶抑制剂类合成等几个方面做了简要叙述。     

Use of chemical variation and predation as plant defenses byEncelia farinosa against a specialist herbivore

Larvae of the monophagous herbivore,Trirhabda geminata, selectively eat particular plants and plant parts of its natural host,Encelia farinosa. Measurements of leaf damage and larval positions on branches through time support this observation. Time-lapse movie photography revealed that larvae are sufficiently mobile to search most of a plant in a 48-hr period and that aggregations were the result of larval activity and not directly the result of oviposition. Experiments withT. geminata larvae on artificial diets containing a range of natural concentrations of chemical extracts fromE. farinosa leaves showed that the larvae grew significantly slower and had a lower overall survivorship at the high concentration. Combining the results of all choice tests, larvae appeared unable to distinguish between high- and low-concentration agar diets. Considered individually, larval preferences for natural production concentrations changed as the season progressed. Early-season larvae preferred low-concentration leaves, while late-season larvae preferred high-concentrations. Measurements of chemical and nitrogen content of leaves selected by larvae in the field confirmed this pattern. Percent parasitism in field-collected larvae increased with season as the larval population decreased. This combination of slowed growth and increasing parasitism and predation is a putative defense strategy ofEncelia farinosa to prevent adaptation by a specialist herbivore to the total range of compounds elaborated.