Fermentation of table cream by Lactobacillus plantarum strains: effect on fungal growth,aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxin A

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM₁) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are two main mycotoxins in milk and dairy products. In the present work, the ability of four Lactobacillus strains (L. plantarum PTCC 1058, L. plantarum LP3, L. plantarum AF1 and L. plantarum LU5) to remove AFM1 and OTA in fermented cream was studied during 24 h fermentation. The antifungal activity of the mentioned lactobacilli against the defined fungi (Aspergillus flavus PTCC 5004, Aspergillus parasiticus PTCC 5018, Aspergillus nidulans PTCC 5014, Aspergillus ochraceus PTCC 5060) was also evaluated. The results showed that the cell counts of all strains were increased by 64–70% during fermentation. All Lactobacillus strains decreased the amount of AFM₁ significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in the range of 26–52%, which the highest AFM₁-reducing effect was related to L. plantarum LU5 (from 0.5 to 0.24 μg kg⁻¹). The mean OTA removal by Lactobacillus strains in fermented cream also ranged from 32 to 58%. Amongst Lactobacillus strains, the cell-free culture supernatants of L. plantarum LU5 showed the highest (inhibition zone of 26.7 ± 1.2 mm) and L. plantarum LP3 and L. plantarum PTCC 1058 the lowest antifungal activities. The fermented creams contained Lactobacillus strains exhibited the highest and lowest antifungal activities against A. ochraceus and A. parasiticus, respectively. L. plantarum LU5, with the inhibition zone of 27.6 ± 0.9 mm, was the most effective fungal inhibitor, while L. plantarum PTCC 1058 had the lowest antifungal activity.     

The analysis for morphological evolution and crystallography of degenerate pearlite in 100Mn13 steel

During approximate 773 K aging treatment of 100Mn13 steel, degenerate pearlite will occur and evolve into lamellar pearlite during growth process. The microstructures of degenerate pearlite and its evolutionary lamellar pearlite are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that after 748 K, 773 K and 798 K aging, degenerate pearlites occur at grain boundary. At growth front of degenerate pearlite forming at 773 K and 798 K, pearlite presents a morphology of short lamellae of carbide and ferrite, indicating a trend of developing into lamellar pearlite. The higher the temperature is, the more obvious the trend is, and even a conventional lamellar pearlite has developed. However, there is no morphological evolution for degenerate pearlite forming at 748 K aging. Besides, the constituents of degenerate pearlite is identified as M₂₃C₆ and ferrite, and Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship exists between them, (01 )_α//( 1 )_M23C6, [111]_α//[110]_M23C6. This orientation relationship maintains in morphological evolution from degenerate pearlite to lamellar pearlite.     

Acetaminophen-Induced Rat Hepatotoxicity Based on M1/M2-Macrophage Polarization,in Possible Relation to Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns and Autophagy

Overdose of acetaminophen (APAP), an antipyretic drug, is an important cause of liver injury. However, the mechanism in the rat model remains undetermined. We analyzed APAP-induced hepatotoxicity using rats based on M1/M2-macrophage functions in relation to damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and autophagy. Liver samples from six-week-old rats injected with APAP (1000 mg/kg BW, ip, once) after 15 h fasting were collected at hour 10, and on days 1, 2, 3, and 5. Liver lesions consisting of coagulation necrosis and inflammation were seen in the affected centrilobular area on days 1 and 2, and then, recovered with reparative fibrosis by day 5. Liver exudative enzymes increased transiently on day 1. CD68⁺ M1-macrophages increased significantly on days 1 and 2 with increased mRNAs of M1-related cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, whereas CD163⁺ M2-macrophages appeared later on days 2 and 3. Macrophages reacting to MHC class II and Iba1 showed M1-type polarization, and CD204⁺ macrophages tended to be polarized toward M2-type. At hour 10, interestingly, HMGB1 (representative DAMPs) and its related signals, TLR-9 and MyD88, as well as LC3B⁺ autophagosomes began to increase. Collectively, the pathogenesis of rat APAP hepatotoxicity, which is the first, detailed report for a rat model, might be influenced by macrophage functions of M1 type for tissue injury/inflammation and M2-type for anti-inflammatory/fibrosis; particularly, M1-type may function in relation to DAMPs and autophagy. Understanding the interplayed mechanisms would provide new insight into hepato-pathogenesis and contribute to the possible development of therapeutic strategies.     

Alterations of Gut Microbiota by Overnutrition Impact Gluconeogenic Gene Expression and Insulin Signaling

A high-fat, Western-style diet is an important predisposing factor for the onset of type 2 diabetes and obesity. It causes changes in gut microbial profile, reduction of microbial diversity, and the impairment of the intestinal barrier, leading to increased serum lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) levels. Elevated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces acetyltransferase P300 both in the nucleus and cytoplasm of liver hepatocytes through the activation of the IRE1-XBP1 pathway in the endoplasmic reticulum stress. In the nucleus, induced P300 acetylates CRTC2 to increase CRTC2 abundance and drives Foxo1 gene expression, resulting in increased expression of the rate-limiting gluconeogenic gene G6pc and Pck1 and abnormal liver glucose production. Furthermore, abnormal cytoplasm-appearing P300 acetylates IRS1 and IRS2 to disrupt insulin signaling, leading to the prevention of nuclear exclusion and degradation of FOXO1 proteins to further exacerbate the expression of G6pc and Pck1 genes and liver glucose production. Inhibition of P300 acetyltransferase activity by chemical inhibitors improved insulin signaling and alleviated hyperglycemia in obese mice. Thus, P300 acetyltransferase activity appears to be a therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.     

Decadal variability of wave power production in the North-East Atlantic and North Sea for the M4 machine

We look at the variability of the power produced by the three-float M4 wave energy converter for locations in the North-East Atlantic and North Sea using the NORA10 hindcast data from 1958−2011. The aim is to investigate whether the produced power is also strongly affected by the climate variability (such as the North Atlantic Oscillations) in the winter, just as the ocean wave power resource as observed in previous studies. In this study, we demonstrate the use of proxy indices in combination with the climate indices to reconstruct a historic practical wave power climate from 1665−2005. We also conduct sensitivity studies to assess the changes in the practical wave power variability in response to perturbing the machine size, the power take-off coefficient, the response bandwidth and the power limit of the power take off. We find that the resultant temporal variation is still dominated by the climate variability. However, the overall variability important for power availability and energy supply economics is smaller than that of the ocean wave power resource because of the finite capture bandwidth of the M4 machine. The statistical methodology presented here is also potentially relevant to other wave energy converters in similar locations.     

A combined M5P tree and hazard-based duration model for predicting urban freeway traffic accident durations

The duration of freeway traffic accidents duration is an important factor, which affects traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and secondary accidents. Among previous studies, the M5P algorithm has been shown to be an effective tool for predicting incident duration. M5P builds a tree-based model, like the traditional classification and regression tree (CART) method, but with multiple linear regression models as its leaves. The problem with M5P for accident duration prediction, however, is that whereas linear regression assumes that the conditional distribution of accident durations is normally distributed, the distribution for a “time-to-an-event” is almost certainly nonsymmetrical. A hazard-based duration model (HBDM) is a better choice for this kind of a “time-to-event” modeling scenario, and given this, HBDMs have been previously applied to analyze and predict traffic accidents duration. Previous research, however, has not yet applied HBDMs for accident duration prediction, in association with clustering or classification of the dataset to minimize data heterogeneity. The current paper proposes a novel approach for accident duration prediction, which improves on the original M5P tree algorithm through the construction of a M5P-HBDM model, in which the leaves of the M5P tree model are HBDMs instead of linear regression models. Such a model offers the advantage of minimizing data heterogeneity through dataset classification, and avoids the need for the incorrect assumption of normality for traffic accident durations. The proposed model was then tested on two freeway accident datasets. For each dataset, the first 500 records were used to train the following three models: (1) an M5P tree; (2) a HBDM; and (3) the proposed M5P-HBDM, and the remainder of data were used for testing. The results show that the proposed M5P-HBDM managed to identify more significant and meaningful variables than either M5P or HBDMs. Moreover, the M5P-HBDM had the lowest overall mean absolute percentage error (MAPE).     

Fuzzy multiple attribute decision-making method for a large 300-mm fab layout design

The trend in design of 300-mm wafer fabrication facilities is to seek means to bring about economies of scale. However, this may require trade-offs with various operational efficiencies. This research explores 10 alternative layout designs for a large 300-mm fabrication facility. These alternatives are the different combinations of independent and layer-based cellular design concepts, and are evaluated using a fuzzy multiple attribute decision-making method. A case study has been adopted for an empirical illustration. The results show that a megafab is not a preferred choice. The analysis concludes that a moderate-sized independent cell is a preferred design concept. The results provide fabrication facility management with guidelines for a future 300-mm layout design, which is the backbone of a cost-intensive 300-mm fabrication facility. Future research opportunities are also addressed.     

Applicability of Kocks–Mecking approach for tensile work hardening in P9 steel

Abstract

Work hardening behaviour of P9 steel in the temperature range 300–873 K has been examined in the framework of Kocks–Mecking (K–M) approach. At all temperatures, P9 steel exhibited two-stage work hardening behaviour characterised by a rapid decrease in instantaneous work hardening rate (i.e. θ?=?dσ/d?, where σ is the true stress and ? is the true plastic strain) with stress at low stresses (transient stage) followed by a gradual decrease at high stresses (stage III). Stage III work hardening of P9 steel was adequately described by K–M approach. The variations of work hardening parameters associated with K–M approach for stage III with temperature indicated three distinct temperature regimes. At all temperatures, good correlations between the respective work hardening parameters evaluated using K–M approach and from Voce equation and its derivative have been obtained for P9 steel.     

The life of a plant builder in the modern metals industry

Abstract

The 2007 SMEA Celebrity Lecture (Sheffield Metallurgical and Engineering Association) was given by Roy Tazzyman, the outgoing Managing Director of Siemens VAI–UK, on 4 July 2007 at the University of Sheffield, in conjunction with the Association's annual conference. Ken Ridal summarises the proceedings.     

Effect of Cu addition on microstructure and impact toughness in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy steels

The effects of Cu content on microstructure and impact toughness in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of high-strength low-alloy steels were investigated. It has been observed that the microstructure in the simulated CGHAZ of Cu-free steel is dominated by a small proportion of acicular ferrite and predominantly bainite with martensite–austenite constituent. Whereas, in the 0.45 and 1.01% Cu-containing steels, the acicular ferrite increased significantly due to the effective nucleation on intragranular inclusions with outer layer of MnS and CuS. The formation of acicular ferrite is attributed to superior high heat-affected zone impact toughness in the 0.45% Cu-containing steel. Furthermore, the increasing martensite–austenite constituent and ε-Cu precipitates in the simulated CGHAZ of 1.01% Cu-containing steel caused degradation in impact toughness.