Surfactant replacement therapy in acute respiratory distress syndrome from viral pneumonia

A modified natural surfactant was administered to a patient with life-threatening adult respiratory distress syndrome caused by viral pneumonia. Subsequently, there was a marked improvement in gas exchange. In order to assess the mechanism for improved oxygenation, computed tomography of the lungs was done. Quantitative analysis of the scans taken before and after surfactant administration indicates that improvement in gas exchange was largely due to the expansion of underinflated and collapsed lung areas. Although this is a single case report, it provides insight into the possible beneficial effect of instilled surfactant in severe respiratory distress from viral pneumonia.     

Entschwefelung von gerührtem und ungerührtem Roheisen mit kalkreicher Schlacke unter oxidierender Gasatmosphäre

Aus Betriebsergebnissen bei der Pfannenentschwefelung ist ein negativer Einfluß oxidierender Gasphasen bekannt. Daher war es das Ziel der eigenen Untersuchungen in einer geeigneten Apparatur die Wirkung oxidierender Bedingungen in der Gasphase sowohl auf den Verlauf des Schwefelabbaues in der Schlacke als auch des Schwefeltransportes aus dem Roheisen in die Schlacke zu untersuchen. Oxidierende Gasphasen erwirken bei der Pfannenentschwefelung an der Phasengrenze Schlacke/Gas eine Oxidation des Schwefels aus der Schlacke, ohne jedoch bei ruhender Schlackenschicht ein Oxidationspotential in der Schlacke aufzubauen, das bis zur Phasengrenze Roheisen/Schlacke durchgreift und dort die Entschwefelung des Roheisens durch die Siliciumgehalte stört. Sowohl die Entschwefelung des Roheisens als auch die Oxidation des Schwefels aus der Schlacke werden durch höhere Temperaturen und durch eine Rührwirkung gefördert. Der Schwefeltransport wird bei den ungerührten wie bei den gerührten Schmelzen durch Diffusionsvorgänge gesteuert und auch hier durch steigende Temperaturen und rührende Kräfte begünstigt.     

T cells of the human intestinal lamina propria are high producers of interleukin-10

BACKGROUND: The transmission of hepatitis A virus (HAV) has been associated with the use of a number of solvent/detergent-treated factor VIII concentrates and possibly a factor IX concentrate. These reports have emphasized the necessity of using virus-inactivation methods for plasma products that are capable of inactivating nonenveloped viruses such as HAV. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A simple, highly accurate titration procedure for HAV, which allows extensive kinetic investigations of virus-inactivation procedures, has been developed. This system has now been used to evaluate the efficacy of vapor heating in inactivating HAV after the addition of the virus to a range of human plasma products. RESULTS: It was demonstrated that HAV was significantly more thermostable than other picornaviruses, which reinforced the fact that such viruses cannot be used as model viruses for HAV-inactivation studies. A one-step vapor-heating procedure was demonstrated to inactivate between 5.9 and > 6.3 log10 of HAV in different products. A two-step vapor-heating procedure had the capacity to inactivate between > 8.7 and > 10.4 log10 of HAV. Both procedures were more effective in inactivating HAV than was the pasteurization procedure used for virus inactivation in human albumin solutions. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate the efficacy of vapor heating in inactivating high-titer HAV after the spiking of plasma products with virus. This study confirms and explains the results of controlled clinical trials and long-term clinical usage with respect to the lack of HAV transmission by such vapor-heated products.     

Darstellung komplexer Betriebsschlacken des LD-Verfahrens im Quasidreistoffsystem

Aus der Darstellung der Schlackenzusammensetzungen im Quasidreistoffsystem ist die Lage der Schlacken zur Kalksättigungslinie deutlich zu erkennen. Die Sublanzenschlacken lassen den Schlackenweg während der letzten Blasminuten erkennen, durch Bodenspülung und Nachspülen wird eine geringe Annäherung an die Kalksättigungslinie erreicht. Aus der Lage der Schlacken im Quasidreistoffsystem läßt sich der Einfluß der Temperatur auf den Verlauf der Kalksättigung entlang unterschiedlicher T-X-Schnitte bestimmen.     

Sondermetalle und ihre Anwendung im Chemieapparatebau

Refractory Metals and their Application in the Chemical Process Industry Special metals, such as titanium, zirconium and tantalum, are being used increasingly for chemical plant. The exceptional resistance of special metals to many corrosive chemicals - they show it even at high temperatures and pressures - arises not from natural immunity but from the formation of a protective oxide passive layer on the metal surface. Special metals are well suited for welding. Their reactions with gases of the atmosphere must be taken into account though. Welding is therefore possible only under inert gas or a high vacuum. Similarly, alloying with iron-based materials during welding must be avoided under all circumstances. It should be taken into consideration that the melting point of tantalum, for example, is about twice as high as that of steel. Tantalum and niobium are machined with high-speed cutting steels; the cutting speed and cutting angle are similar to those used for stainless steels. In detail, the outstanding properties of special metals in chemical plant are as follows:

• — the stability of titanium under oxidizing conditions
• — the stability of zirconium under reducing and alkaline conditions
• — the resistance of molybdenum to hydrofluoric acid and fluoride
• — the stability of tantalum under oxidizing and reducing conditions.

In pure mineral acids the passive behaviour generally improves in the order titanium - zirconium - tantalum. Except where molybdenum is concerned, the medium should not contain fluoride. The material with the widest range of applications is tantalum. The addition of niobium as an alloying element leads to favourably priced but similarly resistant materials whose prospects of becoming established in the chemical industry and playing a part similar in importance to that of tantalum itself are good.     

A Novel Vibrating Finger Viscometer for High-Temperature Measurements in Liquid Metals and Alloys

A novel vibrating finger viscometer for high-temperature measurement in liquid metals and alloys up to 1823 K was constructed. The dynamic viscosity (\(\eta \)) of the liquid fluid is measured as a product of \((\rho \cdot \eta )^{0.5}\) and the relative change of the field coil input for a constant amplitude recording at the resonant frequency of the oscillator. The viscometer was calibrated at 298 K using reference silicon oils with varying kinematic viscosities (\(\nu \)), \((0.79\hbox { to } 200)\times 10^{-6}\hbox { m}^{2}\cdot \hbox {s}^{-1}\). In the present study, the viscosity of liquid gold (\(99.99\,\%\) Au), silver (\(99.9\, \%\) Ag), and tin (\(99.9\,\%\) Sn) was measured. The viscosities expressed as an Arrhenius function of temperature are:

$$\begin{aligned} \hbox {for Au:}\quad \quad \hbox {ln }\eta= & {} -0.1990+\frac{2669}{T}\\ \hbox {for Ag:} \quad \quad \hbox {ln }\eta= & {} -0.4631+\frac{2089}{T}\\ \hbox {for Sn:} \quad \quad \hbox {ln }\eta= & {} -0.5472+\frac{671}{T} \end{aligned}$$

The viscosity values are consistent within the range of available literature data.

     

Expanding the Toolbox of R-Selective Amine Transaminases by Identification and Characterization of New Members

Amine transaminases (ATAs) are used to synthesize enantiomerically pure amines, which are building blocks for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. R-selective ATAs belong to the fold type IV PLP-dependent enzymes, and different sequence-, structure- and substrate scope-based features have been identified in the past decade. However, our knowledge is still restricted due to the limited number of characterized (R)-ATAs, with additional bias towards fungal origin. We aimed to expand the toolbox of (R)-ATAs and contribute to the understanding of this enzyme subfamily. We identified and characterized four new (R)-ATAs. The ATA from Exophiala sideris contains a motif characteristic for d -ATAs, which was previously believed to be a disqualifying factor for (R)-ATA activity. The crystal structure of the ATA from Shinella is the first from a Gram-negative bacterium. The ATAs from Pseudonocardia acaciae and Tetrasphaera japonica are the first characterized (R)-ATAs with a shortened/missing N-terminal helix. The active-site charges vary significantly between the new and known ATAs, correlating with their diverging substrate scope.     

Structure‐Based Mechanism of Oleate Hydratase from Elizabethkingia meningoseptica

Hydratases provide access to secondary and tertiary alcohols by regio‐ and/or stereospecifically adding water to carbon‐carbon double bonds. Thereby, hydroxy groups are introduced without the need for costly cofactor recycling, and that makes this approach highly interesting on an industrial scale. Here we present the first crystal structure of a recombinant oleate hydratase originating from Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in the presence of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). A structure‐based mutagenesis study targeting active site residues identified E122 and Y241 as crucial for the activation of a water molecule and for protonation of the double bond, respectively. Moreover, we also observed that two‐electron reduction of FAD results in a sevenfold increase in the substrate hydration rate. We propose the first reaction mechanism for this enzyme class that explains the requirement for the flavin cofactor and the involvement of conserved amino acid residues in this regio‐ and stereoselective hydration.