Design and control of integrated chromatography column sequences

To increase the productivity in biopharmaceutical production, a natural step is to introduce integrated continuous biomanufacturing which leads to fewer buffer and storage tanks, smaller sizes of integrated unit operations, and full automation of the operation. The main contribution of this work is to illustrate a methodology for design and control of a downstream process based on integrated column sequences. For small scale production, for example, pre‐clinical studies, integrated column sequences can be implemented on a single chromatography system. This makes for a very efficient drug development platform. The proposed methodology is composed of four steps and is governed by a set of tools, that is presented, that makes the transition from batch separations to a complete integrated separation sequence as easy as possible. This methodology, its associated tools and the physical implementation is presented and illustrated on a case study where the target protein is separated from impurities through an integrated four column sequence. This article shows that the design and control of an integrated column sequence was successfully implemented for a tertiary protein separation problem. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:923–930, 2017     

Development of a 3‐step straight‐through purification strategy combining membrane adsorbers and resins

The pressures to efficiently produce complex biopharmaceuticals at reduced costs are driving the development of novel techniques, such as in downstream processing with straight‐through processing (STP). This method involves directly and sequentially purifying a particular target with minimal holding steps. This work developed and compared six different 3‐step STP strategies, combining membrane adsorbers, monoliths, and resins, to purify a large, complex, and labile glycoprotein from Chinese hamster ovary cell culture supernatant. The best performing pathway was cation exchange chromatography to hydrophobic interaction chromatography to affinity chromatography with an overall product recovery of up to 88% across the process and significant clearance of DNA and protein impurities. This work establishes a platform and considerations for the development of STP of biopharmaceutical products and highlights its suitability for integration with single‐use technologies and continuous production methods. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:931–940, 2017     

强直性脊柱炎患者血清MMP-3和IL-15水平的表达及临床意义

目的:研究强直性脊柱炎(AS)患者血清基质金属蛋白酶-3(MMP-3)和白细胞介素-15(IL-15)水平的表达及临床意义。方法:选取从2015年1月至2016年9月在我院就诊的AS患者50例。根据Bath强直性脊柱炎疾病活动性指数(BASDAI)将患者分为A组(指数≥6)28例,B组(指数6)22例。此外,按照Bath强直性脊柱炎功能指数(BASFI)将患者分为Ⅰ组(指数≥6)29例,Ⅱ组(指数6)21例。另取同期健康体检者30例记为对照组。分别对比A、B组以及Ⅰ、Ⅱ组与对照组的血清MMP-3和IL-15水平,并作相关性分析。结果:A组MMP-3、IL-15水平均显著高于B组及对照组,而B组又显著高于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。Ⅰ组MMP-3、IL-15水平均显著高于Ⅱ组与对照组,而Ⅱ组又显著高于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。经相关性分析可得,AS患者BASDAI、BASFI与MMP-3、IL-15均呈显著正相关(P0.05)。结论:血清MMP-3和IL-15在AS患者中高表达,且在疾病的发生发展中具有重要作用,可作为临床判断AS患者病情严重程度的血清学指标。     

土壤可蚀性研究述评

土壤可蚀性是土壤对侵蚀营力分散和搬运作用的抵抗能力,是建立土壤流失方程和侵蚀模型的必要参数.土壤可蚀性研究是认识土壤侵蚀机理的一个重要环节.本研究基于土壤可蚀性已有成果,总结评述了土壤可蚀性的相关研究进展.其中,土壤可蚀性的相关指标有土壤抗冲抗蚀性、K因子等;土壤可蚀性包括水蚀可蚀性、风蚀可蚀性、重力可蚀性和冻融可蚀性等不同类型;其评价指标体系可以分为基于土壤内在性质和外在侵蚀营力的两类评价指标体系;土壤理化性质测定法、仪器测定法、小区测定法、数学模型和图解法、水动力学模型求解法是目前常用的5种土壤可蚀性测定和估算方法;土壤可蚀性具有明显的时空分异特征,其影响因素主要包括土壤性质、气候、植被、地形和土地利用等不同方面.在土壤可蚀性的进一步研究中,应注重土壤可蚀性概念的界定、评价指标体系的规范统一、土壤可蚀性估算模型的区域适用性、土壤可蚀性动态变化作用机理等方面.     

High occurrence of jellyfish predation by black‐browed and Campbell albatross identified by DNA metabarcoding

Gelatinous zooplankton are a large component of the animal biomass in all marine environments, but are considered to be uncommon in the diet of most marine top predators. However, the diets of key predator groups like seabirds have conventionally been assessed from stomach content analyses, which cannot detect most gelatinous prey. As marine top predators are used to identify changes in the overall species composition of marine ecosystems, such biases in dietary assessment may impact our detection of important ecosystem regime shifts. We investigated albatross diet using DNA metabarcoding of scats to assess the prevalence of gelatinous zooplankton consumption by two albatross species, one of which is used as an indicator species for ecosystem monitoring. Black‐browed and Campbell albatross scats were collected from eight breeding colonies covering the circumpolar range of these birds over two consecutive breeding seasons. Fish was the main dietary item at most sites; however, cnidarian DNA, primarily from scyphozoan jellyfish, was present in 42% of samples overall and up to 80% of samples at some sites. Jellyfish was detected during all breeding stages and consumed by adults and chicks. Trawl fishery catches of jellyfish near the Falkland Islands indicate a similar frequency of jellyfish occurrence in albatross diets in years of high and low jellyfish availability, suggesting jellyfish consumption may be selective rather than opportunistic. Warmer oceans and overfishing of finfish are predicted to favour jellyfish population increases, and we demonstrate here that dietary DNA metabarcoding enables measurements of the contribution of gelatinous zooplankton to the diet of marine predators.     

城市生态资产评估方法与应用——以广州市增城区为例

生态资产评估有助于人们以货币度量的方式衡量生态资源的价值,同时也为绿色GDP核算以及生态补偿机制提供科学依据。基于生态资产内涵,构建了包含自然资源价值和生态服务价值在内的生态资产价值评估指标体系,通过获取生态参数,对各项生态资产指标进行全面核算和时空动态分析,最后针对区域经济社会发展和生态资产状况提出了相应的生态资产管理对策与建议。研究结果表明,2003、2008和2013年增城区的生态资产价值分别为286.4、287.9和330.6亿元,其中,自然资源价值占总价值平均比例为62%,生态服务价值占总价值平均比例为38%。10年间,增城区各类自然资源价值均增加,尤其是农用地和草地资源价值增加幅度最大;各项生态服务价值均减小,其中土壤保育价值减小最为明显。基于核算结果,为增城区提出了包含自然资源管理、生态服务监管、生态资产保育和实施生态补偿4个方面的具体生态资产管理对策。     

Forest plant community changes in the Spačva lowland area (E Croatia)

The forests in the Spa?va Basin are a complex of lowland forests in the region of Slavonia (eastern Croatia). The present state of the forests is strongly influenced by intensive exploitation and hydro-ameliorative activities carried out in the past. The aim of this study was to consider the extent of changes in species composition, and the extent of environmental changes in forest communities of the Spa?va Basin in relation to research conducted between 1969 and 1971. The species composition of four communities (Carpino betuli-Quercetum roboris, Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris aceretosum tatarici, and caricetosum remotae, and Leucojo-Fraxinetum angustifoliae) is studied by comparing 41 old and 57 new relevés. Changes were estimated using ordinations (RDA, CCA, DCA) and changes in species frequency and cover. A general trend of moisture reduction was noticeable among all communities. All vegetation types are becoming floristically more similar. An increase in frequency and cover of flood intolerant woody species (such as Carpinus betulus, Cornus sanguinea, Tilia tomentosa, and Acer tataricum) as well as a decrease of vernal species related to wet habitats are particularly evident. The succession of all studied communities is resulting in loss of the mosaic community pattern characteristic of lowland alluvial forests.     

Geographical distribution of morphological abnormalities and wing color pattern modifications of the pale grass blue butterfly in northeastern Japan

The pale grass blue butterfly Zizeeria maha has been used as an environmental indicator to evaluate the biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident. A high morphological abnormality rate (AR) of this butterfly was detected in 2011 from radioactively contaminated areas at 37–38°N. However, the geographical AR distribution has not been documented for the entirety of northeastern Japan. Additionally, the geographical distribution of the wing color pattern modification rate (MR) of temperature‐shock type remains undocumented. Here, we collected adult butterflies from many localities in northeastern Japan in 2014 and examined the local AR and MR. Both AR and MR were generally low throughout the 44 local populations surveyed. Latitudinal AR and MR distributions indicated a gap zone at approximately 39°N. The mean AR and the mean MR of the populations south of the gap zone were low (AR = 3.0%, MR = 1.1%), whereas those of the northern populations were relatively high (AR = 10.6%, MR =10.3%). Logistic regression analyses revealed that abnormalities and modifications were associated with temperature‐related variables. We conclude that abnormalities and modifications are generally rare, but that their rates are higher in the northern populations than in the southern ones. These results, along with evidence from other studies, strongly suggest that the high AR detected in 2011 from contaminated areas was induced by anthropogenic radioactive mutagens. This study presents a basic dataset of the current wildlife state of Z. maha in northeastern Japan, which facilitates a future use of this butterfly species as an environmental indicator.