Novel supplements enhance the ethanol production in cane molasses fermentation by recycling yeast cell

Summary Eight alcohol producing yeast strains were screened for their sedimentation rates and it was found thatS.cerevisiae NCIM 3526 was a better flocculant strain. This strain was employed in cane molasses fermentation with yeast recycle, supplemented with skim milk, chitin and fungal mycelium individually or in combination, at 30°C, using fermentable sugars 15%. On the completion of ten 16 h cycles, 20–30% more ethanol was produced in presence of these supplements and the efficiency of the process was improved from 66 to 87%.     

A study of the cyanogenetic content and toxicity of the fruit of selected species ofCotoneaster

Cyanogenetic glycosides were found to be present in the leaf, bark and fruit of eight species of Cotoneaster. A quantitative determination of cyanogenetic material was made on the leaf, bark and fruit of C. divaricate at three different periods in the growing season. The leaf was found to have the greatest percentage of cyanogenetic glycosides and the fruit the least. Seasonal variation was found to be greatest in the fruit where it was demonstrated that the cyanogenetic content decreased as the fruit aged. Toxicity of the fruit of C. divaricata was studied in the dog, cat and rat. On the basis of the cyanogenetic glycoside determinations and the toxicity studies it was concluded that classification of these eight species of Cotoneaster as poisonous was not warranted.     

Carcinogenicity and metabolic profiles of 3-methylcholanthrene oxygenated derivatives at the 1 and 2 positions

Trapping of 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) radical cation by nucleophilic compounds occurs specifically at the 1-carbon atom. With the purpose of providing more evidence for the hypothesis that the critical mechanism of activation of MC is one-electron oxidation, the carcinogenicity of MC was compared to that of 1-hydroxy-3-methylcholanthrene (MC-1-OH), 3-methylcholanthrene-1-one (MC-1-one), 2-hydroxy-3-methylcholanthrene (MC-2-OH), 3-methylcholanthrene-2-one (MC-2-one) and 3-methylcholanthrylene (MCL) by repeated application on mouse skin. Seven-week-old female Swiss mice in 6 groups of 30 were treated on the back with 0.2 mumol of compound in acetone twice weekly for 20 weeks. In addition, the metabolism of MC and its derivatives was studied using mouse skin homogenates. The compounds tested were classified according to carcinogenicity in 4 groups: MC and MC-2-OH, the strongest carcinogens; MC-2-one and MCL, weaker than MC and MC-2-OH; MC-1-OH, the weakest carcinogen; and MC-1-one, non-carcinogenic. These results support the hypothesis that one-electron oxidation for MC, MC-2-OH and MC-1-one might be the critical mechanism of carcinogenic activation, with C-1 the binding site to cellular nucleophiles. The carcinogenic effect of MC-1-OH is speculated to be the formation of an ester bearing a good leaving group, which might be the ultimate alkylating compound in the in vivo reaction. The lack of carcinogenic activity for MC-1-one may be attributed to absence of nucleophilic trapping at C-1 via the radical cation pathway as well as the inability of mouse skin to reduce MC-1-one to the carcinogenic MC-1-OH.     

Brugada-type Electrocardiographic Pattern Induced by Electrocution

Heart is one of the most frequently affected organs in electrocution. Electrical injury can cause life-threatening cardiac complications such as asystole, ventricular fibrillation, and myocardial rupture. In this case report, we describe a 22-yr-old male patient who sustained electric burn injury and presented with electrocardiogram showing transient Brugada type pattern.     

Recent ecological trends in lower trophic levels of the international section of the St. Lawrence River: a comparison of the 1970s to the 2000s

Changes from the 1970s to 2000s in phosphorus and chlorophyll levels, water transparency, zooplankton, and benthic communities in the upper, International Section of the St. Lawrence River were evaluated using trend data from limnological surveys. The influence of Lake Ontario as a source for riverine production was evident in the upper river. Total phosphorus levels from 1976 to 1978 (average ~20 μg/l) sampled during a period of nutrient pollution declined (to 6–7 μg/l) following abatement. As expected, water transparency indicated by summer Secchi depths showed an opposite response increasing from ~3.5 m in the 1970s to >10 m by 2003 but declined to 6–7 m in more recent years. Zooplankton communities have experienced declines in overall densities, and the community has changed but its primary components, Bosmina and Diacyclops remain. Ceriodaphnia lacustris abundance declined substantially from the 1970s to the recent time period while Chydorus sphaericus increased and Eurytemora affinis and Cercopagis pengoi had first appearances. In contrast, benthic invertebrate biomass increased substantially between time periods. Increases in families and occurrence of gastropods were observed, but the primary components–chironomids, amphipods, and oligochaetes–were consistent between the periods with the exception of dreissenid mussels. Dreissena was dominated by D. bugensis, and both D. bugensis and D. polymorpha show evidence of recent declines. Conversely, high abundance of round goby (Apollonia melanostomus) has promoted new trophic pathways. Downstream attenuation in nutrients and chlorophyll, and increased transparency suggest continued strong effects of Lake Ontario on the downstream river environment, but increased energy in the benthos has likely promoted greater in situ production.     

Protein profile analysis of cellular samples from the cervix for the objective diagnosis of cervical cancer using HPLC-LIF

Protein profiles of cytologic samples from the cervix were studied using High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) separation combined with ultra-sensitive laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. HPLC-LIF protein profiles of samples from clinically normal subjects, individuals suffering from cervical cancer (different stages), and subjects who had other gynecological problems related to cervix, like erosion of cervix and Nabothian cyst, but no malignancy, were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The application of HPLC-LIF protein profiling combined with PCA was found to be a highly efficient method for discrimination of different classes of samples with high sensitivity and specificity. Diagnostic accuracy and optimal threshold - decision criterion - for objective discrimination were estimated using sensitivity-specificity pairs and Youden's index (J) plots.     

Interaction between felodipine and bovine serum albumin: fluorescence quenching study

The fluorescence quenching spectrum of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated in the presence of felodipine (FLD) by spectroscopic methods including fluorescence spectroscopy and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. Stern–Volmer quenching was successfully applied and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters, namely enthalpy change (ΔH), free energy change (ΔG) and entropy change (ΔS) at different temperatures (304, 314 and 324 K) were calculated according to the Van't Hoff relation. This revealed that the hydrophobic interaction plays a major role in stabilizing the complex. The fluorescence spectrum of BSA was studied in presence of various concentrations of SDS surfactant. The distance (r) between donor (BSA) and acceptor (FLD) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of FLD on BSA molecule. The result shows that the conformation of BSA was changed in the presence of felodipine. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.