An efficient method for the application of PHA‐poor solvents to extract polyhydroxybutyrate from Cupriavidus necator

There are many published studies presenting ethanol and acetone as PHAs‐poor solvents, where these two solvents are shown to dissolve <2% (w/v) of PHAs at low temperatures. In this study, the suitability of ethanol and acetone for the recovery of PHB at different temperatures (from room temperature to near boiling point) in Cupriavidus necator was investigated. Experiments were performed using response surface methodology to examine the effects of different temperatures and heating incubation times on recovery percentage using the two solvents. The highest recovery percentage (92.3%) and product purity (up to 99%) were obtained with ethanol‐assisted extraction at 76°C for 32 min of incubation time. Under these conditions the extracted PHB exhibited a molecular mass of 1.2 × 10⁶. The present strategy showed that at temperatures near its boiling point, ethanol, as a nonhalogenated solvent, represents a good alternative to halogenated solvents, like chloroform, when PHB recovery is concerned. DSC analysis showed good thermal properties for ethanol‐ and acetone‐extracted biopolymers. GC and ¹H NMR analysis confirmed the extracted biopolymer to be polyhydroxybutyrate of good purity. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1480–1486, 2016     

Energy conservation capacity and morphological integrity of mitochondria in hypotonically treated rabbit epididymal spermatozoa

Hypotonic treatment of rabbit epididymal spermatozoa in 10 mM phosphate buffer disrupts the plasma membrane and removes the cytoplasmic droplet from those cells to which it is still attached. There is, however, no effect on the mitochondria, which retain their helical configuration around the axial filament complex, have intact inner and outer membranes, and show the same cristal morphology as do the mitochondria in untreated cells. Hypotonically treated spermatozoa respire with added malate-pyruvate, succinate, and ascorbate plus N,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, but not with added fructose or NADH. Respiration is inhibited by oligomycin and stimulated by uncoupler, showing that the mitochondria have retained their capacity for energy conservation. The uncoupled respiration rate is not further stimulated by added cytochrome c. Reduced-minus-oxidized difference spectra obtained at −196 °C of the hypotonically treated cells show a full complement of cytochromes, including cytochrome c. This result implies that the cytochrome c lost from mammalian spermatozoa on storage or chilling [Mann, T. (1951) Biochem. J. 48, 386–388] is cytoplasmic cytochrome c not yet incorporated into the mitochondria. The mitochondrial cytochrome c remains firmly held inside the intact outer membrane.     

Dosimetric comparison of normal breathing and deep inspiration breath hold technique for synchronous bilateral breast cancer using 6MV flattened beam and flattening filter free beam

BackgroundThe present study was to investigate the usefulness of deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) in bilateral breast patients using 6MV flattened beam (FB) and flattening filter free beam (FFFB).Materials and methodsTwenty bilateral breast cancer patients were simulated, using left breast patients treated with DIBH technique. CT scans were performed in the normal breathing (NB) and DIBH method. Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) plans were generated.ResultsIn our study the best organ at risk (OAR) sparing is achieved in the 3DCRT DIBH plan with adequate PTV coverage (V₉₅ ≥ 47.5 Gy) as compared to 6MV FB and FFFB VMAT DIBH plans. The DIBH scan plan reduces the heart mean dose significantly at the rate of 49% in 3DCRT (p = 0.00) and 22% in VMAT (p = 0.010). Similarly, the DIBH scan plan produces lesser common lung mean dose of 18% in 3DCRT (p = 0.011) and 8% in VMAT (0.007) as compared to the NB scan. The conformity index is much better in VMAT FB (1.04 ± 0.04 vs. 1.04 ± 0.05), p =1.00 and VMAT FFFB (1.04 ± 0.05 vs. 1 ± 0.24, p = 0.345) plans as compared to 3DCRT (1.63 ± 0.2 vs. 1.47 ± 0.28, p = 0.002). The homogeneity index of all the plans is less than 0.15. The global dmax is more in VMAT FFFB DIBH plan (113.7%). The maximum MU noted in the NB scan plan (478 vs. 477MU, 1366 vs. 1299 MU and 1853 vs. 1788 MU for 3DCRT, VMAT FB and VMAT FFFB technique as compared to DIBH scan.ConclusionWe recommend that the use of DIBH techniques for bilateral breast cancer patients significantly reduces the radiation doses to OARs in both 3DCRT and VMAT plans.     

木薯和玉米原料丁醇发酵中丁醇丙酮质量比的图论理论计算及其验证

在丁醇发酵产溶剂阶段,乙酸和丁酸的生成途径、消耗途径同时存在,各自形成一个闭环路径。本研究利用图论对丁醇发酵中丁醇丙酮质量比进行了理论计算,并对以木薯和玉米为原料的丁醇发酵进行了模拟计算,结果表明:丁酸闭环路径(L2环)的代谢强度是影响丁醇丙酮质量比的主要因素,并且L2环的代谢强度越弱,丁醇丙酮质量比越高;与玉米原料丁醇发酵相比,木薯原料发酵的m(丁醇)/m(丙酮)提高了16.7%。实验结果证实了以上计算结果:在传统发酵、油醇萃取发酵和生物柴油萃取发酵中,以木薯(适时添加酵母浸粉)为原料的发酵批次与以玉米为原料的发酵批次相比,由于其丁酸闭环路径代谢强度较弱,相应发酵方式下丁醇丙酮质量比分别提高了12.9%、61.4%和6.7%,而且两种原料相应发酵方式的丁醇总产量和生产效率基本持平。另外,高丁醇丙酮质量比的木薯发酵所得改良型生物柴油中丁醇浓度与玉米发酵的相比提高了16%,性能得到进一步提高。     

Columnar cacti as sources of energy and protein for frugivorous bats in a semi‐arid ecosystem

Columnar cacti constitute the dominant elements in the vegetation structure of arid and semi‐arid New World ecosystems representing a plethora of food resources for vertebrate consumers. Previous stable isotope analysis in Central Mexico showed that columnar cacti are of low importance to build tissue for frugivorous bats. We used carbon stable isotope analysis of whole blood and breath samples collected from four species of frugivorous bats (Sturnira parvidens, Sturnira ludovici, Artibeus jamaicensis, and Artibeus intermedius) to reconstruct the importance of cactus plants in their diet. Breath samples were collected within 10 min (B₁₀) of bat capture and ~12 h after capture (B₇₂₀), representing the oxidation of recently ingested food and of body reserves, respectively. We expected that bats relied primarily on non‐cactus food to construct tissues and fuel oxidative metabolism. Non‐cactus food strongly predominated for tissue building, whereas oxidative metabolism was supported by a moderate preponderance of non‐cactus food for B₁₀ samples, and a moderate preponderance of cactus food or an equal contribution of both sources for B₇₂₀ samples. Artibeus and Surnira species appear to cover a narrow part of the diet with cactus food, confirming that the incorporation of nutrients derived from these plants is not generalized among vertebrate consumers.     

Pervaporative butanol fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum B18

Extractive acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation was carried out successfully using pervaporation and a low-acid-producing Clostridium acetobutylicum B18. A pervaporation module with 0.17 m(2) of surface area was made of silicone membrane of 240 mum thickness. Pervaporation experiments using make-up solutions showed that butanol and acetone fluxes increased linearly with their concentrations in the aqueous phase. Fickian diffusion coefficients were constants for fixed air flow rates, and increased at higher sweep air flow rates. During batch and fed-batch fermentations, pervaporation at an air flow rate of 8 L/min removed butanol and acetone efficiently. Butanol concentration was maintained below 4.5 g/L even though Clostridium acetobutylicum B18 produced butanol steadily. Pervaporation could not remove organic acids efficiently, but organic acids did not accumulate because strain B18 produced little organic acid and recycled added organic acids efficiently. With pervaporation, glucose consumption rate increased compared to without pervaporation, and up to 160 g/L of glucose was consumed during 80 h. Cell growth was not inhibited by possible salt accumulation or oxygen diffusion through the silicone tubing. The culture volume was maintained relatively constant during fed-batch operation because of an offsetting effect of water and product removal by pervaporation and addition of nutrient supplements. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

添加有机酸对Clostridium acetobutylicum合成丙酮和丁醇的影响

为提高丙酮-丁醇梭菌厌氧发酵生产丙酮和丁醇的能力,在发酵过程中添加有机酸（乙酸和丁酸）,考察其对菌体生长、溶剂合成影响。实验表明：当添加1.5 g/L乙酸时能够促进菌体的生长,促进丙酮的合成,在600 nm处的最大OD值比参照值高出18.4%,丙酮的最终质量分数提高了21.05%,但不能促进丁醇的合成;当添加1.0g/L丁酸时能够促进菌体生长,促进丁醇的合成,在600 nm处的最大OD比参照值高22.29%,丁醇的最终质量分数比对照组提高了24.32%,但不能促进丙酮的合成。     

糖蜜发酵生产丙酮丁醇的研究

分离选育出４株丙酮丁醇发酵菌种,分别编号为：ＣＬＳ．００１,００２,００３,００４,都属厌氧核状芽孢杆菌,它们可利用糖蜜发酵产生丙酮和丁醇。经正交试验,选出最佳发酵条件。分离株ＣＬＳ．００４在糖蜜浓度１０￣１５ＢＸ、３５￣３８℃、ｐＨ６．８￣７．２条件下,发酵总溶剂的生成率和糖利用率分别可达到３０％和８５％以上。     

The binding of uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation to rat-liver mitochondria

The binding of different uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation to rat-liver mitochondria was measured. At pH 7.2 and about 0.7 mg mitochondrial protein/ml the percentage bound of the uncoupler added was 84% for 2,3,4,5,6-pentachlorophenol (PCP), 40% for carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP), 35% for 4,5,6,7-tetrachloro-2-trifluoromethylbenzimidazole (TTFB), 4% for α′,α′-bis (hexafluoroacetonyl)acetone (1799), and less than 4% for 2,4-dinitrophenol. These percentages are constant up to amounts of uncoupler added several times the one needed for maximal uncoupling. The values found for FCCP and TTFB are in contradiction to the proposed stoichiometric interaction of uncouplers with the coupling sites of the mitochondrial membrane.From titration experiments of the rate of O₂ uptake by rat-liver mitochondria in State 4 as a function of the uncoupler concentration in the presence of albumin or of different types of liposomes the conclusion is drawn that the negative surface charge of the mitochondrial phospholipids may be an important parameter in determining the binding of anionic uncouplers to rat-liver mitochondria.     

Structural and catalytic polymorphism of human enzymes: Novel potential platforms for biomedical diagnostics

This review focuses on some intermediate results on the path from the gene and enzyme structure to physiological responses and personalised medicine. Bioinformatics of genetic and protein-structural polymorphisms, theoretical methods of predicting the influence of single amino acid substitutions on the structure and catalytic activity of enzymes are considered. For a large group of enzymes, interrelations between genetic modifications, structural changes of the proteins and the detected physiological and clinical manifestations are discussed. In this respect, highly productive techniques to determine the catalytic activity of an enzyme as well as non-invasive proteomic approaches are of particular interest. A non-invasive proteomic analysis using mass-spectrometric protein identification of human exhaled breath condensate and tear fluids has been chosen.