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Sample records for intact oxidation products

  1. Oxidation of molecular tritium by intact soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweet, C.W.; Murphy, C.E. Jr.

    1980-01-01

    The effects of environmental factors on the rate of oxidation of molecular tritium (T 2 ) to tritiated water (HTO) were determined for intact soils during field exposures. Maximum deposition velocities of approximately 0.03 cm/sec were measured for T 2 at low wind speeds for a variety of soils over a wide range of conditions. Deposition velocities were slightly inhibited in wet soils and at 0 0 C. In dry soils, oxidation of T 2 to HTO occurred deeper in the soil profile, but deposition velocities were unaffected

  2. Oxidation kinetics of reaction products formed in uranium metal corrosion.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Totemeier, T. C.

    1998-04-22

    The oxidation behavior of uranium metal ZPPR fuel corrosion products in environments of Ar-4%O{sub 2} and Ar-20%O{sub 2} were studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). These tests were performed to extend earlier work in this area specifically, to assess plate-to-plate variations in corrosion product properties and the effect of oxygen concentration on oxidation behavior. The corrosion products from two relatively severely corroded plates were similar, while the products from a relatively intact plate were not reactive. Oxygen concentration strongly affected the burning rate of reactive products, but had little effect on low-temperature oxidation rates.

  3. Oxidation kinetics of reaction products formed in uranium metal corrosion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Totemeier, T. C.

    1998-01-01

    The oxidation behavior of uranium metal ZPPR fuel corrosion products in environments of Ar-4%O 2 and Ar-20%O 2 were studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). These tests were performed to extend earlier work in this area specifically, to assess plate-to-plate variations in corrosion product properties and the effect of oxygen concentration on oxidation behavior. The corrosion products from two relatively severely corroded plates were similar, while the products from a relatively intact plate were not reactive. Oxygen concentration strongly affected the burning rate of reactive products, but had little effect on low-temperature oxidation rates

  4. Shifts in oxidation states of cerium oxide nanoparticles detected inside intact hydrated cells and organelles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Szymanski, Craig J.; Munusamy, Prabhakaran; Mihai, Cosmin; Xie, Yumei; Hu, Dehong; Gilles, Marry K.; Tyliszczak, T.; Thevuthasan, Suntharampillai; Baer, Donald R.; Orr, Galya

    2015-09-01

    Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) have been shown to induce diverse biological effects, ranging from toxic to beneficial. The beneficial effects have been attributed to the potential antioxidant activity of CNPs via certain redox reactions, depending on their oxidation state or Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio. However, this ratio is strongly dependent on the environment and age of the nanoparticles and it is unclear whether and how the complex intracellular environment impacts this ratio and the possible redox reactions of CNPs. To identify any changes in the oxidation state of CNPs in the intracellular environment and better understand their intracellular reactions, we directly quantified the oxidation states of CNPs outside and inside intact hydrated cells and organelles using correlated scanning transmission x-ray and super resolution fluorescence microscopies. By analyzing hundreds of small CNP aggregates, we detected a shift to a higher Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio in CNPs inside versus outside the cells, indicating a net reduction of CNPs in the intracellular environment. We further found a similar ratio in the cytoplasm and in the lysosomes, indicating that the net reduction occurs earlier in the internalization pathway. Together with oxidative stress and toxicity measurements, our observations identify a net reduction of CNPs in the intracellular environment, which is consistent with their involvement in potentially beneficial oxidation reactions, but also point to interactions that can negatively impact the health of cells.

  5. Metabolic control over the oxygen consumption flux in intact skeletal muscle: in silico studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liguzinski, Piotr; Korzeniewski, Bernard

    2006-12-01

    It has been postulated previously that a direct activation of all oxidative phosphorylation complexes in parallel with the activation of ATP usage and substrate dehydrogenation (the so-called each-step activation) is the main mechanism responsible for adjusting the rate of ATP production by mitochondria to the current energy demand during rest-to-work transition in intact skeletal muscle in vivo. The present in silico study, using a computer model of oxidative phosphorylation developed previously, analyzes the impact of the each-step-activation mechanism on the distribution of control (defined within Metabolic Control Analysis) over the oxygen consumption flux among the components of the bioenergetic system in intact oxidative skeletal muscle at different energy demands. It is demonstrated that in the absence of each-step activation, the oxidative phosphorylation complexes take over from ATP usage most of the control over the respiration rate and oxidative ATP production at higher (but still physiological) energy demands. This leads to a saturation of oxidative phosphorylation, impossibility of a further acceleration of oxidative ATP synthesis, and dramatic drop in the phosphorylation potential. On the other hand, the each-step-activation mechanism allows maintenance of a high degree of the control exerted by ATP usage over the ATP turnover and oxygen consumption flux even at high energy demands and thus enables a potentially very large increase in ATP turnover. It is also shown that low oxygen concentration shifts the metabolic control from ATP usage to cytochrome oxidase and thus limits the oxidative ATP production.

  6. Comparison of allergenicity and immunogenicity of an intact allergen vaccine and commercially available allergoid products for birch pollen immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, L; Henmar, H; Würtzen, P A; Lund, G; Hjortskov, N; Larsen, J N

    2007-04-01

    Specific immunotherapy with intact allergen vaccine is a well-documented treatment for allergic diseases. Different vaccine formulations are currently commercially available, the active ingredient either being intact allergens or chemically modified allergoids. The rationale behind allergoids is to decrease allergenicity while maintaining immunogenicity. However, data from the German health authorities based on reporting of adverse events over a 10-year period did not indicate increased safety of allergoids over intact allergens. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of chemical modification on allergenicity and immunogenicity comparing four commercial allergoid products for birch pollen immunotherapy with an intact allergen vaccine. Solid-phase IgE inhibition and histamine release assays were selected as model systems for allergenicity, and a combination of human T cell proliferation and IgG titres following mouse immunizations were used to address the immunogenicity of the intact allergen vaccine and the four allergoids. In all assays, the products were normalized with respect to the manufacturer's recommended maintenance dose. IgE inhibition experiments showed a change in epitope composition comparing intact allergen vaccine with allergoid. One allergoid product induced enhanced histamine release compared to the intact allergens, while the other three allergoids showed reduced release. Standard T cell stimulation assays using lines from allergic patients showed a reduced response for all allergoids compared with the intact allergen vaccine regardless of the cell type used for antigen presentation. All allergoids showed reduced capacity to induce allergen-specific IgG responses in mice. While some allergoids were associated with reduced allergenicity, a clear reduction in immunogenicity was observed for all allergoid products compared with the intact allergen vaccine, and the commercial allergoids tested therefore do not fulfil the allergoid

  7. Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles: Behavior towards Intact and Impaired Human Skin and Keratinocytes Toxicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcella Mauro

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Skin absorption and toxicity on keratinocytes of cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Co3O4NPs have been investigated. Co3O4NPs are commonly used in industrial products and biomedicine. There is evidence that these nanoparticles can cause membrane damage and genotoxicity in vitro, but no data are available on their skin absorption and cytotoxicity on keratinocytes. Two independent 24 h in vitro experiments were performed using Franz diffusion cells, using intact (experiment 1 and needle-abraded human skin (experiment 2. Co3O4NPs at a concentration of 1000 mg/L in physiological solution were used as donor phase. Cobalt content was evaluated by Inductively Coupled–Mass Spectroscopy. Co permeation through the skin was demonstrated after 24 h only when damaged skin protocol was used (57 ± 38 ng·cm−2, while no significant differences were shown between blank cells (0.92 ± 0.03 ng cm−2 and those with intact skin (1.08 ± 0.20 ng·cm−2. To further investigate Co3O4NPs toxicity, human-derived HaCaT keratinocytes were exposed to Co3O4NPs and cytotoxicity evaluated by MTT, Alamarblue® and propidium iodide (PI uptake assays. The results indicate that a long exposure time (i.e., seven days was necessary to induce a concentration-dependent cell viability reduction (EC50 values: 1.3 × 10−4 M, 95% CL = 0.8–1.9 × 10−4 M, MTT essay; 3.7 × 10−5 M, 95% CI = 2.2–6.1 × 10−5 M, AlamarBlue® assay that seems to be associated to necrotic events (EC50 value: 1.3 × 10−4 M, 95% CL = 0.9–1.9 × 10−4 M, PI assay. This study demonstrated that Co3O4NPs can penetrate only damaged skin and is cytotoxic for HaCat cells after long term exposure.

  8. Direct detection of radicals in intact soybean nodules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathieu, C; Moreau, S; Frendo, P

    1998-01-01

    Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy has been employed to examine the nature of the metal ions and radicals present in intact root nodules of soybean plants grown in the absence of nitrate. The spectra obtained from nodules of different ages using this non-invasive technique show dramatic...... differences, suggesting that there are both qualitative and quantitative changes in the metal ion and radical species present. A major component of the spectra obtained from young nodules is assigned to a complex (Lb-NO) of nitric oxide (NO.) with the heme protein leghemoglobin (Lb). This Lb-NO species, which...... has not been previously detected in intact root nodules of plants grown in the absence of nitrate, is thought to be formed by reaction of nitric oxide with iron(II) leghemoglobin. The nitric oxide may be generated from arginine via a nitric oxide synthase-like activity present in the nodules...

  9. Intact nitric oxide production is obligatory for the sustained flow response during hypercapnic acidosis in guinea pig heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heintz, Anke; Koch, Thea; Deussen, Andreas

    2005-04-01

    The mechanisms underlying hypercapnic coronary dilation remain unsettled. This study tests the hypothesis that flow dependent NO production is obligatory for the hypercapnic flow response. In isolated, constant pressure (CP) perfused guinea pig hearts a step change of arterial pCO(2) from 38.6 to 61.4 mm Hg induced a bi-phasic flow response with an early transient (maximum 60 s) and a consecutive persisting flow rise (121.6+/-6.6 (S.D.) % after 10 min). In contrast, when perfused with constant flow (CF), perfusion pressure only transiently (2 min) fell by 7.4+/-4.8 % following the step change of arterial pCO(2). In CP perfused hearts L-NAME (100 micromol/l) specifically abolished the delayed flow rise during hypercapnic acidosis (102.37+/-2.9% after 10 min), whereas the inhibitor had no effect on perfusion pressure response in CF perfused hearts. Under CP perfusion arterial hypercapnia resulted in a transient rise of coronary cGMP release (from 0.69+/-0.35 to 1.12+/-0.68 pmol/ml), which was abolished after L-NAME. Surprisingly, the K(+)ATP channel blocker glibenclamide did not have any significant effect on the hypercapnic flow response but largely blunted reactive hyperemia after a 20 s flow stop. The delayed steady state hypercapnic flow response in guinea pig heart requires intact NO production. The absence of a persisting decrease in coronary resistance under CF perfusion points to an important role of shear stress dependent NO production.

  10. Observation of intact desorption ionization of peptide molecules from arrays of tungsten oxide nanowires by laser irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sang Yun [Dept. of Nanochemistry, Gachon University, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-08-15

    Length-controlled WO{sub 3} surface nanowires with a 50 nm diameter were prepared by utilizing anodic Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} templates. Careful control of the fabrication process yielded a set of length-controlled nanowire arrays (Figure 1). The lengths of the nanowires covered a range of 60–250 nm. Typically, a 0.5-μL drop of a sample solution in 10% MeOH that contained 2 pmol of sample was pipetted directly onto the nanowire chips, which were dried under ambient conditions. We report the observation of intact LDI of thermally labile peptides from WO{sub 3} nanowire arrays, which have never been reported for any other metal oxide nanowire arrays. As metal oxides are thermally stable and useful in many applications, and fabrication of various nanostructures are well established, we suggest that the nanostructured surfaces of metal oxides are promising for LDI and thus worthy of further investigations.

  11. Mass Spectrometry of Intact Proteins Reveals +98 u Chemical Artifacts Following Precipitation in Acetone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Güray, Melda Z; Zheng, Shi; Doucette, Alan A

    2017-02-03

    Protein precipitation in acetone is frequently employed ahead of mass spectrometry for sample preconcentration and purification. Unfortunately, acetone is not chemically inert; mass artifacts have previously been observed on glycine-containing peptides when exposed to acetone under acidic conditions. We herein report a distinct chemical modification occurring at the level of intact proteins when incubated in acetone. This artifact manifests as one or more satellite peaks in the MS spectrum of intact protein, spaced 98 u above the mass of the unmodified protein. Other artifacts (+84, +112 u) also appear upon incubation of proteins or peptides in acetone. The reaction is pH-sensitive, being suppressed when proteins are exposed to acetone under acidic conditions. The +98 u artifact is speculated to originate through an intermediate product of aldol condensation of acetone to form diacetone alcohol and mesityl oxide. A +98 u product could originate from nucleophilic attack on mesityl oxide or through condensation with diacetone alcohol. Given the extent of modification possible upon exposure of proteins to acetone, particularly following overnight solvent exposure or incubation at room temperature, an awareness of the variables influencing this novel modification is valued by proteomics researchers who employ acetone precipitation for protein purification.

  12. Flavone inhibits nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, nitric oxide production and protein S-nitrosylation in breast cancer cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Wenzhen; Yang, Bingwu; Fu, Huiling; Ma, Long; Liu, Tingting; Chai, Rongfei; Zheng, Zhaodi [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resistant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China); Zhang, Qunye, E-mail: wz.zhangqy@sdu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research Chinese Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Health, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong (China); Li, Guorong, E-mail: grli@sdnu.edu.cn [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resistant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China)

    2015-03-13

    As the core structure of flavonoids, flavone has been proved to possess anticancer effects. Flavone's growth inhibitory functions are related to NO. NO is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and generally increased in a variety of cancer cells. NO regulates multiple cellular responses by S-nitrosylation. In this study, we explored flavone-induced regulations on nitric oxide (NO)-related cellular processes in breast cancer cells. Our results showed that, flavone suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis. Flavone restrains NO synthesis by does-dependent inhibiting NOS enzymatic activity. The decrease of NO generation was detected by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Flavone-induced inhibitory effect on NOS activity is dependent on intact cell structure. For the NO-induced protein modification, flavone treatment significantly down-regulated protein S-nitrosylation, which was detected by “Biotin-switch” method. The present study provides a novel, NO-related mechanism for the anticancer function of flavone. - Highlights: • Flavone inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. • Flavone decreases nitric oxide production by inhibiting NOS enzymatic activity in breast cancer cells. • Flavone down-regulates protein S-nitrosylation.

  13. Flavone inhibits nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, nitric oxide production and protein S-nitrosylation in breast cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Wenzhen; Yang, Bingwu; Fu, Huiling; Ma, Long; Liu, Tingting; Chai, Rongfei; Zheng, Zhaodi; Zhang, Qunye; Li, Guorong

    2015-01-01

    As the core structure of flavonoids, flavone has been proved to possess anticancer effects. Flavone's growth inhibitory functions are related to NO. NO is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and generally increased in a variety of cancer cells. NO regulates multiple cellular responses by S-nitrosylation. In this study, we explored flavone-induced regulations on nitric oxide (NO)-related cellular processes in breast cancer cells. Our results showed that, flavone suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis. Flavone restrains NO synthesis by does-dependent inhibiting NOS enzymatic activity. The decrease of NO generation was detected by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Flavone-induced inhibitory effect on NOS activity is dependent on intact cell structure. For the NO-induced protein modification, flavone treatment significantly down-regulated protein S-nitrosylation, which was detected by “Biotin-switch” method. The present study provides a novel, NO-related mechanism for the anticancer function of flavone. - Highlights: • Flavone inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. • Flavone decreases nitric oxide production by inhibiting NOS enzymatic activity in breast cancer cells. • Flavone down-regulates protein S-nitrosylation

  14. The effect of coracoacromial ligament excision and acromioplasty on the amount of rotator cuff force production necessary to restore intact glenohumeral biomechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budoff, Jeffrey E; Lin, Cheng-Li; Hong, Chih-Kai; Chiang, Florence L; Su, Wei-Ren

    2016-06-01

    Coracoacromial ligament (CAL) excision and acromioplasty increase superior and anterosuperior glenohumeral translation. It is unknown how much of an increase in rotator cuff force production is required to re-establish intact glenohumeral biomechanics after these surgical procedures. We hypothesized that, after CAL excision and acromioplasty, an increase in rotator cuff force production would not be necessary to reproduce the anterosuperior and superior translations of the intact specimens. Nine cadaveric shoulders were subjected to loading in the superior and anterosuperior directions in the intact state after CAL excision, acromioplasty, and recording of the translations. The rotator cuff force was then increased to normalize glenohumeral biomechanics. After CAL excision at 150 and 200 N of loading, an increase in the rotator cuff force by 25% decreased anterosuperior translation to the point where there was no significant difference from the intact specimen's translation. After acromioplasty (and CAL excision) at 150 and 200 N, an increase in the rotator cuff force of 25% and 30%, respectively, decreased superior translation to the point where there was no significant difference from the intact specimen's translation. At 150 to 200 N of loading, CAL excision and acromioplasty increase the rotator cuff force required to maintain normal glenohumeral biomechanics by 25% to 30%. After a subacromial decompression, the rotator cuff has an increased force production requirement to maintain baseline glenohumeral mechanics. Under many circumstances, in vivo force requirements may be even greater after surgical attenuation of the coracoacromial arch. Basic Science Study; Biomechanics. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Nitrous oxide production kinetics during nitrate reduction in river sediments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laverman, Anniet M; Garnier, Josette A; Mounier, Emmanuelle M; Roose-Amsaleg, Céline L

    2010-03-01

    A significant amount of nitrogen entering river basins is denitrified in riparian zones. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of nitrate and carbon concentrations on the kinetic parameters of nitrate reduction as well as nitrous oxide emissions in river sediments in a tributary of the Marne (the Seine basin, France). In order to determine these rates, we used flow-through reactors (FTRs) and slurry incubations; flow-through reactors allow determination of rates on intact sediment slices under controlled conditions compared to sediment homogenization in the often used slurry technique. Maximum nitrate reduction rates (R(m)) ranged between 3.0 and 7.1microg Ng(-1)h(-1), and affinity constant (K(m)) ranged from 7.4 to 30.7mg N-NO(3)(-)L(-1). These values were higher in slurry incubations with an R(m) of 37.9microg Ng(-1)h(-1) and a K(m) of 104mg N-NO(3)(-)L(-1). Nitrous oxide production rates did not follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and we deduced a rate constant with an average of 0.7 and 5.4ng Ng(-1)h(-1) for FTR and slurry experiments respectively. The addition of carbon (as acetate) showed that carbon was not limiting nitrate reduction rates in these sediments. Similar rates were obtained for FTR and slurries with carbon addition, confirming the hypothesis that homogenization increases rates due to release of and increasing access to carbon in slurries. Nitrous oxide production rates in FTR with carbon additions were low and represented less than 0.01% of the nitrate reduction rates and were even negligible in slurries. Maximum nitrate reduction rates revealed seasonality with high potential rates in fall and winter and low rates in late spring and summer. Under optimal conditions (anoxia, non-limiting nitrate and carbon), nitrous oxide emission rates were low, but significant (0.01% of the nitrate reduction rates). Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Effects of reactive Mn(III)-oxalate complexes on structurally intact plant cell walls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summering, J. A.; Keiluweit, M.; Goni, M. A.; Nico, P. S.; Kleber, M.

    2011-12-01

    Lignin components in the in plant litter are commonly assumed to have longer residence times in soil than many other compounds, which are supposedly, more easily degradable. The supposed resistance of lignin compounds to decomposition is generally attributed to the complex chain of biochemical steps required to create footholds in the non-porous structure of ligno-cellulose in cell walls. Interestingly, Mn(III) complexes have shown the ability to degrade ligno-cellulose. Mn(III) chelated by ligands such as oxalate are soluble oxidizers with a high affinity for lignin structures. Here we determined (i) the formation and decay kinetics of the Mn(III)-oxalate complexes in aqueous solution and (ii) the effects that these complexes have on intact ligno-cellulose. UV/vis spectroscopy and iodometric titrations confirmed the transient nature of Mn(III)-oxalate complexes with decay rates being in the order of hours. Zinnia elegans tracheary elements - a model ligno-cellulose substrate - were treated with Mn(III)-oxalate complexes in a newly developed flow-through reactor. Soluble decomposition products released during the treatment were analyzed by GC/MS and the degree of cell integrity was measured by cell counts, pre- and post-treatment counts indicate a decrease in intact Zinnia elegans as a result of Mn(III)-treatment. GC/MS results showed the release of a multitude of solubilized lignin breakdown products from plant cell walls. We conclude that Mn(III)-oxalate complexes have the ability to lyse intact plant cells and solubilize lignin. Lignin decomposition may thus be seen as resource dependent, with Mn(III) a powerful resource that should be abundant in terrestrial characterized by frequent redox fluctuations.

  17. Lipid oxidation. Part 2. Oxidation products of olive oil methyl esters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokorný, J; Tài, P; Parízková, H; Smidrkalová, E; El-Tarras, M F; Janícek, G

    1976-01-01

    Olive oil was converted into methyl esters which were autoxidized at 60 degrees C. The composition of oxidized products was determined by the comparison of infrared spectra and NMR spectra of the original and acetylated samples, the sample reduced with potassium iodide and the acetylated reduced sample. Oxidized products were separated by preparative thin layer chromatography on silica gel and characterized by selective detection and by infrared spectrometry of the fractions. The oxidation products consisted of hydroperoxido butyl oleate, substituted hydroperoxides, mono- and disubstituted monomeric derivatives and a small amount of oligomers.

  18. Production of oceanic nitrous oxide by ammonia-oxidizing archaea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. R. Löscher

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The recent finding that microbial ammonia oxidation in the ocean is performed by archaea to a greater extent than by bacteria has drastically changed the view on oceanic nitrification. The numerical dominance of archaeal ammonia-oxidizers (AOA over their bacterial counterparts (AOB in large parts of the ocean leads to the hypothesis that AOA rather than AOB could be the key organisms for the oceanic production of the strong greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O that occurs as a by-product of nitrification. Very recently, enrichment cultures of marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea have been reported to produce N2O.

    Here, we demonstrate that archaeal ammonia monooxygenase genes (amoA were detectable throughout the water column of the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA and eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP Oceans. Particularly in the ETNA, comparable patterns of abundance and expression of archaeal amoA genes and N2O co-occurred in the oxygen minimum, whereas the abundances of bacterial amoA genes were negligible. Moreover, selective inhibition of archaea in seawater incubations from the ETNA decreased the N2O production significantly. In studies with the only cultivated marine archaeal ammonia-oxidizer Nitrosopumilus maritimus SCM1, we provide the first direct evidence for N2O production in a pure culture of AOA, excluding the involvement of other microorganisms as possibly present in enrichments. N. maritimus showed high N2O production rates under low oxygen concentrations comparable to concentrations existing in the oxycline of the ETNA, whereas the N2O production from two AOB cultures was comparably low under similar conditions. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that the production of N2O in tropical ocean areas results mainly from archaeal nitrification and will be affected by the predicted decrease in dissolved

  19. Nitrous Oxide Production by Abundant Benthic Macrofauna

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stief, Peter; Schramm, Andreas

    of the short-term metabolic induction of gut denitrification is the preferential production of nitrous oxide rather than dinitrogen. On a large scale, gut denitrification in, for instance, Chironomus plumosus larvae can increase the overall nitrous oxide emission of lake sediment by a factor of eight. We...... screened more than 20 macrofauna species for nitrous oxide production and identified filter-feeders and deposit-feeders that occur ubiquitously and at high abundance (e.g., chironomids, ephemeropterans, snails, and mussels) as the most important emitters of nitrous oxide. In contrast, predatory species...... that do not ingest large quantities of microorganisms produced insignificant amounts of nitrous oxide. Ephemera danica, a very abundant mayfly larva, was monitored monthly in a nitrate-polluted stream. Nitrous oxide production by this filter-feeder was highly dependent on nitrate availability...

  20. Modeling of nitrous oxide production by autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria with multiple production pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Bing-Jie; Peng, Lai; Law, Yingyu; Guo, Jianhua; Yuan, Zhiguo

    2014-04-01

    Autotrophic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) have been recognized as a major contributor to N2O production in wastewater treatment systems. However, so far N2O models have been proposed based on a single N2O production pathway by AOB, and there is still a lack of effective approach for the integration of these models. In this work, an integrated mathematical model that considers multiple production pathways is developed to describe N2O production by AOB. The pathways considered include the nitrifier denitrification pathway (N2O as the final product of AOB denitrification with NO2(-) as the terminal electron acceptor) and the hydroxylamine (NH2OH) pathway (N2O as a byproduct of incomplete oxidation of NH2OH to NO2(-)). In this model, the oxidation and reduction processes are modeled separately, with intracellular electron carriers introduced to link the two types of processes. The model is calibrated and validated using experimental data obtained with two independent nitrifying cultures. The model satisfactorily describes the N2O data from both systems. The model also predicts shifts of the dominating pathway at various dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrite levels, consistent with previous hypotheses. This unified model is expected to enhance our ability to predict N2O production by AOB in wastewater treatment systems under varying operational conditions.

  1. Investigations on the role of hemoglobin in sulfide metabolism by intact human red blood cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianco, Christopher L; Savitsky, Anton; Feelisch, Martin; Cortese-Krott, Miriam M

    2018-03-01

    In addition to their role as oxygen transporters, red blood cells (RBCs) contribute to cardiovascular homeostasis by regulating nitric oxide (NO) metabolism via interaction of hemoglobin (Hb) with nitrite and NO itself. RBCs were proposed to also participate in sulfide metabolism. Although Hb is known to react with sulfide, sulfide metabolism by intact RBCs has not been characterized so far. Therefore we explored the role of Hb in sulfide metabolism in intact human RBCs. We find that upon exposure of washed RBCs to sulfide, no changes in oxy/deoxyhemoglobin (oxy/deoxyHb) are observed by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopy. However, sulfide reacts with methemoglobin (metHb), forming a methemoglobin-sulfide (metHb-SH) complex. Moreover, while metHb-SH is stable in cell-free systems even in the presence of biologically relevant thiols, it gradually decomposes to produce oxyHb, inorganic polysulfides and thiosulfate in intact cells, as detected by EPR and mass spectrometry. Taken together, our results demonstrate that under physiological conditions RBCs are able to metabolize sulfide via intermediate formation of a metHb-SH complex, which subsequently decomposes to oxyHb. We speculate that decomposition of metHb-SH is preceded by an inner-sphere electron transfer, forming reduced Hb (which binds oxygen to form oxyHb) and thiyl radical (a process we here define as "reductive sulfhydration"), which upon release, gives rise to the oxidized products, thiosulfate and polysulfides. Thus, not only is metHb an efficient scavenger and regulator of sulfide in blood, intracellular sulfide itself may play a role in keeping Hb in the reduced oxygen-binding form and, therefore, be involved in RBC physiology and function. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Transparent conducting oxides and production thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gessert, Timothy A.; Yoshida, Yuki; Coutts, Timothy J.

    2014-06-10

    Transparent conducting oxides and production thereof are disclosed. An exemplary method of producing a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) material may comprise: providing a TCO target doped with either a high-permittivity oxide or a low-permittivity oxide in a process chamber. The method may also comprise depositing a metal oxide on the target in the process chamber to form a thin film having enhanced optical properties without substantially decreasing electrical quality.

  3. Response of methane production via propionate oxidation to carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes in paddy soil enrichments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianchao Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH have become a growing concern in terms of their fate and toxicity in aqueous environments. Methane (CH4 is a major product of organic matter degradation in waterlogged environments. In this study, we determined the effect of MWCNTs-COOH on the production of CH4 from propionate oxidation in paddy soil enrichments. The results showed that the methanogenesis from propionate degradation was accelerated in the presence of MWCNTs-COOH. In addition, the rates of CH4 production and propionate degradation increased with increasing concentrations of MWCNTs-COOH. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM observations showed that the cells were intact and maintained their structure in the presence of MWCNTs-COOH. In addition, SEM and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH images revealed that the cells were in direct contact with the MWCNTs and formed cell-MWCNTs aggregates that contained both bacteria and archaea. On the other hand, nontoxic magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 had similar effects on the CH4 production and cell integrity as the MWCNTs-COOH. Compared with no nanomaterial addition, the relative abundances of Geobacter and Methanosarcina species increased in the presence of MWCNTs-COOH. This study suggests that MWCNTs-COOH exerted positive rather than cytotoxic effects on the syntrophic oxidation of propionate in paddy soil enrichments and affected the bacterial and archaeal community structure at the test concentrations. These findings provide novel insight into the consequences of nanomaterial release into anoxic natural environments.

  4. Recent advances in Phytosterol Oxidation Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Callaghan, Yvonne; McCarthy, Florence O; O'Brien, Nora M

    2014-04-11

    Phytosterols and their oxidation products have become increasingly investigated in recent years with respect to their roles in diet and nutrition. We present a comprehensive review of recent literature on Phytosterol Oxidation Products (POP) identifying critical areas for future investigation. It is evident that POP are formed on food storage/preparation; are absorbed and found in human serum; do not directly affect cholesterol absorption; have evidence of atherogenicity and inflammation; have distinct levels of cytotoxicity; are implicated with high levels of oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated caspase activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Bioavailability and in vivo metabolism of intact glucosinolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Christian; Frandsen, Heidi Blok; Jensen, Søren Krogh

    2016-01-01

    Health benefits associated with consumption of cruciferous vegetables have received considerable attention with a hitherto focus on the role and bioactivity of glucosinolate degradation products. We investigated the in vivo metabolism of intact glucosinolates by following their fate in digesta an...

  6. Top-Down Charge Transfer Dissociation (CTD) of Gas-Phase Insulin: Evidence of a One-Step, Two-Electron Oxidation Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Pengfei; Kreft, Iris; Jackson, Glen P.

    2018-02-01

    Top-down analyses of protonated insulin cations of charge states of 4+, 5+, or 6+ were performed by exposing the isolated precursor ions to a beam of helium cations with kinetic energy of more than 6 keV, in a technique termed charge transfer dissociation (CTD). The 100 ms charge transfer reaction resulted in approximately 20% conversion efficiency to other intact charge exchange products (CTnoD), and a range of low abundance fragment ions. To increase backbone and sulfide cleavages, and to provide better structural information than straightforward MS2 CTD, the CTnoD oxidized products were isolated and subjected to collisional activation at the MS3 level. The MS3 CTD/CID reaction effectively broke the disulfide linkages, separated the two chains, and yielded more structurally informative fragment ions within the inter-chain cyclic region. CTD also provided doubly oxidized intact product ions at the MS2 level, and resonance ejection of the singly oxidized product ion revealed that the doubly oxidized product originates directly from the isolated precursor ion and not from consecutive CTD reactions of a singly oxidized intermediate. MS4 experiments were employed to help identify potential radical cations and diradical cations, but the results were negative or inconclusive. Nonetheless, the two-electron oxidation process is a demonstration of the very large potential energy (>20 eV) available through CTD, and is a notable capability for a 3D ion trap platform.

  7. Methods for forming complex oxidation reaction products including superconducting articles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rapp, R.A.; Urquhart, A.W.; Nagelberg, A.S.; Newkirk, M.S.

    1992-01-01

    This patent describes a method for producing a superconducting complex oxidation reaction product of two or more metals in an oxidized state. It comprises positioning at least one parent metal source comprising one of the metals adjacent to a permeable mass comprising at least one metal-containing compound capable of reaction to form the complex oxidation reaction product in step below, the metal component of the at least one metal-containing compound comprising at least a second of the two or more metals, and orienting the parent metal source and the permeable mass relative to each other so that formation of the complex oxidation reaction product will occur in a direction towards and into the permeable mass; and heating the parent metal source in the presence of an oxidant to a temperature region above its melting point to form a body of molten parent metal to permit infiltration and reaction of the molten parent metal into the permeable mass and with the oxidant and the at least one metal-containing compound to form the complex oxidation reaction product, and progressively drawing the molten parent metal source through the complex oxidation reaction product towards the oxidant and towards and into the adjacent permeable mass so that fresh complex oxidation reaction product continues to form within the permeable mass; and recovering the resulting complex oxidation reaction product

  8. Effects of epidermal growth factor, interleukin 1 and nitric oxide on prostaglandin production by guinea-pig uterus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeble, J E; Poyser, N L

    2002-08-01

    Initial experiments in the present study investigated the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) and sodium nitroprusside (a nitric oxide donor) on the output of prostaglandins from guinea-pig uterus on day 7 of the oestrous cycle. Superfusion of day 7 guinea-pig uterus in vitro with either EGF or sodium nitroprusside increased the output of PGF(2alpha) and 6-keto-PGF(1alpha), but not of PGE(2). IL-1beta had no effect on the output of these three prostaglandins. EGF still increased the output of PGF(2alpha), but did not increase the output of 6-keto-PGF(1alpha) in a calcium-depleted superfusate. Subsequent experiments investigated the effect of sodium nitroprusside on contractile activity of day 7 guinea-pig uterus. Basal spontaneous activity of both the intact uterus and isolated myometrium superfused in vitro was low. Sodium nitroprusside increased the contractile activity of these tissues two- to fourfold. EGF did not affect the contractile activity of the uterus, indicating that sodium nitroprusside-induced contractions are not due to increased prostaglandin production. Overall, the findings indicate that EGF and nitric oxide may act as mediators in the mechanism by which oestradiol acting on a progesterone-primed uterus stimulates the increase in PGF(2alpha) production by the guinea-pig uterus necessary for luteolysis. Nitric oxide may increase the spontaneous activity of the uterus when this activity is low.

  9. Modification in oxidative processes in muscle tissues exposed to laser- and light-emitting diode radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monich, Victor A; Bavrina, Anna P; Malinovskaya, Svetlana L

    2018-01-01

    Exposure of living tissues to high-intensity red or near-infrared light can produce the oxidative stress effects both in the target zone and adjacent ones. The protein oxidative modification (POM) products can be used as reliable and early markers of oxidative stress. The contents of modified proteins in the investigated specimens can be evaluated by the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine assay (the DNPH assay). Low-intensity red light is able to decrease the activity of oxidative processes and the DNPH assay data about the POM products in the biological tissues could show both an oxidative stress level and an efficiency of physical agent protection against the oxidative processes. Two control groups of white rats were irradiated by laser light, the first control group by red light and the second one by near-infrared radiation (NIR).Two experimental groups were consequently treated with laser and red low-level light-emitting diode radiation (LED). One of them was exposed to red laser light + LED and the other to NIR + LED. The fifth group was intact. Each group included ten animals. The effect of laser light was studied by methods of protein oxidative modifications. We measured levels of both induced and spontaneous POM products by the DNPH assay. The dramatic increase in levels of POM products in the control group samples when compared with the intact group data as well as the sharp decrease in the POM products in the experimental groups treated with LED low-level light were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). Exposure of skeletal muscles to high-intensity red and near-infrared laser light causes oxidative stress that continues not less than 3 days. The method of measurement of POM product contents by the DNPH assay is a reliable test of an oxidative process rate. Red low-intensity LED radiation can provide rehabilitation of skeletal muscle tissues treated with high-intensity laser light.

  10. Comparison of Intact PTH and Bio-Intact PTH Assays Among Non-Dialysis Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Einbinder, Yael; Benchetrit, Sydney; Golan, Eliezer; Zitman-Gal, Tali

    2017-09-01

    The third-generation bio-intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1-84) assay was designed to overcome problems associated with the detection of C-terminal fragments by the second-generation intact PTH assay. The two assays have been compared primarily among dialysis populations. The present study evaluated the correlations and differences between these two PTH assays among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3 to 5 not yet on dialysis. Blood samples were collected from 98 patients with CKD stages 3 to 5. PTH concentrations were measured simultaneously by using the second-generation - PTH intact-STAT and third-generation bio-intact 1-84 PTH assays. Other serum biomarkers of bone mineral disorders were also assessed. CKD stage was calculated by using the CKD-Epidemiology Collaboration (EPI) formula. Serum bio-intact PTH concentrations were strongly correlated but significantly lower than the intact PTH concentrations (r=0.963, Pbio-intact PTH) positively correlated with urea (r=0.523, r=0.504; P=0.002, respectively), phosphorus (r=0.532, r=0.521; Pbio-intact PTH assay detected significantly lower PTH concentrations compared with intact PTH assay. Additional studies that correlate the diagnosis and management of CKD mineral and bone disorders with bone histomorphometric findings are needed to determine whether bio-intact PTH assay results are better surrogate markers in these early stages of CKD. © The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine

  11. Hydrogen sulfide oxidation without oxygen - oxidation products and pathways

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fossing, H.

    1992-01-01

    Hydrogen sulfide oxidation was studied in anoxic marine sediments-both in undisturbed sediment cores and in sediment slurries. The turn over of hydrogen sulfide was followed using 35 S-radiolabeled hydrogen sulfide which was injected into the sediment. However, isotope exchange reactions between the reduced sulfur compounds, in particular between elemental sulfur and hydrogen sulfide, influenced on the specific radioactivity of these pools. It was, therefore, not possible to measure the turn over rates of the reduced sulfur pools by the radiotracer technique but merely to use the radioisotope to demonstrate some of the oxidation products. Thiosulfate was one important intermediate in the anoxic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide and was continuously turned over by reduction, oxidation and disproportionation. The author discusses the importance of isotope exchange and also presents the results from experiments in which both 35 S-radiolabeled elemental sulfur, radiolabeled hydrogen sulfide and radiolabeled thiosulfate were used to study the intermediates in the oxidative pathways of the sulfur cycle

  12. The chemistry of isoindole natural products

    OpenAIRE

    Speck, Klaus; Magauer, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Summary This review highlights the chemical and biological aspects of natural products containing an oxidized or reduced isoindole skeleton. This motif is found in its intact or modified form in indolocarbazoles, macrocyclic polyketides (cytochalasan alkaloids), the aporhoeadane alkaloids, meroterpenoids from Stachybotrys species and anthraquinone-type alkaloids. Concerning their biological activity, molecular structure and synthesis, we have limited this review to the most inspiring examples...

  13. Volatile profile, lipid oxidation and protein oxidation of irradiated ready-to-eat cured turkey meat products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Xi; Ahn, Dong Uk

    2016-01-01

    Irradiation had little effects on the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in ready-to-eat (RTE) turkey meat products, while it increased protein oxidation at 4.5 kGy. The volatile profile analyses indicated that the amount of sulfur compounds increased linearly as doses increased in RTE turkey meat products. By correlation analysis, a positive correlation was found between benzene/ benzene derivatives and alcohols with lipid oxidation, while aldehydes, ketones and alkane, alkenes and alkynes were positively correlated with protein oxidation. Principle component analysis showed that irradiated meat samples can be discriminated by two categories of volatile compounds: Strecker degradation products and radiolytic degradation products. The cluster analysis of volatile data demonstrated that low-dose irradiation had minor effects on the volatile profile of turkey sausages (<1.5 kGy). However, as the doses increased, the differences between the irradiated and non-irradiated cured turkey products became significant. - Highlights: • Irradiation had little effects on lipid oxidation of ready-to-eat cured turkey. • 4.5 kGy irradiation increased protein oxidation. • Irradiated samples were isolated due to Strecker/radiolytic degradation products. • 1.5 kGy irradiation had limited effects on the volatile profile of turkey sausages. • Dimethyl disulfide can be used as a potential marker for irradiated meat products.

  14. Positive Youth Development, Life Satisfaction and Problem Behaviors of Adolescents in Intact and Non-Intact Families in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Tan Lei Shek

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated whether Chinese adolescents living in intact and non-intact families differed in their positive development, life satisfaction, and risk behavior. A total of 3,328 Secondary 1 students responded to measures of positive youth development (such as resilience and psychosocial competencies, life satisfaction, and risk behavior (substance abuse, delinquency, Internet addiction, consumption of pornographic materials, self-harm, and behavioral intention to engage in problem behavior. Findings revealed that adolescents growing up in intact families reported higher levels of positive developmental outcomes and life satisfaction as compared with adolescents from non-intact families. Adolescents in non-intact families also reported higher levels of risk behaviors than those growing up in intact families.

  15. 40 CFR 415.50 - Applicability; description of the calcium oxide production subcategory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... calcium oxide production subcategory. 415.50 Section 415.50 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... SOURCE CATEGORY Calcium Oxide Production Subcategory § 415.50 Applicability; description of the calcium... the production of calcium oxide. ...

  16. Exploratory investigations of hypervelocity intact capture spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsou, P.; Griffiths, D. J.

    1993-01-01

    The ability to capture hypervelocity projectiles intact opens a new technique available for hypervelocity research. A determination of the reactions taking place between the projectile and the capture medium during the process of intact capture is extremely important to an understanding of the intact capture phenomenon, to improving the capture technique, and to developing a theory describing the phenomenon. The intact capture of hypervelocity projectiles by underdense media generates spectra, characteristic of the material species of projectile and capture medium involved. Initial exploratory results into real-time characterization of hypervelocity intact capture techniques by spectroscopy include ultra-violet and visible spectra obtained by use of reflecting gratings, transmitting gratings, and prisms, and recorded by photographic and electronic means. Spectrometry proved to be a valuable real-time diagnostic tool for hypervelocity intact capture events, offering understanding of the interactions of the projectile and the capture medium during the initial period and providing information not obtainable by other characterizations. Preliminary results and analyses of spectra produced by the intact capture of hypervelocity aluminum spheres in polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyurethane (PU) foams are presented. Included are tentative emission species identifications, as well as gray body temperatures produced in the intact capture process.

  17. Intact glycopeptide characterization using mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Li; Qu, Yi; Zhang, Zhaorui; Wang, Zhe; Prytkova, Iya; Wu, Si

    2016-05-01

    Glycosylation is one of the most prominent and extensively studied protein post-translational modifications. However, traditional proteomic studies at the peptide level (bottom-up) rarely characterize intact glycopeptides (glycosylated peptides without removing glycans), so no glycoprotein heterogeneity information is retained. Intact glycopeptide characterization, on the other hand, provides opportunities to simultaneously elucidate the glycan structure and the glycosylation site needed to reveal the actual biological function of protein glycosylation. Recently, significant improvements have been made in the characterization of intact glycopeptides, ranging from enrichment and separation, mass spectroscopy (MS) detection, to bioinformatics analysis. In this review, we recapitulated currently available intact glycopeptide characterization methods with respect to their advantages and limitations as well as their potential applications.

  18. Method of manufacturing gadolinium oxide-incorporated nuclear fuel sintering products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komono, Akira; Seki, Makoto; Omori, Sadayuki.

    1987-01-01

    Purpose: To manufacture nuclear fuel sintering products excellent in burning property and mechanical property. Constitution: In the manufacturing step for nuclear fuel sintering products, specific metal oxides are added for promoting the growth of crystal grains in the sintering. Those metal oxides melted at a temperature lower than the sintering temperature of a mixture of nuclear fuel oxide powder and oxide power, or those metal oxides causing eutectic reaction are used as the metal oxide. Particularly, those compounds having oxygen atom - metal atom ratio (O/M) of not less than 2 are preferably used. As such metal oxides usable herein transition metal oxides, e.g., Nb 2 O 5 , TiO 2 , MoO 3 and WO 3 are preferred, with Nb 2 O 3 and TiO 2 being preferred particularly. (Seki, T.)

  19. Production of biogenic manganese oxides coupled with methane oxidation in a bioreactor for removing metals from wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsushita, Shuji; Komizo, Daisuke; Cao, Linh Thi Thuy; Aoi, Yoshiteru; Kindaichi, Tomonori; Ozaki, Noriatsu; Imachi, Hiroyuki; Ohashi, Akiyoshi

    2018-03-01

    Biogenic manganese oxide (BioMnO x ) can efficiently adsorb various minor metals. The production of BioMnO x in reactors to remove metals during wastewater treatment processes is a promising biotechnological method. However, it is difficult to preferentially enrich manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) to produce BioMnO x during wastewater treatment processes. A unique method of cultivating MnOB using methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) to produce soluble microbial products is proposed here. MnOB were successfully enriched in a methane-fed reactor containing MOB. BioMnO x production during the wastewater treatment process was confirmed. Long-term continual operation of the reactor allowed simultaneous removal of Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II). The Co(II)/Mn(II) and Ni(II)/Mn(II) removal ratios were 53% and 19%, respectively. The degree to which Mn(II) was removed indicated that the enriched MnOB used utilization-associated products and/or biomass-associated products. Microbial community analysis revealed that methanol-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the Hyphomicrobiaceae family played important roles in the oxidation of Mn(II) by using utilization-associated products. Methane-oxidizing bacteria were found to be inhibited by MnO 2 , but the maximum Mn(II) removal rate was 0.49 kg m -3  d -1 . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Subsequent influences of feeding intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca to growing lambs on the seminal and testicular characteristics in rams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samara, E M; Okab, A B; Abdoun, K A; El-Waziry, A M; Al-Haidary, A A

    2013-12-01

    The present experiment was designed to investigate the subsequent influences of supplementing different levels of intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca (0%, 3%, and 5% DM) to growing sexually immature lambs during the growth period (74 d) on the seminal and testicular characteristics of sexually mature rams. Ulva lactuca was manually collected, adequately prepared, and then incorporated into lambs' diets. Eighteen male 3-mo-old lambs of the Awassi breed with a mean BW of 22.57 kg (SD = 1.08) were randomly assigned into treatments. The obtained results indicate that offering Ulva lactuca at the level of 3% or 5% DM to lambs during the growth period had no subsequent impacts (P > 0.05) on liver and kidney functions as well as blood water balance in rams, thereby suggesting that Ulva lactuca can be safely supplemented to lambs during growing. However, our findings point out that feeding a lamb diet supplemented with intact Ulva lactuca failed to demonstrate any subsequent benefit (P > 0.05) on the growth performance, thermoregulatory responses, and plasma oxidative status in rams. Above all, it was clearly evident that supplementing intact Ulva lactuca to lambs had demonstrated subsequent negative influences (P Ulva lactuca during the growth period compared to control rams. The deleterious impacts of feeding intact Ulva lactuca on spermatogenesis and germ cell loss were proven to be attributed to the dysfunction of Sertoli cells. Collectively, these results provide novel insights on the subsequent influences of dietary supplementation of intact Ulva lactuca to lambs. The consistent evidence of profound negative impacts on seminal and testicular characteristics as well as the resulting data of no improvement of subsequent growth, thermoregulation, and plasma oxidative status in rams prompts us to tentatively recommend the avoidance of feeding intact Ulva lactuca to lambs.

  1. Production and characterization of quality gadolinium oxide nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazarika, Samiran; Mohanta, Dambarudhar

    2013-01-01

    Rare earth system Gadolinium (Gd), in either pure form or oxide form, is highly stable against environmental attack. It has immense potential as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices. Being mechanically and thermally stable it is always difficult to obtain Gd 2 O 3 nanopowders directly from its bulk counterpart using conventional top-down approach. Recently, we have reported production of Gd 2 O 3 nanopowders by first converting bulk Gd 2 O 3 into a nitrate compound and subsequently reduced into a hydroxide product and finally to the oxide product (nanopowder form)

  2. Investigation of intact rock geomechanical parameters' effects on commercial blocks' productivity within stone reserves: A case history of some quarries in Isfahan, Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarahmadi, Reza; Bagherpour, Raheb; Tabaei, Morteza; Sousa, Luis M. O.

    2017-10-01

    One of the common methods to determine commercial blocks productivity (CBP) in reserves of dimension stone is through the study of the discontinuities' network. However, this determination remains a difficult task due to geographical heterogeneity and lack of access to all reserves' formations. This study presents a new method based on various geomechanical tests performed on intact rocks that assessed the CBP of a dimension stones' rock mass. Assuming that a dimension stone's rock mass comprised a large block of an intact rock, due to tectonics, the geomechanical properties of this block had direct effects on the discontinuities created within it. Therefore, the geomechanical properties of the intact rock may be related to the CBP of a stone reserve. Based on this factor, this study explored the relationship among some geomechanical properties, including failure angle, uniaxial compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity, and CBP by using data acquired from 21 dimension stone quarries consisting of travertine, marble, and onyx groups. According to the results obtained from the analysis of the Isfahan province's Iranian quarries, failure angle was not highly related to the reserve's CBP. In marble quarries, CBP may decrease, if the compressive strength of an intact rock exceeds 60 MPa. Among the studied parameters, the saturated-to-dry ratio's modulus of elasticity had the greatest relationship to the CBP. Generally, the presented diagrams displayed that the correlation between geomechanical properties and the CBP were an appropriate guide in determining the potential cost-effectiveness of a accessing a particular rock reserve during the early exploration phase.

  3. Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming of Ethyl Alcohol over Palladium/Indium Oxide Catalyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetsuo Umegaki

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the synergetic effect between palladium and indium oxide on hydrogen production in the steam reforming reaction of ethyl alcohol. The palladium/indium oxide catalyst shows higher hydrogen production rate than indium oxide and palladium. Palladium/indium oxide affords ketonization of ethyl alcohol with negligible by-product carbon monoxide, while indium oxide mainly affords dehydration of ethyl alcohol, and palladium affords decomposition of ethyl alcohol with large amount of by-product carbon monoxide. The catalytic feature of palladium/indium oxide can be ascribed to the formation of palladium-indium intermetallic component during the reaction as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements.

  4. Serum steroid levels in intact and endocrine ablated BALB/c nude mice and their intact littermates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brünner, N; Svenstrup, B; Spang-Thomsen, M

    1986-01-01

    An investigation was made of the serum steroid levels found in intact and endocrine ablated nude mice of both sexes and in their intact homozygous littermates. The results showed that nude mice have a normal steroidogenesis, but with decreased levels of circulating steroids compared to those...

  5. Cathode recovery products of oxidation of oils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    М.М. Захарчук

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available  The article provides the review of electrochemical reduction of carbonic compounds – those that are among main oxidation of oils  hydrocarbons products. The principal possibility of ketons to alcohols  reduction is proved in practice based on the experimental data . The methodical algoritm of quantative control of the catod reduction is developed, which uses the reduction-oxidizing potentiometric titration method.

  6. Low nitrous oxide production in intermittent-feed high performance nitritating reactors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Su, Qingxian; Jensen, Malene M.; Smets, Barth F.

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) production from autotrophic nitrogen removal processes, especially nitritating systems, is of growing concern. N2O dynamics were characterized and N2O production factors were quantified in two lab-scale intermittent-feed nitritating SBRs. 93 ± 14% of the oxidized ammonium...... was converted to nitrite, with the average total net N2O production of 2.1 ± 0.7% of the ammonium oxidized. Operation with intermittent feeding appears an effective optimization approach to mitigate N2O emissions from nitritating systems. Net N2O production rates transiently increased with a rise in pH after...

  7. Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roucoux, K H; Lawson, I T; Baker, T R; Del Castillo Torres, D; Draper, F C; Lähteenoja, O; Gilmore, M P; Honorio Coronado, E N; Kelly, T J; Mitchard, E T A; Vriesendorp, C F

    2017-12-01

    Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza-Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land-use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon-dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon-based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  8. Fact and Fiction of Nitrous Oxide Production By Nitrification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, L. Y.; Kozlowski, J.; Stieglmeier, M.; Klotz, M. G.; Schleper, C.

    2014-12-01

    An accepted dogma in nitrification research is that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) produce a modicum of nitrous oxide (N2O) during nitritation via incomplete oxidation of hydroxylamine, and substantially more at low oxygen concentrations via nitrifier denitrification.The nitrifier denitrification pathway involves the reduction of nitrite to N2O via nitric oxide and was thought to require activities of a copper-containing nitrite reductase (NirK) and nitric oxide reductase (NorB); inventory encoded in most, but not all AOB genome sequences. The discovery of nirK genes in ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota (AOA) resulted in a slew of publications stating that AOA must also perform nitrifier denitrification and, due to their high abundance, must control the majority of nitrification-linked N2O emissions. Prior to a publication by Stieglmeier et al. (2014), which definitively showed a lack of nitrifier denitrification by two axenic AOA cultures, other researchers relied on enrichment cultures, negative data, and heavy inferencing without direct demonstration of either a functional pathway or involvement of specific genes or enzymes. AOA genomes lack recognizable nitric oxide reductases and thermophilic AOA also lack nirK genes. Physiological and microrespirometry experiments with axenic AOB and AOA cultures allowed us to demonstrate that: 1) AOB produce N2O via nitrifier denitrification even though some lack annotated nirK and/or norB genes; 2) nitrifier denitrification by AOB is reliant on nitric oxide but ammonia oxidation is not; 3) ammonia oxidation by AOA is reliant on production of nitric oxide; 4) AOA are incapable of generating N2O via nitrifier denitrification; 5) N2O production by AOA is from chemical interactions between NO and media components, most likely not by enzyme activity. Our results reveal operation of different N oxide transformation pathways in AOB and AOA governed by different environmental controls and involving different mechanisms of N2O

  9. Hydrogen production by ethanol partial oxidation over nano-iron oxide catalysts produced by chemical vapour synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmed, Wael Ahmed Abou Taleb Sayed

    2011-01-13

    This work presents the experimental results of the synthesis of unsupported and supported SiC iron oxide nanoparticles and their catalytic activity towards ethanol partial oxidation. For comparison, further unsupported iron oxide phases were investigated towards the ethanol partial oxidation. These {gamma}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and {alpha}/{gamma}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase catalysts were prepared by the CVS method using Fe(CO){sub 5} as precursor, supplied by another author. The {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and SiC nanoparticles were prepared by the CVS method using a home made hot wall reactor technique at atmospheric pressure. Ferrocene and tetramethylsilane were used as precursor for the production process. Process parameters of precursor evaporation temperature, precursor concentration, gas mixture velocity and gas mixture dilution were investigated and optimised to produce particle sizes in a range of 10 nm. For Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SiC catalyst series production, a new hot wall reactor setup was used. The particles were produced by simultaneous thermal decomposition of ferrocene and tetramethylsilane in one reactor from both sides. The production parameters of inlet tube distance inside the reactor, precursor evaporation temperature and carrier gas flow were investigated to produce a series of samples with different iron oxide content. The prepared catalysts composition, physical and chemical properties were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, BET surface area, FTIR, XPS and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The catalytic activity for the ethanol gas-phase oxidation was investigated in a temperature range from 260 C to 290 C. The product distributions obtained over all catalysts were analysed with mass spectrometry analysis tool. The activity of bulk Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and SiC nanoparticles was compared with prepared nano-iron oxide phase catalysts. The reaction parameters, such as reaction temperature and O{sub 2}/ethanol ratio were investigated. The catalysts

  10. An investigation of oxidation products and SOA yields from OH + pesticide reactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murschell, T.; Friedman, B.; Link, M.; Farmer, D.

    2016-12-01

    Pesticides are used globally in agricultural and residential areas. After application and/or volatilization from a surface, these compounds can be transported over long distances in the atmosphere. However, their chemical fate, including oxidation and gas-particle partitioning in the atmosphere, is not well understood. We present gas and particle measurements of oxidation products from pesticide + OH reactions using a dynamic solution injection system coupled to an Oxidative Flow Reactor. Products were detected with a High Resolution Time of Flight Iodide Chemical Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) and a Size Mobility Particle Scanner (SMPS). The OFR allows pesticides to react with variable OH radical exposures, ranging from the equivalent of one day to a full week of atmospheric oxidative aging. In this work, we explore pesticide oxidation products from reaction with OH and ozone, and compare those products to photolysis reactions. Pesticides of similar chemical structures were explored, including acetochlor / metolachlor and permethrin / cypermethrin, to explore mechanistic differences. We present chemical parameters including average product oxidation state, average oxygen to carbon ratio, and potential secondary organic aerosol formation for each of these compounds.

  11. Oxide production program monthly report - December 2014

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelley, Evelyn A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Whitworth, Julia [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Lloyd, Jane Alexandria [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hampton, David Earl [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Benavidez, Amelia A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-01-15

    A summary of the major activities, accomplishments, milestones, financial summary, project performance and issues facing the ARIES Oxide Production Program for the month of December 2014 is presented in this Executive Summary.

  12. Graphene oxide and H2 production from bioelectrochemical graphite oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Lu; Zeng, Cuiping; Wang, Luda; Yin, Xiaobo; Jin, Song; Lu, Anhuai; Jason Ren, Zhiyong

    2015-11-17

    Graphene oxide (GO) is an emerging material for energy and environmental applications, but it has been primarily produced using chemical processes involving high energy consumption and hazardous chemicals. In this study, we reported a new bioelectrochemical method to produce GO from graphite under ambient conditions without chemical amendments, value-added organic compounds and high rate H2 were also produced. Compared with abiotic electrochemical electrolysis control, the microbial assisted graphite oxidation produced high rate of graphite oxide and graphene oxide (BEGO) sheets, CO2, and current at lower applied voltage. The resultant electrons are transferred to a biocathode, where H2 and organic compounds are produced by microbial reduction of protons and CO2, respectively, a process known as microbial electrosynthesis (MES). Pseudomonas is the dominant population on the anode, while abundant anaerobic solvent-producing bacteria Clostridium carboxidivorans is likely responsible for electrosynthesis on the cathode. Oxygen production through water electrolysis was not detected on the anode due to the presence of facultative and aerobic bacteria as O2 sinkers. This new method provides a sustainable route for producing graphene materials and renewable H2 at low cost, and it may stimulate a new area of research in MES.

  13. Bee products prevent agrichemical-induced oxidative damage in fish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daiane Ferreira

    Full Text Available In southern South America and other parts of the world, aquaculture is an activity that complements agriculture. Small amounts of agrichemicals can reach aquaculture ponds, which results in numerous problems caused by oxidative stress in non-target organisms. Substances that can prevent or reverse agrichemical-induced oxidative damage may be used to combat these effects. This study includes four experiments. In each experiment, 96 mixed-sex, 6-month-old Rhamdia quelen (118±15 g were distributed into eight experimental groups: a control group that was not exposed to contaminated water, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products plus tebuconazole (TEB; Folicur 200 CE™ and a group that was exposed to 0.88 mg L(-1 of TEB alone (corresponding to 16.6% of the 96-h LC50. We show that waterborne bee products, including royal jelly (RJ, honey (H, bee pollen (BP and propolis (P, reversed the oxidative damage caused by exposure to TEB. These effects were likely caused by the high polyphenol contents of these bee-derived compounds. The most likely mechanism of action for the protective effects of bee products against tissue oxidation and the resultant damage is that the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD, catalase (CAT and glutathione-S-transferase (GST are increased.

  14. Bee products prevent agrichemical-induced oxidative damage in fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Daiane; Rocha, Helio Carlos; Kreutz, Luiz Carlos; Loro, Vania Lucia; Marqueze, Alessandra; Koakoski, Gessi; da Rosa, João Gabriel Santos; Gusso, Darlan; Oliveira, Thiago Acosta; de Abreu, Murilo Sander; Barcellos, Leonardo José Gil

    2013-01-01

    In southern South America and other parts of the world, aquaculture is an activity that complements agriculture. Small amounts of agrichemicals can reach aquaculture ponds, which results in numerous problems caused by oxidative stress in non-target organisms. Substances that can prevent or reverse agrichemical-induced oxidative damage may be used to combat these effects. This study includes four experiments. In each experiment, 96 mixed-sex, 6-month-old Rhamdia quelen (118±15 g) were distributed into eight experimental groups: a control group that was not exposed to contaminated water, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products plus tebuconazole (TEB; Folicur 200 CE™) and a group that was exposed to 0.88 mg L(-1) of TEB alone (corresponding to 16.6% of the 96-h LC50). We show that waterborne bee products, including royal jelly (RJ), honey (H), bee pollen (BP) and propolis (P), reversed the oxidative damage caused by exposure to TEB. These effects were likely caused by the high polyphenol contents of these bee-derived compounds. The most likely mechanism of action for the protective effects of bee products against tissue oxidation and the resultant damage is that the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) are increased.

  15. Potentiation of the generation of reactive oxidants by human phagocytes during exposure to benoxaprofen and ultraviolet radiation in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, R.; Eftychis, H.A.

    1986-09-01

    The effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the spontaneous membrane-associated oxidative metabolism of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and mononuclear leukocytes (MNL), co-incubated in the presence and absence of the non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) benoxaprofen at various concentrations, were investigated in vitro. Assays of superoxide generation and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) were used to detect the production of reactive oxidants by PMNL and MNL. The pro-oxidative effects of benoxaprofen and UV radiation alone and in combination are dependent on intact phagocyte membrane-associated oxidative metabolism. It is postulated that the pro-oxidative interactions which occur between human phagocytes, benoxaprofen and ultraviolet radiation cause the dermatological side-effects of benoxaprofen.

  16. Catalytic abatement of nitrous oxide from nitric and production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oonk, J.

    1998-01-01

    Nitric acid production is identified as a main source of nitrous oxide. Options for emission reduction however are not available. TNO and Hydro Agri studied the technological and economic feasibility of catalytic decomposition of nitrous oxide in nitric acid tail-gases. Although in literature

  17. Kinetics of abiotic nitrous oxide production via oxidation of hydroxylamine by particulate metals in seawater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavazos, A. R.; Taillefert, M.; Glass, J. B.

    2016-12-01

    The oceans are a significant of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. Current models of global oceanic N2­O flux focus on microbial N2O cycling and often ignore abiotic reactions, such as the thermodynamically favorable oxidation of the nitrification intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) by Mn(IV) or Fe(III). At circumneutral pH, NH2OH oxidation is more thermodynamically favorable via Mn(IV) than Fe(III) reduction. We characterized the kinetics of NH2OH oxidation in synthetic ocean water at pH 5.1-8.8 using microsensor electrodes to measure real-time N2O production. N2O production rates and yield were greater when NH2OH was oxidized by Mn(IV) than Fe(III). Accordingly, the reduction of Mn(IV) was first order with respect to NH2OH whereas the reduction of Fe(III) was zero order with respect to NH2OH. Interestingly, the order of the reaction with respect to Mn(IV) appears to be negative whereas the reaction is second order with respect to Fe(III). The inverse order with respect to Mn(IV) may be due to the aggregation of particles in seawater, which decreases their surface area and changes their reactivity. Finally, the reaction is first order with respect to protons with Fe(III) as the oxidant but zero order with Mn(IV). The stronger effect of the pH on the reaction with Fe(III) as the oxidant compared to Mn(IV) reflects the stoichiometry of these two reactions, as each mole of N2O produced by Fe(III) reduction consumes eight protons while each mole of N2O produced with Mn(IV) as the oxidant requires only four protons. Our data show that abiotic NH2OH oxidation by Mn(IV) or Fe(III) particles may represent a significant source of N2O in seawater. These findings suggest that abiotic N2O production in marine waters may be significant in areas of the oceans where particulate metals originating from aerosols, dust, or rivers may react with NH2OH released from ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms.

  18. Corrosion-product transport, oxidation state and remedial measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawicki, J.A.; Brett, M.E.; Tapping, R.L.

    1998-01-01

    The issues associated with monitoring and controlling corrosion-product transport (CPT) in the balance-of-plant (BOP) and steam generators (SG) of CANDU stations are briefly reviewed. The efforts are focused on minimizing corrosion of carbon steel, which is used extensively in the CANDU primary and secondary systems. Emphasis is placed on the corrosion-product oxidation state as a monitor of water chemistry effectiveness, and as a monitor of system corrosion effects. The discussion is based mostly on the results and observations from Ontario Hydro plants, and their comparisons with PWRs. The effects of low oxygen and elevated hydrazine chemistry are reviewed, as well as the effects of lay-up and various start-up conditions. Progress in monitoring electrochemical potential (ECP) at Ontario Hydro plants and its relationship to the oxidation state of corrosion products is reviewed. Observations on corrosion-product transport on the primary side of steam generators are also discussed. (author)

  19. Oxidation of PTH: in vivo feature or effect of preanalytical conditions?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ursem, Stan R.; Vervloet, Marc G.; Hillebrand, Jacquelien J. G.; de Jongh, Renate T.; Heijboer, Annemieke C.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Posttranslational oxidation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) modifies its biological activity. Measurement of non-oxidized PTH (n-oxPTH) could be an improvement in assessing PTH status, as intact PTH may rather reflect oxidative stress. However, it is debated whether oxidation of PTH occurs

  20. Bilirubin and its oxidation products damage brain white matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakovic, Katarina; Ai, Jinglu; D'Abbondanza, Josephine; Tariq, Asma; Sabri, Mohammed; Alarfaj, Abdullah K; Vasdev, Punarjot; Macdonald, Robert Loch

    2014-01-01

    Brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) occurs in cortex and white matter and may be mediated by blood breakdown products, including hemoglobin and heme. Effects of blood breakdown products, bilirubin and bilirubin oxidation products, have not been widely investigated in adult brain. Here, we first determined the effect of bilirubin and its oxidation products on the structure and function of white matter in vitro using brain slices. Subsequently, we determined whether these compounds have an effect on the structure and function of white matter in vivo. In all, 0.5 mmol/L bilirubin treatment significantly damaged both the function and the structure of myelinated axons but not the unmyelinated axons in brain slices. Toxicity of bilirubin in vitro was prevented by dimethyl sulfoxide. Bilirubin oxidation products (BOXes) may be responsible for the toxicity of bilirubin. In in vivo experiments, unmyelinated axons were found more susceptible to damage from bilirubin injection. These results suggest that unmyelinated axons may have a major role in white-matter damage in vivo. Since bilirubin and BOXes appear in a delayed manner after ICH, preventing their toxic effects may be worth investigating therapeutically. Dimethyl sulfoxide or its structurally related derivatives may have a potential therapeutic value at antagonizing axonal damage after hemorrhagic stroke. PMID:25160671

  1. The Evonik-Uhde HPPO process for proplene oxide production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaeger, B.; Baerz, M. [Evonik Industries, Hanau (Germany); Schemel, J.; Kolbe, B. [Uhde GmbH, Dortmund/Bad Soden (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    In 2008 the HPPO technology has shown up as an economically and environmentally friendly alternative for manufacturing of propylene oxide. The HPPO technology offers the advantage of an on purpose process for manufacturing of propylene oxide without dependency on disposal or marketing of coupling products. (orig.)

  2. Oxidant-stimulated chloride secretion in rat jejunum in vitro is mediated by eicosanoids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bertelsen, L.S.; Bukhave, Klaus

    2003-01-01

    Specific effects of the cytotoxic secondary lipid oxidation product, 4- hydroxynonenal (10(-8) - 10(-4) M), on intact sheets of rat jejunum were measured as changes in short circuit current (DeltaI(sc)) following cumulative addition to either the mucosal or serosal side, using the analogous...... (4- hydroxynonenal: 88.9 +/- 3.0%, N = 6, p piroxicam (10 μM), while 4......- hydroxynonenal- induced &UDelta;I-sc, was abolished by piroxicam (N = 8, P

  3. Intact glycopeptide characterization using mass spectrometry

    OpenAIRE

    Cao, Li; Qu, Yi; Zhang, Zhaorui; Wang, Zhe; Prykova, Iya; Wu, Si

    2016-01-01

    Glycosylation is one of the most prominent and extensively studied protein post-translational modifications. However, traditional proteomic studies at the peptide level (bottom-up) rarely characterize intact glycopeptides (glycosylated peptides without removing glycans), so no glycoprotein heterogeneity information is retained. Intact glycopeptide characterization, on the other hand, provides opportunities to simultaneously elucidate the glycan structure and the glycosylation site needed to r...

  4. Production of petroleum bitumen by oxidation of heavy oil residue with sulfur

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tileuberdi, Ye.; Akkazyn, Ye. A.; Ongarbayev, Ye. K.; Imanbayev, Ye. I.; Mansurov, Z. A.

    2018-03-01

    In this paper production of bitumen adding elemental sulfur at oxidation of oil residue are investigated. The objects of research were distilled residue of Karazhanbas crude oil and elemental sulfur. These oil residue characterized by a low output of easy fractions and the high content of tar-asphaltene substances, therefore is the most comprehensible feedstock for producing bitumen. The sulfur is one of the oil product collected in oil extraction regions. Oxidation process of hydrocarbons carried out at temperatures from 180 up to 210 °С without addition of sulfur and with the addition of sulfur (5-10 wt. %) for 4 hours. At 200 °С oxidation of hydrocarbons with 5, 7 and 10 wt.% sulfur within 3-4 h allows receiving paving bitumen on the mark BND 200/300, BND 130/200, BN 90/130 and BN 70/30. Physical and mechanical characteristics of oxidation products with the addition of 5-7 wt. % sulfur corresponds to grade of paving bitumen BND 40/60. At the given temperature oxidized for 2.5-3 h, addition of 10 wt. % sulfur gave the products of oxidation describing on parameters of construction grades of bitumen (BN 90/10).

  5. Kinetics, Mechanism, and Secondary Organic Aerosol Yield of Aqueous Phase Photo-oxidation of α-Pinene Oxidation Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aljawhary, Dana; Zhao, Ran; Lee, Alex K Y; Wang, Chen; Abbatt, Jonathan P D

    2016-03-10

    Formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) involves atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the majority of which are emitted from biogenic sources. Oxidation can occur not only in the gas-phase but also in atmospheric aqueous phases such as cloudwater and aerosol liquid water. This study explores for the first time the aqueous-phase OH oxidation chemistry of oxidation products of α-pinene, a major biogenic VOC species emitted to the atmosphere. The kinetics, reaction mechanisms, and formation of SOA compounds in the aqueous phase of two model compounds, cis-pinonic acid (PIN) and tricarballylic acid (TCA), were investigated in the laboratory; TCA was used as a surrogate for 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA), a known α-pinene oxidation product. Aerosol time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry (Aerosol-ToF-CIMS) was used to follow the kinetics and reaction mechanisms at the molecular level. Room-temperature second-order rate constants of PIN and TCA were determined to be 3.3 (± 0.5) × 10(9) and 3.1 (± 0.2) × 10(8) M(-1) s(-1), respectively, from which were estimated their condensed-phase atmospheric lifetimes. Aerosol-ToF-CIMS detected a large number of products leading to detailed reaction mechanisms for PIN and MBTCA. By monitoring the particle size distribution after drying, the amount of SOA material remaining in the particle phase was determined. An aqueous SOA yield of 40 to 60% was determined for PIN OH oxidation. Although recent laboratory studies have focused primarily on aqueous-phase processing of isoprene-related compounds, we demonstrate that aqueous formation of SOA materials also occurs from monoterpene oxidation products, thus representing an additional source of biogenically driven aerosol formation.

  6. MALDI FTICR IMS of Intact Proteins: Using Mass Accuracy to Link Protein Images with Proteomics Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spraggins, Jeffrey M.; Rizzo, David G.; Moore, Jessica L.; Rose, Kristie L.; Hammer, Neal D.; Skaar, Eric P.; Caprioli, Richard M.

    2015-06-01

    MALDI imaging mass spectrometry is a highly sensitive and selective tool used to visualize biomolecules in tissue. However, identification of detected proteins remains a difficult task. Indirect identification strategies have been limited by insufficient mass accuracy to confidently link ion images to proteomics data. Here, we demonstrate the capabilities of MALDI FTICR MS for imaging intact proteins. MALDI FTICR IMS provides an unprecedented combination of mass resolving power (~75,000 at m/z 5000) and accuracy (differentiate a series of oxidation products of S100A8 ( m/z 10,164.03, -2.1ppm), a subunit of the heterodimer calprotectin, in kidney tissue from mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus. S100A8 - M37O/C42O3 ( m/z 10228.00, -2.6ppm) was found to co-localize with bacterial microcolonies at the center of infectious foci. The ability of MALDI FTICR IMS to distinguish S100A8 modifications is critical to understanding calprotectin's roll in nutritional immunity.

  7. Oxidation of trimethoprim by ferrate(VI): kinetics, products, and antibacterial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anquandah, George A K; Sharma, Virender K; Knight, D Andrew; Batchu, Sudha Rani; Gardinali, Piero R

    2011-12-15

    Kinetics, stoichiometry, and products of the oxidation of trimethoprim (TMP), one of the most commonly detected antibacterial agents in surface waters and municipal wastewaters, by ferrate(VI) (Fe(VI)) were determined. The pH dependent second-order rate constants of the reactions of Fe(VI) with TMP were examined using acid-base properties of Fe(VI) and TMP. The kinetics of reactions of diaminopyrimidine (DAP) and trimethoxytoluene (TMT) with Fe(VI) were also determined to understand the reactivity of Fe(VI) with TMP. Oxidation products of the reactions of Fe(VI) with TMP and DAP were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Reaction pathways of oxidation of TMP by Fe(VI) are proposed to demonstrate the cleavage of the TMP molecule to ultimately result in 3,4,5,-trimethoxybenzaldehyde and 2,4-dinitropyrimidine as among the final identified products. The oxidized products mixture exhibited no antibacterial activity against E. coli after complete consumption of TMP. Removal of TMP in the secondary effluent by Fe(VI) was achieved.

  8. Production of superconducting ceramic oxides by coprecipitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bizaio, L.R.; Lima, M.A.F. de; Figueiredo Jardim, R.de; Pinheiro, E.A.; Galembeck, F.

    1988-01-01

    An alternative method for production of ceramic oxides is described. The method consist in the coprecipitation reaction of metallic ions with oxalic acid. The obtainment samples present additional phases characterized by X-rays and optical microscopy. (C.G.C.) [pt

  9. Corrosion-product transport, oxidation state and remedial measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawicki, J.A.; Brett, M.E.; Tapping, R.L.

    1998-10-01

    The issues associated with monitoring and controlling corrosion-product transport (CPT) in the balance-of-plant (BOP) and steam generators (SG) of CANDU stations are briefly reviewed. Efforts are focused on minimizing corrosion of carbon steel, which is used extensively in the CANDU primary and secondary systems. Emphasis is placed on the corrosion-product oxidation state as a monitor of water chemistry effectiveness and as a monitor of system corrosion effects. The discussion is based mostly on the results of observations from Ontario Hydro plants, and their comparisons with pressurized-water reactors. The effects of low oxygen and elevated hydrazine chemistry are reviewed, as well as the effects of layup and various startup conditions. Progress in monitoring electrochemical potential (ECP) at Ontario Hydro plants and its relationship to the oxidation state of corrosion products is reviewed. Observations on CPT on the primary side of SGs are also discussed. (author)

  10. Hydrodeoxygenation of oxidized distilled bio-oil for the production of gasoline fuel type

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Yan; Guda, Vamshi Krishna; Hassan, El Barbary; Steele, Philip H.; Mitchell, Brian; Yu, Fei

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Oxidation had more influence on the yield of total hydrocarbons than distillation. • The highest total hydrocarbon yield was obtained from oxidized distilled bio-oil. • The 2nd-stage hydrocarbons were in the range of gasoline fuel boiling points. • The main products for upgrading of oxidized bio-oil were aliphatic hydrocarbons. • The main products for upgrading of non-oxidized bio-oil were aromatic hydrocarbons. - Abstract: Distilled and oxidized distilled bio-oils were subjected to 1st-stage mild hydrodeoxygenation and 2nd-stage full hydrodeoxygenation using nickel/silica–alumina catalyst as a means to enhance hydrocarbon yield. Raw bio-oil was treated for hydrodeoxygenation as a control to which to compare study treatments. Following two-stage hydrodeoxygenation, four types of hydrocarbons were mainly comprised of gasoline and had water contents, oxygen contents and total acid numbers of nearly zero and higher heating values of 44–45 MJ/kg. Total hydrocarbon yields for raw bio-oil, oxidized raw bio-oil, distilled bio-oil and oxidized distilled bio-oil were 11.6, 16.2, 12.9 and 20.5 wt.%, respectively. The results indicated that oxidation had the most influence on increasing the yield of gasoline fuel type followed by distillation. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry characterization showed that 66.0–76.6% of aliphatic hydrocarbons and 19.5–31.6% of aromatic hydrocarbons were the main products for oxidized bio-oils while 35.5–38.7% of aliphatic hydrocarbons and 58.2–63.1% of aromatic hydrocarbons were the main products for non-oxidized bio-oils. Both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons are important components for liquid transportation fuels and chemical products.

  11. Nitrous oxide production by lithotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and implications for engineered nitrogen-removal systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandran, Kartik; Stein, Lisa Y; Klotz, Martin G; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M

    2011-12-01

    Chemolithoautotrophic AOB (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria) form a crucial component in microbial nitrogen cycling in both natural and engineered systems. Under specific conditions, including transitions from anoxic to oxic conditions and/or excessive ammonia loading, and the presence of high nitrite (NO₂⁻) concentrations, these bacteria are also documented to produce nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) gases. Essentially, ammonia oxidation in the presence of non-limiting substrate concentrations (ammonia and O₂) is associated with N₂O production. An exceptional scenario that leads to such conditions is the periodical switch between anoxic and oxic conditions, which is rather common in engineered nitrogen-removal systems. In particular, the recovery from, rather than imposition of, anoxic conditions has been demonstrated to result in N₂O production. However, applied engineering perspectives, so far, have largely ignored the contribution of nitrification to N₂O emissions in greenhouse gas inventories from wastewater-treatment plants. Recent field-scale measurements have revealed that nitrification-related N₂O emissions are generally far higher than emissions assigned to heterotrophic denitrification. In the present paper, the metabolic pathways, which could potentially contribute to NO and N₂O production by AOB have been conceptually reconstructed under conditions especially relevant to engineered nitrogen-removal systems. Taken together, the reconstructed pathways, field- and laboratory-scale results suggest that engineering designs that achieve low effluent aqueous nitrogen concentrations also minimize gaseous nitrogen emissions.

  12. STIMULATION OF OXIDANT PRODUCTION IN ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES BY POLLUTANT AND LATEX PARTICLES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Air pollutant dusts as well as chemically defined particles were examined for their activating effect on oxidant production (O2- and H2O2) in guinea pig alveolar macrophages (AM). Oxidant production was measured as chemiluminescence of albumin-bound luminol. All particles examine...

  13. Chemical Characterization and Reactivity of Fuel-Oxidizer Reaction Product

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Dennis D.; Dee, Louis A.; Beeson, Harold D.

    1997-01-01

    Fuel-oxidizer reaction product (FORP), the product of incomplete reaction of monomethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants prepared under laboratory conditions and from firings of Shuttle Reaction Control System thrusters, has been characterized by chemical and thermal analysis. The composition of FORP is variable but falls within a limited range of compositions that depend on three factors: the fuel-oxidizer ratio at the time of formation; whether the composition of the post-formation atmosphere is reducing or oxidizing; and the reaction or post-reaction temperature. A typical composition contains methylhydrazinium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, methylammonium nitrate, and trace amounts of hydrazinium nitrate and 1,1-dimethylhydrazinium nitrate. Thermal decomposition reactions of the FORP compositions used in this study were unremarkable. Neither the various compositions of FORP, the pure major components of FORP, nor mixtures of FORP with propellant system corrosion products showed any unusual thermal activity when decomposed under laboratory conditions. Off-limit thruster operations were simulated by rapid mixing of liquid monomethylhydrazine and liquid nitrogen tetroxide in a confined space. These tests demonstrated that monomethylhydrazine, methylhydrazinium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, or Inconel corrosion products can induce a mixture of monomethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide to produce component-damaging energies. Damaging events required FORP or metal salts to be present at the initial mixing of monomethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.

  14. Secondary organic aerosol production from pinanediol, a semi-volatile surrogate for first-generation oxidation products of monoterpenes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Penglin; Zhao, Yunliang; Chuang, Wayne K.; Robinson, Allen L.; Donahue, Neil M.

    2018-05-01

    We have investigated the production of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from pinanediol (PD), a precursor chosen as a semi-volatile surrogate for first-generation oxidation products of monoterpenes. Observations at the CLOUD facility at CERN have shown that oxidation of organic compounds such as PD can be an important contributor to new-particle formation. Here we focus on SOA mass yields and chemical composition from PD photo-oxidation in the CMU smog chamber. To determine the SOA mass yields from this semi-volatile precursor, we had to address partitioning of both the PD and its oxidation products to the chamber walls. After correcting for these losses, we found OA loading dependent SOA mass yields from PD oxidation that ranged between 0.1 and 0.9 for SOA concentrations between 0.02 and 20 µg m-3, these mass yields are 2-3 times larger than typical of much more volatile monoterpenes. The average carbon oxidation state measured with an aerosol mass spectrometer was around -0.7. We modeled the chamber data using a dynamical two-dimensional volatility basis set and found that a significant fraction of the SOA comprises low-volatility organic compounds that could drive new-particle formation and growth, which is consistent with the CLOUD observations.

  15. Strategies for Analyzing Data from Intact Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Lawrence H.; Lane, Carolyn E.

    Action research often necessitates the use of intact groups for the comparison of educational treatments or programs. This paper considers several analytical methods that might be used for such situations when pretest scores indicate that these intact groups differ significantly initially. The methods considered include gain score analysis of…

  16. Production of Oxygen from Lunar Regolith by Molten Oxide Electrolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curreri, Peter A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes the use of the molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) process for the extraction of oxygen for life support and propellant, and silicon and metallic elements for use in fabrication on the Moon. The Moon is rich in mineral resources, but it is almost devoid of chemical reducing agents, therefore, molten oxide electrolysis is ideal for extraction, since the electron is the only practical reducing agent. MOE has several advantages over other extraction methods. First, electrolytic processing offers uncommon versatility in its insensitivity to feedstock composition. Secondly, oxide melts boast the twin key attributes of highest solubilizing capacity for regolith and lowest volatility of any candidate electrolytes. The former is critical in ensuring high productivity since cell current is limited by reactant solubility, while the latter simplifies cell design by obviating the need for a gas-tight reactor to contain evaporation losses as would be the case with a gas or liquid phase fluoride reagent operating at such high temperatures. Alternatively, MOE requires no import of consumable reagents (e.g. fluorine and carbon) as other processes do, and does not rely on interfacing multiple processes to obtain refined products. Electrolytic processing has the advantage of selectivity of reaction in the presence of a multi-component feed. Products from lunar regolith can be extracted in sequence according to the stabilities of their oxides as expressed by the values of the free energy of oxide formation (e.g. chromium, manganese, Fe, Si, Ti, Al, magnesium, and calcium). Previous work has demonstrated the viability of producing Fe and oxygen from oxide mixtures similar in composition to lunar regolith by molten oxide electrolysis (electrowinning), also called magma electrolysis having shown electrolytic extraction of Si from regolith simulant. This paper describes recent advances in demonstrating the MOE process by a joint project with participation by NASA KSC and

  17. Dispersion strengthening of aluminium-aluminium-oxide products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Niels

    1970-01-01

    The true stress-true strain curves at room temperature and at 400°C were determined for various types of aluminium-aluminium-oxide products containing from 0.2 to 4.7 weight per cent of aluminium oxide. The effect of particles on the initial flow stress and the flow stress for 0.2% offset at room...... temperature and at 400°C is in agreement with Orowan's theory. The increase in flow stress at room temperature for strain values below 3 per cent was related to the plastic strain by the equation σ-σoy=k1ε 1/2, where σoy is the initial flow stress and where k1 increases for increasing volume fraction...... and decreasing particle size of the dispersed particles. A general expression for k1 was derived for the relationship between the dislocation density and the strain in dispersion-strengthened products...

  18. Small Particles Intact Capture Experiment (SPICE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishioka, Ken-Ji; Carle, G. C.; Bunch, T. E.; Mendez, David J.; Ryder, J. T.

    1994-01-01

    The Small Particles Intact Capture Experiment (SPICE) will develop technologies and engineering techniques necessary to capture nearly intact, uncontaminated cosmic and interplanetary dust particles (IDP's). Successful capture of such particles will benefit the exobiology and planetary science communities by providing particulate samples that may have survived unaltered since the formation of the solar system. Characterization of these particles may contribute fundamental data to our knowledge of how these particles could have formed into our planet Earth and, perhaps, contributed to the beginnings of life. The term 'uncontaminated' means that captured cosmic and IDP particles are free of organic contamination from the capture process and the term 'nearly intact capture' means that their chemical and elemental components are not materially altered during capture. The key to capturing cosmic and IDP particles that are organic-contamination free and nearly intact is the capture medium. Initial screening of capture media included organic foams, multiple thin foil layers, and aerogel (a silica gel); but, with the exception of aerogel, the requirements of no contamination or nearly intact capture were not met. To ensure no contamination of particles in the capture process, high-purity aerogel was chosen. High-purity aerogel results in high clarity (visual clearness), a useful quality in detection and recovery of embedded captured particles from the aerogel. P. Tsou at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) originally described the use of aerogel for this purpose and reported laboratory test results. He has flown aerogel as a 'GAS-can Lid' payload on STS-47 and is evaluating the results. The Timeband Capture Cell Experiment (TICCE), a Eureca 1 experiment, is also flying aerogel and is scheduled for recovery in late April.

  19. Toxicity of magnesium alloy biodegradation products in experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. M. Neryanov

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The article presents information on the study of possible toxic effects of biodegradation products of original magnesium-based alloy on laboratory rats. The used laboratory methods of investigation are described. Author has examined biochemical parameters of plasma on the base of which endogenous intoxication in rats was studied. It was found out that products of alloy biological resorption don’t cause toxic effects on tissues and don’t enhance cell destruction, that is evidenced by the absence of signs of endogenous intoxication and oxidative damage of functional macromolecules. Materials and methods. We used white mongrel male rats weighing 220-270 g (n = 20. Fixator consisting of a modified magnesium alloy ML-10 was implanted into the femur muscle mass of the animals of the experimental group (n = 14. The control group consisted of white mongrel male rats weighing 230-250 g (n = 6, which were not subjected to surgery (intact group. The degree of oxidative damage to proteins, the content of the average molecular weight, nucleic acids and the stable metabolites of nitric oxide were evaluated in plasma. Results and discussion. The studies revealed the reliable (relative to the intact group increase in the content of all fractions of middle molecules in the plasma of the experimental group of rats, the increase shows only that the immune system of animals with magnesium implants is in a reactive state and responds with minor release of biologically active substances into the bloodstream. At this rate of endogenous intoxication this exponent usually increases tenfold, but we have not seen that. Levels of stable metabolites of nitric oxide increase insignificantly(1,4 times, that likely indicates more on the start of adaptive signaling processes than a pathological condition. The experimental data concerning the content of nucleic acids in the plasma of animals with magnesium implants testifies in support of this hypothesis. There were no

  20. Production of beryllium oxide of nuclear purity from beryl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Copat, A; Sood, S P

    1984-01-01

    Production of beryllium oxide from beryl by the fluoride process was optimized in this study. Optimum results were obtained using a mixture of sodium hexafluorsilicate and sodium hexafluorferrate as flux and calcinating at 740/sup 0/C for 2 hours. The beryllium concentrate produced was further purified by crystallization as beryllium sulfate to obtain nuclear grade beryllium oxide

  1. Production of beryllium oxide of nuclear purity from beryl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Copat, A.; Sood, S.P.

    1983-01-01

    Production of beryllium oxide from beryl by the fluoride process was optimized in this study. Optimum results were obtained using a mixture of sodium hexafluorsilicate and sodium hexafluorferrate as flux and calcinating at 740 0 C for 2 hours. The beryllium concentrate produced was further purified by crystallization as beryllium sulfate to obtain nuclear grade beryllium oxide (Author) [pt

  2. Photoelectrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of thermally oxidized copper oxide for efficient solar fuel production

    KAUST Repository

    Garcia Esparza, Angel T.; Limkrailassiri, Kevin; Leroy, Fré dé ric; Rasul, Shahid; Yu, Weili; Lin, Liwei; Takanabe, Kazuhiro

    2014-01-01

    We report the use of a facile and highly scalable synthesis process to control growth products of earth-abundant Cu-based oxides and their application in relevant photoelectrochemical and electrochemical solar fuel generation systems. Characterization of the synthesized Cu(I)/Cu(II) oxides indicates that their surface morphology and chemical composition can be simply tuned by varying two synthesis parameters (time and temperature). UV-Vis spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy studies are performed to estimate the band structures and electronic properties of these p-type semiconductor materials. Photoelectrodes made of Cu oxides possess favorable energy band structures for production of hydrogen from water; the position of their conduction band is ≈1 V more negative than the water-reduction potential. High acceptor concentrations on the order of 1018-1019 cm-3 are obtained, producing large electric fields at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface and thereby enhancing charge separation. The highly crystalline pristine samples used as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical cells exhibit high photocurrents under AM 1.5G simulated illumination. When the samples are electrochemically reduced under galvanostatic conditions, the co-existence of the oxide with metallic Cu on the surface seems to function as an effective catalyst for the selective electrochemical reduction of CO2. © the Partner Organisations 2014.

  3. Analysis of microbial populations, denitrification, and nitrous oxide production in riparian buffers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riparian buffers are used extensively to protect water bodies from nonpoint source nitrogen pollution. However there is relatively little information on the impact of these buffers on production of nitrous oxide (N2O). In this study, we assessed nitrous oxide production in riparian buffers of the so...

  4. Nitrous Oxide Production and Fluxes from Coastal Sediments under Varying Environmental Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziebis, W.; Wankel, S. D.; de Beer, D.; Dentinger, J.; Buchwald, C.; Charoenpong, C.

    2014-12-01

    Although coastal zones represent important contributors to the increasing levels of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), it is still unclear which role benthic processes play and whether marine sediments represent sinks or sources for N2O, since interactions among closely associated microbial groups lead to a high degree of variability. In addition, coastal areas are extremely dynamic regions, often exposed to increased nutrient loading and conditions of depleted oxygen. We investigated benthic N2O fluxes and how environmental conditions affect N2O production in different sediments at 2 different geographical locations (German Wadden Sea, a California coastal lagoon). At each location, a total of 32 sediment cores were taken in areas that differed in sediment type, organic content and pore-water nutrient concentrations, as well as in bioturbation activity. Parallel cores were incubated under in-situ conditions, low oxygen and increased nitrate levels for 10 days. Zones of N2O production and consumption were identified in intact cores by N2O microprofiles at the beginning and end of the experiments. In a collaborative effort to determine the dominant sources of N2O, samples were taken throughout the course of the experiments for the determination of the isotopic composition of N2O (as well as nitrate, nitrite and ammonium). Our results indicate that both, nitrate addition and low oxygen conditions in the overlying water, caused an increase of subsurface N2O production in most sediments, with a high variability between different sediment types. N2O production in the sediments was accompanied by N2O consumption, reducing the fluxes to the water column. In general, organic rich sediments showed the strongest response to environmental changes with increased production and efflux of N2O into the overlying water. Bioturbation activity added to the complexity of N2O dynamics by an increase in nitrification-denitrification processes, as well as enhanced pore-water transport

  5. Thermal Oxidation of Tail Gases from the Production of Oil-furnace Carbon Black

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bosak, Z.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the production technology of oil-furnace carbon black, as well as the selected solution for preventing the emissions of this process from contaminating the environment.The products of industrial oil-furnace carbon black production are different grades of carbon black and process tail gases. The qualitative composition of these tail gases during the production of oil-furnace carbon black are: carbon(IV oxide, carbon(II oxide, hydrogen, methane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor.The quantitative composition and lower caloric value of process tail gases change depending on the type of feedstock used in the production, as well as the type of process. The lower caloric value of process tail gases is relatively small with values ranging between 1500 and 2300 kJ m–3.In the conventional production of oil-furnace carbon black, process tail gases purified from carbon black dust are freely released into the atmosphere untreated. In this manner, the process tail gases pollute the air in the town of Kutina, because their quantitative values are much higher than the prescribed emissions limits for hydrogen sulfide and carbon(II oxide. A logical solution for the prevention of such air pollution is combustion of the process tail gases, i. e. their thermal oxidation. For this purpose, a specially designed flare system has been developed. Consuming minimum amounts of natural gas needed for oxidation, the flare system is designed to combust low caloric process tail gases with 99 % efficiency. Thus, the toxic and flammable components of the tail gases (hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, carbon(II oxide, methane and other trace hydrocarbons would be transformed into environmentally acceptable components (sulfur(IV oxide, water, carbon(IV oxide and nitrogen(IV oxide, which are in compliance with the emissions limit values prescribed by law.Proper operation of this flare system in the production of oil-furnace carbon black would solve

  6. Methane oxidation in pig and cattle slurry storages, and effects of surface crust moisture and methane availability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, S.O.; Ambus, P.

    2006-01-01

    Storages with liquid manure (slurry) may develop a surface crust of particulate organic matter, or an artificial crust can be established. Slurry storages are net sources of atmospheric methane (CH4), but a potential for bacterial oxidation of CH4 in surface crusts was recently suggested in a study......2 during incubation, while intact subsamples were used to characterize CH4 oxidation as a function of CH4 availability and moisture content. Methane oxidation was observed in all materials except for an expanded clay product (Leca) sampled from a pig slurry storage. Despite significant variation...... crusts indicates that there is a potential for stimulating the process by manipulation of gas phase composition above the stored slurry....

  7. Biodiesel production using calcium manganese oxide as catalyst and different raw materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dias, Joana Maia; Conceição Machado Alvim-Ferraz, Maria; Fonseca Almeida, Manuel; Méndez Díaz, José Diego; Sánchez Polo, Manuel; Rivera Utrilla, José

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Biodiesel production using a calcium manganese oxide catalyst was studied. ► The active specie was Ca 0.9 Mn 0.1 O and its deactivation occurred by hydration. ► The studied catalyst presented lower activation temperature than CaO. ► Biodiesel production and quality using different raw materials is reported. ► Compared to the conventional process, biodiesel water content improved. - Abstract: The use of heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production aims to simplify the production process as well as to reduce purification costs and related environmental impacts. Calcium manganese oxide was recently identified by the authors as an interesting heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from animal fat; however, the difference between this and other catalysts, the catalyst activation/deactivation mechanisms, its behaviour in the synthesis using different raw materials as well as the impacts of its use on product quality remained unclear. Therefore, the present work: (i) compared biodiesel production using calcium manganese oxide and other catalysts (CaO and NaOH); (ii) studied the reasons leading to activation/deactivation of the heterogeneous catalyst; (iii) analysed biodiesel heterogeneous synthesis using calcium manganese oxide and different raw materials (lard, waste frying oil and a mixture); and (iv) evaluated raw material and catalyst impact on the product quality. Considering the use of different catalysts, the results showed that, after 8 h of reaction, product purity was similar using the different catalysts, being 92.5 wt.% using both NaOH and calcium manganese oxide and 93.8 wt.% using CaO. The active species of the heterogeneous catalysts were CaO, in the case of calcinated calcium carbonate, and Ca 0.9 Mn 0.1 O, in the case of calcinated calcium manganese oxide. Because the deactivating species were different for both catalysts, the calcium manganese oxide required lower activation temperature, which should be an advantage

  8. in vivo EFFECTS OF RARE-EARTH BASED NANOPARTICLES ON OXIDATIVE BALANCE IN RATS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. K. Klochkov

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the research was to find the influence of rare-earth based nanoparticles (CeO2, GdVO2: Eu3+ on the oxidative balance in rats. We analyzed biochemical markers of oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation level, nitric oxide metabolites, sulfhydryl groups content and enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase in tissues of rats. It has been found that administration of both types of the nanoparticles increased nitric oxide metabolites and products of lipid peroxidation in liver and spleen within 5 days. At injections of GdVO2: Eu3+ lipid peroxidation products, nitric oxide metabolites in serum at 5, 10 and 15 days of the experiment was also increased whereas the level of sulfhydryl groups decreased compared to the intact state and the control. In contrast, under the influence of nanoparticle CeO2 level diene conjugates were not significantly changed and the level of nitric oxide metabolites within 15 day even decreased. During this period, under the influence of both types of nanoparticles the activity of superoxide dismutase was increased, catalase activity was not changed. Oxidative stress coefficient showed the less pronounced CeO2 prooxidant effect (2.04 in comparison to GdVO2: Eu3+ (6.89. However, after-effect of both types of nanoparticles showed complete restoration of oxidative balance values.

  9. Nitroxyl-mediated oxidation of lignin and polycarboxylated products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stahl, Shannon S.; Rafiee, Mohammad

    2018-02-27

    Methods of selectively modifying lignin, polycarboxylated products thereof, and methods of deriving aromatic compounds therefrom. The methods comprise electrochemically oxidizing lignin using stable nitroxyl radicals to selectively oxidize primary hydroxyls on .beta.-O-4 phenylpropanoid units to corresponding carboxylic acids while leaving the secondary hydroxyls unchanged. The oxidation results in polycarboxylated lignin in the form of a polymeric .beta.-hydroxy acid. The polymeric .beta.-hydroxy acid has a high loading of carboxylic acid and can be isolated in acid form, deprotonated, and/or converted to a salt. The .beta.-hydroxy acid, anion, or salt can also be subjected to acidolysis to generate various aromatic monomers or oligomers. The initial oxidation of lignin to the polycarboxylated form renders the lignin more susceptible to acidolysis and thereby enhances the yield of aromatic monomers and oligomers obtained through acidolysis.

  10. 50 CFR 622.38 - Landing fish intact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... that is operating under the respective trip limits. Such cut-off fish also may be sold. A maximum of... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Landing fish intact. 622.38 Section 622.38... Landing fish intact. The operator of a vessel that fishes in the EEZ is responsible for ensuring that fish...

  11. Aboveground Biomass Variability Across Intact and Degraded Forests in the Brazilian Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Marcos; Keller, Michael; Dos-Santos, Maiza N.; Leitold, Veronika; Pinage, Ekena R.; Baccini, Alessandro; Saatchi, Sassan; Nogueira, Euler M.; Batistella, Mateus; Morton, Douglas C.

    2016-01-01

    Deforestation rates have declined in the Brazilian Amazon since 2005, yet degradation from logging, re, and fragmentation has continued in frontier forests. In this study we quantified the aboveground carbon density (ACD) in intact and degraded forests using the largest data set of integrated forest inventory plots (n 359) and airborne lidar data (18,000 ha) assembled to date for the Brazilian Amazon. We developed statistical models relating inventory ACD estimates to lidar metrics that explained70 of the variance across forest types. Airborne lidar-ACD estimates for intact forests ranged between 5.0 +/- 2.5 and 31.9 +/- 10.8 kg C m(exp -2). Degradation carbon losses were large and persistent. Sites that burned multiple times within a decade lost up to 15.0 +/- 0.7 kg C m(-2)(94%) of ACD. Forests that burned nearly15 years ago had between 4.1 +/- 0.5 and 6.8 +/- 0.3 kg C m(exp -2) (22-40%) less ACD than intact forests. Even for low-impact logging disturbances, ACD was between 0.7 +/- 0.3 and 4.4 +/- 0.4 kg C m(exp -2)(4-21%) lower than unlogged forests. Comparing biomass estimates from airborne lidar to existing biomass maps, we found that regional and pan-tropical products consistently overestimated ACD in degraded forests, under-estimated ACD in intact forests, and showed little sensitivity to res and logging. Fine-scale heterogeneity in ACD across intact and degraded forests highlights the benefits of airborne lidar for carbon mapping. Differences between airborne lidar and regional biomass maps underscore the need to improve and update biomass estimates for dynamic land use frontiers, to better characterize deforestation and degradation carbon emissions for regional carbon budgets and Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation(REDD+).

  12. Methods to assess secondary volatile lipid oxidation products in complex food matrices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Charlotte; Yesiltas, Betül

    A range of different methods are available to determine secondary volatile lipid oxidation products. These methods include e.g. spectrophotometric determination of anisidine values and TBARS as well as GC based methods for determination of specific volatile oxidation products such as pentanal...... headspace methods on the same food matrices will be presented....

  13. Effects of hydrolysed casein, intact casein and intact whey protein on energy expenditure and appetite regulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendtsen, Line Quist; Lorenzen, Janne Kunchel; Gomes, Sisse

    2014-01-01

    Casein and whey differ in amino acid composition and in the rate of absorption; however, the absorption rate of casein can be increased to mimic that of whey by exogenous hydrolysis. The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of hydrolysed casein (HC), intact casein (IC......) and intact whey (IW) on energy expenditure (EE) and appetite regulation, and thereby to investigate the influence of amino acid composition and the rate of absorption. In the present randomised cross-over study, twenty-four overweight and moderately obese young men and women consumed three isoenergetic...

  14. Pharmacokinetics of erythropoietin in intact and anephric dogs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, J.S.; Lertora, J.J.; Brookins, J.; Rice, J.C.; Fisher, J.W.

    1988-01-01

    The present studies were performed to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of erythropoietin in intact and anephric dogs by use of unlabeled crude native erythropoietin (nEp) and iodine 125-labeled purified recombinant erythropoietin (rEp) given by intravenous infusion for 15 minutes. Sephadex G-75 gel filtration was used to confirm that the 125I-rEp molecule remained iodinated in dog plasma during the 24-hour period of these studies. The plasma disappearance of erythropoietin conformed to a biexponential equation for both nEp and 125I-rEp, with the central compartment being larger than the peripheral compartment. The mean distribution half-life of 75.3 +/- 21.2 minutes for nEp was significantly (p less than 0.05) longer than that of 125I-rEp (23.7 +/- 5.0 minutes) in intact dogs. The intercompartmental clearance (CIic) for nEp (0.018 +/- 0.006 L/kg/hr) was significantly smaller than that of 125I-rEp (0.068 +/- 0.018 L/kg/hr) in intact dogs (p less than 0.05). There were no significant differences in apparent volume of distribution, elimination half-life, and elimination clearance (CIe) for nEp and rEp in intact dogs. The mean elimination half-life for 125I-rEp in intact dogs (9.0 +/- 0.6 hours) and anephric dogs (13.8 +/- 1.4 hours) was significantly different (p less than 0.05). The CIe for 125I-rEp in anephric dogs (0.008 +/- 0.001 L/kg/hr) was significantly (p less than 0.05) smaller than that of 125I-rEp in intact dogs (0.011 +/- 0.001 L/kg/hr). There were no significant differences in apparent volume of distribution, distribution half-life, and CIic for 125I-rEp in intact and anephric dogs

  15. Oxidation of Benzene by Persulfate in the Presence of Fe(III)- and Mn(IV)-Containing Oxides: Stoichiometric Efficiency and Transformation Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Haizhou; Bruton, Thomas A; Li, Wei; Buren, Jean Van; Prasse, Carsten; Doyle, Fiona M; Sedlak, David L

    2016-01-19

    Sulfate radical (SO4(•-)) is a strong, short-lived oxidant that is produced when persulfate (S2O8(2-)) reacts with transition metal oxides during in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) of contaminated groundwater. Although engineers are aware of the ability of transition metal oxides to activate persulfate, the operation of ISCO remediation systems is hampered by an inadequate understanding of the factors that control SO4(•-) production and the overall efficiency of the process. To address these shortcomings, we assessed the stoichiometric efficiency and products of transition metal-catalyzed persulfate oxidation of benzene with pure iron- and manganese-containing minerals, clays, and aquifer solids. For most metal-containing solids, the stoichiometric efficiency, as determined by the loss of benzene relative to the loss of persulfate, approached the theoretical maximum. Rates of production of SO4(•-) or hydroxyl radical (HO(•)) generated from radical chain reactions were affected by the concentration of benzene, with rates of S2O8(2-) decomposition increasing as the benzene concentration increased. Under conditions selected to minimize the loss of initial transformation products through reaction with radicals, the production of phenol only accounted for 30%-60% of the benzene lost in the presence of O2. The remaining products included a ring-cleavage product that appeared to contain an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde functional group. In the absence of O2, the concentration of the ring-cleavage product increased relative to phenol. The formation of the ring-cleavage product warrants further studies of its toxicity and persistence in the subsurface.

  16. Nitrous oxide-forming codenitrification catalyzed by cytochrome P450nor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Fei; Takaya, Naoki; Shoun, Hirofumi

    2004-02-01

    Intact cells of the denitrifying fungus Fusarium oxysporum were previously shown to catalyze codenitrification to form a hybrid nitrous oxide (N2O) species from nitrite and other nitrogen compounds such as azide and ammonia. Here we show that cytochrome P450nor can catalyze the codenitrification reaction to form N2O from nitric oxide (NO) but not nitrite, and azide or ammonia. The results show that the direct substrate of the codenitrification by intact cells should not be nitrite but NO, which is formed from nitrite by the reaction of a dissimilatory nitrite reductase.

  17. Oxidized epigallocatechin gallate inhibited lysozyme fibrillation more strongly than the native form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-Ting An

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, the most abundant flavanoid in green tea, is currently being evaluated in the clinic due to its benefits in the treatment of amyloid disorders. Its anti-amyloidogenic effect has been attributed to direct interaction of the intact molecule with misfolded polypeptides. In addition, antioxidant activity is also involved in the anti-amyloidogenic role. The detailed molecular mechanism is still unclear and requires further investigation. In the present study, the kinetics of EGCG oxidation and the anti-amyloidogenic effect of the resultant oxidation substances have been examined. The results indicate that EGCG degrades in a medium at pH 8.0 with a half-life less than 2 h. By utilizing lysozyme as an in vitro model, the oxidized EGCG demonstrates a more potent anti-amyloidogenic capacity than the intact molecule, as shown by ThT and ANS fluorescence, TEM determination, and hemolytic assay. The oxidized EGCG also has a stronger disruptive effect on preformed fibrils than the native form. Ascorbic acid eliminates the disruptive role of native EGCG on the fibrils, suggesting that oxidation is a prerequisite in fibril disruption. The results of this work demonstrate that oxidized EGCG plays a more important role than the intact molecule in anti-amyloidogenic activity. These insights into the action of EGCG may provide a novel route to understand the anti-amyloidogenic activity of natural polyphenols.

  18. Large-scale Modeling of Nitrous Oxide Production: Issues of Representing Spatial Heterogeneity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, C. K.; Knighton, J.

    2017-12-01

    Nitrous oxide is produced from the biological processes of nitrification and denitrification in terrestrial environments and contributes to the greenhouse effect that warms Earth's climate. Large scale modeling can be used to determine how global rate of nitrous oxide production and consumption will shift under future climates. However, accurate modeling of nitrification and denitrification is made difficult by highly parameterized, nonlinear equations. Here we show that the representation of spatial heterogeneity in inputs, specifically soil moisture, causes inaccuracies in estimating the average nitrous oxide production in soils. We demonstrate that when soil moisture is averaged from a spatially heterogeneous surface, net nitrous oxide production is under predicted. We apply this general result in a test of a widely-used global land surface model, the Community Land Model v4.5. The challenges presented by nonlinear controls on nitrous oxide are highlighted here to provide a wider context to the problem of extraordinary denitrification losses in CLM. We hope that these findings will inform future researchers on the possibilities for model improvement of the global nitrogen cycle.

  19. Oxidation kinetics of hydride-bearing uranium metal corrosion products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Totemeier, T.C.; Pahl, R.G.; Frank, S.M.

    1998-01-01

    The oxidation behavior of hydride-bearing uranium metal corrosion products from zero power physics reactor (ZPPR) fuel plates was studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) in environments of Ar-4%O 2 , Ar-9%O 2 , and Ar-20%O 2 . Ignition of corrosion product samples from two moderately corroded plates was observed between 125 C and 150 C in all environments. The rate of oxidation above the ignition temperature was found to be dependent only on the net flow rate of oxygen in the reacting gas. Due to the higher net oxygen flow rate, burning rates increased with increasing oxygen concentration. Oxidation rates below the ignition temperature were much slower and decreased with increasing test time. The hydride contents of the TGA samples from the two moderately corroded plates, determined from the total weight gain achieved during burning, were 47-61 wt% and 29-39 wt%. Samples from a lightly corroded plate were not reactive; X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that they contained little hydride. (orig.)

  20. Comprehensive atmospheric modeling of reactive cyclic siloxanes and their oxidation products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janechek, Nathan J.; Hansen, Kaj M.; Stanier, Charles O.

    2017-07-01

    Cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (cVMSs) are important components in personal care products that transport and react in the atmosphere. Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6), and their gas-phase oxidation products have been incorporated into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Gas-phase oxidation products, as the precursor to secondary organic aerosol from this compound class, were included to quantify the maximum potential for aerosol formation from gas-phase reactions with OH. Four 1-month periods were modeled to quantify typical concentrations, seasonal variability, spatial patterns, and vertical profiles. Typical model concentrations showed parent compounds were highly dependent on population density as cities had monthly averaged peak D5 concentrations up to 432 ng m-3. Peak oxidized D5 concentrations were significantly less, up to 9 ng m-3, and were located downwind of major urban areas. Model results were compared to available measurements and previous simulation results. Seasonal variation was analyzed and differences in seasonal influences were observed between urban and rural locations. Parent compound concentrations in urban and peri-urban locations were sensitive to transport factors, while parent compounds in rural areas and oxidized product concentrations were influenced by large-scale seasonal variability in OH.

  1. Aerobic nitrous oxide production through N-nitrosating hybrid formation in ammonia-oxidizing archaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stieglmeier, Michaela; Mooshammer, Maria; Kitzler, Barbara; Wanek, Wolfgang; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Richter, Andreas; Schleper, Christa

    2014-05-01

    Soil emissions are largely responsible for the increase of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) in the atmosphere and are generally attributed to the activity of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. However, the contribution of the recently discovered ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) to N2O production from soil is unclear as is the mechanism by which they produce it. Here we investigate the potential of Nitrososphaera viennensis, the first pure culture of AOA from soil, to produce N2O and compare its activity with that of a marine AOA and an ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (AOB) from soil. N. viennensis produced N2O at a maximum yield of 0.09% N2O per molecule of nitrite under oxic growth conditions. N2O production rates of 4.6±0.6 amol N2O cell(-1) h(-1) and nitrification rates of 2.6±0.5 fmol NO2(-) cell(-1) h(-1) were in the same range as those of the AOB Nitrosospira multiformis and the marine AOA Nitrosopumilus maritimus grown under comparable conditions. In contrast to AOB, however, N2O production of the two archaeal strains did not increase when the oxygen concentration was reduced, suggesting that they are not capable of denitrification. In (15)N-labeling experiments we provide evidence that both ammonium and nitrite contribute equally via hybrid N2O formation to the N2O produced by N. viennensis under all conditions tested. Our results suggest that archaea may contribute to N2O production in terrestrial ecosystems, however, they are not capable of nitrifier-denitrification and thus do not produce increasing amounts of the greenhouse gas when oxygen becomes limiting.

  2. Chemical oxidation of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine transformation products in water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madi Abilev

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Oxidation of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH during a water treatment has several disadvantages including formation of stable toxic byproducts. Effectiveness of treatment methods in relation to UDMH transformation products is currently poorly studied. This work considers the effectiveness of chemical oxidants in respect to main metabolites of UDMH – 1-formyl-2,2-dimethylhydrazine, dimethylaminoacetontrile, N-nitrosodimethylamine and 1-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole. Experiments on chemical oxidation by Fenton's reagent, potassium permanganate and sodium nitrite were conducted. Quantitative determination was performed by HPLC. Oxidation products were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in combination with solid-phase microextraction. 1-Formyl-2,2-dimethylhydrazine was completely oxidized by Fenton's reagent with formation of formaldehyde N-formyl-N-methyl-hydrazone, 1,4-dihydro-1,4-dimethyl-5H-tetrazol-5-one by the action of potassium permanganate and N-methyl-N-nitro-methanamine in the presence of sodium nitrite. Oxidation of 1-formyl-2,2-dimethylhydrazine also resulted in formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine. Oxidation of dimethylaminoacetontrile proceeded with formation of hydroxyacetonitrile, dimethylformamide and 1,2,5-trimethylpyrrole. After 30 days, dimethylaminoacetontrile was not detected in the presence of Fenton’s reagent and potassium permanganate, but it’s concentration in samples with sodium nitrite was 77.3 mg/L. In the presence of Fenton’s reagent, potassium permanganate and sodium nitrite after 30 days, N-nitrosodimethylamine concentration decreased by 85, 80 and 50%, respectively. In control sample, N-nitrosodimethylamine concentration decreased by 50%, indicating that sodium nitrite has no effect of on N-nitrosodimethylamine concentration. Only Fenton's reagent allowed to reduce the concentration of 1-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole to 50% in 30 days. In the presence of other oxidants, 1-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole

  3. Improving technology and setting-up a production line for high quality zinc oxide (99.5%) with a capacity of 150 ton/year by evaporation-oxidation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phan Dinh Thinh; Pham Minh Tuan; Luong Manh Hung; Tran Ngoc Vuong

    2015-01-01

    This report presents the technology improvement and a production line to produce high quality zinc oxide of purity upper than 99.5% ZnO by evaporation-oxidation method. Secondary zinc metal recovered from galvanizing industrial will undergo a pre-treatment to meet all requirements of standardized feed material for evaporation-oxidation process. Zinc metal is melted at a temperature of about 650"oC, some impurities and metallic oxides are separated preliminary, then zinc metal is converted into liquid in evaporation pot. Here the temperature is maintained around 1050"oC, zinc liquid is evaporated, zinc vapor is oxidized by air in the oxidation chamber naturally by oxygen in the air and then zinc vapor is converted to zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is passed through a product classification systems and then go to a product collection of filtering bag design. The whole process of melting, evaporation, oxidation, particles classification and product collection is a continuous process. The efficiency of the transformation of zinc metal into zinc oxide can reach the value of 1.1 to 1.2. ZnO product quality is higher than 99.5%. (author)

  4. Oxidative degradation of the organometallic iron(II) complex [Fe{bis[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-imidazol-1-yl]methane}(MeCN)(PMe3)](PF6)2: structure of the ligand decomposition product trapped via coordination to iron(II).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haslinger, Stefan; Pöthig, Alexander; Cokoja, Mirza; Kühn, Fritz E

    2015-12-01

    Iron is of interest as a catalyst because of its established use in the Haber-Bosch process and because of its high abundance and low toxicity. Nitrogen-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are important ligands in homogeneous catalysis and iron-NHC complexes have attracted increasing attention in recent years but still face problems in terms of stability under oxidative conditions. The structure of the iron(II) complex [1,1'-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-2,2-bi(1H-imidazole)-κN(3)][3,3'-bis(pyridin-2-yl-κN)-1,1'-methanediylbi(1H-imidazol-2-yl-κC(2))](trimethylphosphane-κP)iron(II) bis(hexafluoridophosphate), [Fe(C17H14N6)(C16H12N6)(C3H9P)](PF6)2, features coordination by an organic decomposition product of a tetradentate NHC ligand in an axial position. The decomposition product, a C-C-coupled biimidazole, is trapped by coordination to still-intact iron(II) complexes. Insights into the structural features of the organic decomposition products might help to improve the stability of oxidation catalysts under harsh conditions.

  5. Oxidation of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin by ferrate(VI): Products identification, and toxicity evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Bin; Kookana, Rai S.; Williams, Mike; Ying, Guang-Guo; Du, Jun; Doan, Hai; Kumar, Anupama

    2016-01-01

    Ferrate(VI) (Fe(VI)) has been known to react with emerging organic contaminants containing electron-rich organic moieties, such as phenols, anilines, olefins, reduced sulfur and deprotonated amines. Oxidation of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIP) and enrofloxacin (ENR), by Fe(VI) were investigated for their reaction products and toxicity changes as well as biodegradability of these products. Ten products were identified for both CIP and ENR reactions with Fe(VI) using a high-resolution accurate-mass Orbitrap mass analyzer. Structural changes to the CIP and ENR molecule included dealkylation, formation of alcohols and amides in piperazine ring and oxygen transfer to the double bond in quinolone structure. An enamine formation mechanism was tentatively proposed to facilitate the interpretation of CIP and ENR oxidation pathways. Toxicity evaluation using Microbial Assay for toxicity Risk Assessment (MARA) bioassay indicated that Fe(VI) oxidation products of CIP and ENR contributed negligible antibacterial potency and Fe(VI) oxidation treatment can remove the residual toxicity of CIP and ENR impacted source waters. The Fe(VI) oxidation treatment resulted in formation of relatively more biodegradable products (based on in silico assessment) than their corresponding parent compounds. The results showed that Fe(VI) has a good potential to degrade fluoroquinolone antibiotics and their antimicrobial potency in natural waters.

  6. Oxidation of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin by ferrate(VI): Products identification, and toxicity evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Bin, E-mail: Bin.Yang@csiro.au [CSIRO Land and Water, Waite Campus, PMB 2, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064 (Australia); Kookana, Rai S.; Williams, Mike [CSIRO Land and Water, Waite Campus, PMB 2, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064 (Australia); Ying, Guang-Guo [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Du, Jun; Doan, Hai; Kumar, Anupama [CSIRO Land and Water, Waite Campus, PMB 2, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064 (Australia)

    2016-12-15

    Ferrate(VI) (Fe(VI)) has been known to react with emerging organic contaminants containing electron-rich organic moieties, such as phenols, anilines, olefins, reduced sulfur and deprotonated amines. Oxidation of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIP) and enrofloxacin (ENR), by Fe(VI) were investigated for their reaction products and toxicity changes as well as biodegradability of these products. Ten products were identified for both CIP and ENR reactions with Fe(VI) using a high-resolution accurate-mass Orbitrap mass analyzer. Structural changes to the CIP and ENR molecule included dealkylation, formation of alcohols and amides in piperazine ring and oxygen transfer to the double bond in quinolone structure. An enamine formation mechanism was tentatively proposed to facilitate the interpretation of CIP and ENR oxidation pathways. Toxicity evaluation using Microbial Assay for toxicity Risk Assessment (MARA) bioassay indicated that Fe(VI) oxidation products of CIP and ENR contributed negligible antibacterial potency and Fe(VI) oxidation treatment can remove the residual toxicity of CIP and ENR impacted source waters. The Fe(VI) oxidation treatment resulted in formation of relatively more biodegradable products (based on in silico assessment) than their corresponding parent compounds. The results showed that Fe(VI) has a good potential to degrade fluoroquinolone antibiotics and their antimicrobial potency in natural waters.

  7. Isolation of intact elastin fibers devoid of microfibrils.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daamen, W.F.; Hafmans, T.G.M.; Veerkamp, J.H.; Kuppevelt, A.H.M.S.M. van

    2005-01-01

    Purification protocols for elastin generally result in greatly damaged elastin fibers and this likely influences the biological response. We here describe a novel protocol for the isolation of elastin whereby the fibers stay intact, and introduce the term "elastin fiber" for intact elastic fibers

  8. TiO2 assisted photo-oxidative pretreatment of wheat straw for biogas production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Awais, Muhammad; Alvarado-Morales, Merlin; Tsapekos, Panagiotis

    Photo-catalytic oxidation is an advanced oxidation process in which a catalyst is used to absorb light energy and oxidize the target substrates such as organic polymers. A number of metal oxides and metal ions can efficiently increase substrate’s depolymerisation during the process of photo...... to be markedly higher in the pretreated samples that were exposed for 180min with 1.5 wt% and 2 wt% of TiO2 compared to the untreated wheat straw. Moreover, it was concluded that the products of lignin oxidation and also, the presence of TiO2 did not inhibit the AD process. Finally, UV treatment or TiO2 alone......-catalytic oxidation. Titanium oxide (TiO2) is a photo-catalyst that in its rutile and anatase forms presents the property to enhance the photo-oxidation of lignin-containing substrates. Due to lignin is one of the major obstacles in methane production from lignocellulosic biomass, its destruction is a necessary step...

  9. Model-based evaluation of the role of Anammox on nitric oxide and nitrous oxide productions in membrane aerated biofilm reactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ni, Bing-Jie; Smets, Barth F.; Yuan, Zhiguo

    2013-01-01

    A multispecies one-dimensional biofilm model considering nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) productions for membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) that remove nitrogen autotrophically through aerobic ammonia oxidation followed by Anammox is used to study the role of Anammox activity...... on the total nitrogen (TN) removal and the productions of NO and N2O. The model is applied to evaluate how periodic aeration as a control parameter reduces NO and N2O production but maintains high TN removal in MABR. The simulation results show over 3.5% of the removed TN could be attributed to NO and N2O...... production in MABR under the operational conditions optimal for TN removal (72%). An analysis of factors governing the Anammox activity in MABR shows that enhancing Anammox activity not only helps to achieve a high level of nitrogen removal but also reduces NO and N2O productions. Comparison of aeration...

  10. Nitrous oxide emissions of energy production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinnunen, L.

    1998-01-01

    The share of energy production of the world-wide total N 2 O emissions is about 10 %. In 1991 the N 2 O emissions estimated to be up to 30 %. The previous estimates based on incorrect measurements. The measurement methods have been improved during the past few years. The present measurements have shown that the share of the combustion of fossil fuels is about 2.0 % and the share biomass combustion about 5.0 % of the total. The uncertainty of the values can be few percentage units. According to the present measurements the share of natural emissions and the fertilizers of the total N 2 O emissions is up to 60 %. The formation of nitrous oxide has been studied widely in various countries in the world. In Finland nitrous oxide has been studied in the national LIEKKI research programme. As a result of the research carried out in the programme it has been possible to reduce the formation of N 2 O by using appropriate catalysts and combustion technologies. Nitrous oxide is formed e.g. in fluidized-bed combustion of nitrogen containing fuels. The combustion temperature of other combustion methods is so high that the gas disintegrates in the furnace. By the new methods the nitrous oxide emissions of the fluidized-bed combustion has been possible to reduce from 100-200 ppm to the level less than 50 ppm of the flue gas volume. The Japanese research has shown that the nitrous oxide emissions of bubbling beds vary in between 58 - 103 ppm, but when combusting paper the emissions are 6 - 29 ppm. The corresponding value of circulating fluidized beds is 40 - 153 ppm

  11. Mild performic acid oxidation enhances chromatographic and top down mass spectrometric analyses of histones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesavento, James J; Garcia, Benjamin A; Streeky, James A; Kelleher, Neil L; Mizzen, Craig A

    2007-09-01

    Recent developments in top down mass spectrometry have enabled closely related histone variants and their modified forms to be identified and quantitated with unprecedented precision, facilitating efforts to better understand how histones contribute to the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription and other nuclear processes. It is therefore crucial that intact MS profiles accurately reflect the levels of variants and modified forms present in a given cell type or cell state for the full benefit of such efforts to be realized. Here we show that partial oxidation of Met and Cys residues in histone samples prepared by conventional methods, together with oxidation that can accrue during storage or during chip-based automated nanoflow electrospray ionization, confounds MS analysis by altering the intact MS profile as well as hindering posttranslational modification localization after MS/MS. We also describe an optimized performic acid oxidation procedure that circumvents these problems without catalyzing additional oxidations or altering the levels of posttranslational modifications common in histones. MS and MS/MS of HeLa cell core histones confirmed that Met and Cys were the only residues oxidized and that complete oxidation restored true intact abundance ratios and significantly enhanced MS/MS data quality. This allowed for the unequivocal detection, at the intact molecule level, of novel combinatorially modified forms of H4 that would have been missed otherwise. Oxidation also enhanced the separation of human core histones by reverse phase chromatography and decreased the levels of salt-adducted forms observed in ESI-FTMS. This method represents a simple and easily automated means for enhancing the accuracy and sensitivity of top down analyses of combinatorially modified forms of histones that may also be of benefit for top down or bottom up analyses of other proteins.

  12. Biodegradation of photo-oxidized lignite and characterization of the products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiantao; Liu, Xiangrong; Yue, Zilin; Zhang, Yaowen

    2018-01-01

    Biodegradation of photo-oxidized Inner Mongolia lignite by pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied and the degradation percentage reached 56.27%, while the corresponding degradation percentage of the strain degrading raw Inner Mongolia lignite is only 23.16%. The degradation products were characterized. Proximate and ultimate analyses show that the higher oxygen content increased by photo-oxidation pretreatment maybe promoted the degradation process. Ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV) analysis of the liquid product reveals that it contains unsaturated structures and aromatic rings are the main structure units. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis indicates that the main components of the ethyl acetate extracts are low molecular weight organic compounds, such as ketones, acids, hydrocarbons, esters and alcohols. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) analysis of raw lignite, photo-oxidized lignite and residual lignite demonstrates that the absorption peaks of functional groups in residual lignite disappeared or weakened obviously. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis manifests that small holes appear in photo-oxidized lignite surface, which may be promote the degradation process and this is only from the physical morphology aspects, so it can be inferred from the tests and analyses results that the more important reason of the high degradation percentage is mostly that the photo-oxidation pretreatment changes the chemical structures of lignite.

  13. ARIES Oxide Production Program Annual Report - FY14

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelley, Evelyn A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dinehart, Steven Mark [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-02-01

    A summary of the major accomplishments (September), milestones, financial summary, project performance and issues facing the ARIES Oxide Production Program at the close of FY14 is presented in this Executive Summary. Annual accomplishments are summarized in the body of the report.

  14. The Oxidation Products of Aluminum Hydride and Boron Aluminum Hydride Clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-04

    AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0075 The Oxidation Products of Aluminum Hydride and Boron Aluminum Hydride Clusters KIT BOWEN JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV BALTIMORE MD...2. REPORT TYPE Final Performance 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 30-09-2014 to 29-09-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Oxidation Products of Aluminum ...Hydride and Boron Aluminum Hydride Clusters 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER FA9550-14-1-0324 5c.  PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 61102F 6. AUTHOR(S) KIT

  15. Oxidation kinetics of hydride-bearing uranium metal corrosion products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Totemeier, Terry C.; Pahl, Robert G.; Frank, Steven M.

    The oxidation behavior of hydride-bearing uranium metal corrosion products from Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) fuel plates was studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) in environments of Ar-4%O 2, Ar-9%O 2, and Ar-20%O 2. Ignition of corrosion product samples from two moderately corroded plates was observed between 125°C and 150°C in all environments. The rate of oxidation above the ignition temperature was found to be dependent only on the net flow rate of oxygen in the reacting gas. Due to the higher net oxygen flow rate, burning rates increased with increasing oxygen concentration. Oxidation rates below the ignition temperature were much slower and decreased with increasing test time. The hydride contents of the TGA samples from the two moderately corroded plates, determined from the total weight gain achieved during burning, were 47-61 wt% and 29-39 wt%. Samples from a lightly corroded plate were not reactive; X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that they contained little hydride.

  16. Glufosinate ammonium stimulates nitric oxide production through N-methyl D-aspartate receptors in rat cerebellum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakaki, T; Mishima, A; Suzuki, E; Shintani, F; Fujii, T

    2000-09-01

    Glufosinate ammonium, a structural analogue of glutamate, is an active herbicidal ingredient. The neuronal activities of this compound were investigated by use of a microdialysis system that allowed us to measure nitric oxide production in the rat cerebellum in vivo. Kainate (0.3-30 nmol/10 microliter), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) (3-300 nmol/10 microliter) and glufosinate ammonium (30-3000 nmol/10 microliter), which were administered through the microdialysis probe at a rate of 1 microliter/min for 10 min, stimulated nitric oxide production. The glufosinate ammonium-elicited increase in nitric oxide production was suppressed by an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase and was antagonized by NMDA receptor antagonists, but not by a kainate/(+/-)-alphaamino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptor antagonist. These results suggest that glufosinate ammonium stimulates nitric oxide production through NMDA receptors.

  17. The production of iron oxide during peridotite serpentinization: Influence of pyroxene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruifang Huang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Serpentinization produces molecular hydrogen (H2 that can support communities of microorganisms in hydrothermal fields; H2 results from the oxidation of ferrous iron in olivine and pyroxene into ferric iron, and consequently iron oxide (magnetite or hematite forms. However, the mechanisms that control H2 and iron oxide formation are poorly constrained. In this study, we performed serpentinization experiments at 311 °C and 3.0 kbar on olivine (with <5% pyroxene, orthopyroxene, and peridotite. The results show that serpentine and iron oxide formed when olivine and orthopyroxene individually reacted with a saline starting solution. Olivine-derived serpentine had a significantly lower FeO content (6.57 ± 1.30 wt.% than primary olivine (9.86 wt.%, whereas orthopyroxene-derived serpentine had a comparable FeO content (6.26 ± 0.58 wt.% to that of primary orthopyroxene (6.24 wt.%. In experiments on peridotite, olivine was replaced by serpentine and iron oxide. However, pyroxene transformed solely to serpentine. After 20 days, olivine-derived serpentine had a FeO content of 8.18 ± 1.56 wt.%, which was significantly higher than that of serpentine produced in olivine-only experiments. By contrast, serpentine after orthopyroxene had a slightly higher FeO content (6.53 ± 1.01 wt.% than primary orthopyroxene. Clinopyroxene-derived serpentine contained a significantly higher FeO content than its parent mineral. After 120 days, the FeO content of olivine-derived serpentine decreased significantly (5.71 ± 0.35 wt.%, whereas the FeO content of orthopyroxene-derived serpentine increased (6.85 ± 0.63 wt.% over the same period. This suggests that iron oxide preferentially formed after olivine serpentinization. Pyroxene in peridotite gained some Fe from olivine during the serpentinization process, which may have led to a decrease in iron oxide production. The correlation between FeO content and SiO2 or Al2O3 content in olivine- and

  18. Influence of corium oxidation on fission product release from molten pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bechta, S.V.; Krushinov, E.V.; Vitol, S.A.

    2009-01-01

    Release of low-volatile fission products and core materials from molten oxidic corium was investigated in the EVAN project under the auspices of ISTC. The experiments carried out in cold crucible with induction heating and RASPLAV test facility are described. The results are discussed in terms of reactor application; in particular, pool configuration, melt oxidation kinetics, critical influence of melt surface temperature and oxidation index on the fission product release rate and aerosol particle composition. The relevance of measured high release of Sr from the molten pool for the reactor application is highlighted. Comparisons of the experimental data with those from the COLIMA CA-U3 test and the VERCORS tests, as well as with predictions from IVTANTHERMO and GEMINI/NUCLEA are set. (author)

  19. Detection of HOCl-mediated protein oxidation products in the extracellular matrix of human atherosclerotic plaques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Woods, Alan A; Linton, Stuart M; Davies, Michael Jonathan

    2003-01-01

    Oxidation is believed to play a role in atherosclerosis. Oxidized lipids, sterols and proteins have been detected in early, intermediate and advanced human lesions at elevated levels. The spectrum of oxidized side-chain products detected on proteins from homogenates of advanced human lesions has...... been interpreted in terms of the occurrence of two oxidative mechanisms, one involving oxygen-derived radicals catalysed by trace transition metal ions, and a second involving chlorinating species (HOCl or Cl2), generated by the haem enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO). As MPO is released extracellularly...... for 83-96% of the total oxidized protein side-chain products detected in these plaques. Oxidation of matrix components extracted from healthy artery tissue, and model proteins, with reagent HOCl is shown to give rise to a similar pattern of products to those detected in advanced human lesions...

  20. Oxidative stress and production of bioactive monoterpene indole alkaloids: biotechnological implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuura, Hélio Nitta; Rau, Mariana Ritter; Fett-Neto, Arthur Germano

    2014-02-01

    Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) encompass plant natural products with important pharmacological relevance. They include the anti-tumoral MIAs found in Catharanthus roseus and Camptotheca acuminata. The often low yields of bioactive alkaloids in plants has prompted research to identify the factors regulating MIA production. Oxidative stress is a general response associated with biotic and abiotic stresses leading to several secondary responses, including elicitation of MIA production. These changes in secondary metabolism may take place directly or via second messengers, such as Ca(2+) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). H2O2 is the main ROS that participates in MIA biosynthesis. This review analyzes the links between oxidative stress, elicitation of bioactive MIA production and their potential roles in antioxidant defense, as well as exploring the implications to developing biotechnological strategies relevant for alkaloid supply.

  1. Low nitrous oxide production through nitrifier-denitrification in intermittent-feed high-rate nitritation reactors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Su, Qingxian; Ma, Chun; Domingo-Felez, Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) production from autotrophic nitrogen conversion processes, especially nitritation systems, can be significant, requires understanding and calls for mitigation. In this study, the rates and pathways of N2O production were quantified in two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors...... to maintain high nitritation efficiency and high nitritation rates at 20-26 °C over a period of ∼300 days. Even at the high nitritation efficiencies, net N2O production was low (∼2% of the oxidized ammonium). Net N2O production rates transiently increased with a rise in pH after each feeding, suggesting...... operated with intermittent feeding and demonstrating long-term and high-rate nitritation. The resulting reactor biomass was highly enriched in ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and converted ∼93 ± 14% of the oxidized ammonium to nitrite. The low DO set-point combined with intermittent feeding was sufficient...

  2. Complexation of Nitrous Oxide by Frustrated Lewis Pairs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otten, Edwin; Neu, Rebecca C.; Stephan, Douglas W.

    2009-01-01

    Frustrated Lewis pairs comprised of a basic yet sterically encumbered phosphine with boron Lewis acids bind nitrous oxide to give intact PNNOB linkages. The synthesis, structure, and bonding of these species are described.

  3. Fetal programming alters reactive oxygen species production in sheep cardiac mitochondria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Bergen, Nicholas H; Koppenhafer, Stacia L; Spitz, Douglas R; Volk, Kenneth A; Patel, Sonali S; Roghair, Robert D; Lamb, Fred S; Segar, Jeffrey L; Scholz, Thomas D

    2009-04-01

    Exposure to an adverse intrauterine environment is recognized as an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease later in life. Although oxidative stress has been proposed as a mechanism for the fetal programming phenotype, the role of mitochondrial O(2)(*-) (superoxide radical) production has not been explored. To determine whether mitochondrial ROS (reactive oxygen species) production is altered by in utero programming, pregnant ewes were given a 48-h dexamethasone (dexamethasone-exposed, 0.28 mg.kg(-1) of body weight.day(-1)) or saline (control) infusion at 27-28 days gestation (term=145 days). Intact left ventricular mitochondria and freeze-thaw mitochondrial membranes were studied from offspring at 4-months of age. AmplexRed was used to measure H(2)O(2) production. Activities of the antioxidant enzymes Mn-SOD (manganese superoxide dismutase), GPx (glutathione peroxidase) and catalase were measured. Compared with controls, a significant increase in Complex I H(2)O(2) production was found in intact mitochondria from dexamethasone-exposed animals. The treatment differences in Complex I-driven H(2)O(2) production were not seen in mitochondrial membranes. Consistent changes in H(2)O(2) production from Complex III in programmed animals were not found. Despite the increase in H(2)O(2) production in intact mitochondria from programmed animals, dexamethasone exposure significantly increased mitochondrial catalase activity, whereas Mn-SOD and GPx activities were unchanged. The results of the present study point to an increase in the rate of release of H(2)O(2) from programmed mitochondria despite an increase in catalase activity. Greater mitochondrial H(2)O(2) release into the cell may play a role in the development of adult disease following exposure to an adverse intrauterine environment.

  4. Advanced oxidation protein products — biological marker of oxidative stress = Zaawansowane produkty utleniania białek – biologiczne markery stresu oksydacyjnego

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Cwynar

    2016-09-01

      ABSTRACT Advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs are mostly derivatives of oxidatively modified albumin. The results of many experimental studies confirm intensification of oxidative modifications of proteins and an increase in concentration of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs in different pathological conditions, particularly those with well documented involvement of oxidative stress in their etiopathogenesis, but also those where its role is not yet well understood. Currently intensive research is carried out on the possibility of using AOPPs as useful indicators for diagnosing, prognosis and monitoring of diseases.   Keywords: advanced oxidation protein products, autoimmune disease, oxidative stress   STRESZCZENIE Zaawansowane produkty utleniania białek (AOPPs, to najczęściej pochodne zmodyfikowanej oksydacyjnie albuminy. Wyniki licznych badań doświadczalnych potwierdzają nasilenie oksydacyjnych modyfikacji białek i wzrost stężenia zaawansowanych produktów utleniania białek (AOPPs w różnych stanach patologicznych, szczególnie tych o dobrze udokumentowanym udziale stresu oksydacyjnego w ich etiopatogenezie, ale także takich, w których jego rola nie jest jeszcze dobrze poznana.. Obecnie trwają intensywne badania nad możliwością wykorzystania AOPPs, jako użytecznych wskaźników do diagnozowania, prognozowania oraz monitorowania chorób.   Słowa kluczowe: zaawansowane produkty utleniania białek, choroby autoimmunologiczne, stres oksydacyjny

  5. Mn(II) oxidation by an ascomycete fungus is linked to superoxide production during asexual reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansel, Colleen M; Zeiner, Carolyn A; Santelli, Cara M; Webb, Samuel M

    2012-07-31

    Manganese (Mn) oxides are among the most reactive minerals within the environment, where they control the bioavailability of carbon, nutrients, and numerous metals. Although the ability of microorganisms to oxidize Mn(II) to Mn(III/IV) oxides is scattered throughout the bacterial and fungal domains of life, the mechanism and physiological basis for Mn(II) oxidation remains an enigma. Here, we use a combination of compound-specific chemical assays, microspectroscopy, and electron microscopy to show that a common Ascomycete filamentous fungus, Stilbella aciculosa, oxidizes Mn(II) to Mn oxides by producing extracellular superoxide during cell differentiation. The reactive Mn oxide phase birnessite and the reactive oxygen species superoxide and hydrogen peroxide are colocalized at the base of asexual reproductive structures. Mn oxide formation is not observed in the presence of superoxide scavengers (e.g., Cu) and inhibitors of NADPH oxidases (e.g., diphenylene iodonium chloride), enzymes responsible for superoxide production and cell differentiation in fungi. Considering the recent identification of Mn(II) oxidation by NADH oxidase-based superoxide production by a common marine bacterium (Roseobacter sp.), these results introduce a surprising homology between some prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms in the mechanisms responsible for Mn(II) oxidation, where oxidation appears to be a side reaction of extracellular superoxide production. Given the versatility of superoxide as a redox reactant and the widespread ability of fungi to produce superoxide, this microbial extracellular superoxide production may play a central role in the cycling and bioavailability of metals (e.g., Hg, Fe, Mn) and carbon in natural systems.

  6. Does increased Nitric Oxide production and oxidative stress due to high fat diet affect cardiac function after myocardial infarction?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marjan Aghajani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background &Objectives: High fat (HF diet by affecting the oxidative stress and nitric oxide (NO production may lead to different effects on function of the heart after myocardial infarction (MI. In the present study we aimed to address the hypothesis that high release of NO by activated macrophages affects LV function after MI.Methods: The animals were randomly divided into four groups comprising each of 10 rats: 1 Sham; 2 MI; 3 Sham+ HF diet; 4 MI+ HF diet. Animals fed with HF diet 30 days before sham and MI surgery. MI was induced by permanent ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD. Nitric oxide (NO production of peritoneal macrophages, the concentrations of MDA in the heart and the infarct size were measured.Results: Our study indicated that HF has adverse effects on myocardium and it may increase NO production as well as oxidative stress, resulting in augmentation of infarct size.Conclusion: Our results add to our knowledge that HF diet was associated with overproduction of NO by peritoneal macrophages and ROS that lead to development of infarct size and adverse remodeling.

  7. Two-Step Electrochemical Intercalation and Oxidation of Graphite for the Mass Production of Graphene Oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jianyun; He, Pei; Mohammed, Mahdi A; Zhao, Xin; Young, Robert J; Derby, Brian; Kinloch, Ian A; Dryfe, Robert A W

    2017-12-06

    Conventional chemical oxidation routes for the production of graphene oxide (GO), such as the Hummers' method, suffer from environmental and safety issues due to their use of hazardous and explosive chemicals. These issues are addressed by electrochemical oxidation methods, but such approaches typically have a low yield due to inhomogeneous oxidation. Herein we report a two-step electrochemical intercalation and oxidation approach to produce GO on the large laboratory scale (tens of grams) comprising (1) forming a stage 1 graphite intercalation compound (GIC) in concentrated sulfuric acid and (2) oxidizing and exfoliating the stage 1 GIC in an aqueous solution of 0.1 M ammonium sulfate. This two-step approach leads to GO with a high yield (>70 wt %), good quality (>90%, monolayer), and reasonable oxygen content (17.7 at. %). Moreover, the as-produced GO can be subsequently deeply reduced (3.2 at. % oxygen; C/O ratio 30.2) to yield highly conductive (54 600 S m -1 ) reduced GO. Electrochemical capacitors based on the reduced GO showed an ultrahigh rate capability of up to 10 V s -1 due to this high conductivity.

  8. Evaluating four mathematical models for nitrous oxide production by autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Bing-Jie; Yuan, Zhiguo; Chandran, Kartik; Vanrolleghem, Peter A; Murthy, Sudhir

    2013-01-01

    There is increasing evidence showing that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are major contributors to N(2)O emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Although the fundamental metabolic pathways for N(2)O production by AOB are now coming to light, the mechanisms responsible for N(2)O production by AOB in WWTP are not fully understood. Mathematical modeling provides a means for testing hypotheses related to mechanisms and triggers for N(2)O emissions in WWTP, and can then also become a tool to support the development of mitigation strategies. This study examined the ability of four mathematical model structures to describe two distinct mechanisms of N(2)O production by AOB. The production mechanisms evaluated are (1) N(2)O as the final product of nitrifier denitrification with NO(2)- as the terminal electron acceptor and (2) N(2)O as a byproduct of incomplete oxidation of hydroxylamine (NH(2)OH) to NO(2)-. The four models were compared based on their ability to predict N(2)O dynamics observed in three mixed culture studies. Short-term batch experimental data were employed to examine model assumptions related to the effects of (1) NH4+ concentration variations, (2) dissolved oxygen (DO) variations, (3) NO(2)- accumulations and (4) NH(2OH as an externally provided substrate. The modeling results demonstrate that all these models can generally describe the NH4+, NO(2)-, and NO(3)- data. However, none of these models were able to reproduce all measured N(2)O data. The results suggest that both the denitrification and NH(2)OH pathways may be involved in N(2)O production and could be kinetically linked by a competition for intracellular reducing equivalents. A unified model capturing both mechanisms and their potential interactions needs to be developed with consideration of physiological complexity. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Catalytic cracking of vegetable oil with metal oxides for biofuel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yigezu, Zerihun Demrew; Muthukumar, Karuppan

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Biofuel was synthesized from vegetable oil by catalytic cracking. • Performance of six different metal catalysts was studied. • Influence of temperature and reaction time on the process was evaluated. • Methyl and ethyl esters are the major components of the biofuel synthesized. - Abstract: This study presents the utilization of metal oxides for the biofuel production from vegetable oil. The physical and chemical properties of the diesel-like products obtained, and the influence of reaction variables on the product distribution were investigated. Six different metal oxides (Co 3 O 4 , KOH, MoO 3 , NiO, V 2 O 5 , and ZnO) were employed as catalysts and the results indicated that the metal oxides are suitable for catalyzing the conversion of oil into organic liquid products (OLPs). The maximum conversion (87.6%) was obtained with V 2 O 5 at 320 °C in 40 min whereas a minimum conversion (55.1%) was obtained with MoO 3 at 390 °C in 30 min. The physical characteristics of the product obtained (density, specific gravity, higher heat value, flash point and kinematic viscosity), were in line with ASTM D6751 (B100) standards. The hydrocarbons majorly present in the product were found to be methyl and ethyl esters. Furthermore, OLPs obtained were distilled and separated into four components. The amount of light hydrocarbons, gasoline, kerosene and heavy oil like components obtained were 18.73%, 33.62%, 24.91% and 90.93%, respectively

  10. Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact executive functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrara, R; Ansermet, F; Massoni, F; Petrone, L; Onofri, E; Ricci, P; Archer, T; Ricci, S

    2016-01-01

    Earliest notions concerning autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders, ASD) describe the disturbance in executive functioning. Despite altered definition, executive functioning, expressed as higher cognitive skills required complex behaviors linked to the prefrontal cortex, are defective in autism. Specific difficulties in children presenting autism or verbal disabilities at executive functioning levels have been identified. Nevertheless, the developmental deficit of executive functioning in autism is highly diversified with huge individual variation and may even be absent. The aim of the present study to examine the current standing of intact executive functioning intact in ASD. Analysis of ASD populations, whether high-functioning, Asperger's or autism Broad Phenotype, studied over a range of executive functions including response inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, cognitive inhibition, and alerting networks indicates an absence of damage/impairment compared to the typically-developed normal control subjects. These findings of intact executive functioning in ASD subjects provide a strong foundation on which to construct applications for growth environments and the rehabilitation of autistic subjects.

  11. Mo-V-Te-Nb oxides as catalysts for ethene production by oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hartmann, D. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Dept. of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center; Meiswinkel, A.; Thaller, C.; Bock, M.; Alvarado, L. [Linde AG, Pullach (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    The availability of ethane in shale gas, as well as the interest in valorising previously underutilized carbon feedstocks, makes the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane an attractive alternative to the industrially established processes for production of ethylene. Mo-V-Te-Nb mixed oxide has been chosen as catalyst for the ODH reaction in view of its outstanding ability to activate alkane molecules. Catalytic test results showed that this type of catalyst can selectively oxidize ethane to ethene at moderate temperatures (350-400 C) with minor production of CO{sub x}. The catalytic performance of Mo-V-Te-Nb mixed-oxide is mainly attributable to the crystalline phase 'M1'. Rietveld analysis of the X-Ray diffractograms allowed us to quantify the amount of MoVTeNb oxide that has crystallized as M1. In this way, it was possible to find a linear correlation of the reaction rate with the abundance of M1 in the solid. Therefore, it is clear that for improving the efficiency of MoVTeNb oxide in ODH, the amount of M1 in the catalyst should be maximized. With this purpose, several MoVTeNb oxides were subject to different thermal treatments prior to the catalytic test. Structural changes in the catalyst were monitored by in-situ XRD technique. Under oxidative atmosphere, it was observed a recrystallization of M2 and possibly, amorphous oxide, into M1 phase, leading to correspondingly more active and selective catalysts (selectivities above 95 % for ethane conversions up to 40 % under industrially relevant conditions). The active site of M1 involves V species, likely with redox properties enhanced by the proximity of Mo and Te species, while the function of the crystalline structure itself is to provide the spatial configuration that allows interaction between these species. However, ethene formation rate was observed to be independent of the V content of the samples. The vanadium species exposed at the surface were studied by LEIS and by IR spectroscopy of CO

  12. Oxidized lipids enhance RANKL production by T lymphocytes: implications for lipid-induced bone loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Lucia S; Parhami, Farhad; Tintut, Yin; Kitchen, Christina M R; Demer, Linda L; Effros, Rita B

    2009-11-01

    Osteoporosis is a systemic disease that is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Whereas osteoclasts and osteoblasts are the main regulators of bone homeostasis, recent studies underscore a key role for the immune system, particularly via activation-induced T lymphocyte production of receptor activator of NFkappaB ligand (RANKL). Well-documented as a mediator of T lymphocyte/dendritic cell interactions, RANKL also stimulates the maturation and activation of bone-resorbing osteoclasts. Given that lipid oxidation products mediate inflammatory and metabolic disorders such as osteoporosis and atherosclerosis, and since oxidized lipids affect several T lymphocyte functions, we hypothesized that RANKL production might also be subject to modulation by oxidized lipids. Here, we show that short term exposure of both unstimulated and activated human T lymphocytes to minimally oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL), but not native LDL, significantly enhances RANKL production and promotes expression of the lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1). The effect, which is also observed with 8-iso-Prostaglandin E2, an inflammatory isoprostane produced by lipid peroxidation, is mediated via the NFkappaB pathway, and involves increased RANKL mRNA expression. The link between oxidized lipids and T lymphocytes is further reinforced by analysis of hyperlipidemic mice, in which bone loss is associated with increased RANKL mRNA in T lymphocytes and elevated RANKL serum levels. Our results suggest a novel pathway by which T lymphocytes contribute to bone changes, namely, via oxidized lipid enhancement of RANKL production. These findings may help elucidate clinical associations between cardiovascular disease and decreased bone mass, and may also lead to new immune-based approaches to osteoporosis.

  13. Serum Antioxidative Enzymes Levels and Oxidative Stress Products in Age-Related Cataract Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Chang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To investigate the activity of antioxidative enzymes and the products of oxidative stress in patients with age-related cataracts and compare the findings with those in healthy control subjects. Method. Sixty patients with age-related cataract and sixty healthy controls of matched age and gender were included in this study. Serum samples were obtained to detect the antioxidative enzymes of superoxide dismutase (SOD, catalase (CAT, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px, and oxidation degradation products of malondialdehyde (MDA, 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE, conjugated diene (CD, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP, protein carbonyl (PC, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG. Results. Serum SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT activities in cataract group were significantly decreased as compared to the control subjects (P<0.05. The levels of MDA, 4-HNE, and CD in cataract patients were significantly higher than those in the control subjects (P<0.05, P<0.01. Cataract patients had higher levels of 8-OHdG, AOPP, and PC with respect to the comparative group of normal subjects (P<0.01. And there was no statistical significance in concentration of antioxidative enzymes and oxidative stress products in patients with different subtype cataract. Conclusions. Oxidative stress is an important risk factor in the development of age-related cataract, and augmentation of the antioxidant defence systems may be of benefit to prevent or delay cataractogenesis.

  14. Requirement of argininosuccinate lyase for systemic nitric oxide production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erez, Ayelet; Nagamani, Sandesh C S; Shchelochkov, Oleg A; Premkumar, Muralidhar H; Campeau, Philippe M; Chen, Yuqing; Garg, Harsha K; Li, Li; Mian, Asad; Bertin, Terry K; Black, Jennifer O; Zeng, Heng; Tang, Yaoping; Reddy, Anilkumar K; Summar, Marshall; O'Brien, William E; Harrison, David G; Mitch, William E; Marini, Juan C; Aschner, Judy L; Bryan, Nathan S; Lee, Brendan

    2011-11-13

    Nitric oxide (NO) is crucial in diverse physiological and pathological processes. We show that a hypomorphic mouse model of argininosuccinate lyase (encoded by Asl) deficiency has a distinct phenotype of multiorgan dysfunction and NO deficiency. Loss of Asl in both humans and mice leads to reduced NO synthesis, owing to both decreased endogenous arginine synthesis and an impaired ability to use extracellular arginine for NO production. Administration of nitrite, which can be converted into NO in vivo, rescued the manifestations of NO deficiency in hypomorphic Asl mice, and a nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-independent NO donor restored NO-dependent vascular reactivity in humans with ASL deficiency. Mechanistic studies showed that ASL has a structural function in addition to its catalytic activity, by which it contributes to the formation of a multiprotein complex required for NO production. Our data demonstrate a previously unappreciated role for ASL in NOS function and NO homeostasis. Hence, ASL may serve as a target for manipulating NO production in experimental models, as well as for the treatment of NO-related diseases.

  15. Using Spores for Fusarium spp. Classification by MALDI-Based Intact Cell/Spore Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang Winkler

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Fusarium is a widespread genus of filamentous fungi and a member of the soil microbial community. Certain subspecies are health threatening because of their mycotoxin production that affects the human and animal food chain. Thus, for early and effective pest control, species identification is of particular interest; however, differentiation on the subspecies level is challenging and time-consuming for this fungus. In the present study, we show the possibilities of intact cell mass spectrometry for spore analysis of 22 different Fusarium strains belonging to six Fusarium subspecies. We found that species differentiation is possible if mass spectrometric analyses are performed under well-defined conditions with fixed parameters. A critical point for analysis is a proper sample preparation of spores, which increases the quality of mass spectra with respect to signal intensity and m/z value variations. It was concluded that data acquistion has to be performed automatically; otherwise, user-specific variations are introduced generating data which cannot fit the existing datasets. Data that show clearly that matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-based intact cell/intact spore mass spectrometry (IC/ISMS can be applied to differentiate closely related Fusarium spp. are presented. Results show a potential to build a database on Fusarium species for accurate species identification, for fast response in the case of infections in the cornfield. We furthermore demonstrate the high precision of our approach in classification of intact Fusarium species according to the location of their collection.

  16. Chemical oxidation of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine transformation products in water

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abilev, M.; Kenessov, B.N.; Batyrbekova, S.; Grotenhuis, J.T.C.

    2015-01-01

    Oxidation of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) during a water treatment has several disadvantages including formation of stable toxic byproducts. Effectiveness of treatment methods in relation to UDMH transformation products is currently poorly studied. This work considers the effectiveness of

  17. Isolation of intact sub-dermal secretory cavities from Eucalyptus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goodger Jason QD

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The biosynthesis of plant natural products in sub-dermal secretory cavities is poorly understood at the molecular level, largely due to the difficulty of physically isolating these structures for study. Our aim was to develop a protocol for isolating live and intact sub-dermal secretory cavities, and to do this, we used leaves from three species of Eucalyptus with cavities that are relatively large and rich in essential oils. Results Leaves were digested using a variety of commercially available enzymes. A pectinase from Aspergillus niger was found to allow isolation of intact cavities after a relatively short incubation (12 h, with no visible artifacts from digestion and no loss of cellular integrity or cavity contents. Several measurements indicated the potential of the isolated cavities for further functional studies. First, the cavities were found to consume oxygen at a rate that is comparable to that estimated from leaf respiratory rates. Second, mRNA was extracted from cavities, and it was used to amplify a cDNA fragment with high similarity to that of a monoterpene synthase. Third, the contents of the cavity lumen were extracted, showing an unexpectedly low abundance of volatile essential oils and a sizeable amount of non-volatile material, which is contrary to the widely accepted role of secretory cavities as predominantly essential oil repositories. Conclusions The protocol described herein is likely to be adaptable to a range of Eucalyptus species with sub-dermal secretory cavities, and should find wide application in studies of the developmental and functional biology of these structures, and the biosynthesis of the plant natural products they contain.

  18. Microarc Oxidation of Product Surfaces without Using a Bath

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. K. Shatalov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available While using an electrochemical method to cover the large-sized work-pieces, units, and products up to 6 м3 by protective coating, there is a certain difficulty to apply traditional anodizing techniques in a plating vat, and it is necessary to find various processing techniques.To use the existing micro-arc oxide coating (MOC methods for work-pieces of various forms and sizes in a plating vat is complicated in case it is required to provide oxide layers in separate places rather than over entire surface of a work-piece. The challenge is to treat flat surfaces in various directions, external and internal surfaces of rotation bodies, profiled surfaces, intersections, closed and through holes, pipes, as well as spline and thread openings for ensuring anti-seize properties in individual or small-scale production to meet technical requirements and operational properties of products.A design of tools to provide MOC-process of all possible surfaces of various engineering box-type products depends on many factors and can be considerably different even when processing the surfaces of the same forms. An attachment to be used is fixed directly on a large-sized design (a work-piece, a product or fastened in the special tool. The features of technological process, design shape, and arrangement of the processed surfaces define a fastening method of the attachment. Therefore it is necessary to pay much attention to a choice of the processing pattern and a design of tools.The Kaluga-branch of Bauman Moscow State Technical University is an original proposer of methods to form MOC-coatings on the separate surfaces of large-sized work-pieces using the moved and stationary electrodes to solve the above listed tasks.The following results of work will have an impact on development of the offered processing methods and their early implementation in real production:1. To provide oxide coatings on the surfaces of large-sized products or assemblies in a single or small

  19. Production and consumption of nitric oxide by three methanotrophic bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, T; Roy, R; Knowles, R

    2000-09-01

    We studied nitrogen oxide production and consumption by methanotrophs Methylobacter luteus (group I), Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b (group II), and an isolate from a hardwood swamp soil, here identified by 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing as Methylobacter sp. strain T20 (group I). All could consume nitric oxide (nitrogen monoxide, NO), and produce small amounts of nitrous oxide (N(2)O). Only Methylobacter strain T20 produced large amounts of NO (>250 parts per million by volume [ppmv] in the headspace) at specific activities of up to 2.0 x 10(-17) mol of NO cell(-1) day(-1), mostly after a culture became O(2) limited. Production of NO by strain T20 occurred mostly in nitrate-containing medium under anaerobic or nearly anaerobic conditions, was inhibited by chlorate, tungstate, and O(2), and required CH(4). Denitrification (methanol-supported N(2)O production from nitrate in the presence of acetylene) could not be detected and thus did not appear to be involved in the production of NO. Furthermore, cd(1) and Cu nitrite reductases, NO reductase, and N(2)O reductase could not be detected by PCR amplification of the nirS, nirK, norB, and nosZ genes, respectively. M. luteus and M. trichosporium produced some NO in ammonium-containing medium under aerobic conditions, likely as a result of methanotrophic nitrification and chemical decomposition of nitrite. For Methylobacter strain T20, arginine did not stimulate NO production under aerobiosis, suggesting that NO synthase was not involved. We conclude that strain T20 causes assimilatory reduction of nitrate to nitrite, which then decomposes chemically to NO. The production of NO by methanotrophs such as Methylobacter strain T20 could be of ecological significance in habitats near aerobic-anaerobic interfaces where fluctuating O(2) and nitrate availability occur.

  20. Denitrification: an important pathway for nitrous oxide production in tropical mangrove sediments (Goa, India).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Sheryl Oliveira; Bharathi, P A Loka; Bonin, Patricia C; Michotey, Valérie D

    2010-01-01

    Net nitrous oxide production and denitrification activity were measured in two mangrove ecosystems of Goa, India. The relatively pristine site Tuvem was compared to Divar, which is prone to high nutrient input. Stratified sampling at 2-cm intervals within the 0- to 10-cm depth range showed that N2O production at both the locations decreased with depth. Elevated denitrification activity at Divar resulted in maximum production of up to 1.95 nmol N2O-N g(-1) h(-1) at 2 to 4 cm, which was three times higher than at Tuvem. Detailed investigations to understand the major pathway contributing to N2O production performed at Tuvem showed that incomplete denitrification was responsible for up to 43 to 93% of N2O production. Nitrous oxide production rates closely correlated to nitrite concentration (n = 15; r = -0.47; p production. Nitrous oxide production through nitrification was below detection, affirming that denitrification is the major pathway responsible for production of the greenhouse gas. Net N2O production in these mangrove systems are comparatively higher than those reported from other natural estuarine sediments and therefore warrant mitigation measures.

  1. Low nitrous oxide production through nitrifier-denitrification in intermittent-feed high-rate nitritation reactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Qingxian; Ma, Chun; Domingo-Félez, Carlos; Kiil, Anne Sofie; Thamdrup, Bo; Jensen, Marlene Mark; Smets, Barth F

    2017-10-15

    Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production from autotrophic nitrogen conversion processes, especially nitritation systems, can be significant, requires understanding and calls for mitigation. In this study, the rates and pathways of N 2 O production were quantified in two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors operated with intermittent feeding and demonstrating long-term and high-rate nitritation. The resulting reactor biomass was highly enriched in ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and converted ∼93 ± 14% of the oxidized ammonium to nitrite. The low DO set-point combined with intermittent feeding was sufficient to maintain high nitritation efficiency and high nitritation rates at 20-26 °C over a period of ∼300 days. Even at the high nitritation efficiencies, net N 2 O production was low (∼2% of the oxidized ammonium). Net N 2 O production rates transiently increased with a rise in pH after each feeding, suggesting a potential effect of pH on N 2 O production. In situ application of 15 N labeled substrates revealed nitrifier denitrification as the dominant pathway of N 2 O production. Our study highlights operational conditions that minimize N 2 O emission from two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Oxidation products are increased in patients affected by non-segmental generalized vitiligo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaccaro, Mario; Bagnato, Gianluca; Cristani, Mariateresa; Borgia, Francesco; Spatari, Giovanna; Tigano, Valeria; Saja, Antonina; Guarneri, Fabrizio; Cannavò, Serafinella P; Gangemi, Sebastiano

    2017-08-01

    Several lines of evidence support the relevance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitiligo, but the exact role of glycation and oxidation of macromolecules needs to be better addressed. To investigate the involvement of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), we performed a case-control association study by spectrofluorimetry and spectrophotometry, in 47 patients with non-segmental generalized vitiligo and 47 age- and sex-matched controls. Significantly higher levels of both AOPPs (p vitiligo patients compared to healthy controls. In vitiligo patients, AGEs and AOPPs serum levels were directly associated with extension, duration of vitiligo, and disease activity. ROS, and in particular AGEs and AOPPs, could represent one of the main biomarkers to assess the onset and progression of vitiligo, due to the potential role as direct inducers of cell damage and also as autoimmunity triggers. Further longitudinal studies involving larger cohorts of patients are required to elucidate the role of oxidation products in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.

  3. Nitrous Oxide Production in a Granule-based Partial Nitritation Reactor: A Model-based Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Lai; Sun, Jing; Liu, Yiwen; Dai, Xiaohu; Ni, Bing-Jie

    2017-04-03

    Sustainable wastewater treatment has been attracting increasing attentions over the past decades. However, the production of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a potent GHG, from the energy-efficient granule-based autotrophic nitrogen removal is largely unknown. This study applied a previously established N 2 O model, which incorporated two N 2 O production pathways by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (AOB denitrification and the hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) oxidation). The two-pathway model was used to describe N 2 O production from a granule-based partial nitritation (PN) reactor and provide insights into the N 2 O distribution inside granules. The model was evaluated by comparing simulation results with N 2 O monitoring profiles as well as isotopic measurement data from the PN reactor. The model demonstrated its good predictive ability against N 2 O dynamics and provided useful information about the shift of N 2 O production pathways inside granules for the first time. The simulation results indicated that the increase of oxygen concentration and granule size would significantly enhance N 2 O production. The results further revealed a linear relationship between N 2 O production and ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) (R 2  = 0.99) under the conditions of varying oxygen levels and granule diameters, suggesting that bulk oxygen and granule size may exert an indirect effect on N 2 O production by causing a change in AOR.

  4. Simple proxies for estimating the concentrations of monoterpenes and their oxidation products at a boreal forest site

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Kontkanen

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The oxidation products of monoterpenes likely have a crucial role in the formation and growth of aerosol particles in boreal forests. However, the continuous measurements of monoterpene concentrations are usually not available on decadal timescales, and the direct measurements of the concentrations of monoterpene oxidation product have so far been scarce. In this study we developed proxies for the concentrations of monoterpenes and their oxidation products at a boreal forest site in Hyytiälä, southern Finland. For deriving the proxies we used the monoterpene concentration measured with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS during 2006–2013. Our proxies for the monoterpene concentration take into account the temperature-controlled emissions from the forest ecosystem, the dilution caused by the mixing within the boundary layer and different oxidation processes. All the versions of our proxies captured the seasonal variation of the monoterpene concentration, the typical proxy-to-measurements ratios being between 0.8 and 1.3 in summer and between 0.6 and 2.6 in winter. In addition, the proxies were able to describe the diurnal variation of the monoterpene concentration rather well, especially in summer months. By utilizing one of the proxies, we calculated the concentration of oxidation products of monoterpenes by considering their production in the oxidation and their loss due to condensation on aerosol particles. The concentration of oxidation products was found to have a clear seasonal cycle, with a maximum in summer and a minimum in winter. The concentration of oxidation products was lowest in the morning or around noon and highest in the evening. In the future, our proxies for the monoterpene concentration and their oxidation products can be used, for example, in the analysis of new particle formation and growth in boreal environments.

  5. Aqueous-phase oxidation of green leaf volatiles by hydroxyl radical as a source of SOA: Product identification from methyl jasmonate and methyl salicylate oxidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansel, Amie K.; Ehrenhauser, Franz S.; Richards-Henderson, Nicole K.; Anastasio, Cort; Valsaraj, Kalliat T.

    2015-02-01

    Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a group of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) released into the atmosphere by vegetation. BVOCs produce secondary organic aerosol (SOA) via gas-phase reactions, but little is known of their aqueous-phase oxidation as a source of SOA. GLVs can partition into atmospheric water phases, e.g., fog, mist, dew or rain, and be oxidized by hydroxyl radicals (˙OH). These reactions in the liquid phase also lead to products that have higher molecular weights, increased polarity, and lower vapor pressures, ultimately forming SOA after evaporation of the droplet. To examine this process, we investigated the aqueous, ˙OH-mediated oxidation of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) and methyl salicylate (MeSa), two GLVs that produce aqueous-phase SOA. High performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) was used to monitor product formation. The oxidation products identified exhibit higher molecular mass than their parent GLV due to either dimerization or the addition of oxygen and hydroxyl functional groups. The proposed structures of potential products are based on mechanistic considerations combined with the HPLC/ESI-MS data. Based on the structures, the vapor pressure and the Henry's law constant were estimated with multiple methods (SPARC, SIMPOL, MPBPVP, Bond and Group Estimations). The estimated vapor pressures of the products identified are significantly (up to 7 orders of magnitude) lower than those of the associated parent compounds, and therefore, the GLV oxidation products may remain as SOA after evaporation of the water droplet. The contribution of the identified oxidation products to SOA formation is estimated based on measured HPLC-ESI/MS responses relative to previous aqueous SOA mass yield measurements.

  6. Experimental and simulation analysis of hydrogen production by partial oxidation of methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sikander, U. [National Univ. of Science and Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2014-10-15

    Partial oxidation of methanol is the only self-sustaining process for onboard production of hydrogen. For this a fixed bed catalytic reactor is designed, based on heterogeneous catalytic reaction. To develop an optimized process, simulation is carried out using ASPEN HYSYS v 7.1. Reaction kinetics is developed on the basis of Langmuir Hinshel wood model. 45:55:5 of CuO: ZnO: Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ is used as a catalyst. Simulation results are studied in detail to understand the phenomenon of partial oxidation of methanol inside the reactor. An experimental rig is developed for hydrogen production through partial oxidation of methanol. Results obtained from process simulation and experimental work; are compared with each other. (author)

  7. Improving Technology And Setting-Up A Production Line For High Quality Zinc Oxide (99.5%) With A Capacity Of 150 Ton/Year By Reduction-Oxidation Process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pham Minh Tuan; Tran The Dinh; Tran Ngoc Vuong; Tuong Duy Nhan; Tran Trung Son; Le Huu Thiep; Nguyen Trung Dung; Le Thi Hong; Luong Manh Hung; Bui Huy Cuong

    2014-01-01

    Zinc oxide is used not only for the rubber industry, but also in many other industries such as pigments, ceramics, cosmetics etc. On the basis of references on international scientific researches and practical activities for the production of zinc oxide in our country, we have carried out additional research and testing to establish a zinc oxide production line for preparation of high quality (99.5%) product by treating the industrial zinc containing waste to obtain required composition materials [Zn] >50%; [Pb] < 0.3%; [Cl]/[PbO] < 0.2 for reduction-oxidation processes using reverberatory furnace. (author)

  8. Oxidation Resistant Graphite Studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    W. Windes; R. Smith

    2014-07-01

    The Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Graphite Research and Development Program is investigating doped nuclear graphite grades exhibiting oxidation resistance. During a oxygen ingress accident the oxidation rates of the high temperature graphite core region would be extremely high resulting in significant structural damage to the core. Reducing the oxidation rate of the graphite core material would reduce the structural effects and keep the core integrity intact during any air-ingress accident. Oxidation testing of graphite doped with oxidation resistant material is being conducted to determine the extent of oxidation rate reduction. Nuclear grade graphite doped with varying levels of Boron-Carbide (B4C) was oxidized in air at nominal 740°C at 10/90% (air/He) and 100% air. The oxidation rates of the boronated and unboronated graphite grade were compared. With increasing boron-carbide content (up to 6 vol%) the oxidation rate was observed to have a 20 fold reduction from unboronated graphite. Visual inspection and uniformity of oxidation across the surface of the specimens were conducted. Future work to determine the remaining mechanical strength as well as graphite grades with SiC doped material are discussed.

  9. Influence of corium oxidation on fission product release from molten pool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bechta, S.V., E-mail: bechta@sbor.spb.s [Alexandrov Scientific-Research Institute of Technology (NITI), Sosnovy Bor (Russian Federation); Krushinov, E.V.; Vitol, S.A.; Khabensky, V.B.; Kotova, S.Yu.; Sulatsky, A.A. [Alexandrov Scientific-Research Institute of Technology (NITI), Sosnovy Bor (Russian Federation); Gusarov, V.V.; Almyashev, V.I. [Grebenschikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISC RAS), St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Ducros, G.; Journeau, C. [CEA, DEN, Cadarache, F-13108 St. Paul lez Durance (France); Bottomley, D. [Joint Research Centre Institut fuer Transurane (ITU), Karlsruhe (Germany); Clement, B. [Institut de Radioprotection et Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), St. Paul lez Durance (France); Herranz, L. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Guentay, S. [PSI, Wuerenlingen (Switzerland); Trambauer, K. [GRS, Muenchen (Germany); Auvinen, A. [VTT, Espoo (Finland); Bezlepkin, V.V. [SPbAEP, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)

    2010-05-15

    Qualitative and quantitative determination of the release of low-volatile fission products and core materials from molten oxidic corium was investigated in the EVAN project under the auspices of ISTC. The experiments carried out in a cold crucible with induction heating and RASPLAV test facility are described. The results are discussed in terms of reactor application; in particular, pool configuration, melt oxidation kinetics, critical influence of melt surface temperature and oxidation index on the fission product release rate, aerosol particle composition and size distribution. The relevance of measured high release of Sr from the molten pool for the reactor application is highlighted. Comparisons of the experimental data with those from the COLIMA CA-U3 test and the VERCORS tests, as well as with predictions from IVTANTHERMO and GEMINI/NUCLEA codes are made. Recommendations for further investigations are proposed following the major observations and discussions.

  10. A model for the release of low-volatility fission products in oxidizing conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, D.S.; Hunt, C.E.L.; Liu, Z.; Keller, N.A.; Barrand, R.D.; O'Connor, R.F.

    1991-07-01

    A thermodynamic and kinetic model has been developed for calculating low-volatility fission-product releases from UO 2 at high temperatures in oxidizing conditions. Volatilization of the UO 2 matrix is assumed to be the rate controlling process. Oxidation kinetics of the UO 2 are modelled by either interfacial rate control, gas phase oxidant transport control, or solid-state diffusion of oxygen. The vapour pressure of UO 3 in equilibrium with the oxidizing fuel is calculated from thermodynamic data, and volatilization rates are determined using a model for forced convective mass transport. Low-volatility fission-product releases are calculated from the volume of vapourized fuel. Model calculations are conservative compared to experimental data for Zr, La, Ce and Nb fission-product releases from irradiated UO 2 exposed to air at 1973-2350 K. The implications of this conservatism are discussed in terms of possible rate control by processes other than convective mass transport of UO 3 . Coefficients for effective surface area (based on experimental data) and for heterogeneous rate controlling reaction kinetics are introduced to facilitate agreement between calculations and the experimental data.

  11. Amorphous semiconducting and conducting transparent metal oxide thin films and production thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, John; Van Hest, Marinus Franciscus Antonius Maria; Ginley, David; Taylor, Matthew; Neuman, George A.; Luten, Henry A.; Forgette, Jeffrey A.; Anderson, John S.

    2010-07-13

    Metal oxide thin films and production thereof are disclosed. An exemplary method of producing a metal oxide thin film may comprise introducing at least two metallic elements and oxygen into a process chamber to form a metal oxide. The method may also comprise depositing the metal oxide on a substrate in the process chamber. The method may also comprise simultaneously controlling a ratio of the at least two metallic elements and a stoichiometry of the oxygen during deposition. Exemplary amorphous metal oxide thin films produced according to the methods herein may exhibit highly transparent properties, highly conductive properties, and/or other opto-electronic properties.

  12. Enzymatic methylation of band 3 anion transporter in intact human erythrocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou, L.L.; Clarke, S.

    1987-01-01

    Band 3, the anion transport protein of erythrocyte membranes, is a major methyl-accepting substrate of the intracellular erythrocyte protein carboxyl methyltransferase (S-adenosyl-L-methionine: protein-D-aspartate O-methyltransferase; EC 2.1.1.77). The localization of methylation sites in intact cells by analysis of proteolytic fragments indicated that sites were present in the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain as well as the membranous C-terminal portion of the polypeptide. The amino acid residues that serve as carboxyl methylation sites of the erythrocyte anion transporter were also investigated. 3 H-Methylated band 3 was purified from intact erythrocytes incubated with L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine and from trypsinized and lysed erythrocytes incubated with S-adenosyl-L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine. After proteolytic digestion with carboxypeptidase Y, D-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl ester was isolated in low yields (9% and 1%, respectively) from each preparation. The bulk of the radioactivity was recovered as [ 3 H]methanol, and the amino acid residue(s) originally associated with these methyl groups could not be determined. No L-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl ester or glutamyl gamma-[ 3 H]methyl ester was detected. The formation of D-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl esters in this protein in intact cells resulted from protein carboxyl methyltransferase activity since it was inhibited by adenosine and homocysteine thiolactone, which increases the intracellular concentration of the potent product inhibitor S-adenosylhomocysteine, and cycloleucine, which prevents the formation of the substrate S-adenosyl-L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine

  13. Examining an underappreciated control on lignin decomposition in soils? Effects of reactive manganese species on intact plant cell walls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keiluweit, M.; Bougoure, J.; Pett-Ridge, J.; Kleber, M.; Nico, P. S.

    2011-12-01

    Lignin comprises a dominant proportion of carbon fluxes into the soil (representing up to 50% of plant litter and roots). Two lines of evidence suggest that manganese (Mn) acts as a strong controlling factor on the residence time of lignin in soil ecosystems. First, Mn content is highly correlated with litter decomposition in temperate and boreal forest soil ecosystems and, second, microbial agents of lignin degradation have been reported to rely on reactive Mn(III)-complexes to specifically oxidize lignin. However, few attempts have been made to isolate the mechanisms responsible for the apparent Mn-dependence of lignin decomposition in soils. Here we tested the hypothesis that Mn(III)-oxalate complexes may act as a perforating 'pretreatment' for structurally intact plant cell walls. We propose that these diffusible oxidizers are small enough to penetrate and react with non-porous ligno-cellulose in cell walls. This process was investigated by reacting single Zinnia elegans tracheary elements with Mn(III)-oxalate complexes in a continuous flow-through microreactor. The uniformity of cultured tracheary elements allowed us to examine Mn(III)-induced changes in cell wall chemistry and ultrastructure on the micro-scale using fluorescence and electron microscopy as well as synchrotron-based infrared and X-ray spectromicroscopy. Our results show that Mn(III)-complexes substantially oxidize specific lignin components of the cell wall, solubilize decomposition products, severely undermine the cell wall integrity, and cause cell lysis. We conclude that Mn(III)-complexes induce oxidative damage in plant cell walls that renders ligno-cellulose substrates more accessible for microbial lignin- and cellulose-decomposing enzymes. Implications of our results for the rate limiting impact of soil Mn speciation and availability on litter decomposition in forest soils will be discussed.

  14. Production of aromas and fragrances through microbial oxidation of monoterpenes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. F. Rozenbaum

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Aromas and fragrances can be obtained through the microbial oxidation of monoterpenes. Many microorganisms can be used to carry out extremely specific conversions using substrates of low commercial value. However, for many species, these substrates are highly toxic, consequently inhibiting their metabolism. In this work, the conversion ability of Aspergillus niger IOC-3913 for terpenic compounds was examined. This species was preselected because of its high resistance to toxic monoterpenic substrates. Though it has been grown in media containing R-limonene (one of the cheapest monoterpenic hydrocarbons, which is widely available on the market, the species has not shown the ability to metabolize it, since biotransformation products were not detected in high resolution gas chromatography analyses. For this reason, other monoterpenes (alpha-pinene, beta-pinene and camphor were used as substrates. These compounds were shown to be metabolized by the selected strain, producing oxidized compounds. Four reaction systems were used: a biotransformation in a liquid medium with cells in growth b with pre-grown cultures c with cells immobilized in a synthetic polymer network and d in a solid medium to which the substrate was added via the gas phase. The main biotransformation products were found in all the reaction systems, although the adoption of previously cultivated cells seemed to favor biotransformation. Cell immobilization seemed to be a feasible strategy for alleviating the toxic effect of the substrate. Through mass spectrometry it was possible to identify verbenone and alpha-terpineol as the biotransformation products of alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, respectively. The structures of the other oxidation products are described.

  15. Dual pathways for the intracellular processing of insulin. Relationship between retroendocytosis of intact hormone and the recycling of insulin receptors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, S.

    1985-01-01

    Adipocytes process insulin through either of two pathways: a retroendocytotic pathway that culminates in the release of intact insulin, and a degradative pathway that terminates in the intracellular catabolism and release of degraded ligand. Mechanistically, these pathways were found to differ in several ways. First, temporal differences were found in the rate at which intact and degraded products were extruded. After 125 I-insulin was preloaded into the cell interior, intact ligand was completely released during the first 10 min (t 1/2 = 2 min), whereas degraded insulin was released at a much slower rate over 1 h (t 1/2 greater than 8 min). Secondly, it was found that chloroquine profoundly inhibited the insulin degradative pathway, resulting in the intracellular accumulation of intact ligand and a reduction in the release of degraded products. In contrast, however, chloroquine was without effect on the retroendocytotic processing of insulin. Based on the known actions of chloroquine, it appears that retroendocytosis of insulin does not involve vesicular acidification or dissociation of the insulin-receptor complex and that insulin is most likely carried to the cell exterior in the same vesicles (either receptor-bound or free) as those mediating recycling receptors. Interestingly, accumulation of undergraded insulin within chloroquine-treated cells did not result in the release of additional intact ligand, suggesting that once insulin enters the degradative compartment it is committed to catabolism and cannot exit the cell through the retroendocytotic pathway. A third difference was revealed by the finding that extracellular unlabeled insulin (100 ng/ml) markedly accelerated the rate at which preloaded 125 I-insulin was released from adipocytes (t 1/2 of 3 min versus 7 min in controls cells)

  16. Controlling nitrous oxide emissions from grassland livestock production systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oenema, O.; Gebauer, G.; Rodriguez, M.; Sapek, A.; Jarvis, S.C.; Corré, W.J.; Yamulki, S.

    1998-01-01

    There is growing awareness that grassland livestock production systems are major sources of nitrous oxide (N2O). Controlling these emissions requires a thorough understanding of all sources and controlling factors at the farm level. This paper examines the various controlling factors and proposes

  17. Size characterization of metal oxide nanoparticles in commercial sunscreen products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bairi, Venu Gopal; Lim, Jin-Hee; Fong, Andrew; Linder, Sean W.

    2017-07-01

    There is an increase in the usage of engineered metal oxide (TiO2 and ZnO) nanoparticles in commercial sunscreens due to their pleasing esthetics and greater sun protection efficiency. A number of studies have been done concerning the safety of nanoparticles in sunscreen products. In order to do the safety assessment, it is pertinent to develop novel analytical techniques to analyze these nanoparticles in commercial sunscreens. This study is focused on developing analytical techniques that can efficiently determine particle size of metal oxides present in the commercial sunscreens. To isolate the mineral UV filters from the organic matrices, specific procedures such as solvent extraction were identified. In addition, several solvents (hexane, chloroform, dichloromethane, and tetrahydrofuran) have been investigated. The solvent extraction using tetrahydrofuran worked well for all the samples investigated. The isolated nanoparticles were characterized by using several different techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, differential centrifugal sedimentation, and x-ray diffraction. Elemental analysis mapping studies were performed to obtain individual chemical and morphological identities of the nanoparticles. Results from the electron microscopy techniques were compared against the bulk particle sizing techniques. All of the sunscreen products tested in this study were found to contain nanosized (≤100 nm) metal oxide particles with varied shapes and aspect ratios, and four among the 11 products were showed to have anatase TiO2.

  18. Enhanced 15-HPETE production during oxidant stress induces apoptosis of endothelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sordillo, Lorraine M; Weaver, James A; Cao, Yu-Zhang; Corl, Chris; Sylte, Matt J; Mullarky, Isis K

    2005-05-01

    Oxidant stress plays an important role in the etiology of vascular diseases by increasing rates of endothelial cell apoptosis, but few data exist on the mechanisms involved. Using a unique model of oxidative stress based on selenium deficiency (-Se), the effects of altered eicosanoid production on bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) apoptosis was evaluated. Oxidant stress significantly increased the immediate oxygenation product of arachidonic acid metabolized by the 15-lipoxygenase pathway, 15-hydroxyperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE). Treatment of -Se BAEC with TNFalpha/cyclohexamide (CHX) exhibited elevated levels of apoptosis, which was significantly reduced by the addition of a specific 15-lipoxygenase inhibitor PD146176. Furthermore, the addition of 15-HPETE to PD146176-treated BAEC, partially restored TNF/CHX-induced apoptosis. Increased exposure to 15-HPETE induced apoptosis, as determined by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, chromatin condensation, caspase-3 activation, and caspase-9 activation, which suggests mitochondrial dysfunction. The expression of Bcl-2 protein also was decreased in -Se BAEC. Addition of a caspase-9 inhibitor (LEHD-fmk) completely blocked 15-HPETE-induced chromatin condensation in -Se BAEC, suggesting that 15-HPETE-induced apoptosis is caspase-9 dependent. Increased apoptosis of BAEC as a result of oxidant stress and subsequent production of 15-HPETE may play a critical role in a variety of inflammatory based diseases.

  19. Intact collagen and atelocollagen sponges: Characterization and ESEM observation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruozi, Barbara; Tosi, Giovanni; Leo, Eliana; Parma, Bruna; Vismara, Susanna; Forni, Flavio; Vandelli, Maria Angela

    2007-01-01

    In this study we have investigated the chemical-physical and morphological properties of intact and atelocollagen sponges used for tissue engineering. The porous sponges were prepared by lyophilization and their physico-chemical characteristics (water binding capacity, denaturing temperature, amino group content) were investigated. Considering the importance of the 'in vivo' interactions between these sponges and the tissue, our attention was addressed (a) to clarify the relationships between the morphology and the amount of water absorbed and (b) to evaluate the influence of pepsin-alkaline treatment on the reorganization of the atelocollagen fibres. Conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) were employed to study the morphology and wetting behaviour of the intact and atelocollagen sponges. The observations by SEM indicated remarkable differences both in the structure and dimension of the pores between intact and atelocollagen sponges. At the data are related to a different water binding capacity. However, the ESEM observations, achieved by changing the relative humidity in the operative chamber, demonstrated that the water adsorbed can be removed with major difficulty from atelocollagen sponges than from intact ones

  20. Electrochemistry-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Study Oxidation Products of Trimethoprim

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc-André Lecours

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of the fate of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs, especially the identification of transformation products, after water treatment or in the aquatic environment, is a topic of growing interest. In recent years, electrochemistry coupled to mass spectrometry has attracted a lot of attention as an alternative technique to investigate oxidation metabolites of organic compounds. The present study used different electrochemical approaches, such as cyclic voltammetry, electrolysis, electro-assisted Fenton reaction coupled offline to high resolution mass spectrometry and thin-layer flow cell coupled online to high resolution mass spectrometry, to study oxidation products of the anti-infective trimethoprim, a contaminant of emerging concern frequently reported in wastewaters and surface waters. Results showed that mono- and di-hydroxylated derivatives of trimethoprim were generated in electrochemically and possibly tri-hydroxylated derivatives as well. Those compounds have been previously reported as mammalian and bacterial metabolites as well as transformation products of advance oxidation processes applied to waters containing trimethoprim. Therefore, this study confirmed that electrochemical techniques are relevant not only to mimic specific biotransformation reactions of organic contaminants, as it has been suggested previously, but also to study the oxidation reactions of organic contaminants of interest in water treatment. The key role that redox reactions play in the environment make electrochemistry-high resolution mass spectrometry a sensitive and simple technique to improve our understanding of the fate of organic contaminants in the environment.

  1. Global oceanic production of nitrous oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freing, Alina; Wallace, Douglas W. R.; Bange, Hermann W.

    2012-01-01

    We use transient time distributions calculated from tracer data together with in situ measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) to estimate the concentration of biologically produced N2O and N2O production rates in the ocean on a global scale. Our approach to estimate the N2O production rates integrates the effects of potentially varying production and decomposition mechanisms along the transport path of a water mass. We estimate that the oceanic N2O production is dominated by nitrification with a contribution of only approximately 7 per cent by denitrification. This indicates that previously used approaches have overestimated the contribution by denitrification. Shelf areas may account for only a negligible fraction of the global production; however, estuarine sources and coastal upwelling of N2O are not taken into account in our study. The largest amount of subsurface N2O is produced in the upper 500 m of the water column. The estimated global annual subsurface N2O production ranges from 3.1 ± 0.9 to 3.4 ± 0.9 Tg N yr−1. This is in agreement with estimates of the global N2O emissions to the atmosphere and indicates that a N2O source in the mixed layer is unlikely. The potential future development of the oceanic N2O source in view of the ongoing changes of the ocean environment (deoxygenation, warming, eutrophication and acidification) is discussed. PMID:22451110

  2. Global oceanic production of nitrous oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freing, Alina; Wallace, Douglas W R; Bange, Hermann W

    2012-05-05

    We use transient time distributions calculated from tracer data together with in situ measurements of nitrous oxide (N(2)O) to estimate the concentration of biologically produced N(2)O and N(2)O production rates in the ocean on a global scale. Our approach to estimate the N(2)O production rates integrates the effects of potentially varying production and decomposition mechanisms along the transport path of a water mass. We estimate that the oceanic N(2)O production is dominated by nitrification with a contribution of only approximately 7 per cent by denitrification. This indicates that previously used approaches have overestimated the contribution by denitrification. Shelf areas may account for only a negligible fraction of the global production; however, estuarine sources and coastal upwelling of N(2)O are not taken into account in our study. The largest amount of subsurface N(2)O is produced in the upper 500 m of the water column. The estimated global annual subsurface N(2)O production ranges from 3.1 ± 0.9 to 3.4 ± 0.9 Tg N yr(-1). This is in agreement with estimates of the global N(2)O emissions to the atmosphere and indicates that a N(2)O source in the mixed layer is unlikely. The potential future development of the oceanic N(2)O source in view of the ongoing changes of the ocean environment (deoxygenation, warming, eutrophication and acidification) is discussed.

  3. Controllable Edge Oxidation and Bubbling Exfoliation Enable the Fabrication of High Quality Water Dispersible Graphene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Suyun; Sun, Jing; Yang, Siwei; He, Peng; Wang, Gang; Di, Zengfeng; Ding, Guqiao; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

    2016-09-26

    Despite significant progresses made on mass production of chemically exfoliated graphene, the quality, cost and environmental friendliness remain major challenges for its market penetration. Here, we present a fast and green exfoliation strategy for large scale production of high quality water dispersible few layer graphene through a controllable edge oxidation and localized gas bubbling process. Mild edge oxidation guarantees that the pristine sp 2 lattice is largely intact and the edges are functionalized with hydrophilic groups, giving rise to high conductivity and good water dispersibility at the same time. The aqueous concentration can be as high as 5.0 mg mL -1 , which is an order of magnitude higher than previously reports. The water soluble graphene can be directly spray-coated on various substrates, and the back-gated field effect transistor give hole and electron mobility of ~496 and ~676 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , respectively. These results achieved are expected to expedite various applications of graphene.

  4. Controllable Edge Oxidation and Bubbling Exfoliation Enable the Fabrication of High Quality Water Dispersible Graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Suyun; Sun, Jing; Yang, Siwei; He, Peng; Wang, Gang; di, Zengfeng; Ding, Guqiao; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

    2016-09-01

    Despite significant progresses made on mass production of chemically exfoliated graphene, the quality, cost and environmental friendliness remain major challenges for its market penetration. Here, we present a fast and green exfoliation strategy for large scale production of high quality water dispersible few layer graphene through a controllable edge oxidation and localized gas bubbling process. Mild edge oxidation guarantees that the pristine sp2 lattice is largely intact and the edges are functionalized with hydrophilic groups, giving rise to high conductivity and good water dispersibility at the same time. The aqueous concentration can be as high as 5.0 mg mL-1, which is an order of magnitude higher than previously reports. The water soluble graphene can be directly spray-coated on various substrates, and the back-gated field effect transistor give hole and electron mobility of ~496 and ~676 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. These results achieved are expected to expedite various applications of graphene.

  5. Impact of residual elements on zinc quality in the production of zinc oxide

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Luptáková, Natália; Dymáček, Petr; Pešlová, F.; Jurkovič, Z.; Barborák, O.; Stodola, J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 55, č. 3 (2016), s. 407-410 ISSN 0543-5846 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : zinc * metallography * microstructure of zinc * zinc oxide * production of zinc oxide Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy Impact factor: 0.959, year: 2014

  6. Arginase expression modulates nitric oxide production in Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acuña, Stephanie Maia; Aoki, Juliana Ide; Laranjeira-Silva, Maria Fernanda; Zampieri, Ricardo Andrade; Fernandes, Juliane Cristina Ribeiro; Muxel, Sandra Marcia; Floeter-Winter, Lucile Maria

    2017-01-01

    Arginase is an enzyme that converts L-arginine to urea and L-ornithine, an essential substrate for the polyamine pathway supporting Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis replication and its survival in the mammalian host. L-arginine is also the substrate of macrophage nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) to produce nitric oxide (NO) that kills the parasite. This competition can define the fate of Leishmania infection. The transcriptomic profiling identified a family of oxidoreductases in L. (L.) amazonensis wild-type (La-WT) and L. (L.) amazonensis arginase knockout (La-arg-) promastigotes and axenic amastigotes. We highlighted the identification of an oxidoreductase that could act as nitric oxide synthase-like (NOS-like), due to the following evidences: conserved domain composition, the participation of NO production during the time course of promastigotes growth and during the axenic amastigotes differentiation, regulation dependence on arginase activity, as well as reduction of NO amount through the NOS activity inhibition. NO quantification was measured by DAF-FM labeling analysis in a flow cytometry. We described an arginase-dependent NOS-like activity in L. (L.) amazonensis and its role in the parasite growth. The increased detection of NO production in the mid-stationary and late-stationary growth phases of La-WT promastigotes could suggest that this production is an important factor to metacyclogenesis triggering. On the other hand, La-arg- showed an earlier increase in NO production compared to La-WT, suggesting that NO production can be arginase-dependent. Interestingly, La-WT and La-arg- axenic amastigotes produced higher levels of NO than those observed in promastigotes. As a conclusion, our work suggested that NOS-like is expressed in Leishmania in the stationary growth phase promastigotes and amastigotes, and could be correlated to metacyclogenesis and amastigotes growth in a dependent way to the internal pool of L-arginine and arginase activity.

  7. Continuous operation of a pilot plant for the production of beryllium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, T.C.; Amaral, S.; Silveira, C.M.S.; Oliveira, A.P. de

    1975-01-01

    A method of obtaining beryllium oxide with a purity of 99,2% was developed in a pilot plant with a capacity of 7 tons per month destined to operate continuously. The operation market prospects and control of production with the objective of obtaining internacional technical grade beryllium oxide are discussed [pt

  8. Continuous operation of a pilot plant for the production of beryllium oxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, T C; Amaral, S; Silveira, C M.S.; de Oliveira, A P [Instituto de Tecnologia, Governador Valadares (Brazil)

    1975-12-01

    A method of obtaining beryllium oxide with a purity of 99,2% was developed in a pilot plant with a capacity of 7 tons per month destined to operate continuously. The operation market prospects and control of production with the objective of obtaining internacional technical grade beryllium oxide are discussed.

  9. Modification of Casein by the Lipid Oxidation Product Malondialdehyde

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adams, A.; Kimpe, de N.; Boekel, van T.

    2008-01-01

    The reaction of malondialdehyde with casein was studied in aqueous solution to evaluate the impact of this lipid oxidation product on food protein modification. By using multiresponse modeling, a kinetic model was developed for this reaction. The influence of temperature and pH on protein browning

  10. Field study of nitrous oxide production with in situ aeration in a closed landfill site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nag, Mitali; Shimaoka, Takayuki; Nakayama, Hirofumi; Komiya, Teppei; Xiaoli, Chai

    2016-03-01

    Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) has gained considerable attention as a contributor to global warming and depilation of stratospheric ozone layer. Landfill is one of the high emitters of greenhouse gas such as methane and N(2)O during the biodegradation of solid waste. Landfill aeration has been attracted increasing attention worldwide for fast, controlled and sustainable conversion of landfills into a biological stabilized condition, however landfill aeration impel N(2)O emission with ammonia removal. N(2)O originates from the biodegradation, or the combustion of nitrogen-containing solid waste during the microbial process of nitrification and denitrification. During these two processes, formation of N(2)O as a by-product from nitrification, or as an intermediate product of denitrification. In this study, air was injected into a closed landfill site and investigated the major N(2)O production factors and correlations established between them. The in-situ aeration experiment was carried out by three sets of gas collection pipes along with temperature probes were installed at three different distances of one, two and three meter away from the aeration point; named points A-C, respectively. Each set of pipes consisted of three different pipes at three different depths of 0.0, 0.75 and 1.5 m from the bottom of the cover soil. Landfill gases composition was monitored weekly and gas samples were collected for analysis of nitrous oxide concentrations. It was evaluated that temperatures within the range of 30-40°C with high oxygen content led to higher generation of nitrous oxide with high aeration rate. Lower O(2) content can infuse N(2)O production during nitrification and high O(2) inhibit denitrification which would affect N(2)O production. The findings provide insights concerning the production potentials of N(2)O in an aerated landfill that may help to minimize with appropriate control of the operational parameters and biological reactions of N turnover. Investigation of

  11. Enhancing lipid productivity of Chlorella vulgaris using oxidative stress by TiO2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Nam Kyu; Lee, Bongsoo; Choi, Gang-Guk; Moon, Myounghoon; Park, Min S.; Yang, Ji-Won; Lim, JitKang

    2014-01-01

    Ability to increase the lipid production in microalgae is one of the heavily sought-after ideas to improve the economic feasibility of microalgae-derived transportation fuels for commercial applications. We used the oxidative stress by TiO 2 nanoparticles, a well-known photocatalyst, to induce lipid production in microalgae. Chlorella vulgaris UTEX 265 was cultivated under various concentrations of TiO 2 ranging from 0.1 to 5 g/L under UV-A illumination. Maximum specific growth rate was affected in responding to TiO 2 concentrations. In the presence of UV-A, chlorophyll concentration was decreased at the highest concentration of TiO 2 (5 g/L TiO 2 ) by oxidative stress. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition analysis suggested that oxidative stress causes the accumulation and decomposition of lipids. The highest FAME productivity was 18.2 g/L/d under low concentrations of TiO 2 (0.1 g/L) and a short induction time (two days). The controlled condition of TiO 2 /UV-A inducing oxidative stress (0.1 g/L TiO 2 and two days induction) could be used to increase the lipid productivity of C. vulgaris UTEX 265. Our results show the possibility of modulating the lipid induction process through oxidative stress with TiO 2 /UV-A

  12. Enhancing Biodiesel Production Using Green Glycerol-Enriched Calcium Oxide Catalyst : An Optimization Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avhad, Mangesh R.; Gangurde, L.S.; Sánchez, Marcos; Bouaid, Abderrahim; Aracil, José; Martínez, Mercedes; Marchetti, Jorge M.

    2018-01-01

    The present article demonstrates a superior catalytic performance of glycerol-enriched calcium oxide for biodiesel production than other calcium-based counterparts. The proficiency of glycerol-enriched calcium oxide in catalyzing the methanolysis of crude Jatropha curcas oil containing high free

  13. Lunar Metal Oxide Electrolysis with Oxygen and Photovoltaic Array Production Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curreri, P. A.; Ethridge, E.; Hudson, S.; Sen, S.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a Marshall Space Flight Center funded effort to conduct an experimental demonstration of the processing of simulated lunar resources by the molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) process to produce oxygen and metal from lunar resources to support human exploration of space. Oxygen extracted from lunar materials can be used for life support and propellant, and silicon and metallic elements produced can be used for in situ fabrication of thin-film solar cells for power production. The Moon is rich in mineral resources, but it is almost devoid of chemical reducing agents, therefore, molten oxide electrolysis, MOE, is chosen for extraction, since the electron is the most practical reducing agent. MOE was also chosen for following reasons. First, electrolytic processing offers uncommon versatility in its insensitivity to feedstock composition. Secondly, oxide melts boast the twin key attributes of highest solubilizing capacity for regolith and lowest volatility of any candidate electrolytes. The former is critical in ensuring high productivity since cell current is limited by reactant solubility, while the latter simplifies cell design by obviating the need for a gas-tight reactor to contain evaporation losses as would be the case with a gas or liquid phase fluoride reagent operating at such high temperatures. In the experiments reported here, melts containing iron oxide were electrolyzed in a low temperature supporting oxide electrolyte (developed by D. Sadoway, MIT). The production of oxygen and reduced iron were observed. Electrolysis was also performed on the supporting electrolyte with JSC-1 Lunar Simulant. The cell current for the supporting electrolyte alone is negligible while the current for the electrolyte with JSC-1 shows significant current and a peak at about -0.6 V indicating reductive reaction in the simulant.

  14. Detection of DNA damage by using hairpin molecular beacon probes and graphene oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jie; Lu, Qian; Tong, Ying; Wei, Wei; Liu, Songqin

    2012-09-15

    A hairpin molecular beacon tagged with carboxyfluorescein in combination with graphene oxide as a quencher reagent was used to detect the DNA damage by chemical reagents. The fluorescence of molecular beacon was quenched sharply by graphene oxide; while in the presence of its complementary DNA the quenching efficiency decreased because their hybridization prevented the strong adsorbability of molecular beacon on graphene oxide. If the complementary DNA was damaged by a chemical reagent and could not form intact duplex structure with molecular beacon, more molecular beacon would adsorb on graphene oxide increasing the quenching efficiency. Thus, damaged DNA could be detected based on different quenching efficiencies afforded by damaged and intact complementary DNA. The damage effects of chlorpyrifos-methyl and three metabolites of styrene such as mandelieaeids, phenylglyoxylieaeids and epoxystyrene on DNA were studied as models. The method for detection of DNA damage was reliable, rapid and simple compared to the biological methods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Study of cryoprotectors effect on oxidation processes at storage of frozen halffinished products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Glushkov

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The publication presents data on the effect of polysaccharides as cryoprotectants on changes of the lipid fraction of quick-frozen semi-finished products during storage. Since the structure of minced systems is formed as a result of the destruction of the native structure of the meat and the formation of a new secondary structure, it is important to establish the effect of cryoprotectants on the key functional and technological properties of meat systems after freezing, and in the process of storage. Based on studies of the kinetics of the oxidation of fat and accumulation data on the accumulation of the primary and secondary products of oxidation inhibition of oxidative processes has been found.

  16. Formaldehyde production from isoprene oxidation across NOx regimes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. M. Wolfe

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The chemical link between isoprene and formaldehyde (HCHO is a strong, nonlinear function of NOx (i.e., NO + NO2. This relationship is a linchpin for top-down isoprene emission inventory verification from orbital HCHO column observations. It is also a benchmark for overall photochemical mechanism performance with regard to VOC oxidation. Using a comprehensive suite of airborne in situ observations over the southeast US, we quantify HCHO production across the urban–rural spectrum. Analysis of isoprene and its major first-generation oxidation products allows us to define both a "prompt" yield of HCHO (molecules of HCHO produced per molecule of freshly emitted isoprene and the background HCHO mixing ratio (from oxidation of longer-lived hydrocarbons. Over the range of observed NOx values (roughly 0.1–2 ppbv, the prompt yield increases by a factor of 3 (from 0.3 to 0.9 ppbv ppbv−1, while background HCHO increases by a factor of 2 (from 1.6 to 3.3 ppbv. We apply the same method to evaluate the performance of both a global chemical transport model (AM3 and a measurement-constrained 0-D steady-state box model. Both models reproduce the NOx dependence of the prompt HCHO yield, illustrating that models with updated isoprene oxidation mechanisms can adequately capture the link between HCHO and recent isoprene emissions. On the other hand, both models underestimate background HCHO mixing ratios, suggesting missing HCHO precursors, inadequate representation of later-generation isoprene degradation and/or underestimated hydroxyl radical concentrations. Detailed process rates from the box model simulation demonstrate a 3-fold increase in HCHO production across the range of observed NOx values, driven by a 100 % increase in OH and a 40 % increase in branching of organic peroxy radical reactions to produce HCHO.

  17. Measurement of diffusive properties of intact rock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harvey, K B

    1996-12-01

    In the Postclosure Assessment of a Reference System for the Disposal of Canada`s Nuclear Fuel Waste (Goodwin et al. 1994) the disposal vault is assumed to be surrounded by a zone of intact rock, referred to as the `exclusion zone.` A sensitivity analysis of the relative effectiveness of the several engineered and natural barriers that contribute to the safety of the reference disposal system has shown that this zone of intact rock is the most effective of these barriers to the movement of radionuclides through the reference system. Peer review of the geosphere model used in the case study for the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program has identified the need to quantify the properties of the intact rock surrounding the disposal vault that would control the transport of radionuclides by diffusion. The Postclosure Assessment also identified the need for appropriate values of the free water diffusion coefficient (D{sub o}) for {sup 129}1 and {sup 14}C. The measurement of rock resistivity allows the calculation of the Formation Factor for a rock This review describes the Formation Factor, diffusivity, permeability, and porosity, and how these properties might be measured or inferred for insitu rock under the conditions that apply to the intact rock surrounding a potential disposal vault. The importance of measuring the intrinsic diffusion coefficient (D{sup i}) of diffusing species under solution salinities simulating those of groundwaters is emphasised, and a method of measurement is described that is independent of the diffusing medium, and which would be appropriate for measurements made in chemically complex media such as groundwaters. (author). 95 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs.

  18. Measurement of diffusive properties of intact rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harvey, K.B.

    1996-12-01

    In the Postclosure Assessment of a Reference System for the Disposal of Canada's Nuclear Fuel Waste (Goodwin et al. 1994) the disposal vault is assumed to be surrounded by a zone of intact rock, referred to as the 'exclusion zone.' A sensitivity analysis of the relative effectiveness of the several engineered and natural barriers that contribute to the safety of the reference disposal system has shown that this zone of intact rock is the most effective of these barriers to the movement of radionuclides through the reference system. Peer review of the geosphere model used in the case study for the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program has identified the need to quantify the properties of the intact rock surrounding the disposal vault that would control the transport of radionuclides by diffusion. The Postclosure Assessment also identified the need for appropriate values of the free water diffusion coefficient (D o ) for 129 1 and 14 C. The measurement of rock resistivity allows the calculation of the Formation Factor for a rock This review describes the Formation Factor, diffusivity, permeability, and porosity, and how these properties might be measured or inferred for insitu rock under the conditions that apply to the intact rock surrounding a potential disposal vault. The importance of measuring the intrinsic diffusion coefficient (D i ) of diffusing species under solution salinities simulating those of groundwaters is emphasised, and a method of measurement is described that is independent of the diffusing medium, and which would be appropriate for measurements made in chemically complex media such as groundwaters. (author). 95 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs

  19. Lipid and cholesterol oxidation, color changes, and volatile compounds production in irradiated raw pork batters with different fat content

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Cheo Run; Byun, Myung Woo

    2000-01-01

    An emulsion-type product was prepared to determine the effect of irradiation on lipid and cholesterol oxidation, color change, and volatile production in raw pork with different fat content. Lipid oxidation increased with an increase in fat content or irradiation dose. Irradiated batters had higher cholesterol oxides than did non-irradiated batters, and the major cholesterol oxides formed in irradiated pork batters were 7α- and 7β- hydroxycholesterol. Hunter color a- and b-values of raw pork batters were decreased by irradiation regardless of fat content. Irradiation significantly increased the amount of volatile compounds. Although lipid oxidation of high fat products (10 and 15% fat) was higher than that of low fat products (4%), high fat products did not always produce greater amount of volatile compounds in raw pork batters. In summary, irradiation increased lipid and cholesterol oxidation, and volatile compounds production, and had detrimental effects on the color of raw pork batter under aerobic conditions

  20. Epiphytes modulate Posidonia oceanica photosynthetic production, energetic balance, antioxidant mechanisms and oxidative damage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monya Mendes Costa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Epiphytes impose physical barriers to light penetration into seagrass leaves causing shading, which may decrease the production of oxygen reactive species (ROS, but also constitute a physical aggression that may trigger the production of ROS, leading to oxidative damage. Here we investigate the effects of epiphytes on Posidonia oceanica under both interactive perspectives, light attenuation and oxidative stress. Specifically the role of epiphytes in net photosynthesis, chlorophyll a and b, photoprotection (Violaxanthin+Anteraxanthin+Zeaxanthin cycle, soluble sugar and starch contents, enzymatic (ascorbate peroxidase (APX and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR and global (trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC and oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC antioxidant responses, phenolics and oxidative damage (malondialdehyde are tested. Leaves with epiphytes showed higher chlorophyll b and lower content in VAZ cycle carotenoids. Epiphyte shading was the probable reason for the lower VAZ de-epoxidation-ratio of leaves with epiphytes. In spite of being shaded, leaves with epiphytes showed higher antioxidant levels, indicating that epiphytes trigger the production of ROS. Both ORAC and TEAC and also APX and DHAR activities were higher in leaves with epiphytes, indicating that this response was related with its presence. Malondialdehyde concentrations also suggest oxidative damage caused by epiphytes. We conclude that the epiphyte load causes oxidative stress in P. oceanica and the mechanisms to scavenge ROS were not completely effective to avoid cell damage.

  1. Mathematical modeling of nitrous oxide production in an anaerobic/oxic/anoxic process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Xiaoqian; Zhao, Jianqiang; Hu, Bo; Chen, Ying; Ge, Guanghuan; Li, Xiaoling; Wang, Sha; Gao, Kun; Tian, Xiaolei

    2016-12-01

    This study incorporates three currently known nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production pathways: ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) denitrification, incomplete hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) oxidation, and heterotrophic denitrification on intracellular polymers, into a mathematical model to describe N 2 O production in an anaerobic/oxic/anoxic (AOA) process for the first time. The developed model was calibrated and validated by four experimental cases, then evaluated by two independent anaerobic/aerobic (AO) studies from literature. The modeling results displayed good agreement with the measured data. N 2 O was primarily generated in the aerobic stage by AOB denitrification (67.84-81.64%) in the AOA system. Smaller amounts of N 2 O were produced via incomplete NH 2 OH oxidation (15.61-32.17%) and heterotrophic denitrification on intracellular polymers (0-12.47%). The high nitrite inhibition on N 2 O reductase led to the increased N 2 O accumulation in heterotrophic denitrification on intracellular polymers. The new model was capable of modeling nitrification-denitrification dynamics and heterotrophic denitrification on intracellular polymers in the AOA system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. High production volume chemical Amine Oxide [C8-C20] category environmental risk assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanderson, Hans; Tibazarwa, Caritas; Greggs, William

    2009-01-01

    and personal care products. Given the lack of persistence or bioaccumulation, and the low likelihood of these chemicals partitioning to soil, the focus of the environmental assessment is on the aquatic environment. In the United States, the E-FAST model is used to estimate effluent concentrations in the United......An environmental assessment of amine oxides has been conducted under the OECD SIDS High Production Volume (HPV) Program via the Global International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) Amine Oxides Consortium. Amine oxides are primarily used in conjunction with surfactants in cleaning...... States from manufacturing facilities and from municipal facilities resulting from consumer product uses. Reasonable worst-case ratios of predicted environmental concentration (PEC) to predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) range from 0.04 to 0.003, demonstrating that these chemicals are a low risk...

  3. Fission product release by fuel oxidation after water ingress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schreiber.

    1990-01-01

    On the basis of data obtained by a literature search, a computer code has been established for the calculation of the degree of oxidation of the fuel in the damaged fuel particles, and hence of the fission product release as a function of the time period of steam ingress. (orig.) [de

  4. Allergenicity, immunogenicity and dose-relationship of three intact allergen vaccines and four allergoid vaccines for subcutaneous grass pollen immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henmar, H; Lund, G; Lund, L; Petersen, A; Würtzen, P A

    2008-09-01

    Different vaccines containing intact allergens or chemically modified allergoids as active ingredients are commercially available for specific immunotherapy. Allergoids are claimed to have decreased allergenicity without loss of immunogenicity and this is stated to allow administration of high allergoid doses. We compared the allergenicity and immunogenicity of four commercially available chemically modified grass pollen allergoid products with three commercially available intact grass pollen allergen vaccines. The allergenicity was investigated with immunoglobulin (Ig)E-inhibition and basophil activation assays. Human T cell proliferation and specific IgG-titres following mouse immunizations were used to address immunogenicity. Furthermore, intact allergen vaccines with different contents of active ingredients were selected to study the influence of the allergen dose. In general, a lower allergenicity for allergen vaccines was clearly linked to a reduced immunogenicity. Compared with the vaccine with the highest amount of intact allergen, the allergoids caused reduced basophil activation as well as diminished immunogenicity demonstrated by reduced T cell activation and/or reduced induction of murine grass-specific IgG antibodies. Interestingly, intact allergen vaccines with lower content of active ingredient exhibited similarly reduced allergenicity, while immunogenicity was still higher or equal to that of allergoids. The low allergenicity observed for some allergoids was inherently linked to a significantly lower immunogenic response questioning the rationale behind the chemical modification into allergoids. In addition, the linkage between allergenicity, immunogenicity and dose found for intact allergen vaccines and the immunogen as well as allergenic immune responses observed for allergoids suggest that the modified allergen vaccines do not contain high doses of immunologically active ingredients.

  5. Nitrogen gas plasma treatment of bacterial spores induces oxidative stress that damages the genomic DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakudo, Akikazu; Toyokawa, Yoichi; Nakamura, Tetsuji; Yagyu, Yoshihito; Imanishi, Yuichiro

    2017-01-01

    Gas plasma, produced by a short high‑voltage pulse generated from a static induction thyristor power supply [1.5 kilo pulse/sec (kpps)], was demonstrated to inactivate Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores (decimal reduction time at 15 min, 2.48 min). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assays further indicated that nitrogen gas plasma treatment for 15 min decreased the level of intact genomic DNA and increased the level of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, a major product of DNA oxidation. Three potential inactivation factors were generated during operation of the gas plasma instrument: Heat, longwave ultraviolet-A and oxidative stress (production of hydrogen peroxide, nitrite and nitrate). Treatment of the spores with hydrogen peroxide (3x2‑4%) effectively inactivated the bacteria, whereas heat treatment (100˚C), exposure to UV-A (75‑142 mJ/cm2) and 4.92 mM peroxynitrite (•ONOO‑), which is decomposed into nitrite and nitrate, did not. The results of the present study suggest the gas plasma treatment inactivates bacterial spores primarily by generating hydrogen peroxide, which contributes to the oxidation of the host genomic DNA.

  6. Mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion chromatography for intact protein separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Ling; Guo, Zhimou; Hu, Zhuo; Liang, Xinmiao

    2017-05-10

    A mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion stationary phase C8PN composed of octyl and amino group has been developed for separation of intact protein. Before the separation of proteins, a set of probe compounds were employed to evaluate the chromatographic properties of C8PN, demonstrating typical reversed phase/positively charged repulsion interaction on this stationary phase as estimated. Then the new C8PN stationary phase was used to separate a standard protein mixture on the reversed phase mode. Compared with a commercial C4 stationary phase, it showed different selectivity for some proteins. In order to better understand the properties of C8PN, the effect of acetonitrile content was investigated based on retention equation. Higher values of the equation parameters on C8PN demonstrated that the protein retentions were more sensitive to the change of acetonitrile content. Besides, the influences of buffer salt additives on the protein retentions were also studied. The retention factors of the proteins got larger with the increase of buffer salt concentration, which confirmed the positively charged repulsion interaction on the column. Finally, the C8PN was further applied to separate oxidized- and reduced- forms of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone. Our study indicated the advantages and application potential of mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion stationary phase for intact protein separation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Ultrasensitive determination of DNA oxidation products by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and the role of antioxidants in the prevention of oxidative damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawbaa, Sam; Aybastıer, Önder; Demir, Cevdet

    2017-04-15

    Oxidative stress is considered as one of the significant causes of DNA damage which in turn contributes to cell death through a series of intermediate processes such as cancer formation, mutation, and aging. Natural sources such as plant and fruit products have provided us with interesting substances of antioxidant activity that could be recruited in protecting the genetic materials of the cells. This study is an effort to discover some of those antioxidants effects in their standard and natural forms by performing an ultrasensitive determination of the products of DNA oxidation using GC-MS/MS. Experiments were used to determine the direct antioxidant activity of the substances contained in the tendrils of Vitis vinifera (var. alphonse) by extracting them and achieving Folin-Ciocalteau and CHROMAC analyses to determine the total phenolic content (TPC) and the antioxidant capacity of the extract, respectively; results revealed a phenolic content of 11.39±0.30mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/g of the plant's fresh weight (FW) by Folin-Ciocalteau and 8.17±0.49mg Trolox Equivalent (TE)/g FW by CHROMAC assays. The qualitative analysis of the plant extract by HPLC-DAD technique revealed that two flavonoid glycosides namely rutin and isoquercitrin in addition to chlorogenic acid were contained in the extract. The determination of the DNA oxidation products was performed after putting DNA, rutin and isoquercitrin standard samples with different concentration, and the extract's sample under oxidative stress. Eighteen DNA oxidation products were traced using GC-MS/MS with ultra-sensitivity and the experiments proved a significant decrease in the concentration of the DNA oxidation products when the extract was used as a protectant against the oxidative stress. It is believed by conclusion that the extract of V. vinifera's (var. alphonse) tendrils has a good antioxidant activity; hence it is recommended to be used as a part of the daily healthy food list if possible

  8. Ethanol generation, oxidation and energy production in a cooperative bioelectrochemical system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagnoncelli, Kamila C; Pereira, Andressa R; Sedenho, Graziela C; Bertaglia, Thiago; Crespilho, Frank N

    2018-08-01

    Integrating in situ biofuel production and energy conversion into a single system ensures the production of more robust networks as well as more renewable technologies. For this purpose, identifying and developing new biocatalysts is crucial. Herein, is reported a bioelectrochemical system consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, wherein both function cooperatively for ethanol production and its bioelectrochemical oxidation. Here, it is shown that it is possible to produce ethanol and use it as a biofuel in a tandem manner. The strategy is to employ flexible carbon fibres (FCF) electrode that could adsorb both the enzyme and the yeast cells. Glucose is used as a substrate for the yeast for the production of ethanol, while the enzyme is used to catalyse the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Regarding the generation of reliable electricity based on electrochemical systems, the biosystem proposed in this study operates at a low temperature and ethanol production is proportional to the generated current. With further optimisation of electrode design, we envision the use of the cooperative biofuel cell for energy conversion and management of organic compounds. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Nitrous oxide production in grassland soils: assessing the contribution of nitrifier denitrification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wrage, N.; Velthof, G.L.; Laanbroek, H.J.; Oenema, O.

    2004-01-01

    Nitrifier denitrification is the reduction of NO2- to N2 by nitrifiers. It leads to the production of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) as an intermediate and possible end product. It is not known how important nitrifier denitrification is for the production of N2O in soils. We explored N2O

  10. Effects of solid fission products forming dissolved oxide (Nd) and metallic precipitate (Ru) on the thermal conductivity of uranium base oxide fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dong-Joo; Yang, Jae-Ho; Kim, Jong-Hun; Rhee, Young-Woo; Kang, Ki-Won; Kim, Keon-Sik; Song, Kun-Woo

    2007-01-01

    The effects of solid fission products on the thermal conductivity of uranium base oxide nuclear fuel were experimentally investigated. Neodymium (Nd) and ruthenium (Ru) were added to represent the physical states of solid fission products such as 'dissolved oxide' and 'metallic precipitate', respectively. Thermal conductivity was determined on the basis of the thermal diffusivity, density and specific heat values. The effects of the additives on the thermal conductivity were quantified in the form of the thermal resistivity equation - the reciprocal of the phonon conduction equation - which was determined from the measured data. It is concluded that the thermal conductivity of the irradiated nuclear fuel is affected by both the 'dissolved oxide' and the 'metallic precipitate', however, the effects are in the opposite direction and the 'dissolved oxide' influences the thermal conductivity more significantly than that of the 'metallic precipitate'

  11. Formation and occurrence of dimer esters of pinene oxidation products in atmospheric aerosols

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Kasper; Enggrob, Kirsten L.; King, S. M.

    2013-01-01

    products cis-pinic and terpenylic acids, but similar to the second-generation oxidation products 3-methyl-1,2,3-butane tricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) and diaterpenylic acid acetate (DTAA). Dimer esters were observed within the first 30 min, indicating rapid production simultaneous to their structural...

  12. Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A

    2015-01-01

    In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted a consistent assessment of the global forest loss in PAs and IFLs over the period 2000-2012. We used recently published global remote sensing based spatial forest cover change data, being a uniform and consistent dataset over space and time, together with global datasets on PAs' and IFLs' locations. Our analyses revealed that on a global scale 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest were lost during the study period. These forest loss rates are relatively high compared to global total forest loss of 5% for the same time period. The variation in forest losses and in protection effect was large among geographical regions and countries. In some regions the loss in protected forests exceeded 5% (e.g. in Australia and Oceania, and North America) and the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside those areas (e.g. in Mongolia and parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe). At the same time, protection was found to prevent forest loss in several countries (e.g. in South America and Southeast Asia). Globally, high area-weighted forest loss rates of protected and intact forests were associated with high gross domestic product and in the case of protected forests also with high proportions of agricultural land. Our findings reinforce the need for improved understanding of the reasons for the high forest losses in PAs and IFLs and strategies to prevent further losses.

  13. HPLC Separation of Vitamin E and Its Oxidation Products and Effects of Oxidized Tocotrienols on the Viability of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells in Vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drotleff, Astrid M; Büsing, Anne; Willenberg, Ina; Empl, Michael T; Steinberg, Pablo; Ternes, Waldemar

    2015-10-14

    Tocotrienols, a vitamin E subgroup, exert potent anticancer effects, but easily degrade due to oxidation. Eight vitamin E reference compounds, α-, β-, γ-, or δ-tocopherols or -tocotrienols, were thermally oxidized in n-hexane. The corresponding predominantly dimeric oxidation products were separated from the parent compounds by diol-modified normal-phase HPLC-UV and characterized by mass spectroscopy. The composition of test compounds, that is, α-tocotrienol, γ-tocotrienol, or palm tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF), before and after thermal oxidation was determined by HPLC-DAD, and MCF-7 cells were treated with both nonoxidized and oxidized test compounds for 72 h. Whereas all nonoxidized test compounds (0-100 μM) led to dose-dependent decreases in cell viability, equimolar oxidized α-tocotrienol had a weaker effect, and oxidized TRF had no such effect. However, the IC50 value of oxidized γ-tocotrienol was lower (85 μM) than that of nonoxidized γ-tocotrienol (134 μM), thereby suggesting that γ-tocotrienol oxidation products are able to reduce tumor cell viability in vitro.

  14. The degradation of lining of rotary furnaces in the production of zinc oxide

    OpenAIRE

    Natália Luptáková; Evgeniy Anisimov; Františka Pešlová

    2014-01-01

    This paper is closely connected with the complex problem of degradation relating to the refractories of rotary furnace linings in the production of zinc oxide. Zinc oxide can be produced by variety of ways, but the most common method of production which is used in Europe is indirect, i.e. pyrolytic combustion of zinc. This method is also called "French process" of manufacturing ZnO. But this mentioned method of preparation leads to the creation of the enormous amount of zinc slag including ch...

  15. Liver polyribosome distribution in intact and adrenalectomized rats exposed to. gamma. radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yatvin, M B; Abdel-Halim, M N [Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Dept. of Radiology; Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Dept. of Human Oncology)

    1978-06-01

    The mechanism(s) by which gamma radiation influences liver polyribosome distribution was studied in groups of intact and adrenalectomized male rats. A shift from light to heavy aggregates occurred in the polyribosomes of both intact and adrenalectomized rats after they were exposed to gamma rays. In irradiated adrenalectomized rats, however, the shift to heavier aggregates was not as great as that which occurred in irradiated adrenal-intact animals. Subcutaneous injection of cortisone acetate (10 mg/100 g body weight) also altered the liver polyribosome patterns of both intact and adrenalectomized rats within 8 hours of its administration. The shift which occurred following cortisone administration, however, was less striking than that seen after irradiation only. Thus, although adrenal glucocorticoids contribute to the radiation-indu ied shift in liver polyribosomes in adrenal-intact rats, other factors appear to be involved, since the shift is also obtained in adrenalectomized animals.

  16. Tandem Oxidative Derivatization of Nitrene Insertion Products for the Highly Diastereoselective Synthesis of 1,3-aminoalcohols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderson, Juliet M; Schomaker, Jennifer M

    2017-06-27

    Transition-metal-catalyzed nitrene insertion into tertiary C-H bonds located at stereogenic carbons often results in mixtures of diastereomeric products, especially if the reaction proceeds through a concerted pathway. In this communication, we report a solution to this problem that invokes a one-pot, silver-catalyzed C-H nitrene transfer reaction. Nitrene insertion is followed by facile oxidation of the amine to an imine and nucleophilic addition to furnish α-tertiary amine 1,3-aminoalcohol products in high diastereoselectivities. The silver catalyst, PhIO oxidant, and TEMPO additive are crucial to success in this unusual oxidation, which is proposed to occur via hydrogen-atom abstraction from pre-activation of the initial nitrene insertion product by additional oxidant. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. The impact of respiration and oxidative stress response on recombinant α-amylase production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, José L; Meza, Eugenio; Petranovic, Dina; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-12-01

    Studying protein production is important for fundamental research on cell biology and applied research for biotechnology. Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an attractive workhorse for production of recombinant proteins as it does not secrete many endogenous proteins and it is therefore easy to purify a secreted product. However, recombinant production at high rates represents a significant metabolic burden for the yeast cells, which results in oxidative stress and ultimately affects the protein production capacity. Here we describe a method to reduce the overall oxidative stress by overexpressing the endogenous HAP1 gene in a S. cerevisiae strain overproducing recombinant α-amylase. We demonstrate how Hap1p can activate a set of oxidative stress response genes and meanwhile contribute to increase the metabolic rate of the yeast strains, therefore mitigating the negative effect of the ROS accumulation associated to protein folding and hence increasing the production capacity during batch fermentations.

  18. The degradation of lining of rotary furnaces in the production of zinc oxide

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Luptáková, Natália; Pešlová, F.; Anisimov, E.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 21, č. 3 (2014), s. 116-121 ISSN 1335-0803 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : zinc oxide * the production of zinc oxide * zinc slag * refractories * the degradation of rotary furnace linings Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy http://ojs.mateng.sk/index.php/Mateng/article/view/133/194

  19. Effect of nanoparticles binding ß-amyloid peptide on nitric oxide production by cultured endothelial cells and macrophages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlando A

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Antonina Orlando,1 Francesca Re,1 Silvia Sesana,1 Ilaria Rivolta,1 Alice Panariti,1 Davide Brambilla,2 Julien Nicolas,2 Patrick Couvreur,2 Karine Andrieux,2 Massimo Masserini,1 Emanuela Cazzaniga1 1Department of Health Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy; 2Institut Galien Paris Sud, University Paris-Sud, Châtenay-Malabry, France Background: As part of a project designing nanoparticles for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, we have synthesized and characterized a small library of nanoparticles binding with high affinity to the β-amyloid peptide and showing features of biocompatibility in vitro, which are important properties for administration in vivo. In this study, we focused on biocompatibility issues, evaluating production of nitric oxide by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells and macrophages, used as models of cells which would be exposed to nanoparticles after systemic administration. Methods: The nanoparticles tested were liposomes and solid lipid nanoparticles carrying phosphatidic acid or cardiolipin, and PEGylated poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate nanoparticles (PEG-PACA. We measured nitric oxide production using the Griess method as well as phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and intracellular free calcium, which are biochemically related to nitric oxide production. MTT viability tests and caspase-3 detection were also undertaken. Results: Exposure to liposomes did not affect the viability of endothelial cells at any concentration tested. Increased production of nitric oxide was detected only with liposomes carrying phosphatidic acid or cardiolipin at the highest concentration (120 µg/mL, together with increased synthase phosphorylation and intracellular calcium levels. Macrophages exposed to liposomes showed a slightly dose-dependent decrease in viability, with no increase in production of nitric oxide. Exposure to solid lipid nanoparticles carrying phosphatidic acid decreased viability in

  20. Oxidant production and SOD1 protein expression in single skeletal myofibers from Down syndrome mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick M. Cowley

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Down syndrome (DS is a genetic condition caused by the triplication of chromosome 21. Persons with DS exhibit pronounced muscle weakness, which also occurs in the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS. Oxidative stress is thought to be an underlying factor in the development of DS-related pathologies including muscle dysfunction. High-levels of oxidative stress have been attributed to triplication and elevated expression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1; a gene located on chromosome 21. The elevated expression of SOD1 is postulated to increase production of hydrogen peroxide and cause oxidative injury and cell death. However, it is unknown whether SOD1 protein expression is associated with greater oxidant production in skeletal muscle from Ts65Dn mice. Thus, our objective was to assess levels of SOD1 expression and oxidant production in skeletal myofibers from the flexor digitorum brevis obtained from Ts65Dn and control mice. Measurements of oxidant production were obtained from myofibers loaded with 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH2-DA in the basal state and following 15 min of stimulated unloaded contraction. Ts65Dn myofibers exhibited a significant decrease in basal DCF emissions (p 0.05. Myofibers from Ts65Dn mice tended to be smaller and myonuclear domain was lower (p < 0.05. In summary, myofibers from Ts65Dn mice exhibited decreased basal DCF emissions that were coupled with elevated protein expression of SOD1. Stimulated contraction in isolated myofibers did not affect DCF emissions in either group. These findings suggest the skeletal muscle dysfunction in the adult Ts65Dn mouse is not associated with skeletal muscle oxidative stress.

  1. Sequencing Larger Intact Proteins (30-70 kDa) with Activated Ion Electron Transfer Dissociation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Nicholas M.; Westphall, Michael S.; Coon, Joshua J.

    2018-01-01

    The analysis of intact proteins via mass spectrometry can offer several benefits to proteome characterization, although the majority of top-down experiments focus on proteoforms in a relatively low mass range (AI-ETD) to proteins in the 30-70 kDa range. AI-ETD leverages infrared photo-activation concurrent to ETD reactions to improve sequence-informative product ion generation. This method generates more product ions and greater sequence coverage than conventional ETD, higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD), and ETD combined with supplemental HCD activation (EThcD). Importantly, AI-ETD provides the most thorough protein characterization for every precursor ion charge state investigated in this study, making it suitable as a universal fragmentation method in top-down experiments. Additionally, we highlight several acquisition strategies that can benefit characterization of larger proteins with AI-ETD, including combination of spectra from multiple ETD reaction times for a given precursor ion, multiple spectral acquisitions of the same precursor ion, and combination of spectra from two different dissociation methods (e.g., AI-ETD and HCD). In all, AI-ETD shows great promise as a method for dissociating larger intact protein ions as top-down proteomics continues to advance into larger mass ranges. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  2. Cholesterol oxidation in meat products and its regulation by supplementation of sodium nitrite and apple polyphenol before processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osada, K; Hoshina, S; Nakamura, S; Sugano, M

    2000-09-01

    The levels of cholesterol oxidation derivatives (OxChol) in eight commercial species of meat products were examined. These products contained more than 1 mg/100 g of OxChol, and 7beta-hydroxycholesterol + 5beta-epoxycholesterol (111-1092 microg/100 g), 5alpha-epoxycholesterol (80-712 microg/100 g), cholestanetriol (0-368 microg/100 g), and 7-ketocholesterol (708-1204 microg/100 g) were detected. To know the interaction of sodium nitrite supplementation against cholesterol oxidation in meat products, sausage was produced with or without varying levels of sodium nitrite and stored in the refrigerator for 15 days. As a result, cholesterol oxidation in sausage was inhibited by addition of sodium nitrite in a dose-dependent manner. This observation may be associated with inactivation of O(2)(-) radical and stabilization of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In fact, the levels of OxChol in sausage increased, accompanying the decrease of coexisting linoleic acid when sodium nitrite was not added to sausage meat. Thus, cholesterol oxidation in meat products seems to be considarably promoted by the oxidation of coexisting PUFAs. On the other hand, additive apple polyphenol also inhibited linoleic acid oxidation in sausage and then suppressed cholesterol oxidation through its radical scavenging effects. Therefore, apple polyphenol, having a large amount of an oligomer of catechin, may interfere with cholesterol oxidation in meat processing or storage of meat products through its antioxidative action and be useful as a new antioxitant for meat products when it is added to the original meat before processing.

  3. Sorption of cesium in intact rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puukko, E.

    2014-04-01

    The mass distribution coefficient K d is used in performance assessment (PA) to describe sorption of a radionuclide on rock. The R d is determined using crushed rock which causes uncertainty in converting the R d values to K d values for intact rock. This work describes a method to determine the equilibrium of sorption on intact rock. The rock types of the planned Olkiluoto waste disposal site were T-series mica gneiss (T-MGN), T-series tonalite granodiorite granite gneiss (T-TGG), P-series tonalite granodiorite granite gneiss (P-TGG) and pegmatitic granite (PGR). These rocks contain different amount of biotite which is the main sorbing mineral. The sorption of cesium on intact rock slices was studied by applying an electrical field to speed up migration of cesium into the rock. Cesium is in the solution as a noncomplex cation Cs + and it is sorbed by ion exchange. The tracer used in the experiments was 134 Cs. The experimental sorption on the intact rock is compared with values calculated using the in house cation exchange sorption model (HYRL model) in PHREEQC program. The observed sorption on T-MGN and T-TGG rocks was close to the calculated values. Two PGR samples were from a depth of 70 m and three samples were from a depth of 150 m. Cesium sorbed more than predicted on the two 70 m PGR samples. The sorption of Cs on the three 150 m PGR samples was small which was consistent with the calculations. The pegmatitic granite PGR has the smallest content of biotite of the four rock types. In the case of P-TGG rock the observed values of sorption were only half of the calculated values. Two kind of slices were cut from P-TGG drill core. The slices were against and to the direction of the foliation of the biotite rims. The sorption of cesium on P-TGG rock was same in both cases. The results indicated that there was no effect of the directions of the electric field and the foliation of biotite in the P-TGG rock. (orig.)

  4. Effects of Oxidation on Oxidation-Resistant Graphite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Windes, William [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Smith, Rebecca [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Carroll, Mark [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-05-01

    The Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) Graphite Research and Development Program is investigating doped nuclear graphite grades that exhibit oxidation resistance through the formation of protective oxides on the surface of the graphite material. In the unlikely event of an oxygen ingress accident, graphite components within the VHTR core region are anticipated to oxidize so long as the oxygen continues to enter the hot core region and the core temperatures remain above 400°C. For the most serious air-ingress accident which persists over several hours or days the continued oxidation can result in significant structural damage to the core. Reducing the oxidation rate of the graphite core material during any air-ingress accident would mitigate the structural effects and keep the core intact. Previous air oxidation testing of nuclear-grade graphite doped with varying levels of boron-carbide (B4C) at a nominal 739°C was conducted for a limited number of doped specimens demonstrating a dramatic reduction in oxidation rate for the boronated graphite grade. This report summarizes the conclusions from this small scoping study by determining the effects of oxidation on the mechanical strength resulting from oxidation of boronated and unboronated graphite to a 10% mass loss level. While the B4C additive did reduce mechanical strength loss during oxidation, adding B4C dopants to a level of 3.5% or more reduced the as-fabricated compressive strength nearly 50%. This effectively minimized any benefits realized from the protective film formed on the boronated grades. Future work to infuse different graphite grades with silicon- and boron-doped material as a post-machining conditioning step for nuclear components is discussed as a potential solution for these challenges in this report.

  5. Short exposure to acetylene to distinguish between nitrifier and denitrifier nitrous oxide production in soil and sediment samples

    OpenAIRE

    Kester, R.A.; Boer, W. de; Laanbroek, H.J.

    1996-01-01

    The contribution of nitrifiers and denitrifiers to the nitrous oxide production in slurries of calcareous silt loam and river bank sediment at different oxygen concentrations was determined using acetylene as nitrification inhibitor. The addition of 10 Pa acetylene resulted in inhibition of nitrous oxide production at oxic conditions, but strongly enhanced the nitrous oxide production at oxygen-poor and anoxic conditions. Inhibition of nitrification by short exposure (1 to 24 h) to high conce...

  6. The effect of lipid peroxidation products on reactive oxygen species formation and nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambrozova, Gabriela; Pekarova, Michaela; Lojek, Antonin

    2011-02-01

    Lipid peroxidation induced by oxidants leads to the formation of highly reactive metabolites. These can affect various immune functions, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) production. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of lipid peroxidation products (LPPs) - acrolein, 4-hydroxynonenal, and malondialdehyde - on ROS and NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages and to compare these effects with the cytotoxic properties of LPPs. Macrophages were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (0.1 μg/ml) and treated with selected LPPs (concentration range: 0.1-100 μM). ATP test, luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence, Griess reaction, Western blotting analysis, amperometric and total peroxyl radical-trapping antioxidant parameter assay were used for determining the LPPs cytotoxicity, ROS and NO production, inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, NO scavenging, and antioxidant properties of LPPs, respectively. Our study shows that the cytotoxic action of acrolein and 4-hydroxynonenal works in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Further, our results imply that acrolein, 4-hydroxynonenal, and malondialdehyde can inhibit, to a different degree, ROS and NO production in stimulated macrophages, partially independently of their toxic effect. Also, changes in enzymatic pathways (especially NADPH-oxidase and nitric oxide synthase inhibition) and NO scavenging properties are included in the downregulation of reactive species formation. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Enhancing lipid productivity of Chlorella vulgaris using oxidative stress by TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Nam Kyu; Lee, Bongsoo; Choi, Gang-Guk; Moon, Myounghoon; Park, Min S.; Yang, Ji-Won [Daejeon, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lim, JitKang [Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (Malaysia)

    2014-05-15

    Ability to increase the lipid production in microalgae is one of the heavily sought-after ideas to improve the economic feasibility of microalgae-derived transportation fuels for commercial applications. We used the oxidative stress by TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles, a well-known photocatalyst, to induce lipid production in microalgae. Chlorella vulgaris UTEX 265 was cultivated under various concentrations of TiO{sub 2} ranging from 0.1 to 5 g/L under UV-A illumination. Maximum specific growth rate was affected in responding to TiO{sub 2} concentrations. In the presence of UV-A, chlorophyll concentration was decreased at the highest concentration of TiO{sub 2} (5 g/L TiO{sub 2}) by oxidative stress. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition analysis suggested that oxidative stress causes the accumulation and decomposition of lipids. The highest FAME productivity was 18.2 g/L/d under low concentrations of TiO{sub 2} (0.1 g/L) and a short induction time (two days). The controlled condition of TiO{sub 2}/UV-A inducing oxidative stress (0.1 g/L TiO{sub 2} and two days induction) could be used to increase the lipid productivity of C. vulgaris UTEX 265. Our results show the possibility of modulating the lipid induction process through oxidative stress with TiO{sub 2}/UV-A.

  8. Electrochemical characterisation of solid oxide cell electrodes for hydrogen production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bernuy-Lopez, Carlos; Knibbe, Ruth; He, Zeming

    2011-01-01

    Oxygen electrodes and steam electrodes are designed and tested to develop improved solid oxide electrolysis cells for H2 production with the cell support on the oxygen electrode. The electrode performance is evaluated by impedance spectroscopy testing of symmetric cells at open circuit voltage (OCV...

  9. Piper sarmentosum increases nitric oxide production in oxidative stress: a study on human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugusman, Azizah; Zakaria, Zaiton; Hui, Chua Kien; Nordin, Nor Anita Megat Mohd

    2010-07-01

    Nitric oxide produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) possesses multiple anti-atherosclerotic properties. Hence, enhanced expression of eNOS and increased Nitric oxide levels may protect against the development of atherosclerosis. Piper sarmentosum is a tropical plant with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Piper sarmentosum on the eNOS and Nitric oxide pathway in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HUVECS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS: control, treatment with 180 microM hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), treatment with 150 microg/mL aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum, and concomitant treatment with aqueous extract of PS and H(2)O(2) for 24 hours. Subsequently, HUVECs were harvested and eNOS mRNA expression was determined using qPCR. The eNOS protein level was measured using ELISA, and the eNOS activity and Nitric oxide level were determined by the Griess reaction. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells treated with aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum showed a marked induction of Nitric oxide. Treatment with PS also resulted in increased eNOS mRNA expression, eNOS protein level and eNOS activity in HUVECs. Aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum may improve endothelial function by promoting NO production in HUVECs.

  10. Genetic responses against nitric oxide toxicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Demple

    1999-11-01

    Full Text Available The threat of free radical damage is opposed by coordinated responses that modulate expression of sets of gene products. In mammalian cells, 12 proteins are induced by exposure to nitric oxide (NO levels that are sub-toxic but exceed the level needed to activate guanylate cyclase. Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1 synthesis increases substantially, due to a 30- to 70-fold increase in the level of HO-1 mRNA. HO-1 induction is cGMP-independent and occurs mainly through increased mRNA stability, which therefore indicates a new NO-signaling pathway. HO-1 induction contributes to dramatically increased NO resistance and, together with the other inducible functions, constitutes an adaptive resistance pathway that also defends against oxidants such as H2O2. In E. coli, an oxidative stress response, the soxRS regulon, is activated by direct exposure of E. coli to NO, or by NO generated in murine macrophages after phagocytosis of the bacteria. This response is governed by the SoxR protein, a homodimeric transcription factor (17-kDa subunits containing [2Fe-2S] clusters essential for its activity. SoxR responds to superoxide stress through one-electron oxidation of the iron-sulfur centers, but such oxidation is not observed in reactions of NO with SoxR. Instead, NO nitrosylates the iron-sulfur centers of SoxR both in vitro and in intact cells, which yields a form of the protein with maximal transcriptional activity. Although nitrosylated SoxR is very stable in purified form, the spectroscopic signals for the nitrosylated iron-sulfur centers disappear rapidly in vivo, indicating an active process to reverse or eliminate them.

  11. Products of BVOC oxidation: ozone and organic aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildt, Jürgen; Andres, Stefanie; Carriero, Giulia; Ehn, Mikael; Fares, Silvano; Hoffmann, Thorsten; Hacker, Lina; Kiendler-Scharr, Astrid; Kleist, Einhard; Paoletti, Elena; Pullinen, Iida; Rohrer, Franz; Rudich, Yinon; Springer, Monika; Tillmann, Ralf; Wahner, Andreas; Wu, Cheng; Mentel, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) are important precursors in photochemical O3 and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. We conducted a series of laboratory experiments with OH-induced oxidation of monoterpenes to elucidate pathways and efficiencies of O3 and SOA formation. At high NOx conditions ([BVOC] / [NOx] monoterpene mixes emitted from different plant species we observed increasing ozone formation with increasing [NOX]. Between 2 and 3 O3-molecules were formed from 1 monoterpene when ozone formation was BVOC limited. Under such high NOX conditions, new particle formation was suppressed. Increasing [BVOC] / [NOX] ratios caused increasing efficiency of new particle formation indicating that peroxy radicals are the key intermediates in both, photochemical ozone- and new particle formation. The classical chemistry of peroxy radicals is well established (e.g. Master Chemical Mechanism). Peroxy radicals are produced by addition of molecular oxygen to the alkyl radical formed after OH attack at the BVOC. They either react with NO which leads to ozone formation or they react with other peroxy radicals and form chemically stable products (hydroperoxides, alkoholes and ketones). Much less knowledge exists on such reactions for Highly Oxidized Peroxy Radicals, (HOPR). Such HOPR were observed during ozonolysis of several volatiles and, in case of monoterpenes as precursors, they can contain more than 12 Oxygen atoms (Mentel et al., 2015). Although the OH-initiated formation of HOPR is yet not fully understood, their basic gas phase reactions seem to follow classical photochemical rules. In reactions with NO they can act as precursor for O3 and in reactions with other HOPR or with classical less oxidized peroxy radicals they can form highly oxidized stable products and alkoxy radicals. In addition, HOPR-HOPR reactions lead to the formation of dimers that, in case of monoterpenes as reactants, consist of a skeleton with 20 carbon atoms. These dimers seem to

  12. Complementary sample preparation strategies for analysis of cereal β-glucan oxidation products by UPLC-MS/MS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulos, Samy; Nyström, Laura

    2017-11-01

    The oxidation of cereal (1→3,1→4)-β-D-glucan can influence the health promoting and technological properties of this linear, soluble homopolysaccharide by introduction of new functional groups or chain scission. Apart from deliberate oxidative modifications, oxidation of β-glucan can already occur during processing and storage, which is mediated by hydroxyl radicals (HO•) formed by the Fenton reaction. We present four complementary sample preparation strategies to investigate oat and barley β-glucan oxidation products by hydrophilic interaction ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), employing selective enzymatic digestion, graphitized carbon solid phase extraction (SPE), and functional group labeling techniques. The combination of these methods allows for detection of both lytic (C1, C3/4, C5) and non-lytic (C2, C4/3, C6) oxidation products resulting from HO•-attack at different glucose-carbons. By treating oxidized β-glucan with lichenase and β-glucosidase, only oxidized parts of the polymer remained in oligomeric form, which could be separated by SPE from the vast majority of non-oxidized glucose units. This allowed for the detection of oligomers with mid-chain glucuronic acids (C6) and carbonyls, as well as carbonyls at the non-reducing end from lytic C3/C4 oxidation. Neutral reducing ends were detected by reductive amination with anthranilic acid/amide as labeled glucose and cross-ring cleaved units (arabinose, erythrose) after enzyme treatment and SPE. New acidic chain termini were observed by carbodiimide-mediated amidation of carboxylic acids as anilides of gluconic, arabinonic, and erythronic acids. Hence, a full characterization of all types of oxidation products was possible by combining complementary sample preparation strategies. Differences in fine structure depending on source (oat vs. barley) translates to the ratio of observed oxidized oligomers, with in-depth analysis corroborating a random HO

  13. Extracellular Polysaccharide Production in a Scytonemin-Deficient Mutant of Nostoc punctiforme Under UVA and Oxidative Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soule, Tanya; Shipe, Dexter; Lothamer, Justin

    2016-10-01

    Some cyanobacteria can protect themselves from ultraviolet radiation by producing sunscreen pigments. In particular, the sheath pigment scytonemin protects cells against long-wavelength UVA radiation and is only found in cyanobacteria which are capable of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production. The presence of a putative glycosyltransferase encoded within the scytonemin gene cluster, along with the localization of scytonemin and EPS to the extracellular sheath, prompted us to investigate the relationship between scytonemin and EPS production under UVA stress. In this study, it was hypothesized that there would be a relationship between the biosynthesis of scytonemin and EPS under both UVA and oxidative stress, since the latter is a by-product of UVA radiation. EPS production was measured following exposure of wild-type Nostoc punctiforme and the non-scytonemin-producing strain SCY59 to UVA and oxidative stress. Under UVA, SCY59 produced significantly more EPS than the unstressed controls and the wild type, while both strains produced more EPS under oxidative stress compared to the controls. The results suggest that EPS secretion occurs in response to the oxidative stress by-product of UVA rather than as a direct response to UVA radiation.

  14. Production of nitrous oxide in the auroral D and E regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zipf, E. C.; Prasad, S. S.

    1980-01-01

    A study of nitrous oxide formation mechanisms indicates that N2O concentrations greater than 10 to the 9th per cu cm could be produced in IBC III aurora or by lower-level activity lasting for many hours, and, in favorable conditions, the N2O concentration could exceed the local nitric oxide density. An upper limit on the globally averaged N2O production rate from auroral activity is estimated at 2 x 10 to the 27th per second.

  15. Molecular basis for arsenic-Induced alteration in nitric oxide production and oxidative stress: implication of endothelial dysfunction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumagai, Yoshito; Pi Jingbo

    2004-01-01

    Accumulated epidemiological studies have suggested that prolonged exposure of humans to arsenic in drinking water is associated with vascular diseases. The exact mechanism of how this occurs currently unknown. Nitric oxide (NO), formed by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), plays a crucial role in the vascular system. Decreased availability of biologically active NO in the endothelium is implicated in the pathophysiology of several vascular diseases and inhibition of eNOS by arsenic is one of the proposed mechanism s for arsenic-induced vascular diseases. In addition, during exposure to arsenic, overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can occur, resulting in oxidative stress, which is another major risk factor for vascular dysfunction. The molecular basis for decreased NO levels and increased oxidative stress during arsenic exposure is poorly understood. In this article, evidence for arsenic-mediated alteration in NO production and oxidative stress is reviewed. The results of a cross-sectional study in an endemic area of chronic arsenic poisoning and experimental animal studies to elucidate a potential mechanism for the impairment of NO formation and oxidative stress caused by prolonged exposure to arsenate in the drinking water are also reviewed

  16. Oxidative Stability and Sensory Attributes of Fermented Milk Product Fortified with Fish Oil and Marine Phospholipids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Henna Fung Sieng; Thomsen, Birgitte Raagaard; Hyldig, Grethe

    2013-01-01

    Marine phospholipids (PL) are potential ingredients for food fortification due to its numerous advantages. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether a fermented milk product fortified with a mixture of marine PL and fish oil had better oxidative stability than a fermented milk...... product fortified with fish oil alone. Fortification of a fermented milk product with marine PL was performed by incorporating 1 % w/w lipids, either in the form of neat oil or in the form of a pre-emulsion. Lipid oxidation was investigated in the neat emulsions and fortified products by the measurements...... of primary, secondary volatile oxidation products and tocopherol content upon 32 days storage at 2 °C and 28 days storage at 5 °C, respectively. Analyses of particle size distribution, viscosity and microbial growth were also performed. In addition, sensory attributes such as sour, fishy and rancid flavor...

  17. Hybrid Nitrous Oxide Production from a Partial Nitrifying Bioreactor: Hydroxylamine Interactions with Nitrite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terada, Akihiko; Sugawara, Sho; Hojo, Keisuke; Takeuchi, Yuki; Riya, Shohei; Harper, Willie F; Yamamoto, Tomoko; Kuroiwa, Megumi; Isobe, Kazuo; Katsuyama, Chie; Suwa, Yuichi; Koba, Keisuke; Hosomi, Masaaki

    2017-03-07

    The goal of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production from a bioreactor for partial nitrification (PN). Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) enriched from a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) were subjected to N 2 O production pathway tests. The N 2 O pathway test was initiated by supplying an inorganic medium to ensure an initial NH 4 + -N concentration of 160 mg-N/L, followed by 15 NO 2 - (20 mg-N/L) and dual 15 NH 2 OH (each 17 mg-N/L) spikings to quantify isotopologs of gaseous N 2 O ( 44 N 2 O, 45 N 2 O, and 46 N 2 O). N 2 O production was boosted by 15 NH 2 OH spiking, causing exponential increases in mRNA transcription levels of AOB functional genes encoding hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (haoA), nitrite reductase (nirK), and nitric oxide reductase (norB) genes. Predominant production of 45 N 2 O among N 2 O isotopologs (46% of total produced N 2 O) indicated that coupling of 15 NH 2 OH with 14 NO 2 - produced N 2 O via N-nitrosation hybrid reaction as a predominant pathway. Abiotic hybrid N 2 O production was also observed in the absence of the AOB-enriched biomass, indicating multiple pathways for N 2 O production in a PN bioreactor. The additional N 2 O pathway test, where 15 NH 4 + was spiked into 400 mg-N/L of NO 2 - concentration, confirmed that the hybrid N 2 O production was a dominant pathway, accounting for approximately 51% of the total N 2 O production.

  18. Stability and oxidation products of hydrolysable tannins in basic conditions detected by HPLC/DAD-ESI/QTOF/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuominen, Anu; Sundman, Terhi

    2013-01-01

    Hydrolysable tannins occur in plants that are used for food or medicine by humans or herbivores. Basic conditions can alter the structures of tannins, that is, the oxidation of phenolic groups can lead to the formation of toxic quinones. Previously, these labile quinones and other oxidation products have been studied with colorimetric or electron paramagnetic resonance methods, which give limited information about products. To study the stability and oxidation products of hydrolysable tannins in basic conditions using HPLC with a diode-array detector (DAD) combined with electrospray ionisation (ESI) and quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) MS. Three galloyl glucoses, four galloyl derivatives with different polyols and three ellagitannins were purified from plants. The incubation reactions of tannins were monitored by HPLC/DAD at five pH values and in reduced oxygen conditions. Reaction products were identified based on UV spectra and mass spectral fragmentation obtained with the high-resolution HPLC/DAD-ESI/QTOF/MS. The use of a base-resistant HPLC column enabled injections without the sample pre-treatment and thus detection of short-lived products. Hydrolysable tannins were unstable in basic conditions and half-lives were mostly less than 10 min at pH 10. Degradation rates were faster at pH 11 but slower at milder pH. The HPLC analyses revealed that various products were formed and identified to be the result of hydrolysis, deprotonation and oxidation. Interestingly, the main hydrolysis product was ellagic acid; it was also formed from galloyl glucoses that do not contain oxidatively coupled galloyl groups in their initial structures. HPLD/DAD-ESI/QTOF/MS was an efficient method for the identification of polyphenol oxidation products and showed how different pH conditions determine the fate of hydrolysable tannins. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Shelf-life modeling of bakery products by using oxidation indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calligaris, Sonia; Manzocco, Lara; Kravina, Giuditta; Nicoli, Maria Cristina

    2007-03-07

    The aim of this work was to develop a shelf-life prediction model of lipid-containing bakery products. To this purpose (i) the temperature dependence of the oxidation rate of bakery products was modeled, taking into account the changes in lipid physical state; (ii) the acceptance limits were assessed by sensory analysis; and (iii) the relationship between chemical oxidation index and acceptance limit was evaluated. Results highlight that the peroxide number, the changes of which are linearly related to consumer acceptability, is a representative index of the quality depletion of biscuits during their shelf life. In addition, the evolution of peroxides can be predicted by a modified Arrhenius equation accounting for the changes in the physical state of biscuit fat. Knowledge of the relationship between peroxides and sensory acceptability together with the temperature dependence of peroxide formation allows a mathematical model to be set up to simply and quickly calculate the shelf life of biscuits.

  20. Biodiesel Production from Castor Oil by Using Calcium Oxide Derived from Mud Clam Shell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Ismail

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The catalytic potential of calcium oxide synthesized from mud clam shell as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production was studied. The mud clam shell calcium oxide was characterized using particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and BET gas sorption analyzer. The catalyst performance of mud clam shell calcium oxide was studied in the transesterification of castor oil as biodiesel. Catalyst characterization and transesterification study results of synthesized catalyst proved the efficiency of the natural derived catalyst for biodiesel production. A highest biodiesel yield of 96.7% was obtained at optimal parameters such as 1 : 14 oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 3% w/w catalyst concentration, 60°C reaction temperature, and 2-hour reaction time. Catalyst reusability test shows that the synthesized calcium oxide from mud clam shell is reusable up to 5 times.

  1. Xenopus egg cytoplasm with intact actin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Christine M; Nguyen, Phuong A; Ishihara, Keisuke; Groen, Aaron C; Mitchison, Timothy J

    2014-01-01

    We report optimized methods for preparing Xenopus egg extracts without cytochalasin D, that we term "actin-intact egg extract." These are undiluted egg cytoplasm that contains abundant organelles, and glycogen which supplies energy, and represents the least perturbed cell-free cytoplasm preparation we know of. We used this system to probe cell cycle regulation of actin and myosin-II dynamics (Field et al., 2011), and to reconstitute the large, interphase asters that organize early Xenopus embryos (Mitchison et al., 2012; Wühr, Tan, Parker, Detrich, & Mitchison, 2010). Actin-intact Xenopus egg extracts are useful for analysis of actin dynamics, and interaction of actin with other cytoplasmic systems, in a cell-free system that closely mimics egg physiology, and more generally for probing the biochemistry and biophysics of the egg, zygote, and early embryo. Detailed protocols are provided along with assays used to check cell cycle state and tips for handling and storing undiluted egg extracts. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Nitric oxide-dependent activation of CaMKII increases diastolic sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release in cardiac myocytes in response to adrenergic stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Jerry; Tang, Lifei; Roof, Steve R; Velmurugan, Sathya; Millard, Ashley; Shonts, Stephen; Wang, Honglan; Santiago, Demetrio; Ahmad, Usama; Perryman, Matthew; Bers, Donald M; Mohler, Peter J; Ziolo, Mark T; Shannon, Thomas R

    2014-01-01

    Spontaneous calcium waves in cardiac myocytes are caused by diastolic sarcoplasmic reticulum release (SR Ca(2+) leak) through ryanodine receptors. Beta-adrenergic (β-AR) tone is known to increase this leak through the activation of Ca-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMKII) and the subsequent phosphorylation of the ryanodine receptor. When β-AR drive is chronic, as observed in heart failure, this CaMKII-dependent effect is exaggerated and becomes potentially arrhythmogenic. Recent evidence has indicated that CaMKII activation can be regulated by cellular oxidizing agents, such as reactive oxygen species. Here, we investigate how the cellular second messenger, nitric oxide, mediates CaMKII activity downstream of the adrenergic signaling cascade and promotes the generation of arrhythmogenic spontaneous Ca(2+) waves in intact cardiomyocytes. Both SCaWs and SR Ca(2+) leak were measured in intact rabbit and mouse ventricular myocytes loaded with the Ca-dependent fluorescent dye, fluo-4. CaMKII activity in vitro and immunoblotting for phosphorylated residues on CaMKII, nitric oxide synthase, and Akt were measured to confirm activity of these enzymes as part of the adrenergic cascade. We demonstrate that stimulation of the β-AR pathway by isoproterenol increased the CaMKII-dependent SR Ca(2+) leak. This increased leak was prevented by inhibition of nitric oxide synthase 1 but not nitric oxide synthase 3. In ventricular myocytes isolated from wild-type mice, isoproterenol stimulation also increased the CaMKII-dependent leak. Critically, in myocytes isolated from nitric oxide synthase 1 knock-out mice this effect is ablated. We show that isoproterenol stimulation leads to an increase in nitric oxide production, and nitric oxide alone is sufficient to activate CaMKII and increase SR Ca(2+) leak. Mechanistically, our data links Akt to nitric oxide synthase 1 activation downstream of β-AR stimulation. Collectively, this evidence supports the hypothesis that CaMKII is

  3. Parabanic acid is the singlet oxygen specific oxidation product of uric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iida, Sayaka; Ohkubo, Yuki; Yamamoto, Yorihiro; Fujisawa, Akio

    2017-11-01

    Uric acid quenches singlet oxygen physically or reacts with it, but the oxidation product has not been previously characterized. The present study determined that the product is parabanic acid, which was confirmed by LC/TOFMS analysis. Parabanic acid was stable at acidic pH (acid at neutral or alkaline pH. The total yields of parabanic acid and oxaluric acid based on consumed uric acid were ~100% in clean singlet oxygen production systems such as UVA irradiation of Rose Bengal and thermal decomposition of 3-(1,4-dihydro-1,4-epidioxy-4-methyl-1-naphthyl)propionic acid. However, the ratio of the amount of uric acid consumed to the total amount of singlet oxygen generated was less than 1/180, indicating that most of the singlet oxygen was physically quenched. The total yields of parabanic acid and oxaluric acid were high in the uric acid oxidation systems with hydrogen peroxide plus hypochlorite or peroxynitrite. They became less than a few percent in peroxyl radical-, hypochlorite- or peroxynitrite-induced oxidation of uric acid. These results suggest that parabanic acid could be an in vivo probe of singlet oxygen formation because of the wide distribution of uric acid in human tissues and extracellular spaces. In fact, sunlight exposure significantly increased human skin levels of parabanic acid.

  4. [Definition of parameters of the condition of oxidizing stress in smooth muscle cells under influence of exogenous nitroso-glutatyon in vitro].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapilevich, L V; Nosarev, A V; D'iakova, E Iu; Andrushkevich, V V; Nasedkina, A K; Nosareva, O L; Davlet'iarova, K V; Ogorodova, L M; Kovalev, I V; Baskakov, M B; Medvedev, M A

    2007-08-01

    Influence of exogenous nitroso-glutatyon on intensity of oxidizing processes in smooth muscles of colon and bronchial tubes in intact and atopic sensitised porpoises (guinea pigs) was studied. In sensitised porpoises, antioxidant protection has been initially reduced against the background of increased maintenance of products of oxidizing that reflects a picture of oxidizing damage and can be associated with an inflammatory process. In incubation with nitroso-glutatyon, a decrease in activities of syperoxiddismutase and catalase is marked and, in sensitised animals, this effect has been expressed to a lesser degree. Syperoxiddismutase and catalase are antioxidant for the enzymes participating in protection of cells from free-radical damage. A dose-dependence decrease in activity catalase and syperoxiddismutase is defined by a parity of the enzymes participating in disintegration of nitrosoglutatyon and the enzymes which have kept antioxidant activity.

  5. Production of Nitrous Oxide from Nitrite in Stable Type II Methanotrophic Enrichments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myung, Jaewook; Wang, Zhiyue; Yuan, Tong; Zhang, Ping; Van Nostrand, Joy D; Zhou, Jizhong; Criddle, Craig S

    2015-09-15

    The coupled aerobic-anoxic nitrous decomposition operation is a new process for wastewater treatment that removes nitrogen from wastewater and recovers energy from the nitrogen in three steps: (1) NH4(+) oxidation to NO2(-), (2) NO2(-) reduction to N2O, and (3) N2O conversion to N2 with energy production. Here, we demonstrate that type II methanotrophic enrichments can mediate step two by coupling oxidation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) to NO2(-) reduction. Enrichments grown with NH4(+) and NO2(-) were subject to alternating 48-h aerobic and anoxic periods, in which CH4 and NO2(-) were added together in a "coupled" mode of operation or separately in a "decoupled mode". Community structure was stable in both modes and dominated by Methylocystis. In the coupled mode, production of P3HB and N2O was low. In the decoupled mode, significant P3HB was produced, and oxidation of P3HB drove reduction of NO2(-) to N2O with ∼ 70% conversion for >30 cycles (120 d). In batch tests of wasted cells from the decoupled mode, N2O production rates increased at low O2 or high NO2(-) levels. The results are significant for the development of engineered processes that remove nitrogen from wastewater and for understanding of conditions that favor environmental production of N2O.

  6. Biodiesel Production from Castor Oil by Using Calcium Oxide Derived from Mud Clam Shell

    OpenAIRE

    Ismail, S.; Ahmed, A. S.; Anr, Reddy; Hamdan, S.

    2016-01-01

    The catalytic potential of calcium oxide synthesized from mud clam shell as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production was studied. The mud clam shell calcium oxide was characterized using particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and BET gas sorption analyzer. The catalyst performance of mud clam shell calcium oxide was studied in the transesterification of castor oil as biodiesel. Catalyst characterization and transesterification s...

  7. Oxidative stress induced inflammation initiates functional decline of tear production.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuichi Uchino

    Full Text Available Oxidative damage and inflammation are proposed to be involved in an age-related functional decline of exocrine glands. However, the molecular mechanism of how oxidative stress affects the secretory function of exocrine glands is unclear. We developed a novel mev-1 conditional transgenic mouse model (Tet-mev-1 using a modified tetracycline system (Tet-On/Off system. This mouse model demonstrated decreased tear production with morphological changes including leukocytic infiltration and fibrosis. We found that the mev-1 gene encodes Cyt-1, which is the cytochrome b(560 large subunit of succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase in complex II of mitochondria (homologous to succinate dehydrogenase C subunit (SDHC in humans. The mev-1 gene induced excessive oxidative stress associated with ocular surface epithelial damage and a decrease in protein and aqueous secretory function. This new model provides evidence that mitochondrial oxidative damage in the lacrimal gland induces lacrimal dysfunction resulting in dry eye disease. Tear volume in Tet-mev-1 mice was lower than in wild type mice and histopathological analyses showed the hallmarks of lacrimal gland inflammation by intense mononuclear leukocytic infiltration and fibrosis in the lacrimal gland of Tet-mev-1 mice. These findings strongly suggest that oxidative stress can be a causative factor for the development of dry eye disease.

  8. Comprehensive Analysis of the Gas- and Particle-Phase Products of VOC Oxidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker-Arkema, J.; Ziemann, P. J.

    2017-12-01

    Controlled environmental chamber studies are important for determining atmospheric reaction mechanisms and gas and aerosol products formed in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Such information is necessary for developing detailed chemical models for use in predicting the atmospheric fate of VOCs and also secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. However, complete characterization of atmospheric oxidation reactions, including gas- and particle-phase product yields, and reaction branching ratios, are difficult to achieve. In this work, we investigated the reactions of terminal and internal alkenes with OH radicals in the presence of NOx in an attempt to fully characterize the chemistry of these systems while minimizing and accounting for the inherent uncertainties associated with environmental chamber experiments. Gas-phase products (aldehydes formed by alkoxy radical decomposition) and particle-phase products (alkyl nitrates, β-hydroxynitrates, dihydroxynitrates, 1,4-hydroxynitrates, 1,4-hydroxycarbonyls, and dihydroxycarbonyls) formed through pathways involving addition of OH to the C=C double bond as well as H-atom abstraction were identified and quantified using a suite of analytical techniques. Particle-phase products were analyzed in real time with a thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometer; and off-line by collection onto filters, extraction, and subsequent analysis of functional groups by derivatization-spectrophotometric methods developed in our lab. Derivatized products were also separated by liquid chromatography for molecular quantitation by UV absorbance and identification using chemical ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry. Gas phase aldehydes were analyzed off-line by collection onto Tenax and a 5-channel denuder with subsequent analysis by gas chromatography, or by collection onto DNPH-coated cartridges and subsequent analysis by liquid chromatography. The full product identification and quantitation, with careful

  9. Observations of oxidation products above a forest imply biogenic emissions of very reactive compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Holzinger

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Vertical gradients of mixing ratios of volatile organic compounds have been measured in a Ponderosa pine forest in Central California (38.90° N, 120.63° W, 1315m. These measurements reveal large quantities of previously unreported oxidation products of short lived biogenic precursors. The emission of biogenic precursors must be in the range of 13-66µmol m-2h-1 to produce the observed oxidation products. That is 6-30 times the emissions of total monoterpenes observed above the forest canopy on a molar basis. These reactive precursors constitute a large fraction of biogenic emissions at this site, and are not included in current emission inventories. When oxidized by ozone they should efficiently produce secondary aerosol and hydroxyl radicals.

  10. Determination of Oxidized Phosphatidylcholines by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pia Sala

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available A novel liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS approach for analysis of oxidized phosphatidylcholines by an Orbitrap Fourier Transform mass spectrometer in positive electrospray ionization (ESI coupled to hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC was developed. This method depends on three selectivity criteria for separation and identification: retention time, exact mass at a resolution of 100,000 and collision induced dissociation (CID fragment spectra in a linear ion trap. The process of chromatography development showed the best separation properties with a silica-based Kinetex column. This type of chromatography was able to separate all major lipid classes expected in mammalian samples, yielding increased sensitivity of oxidized phosphatidylcholines over reversed phase chromatography. Identification of molecular species was achieved by exact mass on intact molecular ions and CID tandem mass spectra containing characteristic fragments. Due to a lack of commercially available standards, method development was performed with copper induced oxidation products of palmitoyl-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylcholine, which resulted in a plethora of lipid species oxidized at the arachidonoyl moiety. Validation of the method was done with copper oxidized human low-density lipoprotein (LDL prepared by ultracentrifugation. In these LDL samples we could identify 46 oxidized molecular phosphatidylcholine species out of 99 possible candidates.

  11. Piper sarmentosum increases nitric oxide production in oxidative stress: a study on human umbilical vein endothelial cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizah Ugusman

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Nitric oxide produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS possesses multiple anti-atherosclerotic properties. Hence, enhanced expression of eNOS and increased Nitric oxide levels may protect against the development of atherosclerosis. Piper sarmentosum is a tropical plant with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Piper sarmentosum on the eNOS and Nitric oxide pathway in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs. METHODS: HUVECs were divided into four groups: control, treatment with 180 μM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, treatment with 150 μg/mL aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum, and concomitant treatment with aqueous extract of PS and H2O2 for 24 hours. Subsequently, HUVECs were harvested and eNOS mRNA expression was determined using qPCR. The eNOS protein level was measured using ELISA, and the eNOS activity and Nitric oxide level were determined by the Griess reaction. RESULTS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells treated with aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum showed a marked induction of Nitric oxide. Treatment with PS also resulted in increased eNOS mRNA expression, eNOS protein level and eNOS activity in HUVECs. CONCLUSION: Aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum may improve endothelial function by promoting NO production in HUVECs.

  12. Intensity of lipid oxidation and formation of cholesterol oxidation products during frozen storage of raw and cooked chicken

    OpenAIRE

    Conchillo, A. (Ana); Ansorena, D. (Diana); Astiasarán, I. (Iciar)

    2004-01-01

    Raw and cooked chicken breasts were stored at −18 °C for 3 months under aerobic and vacuum conditions, and the intensity of lipid oxidation and the formation of COP (cholesterol oxidation products) were studied. Raw samples showed low COP levels (4.60–7.40 µg g−1 fat), TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) levels (0.01–0.03 mg kg−1) and peroxide values (not detected) under both aerobic and vacuum conditions. Cooked samples (grilled and roasted) showed TBARS levels of 0.36–0.99 mg kg...

  13. Base Flip in DNA Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulationsof Differently-Oxidized Forms of Methyl-Cytosine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Bagherpoor Helabad

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Distortions in the DNA sequence, such as damage or mispairs, are specifically recognized and processed by DNA repair enzymes. Many repair proteins and, in particular, glycosylases flip the target base out of the DNA helix into the enzyme’s active site. Our molecular dynamics simulations of DNA with intact and damaged (oxidized methyl-cytosine show that the probability of being flipped is similar for damaged and intact methyl-cytosine. However, the accessibility of the different 5-methyl groups allows direct discrimination of the oxidized forms. Hydrogen-bonded patterns that vary between methyl-cytosine forms carrying a carbonyl oxygen atom are likely to be detected by the repair enzymes and may thus help target site recognition.

  14. Assessment of geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay - Expert report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amann, F.; Vogelhuber, M.

    2015-11-01

    This comprehensive report published by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI presents an expert report published on the assessment of the geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay. This review report addresses the conceptual constitutive framework for repositories in Opalinus Clay. The author addresses the geomechanical fundamentals that are necessary in order to adequately judge experiments on intact Opalinus Clay and the interpretation of the results. The report assesses in detail the various test series on intact Opalinus Clay carried out along with the interpretations made by experts and NAGRA. Further assessments are quoted including those on sample geometries tested, effective strength properties, undrained shear strength properties and elastic properties. The results of work done by other experts are also presented and discussed. The report is completed with a list of relevant literature

  15. Assessment of geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay - Expert report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amann, F. [Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ETHZ, Zürich (Switzerland); Vogelhuber, M. [Dr. von Moos AG, Geotechnisches Büro, Zürich (Switzerland)

    2015-11-15

    This comprehensive report published by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI presents an expert report published on the assessment of the geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay. This review report addresses the conceptual constitutive framework for repositories in Opalinus Clay. The author addresses the geomechanical fundamentals that are necessary in order to adequately judge experiments on intact Opalinus Clay and the interpretation of the results. The report assesses in detail the various test series on intact Opalinus Clay carried out along with the interpretations made by experts and NAGRA. Further assessments are quoted including those on sample geometries tested, effective strength properties, undrained shear strength properties and elastic properties. The results of work done by other experts are also presented and discussed. The report is completed with a list of relevant literature.

  16. Effects of garlic extract on color, lipid oxidation and oxidative breakdown products in raw ground beef during refrigerated storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XINZHUANG ZHANG

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The study aims to investigate the effects of garlic extracts on color, lipid oxidation, and oxidative breakdown products in raw ground beef during refrigerated storage. The two treatments were:control group (C, with no addition and experiment group (D, 50 mg garlic extracts added to 100 g beef. Adding garlic extracts significant increased a* value (PA ≤ 0.05, and significant decreased TBARS and PV values (PA ≤ 0.05. The pH and –SH value of D group had a decreasing tendency (PA=0.0522 and an increasing tendency (PA=0.0636 respectively compared to C group. Garlic extracts protected phospholipids, fatty acids and polypeptides from oxidation. The results indicatethat garlic extracts have the antioxidant activity, helping maintain the meat color, inhibiting lipid oxidation and protein degradation of raw ground beef during refrigerated storage.

  17. Shell biofilm-associated nitrous oxide production in marine molluscs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heisterkamp, I.M.; Schramm, Andreas; Larsen, Lone Heimann

    2013-01-01

    Emission of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) from freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates has exclusively been ascribed to N2O production by ingested denitrifying bacteria in the anoxic gut of the animals. Our study of marine molluscs now shows that also microbial biofilms on shell surfaces...... are important sites of N2O production. The shell biofilms of Mytilus edulis, Littorina littorea and Hinia reticulata contributed 18-94% to the total animal-associated N2O emission. Nitrification and denitrification were equally important sources of N2O in shell biofilms as revealed by 15N-stable isotope...... mollusc species. Ammonium excretion by the animals was found to be sufficient to sustain N2O production in the shell biofilm. Apparently, the animals provide a nutrient-enriched microenvironment that stimulates growth and N2O production of the shell biofilm. This animal-induced stimulation...

  18. Differential isotope dansylation labeling combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for quantification of intact and N-terminal truncated proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Yanan; Li, Liang

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •LC–MS was developed for quantifying protein mixtures containing both intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. • 12 C 2 -Dansylation of the N-terminal amino acid of proteins was done first, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis. •The released 12 C 2 -dansyl labeled N-terminal amino acid was quantified using 13 C 2 -dansyl labeled amino acid standards. •The method provided accurate and precise results for quantifying intact and N-terminal truncated proteins within 8 h. -- Abstract: The N-terminal amino acids of proteins are important structure units for maintaining the biological function, localization, and interaction networks of proteins. Under different biological conditions, one or several N-terminal amino acids could be cleaved from an intact protein due to processes, such as proteolysis, resulting in the change of protein properties. Thus, the ability to quantify the N-terminal truncated forms of proteins is of great importance, particularly in the area of development and production of protein-based drugs where the relative quantity of the intact protein and its truncated form needs to be monitored. In this work, we describe a rapid method for absolute quantification of protein mixtures containing intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. This method is based on dansylation labeling of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of the proteins into amino acids. It is shown that dansyl labeled amino acids are stable in acidic conditions and can be quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with the use of isotope analog standards

  19. Oxidative Stress in Shiga Toxin Production by Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Licznerska

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Virulence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC strains depends on production of Shiga toxins. These toxins are encoded in genomes of lambdoid bacteriophages (Shiga toxin-converting phages, present in EHEC cells as prophages. The genes coding for Shiga toxins are silent in lysogenic bacteria, and prophage induction is necessary for their efficient expression and toxin production. Under laboratory conditions, treatment with UV light or antibiotics interfering with DNA replication are commonly used to induce lambdoid prophages. Since such conditions are unlikely to occur in human intestine, various research groups searched for other factors or agents that might induce Shiga toxin-converting prophages. Among other conditions, it was reported that treatment with H2O2 caused induction of these prophages, though with efficiency significantly lower relative to UV-irradiation or mitomycin C treatment. A molecular mechanism of this phenomenon has been proposed. It appears that the oxidative stress represents natural conditions provoking induction of Shiga toxin-converting prophages as a consequence of H2O2 excretion by either neutrophils in infected humans or protist predators outside human body. Finally, the recently proposed biological role of Shiga toxin production is described in this paper, and the “bacterial altruism” and “Trojan Horse” hypotheses, which are connected to the oxidative stress, are discussed.

  20. Production of IFN-γ and IL-4 Against Intact Catalase and Constructed Catalase Epitopes of Helicobacter pylori From T-Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemian Safaei, Hajieh; Faghri, Jamshid; Moghim, Sharareh; Nasr Esfahani, Bahram; Fazeli, Hossein; Makvandi, Manoochehr; Adib, Minoo; Rashidi, Niloufar

    2015-12-01

    Helicobacter pylori infection is highly prevalent in the developing countries. It causes gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastrocarcinoma. Treatment with drugs and antibiotics is problematic due to the following reasons: cost, resistance to antibiotics, prolonged treatment and using multiple drugs. Catalase is highly conserved among the Helicobacter species and is important to the survival of the organism. It is expressed in high amounts and is exposed to the surface of this bacterium; therefore it represents a suitable candidate vaccine antigen. A suitable approach in H. pylori vaccinology is the administration of epitope based vaccines. Therefore the responses of T-cells (IFN-γ and IL-4 production) against the catalase of H. pylori were determined. Then the quality of the immune responses against intact catalase and three epitopes of catalase were compared. In this study, a composition of three epitopes of the H. pylori catalase was selected based on Propred software. The effect of catalase epitopes on T-cells were assayed and immune responses identified. The results of IFN-γ, IL-4 production against antigens, epitopes, and recombinant catalase by T-cells were compared for better understanding of epitope efficiency. The current research demonstrated that epitope sequence stimulates cellular immune responses effectively. In addition, increased safety and potency as well as a reduction in time and cost were advantages of this method. Authors are going to use this sequence as a suitable vaccine candidate for further research on animal models and humans in future.

  1. Agglomerates, smoke oxide particles, and carbon inclusions in condensed combustion products of an aluminized GAP-based propellant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ao, Wen; Liu, Peijin; Yang, Wenjing

    2016-12-01

    In solid propellants, aluminum is widely used to improve the performance, however the condensed combustion products especially the large agglomerates generated from aluminum combustion significantly affect the combustion and internal flow inside the solid rocket motor. To clarify the properties of the condensed combustion products of aluminized propellants, a constant-pressure quench vessel was adopted to collect the combustion products. The morphology and chemical compositions of the collected products, were then studied by using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive (SEM-EDS) method. Various structures have been observed in the condensed combustion products. Apart from the typical agglomerates or smoke oxide particles observed before, new structures including the smoke oxide clusters, irregular agglomerates and carbon-inclusions are discovered and investigated. Smoke oxide particles have the highest amount in the products. The highly dispersed oxide particle is spherical with very smooth surface and is on the order of 1-2 μm, but due to the high temperature and long residence time, these small particles will aggregate into smoke oxide clusters which are much larger than the initial particles. Three types of spherical agglomerates have been found. As the ambient gas temperature is much higher than the boiling point of Al2O3, the condensation layer inside which the aluminum drop is burning would evaporate quickly, which result in the fact that few "hollow agglomerates" has been found compared to "cap agglomerates" and "solid agglomerates". Irregular agglomerates usually larger than spherical agglomerates. The formation of irregular agglomerates likely happens by three stages: deformation of spherical aluminum drops; combination of particles with various shape; finally production of irregular agglomerates. EDS results show the ratio of O to Al on the surface of agglomerates is lower in comparison to smoke oxide particles. C and O account for

  2. Estimating Carbon Dynamics in an Intact Lowland Mixed Dipterocarp Forest Using a Forest Carbon Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jongyeol Lee

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Intact dipterocarp forests in Asia act as crucial carbon (C reservoirs, and it is therefore important to investigate the C dynamics in these forests. We estimated C dynamics, together with net ecosystem production (NEP, in an intact tropical dipterocarp forest of Brunei Darussalam. Fifty-four simulation units (plots; 20 m × 20 m were established and initial C stocks were determined via direct field measurement. The C dynamics were annually simulated with a regression model and the Forest Biomass and Dead organic matter Carbon (FBDC model. The initial C stock (Mg C·ha−1 of biomass, litter, dead wood and mineral soil were 213.1 ± 104.8, 2.0 ± 0.8, 31.3 ± 38.8, and 80.7 ± 15.5, respectively. Their annual changes (Mg C·ha−1·year−1 were 3.2 ± 1.1, 0.2 ± 0.2, −3.7 ± 6.1, and −0.3 ± 1.1, respectively. NEP was −0.6 ± 6.1 Mg C·ha−1·year−1, showing large heterogeneity among the plots. The initial C stocks of biomass and dead wood, biomass turnover rates and dead wood decay rates were elucidated as dominant factors determining NEP in a sensitivity analysis. Accordingly, investigation on those input data can constrain an uncertainty in determining NEP in the intact tropical forests.

  3. Quantitative and qualitative sensing techniques for biogenic volatile organic compounds and their oxidation products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Saewung; Guenther, Alex; Apel, Eric

    2013-07-01

    The physiological production mechanisms of some of the organics in plants, commonly known as biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), have been known for more than a century. Some BVOCs are emitted to the atmosphere and play a significant role in tropospheric photochemistry especially in ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) productions as a result of interplays between BVOCs and atmospheric radicals such as hydroxyl radical (OH), ozone (O3) and NOX (NO + NO2). These findings have been drawn from comprehensive analysis of numerous field and laboratory studies that have characterized the ambient distribution of BVOCs and their oxidation products, and reaction kinetics between BVOCs and atmospheric oxidants. These investigations are limited by the capacity for identifying and quantifying these compounds. This review highlights the major analytical techniques that have been used to observe BVOCs and their oxidation products such as gas chromatography, mass spectrometry with hard and soft ionization methods, and optical techniques from laser induced fluorescence (LIF) to remote sensing. In addition, we discuss how new analytical techniques can advance our understanding of BVOC photochemical processes. The principles, advantages, and drawbacks of the analytical techniques are discussed along with specific examples of how the techniques were applied in field and laboratory measurements. Since a number of thorough review papers for each specific analytical technique are available, readers are referred to these publications rather than providing thorough descriptions of each technique. Therefore, the aim of this review is for readers to grasp the advantages and disadvantages of various sensing techniques for BVOCs and their oxidation products and to provide guidance for choosing the optimal technique for a specific research task.

  4. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative process for sulfur removal from petroleum product feedstock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mello, Paola de A; Duarte, Fábio A; Nunes, Matheus A G; Alencar, Mauricio S; Moreira, Elizabeth M; Korn, Mauro; Dressler, Valderi L; Flores, Erico M M

    2009-08-01

    A procedure using ultrasonic irradiation is proposed for sulfur removal of a petroleum product feedstock. The procedure involves the combination of a peroxyacid and ultrasound-assisted treatment in order to comply with the required sulfur content recommended by the current regulations for fuels. The ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process was applied to a petroleum product feedstock using dibenzothiophene as a model sulfur compound. The influence of ultrasonic irradiation time, oxidizing reagents amount, kind of solvent for the extraction step and kind of organic acid were investigated. The use of ultrasonic irradiation allowed higher efficiency for sulfur removal in comparison to experiments performed without its application, under the same reactional conditions. Using the optimized conditions for UAOD, the sulfur removal was about 95% after 9min of ultrasonic irradiation (20kHz, 750W, run at 40%), using hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid, followed by extraction with methanol.

  5. Molecular and FISH analyses of a 53-kbp intact DNA fragment inserted by biolistics in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partier, A; Gay, G; Tassy, C; Beckert, M; Feuillet, C; Barret, P

    2017-10-01

    A large, 53-kbp, intact DNA fragment was inserted into the wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) genome. FISH analyses of individual transgenic events revealed multiple insertions of intact fragments. Transferring large intact DNA fragments containing clusters of resistance genes or complete metabolic pathways into the wheat genome remains a challenge. In a previous work, we showed that the use of dephosphorylated cassettes for wheat transformation enabled the production of simple integration patterns. Here, we used the same technology to produce a cassette containing a 44-kb Arabidopsis thaliana BAC, flanked by one selection gene and one reporter gene. This 53-kb linear cassette was integrated in the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome by biolistic transformation. Our results showed that transgenic plants harboring the entire cassette were generated. The inheritability of the cassette was demonstrated in the T1 and T2 generation. Surprisingly, FISH analysis performed on T1 progeny of independent events identified double genomic insertions of intact fragments in non-homoeologous positions. Inheritability of these double insertions was demonstrated by FISH analysis of the T1 generation. Relative conclusions that can be drawn from molecular or FISH analysis are discussed along with future prospects of the engineering of large fragments for wheat transformation or genome editing.

  6. Isolation of intact RNA from murine CD4+ T cells after intracellular cytokine staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunnath-Velayudhan, Shajo; Porcelli, Steven A

    2018-05-01

    Intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) is a powerful method for identifying functionally distinct lymphocyte subsets, and for isolating these by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Although transcriptomic analysis of cells sorted on the basis of ICS has many potential applications, this is rarely performed because of the difficulty in isolating intact RNA from cells processed using standard fixation and permeabilization buffers for ICS. To address this issue, we compared three buffers shown previously to preserve RNA in nonhematopoietic cells subjected to intracellular staining for their effects on RNA isolated from T lymphocytes processed for ICS. Our results showed that buffers containing the recombinant ribonuclease inhibitor RNasin or high molar concentrations of salt yielded intact RNA from fixed and permeabilized T cells. As proof of principle, we successfully used the buffer containing RNasin to isolate intact RNA from CD4 + T cells that were sorted by FACS on the basis of specific cytokine production, thus demonstrating the potential of this approach for coupling ICS with transcriptomic analysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Effects of silver nanoparticles on nitrification and associated nitrous oxide production in aquatic environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yanling; Hou, Lijun; Liu, Min; Newell, Silvia E; Yin, Guoyu; Yu, Chendi; Zhang, Hongli; Li, Xiaofei; Gao, Dengzhou; Gao, Juan; Wang, Rong; Liu, Cheng

    2017-08-01

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are the most common materials in nanotechnology-based consumer products globally. Because of the wide application of AgNPs, their potential environmental impact is currently a highly topical focus of concern. Nitrification is one of the processes in the nitrogen cycle most susceptible to AgNPs but the specific effects of AgNPs on nitrification in aquatic environments are not well understood. We report the influence of AgNPs on nitrification and associated nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production in estuarine sediments. AgNPs inhibited nitrification rates, which decreased exponentially with increasing AgNP concentrations. The response of nitrifier N 2 O production to AgNPs exhibited low-dose stimulation (production could be enhanced by >100% at low doses of AgNPs. This result was confirmed by metatranscriptome studies showing up-regulation of nitric oxide reductase (norQ) gene expression in the low-dose treatment. Isotopomer analysis revealed that hydroxylamine oxidation was the main N 2 O production pathway, and its contribution to N 2 O emission was enhanced when exposed to low-dose AgNPs. This study highlights the molecular underpinnings of the effects of AgNPs on nitrification activity and demonstrates that the release of AgNPs into the environment should be controlled because they interfere with nitrifying communities and stimulate N 2 O emission.

  8. Study of Nitric Oxide production by murine peritoneal macrophages induced by Brucella Lipopolysaccharide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kavoosi G

    2001-07-01

    Full Text Available Brueclla is a gram negative bacteria that causes Brucellosis. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS ", the pathogenic agent of Brucella is composed of O-chain, core oligosaccharide and lipid A. in addition, the structural and biological properties of different LPS extracted from different strains are not identical. The first defense system against LPS is nonspecific immunity that causes macrophage activation. Activated macrophages produce oxygen and nitrogen radicals that enhance the protection against intracellular pathogens.In this experiment LPS was extracted by hot phenol- water procedure and the effect of various LPSs on nitric oxide prodution by peritoneal mouse macrophages was examined.Our results demonstrated that the effect of LPS on nitric oxide production is concentration-dependent we observed the maximum response in concentration of 10-20 microgram per milliliter. Also our results demonstrate that LPS extracted from vaccine Brucella abortus (S 19 had a highe effect on nitric oxide production than the LPS from other strains

  9. Plasmon-enhanced Solar Fuel Production with Gold-metal Oxide Hybrid Nanomaterials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engelbrekt, Christian; Law, Matt; Zhang, Jingdong

    , provide new catalytic routes and expands the scope of solar photocatalysis. We prepare metal oxide SNPs, gold PNPs and their hybrids through mild aqueous syntheses to develop efficient photocatalyst for solar fuel production. Focus is placed on the synergetic interplay between SNPs and PNPs, understanding...

  10. Primary oxidation and reduction products in x-irradiated aspartic acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, S.M.; Budzinski, E.E.; Box, H.C.

    1976-01-01

    The primary reduction products identified by ESR--ENDOR spectroscopy in single crystals of DL-aspartic acid hydrochloride irradiated at 4.2degreeK are anions formed by addition of an electron to the carbonyl oxygen atoms of the carboxylic acid groups. The main consequence of the oxidation process is to produce a hole centered mainly on atomic chlorine

  11. The production of nitric oxide in EL4 lymphoma cells overexpressing growth hormone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Robyn E; Weigent, Douglas A

    2003-01-01

    Growth hormone (GH) is produced by immunocompetent cells and has been implicated in the regulation of a multiplicity of functions in the immune system involved in growth and activation. However, the actions of endogenous or lymphocyte GH and its contribution to immune reactivity when compared with those of serum or exogenous GH are still unclear. In the present study, we overexpressed lymphocyte GH in EL4 lymphoma cells, which lack the GH receptor (GHR), to determine the role of endogenous GH in nitric oxide (NO) production and response to genotoxic stress. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the levels of GH increased approximately 40% in cells overexpressing GH (GHo) when compared with cells with vector alone. The results also show a substantial increase in NO production in cells overexpressing GH that could be blocked by N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), an L-arginine analogue that competitively inhibits all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). No evidence was obtained to support an increase in peroxynitrite in cells overexpressing GH. Overexpression of GH increased NOS activity, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) promoter activity, and iNOS protein expression, whereas endothelial nitric oxide synthase and neuronal nitric oxide synthase protein levels were essentially unchanged. In addition, cells overexpressing GH showed increased arginine transport ability and intracellular arginase activity when compared with control cells. GH overexpression appeared to protect cells from the toxic effects of the DNA alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. This possibility was suggested by maintenance of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential in cells overexpressing GH when compared with control cells that could be blocked by L-NMMA. Taken together, the data support the notion that lymphocyte GH, independently of the GH receptor, may play a key role in the survival of lymphocytes exposed to stressful stimuli via the production of NO.

  12. Self-etching adhesive on intact enamel, with and without pre-etching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devarasa, G M; Subba Reddy, V V; Chaitra, N L; Swarna, Y M

    2012-05-01

    Bond strengths of composite resin to enamel using self-etch adhesive (SEA) Clearfil SE bond system on intact enamel and enamel pre-etched with phosphoric acid were compared. The objective was to determine if the pre-etching would increase the bond strengths of the SEA systems to intact enamel and to evaluate the effect of pre-etching on bond formation of self-etch adhesives on intact enamel. Labial surfaces of 40 caries free permanent upper central and lateral incisors were cleaned, sectioned of their roots. All specimens were mounted on acrylic block and divided randomly into four groups. In two groups the application of self-etch adhesive, Clearfil SE bond was carried as per manufacturer's instructions, composite cylinders were built, whereas in the other two groups, 37% phosphoric acid etching was done before the application of self-etching adhesives. Then the resin tags were analyzed using scanning electron microscope and shear bond strength was measured using Instron universal testing machine. When phosphoric acid was used, there was significant increase in the depth of penetration of resin tags and in the Shear Bond Strength of composite to enamel. The results indicate that out of both treatment groups, pre-etching the intact enamel with 37% phosphoric acid resulted in formation of longer resin tags and higher depth of penetration of resin tags of the Clearfil SE bond, and attaining higher bond strength of the Clearfil SE bond to intact enamel. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite in the bovine rumen: nitrous oxide production and effect of acetylene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaspar, H F; Tiedje, J M

    1981-03-01

    15N tracer methods and gas chromatography coupled to an electron capture detector were used to investigate dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite by the rumen microbiota of a fistulated cow. Ammonium was the only 15N-labeled end product of quantitative significance. Only traces of nitrous oxide were detected as a product of nitrate reduction; but in experiments with nitrite, up to 0.3% of the added nitrogen accumulated as nitrous oxide, but it was not further reduced. Furthermore, when 13NO3- was incubated with rumen microbiota virtually no [13N]N2 was produced. Acetylene partially inhibited the reduction of nitrite to ammonium as well as the formation of nitrous oxide. It is suggested that in the rumen ecosystem nitrous oxide is a byproduct of dissimilatory nitrite reduction to ammonium rather than a product of denitrification and that the latter process is absent from the rumen habitat.

  14. Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their oxy-, nitro-, and hydroxy-oxidation products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochran, R.E.; Dongari, N.; Jeong, H.; Beránek, J.; Haddadi, S.; Shipp, J.; Kubátová, A.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We describe a method for determining PAHs and their oxidation products. ► Solid-phase extraction was used to fractionate PAHs and their oxidation products. ► Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry methods were optimized. ► The developed method was applied to two particulate matter (PM) samples. - Abstract: A sensitive method has been developed for the trace analysis of PAHs and their oxidation products (i.e., nitro-, oxy-, and hydroxy-PAHs) in air particulate matter (PM). Following PM extraction, PAHs, nitro-, oxy-, and hydroxy-PAHs were fractionated using solid phase extraction (SPE) based on their polarities. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) conditions were optimized, addressing injection (i.e., splitless time), negative-ion chemical ionization (NICI) parameters, i.e., source temperature and methane flow rate, and MS scanning conditions. Each class of PAH oxidation products was then analyzed using the sample preparation and appropriate ionization conditions (e.g., nitro-PAHs exhibited the greatest sensitivity when analyzed with NICI–MS while hydroxy-PAHs required chemical derivatization prior to GC–MS analysis). The analyses were performed in selected-ion-total-ion (SITI) mode, combining the increased sensitivity of selected-ion monitoring (SIM) with the identification advantages of total-ion current (TIC). The instrumental LODs determined were 6–34 pg for PAHs, 5–36 pg for oxy-PAHs, and 1–21 pg for derivatized hydroxy-PAHs using electron ionization (GC-EI-MS). NICI–MS was found to be a useful tool for confirming the tentative identification of oxy-PAHs. For nitro-PAHs, LODs were 1–10 pg using negative-ion chemical ionization (GC-NICI-MS). The developed method was successfully applied to two types of real-world PM samples, diesel exhaust standard reference material (SRM 2975) and wood smoke PM.

  15. Neural activation differences in amputees during imitation of intact versus amputee movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William F Cusack

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The mirror neuron system has been attributed with increased activation in motor-related cortical areas upon viewing of another’s actions. Recent work suggests that limb movements that are similar and dissimilar in appearance to that of the viewer equivalently activate the mirror neuron system. It is unclear if this result can be observed in the action encoding areas in amputees who use prosthetic devices. Intact subjects and upper extremity amputee prosthesis users were recruited to view video demonstrations of tools being used by an intact actor and a prosthetic device user. All subjects were asked to pantomime the movements seen in the video while recording electroencephalography. Intact subjects showed equivalent left parietofrontal activity during imitation after watching the intact or prosthetic arm. Likewise, when prosthesis users imitated prosthesis demonstrations, typical left parietofrontal activation was observed during planning. When prosthesis users imitated intact actors, a new pattern was revealed which showed greater bilateral parietal and occipital activity during movement planning (p<0.001. This change may be required for prosthesis users to imitate movements in which the limb states between the observed and the observer do not match. The finding that prosthesis users imitating other prosthesis users showed typical left parietofrontal activation suggests that these subjects engage normal planning related activity when they are able to imitate a limb matching their own. This result has significant implications on rehabilitation, as standard therapy involves training with an intact occupational therapist, which could necessitate atypical planning mechanisms in amputees when learning to use their prosthesis.

  16. Influence of Catalyst Acid/Base Properties in Acrolein Production by Oxidative Coupling of Ethanol and Methanol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lilić, Aleksandra; Bennici, Simona; Devaux, Jean-François; Dubois, Jean-Luc; Auroux, Aline

    2017-05-09

    Oxidative coupling of methanol and ethanol represents a new route to produce acrolein. In this work, the overall reaction was decoupled in two steps, the oxidation and the aldolization, by using two consecutive reactors to investigate the role of the acid/base properties of silica-supported oxide catalysts. The oxidation of a mixture of methanol and ethanol to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde was performed over a FeMoO x catalyst, and then the product mixture was transferred without intermediate separation to a second reactor, in which the aldol condensation and dehydration to acrolein were performed over the supported oxides. The impact of the acid/base properties on the selectivity towards acrolein was investigated under oxidizing conditions for the first time. The acid/base properties of the catalysts were investigated by NH 3 -, SO 2 -, and methanol-adsorption microcalorimetry. A MgO/SiO 2 catalyst was the most active in acrolein production owing to an appropriate ratio of basic to acidic sites. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. The Multilevel Mixed Intact Group Analysis: A Mixed Method to Seek, Detect, Describe and Explain Differences Between Intact Groups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoonenboom, J.I.

    2014-01-01

    Educational innovations often involve intact subgroups, such as school classes or university departments. In small-scale educational evaluation research, typically involving 1 to 20 subgroups, differences among these subgroups are often neglected. This article presents a mixed method from a

  18. Progesterone modulates the LPS-induced nitric oxide production by a progesterone-receptor independent mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfson, Manuel Luis; Schander, Julieta Aylen; Bariani, María Victoria; Correa, Fernando; Franchi, Ana María

    2015-12-15

    Genital tract infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria induce miscarriage and are one of the most common complications of human pregnancy. LPS administration to 7-day pregnant mice induces embryo resorption after 24h, with nitric oxide playing a fundamental role in this process. We have previously shown that progesterone exerts protective effects on the embryo by modulating the inflammatory reaction triggered by LPS. Here we sought to investigate whether the in vivo administration of progesterone modulated the LPS-induced nitric oxide production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from pregnant and non-pregnant mice. We found that progesterone downregulated LPS-induced nitric oxide production by a progesterone receptor-independent mechanism. Moreover, our results suggest a possible participation of glucocorticoid receptors in at least some of the anti-inflammatory effects of progesterone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Iron oxides alter methanogenic pathways of acetate in production water of high-temperature petroleum reservoir.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Pan; Hong, Bo; Mbadinga, Serge Maurice; Wang, Li-Ying; Liu, Jin-Feng; Yang, Shi-Zhong; Gu, Ji-Dong; Mu, Bo-Zhong

    2017-09-01

    Acetate is a key intermediate in anaerobic crude oil biodegradation and also a precursor for methanogenesis in petroleum reservoirs. The impact of iron oxides, viz. β-FeOOH (akaganéite) and magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ), on the methanogenic acetate metabolism in production water of a high-temperature petroleum reservoir was investigated. Methane production was observed in all the treatments amended with acetate. In the microcosms amended with acetate solely about 30% of the acetate utilized was converted to methane, whereas methane production was stimulated in the presence of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) resulting in a 48.34% conversion to methane. Methane production in acetate-amended, β-FeOOH (akaganéite)-supplemented microcosms was much faster and acetate consumption was greatly improved compared to the other conditions in which the stoichiometric expected amounts of methane were not produced. Microbial community analysis showed that Thermacetogenium spp. (known syntrophic acetate oxidizers) and hydrogenotrophic methanogens closely related to Methanothermobacter spp. were enriched in acetate and acetate/magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) microcosms suggesting that methanogenic acetate metabolism was through hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis fueled by syntrophic acetate oxidizers. The acetate/β-FeOOH (akaganéite) microcosms, however, differed by the dominance of archaea closely related to the acetoclastic Methanosaeta thermophila. These observations suggest that supplementation of β-FeOOH (akaganéite) accelerated the production of methane further, driven the alteration of the methanogenic community, and changed the pathway of acetate methanogenesis from hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis fueled by syntrophic acetate oxidizers to acetoclastic.

  20. Electro-oxidation of the dye azure B: kinetics, mechanism, and by-products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olvera-Vargas, Hugo; Oturan, Nihal; Aravindakumar, C T; Paul, M M Sunil; Sharma, Virender K; Oturan, Mehmet A

    2014-01-01

    In this work, the electrochemical degradation of the dye azure B in aqueous solutions was studied by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs), electro-Fenton, and anodic oxidation processes, using Pt/carbon-felt and boron-doped diamond (BDD)/carbon-felt cells with H₂O₂ electrogeneration. The higher oxidation power of the electro-Fenton (EF) process using BDD anode was demonstrated. The oxidative degradation of azure B by the electrochemically generated hydroxyl radicals ((•)OH) follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The apparent rate constants of the oxidation of azure B by (•)OH were measured according to pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The absolute rate constant of azure B hydroxylation reaction was determined by competition kinetics method and found to be 1.19 × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). It was found that the electrochemical degradation of the dye leads to the formation of aromatic by-products which are then oxidized to aliphatic carboxylic acids before their almost mineralization to CO₂ and inorganic ions (sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium). The evolution of the TOC removal and time course of short-chain carboxylic acids during treatment were also investigated.

  1. Differential isotope dansylation labeling combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for quantification of intact and N-terminal truncated proteins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Yanan; Li, Liang, E-mail: Liang.Li@ualberta.ca

    2013-08-20

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •LC–MS was developed for quantifying protein mixtures containing both intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. •{sup 12}C{sub 2}-Dansylation of the N-terminal amino acid of proteins was done first, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis. •The released {sup 12}C{sub 2}-dansyl labeled N-terminal amino acid was quantified using {sup 13}C{sub 2}-dansyl labeled amino acid standards. •The method provided accurate and precise results for quantifying intact and N-terminal truncated proteins within 8 h. -- Abstract: The N-terminal amino acids of proteins are important structure units for maintaining the biological function, localization, and interaction networks of proteins. Under different biological conditions, one or several N-terminal amino acids could be cleaved from an intact protein due to processes, such as proteolysis, resulting in the change of protein properties. Thus, the ability to quantify the N-terminal truncated forms of proteins is of great importance, particularly in the area of development and production of protein-based drugs where the relative quantity of the intact protein and its truncated form needs to be monitored. In this work, we describe a rapid method for absolute quantification of protein mixtures containing intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. This method is based on dansylation labeling of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of the proteins into amino acids. It is shown that dansyl labeled amino acids are stable in acidic conditions and can be quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with the use of isotope analog standards.

  2. Identification of the Products of Oxidation of Quercetin by Air Oxygenat Ambient Temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor A Utsal

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Oxidation of quercetin by air oxygen takes place in water and aqueous ethanol solutions under mild conditions, namely in moderately-basic media (pH ∼ 8-10 at ambient temperature and in the absence of any radical initiators, without enzymatic catalysis or irradiation of the reaction media by light. The principal reaction products are typical of other oxidative degradation processes of quercetin, namely 3,4-dihydroxy-benzoic (proto-catechuic and 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic (phloroglucinic acids, as well as the decarboxylation product of the latter – 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene (phloroglucinol. In accordance with the literature data, this process involves the cleavage of the γ-pyrone fragment (ring C of the quercetin molecule by oxygen, with primary formation of 4,6-dihydroxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyloxybenzoic acid (depside. However under such mild conditions the accepted mechanism of this reaction (oxidative decarbonylation with formation of carbon monoxide, CO should be reconsidered as preferably an oxidative decarboxylation with formation of carbon dioxide, CO2. Direct head-space analysis of the gaseous components formed during quercetin oxidation in aqueous solution at ambient temperature indicates that the ratio of carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide in the gas phase after acidification of the reaction media is ca. 96:4 %. Oxidation under these mild conditions is typical for other flavonols having OH groups at C3 (e.g., kaempferol, but it is completely suppressed if this hydroxyl group is substituted by a glycoside fragment (as in rutin, or a methyl substituent. An alternative oxidation mechanism involving the direct cleavage of the C2-C3 bond in the diketo-tautomer of quercetin is proposed.

  3. Determination of lipid oxidation products in vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halvorsen, Bente Lise; Blomhoff, Rune

    2011-01-01

    There is convincing evidence that replacing dietary saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) decreases risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, PUFA rich foods such as vegetable oils, fatty fish, and marine omega-3 supplements are recommended. However, PUFA are easily oxidizable and there is concern about possible negative health effects from intake of oxidized lipids. Little is known about the degree of lipid oxidation in such products. To assess the content of lipid oxidation products in a large selection of vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements available in Norway. Both fresh and heated vegetable oils were studied. A large selection of commercially available vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements was purchased from grocery stores, pharmacies, and health food stores in Norway. The content of lipid oxidation products were measured as peroxide value and alkenal concentration. Twelve different vegetable oils were heated for a temperature (225°C) and time (25 minutes) resembling conditions typically used during cooking. The peroxide values were in the range 1.04-10.38 meq/kg for omega-3 supplements and in the range 0.60-5.33 meq/kg for fresh vegetable oils. The concentration range of alkenals was 158.23-932.19 nmol/mL for omega-3 supplements and 33.24-119.04 nmol/mL for vegetable oils. After heating, a 2.9-11.2 fold increase in alkenal concentration was observed for vegetable oils. The contents of hydroperoxides and alkenals in omega-3 supplements are higher than in vegetable oils. After heating vegetable oils, a large increase in alkenal concentration was observed.

  4. Insight into nitrous oxide production processes in the western North Pacific based on a marine ecosystem isotopomer model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshikawa, C.; Sasai, Y.; Wakita, M.; Honda, M. C.; Fujiki, T.; Harada, N.; Makabe, A.; Matsushima, S.; Toyoda, S.; Yoshida, N.; Ogawa, N. O.; Suga, H.; Ohkouchi, N.

    2016-02-01

    Based on the observed inverse relationship between the dissolved oxygen and N2O concentrations in the ocean, previous models have indirectly predicted marine N2O emissions from the apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), In this study, a marine ecosystem model that incorporates nitrous oxide (N2O) production processes (i.e., ammonium oxidation during nitrification and nitrite reduction during nitrifier denitrification) was newly developed to estimate the sea-air N2O flux and to quantify N2O production processes. Site preference of 15N (SP) in N2O isotopomers (14N15N16O and 15N14N16O) and the average nitrogen isotope ratio (δ15N) were added to the model because they are useful tracers to distinguish between ammonium oxidation and nitrite reduction. This model was applied to two contrasting time series sites, a subarctic station (K2) and a subtropical station (S1) in the western North Pacific. The model was validated with observed nitrogen concentration and nitrogen isotopomer datasets, and successfully simulated the higher N2O concentrations, higher δ15N values, and higher site preference values for N2O at K2 compared with S1. The annual mean N2O emissions were estimated to be 34 mg N m-2 yr-1 at K2 and 2 mg N m-2 yr-1 at S1. Using this model, we conducted three case studies: 1) estimating the ratio of in-situ biological N2O production to nitrate (NO3-) production during nitrification, 2) estimating the ratio of N2O production by ammonium oxidation to that by nitrite reduction, and 3) estimating the ratio of AOA ammonium oxidation to AOB ammonium oxidation. The results of case studies estimated the ratios of in situ biological N2O production to nitrate production during nitrification to be 0.22% at K2 and 0.06% at S1. It is also suggested that N2O was mainly produced via ammonium oxidation at K2 but was produced via both ammonium oxidation and nitrite reduction at S1. It is also revealed that 80% of the ammonium oxidation at K2 was caused by archaea in the subsurface

  5. Oxidative metabolism of 5-o-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), a bioactive natural product, by metalloporphyrin and rat liver mitochondria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    dos Santos, Michel D; Martins, Patrícia R; dos Santos, Pierre A; Bortocan, Renato; Iamamoto, Y; Lopes, Norberto P

    2005-09-01

    Synthetic metalloporphyrins, in the presence of monooxygen donors, are known to mimic the various reactions of cytochrome P450 enzymes systems in the oxidation and oxygenation of various drugs and biologically active compounds. This paper reports an HPLC-MS-MS investigation of chlorogenic acid (CGA) oxidation by iodosylbenzene using iron(III) tetraphenylporphyrin chloride as catalyst. The oxidation products have been detected by sequential MS analyses. In addition, CGA was submitted to an in vitro metabolism assay employing isolated rat liver mitochondria. The single oxidized product obtained from mitochondrial metabolism corresponds to the major product formed by the metalloporphyrin-catalyzed reaction. These results indicate that biomimetic oxidation reactions, in addition to in vitro metabolism assays employing isolated organs/organelles, could replace some in vivo metabolism studies, thus minimizing the problems related to the use of a large number of living animals in experimental research.

  6. Production of SmCo5 alloy by calciothermic reduction of samarium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnan, T.S.; Gupta, C.K.

    1988-01-01

    Among the established permanent magnets, SmCo 5 magnet occupies the foremost position as it offers a unique combination of high energy product, coercivity and curie temperature. The SmCo 5 magnets are thus extensively used for high field applications. These are also best suited for use in environments where high demagnetizing field and high temperature are operative. Also, for applications where high performance and miniaturization are the over-riding considerations, the choice again falls on SmCo 5 magnets. The main deterrent to the widespread use of SmCo 5 magnet is its high cost. Both samarium and cobalt metals are high priced, and the magnets prepared from their directly melted alloy are thus naturally very expensive. An alternate process involving calcium reduction of their oxide intermediates has, therefore, been studied and the alloy prepared by this process has been evaluated and found satisfactory for magnet production. The process essentially involves compaction of the charge mix containing samarium oxide, cobalt oxide (or metal) and calcium metal and reduction of the charge compact at 1000-1300 degrees C in hydrogen atmosphere, followed by water and acid leaching, drying and classification

  7. Identification of key nitrous oxide production pathways in aerobic partial nitrifying granules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, Satoshi; Song, Yanjun; Rathnayake, Lashitha; Tumendelger, Azzaya; Satoh, Hisashi; Toyoda, Sakae; Yoshida, Naohiro; Okabe, Satoshi

    2014-10-01

    The identification of the key nitrous oxide (N2O) production pathways is important to establish a strategy to mitigate N2O emission. In this study, we combined real-time gas-monitoring analysis, (15)N stable isotope analysis, denitrification functional gene transcriptome analysis and microscale N2O concentration measurements to identify the main N2O producers in a partial nitrification (PN) aerobic granule reactor, which was fed with ammonium and acetate. Our results suggest that heterotrophic denitrification was the main contributor to N2O production in our PN aerobic granule reactor. The heterotrophic denitrifiers were probably related to Rhodocyclales bacteria, although different types of bacteria were active in the initial and latter stages of the PN reaction cycles, most likely in response to the presence of acetate. Hydroxylamine oxidation and nitrifier denitrification occurred, but their contribution to N2O emission was relatively small (20-30%) compared with heterotrophic denitrification. Our approach can be useful to quantitatively examine the relative contributions of the three pathways (hydroxylamine oxidation, nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification) to N2O emission in mixed microbial populations. © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Epispadias in boys with an intact prepuce

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, E. M. E.; Kuijper, C. F.; Chrzan, R. J.; Dik, P.; Klijn, A. J.; de Jong, T. P. V. M.

    2014-01-01

    To present an overview of the clinical presentation and pathological anatomy, and the results of surgical correction of 7 cases of epispadias with intact prepuce; a rare condition that has only occasionally been reported in literature. A retrospective search was performed in the surgical and

  9. HYDROCARBON VAPOR DIFFUSION IN INTACT CORE SLEEVES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The diffusion of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (TMP) and 2,2,5-trimethylhexane (TMH) vapors put of residually contaminated sandy soil from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) field research site at Traverse City, Michigan, was measured and modeled. The headspace of an intact ...

  10. Digested BLG can induce tolerance when co-administered with intact BLG in Brown Norway rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøgh, Katrine Lindholm; Barkholt, Vibeke; Madsen, Charlotte Bernhard

    the human gastro-duodenal digestion process. Four different fractions of BLG-digest was made, based on sizes of peptides or aggregates hereof. Intact BLG and the four fractions of BLG-digesta were characterized by protein chemical analyses. Brown Norway (BN) rats were immunised i.p. three times without......Background: Milk is a major constituent of small children’s diet. Milk allergy is also one of the most common allergies in small children. Prevention, treatment and general understanding of this allergy are therefore important. Methods: Intact BLG was digested in an in vitro model simulating...... the use of adjuvant with either PBS (control), 200 µg of intact BLG, 30 µg of intact BLG, 200 µg of digested BLG (with 30 µg of intact BLG), 200 µg of digested BLG, 200 µg of a fraction of large complexes or 200 µg of a fraction of small complexes (all three without intact BLG). Sera from BN rats were...

  11. Inherent health and environmental risk assessment of nanostructured metal oxide production processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torabifard, Mina; Arjmandi, Reza; Rashidi, Alimorad; Nouri, Jafar; Mohammadfam, Iraj

    2018-01-10

    The health and environmental effects of chemical processes can be assessed during the initial stage of their production. In this paper, the Chemical Screening Tool for Exposure and Environmental Release (ChemSTEER) software was used to compare the health and environmental risks of spray pyrolysis and wet chemical techniques for the fabrication of nanostructured metal oxide on a semi-industrial scale with a capacity of 300 kg/day in Iran. The pollution sources identified in each production process were pairwise compared in Expert Choice software using indicators including respiratory damage, skin damage, and environmental damages including air, water, and soil pollution. The synthesis of nanostructured zinc oxide using the wet chemical technique (with 0.523 wt%) leads to lower health and environmental risks compared to when spray pyrolysis is used (with 0.477 wt%). The health and environmental risk assessment of nanomaterial production processes can help select safer processes, modify the operation conditions, and select or modify raw materials that can help eliminate the risks.

  12. Wet oxidation pretreatment of rape straw for ethanol production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arvaniti, Efthalia; Bjerre, Anne Belinda; Schmidt, Jens Ejbye

    2012-01-01

    Rape straw can be used for production of second generation bioethanol. In this paper we optimized the pretreatment of rape straw for this purpose using Wet oxidation (WO). The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time, and oxygen gas pressure was investigated for maximum ethanol yield via Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF). To reduce the water use and increase the energy efficiency in WO pretreatment features like recycling liquid (filtrate), presoaking of rape straw in water or recycled filtrate before WO, skip washing pretreated solids (filter cake) after WO, or use of whole slurry (Filter cake + filtrate) in SSF were also tested. Except ethanol yields, pretreatment methods were evaluated based on achieved glucose yields, amount of water used, recovery of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The highest ethanol yield obtained was 67% after fermenting the whole slurry produced by WO at 205 °C for 3 min with 12 bar of oxygen gas pressure and featured with presoaking in water. At these conditions after pre-treatment, cellulose and hemicellulose was recovered quantitatively (100%) together with 86% of the lignin. WO treatments of 2–3 min at 205–210 °C with 12 bar of oxygen gas produced higher ethanol yields and cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin recoveries, than 15 min WO treatment at 195 °C. Also, recycling filtrate and use of higher oxygen gas pressure reduced recovery of materials. The use of filtrate could be inhibitory for the yeast, but also reduced lactic acid formation in SSF. -- Highlights: ► Wet Oxidation pretreatment on rape straw for sugar and ethanol production. ► Variables were reaction time, temperature, and oxygen gas pressure. ► Also, other configurations for increase of water and energy efficiency. ► Short Wet oxidation pretreatment (2–3 min) produced highest ethanol yield. ► After these pretreatment conditions recovery of lignin in solids was 86%.

  13. Spectroscopic Analyses of the Biofuels-Critical Phytochemical Coniferyl Alcohol and Its Enzyme-Catalyzed Oxidation Products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Achyuthan, Komandoor; Adams, Paul; Simmons, Blake; Singh, Anup

    2011-07-13

    Lignin composition (monolignol types of coniferyl, sinapyl or p-coumaryl alcohol) is causally related to biomass recalcitrance. We describe multiwavelength (220, 228, 240, 250, 260, 290, 295, 300, 310 or 320 nm) absorption spectroscopy of coniferyl alcohol and its laccase- or peroxidase-catalyzed products during real time kinetic, pseudo-kinetic and endpoint analyses, in optical turn on or turn off modes, under acidic or basic conditions. Reactions in microwell plates and 100 mu L volumes demonstrated assay miniaturization and high throughput screening capabilities. Bathochromic and hypsochromic shifts along with hyperchromicity or hypochromicity accompanied enzymatic oxidations by laccase or peroxidase. The limits of detection and quantitation of coniferyl alcohol averaged 2.4 and 7.1 mu M respectively, with linear trend lines over 3 to 4 orders of magnitude. Coniferyl alcohol oxidation was evident within 10 minutes or with 0.01 mu g/mL laccase and 2 minutes or 0.001 mu g/mL peroxidase. Detection limit improved to 1.0 mu M coniferyl alcohol with Km of 978.7 +/- 150.7 mu M when examined at 260 nm following 30 minutes oxidation with 1.0 mu g/mL laccase. Our assays utilized the intrinsic spectroscopic properties of coniferyl alcohol or its oxidation products for enabling detection, without requiring chemical synthesis or modification of the substrate or product(s). These studies facilitate lignin compositional analyses and augment pretreatment strategies for reducing biomass recalcitrance.

  14. Temperature controls oxidative phosphorylation and reactive oxygen species production through uncoupling in rat skeletal muscle mitochondria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarmuszkiewicz, Wieslawa; Woyda-Ploszczyca, Andrzej; Koziel, Agnieszka; Majerczak, Joanna; Zoladz, Jerzy A

    2015-06-01

    Mitochondrial respiratory and phosphorylation activities, mitochondrial uncoupling, and hydrogen peroxide formation were studied in isolated rat skeletal muscle mitochondria during experimentally induced hypothermia (25 °C) and hyperthermia (42 °C) compared to the physiological temperature of resting muscle (35 °C). For nonphosphorylating mitochondria, increasing the temperature from 25 to 42 °C led to a decrease in membrane potential, hydrogen peroxide production, and quinone reduction levels. For phosphorylating mitochondria, no temperature-dependent changes in these mitochondrial functions were observed. However, the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation decreased, whereas the oxidation and phosphorylation rates and oxidative capacities of the mitochondria increased, with increasing assay temperature. An increase in proton leak, including uncoupling protein-mediated proton leak, was observed with increasing assay temperature, which could explain the reduced oxidative phosphorylation efficiency and reactive oxygen species production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Anti-nitric oxide production, anti-proliferation and antioxidant effects of the aqueous extract from Tithonia diversifolia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poonsit Hiransai

    2016-11-01

    Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the immunomodulation caused by the aqueous leaf extract of T. diversifolia, resulting from the inhibition of phytohemagglutinin-M-induced PBMCs proliferation and LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Although the anti-oxidative activity was presented in the chemical-based anti-oxidant assay, the extract cannot protect cell death from stress conditions.

  16. Quantification of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and soluble microbial product (SMP) production by a modified AOB-NOB-N2O-SMP model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, MinJeong; Wu, Guangxue; Yoo, ChangKyoo

    2017-03-01

    A modified AOB-NOB-N 2 O-SMP model able to quantify nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions and soluble microbial product (SMP) production during wastewater treatment is proposed. The modified AOB-NOB-N 2 O-SMP model takes into account: (1) two-step nitrification by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), (2) N 2 O production by AOB denitrification under oxygen-limited conditions and (3) SMP production by microbial growth and endogenous respiration. Validity of the modified model is demonstrated by comparing the simulation results with experimental data from lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). To reliably implement the modified model, a model calibration that adjusts model parameters to fit the model outputs to the experimental data is conducted. The results of this study showed that the modeling accuracy of the modified AOB-NOB-N 2 O-SMP model increases by 19.7% (NH 4 ), 51.0% (NO 2 ), 57.8% (N 2 O) and 16.7% (SMP) compared to the conventional model which does not consider the two-step nitrification and SMP production by microbial endogenous respiration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Photoelectrocatalytic Glucose Oxidation to Promote Hydrogen Production over Periodically Ordered TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Assembled of Pd Quantum Dots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yajun; Zhao, Guohua; Shi, Huijie; Zhang, Ya-nan; Huang, Wenna; Huang, Xiaofeng; Wu, Zhongyi

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Solar-driven PEC glucose oxidation to promote hydrogen production was presented. • The excellent PEC activity of Pd QDs@TNTAs was investigated. • The rate of hydrogen production from glucose was about 15 times than water. • A low-cost and efficient method in renewables-to-hydrogen conversion was put forward. - Abstract: The development of highly efficient and low-cost approaches for catalytic hydrogen production from renewable energy is of tremendous importance for a truly sustainable hydrogen-based energy carrier in future life. Herein, the probability of utilizing solar light to product hydrogen from biomass derivative, glucose, was systematically demonstrated by using the periodically ordered TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) assembled of Palladium quantum dots (Pd QDs), i.e. Pd QDs@ TNTAs as photoanode. The results showed that remarkably increased photocurrent density was obtained in the glucose solution compared to the pure KOH electrolyte over as-prepared photoelectrode, which indicated that the glucose could be faster oxidized than water oxidation, and thus could promote the hydrogen production on Pt cathode. The yield of hydrogen production from glucose oxidation reached as high as 164.8 μmol cm −1 over Pd QDs@TNTAs photoanode and Pt cathode system (denoted as Pd QDs@TNTAs/Pt) under the solar light irradiation for 6 h, which was about 15 times higher than that from pure water splitting. The superior hydrogen production performance could be attributed to the less endergonic process of the glucose oxidation than water, as well as the efficient synergistic photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) glucose oxidation over Pd QDs@TNTAs photoanode which possesses excellent photoelectrochemical performance and structure characteristics. Moreover, a probable mechanism for the PEC hydrogen production from biomass derivatives oxidation was proposed and discussed

  18. Intacting Integrity in coping with health issues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Stine Leegaard; Bastrup Jørgensen, Lene; Fridlund, Bengt

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a formal substantive theory (FST) on the multidimensional behavioral process of coping with health issues. Intacting integrity while coping with health issues emerged as the core category of this FST. People facing health issues strive to safeguard and keep...

  19. Insulin degradation products from perfused rat kidney

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duckworth, W.C.; Hamel, F.G.; Liepnieks, J.; Peavy, D.; Frank, B.; Rabkin, R.

    1989-01-01

    The kidney is a major site for insulin metabolism, but the enzymes involved and the products generated have not been established. To examine the products, we have perfused rat kidneys with insulin specifically iodinated on either the A14 or the B26 tyrosine. Labeled material from both the perfusate and kidney extract was examined by Sephadex G50 and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In perfusate from a filtering kidney, 22% of the insulin-sized material was not intact insulin on HPLC. With the nonfiltering kidney, 10.6% was not intact insulin. Labeled material from HPLC was sulfitolyzed and reinjected on HPLC. By use of 125 I-iodo(A14)-insulin, almost all the degradation products contained an intact A-chain. By use of 125 I-iodo(B26)-insulin, several different B-chain-cleaved products were obtained. The material extracted from the perfused kidney was different from perfusate products but similar to intracellular products from hepatocytes, suggesting that cellular metabolism by kidney and liver are similar. The major intracellular product had characteristics consistent with a cleavage between the B16 and B17 amino acids. This product and several of the perfusate products are also produced by insulin protease suggesting that this enzyme is involved in the degradation of insulin by kidney

  20. Visual speech alters the discrimination and identification of non-intact auditory speech in children with hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F; McAlpine, Rachel P; Abdi, Hervé

    2017-03-01

    Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/-B/aa or/-B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread/B/or difficult-to-speechread/G/onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/-B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same-as opposed to different-responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g.,/-B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz-as opposed to az- responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Performance in the audiovisual mode showed more same

  1. Visual Speech Alters the Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children with Hearing Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Hervé

    2017-01-01

    Objectives Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Methods Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/–B/aa or /–B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread /B/ or difficult-to-speechread /G/ onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/–B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same—as opposed to different—responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g., /–B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz—as opposed to az— responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Results

  2. The Effect of Buckwheat Hull Extract on Lipid Oxidation in Frozen-Stored Meat Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hęś, Marzanna; Szwengiel, Artur; Dziedzic, Krzysztof; Le Thanh-Blicharz, Joanna; Kmiecik, Dominik; Górecka, Danuta

    2017-04-01

    This study investigated the effect of antioxidants on lipid stability of frozen-stored meat products. Buckwheat hull extract was used to enrich fried meatballs made from ground pork. During 180-d storage of meat products, lipid oxidation (peroxide and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS] value) was periodically monitored. The results were compared with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The addition of antioxidants decreased lipid oxidation in stored meatballs. The highest ability to control peroxide and TBARS values was demonstrated for buckwheat hull extract. Moreover, buckwheat hull extract showed a higher 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity as well as higher Fe(II) ion chelating ability, as compared with BHT. The total content of phenolic compounds are highly correlated to the individual polyphenols in extract of buckwheat hull, among which the following were assayed: 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, isovanillic acid and p-coumaric acid, and flavonoids: isoorientin, quercetin, quercetin 3-d-glucoside, rutin, and vitexin. These results indicate that plant extracts can be used to prolong shelf life of products by protecting them against lipid oxidation and deterioration of their nutritional quality. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  3. Nitric oxide-dependent vasorelaxation induced by extractive solutions and fractions of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart ex Reissek (Celastraceae) leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattmann, Yanna D; Cipriani, Thales R; Sassaki, Guilherme L; Iacomini, Marcello; Rieck, Lia; Marques, Maria C A; da Silva-Santos, José E

    2006-04-06

    This study reveals that an ethanolic supernatant obtained from an aqueous extractive solution prepared from residues of methanolic extracts of ground leaves of Maytenus ilicifolia is able to cause a concentration- and endothelium-dependent relaxation in pre-contract rat aorta rings, with EC(50) of 199.7 (190-210) microg/ml. The non-selective nitric oxide synthase inhibitors l-NAME and l-NMMA abolished this effect, while superoxide dismutase and MnTBAP (a non-enzymatic superoxide dismutase mimetic) enhanced it. Further, relaxation induced by this ethanolic supernatant have been strongly inhibited by the guanylate cyclase inhibitors methylene blue and ODQ, as well as by the potassium channel blockers 4-aminopyridine and tetraethylammonium, but was unchanged by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin and the membrane receptor antagonists atropine, HOE-140 and pirilamine. Partition of the ethanolic supernatant between H(2)O and EtOAc generated a fraction several times more potent, able to fully relax endothelium-intact aorta rings with an EC(50) of 4.3 (3.9-4.8) microg/ml. (13)C NMR spectrum of this fraction showed signals typical of catechin. This study reveals that the leaves of M. ilicifolia possess one or more potent substances able to relax endothelium-intact rat aorta rings, an event that appears to involve nitric oxide production, guanylate cyclase activation and potassium channel opening.

  4. AMMONIA REMOVAL AND NITROUS OXIDE PRODUCTION IN GAS-PHASE COMPOST BIOFILTERS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biofiltration technology is widely utilized for treating ammonia gas (NH3), with one of its potential detrimental by-products being nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas approximately 300 times more reactive to infrared than CO2. The present work intends to provide the relation between NH3 removal d...

  5. 2-Methoxyestradiol Reduces Angiotensin II-Induced Hypertension and Renal Dysfunction in Ovariectomized Female and Intact Male Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pingili, Ajeeth K; Davidge, Karen N; Thirunavukkarasu, Shyamala; Khan, Nayaab S; Katsurada, Akemi; Majid, Dewan S A; Gonzalez, Frank J; Navar, L Gabriel; Malik, Kafait U

    2017-06-01

    Cytochrome P450 1B1 protects against angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension and associated cardiovascular changes in female mice, most likely via production of 2-methoxyestradiol. This study was conducted to determine whether 2-methoxyestradiol ameliorates Ang II-induced hypertension, renal dysfunction, and end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- , ovariectomized female, and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. Ang II or vehicle was infused for 2 weeks and administered concurrently with 2-methoxyestradiol. Mice were placed in metabolic cages on day 12 of Ang II infusion for urine collection for 24 hours. 2-Methoxyestradiol reduced Ang II-induced increases in systolic blood pressure, water consumption, urine output, and proteinuria in intact female Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized mice. 2-Methoxyestradiol also reduced Ang II-induced increase in blood pressure, water intake, urine output, and proteinuria in Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. Treatment with 2-methoxyestradiol attenuated Ang II-induced end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. 2-Methoxyestradiol mitigated Ang II-induced increase in urinary excretion of angiotensinogen in intact Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice but not in Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 antagonist G-15 failed to alter Ang II-induced increases in blood pressure and renal function in Cyp1b1 +/+ female mice. These data suggest that 2-methoxyestradiol reduces Ang II-induced hypertension and associated end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- , ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice, and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice independent of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1. Therefore, 2-methoxyestradiol could serve as a therapeutic agent for treating hypertension and associated pathogenesis in postmenopausal females, and in males. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  6. Uranium oxidation: characterization of oxides formed by reaction with water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuller, E.L. Jr.; Smyrl, N.R.; Condon, J.B.; Eager, M.H.

    1983-01-01

    Three different uranium oxide samples have been characterized with respect to the different preparation techniques. Results show that the water reaction with uranium metal occurs cyclically forming laminar layers of oxide which spall off due to the strain at the oxide/metal interface. Single laminae are released if liquid water is present due to the prizing penetration at the reaction zone. The rate of reaction of water with uranium is directly proportional to the amount of adsorbed water on the oxide product. Rapid transport is effected through the open hydrous oxide product. Dehydration of the hydrous oxide irreversibly forms a more inert oxide which cannot be rehydrated to the degree that prevails in the original hydrous product of uranium oxidation with water. 27 figures

  7. Impact of green tea extract addition on oxidative changes in the lipid fraction of pastry products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Żbikowska, Anna; Kowalska, Małgorzata; Rutkowska, Jarosława; Kozłowska, Mariola; Onacik-Gür, Sylwia

    2017-01-01

    Alongside flour, fat is the key ingredient of sponge cakes, including those with long shelf lives. It is an unstable food component, whose quality and nutritional safety depend on the composition and pres- ence of oxidation products. Consumption of fat oxidation products adversely affects the human body and contributes to the incidence of a number of medical conditions. Qualitative changes in fats extracted from thermostat sponge cakes with and without antioxidant additions were determined in this study. In the study, two types of antioxidant were used: natural - green tea extract in three doses (0.02%; 0.2% and 1.0%) and synthetic BHA (0.02%) and 100%, solid bakery shortening. Sponge-cakes were thermostatted at temperatures 63°C after twenty-eight days. In this study, the quality of the lipid fraction was analyzed. The amount of primary (PV) and secondary (AnV) oxidation products was determined, and   a Rancimat test was performed. Adding antioxidants to fats varied in the degree to which oxidation processes of lipids fractions were inhibited. The peroxide value after twenty-eight days of thermostatting ranged from 3.57 meq O/kg (BHA) and 11.14 O meq/kg (extract content - 1%) to 62.85 meq O/kg (control sample). In turn, the value of AnV after the storage period ranged from 4.84 (BHA) and 6.71 (extract content - 1%) to 16.83 (control sample). The best protective effects in the process of oxidation was achieved by BHA. The longest in- duction time and the lowest peroxide value and anisidine value were obtained for this antioxidant. It was achieved after twenty-eight days of fat thermostatting. Nonetheless, the results demonstrated it is possible to use the commercially available green tea extract to slow the adverse process of fat oxidation in sponge cake products.

  8. Real-time visualization of oxidative stress in a floating macrophyte Lemna minor L. exposed to cadmium, copper, menadione, and AAPH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razinger, Jaka; Drinovec, Luka; Zrimec, Alexis

    2010-12-01

    An ultra-sensitive digital imaging system was employed to visualize oxidative stress in intact L. minor plants exposed to Cd, Cu, menadione, AAPH, and ascorbate in real time. The increase of ROS production was assessed by measuring the rate of fluorescence intensity increases of the test medium supplemented with a fluorescing probe (dichlorofluorescein diacetate). The addition of 100 μM CdCl₂ or 100 μM CuSO₄ to the growth medium resulted in a significant increase of medium fluorescence. Additionally, CuSO₄ caused a significantly higher fluorescence intensity than CdCl₂ did. A strong positive correlation (R² = 0.99) between menadione concentration and fluorescence intensity was observed. The positive correlation between AAPH concentration and fluorescence intensity was not as strong as in the case of menadione (R² = 0.81). Menadione induced a stronger oxidative stress than similar concentration of AAPH. The addition of 100 μM ascorbate to L. minor treated with 50 μM menadione significantly reduced the fluorescence intensity increase. A linear trend of the fluorescence increase was observed in all treatments, indicating that chemical-induced oxidative stress is a gradual process and that the applied concentrations of the chemicals caused a constant increased production of ROS with different intensities, depending on the treatment. This is the combined result of a gradual diminishing of antioxidant reserves and accumulating oxidative damage. The observed rates of ROS production were slower than those in the studies using cell cultures. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Performance of intact and castrated beef cattle in an intensive croppasture rotation system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tercilio Turini

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This research had as objective to evaluate the performance of intact or castrated beef cattle in a croppasture rotation system. The experiment was conducted during 2004 and 2005, and carried out at the Cooperativa Agropecuária Mourãoense (COAMO Experimental Farm, in Campo Mourão city, Paraná state. It was used a completely randomized design, with two treatments, intact or castrated. Forty ½Angus+½Nelore crossbred animals, with average age of nine months, were used. Half of the animals were castrated at weaning, and the other half was kept intact. Pasture was composed of two areas. The winter field, established after soybean crop, was composed by a mixture of black oat (Avena strigosa and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiforum. The summer field was composed by stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis and Mombaça grass (Panicum maximum. During the winter time it was used a continues grazing system, with regulator animals (put and take, and during the summer an intensive rotational system, with regulator animals and fixed grazing period. Intact animals presented higher average daily weight gain (0.907 vs 0.698 kg, slaughter weight (490.9 vs 442.2 kg, and hot carcass weight (250.2 vs 232.6 kg. Slaughter age was influenced by sexual condition, being lesser in the intact animals. Carcass dressing percentage was similar for the groups. Castrated animals showed better finishing fat cover and backfat thickness (3.45 vs 2.70 mm compared to intact ones. Therefore, it can be concluded that intact animals presents better performance than castrated ones when finished in an intensive crop-pasture rotation system, however, they may not present the minimum required fat cover, when slaughter at young ages.

  10. Some observations on the high temperature oxidation behaviour of plasma sprayed Ni3Al coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, H.; Prakash, S.; Puri, D.

    2007-01-01

    High temperature oxidation resistance of the superalloys can be greatly enhanced by plasma sprayed coatings and this is a growing industry of considerable economic importance. The purpose of these coatings is to form long-lasting oxidation protective scales. In the current investigation, Ni 3 Al powder was prepared by mechanical mixing of pure nickel and aluminium powders in a ball mill. Subsequently Ni 3 Al powder was deposited on three Ni-base superalloys: Superni 600, Superni 601 and Superni 718 and, one Fe-base superalloy, Superfer 800H by shrouded plasma spray process. Oxidation studies were conducted on the coated superalloys in air at 900 deg. C under cyclic conditions for 50 cycles. Each cycle consisted of 1 h heating followed by 20 min of cooling in air. The thermogravimetric technique was used to approximate the kinetics of oxidation. All the coated superalloys nearly followed parabolic rate law of oxidation. X-ray diffraction, SEM/EDAX and EPMA techniques were used to analyse the oxidation products. The Ni 3 Al coating was found to be successful in maintaining its adherence to the superalloy substrates in all the cases. The oxide scales formed on the oxidised coated superalloys were found to be intact and spallation-free. XRD analysis revealed the presence of phases like NiO, Al 2 O 3 and NiAl 2 O 4 in the oxide scales, which are reported as protective oxides against high temperature oxidation. The XRD results were further supported by SEM/EDAX and EPMA

  11. Study of the production of zirconium tetrachloride by chlorination of its oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, E.S.M.

    1983-01-01

    The studies carried out on the production of zirconium tetrachloride by chlorination of pure zirconium oxide with carbon tetrachloride and chlorine in the presence of carbon. In the process of chlorination with carbon tetrachloride, the chlorination efficiency increases with the rise in temperature at intervals between 450 and 750 0 C. The flow of the carbon tetrachloride vapour was 1.50l/min. Higher temperatures of 700 to 850 0 C were used for the zirconium oxide chlorination in the presence of carbon, and the flowrate of the chlorine gas used in the process was 0.50 l/min. Pure zirconium oxide chlorination as well as zirconium oxide - carbon misture chlorination have been studied in connection with the time of reaction at different temperatures and the apparent rate constant, the activation energies, the order of reaction in relation to the concentration of the gases (CCl 4 and Cl 2 ) and the content of carbon in the pellet have all been determined. (Author) [pt

  12. Cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane: histopathologic evidence for a tympanic membrane origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhoff, H; Linthicum, F H

    2001-07-01

    Several theories have been proposed with respect to the origin and pathogenesis of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane. The authors describe a case of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane in a 71-year-old man with a history of tympanic membrane retraction fixed to the incus without evidence of a perforation. The membrane eventually became detached, and remnants of keratinizing squamous epithelium were found on the incus. Mechanisms such as metaplasia, ectopic epidermis rests, or ingrowth of meatal epidermis have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane. These findings, based on temporal bone histopathology, support the role of an acquired epidermal rest. This case report provides evidence that cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane can be established from a resolved retraction of the pars tensa of the tympanic membrane.

  13. The Multilevel Mixed Intact Group Analysis: A Mixed Method to Seek, Detect, Describe, and Explain Differences Among Intact Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoonenboom, Judith

    2016-01-01

    Educational innovations often involve intact subgroups, such as school classes or university departments. In small-scale educational evaluation research, typically involving 1 to 20 subgroups, differences among these subgroups are often neglected. This article presents a mixed method from a qualitative perspective, in which differences among…

  14. Structural determination of intact proteins using mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruppa, Gary [San Francisco, CA; Schoeniger, Joseph S [Oakland, CA; Young, Malin M [Livermore, CA

    2008-05-06

    The present invention relates to novel methods of determining the sequence and structure of proteins. Specifically, the present invention allows for the analysis of intact proteins within a mass spectrometer. Therefore, preparatory separations need not be performed prior to introducing a protein sample into the mass spectrometer. Also disclosed herein are new instrumental developments for enhancing the signal from the desired modified proteins, methods for producing controlled protein fragments in the mass spectrometer, eliminating complex microseparations, and protein preparatory chemical steps necessary for cross-linking based protein structure determination.Additionally, the preferred method of the present invention involves the determination of protein structures utilizing a top-down analysis of protein structures to search for covalent modifications. In the preferred method, intact proteins are ionized and fragmented within the mass spectrometer.

  15. Release of fission products during and after oxidation of trace-irradiated uranium dioxide at 300-900 deg. C

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, P; Bannister, G H [Central Electricity Generating Board, Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories (United Kingdom)

    1985-07-01

    Should defected UO{sub 2} fuel pins come into contact with air then oxidation of the fuel may occur, the rate and consequences of which are dependent upon temperature and oxygen partial pressure. At CEGB-BNL an experimental programme is underway investigating the kinetics, and extent, of release of fission products during and after oxidation of trace-irradiated UO{sub 2} to U{sub 3}O{sub 8}, and reduction of U{sub 3}O{sub 8} to UO{sub 2}. This paper presents preliminary results and analysis of experiments performed at 300-900 deg. C. Dense sintered UO{sub 2} has been oxidised at 300-500 deg. C using a thermo balance with simultaneous counting of released {sup 85}Kr. The kinetics of the {sup 85}Kr release are shown to correlate with the kinetics of oxidation, and the extent of release has been determined as 3-8% of that in the UO{sub 2} converted to U{sub 3}O{sub 8}. The release of {sup 106}Ru and {sup 137}Cs during this oxidation has been estimated by {gamma}-counting of the fuel sample, before and after oxidation, and of glassware in the vicinity of the sample. This indicates slight release of ruthenium and caesium. Greater fission product release is caused by oxidation at higher temperatures or by heating of the oxidation product. U{sub 3}O{sub 8} produced at 400 deg. C has been heated at 800 and 900 deg. C in air for 20 hours. This results in near total release of {sup 85}Kr and {sup 106}Ru, but still only slight release of {sup 137}Cs. The kinetics of the {sup 85}Kr release have been analysed and found to follow the Booth diffusion equation at 900 deg. C, but not at 800 deg. C. The fuel burn-up level may also have an effect. Some results of fission product release during reduction of the oxidation product U{sub 3}O{sub 8} are presented, and the influence of chemical effects upon the release of individual fission products is discussed. The future programme is outlined. (author)

  16. How can we conserve intact tropical peatlands?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Ian; Roucoux, Katherine

    2017-04-01

    The scientific community has, for more than three decades, been expressing increasing alarm about the fate of peatlands in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive land-use conversion and drainage for rice and oil palm have greatly compromised peatland hydrology, ecology, biological richness, and carbon storage. The discourse in the literature on these peatlands is now moving on from attempts to preserve the last remaining fragments of peat-swamp forest, towards discussion of how best to restore damaged ecosystems, and whether it is possible to manage plantations more 'sustainably'. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that peatlands occur quite widely in other parts of the lowland tropics, including parts of Amazonia and the Congo Basin, and many of these peatlands can reasonably be described as 'intact': although few if any parts of the tropics are totally unaffected by human actions, the hydrology and functional ecology of these systems appear to be close to a 'natural' state. The question then arises as to what should be done with the knowledge of their existence. Here we analyse the arguments in favour of protecting intact peatlands, and the potential conflicts with other priorities such as economic development and social justice. We evaluate alternative mechanisms for protecting intact peatlands, focusing on the particular issues raised by peatlands as opposed to other kinds of tropical ecosystem. We identify ways in which natural science agendas can help to inform these arguments, using our own contributions in palaeoecology and carbon mapping as examples. Finally, we argue for a radical reconsideration of research agendas in tropical peatlands, highlighting the potential contribution of methodologies borrowed from the social sciences and humanities.

  17. Kinetics and mechanism of azo dye destruction in advanced oxidation processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wojnarovits, L.; Palfi, T.; Takacs, E.

    2007-01-01

    The kinetics and mechanism of dye destruction in advanced oxidation processes is discussed on the example of Apollofix Red (Ar-28) radiolysis in aqueous solution. When the reactive intermediate reacts with the color bearing part of the molecule causing with nearly 100% efficiency destruction of the conjugation, the dose dependence, or time dependence of color disappearance is linear. In this case, spectrophotometry can be used to follow-up dye decomposition. Linear dependence was observed when hydrated electrons or hydrogen atoms reacted with the dye. In hydroxyl radical reactions some colored products form with spectra similar to those of the starting dye molecules. For that reason, spectrophotometry gives false result about the intact dye molecule concentration. Analysis by the HPLC reveals logarithmic time dependence in agreement with a theoretical model developed

  18. Quantitative importance of the pentose phosphate pathway determined by incorporation of 13C from [2-13C]- and [3-13C]glucose into TCA cycle intermediates and neurotransmitter amino acids in functionally intact neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brekke, Eva M F; Walls, Anne B; Schousboe, Arne; Waagepetersen, Helle S; Sonnewald, Ursula

    2012-09-01

    The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative injury, and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) has been shown to be affected by pathological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. While this pathway has been investigated in the intact brain and in astrocytes, little is known about the PPP in neurons. The activity of the PPP was quantified in cultured cerebral cortical and cerebellar neurons after incubation in the presence of [2-(13)C]glucose or [3-(13)C]glucose. The activity of the PPP was several fold lower than glycolysis in both types of neurons. While metabolism of (13)C-labeled glucose via the PPP does not appear to contribute to the production of releasable lactate, it contributes to labeling of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates and related amino acids. Based on glutamate isotopomers, it was calculated that PPP activity accounts for ~6% of glucose metabolism in cortical neurons and ~4% in cerebellar neurons. This is the first demonstration that pyruvate generated from glucose via the PPP contributes to the synthesis of acetyl CoA for oxidation in the TCA cycle. Moreover, the fact that (13)C labeling from glucose is incorporated into glutamate proves that both the oxidative and the nonoxidative stages of the PPP are active in neurons.

  19. Determination of lipid oxidation products in vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rune Blomhoff

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Background : There is convincing evidence that replacing dietary saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats (PUFA decreases risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, PUFA rich foods such as vegetable oils, fatty fish, and marine omega-3 supplements are recommended. However, PUFA are easily oxidizable and there is concern about possible negative health effects from intake of oxidized lipids. Little is known about the degree of lipid oxidation in such products. Objective : To assess the content of lipid oxidation products in a large selection of vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements available in Norway. Both fresh and heated vegetable oils were studied. Design : A large selection of commercially available vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements was purchased from grocery stores, pharmacies, and health food stores in Norway. The content of lipid oxidation products were measured as peroxide value and alkenal concentration. Twelve different vegetable oils were heated for a temperature (225°C and time (25 minutes resembling conditions typically used during cooking. Results : The peroxide values were in the range 1.04–10.38 meq/kg for omega-3 supplements and in the range 0.60–5.33 meq/kg for fresh vegetable oils. The concentration range of alkenals was 158.23–932.19 nmol/mL for omega-3 supplements and 33.24–119.04 nmol/mL for vegetable oils. After heating, a 2.9–11.2 fold increase in alkenal concentration was observed for vegetable oils. Conclusions : The contents of hydroperoxides and alkenals in omega-3 supplements are higher than in vegetable oils. After heating vegetable oils, a large increase in alkenal concentration was observed.

  20. Feasibility in multispectral imaging for predicting the content of bioactive compounds in intact tomato fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Changhong; Liu, Wei; Chen, Wei; Yang, Jianbo; Zheng, Lei

    2015-04-15

    Tomato is an important health-stimulating fruit because of the antioxidant properties of its main bioactive compounds, dominantly lycopene and phenolic compounds. Nowadays, product differentiation in the fruit market requires an accurate evaluation of these value-added compounds. An experiment was conducted to simultaneously and non-destructively measure lycopene and phenolic compounds content in intact tomatoes using multispectral imaging combined with chemometric methods. Partial least squares (PLS), least squares-support vector machines (LS-SVM) and back propagation neural network (BPNN) were applied to develop quantitative models. Compared with PLS and LS-SVM, BPNN model considerably improved the performance with coefficient of determination in prediction (RP(2))=0.938 and 0.965, residual predictive deviation (RPD)=4.590 and 9.335 for lycopene and total phenolics content prediction, respectively. It is concluded that multispectral imaging is an attractive alternative to the standard methods for determination of bioactive compounds content in intact tomatoes, providing a useful platform for infield fruit sorting/grading. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Yttrium bismuth titanate pyrochlore mixed oxides for photocatalytic hydrogen production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merka, Oliver

    2012-10-18

    In this work, the sol-gel synthesis of new non-stoichiometric pyrochlore titanates and their application in photocatalytic hydrogen production is reported. Visible light response is achieved by introducing bismuth on the A site or by doping the B site by transition metal cations featuring partially filled d orbitals. This work clearly focusses on atomic scale structural changes induced by the systematical introduction of non-stoichiometry in pyrochlore mixed oxides and the resulting influence on the activity in photocatalytic hydrogen production. The materials were characterized in detail regarding their optical properties and their atomic structure. The pyrochlore structure tolerates tremendous stoichiometry variations. The non-stoichiometry in A{sub 2}O{sub 3} rich compositions is compensated by distortions in the cationic sub-lattice for the smaller Y{sup 3+} cation and by evolution of a secondary phase for the larger Bi{sup 3+} cation on the A site. For TiO{sub 2} rich compositions, the non-stoichiometry leads to a special vacancy formation in the A and optionally O' sites. It is shown that pyrochlore mixed oxides in the yttrium bismuth titanate system represent very active and promising materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production, if precisely and carefully tuned. Whereas Y{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} yields stable hydrogen production rates over time, the bismuth richer compounds of YBiTi{sub 2}O{sub 7} and Bi{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} are found to be not stable under irradiation. This drawback is overcome by applying a special co-catalyst system consisting of a precious metal core and a Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} shell on the photocatalysts.

  2. Low Temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides in Production of Nitric Acid by the Use of Liquid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kabljanac, Ž.

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the application of low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of nitrous oxides in the tail gas of the dual-pressure process of nitric acid production. The process of selective catalytic reduction is carried out using the TiO2/WO3 heterogeneous catalyst applied on a ceramic honeycomb structure with a high geometric surface area per volume. The process design parameters for nitric acid production by the dual-pressure procedure in a capacity range from 75 to 100 % in comparison with designed capacity for one production line is shown in the Table 1. Shown is the effectiveness of selective catalytic reduction in the temperature range of the tail gas from 180 to 230 °C with direct application of liquid ammonia, without prior evaporation to gaseous state. The results of inlet and outlet concentrations of nitrous oxides in the tail gas of the nitric acid production process are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 3 shows the temperature dependence of the selective catalytic reduction of nitrous oxides expressed as NO2in the tail gas of nitric acid production with the application of a constant mass flow of liquid ammonia of 13,0 kg h-1 and average inlet mass concentration of the nitrous oxides expressed as NO2of 800,0 mgm-3 during 100 % production capacity. The specially designed liquid-ammonia direct-dosing system along with the effective homogenization of the tail gas resulted in emission levels of nitrous oxides expressed as NO2 in tail gas ranging from 100,0 to 185,0 mg m-3. The applied low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of the nitrous oxides in the tail gases by direct use of liquid ammonia is shown in Figure 4. It is shown that low-temperature selective catalytic reduction with direct application of liquid ammonia opens a new opportunity in the reduction of nitrous oxide emissions during nitric acid production without the risk of dangerous ammonium nitrate occurring in the process of subsequent energy utilization of

  3. Production and analysis of ultradispersed uranium oxide powders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zajogin, A. P.; Komyak, A. I.; Umreiko, D. S.; Umreiko, S. D.

    2010-05-01

    Spectroscopic studies are made of the laser plasma formed near the surface of a porous body containing nanoquantities of uranium compounds which is irradiated by two successive laser pulses. The feasibility of using laser chemical methods for obtaining nanoclusters of uranium oxide particles in the volume of a porous body and the simultaneous possibility of determining the uranium content with good sensitivity are demonstrated. The thermochemical and spectral characteristics of the analogs of their compounds with chlorine are determined and studied. The possibility of producing uranium dioxides under ordinary conditions and their analysis in the reaction products is demonstrated.

  4. UVA Light-excited Kynurenines Oxidize Ascorbate and Modify Lens Proteins through the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linetsky, Mikhail; Raghavan, Cibin T.; Johar, Kaid; Fan, Xingjun; Monnier, Vincent M.; Vasavada, Abhay R.; Nagaraj, Ram H.

    2014-01-01

    Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contribute to lens protein pigmentation and cross-linking during aging and cataract formation. In vitro experiments have shown that ascorbate (ASC) oxidation products can form AGEs in proteins. However, the mechanisms of ASC oxidation and AGE formation in the human lens are poorly understood. Kynurenines are tryptophan oxidation products produced from the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-mediated kynurenine pathway and are present in the human lens. This study investigated the ability of UVA light-excited kynurenines to photooxidize ASC and to form AGEs in lens proteins. UVA light-excited kynurenines in both free and protein-bound forms rapidly oxidized ASC, and such oxidation occurred even in the absence of oxygen. High levels of GSH inhibited but did not completely block ASC oxidation. Upon UVA irradiation, pigmented proteins from human cataractous lenses also oxidized ASC. When exposed to UVA light (320–400 nm, 100 milliwatts/cm2, 45 min to 2 h), young human lenses (20–36 years), which contain high levels of free kynurenines, lost a significant portion of their ASC content and accumulated AGEs. A similar formation of AGEs was observed in UVA-irradiated lenses from human IDO/human sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2 mice, which contain high levels of kynurenines and ASC. Our data suggest that kynurenine-mediated ASC oxidation followed by AGE formation may be an important mechanism for lens aging and the development of senile cataracts in humans. PMID:24798334

  5. Production and release of acylcarnitines by primary myotubes reflect the differences in fasting fat oxidation of the donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Magnus; Chen, Shili; Zhao, Xinjie; Scheler, Mika; Irmler, Martin; Staiger, Harald; Beckers, Johannes; de Angelis, Martin Hrabé; Fritsche, Andreas; Häring, Hans-Ulrich; Schleicher, Erwin D; Xu, Guowang; Lehmann, Rainer; Weigert, Cora

    2013-06-01

    Acylcarnitines are biomarkers of incomplete β-oxidation and mitochondrial lipid overload but indicate also high rates of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. It is unknown whether the production of acylcarnitines in primary human myotubes obtained from lean, metabolically healthy subjects reflects the fat oxidation in vivo. Our objective was to quantify the acylcarnitine production in myotubes obtained from subjects with low and high fasting respiratory quotient (RQ). Fasting RQ was determined by indirect calorimetry. Muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle were taken from 6 subjects with low fasting RQ (mean 0.79 ± 0.03) and 6 with high fasting RQ (0.90 ± 0.03), and satellite cells were isolated, cultured, and differentiated to myotubes. Myotubes were cultivated with 125 μM (13)C-labeled palmitate for 30 minutes and 4 and 24 hours. Quantitative profiling of 42 intracellular and 31 extracellular acylcarnitines was performed by stable isotope dilution-based metabolomics analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Myotubes from donors with high fasting RQ produced and released significant higher amounts of medium-chain acylcarnitines. High (13)C8 and (13)C10 acylcarnitine levels in the extracellular compartment correlated with high fasting RQ. The decreased expression of medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) in these myotubes can explain the higher rate of incomplete fatty acid oxidation. A lower intracellular [(13)C]acetylcarnitine to carnitine and lower intracellular (13)C16/(13)C18 acylcarnitine to carnitine ratio indicate reduced fatty acid oxidation capacity in these myotubes. Mitochondrial DNA content was not different. Acylcarnitine production and release from primary human myotubes of donors with high fasting RQ indicate a reduced fatty acid oxidation capacity and a higher rate of incomplete fatty acid oxidation. Thus, quantitative profiling of acylcarnitine production in human myotubes can be a suitable tool to

  6. Formation of electrophilic oxidation products from mitochondrial cardiolipin in vitro and in vivo in the context of apoptosis and atherosclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiqin Zhong

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Emerging evidence indicates that mitochondrial cardiolipins (CL are prone to free radical oxidation and this process appears to be intimately associated with multiple biological functions of mitochondria. Our previous work demonstrated that a significant amount of potent lipid electrophiles including 4-hydroxy-nonenal (4-HNE was generated from CL oxidation through a novel chemical mechanism. Here we provide further evidence that a characteristic class of CL oxidation products, epoxyalcohol-aldehyde-CL (EAA-CL, is formed through this novel mechanism in isolated mice liver mitochondria when treated with the pro-apoptotic protein t-Bid to induce cyt c release. Generation of these oxidation products are dose-dependently attenuated by a peroxidase inhibitor acetaminophen (ApAP. Using a mouse model of atherosclerosis, we detected significant amount of these CL oxidation products in liver tissue of low density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR −/− mice after Western diet feeding. Our studies highlight the importance of lipid electrophiles formation from CL oxidation in the settings of apoptosis and atherosclerosis as inhibition of CL oxidation and lipid electrophiles formation may have potential therapeutic value in diseases linked to oxidant stress and mitochondrial dysfunctions.

  7. Condition of pro-oxidant and antioxidant systems in guinea pigs’ lungs under the condition of immobilization stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mykhailo Stepanovych Reheda

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We have investigated the results of alterations in indices of pro-oxidant (conjugated diene and malondialdehyde and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, ceruloplasmin, catalase systems in guinea pigs’ lungs  under the conditions of immobilization stress. The experiment was conducted on 40 female guinea pigs weighing 0.18-0.20 kg. The animals were divided into 4 groups, each contained 10 guinea pigs: I – intact guinea pigs ( control, II–guinea pigs with model of IS on1st day of experiment;Ш–animals on 2nd  day of experiment;IV- group of animals on 34th day of experimental model of IS. The results of our experimental work showed  a significant accumulation of lipid peroxidation products in the lung`s tissure in different periods ( on 1st, 2nd and 34th days of immobilization stress. The state of antioxidant defence was characterized by moderate decrease of inzymes activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase and ceruloplasmin. disorders of balance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant systems couse oxidative stress development.

  8. Effect of oxidation on the chemical nature and distribution of low-temperature pyrolysis products from bituminous coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furimsky, E.; MacPhee, J.A.; Vancea, L.; Ciavaglia, L.A.; Nandi, B.N.

    1983-04-01

    Two bituminous coals, a high volatile Eastern Canadian and a medium volatile Western Canadian, were used to investigate the effect of oxidation on yields and chemical composition of gases, liquids and chars produced during coal pyrolysis. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at 500 C using the Fischer assay method. Mild oxidation of coals resulted in a decrease of liquid hydrocarbon yields. Further coal oxidation increased the proportion of aromatic carbon in liquid products as determined by N.M.R. and also increased the content of oxygen in liquid products. The content of oxygen in chars was markedly lower than in corresponding coals. An attempt is made to explain reactions occurring during oxidation and subsequent pyrolysis of coal on the basis of differences in chemical composition of gases, liquids and chars. (19 refs.)

  9. Effect of oxidation on the chemical nature and distribution of low-temperature pyrolysis products from bituminous coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furimsky, E.; Ciavaglia, L.A.; MacPhee, J.A.; Nandi, B.N.; Vancea, L.

    1983-04-01

    Two bituminous coals, a high volatile Eastern Canadian and a medium volatile Western Canadian, were used to investigate the effect of oxidation on yields and chemical composition of gases, liquids and chars produced during coal pyrolysis. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at 500/sup 0/C using the Fischer assay method. Mild oxidation of coals resulted in a decrease of liquid hydrocarbon yields. Further coal oxidation increased the proportion of aromatic carbon in liquid products as determined by n.m.r., and also increased the content of oxygen in liquid products. The content of oxygen in chars was markedly lower than in corresponding coals. An attempt is made to explain reactions occurring during oxidation and subsequent pyrolysis of coal on the basis of differences in chemical composition of gases, liquids and chars.

  10. Effects of dissolved oxygen and pH on nitrous oxide production rates in autotrophic partial nitrification granules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathnayake, Rathnayake M L D; Oshiki, Mamoru; Ishii, Satoshi; Segawa, Takahiro; Satoh, Hisashi; Okabe, Satoshi

    2015-12-01

    The effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH on nitrous oxide (N2O) production rates and pathways in autotrophic partial nitrification (PN) granules were investigated at the granular level. N2O was primarily produced by betaproteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, mainly Nitrosomonas europaea, in the oxic surface layer (production increased with increasing bulk DO concentration owing to activation of the ammonia (i.e., hydroxylamine) oxidation in this layer. The highest N2O emissions were observed at pH 7.5, although the ammonia oxidation rate was unchanged between pH 6.5 and 8.5. Overall, the results of this study suggest that in situ analyses of PN granules are essential to gaining insight into N2O emission mechanisms in a granule. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Modeling Nitrous Oxide Production during Biological Nitrogen Removal via Nitrification and Denitrification: Extensions to the General ASM Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ni, Bing-Jie; Ruscalleda, Maël; Pellicer i Nàcher, Carles

    2011-01-01

    on N2O production from four different mixed culture nitrification and denitrification reactor study reports. Modeling results confirm that hydroxylamine oxidation by ammonium oxidizers (AOB) occurs 10 times slower when NO2– participates as final electron acceptor compared to the oxic pathway. Among......Nitrous oxide (N2O) can be formed during biological nitrogen (N) removal processes. In this work, a mathematical model is developed that describes N2O production and consumption during activated sludge nitrification and denitrification. The well-known ASM process models are extended to capture N2O...

  12. Production of nitrogen oxides in air pulse-periodic discharge with apokamp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panarin, Victor A.; Skakun, Victor S.; Sosnin, Eduard A.; Tarasenko, Victor F.

    2018-05-01

    The decomposition products of pulse-periodic discharge atmospheric pressure plasma in apokamp, diffuse and corona modes were determined by optical and chemical methods. It is shown that apokamp discharge formation starts at a critical value of dissipation power in a discharge channel. Simultaneously, due to the thermochemical reactions, plasma starts to efficiently produce nitrogen oxides.

  13. GAMMA RADIATION INTERACTS WITH MELANIN TO ALTER ITS OXIDATION-REDUCTION POTENTIAL AND RESULTS IN ELECTRIC CURRENT PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turick, C.; Ekechukwu, A.; Milliken, C.

    2011-05-17

    The presence of melanin pigments in organisms is implicated in radioprotection and in some cases, enhanced growth in the presence of high levels of ionizing radiation. An understanding of this phenomenon will be useful in the design of radioprotective materials. However, the protective mechanism of microbial melanin in ionizing radiation fields has not yet been elucidated. Here we demonstrate through the electrochemical techniques of chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry and cyclic voltammetry that microbial melanin is continuously oxidized in the presence of gamma radiation. Our findings establish that ionizing radiation interacts with melanin to alter its oxidation-reduction potential. Sustained oxidation resulted in electric current production and was most pronounced in the presence of a reductant, which extended the redox cycling capacity of melanin. This work is the first to establish that gamma radiation alters the oxidation-reduction behavior of melanin, resulting in electric current production. The significance of the work is that it provides the first step in understanding the initial interactions between melanin and ionizing radiation taking place and offers some insight for production of biomimetic radioprotective materials.

  14. Suppression of grasshopper sound production by nitric oxide-releasing neurons of the central complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinrich, Anja; Kunst, Michael; Wirmer, Andrea; Holstein, Gay R.

    2008-01-01

    The central complex of acridid grasshoppers integrates sensory information pertinent to reproduction-related acoustic communication. Activation of nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic GMP-signaling by injection of NO donors into the central complex of restrained Chorthippus biguttulus females suppresses muscarine-stimulated sound production. In contrast, sound production is released by aminoguanidine (AG)-mediated inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the central body, suggesting a basal release of NO that suppresses singing in this situation. Using anti-citrulline immunocytochemistry to detect recent NO production, subtypes of columnar neurons with somata located in the pars intercerebralis and tangential neurons with somata in the ventro-median protocerebrum were distinctly labeled. Their arborizations in the central body upper division overlap with expression patterns for NOS and with the site of injection where NO donors suppress sound production. Systemic application of AG increases the responsiveness of unrestrained females to male calling songs. Identical treatment with the NOS inhibitor that increased male song-stimulated sound production in females induced a marked reduction of citrulline accumulation in central complex columnar and tangential neurons. We conclude that behavioral situations that are unfavorable for sound production (like being restrained) activate NOS-expressing central body neurons to release NO and elevate the behavioral threshold for sound production in female grasshoppers. PMID:18574586

  15. Levofloxacin oxidation by ozone and hydroxyl radicals: kinetic study, transformation products and toxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdi El Najjar, Nasma; Touffet, Arnaud; Deborde, Marie; Journel, Romain; Leitner, Nathalie Karpel Vel

    2013-10-01

    This work was carried out to investigate the fate of the antibiotic levofloxacin upon oxidation with ozone and hydroxyl radicals. A kinetic study was conducted at 20 °C for each oxidant. Ozonation experiments were performed using a competitive kinetic method with carbamazepin as competitor. Significant levofloxacin removal was observed during ozonation and a rate constant value of 6.0×10(4) M(-1) s(-1) was obtained at pH 7.2. An H2O2/UV system was used for the formation of hydroxyl radicals HO. The rate constant of HO was determined in the presence of a high H2O2 concentration. The kinetic expressions yielded a [Formula: see text] value of 4.5×10(9) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 6.0 and 5.2×10(9) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.2. These results were used to develop a model to predict the efficacy of the ozonation process and pharmaceutical removal was estimated under different ozonation conditions (i.e. oxidant concentrations and contact times). The results showed that levofloxacin was completely degraded by molecular ozone during ozonation of water and that hydroxyl radicals had no effect in real waters conditions. Moreover, LC/MS/MS and toxicity assays using Lumistox test were performed to identify ozonation transformation products. Under these conditions, four transformation products were observed and their chemical structures were proposed. The results showed an increase in toxicity during ozonation, even after degradation of all of the observed transformation products. The formation of other transformation products not identified under our experimental conditions could be responsible for the observed toxicity. These products might be ozone-resistant and more toxic to Vibrio fisheri than levofloxacin. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Palm H-FAME Production through Partially Hydrogenation using Nickel/Carbon Catalyst to Increase Oxidation Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramayeni Elsa

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the methods to improve the oxidation stability of palm biodiesel is through partially hydrogenation. The production using Nickel/Carbon catalyst to speed up the reaction rate. Product is called Palm H-FAME (Hydrogenated FAME. Partial hydrogenation breaks the unsaturated bond on FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, which is a key component of the determination of oxidative properties. Changes in FAME composition by partial hydrogenation are predicted to change the oxidation stability so it does not cause deposits that can damage the injection system of diesel engine, pump system, and storage tank. Partial hydrogenation is carried out under operating conditions of 120 °C and 6 bar with 100:1, 100:3, 100:5, 100:10 % wt catalyst in the stirred batch autoclave reactor. H-FAME synthesis with 100:5 % wt Ni/C catalyst can decrease the iodine number which is the empirical measure of the number of unsaturated bonds from 91.78 to 82.38 (g-I2/100 g with an increase of oxidation stability from 585 to 602 minutes.

  17. Hydrogen production through high-temperature electrolysis in a solid oxide cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herring, J.St.; Lessing, P.; O'Brien, J.E.; Stoots, C.; Hartvigsen, J.; Elangovan, S.

    2004-01-01

    An experimental research programme is being conducted by the INEEL and Ceramatec, Inc., to test the high-temperature, electrolytic production of hydrogen from steam using a solid oxide cell. The research team is designing and testing solid oxide cells for operation in the electrolysis mode, producing hydrogen rising a high-temperature heat and electrical energy. The high-temperature heat and the electrical power would be supplied simultaneously by a high-temperature nuclear reactor. Operation at high temperature reduces the electrical energy requirement for electrolysis and also increases the thermal efficiency of the power-generating cycle. The high-temperature electrolysis process will utilize heat from a specialized secondary loop carrying a steam/hydrogen mixture. It is expected that, through the combination of a high-temperature reactor and high-temperature electrolysis, the process will achieve an overall thermal conversion efficiency of 40 to 50%o while avoiding the challenging chemistry and corrosion issues associated with the thermochemical processes. Planar solid oxide cell technology is being utilised because it has the best potential for high efficiency due to minimized voltage and current losses. These losses also decrease with increasing temperature. Initial testing has determined the performance of single 'button' cells. Subsequent testing will investigate the performance of multiple-cell stacks operating in the electrolysis mode. Testing is being performed both at Ceramatec and at INEEL. The first cells to be tested were single cells based on existing materials and fabrication technology developed at Ceramatec for production of solid oxide fuel cells. These cells use a relatively thick (∼ 175 μm) electrolyte of yttria- or scandia-stabilised zirconia, with nickel-zirconia cermet anodes and strontium-doped lanthanum manganite cathodes. Additional custom cells with lanthanum gallate electrolyte have been developed and tested. Results to date have

  18. Characterization of the limonene oxidation products with liquid chromatography coupled to the tandem mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witkowski, Bartłomiej; Gierczak, Tomasz

    2017-04-01

    Composition of the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) generated during ozonolysis of limonene was investigated with liquid chromatography coupled to the negative electrospray ionization (ESI), quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) as well as high resolution Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry. Aerosol was generated in the flow-tube reactor. HR-MS/MS analysis allowed for proposing structures for the several up-to-date unknown limonene oxidation products. In addition to the low MW limonene oxidation products, significant quantities of oligomers characterized by elemental compositions: C19H30O5, C18H28O6, C19H28O7, C19H30O7 and C20H34O9 were detected in the SOA samples. It was concluded that these compounds are most likely esters, aldol reaction products and/or hemiacetals. In addition to detailed study of the limonene oxidation products, the reaction time as well as initial ozone concentration impact on the limonene SOA composition was investigated. The relative intensities of the two esters of the limonic acid and 7-hydroxy limononic acid increased as a result of lowering the initial ozone concentration and shortening the reaction time, indicating that esterification may be an important oligomerization pathway during limonene SOA formation.

  19. Oxidative stability during storage of fish oil from filleting by-products of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is largely independent of the processing and production temperature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Honold, Philipp; Nouard, Marie-Louise; Jacobsen, Charlotte

    2016-01-01

    Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is the main fish species produced in Danish fresh water farming. Large amounts of fileting by-products like heads, bones, tails (HBT), and intestines are produced when rainbow trout is processed to smoked rainbow trout filets. The filleting by-products can...... be used to produce high quality fish oil. In this study, the oxidative stability of fish oil produced from filleting by-products was evaluated. The oil was produced from conventional or organic fish (low and high omega-3 fatty acid content) at different temperatures (70 and 90°C). The oxidative stability...

  20. (Photosynthesis in intact plants)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-01-01

    Progress in the two years since the last renewal application has been excellent. We have made substantial contributions on both main fronts of the projects, and are particularly happy with the progress of our research on intact plants. The approach of basing our field work on a sound foundation of laboratory studies has enabled is to use methods which provide unambiguous assays of well characterized reactions. We have also made excellent progress in several laboratory studies which will have direct applications in future field work, and have introduced to the laboratory a range of molecular genetics techniques which will allow us to explore new options in the attempt to understand function at the level of molecular structure.

  1. Serum Advanced Oxidation Protein Products in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Possible Markers of Diagnostic Significance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abhishek Singh Nayyar

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to measure the concentrations (levels ofserum total proteins and advanced oxidation protein products as markers of oxidantmediated protein damage in the sera of patients with oral cancers.Methods: The study consisted of the sera analyses of serum total protein andadvanced oxidation protein products’ levels in 30 age and sex matched controls, 60patients with reported pre-cancerous lesions and/or conditions and 60 patients withhistologically proven oral squamous cell carcinoma. One way analyses of variance wereused to test the difference between groups. To determine which of the two groups’ meanswere significantly different, the post-hoc test of Bonferroni was used. The results wereaveraged as mean ± standard deviation. In the above test, P values less than 0.05 weretaken to be statistically significant. The normality of data was checked before thestatistical analysis was performed.Results: The study revealed statistically significant variations in serum levels ofadvanced oxidation protein products (P<0.001. Serum levels of total protein showedextensive variations; therefore the results were largely inconclusive and statisticallyinsignificant.Conclusion: The results emphasize the need for more studies with larger samplesizes to be conducted before a conclusive role can be determined for sera levels of totalprotein and advanced oxidation protein products as markers both for diagnosticsignificance and the transition from the various oral pre-cancerous lesions and conditionsinto frank oral cancers.

  2. Preparation and use of nitrogen (2) oxide of special purity for production of oxygen and nitrogen isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polevoj, A.S.

    1989-01-01

    Problems related with production of oxygen and nitrogen isotopes by means of low-temperature rectification of nitrogen (2) oxide are analyzed. Special attention, in particular, is payed to the techniques of synthesis and high purification of initial NO, utilization of waste flows formed during isotope separation. Ways to affect the initial isotope composition of nitrogen oxide and the rate of its homogeneous-isotope exchange, which provide for possibility of simultaneous production of oxygen and nitrogen isotopes by means of NO rectification, are considered. Description of a new technique for high purification of nitrogen oxide, prepared at decomposition of nitric acid by sulfurous anhydride, suggested by the author is presented

  3. Rain increases methane production and methane oxidation in a boreal thermokarst bog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, R. B.; Moorberg, C.; Turner, J.; Wong, A.; Waldrop, M. P.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Edgar, C.; Turetsky, M. R.

    2017-12-01

    Bottom-up biogeochemical models of wetland methane emissions simulate the response of methane production, oxidation and transport to wetland conditions and environmental forcings. One reason for mismatches between bottom-up and top-down estimates of emissions is incomplete knowledge of factors and processes that control microbial rates and methane transport. To advance mechanistic understanding of wetland methane emissions, we conducted a multi-year field investigation and plant manipulation experiment in a thermokarst bog located near Fairbanks, Alaska. The edge of the bog is experiencing active permafrost thaw, while the center of the bog thawed 50 to 100 years ago. Our study, which captured both an average year and two of the wettest years on record, revealed how rain interacts with vascular vegetation and recently thawed permafrost to affect methane emissions. In the floating bog, rain water warmed and oxygenated the subsurface, but did not alter soil saturation. The warmer peat temperatures increased both microbial methane production and plant productivity at the edge of the bog near the actively thawing margin, but minimally altered microbial and plant activity in the center of the bog. These responses indicate processes at the edge of the bog were temperature limited while those in the center were not. The compounding effect of increased microbial activity and plant productivity at the edge of the bog doubled methane emissions from treatments with vascular vegetation during rainy years. In contrast, methane emissions from vegetated treatments in the center of the bog did not change with rain. The oxygenating influence of rain facilitated greater methane oxidation in treatments without vascular vegetation, which offset warming-induced increases in methane production at the edge of the bog and decreased methane emissions in the center of the bog. These results elucidate the complex and spatially variable response of methane production and oxidation in

  4. Does human leukocyte elastase degrade intact skin elastin?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmelzer, Christian E H; Jung, Michael C; Wohlrab, Johannes

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the susceptibility of intact fibrillar human elastin to human leukocyte elastase and cathepsin G. Elastin is a vital protein of the extracellular matrix of vertebrates, and provides exceptional properties including elasticity and tensile strength to many tissues...... and organs, including the aorta, lung, cartilage, elastic ligaments and skin, and is thus critical for their long-term function. Mature elastin is an insoluble and extremely durable protein that undergoes very little turnover, but sustained exposure to proteases may lead to irreversible and severe damage......, and thus to functional loss of the elastic fiber network. Hence, it is a key issue to understand which enzymes actually initiate elastolysis under certain pathological conditions or during intrinsic aging. In this paper, we provide a complete workflow for isolation of pure and intact elastin from very...

  5. DNA synthesis in periportal and perivenous hepatocytes of intact and hepatectomized young mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Blanco, A; Inda, A M; Errecalde, A L

    2015-01-01

    DNA synthesis of hepatocytes in two areas of Intact and Hepatectomized young mice liver along a circadian period was studied. DNA synthesis was significantly different at all analyzed time points in Intact and Hepatectomized animals. Differences between periportal and perivenous hepatocytes were found in hepatectomized animals at 04/42 and 08/46 hr of day/hour post-hepatectomy. DNAs peak in periportal hepatocytes regenerating liver occurs 4 hr earlier than in perivenous hepatocytes, probably reflecting their shorter G1 phase. Besides, daily mean values of regenerating livers were higher than those observed in Intact animals, as a consequence of surgical removal.

  6. Compositional evolution of particle-phase reaction products and water in the heterogeneous OH oxidation of model aqueous organic aerosols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. Chim

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Organic compounds present at or near the surface of aqueous droplets can be efficiently oxidized by gas-phase OH radicals, which alter the molecular distribution of the reaction products within the droplet. A change in aerosol composition affects the hygroscopicity and leads to a concomitant response in the equilibrium amount of particle-phase water. The variation in the aerosol water content affects the aerosol size and physicochemical properties, which in turn governs the oxidation kinetics and chemistry. To attain better knowledge of the compositional evolution of aqueous organic droplets during oxidation, this work investigates the heterogeneous OH-radical-initiated oxidation of aqueous methylsuccinic acid (C5H8O4 droplets, a model compound for small branched dicarboxylic acids found in atmospheric aerosols, at a high relative humidity of 85 % through experimental and modeling approaches. Aerosol mass spectra measured by a soft atmospheric pressure ionization source (Direct Analysis in Real Time, DART coupled with a high-resolution mass spectrometer reveal two major products: a five carbon atom (C5 hydroxyl functionalization product (C5H8O5 and a C4 fragmentation product (C4H6O3. These two products likely originate from the formation and subsequent reactions (intermolecular hydrogen abstraction and carbon–carbon bond scission of tertiary alkoxy radicals resulting from the OH abstraction occurring at the methyl-substituted carbon site. Based on the identification of the reaction products, a kinetic model of oxidation (a two-product model coupled with the Aerosol Inorganic–Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients (AIOMFAC model is built to simulate the size and compositional changes of aqueous methylsuccinic acid droplets during oxidation. Model results show that at the maximum OH exposure, the droplets become slightly more hygroscopic after oxidation, as the mass fraction of water is predicted to increase from

  7. ARIES Oxide Production Program Assessment of Risk to Long-term Sustainable Production Rate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whitworth, Julia [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Lloyd, Jane Alexandria [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Majors, Harry W. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-05-04

    This report describes an assessment of risks and the development of a risk watch list for the ARIES Oxide Production Program conducted in the Plutonium Facility at LANL. The watch list is an active list of potential risks and opportunities that the management team periodically considers to maximize the likelihood of program success. The initial assessments were made in FY 16. The initial watch list was reviewed in September 2016. The initial report was not issued. Revision 1 has been developed based on management review of the original watch list and includes changes that occurred during FY-16.

  8. Multi-Axis Prosthetic Knee Resembles Alpine Skiing Movements of an Intact Leg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demšar, Ivan; Duhovnik, Jože; Lešnik, Blaž; Supej, Matej

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to analyse the flexion angles of the ski boot, ankle and knee joints of an above-knee prosthesis and to compare them with an intact leg and a control group of skiers. One subject with an above-knee amputation of the right leg and eight healthy subjects simulated the movement of a skiing turn by performing two-leg squats in laboratory conditions. By adding additional loads in proportion to body weight (BW; +1/3 BW, +2/3 BW, +3/3 BW), various skiing regimes were simulated. Change of Flexion Angle (CoFA) and Range of Motion (RoM) in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were calculated and compared. An average RoM in the skiing boot on the side of prosthesis (4.4 ± 1.1°) was significantly lower compared to an intact leg (5.9 ± 1.8°) and the control group (6.5 ± 2.3°). In the ankle joint, the average RoM was determined to be 13.2±2.9° in the prosthesis, 12.7 ± 2.8° in an intact leg and 14.8±3.6 in the control group. However, the RoM of the knee joint in the prosthesis (42.2 ± 4.2°) was significantly larger than that of the intact leg (34.7 ± 4.4°). The average RoM of the knee joint in the control group was 47.8 ± 5.4°. The influences of additional loads on the kinematics of the lower extremities were different on the side of the prosthesis and on the intact leg. In contrast, additional loads did not produce any significant differences in the control group. Although different CoFAs in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were used, an above-knee prosthesis with a built-in multi-axis prosthetic knee enables comparable leg kinematics in simulated alpine skiing. Key points The RoM in the ski boot on the side of the prosthetic leg was smaller than the RoM of the intact leg and the control group of healthy subjects. The RoM in the ankle joint of prosthetic leg was comparable to that of the intact leg and the control group of healthy subjects. The RoM in the prosthetic knee joint was greater than the RoM in the knee joint of the

  9. Antimicrobial activity of a new intact skin antisepsis formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Antonello; Viotti, Pier Luigi; Vitali, Matteo; Clementi, Massimo

    2003-04-01

    Different antiseptic formulations have shown limitations when applied to disinfecting intact skin, notably short-term tolerability and/or efficacy. The purpose of this study was optimizing a new antiseptic formulation specifically targeted at intact skin disinfection and evaluating its in vitro microbicidal activity and in vivo efficacy. The biocidal properties of the antiseptic solution containing 0.5% chloramine-T diluted in 50% isopropyl alcohol (Cloral; Eurospital SpA Trieste, Italy) were measured in vitro versus gram-positive-, gram-negative-, and acid-alcohol-resistant germs and fungi with standard suspension tests in the presence of fetal bovine serum. Virus-inhibiting activity was evaluated in vitro against human cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, poliovirus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. Tests used different methods for the different biologic and in vitro replication capacity of these human viruses. Lastly, Cloral tolerability and skin colonization retardation efficacy after disinfection were studied in vivo. The antiseptic under review showed fast and sustained antimicrobial activity. The efficacy of Cloral against clinically important bacterial and viral pathogens and fungi was highlighted under the experimental conditions described in this article. Finally, microbial regrowth lag and no side effects were documented in vivo after disinfection of 11 volunteers. A stable chloramine-T solution in isopropyl alcohol may be suggested for intact skin antisepsis.

  10. The formation of highly oxidized multifunctional products in the ozonolysis of cyclohexene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rissanen, Matti P.; Kurtén, Theo; Sipilä, Mikko

    2014-01-01

    ionization atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a nitrate ion (NO3 -)-based ionization scheme. Quantum chemical calculations were performed at the CCSD(T)-F12a/VDZ-F12//ωB97XD/aug-cc-pVTZ level, with kinetic modeling using multiconformer transition state theory, including...... of seconds. Dimerization of the peroxy radicals by recombination and cross-combination reactions is in competition with the formation of highly oxidized monomer species and is observed to lead to peroxides, potentially diacyl peroxides. The molar yield of these highly oxidized products (having O/C > 1...

  11. Investigation of Mitochondrial Dysfunction by Sequential Microplate-Based Respiration Measurements from Intact and Permeabilized Neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerc, Pascaline; Polster, Brian M.

    2012-01-01

    Mitochondrial dysfunction is a component of many neurodegenerative conditions. Measurement of oxygen consumption from intact neurons enables evaluation of mitochondrial bioenergetics under conditions that are more physiologically realistic compared to isolated mitochondria. However, mechanistic analysis of mitochondrial function in cells is complicated by changing energy demands and lack of substrate control. Here we describe a technique for sequentially measuring respiration from intact and saponin-permeabilized cortical neurons on single microplates. This technique allows control of substrates to individual electron transport chain complexes following permeabilization, as well as side-by-side comparisons to intact cells. To illustrate the utility of the technique, we demonstrate that inhibition of respiration by the drug KB-R7943 in intact neurons is relieved by delivery of the complex II substrate succinate, but not by complex I substrates, via acute saponin permeabilization. In contrast, methyl succinate, a putative cell permeable complex II substrate, failed to rescue respiration in intact neurons and was a poor complex II substrate in permeabilized cells. Sequential measurements of intact and permeabilized cell respiration should be particularly useful for evaluating indirect mitochondrial toxicity due to drugs or cellular signaling events which cannot be readily studied using isolated mitochondria. PMID:22496810

  12. Impulse radar scanning of intact salt at the Avery Island Mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, C.W.

    1980-05-01

    A series of experiments was run in the Avery Island Mine to evaluate the capability of an impulse radar to locate anomalies and simulated waste targets in intact dome salt. Voids in salt were difficult to detect. On the positive side, metal targets and simulated waste (glass) were easily located in intact salt. Radar scanning at ranges of greater than 25 meters and short-range resolution of target positions to within a few centimeters were achieved

  13. Performance of intact and partially degraded concrete barriers in limiting fluid flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walton, J.C.; Seitz, R.R.

    1991-07-01

    Concrete barriers will play a critical role in the long-term isolation of low-level radioactive wastes. Over time the barriers will degrade, and in many cases, the fundamental processes controlling performance of the barriers will be different for intact and degraded conditions. This document examines factors controlling fluid flow through intact and degraded concrete disposal facilities. Simplified models are presented fro predicting build up of fluid above a vault; fluid flow through and around intact vaults, through flaws in coatings/liners applied to a vault, and through cracks in a concrete vault; and the influence of different backfill materials around the outside of the vault. Example calculations are presented to illustrate the parameters and processes that influence fluid flow. 46 refs., 49 figs., 2 tabs

  14. Nitrous oxide production associated with coastal marine invertebrates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heisterkamp, Ines Maria; Schramm, Andreas; de Beer, Dirk

    2010-01-01

    Several freshwater and terrestrial invertebrate species emit the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The N2O production associated with these animals was ascribed to incomplete denitrification by ingested sediment or soil bacteria. The present study shows that many marine invertebrates also emit N2......O at substantial rates. A total of 19 invertebrate species collected in the German Wadden Sea and in Aarhus Bay, Denmark, and 1 aquacultured shrimp species were tested for N2O emission. Potential N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 1.354 nmol ind.–1 h–1, with an average rate of 0.320 nmol ind.–1 h–1...... with an experimentally cleaned shell. Thus, the N2O production associated with marine invertebrates is apparently not due to gut denitrification in every species, but may also result from microbial activity on the external surfaces of animals. The high abundance and potential N2O emission rates of many marine...

  15. Low-Energy, Low-Cost Production of Ethylene by Low- Temperature Oxidative Coupling of Methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radaelli, Guido [Siluria Technologies, Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States); Chachra, Gaurav [Siluria Technologies, Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States); Jonnavittula, Divya [Siluria Technologies, Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States)

    2017-12-30

    In this project, we develop a catalytic process technology for distributed small-scale production of ethylene by oxidative coupling of methane at low temperatures using an advanced catalyst. The Low Temperature Oxidative Coupling of Methane (LT-OCM) catalyst system is enabled by a novel chemical catalyst and process pioneered by Siluria, at private expense, over the last six years. Herein, we develop the LT-OCM catalyst system for distributed small-scale production of ethylene by identifying and addressing necessary process schemes, unit operations and process parameters that limit the economic viability and mass penetration of this technology to manufacture ethylene at small-scales. The output of this program is process concepts for small-scale LT-OCM catalyst based ethylene production, lab-scale verification of the novel unit operations adopted in the proposed concept, and an analysis to validate the feasibility of the proposed concepts.

  16. Iodate oxidation of N-Acetyl L-Cysteine: Application in drug determination and characterization of its oxidation and degradation product by mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siddiqui, Masom Raza; Wabaiduri, Saikh Mohammas; Alothman, Zied A; Rahman, Habibur; Alam, Sarfarah; Ali, Sajid

    2014-01-01

    A kinetic spectrophotometric method based on the initial rate measurement has been developed for the determination of N-acetyl L-cysteine. The developed method is based on the oxidation of N-acetyl L-cysteine with iodate. The reaction product was studied and characterized using the mass spectrometry and the structure of the product was proposed. From the mass spectrometric studies it was concluded that the oxidation of the drug resulted in the formation of a disulfide. The developed method was validated as per the guidelines of international conference on harmonization. The developed initial rate method was found to be linear in the concentration range of 1.25 - 30μg ml-1. The detection and quantitation limits were found to be 0.018 and 0.056 μG ml -1 . In the current study, the degradation product of N-acetyl L cysteine was also prepared and identified using mass spectrometry. Keywords: N- acetyl cysteine, Initial rate method, Spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry

  17. Rapid screening of N-oxides of chemical warfare agents degradation products by ESI-tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sridhar, L; Karthikraj, R; Lakshmi, V V S; Raju, N Prasada; Prabhakar, S

    2014-08-01

    Rapid detection and identification of chemical warfare agents and related precursors/degradation products in various environmental matrices is of paramount importance for verification of standards set by the chemical weapons convention (CWC). Nitrogen mustards, N,N-dialkylaminoethyl-2-chlorides, N,N-dialkylaminoethanols, N-alkyldiethanolamines, and triethanolamine, which are listed CWC scheduled chemicals, are prone to undergo N-oxidation in environmental matrices or during decontamination process. Thus, screening of the oxidized products of these compounds is also an important task in the verification process because the presence of these products reveals alleged use of nitrogen mustards or precursors of VX compounds. The N-oxides of aminoethanols and aminoethylchlorides easily produce [M + H](+) ions under electrospray ionization conditions, and their collision-induced dissociation spectra include a specific neutral loss of 48 u (OH + CH2OH) and 66 u (OH + CH2Cl), respectively. Based on this specific fragmentation, a rapid screening method was developed for screening of the N-oxides by applying neutral loss scan technique. The method was validated and the applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing positive and negative samples. The method was useful in the detection of N-oxides of aminoethanols and aminoethylchlorides in environmental matrices at trace levels (LOD, up to 500 ppb), even in the presence of complex masking agents, without the use of time-consuming sample preparation methods and chromatographic steps. This method is advantageous for the off-site verification program and also for participation in official proficiency tests conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Netherlands. The structure of N-oxides can be confirmed by the MS/MS experiments on the detected peaks. A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed for the separation of isomeric N-oxides of aminoethanols and

  18. Role of oxidative stress in cadmium toxicity and carcinogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jie; Qu Wei; Kadiiska, Maria B.

    2009-01-01

    Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal, targeting the lung, liver, kidney, and testes following acute intoxication, and causing nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, osteotoxicity and tumors after prolonged exposures. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are often implicated in Cd toxicology. This minireview focused on direct evidence for the generation of free radicals in intact animals following acute Cd overload and discussed the association of ROS in chronic Cd toxicity and carcinogenesis. Cd-generated superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals in vivo have been detected by the electron spin resonance spectra, which are often accompanied by activation of redox sensitive transcription factors (e.g., NF-κB, AP-1 and Nrf2) and alteration of ROS-related gene expression. It is generally agreed upon that oxidative stress plays important roles in acute Cd poisoning. However, following long-term Cd exposure at environmentally-relevant low levels, direct evidence for oxidative stress is often obscure. Alterations in ROS-related gene expression during chronic exposures are also less significant compared to acute Cd poisoning. This is probably due to induced adaptation mechanisms (e.g., metallothionein and glutathione) following chronic Cd exposures, which in turn diminish Cd-induced oxidative stress. In chronic Cd-transformed cells, less ROS signals are detected with fluorescence probes. Acquired apoptotic tolerance renders damaged cells to proliferate with inherent oxidative DNA lesions, potentially leading to tumorigenesis. Thus, ROS are generated following acute Cd overload and play important roles in tissue damage. Adaptation to chronic Cd exposure reduces ROS production, but acquired Cd tolerance with aberrant gene expression plays important roles in chronic Cd toxicity and carcinogenesis.

  19. Microstructural Analysis of the Oxidation Products of Metallic Alloys According to the HALOX Development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Micco, G.

    2001-01-01

    This publication is a first stage in the development of an oxidation process of the fissile material, from spent nuclear fuel elements of research reactors, containing molybdenum.The oxidation of molybdenum powder with air at elevated temperatures (375-500 o C) has been studied by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.The results show that the only product was MoO 3 in two different phases: Monoclinic and Orthorhombic.MoO 2 and non-stoichiometric molybdenum oxide such as Mo 4 O 1 1 were not evidenced in any of the Mo oxidation steps. By monitoring the time required for the complete oxidation of Mo at different conditions of temperature and pressure, a rate equation has been determined for the whole process. The activation energy and the pressure and degree of reaction dependence, has been calculated.This values remain constant trough out the complete reaction

  20. Nitrous oxide production in sputum from cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolpen, Mette; Kühl, Michael; Bjarnsholt, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    local anoxia by consuming the majority of O2 for production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We hypothesized that P. aeruginosa acquires energy for growth in anaerobic endobronchial mucus by denitrification, which can be demonstrated by production of nitrous oxide (N2O), an intermediate...

  1. /sup 31/P-NMR studies of respiratory regulation in the intact myocardium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    From, A H.L.; Petein, M A; Zimmer, S W; Michurski, S P; Ugurbil, K

    1986-10-06

    The mechanism by which mitochondrial respiration is coupled to ATP consumption in intact tissues is unclear. The authors determined the relationship between high-energy phosphate levels and oxygen consumption rate in rat hearts operating over a range of workloads and perfused with different substrates. With pyruvate + glucose perfusion, ADP levels were in general very low, and varied with MVO/sub 2/ yielding an apparent K/sub m/ of 25 +- 5 ..mu..M, suggesting regulation of oxidative phosphorylation through availability of ADP. In contrast, with glucose perfusion in the presence or absence of insulin, ADP levels, ADP/ATP ratio or the phosphate potential were relatively constant over the workload range examined and generally not correlated with alterations in MVO/sub 2/; it is suggested that under these conditions, carbon substrate delivery to the mitochondria may control mitochondrial respiration. The common feature of both of the suggested regulatory mechanisms is substrate limitation which, however, is exercised at different metabolic points depending on the carbon substrate available to the myocardium. 19 refs.; 2 figs.; 1 table.

  2. Study of the production of Zirconium tetracheoride by chlorination of its oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, E.S.M.; Abrao, A.

    1987-08-01

    This work describes the studies carried out on the production of zirconium tetrachloride by chlorianation of pure zirconium oxide with (a) carbon tetrachloride and (b) chlorine in the presence of carbon. In the process of chlorination with carbon tetrachloride it has been determined that efficiency increases with the rising of temperature between 450 and 750 0 C. The flow rate of the carbon tetrachloride vapour used was 1.50L/min. For the zirconium oxide chlorination in the presence of carbon, the study has been carried out at temperatures between 700 and 850 0 C and the flow rate of the chlorine gas used in the process was 0,50/Lmin. Pure zirconium oxide chlorination as well as zirconium oxide-carbon mixture chlrorination have been studied in connection with the time of reaction at different temperatures and the apparent rate constants, the activation energies, the order of reaction in relation to the concentration of the gases (CCl 4 and Cl 2 ) and the content of carbon in the pellet have all been determined. (Author) [pt

  3. Fumaric acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by simultaneous use of oxidative and reductive routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Guoqiang; Chen, Xiulai; Liu, Liming; Jiang, Linghuo

    2013-11-01

    In this study, the simultaneous use of reductive and oxidative routes to produce fumaric acid was explored. The strain FMME003 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1CΔTHI2) exhibited capability to accumulate pyruvate and was used for fumaric acid production. The fum1 mutant FMME004 could produce fumaric acid via oxidative route, but the introduction of reductive route derived from Rhizopus oryzae NRRL 1526 led to lower fumaric acid production. Analysis of the key factors associated with fumaric acid production revealed that pyruvate carboxylase had a low degree of control over the carbon flow to malic acid. The fumaric acid titer was improved dramatically when the heterologous gene RoPYC was overexpressed and 32 μg/L of biotin was added. Furthermore, under the optimal carbon/nitrogen ratio, the engineered strain FMME004-6 could produce up to 5.64 ± 0.16 g/L of fumaric acid. These results demonstrated that the proposed fermentative method is efficient for fumaric acid production. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Oxidant production from corrosion of nano- and microparticulate zero-valent iron in the presence of oxygen: A comparative study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hongshin; Lee, Hye-jin; Kim, Hyung-Eun; Kweon, Jihyang; Lee, Byeong-Dae; Lee, Changha

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Oxidants from zero-valent iron were quantified in the presence of oxygen and EDTA. • The oxidant yields of nano- and microparticulate zero-valent iron were compared. • Microparticulate zero-valent iron produced higher oxidant yields. • The factors affecting the oxidant production from zero-valent iron were discussed. -- Abstract: In aqueous solution, zero-valent iron (ZVI, Fe 0 ) is known to activate oxygen (O 2 ) into reactive oxidants such as hydroxyl radical and ferryl ion capable of oxidizing contaminants. However, little is known about the effect of the particle size of ZVI on the yield of reactive oxidants. In this study, the production of reactive oxidants from nanoparticulate and microparticulate ZVIs (denoted as nZVI and mZVI, respectively) was comparatively investigated in the presence of O 2 and EDTA. To quantify the oxidant yield, excess amount of methanol was employed, and the formation of its oxidation product, formaldehyde (HCHO), was monitored. The concentration of HCHO in the nZVI/O 2 system rapidly reached the saturation value, whereas that in the mZVI/O 2 system gradually increased throughout the entire reaction time. The mZVI/O 2 system exhibited higher yields of HCHO than the nZVI/O 2 system under both acidic and neutral pH conditions. The higher oxidant yields in the mZVI/O 2 system are mainly attributed to the less reactivity of the mZVI surface with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) relative to the surface of nZVI, which minimize the loss of H 2 O 2 by ZVI (i.e., the two-electron reduction of H 2 O 2 into water). In addition, the slow dissolution of Fe(II) from mZVI was found to be partially responsible for the higher oxidant yields at neutral pH

  5. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition influences denitrification and nitrous oxide production in lakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCrackin, Michelle L; Elser, James J

    2010-02-01

    Microbially mediated denitrification is an important process that may ameliorate the effects of nitrogen (N) loading by permanently removing excess N inputs. In this study, we measured the rate of denitrification and nitrous oxide (N2O) production during denitrification in sediments from 32 Norwegian lakes at the high and low ends of a gradient of atmospheric N deposition. Denitrification and N2O production rates averaged 41.7 and 1.1 micromol N x m(-2) x h(-1), respectively, for high-deposition lakes. There was no detectable denitrification or N2O production in low-deposition lakes. Epilimnetic nitrate concentration was strongly correlated with denitrification rate (r2 = 0.67). We also measured the denitrification rate in response to experimental additions of organic carbon, nitrate, and phosphorus. Experimental nitrate additions stimulated denitrification in sediments of all lakes, regardless of N deposition level. In fact, the rate of denitrification in nitrate-amended treatments was the same magnitude for lakes in both deposition areas. These findings suggest that lake sediments possess considerable capacity to remove nitrate and that this capacity has not been saturated under conditions of chronic N loading. Further, nitrous oxide was nearly 3% of the total gaseous product during denitrification in high-deposition lakes, a fraction that is comparable to polluted marine sediments. Our findings suggest that, while lakes play an important role in N removal in the landscape, they may be a source of N2O emissions, especially in areas subject to elevated N inputs.

  6. Excess glycogen does not resolve high ultimate pH of oxidative muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    England, Eric M; Matarneh, Sulaiman K; Oliver, Emily M; Apaoblaza, Ariel; Scheffler, Tracy L; Shi, Hao; Gerrard, David E

    2016-04-01

    Skeletal muscle glycogen content can impact the extent of postmortem pH decline. Compared to glycolytic muscles, oxidative muscles contain lower glycogen levels antemortem which may contribute to the higher ultimate pH. In an effort to explore further the participation of glycogen in postmortem metabolism, we postulated that increasing the availability of glycogen would drive additional pH decline in oxidative muscles to equivalent pH values similar to the ultimate pH of glycolytic muscles. Glycolysis and pH declines were compared in porcine longissimus lumborum (glycolytic) and masseter (oxidative) muscles using an in vitro system in the presence of excess glycogen. The ultimate pH of the system containing longissimus lumborum reached a value similar to that observed in intact muscle. The pH decline of the system containing masseter samples stopped prematurely resulting in a higher ultimate pH which was similar to that of intact masseter muscle. To investigate further, we titrated powdered longissimus lumborum and masseter samples in the reaction buffer. As the percentage of glycolytic sample increased, the ultimate pH decreased. These data show that oxidative muscle produces meat with a high ultimate pH regardless of glycogen content and suggest that inherent muscle factors associated with glycolytic muscle control the extent of pH decline in pig muscles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The degradation of lining of rotary furnaces in the production of zinc oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Luptáková

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is closely connected with the complex problem of degradation relating to the refractories of rotary furnace linings in the production of zinc oxide. Zinc oxide can be produced by variety of ways, but the most common method of production which is used in Europe is indirect, i.e. pyrolytic combustion of zinc. This method is also called "French process" of manufacturing ZnO. But this mentioned method of preparation leads to the creation of the enormous amount of zinc slag including chemical complexes of elements Fe, Zn and Al. The mechanism of degradation of the lining leads to slag rests and it is closely connected with the mutual interaction of the aggressive agents with the components of the lining. This process creates a new undesired surface layer which increased the overall thickness of zinc slag. Stuck slag has the influence on rapid degradation of the linings and moreover it also decreases the production quality of ZnO. Analysis results introduced in this paper are significant information for minimizing of degradation of rotary furnaces.  

  8. Life Time Performance Characterization of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells for Hydrogen Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Xiufu; Chen, Ming; Liu, Yi-Lin

    2015-01-01

    Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) offer a promising technological solution for efficient energy conversion and production of hydrogen or syngas. The commercialization of the SOEC technology can be promoted if SOECs can be operated at high current density with stable performance over ~5 years...... - 3 years (continuous operation, setting 1.5 V as the upper voltage defining “end of life”). The results provide technological input to future design of electrolysis plants for hydrogen production. © 2015 ECS - The Electrochemical Society...

  9. Occurence of translocations between irradiated and intact chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myasnyankina, E.N.; Abeleva, Eh.A.; Generalova, M.V.

    1980-01-01

    Two translocations between irradiated father and intact mother autosomes are obtained in Drosophila melanogaster. Five out of 283 regular translocations (between the second and the third chromosomes of an irradiated male) are accompanied by a recombination over the second or the third chromosomes. Nine flies out of twenty considered to be recombinants, could originate due to mutations. The data obtained prove that intact female autosomes can take part in the exchange with homologic (recombinations) and heterologic (translocations) irradiated male autosomes

  10. Product Analysis of the {OH} Oxidation of Acrolein and Methacrolein in the Presence of {NO}

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dransfield, T. J.; Sprengnether, M. M.; Huang, Y.; Donahue, N. M.; Demerjian, K. L.; Anderson, J. G.

    2002-12-01

    The oxidation of acrolein and methacrolein by OH in the presence of high NO was studied under "wall-less" conditions in Harvard's High Pressure Flow System. The experiment was conducted at 450 torr with a reaction time of several seconds. In the present work, first stage products are formed at 1013 molecules/cm3 levels and analyzed in-situ by FTIR spectroscopy. The use of Reaction Modulation Spectroscopy allows for accurate measurement of the very small(~1%) change in unsaturated aldehyde and NO reactants, in addition to product concentrations. Observed products from the acrolein oxidation include: formaldehyde(CH2O), glyoxal(CHOCHO), glycolaldehyde(CH2OHCHO), ketene(CH2CO), nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The methacrolein oxidation produces: formaldehyde, methylgyloxal(CH3COCHO), hydroxyacetone(CH2OHC(O)CH3), ketene, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Both reactions also produce peroxynitrates and alkylnitrates that have proven difficult to spectrally resolve. We observe elevated yields of ketene relative to previously published experiments conducted on longer timescales. We interpret this as evidence of rapid ketene removal in these systems. The mechanisms for ketene formation are discussed.

  11. Color stability and lipid oxidation of broiler breast meat from animals raised on organic versus non-organic production systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viana, F M; Canto, A C V C S; Costa-Lima, B R C; Salim, A P A A; Conte-Junior, C A

    2017-03-01

    The aim of the present research was to evaluate the influence of organic and non-organic production systems on color stability and lipid oxidation of broiler meat Pectoralis major (PM) stored under refrigeration (4°C) for 9 days. PM samples from organic (ORG) and non-organic (NORG) production systems were compared based on physicochemical analyses (instrumental color, myoglobin concentration, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA), pH, and lipid oxidation) performed in 4 different trials (n = 4). In general, NORG broilers demonstrated higher (P color stability observed in NORG samples can be partly due to lipid oxidation. Therefore, the production system can affect color and lipid stability of broiler breast meat during storage. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  12. Degradation of Acetaminophen and Its Transformation Products in Aqueous Solutions by Using an Electrochemical Oxidation Cell with Stainless Steel Electrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel López Zavala

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a novel electrochemical oxidation cell using stainless steel electrodes was found to be effective in oxidizing acetaminophen and its transformation products in short reaction times. Aqueous solutions of 10 mg/L-acetaminophen were prepared at pH 3, 5, 7, and 9. These solutions were electrochemically treated at direct current (DC densities of 5.7 mA/cm2, 7.6 mA/cm2, and 9.5 mA/cm2. The pharmaceutical and its intermediates/oxidation products were determined by using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC. The results showed that electrochemical oxidation processes occurred in the cell. Acetaminophen degradation rate constants increased proportionally with the increase of current intensity. High current densities accelerated the degradation of acetaminophen; however, this effect diminished remarkably at pH values greater than 5. At pH 3 and 9.5 mA/cm2, the fastest degradation of acetaminophen and its intermediates/oxidation products was achieved. To minimize the wear down of the electrodes, a current density ramp is recommended, first applying 9.5 mA/cm2 during 2.5 min or 7.6 mA/cm2 during 7.5 min and then continuing the electrochemical oxidation process at 5.7 mA/cm2. This strategy will hasten the acetaminophen oxidation, extend the electrode’s life, and shorten the reaction time needed to degrade the pharmaceutical and its intermediates/oxidation products. DC densities up to 9.5 mA/cm2 can be supplied by photovoltaic cells.

  13. Oxidized Lipoprotein as a Major Vessel Cell Proliferator in Oxidized Human Serum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshiro Saito

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress is correlated with the incidence of several diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer, and oxidized biomolecules have been determined as biomarkers of oxidative stress; however, the detailed molecular relationship between generated oxidation products and the promotion of diseases has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, to clarify the role of serum oxidation products in vessel cell proliferation, which is related to the incidence of atherosclerosis and cancer, the major vessel cell proliferator in oxidized human serum was investigated. Oxidized human serum was prepared by free radical exposure, separated using gel chromatography, and then each fraction was added to several kinds of vessel cells including endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. It was found that a high molecular weight fraction in oxidized human serum specifically induced vessel cell proliferation. Oxidized lipids were contained in this high molecular weight fraction, while cell proliferation activity was not observed in oxidized lipoprotein-deficient serum. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins induced vessel cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together, these results indicate that oxidized lipoproteins containing lipid oxidation products function as a major vessel cell proliferator in oxidized human serum. These findings strongly indicate the relevance of determination of oxidized lipoproteins and lipid oxidation products in the diagnosis of vessel cell proliferation-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer.

  14. Nitrogen loss from grassland on peat soils through nitrous oxide production.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koops, J.G.; Beusichem, van M.L.; Oenema, O.

    1997-01-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) in soils is produced through nitrification and denitrification. The N2O produced is considered as a nitrogen (N) loss because it will most likely escape from the soil to the atmosphere as N2O or N2. Aim of the study was to quantify N2O production in grassland on peat soils in

  15. Variation in excess oxidant factor in combustion products of MHD generator. [Natural gas fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinkhasik, M S; Mironov, V D; Zakharko, Yu A; Plavinskii, A I

    1977-12-01

    Methods and difficulties associated with determining the excess oxidant factor for natural gas-fired MHD generators are discussed. The measurement of this factor is noted to be essential for the optimization of the combustion chamber and operation of MHD generators. A gas analyzer of electrochemical type is considered as a quick - response sensor capable of analyzing the composition of the combustion products and thus determining accurately the excess oxidant factor. The principle of operation of this sensor is discussed and the dependence of the electrochemical sensor emf on excess oxidant factor is shown. Three types of sensors are illustrated and tables of test results are provided.

  16. Capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectromet of intact proteins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Domínguez-Vega, Elena; Haselberg, Rob; Somsen, Govert W.

    2016-01-01

    Capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be a powerful analytical tool for the characterization of intact proteins. It combines the high separation efficiency, short analysis time, and versatility of CE with the mass selectivity and sensitivity offered by MS

  17. Nitrate reductase and nitrous oxide production by Fusarium oxysporum 11dn1 under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurakov, A V; Nosikov, A N; Skrynnikova, E V; L'vov, N P

    2000-08-01

    The fungus Fusarium oxysporum 11dn1 was found to be able to grow and produce nitrous oxide on nitrate-containing medium in anaerobic conditions. The rate of nitrous oxide formation was three to six orders of magnitude lower than the rates of molecular nitrogen production by common denitrifying bacteria. Acetylene and ammonia did not affect the release of nitrous oxide release. It was shown that under anaerobic conditions fast increase of nitrate reductase activity occurred, caused by the synthesis of enzyme de novo and protein dephosphorylation. Reverse transfer of the mycelium to aerobic conditions led to a decline in nitrate reductase activity and stopped nitrous oxide production. The presence of two nitrate reductases was shown, which differed in molecular mass, location, temperature optima, and activity in nitrate- and ammonium-containing media. Two enzymes represent assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reductases, which are active in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively.

  18. Selective Production of Aromatic Aldehydes from Heavy Fraction of Bio-oil via Catalytic Oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yan; Chang, Jie; Ouyang, Yong; Zheng, Xianwei [South China Univ. of Technology, Guangzhou (China)

    2014-06-15

    High value-added aromatic aldehydes (e. g. vanillin and syringaldehyde) were produced from heavy fraction of bio-oil (HFBO) via catalytic oxidation. The concept is based on the use of metalloporphyin as catalyst and hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) as oxidant under alkaline condition. The biomimetic catalyst cobalt(II)-sulfonated tetraphenylporphyrin (Co(TPPS{sub 4})) was prepared and characterized. It exhibited relative high activity in the catalytic oxidation of HFBO. 4.57 wt % vanillin and 1.58 wt % syringaldehyde were obtained from catalytic oxidation of HFBO, compared to 2.6 wt % vanillin and 0.86 wt % syringaldehyde without Co(TPPS{sub 4}). Moreover, a possible mechanism of HFBO oxidation using Co(TPPS{sub 4})/H{sub 2}O{sub 2} was proposed by the research of model compounds. The results showed that this is a promising and environmentally friendly method for production of aromatic aldehydes from HFBO under Co(TPPS{sub 4})/H{sub 2}O{sub 2} system.

  19. Selective Production of Aromatic Aldehydes from Heavy Fraction of Bio-oil via Catalytic Oxidation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yan; Chang, Jie; Ouyang, Yong; Zheng, Xianwei

    2014-01-01

    High value-added aromatic aldehydes (e. g. vanillin and syringaldehyde) were produced from heavy fraction of bio-oil (HFBO) via catalytic oxidation. The concept is based on the use of metalloporphyin as catalyst and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as oxidant under alkaline condition. The biomimetic catalyst cobalt(II)-sulfonated tetraphenylporphyrin (Co(TPPS 4 )) was prepared and characterized. It exhibited relative high activity in the catalytic oxidation of HFBO. 4.57 wt % vanillin and 1.58 wt % syringaldehyde were obtained from catalytic oxidation of HFBO, compared to 2.6 wt % vanillin and 0.86 wt % syringaldehyde without Co(TPPS 4 ). Moreover, a possible mechanism of HFBO oxidation using Co(TPPS 4 )/H 2 O 2 was proposed by the research of model compounds. The results showed that this is a promising and environmentally friendly method for production of aromatic aldehydes from HFBO under Co(TPPS 4 )/H 2 O 2 system

  20. Ozone production, nitrogen oxides, and radical budgets in Mexico City: observations from Pico de Tres Padres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, E. C.; Herndon, S. C.; Onasch, T. B.; Kroll, J. H.; Canagaratna, M. R.; Kolb, C. E.; Worsnop, D. R.; Neuman, J. A.; Seila, R.; Zavala, M.; Knighton, W. B.

    2008-08-01

    Observations at a mountain-top site within the Mexico City basin are used to characterize ozone production and destruction, the nitrogen oxide budget, and the radical budget during the MILAGRO campaign. An ozone production rate of ~50 ppbv/h was observed in a stagnant air mass during the afternoon of 12 March 2006, which is among the highest observed anywhere in the world. Approximately half of the ozone destruction was due to the oxidation of NO2. During this time period ozone production was VOC-limited, deduced by a comparison of the radical production rates and the formation rate of NOx oxidation products (NOz) For [NOx]/[NOy] values between 0.2 and 0.8, gas-phase HNO3 typically accounted for less than 10% of NOz and accumulation-mode particulate nitrate (NO3-(PM)) accounted for 20% 70% of NOz, consistent with high ambient NH3 concentrations. The fraction of NOz accounted for by the sum of HNO3(g) and NO3-(PM) decreased with photochemical processing. This decrease is apparent even when dry deposition of HNO3 is accounted for, and indicates that HNO3 formation decreased relative to other NOx "sink" processes during the first 12 h of photochemistry and/or a significant fraction of the nitrate was associated with the coarse aerosol size mode. The ozone production efficiency of NOx on 11 and 12 March 2006 was approximately 7 on a time scale of one day. A new metric for ozone production efficiency that relates the dilution-adjusted ozone mixing ratio to cumulative OH exposure is proposed.

  1. Dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite in the bovine rumen: nitrous oxide production and effect of acetylene.

    OpenAIRE

    Kaspar, H F; Tiedje, J M

    1981-01-01

    15N tracer methods and gas chromatography coupled to an electron capture detector were used to investigate dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite by the rumen microbiota of a fistulated cow. Ammonium was the only 15N-labeled end product of quantitative significance. Only traces of nitrous oxide were detected as a product of nitrate reduction; but in experiments with nitrite, up to 0.3% of the added nitrogen accumulated as nitrous oxide, but it was not further reduced. Furthermore, whe...

  2. Losing a jewel—Rapid declines in Myanmar’s intact forests from 2002-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horning, Ned; Khaing, Thiri; Thein, Zaw Min; Aung, Kyaw Moe; Aung, Kyaw Htet; Phyo, Paing; Tun, Ye Lin; Oo, Aung Htat; Neil, Anthony; Thu, Win Myo; Songer, Melissa; Huang, Qiongyu; Connette, Grant; Leimgruber, Peter

    2017-01-01

    New and rapid political and economic changes in Myanmar are increasing the pressures on the country’s forests. Yet, little is known about the past and current condition of these forests and how fast they are declining. We mapped forest cover in Myanmar through a consortium of international organizations and environmental non-governmental groups, using freely-available public domain data and open source software tools. We used Landsat satellite imagery to assess the condition and spatial distribution of Myanmar’s intact and degraded forests with special focus on changes in intact forest between 2002 and 2014. We found that forests cover 42,365,729 ha or 63% of Myanmar, making it one of the most forested countries in the region. However, severe logging, expanding plantations, and degradation pose increasing threats. Only 38% of the country’s forests can be considered intact with canopy cover >80%. Between 2002 and 2014, intact forests declined at a rate of 0.94% annually, totaling more than 2 million ha forest loss. Losses can be extremely high locally and we identified 9 townships as forest conversion hotspots. We also delineated 13 large (>100,000 ha) and contiguous intact forest landscapes, which are dispersed across Myanmar. The Northern Forest Complex supports four of these landscapes, totaling over 6.1 million ha of intact forest, followed by the Southern Forest Complex with three landscapes, comprising 1.5 million ha. These remaining contiguous forest landscape should have high priority for protection. Our project demonstrates how open source data and software can be used to develop and share critical information on forests when such data are not readily available elsewhere. We provide all data, code, and outputs freely via the internet at (for scripts: https://bitbucket.org/rsbiodiv/; for the data: http://geonode.themimu.info/layers/geonode%3Amyan_lvl2_smoothed_dec2015_resamp) PMID:28520726

  3. Nitrous oxide production by nitrification and denitrification in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific oxygen minimum zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Qixing; Babbin, Andrew R.; Jayakumar, Amal; Oleynik, Sergey; Ward, Bess B.

    2015-12-01

    The Eastern Tropical South Pacific oxygen minimum zone (ETSP-OMZ) is a site of intense nitrous oxide (N2O) flux to the atmosphere. This flux results from production of N2O by nitrification and denitrification, but the contribution of the two processes is unknown. The rates of these pathways and their distributions were measured directly using 15N tracers. The highest N2O production rates occurred at the depth of peak N2O concentrations at the oxic-anoxic interface above the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) because slightly oxygenated waters allowed (1) N2O production from both nitrification and denitrification and (2) higher nitrous oxide production yields from nitrification. Within the ODZ proper (i.e., anoxia), the only source of N2O was denitrification (i.e., nitrite and nitrate reduction), the rates of which were reflected in the abundance of nirS genes (encoding nitrite reductase). Overall, denitrification was the dominant pathway contributing the N2O production in the ETSP-OMZ.

  4. Study on influence of native oxide and corrosion products on atmospheric corrosion of pure Al

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yanjie; Wang, Zhenyao; Ke, Wei

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: •Corrosion products layer is only formed in coastal atmosphere. •In coastal atmosphere, rate controlling step is diffusion process. •In rural atmosphere, rate controlling step is charge transfer process. •Pitting area increases greatly in coastal site, but slightly in rural site. -- Abstract: Effects of native oxide and corrosion products on atmospheric corrosion of aluminium in rural and coastal sites were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), open-circuit potential (OCP) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques after outdoor exposure. In the rural atmosphere, only the compact, adhesive native oxide layer exists, and the rate controlling step is diffusion process, while in the coastal atmosphere, another loose, inadhesive corrosion products layer exists, and a charge transfer process controls the corrosion process. The pitting area in the coastal atmosphere increases over time more obviously than that in the rural atmosphere

  5. Effect of substrate availability on nitrous oxide production by deammonification processes under anoxic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Yvonne; Beier, Maike; Rosenwinkel, Karl-Heinz

    2012-05-01

    Due to its high global warming potential, nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from wastewater treatment processes have recently received a high degree of attention. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information regarding the microbiological processes leading to N(2)O production. In this study, two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors were operated with deammonification biomass to investigate the role of denitrification and the influence of substrate availability regarding N(2)O formation during the anoxic phase of deammonification. Three different operational phases were established: within the first phase conversion by anammox was favoured and after a transition phase, denitrification activity was promoted. Low nitrous oxide production was observed during stable operation aiming for anammox conversion. Pulsed inflow of the wastewater containing ammonium (NH(4)(+)) and nitrite (NO(2)(-)) led to increased N(2)O production rates. Within the period of denitrification as dominating nitrogen conversion process, the nitrous oxide concentration level was higher during continuous inflow conditions, but the reaction to pulsed inflow was less pronounced. The results indicated that denitrification was responsible for N(2)O formation from the deammonification biomass. Operational settings to achieve suppression of denitrification processes to a large extend were deducted from the results of the experiments. © 2012 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  6. Clean Transfer of Large Graphene Single Crystals for High-Intactness Suspended Membranes and Liquid Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jincan; Lin, Li; Sun, Luzhao; Huang, Yucheng; Koh, Ai Leen; Dang, Wenhui; Yin, Jianbo; Wang, Mingzhan; Tan, Congwei; Li, Tianran; Tan, Zhenjun; Liu, Zhongfan; Peng, Hailin

    2017-07-01

    The atomically thin 2D nature of suspended graphene membranes holds promising in numerous technological applications. In particular, the outstanding transparency to electron beam endows graphene membranes great potential as a candidate for specimen support of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, major hurdles remain to be addressed to acquire an ultraclean, high-intactness, and defect-free suspended graphene membrane. Here, a polymer-free clean transfer of sub-centimeter-sized graphene single crystals onto TEM grids to fabricate large-area and high-quality suspended graphene membranes has been achieved. Through the control of interfacial force during the transfer, the intactness of large-area graphene membranes can be as high as 95%, prominently larger than reported values in previous works. Graphene liquid cells are readily prepared by π-π stacking two clean single-crystal graphene TEM grids, in which atomic-scale resolution imaging and temporal evolution of colloid Au nanoparticles are recorded. This facile and scalable production of clean and high-quality suspended graphene membrane is promising toward their wide applications for electron and optical microscopy. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Non-intact zona improves development of murine preimplantation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ajl5

    2012-09-25

    Sep 25, 2012 ... 2College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, ... Key words: Mouse, non-intact zona embryos, adenovirus vector with green fluorescent protein (pAd-GFP), .... Based on microscopic examination, the ZP of some ..... permeable structure of ZP that allowed penetration of.

  8. Simple Methods for Production of Nanoscale Metal Oxide Films from Household Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Dean J.; Baliss, Michelle S.; Hinman, Jordan J.; Ziegenhorn, John W.; Andrews, Mark J.; Stevenson, Keith J.

    2013-01-01

    Production of thin metal oxide films was recently explored as part of an outreach program with a goal of producing nanoscale structures with household items. Household items coated with various metals or titanium compounds can be heated to produce colorful films with nanoscale thicknesses. As part of a materials chemistry laboratory experiment…

  9. Coupling Solid Oxide Electrolyser (SOE) and ammonia production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cinti, Giovanni; Frattini, Domenico; Jannelli, Elio; Desideri, Umberto; Bidini, Gianni

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • An innovative NH 3 production plant was designed. • CO 2 emissions and energy consumption are studied in three different designs. • High temperature electrolysis allows to achieve high efficiency and heat recovery. • The coupling permits storage of electricity into a liquid carbon free chemical. - Abstract: Ammonia is one of the most produced chemicals worldwide and is currently synthesized using nitrogen separated from air and hydrogen from natural gas reforming with consequent high consumption of fossil fuel and high emission of CO 2 . A renewable path for ammonia production is desirable considering the potential development of ammonia as energy carrier. This study reports design and analysis of an innovative system for the production of green ammonia using electricity from renewable energy sources. This concept couples Solid Oxide Electrolysis (SOE), for the production of hydrogen, with an improved Haber Bosch Reactor (HBR), for ammonia synthesis. An air separator is also introduced to supply pure nitrogen. SOE operates with extremely high efficiency recovering high temperature heat from the Haber-Bosch reactor. Aspen was used to develop a model to study the performance of the plant. Both the SOE and the HBR operate at 650 °C. Ammonia production with zero emission of CO 2 can be obtained with a reduction of 40% of power input compared to equivalent plants.

  10. Quantitative Analysis of Human Salivary Gland-Derived Intact Proteome Using Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Si; Brown, Joseph N.; Tolic, Nikola; Meng, Da; Liu, Xiaowen; Zhang, Haizhen; Zhao, Rui; Moore, Ronald J.; Pevzner, Pavel A.; Smith, Richard D.; Pasa-Tolic, Ljiljana

    2014-05-31

    There are several notable challenges inherent to fully characterizing the entirety of the human saliva proteome using bottom-up approaches, including polymorphic isoforms, post-translational modifications, unique splice variants, deletions, and truncations. To address these challenges, we have developed a top-down based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approach, which cataloged 20 major human salivary proteins with a total of 83 proteoforms, containing a broad range of post-translational modifications. Among these proteins, several previously reported disease biomarker proteins were identified at the intact protein level, such as beta-2 microglobulin (B2M). In addition, intact glycosylated proteoforms of several saliva proteins were also characterized, including intact N-glycosylated protein prolactin inducible protein (PIP) and O-glycosylated acidic protein rich protein (aPRP). These characterized proteoforms constitute an intact saliva proteoform database, which was used for quantitative comparison of intact salivary proteoforms among six healthy individuals. Human parotid (PS) and submandibular/sublingual gland (SMSL) secretion samples (2 μg of protein each) from six healthy individuals were compared using RPLC coupled with the 12T FTICR mass spectrometer. Significantly different protein and PTM patterns were resolved with high reproducibility between PS and SMSL glands. The results from this study provide further insight into the potential mechanisms of PTM pathways in oral glandular secretion, expanding our knowledge of this complex yet easily accessible fluid. Intact protein LC-MS approach presented herein can potentially be applied for rapid and accurate identification of biomarkers from only a few microliters of human glandular saliva.

  11. Regrowth of Cirsium arvense from intact roots and root fragments at different soil depths

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomsen, Mette Goul

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In the present work we measured the shoot rate from intact roots and from root fragments of Cirsium arvense at different digging depths and the number of leaves were used as estimate of minimum regenerative capacity. The experiments were performed on four sites with three or four repetitions of each treatment. On each site plot, the soil was removed down to a given depth within a 1 x 1 m square. All plant parts was excavated from the soil and the soil was either replaced without any root material, or roots of C. arvense was cut into 10 cm long fragments and replaced into the source hole. Shoot number, aboveground biomass and number of leaves were measured. Digging depth and time explained 50% - 60% of the variation in biomass (P<0.001. Replacement of root fragments increased the shoot number in one out of four treatments but did not affect biomass produced compared to production from undisturbed root systems. Number of leaves showed that shoots from all digging depths passed the level of minimum regenerative capacity. We conclude that the intact root system from all depths was able to regenerate within one season and it has a high contribution to the produced biomass compared with root fragments in the upper soil layers.

  12. Medroxyprogesterone acetate attenuates estrogen-induced nitric oxide production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oishi, Akira; Ohmichi, Masahide; Takahashi, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Toshifumi; Mori-Abe, Akiko; Kawagoe, Jun; Otsu, Reiko; Mochizuki, Yoshiko; Inaba, Noriyuki; Kurachi, Hirohisa

    2004-01-01

    We report the novel observation that medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) attenuates the induction by 17β estradiol (E2) of both nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Although MPA had no effect on basal NO production or basal eNOS phosphorylation or activity, it attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation and activity. Moreover, we examined the mechanism by which MPA attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation. MPA attenuated the E2-induced phosphorylation of Akt, a kinase that phosphorylates eNOS. Treatment with pure progesterone receptor (PR) antagonist RU486 completely abolished the inhibitory effect of MPA on E2-induced Akt phosphorylation and eNOS phosphorylation. In addition, the effects of actinomycin D were tested to rule out the influence of genomic events mediated by nuclear PRs. Actinomycin D did not affect the inhibitory effect of MPA on E2-induced Akt phosphorylation. Furthermore, the potential roles of PRA and PRB were evaluated. In COS cells transfected with either PRA or PRB, MPA attenuated E2-induced Akt phosphorylation. These results indicate that MPA attenuated E2-induced NO production via an Akt cascade through PRA or PRB in a non-genomic manner

  13. Sample contamination with NMP-oxidation products and byproduct-free NMP removal from sample solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cesar Berrueco; Patricia Alvarez; Silvia Venditti; Trevor J. Morgan; Alan A. Herod; Marcos Millan; Rafael Kandiyoti [Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom). Department of Chemical Engineering

    2009-05-15

    1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) is widely used as a solvent for coal-derived products and as eluent in size exclusion chromatography. It was observed that sample contamination may take place, through reactions of NMP, during extraction under refluxing conditions and during the process of NMP evaporation to concentrate or isolate samples. In this work, product distributions from experiments carried out in contact with air and under a blanket of oxygen-free nitrogen have been compared. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) clearly shows that oxidation products form when NMP is heated in the presence of air. Upon further heating, these oxidation products appear to polymerize, forming material with large molecular masses. Potentially severe levels of interference have been encountered in the size exclusion chromatography (SEC) of actual samples. Laser desorption mass spectrometry and SEC agree in showing an upper mass limit of nearly 7000 u for a residue left after distilling 'pure' NMP in contact with air. Furthermore, experiments have shown that these effects could be completely avoided by a strict exclusion of air during the refluxing and evaporation of NMP to dryness. 45 refs., 13 figs.

  14. The direct oxidative diene cyclization and related reactions in natural product synthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliane Adrian

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The direct oxidative cyclization of 1,5-dienes is a valuable synthetic method for the (diastereoselective preparation of substituted tetrahydrofurans. Closely related reactions start from 5,6-dihydroxy or 5-hydroxyalkenes to generate similar products in a mechanistically analogous manner. After a brief overview on the history of this group of transformations and a survey on mechanistic and stereochemical aspects, this review article provides a summary on applications in natural product synthesis. Moreover, current limitations and future directions in this area of chemistry are discussed.

  15. Chemical state analysis of oxidation products on steel surface by conversion electron Moessbauer spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ujihira, Yusuke; Nomura, Kiyoshi

    1978-01-01

    The polished NT-70H steel (Fe: 95.97%, C: 0.56%, diameter: 5 cm, thickness: 0.5 cm) was immersed in deionized water or in solutions containing (0.25 -- 0.5) M of chloride, sulfate and nitrate ions. The chemical states of oxidation products of iron on the surface were identified through the analysis of conversion electron Moessbauer spectra (CEMS). CEMS of the steel surface, which had been dipped in deionized water, revealed that γ-FeOOH was formed on the surface. The thickness of γ-FeOOH layer increased with the increase of the duration of dipping. Dissolved oxygen in the solution played an essential role in the oxidation of iron to γ-FeOOH. Oxidation product of iron dipped in the 0.5 M sodium chloride solution was identified as γ-FeOOH. Amorphous paramagnetic iron (III) compound tended to form in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or ammonium ions in the solutions. The increase of alkalinity of the solution up to pH 12 suppressed the oxidation rate and assisted the formation of green rust, which was confirmed by the appearance of the quadrupole splitting peaks of the green rust. In the 0.25 M sodium sulfate solution, oxidation of the steel surface proceeded slowly and the quadrupole splitting peaks of Fe(OH) 2 were seen in the CEMS. The peak intensity of Fe(OH) 2 gradually decreased and that of γ-FeOOH increased by the extension of immersion of steel in the solution. Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) layer was developed beneath the γ-FeOOH layer, when steel was dipped in 0.5 M sodium nitrate solution. However, the peaks of Fe 3 O 4 were not seen on CEMS of steel surface immersed in 0.5 M ammonium nitrate solution. Thus, applying the feasibility of CEMS for the characterization of oxidated compounds of iron on the steel surface formed by the immersion in solutions, the oxidation mechanism of the steel surface was discussed based upon the results of chemical state analyses. (author)

  16. Nitrous oxide production, its source and distribution in urine patches on grassland on peat soil.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koops, J.G.; Beusichem, van M.L.; Oenema, O.

    1997-01-01

    Urine patches are considered to be important sites for nitrous oxide (N2O) production through nitrification and denitrification due to their high concentration of nitrogen (N). The aim of the present study was to determine the microbial source and size of production of N2O in different zones of a

  17. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for predicting amino acids content in intact processed animal proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De la Haba, Maria José; Garrido-Varo, Ana; Guerrero-Ginel, José Emilio; Pérez-Marín, Dolores C

    2006-10-04

    Near-infrared calibrations were developed for the instantaneous prediction of amino acids composition of processed animal proteins (PAPs). Two sample presentation modes were compared (ground vs intact) for demonstrating the viability of the analysis in the intact form, avoiding the need for milling. Modified partial least-squares (MPLS) equations for the prediction of amino acids in PAPs were developed using the same set of samples (N = 92 PAPs) analyzed in ground and intact form and in three cups differing in the optical window size. The standard error for cross validation (SECV) and the coefficient of determination (1-VR) values yielded with the calibrations developed using the samples analyzed in the intact form showed similar or even better accuracy than those obtained with finely ground samples. The excellent predictive ability (1-VR > 0.90; CV marketing of these important protein feed ingredients, alleviating the costs and time associated with the routine quality controls.

  18. UV causation of melanoma in Xiphophorus is dominated by melanin photosensitized oxidant production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Simon R.; Berwick, Marianne; Ley, Ronald D.; Walter, Ronald B.; Setlow, Richard B.; Timmins, Graham S.

    2006-01-01

    Controversy continues both as to which wavelengths of sunlight cause melanoma and the mechanisms by which these different wavelengths act. Direct absorption of UVB by DNA is central in albino animal models, but melanin-pigmented models have shown major contributions by wavelengths longer than UVB that are thought to be mediated by photosensitized oxidant production. The only model for which the action spectrum of melanoma causation is known is a genetically melanoma-susceptible specific cross of Xiphophorus fish. We used electron paramagnetic resonance to quantitatively detect the UV induction of reactive melanin radicals in situ in the melanin-containing cells in the skin of this model and derived the action spectrum for melanin-photosensitized oxidant production (Φox). This action spectrum was identical to that for melanoma induction (Φmel). These results confirm the hypothesis that melanin-photosensitized radical production is the major causative step of melanoma in this model and demonstrate that the wavelengths and mechanisms of melanoma causation in different models are dependent on the presence of melanin. This approach should be applicable to humans, thus providing an accurate surrogate for Φmel for prevention studies. PMID:16537493

  19. Production and characterization of aluminium oxide nanoshells on spray dried lactose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellrup, Joel; Rooth, Mårten; Johansson, Anders; Mahlin, Denny

    2017-08-30

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) enables deposition of dense nanometer thick metal oxide nanoshells on powder particles with precise thickness control. This leads to products with low weight fraction coating, also when depositing on nano- or micron sized powder particles. This study aimed at investigating the aluminium oxide nanoshell thickness required to prevent moisture sorption. The nanoshells were produced with ALD on spray-dried lactose, which is amorphous and extremely hygroscopic. The particles were studied with dynamic vapor sorption between 0 and 50% RH, light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and polarized light microscopy. The ALD did not induce any recrystallization of the amorphous lactose. The dynamic vapor sorption indicated that the moisture sorption was almost completely inhibited by the nanoshell. Neat amorphous lactose rapidly recrystallized upon moisture exposure. However, only ca. 15% of the amorphous lactose particles recrystallized of a sample with 9% (by weight) aluminium oxide nanoshell at storage for six months upon 75% RH/40°C, which indicate that the moisture sorption was completely inhibited in the majority of the particles. In conclusion, the aluminium oxide nanoshells prevented moisture sorption and dramatically improved the long term physical stability of amorphous lactose. This shows the potential of the ALD-technique to protect drug microparticles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN FROM THE STEAM AND OXIDATIVE REFORMING OF LPG: THERMODYNAMIC AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. P. Silva

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available AbstractThe objective of this paper was to use a thermodynamic analysis to find operational conditions that favor the production of hydrogen from steam and oxidative reforming of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG. We also analyzed the performance of a catalyst precursor, LaNiO3, in order to compare the performance of the obtained catalyst with the thermodynamic equilibrium predictions. The results showed that it is possible to produce high concentrations of hydrogen from LPG reforming. The gradual increase of temperature and the use of high water concentrations decrease the production of coke and increase the formation of H2. The reaction of oxidative reforming of LPG was more suitable for the production of hydrogen and lower coke formation. Furthermore the use of an excess of water (H2O/LPG =7.0 and intermediate temperatures (973 K are the most suitable conditions for the process.

  1. Effects of intact glucosinolates and products produced from glucosinolates in myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis on the potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis Cv. Woll).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buskov, S; Serra, B; Rosa, E; Sørensen, H; Sørensen, J C

    2002-02-13

    The potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis cv. Woll) is responsible for large yield losses in the potato crop, and opportunities for reducing the attack of these plant nematode species are, therefore, important. This study has been devoted to the testing of the in vitro effects on the potato cyst nematode of eight glucosinolates [prop-2-enyl-, but-3-enyl-, (R)-4-methylsulfinylbut-3-enyl-, benzyl-, phenethyl-, 4-hydroxybenzyl-, (2S)-2-hydroxybut-3-enyl-, and (2R)-2-hydroxy-2-phenylethylglucosinolate] as well as the effects of the products of this myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis. The glucosinolates were used at three concentrations, 0.05, 0.3, and 1.0 mg/mL, in the presence or absence of the enzyme myrosinase. The effects of the compounds on the mortality were monitored every 8 h for a 72 h period. No effects were found for any of the intact glucosinolates. However, when active myrosinase was included with 1 mg/mL phenethylglucosinolate at pH 6.5, 100% mortality was observed within just 16 h. A similar effect was achieved at the same concentration of benzyl- and prop-2-enylglucosinolates in the myrosinase-containing solutions, although longer exposures were required (24 and 40 h, respectively). The main aglucone products released from the glucosinolates with pronounced effects on the nematodes were shown to be the corresponding isothiocyanates. The results suggest that mixtures of these specific glucosinolates and active myrosinase or autolysis of plant materials containing these enzymes and glucosinolates might be used to control the potato cyst nematode in the soil.

  2. Quantification of Fatty Acid Oxidation Products Using On-line High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levison, Bruce S.; Zhang, Renliang; Wang, Zeneng; Fu, Xiaoming; DiDonato, Joseph A.; Hazen, Stanley L.

    2013-01-01

    Oxidized fatty acids formed via lipid peroxidation are implicated in pathological processes such as inflammation and atherosclerosis. A number of methods may be used to detect specific oxidized fatty acids containing a single or multiple combinations of epoxide, hydroxyl, ketone and hydroperoxide moieties on varying carbon chain lengths from C8 up to C30. Some of these methods are nonspecific and their use in biological systems is fraught with difficulty. Measures of specific-oxidized fatty acid derivatives help in identifying oxidation pathways in pathological processes. We used liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) as efficient, selective and sensitive methods for identifying and analyzing multiple specific fatty acid peroxidation products in human plasma and other biological matrices. We then distilled the essential components of a number of these analyses to provide an efficient protocol by which fatty acid oxidation products and their parent compounds can be determined. In this protocol, addition of synthetic internal standard to the sample, followed by base hydrolysis at elevated temperature, and liquid-liquid phase sample extraction with lighter than water solvents facilitates isolation of the oxidized fatty acid species. These species can be identified and accurately quantified using stable isotope dilution and multiple reaction monitoring. Use of a coupled multiplexed gradient HPLC system on the front end enables high-throughput chromatography and more efficient use of mass spectrometer time. PMID:23499838

  3. [Nitrous oxide production by the German Armed Forces in the 20th century : History of medicine and pharmacy in the Armed Forces].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronabel, D B J

    2010-03-01

    The nitrous oxide production unit of the German Armed Forces was a worldwide unique facility which was only employed in the former main medical depot at Euskirchen (nitrous oxide: medical gas which is now obsolete). The last unit was phased out in 2002 and brought to the main medical depot at Blankenburg. Unfortunately the unit is now no longer in the depot and seems to have disappeared. This article describes the nitrous oxide production process and the use of the production unit which was designed by the Socsil company of Switzerland.

  4. Nano cobalt oxides for photocatalytic hydrogen production

    KAUST Repository

    Mangrulkar, Priti A.

    2012-07-01

    Nano structured metal oxides including TiO 2, Co 3O 4 and Fe 3O 4 have been synthesized and evaluated for their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen generation. The photocatalytic activity of nano cobalt oxide was then compared with two other nano structured metal oxides namely TiO 2 and Fe 3O 4. The synthesized nano cobalt oxide was characterized thoroughly with respect to EDX and TEM. The yield of hydrogen was observed to be 900, 2000 and 8275 mmol h -1 g -1 of photocatalyst for TiO 2, Co 3O 4 and Fe 3O 4 respectively under visible light. It was observed that the hydrogen yield in case of nano cobalt oxide was more than twice to that of TiO 2 and the hydrogen yield of nano Fe 3O 4 was nearly four times as compared to nano Co 3O 4. The influence of various operating parameters in hydrogen generation by nano cobalt oxide was then studied in detail. Copyright © 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The study of the oxidation of the natural flavonol fisetin confirmed quercetin oxidation mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramešová, Šárka; Sokolová, Romana; Degano, Ilaria

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The oxidation mechanisms of fisetin and quercetin were compared. • The oxidation product of fisetin was identified even if it was not stable. • A benzofuranon derivative is the common oxidation product of flavonols. • Fisetin decomposes in solution during minutes handled in the presence of air. - Abstract: Oxidation of the bioactive flavonoid fisetin was studied under inert atmosphere and under ambient conditions. The presence of fast subsequent chemical reactions following the electron transfer was supported by in situ spectroelectrochemistry and identification of products by HPLC-DAD and HPLC–ESI-MS/MS. In the absence of oxygen, 2,6-dihydroxy-2-(3′,4′-dihydroxybenzoyl)-benzofuran-3(2H)-one was identified as the only oxidation product of fisetin. This product was found also as the main oxidation product in the presence of oxygen. The oxidation pathway leading to formation of a benzofuranone derivative can be considered as common for flavonols containing C2-C3 double bond, C3-OH group and dihydroxy-substituted phenyl moiety in its structure. This product was not stable and decomposed further even in contact with oxygen coming from eluents during chromatography. Two oxidation pathways occur under ambient conditions. DFT calculations support the result.

  6. Controlled nitric oxide production via O(1D) + N2O reactions for use in oxidation flow reactor studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambe, Andrew; Massoli, Paola; Zhang, Xuan; Canagaratna, Manjula; Nowak, John; Daube, Conner; Yan, Chao; Nie, Wei; Onasch, Timothy; Jayne, John; Kolb, Charles; Davidovits, Paul; Worsnop, Douglas; Brune, William

    2017-06-01

    Oxidation flow reactors that use low-pressure mercury lamps to produce hydroxyl (OH) radicals are an emerging technique for studying the oxidative aging of organic aerosols. Here, ozone (O3) is photolyzed at 254 nm to produce O(1D) radicals, which react with water vapor to produce OH. However, the need to use parts-per-million levels of O3 hinders the ability of oxidation flow reactors to simulate NOx-dependent secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation pathways. Simple addition of nitric oxide (NO) results in fast conversion of NOx (NO + NO2) to nitric acid (HNO3), making it impossible to sustain NOx at levels that are sufficient to compete with hydroperoxy (HO2) radicals as a sink for organic peroxy (RO2) radicals. We developed a new method that is well suited to the characterization of NOx-dependent SOA formation pathways in oxidation flow reactors. NO and NO2 are produced via the reaction O(1D) + N2O → 2NO, followed by the reaction NO + O3 → NO2 + O2. Laboratory measurements coupled with photochemical model simulations suggest that O(1D) + N2O reactions can be used to systematically vary the relative branching ratio of RO2 + NO reactions relative to RO2 + HO2 and/or RO2 + RO2 reactions over a range of conditions relevant to atmospheric SOA formation. We demonstrate proof of concept using high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) measurements with nitrate (NO3-) reagent ion to detect gas-phase oxidation products of isoprene and α-pinene previously observed in NOx-influenced environments and in laboratory chamber experiments.

  7. Advanced Oxidation Protein Products and Carbonylated Proteins as Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Selected Atherosclerosis-Mediated Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogna Gryszczyńska

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. The main question of this study was to evaluate the intensity of oxidative protein modification shown as advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP and carbonylated proteins, expressed as protein carbonyl content (C=O in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA, aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD, and chronic kidney disease (CKD. Design and Methods. The study was carried out in a group of 35 AAA patients and 13 AIOD patients. However, CKD patients were divided into two groups: predialysis (PRE included 50 patients or hemodialysis (HD consisted of 34 patients. AOPP and C=O were measured using colorimetric assay kit, while C-reactive protein concentration was measured by high-sensitivity assay (hsCRP. Results. The concentration of AOPP in both AAA and AIOD groups was higher than in PRE and HD groups according to descending order: AAA~AIOD > HD > PRE. The content of C=O was higher in the PRE group in comparison to AIOD and AAA according to the descending order: PRE~HD > AAA~AIOD. Conclusions. AAA, AIOD, and CKD-related atherosclerosis (PRE and HD contribute to the changes in the formation of AOPP and C=O. They may promote modification of proteins in a different way, probably due to the various factors that influence oxidative stress here.

  8. Inhibition of myeloperoxidase oxidant production by N-acetyl lysyltyrosylcysteine amide reduces brain damage in a murine model of stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Guoliang; Liang, Ye; Huang, Ziming; Jones, Deron W; Pritchard, Kirkwood A; Zhang, Hao

    2016-05-24

    Oxidative stress plays an important and causal role in the mechanisms by which ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury increases brain damage after stroke. Accordingly, reducing oxidative stress has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for limiting damage in the brain after stroke. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a highly potent oxidative enzyme that is capable of inducing both oxidative and nitrosative stress in vivo. To determine if and the extent to which MPO-generated oxidants contribute to brain I/R injury, we treated mice subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with N-acetyl lysyltyrosylcysteine amide (KYC), a novel, specific and non-toxic inhibitor of MPO. Behavioral testing, ischemic damage, blood-brain-barrier disruption, apoptosis, neutrophils infiltration, microglia/macrophage activation, and MPO oxidation were analyzed within a 7-day period after MCAO. Our studies show that KYC treatment significantly reduces neurological severity scores, infarct size, IgG extravasation, neutrophil infiltration, loss of neurons, apoptosis, and microglia/macrophage activation in the brains of MCAO mice. Immunofluorescence studies show that KYC treatment reduces the formation of chlorotyrosine (ClTyr), a fingerprint biomarker of MPO oxidation, nitrotyrosine (NO2Tyr), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE) in MCAO mice. All oxidative products colocalized with MPO in the infarcted brains, suggesting that MPO-generated oxidants are involved in forming the oxidative products. MPO-generated oxidants play detrimental roles in causing brain damage after stroke which is effectively reduced by KYC.

  9. Durability of solid oxide electrolysis cells for hydrogen production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hauch, A.; Hoejgaard Jensen, S.; Dalgaard Ebbesen, S.

    2007-05-15

    In the perspective of the increasing interest in renewable energy and hydrogen economy, the reversible solid oxide cells (SOCs) is a promising technology as it has the potential of providing efficient and cost effective hydrogen production by high temperature electrolysis of steam (HTES). Furthermore development of such electrolysis cells can gain from the results obtained within the R and D of SOFCs. For solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) to become interesting from a technological point of view, cells that are reproducible, high performing and long-term stable need to be developed. In this paper we address some of the perspectives of the SOEC technology i.e. issues such as a potential H2 production price as low as 0.71 US dollar/kg H{sub 2} using SOECs for HTES; is there a possible market for the electrolysers? and what R and D steps are needed for the realisation of the SOEC technology? In the experimental part we present electrolysis test results on SOCs that have been optimized for fuel cell operation but applied for HTES. The SOCs are produced on a pre-pilot scale at Risoe National Laboratory. These cells have been shown to have excellent initial electrolysis performance, but the durability of such electrolysis cells are not optimal and examples of results from SOEC tests over several hundreds of hours are given here. The long-term tests have been run at current densities of -0.5 A/cm{sup 2} and -1 A/cm{sup 2}, temperatures of 850 deg. C and 950 deg. C and p(H{sub 2}O)/p(H{sub 2}) of 0.5/0.5 and 0.9/0.1. Long-term degradation rates are shown to be up to 5 times higher for SOECs compared to similar SOFC testing. Furthermore, hydrogen and synthetic fuel production prices are calculated using the experimental results from long-term electrolysis test as input and a short outlook for the future work on SOECs will be given as well. (au)

  10. Economic Evaluation of the Production Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles via Liquid-Phase Route

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nandiyanto, A. B. D.; Fariansyah, R.; Ramadhan, M. F.; Abdullah, A. G.; Widiaty, I.

    2018-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the production of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles. The evaluation was done in two perspectives: engineering and economic evaluation. The engineering perspective concerned about the analysis of the production rate based on the available apparatuses and raw materials, completed with mass balance calculation. The economic analysis was conducted based on several economic parameters: gross profit margin (GPM), internal return rate (IRR), payback period (PBP), cumulative net present value (CNPV), break even point (BEP), and profit to investment (PI). The engineering perspective showed that the production of MgO is feasibly done in small scale industry. This is verified by the potential production using current available apparatuses and raw materials in the market. Economic analysis obtained that the present project is profitable. But, for some cases, further studies must be done to get the present production process is attractive for investor.

  11. Heterologous reconstitution of the intact geodin gene cluster in Aspergillus nidulans through a simple and versatile PCR based approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morten Thrane Nielsen

    Full Text Available Fungal natural products are a rich resource for bioactive molecules. To fully exploit this potential it is necessary to link genes to metabolites. Genetic information for numerous putative biosynthetic pathways has become available in recent years through genome sequencing. However, the lack of solid methodology for genetic manipulation of most species severely hampers pathway characterization. Here we present a simple PCR based approach for heterologous reconstitution of intact gene clusters. Specifically, the putative gene cluster responsible for geodin production from Aspergillus terreus was transferred in a two step procedure to an expression platform in A. nidulans. The individual cluster fragments were generated by PCR and assembled via efficient USER fusion prior to transformation and integration via re-iterative gene targeting. A total of 13 open reading frames contained in 25 kb of DNA were successfully transferred between the two species enabling geodin synthesis in A. nidulans. Subsequently, functions of three genes in the cluster were validated by genetic and chemical analyses. Specifically, ATEG_08451 (gedC encodes a polyketide synthase, ATEG_08453 (gedR encodes a transcription factor responsible for activation of the geodin gene cluster and ATEG_08460 (gedL encodes a halogenase that catalyzes conversion of sulochrin to dihydrogeodin. We expect that our approach for transferring intact biosynthetic pathways to a fungus with a well developed genetic toolbox will be instrumental in characterizing the many exciting pathways for secondary metabolite production that are currently being uncovered by the fungal genome sequencing projects.

  12. Phosphorylation of intact erythrocytes in human muscular dystrophy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.M.; Nigro, M.

    1986-01-01

    The uptake of exogenous 32 Pi into the membrane proteins of intact erythrocytes was measured in 8 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. No abnormalities were noted after autoradiographic analysis. This contrasts with earlier results obtained when isolated membranes were phosphorylated with gamma-[ 32 P]ATP, and suggests a possible reinterpretation of those experiments

  13. Denitrification: An important pathway for nitrous oxide production in tropical mangrove sediments (Goa, India)

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Fernandes, S.O.; LokaBharathi, P.A.; Bonin, P.C.; Michotey, V.D.

    Net nitrous oxide production and denitrification activity were measured in two mangrove ecosystems of Goa, India. The relatively pristine site Tuvem was compared to Divar, which is prone to high nutrient input. Stratified sampling at 2-cm intervals...

  14. Fuel-sodium reaction product formation in breached mixed-oxide fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bottcher, J.H.; Lambert, J.D.B.; Strain, R.V.; Ukai, S.; Shibahara, S.

    1988-01-01

    The run-beyond-cladding-breach (RBCB) operation of mixed-oxide LMR fuel pins has been studied for six years in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) as part of a joint program between the US Department of Energy and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation of Japan. The formation of fuel-sodium reaction product (FSRP), Na 3 MO 4 , where M = U/sub 1-y/Pu/sub y/, in the outer fuel regions is the major phenomenon governing RBCB behavior. It increases fuel volume, decreases fuel stoichiometry, modifies fission-product distributions, and alters thermal performance of a pin. This paper describes the morphology of Na 3 MO 4 observed in 5.84-mm diameter pins covering a variety of conditions and RBCB times up to 150 EFPD's. 8 refs., 1 fig

  15. Sympathetic Nervous Regulation of Calcium and Action Potential Alternans in the Intact Heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter, James; Bishop, Martin J; Wilder, Catherine D E; O'Shea, Christopher; Pavlovic, Davor; Shattock, Michael J

    2018-01-01

    Rationale: Arrhythmogenic cardiac alternans are thought to be an important determinant for the initiation of ventricular fibrillation. There is limited information on the effects of sympathetic nerve stimulation (SNS) on alternans in the intact heart and the conclusions of existing studies, focused on investigating electrical alternans, are conflicted. Meanwhile, several lines of evidence implicate instabilities in Ca handling, not electrical restitution, as the primary mechanism underpinning alternans. Despite this, there have been no studies on Ca alternans and SNS in the intact heart. The present study sought to address this, by application of voltage and Ca optical mapping for the simultaneous study of APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart during direct SNS. Objective : To determine the effects of SNS on APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart and to examine the mechanism(s) by which the effects of SNS are mediated. Methods and Results : Studies utilized simultaneous voltage and Ca optical mapping in isolated guinea pig hearts with intact innervation. Alternans were induced using a rapid dynamic pacing protocol. SNS was associated with rate-independent shortening of action potential duration (APD) and the suppression of APD and Ca alternans, as indicated by a shift in the alternans threshold to faster pacing rates. Qualitatively similar results were observed with exogenous noradrenaline perfusion. In contrast with previous reports, both SNS and noradrenaline acted to flatten the slope of the electrical restitution curve. Pharmacological block of the slow delayed rectifying potassium current (I Ks ), sufficient to abolish I Ks -mediated APD-adaptation, partially reversed the effects of SNS on pacing-induced alternans. Treatment with cyclopiazonic acid, an inhibitor of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum ATPase, had opposite effects to that of SNS, acting to increase susceptibility to alternans, and suggesting that accelerated Ca reuptake

  16. Analgesic activity of piracetam: effect on cytokine production and oxidative stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Suelen A; Serafim, Karla G G; Mizokami, Sandra S; Hohmann, Miriam S N; Casagrande, Rubia; Verri, Waldiceu A

    2013-04-01

    Piracetam is a prototype of nootropic drugs used to improve cognitive impairment. However, recent studies suggest that piracetam can have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammatory pain is the result of a process that depends on neutrophil migration, cytokines and prostanoids release and oxidative stress. We analyze whether piracetam has anti-nociceptive effects and its mechanisms. Per oral pretreatment with piracetam reduced in a dose-dependent manner the overt pain-like behavior induced by acetic acid, phenyl-p-benzoquinone, formalin and complete Freund's adjuvant. Piracetam also diminished carrageenin-induced mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, myeloperoxidase activity, and TNF-α-induced mechanical hyperalgesia. Piracetam presented analgesic effects as post-treatment and local paw treatment. The analgesic mechanisms of piracetam were related to inhibition of carrageenin- and TNF-α-induced production of IL-1β as well as prevention of carrageenin-induced decrease of reduced glutathione, ferric reducing ability and free radical scavenging ability in the paw. These results demonstrate that piracetam presents analgesic activity upon a variety of inflammatory stimuli by a mechanism dependent on inhibition of cytokine production and oxidative stress. Considering its safety and clinical use for cognitive function, it is possible that piracetam represents a novel perspective of analgesic. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Conformations of double-headed, triple-tailed phospholipid oxidation lipid products in model membranes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hermetter, Albin; Kopec, Wojciech; Khandelia, Himanshu

    2013-01-01

    Products of phospholipid oxidation can produce lipids with a carbonyl moiety at the end of a shortened lipid acyl tail, such as 1-palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POVPC). The carbonyl tail of POVPC can covalently bond to the free tertiary amine of a phosphatidylethanolamine...

  18. Transformations of Aromatic Compounds by Nitrosomonas europaea

    OpenAIRE

    Keener, William K.; Arp, Daniel J.

    1994-01-01

    Benzene and a variety of substituted benzenes inhibited ammonia oxidation by intact cells of Nitrosomonas europaea. In most cases, the inhibition was accompanied by transformation of the aromatic compound to a more oxidized product or products. All products detected were aromatic, and substituents were often oxidized but were not separated from the benzene ring. Most transformations were enhanced by (NH4)2SO4 (12.5 mM) and were prevented by C2H2, a mechanism-based inactivator of ammonia monoo...

  19. The effect of natural antioxidants on the rate of accumulation of oxidation products in the fat phase of butter cream

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. S. Voronina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Describes the main finishing prefabricated pastries and cakes-cream. Researched range of cream depending on the fruit components and method of production. Aim: to study the degree of oxidation cream with natural antioxidants from fruits and berries processing products, namely in the form of concentrated juice of fruits and berries. Outlines the process of oxidation of lipids, one of the fundamental processes of loss of quality food products. Describes the action of antioxidants as antioxidants on accumulation intensity concentrations of primary and secondary oxidation products, making the final product unsuitable for the consumer and the bounding its shelf life. Presents the results of a study of the contents of primary and secondary oxidation products in butter cream immediately after cooking, as well as samples, stored for five days with the addition of antioxidants in the form of concentrated juice of fruits and berries in the amount of 2–7% by weight of cream. As a control sample has been used cream with no additives. Quality indicators to characterize the degree of oxidation of the product: acid, peroxide, anizidin and tioburbit number. The study found that adding a concentrated juice of fruits and berries as antioxidant in recipe cream reduces the growth rate of the concentration of free fatty acids on the fifth day, as compared with the reference sample. Adding concentrated juice of fruits and berries slows down the process of dissolution of the fat molecules in fat fraction of cream with the formation of free fatty acids; intensity decay reaction of peroxides and hydroxides slows down and, consequently, decreases the formation of aldehydes, deteriorating the taste and smell of the cream; quantitatively reduced the growth of education malondial′degida.

  20. Doxycycline reduces nitric oxide production in guinea pig inner ears.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helling, Kai; Wodarzcyk, Karl; Brieger, Jürgen; Schmidtmann, Irene; Li, Huige; Mann, Wolf J; Heinrich, Ulf-Rüdiger

    2011-12-01

    Gentamicin application is an important therapeutic option to control vertigo spells in Ménière's disease. However, even in the case of low-dose intratympanic application, gentamicin might contribute to a pathological NO-increase leading to cochlear damage and hearing impairment. The study was performed to evaluate the nitric oxide (NO) reducing capacity of doxycycline in the inner ear after NO-induction by gentamicin. In a prospective animal study, a single dose of gentamicin (10mg/kg body weight) was injected intratympanically into male guinea pigs (n=48). The auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded prior to application and 3, 5 and 7 days afterwards. The organ of Corti and the lateral wall of 42 animals were isolated after 7 days and incubated separately for 6h in cell culture medium. Doxycycline was adjusted to organ cultures of 5 animals. Two NOS inhibitors, N(G)-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) and NG-monomethyl-l-arginine monoacetate (l-NMMA), were applied in three different concentrations to the organ cultures of 30 animals in total (5 animals per concentration). As controls, seven animals received no further substance except gentamicin. The NO-production was quantified by chemiluminescence. Additional six gentamicin-treated animals were used for immunohistochemical studies. The ABRs declined continuously from the first to the seventh day after gentamicin application. Doxycycline reduced NO-production in the lateral wall by 54% (p=.029) comparable to the effect of the applied nitric oxide inhibitors. In the organ of Corti, NO-production was reduced by about 41% showing no statistical significance in respect to great inter-animal variations. The application of doxycycline might offer a new therapeutic approach to prevent NO-induced cochlea damage through ototoxic substances. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Spontaneous and light-induced photon emission from intact brains of chick embryos

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张锦珠; 于文斗; 孙彤

    1997-01-01

    Photon emission (PE) and light-induced photon emission(LPE) of intact brains isolated from chick embryos have been measured by using the single photon counting device. Experimental results showed that the intensi-ty level of photon emission was detected to be higher from intact brain than from the medium in which the brain was immerged during measuring, and the emission intensity was related to the developmental stages, the healthy situation of the measured embryos, and the freshness of isolated brains as well. After white light illumination, a short-life de-layed emission from intact brains was observed, and its relaxation behavior followed a hyperbolic rather than an expo-nential law. According to the hypothesis of biophoton emission originating from a delocalized coherent electromagnetic field and Frohlich’s idea of coherent long-range interactions in biological systems, discussions were made on the signifi-cance of photon emission in studying cell communication, biological regulation, living system’

  2. Predictors of attachment security in preschool children from intact and divorced families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D

    2005-09-01

    The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of education compared with their intact counterparts. Divorced mothers also reported significantly higher levels of stress, depression, need for social support, and conflict with their spouses. Mothers from intact families were more likely to use positive (authoritative) parenting styles compared with divorced mothers. Children in the divorced group had lower security scores on the Attachment Q-Set instrument (E. Waters, 1995). Regression analyses indicated that parenting style made a direct (independent) contribution to attachment security. In addition, temperament was related to attachment security, but temperament did not diminish the association of parenting style with attachment security. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that the relationship of divorce to attachment security was mediated by parenting style.

  3. Gas phase formation of extremely oxidized pinene reaction products in chamber and ambient air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ehn

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available High molecular weight (300–650 Da naturally charged negative ions have previously been observed at a boreal forest site in Hyytiälä, Finland. The long-term measurements conducted in this work showed that these ions are observed practically every night between spring and autumn in Hyytiälä. The ambient mass spectral patterns could be reproduced in striking detail during additional measurements of α-pinene (C10H16 oxidation at low-OH conditions in the Jülich Plant Atmosphere Chamber (JPAC. The ions were identified as clusters of the nitrate ion (NO3 and α-pinene oxidation products reaching oxygen to carbon ratios of 0.7–1.3, while retaining most of the initial ten carbon atoms. Attributing the ions to clusters instead of single molecules was based on additional observations of the same extremely oxidized organics in clusters with HSO4 (Hyytiälä and C3F5O2 (JPAC. The most abundant products in the ion spectra were identified as C10H14O7, C10H14O9, C10H16O9, and C10H14O11. The mechanism responsible for forming these molecules is still not clear, but the initial reaction is most likely ozone attack at the double bond, as the ions are mainly observed under dark conditions. β-pinene also formed highly oxidized products under the same conditions, but less efficiently, and mainly C9 compounds which were not observed in Hyytiälä, where β-pinene on average is 4–5 times less abundant than α-pinene. Further, to explain the high O/C together with the relatively high H/C, we propose that geminal diols and/or hydroperoxide groups may be important. We estimate that the night-time concentration of the sum of the neutral extremely oxidized products is on the order of 0.1–1 ppt (~10

  4. Development of an azanoradamantane-type nitroxyl radical catalyst for class-selective oxidation of alcohols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Ryusuke; Shibuya, Masatoshi; Murayama, Tsukasa; Yamamoto, Yoshihiko; Iwabuchi, Yoshiharu

    2015-01-02

    The development of 1,5-dimethyl-9-azanoradamantane N-oxyl (DMN-AZADO; 1,5-dimethyl-Nor-AZADO, 2) as an efficient catalyst for the selective oxidation of primary alcohols in the presence of secondary alcohols is described. The compact and rigid structure of the azanoradamantane nucleus confers potent catalytic ability to DMN-AZADO (2). A variety of hindered primary alcohols such as neopentyl primary alcohols were efficiently oxidized by DMN-AZADO (2) to the corresponding aldehydes, whereas secondary alcohols remained intact. DMN-AZADO (2) also has high catalytic efficiency for one-pot oxidation from primary alcohols to the corresponding carboxylic acids in the presence of secondary alcohols and for oxidative lactonization from diols.

  5. Solid oxide fuel cells and hydrogen production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dogan, F.

    2009-01-01

    'Full text': A single-chamber solid oxide fuel cell (SC-SOFC), operating in a mixture of fuel and oxidant gases, provides several advantages over the conventional SOFC such as simplified cell structure (no sealing required). SC-SOFC allows using a variety of fuels without carbon deposition by selecting appropriate electrode materials and cell operating conditions. The operating conditions of single chamber SOFC was studied using hydrocarbon-air gas mixtures for a cell composed of NiO-YSZ / YSZ / LSCF-Ag. The cell performance and catalytic activity of the anode was measured at various gas flow rates. The results showed that the open-circuit voltage and the power density increased as the gas flow rate increased. Relatively high power densities up to 660 mW/cm 2 were obtained in a SC-SOFC using porous YSZ electrolytes instead of dense electrolytes required for operation of a double chamber SOFC. In addition to propane- or methane-air mixtures as a fuel source, the cells were also tested in a double chamber configuration using hydrogen-air mixtures by controlling the hydrogen/air ratio at the cathode and the anode. Simulation of single chamber conditions in double chamber configurations allows distinguishing and better understanding of the electrode reactions in the presence of mixed gases. Recent research efforts; the effect of hydrogen-air mixtures as a fuel source on the performance of anode and cathode materials in single-chamber and double-chamber SOFC configurations,will be presented. The presentation will address a review on hydrogen production by utilizing of reversible SOFC systems. (author)

  6. Uranium oxidation: Characterization of oxides formed by reaction with water by infrared and sorption analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, E. L.; Smyrl, N. R.; Condon, J. B.; Eager, M. H.

    1984-04-01

    Three different uranium oxide samples have been characterized with respect to the different preparation techniques. The results show that the water reaction with uranium metal occurs cyclically forming laminar layers of oxide which spall off due to the strain at the oxide/metal interface. Single laminae are released if liquid water is present due to the prizing penetration at the reaction zone. The rate of reaction of water with uranium is directly proportional to the amount of adsorbed water on the oxide product. Rapid transport is effected through the open hydrous oxide product. Dehydration of the hydrous oxide irreversibly forms a more inert oxide which cannot be rehydrated to the degree that prevails in the original hydrous product of uranium oxidation with water. Inert gas sorption analyses and diffuse reflectance infrared studies combined with electron microscopy prove valuable in defining the chemistry and morphology of the oxidic products and hydrated intermediates.

  7. Effects of exercise training on stress-induced vascular reactivity alterations: role of nitric oxide and prostanoids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiago Bruder-Nascimento

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Physical exercise may modify biologic stress responses. Objective: To investigate the impact of exercise training on vascular alterations induced by acute stress, focusing on nitric oxide and cyclooxygenase pathways. Method: Wistar rats were separated into: sedentary, trained (60-min swimming, 5 days/week during 8 weeks, carrying a 5% body-weight load, stressed (2 h-immobilization, and trained/stressed. Response curves for noradrenaline, in the absence and presence of L-NAME or indomethacin, were obtained in intact and denuded aortas (n=7-10. Results: None of the procedures altered the denuded aorta reactivity. Intact aortas from stressed, trained, and trained/stressed rats showed similar reduction in noradrenaline maximal responses (sedentary 3.54±0.15, stressed 2.80±0.10*, trained 2.82±0.11*, trained/stressed 2.97± 0.21*, *P<0.05 relate to sedentary. Endothelium removal and L-NAME abolished this hyporeactivity in all experimental groups, except in trained/stressed rats that showed a partial aorta reactivity recovery in L-NAME presence (L-NAME: sedentary 5.23±0,26#, stressed 5.55±0.38#, trained 5.28±0.30#, trained/stressed 4.42±0.41, #P<0.05 related to trained/stressed. Indomethacin determined a decrease in sensitivity (EC50 in intact aortas of trained rats without abolishing the aortal hyporeactivity in trained, stressed, and trained/stressed rats. Conclusions: Exercise-induced vascular adaptive response involved an increase in endothelial vasodilator prostaglandins and nitric oxide. Stress-induced vascular adaptive response involved an increase in endothelial nitric oxide. Beside the involvement of the endothelial nitric oxide pathway, the vascular response of trained/stressed rats involved an additional mechanism yet to be elucidated. These findings advance on the understanding of the vascular processes after exercise and stress alone and in combination.

  8. Variability of Fe isotope compositions of hydrothermal sulfides and oxidation products at mid-ocean ridges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaohu; Wang, Jianqiang; Chu, Fengyou; Wang, Hao; Li, Zhenggang; Yu, Xing; Bi, Dongwei; He, Yongsheng

    2018-04-01

    Significant Fe isotopic fractionation occurs during the precipitation and oxidative weathering of modern seafloor hydrothermal sulfides, which has an important impact on the cycling of Fe isotopes in the ocean. This study reports the Fe-isotope compositions of whole-rock sulfides and single-mineral pyrite collected from hydrothermal fields at the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SMAR) and the East Pacific Rise (EPR) and discusses the impacts of precipitation and late-stage oxidative weathering of sulfide minerals on Fe isotopic fractionation. The results show large variation in the Fe-isotope compositions of the sulfides from the different hydrothermal fields on the mid-oceanic ridges, indicating that relatively significant isotope fractionation occurs during the sulfide precipitation and oxidative weathering processes. The Fe-isotope compositions of the sulfides from the study area at the SMAR vary across a relatively small range, with an average value of 0.01‰. This Fe-isotope composition is similar to the Fe-isotope composition of mid-oceanic ridge basalt, which suggests that Fe was mainly leached from basalt. In contrast, the Fe-isotope composition of the sulfides from the study area at the EPR are significantly enriched in light Fe isotopes (average value - 1.63‰), mainly due to the kinetic fractionation during the rapid precipitation process of hydrothermal sulfide. In addition, the pyrite from different hydrothermal fields is enriched in light Fe isotopes, which is consistent with the phenomenon in which light Fe isotopes are preferentially enriched during the precipitation of pyrite. The red oxides have the heaviest Fe-isotope compositions (up to 0.80‰), indicating that heavy Fe isotopes are preferentially enriched in the oxidation product during the late-stage oxidation process. The data obtained from this study and previous studies show a significant difference between the Fe-isotope compositions of the sulfides from the SMAR and EPR. The relatively heavy

  9. A case study of ozone production, nitrogen oxides, and the radical budget in Mexico City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. C. Wood

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Observations at a mountain-top site within the Mexico City basin are used to characterize ozone production and destruction, nitrogen oxide speciation and chemistry, and the radical budget, with an emphasis on a stagnant air mass observed on one afternoon. The observations compare well with the results of recent photochemical models. An ozone production rate of ~50 ppbv/h was observed in a stagnant air mass during the afternoon of 12 March 2006, which is among the highest observed anywhere in the world. Approximately half of the ozone destruction was due to the oxidation of NO2. During this time period ozone production was VOC-limited, deduced by a comparison of the radical production rates and the formation rate of NOx oxidation products (NOz. For [NOx]/[NOy] values between 0.2 and 0.8, gas-phase HNO3 typically accounted for less than 10% of NOz and accumulation-mode particulate nitrate (NO3(PM1 accounted for 20%–70% of NOz, consistent with high ambient NH3 concentrations. The fraction of NOz accounted for by the sum of HNO3(g and NO3(PM1 decreased with photochemical processing. This decrease is apparent even when dry deposition of HNO3 is accounted for, and indicates that HNO3 formation decreased relative to other NOx "sink" processes during the first 12 h of photochemistry and/or a significant fraction of the nitrate was associated with the coarse aerosol size mode. The ozone production efficiency of NOx on 11 and 12 March 2006 was approximately 7 on a time scale of one day. A new metric for ozone production efficiency that relates the dilution-adjusted ozone mixing ratio to cumulative OH exposure is proposed.

  10. Thermo-Oxidization of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge for Production of Class A Biosolids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bench-scale reactors were used to test a novel thermo-oxidation process on municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) waste activated sludge (WAS) using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to achieve a Class A sludge product appropriate for land application. Reactor ...

  11. Toward best practices in data processing and analysis for intact biotherapeutics by MS in quantitative bioanalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellie, John F; Kehler, Jonathan R; Karlinsey, Molly Z; Summerfield, Scott G

    2017-12-01

    Typically, quantitation of biotherapeutics from biological matrices by LC-MS is based on a surrogate peptide approach to determine molecule concentration. Recent efforts have focused on quantitation of the intact protein molecules or larger mass subunits of monoclonal antibodies. To date, there has been limited guidance for large or intact protein mass quantitation for quantitative bioanalysis. Intact- and subunit-level analyses of biotherapeutics from biological matrices are performed at 12-25 kDa mass range with quantitation data presented. Linearity, bias and other metrics are presented along with recommendations made on the viability of existing quantitation approaches. This communication is intended to start a discussion around intact protein data analysis and processing, recognizing that other published contributions will be required.

  12. Experimental approach to controllably vary protein oxidation while minimizing electrode adsorption for boron-doped diamond electrochemical surface mapping applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClintock, Carlee S; Hettich, Robert L

    2013-01-02

    Oxidative protein surface mapping has become a powerful approach for measuring the solvent accessibility of folded protein structures. A variety of techniques exist for generating the key reagent (i.e., hydroxyl radicals) for these measurements; however, these approaches range significantly in their complexity and expense of operation. This research expands upon earlier work to enhance the controllability of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry as an easily accessible tool for producing hydroxyl radicals in order to oxidize a range of intact proteins. Efforts to modulate the oxidation level while minimizing the adsorption of protein to the electrode involved the use of relatively high flow rates to reduce protein residence time inside the electrochemical flow chamber. Additionally, a different cell activation approach using variable voltage to supply a controlled current allowed us to precisely tune the extent of oxidation in a protein-dependent manner. In order to gain perspective on the level of protein adsorption onto the electrode surface, studies were conducted to monitor protein concentration during electrolysis and gauge changes in the electrode surface between cell activation events. This report demonstrates the successful use of BDD electrochemistry for greater precision in generating a target number of oxidation events upon intact proteins.

  13. SOLITARY CHEMORECEPTOR CELL SURVIVAL IS INDEPENDENT OF INTACT TRIGEMINAL INNERVATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulbransen, Brian; Silver, Wayne; Finger, Tom

    2008-01-01

    Nasal solitary chemoreceptor cells (SCCs) are a population of specialized chemosensory epithelial cells presumed to broaden trigeminal chemoreceptivity in mammals (Finger et al., 2003). SCCs are innervated by peptidergic trigeminal nerve fibers (Finger et al., 2003) but it is currently unknown if intact innervation is necessary for SCC development or survival. We tested the dependence of SCCs on innervation by eliminating trigeminal nerve fibers during development with neurogenin-1 knockout mice, during early postnatal development with capsaicin desensitization, and during adulthood with trigeminal lesioning. Our results demonstrate that elimination of innervation at any of these times does not result in decreased SCC numbers. In conclusion, neither SCC development nor mature cell maintenance is dependent on intact trigeminal innervation. PMID:18300260

  14. The impact of family intactness on family functioning, parental control and parent-child relational qualities in a Chinese context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Tan Lei Shek

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The current study investigated the differences between intact and non-intact families in family processes, including systematic family functioning, parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities. The participants were 3,328 Secondary One students, with a mean age of 12.59 years, recruited from 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Four validated scales were used to assess family processes. Results showed that adolescents in non-intact families perceived relatively poorer family functioning, lower level of paternal and maternal behavioral control, lower level of paternal psychological control and poorer parent-child relational qualities than did adolescents in intact families. This generally indicated that family processes were poorer in non-intact families, compared with those in intact families. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.

  15. Cyclic oxidation of stainless steel ferritic AISI 409, AISI 439 and AISI 441

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salgado, Maria de Fatima; Santos, Diego Machado dos; Oliveira, Givanilson Brito de; Lins, Vanessa de Freitas Cunha

    2014-01-01

    Stainless steels have many industrial applications. The cyclic oxidation of ferritic stainless steels technical and scientific importance presents, because they are less susceptible to peeling the austenitic alloys. For the purpose of investigating the behavior of these steels under thermal cycling, cyclic oxidation of AISI 409, AISI 441 and AISI 439 was carried out in a tubular furnace under two different conditions: oxidation by dipping the steel in the synthetic condensate for 10h and without oxidation immersion in the condensate, for up to 1500h at 300° C temperature. Using techniques: SEM, EDS and XRD revealed a microstructure with increased oxidation in the samples were immersed in the condensate. The oxide film remained intact during oxidation for steels 439 and 441 409 The Steel immersed in the condensate was rupture of the film after the 20th cycle of oxidation. The chemical characterization of the films allowed the identification of elements: Chromium, Iron, Aluminium and Silicon To a great extent, Cr_2O_3. (author)

  16. Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production via Terbium Oxide Based Redox Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Bhosale

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The computational thermodynamic modeling of the terbium oxide based two-step solar thermochemical water splitting (Tb-WS cycle is reported. The 1st step of the Tb-WS cycle involves thermal reduction of TbO2 into Tb and O2, whereas the 2nd step corresponds to the production of H2 through Tb oxidation by water splitting reaction. Equilibrium compositions associated with the thermal reduction and water splitting steps were determined via HSC simulations. Influence of oxygen partial pressure in the inert gas on thermal reduction of TbO2 and effect of water splitting temperature (TL on Gibbs free energy related to the H2 production step were examined in detail. The cycle (ηcycle and solar-to-fuel energy conversion (ηsolar-to-fuel efficiency of the Tb-WS cycle were determined by performing the second-law thermodynamic analysis. Results obtained indicate that ηcycle and ηsolar-to-fuel increase with the decrease in oxygen partial pressure in the inert flushing gas and thermal reduction temperature (TH. It was also realized that the recuperation of the heat released by the water splitting reactor and quench unit further enhances the solar reactor efficiency. At TH=2280 K, by applying 60% heat recuperation, maximum ηcycle of 39.0% and ηsolar-to-fuel of 47.1% for the Tb-WS cycle can be attained.

  17. Hydrogen sulfide increases nitric oxide production from endothelial cells by an Akt-dependent mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arturo J Cardounel

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen sulfide (H2S and nitric oxide (NO are both gasotransmitters that can elicit synergistic vasodilatory responses in the in the cardiovascular system, but the mechanisms behind this synergy are unclear. In the current study we investigated the molecular mechanisms through which H2S regulates endothelial NO production. Initial studies were performed to establish the temporal and dose-dependent effects of H2S on NO generation using EPR spin trapping techniques. H2S stimulated a two-fold increase in NO production from endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS, which was maximal 30 min after exposure to 25-150 µM H2S. Following 30 min H2S exposure, eNOS phosphorylation at Ser 1177 was significantly increased compared to control, consistent with eNOS activation. Pharmacological inhibition of Akt, the kinase responsible for Ser 1177 phosphorylation, attenuated the stimulatory effect of H2S on NO production. Taken together, these data demonstrate that H2S up-regulates NO production from eNOS through an Akt-dependent mechanism. These results implicate H2S in the regulation of NO in endothelial cells, and suggest that deficiencies in H2S signaling can directly impact processes regulated by NO.

  18. Oxidation of UO2 at 400 to 1000 degrees C in air and its relevance to fission product release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCracken, D.R.

    1985-07-01

    Currently there is great interest in the behaviour of UO 2 under oxidizing conditions because irradiated uranium dioxide fuel can conceivably be exposed to a hot oxidizing atmosphere as a result of accidents. The temperature range covered in this paper is 400 to 1000 degrees C. At these high temperatures, UO 2 in air can oxidize rapidly to U 3 O 8 via U 3 O 7 and/or U 4 O 9 . The accompanying volume increase and corresponding stresses lead to fragmentation of the fuel pellets. The purpose of this work was to investigate the dependence of UO 2 oxidation on temperature, rate of air supply and residence time at temperature; to determine the rate controlling steps and rate of oxygen penetration; and to characterize the oxidation products and size of fragments. In addition, detailed metallography was related to X-ray diffraction studies of the oxidized UO 2 to facilitate future study of irradiated fuel, which is easier to do by metallography in hot-cells than by X-ray diffraction. Samples were heated in argon, then once at temperature they were exposed to air at a controlled flow-rate. Studies of the oxidation of unirradiated UO 2 pellets in air show two distinct types of oxidation with a change in mechanism at 600-700 degrees C. At temperatures ≤ 600 degrees C fragmentation accompanies the formation of U 3 O 8 while at T ≥ 800 degrees C, rapid grain growth occurs. In the first temperature region, volatile fission product releases are small, while in the second region, 100% release can be correlated with U 3 O 8 formation. In the first region, only the grain boundary inventory is released while in the other, 100% of the Xe, Kr, Ru, Sb, Cs and I are released. It appears that, within the error of present measurements, burnup does not affect rates of fission product release and oxidation in air at 400 to 1000 degrees C, so that oxidation rate data gathered using unirradiated pellets can be applied to irradiated fuel. 33 refs

  19. Nitrous oxide production and consumption potential in an agricultural and a forest soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yu, Kewei; Struwe, Sten; Kjøller, Annelise

    2008-01-01

    Both a laboratory incubation experiment using soils from an agricultural field and a forest and field measurements at the same locations were conducted to determine nitrous oxide (N2O) production and consumption (reduction) potentials using the acetylene (C2H2) inhibition technique. Results from...... measurements show that average N2O emission rates were 0.56 and 0.59 kg N ha-1 in the agricultural field and forest, respectively. When C2H2 was provided in the field measurements, N2O emission rates from the agricultural field and forest increased by 38 and 51%, respectively. Nitrous oxide consumption under...

  20. Interaction of neptunium (7) with some oxidation products of normal and secondary alcohols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tananaev, I.G.

    1990-01-01

    Interaction of neptunium (7) with formaldehyde and acetone -products of methane and isopropanol oxidation in alkali medium -was studied. With increase in KOH concentration neptunium (7) reduction rate decreases. The reaction order in the range of 0.2-1.0 mol/l KOH equals -1. The reaction order with regard to reducing agent is 0.9 at acetone concentrations 0.07-0.35 mol/l and 1.0 at formaldehyde concentration 2.5-10 mmol/l. Activation energies are equal to 49±2 kJ/mol for neptunium (7) reduction by acetone and 59±4 kJ/mol - by formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is oxidized by neptunium (7) to formic acid

  1. Impact of residual elements on zinc quality in the production of zinc oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Luptáková

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on zinc oxide manufacturing process. The present work deals with the character and morphology of the input material for the production of ZnO by the indirect pyrometallurgical process. Undesirable phases in the feedstock can be identified through profound recognition of the source material and the nature of its microstructure. If these compounds diffuse into the lining during thermal processes, they become the cause of stress in metallurgical ceramics. The emergence of these chemical reactions may subsequently affect the entire metallurgical zinc smelting process. The results obtained by analysis are used to minimize waste - zinc slag and to eliminate the conditions which enable the formation of the undesired product, thereby increasing the productivity of the ZnO production.

  2. Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in intact landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betts, Matthew G; Wolf, Christopher; Ripple, William J; Phalan, Ben; Millers, Kimberley A; Duarte, Adam; Butchart, Stuart H M; Levi, Taal

    2017-07-27

    Global biodiversity loss is a critical environmental crisis, yet the lack of spatial data on biodiversity threats has hindered conservation strategies. Theory predicts that abrupt biodiversity declines are most likely to occur when habitat availability is reduced to very low levels in the landscape (10-30%). Alternatively, recent evidence indicates that biodiversity is best conserved by minimizing human intrusion into intact and relatively unfragmented landscapes. Here we use recently available forest loss data to test deforestation effects on International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categories of extinction risk for 19,432 vertebrate species worldwide. As expected, deforestation substantially increased the odds of a species being listed as threatened, undergoing recent upgrading to a higher threat category and exhibiting declining populations. More importantly, we show that these risks were disproportionately high in relatively intact landscapes; even minimal deforestation has had severe consequences for vertebrate biodiversity. We found little support for the alternative hypothesis that forest loss is most detrimental in already fragmented landscapes. Spatial analysis revealed high-risk hot spots in Borneo, the central Amazon and the Congo Basin. In these regions, our model predicts that 121-219 species will become threatened under current rates of forest loss over the next 30 years. Given that only 17.9% of these high-risk areas are formally protected and only 8.9% have strict protection, new large-scale conservation efforts to protect intact forests are necessary to slow deforestation rates and to avert a new wave of global extinctions.

  3. Healthy Dietary Patterns and Oxidative Stress as Measured by Fluorescent Oxidation Products in Nurses' Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Seungyoun; Smith-Warner, Stephanie A; Willett, Walter C; Wang, Molin; Wu, Tianying; Jensen, Majken; Hankinson, Susan E; Eliassen, A Heather

    2016-09-21

    Healthy diets may lower oxidative stress and risk of chronic diseases. However, no previous studies examined associations between diet and fluorescent oxidation products (FlOP), a global marker of oxidative stress. We evaluated associations between healthy eating patterns (Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED)) and FlOP, measured at three excitation/emission wavelengths (FlOP_360, FlOP_320, FlOP_400) from 2021 blood samples collected from 1688 women within the Nurses' Health Study. AHEI, DASH, and aMED scores were significantly positively associated with FlOP_360 and FlOP_320 concentrations ( p -trend ≤ 0.04), but not associated with FlOP_400. Among specific food groups that contribute to these diet scores, significantly positive associations were observed with legumes and vegetables for FlOP_360, vegetables and fruits for FlOP_320, and legumes and alcohol for FlOP_400. Inverse associations were observed with nuts, sweets or desserts, and olive oil for FlOP_360, nuts for FlOP_320 and sweets or desserts for FlOP_400 (all p -trend ≤ 0.05). However, FlOP variation due to diet was small compared to overall FlOP variation. In conclusion, AHEI, DASH, and aMED scores were unexpectedly positively, but weakly, associated with FlOP_360 and FlOP_320. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously as the determinants of FlOP concentrations are not fully understood.

  4. Proteome analysis of Aspergillus flavus isolate-specific responses to oxidative stress in relationship to aflatoxin production capability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic pathogen that infects host plants such as maize and peanut under conducive conditions such as drought stress resulting in significant aflatoxin production. Drought-associated oxidative stress is known to exacerbate aflatoxin production by A. flavus. The object...

  5. Chemical Characterization and Reactivity Testing of Fuel-Oxidizer Reaction Product (Test Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-01-01

    The product of incomplete reaction of monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) propellants, or fuel-oxidizer reaction product (FORP), has been hypothesized as a contributory cause of an anomaly which occurred in the chamber pressure (PC) transducer tube on the Reaction Control Subsystem (RCS) aft thruster 467 on flight STS-51. A small hole was found in the titanium-alloy PC tube at the first bend below the pressure transducer. It was surmised that the hole may have been caused by heat and pressure resulting from ignition of FORP. The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) was requested to define the chemical characteristics of FORP, characterize its reactivity, and simulate the events in a controlled environment which may have lead to the Pc-tube failure. Samples of FORP were obtained from the gas-phase reaction of MMH with NTO under laboratory conditions, the pulsed firings of RCS thrusters with modified PC tubes using varied oxidizer or fuel lead times, and the nominal RCS thruster firings at WSTF and Kaiser-Marquardt. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled to FTIR (TGA/FTIR), and mechanical impact testing were used to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the chemical, thermal, and ignition properties of FORP. These studies showed that the composition of FORP is variable but falls within a limited range of compositions that depends on the fuel loxidizer ratio at the time of formation, composition of the post-formation atmosphere (reducing or oxidizing), and reaction or postreaction temperature. A typical composition contains methylhydrazinium nitrate (MMHN), ammonium nitrate (AN), methylammonium nitrate (MAN), and trace amounts of hydrazinium nitrate and 1,1-dimethylhydrazinium nitrate. The thermal decomposition

  6. Effect of nutrient and selective inhibitor amendments on methane oxidation, nitrous oxide production, and key gene presence and expression in landfill cover soils: characterization of the role of methanotrophs, nitrifiers, and denitrifiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sung-Woo; Im, Jeongdae; Dispirito, Alan A; Bodrossy, Levente; Barcelona, Michael J; Semrau, Jeremy D

    2009-11-01

    Methane and nitrous oxide are both potent greenhouse gasses, with global warming potentials approximately 25 and 298 times that of carbon dioxide. A matrix of soil microcosms was constructed with landfill cover soils collected from the King Highway Landfill in Kalamazoo, Michigan and exposed to geochemical parameters known to affect methane consumption by methanotrophs while also examining their impact on biogenic nitrous oxide production. It was found that relatively dry soils (5% moisture content) along with 15 mg NH (4) (+) (kg soil)(-1) and 0.1 mg phenylacetylene(kg soil)(-1) provided the greatest stimulation of methane oxidation while minimizing nitrous oxide production. Microarray analyses of pmoA showed that the methanotrophic community structure was dominated by Type II organisms, but Type I genera were more evident with the addition of ammonia. When phenylacetylene was added in conjunction with ammonia, the methanotrophic community structure was more similar to that observed in the presence of no amendments. PCR analyses showed the presence of amoA from both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea, and that the presence of key genes associated with these cells was reduced with the addition of phenylacetylene. Messenger RNA analyses found transcripts of pmoA, but not of mmoX, nirK, norB, or amoA from either ammonia-oxidizing bacteria or archaea. Pure culture analyses showed that methanotrophs could produce significant amounts of nitrous oxide, particularly when expressing the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). Collectively, these data suggest that methanotrophs expressing pMMO played a role in nitrous oxide production in these microcosms.

  7. Maximizing Selective Cleavages at Aspartic Acid and Proline Residues for the Identification of Intact Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foreman, David J.; Dziekonski, Eric T.; McLuckey, Scott A.

    2018-04-01

    A new approach for the identification of intact proteins has been developed that relies on the generation of relatively few abundant products from specific cleavage sites. This strategy is intended to complement standard approaches that seek to generate many fragments relatively non-selectively. Specifically, this strategy seeks to maximize selective cleavage at aspartic acid and proline residues via collisional activation of precursor ions formed via electrospray ionization (ESI) under denaturing conditions. A statistical analysis of the SWISS-PROT database was used to predict the number of arginine residues for a given intact protein mass and predict a m/z range where the protein carries a similar charge to the number of arginine residues thereby enhancing cleavage at aspartic acid residues by limiting proton mobility. Cleavage at aspartic acid residues is predicted to be most favorable in the m/z range of 1500-2500, a range higher than that normally generated by ESI at low pH. Gas-phase proton transfer ion/ion reactions are therefore used for precursor ion concentration from relatively high charge states followed by ion isolation and subsequent generation of precursor ions within the optimal m/z range via a second proton transfer reaction step. It is shown that the majority of product ion abundance is concentrated into cleavages C-terminal to aspartic acid residues and N-terminal to proline residues for ions generated by this process. Implementation of a scoring system that weights both ion fragment type and ion fragment area demonstrated identification of standard proteins, ranging in mass from 8.5 to 29.0 kDa. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  8. Dopamine inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production through the formation of dopamine quinone in murine microglia BV-2 cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasuhiro Yoshioka

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Dopamine (DA has been suggested to modulate functions of glial cells including microglial cells. To reveal the regulatory role of DA in microglial function, in the present study, we investigated the effect of DA on lipopolysaccharide (LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO production in murine microglial cell line BV-2. Pretreatment with DA for 24 h concentration-dependently attenuated LPS-induced NO production in BV-2 cells. The inhibitory effect of DA on LPS-induced NO production was not inhibited by SCH-23390 and sulpiride, D1-like and D2-like DA receptor antagonists, respectively. In addition, pretreatment with (−-(6aR,12bR-4,6,6a,7,8,12b-Hexahydro-7-methylindolo[4,3-a]phenanthridin (CY 208–243 and bromocriptine, D1-like and D2-like DA receptor agonists, respectively, did not affect the LPS-induced NO production. N-Acetylcysteine, which inhibits DA oxidation, completely inhibited the effect of DA. Tyrosinase, which catalyzes the oxidation of DA to DA quionone (DAQ, accelerated the inhibitory effect of DA on LPS-induced NO production. These results suggest that DA attenuates LPS-induced NO production through the formation of DAQ in BV-2 cells.

  9. Superolateral Dislocation of Intact Mandibular Condyle: A Case Report and Review of Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Saikrishna, Degala; Shyam Sundar, S.; Mamata, K. S.

    2015-01-01

    Anteromedial fracture dislocation of the mandibular condyle is common but a superolateral dislocation of an intact condyle is quite rare. This type of dislocation is often misdiagnosed or completely overlooked and hence inadequately addressed. We report a case of a 41-year-old male patient who experienced superolateral dislocation of the intact condyle with symphysis fracture and panfacial fracture following a road-traffic accident, and review of literature of superolateral dislocations from ...

  10. Prediction of valid acidity in intact apples with Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy*

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Yan-de; Ying, Yi-bin; Fu, Xia-ping

    2005-01-01

    To develop nondestructive acidity prediction for intact Fuji apples, the potential of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) method with fiber optics in interactance mode was investigated. Interactance in the 800 nm to 2619 nm region was measured for intact apples, harvested from early to late maturity stages. Spectral data were analyzed by two multivariate calibration techniques including partial least squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) methods. A total of 120 Fuji appl...

  11. An Experimental Approach to Controllably Vary Protein Oxidation While Minimizing Electrode Adsorption for Boron-Doped Diamond Electrochemical Surface Mapping Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClintock, Carlee S; Hettich, Robert L.

    2012-01-01

    Oxidative protein surface mapping has become a powerful approach for measuring the solvent accessibility of folded protein structures. A variety of techniques exist for generating the key reagent – hydroxyl radicals – for these measurements; however, these approaches range significantly in their complexity and expense of operation. This research expands upon earlier work to enhance the controllability of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry as an easily accessible tool for producing hydroxyl radicals in order to oxidize a range of intact proteins. Efforts to modulate oxidation level while minimizing the adsorption of protein to the electrode involved the use of relatively high flow rates to reduce protein residence time inside the electrochemical flow chamber. Additionally, a different cell activation approach using variable voltage to supply a controlled current allowed us to precisely tune the extent of oxidation in a protein-dependent manner. In order to gain perspective on the level of protein adsorption onto the electrode surface, studies were conducted to monitor protein concentration during electrolysis and gauge changes in the electrode surface between cell activation events. This report demonstrates the successful use of BDD electrochemistry for greater precision in generating a target number of oxidation events upon intact proteins. PMID:23210708

  12. Production of fatty acids in Ralstonia eutropha H16 by engineering β-oxidation and carbon storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Janice S.; Colón, Brendan; Dusel, Brendon; Ziesack, Marika; Torella, Joseph P.

    2015-01-01

    Ralstonia eutropha H16 is a facultatively autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium capable of producing polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-based bioplastics. As PHB’s physical properties may be improved by incorporation of medium-chain-length fatty acids (MCFAs), and MCFAs are valuable on their own as fuel and chemical intermediates, we engineered R. eutropha for MCFA production. Expression of UcFatB2, a medium-chain-length-specific acyl-ACP thioesterase, resulted in production of 14 mg/L laurate in wild-type R. eutropha. Total fatty acid production (22 mg/L) could be increased up to 2.5-fold by knocking out PHB synthesis, a major sink for acetyl-CoA, or by knocking out the acyl-CoA ligase fadD3, an entry point for fatty acids into β-oxidation. As ΔfadD3 mutants still consumed laurate, and because the R. eutropha genome is predicted to encode over 50 acyl-CoA ligases, we employed RNA-Seq to identify acyl-CoA ligases upregulated during growth on laurate. Knockouts of the three most highly upregulated acyl-CoA ligases increased fatty acid yield significantly, with one strain (ΔA2794) producing up to 62 mg/L free fatty acid. This study demonstrates that homologous β-oxidation systems can be rationally engineered to enhance fatty acid production, a strategy that may be employed to increase yield for a range of fuels, chemicals, and PHB derivatives in R. eutropha. PMID:26664804

  13. Ammonium sorption and ammonia inhibition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria explain contrasting soil N2O production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venterea, R. T.; Sadowsky, M.; Breuillin-Sessoms, F.; Wang, P.; Clough, T. J.; Coulter, J. A.

    2015-12-01

    Better understanding of process controls over nitrous oxide (N2O) production in urine-impacted 'hot spots' and fertilizer bands is needed to improve mitigation strategies and emission models. Following amendment with bovine (Bos taurus) urine (Bu) or urea (Ur), we measured inorganic N, pH, N2O, and genes associated with nitrification in two soils ('L' and 'W') having similar texture, pH, C, and C/N ratio. Solution-phase ammonia (slNH3) was also calculated accounting for non-linear ammonium (NH4+) sorption capacities (ASC). Soil W displayed greater nitrification rates and nitrate (NO3-) levels than soil L, but was more resistant to nitrite (NO2-) accumulation and produced two to ten times less N2O than soil L. Genes associated with NO2- oxidation (nxrA) increased substantially in soil W but remained static in soil L. Soil NO2- was strongly correlated with N2O production, and cumulative (c-) slNH3 explained 87% of the variance in c-NO2-. Differences between soils were explained by greater slNH3 in soil L which inhibited NO2- oxidization leading to greater NO2- levels and N2O production. This is the first study to correlate the dynamics of soil slNH3, NO2-, N2O and nitrifier genes, and the first to show how ASC can regulate NO2- levels and N2O production.

  14. Production of fatty acids in Ralstonia eutropha H16 by engineering β-oxidation and carbon storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice S. Chen

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Ralstonia eutropha H16 is a facultatively autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium capable of producing polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB-based bioplastics. As PHB’s physical properties may be improved by incorporation of medium-chain-length fatty acids (MCFAs, and MCFAs are valuable on their own as fuel and chemical intermediates, we engineered R. eutropha for MCFA production. Expression of UcFatB2, a medium-chain-length-specific acyl-ACP thioesterase, resulted in production of 14 mg/L laurate in wild-type R. eutropha. Total fatty acid production (22 mg/L could be increased up to 2.5-fold by knocking out PHB synthesis, a major sink for acetyl-CoA, or by knocking out the acyl-CoA ligase fadD3, an entry point for fatty acids into β-oxidation. As ΔfadD3 mutants still consumed laurate, and because the R. eutropha genome is predicted to encode over 50 acyl-CoA ligases, we employed RNA-Seq to identify acyl-CoA ligases upregulated during growth on laurate. Knockouts of the three most highly upregulated acyl-CoA ligases increased fatty acid yield significantly, with one strain (ΔA2794 producing up to 62 mg/L free fatty acid. This study demonstrates that homologous β-oxidation systems can be rationally engineered to enhance fatty acid production, a strategy that may be employed to increase yield for a range of fuels, chemicals, and PHB derivatives in R. eutropha.

  15. Denitrification and potential nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide production in brownfield wetland soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palta, Monica M; Ehrenfeld, Joan G; Groffman, Peter M

    2013-09-01

    Brownfields, previously developed sites that are derelict, vacant, or underused, are ubiquitous in urban areas. Wetlands on brownfields often retain rain and stormwater longer than the surrounding landscape because they are low-lying; this increases the possibility for these areas to process waterborne contaminants from the urban environment. In the northeastern United States, atmospheric deposition of nitrate (NO) is high. Denitrification, a microbial process common in wetlands, is a means of removing excess NO. Nitrogen gas is the desired end product of denitrification, but incomplete denitrification results in the production of NO, a greenhouse gas. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential of brownfield wetlands to serve as sinks for inorganic nitrogen and sources of greenhouse gases. We examined limitations to denitrification and NO production in brownfield wetland soils in New Jersey. Soil C:N ratios were high (18-40) and intact core denitrification (-0.78 to 11.6 μg NO-N kg dry soil d) and N mineralization (0.11-2.97 mg N kg dry soil d) were low for all sites. However, soil NO increased during dry periods. Nitrate additions to soil slurries increased denitrification rates, whereas labile C additions did not, indicating that soil denitrifiers were nitrogen limited. Incubations indicated that the end product of denitrification was primarily NO and not N. These results indicate that brownfield wetlands can develop significant denitrification capacity, potentially causing NO limitation. They might be significant sinks for atmospheric NO but may also become a significant source of NO if NO deposition were to increase. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  16. Multi-Axis Prosthetic Knee Resembles Alpine Skiing Movements of an Intact Leg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Demšar, Jože Duhovnik, Blaž Lešnik, Matej Supej

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to analyse the flexion angles of the ski boot, ankle and knee joints of an above-knee prosthesis and to compare them with an intact leg and a control group of skiers. One subject with an above-knee amputation of the right leg and eight healthy subjects simulated the movement of a skiing turn by performing two-leg squats in laboratory conditions. By adding additional loads in proportion to body weight (BW; +1/3 BW, +2/3 BW, +3/3 BW, various skiing regimes were simulated. Change of Flexion Angle (CoFA and Range of Motion (RoM in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were calculated and compared. An average RoM in the skiing boot on the side of prosthesis (4.4 ± 1.1° was significantly lower compared to an intact leg (5.9 ± 1.8° and the control group (6.5 ± 2.3°. In the ankle joint, the average RoM was determined to be 13.2±2.9° in the prosthesis, 12.7 ± 2.8° in an intact leg and 14.8±3.6 in the control group. However, the RoM of the knee joint in the prosthesis (42.2 ± 4.2° was significantly larger than that of the intact leg (34.7 ± 4.4°. The average RoM of the knee joint in the control group was 47.8 ± 5.4°. The influences of additional loads on the kinematics of the lower extremities were different on the side of the prosthesis and on the intact leg. In contrast, additional loads did not produce any significant differences in the control group. Although different CoFAs in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were used, an above-knee prosthesis with a built-in multi-axis prosthetic knee enables comparable leg kinematics in simulated alpine skiing.

  17. Oxidative stability of pork emulsion containing tomato products and pink guava pulp during refrigerated aerobic storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Serlene; Chatli, Manish K; Biswas, Ashim K; Sahoo, Jhari

    2014-11-01

    Lipid oxidation-induced quality problems can be minimized with the use of natural antioxidants. Antioxidant potential of tomato puree (10 %; T-1), tomato pulp (12.5 %; T-2), lyophilized tomato peel (6 %; T-3), and pink guava pulp (10 %; T-4) was evaluated in raw pork emulsion during refrigerated storage for 9 days under aerobic packaging. The lycopene and β-carotene content varied in pork emulsion as T-3 > T-1 > T-2 > T-4 and decreased (P emulsions than in control. Overall, incorporation of tomato products and pink guava pulp improved the visual colour and odour scores of raw pork emulsion. These results indicated that tomato products and guava pulp can be utilized as sources of natural antioxidants in raw pork products to minimize lipid oxidation, off-odour development, and surface discolouration.

  18. Production and consumption of nitrous oxide in nitrate-ammonifying Wolinella succinogenes cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckmann, Monique; Mania, Daniel; Kern, Melanie; Bakken, Lars R; Frostegård, Asa; Simon, Jörg

    2014-08-01

    Global warming is moving more and more into the public consciousness. Besides the commonly mentioned carbon dioxide and methane, nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas in addition to its contribution to depletion of stratospheric ozone. The increasing concern about N2O emission has focused interest on underlying microbial energy-converting processes and organisms harbouring N2O reductase (NosZ), such as denitrifiers and ammonifiers of nitrate and nitrite. Here, the epsilonproteobacterial model organism Wolinella succinogenes is investigated with regard to its capacity to produce and consume N2O during growth by anaerobic nitrate ammonification. This organism synthesizes an unconventional cytochrome c nitrous oxide reductase (cNosZ), which is encoded by the first gene of an atypical nos gene cluster. However, W. succinogenes lacks a nitric oxide (NO)-producing nitrite reductase of the NirS- or NirK-type as well as an NO reductase of the Nor-type. Using a robotized incubation system, the wild-type strain and suitable mutants of W. succinogenes that either produced or lacked cNosZ were analysed as to their production of NO, N2O and N2 in both nitrate-sufficient and nitrate-limited growth medium using formate as electron donor. It was found that cells growing in nitrate-sufficient medium produced small amounts of N2O, which derived from nitrite and, most likely, from the presence of NO. Furthermore, cells employing cNosZ were able to reduce N2O to N2. This reaction, which was fully inhibited by acetylene, was also observed after adding N2O to the culture headspace. The results indicate that W. succinogenes cells are competent in N2O and N2 production despite being correctly grouped as respiratory nitrate ammonifiers. N2O production is assumed to result from NO detoxification and nitrosative stress defence, while N2O serves as a terminal electron acceptor in anaerobic respiration. The ecological implications of these findings are discussed. © 2014 The Authors.

  19. Acetylene and oxygen as inhibitors of nitrous oxide production in Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosospira briensis: a cautionary tale

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wrage, N.; Velthof, G.L.; Oenema, O.; Laanbroek, H.J.

    2004-01-01

    Autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria produce nitrous oxide (N2O) as a by-product of nitrification or as an intermediate of nitrifier denitrification. In soil incubations, acetylene (C2H2) and large partial pressures of oxygen (O2) are used to distinguish between these sources. C2H2 inhibits

  20. Visual Speech Fills in Both Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Herve

    2018-01-01

    To communicate, children must discriminate and identify speech sounds. Because visual speech plays an important role in this process, we explored how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification by children. Critical items had intact visual speech (e.g. baez) coupled to non-intact (excised onsets) auditory speech (signified…

  1. On-line liquid chromatography-gas chromatography: A novel approach for the analysis of phytosterol oxidation products in enriched foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholz, Birgit; Wocheslander, Stefan; Lander, Vera; Engel, Karl-Heinz

    2015-05-29

    A novel methodology for the automated qualitative and quantitative determination of phytosterol oxidation products in enriched foods via on-line liquid chromatography-gas chromatography (LC-GC) was established. The approach is based on the LC pre-separation of acetylated phytosterols and their corresponding oxides using silica as stationary phase and a mixture of n-hexane/methyl tert-butyl ether/isopropanol as eluent. Two LC-fractions containing (i) 5,6-epoxy- and 7-hydroxyphytosterols, and (ii) 7-ketophytosterols are transferred on-line to the GC for the analysis of their individual compositions on a medium polar trifluoropropylmethyl polysiloxane capillary column. Thus, conventionally employed laborious off-line purification and enrichment steps can be avoided. Validation data, including recovery, repeatability, and reproducibility of the method, were elaborated using an enriched margarine as example. The margarine was subjected to a heating procedure in order to exemplarily monitor the formation of phytosterol oxidation products. Quantification was performed using on-line LC-GC-FID, identification of the analytes was based on on-line LC-GC-MS. The developed approach offers a new possibility for the reliable and fast analysis of phytosterol oxidation products in enriched foods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Epoxidation of the methamphetamine pyrolysis product, trans-phenylpropene, to trans-phenylpropylene oxide by CYP enzymes and stereoselective glutathione adduct formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanga, Madhu; Younis, Islam R.; Tirumalai, Padma S.; Bland, Tina M.; Banaszewska, Monica; Konat, Gregory W.; Tracy, Timothy S.; Gannett, Peter M.; Callery, Patrick S.

    2006-01-01

    Pyrolytic products of smoked methamphetamine hydrochloride are well established. Among the various degradation products formed, trans-phenylpropene (trans-β-methylstyrene) is structurally similar to styrene analogues known to be bioactivated by CYP enzymes. In human liver microsomes, trans-phenylpropene was converted to the epoxide trans-phenylpropylene oxide (trans-2-methyl-3-phenyloxirane) and cinnamyl alcohol. Incubation of trans-phenylpropene with microsomes in the presence of enzyme-specific P450 enzyme inhibitors indicated the involvement of CYP2E1, CYP1A2, and CYP3A4 enzymes. Both (R,R)-phenylpropylene oxide and (S,S)-phenylpropylene oxide were formed in human liver microsomal preparations. Enantiomers of trans-phenylpropylene oxide were stereoselectively and regioselectively conjugated in a Phase II drug metabolism reaction catalyzed by human liver cytosolic enzymes consisting of conjugation with glutathione. The structure of the phenylpropylene oxide-glutathione adduct is consistent with nucleophilic ring-opening by attack at the benzylic carbon. Exposure of cultured C6 glial cells to (S,S)-phenylpropylene oxide produced a cytotoxic response in a concentration-dependent manner based on cell degeneration and death

  3. Enzymatic oxidation of rutin by horseradish peroxidase: kinetic mechanism and identification of a dimeric product by LC-Orbitrap mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savic, Sasa; Vojinovic, Katarina; Milenkovic, Sanja; Smelcerovic, Andrija; Lamshoeft, Marc; Petronijevic, Zivomir

    2013-12-15

    Flavonoid oxidation is important issue in food processing and quality. The kinetic mechanism of enzymatic oxidation of rutin by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was studied. Rutin oxidation reaction was followed by recording of spectral changes over the time at 360 nm. The studied oxidation is mostly enzymatic and less part non-enzymatic. The reaction with HRP has a higher rate compared with the reaction without of HRP, whereby is part of non-enzymatic reaction about 10% of the total reaction. Kinetic parameters were determined from graphics of linear Michaelis-Menten equation, and it was found that investigated reactions of rutin oxidation by HRP take place in a ping-pong kinetic mechanism. High resolution HPLC-MS analysis of the mixture of oxidized products of rutin revealed the presence of rutin dimer. Because of widely distribution of rutin as well as presence of peroxidases and hydrogen peroxide in fresh foods identification of this enzymatic modification product can be beneficial for foods quality and safety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Elucidation of oxidation and degradation products of oxygen containing fuel components by combined use of a stable isotopic tracer and mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frauscher, Marcella; Besser, Charlotte; Allmaier, Günter; Dörr, Nicole

    2017-11-15

    In order to reveal the degradation products of oxygen-containing fuel components, in particular fatty acid methyl esters, a novel approach was developed to characterize the oxidation behaviour. Combination of artificial alteration under pressurized oxygen atmosphere, a stable isotopic tracer, and gas chromatography electron impact mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) was used to obtain detailed information on the formation of oxidation products of (9Z), (12Z)-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester (C18:2 ME). Thereby, biodiesel simulating model compound C18:2 ME was oxidized in a rotating pressurized vessel standardized for lubricant oxidation tests (RPVOT), i.e., artificially altered, under 16 O 2 as well as 18 O 2 atmosphere. Identification of the formed degradation products, mainly carboxylic acids of various chain lengths, alcohols, ketones, and esters, was performed by means of GC-EI-MS. Comparison of mass spectra of compounds under both atmospheres revealed not only the degree of oxidation and the origin of oxygen atoms, but also the sites of oxidative attack and bond cleavage. Hence, the developed and outlined strategy based on a gas-phase stable isotopic tracer and mass spectrometry provides insight into the degradation of oxygen-containing fuels and fuel components by means of the accurate differentiation of oxygen origin in a degradation product. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Nitric oxide production by nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and clearnose skate (Raja eglanteria) peripheral blood leucocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Cathy J; Toranto, Jason D; Gilliland, C Taylor; Noyes, David R; Bodine, Ashby B; Luer, Carl A

    2006-01-01

    Reactive nitrogen intermediates, such as nitric oxide (NO), are important immunomodulators in vertebrate immune systems, but have yet to be identified as mediators of host defence in any member of class Chondrichthyes, the cartilaginous fishes. In the present study, production of NO by nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) stimulated with bacterial cell wall lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was investigated. PBL were cultured for 24 to 96 h following stimulation with LPS at concentrations ranging from 0 to 25 microg ml(-1), in both serum-supplemented and serum-free culture conditions. Production of NO was measured indirectly using the Griess reaction, with maximal NO production occurring after 72 h using 10% FBS and 10 microg LPS ml(-1). Application of these culture conditions to PBL from another cartilaginous fish (clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria) resulted in a similar NO response. Addition of a specific inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), L-N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)lysine (L-NIL), resulted in a significant decrease in the production of NO by PBL from both species.

  6. Formation of lysine-derived oxidation products and loss of tryptophan during processing of porcine patties with added avocado byproducts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utrera, Mariana; Rodríguez-Carpena, Javier-Germán; Morcuende, David; Estévez, Mario

    2012-04-18

    The effects of the addition of avocado oil and a phenolic-rich avocado peel extract on protein oxidation were studied in porcine patties subjected to cooking and chilled storage. Protein oxidation was assessed by means of tryptophan loss and the formation of specific lysine oxidation products, such as α-aminoadipic semialdehyde (AAS), α-aminoadipic acid (AAA), and Schiff bases. In the present paper, quantitative data of AAA are reported for the first time on a food matrix. The addition of the avocado extract inhibited the formation of AAS, AAA, and Schiff bases in patties during cooking and subsequent chilled storage. The antioxidant effect may respond to the protecting effect of phenolic compounds, mainly procyanidins, found on the avocado extract. Apparently, the combination of both strategies (back-fat replacement and addition of avocado extract) does not lead to an enhanced advantage on the oxidative stability of the product. The novel methodologies used in the present study enable a better comprehension of the mechanisms and consequences of protein oxidation in food systems.

  7. Chlorination and chloramination of aminophenols in aqueous solution: oxidant demand and by-product formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrez, O Abou; Dossier-Berne, F; Legube, B

    2015-01-01

    Chlorination and monochloramination of aminophenols (AP) were carried out in aqueous solution at 25°C and at pH 8.5. Oxidant demand and disinfection by-product formation were determined in excess of oxidant. Experiments have shown that chlorine consumption of AP was 40-60% higher than monochloramine consumption. Compared with monochloramination, chlorination of AP formed more chloroform and haloacetic acids (HAA). Dichloroacetic acid was the major species of HAA. Chloroform and HAA represented, respectively, only 1-8% and 14-15% of adsorbable organic halides (AOX) by monochloramination but up to 29% and 39% of AOX by chlorination.

  8. The role of phospholipid oxidation products in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases: evidence from animal models and in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitinger, Norbert

    2008-01-01

    Since the discovery of oxidized phospholipids (OxPL) and their implication as modulators of inflammation in cardiovascular disease, roles for these lipid oxidation products have been suggested in many other disease settings. Lipid oxidation products accumulate in inflamed and oxidatively damaged tissue, where they are derived from oxidative modification of lipoproteins, but also from membranes of cells undergoing apoptosis. Thus, increased oxidative stress as well as decreased clearance of apoptotic cells has been implied to contribute to accumulation of OxPL in chronically inflamed tissues.A central role for OxPL in disease states associated with dyslipedemia, including atherosclerosis, diabetes and its complications, metabolic syndrome, and renal insufficiency, as well as general prothrombotic states, has been proposed. In addition, in organs which are constantly exposed to oxidative stress, including lung, skin, and eyes, increased levels of OxPL are suggested to contribute to inflammatory conditions. Moreover, accumulation of OxPL causes general immunmodulation and may lead to autoimmune diseases. Evidence is accumulating that OxPL play a role in lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. Last but not least, a role for OxPL in neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease has been suggested.This chapter will summarize recent findings obtained in animal models and from studies in humans that indicate that formation of OxPL represents a general mechanism that may play a major role in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

  9. Primary atmospheric oxidation mechanism for toluene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltaretu, Cristian O; Lichtman, Eben I; Hadler, Amelia B; Elrod, Matthew J

    2009-01-08

    The products of the primary OH-initiated oxidation of toluene were investigated using the turbulent flow chemical ionization mass spectrometry technique at temperatures ranging from 228 to 298 K. A major dienedial-producing pathway was detected for the first time for toluene oxidation, and glyoxal and methylglyoxal were found to be minor primary oxidation products. The results suggest that secondary oxidation processes involving dienedial and epoxide primary products are likely responsible for previous observations of glyoxal and methylglyoxal products from toluene oxidation. Because the dienedial-producing pathway is a null cycle for tropospheric ozone production and glyoxal and methylglyoxal are important secondary organic aerosol precursors, these new findings have important implications for the modeling of toluene oxidation in the atmosphere.

  10. Intactness of cell wall structure controls the in vitro digestion of starch in legumes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhital, Sushil; Bhattarai, Rewati R; Gorham, John; Gidley, Michael J

    2016-03-01

    Increasing the level of starch that is not digested by the end of the small intestine and therefore enters the colon ('resistant starch') is a major opportunity for improving the nutritional profile of foods. One mechanism that has been shown to be successful is entrapment of starch within an intact plant tissue structure. However, the level of tissue intactness required for resistance to amylase digestion has not been defined. In this study, intact cells were isolated from a range of legumes after thermal treatment at 60 °C (starch not gelatinised) or 95 °C (starch gelatinised) followed by hydrolysis using pancreatic alpha amylase. It was found that intact cells, isolated at either temperature, were impervious to amylase. However, application of mechanical force damaged the cell wall and made starch accessible to digestive enzymes. This shows that the access of enzymes to the entrapped swollen starch is the rate limiting step controlling hydrolysis of starch in cooked legumes. The results suggest that a single cell wall could be sufficient to provide an effective delivery of starch to the large intestine with consequent nutritional benefits, provided that mechanical damage during digestion is avoided.

  11. Trace Metal Requirements for Microbial Enzymes Involved in the Production and Consumption of Methane and Nitrous Oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glass, Jennifer B.; Orphan, Victoria J.

    2011-01-01

    Fluxes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are heavily influenced by microbiological activity. Microbial enzymes involved in the production and consumption of greenhouse gases often contain metal cofactors. While extensive research has examined the influence of Fe bioavailability on microbial CO2 cycling, fewer studies have explored metal requirements for microbial production and consumption of the second- and third-most abundant greenhouse gases, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Here we review the current state of biochemical, physiological, and environmental research on transition metal requirements for microbial CH4 and N2O cycling. Methanogenic archaea require large amounts of Fe, Ni, and Co (and some Mo/W and Zn). Low bioavailability of Fe, Ni, and Co limits methanogenesis in pure and mixed cultures and environmental studies. Anaerobic methane oxidation by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) likely occurs via reverse methanogenesis since ANME possess most of the enzymes in the methanogenic pathway. Aerobic CH4 oxidation uses Cu or Fe for the first step depending on Cu availability, and additional Fe, Cu, and Mo for later steps. N2O production via classical anaerobic denitrification is primarily Fe-based, whereas aerobic pathways (nitrifier denitrification and archaeal ammonia oxidation) require Cu in addition to, or possibly in place of, Fe. Genes encoding the Cu-containing N2O reductase, the only known enzyme capable of microbial N2O conversion to N2, have only been found in classical denitrifiers. Accumulation of N2O due to low Cu has been observed in pure cultures and a lake ecosystem, but not in marine systems. Future research is needed on metalloenzymes involved in the production of N2O by enrichment cultures of ammonia oxidizing archaea, biological mechanisms for scavenging scarce metals, and possible links between metal bioavailability and greenhouse gas fluxes in anaerobic environments where metals may be limiting due to sulfide

  12. Thermodynamic analysis of synthetic hydrocarbon fuel production in pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Xiufu; Chen, Ming; Jensen, Søren Højgaard

    2012-01-01

    A promising way to store wind and solar electricity is by electrolysis of H2O and CO2 using solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) to produce synthetic hydrocarbon fuels that can be used in existing fuel infrastructure. Pressurized operation decreases the cell internal resistance and enables...... improved system efficiency, potentially lowering the fuel production cost significantly. In this paper, we present a thermodynamic analysis of synthetic methane and dimethyl ether (DME) production using pressurized SOECs, in order to determine feasible operating conditions for producing the desired......, and outlet gas composition. For methane production, low temperature and high pressure operation could improve the system efficiency, but might lead to a higher capital cost. For DME production, high pressure SOEC operation necessitates higher operating temperature in order to avoid carbon formation at higher...

  13. Differences in School Behavior and Achievement between Children from Intact, Reconstituted, and Single-Parent Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Featherstone, Darin R.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Analyzed differences in school behavior and achievement among students (n=530) in grades six through nine from intact, reconstituted, and single-parent families. Students from intact, two-parent families had fewer absences and tardies, higher grade point averages, and fewer negative and more positive teacher behavioral ratings than did those from…

  14. Cobalt catalyzed peroxymonosulfate oxidation of tetrabromobisphenol A: Kinetics, reaction pathways, and formation of brominated by-products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji, Yuefei [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China); Kong, Deyang [Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Environmental Protection of PRC, Nanjing 210042 (China); Lu, Junhe, E-mail: jhlu@njau.edu.cn [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China); Jin, Hao; Kang, Fuxing; Yin, Xiaoming; Zhou, Quansuo [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China)

    2016-08-05

    Highlights: • Cobalt catalyzed peroxymonosulfate oxidation of tetrabromobisphenol A. • Phenolic moiety was the reactive site for sulfate radical attack. • Pathways include β-scission, oxidation, debromination and coupling reactions. • Brominated disinfection by-products were found during TBBPA degradation. • Humic acid inhibited TBBPA degradation but promoted DBPs formation. - Abstract: Degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a flame retardant widely spread in the environment, in Co(II) catalyzed peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation process was systematically explored. The second-order-rate constant for reaction of sulfate radical (SO{sub 4}{sup ·−}) with TBBPA was determined to be 5.27 × 10{sup 10} M{sup −1} s{sup −1}. Apparently, degradation of TBBPA showed first-order kinetics to the concentrations of both Co(II) and PMS. The presence of humic acid (HA) and bicarbonate inhibited TBBPA degradation, most likely due to their competition for SO{sub 4}{sup ·−}. Degradation of TBBPA was initiated by an electron abstraction from one of the phenolic rings. Detailed transformation pathways were proposed, including β-scission of isopropyl bridge, phenolic ring oxidation, debromination and coupling reactions. Further oxidative degradation of intermediates in Co(II)/PMS process yielded brominated disinfection by-products (Br-DBPs) such as bromoform and brominated acetic acids. Evolution profile of Br-DBPs showed an initially increasing and then decreasing pattern with maximum concentrations occurring around 6–10 h. The presence of HA enhanced the formation of Br-DBPs significantly. These findings reveal potentially important, but previously unrecognized, formation of Br-DBPs during sulfate radical-based oxidation of bromide-containing organic compounds that may pose toxicological risks to human health.

  15. Evaporative light scattering detector in normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography determination of FAME oxidation products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Arturo; Marmesat, Susana; Dobarganes, M Carmen; Márquez-Ruiz, Gloria; Velasco, Joaquín

    2012-09-07

    The use of an ELS detector in NP-HPLC for quantitative analysis of oxidation products in FAME obtained from oils is evaluated in this study. The results obtained have shown that the ELS detector enables the quantitative determination of the hydroperoxides of oleic and linoleic acid methyl esters as a whole, and connected in series with a UV detector makes it possible to determine both groups of compounds by difference, providing useful complementary information. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) found for hydroperoxides were respectively 2.5 and 5.7 μg mL⁻¹ and precision of quantitation expressed as coefficient of variation was lower than 10%. Due to a low sensitivity the ELS detector shows limitations to determine the low contents of secondary oxidation products in the direct analysis of FAME oxidized at low or moderate temperature. Analysis of FAME samples obtained either from high linoleic sunflower oil (HLSO) or high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and oxidized at 80 °C showed that only ketodienes formed from methyl linoleate can be determined in samples with relatively high oxidation, being the LOD and LOQ 0.2 and 0.4 mg/g FAME, respectively, at the analytical conditions applied. The ELS detector also enabled the determination of methyl cis-9,10-epoxystearate and methyl trans-9,10-epoxystearate, which were resolved at the chromatographic conditions applied. Results showed that these compounds, which are formed from methyl oleate, were not detected in the high-linoleic sample, but occurred at non-negligible levels in the oxidized FAME obtained from HOSO. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. The oxidation; Okislenie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nikitin, V I

    1961-07-01

    In this chapter of book author determine that alkylene tetra hydro-{gamma}-piron, oxidated by potassium permanganate in all cases of passed oxidation gave oxidation products, confirmatory their structure.

  17. Dissolution of Intact, Divided and Crushed Circadin Tablets: Prolonged vs. Immediate Release of Melatonin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Ming Chua

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Circadin 2 mg prolonged-release tablet is the only licensed melatonin product available in the UK. Circadin is indicated for patients with primary insomnia aged 55 and over, but is more widely used “off-label” to treat sleep disorders especially in the paediatric population. Children and older people often have difficulty swallowing tablets and dividing the tablet is sometimes required to ease administration. The aim of this study was to measure the release profile of melatonin from Circadin tablets when divided or crushed, and compare this with release from intact tablets. Dissolution testing was also performed for unlicensed melatonin products for comparison. Dissolution tests were performed using the pharmacopoeial paddle apparatus, with melatonin release analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Melatonin content, hardness, friability, and disintegration of the products were also evaluated. The prolonged release of melatonin from Circadin tablets was unlike that of any other product tested. When divided into halves, Circadin preserved most of the prolonged-release characteristic (f2 = 58, whereas quarter-cut and crushed tablet had a more immediate melatonin release profile. Circadin is significantly less expensive and should be preferred to unlicensed medicines which are not pharmaceutically equivalent and offer less quality assurance.

  18. Comparison of different two-pathway models for describing the combined effect of DO and nitrite on the nitrous oxide production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Longqi; Pocquet, Mathieu; Ni, Bing-Jie; Yuan, Zhiguo; Spérandio, Mathieu

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this work is to compare the capability of two recently proposed two-pathway models for predicting nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) for varying ranges of dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrite. The first model includes the electron carriers whereas the second model is based on direct coupling of electron donors and acceptors. Simulations are confronted to extensive sets of experiments (43 batches) from different studies with three different microbial systems. Despite their different mathematical structures, both models could well and similarly describe the combined effect of DO and nitrite on N 2 O production rate and emission factor. The model-predicted contributions for nitrifier denitrification pathway and hydroxylamine pathway also matched well with the available isotopic measurements. Based on sensitivity analysis, calibration procedures are described and discussed for facilitating the future use of those models.

  19. Characterization of oxidation products on a ZrFe2-type laves intermetallic exposed to 200degreeC steam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abraham, D. P.; Dietz, N.; Finnegan, N.

    2000-01-01

    The release of radioactive elements from the stainless steel-15 wt% zirconium (SS-15Zr) metal waste form will be governed by the corrosion behavior of ZrFe 2 -type intermetallics phases present in the alloy. In this article, oxidation products that formed on a ZrFe 2 -type intermetallic sample exposed to 200 C steam were characterized by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The data revealed two oxide layers on the sample surface: an outer crystalline iron-oxide layer and an inner amorphous zirconium-rich layer believed to be zirconium oxide. Thermodynamic considerations indicate that the zirconium-rich layer formed first. The iron-oxide layer appears to have resulted from the diffusion of iron through the zirconium-rich layer to the oxide-vapor interface

  20. Oxidation of monovacancies in graphene by oxygen molecules

    KAUST Repository

    Kaloni, Thaneshwor P.; Cheng, Yingchun; Faccio, R.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2011-01-01

    We study the oxidation of monovacancies in graphene by oxygen molecules using first principles calculations. In particular, we address the local magnetic moments which develop at monovacancies and show that they remain intact when a molecule is adsorbed such that the dangling carbon bonds are not fully saturated. However, the lowest energy configuration does not maintain dangling bonds and is found to be semiconducting. Our data can explain the experimentally observed behavior of graphene under exposure to an oxygen plasma.

  1. Oxidation of monovacancies in graphene by oxygen molecules

    KAUST Repository

    Kaloni, Thaneshwor P.

    2011-10-14

    We study the oxidation of monovacancies in graphene by oxygen molecules using first principles calculations. In particular, we address the local magnetic moments which develop at monovacancies and show that they remain intact when a molecule is adsorbed such that the dangling carbon bonds are not fully saturated. However, the lowest energy configuration does not maintain dangling bonds and is found to be semiconducting. Our data can explain the experimentally observed behavior of graphene under exposure to an oxygen plasma.

  2. Influence of rapid changes in cytosolic pH on oxidative phosphorylation in skeletal muscle: theoretical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korzeniewski, Bernard; Zoladz, Jerzy A

    2002-07-01

    Cytosolic pH in skeletal muscle may vary significantly because of proton production/consumption by creatine kinase and/or proton production by anaerobic glycolysis. A computer model of oxidative phosphorylation in intact skeletal muscle developed previously was used to study the kinetic effect of these variations on the oxidative phosphorylation system. Two kinds of influence were analysed: (i) via the change in pH across the inner mitochondrial membrane and (ii) via the shift in the equilibrium of the creatine kinase-catalysed reaction. Our simulations suggest that cytosolic pH has essentially no impact on the steady-state fluxes and most metabolite concentrations. On the other hand, rapid acidification/alkalization of cytosol causes a transient decrease/increase in the respiration rate. Furthermore, changes in pH seem to affect significantly the kinetic properties of transition between resting state and active state. An increase in pH brought about by proton consumption by creatine kinase at the onset of exercise lengthens the transition time. At intensive exercise levels this pH increase could lead to loss of the stability of the system, if not compensated by glycolytic H+ production. Thus our theoretical results stress the importance of processes/mechanisms that buffer/compensate for changes in cytosolic proton concentration. In particular, we suggest that the second main role of anaerobic glycolysis, apart from additional ATP supply, may be maintaining the stability of the system at intensive exercise.

  3. Healthy Dietary Patterns and Oxidative Stress as Measured by Fluorescent Oxidation Products in Nurses’ Health Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungyoun Jung

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Healthy diets may lower oxidative stress and risk of chronic diseases. However, no previous studies examined associations between diet and fluorescent oxidation products (FlOP, a global marker of oxidative stress. We evaluated associations between healthy eating patterns (Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI, Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH, and Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED and FlOP, measured at three excitation/emission wavelengths (FlOP_360, FlOP_320, FlOP_400 from 2021 blood samples collected from 1688 women within the Nurses’ Health Study. AHEI, DASH, and aMED scores were significantly positively associated with FlOP_360 and FlOP_320 concentrations (p-trend ≤ 0.04, but not associated with FlOP_400. Among specific food groups that contribute to these diet scores, significantly positive associations were observed with legumes and vegetables for FlOP_360, vegetables and fruits for FlOP_320, and legumes and alcohol for FlOP_400. Inverse associations were observed with nuts, sweets or desserts, and olive oil for FlOP_360, nuts for FlOP_320 and sweets or desserts for FlOP_400 (all p-trend ≤ 0.05. However, FlOP variation due to diet was small compared to overall FlOP variation. In conclusion, AHEI, DASH, and aMED scores were unexpectedly positively, but weakly, associated with FlOP_360 and FlOP_320. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously as the determinants of FlOP concentrations are not fully understood.

  4. Binding of radiolabelled luteinizing hormone to intact and ovariectomised rat uterus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, S.; Bhattacharya, S.

    1992-01-01

    Binding of ovine LH to uterine tissue preparation from intact and ovariectomised rat clearly indicates that uterus possesses specific binding sites for LH. Binding characteristics of LH to uterine tissue preparation from intact rat showed saturability with high affinity and low capacity. Scatchard plot analysis showed dissociation constant of the specific binding site to be 0.12 x 10 -9 mol/l and the number of binding sites was 2.31±0.05 fmol/mg protein. Ovariectomy did not change the binding affinity but effected a decrease in the number of binding sites (1.7 ± 0.08 f mol/mg protein). LH treatment of ovariectomized (ovx) rat had no effect on binding affinity but significantly increased the number of binding sites (3.23 ± 0.1 f mol/mg protein). Reduction of uterine weight due to ovariectomy and marked increase of ovx rat uterine weight by LH administration indicate a source of estrogen in ovx rat. An in vitro uterine tissue slice (from intact and ovx rat) incubation showed depletion of 17 β-estradiol (E 2 ) content in ovx rat which significantly elevated on LH addition. Data suggest the LH binding to rat uterine tissue has biological relevance. (author). 16 refs., 4 figs. 1 tab

  5. Evidence for an intact polysaccharide capsule in Bordetella pertussis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neo, YiLin; Li, Rui; Howe, Josephine; Hoo, Regina; Pant, Aakanksha; Ho, SiYing; Alonso, Sylvie

    2010-03-01

    Polysaccharide capsules contribute to the pathogenesis of many bacteria species by providing resistance against various defense mechanisms. The production of a capsule in Bordetella pertussis, the etiologic agent of whooping cough, has remained controversial; earlier studies reported this pathogen as a capsulated microorganism whereas the recent B. pertussis genome analysis revealed the presence of a truncated capsule locus. In this work, using transmission electron microscopy and immunostaining approaches, we provide a formal evidence for the presence of an intact microcapsule produced at the surface of both laboratory strain and clinical isolates of B. pertussis. In agreement with previous studies, we found that the capsule is optimally produced in avirulent phase. Unexpectedly, the presence of the capsule was also detected at the surface of virulent B. pertussis bacteria. Consistently, a substantial transcriptional activity of the capsule operon was detected in virulent phase, suggesting that the capsular polysaccharide may play a role during pertussis pathogenesis. In vitro assays indicated that the presence of the capsule does not affect B. pertussis adherence to mammalian cells and does not further protect the bacterium from phagocytosis, complement-mediated killing or antimicrobial peptide attack. Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  6. Reactive oxidation products promote secondary organic aerosol formation from green leaf volatiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. F. Hamilton

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Green leaf volatiles (GLVs are an important group of chemicals released by vegetation which have emission fluxes that can be significantly increased when plants are damaged or stressed. A series of simulation chamber experiments has been conducted at the European Photoreactor in Valencia, Spain, to investigate secondary organic aerosol (SOA formation from the atmospheric oxidation of the major GLVs cis-3-hexenylacetate and cis-3-hexen-1-ol. Liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry was used to identify chemical species present in the SOA. Cis-3-hexen-1-ol proved to be a more efficient SOA precursor due to the high reactivity of its first generation oxidation product, 3-hydroxypropanal, which can hydrate and undergo further reactions with other aldehydes resulting in SOA dominated by higher molecular weight oligomers. The lower SOA yields produced from cis-3-hexenylacetate are attributed to the acetate functionality, which inhibits oligomer formation in the particle phase. Based on observed SOA yields and best estimates of global emissions, these compounds may be calculated to be a substantial unidentified global source of SOA, contributing 1–5 TgC yr−1, equivalent to around a third of that predicted from isoprene. Molecular characterization of the SOA, combined with organic mechanistic information, has provided evidence that the formation of organic aerosols from GLVs is closely related to the reactivity of their first generation atmospheric oxidation products, and indicates that this may be a simple parameter that could be used in assessing the aerosol formation potential for other unstudied organic compounds in the atmosphere.

  7. Deuterium oxide as a tool for the study of amino acid metabolism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitra, R.; Burton, J.; Varner, J.E.

    1976-01-01

    We have used deuterium oxide in nontoxic concentrations to study, in intact seedlings, the biosynthesis of amino acids. The extent and pattern of deuteration, as determined by a gas--liquid chromatograph--mass spectrometer system, permits conclusions about the biosynthesis of individual amino acids and also about their exposure to transaminases and other enzymes that might introduce deuterium into specific positions of the amino acid by exchange. This method could be used to study amino acid biogenesis in any organism that can tolerate 20 to 40 percent deuterium oxide for a period of a few hours to a few days

  8. Damage of polyesters by the atmospheric free radical oxidant NO3 •: a product study involving model systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeschen, Catrin

    2013-01-01

    Summary Manufactured polymer materials are used in increasingly demanding applications, but their lifetime is strongly influenced by environmental conditions. In particular, weathering and ageing leads to dramatic changes in the properties of the polymers, which results in decreased service life and limited usage. Despite the heavy reliance of our society on polymers, the mechanism of their degradation upon exposure to environmental oxidants is barely understood. In this work, model systems of important structural motifs in commercial high-performing polyesters were used to study the reaction with the night-time free radical oxidant NO3 • in the absence and presence of other radical and non-radical oxidants. Identification of the products revealed ‘hot spots’ in polyesters that are particularly vulnerable to attack by NO3 • and insight into the mechanism of oxidative damage by this environmentally important radical. It is suggested that both intermediates as well as products of these reactions are potentially capable of promoting further degradation processes in polyesters under environmental conditions. PMID:24204400

  9. Gross nitrous oxide production drives net nitrous oxide fluxes across a salt marsh landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wendy H; Silver, Whendee L

    2016-06-01

    Sea level rise will change inundation regimes in salt marshes, altering redox dynamics that control nitrification - a potential source of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2 O) - and denitrification, a major nitrogen (N) loss pathway in coastal ecosystems and both a source and sink of N2 O. Measurements of net N2 O fluxes alone yield little insight into the different effects of redox conditions on N2 O production and consumption. We used in situ measurements of gross N2 O fluxes across a salt marsh elevation gradient to determine how soil N2 O emissions in coastal ecosystems may respond to future sea level rise. Soil redox declined as marsh elevation decreased, with lower soil nitrate and higher ferrous iron in the low marsh compared to the mid and high marshes (P production was highest in the low marsh and lowest in the mid-marsh (P = 0.02), whereas gross N2 O consumption did not differ among marsh zones. Thus, variability in gross N2 O production rates drove the differences in net N2 O flux among marsh zones. Our results suggest that future studies should focus on elucidating controls on the processes producing, rather than consuming, N2 O in salt marshes to improve our predictions of changes in net N2 O fluxes caused by future sea level rise. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Determination of the products from the oxidation of aqueous hydrogen sulfide by sulfur K-edge XANES spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vairavamurthy, A.; Manowitz, B.; Jeon, Yongseog; Zhou, Weiqing.

    1993-01-01

    The application of synchrotron radiation based XANES spectroscopy is described for determining the products formed from oxidation of aqueous sulfide.This technique allows simultaneous characterization of all the different forms of sulfur both qualitatively and quantitatively. Thus, it is superior to other commonly used techniques, such as chromatography, which are usually targeted at specific compounds. Since the use of XANES-based technique is relatively new in geochemistry, we present here an overview of the principles of the technique as well as the approach used for quantitative analysis. We studied the sulfide oxidation under conditions of high sulfide to oxygen ratio using 0.1 M sulfide solutions and the catalytic effects of sea sand, Fe 2+ , and Ni 2+ , were also examined. Significant results obtained from this study are presented to illustrate the value of the XANES technique for the determination of the products formed from the oxidation of sulfide at high concentrations

  11. Chronic exposure to high glucose impairs bradykinin-stimulated nitric oxide production by interfering with the phospholipase-C-implicated signalling pathway in endothelial cells: evidence for the involvement of protein kinase C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Y; Li, G D

    2004-12-01

    Overwhelming evidence indicates that endothelial cell dysfunction in diabetes is characterised by diminished endothelium-dependent relaxation, but the matter of the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. As nitric oxide (NO) production from the endothelium is the major player in endothelium-mediated vascular relaxation, we investigated the effects of high glucose on NO production, and the possible alterations of signalling pathways implicated in this scenario. NO production and intracellular Ca(2+) levels ([Ca(2+)](i)) were assessed using the fluorescent probes 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate and fura-2 respectively. Exposure of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells to high glucose for 5 or 10 days significantly reduced NO production induced by bradykinin (but not by Ca(2+) ionophore) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This was probably due to an attenuation in bradykinin-induced elevations of [Ca(2+)](i) under these conditions, since a close correlation between [Ca(2+)](i) increases and NO generation was observed in intact bovine aortic endothelial cells. Both bradykinin-promoted intracellular Ca(2+) mobilisation and extracellular Ca(2+) entry were affected. Moreover, bradykinin-induced formation of Ins(1,4,5)P(3), a phospholipase C product leading to increases in [Ca(2+)](i), was also inhibited following high glucose culture. This abnormality was not attributable to a decrease in inositol phospholipids, but possibly to a reduction in the number of bradykinin receptors. The alterations in NO production, the increases in [Ca(2+)](i), and the bradykinin receptor number due to high glucose could be largely reversed by protein kinase C inhibitors and D: -alpha-tocopherol (antioxidant). Chronic exposure to high glucose reduces NO generation in endothelial cells, probably by impairing phospholipase-C-mediated Ca(2+) signalling due to excess protein kinase C activation. This defect in NO release may contribute to the diminished endothelium

  12. Production of nitric oxide using a microwave plasma torch and its application to fungal cell differentiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Na, Young Ho; Kang, Min-Ho; Cho, Guang Sup; Choi, Eun Ha; Park, Gyungsoon; Uhm, Han Sup; Kumar, Naresh

    2015-01-01

    The generation of nitric oxide by a microwave plasma torch is proposed for its application to cell differentiation. A microwave plasma torch was developed based on basic kinetic theory. The analytical theory indicates that nitric oxide density is nearly proportional to oxygen molecular density and that the high-temperature flame is an effective means of generating nitric oxide. Experimental data pertaining to nitric oxide production are presented in terms of the oxygen input in units of cubic centimeters per minute. The apparent length of the torch flame increases as the oxygen input increases. The various levels of nitric oxide are observed depending on the flow rate of nitrogen gas, the mole fraction of oxygen gas, and the microwave power. In order to evaluate the potential of nitric oxide as an activator of cell differentiation, we applied nitric oxide generated from the microwave plasma torch to a model microbial cell (Neurospora crassa: non-pathogenic fungus). Germination and hyphal differentiation of fungal cells were not dramatically changed but there was a significant increase in spore formation after treatment with nitric oxide. In addition, the expression level of a sporulation related gene acon-3 was significantly elevated after 24 h upon nitric oxide treatment. Increase in the level of nitric oxide, nitrite and nitrate in water after nitric oxide treatment seems to be responsible for activation of fungal sporulation. Our results suggest that nitric oxide generated by plasma can be used as a possible activator of cell differentiation and development. (paper)

  13. Controlled nitric oxide production via O(1D  + N2O reactions for use in oxidation flow reactor studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Lambe

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Oxidation flow reactors that use low-pressure mercury lamps to produce hydroxyl (OH radicals are an emerging technique for studying the oxidative aging of organic aerosols. Here, ozone (O3 is photolyzed at 254 nm to produce O(1D radicals, which react with water vapor to produce OH. However, the need to use parts-per-million levels of O3 hinders the ability of oxidation flow reactors to simulate NOx-dependent secondary organic aerosol (SOA formation pathways. Simple addition of nitric oxide (NO results in fast conversion of NOx (NO + NO2 to nitric acid (HNO3, making it impossible to sustain NOx at levels that are sufficient to compete with hydroperoxy (HO2 radicals as a sink for organic peroxy (RO2 radicals. We developed a new method that is well suited to the characterization of NOx-dependent SOA formation pathways in oxidation flow reactors. NO and NO2 are produced via the reaction O(1D + N2O  →  2NO, followed by the reaction NO + O3  →  NO2 + O2. Laboratory measurements coupled with photochemical model simulations suggest that O(1D + N2O reactions can be used to systematically vary the relative branching ratio of RO2 + NO reactions relative to RO2 + HO2 and/or RO2 + RO2 reactions over a range of conditions relevant to atmospheric SOA formation. We demonstrate proof of concept using high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS measurements with nitrate (NO3− reagent ion to detect gas-phase oxidation products of isoprene and α-pinene previously observed in NOx-influenced environments and in laboratory chamber experiments.

  14. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation mediated by Mn-oxides: from sediment to strain level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javanaud, Cedric; Michotey, Valerie; Guasco, Sophie; Garcia, Nicole; Anschutz, Pierre; Canton, Mathieu; Bonin, Patricia

    2011-11-01

    Nitrite and (29)N(2) productions in slurry incubations of anaerobically sediment after (15)NO(3) or (15)NH(4) labelling in the presence of Mn-oxides suggested that anaerobic Mn-oxides mediated nitrification coupled with denitrification in muddy intertidal sediments of Arcachon Bay (SW Atlantic French coast). From this sediment, bacterial strains were isolated and physiologically characterized in terms of Mn-oxides and nitrate reduction as well as potential anaerobic nitrification. One of the isolated strain, identified as Marinobacter daepoensis strain M4AY14, was a denitrifier. Nitrous oxide production by this strain was demonstrated in the absence of nitrate and with Mn-oxides and NH(4) amendment, giving indirect proof of anaerobic nitrate or nitrite production. Anaerobic Mn-oxide-mediated nitrification was confirmed by (29)N(2) production in the presence of (15)NO(3) and (14)NH(4) under denitrifying conditions. Anaerobic nitrification by M4AY14 seemed to occur only in the absence of nitrate, or at nitrate levels lower than that of Mn-oxides. Most of the other isolates were affiliated with the Shewanella genus and were able to use both nitrate and Mn-oxides as electron acceptors. When both electron acceptors were present, whatever their concentrations, nitrate and Mn-oxide reduction co-occurred. These data indicate that bacterial Mn-oxide reduction could be an important process in marine sediments with low oxygen concentrations, and demonstrate for the first time the role of bacteria in anaerobic Mn-mediated nitrification. Copyright © 2011 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Efficient production of ultrapure manganese oxides via electrodeposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheney, Marcos A; Joo, Sang Woo; Banerjee, Arghya; Min, Bong-Ki

    2012-08-01

    A new process for the production of electrolytic amorphous nanomanganese oxides (EAMD) with uniform size and morphology is described. EAMD are produced for the first time by cathodic deposition from a basic aqueous solution of potassium permanganate at a constant temperature of 16°C. The synthesized materials are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM. The materials produced at 5.0 V at constant temperature are amorphous with homogeneous size and morphology with an average particle size around 20 nm, which appears to be much lesser than the previously reported anodic EAMD. A potentiostatic electrodeposition with much lesser deposition rate (with respect to previously reported anodic depositions) is considered to be the reason behind the very low and homogenous particle size distribution due to the lesser agglomeration of our as-synthesized nanoparticles. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Nitric oxide production by necrotrophic pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina and the host plant in charcoal rot disease of jute: complexity of the interplay between necrotroph-host plant interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuhin Subhra Sarkar

    Full Text Available M. phaseolina, a global devastating necrotrophic fungal pathogen causes charcoal rot disease in more than 500 host plants. With the aim of understanding the plant-necrotrophic pathogen interaction associated with charcoal rot disease of jute, biochemical approach was attempted to study cellular nitric oxide production under diseased condition. This is the first report on M. phaseolina infection in Corchorus capsularis (jute plants which resulted in elevated nitric oxide, reactive nitrogen species and S nitrosothiols production in infected tissues. Time dependent nitric oxide production was also assessed with 4-Amino-5-Methylamino-2',7'-Difluorofluorescein Diacetate using single leaf experiment both in presence of M. phaseolina and xylanases obtained from fungal secretome. Cellular redox status and redox active enzymes were also assessed during plant fungal interaction. Interestingly, M. phaseolina was found to produce nitric oxide which was detected in vitro inside the mycelium and in the surrounding medium. Addition of mammalian nitric oxide synthase inhibitor could block the nitric oxide production in M. phaseolina. Bioinformatics analysis revealed nitric oxide synthase like sequence with conserved amino acid sequences in M. phaseolina genome sequence. In conclusion, the production of nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen species may have important physiological significance in necrotrophic host pathogen interaction.

  17. Resolving the contributions of the membrane-bound and periplasmic nitrate reductase systems to nitric oxide and nitrous oxide production in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, Gary; Hensen, Daniela; Felgate, Heather; Arkenberg, Anke; Appia-Ayme, Corinne; Prior, Karen; Harrington, Carl; Field, Sarah J; Butt, Julea N; Baggs, Elizabeth; Richardson, David J

    2012-01-15

    The production of cytotoxic nitric oxide (NO) and conversion into the neuropharmacological agent and potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) is linked with anoxic nitrate catabolism by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Salmonella can synthesize two types of nitrate reductase: a membrane-bound form (Nar) and a periplasmic form (Nap). Nitrate catabolism was studied under nitrate-rich and nitrate-limited conditions in chemostat cultures following transition from oxic to anoxic conditions. Intracellular NO production was reported qualitatively by assessing transcription of the NO-regulated genes encoding flavohaemoglobin (Hmp), flavorubredoxin (NorV) and hybrid cluster protein (Hcp). A more quantitative analysis of the extent of NO formation was gained by measuring production of N₂O, the end-product of anoxic NO-detoxification. Under nitrate-rich conditions, the nar, nap, hmp, norV and hcp genes were all induced following transition from the oxic to anoxic state, and 20% of nitrate consumed in steady-state was released as N₂O when nitrite had accumulated to millimolar levels. The kinetics of nitrate consumption, nitrite accumulation and N₂O production were similar to those of wild-type in nitrate-sufficient cultures of a nap mutant. In contrast, in a narG mutant, the steady-state rate of N₂O production was ~30-fold lower than that of the wild-type. Under nitrate-limited conditions, nap, but not nar, was up-regulated following transition from oxic to anoxic metabolism and very little N₂O production was observed. Thus a combination of nitrate-sufficiency, nitrite accumulation and an active Nar-type nitrate reductase leads to NO and thence N₂O production, and this can account for up to 20% of the nitrate catabolized.

  18. Sintering uranium oxide in the reaction product of hydrogen-carbon dioxide mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Hollander, W.R.; Nivas, Y.

    1975-01-01

    Compacted pellets of uranium oxide alone or containing one or more additives such as plutonium dioxide, gadolinium oxide, titanium dioxide, silica, and alumina are heated to 900 to 1599 0 C in the presence of a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, either alone or with an inert carrier gas and held at the desired temperature in this atmosphere to sinter the pellets. The sintered pellets are then cooled in an atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 10 -4 to 10 -18 atm of oxygen such as dry hydrogen, wet hydrogen, dry carbon monoxide, wet carbon monoxide, inert gases such as nitrogen, argon, helium, and neon and mixtures of ayny of the foregoing including a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The ratio of hydrogen to carbon dioxide in the gas mixture fed to the furnace is controlled to give a ratio of oxygen to uranium atoms in the sintered particles within the range of 1.98:1 to about 2.10:1. The water vapor present in the reaction products in the furnace atmosphere acts as a hydrolysis agent to aid removal of fluoride should such impurity be present in the uranium oxide. (U.S.)

  19. Ageing-Associated Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Are Alleviated by Products from Grapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. S. Petersen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Advanced age is associated with increased incidence of a variety of chronic disease states which share oxidative stress and inflammation as causative role players. Furthermore, data point to a role for both cumulative oxidative stress and low grade inflammation in the normal ageing process, independently of disease. Therefore, arguably the best route with which to address premature ageing, as well as age-associated diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia, is preventative medicine aimed at modulation of these two responses, which are intricately interlinked. In this review, we provide a detailed account of the literature on the communication of these systems in the context of ageing, but with inclusion of relevant data obtained in other models. In doing so, we attempted to more clearly elucidate or identify the most probable cellular or molecular targets for preventative intervention. In addition, given the absence of a clear pharmaceutical solution in this context, together with the ever-increasing consumer bias for natural medicine, we provide an overview of the literature on grape (Vitis vinifera derived products, for which beneficial effects are consistently reported in the context of both oxidative stress and inflammation.

  20. Risks for Conduct Disorder Symptoms Associated with Parental Alcoholism in Stepfather Families versus Intact Families from a Community Sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Debra L.; Pickles, Andrew; Rutter, Michael; Gardner, Charles O.; Maes, Hermine H.; Silberg, Judy L.; Eaves, Lindon J.

    2004-01-01

    Background: It is not known if the prevalence of parental psychiatric disorders is higher in stepfather than intact families, or if parental alcoholism is differentially associated with risk for conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in stepfather families versus intact families. Method: The sample comprised 839 girls and 741 boys from 792 intact families…

  1. Behavior Management Style of Single Parents and Intact Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Douglas K.; And Others

    Studies examining the behavior management styles of parents as a function of family intactness and parent employment status are lacking. To assess parental style of behavior management, the Parental Management Questionnaire (PMQ) was completed by 1,957 parents of elementary school children (50% response rate). The PMQ is based on Aronfreed's…

  2. Enhanced sulfamethoxazole degradation through ammonia oxidizing bacteria co-metabolism and fate of transformation products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassotaki, Elissavet; Buttiglieri, Gianluigi; Ferrando-Climent, Laura; Rodriguez-Roda, Ignasi; Pijuan, Maite

    2016-05-01

    The occurrence of the widely-used antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SFX) in wastewaters and surface waters has been reported in a large number of studies. However, the results obtained up-to-date have pointed out disparities in its removal. This manuscript explores the enhanced biodegradation potential of an enriched culture of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) towards SFX. Several sets of batch tests were conducted to establish a link between SFX degradation and specific ammonia oxidation rate. The occurrence, degradation and generation of SFX and some of its transformation products (4-Nitro SFX, Desamino-SFX and N(4)-Acetyl-SFX) was also monitored. A clear link between the degradation of SFX and the nitrification rate was found, resulting in an increased SFX removal at higher specific ammonia oxidation rates. Moreover, experiments conducted under the presence of allylthiourea (ATU) did not present any removal of SFX, suggesting a connection between the AMO enzyme and SFX degradation. Long term experiments (up to 10 weeks) were also conducted adding two different concentrations (10 and 100 μg/L) of SFX in the influent of a partial nitrification sequencing batch reactor, resulting in up to 98% removal. Finally, the formation of transformation products during SFX degradation represented up to 32%, being 4-Nitro-SFX the most abundant. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. A novel technique for hydrogen production from hog-manure in supercritical partial oxidation (SCWPO)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Youssef, Emhemmed A.; Charpentier, Paul [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Nakhla, George [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Elbeshbishy, Elsayed; Hafez, Hisham [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2010-07-01

    In this study, the catalytic hydrogen production from hog manure using supercritical water partial oxidation was investigated in a batch reactor at a temperature of 500 C, and pressure of 28 MPa using several metallic catalysts. Hog manure was characterized by a total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (TCOD, SCOD) of 57000 and 28000 mg/L, total and volatile suspended solids (TSS, VSS) of 25000, 19000, and ammonia of 2400 mg/L, respectively. The order of H{sub 2} production was the following: Pd/AC > Ru/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} > Ru/AC > AC > NaOH. The order of COD reduction efficiency was as follows: NaOH > Ru/AC > AC > Ru/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} > Pd/AC. The behaviour of the volatile fatty acids (VFA's), ethanol, methanol, ammonia, H{sub 2}S, and Sulfate was investigated experimentally and discussed. A 35 % reduction in the H{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} yields was observed in the sequential gasification partial oxidation (oxidant at an 80 % of theoretical requirement) experiments compared to the gasification experiments (catalyst only). Moreover, this reduction in gas yields was coincided with a 45 % reduction in the liquid effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD), 60 % reduction of the ammonia concentration in the liquid effluent, and 20 % reduction in the H{sub 2}S concentration in the effluent gas. (orig.)

  4. Oxidation of the odorous compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole by UV activated persulfate: Kinetics, products, and pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Congwei; Jiang, Jin; Ma, Jun; Pang, Suyan; Liu, Yongze; Song, Yang; Guan, Chaoting; Li, Juan; Jin, Yixin; Wu, Daoji

    2016-06-01

    The transformation efficiency and products of an odorous compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) at the wavelength of 254 nm in the presence of persulfate were investigated for the first time. The effects of water matrix (i.e., natural organic matter (NOM), pH, carbonate/bicarbonate (HCO3(-)/CO3(2-)), and chloride ions (Cl(-))) were evaluated. The second order rate constant of TCA reacting with sulfate radical (SO4(-)) was determined to be (3.72 ± 0.10) × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). Increasing dosage of persulfate increased the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant for TCA degradation (kobs), and the contribution of SO4(-) to TCA degradation was much higher than that of HO at each experimental condition. Degradation rate of TCA decreased with pH increasing from 4.0 to 9.0, which could be explained by the lower radical scavenging effect of dihydrogen phosphate than hydrogen phosphate in acidic condition (pH kinetic results could be described by a steady-state kinetic model. Furthermore, liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry at powerful precursor ion scan approach was used to selectively detect oxidation products of TCA. It was found that 2,4,6-trichorophenol (TCP) was the major oxidation product (i.e., the initial yield of TCP was above 90%). The second order rate constant between TCP and SO4(-) was estimated to be (4.16 ± 0.20) × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). In addition, three products (i.e., 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone and two aromatic ring-opening products) were detected in the reaction of TCP with SO4(-), which also appeared in the oxidation of TCA in the UV/persulfate process. A tentative pathway was proposed, where the initial one-electron oxidation of TCA by SO4(-) and further reactions (e.g., ipso-hydroxylation and aromatic ring-cleavage) of the formed cation intermediate TCA were involved. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Production of hydroxyl radicals from abiotic oxidation of pyrite by oxygen under circumneutral conditions in the presence of low-molecular-weight organic acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Peng; Yuan, Songhu

    2017-12-01

    Besides acidic environments, pyrite oxidation also occurs in circumneutral environments, such as well-buffered marine and estuarine sediments and salt marshes where low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) (e.g., citrate and oxalate) prevail. However, the production of hydroxyl radicals (radOH) from pyrite oxidation by oxygen (O2) in these circumneutral environments is poorly understood. In this study, radOH production was measured during the abiotic oxidation of pyrite by O2 under circumneutral conditions. A pyrite suspension (50 g/L pyrite) that was buffered at pH 6-8 was exposed to air for oxygenation in the dark. Benzoate (20 mM) was added into the suspension to trap radOH. At pH 7, the cumulative radOH reached 7.5 μM within 420 min in the absence of LMWOAs, whereas it increased to 14.8, 12 and 11.2 μM in the presence of 1 mM ethylenediaminotetraacetate, citrate and oxalate, respectively. When the citrate concentration, which serves as a LMWOAs model, was increased from 0.5 to 5 mM, the cumulative radOH increased from 10.3 to 27.3 μM within 420 min at pH 7. With the decrease in pH from 8 to 6, the cumulative radOH increased from 2.1 to 23.3 μM in the absence of LMWOAs, but it increased from 8.8 to 134.9 μM in the presence of 3 mM citrate. The presence of LMWOAs enhanced the radOH production from pyrite oxidation under circumneutral conditions. In the absence of LMOWAs, radOH is produced mostly from the oxidation of adsorbed Fe(II) by O2. In the presence of citrate, radOH production is attributed mainly to the oxidation of Fe(II)-citrate- by O2 and secondarily to the oxidation of H2O on surface-sulfur defects. The acceleration of pyrite oxidation by Fe(III)-citrate increases radOH production. Fe(II)-citrate- is generated mainly from the complexation of adsorbed Fe(II) by citrate and the reduction of Fe(III)-citrate, and the generation is suppressed by the oxidation of adsorbed Fe(II). Fe(III)-citrate is generated predominantly from Fe

  6. Role of oxidants/inflammation in declining renal function in chronic kidney disease and normal aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlassara, Helen; Torreggiani, Massimo; Post, James B; Zheng, Feng; Uribarri, Jaime; Striker, Gary E

    2009-12-01

    Oxidant stress (OS) and inflammation increase in normal aging and in chronic kidney disease (CKD), as observed in human and animal studies. In cross-sectional studies of the US population, these changes are associated with a decrease in renal function, which is exhibited by a significant proportion of the population. However, since many normal adults have intact renal function, and longitudinal studies show that some persons maintain normal renal function with age, the link between OS, inflammation, and renal decline is not clear. In aging mice, greater oxidant intake is associated with increased age-related CKD and mortality, which suggests that interventions that reduce OS and inflammation may be beneficial for older individuals. Both OS and inflammation can be readily lowered in normal subjects and patients with CKD stage 3-4 by a simple dietary modification that lowers intake and results in reduced serum and tissue levels of advanced glycation end products. Diabetic patients, including those with microalbuminuria, have a decreased ability to metabolize and excrete oxidants prior to observable changes in serum creatinine. Thus, OS and inflammation may occur in the diabetic kidney at an early time. We review the evidence that oxidants in the diet directly lead to increased serum levels of OS and inflammatory mediators in normal aging and in CKD. We also discuss a simple dietary intervention that helps reduce OS and inflammation, an important and achievable therapeutic goal for patients with CKD and aging individuals with reduced renal function.

  7. Quantitative proteomic analysis of intact plastids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiraya, Takeshi; Kaneko, Kentaro; Mitsui, Toshiaki

    2014-01-01

    Plastids are specialized cell organelles in plant cells that are differentiated into various forms including chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and amyloplasts, and fulfill important functions in maintaining the overall cell metabolism and sensing environmental factors such as sunlight. It is therefore important to grasp the mechanisms of differentiation and functional changes of plastids in order to enhance the understanding of vegetality. In this chapter, details of a method for the extraction of intact plastids that makes analysis possible while maintaining the plastid functions are provided; in addition, a quantitative shotgun method for analyzing the composition and changes in the content of proteins in plastids as a result of environmental impacts is described.

  8. Raman spectroscopy of normal oral buccal mucosa tissues: study on intact and incised biopsies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshmukh, Atul; Singh, S. P.; Chaturvedi, Pankaj; Krishna, C. Murali

    2011-12-01

    Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of among the top 10 malignancies. Optical spectroscopy, including Raman, is being actively pursued as alternative/adjunct for cancer diagnosis. Earlier studies have demonstrated the feasibility of classifying normal, premalignant, and malignant oral ex vivo tissues. Spectral features showed predominance of lipids and proteins in normal and cancer conditions, respectively, which were attributed to membrane lipids and surface proteins. In view of recent developments in deep tissue Raman spectroscopy, we have recorded Raman spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of 10 normal oral tissues on intact, as well as incised, biopsies after separation of epithelium from connective tissue. Spectral variations and similarities among different groups were explored by unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis, factorial discriminant analysis) methodologies. Clusters of spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of intact tissues show a high overlap; whereas spectra from separated epithelium and connective tissue sections yielded clear clusters, though they also overlap on clusters of intact tissues. Spectra of all four groups of normal tissues gave exclusive clusters when tested against malignant spectra. Thus, this study demonstrates that spectra recorded from the superior surface of an intact tissue may have contributions from deeper layers but has no bearing from the classification of a malignant tissues point of view.

  9. Analysis of phosphatidylcholine oxidation products in human plasma using quadrupole time-of flight mass spectrometry

    OpenAIRE

    Adachi, Junko; Asano, Migiwa; Yoshioka, Naoki; Nushida, Hideyuki; Ueno, Yasuhiro

    2006-01-01

    We report here an application of the previous method for the analysis ofphosphatidylcholine (PC) and lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) oxidation products inhuman plasma using quadrupole time of flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry withelectrospray ionization. We separated these products using an HPLC C8 column witha gradient of methanol and 10 mM aqueous ammonium acetate. Monohydroperoxides,epoxyhydroxy derivatives, oxo derivatives, and trihydroxides of palmitoyl-linoleoyl(C16:0/C18:2) PC and stea...

  10. Coupled Metal/Oxide Catalysts with Tunable Product Selectivity for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huo, Shengjuan; Weng, Zhe; Wu, Zishan; Zhong, Yiren; Wu, Yueshen; Fang, Jianhui; Wang, Hailiang

    2017-08-30

    One major challenge to the electrochemical conversion of CO 2 to useful fuels and chemical products is the lack of efficient catalysts that can selectively direct the reaction to one desirable product and avoid the other possible side products. Making use of strong metal/oxide interactions has recently been demonstrated to be effective in enhancing electrocatalysis in the liquid phase. Here, we report one of the first systematic studies on composition-dependent influences of metal/oxide interactions on electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction, utilizing Cu/SnO x heterostructured nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a model catalyst system. By adjusting the Cu/Sn ratio in the catalyst material structure, we can tune the products of the CO 2 electrocatalytic reduction reaction from hydrocarbon-favorable to CO-selective to formic acid-dominant. In the Cu-rich regime, SnO x dramatically alters the catalytic behavior of Cu. The Cu/SnO x -CNT catalyst containing 6.2% of SnO x converts CO 2 to CO with a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 89% and a j CO of 11.3 mA·cm -2 at -0.99 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, in stark contrast to the Cu-CNT catalyst on which ethylene and methane are the main products for CO 2 reduction. In the Sn-rich regime, Cu modifies the catalytic properties of SnO x . The Cu/SnO x -CNT catalyst containing 30.2% of SnO x reduces CO 2 to formic acid with an FE of 77% and a j HCOOH of 4.0 mA·cm -2 at -0.99 V, outperforming the SnO x -CNT catalyst which only converts CO 2 to formic acid in an FE of 48%.

  11. New oxidation and photo-oxidation products of tryptophan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savige, W.E.

    1975-01-01

    Dye-sensitized photo-oxidation of tryptophan in water gives N'-formylkynurenine and (+-)-3a-hydroxy-1,2,3a,8,8a-hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b] indole-2-carboxylic acid. The latter rearranges to oxindolyl-3-alanine on irradiation with UV light and reacts with thiols, including cysteine, in warm 20% acetic acid to give the corresponding 2-tryptophyl sulphides. (orig.) [de

  12. Regulation of adrenomedullin and nitric oxide production by periodontal bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Q A; McKay, I J; Gonzales-Marin, C; Allaker, R P

    2015-10-01

    In periodontitis the host response to bacterial challenge includes activity of the multifunctional molecules adrenomedullin (AM) and nitric oxide (NO). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of periodontal bacteria in regulating the production of these molecules from cultured cells. Regulation of AM and NO production from oral keratinocytes when challenged with culture supernatants from Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Veillonella atypica, Streptococcus salivarius and Candida albicans was examined. AM and NO were measured in cell culture supernatants using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the nitrate/nitrite (NO metabolites) Griess assay respectively. Cellular production of AM and inducible NO synthase was also analysed in target cells by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. The inter-relationship of AM and NO production were further investigated with macrophages. A. actinomycetemcomitans and C. rectus induced maximal levels of both AM and NO after 6 and 48 h respectively from oral keratinocytes. AM production in macrophages was upregulated in response to the NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione and partially blocked by the inducible NO synthase inhibitor, N(ω) -Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride. Likewise, NO production was increased upon exposure to AM, while the AM receptor antagonist AM 22-52 reduced the release of NO. Pathogens associated with aggressive periodontitis, A. actinomycetemcomitans and C. rectus, were more effective than those associated with chronic periodontitis, P. gingivalis and Prev. intermedia, and commensals, S. salivarius and V. atypica, as regards the upregulation of AM and NO production from oral keratinocytes. Interaction between these molecules was also demonstrated with macrophages. Understanding the coordinated regulation of AM and NO production in response to periodontal bacteria may identify

  13. Human oxidation-specific antibodies reduce foam cell formation and atherosclerosis progression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsimikas, Sotirios; Miyanohara, Atsushi; Hartvigsen, Karsten

    2011-01-01

    We sought to assess the in vivo importance of scavenger receptor (SR)-mediated uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) in atherogenesis and to test the efficacy of human antibody IK17-Fab or IK17 single-chain Fv fragment (IK17-scFv), which lacks immunologic properties of intact antibod...... antibodies other than the ability to inhibit uptake of OxLDL by macrophages, to inhibit atherosclerosis....

  14. Oxidation of benzoic acid by heat-activated persulfate: Effect of temperature on transformation pathway and product distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zrinyi, Nick; Pham, Anh Le-Tuan

    2017-09-01

    Heat activates persulfate (S 2 O 8 2- ) into sulfate radical (SO 4 - ), a powerful oxidant capable of transforming a wide variety of contaminants. Previous studies have shown that an increase in temperature accelerates the rates of persulfate activation and contaminant transformation. However, few studies have considered the effect of temperature on contaminant transformation pathway. The objective of this study was to determine how temperature (T = 22-70 °C) influences the activation of persulfate, the transformation of benzoic acid (i.e., a model compound), and the distribution of benzoic acid oxidation products. The time-concentration profiles of the products suggest that benzoic acid was transformed via decarboxylation and hydroxylation mechanisms, with the former becoming increasingly important at elevated temperatures. The pathway through which the products were further oxidized was also influenced by the temperature of persulfate activation. Our findings suggest that the role of temperature in the persulfate-based treatment systems is not limited only to controlling the rates of sulfate and hydroxyl radical generation. The ability of sulfate radical to initiate decarboxylation reactions and, more broadly, fragmentation reactions, as well as the effect of temperature on these transformation pathways could be important to the transformation of a number of organic contaminants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Secretion of intact proteins and peptide fragments by lysosomal pathways of protein degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isenman, L.D.; Dice, J.F.

    1989-01-01

    We report that degradation of proteins microinjected into human fibroblasts is accompanied by release into the culture medium of peptide fragments and intact proteins as well as single amino acids. For the nine proteins and polypeptides microinjected, acid-precipitable radioactivity, i.e. peptide fragments and/or intact proteins, ranged from 10 to 67% of the total released radioactivity. Peptide fragments and/or intact protein accounted for 60% of the radioactivity released into the medium by cells microinjected with ribonuclease A. Two major radiolabeled peptide fragments were found, and one was of an appropriate size to function as an antigen in antigen-presenting cells. The peptides released from microinjected ribonuclease A were derived from lysosomal pathways of proteolysis based on several lines of evidence. Previous studies have shown that microinjected ribonuclease A is degraded to single amino acids entirely within lysosomes. We show that release of free amino acids and peptide fragments and/or intact protein was equivalently stimulated by serum deprivation and equivalently inhibited by NH4Cl. We also show that lysosomal degradation of endocytosed [3H]ribonuclease A was accompanied by the release of two peptide fragments similar in size and charge to those from microinjected [ 3 H]ribonuclease A. These findings demonstrate that degradation within lysosomes occurs in a manner that spares specific peptides; they also suggest a previously unsuspected pathway by which cells can secrete cytosol-derived polypeptides

  16. Use of calcium oxide in palm oil methyl ester production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kulchanat Prasertsit

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introducing an untreated calcium oxide (CaO as a solid heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from palm oil by transesterification was studied in this work. The four studied parameters were methanol to oil molar ratio, CaO catalyst concentration, reaction time, and water content. The results for palm oil show that when the water content is higher than 3%wt and the amount of CaO greater than 7%wt soap formation from saponification occurs. A higher methanol to oil molar ratio requires a higher amount of CaO catalyst to provide the higher product purity. The appropriate methanol to CaO catalyst ratio is about 1.56. Commercial grade CaO gives almost the same results as AR grade CaO. In addition, reusing commercial grade CaO for about 5 to 10 repetitions without catalyst regeneration drops the percentage of methyl ester purity approximately 5 to 10%, respectively.

  17. Interlayer catalytic exfoliation realizing scalable production of large-size pristine few-layer graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Xiumei; Guo, Yufen; Li, Dongfang; Li, Weiwei; Zhu, Chao; Wei, Xiangfei; Chen, Mingliang; Gao, Song; Qiu, Shengqiang; Gong, Youpin; Wu, Liqiong; Long, Mingsheng; Sun, Mengtao; Pan, Gebo; Liu, Liwei

    2013-01-01

    Mass production of reduced graphene oxide and graphene nanoplatelets has recently been achieved. However, a great challenge still remains in realizing large-quantity and high-quality production of large-size thin few-layer graphene (FLG). Here, we create a novel route to solve the issue by employing one-time-only interlayer catalytic exfoliation (ICE) of salt-intercalated graphite. The typical FLG with a large lateral size of tens of microns and a thickness less than 2 nm have been obtained by a mild and durative ICE. The high-quality graphene layers preserve intact basal crystal planes owing to avoidance of the degradation reaction during both intercalation and ICE. Furthermore, we reveal that the high-quality FLG ensures a remarkable lithium-storage stability (>1,000 cycles) and a large reversible specific capacity (>600 mAh g-1). This simple and scalable technique acquiring high-quality FLG offers considerable potential for future realistic applications.

  18. Rocuronium Bromide Inhibits Inflammation and Pain by Suppressing Nitric Oxide Production and Enhancing Prostaglandin E2 Synthesis in Endothelial Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Sang Bin; Shin, Mal Soon; Han, Jin Hee; Moon, Sang Woong; Chang, Boksoon; Jeon, Jung Won; Yi, Jae Woo; Chung, Jun Young

    2016-12-01

    Rocuronium bromide is a nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking drug and has been used as an adjunct for relaxation or paralysis of the skeletal muscles, facilitation of endotracheal intubation, and improving surgical conditions during general anesthesia. However, intravenous injection of rocuronium bromide induces injection pain or withdrawal movement. The exact mechanism of rocuronium bromide-induced injection pain or withdrawal movement is not yet understood. We investigated whether rocuronium bromide treatment is involved in the induction of inflammation and pain in vascular endothelial cells. For this study, calf pulmonary artery endothelial (CPAE) cells were used, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, Western blot, nitric oxide detection, and prostaglandin E 2 immunoassay were conducted. Rocuronium bromide treatment inhibited endothelial nitric oxide synthase and suppressed nitric oxide production in CPAE cells. Rocuronium bromide activated cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase and increased prostaglandin E 2 synthesis in CPAE cells. Rocuronium bromide induced inflammation and pain in CPAE cells. Suppressing nitric oxide production and enhancing prostaglandin E 2 synthesis might be associated with rocuronium bromide-induced injection pain or withdrawal movement.

  19. Is Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) an appropriate method for extraction of volatile oxidation products from complex food systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Charlotte; Horn, Anna Frisenfeldt; Lu, Henna Fung Sieng

    Volatile secondary lipid oxidation products can be identified and quantified by GC-FID or GC-MS. An extraction step is, however, needed before GC analysis. A range of different extraction methods are available such as static headspace, dynamic headspace and SPME. Each of these methods has its...... advantages and drawbacks. Among the advantages of the SPME method are its high sensitivity compared to static headspace and that it is less laborious than the dynamic headspace method. For these reasons, the use of SPME has increased in both academia and industry during the last decade. The extraction...... for analysis of lipid oxidation during storage of complex food matrices. Examples on how uncontrollable factors have affected results obtained with the SPME method in the authors’ lab will be given and the appropriateness of the SPME method for the analysis of volatile oxidation products in selected food...

  20. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) for extraction of volatile oxidation products from complex food systems – Pros and cons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Charlotte; Horn, Anna Frisenfeldt; Lu, Henna Fung Sieng

    Volatile secondary lipid oxidation products can be identified and quantified by GC-FID or GC-MS. An extraction step is, however, needed before GC analysis. A range of different extraction methods are available such as static headspace, dynamic headspace and SPME. Each of these methods has its...... advantages and drawbacks. Among the advantages of the SPME method are its high sensitivity compared to static headspace and that it is less laborious than the dynamic headspace method. For these reasons, the use of SPME has increased in both academia and industry during the last decade. The extraction...... for analysis of lipid oxidation during storage of complex food matrices. Examples on how uncontrollable factors have affected results obtained with the SPME method in the authors’ lab will be given and the appropriateness of the SPME method for the analysis of volatile oxidation products in selected food...