Impact of the substrate loading regime and phosphoric acid supplementation on performance of biogas reactors and microbial community dynamics during anaerobic digestion of chicken wastes

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This study evaluates the effects of increasing organic loading rate (OLR) and decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) as well as phosphoric acid addition on mesophilic reactors' performance and biogas production from chicken wastes. Furthermore, microbial community composition in reactors was characterized by a 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing analysis. Each step of increasing OLR impacted on the activity of microorganisms what caused a temporary decrease in biogas production. The addition of phosphoric acid resulted in the increased biogas production with values between 361 and 447mLgVS-1 from day 61 to day 74 compared to control reactor (309-350mLgVS-1). With reactors' operation, Bacteroidetes phylotypes were noticeably replaced with Firmicutes representatives, and significant increase of Clostridium sp. was identified. Within Euryarchaeota, Methanosarcina sp. dominated in all analyzed samples, in which high ammonium levels were detected (3.4-4.9NH4+-NgL-1). These results can help in better understanding the anaerobic digestion process of simultaneously ammonium/phosphate-rich substrates

AFM study of thin films of oligopeptide L-valyl-L-valine before and after interaction with vapors

© 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.The effect of the substrate type, ambient relative humidity, water vapor and vapors of organic compounds on the surface morphology of films based on dipeptide L-valyl-L-valine are studied using atomicforce microscopy. It is found that at a low relative humidity the dipeptide is crystallized on a hydrophobic substrate with the formation of pyramidal structures, while at a high relative humidity hollow truncated cones are observed. A dipeptide film coated with irregularly shaped objects is observed on hydrophilic substrates. After saturation of the L-valyl-L-valine film with the vapors of proton-donor solvents the formation of new objects on its surface or the destruction of initial objects can occur, while water vapor does not affect the surface morphology. For proton acceptors the major factor affecting the surface morphology of dipeptide film is their energy of the hydrogen bond with proton donors. It is shown that the effect of organic vapors on the film morphology depends on the substrate type

Thermochemical properties of mono- and di-cyano-aromatic compounds at 298.15 K

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. The solution calorimetry approach was applied for the determination of the sublimation enthalpies for cyano-aromatic compounds. According to this approach, the vaporization/sublimation enthalpies were estimated as a difference between solution (cr/l to the solution) and solvation (gas to the solution) enthalpies in acetonitrile as a solvent. The solvation enthalpy of studied compounds was calculated using the previously developed and tested additive scheme. The solution enthalpies of five cyano-aromatic compounds were measured experimentally for the first time by using solution calorimeter. The new approach for the evaluation of the condensed state enthalpy of formation by using first principles calculations and solution calorimetry technique is proposed. In most cases obtained results are in good agreement with literature values. Apparatus for determination of vapor pressure by using the transpiration method was developed. The experimental setup was tested by measuring the vapor pressure of pure naphthalene. Vapor pressures for 1- and 2-cyano-naphthalenes were measured by using the newly elaborated transpiration setup. Experimental and calculated values of sublimation enthalpies are in good agreements with the most reliable available literature data. Sublimation enthalpy of 9-cyano-anthracene was obtained by solution calorimetry for the first time

Formation of nanoislands on the surface of thin dipeptide films under the effect of vaporous organic compounds

Sorption properties of a thin L-alanyl-L-valine dipeptide film for vapors of organic compounds, i.e., methanol and toluene, were studied. Compositions of the inclusion compounds formed in the systems are determined using quartz microbalances. The surfaces morphology of of thin dipeptide films before and after the interaction with organic sorbate was studied with atomic force microscopy. The dipeptide was found to have a larger sorption capacity for methanol than for toluene. As a result of the interaction between a thin L-alanyl-Lvaline dipeptide layer with toluene vapor, nanoislets appear on the film surface, and the receptor ability of dipeptide inactivated. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2009

BARIATRIC SURGERIES AND CORRECTION OF METABOLIC DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH MORBID OBESITY

The article presents the results of bariatric surgeries carried out in the clinic in patients with morbid obesity. We traced both the nearest and remote results after treatment, the loss of body weight in dynamics, relief of the manifestations of "metabolic syndrome" as well as we estimated the quality of life of patients in pre-and postoperative period

A study of the formation of magnetically active solid dispersions of phenacetin using atomic and magnetic force microscopy

© 2017 Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow.A lot of pharmaceutical substances have a poor solubility that limits their absorption and distribution to the targeted sites to elicit the desired action without causing untoward effects on healthy cells or tissues. For such drugs, new modes of delivery have to be developed for efficient and effective delivery of the drug to the target site. Formation of magnetically active solid dispersion of such drugs could be a useful approach to addressing this problem because they combine targeted delivery and good solubility. In this work, the distribution of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in the solid dispersion of polyethylene glycol with average molecular weight 950-1050 g/mol and phenacetin was studied using atomic force and magnetic force microscopy. The distribution of nanoparticles was found to be uniform in studied composites. Magnetically active solid dispersions may find application in the production of the capsulated drug delivery systems with enhanced solubility parameters

Numerical simulation of the flow in the boiler air intake

The article presents the results of numerical simulation of the flow in a complex region - an element of the air intake of a wall-mounted boiler. There are very few studies of this kind, and the geometry of the computational domain is rather specific. For this reason, the results obtained are difficult to compare in order to unequivocally speak about validity, in addition, different models lead to somewhat different results. Nevertheless, one can say about the formation of a significant vortex zone, which results in a much higher resistance at the entrance than for a conventional elbow with the same sizes.В статье приводятся результаты численного моделирования течения в сложной области – элементе воздушного тракта настенного котла. Исследований такого рода очень мало, а геометрия расчетной области довольно специфична. По этой причине полученные результаты сложно сравнить, чтобы однозначно говорить о валидности, кроме того разные модели приводят к несколько разным результатам. Тем не менее, можно говорить, об образовании значительной вихревой зоны, что приводит к существенно более высокому сопротивлению при входе, чем для обычного поворота при таких же соотношениях размеров

Polymorphism and thermodynamic properties of chloro(cyclopentadienyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) complex

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. A new crystalline polymorph of known chloro(cyclopentadienyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) complex [RuCl(PPh3)2(η5-C5H5)] was obtained and characterized by various analytical methods including single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction (XRPD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in combination with thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG-DSC). The obtained crystals of new polymorph are monoclinic, space group P21/n, with a = 11.125(4), b = 19.184(6), c = 15.946(5) Å, α = 90, β = 100.174(5), γ = 90, and Z = 4. It has been found that real melting point of the complex (M.p. = 252-253 °C) can be determined only in inert atmosphere while an apparent melting is observed in the range 142-150 °C due oxygen promoted oxidative dissociation of triphenylphosphine ligand

Targeted genetic analysis in a large cohort of familial and sporadic cases of aneurysm or dissection of the thoracic aorta

PURPOSE: Thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection (TAAD) is a disorder with highly variable age of onset and phenotype. We sought to determine the prevalence of pathogenic variants in TAAD-associated genes in a mixed cohort of sporadic and familial TAAD patients and identify relevant genotype–phenotype relationships. METHODS: We used a targeted polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing–based panel for genetic analysis of 15 TAAD-associated genes in 1,025 unrelated TAAD cases. RESULTS: We identified 49 pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 47 cases (4.9% of those successfully sequenced). Almost half of the variants were in nonsyndromic cases with no known family history of aortic disease. Twenty-five variants were within FBN1 and two patients were found to harbor two P/LP variants. Presence of a related syndrome, younger age at presentation, family history of aortic disease, and involvement of the ascending aorta increased the risk of carrying a P/LP variant. CONCLUSION: Given the poor prognosis of TAAD that is undiagnosed prior to acute rupture or dissection, genetic analysis of both familial and sporadic cases of TAAD will lead to new diagnoses, more informed management, and possibly reduced mortality through earlier, preclinical diagnosis in genetically determined cases and their family members

Proteome-metabolome profiling of ovarian cancer ascites reveals novel components involved in intercellular communication

© 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Ovarian cancer ascites is a native medium for cancer cells that allows investigation of their secretome in a natural environment. This medium is of interest as a promising source of potential biomarkers, and also as a medium for cell-cell communication. The aim of this study was to elucidate specific features of the malignant ascites metabolome and proteome. In order to omit components of the systemic response to ascites formation, we compared malignant ascites with cirrhosis ascites. Metabolome analysis revealed 41 components that differed significantly between malignant and cirrhosis ascites. Most of the identified cancer-specific metabolites are known to be important signaling molecules. Proteomic analysis identified 2096 and 1855 proteins in the ovarian cancer and cirrhosis ascites, respectively; 424 proteins were specific for the malignant ascites. Functional analysis of the proteome demonstrated that the major differences between cirrhosis and malignant ascites were observed for the cluster of spliceosomal proteins. Additionally, we demonstrate that several splicing RNAs were exclusively detected in malignant ascites, where they probably existed within protein complexes. This result was confirmed in vitro using an ovarian cancer cell line. Identification of spliceosomal proteins and RNAs in an extracellular medium is of particular interest; the finding suggests that they might play a role in the communication between cancer cells. In addition, malignant ascites contains a high number of exosomes that are known to play an important role in signal transduction. Thus our study reveals the specific features of malignant ascites that are associated with its function as a medium of intercellular communication