The Rehydration Ability of Whey Ingredients

The purpose of this research was to studythe ability of whey protein concentrates (WPC) and whey permeate produced with ultrafiltration of cheese whey to rehydrate. The products studied were cheese whey concentrate witha PDM percentage of 80% (WPC-80), and cheese whey permeate, both produced under the conditions of the PJSC Dairy “Voronezhsky”.WPC-80 and the whey permeate dissolution processes were studied using microscopy. Water-impermeable hydrophobic layers were formed at the boundary, preventing water penetration into dry particles. The result was a higher dissolution timeforWPC-80 compared with whey permeate. When WPC-80 came into contact with water,it initially formed an obtuse wetting angle with a slow change over time. Whey permeate reached the equilibrium wetting angle more quickly. Quickreconditioning of WPC moisture content required avoiding capillary penetration of water, which created a turbulent liquid flow. The application of these ingredients in different food industry areas can reduce the costs for finished products, contribute to cost-effectiveness, increase the total production, and reduce environmental risks. Keywords: whey protein concentrate, whey permeate powder, water-wetting, dissolutio

Creation of development zones in the Arctic: methodology and practice

The article describes the basic principles and methodological bases of formation and development of the supporting areas of the Russian Arctic. The work emphasizes that the basis of the methodological approach in the formation of the supporting areas is a vector of development of the territory as an integral project on the principle of coordination of all "industrial" activities in the planning, goal-setting, financing and implementation, which will allow to reduce all kinds of costs and expenses, as well as all the projects included in the supporting areas should be aimed at the development of the macro-region as a whole, not just to solve individual tasks of the industry. The article underlines that the formation of the supporting areas is aimed at achieving a single global goal — to encourage efficiency and diversification of the economy of the Arctic zone, oriented to the preservation and development of the Northern Sea Route

Electrochemical measurements of the levels of nitric oxide metabolites in the blood serum

Background: Sepsis is a serious clinical condition caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection resulting in multiple organ failure. In the pathogenesis of sepsis, especially that of septic shock, great importance is given to the endothelial marker of vascular regulation, nitric oxide (NO). In septic shock, dysregulation of the vascular tone plays a key role in the development of hypotension. Therefore, the control of the level of nitric oxide and its stable metabolites in critically ill patients is a very important task. Aim: the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of the electrochemical nitrite detection in the patients blood serum. Methods: The levels of nitric oxide stable metabolites in the blood serum of healthy individuals (n=20) and septic patients (n=25) were studied by the electrochemical method using a composite electrode and by the spectrophotometric method using the Griess reagent. Results: The data in the groups of healthy people and patients with sepsis differ significantly (p 0.00001) both when measured using electrochemical and spectrophotometric methods. The median value of the current response in healthy people was 0.41 A (0.33; 0.55), and the total content of nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) was 26.8 mol/L (20.8; 31.0), while in patients with sepsis, these values were 0.79 A (0.61; 1.28) and 38.89 mol/L (29.64; 57.45), respectively. A negative correlation was found between the data obtained for practically healthy persons (r=-0.696, p=0.0007). Conclusion: The obtained results allow us to conclude that the nitrite measurement in the blood serum by amperometry using a composite electrode is promising as a diagnostic technique

Crystal structure, Fermi surface calculations and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations spectrum of the organic metal θ\theta-(BETS)4_4HgBr4_4(C6_6H5_5Cl) at low temperature

The organic metal \theta$-(BETS)$_4$HgBr$_4$(C$_6$H$_5$Cl) is known to undergo a phase transition as the temperature is lowered down to about 240 K. X-ray data obtained at 200 K indicate a corresponding modification of the crystal structure, the symmetry of which is lowered from quadratic to monoclinic. In addition, two different types of cation layers are observed in the unit cell. The Fermi surface (FS), which can be regarded as a network of compensated electron and hole orbits according to band structure calculations at room temperature, turns to a set of two alternating linear chains of orbits at low temperature. The field and temperature dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations spectrum have been studied up to 54 T. Eight frequencies are observed which, in any case, points to a FS much more complex than predicted by band structure calculations at room temperature, even though some of the observed Fourier components might be ascribed to magnetic breakdown or frequency mixing. The obtained spectrum could result from either an interaction between the FS's linked to each of the two cation layers or to an eventual additional phase transition in the temperature range below 200 K.Comment: accepted for publication in Solid State Science

Type II restriction endonuclease R.Eco29kI is a member of the GIY-YIG nuclease superfamily

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The majority of experimentally determined crystal structures of Type II restriction endonucleases (REases) exhibit a common PD-(D/E)XK fold. Crystal structures have been also determined for single representatives of two other folds: PLD (R.BfiI) and half-pipe (R.PabI), and bioinformatics analyses supported by mutagenesis suggested that some REases belong to the HNH fold. Our previous bioinformatic analysis suggested that REase R.Eco29kI shares sequence similarities with one more unrelated nuclease superfamily, GIY-YIG, however so far no experimental data were available to support this prediction. The determination of a crystal structure of the GIY-YIG domain of homing endonuclease I-TevI provided a template for modeling of R.Eco29kI and prompted us to validate the model experimentally.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using protein fold-recognition methods we generated a new alignment between R.Eco29kI and I-TevI, which suggested a reassignment of one of the putative catalytic residues. A theoretical model of R.Eco29kI was constructed to illustrate its predicted three-dimensional fold and organization of the active site, comprising amino acid residues Y49, Y76, R104, H108, E142, and N154. A series of mutants was constructed to generate amino acid substitutions of selected residues (Y49A, R104A, H108F, E142A and N154L) and the mutant proteins were examined for their ability to bind the DNA containing the Eco29kI site 5'-CCGCGG-3' and to catalyze the cleavage reaction. Experimental data reveal that residues Y49, R104, E142, H108, and N154 are important for the nuclease activity of R.Eco29kI, while H108 and N154 are also important for specific DNA binding by this enzyme.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Substitutions of residues Y49, R104, H108, E142 and N154 predicted by the model to be a part of the active site lead to mutant proteins with strong defects in the REase activity. These results are in very good agreement with the structural model presented in this work and with our prediction that R.Eco29kI belongs to the GIY-YIG superfamily of nucleases. Our study provides the first experimental evidence for a Type IIP REase that does not belong to the PD-(D/E)XK or HNH superfamilies of nucleases, and is instead a member of the unrelated GIY-YIG superfamily.</p

A network analysis to identify mediators of germline-driven differences in breast cancer prognosis.

Identifying the underlying genetic drivers of the heritability of breast cancer prognosis remains elusive. We adapt a network-based approach to handle underpowered complex datasets to provide new insights into the potential function of germline variants in breast cancer prognosis. This network-based analysis studies ~7.3 million variants in 84,457 breast cancer patients in relation to breast cancer survival and confirms the results on 12,381 independent patients. Aggregating the prognostic effects of genetic variants across multiple genes, we identify four gene modules associated with survival in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and one in ER-positive disease. The modules show biological enrichment for cancer-related processes such as G-alpha signaling, circadian clock, angiogenesis, and Rho-GTPases in apoptosis

Gene-Environment Interactions Relevant to Estrogen and Risk of Breast Cancer: Can Gene-Environment Interactions Be Detected Only among Candidate SNPs from Genome-Wide Association Studies?

In this study we aim to examine gene–environment interactions (GxEs) between genes involved with estrogen metabolism and environmental factors related to estrogen exposure. GxE analyses were conducted with 1970 Korean breast cancer cases and 2052 controls in the case-control study, the Seoul Breast Cancer Study (SEBCS). A total of 11,555 SNPs from the 137 candidate genes were included in the GxE analyses with eight established environmental factors. A replication test was conducted by using an independent population from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), with 62,485 Europeans and 9047 Asians. The GxE tests were performed by using two-step methods in GxEScan software. Two interactions were found in the SEBCS. The first interaction was shown between rs13035764 of NCOA1 and age at menarche in the GE|2df model (p-2df = 1.2 × 10−3). The age at menarche before 14 years old was associated with the high risk of breast cancer, and the risk was higher when subjects had homozygous minor allele G. The second GxE was shown between rs851998 near ESR1 and height in the GE|2df model (p-2df = 1.1 × 10−4). Height taller than 160 cm was associated with a high risk of breast cancer, and the risk increased when the minor allele was added. The findings were not replicated in the BCAC. These results would suggest specificity in Koreans for breast cancer risk

Gene-Environment Interactions Relevant to Estrogen and Risk of Breast Cancer: Can Gene-Environment Interactions Be Detected Only among Candidate SNPs from Genome-Wide Association Studies?

In this study we aim to examine gene–environment interactions (GxEs) between genes involved with estrogen metabolism and environmental factors related to estrogen exposure. GxE analyses were conducted with 1970 Korean breast cancer cases and 2052 controls in the case-control study, the Seoul Breast Cancer Study (SEBCS). A total of 11,555 SNPs from the 137 candidate genes were included in the GxE analyses with eight established environmental factors. A replication test was conducted by using an independent population from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), with 62,485 Europeans and 9047 Asians. The GxE tests were performed by using two-step methods in GxEScan software. Two interactions were found in the SEBCS. The first interaction was shown between rs13035764 of NCOA1 and age at menarche in the GE|2df model (p-2df = 1.2 × 10−3). The age at menarche before 14 years old was associated with the high risk of breast cancer, and the risk was higher when subjects had homozygous minor allele G. The second GxE was shown between rs851998 near ESR1 and height in the GE|2df model (p-2df = 1.1 × 10−4). Height taller than 160 cm was associated with a high risk of breast cancer, and the risk increased when the minor allele was added. The findings were not replicated in the BCAC. These results would suggest specificity in Koreans for breast cancer risk

Genetic predisposition to in situ and invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast.

Invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC) accounts for 10-15% of all invasive breast carcinomas. It is generally ER positive (ER+) and often associated with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 70 common polymorphisms that predispose to breast cancer, but these studies included predominantly ductal (IDC) carcinomas. To identify novel common polymorphisms that predispose to ILC and LCIS, we pooled data from 6,023 cases (5,622 ILC, 401 pure LCIS) and 34,271 controls from 36 studies genotyped using the iCOGS chip. Six novel SNPs most strongly associated with ILC/LCIS in the pooled analysis were genotyped in a further 516 lobular cases (482 ILC, 36 LCIS) and 1,467 controls. These analyses identified a lobular-specific SNP at 7q34 (rs11977670, OR (95%CI) for ILC = 1.13 (1.09-1.18), P = 6.0 × 10(-10); P-het for ILC vs IDC ER+ tumors = 1.8 × 10(-4)). Of the 75 known breast cancer polymorphisms that were genotyped, 56 were associated with ILC and 15 with LCIS at P<0.05. Two SNPs showed significantly stronger associations for ILC than LCIS (rs2981579/10q26/FGFR2, P-het = 0.04 and rs889312/5q11/MAP3K1, P-het = 0.03); and two showed stronger associations for LCIS than ILC (rs6678914/1q32/LGR6, P-het = 0.001 and rs1752911/6q14, P-het = 0.04). In addition, seven of the 75 known loci showed significant differences between ER+ tumors with IDC and ILC histology, three of these showing stronger associations for ILC (rs11249433/1p11, rs2981579/10q26/FGFR2 and rs10995190/10q21/ZNF365) and four associated only with IDC (5p12/rs10941679; rs2588809/14q24/RAD51L1, rs6472903/8q21 and rs1550623/2q31/CDCA7). In conclusion, we have identified one novel lobular breast cancer specific predisposition polymorphism at 7q34, and shown for the first time that common breast cancer polymorphisms predispose to LCIS. We have shown that many of the ER+ breast cancer predisposition loci also predispose to ILC, although there is some heterogeneity between ER+ lobular and ER+ IDC tumors. These data provide evidence for overlapping, but distinct etiological pathways within ER+ breast cancer between morphological subtypes