Combination of Analytical Pyrolysis and fractionation of technical lignin as a tool for improvement of its antioxidant properties

Antioxidant properties of parent lignin and its fractions was assessed in the tests with free radicals ABTS•+ and DPPH. Increasing ratio between content of syringyl and guaiacyl substructures and the extent of conjugation of lignin macromolecule (Py-GC/MS data) enhanced lignin radical scavenging capacity. The compositional heterogeneity (the presence of lipophillic extractives) had negative impact on the lignin radical scavenging capaci

Fractionation of CIMV wheat straw lignin as an approach for promoting it interaction with isocyanates and characteristic of products obtained

The reactivity of CIMV lignin fractions with MDI has been investigated in extra dry dioxane (DOX) in argon atmosphere at 25 degrees of Celsius, using FTIR spectroscopy (absorbance band at 2273 cm^-1) for monitoring the NCO group disappearance during reaction. Five CIMV lignin fractions were obtained and investigated: 2 fractions obtained by separate extractions with DOX and methanol and 3 fractions obtained in the process of sequential extraction of CIMV lignin with dichloromethane, methanol and methanol/dichloromethane mixture. The highest second rate constants was detected for both methanol soluble lignin fractions

Stimulation of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis in Hindlimb Suspended Rats by Resistance Exercise and Growth Hormone

The objective of this study was to determine the ability of a single bout of resistance exercise alone or in combination with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis (Ks) in hindlimb suspended (HLS) adult female rats. Plantar flexor muscles were stimulated with resistance exercise, consisting of 10 repetitions of ladder climbing on a 1 m grid (85 deg.), carrying an additional 50% of their body weight attached to their tails. Saline or rhGH (1 mg/kg) was administered 30' prior to exercise, and Ks was determined with a constant infusion of H-3-Leucine at 15', 60', 180', and 360' following exercise. Three days of HLS depressed Ks is approx. equal to 65% and 30-40% in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, respectively (p is less than or equal to 0.05). Exercise increased soleus Ks in saline-treated rats 149% 60' following exercise (p less than or equal to 0.05), decaying to that of non-exercised animals during the next 5 hours. Relative to suspended, non-exercised rats rhGH + exercise increased soleus Ks 84%, 108%, and 72% at 15', 60' and 360' following exercise (p is less than or equal to 0.05). Gastrocnemius Ks was not significantly increased by exercise or the combination of rhGH and exercise up to 360' post-exercise. Results from this study indicate that resistance exercise stimulated Ks 60' post-exercise in the soleus of HLS rats, with no apparent effect of rhGH to enhance or prolong exercise-induced stimulation. Results suggests that exercise frequency may be important to maintenance of the slow-twitch soleus during non-weightbearing, but that the ability of resistance exercise to maintain myofibrillar protein content in the gastrocnemius of hindlimb suspended rats cannot be explained by acute stimulation of synthesis

Bioactive growth hormone in humans: Controversies, complexities and concepts

Objective: To revisit a finding, first described in 1978, which documented existence of a pituitary growth factor that escaped detection by immunoassay, but which was active in the established rat tibia GH bioassay. Methods: We present a narrative review of the evolution of growth hormone complexity, and its bio-detectability, from a historical perspective. Results: In humans under the age of 60, physical training (i.e. aerobic endurance and resistance training) are stressors which preferentially stimulate release of bioactive GH (bGH) into the blood. Neuroanatomical studies indicate a) that nerve fibers directly innervate the human anterior pituitary and b) that hind limb muscle afferents, in both humans and rats, also modulate plasma bGH. In the pituitary gland itself, molecular variants of GH, somatotroph heterogeneity and cell plasticity all appear to play a role in regulation of this growth factor. Conclusion: This review considers more recent findings on this often forgotten/neglected subject. Comparison testing of a) human plasma samples, b) sub-populations of separated rat pituitary somatotrophs or c) purified human pituitary peptides by GH bioassay vs immunoassay consistently yield conflicting results

Characterisation of mass distributions of solvent-fractionated lignins using analytical ultracentrifugation and size exclusion chromatography methods

Lignins are valuable renewable resources for the potential production of a large array of biofuels, aromatic chemicals and biopolymers. Yet native and industrial lignins are complex, highly branched and heterogenous macromolecules, properties that have to date often undermined their use as starting materials in lignin valorisation strategies. Reliable knowledge of weight average molar mass, conformation and polydispersity of lignin starting materials can be proven to be crucial to and improve the prospects for the success of such strategies. Here we evaluated the use of commonly-used size exclusion chromatography (SEC)—calibrated with polystyrene sulphonate standards—and under-used analytical ultracentrifugation—which does not require calibration—to characterise a series of lignin fractions sequentially extracted from soda and Kraft alkaline lignins using ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methanol and acetone:water (fractions F01–F04, respectively). Absolute values of weight average molar mass (Mw) determined using sedimentation equilibrium in the analytical ultracentrifuge of (3.0 ± 0.1) kDa and (4.2 ± 0.2) kDa for soda and Kraft lignins respectively, agreed closely with previous SEC-determined Mws and reasonably with the size exclusion chromatography measurements employed here, confirming the appropriateness of the standards (with the possible exceptions of fraction F05 for soda P1000 and F03 for Indulin). Both methods revealed the presence of low (~ 1kDa) Mw material in F01 and F02 fractions followed by progressively higher Mw in subsequent fractions. Compositional analysis confirmed > 90% (by weight) total lignins successively extracted from both lignins using MEK, methanol and acetone:water (F02 to F04). Considerable heterogeneity of both unfractionated and fractionated lignins was revealed through determinations of both sedimentation coefficient distributions and polydispersity indices. The study also demonstrates the advantages of using analytical ultracentrifugation, both alongside SEC as well as in its own right, for determining absolute Mw, heterogeneity and conformation information for characterising industrial lignins

Satellite Cells Senescence in Limb Muscle of Severe Patients with COPD

Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Québec, Canada Rationale: The maintenance of peripheral muscle mass may be compromised in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to premature cellular senescence and exhaustion of the regenerative potential of the muscles. Methods: Vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained from patients with COPD (n = 16) and healthy subjects (n = 7). Satellite cell number and the proportion of central nuclei, as a marker of muscle regenerative events, were assessed on cryosections. Telomere lengths, used as a marker of cellular senescence, were determined using Southern blot analyses. Results: Central nuclei proportion was significantly higher in patients with COPD with a preserved muscle mass compared to controls and patients with COPD with muscle atrophy (p,0.001). In COPD, maximal telomere length was significantly decreased compared to controls (p,0.05). Similarly, minimal telomere length was significantly reduced in GOLD III–IV patients with muscle atrophy compared to controls (p,0.005). Minimal, mean and maximum telomere lengths correlated with mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (MTCSA) (R = 0.523, p = 0.005; R = 0.435, p = 0.019 and R = 0.491, p = 0.009, respectively). Conclusions: Evidence of increased regenerative events was seen in GOLD III–IV patients with preserved muscle mass. Shortening of telomeres in GOLD III–IV patients with muscle atrophy is consistent with an increased number of senescen

Open Data for Global Science

The global science system stands at a critical juncture. On the one hand, it is overwhelmed by a hidden avalanche of ephemeral bits that are central components of modern research and of the emerging ‘cyberinfrastructure’4 for e-Science.5 The rational management and exploitation of this cascade of digital assets offers boundless opportunities for research and applications. On the other hand, the ability to access and use this rising flood of data seems to lag behind, despite the rapidly growing capabilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make much more effective use of those data. As long as the attention for data policies and data management by researchers, their organisations and their funders does not catch up with the rapidly changing research environment, the research policy and funding entities in many cases will perpetuate the systemic inefficiencies, and the resulting loss or underutilisation of valuable data resources derived from public investments. There is thus an urgent need for rationalised national strategies and more coherent international arrangements for sustainable access to public research data, both to data produced directly by government entities and to data generated in academic and not-for-profit institutions with public funding. In this chapter, we examine some of the implications of the ‘data driven’ research and possible ways to overcome existing barriers to accessibility of public research data. Our perspective is framed in the context of the predominantly publicly funded global science system. We begin by reviewing the growing role of digital data in research and outlining the roles of stakeholders in the research community in developing data access regimes. We then discuss the hidden costs of closed data systems, the benefits and limitations of openness as the default principle for data access, and the emerging open access models that are beginning to form digitally networked commons. We conclude by examining the rationale and requirements for developing overarching international principles from the top down, as well as flexible, common-use contractual templates from the bottom up, to establish data access regimes founded on a presumption of openness, with the goal of better capturing the benefits from the existing and future scientific data assets. The ‘Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding’ from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reported on in another article by Pilat and Fukasaku,6 are the most important recent example of the high-level (inter)governmental approach. The common-use licenses promoted by the Science Commons are a leading example of flexible arrangements originating within the community. Finally, we should emphasise that we focus almost exclusively on the policy—the institutional, socioeconomic, and legal aspects of data access—rather than on the technical and management practicalities that are also important, but beyond the scope of this article

Treatment with a corticotrophin releasing factor 2 receptor agonist modulates skeletal muscle mass and force production in aged and chronically ill animals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Muscle weakness is associated with a variety of chronic disorders such as emphysema (EMP) and congestive heart failure (CHF) as well as aging. Therapies to treat muscle weakness associated with chronic disease or aging are lacking. Corticotrophin releasing factor 2 receptor (CRF2R) agonists have been shown to maintain skeletal muscle mass and force production in a variety of acute conditions that lead to skeletal muscle wasting.</p> <p>Hypothesis</p> <p>We hypothesize that treating animals with a CRF2R agonist will maintain skeletal muscle mass and force production in animals with chronic disease and in aged animals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We utilized animal models of aging, CHF and EMP to evaluate the potential of CRF2R agonist treatment to maintain skeletal muscle mass and force production in aged animals and animals with CHF and EMP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In aged rats, we demonstrate that treatment with a CRF2R agonist for up to 3 months results in greater extensor digitorum longus (EDL) force production, EDL mass, soleus mass and soleus force production compared to age matched untreated animals. In the hamster EMP model, we demonstrate that treatment with a CRF2R agonist for up to 5 months results in greater EDL force production in EMP hamsters when compared to vehicle treated EMP hamsters and greater EDL mass and force in normal hamsters when compared to vehicle treated normal hamsters. In the rat CHF model, we demonstrate that treatment with a CRF2R agonist for up to 3 months results in greater EDL and soleus muscle mass and force production in CHF rats and normal rats when compared to the corresponding vehicle treated animals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data demonstrate that the underlying physiological conditions associated with chronic diseases such as CHF and emphysema in addition to aging do not reduce the potential of CRF2R agonists to maintain skeletal muscle mass and force production.</p

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass