Fractionation of mono- and disaccharides by nano- and diafiltration

The importance of filtration is a rising aspect of food processing. E.g. microfiltration is applied to remove microorganisms, ultrafiltration to enrich proteins and reverse osmosis for concentration instead of evaporation. Nanofiltration is already in use to reduce minerals e. g. desalination of molasses. In this special case, the solution-diffusion-behavior of the substances in the membrane material becomes more and more important with decreasing difference in size. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Demineralised skim milk concentrates by means of dynamic cross-flow microfiltration

At ambient temperature and native pH of milk, approx. 66 % of milk containing calcium is bound onto the casein micelles (micellar calcium), whereas approx. 34 % is in the serum phase presented as free serum calcium (Koutina et al. 2014). In membrane filtration processes such as microfiltration (nominal pore size 0.1 µm), the casein fraction is retained so that micellar calcium is enriched in the retentate and is subsequently in the final product. Micellar calcium can be solubilised by reducing pH and/or temperature. This can be applied to reduce the calcium content of the retentate via membrane fractionation. However, under certain temperature and pH combinations, casein micelles change from sol to the gel state and an enhanced gel layer is built up on the membrane surface and flux decreases rapidly (Brandsma & Rizvi 1999). We combined small amplitude oscillation shear rheology and photon correlation spectroscopy to examine the sol-gel-transition behaviour of pasteurised skim milk (protein content = 3.4 %) and microfiltrated (nominal pore size = 0.1 µm) skim milk retentates (protein content = 6 to 12 %) between pH 4.6 and 6.8 at temperatures ranging from 1 to 65 °C. The aim of this study was to predict pH-temperature-protein content combinations for membrane separation while maintaining adequate flux to get skim milk retentates with defined calcium content without macroscopic aggregated casein micelles. To proof the concept filtration experiments comparing appropriate and unappropriate pH-temperature combinations to get particle free calcium degraded skim milk retentates by means of a novel dynamic cross-microfiltration (nominal pore size: 0.06 and 0.2 µm) were carried out. Results will be shown and discussed. [1] Brandsma, R. L.; Rizvi, S.S.H. (1999): Depletion of Whey Proteins and Calcium by Microfiltration of Acidified Skim Milk Prior to Cheese Making. In: Journal of Dairy Science 82 (10), p. 2063–2069. [2] Koutina, G.; Knudsen, J. C.; Andersen, U.; Skibsted, L. H. (2014): Temperature effect on calcium and phosphorus equilibria in relation to gel formation during acidification of skim milk. In: International Dairy Journal 36 (1), p. 65–73

Visual Analysis of Polarization Domains in Barium Titanate during Phase Transitions

In recent years, the characteristics of ferroelectric barium titanate (BaTiO3) have been studied extensively in materials science. Barium titanate has been widely used for building transducers, capacitors and, as of late, for memory devices. In this context, a precise understanding of the formation of polarization domains during phase transitions within the material is especially important. Therefore, we propose an application that uses a combination of proven visualization techniques in order to aid physicists in the visual analysis of molecular dynamic simulations of BaTiO3. A set of linked 2D and 3D views conveys an overview of the evolution of dipole moments over time by visualizing single time steps as well as combining multiple time steps in one single static image using flow radar glyphs. In addition, our system semi-automatically detects polarization domains, whose spatial relation can be interactively analyzed at different levels of detail on commodity hardware. The evolution of selected polarization domains over their lifetime can be observed by a combination of animated spatial and quantitative views

Investigating the impact of thermal stresses on blistering effects in sandwich panels

Lightweight steel constructions made of sandwich panels are an economical solution for wall and roof claddings, especially in industrial construction. The panels consist of two thin sheets of steel and a core with thermal insulating properties. In the mounted state and at high temperatures on the outer face of the panel, damage to the components may occur due to blister formation. In a current research project, the influence of defects in sandwich panels with a PIR‐foam core is examined. This article presents the results of experimental tests regarding the influence of various parameters, such as face temperature, production defects and design of the longitudinal joint on blistering in sandwich wall panels with a PIR‐core. The aim is to identify the necessary conditions for the occurrence of blisters. Using an optical strain measuring method (Digital Image Correlation), the temperature‐induced deformations and strains in the covering nose of sandwich wall panels with hidden fastening are measured and will be analyzed with regard to blistering. First results reveal a significant dependence on the geometry and design of the covering nose

Predictors of response to intra-arterial vasodilatory therapy of non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia in patients with severe shock: results from a prospective observational study

Background: Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI) is a life-threatening condition occurring in patients with shock and is characterized by vasoconstriction of the mesenteric arteries leading to intestinal ischemia and multi-organ failure. Although minimal invasive local intra-arterial infusion of vasodilators into the mesenteric circulation has been suggested as a therapeutic option in NOMI, current knowledge is based on retrospective case series and it remains unclear which patients might benefit. Here, we prospectively analyzed predictors of response to intra-arterial therapy in patients with NOMI. Methods: This is a prospective single-center observational study to analyze improvement of ischemia (indicated by reduction of blood lactate > 2 mmol/l from baseline after 24 h, primary endpoint) and 28-day mortality (key secondary endpoint) in patients with NOMI undergoing intra-arterial vasodilatory therapy. Predictors of response to therapy concerning primary and key secondary endpoint were identified using a) clinical parameters as well as b) data from 2D-perfusion angiography and c) experimental biomarkers of intestinal injury. Results: A total of 42 patients were included into this study. At inclusion patients had severe shock, indicated by high doses of norepinephrine (NE) (median (interquartile range (IQR)) 0.37 (0.21-0.60) μg/kg/min), elevated lactate concentrations (9.2 (5.2-13) mmol/l) and multi-organ failure. Patients showed a continuous reduction of lactate following intra-arterial prostaglandin infusion (baseline: (9.2 (5.2-13) mmol/l vs. 24 h: 4.4 (2.5-9.1) mmol/l, p 2 mmol/l at 24 h following intervention. Initial higher lactate concentrations and lower NE doses at baseline were independent predictors of an improvement of ischemia. 28-day mortality was 59% in patients with a reduction of lactate > 2 mmol/l 24 h after inclusion, while it was 85% in all other patients (hazard ratio 0.409; 95% CI, 0.14-0.631, p = 0.005). Conclusions: A reduction of lactate concentrations was observed following implementation of intra-arterial therapy, and lactate reduction was associated with better survival. Our findings concerning outcome predictors in NOMI patients undergoing intra-arterial prostaglandin therapy might help designing a randomized controlled trial to further investigate this therapeutic approach. Trial registration Retrospectively registered on January 22, 2020, at clinicaltrials.gov (REPERFUSE, NCT04235634), https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04235634?cond=NOMI&draw=2&rank=1 . Keywords: Intestinal failure; Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia; Sepsis; Shoc

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570