THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF THE CORROSION RESISTANCE OF THE PROSTHETIC ALLOY WIRONIT EXTRAHART (Co-Cr-Mo)

The presented study performs an analysis of the effect of thermal treatment on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the commercial prosthetic alloy Wironit ExtraHart (Co-Cr-Mo). Experiments of thermal treatment, homogenization, oversaturation as well as oversaturation with ageing of the alloys were carried out. Metallographic tests, hardness measurements, EDS analyses and electrochemical investigations were performed. For the examined samples, the corrosion potential (OCP) and polarization curve (LSV) were determined, based on which the corrosion properties in the simulated solution of artificial saliva were established. The results of the obtained tests made it possible to evaluate the effect of the performed thermal treatment on the changes in the properties (hardness) as well as the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the examined alloy Co-Cr-Mo

Massive annotation of bacterial L-asparaginases reveals their puzzling distribution and frequent gene transfer events

l-Asparaginases, which convert l-asparagine to l-aspartate and ammonia, come in five types, AI-AV. Some bacterial type AII enzymes are a key element in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, but new l-asparaginases with better therapeutic properties are urgently needed. Here, we search publicly available bacterial genomes to annotate l-asparaginase proteins belonging to the five known types. We characterize taxonomic, phylogenetic, and genomic patterns of l-asparaginase occurrences pointing to frequent horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events, also occurring multiple times in the same recipient species. We show that the reference AV gene, encoding a protein originally found and structurally studied in Rhizobium etli, was acquired via HGT from Burkholderia. We also describe the sequence variability of the five l-asparaginase types and map the conservation levels on the experimental or predicted structures of the reference enzymes, finding the most conserved residues in the protein core near the active site, and the most variable ones on the protein surface. Additionally, we highlight the most common sequence features of bacterial AII proteins that may aid in selecting therapeutic l-asparaginases. Finally, we point to taxonomic units of bacteria that do not contain recognizable sequences of any of the known l-asparaginase types, implying that those microorganisms most likely contain new, as yet unknown types of l-asparaginases. Such novel enzymes, when properly identified and characterized, could hold promise as antileukemic drugs

Influence of Fluoride Ions in Artificial Saliva Solution to Corrosion Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-10Mo-4Zr Titanium Alloys

Titanium alloys used in medical applications (especially dentistry) are exposed to the actions of various compounds that appear periodically in the mouth. Fluorine compounds are dangerous for the surface of titanium alloys, because they generate a dissolution of the passive layer. In this way, they destroy the surface of dental implants and cause the absorption of metal ions into the human body.The presented work was aimed to describe the effect of fluoride ions on the corrosive behavior of the commercial Ti-6Al-4V and new Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloys that can be used in stomatology. Electrochemical measurements such as open circuit potential (OCP), linear sweet voltamperometry (LSV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were performed to get information on the corrosive behavior of titanium in artificial saliva solutions (MAS) with different concentrations of NaF. It has been revealed that a high concentration of fluoride ions enhance the current density in the anodic domain, especially for the Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloy. EIS measurements performed at a potential of 0.5 V vs. AgCl (3 M KCl) show that the Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloy has a typical two-layer structure of its passive film. This passive film consists of the outer and inner layers, respectively. The resistance of the outer layer is significantly lower than the resistance of the inner layer

BTEX EMISSIONS FROM BioCo2 BONDED MOULDING SANDS

The aim of the research was to determine the volume of BTEX emission (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) from BioCo2 bonded moulding sands. BioCo2, a new polymer binder, is a water solution of two - component polymer composition(polyacrylic acid and dextrin).Research on gas emissions were performed according to the method developed at Faculty of Foundry Engineering, AGH University of Science and Technology. The measurementof BTEX samples adsorbed on activated carbon was made with the use of gas chromatography (GC-FID) and was followed by a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The research showed that the volume of BTEX emissions was lower in BioCo2 bonded moulding sand than in resin-bonded sand Kaltharz U404

Engineered β\beta-lactoglobulin produced in E-coli : purification, biophysical and structural characterisation

Functional recombinant bovine β-lactoglobulin has been produced by expression in E. coli using an engineered protein gene and purified to homogeneity by applying a new protocol. Mutations L1A/I2S introduced into the protein sequence greatly facilitate in vivo cleavage of the N-terminal methionine, allowing correctly folded and soluble protein suitable for biochemical, biophysical and structural studies to be obtained. The use of gel filtration on Sephadex G75 at the last purification step enables protein without endogenous ligand to be obtained. The physicochemical properties of recombinant β-lactoglobulin such as CD spectra, ligand binding (n, K(a), ΔH, TΔS, ΔG), chemical and thermal stability (ΔG(D), C(mid)) and crystal structure confirmed that the protein obtained is almost identical to the natural one. The substitutions of N-terminal residues did not influence the binding properties of the recombinant protein so that the lactoglobulin produced and purified according to our protocol is a good candidate for further engineering and potential use in pharmacology and medicine. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12033-016-9960-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users