Association of the p53 codon 72 polymorphism with breast cancer in central part of Iran

The tumor suppressor gene protein 53 (p53) plays a general role in cell cycle control, the initiation of apoptosis and in DNA repair. The human p53 gene is mutated and accumulated in more than 50% of cancers. Codon 72 exon 4 polymorphism (Arg72Pro) of the p53 gene has been implicated in cancer risk. This study was aimed at investigating the possible association between p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and susceptibility to breast cancer among Iranian population. The p53 Arg72Pro genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in 135 breast cancer cases and 150 controls. The PCR products were digested with BstU I restriction enzyme and the DNA fragments were then resolved by electrophoresis in 2% agarose gel. Out of the 135 breast cancer samples, 102 (75.55 %) samples were heterozygous (Arg/Pro), 27 (20%) samples homozygous for arginine (Arg/Arg) and 6 (4.45%) samples homozygous for proline (Pro/Pro). The frequencies of the three p53 genotypes; Arg/Pro, Arg/Arg and Pro/Pro in controls were 62, 24 and 14%, respectively. Heterozygosity for Arg/Pro of p53 codon 72 is potentially one of the genetic risk factors for breast cancer. The p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism may be used as a stratification marker in screening individuals at a high risk of breast cancer

Fractionation of eucalyptus globulus wood by glycerol-water pretreatment: optimization and modeling

A glycerol-organosolv process can be a good alternative for Eucalyptus wood fractionation into its main compounds, improving the enzymatic saccharification of the cellulose. A study of process variables - glycerol−water percent content, temperature, and process time - was carried out using a Box-Behnken experimental design. The cellulose obtained from pretreated solids was recovered almost quantitatively, leading to a solid with a high percentage of cellulose (77 g/100 g of pretreated solid), low lignin content (9 g/100 g of pretreated solid), and 18% of residual hemicellulose in the solid at 200 °C, 56% of glycerol−water and 69 min. The enzymatic saccharification was enhanced achieving 98% cellulose-to-glucose conversion (under conditions: liquid to solid ratio 20 g/g and enzyme loading 20 FPU/g of solid). This study contributes to the improvement of biomass fractionation by exploring an eco-friendly treatment which allows for almost complete wood fractionation into constituents and high levels of glucose recovery available for subsequent yeast fermentation to bioethanol.The authors A. Romani and F. B. Pereira thank to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for their fellowships (grant number: SFRH/BPD/77995/2011 and SFRH/BD/64776/2009, respectively)

Industrial decarbonisation of the pulp and paper sector: A UK perspective

The potential for reducing industrial energy demand and ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) emissions in the Pulp and Paper sector (hereinafter denoted as the paper industry) has been evaluated within a United Kingdom (UK) context, although the lessons learned are applicable across much of the industrialised world. This sector gives rise to about 6% of UK industrial GHG emissions resulting principally from fuel use (including that indirectly emitted because of electricity use). It can be characterised as being heterogeneous with a diverse range of product outputs (including banknotes, books, magazines, newspapers and packaging, such as corrugated paper and board), and sits roughly on the boundary between energy-intensive (EI) and non-energy-intensive (NEI) industrial sectors. This novel assessment was conducted in the context of the historical development of the paper sector, as well as its contemporary industrial structure. Some 70% of recovered or recycled fibre is employed to make paper products in the UK. Fuel use in combined heat and power (CHP) plant has been modelled in terms of so-called ‘auto-generation’. Special care was taken not to ‘double count’ auto-generation and grid decarbonisation; so that the relative contributions of each have been accounted for separately. Most of the electricity generated via steam boilers or CHP is used within the sector, with only a small amount exported. Currently-available technologies will lead to further, short-term energy and GHG emissions savings in paper mills, but the prospects for the commercial exploitation of innovative technologies by mid-21st century is speculative. The possible role of bioenergy as a fuel resource going forward has also been appraised. Finally, a set of low-carbon UK ‘technology roadmaps’ for the paper sector out to 2050 have been developed and evaluated, based on various alternative scenarios. These yield transition pathways that represent forward projections which match short-term and long-term (2050) targets with specific technological solutions to help meet the key energy saving and decarbonisation goals. The content of these roadmaps were built up on the basis of the improvement potentials associated with different processes employed in the paper industry. Under a Reasonable Action scenario, the total GHG emissions from the sector are likely to fall over the period 1990–2050 by almost exactly an 80%; coincidentally matching GHG reduction targets established for the UK economy as a whole. However, the findings of this study indicate that the attainment of a significant decline in GHG emissions over the long-term will depends critically on the adoption of a small number of key technologies [e.g., energy efficiency and heat recovery techniques, bioenergy (with and without CHP), and the electrification of heat], alongside a decarbonisation of the electricity supply. The present roadmaps help identify the steps needed to be undertaken by developers, policy makers and other stakeholders in order to ensure the decarbonisation of the UK paper sector