Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation of a poly(å-caprolactone) network

“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Polymer Degradation and Stability. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Polymer Degradation and Stability, [Volume 97, Issue 8, August 2012, Pages 1241–1248] DOI 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2012.05.038Long-term hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation profiles of poly(å-caprolactone) (PCL) networks were obtained. The hydrolytic degradation studies were performed in water and phosphate buffer solution (PBS) for 65 weeks. In this case, the degradation rate of PCL networks was faster than previous results in the literature on linear PCL, reaching a weight loss of around 20% in 60 weeks after immersing the samples either in water or in PBS conditions. The enzymatic degradation rate in Pseudomonas Lipase for 14 weeks was also studied, with the conclusion that the degradation profile of PCL networks is lower than for linear PCL, also reaching a 20% weight loss. The weight lost, degree of swelling, and calorimetric and mechanical properties were obtained as a function of degradation time. Furthermore, the morphological changes in the samples were studied carefully through electron microscopy and crystal size through X-ray diffraction. The changes in some properties over the degradation period such as crystallinity, crystal size and Young¿s modulus were smaller in the case of enzymatic studies, highlighting differences in the degradation mechanism in the two studies, hydrolytic and enzymatic.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education through the DPI2010-20399-004-03 project. JM Meseguer-Duenas and A Vidaurre also would like to acknowledge the support of the CIBER-BBN, an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, SpainCastilla Cortázar, MIC.; Más Estellés, J.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Escobar Ivirico, JL.; Marí Soucase, B.; Vidaurre, A. (2012). Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation of a poly(å-caprolactone) network. Polymer Degradation and Stability. 97(8):1241-1248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2012.05.038S1241124897

Wavelets techniques for pointwise anti-Holderian irregularity

In this paper, we introduce a notion of weak pointwise Holder regularity, starting from the de nition of the pointwise anti-Holder irregularity. Using this concept, a weak spectrum of singularities can be de ned as for the usual pointwise Holder regularity. We build a class of wavelet series satisfying the multifractal formalism and thus show the optimality of the upper bound. We also show that the weak spectrum of singularities is disconnected from the casual one (denoted here strong spectrum of singularities) by exhibiting a multifractal function made of Davenport series whose weak spectrum di ers from the strong one

Intracellular trafficking and replication of Burkholderia cenocepacia in human cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells

We investigated the trafficking of Burkholderia cenocepacia , an opportunistic respiratory pathogen of persons with cystic fibrosis (CF), in immortalized CF airway epithelial cells in vitro . Our results indicate that bacteria enter cells in a process involving actin rearrangement. Whereas both live and heat-killed bacteria reside transiently in early endosomes, only live bacteria escape from late endosomes to colocalize in vesicles positive for lysosomal membrane marker LAMP1, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane marker calnexin, and autophagosome marker monodansylcadavarine (MDC). Twenty-four hours after infection, microcolonies of live bacteria were observed in the perinuclear area colocalizing with calnexin. In contrast, after ingestion, dead bacteria colocalized with late endosome marker Rab7, and lysosome markers LAMP1 and cathepsin D, but not with calnexin or MDC. Six to eight hours after ingestion of dead bacteria, degraded bacterial particles were observed in the cytoplasm and in vesicles positive for cathepsin D. These results indicate that live B. cenocepacia gain entry into human CF airway cells by endocytosis, escape from late endosomes to enter autophagosomes that fail to fuse with mature lysosomes, and undergo replication in the ER. This survival and replication strategy may contribute to the capacity of B. cenocepacia to persist in the lungs of infected CF patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75744/1/j.1462-5822.2006.00724.x.pd

Airborne quantification of net methane and carbon dioxide fluxes from European Arctic wetlands in Summer 2019

Arctic wetlands and surrounding ecosystems are both a significant source of methane (CH4) and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) during summer months. However, precise quantification of this regional CH4 source and CO2 sink remains poorly characterized. A research flight using the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement was conducted in July 2019 over an area (approx. 78 000 km2) of mixed peatland and forest in northern Sweden and Finland. Area-averaged fluxes of CH4 and carbon dioxide were calculated using an aircraft mass balance approach. Net CH4 fluxes normalized to wetland area ranged between 5.93 ± 1.87 mg m−2 h−1 and 4.44 ± 0.64 mg m−2 h−1 (largest to smallest) over the region with a meridional gradient across three discrete areas enclosed by the flight survey. From largest to smallest, net CO2 sinks ranged between −513 ± 74 mg m−2 h−1 and −284 ± 89 mg m−2 h−1 and result from net uptake of CO2 by vegetation and soils in the biosphere. A clear gradient of decreasing bulk and area-averaged CH4 flux was identified from north to south across the study region, correlated with decreasing peat bog land area from north to south identified from CORINE land cover classifications. While N2O mole fraction was measured, no discernible gradient was measured over the flight track, but a minimum flux threshold using this mass balance method was calculated. Bulk (total area) CH4 fluxes determined via mass balance were compared with area-weighted upscaled chamber fluxes from the same study area and were found to agree well within measurement uncertainty. The mass balance CH4 fluxes were found to be significantly higher than the CH4 fluxes reported by many land-surface process models compiled as part of the Global Carbon Project. There was high variability in both flux distribution and magnitude between the individual models. This further supports previous studies that suggest that land-surface models are currently ill-equipped to accurately capture carbon fluxes inthe region

The empirical process of a short-range dependent stationary sequence under Gaussian subordination

Consider the stationary sequence X 1 = G ( Z 1 ), X 2 = G ( Z 2 ),..., where G (·) is an arbitrary Borel function and Z 1 , Z 2 ,... is a mean-zero stationary Gaussian sequence with covariance function r(k)=E ( Z 1 Z k +1 ) satisfying r (0)=1 and ∑ k =1 ∞ | r ( k )| m < ∞, where, with I {·} denoting the indicator function and F (·) the continuous marginal distribution function of the sequence { X n }, the integer m is the Hermite rank of the family { I { G (·) ≦ x } − F ( x ): x ∈ R }. Let F n (·) be the empirical distribution function of X 1 ,..., X n . We prove that, as n →∞, the empirical process n 1/2 { F n (·)- F (·)} converges in distribution to a Gaussian process in the space D [−∞,∞].Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47644/1/440_2005_Article_BF01303800.pd

Isolation of Bacillus spp. from Thai fermented soybean (Thua-nao): screening for aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A detoxification.

Aims: To study the interaction between Bacillus spp. and contaminating Aspergillus flavus isolated strains from Thai fermented soybean in order to limit aflatoxin production. To study the detoxification of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) by Bacillus spp. in order to find an efficient strain to remove these toxins. Methods and Results: One A. flavus aflatoxin-producing strain and 23 isolates of Bacillus spp. were isolated from soybean and fresh Thua-nao collected from the north of Thailand. Inhibition studies of A. flavus and A. westerdijkiae NRRL 3174 (reference strain) growth by all isolates of Bacillus spp. were conducted by dual culture technique on agar plates. These isolates were also tested for AFB1 and OTA detoxification ability on both solid and liquid media. Most of the strains were able to detoxify aflatoxin but only some of them could detoxify OTA. Conclusions: One Bacillus strain was able to inhibit growth of both Aspergillus strains and to remove both mycotoxins (decrease of 74% of AFB1 and 92·5% of OTA). It was identified by ITS sequencing as Bacillus licheniformis. The OTA decrease was due to degradation in OTα. Another Bacillus strain inhibiting both Aspergillus growth and detoxifying 85% of AFB1 was identified as B. subtilis. AFB1 decrease has not been correlated to appearance of a degradation product. Significance and Impact of the Study: The possibility to reduce AFB1 level by a strain from the natural flora is of great interest for the control of the quality of fermented soybean. Moreover, the same strain could be a source of efficient enzyme for OTA degradation in other food or feeds