Serum proteome profiling identifies novel and powerful markers of cystic fibrosis liver disease.

Cystic Fibrosis associated liver disease (CFLD) develops in approximately 30% of CF patients. However, routine sensitive diagnostic tools for CFLD are lacking. Within this study, we aimed to identify new experimental biomarkers for the detection of CFLD. 45 CF patients were included in the study and received transient elastography. Differential regulation of 220 different serum proteins was assessed in a subgroup of patients with and without CFLD. Most interesting candidate proteins were further quantified and validated by ELISA in the whole patient cohort. To assess a potential relation of biomarker expression to the degree of hepatic fibrosis, serum biomarkers were further determined in 18 HCV patients where liver histology was available. 43 serum proteins differed at least 2-fold in patients with CFLD compared to those without liver disease as identified in proteome profiling. In ELISA quantifications, TIMP-4 and Endoglin were significantly up-regulated in patients with CFLD as diagnosed by clinical guidelines or increased liver stiffness. Pentraxin-3 was significantly decreased in patients with CFLD. Serum TIMP-4 and Endoglin showed highest values in HCV patients with liver cirrhosis compared to those with fibrosis but without cirrhosis. At a cut-off value of 6.3 kPa, transient elastography compassed a very high diagnostic accuracy and specificity for the detection of CFLD. Among the biomarkers, TIMP-4 and Endoglin exhibited a high diagnostic accuracy for CFLD. Diagnostic sensitivities and negative predictive values were increased when elastography and TIMP-4 and Endoglin were combined for the detection of CFLD. Serum TIMP-4 and Endoglin are increased in CFLD and their expression correlates with hepatic staging. Determination of TIMP-4 and Endoglin together with transient elastography can increase the sensitivity for the non-invasive diagnosis of CFLD

Cryogenic analysis of frozen hydrated biological tissue at the Hard X-ray Micro-Probe Beamline at PETRA III

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Exploitation of thermochemical cycles based on solid oxide redox systems for thermochemical storage of solar heat. Part 6: Testing of Mn-based combined oxides and porous structures

Low-cost, environmental-friendly, oxide compositions capable of reversible reduction/oxidation under air with significant reaction enthalpies are the first prerequisite for eventual commercialization of thermochemical storage concepts in air-operated solar thermal power plants. Equally necessary however, is the shaping of such oxides into compact structures operating as integrated reactors/heat exchangers. In this perspective two Mn-based mixed oxide systems were investigated: a specific Mn2O3-Fe2O3 composition and selected Ca-Mn-based perovskite compositions CaMn1�xBxO3�d doped in the B site with Ti, Al or Mg. The particular (0.8)(Mn2O3) ⁄ (0.2)(Fe2O3) powder composition not only was reduced and re-oxidized in a fast and reproducible manner for 58 cycles under a wide range of heating/cooling rates in contrast to Mn2O3, but its re-oxidation was much more exothermic than that of Mn2O3. Furthermore the presence of Fe2O3 enhances the shapability of this system to foams; such foams also demonstrated cyclic redox operation maintaining their structural integrity for 33 cycles, not exploiting however all the amount of oxide used for their manufacture for the thermochemical reactions. The attribute of perovskites for continuous, quasi-linear oxygen uptake/release, can be beneficial to hybridization of thermochemical with sensible storage within a wider temperature range. Addition of Ti was found to have a beneficial effect on the perovskites’ redox stability. Whereas the shaping of such compositions to foams has not been attempted, CaMn0.9Ti0.1O3�d perovskite pellets exhibited Oxygen release/uptake per mass very close to that of the respective loose powder without structural degradation. However, the induced heat effects of the perovskites’ redox reactions are substantially lower and need to be improved in the perspective of commercial-scale applications

Redox thermodynamics and phase composition in the system SrFeO3 − δ — SrMnO3 − δ

Perovskite oxides are considered promising redox materials for many fields of application, such as chemical looping processes for thermochemical air separation, oxygen pumping and fuel production, in particular considering a solar heat source. The large range of possible perovskite compositions can be extended by the synthesis of solid solutions between different perovskite phases. In this work, the solid solution formation in the system SrMn1 − xFexO3 − δ is evaluated, showing that SrFeO3 − δ and SrMnO3 − δ are miscible in any Ratio investigated. Moreover, redox thermodynamics were studied using a van't Hoff approach. It has been found that in mixed manganese ferrite perovskites, the reduction of Fe4+ is preferred over the reduction of Mn4+, leading to an increase in redox enthalpy and entropy when both species are reduced. Our findings allow the targeted synthesis of perovskites with superior redox properties for applications in chemical looping processes, as the redox thermodynamics are adjustable via variation of the Fe content

AlgalTextile - a new biohybrid material for wastewater treatment

Efficient nutrient extraction from wastewater and reuse as bio-fertilizer is an important task for reducing anthropogenic load toward circular economy. Inspired by microbial mats and biofilms, we developed a new material AlgalTextile (AT) that effectively absorbs nutrients from a medium. AT consists of three fully organic components: microalgae, alginate and textile. AT sequestered up to 99% of phosphorus (P-PO4) and 76% of total bound nitrogen from a medium. The uptake rate of phosphorus and nitrogen by AT was highest among all methods using photosynthetic microorganisms, but lower than EBPR and physicochemical methods for phosphorus removal, and anammox and denitrifying bacteria for nitrogen removal. Advantages of AT are its easy production, possibility of seasonal use and utilization as fertilizer. AT as biofertilizer for cress resulted in 35% greater length compared to the control. This outlines a promising technique for seasonal wastewater treatment, improving soil fertility and treatment of polluted surface runoff

Identification of neutrophil activation markers as novel surrogate markers of CF lung disease.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) lung disease is characterized by progressively declining lung function and represents a major factor contributing to the high morbidity and mortality associated with CF. However, apart from spirometry, respiratory disease surrogate markers reliably indicating CF lung disease and the occurrence of pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) are still lacking. Within this study, we aimed to identify new experimental biomarkers for the detection of CF lung disease.54 adult and 26 pediatric CF patients were included in the study and serum concentrations of MMP-1, -2, -8, -9, -13, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, YKL-40, hyaluronic acid, procollagen III peptide were quantified by ELISA. CF lung disease was diagnosed by lung function test, PEx was defined based on a clinical scoring established by Rosenfeld in 2001.Adults and children with moderate to severe CF lung disease exhibited significantly increased serum expression of MMP-8, MMP-9, YKL-40 and TIMP-1. Further, MMP-8, MMP-9 and YKL-40 were significantly increased in adult CF patients suffering from PEx compared to those without clinical signs of respiratory exacerbation. MMP-8, MMP-9, YKL-40, and TIMP-1 serum levels were unaffected by the presence or absence of CF liver disease or pancreatic insufficiency.MMP-8, MMP-9, and YKL-40 might serve as novel non-invasive biomarkers of CF lung disease and PEx

Serum expression of matrix and neutrophil markers in adult CF patients without (n = 22) and with (n = 32) CFLD.

<p>Serum expression of matrix and neutrophil markers in adult CF patients without (n  = 22) and with (n  = 32) CFLD.</p

Serum expression of matrix and neutrophil markers in pediatric CF patients without (n = 16) and with (n = 10) CFLD.

<p>Serum expression of matrix and neutrophil markers in pediatric CF patients without (n  = 16) and with (n  = 10) CFLD.</p