Pilot-Scale Lactic Acid Production via Batch Culturing of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 Using Corn Steep Liquor As a Nitrogen Source

U ovom se istraživanju pokušala odrediti učinkovitost proizvodnje mliječne kiseline uzgojem soja Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 u pilot-postrojenju uporabom kukuruznog ekstrakta kao izvora dušika. Količina mliječne kiseline nakon fermentacije, rast stanica, prinos i produktivnost nisu se bitno promijenili dodatkom čiste glukoze pri povećanju obujma procesa s 2,5 na 30 i 300 L. U svim pokusima udio mliječne kiseline linearno se povećavao s porastom početne koncentracije glukoze. U pokusu s hidrolizatom drva smanjili su se produktivnost mliječne kiseline i rast stanica s povećanjem obujma procesne opreme, zbog toksičnih kemikalija iz hidrolizata. Međutim, u svim je pokusima prinos mliječne kiseline bio veci od 90 % bez obzira na utrošak glukoze. Zaključeno je da je mliječna kiselina uspješno proizvedena u pilot-postrojenju upotrijebljenom u ovom istraživanju.In this study, the determination of the efficiency of a pilot-scale fermentation process using corn steep liquor as a nitrogen source was attempted in order to produce lactic acid via batch culturing of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2. Using pure glucose, fermentation efficiency characteristics, such as final lactic acid, cell growth, yield, and productivity were not substantially influenced by the scale-up of the laboratory-scale fermentation from 2.5- to 30- and 300-litre scale fermentations. In all experiments, the content of lactic acid produced increased in a linear fashion with increases in the initial glucose concentration. In the experiments using wood hydrolyzate, both lactic acid productivity and cell growth were decreased as a result of the scaling-up of the fermentation. This might be attributed to the toxic chemicals contained in the wood hydrolyzates. However, in all experiments, lactic acid yields remained higher than 90 % with regard to the amount of glucose consumed. Therefore, lactic acid was successfully produced by the pilot-scale bioreactor scheme adopted in this study

Pilot-Scale Lactic Acid Production via Batch Culturing of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 Using Corn Steep Liquor As a Nitrogen Source

U ovom se istraživanju pokušala odrediti učinkovitost proizvodnje mliječne kiseline uzgojem soja Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 u pilot-postrojenju uporabom kukuruznog ekstrakta kao izvora dušika. Količina mliječne kiseline nakon fermentacije, rast stanica, prinos i produktivnost nisu se bitno promijenili dodatkom čiste glukoze pri povećanju obujma procesa s 2,5 na 30 i 300 L. U svim pokusima udio mliječne kiseline linearno se povećavao s porastom početne koncentracije glukoze. U pokusu s hidrolizatom drva smanjili su se produktivnost mliječne kiseline i rast stanica s povećanjem obujma procesne opreme, zbog toksičnih kemikalija iz hidrolizata. Međutim, u svim je pokusima prinos mliječne kiseline bio veci od 90 % bez obzira na utrošak glukoze. Zaključeno je da je mliječna kiselina uspješno proizvedena u pilot-postrojenju upotrijebljenom u ovom istraživanju.In this study, the determination of the efficiency of a pilot-scale fermentation process using corn steep liquor as a nitrogen source was attempted in order to produce lactic acid via batch culturing of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2. Using pure glucose, fermentation efficiency characteristics, such as final lactic acid, cell growth, yield, and productivity were not substantially influenced by the scale-up of the laboratory-scale fermentation from 2.5- to 30- and 300-litre scale fermentations. In all experiments, the content of lactic acid produced increased in a linear fashion with increases in the initial glucose concentration. In the experiments using wood hydrolyzate, both lactic acid productivity and cell growth were decreased as a result of the scaling-up of the fermentation. This might be attributed to the toxic chemicals contained in the wood hydrolyzates. However, in all experiments, lactic acid yields remained higher than 90 % with regard to the amount of glucose consumed. Therefore, lactic acid was successfully produced by the pilot-scale bioreactor scheme adopted in this study

Multiplex Analysis of Cytokines in the Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease by Color-Coded Bead Technology

Background and purpose: The availability and promise of effective treatments for neurodegenerative disorders are increasing the importance of early diagnosis. Having molecular and biochemical markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) would complement clinical approaches, and further the goals of early and accurate diagnosis. Combining multiple biomarkers in evaluations significantly increases the sensitivity and specificity of the biochemical tests. Methods: In this study, we used color-coded bead-based Luminex technology to test the potential of using chemokines and cytokines as biochemical markers of AD. We measured the levels of 22 chemokines and cytokines in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 32 de novo patients (13 controls, 11 AD, and 8 Parkinson’s disease [PD]). Results: MCP-1 was the only cytokine detectable in CSF, and its levels did not differ between control and disease groups. However, the serum concentration of eotaxin was significantly higher in AD patients than in the control group. Conclusions: The analysis of multiple inflammatory mediators revealed marginal differences in their CSF and serum concentrations for the differential diagnosis of AD and PD. These results provide evidence that immunologica

Value of accurate diagnosis for metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes in breast cancer: assessment with neck US, CT, and 18F-FDG PET/CT

PURPOSENeck ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) are all known to be useful imaging modalities for detecting supraclavicular lymph node (SCN) metastasis in breast cancer. The authors compared the diagnostic values of neck US, CT, and PET/CT in the detection of SCN metastasis in breast cancer.METHODSSCN metastases identified in neck US, CT, or PET/CT during follow-up visits of patients with breast cancer were pathologically confirmed with the use of US-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology. The clinicopathological factors of the patients were analyzed, and the statistical parameters including sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, false-positive and false-negative rates, and accuracy of neck US, CT, and PET/CT were compared.RESULTSAmong 32 cases of suspicious SCNs, 24 were pathologically confirmed as metastasis of breast cancer. The sensitivity of US + CT was 91.7%, which was the same as that of PET/CT, while the sensitivity rates of US alone and CT alone were 87.5% and 83.3%, respectively. Accuracy was 99.8% in PET/CT alone and 98.1% in US + CT. The false-negative rate was 0.1% in US + PET/CT, while it was 0.2% in PET/CT and US + CT, 0.3% in US alone and 0.4% in CT alone.CONCLUSIONPET/CT can be the first choice for detecting SCN metastases in breast cancer. However, if PET/CT is unavailable for any reason, US + CT could be a good second option to avoid false-negative results

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Molecular mimicry-based repositioning of Nutlin-3 to anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins

The identification of off-target binding of drugs is a key to repositioning drugs to new therapeutic categories. Here we show the universal interactions of the p53 transactivation domain (p53TAD) with various antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins via a mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) binding motif, which play an important role in transcription-independent apoptotic pathways of p53. Interestingly, our structural studies reveal that the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins and MDM2 share a similar mode of interaction with the p53TAD. On the basis of this close molecular mimicry, our NMR results demonstrate that the potent MDM2 antagonists Nutlin-3 and PMI bind to the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins in a manner analogous to that with the p53TAD.Accepted versio

Sleep duration and quality in relation to chronic kidney disease and glomerular hyperfiltration in healthy men and women.

BACKGROUND:It is unclear whether sleep duration and quality are associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and glomerular hyperfiltration. The aim of this study was to examine the association of sleep duration and quality with CKD and glomerular hyperfiltration in young and middle-aged adults. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional study of men and women who underwent a health checkup examination, including assessment of sleep duration and quality (n = 241,607). Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2, and glomerular hyperfiltration was defined as eGFR above the age-/sex-specific 95th percentile. RESULTS:In a multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusting for relevant confounders, the adjusted prevalence ratios for CKD (95% confidence interval) comparing sleep durations of ≤ 5, 6, 8, and 9 hours with 7 hours were 1.22 (0.95-1.55), 0.93 (0.75-1.14), 0.97 (0.75-1.26), and 1.56 (1.06-2.30) in men and 0.98 (0.68-1.43), 1.03 (0.72-1.46), 1.39 (0.97-2.00), and 1.31 (0.78-2.22) in women, respectively. The corresponding prevalence ratios (95% confidence interval) for glomerular hyperfiltration were 1.00 (0.93-1.08), 0.97 (0.91-1.03), 1.03 (0.94-1.13), and 1.39 (1.13-1.72) in men and 1.04 (0.95-1.14), 0.96 (0.90-1.04), 1.11 (1.02-1.20), and 1.28 (1.14-1.45) in women, respectively. Poor subjective sleep quality was associated with glomerular hyperfiltration in men and women. CONCLUSION:In this large study of young and middle-aged adults, we found that long sleep duration was associated with CKD and glomerular hyperfiltration. Additionally, poor subjective sleep quality was associated with increased prevalence of glomerular hyperfiltration, suggesting the importance of adequate quantity and quality of sleep for kidney function

Comparison of efficacy and tolerance between combination therapy and monotherapy as first-line chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Introduction: The combination of a fluoropyrimidine [5-fluorouracil (5-FU), capecitabine, or S-1] with a platinum analog (cisplatin or oxaliplatin) is the most widely accepted first-line chemotherapy regimen for metastatic or recurrent advanced gastric cancer (AGC), based on the results of clinical trials. However, there is little evidence to guide chemotherapy for elderly patients with AGC because of under-representation of this age group in clinical trials. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine the optimal chemotherapy regimen for elderly patients with AGC by comparing the efficacies and safeties of combination therapy versus monotherapy as first-line chemotherapy. Methods: This study is a randomized, controlled, multicenter, phase III trial. A total of 246 elderly patients (≥70 years old) with metastatic or recurrent AGC who have not received previous palliative chemotherapy will be randomly allocated to a combination therapy group or a monotherapy group. Patients randomized to the combination therapy group will receive fluoropyrimidine plus platinum combination chemotherapy (capecitabine/cisplatin, S-1/cisplatin, capecitabine/oxaliplatin, or 5-FU/oxaliplatin), and those randomized to the monotherapy group will receive fluoropyrimidine monotherapy (capecitabine, S-1, or 5-FU). The primary outcome is the overall survival of patients in each treatment group. The secondary outcomes include progression-free survival, response rate, quality of life, and safety. Discussion: We are conducting this pragmatic trial to determine whether elderly patients with AGC will obtain the same benefit from chemotherapy as younger patients. We expect that this study will help guide decision-making for the optimal treatment of elderly patients with AGC