Heavy metal biosorption sites in Penicillium cyclopium

The biomass of Penicillium cyclopium was subjected to chemical treatment to study the role of the functional groups in the biosorption of heavy metal ions. The modifications of the functional groups were examined with infrared spectroscopy. Hydroxyl groups were identified as providing the major sites of heavy metal deposition, augmented by secondary binding by amides and carboxylates. Phosphate groups and the lipids fraction of the biomass did not play significant role in biosorption of the metal ions in the studied biomass. Biosorption of copper and cobalt ions displaced K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ present on the biosorbents indicating that biosorption took place as a result of an ion-exchange process. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10(3) 2006: 117-12

USE OF ENZYMES IN HYDROLYSIS OF MAIZE STALKS

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic raw material in the world. Cellulose and hemicellulose from plants and other biomass can be hydrolyzed to produce sugars. Native lignocellulosic biomass provides limited accessibility to cellulase enzymes due to structural features. The investigations were carried out with waste lignocellulosic raw material, consisting of maize stalks and cobs. Enzyme hydrolysis was performed after acid hydrolysis with a cellulasic product. It was established that the enzyme stage, as a first treatment phase, was inefficient. It was found that cellulase activity was considerably improved after acid hydrolysis of a crushed mass. A two-stage process with acidic and then enzyme hydrolysis method was most efficient and promising for obtaining sugars for ethanol production

Heavy Metal Biosorption sites in Penicillium cyclopium

The biomass of Penicillium cyclopium was subjected to chemical treatment to study the role of the functional groups in the biosorption of heavy metal ions. The modifications of the functional groups were examined with infrared spectroscopy. Hydroxyl groups were identified as providing the major sites of heavy metal deposition, augmented by secondary binding by amides and carboxylates. Phosphate groups and the lipids fraction of the biomass did not play significant role in biosorption of the metal ions in the studied biomass. Biosorption of copper and cobalt ions displaced K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ present on the biosorbents indicating that biosorption took place as a result of an ion-exchange process

Incidence and Significance of Laryngeal Carcinoma

Introduction: Laryngeal carcinoma is the eleventh of the most common malignant neoplasms found in men. Epidemiologically it represents 1.6-2% of all malignant tumors in males and 0.2-0.4% in females.The Aim of the study is to characterize the incidence and significance of laryngeal carcinoma in the population.Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of patient records. Analysis of the following parameters has been made: age, sex, risk factors, type and frequency of accompanying diseases, ASA. Patients are divided into two groups according to the type of the surgical intervention: 1. Patients undergoing fronto-lateral resection, 2. Patients undergoing total laryngectomy.Results: In both groups most the age of most patients is 51 to 60 years, the male sex is dominant, most of the patients are assessed with ASA III. Systemic alcohol use was reported by 195 patients who underwent fronto-lateral resection and by 520 patients who underwent total laryngectomy. Smoking was reported by 335 patients who underwent fronto-lateral resection and 840 of those who underwent total laryngectomy.Discussion: Based on the demographic analysis, the distribution of patients by sex and age correlates with the results reported by Boring 2 and Muir 3. The predominance of patients in working-age (51-60 years) determines the social significance of the problem. A high percentage of risk factors were found in the study.Conclusion: Laryngeal carcinoma is malignancy with high occurrence and social significance, affecting mostly males in active working-age

Predicting Interpersonal Outcomes From Information Processing Tasks Using Personally Relevant and Generic Stimuli: A Methodology Study

Despite evidence of differential processing of personally relevant stimuli (PR), most studies investigating attentional biases in processing emotional content use generic stimuli. We sought to examine differences in the processing of PR, relative to generic, stimuli across information processing tasks and to validate their use in predicting concurrent interpersonal functioning. Fifty participants (25 female) viewed generic and PR (i.e., their intimate partner’s face) emotional stimuli during tasks assessing selective attention (using a modified version of the Spatial Cueing Task) and inhibition (using the Negative Affective Priming task) of emotional content. Ratings of relationship quality were also collected. Evidence of increased selective attention during controlled and greater avoidance during automatic stages of processing emerged when viewing PR, relative to generic, emotional faces. We also found greater inhibition of PR sad faces. Finally, male, but not female, participants who displayed greater difficulty disengaging from the sad face of their partner reported more conflict in their relationships. Taken together, findings from information processing studies using generic emotional stimuli may not be representative of how we process PR stimuli in naturalistic settings

In Vitro Evaluation of a Stable Monomeric Gold(II) Complex with Hematoporphyrin IX: Cytotoxicity against Tumor and Kidney Cells, Cellular Accumulation, and Induction of Apoptosis

The antineoplastic potential of a stable monomeric Au(II) complex with hematoporphyrin IX (Hp), namely [Au(II)Hp−2H.(H2O)2], was investigated in a panel of tumor cell lines. The complex exhibits strong cytotoxicity, whereby the leukaemia- and lymphoma-derived cell lines are more sensitive, with IC50 values comparable to those of the reference anticancer drug cisplatin. In contrast, the solid tumor models are more sensitive to the platinum drug. A comparative assessment of both agents against the human kidney cell line 293T has shown that [Au(II)Hp−2H.(H2O)2] is less cytotoxic. The gold complex induces oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation in tumour cells following 24-hour treatment and hence its cytotoxic effect is at least partly mediated by induction of apoptotic cell death. A prominent intracellular gold accumulation was detected after treating tumor cells with [Au(II)Hp−2H.(H2O)2] which shows that its putative pharmacological targets are readily accessible after a short incubation period

Does Sensationalism Affect Executive Compensation? Evidence from Pay Ratio Disclosure Reform

Beginning in 2018, publicly-traded U.S. firms were required to report the ratio of the chief executive officer’s (CEO) compensation to that of the median employee’s compensation in the annual proxy statement. Our study examines the effect of the mandated pay ratio disclosure on executive compensation. We find that pay ratio disclosure leads to declines in both total compensation and pay-for-performance sensitivity for CEOs relative to chief financial officers (CFOs). Our effects are strongest for firms that are more sensitive to political pressure. Taken together, our paper provides the first evidence that pay ratio disclosure achieves regulators’ goal of curtailing CEO compensation but also leads to an unintended decline in pay-for-performance sensitivity

Cellulose acetate in wound dressings formulations: potentialities and electrospinning capability

Série: IFMBE Proceedings, vol. 76Any open wound is a potential site for microorganisms’ invasion since their presence around us is inevitable. Skin wound healing relies on a series of complex physiochemical processes that remain a big challenge for healthcare professionals, particularly when the wounds are colonized by bacteria. Wound dressings play a major role in wound healing as they manage the wounded site, controlling the moisture balance and protecting the wound from repeated trauma, and by preventing possible infections from developing into more serious complications. Recently, bioactive dressings loaded with drugs and/or antimicrobial agents, allowing for a continuous and sustainable release of these molecules at the wounded site, have appeared in the market. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing health care problem, requiring more effective solutions than antibiotics. As such, nano- and microfibrous mats produced via electrospinning technique and loaded with natural-origin antimicrobial agents have attracted a lot of attention. Various polymers have been applied to engineer nanofibrous electrospun dressings. However, the environment impact of the synthesis and processing methods of synthetic polymers is undesirable. Therefore, the application of cellulose-derived materials (highly abundant polymer of natural-origin) becomes crucial as a green alternative to produce electrospun wound dressings with superior wettability, breathability and high capacity to promote cell proliferation, at relatively low costs. In this paper, different biomolecules loaded onto cellulose acetate (CA)-based polymeric nanofibers were investigated, and their antimicrobial properties were highlighted as alternatives to conventional antibiotics.Authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), FEDER funds by means of Competitive Factors Operational Program (POCI) for funding the projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028074 and UID/CTM/00264/2019