Effect of hydrolyzed milk on the adhesion of Lactobacilli to intestinal cells

Milk is an essential part of the human diet and is undoubtedly a major calcium source in human nutrition, accepted well by most individuals. Knowledge on how the components from dairy products support or reduce the adherence of probiotics to the intestinal epithelium is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acid-hydrolyzed milk on the adhesion ability of two potentially probiotic strains (Lactobacillus plantarum S2, Lactobacillus gasseri R) to in vitro human intestinal epithelial model consisting of Caco-2 and mucus-secreting HT29-MTX co-culture. The adhesion of our tested strains L. gasseri and L. plantarum was 4.74 and 7.16%, respectively, when using inoculum of 2 × 108 CFU ml–1. Addition of acid-hydrolyzed milk to co-culture decreased the adherence by 53.7% for L. gasseri R and by 62.2% for L. plantarum S2. The results of this study evidently indicate the potential importance of the food matrix as a factor influencing probiotic colonization of the gut

Growth of bifidobacteria in mammalian milk

Microbial colonization of the mammalian intestine begins at birth, when from a sterile state a newborn infant is exposed to an external environment rich in various bacterial species. An important group of intestinal bacteria comprises bifidobacteria. Bifidobacteria represent major intestinal microbiota during the breast-feeding period. Animal milk contains all crucial nutrients for babies’ intestinal microflora. The aim of our work was to test the influence of different mammalian milk on the growth of bifidobacteria. The growth of seven strains of bifidobacteria in human milk, the colostrum of swine, cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, and rabbit’s milk was tested. Good growth accompanied by the production of lactic acid was observed not only in human milk, but also in the other kinds of milk in all three strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum of different origin. Human milk selectively supported the production of lactic acid of human bifidobacterial isolates, especially the Bifidobacterium bifidum species. The promotion of bifidobacteria by milk is species-specific. Human milk contains a key factor for the growth of specific species or strains of human-origin bifidobacteria compared to other kinds of milk. In contrast, some components (maybe lysozyme) of human milk inhibited the growth of Bifidobacterium animalis. Animal-origin strains of bifidobacteria were not able to significantly grow even in milk of animal origin, with the exception of B. animalis subsp. lactis 1,2, which slightly grew in sheep’s milk

Laboratory-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor for treatment of stillage from fruit distillation

This work describes batch anaerobic digestion tests carried out on stillages, the residue of the distillation process on fruit, in order to contribute to the setting of design parameters for a planned plant. The experimental apparatus was characterized by 3 reactors, each with a useful volume of 5 L. The different phases of the work carried out were: determining the basic components of the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the stillages; determining the specific production of biogas; and estimating the rapidly biodegradable COD contained in the stillages. In particular, the main goal of the anaerobic digestion tests on stillages was to measure the parameters of Specific Gas Production (SGP) and Gas Production Rate (GPR) in reactors in which stillages were being digested using ASBR (Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor) technology. Runs were developed with increasing concentrations of the feed. The optimal loads for obtaining the maximum SGP and GPR values were 8\u20139 gCOD L-1 and 0.9 gCOD g-1VS

The effect of encapsulated amount of caffeine on the mechanism of its release from hydrogels based on poly(methacrylic) and casein

Researchers are making everyday efforts to develop new drugs or improve present ones in order to enhance therapies of various diseases, especially serious ones like cancer. Drug delivery systems (DDS) are one of the solutions for safer and more efficient therapy. Hydrogels based on poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) are extensively investigated as DDS due to their nontoxicity, biocompatibility and pH sensitivity. Many chemotherapeutics are poorly watersoluble, so it is quite challenging to encapsulate them into highly hydrophilic PMAA. In our previous study we overcome this limitation by modifying PMAA with amphiphilic casein and demonstrated that poorly water-soluble model drug – caffeine can be successfully encapsulated and released in control manner from these samples (H hydrogels). In present study we go step forward and investigated how the change in the amount of encapsulated caffeine affect the mechanism of caffeine release from the H hydrogels in medium with pH of 6.8 (which simulates the environment in human intestines). Commonly used models for the analysis of kinetics of drug release from hydrogels: Ritger-Peppas, Higuchi and Kopcha model are employed for the analysis of the mechanism of caffeine release. Presented results indicate that it is possible to adjust the manner and mechanism of drug release by changing the amount of encapsulated drug, due to which the H hydrogels can adapt to the unique requirements of the therapy

Microemulsions: Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems With Enhanced Bioavailability

Microemulsions are preferred because of its advantages like low cost of preparation and enhanced bioavailability due to increased absorption of drug through skin which is achieved by adding penetration enhancers. Most frequently used permeation enhancers are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid . Microemulsions are the systems which can be used as a carrier to enhance the solubility of the drug and they protect the drug from oxidation, degradation and hydrolysis. As this system is directly applied on the skin, there is lesser risk of side effects like toxicity. Thus, microemulsions can be used as safe and effective dosage form to enhance the bioavailability of drugs in the transdermal drug delivery system. This article summarizes the structure of microemulsions, its components, merits and demerits of microemulsion system. Keywords: Microemulsion, transdermal drug delivery, bioavailability

Analysis of kinetics of poorly water-soluble drug release from hydrogels based on poly (methacrylic acid) and casein with different crosslinker amount

Nowadays, humanity are faced with many challenges which affect health of people all around the globe (such as climate change, new diseases and/or already present ones for which cure has not been found yet – cancer). The efforts of researchers on the field of drug delivery systems bring everyday novel tools for safer and more effective therapy. pH sensitive hydrogels based on poly(methacrylic acid) are recognized as materials with huge potential for controlled release of drugs. The encapsulation and controlled release of many chemotherapeutics is quite challenge due to their poorly water-solubility. In our previous research we overcome this problem by modifying hydrophilic pol(methacrylic acid) with amphiphilic casein and showed that prepared material have potential for encapsulation and controlled release of poorly watersoluble model drug – caffeine (PMAC carriers). In present study we deepened further our research and employed various models: Ritger-Peppas, Higuchi and Kopcha model to analyze how the change of crosslinker amount affect the mechanism of release kinetics of caffeine in medium with pH of 6.8 (which simulated the environment in human intestines). Obtained results showed that only by changing one parameter such as crosslinker amount it is possible to fine tune the type of drug release mechanism, due to which the PMAC carriers would be able to respond to the specific demands of therapy

Energy and sustainability assessment of municipal wastewater treatment under circular economy paradigm

Climate change and anthropogenic pollution have put limited water resources under pressure. Lack of basic sanitation services as well as the discharge of improperly treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) result in the deposition of large amounts of organic matter and nutrients, which have major detrimental effects on health. Wastewater treatment (WWT) can reduce water pollution but at the cost of increasing energy consumption and the corresponding atmosphere and climate problems. Sustainable WWT management is a global challenge to preserve fresh water and decrease energy consumption. Nowadays it becomes obvious that existing WWTP operation model, based on the linear "take-make-dispose" pattern, is no longer sustainable. Furthermore, disposal of a product in landfill means that all residual energy is lost. The adoption of circular economy (CE) practices with its 3R principles of reducing, reusing and recycling material appears as a timely, relevant and practical option to meet the goals of sustainable development. WWTP is a critical element in CE implementation policy and to measure the degree of "circularity" there is a need for indicators. This study considers the holistic overview of measuring the progress of CE implementation at WWTP under 3R principles using life cycle analysis (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) frameworks. The paper presents the principles of CE indicators set construction using managerial approach. The proposed set of indicators and integral circularity index are studied under three scenarios, based on real performance of northern and southern WWTP in Ekaterinburg, Russia. This study provides an efficient assessment tool of CE progress, which is rather simple for calculation and interpretation and suitable for the use of wide range of stakeholders

Critical Analysis of the GreenMetric World University Ranking System: The Issue of Comparability

The Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric World Ranking is the most widely adopted system nowadays to rank worldwide universities' sustainability. The number of participating universities has consistently increased throughout the last decade. An in-depth analysis of this ranking system is made to assess how sustainability in universities is measured through specific indicators. Specifically, based on expert knowledge, common logic and the scientific literature, these indicators are assessed with respect to whether they can be used to fairly quantify and rank worldwide universities' sustainability development. Some indicators proposed by the ranking system, such as the number of renewable energy sources on campus and the number of various types of programs for sustainable development, were found to be unable to measure any sustainability development effectively and fairly. Many others, such as the opted sewage disposal modality, the percentage of university budget for sustainability efforts and the ratio of sustainability research funding to total research funding, were found to need adjustment to account for context-specific factors such as availability of renewable energy sources, weather, landscape, original construction and the cultural habits of the enrolled people. Taking into account these considerations, a fairer evaluation and comparison of universities' sustainability could be achieved which provides universities with information on how to effectively improve their sustainability

Die Konzeptualisierung von Grenze im deutschen und ungarischen Mediendiskurs über die Migration im Jahre 2015

Die Migration stellt die europäischen Länder seit 2015 vor immer schwierigere und komplexere Herausforderungen. Sie wird längst nicht mehr nur im Kontext von nationalen Medienkursen sondern auch auf der gesamteuropäischen Ebene, auf der Ebene der Europäischen Union diskutiert. In der ganzen Diskussion und daher auch in den thematisch einschlägigen Mediendiskursen spielen die Landesgrenzen und deren Schutz eine wesentliche Rolle. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, die Wissensbestände, Denk- und Bewertungsmuster zu ermitteln, die in dem deutschsprachigen und ungarischen Mediendiskurs über die Migration im Zusammenhang mit Grenzen sprachlich vermittelt werden. Dies soll auf der Folie der Diskurslinguistik, im Rahmen einer wortorientierten, deskriptiven linguistischen Diskursanalyse erfolgen. Im Rahmen von quantitativen und qualitativen Untersuchungen sollen die mit dem deutschen Wort Grenze bzw. dem ungarischen Wort határ benannten Konzepte aufgedeckt werden. Die erzielte Analyse versteht sich als international-interlingualer Vergleich von Diskursen