bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Technical ethanol production from waste of cereals and its products using a complex enzyme preparation
Authors: Vidmantiene Daiva , Juodeikiene Grazina , Basinskiene Loreta 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis paper describes a method for hydrolysing the polysaccharides from cereal‐derived waste to yield a sugar feedstock suitable for fermentation into technical ethanol using a complex of amylolytic and hemicellulolytic/cellulolytic enzymes. The enzymatic treatment of raw materials was carried out by liquid concentrated amylase and glucoamylase in combination with xylanase, containing also cellulase and glucanase activities. Gas chromatography was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of end‐products. Apart from ethanol, also methanol, propanol, butanol, isoamyl and amyl alcohols, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and methyl acetate were found in the distillate. The optimal composition of amylase, glucoamylase and xylanase was selected, dependent on the raw material. The maximum ethanol concentration reached after fermentation of rye and wheat bran was 44 g L−1 and for rye and wheat grain it was 73 and 69 g L−1 respectively. By applying a complex preparation of amylolytic and hemicellulolytic/cellulolytic enzymes to cereal and cereal residues, it was possible to increase the ethanol yield by 20–45%, thereby decreasing the content of higher alcohols by 34% and significantly decreasing the methanol concentration, in comparison with a reference sample without xylanase preparation. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry
Time‐domain and spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography in the analysis of brain tumor tissue
Authors: Böhringer H.J. , Boller D. , Leppert J. , Knopp U. , Lankenau E. , Reusche E. , Hüttmann G. , Giese A. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractIntroductionDetection of residual tumor during resection of glial brain tumors remains a challenge because of a low inherent contrast of adjacent edematous brain, the surrounding infiltration zone, and the solid tumor. Therefore, new technologies that may facilitate an intraoperative analysis of the tissue at the resection edge are of great interest to neurosurgeons.Materials and MethodsFor ex vivo imaging of gliomas in a mouse model and human biopsy specimens of brain tumors and nervous system tissue we have used a time‐domain Sirius 713 Tomograph with a central wavelength of 1,310 nm and a coherence length of 15 µm equipped with a mono mode fiber and a modified optical coherence tomography (OCT) adapter containing a lens system for imaging at a working distance of 2.5 cm. A spectral‐domain tomograph using 840 nm and 930 nm superluminescence diodes (SLD) with a central wavelength of 900 nm was used as a second imaging modelity.ResultsBoth time‐domain and spectral‐domain coherence tomography delineated normal brain, the infiltration zone and solid tumor in murine intracerebral gliomas. Histological evaluation of H&E sections parallel to the optical plain demonstrated that tumor areas of less than a millimeter could be detected and that not only solid tumor, but also brain invaded by a low‐density single tumor cells produced an OCT signal different from normal brain. Spectral‐domain OCT (SD‐OCT) demonstrated a significantly more detailed microstructure of tumor and normal brain up to a tissue depth of 1.5–2.0 mm, whereas the interpretation of time‐domain OCT (TD‐OCT) was difficult at a tissue depth >1.0 mm. Because of rapid scanning times SD‐OCT data could be acquired as 3D data maps, which allowed a multi‐planar analysis of the tumor to brain interface. Similar to our findings in experimental gliomas, images of human nervous system tissue acquired using SD‐OCT showed a characteristic signal of normal brain tissue and a detailed microstructure of tumor parenchyma.ConclusionSpectral‐domain OCT of experimental gliomas and human brain tumor specimens differentiates solid tumor, diffusely invaded brain tissue, and adjacent normal brain based on microstructure and B‐scan signal characteristics. In conjunction with the rapid image acquisition rates of SD‐OCT, this technology carries the potential of a novel intraoperative imaging tool for the detection of residual tumor and guidance of neurosurgical tumor resections. Lasers Surg. Med. 38:588–597, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development and apoptosis of pre‐implantation porcine nuclear transfer embryos activated with different combination of chemicals
Authors: Im Gi‐Sun , Seo Jin‐Sung , Hwang In‐Sun , Kim Dong‐Hoon , Kim Se‐Woong , Yang Byoung‐Chul , Yang Boh‐Suk , Lai Liangxue , Prather Randall S. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractArtificial activation of oocytes is a pre‐requisite for successful cloning by nuclear transfer (NT). This study investigated effect of different combination of activation chemicals such as electric pulse (E), thimerosal (Thi) + dithiothreitol (DTT), 6‐dimethylaminopurine (6‐DMAP), or cycloheximide (CH) on the developmental ability and the frequency of apoptosis of porcine NT embryos during the culture in vitro. NT embryos activated with chemicals showed significantly higher developmental rate to blastocyst stage compared to embryos activated with E alone (21.5%–26.6% vs. 15.7%, respectively). Of chemicals, Thi + DTT supported higher development to blastocyst stage as compared to 6‐DMAP or CH (26.6% vs. 21.5%–23.4%, respectively). Apoptosis of NT embryos were analyzed by using a terminal deoxynucleatidyl transferase‐mediated deoxyuridine 5‐triphosphate nick‐end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The onset of apoptosis of embryos activated E alone was on Day 4, whereas embryos activated with chemicals showed apoptosis on Day 3 post‐activation NT embryos exposed to chemicals for activation had higher frequency of apoptosis compared to that of embryos exposed to E alone from Day 3 to Day 7 during the culture. In conclusion, this study shows that chemical activation after fusion could increase not only the developmental ability of porcine NT embryos but also the mean cell number with an increased ratio of inner cell mass (ICM) to trophectoderm (TE) cells. However, the chemical activation also could increase the frequency of apoptosis and induced apoptosis earlier in porcine NT embryos. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 1094–1101, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Validation of 16S rDNA sequencing in microdissected bowel biopsies from Crohn's disease patients to assess bacterial flora diversity
Authors: De Hertogh G , Aerssens J , de Hoogt R , Peeters P , Verhasselt P , Van Eyken P , Ectors N , Vermeire S , Rutgeerts P , Coulie B , Geboes K 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe bowel flora is implicated in Crohn's disease (CD) pathogenesis but its precise role is still unclear. Several non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed: an unidentified persistent pathogen; excessive bacterial translocation; an immune system abnormality in response to normal bacteria; or a breakdown in the balance between protective and harmful bacteria. These hypotheses can be tested by identifying bacteria in specific microscopic bowel structures or lesions. The present paper describes a novel technique to assess bacterial flora diversity in bowel biopsies, by combining laser capture microdissection with broad‐range 16S rDNA sequencing. Fifty‐four samples comprising histologically normal and pathological mucosa, MALT, ulcers, submucosal lymphangiectasias, epithelioid granulomas, and lymph nodes were microdissected out of 30 bowel biopsies from five CD patients. Bacterial 16S rDNA was successfully amplified by PCR in all samples, and PCR products from 15 samples were selected for cloning and sequence analysis. A total of 729 bacterial DNA sequences were analysed, which could be attributed to six different phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Planctomycetes). DNA from typical bowel bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiales, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria) was detected in all microdissected areas. It was thus convincingly demonstrated that 16S rDNA sequencing can be combined with microdissection to study the bowel flora. However, no specific persistent pathogen causal for CD was identified. The results suggest that Enterobacteriaceae may initiate or colonize ulcers in CD. Translocation of bacteria through established mucosal lesions or as a result of increased permeability may be involved in the evolution towards chronic inflammation and in the establishment of persistent lesions. Further study is needed to confirm these preliminary findings. Copyright © 2006 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable A–B–A triblock copolymers containing poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) A blocks and poly(trans‐4‐hydroxy‐L‐proline) B blocks
Authors: Lee Ren‐Shen , Lin Zhe‐Kuan , Yang Jen‐Ming , Lin Feng‐Huei 
Published: May 2006

AbstractNovel, biodegradable poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(trans‐4‐hydroxy‐N‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L‐proline)‐block‐poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) triblock copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization from dihydroxyl‐terminated macroinitiator poly(trans‐4‐hydroxy‐N‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L‐proline) (PHpr) and ϵ‐caprolactone (ϵ‐CL) with stannous octoate as the catalyst. The molecular weights were characterized with gel permeation chromatography and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. With an increase in the contents of ϵ‐CL incorporated into the copolymers, a decrease in the glass‐transition temperature (Tg) was observed. The Tg values of copoly(4‐phenyl‐ϵ‐caprolactone) and copoly(4‐methyl‐ϵ‐caprolactone) were higher than Tg of copoly(ϵ‐caprolactone). Their micellar characteristics in an aqueous phase were investigated with fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The block copolymers formed micelles in the aqueous phase with critical micelle concentrations in the range of 1.00–1.36 mg L−1. With higher molecular weights and hydrophobic components in the copolymers, a higher critical micelle concentration was observed. As the feed weight ratio of antitriptyline hydrochloride (AM) to the polymer increased, the drug loading increased. The micelles exhibited a spherical shape, and the average size was less than 250 nm. The in vitro hydrolytic degradation and controlled drug release properties of the triblock copolymers were also investigated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4268–4280, 2006
Saccadic abnormalities in psychotropic-naive obsessive–compulsive disorder without co-morbidity
Authors: van der WEE NIC J. , HARDEMAN HANS H. , RAMSEY NICK F. , RAEMAEKERS MATHIJS , VAN MEGEN HAROLD J. , DENYS DAMIAAN A. , WESTENBERG HERMAN G. , KAHN RENÉ S. 
Published: May 2006

Background. Oculomotor studies have found saccadic abnormalities in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), lending support for models postulating a central role for inhibition in OCD. Saccadic abnormalities in OCD may also be potential candidates for a biological marker, important for more endophenotype-oriented research. Saccadic abnormalities have not been examined in psychotropic-naive patients with OCD without co-morbidity.Method. We compared the error rates and latencies of 14 carefully selected adult psychotropic-naive patients with OCD with no co-morbid diagnosis and 14 pairwise matched healthy controls on a fixation task, on a prosaccade task and on an antisaccade task.Results. Patients with OCD showed normal error rates on all tasks, but latencies on the antisaccade task were significantly increased.Conclusions. Our results indicate that patients with OCD have no gross impairment of oculomotor inhibitory capacities, but may have a disturbed capacity to deliberately initiate a saccade to an imagined target.
Heterogeneity of Tubulin Subunits
Authors: Feit Howard , Slusarek Lidia , Shelanski Michael L. 
Published: May 2006

Tubulin, the subunit protein of microtubules, is a dimer that sediments at 6 S and has a molecular weight of 110,000. Using high resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we have demonstrated the presence of two peptide chains, of molecular weight 56,000 and 53,000, in tubulin purified from brain. Two peptide chains of similar molecular weight were identified in each of the A- and B-tubulins isolated from flagella of sea urchin sperm. In all cases, the protein concentrations in the bands were equal. Each of the subunits ran as a single band when eluted from the gel and electrophoresed again in the same type of gel. Chromatography of purified brain tubulin on DEAE-Sephadex columns gave only a single peak containing both subunits in equal amounts.
Cyanogen bromide peptides were prepared from each of the bands after elution from polyacrylamide gel. While certain of the peptides appear to be common to both subunits, substantial differences exist between them. The tubulin dimer is composed of two nonidentical subunits.
Roles of Calcium, Serum, Plasma, and Folic Acid in the Control of Proliferation of Normal and Rous Sarcoma Virus-Infected Chicken Fibroblasts
Authors: Balk S. D. , Whitfield J. F. , Youdale T. , Braun Armin C. 
Published: May 2006

In a culture medium of pH 7.4 and a folic acid concentration of 100 μg/liter that contains 5% heat-inactivated chicken plasma rather than serum, the rate of proliferation of normal chicken fibroblasts is determined by the concentration of calcium. Proliferation, rapid when the calcium concentration is physiological, decreases when the calcium concentration is reduced. At a very low calcium concentration, in this culture medium, normal fibroblasts are maintained without proliferation, whereas those infected with Rous sarcoma virus proliferate rapidly. This proliferative inactivity of normal fibroblasts does not involve contact-inhibition, since the effect is observed at low, as well as higher, culture densities. When a physiological amount of calcium is added to cultures of normal fibroblasts that have been maintained in very low calcium-plasma medium for 3 days, labeled thymidine uptake and protein synthesis are strongly stimulated, and cell division follows. The use of heat-inactivated chicken serum, instead of plasma, in this medium appears to strongly sensitize normal fibroblasts to the mitogenic action of calcium.
In a plasma-containing culture medium of physiological calcium concentration and a folate concentration of 5 μg/liter, neither normal nor Rous sarcoma virus-infected fibroblasts proliferate to an appreciable extent. The use of serum, however, instead of plasma results in rapid proliferation of both normal and infected cells, as does increase in the folate concentration of the plasma-containing medium to 100 μg/liter.
The fact that while normal fibroblasts are maintained without proliferation in low calcium-plasma medium, Rous sarcoma virus-infected fibroblasts proliferate rapidly, indicates that the effect of calcium is regulatory rather than permissive. These results suggest that the proliferation of normal fibroblasts is initiated by a cellular function involving calcium, and that the autonomous proliferation of the neoplastic fibroblasts results either from increased calcium uptake or from an alteration or a hypass of that function. The results also suggest that serum contains a mitogenic factor(s) not present in plasma, possibly a “wound hormone” for fibroblasts.
Different Mechanisms of Energy Coupling for the Active Transport of Proline and Glutamine in
Escherichia coli
Authors: Berger Edward A. 
Published: May 2006

The ability of either glucose or D-lactate to energize active transport of amino acids in
E. coli
was studied in starved cells blocked at specific sites of energy metabolism. Proline uptake could be driven by either oxidative or substrate-level processes. The oxidative pathway was sensitive to cyanide but not to arsenate, and operated normally in a mutant deficient in the Ca, Mg-dependent ATPase. The substrate-level pathway, which was active with glucose but not with D-lactate as the carbon source, was sensitive to arsenate but not to cyanide, and required a functional ATPase. Uncouplers prevented the utilization of energy for proline uptake by either pathway.

Energy coupling for glutamine uptake was quite different. The oxidative pathway was sensitive to cyanide and uncouplers and, in contrast with proline, required an active ATPase. The glycolytic component was resistant to cyanide and uncouplers, and functioned normally in the ATPase mutant. Arsenate abolished glutamine transport energized by either pathway.
The results suggest that proline transport is driven directly by an energy-rich membrane state, which can be generated by either electron transport or ATP hydrolysis. Glutamine uptake, on the other hand, is apparently driven directly by phosphate-bond energy formed by way of oxidative or substrate-level phosphorylations.
Target Cell Polarity and Membrane Phosphorylation in Relation to the Mechanism of Action of Antidiuretic Hormone
Authors: Schwartz Irving L. , Shlatz Linda J. , Kinne-Saffran Evamarie , Kinne Rolf 
Published: May 2006

The plasma membrane of the bovine renal collecting duct epithelial cell has been resolved into its apical (luminal) and basal-lateral (contraluminal) components by free flow electrophoresis. The contraluminal, but not the luminal, membrane was found to contain antidiuretic hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclase. The luminal membrane was found to contain a cyclic 3′:5′-adenosine monophosphate-sensitive self-phosphorylating system consisting of a membrane-bound protein kinase and its membrane-bound substrate(s); this intrinsic protein kinase was not present in the contraluminal membrane.
These findings provide direct evidence that the initiating steps in the action of antidiuretic hormone on the kidney take place at the contraluminal pole of the hormonesensitive target cell and that the late or terminal steps occur at the luminal pole, where they involve an alteration in the level of membrane phosphorylation.
Effects of antitubulins on the redistribution of crosslinked receptors on the surface of fibroblasts and epithelial cells
Authors: Domnina L. V. , Pletyushkina O. Y. , Vasiliev J. M. , Gelfand I. M. 
Published: May 2006

Substrate-attached normal mouse fibroblasts, transformed mouse fibroblasts (L strain), and epithelial cells (MPTR strain) were incubated with two ligands crosslinking different groups of the surface receptors: concanavalin A and cationic ferritin. Surface-attached ligands were revealed by an indirect immunofluorescence method. Incubation of control cells with these ligands induced the patching of corresponding surface receptors and the clearing of these receptors from the surface zones located on the lamellar cytoplasm near cell edges actively protruding pseudopodia.
Effects of three antitubulins (microtubule-destroying drugs: Colcemid, colchicine, and vinblastine) on the ligand-induced redistribution of receptors were investigated and compared with the previously described effects of these drugs on the distribution of active cell edges. Incubation of normal and transformed fibroblasts with these antitubulins led to the disappearance of nonactive cell edges; the whole cell perimeter became active. Correspondingly, the clearing pattern of the surface receptors of fibroblasts was altered by antitubulins: the cleared area in antitubulin-treated cells formed a circular band along the whole peripheral cell edge. In epithelial cultures, in contrast to fibroblastic ones, antitubulins changed neither the distribution of the active sites of the surface nor the distribution of the areas cleared of crosslinked receptors. Thus, the specific ability of the surface areas located near the active cell edges to become cleared of crosslinked receptors is characteristic not only for the cells with intact microtubules, but also for the cells with microtubules destroyed with antitubulins.
Mechanisms by which diazepam, muscimol, and other drugs change the content of cGMP in cerebellar cortex
Authors: Biggio G. , Brodie B. B. , Costa E. , Guidotti A. 
Published: May 2006

The cerebellum consists of two parts: the cerebellar nuclei whose connections to the various parts of the central nervous system coordinate muscle movements, and the cerebellar cortex which exerts an inhibitory influence on the cerebellar nuclei through the release of γ-aminobutyric acid (γAbu) from Purkinje cells. The activity of Purkinje cells is regulated by two excitatory inputs to the cerebellar cortex—the climbing and mossy fibers—and by a neuronal network within the cortex which inhibits the activity of Purkinje cells through the release of γAbu from interneurons. The net activity of Purkinje cells is related to their content of guanosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) which increases or decreases according to changes in the activity of climbing and mossy fibers as well as to changes in the activation of γAbu receptors. When these receptors are activated, the cGMP of Purkinje cells decreases; when they are inhibited, the cGMP increases.
The cGMP content of the cerebellar cortex is altered by drugs that change either the excitatory input of climbing or mossy fibers or the inhibitory input mediated by the activation of γAbu receptors. Mechanisms by which various drugs alter the cerebellar content of cGMP were investigated. By using various experimental designs, it was shown that diazepam and muscimol lowered the cGMP content by activating γAbu receptors. In contrast, morphine and haloperidol lowered the cerebellar cortex cGMP by decreasing the excitation of mossy fibers whereas harmaline increased the cGMP by increasing the excitation of the climbing fibers.
Therapy of leishmaniasis: Superior efficacies of liposome-encapsulated drugs
Authors: Alving Carl R. , Steck Edgar A. , Chapman Willie L. , Waits Virginia B. , Hendricks Larry D. , Swartz Glenn M. , Hanson William L. 
Published: May 2006

Liposomes containing antimonial compounds trapped in the aqueous phase were tested in the treatment of experimental leishmaniasis. The rationale of this approach was based on the hypothesis that the liposomes and the parasite are taken up by the same cell, the reticuloendothelial cell, and we present electron microscopic evidence that supports this hypothesis. Suppression of leishmaniasis was quantified by determining the total number of parasites per liver from impression smears. When two antimonials, meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate, were encapsulated within liposomes, each was more than 700 times more active compared to either of the free (unencapsulated) drugs. After infection, if untreated, all of the hamsters eventually would die from the disease. Liposome-encapsulated meglumine antimoniate was about 330-640 times more effective in causing a drop in the death rate than was the free antimonial. The efficacy of treatment was influenced by the lipid composition and charge of the liposomes. For example, positively charged liposomes containing egg phosphatidylcholine were much less effective than negatively charged ones. In contrast, positively and negatively charged sphingomyelin liposomes were equally effective. Liposomes containing phosphatidylserine (which were negatively charged, but also had a much higher charge density) were among the less-effective preparations. Among those tested, the most consistently efficacious liposomes contained highly saturated long-chain phospholipids (eg., dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine), cholesterol, and a negative charge.
We conclude that liposomes may be useful as carriers of drugs to treat infectious diseases involving the reticuloendothelial system. The toxicities of antimony are very similar to those of arsenic. Encapsulation of antimonial drugs and reduction of the dose required for effective therapy should minimize such systemic toxicities as acute cardiomyopathy and toxic nephritis.