We have established an approach for the spatial control of lipid phase separation in tethered polymer-supported membranes (PSM), which were obtained by vesicle fusion on a PEG polymer brush functionalized with fatty acid moieties. Phase separation of ternary lipid mixtures (DOPC/SM/cholesterol) into liquid disordered (ld) and liquid ordered (lo) phases ...

A Ni/silicon microchannel plate (Ni/Si MCP) electrode modified with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was successfully fabricated. The analytical performance of prepared electrode for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The sensitivities for AA, DA ...

The catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in DMSO was performed over Nb(2)O(5) derived from calcination of niobic acid at various temperatures (300-700°C). The catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N(2) physical adsorption, temperature-programed desorption of NH(3), n-butylamine titration using Hammett indicators, infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and ...

We determined the δD values of the total fatty acids of Japanese rice to test the hypothesis that there is a wide variation in the hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of the total fatty acids of Japanese rice sourced from different growth areas in Japan and to distinguish the minor differences ...

The contemporary proteinogenic repertoire contains 20 amino acids with diverse functional groups and side chain geometries. Primordial proteins, in contrast, were presumably constructed from a subset of these building blocks. Subsequent expansion of the proteinogenic alphabet would have enhanced their capabilities, fostering the metabolic prowess and organismal fitness of early ...

The electrochemical degradation of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) in water has been analysed through voltammetric studies with a rotating disc electrode and controlled-potential bulk electrolyses. The influence of the mass-transport conditions and initial concentration of TCAA for titanium, stainless steel and carbon electrodes has been studied. It is shown that the ...

Deficiency in long-chain omega-3 (LCn - 3) fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n - 3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n - 3), has been implicated in the pathoetiology of cardiovascular disease, a primary cause of excess premature mortality in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). In the present study, we determined erythrocyte ...

Successful adaptation/acclimatization to low temperatures in micro-algae is usually connected with production of specific biotechnologically important compounds. In this study, we evaluated the growth characteristics in a micro-scale mass cultivation of the Antarctic soil green alga Chlorella mirabilis under different nitrogen and carbon sources followed by analyses of fatty acid ...

To better understand lipid biosynthesis in oil palm mesocarp, in particular the differences in gene regulation leading to and including de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, a multi-platform metabolomics technology was used to profile mesocarp metabolites during six critical stages of fruit development in comparatively high- and low-yielding oil palm populations. ...

A soil metagenomic library was constructed and two functionally diverse lipase genes, SMlipB and SMlipD, were screened by a function-driven approach and characterized. The optimal temperature for enzyme activity of SMlipB and SMlipD was 50°C and 30°C, respectively, and optimal pH was determined to be 7.0 and 9.0, respectively. Both ...

A mixture of lard and rapeseed oil (1:1, wt/wt) was interesterified using immobilized lipases from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RM IM) and Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) as catalysts. Enzymatic interesterifications were carried out at 60°C for 8 h with Lipozyme RM IM or at 80°C for 4 h with Novozym 435. ...

Polyphenols, antioxidant potential and color of three types of fortified Madeira wines were evaluated during the accelerated ageing, named as estufagem. The traditional estufagem process was set to 45 °C for 3 months. Overheating conditions, 1 month at 70 °C, were also examined. Total polyphenols (TP), total monomeric anthocyanins (TMA) ...

Currant seeds, a by-product of juice production, are recognized as a valuable source of oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. We have evaluated 28 currant varieties for their oil content and fatty-acid composition. The oil content in the seeds ranged from 18.2-27.7%, and no statistical difference between varieties of different ...

The L-ascorbic acid concentration in beverages was measured after separation by silica gel thin layer chromatography (TLC) by visually determining the time in autocatalytic reaction for the L-ascorbic acid spot to turn the same yellow color of the background and disappear (the end time of the induction period) after spraying ...

An acid dissociation constant of tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester (TBPE) was determined through the measurement of electrophoretic mobility by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Although TBPE is degradable in acidic pH region and it gradually degraded at pH conditions around and below its pKa values in the time scale of the CZE ...

Purification of nucleic acids from low quantity of bacterial cells in minute volume is im- portant in many clinical and biological applications. We developed a novel microfluidic liquid phase nucleic acid purification chip to selectively isolate DNA or RNA from bacterial cell in the range of 5000 down to a ...

Megasphaera elsdenii T81 grew on either DL-lactate or D-glucose at similar rates (0.85 h(-1)) but displayed major differences in the fermentation of these substrates. Lactate was fermented at up to 210-mM concentration to yield acetic, propionic, butyric, and valeric acids. The bacterium was able to grow at much higher concentrations of ...

New photoactive dyads have been synthesized by derivatization of cholic acid (CA) or cholesterol (Ch). These compounds have proven to be efficient tools to monitor incorporation of CA and Ch to mixed micelles (MM) and to probe the microenvironment experienced inside these entities. The outstanding capability of MM to solubilize ...

Nowadays, microalgae are discussed as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. The present study examines the possibility of enhancement of fatty acid productivity of Scenedesmus obliquus by modifications of the culture medium composition. The effect of different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate, salinity, potassium nitrate, glycerol and sugarcane molasses on the ...

Physical modification of polysaccharides exerted better biological properties because of the change of physicochemical properties. Polysaccharides from Inonotus obliquus (IOPS) were modified by acid, alkali hydrolysis, thermal and ultrasonic treatment in this study. The physicochemical and antioxidant properties of IOPS and its physical modified products were comparatively investigated by chemical ...

  The desired mix of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)-enriched structured lipid (SL) and physically blended lipid (PB) was prepared from grape seed oil and perilla oil at a weight ratio of 3:1. The major triacylglycerol species (LnLnL) in PB was drastically increased after interesterification (SL), from 0.5% to 16.8%. After the ...

Arterial cord blood (CB) acid-base status and gas values, such as pH, PCO(2), PO(2), HCO(3)(-) and base excess, provide useful information on the fetal and neonatal condition. However, it remains unknown whether these values affect the radiosensitivity of fetal/neonatal hematopoiesis. The present study evaluated the relationship between arterial CB acid-base ...

  Modified butterfats (MBFs) were produced by lipase-catalyzed interesterification with 2 substrate blends (6:6:8 and 4:6:10, by weight) of anhydrous butterfat (ABF), palm stearin, and flaxseed oil in a stirred-batch type reactor after short path distillation. The 6:6:8 and 4:6:10 MBF contained 21.7% and 26.5%α-linolenic acid, respectively. Total saturated fatty ...

  This study examined the influence of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and modified waxy maize starch (MWMS) addition on the growth of starter cultures, and syneresis and firmness of low-fat yogurt during storage for 28 d at 4 °C. The control yogurt (CY) was prepared without any prebiotics. Incorporation of 2.0% (w/v) ...

The production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in a continuous process using a synthetic glucose medium as model substrate in the presence of γ-alumina as promoter is described. The results showed formation of acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric and valeric acids, with acetic acid being more than 90% of the ...

An immobilization strategy was employed to improve activity and operational stability of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase LIP2 (YlLIP2) by using macroporous resins as carrier. D152H, a cation-exchange resin, was the best support. Under the optimized conditions, the immobilization efficiency was 89.81% and the specific activity was 809,751U/g, being 2.1-fold higher than ...

  Chlorophyll photosensitized oxidation of W/O emulsion consisting of oils with different fatty acid composition was studied and β-carotene effects on the singlet oxygen oxidation affected by phosphatidylcholine were evaluated by determining peroxide value (PV) and conjugated dienoic acid (CDA) contents. An emulsion was composed of purified oil (sunflower, soybean, ...

Chemoresistance is a major issue for most gemcitabine-related chemotherapies. The overexpression of ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1 (RRM1) plays a key role in gemcitabine resistance. In this study, we synthesized a new highly acid-sensitive amphiphilic micelle material by conjugating hydrophilic polyethylene glycol with a hydrophobic stearic acid derivative (C18) using a ...

Three 2D and 3D photoreactive MOFs of trans,trans-muconic acid with Er(3+) and their corresponding isomorphous Y(3+) phases were synthesized and their photoreactivity was studied as a function of the crystal environment.

Haloacetic acids, formed in drinking water during disinfection by chlorination, pose significant risks to human health. Semiequilibrium dialysis and ultrafiltration experiments were used to examine the partitioning of the five regulated haloacetic acids (HAA(5)) viz. chloro-, dichloro-, trichloro-, bromo-, and dibromoacetic acids into cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) micelles across a range ...

We described herein a viable binary acid strategy for the catalytic Nazarov reaction of aryl vinyl ketones. Simply combining a Lewis acid and a Bronsted acid led to a dramatic enhancement of the catalytic activity in the Nazarov reaction of aryl vinyl beta-ketoesters. The obtained optimal binary acid catalyst In(OTf)3/diphenyl ...

A glutamide gelator, 1, was synthesized, and a weak emission enhancement was observed during its gelation. In addition, 1 could be an excellent scaffold for successfully embedding an energy acceptor, 2, into its aggregate to obtain highly efficient energy transfer. An amplification of the emission enhancement was observed in the ...

Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is one of major challenges in the successful applications of siRNA in clinic. In the present study, we report a new acid-degradable poly(ketal amidoamine) (PKAA) as a siRNA carrier, which has high delivery efficiency and low cytotoxicity. PKAA was designed to have acid-cleavable ...

A method has been developed to improve the performance of alternating-current electrolyte atmospheric liquid discharge (ac-EALD) optical emission spectrometry for the determination of elements. Significant enhancement of emission intensity was achieved by adding organic substance into the nitric acid electrolyte solutions. Under the optimized conditions, 3% (v/v) formic acid in ...

AimsWe recently identified a metabolic signature of three amino acids (tyrosine, phenylalanine, and isoleucine) that strongly predicts diabetes development. As novel modifiable targets for intervention are needed to meet the expected increase of cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused by the diabetes epidemic, we investigated whether this diabetes-predictive amino acid score (DM-AA ...

A method is described for construction of a highly sensitive amperometric L-amino acid biosensor based on covalent immobilization of goat kidney L- amino acid oxidase (LAAO) onto carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes/nickel hexacyanoferrate/polypyrrole hybrid film electrodeposited on surface of glassy carbon electrode. The biosensor showed optimum response within 5 s at ...

Total phenolics, radical scavenging activity (RSA) on DPPH, ascorbic acid content and chelating activity on Fe(2+) of Pleurotus citrinopileatus, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus flabellatus, Pleurotus florida, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Hypsizygus ulmarius have been evaluated. The assayed mushrooms contained 3.94-21.67mg TAE of phenolics, 13.63-69.67% DPPH scavenging activity, 3.76-6.76mg ...

Partition ratios of 10 l-amino acids with non-polar side chains (Gly, Ala, Val, nor-Val, Ile, Leu, nor-Leu, Phe, Trp and Pro) were measured in ten different polymer/polymer aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) containing 0.15M NaCl in 0.01M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The solute-specific coefficients representing the solute dipole-dipole, hydrogen bonding and ...

OBJECTIVE: A link between uric acid levels and cardiovascular diseases has been previously reported. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a marker of atherosclerotic disease and a predictor of cardiovascular events. We sought to determine if serum uric acid level is an independent risk factor for the presence of calcium ...

Production of alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, from transesterification of vegetable oil driven by heterogeneous catalysts is a promising alternative to fossil diesel. However, achieving a successful substitution for a new renewable fuel depends on several quality parameters. (1) H NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the amount of methyl ...

An HPLC-fluorescence (FL) method for determination of sulfur-containing amino acids such as homocysteine (Hcy), methionine (Met) and cysteine (Cys) in human plasma was developed. The sulfur-containing amino acids were labeled with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-F). Calibration curves in the range of 1-100 µm (Hcy and Met) and 5-500 µm (Cys) indicated good linearities (r ≥ 0.998). ...

The degree of highly oxidised lipids was determined by a modified method using profile changes of fatty acids in lard and soybean oil heated at 180°C. The usefulness of the modified method was compared through conjugated dienoic acid (CDA) and/or p-anisidine value (p-AV) methods. Absolute values, which were expressed as ...

A flow injection (FI) method is reported for the determination of folic acid by chemiluminescence method. This method is based on the reaction of folic acid with Ru(bipy)(3)(2+) and Ce(IV) to produce chemiluminescence. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 2.5×10(-5)-3.1×10(-7)mol/L with a detection limit of 2.3×10(-8)mol/L (S/N=3). ...

OBJECTIVE: Mycophenolic acid requires routine therapeutic drug monitoring. We evaluated suitability of a new PETINIA (particle enhanced turbidimetric inhibition immunoassay) assay on the Dimension EXL analyzer for monitoring of mycophenolic acid by comparing values obtained by this assay with a HPLC-UV method. DESIGN AND METHODS: Mycophenolic acid concentrations determined in ...

Hangekobokuto (banxia-houpo-tang) is a Kampo (traditional Japanese) medicine used mostly for anxiety disorder and consists of Pinellia Tuber, Poria Sclerotium, Magnolia Bark, Perilla Herb and Ginger. Perilla Herb contains an essential oil rich in perillaldehyde, which has a pleasant flavor, but this is easily lost due to heating. We therefore ...

Hydrocolloid-based materials have been extensively used to coat fruit and vegetables to prolong shelf-life. The effects of different concentrations of acidic washing (acetic, ascorbic, citric and malic acids) followed by coating with gum arabic (GA), carboxymethyl cellulose and emulsified gum arabic (EGA) were evaluated on the weight loss (WL), firmness ...

In this study, changes in quality and various biochemical parameters of 'Idared' apples during prolonged shelf life period after ultra-low oxygen (ULO) storage were investigated. Additionally, the impact of the postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on different parameters was evaluated. After the harvest, apples were stored in the ULO storage ...

The generally accepted paradigm of "inert" and "mono functional" excipient in dosage form has been recently challenged with the development of individual excipients capable of exhibiting multiple functions (eg: binder-disintegrants, surfactant which affect P-gp function). The proposed study has been designed within the realm of multi functionality and is the ...

The antioxidative response of grapevine leaves (Vitis vinifera cv. Trebbiano) affected by the presence of grapevine fanleaf virus was studied during the summer of 2010 at three different harvest times (July 1st and 26th, and August 30th). At the first and second harvest, infected leaves showed increases in the concentration ...

The increase of the ionic strength amplifies the species bearing acidic side chains from a bio-inspired dynamic combinatorial library of macrocyclic pseudopeptides, in close resemblance to the evolution observed for the proteins of halophilic microorganisms.