Treatment of vinasse from tequila production using polyglutamic acid.

Vinasse, the wastewater from ethanol distillation, is characterised by high levels of organic and inorganic matter, high exit process temperature (ca. 90°C) and low pH (3.0-4.5). In this study, the treatment of tequila vinasse was achieved by a flocculation-coagulation process using poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA). Results showed that the use of PGA (250-300 ppm) combined with sodium hypochlorite and sand filtration managed to remove about 70% of the turbidity and reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 79.5% with the extra benefit of colour removal. PGA showed its best flocculating activity at pH 2.5-3.5 and a temperature of 30-55°C. Such a treatment may be a solution for small tequila companies for which other solutions to deal with their vinasse may not be economically affordable.

Taxus globosa S. cell lines: initiation, selection and characterization in terms of growth, and of baccatin III and paclitaxel production.

Of the initial six cell lines originating from explants of Taxus globosa, or Mexican yew (stem internode, leaves and meristematic tissue), three were selected for their microbial and oxidation resistance, two from leaves and the other from stem internode. A study of their behavior, both in terms of cell growth, and of baccatin III and paclitaxel production, was developed in suspension cultures with an initially standardized biomass (fresh weight 0.23 g/L) using modified Gamborg's B5 medium, and an elicitor (methyl jasmonate), on either the first or seventh day of culture, at several levels (0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 microM). In most of the conditions used, the three cell lines showed growth associated baccatin III production. The cell line from stem internode was the highest producer of baccatin III using 1 microM elicitor, sampling at 10 days (p < or = 0.01, 6.45 mg/L). This same line also had the highest biomass production (6.85 g/L, p < or = 0.01) at 10 days of culture but at the higher elicitor concentration of 10 microM. All three cell lines did not produce paclitaxel under experimental conditions used.

Interest of locally weighted regression to overcome nonlinear effects during in situ NIR monitoring of CHO cell culture parameters and antibody glycosylation.

Animal cell culture processes have become the standard platform to produce therapeutic proteins such as recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Since the mAb quality could be subject to significant changes depending on manufacturing process conditions, real time monitoring and control systems are required to ensure mAb specifications mainly glycosylation and patient safety. Up to now, real time monitoring glycosylation of proteins has received scarce attention. In this article, the use of near infrared (NIR) to monitor mAb glycosylation has been reported for the first time. Whereas monitoring models are mainly constructed using linear partial least squares regressions (PLSR), evidences presented in this study indicate nonlinearity relationship between in situ captured spectra and compound concentrations, compromising the PLSR performances. A novel and simple approach was proposed to fit nonlinearity using the locally weighted regression (LWR). The LWR models were found to be more appropriate for handling information contained in spectra so that real time monitoring of cultures were accurately performed. Moreover, for the first time, the LWR calibration models allowed mAb glycosylation to be monitored, in a real time manner, by using in situ NIR spectroscopy. These results represent a further step toward developing active-control feedback of animal cell processes, particularly for ensuring properties of biologics.

Use of Cardiac Injury Markers in the Postmortem Diagnosis of Sudden Cardiac Death.

In the daily practice of forensic pathology, sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a diagnostic challenge. Our aim was to determine the usefulness of blood biomarkers [creatine kinase CK-MB, myoglobin, troponins I and T (cTn-I and T), and lactate dehydrogenase] measured by immunoassay technique, in the postmortem diagnosis of SCD. Two groups were compared, 20 corpses with SCD and 8 controls. Statistical significance was determined by variance analysis procedures, with a post hoc Tukey multiple range test for comparison of means (p < 0.05). SCD cases showed significantly higher levels (p < 0.05) of cTn-T and cTn-I compared to the control group. Although only cases within the first 8 h of postmortem interval were included, and the control group consisted mainly of violent death cases, our results suggest that blood troponin levels may be useful to support a diagnosis of SCD.

Avocado oil supplementation modifies cardiovascular risk profile markers in a rat model of sucrose-induced metabolic changes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of avocado oil administration on biochemical markers of cardiovascular risk profile in rats with metabolic changes induced by sucrose ingestion. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups: a control group (CG; basic diet), a sick group (MC; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution), and three other groups (MCao, MCac, and MCas; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution plus olive oil and avocado oil extracted by centrifugation or using solvent, resp.). Glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, low- and high-density lipoproteins (LDL, HDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), lactic dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration were analyzed. Avocado oil reduces TG, VLDL, and LDL levels, in the LDL case significantly so, without affecting HDL levels. An effect was exhibited by avocado oil similar to olive oil, with no significant difference between avocado oil extracted either by centrifugation or solvent in myocardial injury biochemical indicators. Avocado oil decreased hs-CRP levels, indicating that inflammatory processes were partially reversed. These findings suggested that avocado oil supplementation has a positive health outcome because it reduces inflammatory events and produces positive changes in the biochemical indicators studied, related to the development of metabolic syndrome.

Effect of dietary intake of avocado oil and olive oil on biochemical markers of liver function in sucrose-fed rats.

Metabolic changes, along with cardiovascular and hepatic factors, are associated with the development of diseases such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity. We evaluated the effect of avocado oil supplementation (centrifuged and solvent extracted), compared with olive oil, upon the hepatic function in sucrose-fed rats. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups: control (basal diet), a sucrose-fed group (basal diet plus 30% sucrose solution), and three other groups (S-OO, S-AOC, and S-AOS, indicating basal diet plus 30% sucrose solution plus olive oil OO, avocado oil extracted by centrifugation AOC or using solvent AOS, resp.). Glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, globulin, direct bilirubin, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, cholinesterase, and α -amylase concentrations were determined and avocado oil effect on them was studied. In some cases the induced metabolic alteration significantly affected total protein and bilirubin levels and also had a highly significant effect on α -amylase levels. AOC and AOS exhibited effects similar to those of olive oil, according to the nonsignificant difference in fatty acid profile observed by other authors. Avocado oil consumption could be beneficial in the control of altered metabolic profile illnesses as it presents effects on hepatic function biochemical markers similar to olive oil.

Taxus globosa S. cell lines: initiation, selection and characterization in terms of growth, and of baccatin III and paclitaxel production

Of the initial six cell lines originating from explants of Taxus globosa, or Mexican yew (stem internode, leaves and meristematic tissue), three were selected for their microbial and oxidation resistance, two from leaves and the other from stem internode. A study of their behavior, both in terms of cell growth, and of baccatin III and paclitaxel production, was developed in suspension cultures with an initially standardized biomass (fresh weight 0.23 g/L) using modified Gamborg's B5 medium, and an elicitor (methyl jasmonate), on either the first or seventh day of culture, at several levels (0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 microM). In most of the conditions used, the three cell lines showed growth associated baccatin III production. The cell line from stem internode was the highest producer of baccatin III using 1 microM elicit or, sampling at 10 days.

The consumption of Hibiscus sabdariffa dried calyx ethanolic extract reduced lipid profile in rats.

The scientific basis for the statement that plants and their active constituents play an important role in the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases is continously advancing. The object of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. dried calyx ethanolic extract on the serum lipid profile of Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were fed during 4 weeks with either a basal diet, containing high cholesterol (1%), cholic acid (0.25%), lard oil (10%), or a supplemental diet with H. sabdariffa extract at 5%, 10%, and 15% levels (SD(5), SD(10), SD(15)). Weight gain and faeces dry weight were both very significantly less (p

Selective antimicrobial action of chitosan against spoilage yeasts in mixed culture fermentations.

The effect of chitosan on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (the yeast that carries out alcohol fermentation), Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Brettanomyces intermedius (contaminants of alcohol fermentations), was investigated. The effect of chitosan was tested on each yeast, as well as on mixed cultivations of S. cerevisiae + B. bruxellensis and S. cerevisiae + B. intermedius. Chitosan enhanced the lag period of both strains of Brettanomyces (80 h for B. bruxellensis and 170 h for B. intermedius with 6 and 2 g/l chitosan, respectively). The growth rate of S. cerevisiae was inversely proportional to the chitosan concentration; the former was 50% when 6 g/l polysaccharide was used. Moreover, in mixed cultivations of S. cerevisiae and Brettanomyces strains, it was found that both B. bruxellensis and B. intermedius failed to grow while growth of S. cerevisiae was not affected (using 3 and 6 g/l chitosan, respectively). An interesting collateral result was that the presence of chitosan accelerated the consumption of glucose in the mixed cultivations (60 h instead of 120 h).