Kinetics of enzymatic unhairing by protease in leather industry

In leather industry, unhairing is a heavy pollution operation. The conventional lime-sulfide process produces a large amount of sulfide which is toxic to health and difficult to dispose. Moreover, conventional lime-sulfide process leads to the destruction of the hair causing increased COD, BOD and TDS loads in the effluent. As an alternative method, enzymatic unhairing is a promising clean technology. The main utilized enzyme preparations are proteases.There are many reports about enzymatic unhairing, most of which are qualitative. The kinetics of enzymatic unhairing by protease was discussed in this article. It will provide useful information to enzymatic unhairing. In our research, by analysis of the concentrations of released total protein in enzyme bath during protease unhairing, the good linearity between released total protein and square root of time (min^1/2) was obtained at the initial stage. The good linearity suggests that enzymatic unhairing by protease is a diffusion-controlled process at the initial stage. The analysis of kinetics of released saccharides also confirms the same conclusion. On the other hand, the same characteristics between the kinetics of released saccharides and that of released total protein further confirms that it is the hydrolysis of core protein by protease that leads to the degradation of proteoglycans and the release of protein and saccharides. However, in our tests, the kinetics of released collagen indicates that the injury to skin took place in 3-6 h. Therefore, it’s necessary to control the time of protease unhairing within an appropriate limit.     

生物吸附/MBR/硫铁自养反硝化组合工艺运行特性及蛋白质源污泥增量研究

为实现污水处理的深度脱氮除磷及蛋白质源污泥增量,进行了生物吸附/MBR/硫铁自养反硝化组合工艺处理城镇污水的试验研究.结果表明,生物吸附池可以快速富集进水中的大部分有机物,COD平均去除率为55.1%,剩余污泥采用厌氧发酵方式处理,用于生产优质碳源.通过组合工艺系统中的硝化、硫自养反硝化及铁屑除磷作用,出水氨氮、总氮和总磷分别达到1、5和0.4 mg·L~(-1)以下.优质碳源投加到MBR工艺段,碳源环境的改善使得污泥增长率从0.17 g VSS/g COD提高至0.49 g VSS/g COD,进水中总氮的同化比例从40%提高至59%.此外,污泥中蛋白质及氨基酸含量也显著增长,增长率分别为18.3%和19.7%.组合工艺在获得高排放标准水质的同时,实现了高蛋白质源污泥的增量,可为污泥资源化利用提供优质原料.     

小麦在与水杨酸诱导的应答过程中PGIP的积累

以ＳＷ８９－２５８９小麦品系为材料,利用自制的小麦抗ＰＧＩＰ血清和ｄｏｔ－ｉｍｍｕｎｏｂｉｎｄｉｎｇ ａｓｓａｙ,并结合ＰＧＩＰ粗提液对ｅｎｄｏ－ＰＧ的抑制实验,研究了小麦内源多聚半乳糖醛酸酶抑制蛋白（ＰＧＩＰ）水平与水杨酸之间的应答关系。发现用水杨酸处理过的ＰＧＩＰ粗提液在ＮＣ膜上的显色斑点颜色均较Ｈ２Ｏ处理的ＰＧＩＰ粗提液深,而且对ｅｎ－ｄｏ－ＰＧ的抑制程度也高于未用水杨酸处理的ＰＧＩＰ粗提液     

Edible Invertebrates Among Amazonian Indians: A Critical Review of Disappearing Knowledge

For the indigenous populations of Amazonia, invertebrates constitute an important component of the diet. We have information on entomophagy for 39 ethnic groups, about 21,4 per cent of the 182 groups known in the Amazon Basin, but the use of this non conventional food resource is probably much more widespread. We present here a data-base of all the information available for each ethnic group regarding the species included in the diet, the scientific and the ethno name if known, the stage of life-cycle consumed, the manner of preparation and, when known, the host plant. This data-base lists 115 species scientifically identified and 131 ethno names. In addition, we have information about other 384 ethno names, with unsecure link to the Linnean taxonomy suggesting that local knowledge is very extensive. The data-base represents not only an easy to consult resource, but also a support for further research. The knowledge of the relations between indigenous populations and ecosystem is indeed the base for the natural and cultural biodiversity preservation.     

硝基苯灌胃致小鼠蛋白质氧化损伤作用的研究

为了探讨硝基苯对小鼠多器官的蛋白质氧化损伤程度,采用不同剂量的硝基苯对小鼠进行灌胃染毒(每天1次,共30 d),用2,4-二硝基苯肼比色法测定小鼠组织蛋白质羰基含量,用以判断蛋白质的损伤程度.结果显示,各组织空白对照和油对照组间差异均不显著(p＞0.05),随着染毒剂量的增加,肝脏、肾脏、脾脏和心脏的蛋白质羰基含量呈上升趋势,脑组织只在高剂量组表现明显升高趋势;低剂量组与油对照组相比,只有肝脏蛋白质羰基含量显著性升高(p＜0.05);中、高剂量组与油对照组相比,各组织蛋白质羰基含量显著性升高(p＜0.05).以上结果表明,低剂量硝基苯可以对细胞蛋白质产生氧化损伤作用,并且随着染毒剂量的增加,小鼠各组织蛋白质羰基含量呈上升趋势,蛋白质氧化损伤程度加重.     

茶叶蛋白的研究现状分析及发展对策研究

茶叶中含有15%—30%的蛋白质,对生物体具有多种重要功能,但其中绝大多数是非水溶性蛋白质,难以直接被人体吸收。目前对茶叶蛋白的研究主要集中在提取工艺上,研究表明用复合法提取的效果最好。为了更好地利用茶叶资源,可通过对非水溶性蛋白改性(溶解性、吸水性、吸油性、乳化性、胶凝性等)来提高人体对茶叶蛋白的利用率,发挥茶叶蛋白的生物功能。     

Hydroxytyrosol, the phenolic compound of olive oil protects human PBMC against oxidative stress and DNA damage mediated by 2,3,7,8-TCDD

The protective effect of hydroxytyrosol (HT), a strong antioxidant compound from extra virgin olive oil, against TCDD induced toxicity was investigated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC (1 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹) were divided into four groups and were incubated in a CO₂ incubator (5% CO₂) for 12 h with vehicle, TCDD (10 nM), TCDD + HT (10 nM + 100 μM) and HT alone (100 μM) respectively. To clarify the role of HT against TCDD induced cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and the levels of antioxidant enzymes were assessed. Incubation of PBMC with TCDD significantly decreased cell viability, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR) and oxidative stress markers such as lipid peroxidation products (LPO), protein carbonyl content (PCC) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Whereas, HT had an effective antioxidant property as observed by the increased cell viability, normalization of antioxidant enzymes and decreased levels of LPO, PCC and ROS in PBMC co-treated with HT and TCDD. Apoptosis detection and comet assay results shows that HT, by acting as an antioxidant, prevents the damage to DNA induced by TCDD. In addition light microscopic and histopathological observations revealed that the cells are apoptotic and degenerated during TCDD treatment, whereas cells showed intact morphology during co-treatment with HT. On the whole, the results reveal that HT exerts a promising antioxidant potential in protecting the PBMC against TCDD induced oxidative stress, which might be due to the presence of catechol moiety in its structure.     

Radionuclides in cigarettes may lead to carcinogenesis via p16 inactivation

It is widely accepted that tobacco smoke is responsible for the vast majority of lung cancers worldwide. There are many known and suspected carcinogens present in cigarette smoke, including α-emitting radioisotopes. Epidemiologic studies have shown that increased lung cancer risk is associated with exposure to ionizing radiation, and it is estimated that the majority of smoking-induced lung cancers may be at least partly attributable to the inhaled and deposited radiation dose from radioisotopes in the cigarette smoke itself. Recent research shows that silencing of the tumor suppressor gene p16^INK4a (p16) by promoter methylation plays a role in smoking-related lung cancer. Inactivation of p16 has also been associated with lung cancer incidence in radiation-exposed workers, suggesting that radionuclides in cigarette smoke may be acting with other compounds to cause smoking-induced lung cancer. We evaluated the mechanism of ionizing radiation as an accepted cause of lung cancer in terms of its dose from tobacco smoke and silencing of p16. Because both radiation and cigarette smoking are associated with inactivation of p16, and p16 inactivation has been shown to play a major role in carcinogenesis, ionizing radiation from cigarette smoke likely plays a role in lung cancer risk. How large a role it plays, relative to chemical carcinogens and other modes of action, remains to be elucidated.     

Contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, occupation, diet and lifestyle to DDT and DDE concentrations in serum and adipose tissue from a Bolivian cohort

The organochlorine pesticide p,p′-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was widely used in the early 1960s-70s for vector control in tropical and subtropical areas of South America. Due to its persistence, DDT has a high potential to bioaccumulate in the food chain and living organisms and is a major public health concern, especially in South America.The main purpose of the present study was to investigate predictors of serum and adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and its main metabolite, p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), in an adult cohort (n = 112) from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, using multiple linear regression models. These models explained 29.3-47.8% of the variability in adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE, respectively, and 32.9-47.0% of that in serum. Main exposure predictors included age, occupational class, residence, diet, smoking habit, and accumulated breastfeeding time.This is one of the few studies to explore predictors of human exposure to these chemicals using a multivariate approach in a South American population. Results show that predictors of human exposure to p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE in Santa Cruz de la Sierra may diverge from those found in other populations of the world, due to particular sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of this region.