Mcconnelljansen2943

Pigment production from filamentous fungi is gaining interest due to the diversity of fungal species, the variety of compounds synthesized, and the possibility of controlled massive productions. The Talaromyces species produce a large panel of metabolites, including Monascus-like azaphilone pigments, with potential use as natural colorants in industrial applications. Optimizing pigment production from fungal strains grown on different carbon and nitrogen sources, using statistical methods, is widespread nowadays. The present work is the first in an attempt to optimize pigments production in a culture of the marine-derived T. albobiverticillius 30548, under the influence of several nutrients sources. Nutrient combinations were screened through the one-variable-at-a-time (OVAT) analysis. Sucrose combined with yeast extract provided a maximum yield of orange pigments (OPY) and red pigments (RPY) (respectively, 1.39 g/L quinizarin equivalent and 2.44 g/L Red Yeast pigment equivalent), as well as higher dry biomass (DBW) (6.60 g/L). Significant medium components (yeast extract, K2HPO4 and MgSO4·7H2O) were also identified from one-variable-at-a-time (OVAT) analysis for pigment and biomass production. A five-level central composite design (CCD) and a response surface methodology (RSM) were applied to evaluate the optimal concentrations and interactive effects between selected nutrients. The experimental results were well fitted with the chosen statistical model. The predicted maximum response for OPY (1.43 g/L), RPY (2.59 g/L), and DBW (15.98 g/L) were obtained at 3 g/L yeast extract, 1 g/L K2HPO4, and 0.2 g/L MgSO4·7H2O. Such optimization is of great significance for the selection of key nutrients and their concentrations in order to increase the pigment production at a pilot or industrial scale.Many types of feed ingredients are used to provide energy and nutrients to meet the nutritional requirements of swine. However, the analytical methods and measures used to determine the true nutritional and physiological ("nutri-physiological") value of feed ingredients affect the accuracy of predicting and achieving desired animal responses. Some chemical characteristics of feed ingredients are detrimental to pig health and performance, while functional components in other ingredients provide beneficial health effects beyond their nutritional value when included in complete swine diets. Traditional analytical procedures and measures are useful for determining energy and nutrient digestibility of feed ingredients, but do not adequately assess their true physiological or biological value. Prediction equations, along with ex vivo and in vitro methods, provide some benefits for assessing the nutri-physiological value of feed ingredients compared with in vivo determinations, but they also have some limitations. Determining the digestion kinetics of the different chemical components of feed ingredients, understanding how circadian rhythms affect feeding behavior and the gastrointestinal microbiome of pigs, and accounting for the functional properties of many feed ingredients in diet formulation are the emerging innovations that will facilitate improvements in precision swine nutrition and environmental sustainability in global pork-production systems.Modern large telescopes are built based on the effectiveness of adaptive optics systems in mitigating the detrimental effects of wavefront distortions on astronomical images. In astronomical adaptive optics systems, the main sources of wavefront distortions are atmospheric turbulence and mechanical vibrations that are induced by the wind or the instrumentation systems, such as fans and cooling pumps. TP0427736 in vivo The mitigation of wavefront distortions is typically attained via a control law that is based on an adequate and accurate model. In this paper, we develop a modelling technique based on continuous-time damped-oscillators and on the Whittle's likelihood method to estimate the parameters of disturbance models from wavefront sensor time-domain sampled-data. On the other hand, when the model is not accurate, the performance of the minimum variance controller is affected. We show that our modelling and identification techniques not only allow for more accurate estimates, but also for better minimum variance control performance. We illustrate the benefits of our proposal via numerical simulations.We demonstrated a 1.1-µm band extended wideband wavelength-swept laser (WSL) that combined two semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) based on a polygonal scanning wavelength filter. The center wavelengths of the two SOAs were 1020 nm and 1140 nm, respectively. Two SOAs were connected in parallel in the form of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. At a scanning speed of 1.8 kHz, the 10-dB bandwidth of the spectral output and the average power were approximately 228 nm and 16.88 mW, respectively. Owing to the nonlinear effect of the SOA, a decrease was observed in the bandwidth according to the scanning speed. Moreover, the intensity of the WSL decreased because the oscillation time was smaller than the buildup time. In addition, a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) cell was fabricated as an application of WSL, and the dynamic change of the first-order reflection of the CLC cell in the 1-µm band was observed using the WSL. The pitch jumps of the reflection band occurred according to the electric field applied to the CLC cell, and instantaneous changes were observed.Observational research studies from various countries suggest that women's working patterns across the life course are often fragmented compared to men's. The aim of our investigation was to use nationwide register data from Sweden to examine the extent to which generation and time of entry to the work force explain the sex differences in work participation across the life course. Our analyses were based on individual-level data on 4,182,581 women and 4,279,571 men, who were 19-69 years old and resident in Sweden in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, or 2015. Data on income and number of net days on disability pension, obtained from multiple linked registers, were used to ascertain each individual's main activity (in paid work, on disability pension, and not in paid work) each year. Years in paid work and on disability pension were calculated as the sums of years spent in either of these states from age 19 to 69 years. We used negative binomial regression to model the associations of generation and baseline year with years in paid work and years on disability pension. All models were run separately for women and men, with the duration of follow-up constrained to one, to account for the different follow-up times between individuals. Overall, the number of years in paid work across the life course was larger among men than women, and men entered into the workforce earlier. The difference between women and men was similar across generations and time periods. Adjustment for education, income, number of children aged less then 18 years living at home, country of birth, and the type of residential area had minimal impact on the estimates. Our findings suggest that women spend fewer years in paid work across the life course than men, highlighting the need for continued efforts to close the gender gap in work participation.Since cadmium is a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems for humans, it is necessary to find bioremediation solutions to reduce its harmful effects. The main goal of our work was to develop a functional food based on elemental selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) obtained by green synthesis using Lactobacillus casei and to validate their ability to annihilate the hepatic toxic effects induced by cadmium. The characterization of SeNPs was assessed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, DLS and TEM. In order to investigate the dose-dependent protective effects of SeNPs on Cd liver toxicity, mice were assigned to eight experimental groups and fed by gavage, with 5 mg/kg b.w. cadmium, respectively, with co-administration with SeNPs or lacto-SeNPs (LSeNPs) in 3 doses (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg b.w.) for 30 days. The protective effect was demonstrated by the restoration of blood hepatic markers (AST, ALT, GGT and total bilirubin) and antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of mice plasma by the FRAP assay, revealed the highest antioxidant capacity for the 0.2 mg/kg LSeNPs group. Histopathological analysis demonstrated the morphological alteration in the group that received only cadmium and was restored after the administration of SeNPs or LSeNPs, while the immunohistochemical analysis of the bcl family revealed anti-apoptotic effects; the Q-PCR analysis showed an upregulation of hepatic inflammatory markers for the group exposed to Cd and a decreased value for the groups receiving oral SeNPs/ LSeNPs in a dose-dependent manner. The best protective effects were obtained for LSeNPs. A functional food that includes both probiotic bacteria and elemental SeNPs could be successfully used to annihilate Cd-induced liver toxicity, and to improve both nutritional values and health benefits.The paramagnetic gadolinium(III) ion is used as contrast agent in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to improve the lesion detection and characterization. It generates a signal by changing the relaxivity of protons from associated water molecules and creates a clearer physical distinction between the molecule and the surrounding tissues. New gadolinium-based contrast agents displaying larger relaxivity values and specifically targeted might provide higher resolution and better functional images. We have synthesized the gadolinium(III) complex of formula [Gd(thy)2(H2O)6](ClO4)3·2H2O (1) [thy = 5-methyl-1H-pyrimidine-2,4-dione or thymine], which is the first reported compound based on gadolinium and thymine nucleobase. 1 has been characterized through UV-vis, IR, SEM-EDAX, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques, and its magnetic and relaxometric properties have been investigated by means of SQUID magnetometer and MR imaging phantom studies, respectively. On the basis of its high relaxivity values, this gadolinium(III) complex can be considered a suitable candidate for contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.CHEK2 germline pathogenic variants predispose to breast cancer and possibly to other malignancies, with their spectrum and frequency being variable among populations. Τhe majority of CHEK2-associated breast tumors are hormone receptor positive; however, relevant clinical outcomes are not well defined. Herein, we illustrate the histopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes of 52 Greek breast cancer patients who are CHEK2 carriers. Genetic analysis was performed by Sanger/massively parallel sequencing, followed by MLPA. Subsequent haplotype analysis investigated possible founder effects. Blood relatives were offered cascade testing. CHEK2 variant spectrum was characterized by variability, while influenced by founder effects. The majority of carriers, i.e., 60.8%, were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 45. Notably, 91.5% of breast tumors were hormone receptor positive. Hormone therapy and mastectomy at diagnosis seem to have a positive trend on overall survival, after a median follow-up of 9.