The β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans was covalently attached to aldehyde-activated (glyoxal) agarose beads and assayed for the continuous production of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) in a packed-bed reactor (PBR). The immobilization was fast (1 h) and the activity of the resulting biocatalyst was 97.4 U/g measured with o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG). The biocatalyst showed exc...

In this paper, we propose to apply Contention-Based Forwarding (CBF) to Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). CBF is a greedy positionbased forwarding algorithm that does not require proactive transmission of beacon messages. CBF performance is analyzed using realistic movement patterns of vehicles on a highway. We show by means of simulation that CBF as well as traditional position-based routing...

Background: This study was performed to investigate any association between cellular cholesterol homeostasis and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CLL is characterized primarily by an abnormal accumulation of neoplastic B cells in the blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. Methods: Men aged >50 years participated in this study. Enzyme-based plasma lipid profile estimations, peripheral bl...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the effects of professional staffing on cancer surgical outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the association between cancer surgical outcomes and physician/nurse staffing in relation to hospital volume. METHODS We analyzed 131,394 patients undergoing lung lobectomy, esophagectomy, gastrectomy, colorectal surgery, hepatectomy or pancreatectomy for c...

The optimal design and operation of photosynthetic bioreactors (PBRs) for microalgal cultivation is essential for improving the environmental and economic performance of microalgae-based biofuel production. Models that estimate microalgal growth under different conditions can help to optimize PBR design and operation. To be effective, the growth parameters used in these models must be accuratel...

The discharge of cyanide-containing effluents into the environment contaminates water bodies and soil. Effective methods of treatment which can detoxify cyanide are the need of the hour. The aim of the present study is to develop a bioreactor for complete degradation of cyanide using immobilized cells of Serratia marcescens RL2b. Alginate-entrapped cells of S. marcescens RL2b were used for comp...

The petroleum ether fraction of Bupleuri Radix which is contained in the traditional Chinese medicine prescription of Xiaoyaosan (XYS) may have a therapeutic effect in depressed subjects based on the results of our previous study. It has been reported that Bupleuri Radix can cause liver toxicity following overdosing or long-term use. Therefore, this study aimed to decipher the differential effe...

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) after transplantation is a major cause of delayed graft function, which has a negative impact on early and late graft function and improve acute rejection. We have previously shown that polyethylene glycol (PEG) and particularly PEG 20M has a protective effect against cold ischemia and reperfusion injury in an isolated perfused pig and rat kidney model. We exte...

Two distinct benzodiazepine binding sites have been identified, (i) a central site restricted to brain and (ii) a ubiquitously expressed mitochondrial binding site, the so-called peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). In this paper, we show that a benzazepine referred to as BBL22 (2-amino 9-chloro-7-(2-fluorophenyl)-5H-pyrimidol[5,4-d][2]benzazepine), which is classified as a PBR ligand...

We sought to determine the ultrastructural localization and the extrinsic sources of the catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), in the lateral parabrachial region (PBR) of adult male rats. In the first portion of the study, a rabbit antiserum to TH was immunocytochemically localized in coronal sections through the lateral PBR from acrolein-fixed brains using the peroxidas...