Dynamic Effect of Operational Regulation on the Mesophilic BioMethanation of Grape Marc

Wine production annually generates an estimated 11 million metric tonnes of grape marc (GM) worldwide. The diversion of this organic waste away from landfill and towards its use in the generation of renewable energy has been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of operational parameters relating to the treatment regime and inoculum source in the extraction of methane from GM under unmixed anaerobic conditions at 35 °C. The study entailed the recirculation of a previously acclimated sludge (120 days) as downstream inoculum, an increased loading volume (1.3 kg) and a low substrate-to-inoculum ratio (10:3 SIR). The results showed that an incorporation of accessible operational controls can effectively enhance cumulative methane yield (0.145 m³ CH₄ kg⁻¹ VS), corresponding to higher amounts of digestible organics converted. The calculated average volumetric methane productivity equalled 0.8802 L CH₄ L_Work⁻¹ d⁻¹ over 33.6 days whilst moderate pollutant removal (43.50% COD removal efficiency) was achieved. Molecular analyses identified Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla as core organisms for hydrolytic and fermentative stages in trophic relationships with terminal electron acceptors from the methane-producing Methanosarcina genus. Economic projections established that the cost-effective operational enhancements were sustainable for valorisation from grape marc by existing wineries and distilleries.     

Microwave-assisted methods for the synthesis of pentacyclo[5.4.0.0.0.0]undecylamines

Efficient methodologies for the preparation of pentacyclo[5.4.0.0^2,6.0^3,10.0^5,9]undecane (PCU) amine derivatives are described via microwave-assisted synthesis. The obtained results revealed that microwave-assisted synthetic procedures under controlled conditions (power, temperature and time) are very convenient, high yielding, efficient and low-cost methods for the preparation of PCU amine derivatives. The new methods show several advantages including operational simplicity, good performance, significant reduction in reaction time, less by-product formation and easier purification.     

Dephosphorylation of intact glycoprotein to greatly improve digestion efficiency coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometric analysis

Sialylation is essential for a variety of cellular functions. Herein, we used bovine fetuin with three potential N-linked glycosylation sites containing complex-type glycan structures, four potential O-linked glycosylation sites and six potential phosphorylation sites as a model compound to develop a highly-efficient digestion strategy for sialylated glycoproteins and efficient enrichment strategy for sialylated glycopeptides using titanium dioxide. The former according to the process of alkaline phosphatase digestion followed by tryptic digestion and then proteinase K digestion could greatly improve the enzymatic efficiency on fetuin, and the latter could obviously enhance the enrichment efficiency for multisialylated glycopeptides using phosphoric acid solution as elution buffer. The mass spectra of the enriched glycopeptides derived from fetuin reveal that several series of the ion clusters with mass difference of 291 Da correspond to the presence of multisialylated glycopeptides. In addition, the approach was applied to characterize the sialylated status of α2-macroglobulin and transferrin, respectively, from the sera of healthy subjects and sex- and age-matched patients with thyroid cancer, and their spectra indicate that the change in the amount of the glycoforms containing different number of sialic acid (SA) residues from one glycosylation site may be used to differentiate between healthy subjects and cancer cases.     

Differential isotope dansylation labeling combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for quantification of intact and N-terminal truncated proteins

The N-terminal amino acids of proteins are important structure units for maintaining the biological function, localization, and interaction networks of proteins. Under different biological conditions, one or several N-terminal amino acids could be cleaved from an intact protein due to processes, such as proteolysis, resulting in the change of protein properties. Thus, the ability to quantify the N-terminal truncated forms of proteins is of great importance, particularly in the area of development and production of protein-based drugs where the relative quantity of the intact protein and its truncated form needs to be monitored. In this work, we describe a rapid method for absolute quantification of protein mixtures containing intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. This method is based on dansylation labeling of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of the proteins into amino acids. It is shown that dansyl labeled amino acids are stable in acidic conditions and can be quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with the use of isotope analog standards.     

Decomposition of vegetables for determination of Zn,Cd, Pb and Cu by stripping voltammetry

A simple and accurate digestion method using nitric acid, perchloric acid and hydrogen peroxide has been developed for use in trace analysis for heavy metals in vegetables by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The recovery of the metals from the samples is lower if the hydrogen peroxide is omitted from the digestion mixture. Standard reference materials have been analysed satisfactorily by this method.     

Production and energetic use of biogas from energy crops and wastes in Germany

The production of biogas for reducing fossil CO₂ emissions is one of the key strategic issues of the German government and has resulted in the development of new process techniques and new technologies for the energetic use of biogas. Progress has been made in cultivating energy crops for biogas production, in using new reactor systems for anaerobic digestion, and in applying more efficient technologies for combined heat and power production. Recently, integration of fuel cells within the anaerobic digestion process was started, and new technologies for biogas upgrading and conversion to hydrogen were tested. This article describes the trends in Germany for achieving more efficient energy production.     

密闭高压消解–ICP–AES测定进口铜精矿中铅、镉、汞、砷

采用密闭高压消解法对样品进行消解,用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP–AES)测定进口铜精矿中的铅、镉、砷、汞有害元素。铅、镉、砷、汞的工作曲线分别在0~10,0~1,0~4,0~0.6μg/mL范围内线性良好,线性相关系数大于0.999。各元素加标回收率均为91.0%~104.7%,相对标准偏差均小于3%(n=7)。将密闭高压消解法与电热板加热法和微波消解法进行了比对分析,结果显示,密闭高压消解–ICP–AES法适合用于铜精矿样品的消解与测定。     

微波消解–石墨炉原子吸收法测定化妆品中的铅

建立了微波消解–石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定化妆品中铅的方法。探讨了样品前处理条件、基体改性剂的选择和优化、石墨炉升温条件等对测定结果的影响。在优化的试验条件下,铅的质量浓度在0~100 ng/mL范围内与吸光度具有良好的线性关系,线性相关系数r=0.9991,检出限为0.33 ng/mL。用该法对5种化妆品中的铅进行测定,加标回收率在95.0%~106.1%之间,测定结果的相对标准偏差不大于3.6%。该方法可应用于化妆品中痕量铅的分析。     

微波消解ICP-AES法测定ABS中Pb、Cd、Hg

以ABS塑料为研究对象,采用微波消解法进行样品的前处理,使用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定ABS塑料中Pb、Cd、Hg,结果表明,Pb、Cd、Hg加标回收率均在95~105%之间,测试精密度均小于3%,该方法在缩短样品前处理时间的同时得到较高的元素消解回收率和较为理想的精确度,适用于ABS塑料中重金属含量的快速测定。     

A recommended and verified procedure for in situ tryptic digestion of formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissues for analysis by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry

Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI IMS) is a molecular imaging technology uniquely capable of untargeted measurement of proteins, lipids, and metabolites while retaining spatial information about their location in situ. This powerful combination of capabilities has the potential to bring a wealth of knowledge to the field of molecular histology. Translation of this innovative research tool into clinical laboratories requires the development of reliable sample preparation protocols for the analysis of proteins from formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tissues, the standard preservation process in clinical pathology. Although ideal for stained tissue analysis by microscopy, the FFPE process cross‐links, disrupts, or can remove proteins from the tissue, making analysis of the protein content challenging. To date, reported approaches differ widely in process and efficacy. This tutorial presents a strategy derived from systematic testing and optimization of key parameters, for reproducible in situ tryptic digestion of proteins in FFPE tissue and subsequent MALDI IMS analysis. The approach describes a generalized method for FFPE tissues originating from virtually any source.