Sorption kinetics and microbial biodegradation activity of hydrophobic chemicals in sewage sludge: Model and measurements based on free concentrations

In the current study, a new method is introduced with which the rate-limiting factor of biodegradation processes of hydrophobic chemicals in organic and aqueous systems can be determined. The novelty of this approach lies in the combination of a free concentration-based kinetic model with measurements of both free and total concentrations in...

Active MMPs captured by alpha2Macroglobulin as a marker of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Objective. The aim of the present study was to analyze alpha2Macroglobulin/MMP (alpha2M/MMP) complex formation and to investigate whether MMP activity in alpha2M/MMP complexes in serum can be used as a disease marker in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. High and low molecular weight (H/LMW) substrates and inhibitors and size exclusion were...

Validation and sensitivity analysis of probabilistic models of dietary exposure to micronutrients: An example based on vitamin B6

Probabilistic modelling can be used to get an insight into the variability and uncertainty of the nutrient intake in a population. When a probabilistic model is used, it is important that it is validated. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of the model output can give an insight into the most important input variables of the model and can be...

Assessment of intake from the diet

Exposure assessment is one of the key parts of the risk assessment process. Only intake of toxicologically significant amounts can lead to adverse health effects even for a relatively toxic substance. In the case of chemicals in foods this is based on three major aspects: (i) how to determine quantitatively the presence of a chemical in...

An in vitro model for detecting skin irritants: Methyl green-pyronine staining of human skin explant cultures

We evaluated the potential of human organotypic skin explant cultures (hOSECs) for screening skin irritants. Test chemicals were applied to the epidermis of the skin explants which were incubated for 4, 24 or 48 h in tissue culture medium. A decrease in epidermal RNA staining, visualised in frozen sections using a modified methyl-green pyronine ...

Impact of apolipoprotein(a) on in vitro angiogenesis

Angiostatin, which consists of the kringle I-IV domains of plasminogen and which is secreted into urine, is an efficient inhibitor of angiogenesis and tumor growth. Because N-terminal apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] fragments, which also contain several types of kringle IV domains, are found in urine as well, we evaluated the potential angiostatic...

Modelling the spatial distribution of SO2 and NO(x) emissions in Ireland

The spatial distributions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) emissions are essential inputs to models of atmospheric transport and deposition. Information of this type is required for international negotiations on emission reduction through the critical load approach. High-resolution emission maps for the Republic of Ireland...

Slave metabolites and enzymes. A rapid way of delineating metabolic control

Although control of fluxes and concentrations tends to be distributed rather than confined to a single rate-limiting enzyme, the extent of control can differ widely between enzymes in a metabolic network. In some cases, there are enzymes that lack control completely. This paper identifies one surprising origin of such lack of control: If, in a...