BackgroundThe family of Ustilaginaceae is known for their capability to naturally produce industrially valuable chemicals from different carbon sources. Recently, several Ustilaginaceae were reported to produce organic acids from glycerol, which is the main side stream in biodiesel production.ResultsIn this study, we present Ustilago vetiveriae as new production organism for itaconate synthesis from glycerol. In a screening of 126 Ustilaginaceae, this organism reached one of the highest titers for itaconate combined with a high-glycerol uptake rate. By adaptive laboratory evolution, the production characteristics of this strain could be improved. Further medium optimization with the best single colony, U. vetiveriae TZ1, in 24-deep well plates resulted in a maximal itaconate titer of 34.7 ± 2.5 g L−1 produced at a rate of 0.09 ± 0.01 g L−1 h−1 from 196 g L−1 glycerol. Simultaneously, this strain produced 46.2 ± 1.4 g L−1 malate at a rate of 0.12 ± 0.00 g L−1 h−1. Due to product inhibition, the itaconate titer in NaOH-titrated bioreactor cultivations was lower (24 g L−1). Notably, an acidic pH value of 5.5 resulted in decreased itaconate production, however, completely abolishing malate production. Overexpression of ria1 or mtt1, encoding a transcriptional regulator and mitochondrial transporter, respectively, from the itaconate cluster of U. maydis resulted in a 2.0-fold (ria1) and 1.5-fold (mtt1) higher itaconate titer in comparison to the wild-type strain, simultaneously reducing malate production by 75 and 41%, respectively.ConclusionsThe observed production properties of U. vetiveriae TZ1 make this strain a promising candidate for microbial itaconate production. The outcome of the overexpression experiments, which resulted in reduced malate production in favor of an increased itaconate titer, clearly strengthens its potential for industrial itaconate production from glycerol as major side stream of biodiesel production.

BackgroundThe aim of the present study was to investigate the usability of verbal rating scale anchors in patients suffering from a depressive episode and whether differences between frequency or intensity scales could be determined. Frequency and intensity terms were evaluated concerning their interindividual congruency, intraindividual stability across time, and distinguishability of adjacent terms.MethodsIn a longitudinal design, 44 patients (age M=39.1, SD=15.2, 68.2% female) with a depressive disorder filled out several established questionnaires (e.g. BDI or SCL-90) and questionnaires containing frequency and intensity terms which should be indicated by the percentage of time or intensity that is reflected by each term at two different measuring times within one week. Data analysis contained t-tests for paired samples and effect sizes d according to Cohen.ResultsIntensity terms showed weaker intraindividual stability across time as compared to frequency terms. Participants were able to reliably distinguish four frequency and intensity terms at both measuring times. Overall congruency between patients was larger for intensity terms in comparison to frequency terms.ConclusionsThe present results indicate that both frequency and intensity terms can be applied as verbal anchors for clinical self-report scales. However, if longitudinal assessment is intended, our results indicate that frequency terms should be used as they showed slightly greater stability across time. Generally, the present study suggests that no more than four different verbal anchors should be used together in rating scales as especially older patients and those with low lexical experience would not be able to reasonably differentiate more than these.

An asymptomatic systemic inflammation after exposure to zinc- and copper-containing welding fumes has been described as mild form of metal fume fever in recent studies. Since chronic systemic inflammation leads to a higher cardiovascular risk, examining the inflammation with the underlying pathomechanism is necessary to estimate and hopefully prevent long-term effects of welding. We established a whole blood assay to investigate the effects of zinc- and copper-containing welding fume particles on the blood immune response. Increased levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNFα and IL-1β determined after 24 hours of exposure indicated an acute systemic inflammatory reaction. In vitro increases of IL-6 were comparable to in vivo increases of serum IL-6 levels in a study with welding fume exposure of human subjects. Inhibition of PTP1B was identified as one pathway responsible for the effects of zinc- and copper-containing welding fumes and therefore welding fume fever. In conclusion, the whole blood assay is a reliable and feasible method to investigate effects of zinc- and copper-containing welding fumes on the immune system and as a surrogate for systemic inflammation and welding fume fever. Future research can utilize whole blood assays to reduce and partially replace human exposure studies for further investigations of welding fume fever.

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Recently, side effects of plasma expanders like hydroxyethyl starch and gelatine gained considerable attention. Most studies have focused on the kidneys; lungs remain unconsidered. Isolated mouse lungs were perfused for 4 hours with buffer solutions based on hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4, HES 200/0.5 or gelatine and ventilated with low or high pressure under physiological pH and alkalosis. Outcome parameters were cytokine levels and the wet-to-dry ratio. For cytokine release, murine and human PCLS were incubated in three different buffers and time points.In lungs perfused with the gelatine based buffer IL-6, MIP-2 and KC increased when ventilated with high pressure. Wet-to-dry ratios increased stronger in lungs perfused with gelatine - compared to HES 130/0.4. Alkalotic perfusion resulted in higher cytokine levels but normal wet-to-dry ratio. Murine PCLS supernatants showed increased IL-6 and KC when incubated in gelatine based buffer, whereas in human PCLS IL-8 was elevated. In murine IPL HES 130/0.4 has lung protective effects in comparison to gelatine based infusion solutions, especially in the presence of high-pressure ventilation. Gelatine perfusion resulted in increased cytokine production. Our findings suggest that gelatine based solutions may have side effects in patients with lung injury or lung oedema.