BackgroundNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and can vary from hepatic steatosis to end-stage liver disease. It is the most common liver disease and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. In the present study, the effect of whey proteins on some parameters of NAFLD was investigated.ResultsOral administration of the studied whey proteins products reduced the final body weight of rats. There was a significant reduction effect (P < 0.05) of the tested proteins on hepatic triglycerides, liver enzymes (ALT and AST), lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level) and serum glucose. Feeding on whey proteins caused an increase in the reduced glutathione. Hepatic content of reduced glutathione was not affected by any of the used whey proteins, but it showed an increasing tendency (P > 0.05). Liver histology showed an improvement of fatty infiltration in hepatocytes from whey protein groups and gives the histology of liver a normal appearance.ConclusionsThe obtained results indicate a possible role for oral administration of whey proteins in the regulation of liver biochemistries in a rat's model of NAFLD. This regulatory effect of whey proteins was accompanied by an improvement in fatty infiltration in hepatocytes and a reduction of oxidative stress parameters.

When ethyl alcohol is acted upon by the methane-producing organism, Methanobacterium omelianskii, acetic acid is the sole oxidation product (Barker (1939-40, 1941)). But with alcoholcontaining enrichment cultures for the same organism it often happens that acetic acid is formed in only relatively small amounts, while most of the alcohol is converted into caproic and butyric acids (Barker (1937)). In some cultures as much as 75 per cent by weight of the volatile acid is caproic. Microscopic examination has shown that such caproic-acidproducing enrichment cultures always differ from those forming only acetic acid by containing, besides M. omelianskii, considerable numbers of a large, motile, spore-forming bacterium. The conclusion seemed justified that this latter organism either itself produces or at least helps to produce the caproic acid. However, direct proof of the participation of the spore-forming bacterium in caproic acid formation can be obtained only by studying the organism in pure culture. This communication describes the isolation, the general morphological and physiological characteristics and certain growtlh requirements of this bacterium. Also, evidence is presented which demonstrates that it is responsible for the conversion of ethyl alcohol to caproic acid. Enrichment and isolation. To obtain the caproic acid-producing organism, Clostridium kluyverii,1 the following enrichment medium (no. 1) made with tap water is used: C2H5OH 1 vol. per cent; K2HPO4 0.5 per cent; MgSO4 7H20 0.01 per cent; (NH4)2 SO4 0.03 per cent; FeSO4 .77H20 0.002 per cent; yeast autolysate 0.5 Justification foi the uise of this name is given in a later section of this paper.

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Thyme and cumin essential oils were used in the present study in an attempt to prevent butter deterioration during storage at room temperature. Butter oxidation and lipolysis were followed by measuring the acid, peroxide and TBA values. Lipolytic activity and total microbial and lipolytic bacterial counts were also measured. During butter storage, very little change in the peroxide and TBA values were found while a gradual increase in the acid value was noticed. The addition of cumin and thyme oils at 200 ppm to butter caused very little increase in the acid value. The data for lipolytic bacterial counts were in general agreement with the acid values. Thyme and cumin essential oils showed a greater anti‐hydrolytic effect and act as superior preservatives compared to BHT.

Lead sulfide (PbS) and polyaniline (PANI) nano/microparticles were prepared. Then, PANI/PbS core-shell nano/microcomposites (I, II, and III) were prepared by oxidative polymerization of different aniline concentrations (0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 M), respectively, in the presence of 0.05 M PbS. FT-IR, XRD, SEM, HR-TEM, and UV-Vis analyses were carried out to characterize the samples. From the FT-IR data, there are redshifts in PbS and PANI nano/microparticles bands in comparison with PANI/PbS nano/microcomposites. The average crystallite sizes of PANI/PbS core-shell nano/microcomposites (I, II, and III) from XRD analyses were 46.5, 55, and 42.16 nm, respectively. From the optical analyses, nano/microcomposite (II) has the optimum optical properties with two band gaps values of 1.41 and 2.79 eV. Then, the nano/microcomposite (II) membrane electrode supported on ITO glass was prepared and applied on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) H2 generation from H2O. The characteristics current-voltage and current-time behaviors were measured at different wavelengths from 390 to 636 nm. Also, the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) under monochromatic illumination condition was calculated. The optimum values for IPCE were 36.5 and 35.2% at 390 and 405 nm, respectively. Finally, a simple mechanism for PEC H2 generation from H2O using the nano/microcomposite (II) membrane electrode was mentioned.