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A new method of measuring water uptake by roots is applied to whole root systems of large maize plants growing in aeroponic (mist) culture. The method depends on the build-up of concentration of dye (sulphorhodamine G) on and in the root surface, when it is fed in the mist. Water enters the roots rapidly, but the dye is separated from the water by osmotic filtration and penetrates the apoplast only by very slow diffusion. The dye accumulates progressively with time on roots on transpiring plants, but not on roots of non-transpiring controls. The rate of accumulation of dye at a place on the root is translated to a flux of water into the root at that place, using the concentration of dye in the mist. Water fluxes were measured into first-order branches and axes over the root system and expressed both as fluxes per unit length and per unit surface of root. Values are consistent with those found by potometric methods for limited samples of young plants. The variance of the measurements is quite large, possibly reflecting real heterogeneities in water uptake throughout the root system. The maximum water uptake achieved by a few branches was 40 μl h-1 cm-2 root. On average, flux into axes and branches was the same throughout the root system, at about 5 μl h-1 cm-2. The region of the axis at which the late metaxylem vessels mature and become conducting coincides with the region where the branches become active in water uptake (20-30 cm from the tip). Proximal to this, the branches collect about eight times as much water as the axis, having about eight times the surface area. The zone of maximum water collection by branches and axis is 30-60 cm from the tip (6-8 μl h-1 cm-1 axis). In the older, more proximal regions, water collection drops to about a quarter of this.

The identification of sites in leaves where transpiration water crosses cell membranes and enters the symplast has previously been made using freeze-substitution to locate concentrations of dye [e.g. sulphorhodamine (SR)] moving with the transpiration stream, and left outside the membranes where the water passes through. These concentrations were called sumps, and the sites of entry to the symplast were called flumes. A simple method of locating sumps, and therefore flumes, is described. Fresh leaves, fed SR solution through their cut petioles for pulse periods of 0.5 h or more, followed or not by a chase of water, were sectioned by hand under paraffin oil, and the sections mounted in the same fluid. Observation of the sections by simple bright-field microscopy revealed sumps of SR at the same sites, and of the same crystalline nature, as found in the freeze-substituted preparations. The saving in preparation time is of the order of > 100-fold, at the sacrifice of resolution (5-10 μm compared with 0.2 μm). A limited survey of grass, sedge and dicotyledon leaves by this method confirmed in all essentials the results found by freeze-substitution, and in addition, revealed flumes at the fusoid cells on the flanks of the veins of bamboo leaves, and at the same position next to the water tissue of Cyperus leaves. The rate of accumulation of crystalline SR in the sumps inside tracheary elements suggests that the concentration of this non-permeating solute in the xylem sap increased by about 1000-fold in the finest veins during 1-2 h of transpiration in the dye solution.

Abstract Introduction Acute kidney injury (AKI) leading to severe uremia is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Mannitol is an osmotic diuretic, widely used in the management of AKI, both as a bolus injection and as a constant rate infusion (CRI). Objectives To determine the plasma concentration of mannitol after a bolus injection and CRI at the recommended dosages, and to assess the effect of mannitol on renal function variables including urine production, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and solute excretion. Methods Prospective cross-over design study, using 6 healthy dogs. Each dog underwent 3 protocols with at least a 7-day washout period between protocols. The first protocol included bolus injection of mannitol, the second protocol included bolus injection followed by CRI of mannitol and the third protocol (control) included injection of 5% dextrose in water (D5W). Urine production, GFR, and fractional excretion (FE) of solutes were measured for 10 hours. Results For all protocols, urine production significantly (P < .001) increased after bolus injection, but no significant difference in urine production or GFR was observed among the treatment groups. Mannitol injection increased the FE of sodium and urea nitrogen, but these effects were short-lived. Conclusions Mannitol has minimal effect on urine production and GFR but does increase FE of urea nitrogen and sodium, immediately after bolus injection. Constant rate infusion at a conventional dosage of 1 mg/kg/min cannot maintain these effects in dogs with normal renal function, because mannitol concentration decreases rapidly.

OBJECTIVE:Identify early biomarkers and mechanisms of acute kidney injury in workers at risk of developing chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu). METHODS:We assessed cross-shift changes in kidney function and biomarkers of injury in 105 healthy sugarcane workers. We obtained pre-harvest clinical data as well as daily environmental, clinical, and productivity data for each worker. RESULTS:The average percent decline in cross-shift estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 21.8% (standard deviation [SD] 13.6%). Increasing wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), high uric acid, decreased urine pH, urinary leukocyte esterase, and serum hyperosmolality were risk factors for decline in kidney function. CONCLUSIONS:Sugarcane workers with normal kidney function experience recurrent subclinical kidney injury, associated with elevations in biomarkers of injury that suggest exposure to high temperatures and extreme physical demands.

Aberrant elimination patterns after intravenous infusion of albumin 20% may predispose to persistent vascular overload or hyper‐oncoticity. In the present report, the frequency of deviating elimination patterns was studied by visual examination followed by calculations of the volume and albumin kinetics over 5 hours in 86 volunteers and clinical patients who received 3 mL/kg albumin 20% over 30 min (mean, 231 mL). Constant and virtually unchanged plasma volume expansion (i.e., steady state) developed after 21% of all infusions and developed most often during surgery (64%) but rarely in volunteers (3%). The subsequent kinetic analysis associated such steady state with slow capillary filtration (−27% vs. all others, p < 0.01). Steady state or a gradual increase of the plasma oncotic pressure occurred in 28% and was characterized by fast turnover of fluid, which taken together resulted in a dehydrating effect. By contrast, steady state for plasma albumin was associated with a 48% lower capillary leakage rate constant for albumin (p < 0.001) as compared to the other experiments. In conclusion, steady state for plasma volume and increasing colloid osmotic pressure after infusion of albumin 20% was more dependent on variations in fluid kinetics than on albumin kinetics.

Over the course of hemodialysis, fluid and protein are restituted from the tissue compartment to the circulation compartment through the endothelia. Our previous model analysis on fluid and protein transport during hemodialysis is expanded to account for changes occurring in the tissue. The measured initial and end plasma protein concentration (PPC, Cp and Cp’) for six hemodialysis studies are analyzed by this expanded model. The computation results indicate that the total driving pressure to restitute fluid from the tissue to the circulation ranges from 5.4 to 20.3 mmHg. The analysis identifies that the increase in plasma colloidal osmotic pressure (COP) contributes 78 ± 6% of the total driving pressure, the decrease in microvascular blood pressure 32 ± 4%, the increase in the COP of interstitial fluid −6 ± 3%, and the decrease in interstitial fluid pressure −5 ± 2%. Let this ratio (Cp’ − Cp)/Cp’ be termed the PPC increment. The six HDs can be divided into three groups which are to have these PPC increments 25.7%, 14.5 ± 2.6(SD)% and 8.3%. It is calculated that their correspondent filtration coefficients are 0.43, 1.29 ± 0.28 and 5.93 mL/min/mmHg and the relative reductions in plasma volume (RRPV) −22.1%, −13.1 ± 6% and −9.4%. The large variations in PPC increments and RRPV show the filtration coefficient is a key factor to regulate the hemodialysis process.

The osmotic dehydration (OD) process consists of the removal of water from a material during which the solids from the osmotic solution are transported to the material by osmosis. This process is commonly performed in sucrose and salt solutions. Taking into account that a relatively high consumption of those substances might have a negative effect on human health, attempts have been made to search for alternatives that can be used for osmotic dehydration. One of these is an application of chokeberry juice with proven beneficial properties to human health. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical properties of the OD solution (chokeberry juice concentrate) before and after the osmotic dehydration of carrot and zucchini. The total polyphenolics content, antioxidant capacity (ABTS, FRAP), dynamic viscosity, density, and water activity were examined in relation to the juice concentration used for the osmotic solution before and after the OD process. During the osmotic dehydration process, the concentration of the chokeberry juice decreased. Compounds with lower molecular weight and lower antioxidant capacity present in concentrated chokeberry juice had a stronger influence on the exchange of compounds during the OD process in carrot and zucchini. The water activity of the osmotic solution increased after the osmotic dehydration process. It was concluded that the osmotic solution after the OD process might be successfully re-used as a product with high quality for i.e. juice production.

In any membrane filtration, the prediction of permeate flux is critical to calculate the membrane surface required, which is an essential parameter for scaling-up, equipment sizing, and cost determination. For this reason, several models based on phenomenological or theoretical derivation (such as gel-polarization, osmotic pressure, resistance-in-series, and fouling models) and non-phenomenological models have been developed and widely used to describe the limiting phenomena as well as to predict the permeate flux. In general, the development of models or their modifications is done for a particular synthetic model solution and membrane system that shows a good capacity of prediction. However, in more complex matrices, such as fruit juices, those models might not have the same performance. In this context, the present work shows a review of different phenomenological and non-phenomenological models for permeate flux prediction in UF, and a comparison, between selected models, of the permeate flux predictive capacity. Selected models were tested with data from our previous work reported for three fruit juices (bergamot, kiwi, and pomegranate) processed in a cross-flow system for 10 h. The validation of each selected model’s capacity of prediction was performed through a robust statistical examination, including a residual analysis. The results obtained, within the statistically validated models, showed that phenomenological models present a high variability of prediction (values of R-square in the range of 75.91–99.78%), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) in the range of 3.14–51.69, and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) in the range of 0.22–2.01 among the investigated juices. The non-phenomenological models showed a great capacity to predict permeate flux with R-squares higher than 97% and lower MAPE (0.25–2.03) and RMSE (3.74–28.91). Even though the estimated parameters have no physical meaning and do not shed light into the fundamental mechanistic principles that govern these processes, these results suggest that non-phenomenological models are a useful tool from a practical point of view to predict the permeate flux, under defined operating conditions, in membrane separation processes. However, the phenomenological models are still a proper tool for scaling-up and for an understanding the UF process.

This study explored the batch membrane filtration of 40% ethanol extracts from spent lavender, containing valuable compounds like rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, and luteolin, using a polyamide-urea thin film composite X201 membrane. Conducted at room temperature and 20 bar transmembrane pressure, the process demonstrated high efficiency, with rejection rates exceeding 98% for global antioxidant activity and 93–100% for absolute concentrations of the target components. During concentration, the permeate flux declined from 2.43 to 1.24 L·m−2·h−1 as the permeate-to-retentate-volume ratio increased from 0 to 1. The process resistance, driven by osmotic pressure and concentration polarization, followed a power–law relationship with a power value of 1.20, consistent with prior nanofiltration studies of rosmarinic acid solutions. Notably, no membrane fouling occurred, confirming the method’s scalability without compromising biological activity. The antioxidant activity, assessed via the DPPH method, revealed that the retentate exhibited double the activity of the feed. Antibacterial assays using broth microdilution showed that the retentate inhibited Escherichia coli by 73–96% and Bacillus subtilis by 97–98%, making it the most active fraction. These findings validate the effectiveness of the X201 membrane for concentrating natural antioxidants and antibacterial agents from lavender extract under sustainable operating conditions.

In this study the Single-Pass-Tangential-Flow-Filtration (SPTFF) concept for continuous ultrafiltration in bioprocessing is investigated. Based on a previously validated physico-chemical model for a single ultrafiltration cassette, the transfer to a multistage SPTFF is predicted and validated experimentally by concentration steps for bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the monoclonal antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) are compared. The model applied for the ultrafiltration membrane contains the Stagnant Film Model (SFM) for concentration polarization, as well as the Osmotic Pressure Model (OPM) and the Boundary Layer Model (BLM) for the mass transfer through the membrane. In addition, pressure drop correlations as a function of the Reynolds number are included to describe the development of the transmembrane pressure over the length of the module. The outcome of this study shows the potential to improve this multi-parameter dependent unit operation by a model-based optimization allowing significant reduction of experimental efforts and applying the Quality by Design (QbD) approach consistently. Consequently, a versatile tool for conceptual process design is presented and further application is discussed.