ABSTRACT In this work, numerical approximations for solving the one dimensional Smoluchowski coagulation equation on non-uniform meshes has been analyzed. Among the various available numerical methods, finite volume and sectional methods have explicit advantage such as mass conservation and an accurate prediction of different order moments. Here, a recently developed efficient finite volume scheme (Singh et al., 2015) and the cell average technique (Kumar et al., 2006) are compared. The numerical comparison is established for both analytically tractable as well as physically relevant kernels. It is concluded that the finite volume scheme predicts both number density as well as different order moments with higher accuracy than the cell average technique. Moreover, the finite volume scheme is computationally less expensive than the cell average technique.

Antilisterial efficiency of three bacteriocins, viz, Nisin, Pediocin 34 and Enterocin FH99 was tested individually and in combination against Listeria mononcytogenes ATCC 53135. A greater antibacterial effect was observed when the bacteriocins were combined in pairs, indicating that the use of more than one LAB bacteriocin in combination have a higher antibacterial action than when used individually. Variants of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 53135 resistant to Nisin, Pediocin 34 and Enterocin FH99 were developed. Bacteriocin cross-resistance of wild type and their corresponding resistant variants were assessed and results showed that resistance to a bacteriocin may extend to other bacteriocins within the same class. Resistance to Pediocin 34 conferred cross resistance to Enterocin FH 99 but not to Nisin. Similarly resistance to Enterocin FH99 conferred cross resistance to Pediocin 34 but not to Nisin. Also, the sensitivity of Nisin, Pediocin 34 and Enterocin FH99 resistant variants of Listeria monocytogenes to low pH, salt, sodium nitrite, and potassium sorbate was assayed in broth and compared to the parental wild-type strain. The Nisin, Pediocin 34 and Enterocin FH99 resistant variants did not have intrinsic resistance to low pH, sodium chloride, potassium sorbate, or sodium nitrite. In no case were the bacteriocin resistant Listeria monocytogenes variants examined were more resistant to inhibitors than the parental strains.

Aspirin at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight was found to decrease the activity of the rat intestinal brush border membrane (BBM) - associated enzymes such as the sucrase, lactase, maltase and alkaline phosphatase. Aspirin treatment also led to a decrease in the microviscosity in the native as well as the benzyl alcohol treated membrane which might be due to the lipid peroxidative damage in the membrane. Physical correlation of the membrane oxidative damage was evident as the Fourier Transformation Infra Red (FTIR) study of the Aspirin treated membrane, which include an increased proportion of gauche to trans conformer, shift in the methylene C-H asymmetric and symmetric stretching frequencies, C = O double bond stretching, NH bending, antisymmetric (N)-CH3 bending, C-N stretching and antisymmetric CNC stretching while there was no change in the CH2 wagging and twisting as well as in NH-bending amide bond I and II. Aspirin treatment also caused an alteration in the glucose and histidine transport, as evident by a decreased Vmax value while the apparent Km remaining unchanged in the control and Aspirin-treated animals confirming that there was no change in the substrate affinity constant of the membrane transport proteins for the glucose and the basic amino acid, although the rate of transport decreased considerably. There was a decrease noted in the energy of activation of glucose and histidine transport when studied at different temperature but no change in the temperature of phase transition in the BBM with Aspirin treatment, thus implying that perhaps the thermotropic phase transition in the membrane may have relatively little effect on the transport processes. The result suggests an underlying molecular mechanism indicating the implied membrane damage by Aspirin, an important member of the non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) family which could possibly through an oxidative damage may lead to an altered molecular structure, physical state and biological functions of the intestinal membrane.

Se encontró que la aspirina a una dosis de 50 mg/kg de peso corporal disminuye la actividad de las enzimas asociadas a la membrana con borde en cepillo (MBC) del intestino de la rata como la sucrasa, lactasa, maltasa y fosfata alcalina. El tratamiento con aspirina también produjo una disminución de la microviscosidad en la membrana nativa así como en la membrana tratada con alcohol bencílico, lo que podría deberse a la lesión de peroxidación lipídica de la membrana. La correlación física de la lesión oxidativa de la membrana fue evidente como mostró el estudio Fourier Transformation Infra Red (FTIR) de la membrana tratada con aspirina, que incluía un aumento en la proporción de la conformación levo a trans, un cambio en las frecuencias de estiramiento metileno C-H asimétrico y simétrico, el estiramiento de los dobles enlaces C = O, la curvatura NH, la curvatura anti-simétrica (N)-CH3, el estiramiento C-N y el estiramiento anti-simétrico CNC, mientras que no hubo cambios en el movimiento y retorcimiento CH2 ni en la curvatura NH del enlace amida I y II. El tratamiento con aspirina también produjo una alteración en el transporte de glucosa e histidina, como se evidenció por una disminución del valor de la Vmax mientras que la Km aparente permaneció inalterada en los animales control y tratados con aspirina, lo que confirma que no hubo cambios en la constante de afinidad por el sustrato de las proteínas transportadoras de membrana para la glucosa y el aminoácido básico, si bien la tasa de transporte disminuyó considerablemente. Se apreció un descenso en la energía de activación del transporte de glucosa e histidina cuando se estudiaron a temperaturas distintas, pero no hubo cambios en la temperatura de la fase de transición de la MBC con el tratamiento con aspirina, lo que implica que quizás la fase de transición termotrópica en la membrana pudiera tener un efecto relativamente pequeño sobre los procesos de transporte. El resultado sugiere un mecanismo molecular subyacente lo que indica el daño implícito de la membrana por la aspirina, un miembro importante de la familia de fármacos antiinflamatorios no esteroideos (AINE), que posiblemente a través de un daño oxidativo podría producir una alteración de la estructura molecular, del estado físico y de las funcionesbiológicas de la membrana intestinal.