Antioxidative activities of some peptides isolated from hydrolyzed potato protein extract

Three peptides (5A, 5C and 6C), purified from potato protein hydrolysate fractions, possessed antioxidative activities. Isolation and purification were carried out using gel permeation chromatography and successive reverse-phase HPLC. These three peptide fractions were sequenced and identified as Phe-Gly-Glu-Arg, Phe-Asp-Arg-Arg and Phe-Gly-Glu-Arg-Arg, respectively. The fractions 5A, 5C and 6C inhibited linoleic acid oxidation by 55.3%, 58.5% and 61.7% using β-carotene decolorization assay system, while the inhibition ratio was 32.1%, 93.0% and 93.4% in the ferric thiocyanate assay system, respectively. The peptide fractions 5A, 5C and 6C also repressed lipid oxidation by 24.2%, 14.7% and 26.4% in the erythrocyte membrane ghost assay system, respectively. Oral administration of 100 mg/kg of body weight of the chemically synthesized peptides, 5A, 5C and 6C to rats (male Wistar) 30 min prior to ethanol injection reduced ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage by 67.9%, 57.0% and 60.3%, respectively. Conclusively, these peptides have shown real potent antioxidative activities and could further be investigated for potential use as food additives.     

The role of juxtapapillary duodenal diverticulum in the formation of gallbladder stones

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Juxtapapillary diverticula (JPD) are considered to be associated with choledocholithiasis but not with cholecystolithiasis. However, there have been few comparative studies on the relationship between JPD and cholecystolithiasis under strict matching for sex and age. METHODOLOGY: Among 4542 consecutive ERCPs at Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, 549 patients who were 63 years of age or older were enrolled in this study and were matched for sex and age. They were divided into two groups: with and without JPD. Firstly, the frequency of cholecystolithiasis was compared between the two groups. Next, we recruited 83 patients whose JPD size could be measured by the ERCP films and investigated the relationship between JPD size and gallstones. RESULTS: We found no correlation between JPD and the overall frequency of cholecystolithiasis. However, an analysis of 83 patients with measurable JPD revealed that the size of JPD was closely linked to the occurrence of cholecystolithiasis. The JPD size was statistically larger in patients with cholecystolithiasis than those without. Moreover, when the mean diameter of JPD was 20 mm or more, the incidence of cholecystolithiasis rose up to 73.3%, which was significantly greater compared to the incidence in patients without JPD (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: A larger JPD may play a role in the formation of gallbladder stones.     

Oral intake of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus OLL1073R-1 prevents collagen-induced arthritis in mice.

Oral intake of some lactic acid bacteria can have beneficial effects on the host by activating immune responses and enhancing resistance to infection by pathogens. In this study, effects of Lactobacillus sp. on the development of autoimmune disease were examined in mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA, a model of some types of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), can be induced in DBA/1J mice by immunizing them with bovine type II collagen (bCII). Oral intake of skimmed milk (SM) fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus OLL1073R-1 (SM/OLL1073R-1) was found to markedly inhibit the development of CIA in these mice, compared with a control group fed the control foodstuff. The inhibitory effect of SM fermented with L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus OLLI 102 (SM/OLL1102) or fresh SM was weaker than that of SM/ OLL1073R-1. A deMan Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth culture of OLL1073R-1 without any major components of SM had the same inhibitory effect as SM/OLL1073R-1, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of SM/OLL1073R-1 is attributable not only to SM components but also to OLL1073R-1 cells, their metabolites, or both. We found that SM/OLL1073R-1 and SM caused reduced secretion of the cytokine IFN-gamma by lymph node cells (LNCs) in response to bCII. However, SM/OLL1102 did not affect the secretion of IFN-gamma. A polysaccharide fraction secreted by OLL1073R-1 also exhibited the inhibitory effects on both development of CIA and secretion of IFN-gamma.     

Size dependence of crystallization within spherical microdomain structures

We have investigated the size dependence of crystallization within spherical microdomains formed in various poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-polybutadiene diblock copolymers (PCL-b-PB). The crystallinity (χ) and melting temperature (T_m) of the PCL block are considerably lower than those of PCL homopolymer, and χ decreases steadily and T_m decreases only slightly with decreasing radius of PCL spheres (R) for a series of PCL-b-PB with a same molecular weight (M_n). When PCL-b-PB is compared with the similar R but different M_n, χ is significantly different, suggesting that the sphere size is not the unique factor to control crystallization within spherical microdomains.     

Influence of cocations on catalytic activity of copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolite for reduction of nitric oxide with ethene in the presence of oxygen

The coexistence of alkaline earth (Ca and Sr) and transition metal (Fe, Co and Ni) cations with Cu ions in ZSM-5 zeolite is effective in the promotion of the maximum activity and the expansion of the active temperature range for the reduction of nitric oxide with ethene in the presence of excess oxygen.     

Field test results of multi-channel digital tv transmission at 15 and 30 Mb/s through an intelsat satellite using a PSK/FDMA system

This paper describes field test results of multi-channel digital TV transmission using a PSK/FDMA system and the related subjective test results of received TV pictures. The picture quality of the multi-channel 15 or 30 Mb/s transmission for both NTSC and PAL systems through the INTELSAT POR satellite are subjectively evaluated for various bit-error rates. In addition, subjective evaluations were made at various values of earth-station e.i.r.p. to compare the picture quality of digital transmissions with that of current half-transponder FM transmission.     

TETHER-LINKED [60]FULLERENE-DONOR DYADS

A series of [60]fullerene bis-adducts having a π-electron-rich aromatic ring as a donor in a face-to-face arrangement were synthesized by the bis-cyclopropanation of [60]fullerene with tether-linked bis-malonates. One of the bis-adducts showed a photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer which caused the dramatic quenching of its fluorescence in a polar solvent.     

Multiple trait genomic evaluation of conception rate in Holsteins

A national data set of artificial inseminations in US Holsteins was used to obtain genetic evaluations for conception rate (CR). The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility and resulting accuracy from using all available phenotypic, pedigree, and genomic information. Evaluations were performed by regular BLUP or by BLUP with the traditional pedigree and genomic relationships combined in a unified single-step procedure (SSP). Genetic parameters of CR in the first 3 parities were estimated with data from New York State only. Heritability estimates were around 2% and genetic correlations between CR in different parities were >0.73. The R² obtained with the SSP were almost twice as large as those achieved with regular BLUP. Computing the SSP took 2 h, and it was 33% slower than a regular BLUP. A multiple-trait evaluation of CR using the SSP is both possible and advantageous.     

Critical Heat Flux of Boiling Heat Transfer in a Moderate Narrow Space

INTanDUCTI0NBoilingheattransferandcriticalheatflux(CHF)inaconfinednarrowspacehavebeenstudiedexperi-melltallybyanumberofinvestigatorsinthepastfewdecades.However,thereisnoanypopularlyacceptedmodelintheheattransferinnarrowspaceboiling,althoughsomepopularknowledgeabouttheboilingheattransferinthenarrowspacehavebeenacceptedbymanyresearchers.Theknowledgecanbecon-cludedasthatthenucleateboilingheattransferisenhancedatlowheatfluxregionanddeterioratedathighheatfiuxregi0nespeciallyatCHF.Theenhanceme…     

Nanotrap and mass analysis of aromatic molecules by phenyl group-modified nanoparticle

To functionalize the surface of nanoparticles with phenyl groups for subsequent cross-linking with aromatic molecules by mutual interactions, we prepared functional nanoparticles (d = 3 nm) by silanization with phenyl-triethoxysilane. The nanoparticles had Fe(2)O(3) cores conjugated to phenyl groups; this was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and absorption spectrophotometry. The typical C-H and C-C peaks and the absorption at 240 nm, which corresponds to aromatic rings, were detected in the spectroscopic results for the phenyl group-modified nanoparticles. The nanoparticles could ionize aromatic (colchicine, reserpine, and bradykinin peptide) and nonaromatic (L-α-phosphatidylethanolamine,dioleoyl, and polyethylene glycol) molecules by nanoparticle-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. The nanoparticles worked as a selective trap and an ionization-assisting reagent in mass spectrometry for the aromatic molecular targets.