酶法水解牦牛皮蛋白制备抗氧化肽工艺的优化

以牦牛皮为原料,用碱性蛋白酶水解牦牛皮蛋白制备抗氧化肽。以水解度和牦牛皮蛋白水解物对DPPH自由基清除率的IC₅₀值为评价指标,在单因素实验的基础上,结合响应面（Box-Behnken）试验设计筛选出牦牛皮抗氧化肽的最佳制备工艺。结果表明,最佳制备工艺为:水解温度51 ℃,酶用量10890 U/g,水解时间10.6 h,pH8.5,底物浓度5%,此时水解度为41.39%±0.69%,牦牛皮抗氧化肽清除DPPH·、ABTS+·、·OH的IC₅₀值分别为2.884、2.110、2.523 mg/mL。综上,该制备工艺下的牦牛皮抗氧化肽对自由基有良好的清除能力,且有较强的还原能力,说明牦牛皮抗氧化肽有望作为天然抗氧化剂得到开发利用。     

BIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF TOWER FERMENTATION*

Biological and biochemical aspects of continuous fermentation in a Tower fermentor operated on a commercial scale are described with particular reference to the rate of utilization of α-amino nitrogen and carbohydrate. Under stable conditions, well defined gradients exist in the Tower fermentor and a fully fermented beer, indistinguishable from the conventional batch beer, is produced. Breakdown of these gradients leads to unstable conditions with a resultant increase in effluent gravity. Yeast growth in the Tower has been shown to be comparable to that of a conventional batch fermentation. No mutation of the yeast has been observed over a period of 3 years, during which time little trouble was experienced from infecting organisms.     

Barleys Grown as Cultivar Mixtures Compared with Blends Made Before and After Malting,for Effects on Malting Performance

Four barley cultivars were grown in replicated trials at three sites in Scotland in 2000, both as pure stands and in all four possible three‐component mixtures. After harvest, some grain from the pure stands was used to synthesise four blends of three component varieties. Grain from the pure stands, the mixtures and the blends was malted and all samples were assessed for total β‐glucan content. At two of the sites, field grown mixtures were shown to have lower malt β‐glucan than blends made prior to malting, although their grain β‐glucan contents had not been significantly different from the means of the component varieties. At the other site, the mixtures had higher levels of soluble nitrogen than the blends or the means of their component cultivars although, significant differences had not occurred in grain nitrogen contents. Three component blends were also made from the malted grain of the pure stands and hot water extracts were measured on all samples including the blends made before and after malting. There were considerable differences between sites and also between mixtures, blends and the mean of the mixture components when assessed separately. At all sites and for all varietal combinations, field grown mixtures were shown to be equal or superior to blends made after harvesting, in addition to frequently exceeding the mean of their components. It was concluded that the advantages, in β‐glucan or protein modification, associated with mixtures resulted from interactions between components in the growing environment and that interactions in the malting and mashing environments had little if any effect.     

Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 in beef and sheep abattoirs in Ireland and characterisation of isolates by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and Multi-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeat Analysis

This study aimed to investigate verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 in the largest beef and sheep slaughter plants in Ireland over a one-year period. Samples consisted of pooled rectal swabs (n = 407) and pooled carcass swabs (n = 407) from 5 animals belonging to the same herd or flock and minced meat (n = 91) from the same sampling date. E. coli O157 isolates were characterised using PCR for a range of genes, i.e. 16S, rfbE, fliC, vtx1, vtx2, eaeA and confirmed VTEC O157 isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility and typed using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multi-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA). VTEC O157 was isolated from 7.6% and 3.9% of bovine rectal and carcass swab samples and from 5.8% and 2.9% of ovine rectal and carcass swab samples respectively. None of the bovine minced meat samples (n = 77) and only one of the 14 ovine minced meat samples was positive for VTEC O157. Following PFGE and MLVA, cross contamination from faeces to carcasses was identified. While PFGE and MLVA identified the same clusters for highly related strains, MLVA discriminated better than PFGE in addition to being more rapid and less labour intensive. Results showed that cattle and sheep presented for slaughter in Ireland harbour VTEC O157, and although the levels entering the food chain are low, this should not be overlooked as possible sources of zoonotic infection; molecular typing was able to demonstrate relationships among strains and could be used to elucidate the sources of human infection.     

Carbon sequestration via aqueous olivine mineral carbonation: role of passivating layer formation

CO2 sequestration via carbonation of widely available low-cost minerals, such as olivine, can permanently dispose of CO2 in an environmentally benign and a geologically stable form. We report the results of studies of the mechanisms that limit aqueous olivine carbonation reactivity under the optimum sequestration reaction conditions observed to date: 1 M NaCl + 0.64 M NaHCO3 at Te 185 degrees C and P(CO2) approximately equal to 135 bar. A reaction limiting silica-rich passivating layer (PL) forms on the feedstock grains, slowing carbonate formation and raising process cost. The morphology and composition of the passivating layers are investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and atomic level modeling. Postreaction analysis of feedstock particles, recovered from stirred autoclave experiments at 1500 rpm, provides unequivocal evidence of local mechanical removal (chipping) of PL material, suggesting particle abrasion. This is corroborated by our observation that carbonation increases dramatically with solid particle concentration in stirred experiments. Multiphase hydrodynamic calculations are combined with experimentto better understand the associated slurry-flow effects. Large-scale atomic-level simulations of the reaction zone suggest that the PL possesses a "glassy" but highly defective SiO2 structure that can permit diffusion of key reactants. Mitigating passivating layer effectiveness is critical to enhancing carbonation and lowering sequestration process cost.     

Practical constraints in the kinetic plot representation of chromatographic performance data: theory and application to experimental data

It is demonstrated that the kinetic plot representation of experimental plate height data can also account for practical constraints on the column length, the peak width, the viscous heating, and the mobile-phase velocity without needing any iterative solution routine. This implies that the best possible kinetic performance to be expected from a given tested support under any possible set of practical optimization constraints can always be found using a directly responding calculation spreadsheet template. To show how the resulting constrained kinetic plots can be used as a powerful design and selection tool, the method has been applied to a series of plate height measurements performed on a number of different commercial columns for the same component (butyl-parabene) and mobile-phase composition. The method, for example, allows one to account for the fact that the advantageous solutions displayed by the silica monolith and 5 microm particle columns in the large plate number range of the free kinetic plot are no longer accessible if applying a maximal column length constraint of Lmax = 30 cm. In the plate number range that remains accessible, the investigated sub-2 mum particle columns in any case perform (at least for the presently considered parabene separation) better than the 3.5 mum particle columns or silica monolith, especially if considering the use of system pressures exceeding 400 bar. The constrained kinetic plot method can also be used to select the best-suited column length from an available product gamma to perform a separation with a preset number of plates. One of the optimization results that is obtained in this case is that sometimes a significant gain in analysis time can be obtained by selecting a longer column, yielding the desired plate number at a larger velocity than that for a shorter column.     

Survival dynamics of fecal bacteria in ponds in agricultural watersheds of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of Georgia

Animal agriculture in watersheds produces manure bacteria that may contaminate surface waters and put public health at risk. We measured fecal indicator bacteria (commensal Escherichia coli and fecal enterococci) and manure pathogens (Salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7), and physical-chemical parameters in pond inflow, within pond, pond outflow, and pond sediments in three ponds in agricultural watersheds. Bishop Pond with perennial inflow and outflow is located in the Piedmont, and Ponds A and C with ephemeral inflow and outflow in the Coastal Plain of Georgia. Bromide and chloride tracer experiments at Bishop Pond reflected a residence time much greater than that estimated by two models, and indicated that complete mixing within Bishop Pond was never obtained. The long residence time meant that fecal bacteria were exposed to solar UV-radiation and microbial predation. At Bishop Pond outflow concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria were significantly less than inflow concentrations; such was not observed at Ponds A and C. Both Salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 were measured when concomitant concentrations of commensal E. coli were below the criterion for surface water impairment indicating problems with the effectiveness of indicator organisms. Bishop Pond improved down stream water quality; whereas, Ponds A and C with ephemeral inflow and outflow and possibly greater nutrient concentrations within the two ponds appeared to be less effective in improving down stream water quality.     

Paraoxonase inhibits high-density lipoprotein oxidation and preserves its functions. A possible peroxidative role for paraoxonase

HDL levels are inversely related to the risk of developing atherosclerosis. In serum, paraoxonase (PON) is associated with HDL, and was shown to inhibit LDL oxidation. Whether PON also protects HDL from oxidation is unknown, and was determined in the present study. In humans, we found serum HDL PON activity and HDL susceptibility to oxidation to be inversely correlated (r2 = 0.77, n = 15). Supplementing human HDL with purified PON inhibited copper-induced HDL oxidation in a concentration-dependent manner. Adding PON to HDL prolonged the oxidation lag phase and reduced HDL peroxide and aldehyde formation by up to 95%. This inhibitory effect was most pronounced when PON was added before oxidation initiation. When purified PON was added to whole serum, essentially all of it became HDL-associated. The PON-enriched HDL was more resistant to copper ion-induced oxidation than was control HDL. Compared with control HDL, HDL from PON-treated serum showed a 66% prolongation in the lag phase of its oxidation, and up to a 40% reduction in peroxide and aldehyde content. In contrast, in the presence of various PON inhibitors, HDL oxidation induced by either copper ions or by a free radical generating system was markedly enhanced. As PON inhibited HDL oxidation, two major functions of HDL were assessed: macrophage cholesterol efflux, and LDL protection from oxidation. Compared with oxidized untreated HDL, oxidized PON-treated HDL caused a 45% increase in cellular cholesterol efflux from J-774 A.1 macrophages. Both HDL-associated PON and purified PON were potent inhibitors of LDL oxidation. Searching for a possible mechanism for PON-induced inhibition of HDL oxidation revealed PON (2 paraoxonase U/ml)-mediated hydrolysis of lipid peroxides (by 19%) and of cholesteryl linoleate hydroperoxides (by 90%) in oxidized HDL. HDL-associated PON, as well as purified PON, were also able to substantially hydrolyze (up to 25%) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a major reactive oxygen species produced under oxidative stress during atherogenesis. Finally, we analyzed serum PON activity in the atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice during aging and development of atherosclerotic lesions. With age, serum lipid peroxidation and lesion size increased, whereas serum PON activity decreased. We thus conclude that HDL-associated PON possesses peroxidase-like activity that can contribute to the protective effect of PON against lipoprotein oxidation. The presence of PON in HDL may thus be a major contributor to the antiatherogenicity of this lipoprotein.