In-house and interlaboratory validation of a method for the extraction of DNA from pollen in honey

In this work, the in-house and interlaboratory validation of a DNA extraction method from pollen in an unifloral rape honey as well as several multifloral honeys is described. The amplifiability of plant and rape DNA amplifiable by real-time PCR was used as a parameter for the evaluation of the method. The practical (i.e., relative) limit of detection was used as a tool for assessing the suitability of the extraction method for further GMO analysis. In a collaborative study with 14 participating labs the results of the in-house validation could be confirmed. The amount of amplifiable plant and rape DNA varied depending on the type of honey. For rape honey, a mean practical LOD of 0.12?% was obtained.     

Modulation of Endocannabinoids by Caloric Restriction Is Conserved in Mice but Is Not Required for Protection from Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and critical complication in the clinical setting. In rodents, AKI can be effectively prevented through caloric restriction (CR), which has also been shown to increase lifespan in many species. In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), longevity studies revealed that a marked CR-induced reduction of endocannabinoids may be a key mechanism. Thus, we hypothesized that regulation of endocannabinoids, particularly arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA), might also play a role in CR-mediated protection from renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in mammals including humans. In male C57Bl6J mice, CR significantly reduced renal IRI and led to a significant decrease of AEA. Supplementation of AEA to near-normal serum concentrations by repetitive intraperitoneal administration in CR mice, however, did not abrogate the protective effect of CR. We also analyzed serum samples taken before and after CR from patients of three different pilot trials of dietary interventions. In contrast to mice and C. elegans, we detected an increase of AEA. We conclude that endocannabinoid levels in mice are modulated by CR, but CR-mediated renal protection does not depend on this effect. Moreover, our results indicate that modulation of endocannabinoids by CR in humans may differ fundamentally from the effects in animal models.     

Psychometric evaluation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue Scale for use with pregnant and postpartum women.

Although fatigue is a common experience for pregnant women and new mothers, few measures of fatigue have been validated for use with this population. To address this gap, the authors assessed psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF) scale, which was used in 2 independent samples of pregnant women. Results indicated that the psychometric properties of the scale were very similar across samples and time points. The scale possesses a high level of internal consistency, has good convergent validity with measures of sleep quality and depression, and discriminates well from a measure of social support. Contrary to previous evaluations of the MAF, data strongly suggest that the scale represents a unidimensional construct best represented by a single factor. Results indicate that the MAF is a useful measure of fatigue among pregnant and postpartum women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons measured with H.E.S.S.

The measurement of very-high-energy cosmic-ray electrons is intrinsically difficult due to the very steep electron spectrum with low fluxes and an enormous background of hadronic cosmic rays. The large collection areas needed for such a measurement can be provided by ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) has performed the first ground-based cosmic-ray electron measurement and thereby extended the measured range of the spectrum to several TeV. Here the H.E.S.S. measurement is presented, as well as an extension of the H.E.S.S. spectrum towards lower energies. At these energies, H.E.S.S. can probe recent ATIC measurements, which have been interpreted in terms of dark matter scenarios.     

Detoxification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Diol Epoxides by Human Glutathione Transferases: Efficiency of Conjugation in Intact Cells Relative to Purified Enzymes

V79MZ cells expressing human glutathione transferases (hGST) have been constructed and used to study glutathione (GSH) conjugation of anti -diol epoxides (DEs) of dibenzo[ a,l ]pyrene ( DBPDE ), and benzo[ a ]pyrene ( BPDE ). Cells expressing hGSTM1-1 were more effective with ( m )- anti - DBPDE than hGSTP1-1. The opposite was observed with (+)- anti - BPDE . Rates of cellular DE uptake and solvolysis in conjunction with oil/water partition coefficients were used to calculate the amount of DEs available for GST-catalyzed conjugation in the cells. Using this information and the known values of k cat /K M for (+)- anti - BPDE and ( m )- anti - DBPDE with purified hGSTs, it was calculated that up to 3% of available (+)- anti - BPDE forms GSH conjugates whereas the corresponding figure with the less reactive and more lipophilic ( m )- anti - DBPDE was about 19%. In part, the lower fraction of (+)- anti -BPDE conjugated in cells is probably due to rapid and competing reactions with cellular constituents.     

Selective Catalytic Reductions of Amides and Nitriles to Amines

This personal account summarizes our recent developments of catalytic hydrosilylations and hydrogenations of carboxylic amides and nitriles to selectively give amines. Special focus is given to highly chemoselective iron- and zinc-catalyzed reductions of amides.     

Ökonomische Bewertung und Optimierung des Automatisierungsgrades von Versicherungsprozessen

In the context of value and customer orientation there are various requirements concerning the process – especially in insurance companies: processes are meant to be standardized, automated, and flexible. It is in question whether a fast and cheap automated processing is preferred to manual handling. For which claims and which process steps is it of economic value to have the flexibility and the competence and ability to solve problems of human operators at your disposal? Various combinations, representing different degrees of automation, are possible. The different degrees of automation for the processing of an insurance claims are compared and resulting cash flows are determined. It is essential to include all consequences that can be attributed to a single process and to consider customer reactions and restrictions to the capacity of processing. Instead of using heuristic rules to decide on automation in practice, here the decision is flexible and depends on the given situation. Viewing an aggregated number of insurance claims it is possible to deduce information about the performance of the process. The model is exemplarily illustrated with help of a part of the process for handling own damage glass claims.     

Quantile regression of indoor air concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC)

There are many factors determining the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air. On the basis of 601 population-based measurements we develop an explicit exposure model that includes factors, such as renovation, furniture, flat size, smoking, and education level of the occupants.As a novel method for the evaluation of concentrations of indoor air pollutants we use quantile regression, which has the advantages of robustness against non-Gaussian distributions (and outliers) and can adjust for unbalanced frequencies of observations. The applied bi- and multivariate quantile regressions provide (1) the VOC burden that is representative for the population of Leipzig, Germany, and (2) an inter-comparison of the effects of the studied factors and their levels.As a result, we find strong evidence for factors of general impact on most VOC components, such as the season, flooring, the type of the room, and the size of the apartment. Other impact factors are very specific to the VOC components. For example, wooden flooring (parquet) and new furniture increase the concentration of terpenes as well as the modifying factors high education and sampling in the child's room. Smokers ventilate their flats in an extent that in general reduces the VOC concentrations, except for benzene (contained in tobacco smoke), which is still higher in smoking than in non-smoking flats. Very often dampness is associated with an increased VOC burden in indoor air.An investigation of mixtures emphasises a high burden of co-occurring terpenes in very small and very large apartments.     

Paenilarvins: Iturin Family Lipopeptides from the Honey Bee Pathogen Paenibacillus larvae

The bacterium Paenibacillus larvae has been extensively studied as it is an appalling honey bee pathogen. In the present work, we screened crude extracts derived from fermentations of P. larvae genotypes ERIC I and II for antimicrobial activity, following the detection of four putative secondary metabolite gene clusters that show high sequence homology to known biosynthetic gene clusters for the biosynthesis of antibiotics. Low molecular weight metabolites produced by P. larvae have recently been shown to have toxic effects on honey bee larvae. Moreover, a novel tripeptide, sevadicin, was recently characterized from laboratory cultures of P. larvae. In this study, paenilarvins, which are iturinic lipopeptides exhibiting strong antifungal activities, were obtained by bioassay‐guided fractionation from cultures of P. larvae, genotype ERIC II. Their molecular structures were determined by extensive 2D NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry, and other methods. Paenilarvins are the first antifungal secondary metabolites to be identified from P. larvae. In preliminary experiments, these lipopeptides also affected honey bee larvae and might thus play a role in P. larvae survival and pathogenesis. However, further studies are needed to investigate their function.