Use of nopal dietary fiber in a powder dessert formulation

The development of diverse types of foods of low caloric value and with high content in dietary fiber have occupied a preponderant place in the food industry in the last years, due to the growing interest of the consumers for a healthy and nutritious diet. Pre-cooked or quick to prepare foods are attractive for the time they save; if to this you add their nutritious value, the attractiveness is even greater. For this reason, this study analyzes different formulations of a powder to prepare a dessert (flan), with different percentages of incorporation of nopal flour, as a source of dietary fiber (16%, 18%, 20%). Two flavors (melon and banana) were tried. It was observed that the flan flavored with banana and with 16% of nopal flour, reached better sensorial characteristics. Greater percentages of nopal flour negatively affected the sensorial characteristics, mainly flavor, color and texture. The analysis showed that the powder presented 5.7% of moisture, low water activity (0.48) and therefore a low total recount of microorganisms. The content of protein was high (27.2%), the ether extract low (2.0%) similar to the caloric contribution (40 Kcal/portion). The flan showed a 9.8% of total dietary fiber, being greater the contribution of soluble fiber (6.1%) than that of insoluble fiber (3.7%). Due to these characteristics this formulation could be considered as a food that provides benefits for the human health.     

Effect of preparation method on 5% Co/Nb2O5 in Fischer-Tropsch Syntesis (FTS)

Three preparation methods of 5% Co/Nb₂O₅ were studied : Incipient wetness impregnation, deposition-precipitation with and without aging. Its effects over total area, mean pore diameter, cobalt species and acidity of reduced catalysts were investigated by BET, Hg porosimetry, XRD, DRS, TPR, TPO and NH₃ TPD. TPR results showed that the reduction proceeds as two steps (Co⁺³ → Co⁺² → Co^o). TPR and DRS indicated the presence of Co⁺² in the precipitated catalysts. The main phase was Co3O4 in all catalysts. The FTS selectivity showed good correlation with the strong acidity.     

Design of an automated enhanced-throughput platform for functional characterization of positive allosteric modulator-induced leftward shifts in apparent agonist potency in vitro

Prosecution of positive allosteric modulator (PAM) targets demands a specialized assay toolset. Many GPCR or ion channel targets are adaptable to functional assays whereby PAM efficacy can be inferred from left or rightward shifts in the concentration-response curves of orthosteric agonist. The inherent emphasis on throughput and occasional paucity of radioligands for a diverse array of allosteric modulator targets yields a need for an enhanced throughput agonist potency shift assay. Here, we describe a process by which such an assay was automated with robust, reproducible in vitro pharmacology. In direct comparison with a manual CRC shift assay, the enhanced throughput automated platform described here delivered near identical rank orders (r(2) = 0.75) at ~4-fold throughput/assay iteration. Correspondingly, average cycle time/plate decreased from 104 to 72 minutes. We also observed reductions in assay interference associated with compounds exhibiting ago-allosterism, which we attribute to preread compound incubation periods which are more precisely time-constrained under automation control. By leveraging automated laboratory technology, we have achieved meaningful throughput with no sacrifice of precision. Rather than to be target-class specific, the present process was specifically designed to serve as a platform template for a variety of cell-based functional allosteric modulation assays.     

抗耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌菌株的筛选、鉴定及其活性物质初步研究

从海南红树林土壤分离筛选抗耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）菌株,通过形态学观察、生理生化试验及分子生物学进行菌种鉴定。采用不同培养基优选抑菌活性物质生成条件;以有机溶剂萃取抑菌活性物质,采用气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）分析抑菌物质化学成分,采用微量稀释法测定最低抑菌浓度与最低杀菌浓度。结果表明,筛选得到一株抗MRSA菌株,编号为NEL-002,被鉴定为萎缩芽孢杆菌（Bacillus atrophaeus）。菌株NEL-002采用LB液体培养基得到发酵液经石油醚萃取粗提物抗MRSA菌活性最强,且在40～80 ℃、pH在5～10较稳定,对多种蛋白酶不敏感;最低抑菌质量浓度为62.5 μg/mL,最低杀菌质量浓度为500 μg/mL。GC-MS鉴定出抗菌活性物质为十甲基环戊硅氧烷、十二甲基环六硅氧烷及邻苯二甲酸二丁酯。     

“On Water” Direct and Site‐Selective Pd‐Catalysed C?H Arylation of (NH)‐Indoles

This communication describes the development of a versatile catalytic system based on palladium(II) acetate/bis(diphenylphosphino)methane [Pd(OAc)₂/dppm] that works “on water” giving site‐selective C H arylation of (NH)‐indoles without protecting or directing groups. Remarkably, the control of regioselectivity was achieved by small changes in the “extra‐catalytic” base/halide partners. These innovative methodologies allow a high‐yielding access to both C2 and C3‐arylindoles, as well as 2,3‐diarylindoles, and display high chemo/regioselectivities and structural versatility with regard to either indole or aryl moieties.     

The influence of formulation and processing parameters on the thermal properties of a chitosan–epoxy prepolymer system

Waterborne epoxy dispersions have been employed effectively for many years in response to environmental regulations aimed at reducing solvent levels in coatings. Very few non‐toxic bio‐based polyamines have been reported in the literature as curing agents for epoxy‐functional waterborne dispersions. Currently to our knowledge the only bio‐based amino hardener used to cure a waterborne epoxy prepolymer is ?‐polylysine. Being one of the rare primary amine‐containing polymers of natural origin, chitosan is produced commercially by the deacetylation of chitin. In the work reported here, chitosan and oligochitosan were evaluated as curing agents for diepoxy prepolymers. A solvent‐free prepolymer (Epotec) and a waterborne prepolymer dispersion (Epirez) were both used. A crosslinked network was obtained when the reaction was performed with the waterborne epoxy dispersion. The influence of the hardener‐to‐epoxy prepolymer ratio on the crosslinking density was investigated. The thermal properties of networks were measured using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of dexamethasone and betamethasone on fetal heart rate variability in preterm labour: a randomised study

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of betamethasone and dexamethasone on fetal heart rate in appropriately grown fetuses. METHODS: Eighty-two pregnant women (97 fetuses) with preterm labour were randomly allocated to receive betamethasone (n=42) or dexamethasone (n=40) for fetal lung maturation in a nonblinded fashion. Computerised cardiotocogram (CTG) parameters were compared before, during and after treatment. RESULTS: A decrease in fetal heart rate variability was found with betamethasone but no significant changes were found with dexamethasone. Fetal heart rate variability returned to pre-treatment values within a week after cessation of treatment with betamethasone. Neonatal outcome was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings might prove useful in the management of compromised fetuses with decreased fetal heart rate variability in which the CTG should be used together with other parameters to assess fetal wellbeing during corticosteroid treatment. Dexamethasone may be preferable as the drug of choice since it was associated with significantly less alteration in fetal heart rate variability compared with betamethasone.     

Distribution of CAG repeats in normal and Huntington''s disease patients in Israel

Adrenal tumours are either functioning or non-functioning. Non-functioning adrenal tumours are generally asymptomatic and usually of enormous proportions at the time of presentation. A case is presented here of a patient with a huge right adrenal haemangioma which was successfully treated surgically. This unusual tumour was 25 cm in diameter, was well encapsulated and weighed 4 kg. The literature pertaining to this interesting case is reviewed.     

An empirical approach for evaluating the usability of model-driven tools

MDD tools are very useful to draw conceptual models and to automate code generation. Even though this would bring many benefits, wide adoption of MDD tools is not yet a reality. Various research activities are being undertaken to find why and to provide the required solutions. However, insufficient research has been done on a key factor for the acceptance of MDD tools: usability. With the help of end-users, this paper presents a framework to evaluate the usability of MDD tools. The framework will be used as a basis for a family of experiments to get clear insights into the barriers to usability that prevent MDD tools from being widely adopted in industry. To illustrate the applicability of our framework, we instantiated it for performing a usability evaluation of a tool named INTEGRANOVA. Furthermore, we compared the outcome of the study with another usability evaluation technique based on ergonomic criteria.     

Physiological role of glucosinolates in brassica napus. Concentration and distribution pattern of glucosinolates among plant organs during a complete life cycle

Concentrations and distribution of glucosinolates in various organs of rape (Brassica napus L) were examined during major stages of development. Fluctuations in the total content as well as in the individual levels of glucosinolates were investigated in double low Drakkar and high glucosinolate Chine 32 cultivars. The distribution pattern of aliphatic and aromatic glucosinolates between the various organs, as well as the variation in the concentrations of individual glucosinolates during plant development were quite similar between the two cultivars. Peculiar stages of accumulation during the vegetative growth period and the seed maturation period were identified. These stages were followed by periods of intense degradation during flowering, germination and early growth stages of seedlings. Fluctuations in the amount and structure of the glucosinolates in each of these periods suggest a storage function for these compounds which are required at specific stages of development. The involvement of some of these compounds in hormonal control of flowering is also discussed.