Physicochemical characteristics of rapidly dried onion powder and its anti-atherogenic effect on rats fed high-fat diet

Rapidly dried onion (Allium cepa L. cv. Momiji No. 3) powder (OP) prepared from the outer layers (from second to fourth scale leaves from the surface) of onion bulbs was analysed for its quercetin and polyuronide contents, the effects of enzymatic treatment and the anti-atherogenic effect on rats fed a high-fat diet. Quercetin 4′-glucoside (50%), free quercetin (30%) and quercetin 3,4′-diglucoside (20%) were identified as quercetin derivatives, and boiling-water extraction was effective in extracting these compounds. OP contained 12.9% of polyuronides, the basic skeleton of pectin. Enzymatic degradation (cellulase and pectinase, 50 °C for 12 h, pH 6.0) of OP was effective in obtaining a slurry of smaller particle sizes. The free quercetin increased and the glucosides decreased with enzyme treatment. In Wistar rats fed an OP-added high-fat diet, the total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were not significantly different from the rats fed a high-fat diet without OP. However, the atherogenic index (AI) of Wistar rats fed an OP-added high-fat diet was lower (AI = 3.3) than rats fed the diet without OP (AI = 4.1). The incremental elastic modulus (IEM) of the aorta from rats fed the OP-added diet was also significantly lower than that of the rats fed the diet without OP. The AI and IEM values of the rats fed the OP-added diet were quite similar to the values of rats fed the diet without OP but were allowed spontaneous exercise. These results suggest that OP intake is effective for decreasing the risk of arteriosclerosis.     

Untersuchungen zum Transfer pharmakologisch wirksamer Substanzen aus der Nutztierhaltung in Porree und Weißkohl

Investigation on the transfer of pharmacologically active substances used in animal husbandry into leek and cabbage. The potential of leek and cabbage for uptake of highly prescribed veterinary drugs (antibiotics) was tested in hydroponically grown plants. For this purpose the antibiotics sulfadiazine (SFD), enrofloxacine (ENR), tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and monensine (MON) were chosen. A further aim was to gain data on the situation of vegetables grown in agricultural practise with regard to antibiotic residues. The evident effects of the antibiotics on plants grown hydroponically (each antibiotic was administered at 5 μmol/l nutrient solution) were greatly different: With regard to leek there were no visible effects (MON, SFD), a weak bleaching of the younger leaf sections (CTC), and strong effects of ENR. The (phytotoxic) effects of antibiotics on cabbage were much more distinct. CTC caused a yellowing of the plant vasculature in cabbage. MON induced lesions on some leaves and finally led to leaf wilting. With administration of ENR a nearly complete bleaching of young leaves was observed. Using LC-MS/MS-methods (low-resolution and high-resolution MS) the administered antibiotics, as well as conversion products and metabolites, were separately identified and quantified in various organs of leek (roots, young and old sections of leaves) and cabbage (roots, stalks, young and old leaves). Depending on the type of antibiotic, vegetable species, and plant organ, the detected concentrations of antibiotic residues comprised several orders of magnitude ranging from μg/kg to mg/kg of fresh weight (fw). The highest concentrations of antibiotics were found in roots of both vegetable species: CTC and TC were detected at approximately 10 mg/kg fw in cabbage roots and at approximately 20 mg/kg fw in leek roots and ENR was determined at approximately 12 mg/kg fw in cabbage roots. Low amounts of ENR were metabolised to ciprofloxacine (CIP). ENR occurred at similar concentrations of approximately 7 mg/kg fw in roots and old leaves of cabbage, indicating a high transport rate of this antibiotic in the cabbage plant. In stalks, young and old leaves of cabbage and in young and old leaf sections of leek all administered antibiotics were detected. Within these antibiotics, ENR and CTC and their conversion products, e. g. demeclocycline (DMC) and TC, occurred at the highest concentrations. SFD and MON were found in considerably lower concentrations (<100 μg/kg fw). The results of our experiments in hydroponic cultures, using defined concentrations of antibiotics in the nutrient solution, evidently demonstrate that cabbage and leek have a very high potential for uptake of a number of veterinary antibiotic drugs, especially for tetracycline and ENR.     

Acute View Transport biofuels: Can they help limiting climate change without an upward impact on food prices?

Comprehensive life cycle assessments show that current transport biofuels often do worse than conventional fossil transport fuels as to the emission of greenhouse gases. Biofuels from microalgae grown with present technology and lignocellulosic biofuels from current arable land or land that is to be deforested are unlikely to do better regarding the emission of greenhouse gases than fossil transport fuels. When crops characterized by relatively low fossil fuel inputs and relatively high biomass yields are grown on abandoned agricultural and marginal soils which currently sequester little carbon, cropping for transport biofuels may help in limiting climate change without an impact on food prices. For such cropping one probably has to go beyond the market mechanism. Worldwide, there is some scope for the use of harvest residues in biofuel production. However, European arable soils show on average large losses of soil carbon and this rather favors increased addition of such residues to soils. Received: November 17, 2008; accepted: December 3, 2008     

Influence of swelling of noncrystalline regions in silk fibers on modification with methacrylamide

The degrees of swelling of noncrystalline regions of domestic and tussah silk fibers were investigated by measuring the small-angle X-ray scattering intensity of the fibers in wet conditions and analyzing the scattering intensity based on a two-phase model, i.e., crystalline regions and water-swollen noncrystalline regions. The influence of the degree of swelling of noncrystalline regions on the graft treatment of these fibers with methacrylamide was investigated. The changes in the structure caused by the graft treatment were also analyzed using the wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements. As compared with the tussah silk fibers, the domestic silk fibers showed a larger degree of swelling of the noncrystalline regions, and gained a larger amount of resin by the graft treatment. The crystallites with smaller sizes in the tussah silk fibers were destroyed preferentially by the graft treatment. For the domestic silk fibers, the crystallites were destroyed more seriously and rather homogeneously independent of the crystallite sizes. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)–SiO2 hybrid gels and their thermosensitive properties

The swelling and adsorption behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)–SiO₂ hybrid gels, derived from copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMOS) and following hydrolysis and condensation, were investigated. The hybrid gels exhibited temperature dependence of both the swelling ratio and adsorption of solutes, and their temperature dependence of both the swelling ratio and adsorption of solutes, and their temperature dependence was related to the MPTMOS content in the hybrid gels. In addition, the modification of thermosensitive properties of the hybrid gels could be achieved by treatment with other silane compounds. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Thermogravimetric behavior of perfluoropolyether

In this article, two kinds of perfluoropolyether (PFPE) with different terminal groups were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and gas chromatography/gas mass spectrum (GC/MS) analysis. PFPEs with a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid terminal group were more heat stable than was PFPE with carboxylic methyl ester. Perfluoropropylene oxide-type PFPE with a perfluoroethyl terminal group at one end tends to lose weight more rapidly than does copolymer-type PFPE with dihydroxyl or dicarboxyl methyl ester terminal groups at both ends. The residual weight fraction of PFPE with a perfluoroethyl terminal group was dependent on the average molecular weight. The number-average molecular weight of PFPE can be calculated from the peak intensity ratio between the polar group and C F stretching by measuring the IR spectrum of PFPE. The number-average molecular weight of PFPE increased because of the evaporation loss of its low molecular weight fraction and the crosslinking reaction of PFPE with increase in temperature. GC/MS analysis showed that the main product of the pyrolysis of PFPE was hexafluoropylene. We speculated on the PFPE degradation mechanism and the optimum PFPE chemical structure in terms of heat stability. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Mutation Analysis of Radioresistant Early-Stage Cervical Cancer

Radiotherapy is a definitive treatment for early-stage cervical cancer; however, a subset of this disease recurs locally, necessitating establishment of predictive biomarkers and treatment strategies. To address this issue, we performed gene panel-based sequencing of 18 stage IB cervical cancers treated with definitive radiotherapy, including two cases of local recurrence, followed by in vitro and in silico analyses. Simultaneous mutations in KRAS and SMAD4 (KRAS^mt/SMAD4^mt) were detected only in a local recurrence case, indicating potential association of this mutation signature with radioresistance. In isogenic cell-based experiments, a combination of activating KRAS mutation and SMAD4 deficiency led to X-ray resistance, whereas either of these factors alone did not. Analysis of genomic data from 55,308 cancers showed a significant trend toward co-occurrence of mutations in KRAS and SMAD4. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia dataset suggested upregulation of the pathways involved in epithelial mesenchymal transition and inflammatory responses in KRAS^mt/SMAD4^mt cancer cells. Notably, irradiation with therapeutic carbon ions led to robust killing of X-ray-resistant KRAS^mt/SMAD4^mt cancer cells. These data indicate that the KRAS^mt/SMAD4^mt signature is a potential predictor of radioresistance, and that carbon ion radiotherapy is a potential option to treat early-stage cervical cancers with the KRAS^mt/SMAD4^mt signature.     

Untersuchungen zur Synthese von Polyethern aus Anhydropolyolen

Studies on the Synthesis of Polyethers from Anhydropolyols . By reaction of 1,4:3,6-dianhydro-D-sorbitol with base and αω-dihaloalkanes mono and dialkyl derivatives are obtained. The use of trans-1,4-dichloro-2-butene leads to oligomers up to the heptamer which are isolated and structurally assigned. Polymerisations with super acids of substituted tetrahydrofuranes such as the 1,4-anhydro-2,3-di-O-alkyl-D-erythritols lead to functionalized poly(oxytetramethylenes). By detailed studies of reaction parameters optimized conditions are achieved, and by polymer analyses the linear structures of these polyethers are demonstrated.