POESIA: An ontological workflow approach for composing Web services in agriculture

This paper describes the POESIA approach to systematic composition of Web services. This pragmatic approach is strongly centered in the use of domain-specific multidimensional ontologies. Inspired by applications needs and founded on ontologies, workflows, and activity models, POESIA provides well-defined operations (aggregation, specialization, and instantiation) to support the composition of Web services. POESIA complements current proposals for Web services definition and composition by providing a higher degree of abstraction with verifiable consistency properties. We illustrate the POESIA approach using a concrete application scenario in agroenvironmental planning.Received: 15 December 2002, Accepted: 16 April 2003, Published online: 30 September 2003Edited by: V. AtluriRenato Fileto: fileto@ic.unicamp.br     

A note on high-Q active networks

Levi's and Zeheb's approach for approximating a high-Q second-order section by n sections with lower Q's is compared with the optimal solution of this problem proposed by Khazanov. Tables relating the maximum error in the approximation to the values of n and the achievable Q-reduction (QR) are also given. They should prove useful to the designer. Finally, some comments on sensitivities are added.     

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis,Antimicrobial Activity and Food Packaging Applications

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an inorganic compound widely used in everyday applications. ZnO is currently listed as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) material by the Food and Drug Administration and is used as food additive. The advent of nanotechnology has led the development of materials with new properties for use as antimicrobial agents. Thus, ZnO in nanoscale has shown antimicrobial properties and potential applications in food preservation. ZnO nanoparticles have been incorporated in polymeric matrices in order to provide antimicrobial activity to the packaging material and improve packaging properties. This review presents the main synthesis methods of ZnO nanoparticles, principal characteristics and mechanisms of antimicrobial action as well as the effect of their incorporation in polymeric matrices. Safety issues such as exposure routes and migration studies are also discussed.     

Purification of major glucosinolates from Brassicaceae seeds and preparation of isothiocyanate and amine metabolites

Consumption of Brassica vegetables containing glucosinolates is associated with decreased risk of cancer at several tissue sites. Studies of the relative potency and metabolism of the major dietary isothiocyanates have been hindered by limited availability of high‐purity isothiocyanates and their glucosinolate precursors. We describe a simple procedure for the preparation of glucosinolates sinigrin, gluconapin, progoitrin, glucoiberin, glucoraphanin, glucoalyssin and gluconasturtiin from vegetable seeds. Glucosinolates were extracted from the seeds of mustard, oilseed, broccoli, cauliflower and winter cress. Purification by preparative anion exchange and reversed‐phase column chromatography gave the pure glucosinolates. Good separation was achieved without using ion‐pair reagents. Related isothiocyanates and amine degradation products were prepared by myrosinase‐catalysed hydrolysis of the corresponding glucosinolate and by organic synthesis, respectively. The compounds were characterized by analytical HPLC, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, elemental analysis and mass spectrometry. Optimized conditions for detection and quantitation of these glucosinolates and metabolites by LC‐MS/MS are also given. Large‐scale glucosinolate preparation could be performed, giving amounts suitable for pharmacological evaluation in vivo. These methods will facilitate studies of the pharmacological activity and metabolism of dietary glucosinolates. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Diet Prevents Social Stress-Induced Maladaptive Neurobehavioural and Gut Microbiota Changes in a Histamine-Dependent Manner

Exposure to repeated social stress may cause maladaptive emotional reactions that can be reduced by healthy nutritional supplementation. Histaminergic neurotransmission has a central role in orchestrating specific behavioural responses depending on the homeostatic state of a subject, but it remains to be established if it participates in the protective effects against the insults of chronic stress afforded by a healthy diet. By using C57BL/6J male mice that do not synthesize histamine (Hdc^−/−) and their wild type (Hdc^+/+) congeners we evaluated if the histaminergic system participates in the protective action of a diet enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A on the deleterious effect of chronic stress. Behavioural tests across domains relevant to cognition and anxiety were performed. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, cytokine expression, hippocampal fatty acids, oxylipins and microbiota composition were also assessed. Chronic stress induced social avoidance, poor recognition memory, affected hippocampal long-term potentiation, changed the microbiota profile, brain cytokines, fatty acid and oxylipins composition of both Hdc^−/− and Hdc^+/+ mice. Dietary enrichment counteracted stress-induced deficits only in Hdc^+/+ mice as histamine deficiency prevented almost all the diet-related beneficial effects. Interpretation: Our results reveal a previously unexplored and novel role for brain histamine as a mediator of many favorable effects of the enriched diet. These data present long-reaching perspectives in the field of nutritional neuropsychopharmacology.     

DNA damage by PAH and repair in a marine sponge

The sponge Tethya lyncurium from the Northern Adriatic has been used as an experimental species.A method is outlined for preparation of DNA which yields a highly purified DNA with a double-strand (ds) molecular weight of 25 M-dalton between single-strand (ss) breaks, which when properly damaged can be cut opposite to ss-breaks with nuclease s₁. The molecular weights of the resulting ds-DNA pieces and their distribution has been evaluated by electron microscope photographs.Sponges exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the dark only incorporate BaP-derivatives (BaPD) in small amounts, if any. However, in the presence of light, derivatization to BaP derivatives enables effective coupling to occur, as shown previously (R. K. Zahn et al., 1981). Sponges were exposed to radiolabeled BaP in the presence of light. Coupling of BaPD to the DNA as well as the induction of ss-breaks were measured.Light-mediated coupling is concentration dependent from 0.01 – 20 ppb BaP with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.84.Under conditions of possible repair, ss-breaks completely disappear from sponge DNA in the course of three weeks while a substantial fraction of the BaP derivatives persists.Double label experiments show that substantial DNA synthesis occurs during this time. Pollution causes a decrease of the molecular weight of unnicked DNA, re-incubation in clean water an increase. A DNA species of 24 M-dalton seems to play a critical role. If its percentage in the DNA population drops below a critical level, recovery is not longer possible. DNA damage by PAH and repair in sponges seems to differ from that of most eucaryotes.     

Flexible aliphatic poly(isocyanurate–oxazolidone) resins based on poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether and 4,4′‐methylene dicyclohexyl diisocyanate

New flexible aliphatic oxazolidone‐isocyanurate networks (AISOX) are obtained by reacting a low molecular weight diisocyanate (4,4′‐methylene dicyclohexyl diisocyanate, H₁₂MDI) and a macro‐diepoxyde (poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether, M_n = 526, PEGDGE) in different molar ratio. The curing reaction, carried out from 25 °C to 200 °C, is studied by using DSC and FTIR. The effect of the molar ratio of the two monomers on thermal and mechanical properties of AISOX resins is investigated by DSC, thermogravimetric analysis, stress?strain measurements and optical microscopy. Independently from the feed composition, it is observed that the reaction steps are: (i) partial hydrolysis of isocyanate caused by water traces, (ii) incomplete trimerization of isocyanate to give isocyanurate, and (iii) formation of oxazolidone and complete conversion of isocyanate. At the highest concentration of the soft macrodiepoxyde (PEGDGE), the AISOX resin is in the rubbery state at room temperature and shows an elastomeric behavior. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43404.     

Photochemical grafting of acrylated azo dyes onto polymeric surfaces,IV. Grafting of 4-(N-ethyl-N-2-acryloxyethyl)amino-4′-nitro-azobenzene onto cellulose

Photochemically induced grafting and graft-polymerization of 4-(N-ethyl-N-2-acryloxyethyl)amino-4′-nitro-azobenzene I , brought into contact in the solid state with cellulose by evaporation of solvent from monomer solutions, has been investigated kinetically at 30°C. Two constant rate periods were observed. The first one was interpreted on the basis of a self-sensitized grafting mechanism of monomeric or oligomeric species of I , photochemically initiated by hydrogen abstraction from the cellulose surface. The second one was explained as a self-sensitized photochemically induced graft-polymerization of I on the first grafted layer. Some particular features, such as concurrent photodegradation of the first grafted layer at low surface coverage, are discussed in the light of the proposed mechanism.     

Monitoring ligand modulation of protein-protein interactions by mass spectrometry: estrogen receptor alpha-SRC1

Many drugs and chemicals exert their biological effect by modulating protein-protein interactions. In vitro approaches to characterize these mechanisms are often based on indirect measurements (e.g., fluorescence). Here, we used mass spectrometry (MS) to directly monitor the effect of small-molecule ligands on the binding of a coactivator peptide (SRC1) by the human estrogen receptor alpha ligand binding domain (hERalpha LBD). Nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS) and high-mass matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) combined with chemical cross-linking were employed to follow these processes. The chemical cross-linking protocol used prior to high-mass MALDI analysis allows detection of intact noncovalent complexes. The binding of intact hERalpha LBD homodimer with two coactivator peptides was detected with nanoESI-MS and high-mass MALDI-MS only in the presence of an agonist ligand. Furthermore, high-mass MALDI-MS revealed an increase of the homodimer abundance after incubating the receptor with a ligand, independent of the ligand character (i.e., agonist, antagonist). The binding characteristics of the compounds tested by MS correlate very well with their biological activity reported by cell-based assays. High-mass MALDI appears to be an efficient and simple tool for directly monitoring ligand regulation mechanisms involved in protein-protein interactions. Furthermore, the combination of both MS methods allows identifying and characterizing endocrine-disrupting compounds or new drug compounds in an efficient way.     

Characterization of Crude Watermelon Seed Oil by Two Different Extractions Methods

The aim of this paper was to study the physical–chemical composition of the watermelon seed oil extracted by a mechanical process using an expeller and by a chemical process using hexane as the solvent. The watermelon seed oil had a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids. The two primary sterols were stigmasterol and β-sitosterol, which corresponded to approximately 47 and 30% of the total phytosterols. The oil had a low tocopherol content (65.19 mg/kg for S and 73.19 mg/kg for E). Comparing the two extraction methods, extraction by expeller produced an oil of superior quality with respect to oxidative stability, carotenoids and Lovibond color. No significant differences were found between the two extraction methods with respect to the minor components of the oil considered as functional, such as phytosterols.