Identification of vitamin E-dependent water soluble fluorescent compounds in mouse tissues

The present paper describes the identification of two vitamin E-dependent, water soluble fluorescent compounds in mouse tissues. Ultraviolet and fluorescent spectroscopy, derivatization with 1-dimethylamino-naphtalene-5-sulfonyl chloride (dansyl chloride) and cochromatography using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were utilized for the identification of the unknown compounds. The water soluble fluorescent compounds in mouse tissues were identified as tyrosine and tryptophan. The compounds were previously found to increase significantly in vitamin E deficiency in various tissues.     

Indoor environment quality contracts in building projects

The scientific literature is replete with examples that indicate that poor indoor conditions at workplaces reduce work performance and increase short-term sick leave. To address good indoor environment quality (IEQ), strategic and practical design decisions are needed in the early phase of the building process to ensure successful implementation. However, current procurement practices are hampered by fragmentation, long subcontract chains and vague performance requirements. A preliminary study is undertaken that focuses on developing a method of contracting that enables the attainment and verification of the desired IEQ. Using a review of international research and practices, existing commissioning methods and contract procedures are identified for their attention to IEQ. A contract procedure is proposed that fosters agreement on indoor environment between building owners and tenants, and which directs a building project to give users the guarantee of indoor condition. To make a pre-lease contract agreement that includes IEQ, the factors having an influence on the IEQ chain must be included in all building contracts such as those of design, purchase, and operation and maintenance. Thus, the requirements of IEQ require their incorporation into every phase of the building project. The main elements in these contracts, in addition to the requirements of IEQ, are those verifying quality, bonuses and sanctions.

La littérature scientifique est riche en exemples qui montrent que la médiocrité des conditions intérieures sur le lieu de travail réduit les performances opérationnelles et augmente les absences de courte durée pour raisons de santé. Pour obtenir un environnement intérieur de bonne qualité (IEQ), il faut, dès le début du processus de construction, prendre des décisions d'ordre stratégique et pratique en vue d'une mise en ?uvre réussie. Or, la fragmentation, les longues chaînes de contrats de sous-traitance et le manque de précision des impératifs de performance sont autant d'obstacles aux pratiques d'approvisionnement actuelles. Une étude préliminaire est entreprise qui porte, pour l'essentiel, sur le développement d'un mode de réalisation permettant de satisfaire et de vérifier la qualité de l'environnement intérieur recherchée. S'appuyant sur une analyse des pratiques et de la recherche au niveau international, l'auteur recense les méthodes de mise en service et les procédures contractuelles existantes en fonction de l'intérêt porté à l'IEQ. Il est proposé une procédure contractuelle qui encourage les accords en matière d'environnement intérieur entre propriétaires de bâtiments et occupants et qui prescrit un projet de construction offrant aux utilisateurs la garantie d'un environnement intérieur satisfaisant. Pour conclure une convention contractuelle, préalablement au bail de location, qui prévoit l'IEQ, il faut inclure les facteurs ayant une influence sur la chaîne IEQ dans tous les contrats de bâtiments, comme la conception, l'approvisionnement, l'exploitation et la maintenance. Les exigences en matière d'IEQ nécessitent donc qu'elles soient intégrées à toutes les phases d'un projet de bâtiment. Les principaux éléments dans ces contrats, outre les exigences d'IEQ, sont ceux qui vérifient la qualité, les primes et les sanctions.     

Vitamin E and probucol reduce urinary lipophilic aldehydes and renal enlargement in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by complications affecting several organs, including the kidney. Lipid peroxidation increases in diabetes and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. In this study, we examined the ability of two antioxidants, vitamin E and probucol, to reduce lipid peroxidation in vivo and renal hypertrophy, an early stage of diabetic nephropathy, in rats. Animals were divided into four groups: non-diabetic, diabetic, diabetic treated with vitamin E, and diabetic treated with probucol. Animals were given antioxidants by intraperitoneal injection after induction of diabetes by streptozotocin injection. After 7 wk, lipid peroxidation in vivo was measured by analyzing urinary excretion of lipophilic aldehydes and related carbonyl compounds (LACC) as 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones by high-performance liquid chromatography. A number of urinary lipophilic nonpolar and polar aldehydes and related carbonyl compounds were identified, almost all of which increased in diabetes. Antioxidant treatment resulted in significantly decreased excretion of urinary LACC excretion. Antioxidant treatment of diabetic rats reduced renal hypertrophy. There was a high correlation between kidney weight and urinary LACC. Since LACC are accepted markers of lipid peroxidation, these results indicate that antioxidants can reduce the elevated lipid peroxidation of diabetes and may slow the onset of diabetic nephropathy.     

HPLC method for quantitation of cholesterol and four of its major oxidation products in muscle and liver tissues

A fast, sensitive, high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the quantitation of cholesterol and four of its major oxidation products: 3β-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one (7-ketocholesterol), cholest-5-ene-3β, 7α-diol (7α-hydroxycholesterol), cholest-5-ene-3β,7β-diol (7β-hydroxycholesterol), and cholest-5-ene-3β,25-diol (25-hydroxycholesterol). In this procedure 2∶1 chloroform:methanol (v/v) extracts of tissue homogenate were combined, dried over anhydrous Na₂SO₄, filtered, evaporated to dryness under N₂ and dissolved with a mobile phase of either 97∶3 or 93∶7 hexane:isopropanol (v/v). After membrane filtration and without further purification, aliquots were directly injected onto a 10-μm pore size, 30×0.39 cm μ-Porasil normal phase column. The separation of cholesterol and its oxidation products was monitored by a UV detector at 206 and 233 nm. This method was successfully applied to pork muscle as well as mouse liver tissues and was able to detect cholesterol oxidation products (COP) in the ppm range. The identity of the COP was confirmed by mass spectroscopy.     

Temperature Dependence of HNE Formation in Vegetable Oils and Butter Oil

The temperature dependence of the formation of toxic 4-hydroxy-2-trans-nonenal (HNE) was investigated in high and low linoleic acid (LA) containing oils such as corn, soybean and butter oils. These oils contain about 60, 54 and 3–4% of LA for corn, soybean and butter oils, respectively. The oils were heated for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 h at 190 °C and for 0, 5, 15 and 30 min at 218 °C. HNE concentrations in the oils were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The maximum HNE concentrations in heated (190 °C) corn, soybean and butter oils were 5.46, 3.73 and 1.85 μg HNE/g oil, respectively. The concentration of HNE at 218 °C increased continuously for all the three oils, although they were heated for much shorter periods compared to the lower temperature of heating (190 °C). HNE concentration at 30 min reached the maximum of 15.48, 10.72 and 6.71 μg HNE/g oil for corn, soybean and butter oils, respectively. HNE concentration at higher temperature (218 °C) was 4.9, 3.7, and 8.7 times higher than at the lower temperature (190 °C) and 30 min of heating for corn, soybean and butter oils, respectively. It was found that HNE formation was temperature dependant in the tested oils.     

4‐Hydroxynonenal (HNE), a Toxic Aldehyde in French Fries from Fast Food Restaurants

The toxic lipid peroxidation product, α,β,4‐hydroxy‐2‐trans‐nonenal (HNE) concentration, was measured in French fries (FF) from six local fast food restaurants. FF were purchased between 2 and 3 pm from all six restaurants. FF were also purchased at 12, 2, 4, 6 pm from one and at 1, 3, 5, 7 pm from another restaurant. Samples were analyzed for total fat, fatty acid distribution and for HNE by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HNE was confirmed by HPLC/MS. HNE concentrations in FF from the 6 fast food restaurants were between 7.83 and 32.15 µg HNE/100 g FF and between 0.9 and 4.9 µg HNE/g extracted fat. HNE concentrations in FF purchased at 12, 2, 4, 6 pm were between 19.07 and 32.15 µg/g of FF and purchased at 1, 3, 5, 7 pm were between 7.47 and 10.21 µg HNE/100 g of FF. Differences in FA distribution were observed in the samples from some restaurants. FF which contained higher levels of linoleic acid (LA) also contained more HNE. It is clear that HNE is produced during the heating process of the frying oils and is incorporated into FF. Frequently consumed foods containing considerable amounts of HNE, a toxic aldehyde, may be a public health concern since HNE toxicity is related to a number of common pathological conditions.     

Ascorbic acid-dependent turnover and reactivation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase using thiophenoxyacetic acid

The first step in catabolism of the broadleaf herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is catalyzed by 2,4-D/alpha-ketoglutarate (alpha-KG)-dioxygenase (TfdA) in Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus) JMP134. This oxygen- and ferrous-ion-dependent enzyme couples the oxidative decarboxylation of alpha-KG (yielding CO2 and succinate) with the oxidation of 2,4-D to produce 2,4-dichlorophenol and glyoxylate. TfdA was shown to utilize thiophenoxyacetic acid (TPAA) to produce thiophenol, allowing the development of a continuous spectrophotometric assay for the enzyme using the thiol-reactive reagent 4,4'-dithiodipyridine. In contrast to the reaction with 2,4-D, however, the kinetics of TPAA oxidation were nonlinear and ascorbic acid was found to be required for and consumed during TPAA oxidation. The ascorbic acid was needed to reduce a reversibly oxidized inactive state that was formed by reaction of the ferrous enzyme with oxygen, either in the absence of substrate or in the presence of TPAA. The dependency on this reductant was not due to an uncoupling of alpha-KG decarboxylation from substrate hydroxylation, as has been reported for several other alpha-KG-dependent hydroxylases. Significantly, the rate of formation of this reversibly oxidized species was much lower when the enzyme was turning over 2,4-D. Evidence also was obtained for the generation of an inactive enzyme species that could not be reversed by ascorbate. The latter species, not associated with protein fragmentation, arose from an oxidative reaction that is likely to involve hydroxyl radical reactions. On the basis of initial rate studies, the kcat and Km values for TPAA were estimated to be 20-fold lower and 80-fold higher than the corresponding values for 2,4-D. The results are incorporated into a model of TfdA reactivity involving both catalytic and inactivating events.     

Personality: Nomothetic or idiographic? A response to Kenrick and Stringfield.

Suggests that substantial consistency can be observed in personality, as reflected in both behavior and judges' ratings, when the principle of aggregration is applied to traditional nomothetic assessment procedures and the results are interpreted in terms of classical reliability theory. It is demonstrated that conclusions by D. T. Kenrick and D. O. Stringfield (see record 1980-07621-001) about the improvement in predictive power stemming from an idiographic analysis do not follow from their data, as they confound trait consistency and trait extremity and fail to take account of restriction and inflation of range effects. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Printable,Transparent, and Flexible Touch Panels Working in Sunlight and Moist Environments

The ongoing revolution of touch‐based user interfaces sets new requirements for touch panel technologies, including the need to operate in a wide range of environments. Such touch panels need to endure moisture and sunlight. Moreover, they often need to be curved or flexible. Thus, there is a need for new technologies suitable, for example, for home appliances used in the kitchen or the bathroom, automotive applications, and e‐paper. In this work, the development of transparent and flexible touch panels for moist environments is reported. A piezoelectric polymer, poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF), is used as a functional substrate material. Transparent electrodes are fabricated on both sides of a PVDF film using a graphene‐based ink and spray coating. The excellent performance of the touch panels is demonstrated in moist and underwater conditions. Also, the transparent device shows very small pyroelectric response to radiative heating in comparison to a non‐transparent device. Solution processable electrode materials in combination with functional substrates allow the low‐cost and high‐throughput manufacturing of touch panels using printing technologies.