Sequence Analysis of 203 Kilobases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae Chromosome VII

The nucleotide sequences of five major regions from chromosome VII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been determined and analysed. These regions represent 203 kilobases corresponding to approximately one-fifth of the complete yeast chromosome VII. Two fragments originate from the left arm of this chromosome. The first one of about 15·8 kb starts approximately 75 kb from the left telomere and is bordered by the SKI8 chromosomal marker. The second fragment covers the 72·6 kb region between the chromosomal markers CYH2 and ALG2. On the right chromosomal arm three regions, a 70·6 kb region between the MSB2 and the KSS1 chromosomal markers and two smaller regions dominated by the KRE11 marker and another one in the vicinity of the SER2 marker were sequenced. We found a total of 114 open reading frames (ORFs), 13 of which were completely overlapping with larger ORFs running in the opposite direction. A total of 44 yeast genes, the physiological functions of which are known, could be precisely mapped on this chromosome. Of the remaining 57 ORFs, 26 shared sequence homologies with known genes, among which were 13 other S. cerevisiae genes and five genes from other organisms. No homology with any sequence in the databases could be found for 31 ORFs. Furthermore, five Ty elements were found, one of which may not be functional due to a frame shift in its Ty1B amino acid sequence. The five chromosomal regions harboured five potential ARS elements and one sigma element together with eight tRNA genes and two snRNAs, one of which is encoded by an intron of a protein-coding gene. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the glycosidic linkage on the solution conformation of glucans

In order to gain a better understanding of the influence of β-glycosidic linkages on the solution conformation of glucans, a comparison was made between the carboxymethyl derivatives of cellulose (CMC, 100% 1,4-), barley glucan (CMGG, 30 : 70 1,3 : 1,4-) and curdlan (CMCd, 100% 1,3-glycosidic), each with an average degree of substitution of DS = 1.0–1.5 and molar masses of 144 000–720 000 g mol^–1. For this purpose curdlan and barley glucan were chemically modified, whereas carboxymethylcellulose was available as a commercial sample. Via congo red analysis it was proved for the microbial β-1,3-glucans curdlan (unsubstituted) and scleroglucan (one β-1,6-linked glucose side group on every third monomer unit) that substituents in glucan derivatives weaken an existing helical structure but that reduction of the molar mass with ultrasound has no influence on the helices. The molecular parameters M_w, M_n, R_G, L_P and [η] were determined by means of SEC/MALLS measurements and viscometry and the chain mobility was quantified using the ¹³C NMR relaxation times, T₁, of the different polymers. From this it was possible to derive [η]-M_w relationships. For all samples, the exponent ν of the R_G-M_W relationship lay in the range 0.54–0.59, from which it is possible to deduce a coiled solution structure. However, β-1,3-glucans occupy 25% less volume than β-1,4-glucans and exhibit less chain mobility. Hence β-1,4-glucans should be considerably more viscous than β-1,3-glucans, as was indeed demonstrated by rheological flow curves of 6% solutions of the carboxymethylglucan derivatives. The zero-shear viscosity, η₀, decreases by 3 decades in the order of CMC > CMGG > CMCd.     

Juice of New citrus hybrids (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.×C. sinensis L. Osbeck) as a source of natural antioxidants

Fruit juices of pigmented and non-pigmented new citrus hybrids obtained by crossing clementine cv. Oroval with different cultivars of blood oranges were analysed to determine parameters related to fruit quality (total soluble solids titratable acidity, pH), and the content of ascorbic acid, total phenolics, flavanones, anthocyanins and phenolic acids. Antioxidant properties were evaluated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and inhibition of induced linoleic acid peroxidation (InLAP) assays. The results of this study show that some hybrids with high antioxidant activity owing to considerable polyphenol content may be considered rich sources of phytochemicals. The OTA 9 hybrid was shown to be richest in polyphenols, suggesting that consumption of OTA 9 fruit or juice could be useful in health promotion and a disease-preventing diet. Moreover, the juice of this hybrid could be used as raw material to produce antioxidant ingredients for dietary, pharmaceutical, or cosmetic purposes.     

Multilayer nanoencapsulation. New approach for immune protection of human pancreatic islets

Immune protection of artificial tissue by means of pancreatic islet microencapsulation is a very ambitious new approach to avoid life-long immune suppression. But the success in the utilization of the alginate-beads with incorporated islets is unfortunately limited. Some of the problems cannot be solved by a two-component system, so polymer encapsulation of the microbeads was tested to improve the properties. In the present paper a pure nanoencapsulation multilayer approach was tested in order to reduce the size of the capsule and possibly apply in the future a multilayer capsule with individual properties in each layer or region of the capsule. Different polycations were attached in a self-assembly process. The advantage in using the surface charge of islets as binding site for the polyions is the guarantee of complete coverage after the second layer. Release of insulin was determined to characterize the function of the islets after encapsulation as well as the permeability of the capsule. Fluorescence microscopy was used to visualize the polyelectrolyte layers. Finally by means of an immune assay, the protection capability of the capsule was proved. In these first measurements the encapsulation with a multilayer nanocapsule was shown to be a possible alternative to the more space-consuming and random islet-trapping microencapsulation.     

Plasmonic dimer antennas for surface enhanced Raman scattering

Electron beam induced deposition (EBID) has recently been developed into a method to directly write optically active three-dimensional nanostructures. For this purpose a metal-organic precursor gas (here dimethyl-gold(III)-acetylacetonate) is introduced into the vacuum chamber of a scanning electron microscope where it is cracked by the focused electron beam. Upon cracking the aforementioned precursor gas, 3D deposits are realized, consisting of gold nanocrystals embedded in a carbonaceous matrix. The carbon content in the deposits hinders direct plasmonic applications. However, it is possible to activate the deposited nanostructures for plasmonics by coating the EBID structures with a continuous silver layer of a few nanometers thickness. Within this silver layer collective motions of the free electron gas can be excited. In this way, EBID structures with their intriguing precision at the nanoscale have been arranged in arrays of free-standing dimer antenna structures with nanometer sized gaps between the antennas that face each other with an angle of 90°. These dimer antenna ensembles can constitute a reproducibly manufacturable substrate for exploiting the surface enhanced Raman effect (SERS). The achieved SERS enhancement factors are of the order of 10? for the incident laser light polarized along the dimer axes. To prove the signal enhancement in a Raman experiment we used the dye methyl violet as a robust test molecule. In future applications the thickness of such a silver layer on the dimer antennas can easily be varied for tuning the plasmonic resonances of the SERS substrate to match the resonance structure of the analytes to be detected.     

Serum profile of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in rats following implantation of low-temperature plasma-modified titanium plates

Surface modification of Titanium (Ti) by low-temperature plasma influences cell-material interactions. Therefore, this study aimed at examining serum cytokine levels and associations after intramuscular implantation (n = 8 rats/group) of Ti-plates with Plasma Polymerized Allyl Amine (Ti-PPAAm), Plasma Polymerized Acrylic Acid (Ti-PPAAc), and without such layers (Ti-Controls). Pro-inflammatory (IL-2, IFNγ, IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13) cytokines were measured weekly for 56 days. Ti-PPAAm caused increased IL-2 (d7-14, d35), increased IFNγ (d35) and decreased IL-10 (d35, d49-56). Ti-PPAAc induced divergent anti-inflammatory cytokine changes with increased IL-4 (d28-56) and decreased IL-10 (d42-56). Ti-Controls elicited increased IL-2 (d42) and IFNγ (d35-42, d56). IL-6 was not detected and IL-13 only in three samples, thus they do not influence the response against these Ti implants. Correlation analysis revealed surface-dependent associations between cytokines indicating the involvement of different inflammatory cell populations. Concluding, different plasma modifications induce specific serum cytokine profiles and associations indicating distinct inflammatory responses.     

Linear mixed-integer models for biomass supply chains with transport,storage and processing

This paper presents a linear mixed-integer modeling approach for basic components in a biomass supply chain including supply, processing, storage and demand of different types of biomass. The main focus in the biomass models lies on the representation of the relationship between moisture and energy content in a discretized framework and on handling of long-term processes like storage with passive drying effects in the optimization. The biomass models are formulated consistently with current models for gas, electricity and heat infrastructures in the optimization model ‘eTransport’, which is designed for planning of energy systems with multiple energy carriers. To keep track of the varying moisture content in the models and its impact on other biomass properties, the current node structure in eTransport has been expanded with a special set of biomass nodes. The Node, Supply, Dryer and Storage models are presented in detail as examples of the approach. A sample case study is included to illustrate the functionality implemented in the models.     

Emotion regulation and vulnerability to depression: Spontaneous versus instructed use of emotion suppression and reappraisal.

Emotion dysregulation has long been thought to be a vulnerability factor for mood disorders. However, there have been few empirical tests of this idea. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that depression vulnerability is related to difficulties with emotion regulation by comparing recovered-depressed and never-depressed participants (N = 73). In the first phase, participants completed questionnaires assessing their typical use of emotion regulation strategies. In the second phase, sad mood was induced using a film clip, and the degree to which participants reported to have spontaneously used suppression versus reappraisal to regulate their emotions was assessed. In the third phase, participants received either suppression or reappraisal instructions prior to watching a second sadness-inducing film. As predicted, suppression was found to be ineffective for down-regulating negative emotions, and recovered-depressed participants reported to have spontaneously used this strategy during the first sadness-inducing film more often than controls. However, the groups did not differ regarding the effects of induced suppression versus reappraisal on negative mood. These results provide evidence for a role for spontaneous but not instructed emotion regulation in depression vulnerability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)