The influence of oxidizing agents on water extracts of rye flour

The main constituents of rye flour extracts are proteins and pentosans. After cross-linking under the action of oxidizing agents those components are able to bind much more water than in their native (prior to modifications) state. As a consequence rheological properties of extract are changed.It was observed that kinematic viscosity of water extract of rye flour decreases rapidly with time. The reason for this behavior could be high enzymatic activity of flour extract.It was also found that the addition of hydrogen peroxide in the absence of additional peroxidase (which is naturally present in 1:9 or 1:1 water extracts of flour) causes the greatest increase in viscosity, due to the cross-linking of soluble polymers. Moreover after the addition of H₂O₂ to water extracts strong gels were obtained, which were characterized by tan δ = 0.5 (tan δ < 1). Moreover G′ was independent of frequency, which also suggests cross-linking of the pentosans.The addition of ascorbic acid, which is known to act preferably on gluten proteins, to 1:9 or 1:1 flour extracts had only a little effect on viscosity. In this case the values of tan δ = 0.9 were close to 1, which is typical for a weak gel.The application of inactivated rye flour extract, containing mainly proteins and pentosans, proved stronger effect of H₂O₂ in comparison to ascorbic acid on polymer cross-linking, but only after the addition of peroxidase. The gel obtained with H₂O₂ and peroxidase was also characterized by low tan δ = 0.4.The results indicate, that pentosans are the main subject of cross-linking reactions in rye flour water extracts.     

Effect of chronic experimental poisoning with benzene and ethylene vapors on the circulatory system

To examine the content and the composition of free amino acids in the intraluminal fluid of rat epididymis, the fluids were obtained by light pressure on the dissected tissues. The amount of the total free amino acids in the pressed fluid from the caput epididymis was significantly higher than those of the cauda epididymis and the testis. Glu and Gln were predominant amino acids in the caput, and their amounts occupied more than half of the total ninhydrin reactive compounds. Such a high concentration of Glu and Gln was not observed either in the cauda or in the testis. Castration decreased Glu and increased Gln in amount. Testosterone treatment to castrated animals did not restore Glu and Gln contents in the pressed fluid from the caput epididymis to the level observed in intact rats completely. Therefore, it was assumed that a large amount of Glu in the caput was due to many factors; secretion and metabolism of epithelial cells of the gland which might be regulated by androgen, inflow of rete testis fluid, and sperm metabolism of amino acids in the epididymis. The results obtained from the caput epididymis to which the efferent duct of the testis was ligated also supported this interpretation.     

Changes occurring in the complex of cardenolide glycosides caused by phytoparasitic digitalis in fungi. IV. Determination of main regeneration of lanatosides A and C caused by Colletotrichum fuscum Laub

Groups of dogs were exercised immediately before, and immediately after occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Coronary occlusion by a staged procedure resulted in a low mortality and rare ventricular ectopic beats. The combination of simultaneous exercise with coronary occlusion reproducibly provoked ventricular fibrillation (VF). Exercise before and after occlusion frequently produced ventricular tachycardia but no VF. The risk of major arrhythmias was related to the peak heart rate resulting from the exercise.     

Effects of metal cations on betanin stability in aqueous-organic solutions

An effect of metal cations on betanin stability was investigated in aqueous and organic-aqueous solutions. The presence of organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, and acetonitrile) affects substantially the pigments decomposition in acidic media induced by metal cations whose degrading action in such media is significantly higher than in aqueous solutions. The influence of Cu²⁺ on the stability was studied by spectrophotometry in more detailed manner, because of its ability to form complexes with betanin. The possibility of a complex formation between betanin and Ni²⁺ was also stated at pH 7–8; its relatively high stability in aqueous samples was observed. A presence of numerous products of betanin decomposition was detected in the wavelength range 380–500 nm in spectra obtained for most of metal cations investigated, especially for higher concentrations of the organic solvents.     

Effect of method of delivery of sodium butyrate on rumen development in newborn calves

The effect of sodium butyrate (SB) supplementation in milk replacer (MR) or in starter mixture (SM) or in both MR and SM on performance, selected blood parameters, and rumen development in newborn calves was determined. Twenty-eight male calves with a mean age of 5 (±1) d were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 groups (7 animals per group) and fed (1) MR and SM, both without SB (MR⁻ and SM⁻, respectively); (2) MR⁻ and SM supplemented with SB encapsulated within a triglyceride matrix (SM⁺, 0.6% as fed; 30:70 butyrate-to-triglyceride matrix); (3) MR supplemented with crystalline SB (MR⁺, 0.3% as fed) and SM⁻; or (4) MR⁺ and SM⁺. The MR was offered in an amount equal to 10% of the initial body weight (BW) of each calf. The SM was blended with whole corn grain (50/50; wt/wt) and offered ad libitum as a starter diet (0.3% encapsulated-within-triglyceride matrix SB when SM⁺ was fed) from the first day of the trial. Calves were slaughtered at d 21 of a trial (mean age 26 ± 1 d). Addition of SB into MR (MR⁺) positively affected BW and average daily gain, tended to decrease the number of days with electrolyte therapies from d 0 to 7, and tended to positively affect fecal consistency from d 8 to 14 of the trial. Inclusion of SB into SM (SM⁺) increased starter diet intake from d 15 to 21, decreased the number of days with scours, and tended to decrease the number of days with electrolyte therapies in the whole trial period. Both MR⁺ and SM⁺ increased plasma glucose in the whole trial period and MR⁺ increased total serum protein at d 14. The SM⁺ increased plasma glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) concentration at d 7 of the trial when compared with the concentration at d 0. Both MR⁺ and SM⁺ increased reticulorumen weight and papillae length and width. Based on these results, it can be concluded that addition of SB in MR positively affected BW gain, health, and some metabolic intermediates of calves and it stimulated rumen development indirectly, whereas SB supplementation in SM stimulated rumen development directly. Addition of SB both in MR and SM could be recommended for rearing calves.     

Impacts of the Particle Sizes and Levels of Inclusions of Cherry Pomace on the Physical and Structural Properties of Direct Expanded Corn Starch

An effort was made to understand the impacts of dried cherry pomace (by-product of cherry juice processing) inclusion into corn starch extrudates on their direct expansion characteristics. The effect of pomace particle sizes (whole unfractionated (<125 to >500 μm), <125, 125–250, 250–500, and >500 μm) and levels of pomace inclusion (0, 5. and 15% (w/w)) were specifically investigated. Feed moisture content of 15.5 ± 0.5% (w.b.) and the extruder barrel temperature of 140 °C were kept constant with varying extruder screw speed (150, 200, and 250 rpm). The radial expansion ratio (ER) increased with 5% pomace level of inclusion compared with control but decreased significantly (p < 0.05) at 15% inclusion. Particle sizes significantly affected ER (p < 0.05) with smaller particle sizes resulting in increased ER at all levels of pomace. Adding cherry pomace significantly decreased water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI) with smaller particles leading to higher WSI. Extrusion process did not reduce the total phenolic content (gallic acid equivalents). Inclusion of the smallest particle size (<125 μm) cherry pomace at 5% level of inclusion yielded extrudates with the highest expansion ratio among all treatments, including the control. The scanning electron images suggested improvements in the extrudate surface and the internal cell structures. The results indicated the presence of active interactions between the cherry pomace and starch during the expansion process which is not present as an inert material.     

Galanin Receptors (GalR1, GalR2, and GalR3) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue and Correlations to the Overall Survival and Poor Prognosis of CRC Patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer in women and the third in men. The postoperative pathomorphological evaluation of patients with CRC is extremely important for future therapeutic decisions. Although our previous studies demonstrated high galanin (GAL) presence within tumor tissue and an elevated concentration of GAL in the serum of CRC patients, to date, there is a lack of data regarding GAL receptor (GalR) protein expression in CRC cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of all three types of GalRs (GalR1, GalR2 and GalR3) within epithelial cells of the human colon and CRC tissue with the use of the immunohistochemical method and to correlate the results with the clinical-pathological data. We found stronger immunoreactivity of GalR1 and GalR3 in CRC cells compared to epithelial cells of the unchanged mucosa of the large intestine. No differences in the GalR2 protein immunoreactivity between the studied tissues were noted. We also found that the increased immunoexpression of the GalR3 in CRC tissue correlated with the better prognosis and longer survival (p < 0.0079) of CRC patients (n = 55). The obtained results suggest that GalR3 may play the role of a prognostic factor for CRC patients. Based on data from the TCGA-COAD project deposited in the GDC Data Portal, we also found that GalR mRNA in cancer samples and the adjacent normal tissue did not correlate with immunoexpression of the GalR proteins in CRC cells and epithelial cells of the unchanged mucosa.     

The ATP-binding site of protein kinase CK2 holds a positive electrostatic area and conserved water molecules

CK2 is a highly pleiotropic Ser/Thr protein kinase that is able to promote cell survival and enhance the tumour phenotype under specific circumstances. We have determined the crystal structure of three new complexes with tetrabromobenzimidazole derivatives that display K(i) values between 0.15 and 0.30 microM. A comparative analysis of these data with those of four other inhibitors of the same family revealed the presence of some highly conserved water molecules in the ATP-binding site. These waters reside near Lys68, in an area with a positive electrostatic potential that is able to attract and orient negatively charged ligands. The presence of this positive region and two unique bulky residues that are typical of CK2, Ile66 and Ile174, play a critical role in determining the ligand orientation and binding selectivity.