The effect of (2'-5') and (3'-5') phosphodiester linkages on conformational and stacking properties of cytidylyl-cytidine in aqueous solution

Conformational properties of (2'-5') and (3'-5') CpC have been determined by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 220 MHz. The ribose ring structures are predominantly 3E with the exception of the ring from the 2'-phosphate fragment of C(2'-5')pC which exhibits an 2E pucker. Bases are oriented anti with respect to the ribose and the conformations about C4'-C5', C5'-O5', C3'-O3' (C2'-O2') are gg, g'g', and g+ in equilibrium g-, respectively. The dimers exist as mixtures of stacked (g+g+ and g-g- about the P-O(C) bonds) and unstacked species at 20 degrees C. Stacking is estimated to be 35% in both dimers.     

An experimental case study of the successes and failures of job enrichment in a government agency.

An experimental job enrichment program was introduced in 3 clerical work units ( N = 1,000 workers) of a federal agency. Matched control groups were selected for each experimental unit. The program was introduced after careful diagnosis of the work situation and thorough training of the personnel involved. Within the limits imposed by the field situation, before-after measures of both behavior and attitudes suggested that changes in behavior (e.g., productivity, absences) occurred in favor of the experimental groups. Job enrichment apparently had no effect on attitudes, however. On the basis of interviews and observations, the productivity changes were attributed mainly to more efficient use of manpower, elimination of unnecessary operations, and feedback and competition, while the absence changes were attributed mainly to initial changes in morale based on the expectation of extrinsic rewards. It is concluded that attitudes did not improve because the expectations and desire for such rewards had not been met. The problem and limitations of job enrichment are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptation to laterally displaced vision: A review.

Reviews recent experimental and theoretical literature regarding adaptation to wearing prisms that laterally displace the visual field. Emphasis is placed on adaptational changes in proprioception, the development of new patterns of muscle efference, and the interaction between such changes in proprioception and efference. A discussion considers prism adaptation as a learning process which acts to minimize disparities between different sensory modalities. In this context, information, attention, judgment, and experimental design are treated as imposing important constraints upon which sensory inputs are accepted as veridical. The role of classical conditioning and the importance of active movement are discussed. (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microwave and pulsed electric field assisted extractions of polyphenols from defatted canola seed cake

The incorporation of microwave and pulsed electric field (PEF) technologies in optimising the extraction of polyphenols from defatted canola seed cake was determined by Box‐Behnken response surface methodology, using three parameters of microwave treatment (power, time and liquid: solid (L:S) ratio) and four parameters of PEF (ethanol concentration, time, frequency and voltage). After microwave and PEF pretreatments, the polyphenols of defatted canola seed cake were extracted by ultrasound treatment under fixed variables (200 W of ultrasonic power, 70 °C of water bath and 20 min of extraction time). The measured responses were total phenolics, total flavonoids, the DPPH˙ scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The maximum yields of all responses were achieved under optimum conditions of microwave processing (5 min, L:S ratio of 6.0 and 633.3 W) and PEF‐assisted extraction (30 V, 30 Hz, 10% ethanol concentration and 10 s).     

Effect of the defatting process,acid and alkali extraction on the physicochemical and functional properties of hemp,flax and canola seed cake protein isolates

The effect of the defatting process, acid and alkali extractions on the physicochemical and functional properties of hemp, flax and canola protein isolates was studied. The defatting process enriched the protein content from around 35 to 52–55 % in the defatted oilseed cakes. Further treatment with acid and alkali led to the highest enrichment (P < 0.05) in the protein content (>90 %). The defatting process produced the lightest (P < 0.05) colour compared to the parent oilseed cakes and the protein isolates. Alkali extraction produced protein isolates with the highest (P < 0.05) water holding capacity while the original oilseed cakes had the highest oil holding capacity. Acid and alkali extractions produced protein isolates with the highest emulsifying activity and emulsion stability. The alkaline soluble flax protein isolate and acid hemp protein isolate had the highest (P < 0.05) creaming stability and largest droplet size respectively. Amino acid profiles of protein isolates after acid and alkali extraction were improved, leading to a protein suitable for fortification in food products that meet human nutrition requirements.     

The bioavailability of raspberry anthocyanins and ellagitannins in rats

The fate of anthocyanins and ellagitannins in rats was monitored following ingestion of raspberry juice. After 1 h low nM concentrations of unmetabolised anthocyanins were present in plasma but these declined by 2 h and after 4 h they were no longer detectable. For the first 2 h there was an almost full recovery of anthocyanins as they passed from the stomach through the duodenum/jejunum and into the ileum. After 3 h less than 50% were recovered, and the levels declined rapidly thereafter. Excretion of raspberry anthocyanins in urine over a 24 h period was equivalent to 1.2% of the amount ingested. Trace quantities of anthocyanins were detected in the caecum, colon and faeces and they were absent in extracts of liver, kidneys and brain. Urine also contained a number of phenolic acids but most were present in quantities well in excess of the 918 nmol of anthocyanins present in the ingested juice. These findings indicate that raspberry anthocyanins per se are poorly absorbed, probably prior to reaching the ileum, and that substantial amounts pass from the small to the large intestine where they are degraded by colonic bacteria. Ellagitannins disappeared in the stomach without accumulation of ellagic acid.     

Development of a flow controller for long-term sampling of gases and vapors using evacuated canisters

Anthropogenic activities contribute to the release of a wide variety of volatile organic compounds (VOC) into microenvironments. Developing and implementing new air sampling technologies that allow for the characterization of exposures to VOC can be useful for evaluating environmental and health concerns arising from such occurrences. A novel air sampler based on the use of a capillary flow controller connected to evacuated canisters (300 mL, 1 and 6 L) was designed and tested. The capillary tube, used to control the flow of air, is a variation on a sharp-edge orifice flow controller. It essentially controls the velocity of the fluid (air) as a function of the properties of the fluid, tube diameter and length. A model to predict flow rate in this dynamic system was developed. The mathematical model presented here was developed using the Hagen-Poiseuille equation and the ideal gas law to predict flow into the canisters used to sample for long periods of time. The Hagen-Poiseuille equation shows the relationship between flow rate, pressure gradient, capillary resistance, fluid viscosity, capillary length and diameter. The flow rates evaluated were extremely low, ranging from 0.05 to 1 mL min(-1). The model was compared with experimental results and was shown to overestimate the flow rate. Empirical equations were developed to more accurately predict flow for the 300 mL, 1 and 6 L canisters used for sampling periods ranging from several hours to one month. The theoretical and observed flow rates for different capillary geometries were evaluated. Each capillary flow controller geometry that was tested was found to generate very reproducible results, RSD < 2%. Also, the empirical formulas developed to predict flow rate given a specified diameter and capillary length were found to predict flow rate within 6% of the experimental data. The samplers were exposed to a variety of airborne vapors that allowed for comparison of the effectiveness of capillary flow controllers to sorbent samplers and to an online gas chromatograph. The capillary flow controller was found to exceed the performance of the sorbent samplers in this comparison.     

Atmospheric mercury in the Lake Michigan basin: influence of the Chicago/Gary urban area

The relative importance of the Chicago/Gay urban area was investigated to determine its impact on atmospheric mercury (Hg) concentrations and wet deposition in the Lake Michigan basin. Event wet-only precipitation, total particulate, and vapor phase samples were collected for Hg, and trace element determinations from five sites around Lake Michigan from July 1994 through October 1995 as part of the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (LMMBS). In addition, intensive over-water measurements were conducted aboard the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian during the summer of 1994 and the winter of 1995 as part of the Atmospheric Exchange Over Lakes and Oceans Study. Atmospheric Hg concentrations were found to be significantly higher in the Chicago/Gary urban area than surrounding sites: Hg in precipitation was a factor of 2 and particulate Hg was a factor of 6 times higher. Overwater measurements found elevated Hg concentrations 19 km off shore of Chicago/Gary suggesting an enhanced near field atmospheric deposition to Lake Michigan. Meteorological transport analyses also determined that local sources in the Chicago/Gary urban area significantly impacted all of the LMMBS sites indicating a broad impact to the entire Lake Michigan basin.     

Sedimentary records of DDT and HCH in the Pearl River Delta,South China

Tropical regions in developing countries are thought to be significant sources of organochlorine pesticides in the global context, owing to high rate of use and only a recent production ban or restriction on application of these pesticides. In the present paper, DDT and HCH in eight 210Pb-dated sedimentary cores from the Pearl River Delta, South China, were analyzed in order to reconstruct the time trends of these persistent organic pollutants in this tropical region. The sedimentary inventories of sigmaDDT and sigmaHCH through the cores ranged from 36.6 to 1109.5 ng/cm2 and from 11.2 to 226.3 ng/cm2, respectively, and their spatial distribution implies that the water flows from the Humen, Jiaomen, Hongqili, and Hengmen outlets rather than the Xijiang flow from Modaomen outlet, supplied the major historical input of DDT to the estuary. Although a production ban of technical HCH and DDT was imposed in China in 1983, their sedimentary fluxes display increasing trends or strong rebounds in the 1990s as recorded in the core profiles, characteristic of the increasing ratios of (DDE + DDD)/DDT and DDE/DDT. It is suggested that an enhanced land soil runoff in the process of large-scale land transform, as well as a higher river water flow in early 1990s, had mobilized these pesticides from soil to the sedimentary system in the region.