Effects of genotype, location and baking on the phenolic content and some antioxidant properties of cereal species

In order to assess the effect of genotype, location and their interaction on total phenolic content (TPC) of chemical extracts, the whole grains of durum and soft wheat, oat, barley and triticale were evaluated. Data showed differences in phenolic content of chemical extracts among cereal species and the analysis of variance confirmed the key role of location. Besides TPC and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) values assessed by chemical extraction were compared with those obtained with an in vitro digestive enzymatic extraction. Differences were found between methanolic and enzymatic extracts, and data confirmed that enzymatic technique enhanced extraction of antioxidants but pointed out lesser differences among cereal types. The breads obtained by flours enriched with different levels of bran were also evaluated. Chemical extracts highlighted the increasing levels of antioxidants according to bran enrichments, without pointing out changes caused by baking. The enzymatic extraction instead did not show differences regarding to bran enrichments, but documented a loss in antioxidant properties of breads in respect to corresponding flours. On the other hand the scarce differences between flours and corresponding breads did not allow asserting that baking modified the TPC and TEAC, independently of the extraction methods used. Indeed, during baking process, also the observed phenolic acids profile variations did not vary the antioxidant properties of breads.     

Ultrastructural changes in the alveolar cells of rats injected with Cerastes cerastes cerastes venom

Ultrastructural changes in the alveolar tissue of rats intraperitoneally injected with the Cerastes cerastes cerastes venom were studied in 2 different experimental groups. In the first group, each rat was given 0.73 mg/Kg as a single dose and sacrificed after 24 hours. In the second group, each rat was given a daily dose of 0.42 mg/Kg for 7 days and sacrificed 24 hours after the last injection. Proliferative changes were seen in type II alveolar cells, fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and macrophages. Type II alveolar cells of the lungs developed a large number of surfactant granules. In the 24-hour-envenomated rats, type I alveolar cells displayed swollen nuclei and masses of dilated endoplasmic reticulum. In the 7-day-treated rats, several plasma cells, adjacent interstitial cells as well as alveolar brush cells, with their characteristic short microvilli, were detected. Large masses of collagen and elastic fibers were also located in the vicinity of the alveolar brush cells and type II alveolar cells. These histopathological changes may be attributed to the body-immune response and possibly to the development of hyperplasia due to venom-induced trauma.     

Dissolution enhancement of curcumin via curcumin–prebiotic inulin nanoparticles

Dissolution enhancement of curcumin via prebiotic inulin designed to orally deliver poorly water-soluble curcumin at duodenum low acidity (pH 5.5) was investigated. Different prebiotic inulin–curcumin nanoparticles were synthesized in ethanol–water binary system at different pre-adjusted pH values. Characterization via FTIR, XRD and TGA revealed the formation of curcumin–inulin conjugates, whereas surface morphology via SEM and TEM techniques implied the formation of nanoparticle beads and nanoclusters. Prebiotic inulin–curcumin nanoparticles prepared at pH 7.0 demonstrated a maximum curcumin dissolution enhancement of ≈90% with respect to 30% for curcumin alone at pH 5.5. Power law constant values were in accordance with dissolution enhancement investigations. All samples show Fickian diffusion mechanism. XRD investigations confirm that inulin maintain its crystalline structure in curcumin–inulin conjugate structure, which confirms that it can exert successfully its prebiotic role in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Therefore, the use of curcumin–inulin nanoparticles can perform dual-mission in the GI tract at the duodenum environment; release of 90% of curcumin followed by prebiotic activity of inulin, which will probably play a significant role in cancer therapeutics for the coming generations.     

Effective stiffness of a periodically cracked 3-D solid

This paper studies the effective elastic stiffness of 3-D periodically cracked solids. A direct approach is used to solve the transition problem to obtain the effective stiffness from the details of the microstructure. A specific class of periodically cracked solids is then considered. The crack opening volume for these periodic configurations were obtained using a specialized Boundary Element Method (BEM). The BEM involves special techniques for evaluating finite-part integrals and for approximating the periodic Green function. Finally, results for the effective stiffness of particular configurations of periodically cracked 3-D solids are presented and compared with approximate methods. These results indicate that, in general, the crack density parameter is not sufficient to characterize a damaged solid.     

Conversion of thyrotropin heterodimer to a biologically active single-chain

TSH and the gonadotropins, FSH, LH, and CG are a family of heterodimeric glycoprotein hormones composed of a common alpha-subunit noncovalently linked to a hormone specific beta-subunit. Assembly of alpha- and beta-subunits is essential for hormone-specific posttranslational modifications, receptor binding, and bioactivity. Structure-function studies of TSH and gonadotropins using site-directed mutagenesis can often affect folding, assembly, and secretion of the hormone. To circumvent these difficulties, recently, the gonadotropin heterodimers were converted to single chains. Here we converted the hTSH heterodimer to a biologically active single chain by genetically fusing the amino terminal end of the common alpha-subunit to the carboxyl terminal end of hTSHbeta in the presence or absence of hCGbeta carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP), which was used as a linker. Wild-type hTSH and the single chains were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, and they were efficiently secreted. Although the secretion rate of the single chain was 3-fold higher than that of hTSH wild-type. Moreover, the secretion of the single chain in the presence of the CTP linker was dramatically increased. On the other hand, receptor binding and in vitro bioactivity of the single chains were similar to that of hTSH wild-type. These data indicate the potential of the single chain approach to further investigate structure-function relationships of TSH.     

A complementary metal–oxide semiconductor digitally programmable current conveyor

A second‐generation current conveyor with digitally programmable current gains is presented. A current division network with zero standby power consumption is utilized in two different ways to provide both gain and attenuation of the second‐generation current conveyor's current transfer characteristics. The proposed topology overcomes several drawbacks of the previous solutions through affording a more power and area efficient solution while exhibiting relatively wider tuning range and bandwidth. A variable‐gain amplifier and a two‐integrator‐loop filter biquad providing low‐pass and band‐pass responses are given as application examples. A modified two‐integrator‐loop topology is developed to offer independent control of the pole frequency and quality factor without disturbing the passband gain. Simulation results obtained from a standard 0.18 µm complementary metal–oxide semiconductor process are given. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positron Affinity,Deformation Potential and Diffusion Constant in Al_xIn_(1-x)Sb Ternary Semiconductor Alloys

The present investigation deals with the positron behaviour in Al_xIn_(1-x)Sb ternary semiconductor alloys in the zinc-blende phase.The calculations are mainly based on a pseudopotential approach coupled with the independent particle model.Features such as elastic constants,electron and positron chemical potentials,positron deformation potential and positron diffusion constant are determined.Moreover,the positron affinity to InSb,AlSb and their related ternary alloys and heterostructures is calculated.The present results are compared to experiment and found to be in reasonably good agreement.The information gathered from the present study can help in understanding the positron trapping at interfaces and precipitates and might be useful in slow-positron-beam experiments.