The effect of added L-ascorbic acid,and sodium chloride on the change in concentration of some volatiles in pressurised peach homogenate during storage

White peach (Prunus persica L cv Yamane) homogenates with sugar (20%), or with sugar (20%) and/or L -ascorbic acid (0·1%) and/or sodium chloride (0·5%), were packed in plastic bottles, pressurised (400 MPa, 20°C, 10 min), and then stored at 0 and 25°C for various periods. The headspace volatiles which were absorbed on Tenax TA using dynamic headspace sampling were heat desorbed and analysed by capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Enzymatic formation of benzaldehyde during storage was observed in all samples. The homogenate with L -ascorbic acid showed the highest level of benzaldehyde formation. The flavour quality and colour of the pressurised homogenates with ascorbic acid stored at lower temperature were excellent. © 1997 SCI.     

Stabilization of Ethyl‐Cellulose Oleogel Network Using Lauric Acid

The use of oleogels in a wide range of applications requires a broad diversity of gel properties tailored for each purpose. The current research explores the combination of ethyl‐cellulose (EC) with lauric acid (LA), at different ratios with an emphasis to explore each component contribution and function in the gel structure and properties. The results suggest that oleogel physical properties strongly depend on the EC concentration. A transition from antagonistic to synergistic behavior between EC and LA with respect to the mechanical properties is observed above 4 wt% polymer. This behavior is seen in all LA concentrations, suggesting that the main effect arises from the EC while the LA acts as a stabilizer. In addition, LA reduces EC gelation temperature from approximately 140 °C to 79–101 °C, depending on the EC concentration, suggesting a ‘plasticizing’ effect. The recovery ability of EC oleogel after large amplitude deformation is improved from 16% to 34% due to the LA crystalline nature. LA crystal structure is not affected by EC concentration; however its crystallization temperature shifts to a lower temperature. Practical Applications: These results provide a broad overview of the composition‐function relation obtained while combining EC with LA.     

?/e Separation with Prototype CDF End Plug Gas Calorimeters

Hadron rejection against electron signal of a combined system of electromagnetic and hadron calorimeter has been studied. Data was taken at M4 beam line of Fermilab at energies from 25 GeV to 150 GeV. Hadron rejection of electromagnetic calorimeter is greatly improved by the use of hadron calorimeter information. The details of the results are discussed.     

An electronic museum guide in real use.

Within the Contextual Model of Learning framework, the authors conducted a study with electronic handheld guides at the Van Abbe Museum. The authors offered the general electronic tour using the ubiNext system for the duration of two weeks. This study investigated whether the use of multimedia content would increase the usage of the system compared to only visual content. In addition the authors were interested if the age of the visitors would influence the system's usage. The authors also investigated whether individual visitors use the system more compared to visitors who experience the museum in couples. More than half of the visitors only requested information for five or less objects independently of the visitor's age. Technical problems and usability issues might have caused many visitors to stop using ubiNext. Among those participants who heavily used the system, the display of multimedia content led to an increased usage compared to visual content only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Morphological control of laser-synthesized silicon nanoparticles

Size and crystallinity controlled silicon nanoparticles were prepared by a laser ablation, in situ annealing and mobility size-selection with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA). The shape and crystal structure of generated particles were observed by a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Both densification of agglomerates and crystal growth of the particles were observed. The size of silicon primary particle was increased by the annealing, and the uniformity of the particle classified at 10 nm was improved as a result.     

Chemical activity of oxygen atoms in the magnetron sputter-deposited ZnO films

The role of oxygen atoms in the growth of magnetron sputter-deposited ZnO films was studied by alternating the deposition of a several-nanometer-thick ZnO layer and an O₂/Ar mixed plasma exposure, i.e., a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The film crystallization was promoted by suppressing the oxygen vacancy and interstitial defects by adjusting the exposure conditions of the O₂/Ar plasma. These findings suggest that the chemical potential of the oxygen atom influences the film crystallization and the electronic state. The diffusion and effusion of oxygen atoms at the growing surface have an effect similar to that of thermal annealing, promoted film crystallization and the creation and the annihilation of oxygen- and zinc-related defects. The role of oxygen atoms reaching at the growing film surface is discussed in terms of chemical annealing and a possible oxygen diffusion mechanism is proposed.     

Adenylate Kinase Isozyme 3 Regulates Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism and Knockout Alters HeLa Cell Metabolism

The balance between oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis is important for cancer cell growth and survival, and changes in energy metabolism are an emerging therapeutic target. Adenylate kinase (AK) regulates adenine nucleotide metabolism, maintaining intracellular nucleotide metabolic homeostasis. In this study, we focused on AK3, the isozyme localized in the mitochondrial matrix that reversibly mediates the following reaction: Mg²⁺ GTP + AMP ⇌ Mg²⁺ GDP + ADP. Additionally, we analyzed AK3-knockout (KO) HeLa cells, which showed reduced proliferation and were detected at an increased number in the G1 phase. A metabolomic analysis showed decreased ATP; increased glycolytic metabolites such as glucose 6 phosphate (G6P), fructose 6 phosphate (F6P), and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP); and decreased levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites in AK3KO cells. An intracellular ATP evaluation of AK3KO HeLa cells transfected with ATeam plasmid, an ATP sensor, showed decreased whole cell levels. Levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a complementary response to mitochondrial failure, were increased in AK3KO HeLa cells. Oxidative stress levels increased with changes in gene expression, evidenced as an increase in related enzymes such as superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and SOD3. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2 (PCK2) expression and PEP levels increased, whereas PCK2 inhibition affected AK3KO HeLa cells more than wild-type (WT) cells. Therefore, we concluded that increased PCK2 expression may be complementary to increased GDP, which was found to be deficient through AK3KO. This study demonstrated the importance of AK3 in mitochondrial matrix energy metabolism.     

Soy-Derived Equol Induces Antioxidant Activity in Zebrafish in an Nrf2-Independent Manner

Antioxidant effects of soy-derived isoflavones are predicted to be mediated by the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. Recently, we constructed an assay system to evaluate the antioxidant effects of dietary phytochemicals in zebrafish and revealed a relationship between these effects and the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. In this study, we used this system to examine the antioxidant effects of seven isoflavones. Among those seven, equol showed strong antioxidant effects when arsenite was used as an oxidative stressor. The antioxidant effect of equol was also shown in Nrf2-mutant zebrafish nfe2l2a^fh318, suggesting that this effect was not mediated by the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. To elucidate this unidentified mechanism, the gene expression profiles of equol-treated larvae were analyzed using RNA-seq and qRT-PCR, while no noticeable changes were detected in the expression of genes related to antioxidant effects, except weak induction of Nrf2 target genes. Because nfe2l2a^fh318 is an amino acid-substitution mutant (Arg485Lue), we considered that the antioxidant effect of equol in this mutant might be due to residual Nrf2 activity. To examine this possibility, we generated an Nrf2-knockout zebrafish nfe2l2a^it321 using CRISPR-Cas9 and analyzed the antioxidant effect of equol. As a result, equol showed strong antioxidant effects even in Nrf2-knockout larvae, suggesting that equol indeed upregulates antioxidant activity in zebrafish in an Nrf2-independent manner.