Studies on the Retrogradation of Starch in Starchy Foods. Part 3. Effect of the Addition of Sucrose Fatty Acid Ester on the Retrogradation of Corn Starch

A model of retrograded starch molecules was proposed in our previous paper. The effect of the addition of n-butyl alcohol or sucrose fatty acid on the retrogradation of starch was studied in this paper. The samples were prepared by repeating freeze-thaw cycles with or without addition of complex forming agents. The samples were treated with 16% sulfuric acid as by Nägeli amylodextrin preparation or a mixture of β-amylase-pullulanase. The residues of the acid or enzyme treatment were chromatographed. From the results of iodine titration, degree of gelatinization, X-ray diffraction, and chain length distribution, it is discussed how the helix forming angents react with fractions of starch and prevent the retrogradation. A schematic model of the retrograded starch with helix forming agents are also proposed.     

β-Fur-2-yl-α-halogenacrylonitrile. V [1] Darstellung von β-(5-Nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-azidoacrylonitril und β-(5-Nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-aminoacrylonitril

β-Fur-2-yl-α-halogenacrylonitriles. V. Preparation of β-(5-Nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-azidoacrylonitrile and β-(5-Nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-aminoacrylonitrile β-(5-Nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-chloroacrylonitrile ( 1 ) reacts with sodium azide to yield β-(5-nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-azidoacrylonitrile ( 2 ). By Staudinger-reaction β-(5-nitro-fur-2-yl)-α-aminoacrylonitrile ( 5 ) is formed. The ¹H- and ¹³C-n.m.r. spectra of E/Z isomers are discussed.     

Synthese von substituierten 5-Amino-1,2,4-triazolen

Synthesis of Substituted 5-Amino-1,2,4-triazoles N-Nitro-amidino-dithiocarbimidic acid dimethylester 1 reacts with monosubstituted hydrazines under formation of the substituted 5-amino-1, 2, 4-triazoles. Disubstituted hydrazines give under the same conditions N-nitro-amidino-S-methyl-isothiosemicarbazides. The reaction of some more hydrazine derivatives with 1 yields the adequate substituted 1, 2, 4-triazoles.     

Assessing physical activity in the daily life of cystic fibrosis patients

Physical Activity (PA) plays an important role in the health and quality of life of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, but little is known about their PA in daily living. With the use of accelerometers it is now possible to monitor activity profiles in detail. The goals of this study are to assess feasibility and acceptance of a longer-term use of accelerometers in daily living in CF patients, study the possibility of detecting changes in PA in relation to the patients’ clinical state and compare the findings between a CF and an age-matched healthy control group. We asked 15 CF patients to wear two accelerometers for 21 days and fill in a diary. Ten of them (age 21 to 40, mean 29.5 years) participated and delivered data that could be evaluated. We also recruited 10 age-matched control subjects. Data was processed for calculating usage time and features extracted to construct models of activity. The younger patients, particularly females, were concerned with fashion and style and considered wearing the sensors a challenge. Overall, the compliance of patients with CF seemed to be lower than reported for elder subjects in the literature. Time-series analysis of the data indicated characteristic patterns of PA over time, provided that data pre-processing and noise-filtering had been optimized. Further studies have to assess whether the continuous recording of PA yields additional clinical information in CF and in particular, whether it is possible to detect or even predict exacerbations in patients with CF or other diseases.     

Energieeffizienz in der Vakuumtechnik

Energy efficiency in vacuum technology Vacuum is used to produce a huge variety of products of our everyday life. To provide the vacuum environment, a lot of energy is usually used and therefore the vacuum pumps should run as efficient as possible. Actually, many various improvements can be made to gain energy savings on vacuum pumps. With those considered in this paper it's possible to save 928 GWh/a of energy in the EU and thereof 629 GWh/a or 64 % are economically realizable. Only specific improvements concerning the vacuum system are taken into account, basic technology options, like motors, controls, etc., are excluded. To show and discuss the results a conserved energy supply curve is used.     

Comparison of biological reactors (biofilter,biotrickling filter and modified RBC) for treating dichloromethane vapors

BACKGROUND: Bioreactors used for waste gas and odor treatment have gained acceptance in recent years to treat volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Different types of bioreactors (biofilter, biotrickling filter and rotating biological reactor) have been used for waste gas treatment. Most studies reported in the literature have used one of these systems to treat several types of inorganic and organic gases either individually or in mixtures. Each of these reactors has some advantages and some limitations. Though biodegradation is the main process for the removal of pollutants, the mechanisms of removal and the microbial communities may differ among these bioreactors. Consequently their performance or removal efficiency may also be different. RESULTS: At low loading rate (<35 g m^?3 h^?1), all three bioreactors showed comparable removal efficiencies and elimination capacity, but at higher loading rates, rotating biological contactors (RBC) showed a better performance with higher removal efficiency (40–50%) than both the biofilter and biotrickling filter (20–40%). The biofilter showed a sharp drop in removal efficiency and elimination capacity at high loading rates. CONCLUSIONS: The modified RBC had no clogging problems and no increase in pressure drop when compared with the other bioreactors. It can thus handle pollutant load for a longer period of time. This is the first study attempting to compare the performance of three different bioreactors for removal of the same VOC under different conditions. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Unbound DHA causes a high blank value in β‐oxidation assay: a concern for in vitro studies

The information on binding capacity of different fatty acids (FAs) to albumin is incomplete, however, in the majority of in vitro experiments, FAs and albumin were simply mixed and their affinity believed to be complete. In this study, seven [1‐¹⁴C] FAs were mixed with albumin and assayed for β‐oxidation in rat liver homogenates. In the process of identifying the radioactive background of control assay by LCMS/MS, the results indicated different binding capacity of FAs to albumin. The percentage of unbound FAs recovered in clarified acidic solution was lower than 2% with 16:0 and 18:1n‐9, nearly 5% with EPA, 7% with 18:2n‐6, 18:3n‐3 and 20:4n‐6, and surprisingly high to 41% with DHA. Various FA/albumin molar ratios as well as different types of albumin only marginally affected these data. Thus, the big mass of unbound free DHA led to a high blank value, which is 60 times higher than the real value in the procedure of β‐oxidation measurement in vitro. In the design of future FA research in vitro, the binding capacity of FA to albumin or other proteins must be considered, especially for DHA research.     

Biocatalysis with Thermostable Enzymes: Structure and Properties of a Thermophilic ‘ene’‐Reductase related to Old Yellow Enzyme

We report the crystal structure of a thermophilic “ene” reductase (TOYE) isolated from Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus E39. The crystal structure reveals a tetrameric enzyme and an active site that is relatively large compared to most other structurally determined and related Old Yellow Enzymes. The enzyme adopts higher order oligomeric states (octamers and dodecamers) in solution, as revealed by sedimentation velocity and multiangle laser light scattering. Bead modelling indicates that the solution structure is consistent with the basic tetrameric structure observed in crystallographic studies and electron microscopy. TOYE is stable at high temperatures (T_m>70 °C) and shows increased resistance to denaturation in water‐miscible organic solvents compared to the mesophilic Old Yellow Enzyme family member, pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase. TOYE has typical ene‐reductase properties of the Old Yellow Enzyme family. There is currently major interest in using Old Yellow Enzyme family members in the preparative biocatalysis of a number of activated alkenes. The increased stability of TOYE in organic solvents is advantageous for biotransformations in which water‐miscible organic solvents and biphasic reaction conditions are required to both deliver novel substrates and minimize product racemisation.