Adaptation of the ToxRTool to Assess the Reliability of Toxicology Studies Conducted with Genetically Modified Crops and Implications for Future Safety Testing

To determine the reliability of food safety studies carried out in rodents with genetically modified (GM) crops, a Food Safety Study Reliability Tool (FSSRTool) was adapted from the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods’ (ECVAM) ToxRTool. Reliability was defined as the inherent quality of the study with regard to use of standardized testing methodology, full documentation of experimental procedures and results, and the plausibility of the findings. Codex guidelines for GM crop safety evaluations indicate toxicology studies are not needed when comparability of the GM crop to its conventional counterpart has been demonstrated. This guidance notwithstanding, animal feeding studies have routinely been conducted with GM crops, but their conclusions on safety are not always consistent. To accurately evaluate potential risks from GM crops, risk assessors need clearly interpretable results from reliable studies. The development of the FSSRTool, which provides the user with a means of assessing the reliability of a toxicology study to inform risk assessment, is discussed. Its application to the body of literature on GM crop food safety studies demonstrates that reliable studies report no toxicologically relevant differences between rodents fed GM crops or their non-GM comparators.     

Heat/mass transfer from a neutrally buoyant sphere by mixed natural and forced convection in a simple shear flow

Building on the work of Yang et al. in 2011, the finite difference method and the Boussinesq approximation were applied to solve the time‐dependent Navier‐Stokes, convection diffusion and continuity equations in spherical coordinates. An idealized condition, the mass transfer from a neutrally buoyant sphere in a horizontal simple shear flow with natural convection was numerically simulated for the first time in this work. In the hybrid transfer case, the outwardly spiraling streamlines enhanced the transfer process, but the counter‐gravity spiraling streamlines near the sphere hindered the natural convection and the spatial dilution action weakened the natural convection transfer process. These competing effects led to nonmonotonic behavior of the Nusselt number with Reynolds number. Results from these previously undocumented cases were summarized into correlations for predicting Nusselt numbers at finite Reynolds numbers for various Grashof and Prandtl numbers. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 2816–2827, 2018     

Determining profits for solar energy with remote sensing data

The objects of the article are to determine the profits for solar energy integrating remote sensing data: the optimal locations of photovoltaic and the base price of electricity resulting from solar energy. An illustrated experiment with five European countries data sets is taken. Results indicate that Germany is the only optimal region to set up photovoltaic so as to satisfy the electricity demand of the five considered. Results also show that solar energy is a promising energy source since the highest base price of electricity resulting from solar energy is only 0.35 $/kWh. The base electricity price for Germany is the lowest whereas the base electricity price for Italy is the highest. Moreover, the results further indicate that the photovoltaic module price plays a key role in determining the best appropriate region(s) to install photovoltaic and the base electricity price.     

New Carbohydrate Derivatives from Biotechnical and Chemical Processes

Starch, its derivatives and hydrolysis products are well established as industrial products for the food and technical industries. More advanced products, based on starch, are available today, manufactured by biotechnical and chemical processes. They comprise a variety of monomeric compounds like polyols, hydroxycarboxylic acids, glycosides and their derivatives obtained by esterification, etherification and amination. In addition, interesting oligomeric and polymeric products are accessible, based on starch and its derivatives. Selected examples of these products are described as well as their respective production methods. For some products the chemicals synthesis will be compared with the fermentation route, analysing the relative advantages and disadvantages of both. The wide application potential of these “new” products is illustrated with reference to their use in different industries, e. g. in the manufacturing and processing of resins, polymers, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and processed foods. Special emphasis will be given to the structural peculiarities of these carbohydrate derivatives, for example chirality, which enables them to act as unique intermediates in the production of biologically active products.     

New Industrial Products from Starch

The industrial (non-food) use of starch and starch-based products as renewable raw materials is discussed together with examples, in the following application areas:

• –Starch as auxiliary raw material: binder, adhesive, thickener, protective colloid.
• –Starch as raw material for new products in chemical or biotechnical processes: polyols, acids, polysaccharides, enzymes.
• –Starch as filler with specific functionality for synthetic polymers to improve application properties in e. g. polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethane-foams, styrene/butadiene copolymers, polyvinylchloride.
• –Starch as reactive component to be incorporated during production of synthetic polymers leading to synergistic effects: urea/formaldehyde resins, phenolic resins, alkyd- and melamine resins.
• –Starch-based active materials which either exhibit direct functionality themselves, (e. g. as surfactants, sequestrants and bleaching boosters) or which represent building blocks for the synthesis of chiral compounds for the pharmaceutical or the agro-industries.

     

Herstellung von Phenolharzen unter Verwendung von Stärkeprodukten

Usage of Starchy Products for Preparation of Phenolic Resins. Incorporation of starches and starch hydrolysates in phenolic resins of novolak and resol type has been investigated via acid catalyzed dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the presence of phenol and formaldehyde. Due to formation of HMF/phenol-condensates savings up to 40% phenol and 65% formaldehyde are possible in comparison to commercial resins. Besides very low amounts of residual monomers, curing is accelerated with increased carbohydrate incorporation, which can be used to reduce time consuming manufacturing processes. Especially starch hydrolysates with different average molecular weights can be used in a very flexible way to achieve special requirements like softening points, mol weight distributions, viscosities and curing behaviour.     

Photooxidation von Leukofarbstoffen. X. Untersuchungen zur Photooxidation von Di-kalium-anthracen-9,10-ylen-bis-sulfat

Photooxidation of Leuco Dyes. X. Investigation of the Photooxidation of Di-potassiumanthracene 9,10-ylene-di-sulfate Photolysis of the title compound (DHAE) in water or ethanol produces anthraquinone and anthrone. In deoxygenated solutions 9,10-dihydroxyanthracene is detected as a long lived intermediate. Laser and conventional flash photolysis reveals three short-lived transients with lifetimes of 200 ns, 2 and 410 ms. Different temperature dependencies are observed for the fluorescence and the photolysis quantum yields. This is interpreted by two successive thermally activated processes: photohomolysis of O S bond and escape of the radical pair from the solvent cage. The results are discussed with the help of a reaction scheme proposed for the photolysis of DHAE.     

Lineament mapping for groundwater resource assessment: A comparison of digital Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and stereoscopic Large Format Camera (LFC) photographs in the Red Sea Hills,Sudan

The results of a comparative investigation of lineament mapping from stereoscopic Large Format Camera (LFC) photographs and from SIR-C L- and C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data are described. The lineament patterns are used to test a model developed by Koch (1993) of groundwater flow in the arid Red Sea Hills area of Sudan. Initial results show that the LFC imagery is most useful for mapping detailed fracture patterns while the combination of the L- and C-bands of the SIR-C Synthetic Aperture Radar is helpful in the location of major deep-seated fracture zones. The lineament patterns derived from LFC and SIR-C show strong N-S and E-W orientations, which correspond to the current tectonic configuration of the Red Sea rift system. The longer E-W trending features may be important from a regional hydro-geological point of view, whereas the shorter features are significant in that they interconnect the major faults.     

Submicron droplet formation in the human lung

The exhaled breath of humans contains droplets originating from the lung lining fluid. An analysis of these droplets for non-volatile proteinaceous biomarkers holds potential as a non-invasive diagnosis of lung diseases. To ease the interpretation of the diagnostic results, the source strength of the particles should be known und therefore an understanding of the particle generation process is required. It is assumed that during reopening of a collapsed terminal airway a liquid bridge of the lung lining fluid ruptures and droplets are generated. The objective of our experimental and theoretical study was to clarify the mechanisms of droplet generation for quiet breathing patterns by investigating in detail the number flux and the particle size distribution in the exhaled breath. The process of liquid film rupture is modelled by computational fluid dynamics analysis from which the droplet size distribution is calculated. In addition the number emission flux and the droplet size distribution are systematically measured in the exhaled breath of healthy volunteers. The strong increase of the particle emission flux with tidal volume and the good agreement between measured and calculated droplet number distribution both showing droplets primarily in the submicron range confirm the present hypothesis that reopening of collapsed airway structures associated with the rupture of a surfactant film is the physical mechanism of droplet generation. This was hypothesized previously in the literature.