Stability of quercetin derivatives in vacuum impregnated apple slices after drying (microwave vacuum drying,air drying,freeze drying) and storage

Microwave vacuum drying (MVD) was investigated for apple slices enriched with quercetin derivatives by vacuum impregnation (VI). Additional freeze drying (FD) and air drying (AD) were conducted. Compared to native apples, the impregnated tissue resulted in higher moisture content, elevation of weight and significant browning, due to the incorporated VI solution. The total quercetin content and quercetin glycoside composition were not affected by MVD and FD. The vacuum conditions protect the polyphenols from oxygen dependent degradation and browning reactions. AD resulted in an average quercetin glycoside loss of 44% and undesirable changes, particularly discoloration. The degradation is caused by both non-enzymatic and enzymatic reactions. The pulsed microwave energy intake improved the drying result in structure and led to a faster drying process of 130 min. The bulk density of MVD apple chips (0.69 g/ml) ranged between 0.33 g/ml for FD and 0.75 g/ml for AD. The final moisture content was the lowest after FD (6.8 g/100 g), followed by 9.0 g/100 g after MVD and 12.7 g/100 g after AD. The shelf life was significantly influenced by storage temperature and time. After 12 month at 20 °C, the total quercetin content decreased by 21%.     

Bioanalytical assessment of the formation of disinfection byproducts in a drinking water treatment plant

Disinfection of drinking water is the most successful measure to reduce water-borne diseases and protect health. However, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formed from the reaction of disinfectants such as chlorine and monochloramine with organic matter may cause bladder cancer and other adverse health effects. In this study the formation of DBPs through a full-scale water treatment plant serving a metropolitan area in Australia was assessed using in vitro bioanalytical tools, as well as through quantification of halogen-specific adsorbable organic halogens (AOXs), characterization of organic matter, and analytical quantification of selected regulated and emerging DBPs. The water treatment train consisted of coagulation, sand filtration, chlorination, addition of lime and fluoride, storage, and chloramination. Nonspecific toxicity peaked midway through the treatment train after the chlorination and storage steps. The dissolved organic matter concentration decreased after the coagulation step and then essentially remained constant during the treatment train. Concentrations of AOXs increased upon initial chlorination and continued to increase through the plant, probably due to increased chlorine contact time. Most of the quantified DBPs followed a trend similar to that of AOXs, with maximum concentrations observed in the final treated water after chloramination. The mostly chlorinated and brominated DBPs formed during treatment also caused reactive toxicity to increase after chlorination. Both genotoxicity with and without metabolic activation and the induction of the oxidative stress response pathway showed the same pattern as the nonspecific toxicity, with a maximum activity midway through the treatment train. Although measured effects cannot be directly translated to adverse health outcomes, this study demonstrates the applicability of bioanalytical tools to investigate DBP formation in a drinking water treatment plant, despite bioassays and sample preparation not yet being optimized for volatile DBPs. As such, the bioassays are useful as monitoring tools as they provide sensitive responses even at low DBP levels.     

Integration of High‐Frequency M‐Type Hexagonal Ferrite Inductors in LTCC Multilayer Modules

Monolithic hexagonal BaCo_1,3Ti_1,3Fe_9,4O₁₉ ferrite multilayers sintered at 900°C exhibit a fine‐grained microstructure with permeability of μ′ = 16 and a resonance frequency f_r ≥ 1GHz. Co‐firing of hetero‐laminates of ferrite with CT700 glass–ceramic LTCC tapes and with polycrystalline zinc titanate (ZT) LTCC tapes was studied. Co‐firing at 900°C of ferrite/CT700 leads to multilayers with cracks caused by substantial thermal expansion mismatch. Co‐fired ferrite/ZT multilayer laminates exhibit a permeability of μ′ = 16 and do not show any defects. Hexagonal ferrite multilayer inductor elements were integrated into ZT‐based multilayer LTCC modules and co‐fired at 900°C with Ag metallization.     

Effect of buffer systems on the extent of enzymatic oligomerisation of milk proteins

The effect of borate, phosphate and tris buffer on the extend of enzymatic oligomerisation of sodium caseinate and whey protein isolate is described. The study revealed that buffer systems enhance the enzymatic oligomerisation of milk protein monomers by lactoperoxidase, lipoxygenase and β-galactosidase. Compared to water, higher amounts of protein polymers (>2×10⁶ g/mol) using borate buffer and higher amounts of protein oligomers (2×10⁴-2×10⁶ g/mol) using phosphate or tris buffer were observed. Oligomerisation effects, which were originally attributed to the catalytic activity of enzymes, were shown to be in part the result of a complex interaction between buffer, protein and enzyme systems.     

A very simple function that requires exponential size nondeterministic graph-driven read-once branching programs

Branching programs are a well-established computation model for Boolean functions, especially read-once branching programs (BP1s) have been studied intensively. A very simple function f in n² variables is exhibited such that both the function f and its negation ¬f can be computed by Σ³_p-circuits, the function f has nondeterministic BP1s (with one nondeterministic node) of linear size and ¬f has size O(n⁴) for oblivious nondeterministic BP1s but f requires nondeterministic graph-driven BP1s of size . This answers an open question stated by Jukna, Razborov, Savický, and Wegener [Comput. Complexity 8 (1999) 357-370].     

Applicability and limitation of OSARs for the toxicity of electrophilic chemicals

The appropriate selection and application of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) for the prediction of toxicity is based on the prior assignment of a chemical to its mode of toxic action. This classification is often derived from structural characteristics with the underlying assumption that chemically similar compounds have similar mechanisms of action, which is often but not necessarily the case. Instead of using structural characteristics for classification toward a mode of toxic action, we used Escherichia coli based bioanalytical assays to classify electrophilic chemicals. Analyzing a series of reactive organochlorines, epoxides, and compounds with an activated double bond, three subclasses of reactive toxicity were distinguished: "glutathione depletion-related toxicity", "DNA damage", and "unspecific reactivity". For both subsets of specifically reacting compounds a direct correlation between effects and chemical reactivity was found. Reaction rate constants with either glutathione or 2'-deoxyguanosine, which was used as a model for complex DNA, served well to set up preliminary QSARs for either glutathione depletion-related toxicity or toxicity based on DNA damage in the model organism E. coli. The applicability of QSARs for electrophilic chemicals based on mechanistically relevant reaction rate constants is a priori limited to a small subset of compounds with strictly identical mechanism of toxic action and similar metabolic rates. In contrast, the proposed bioanalytical assays not only allowed the experimental identification of molecular mechanisms underlying the observable toxicity but also their toxicity values are applicable to quantitatively predict toxic effects in higher organisms by linear correlation models, independent of the assigned mode of toxic action.     

Determination of colchicine residues in sheep serum and milk using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

Colchicine is a naturally occurring alkaloid used in human and veterinary medicine. It shows genotoxicity in in vitro and in vivo systems even at low concentrations. Therefore, no ADI has been established, and colchicine has been included in Annex IV of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90. No abuse of this drug in intensive livestock farming has yet been reported. However, there may be a natural route of entry for this compound into the food chain when Colchicum autumnale is consumed by animals kept outdoors. To address this concern, we developed and validated a highly sensitive and selective quantitative LC-ESI-MS-MS method for the detection of colchicine in sheep serum and milk. For sample pretreatment, all samples were liquid-liquid extracted with phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) and dichloromethane. LC separation was carried out on an RP C18 column employing a 0.5% formic acid/acetonitrile gradient system. The recoveries in both matrixes at a concentration range from 0.0005 to 1 mg/L were >80% with RSDs of <10%. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in serum and the corresponding milk samples from Albanian sheep. After exposure to C. autumnale, the animals showed clinical signs of intoxication. Significant concentrations (up to 1 mg/L) of the drug were found in serum as well as in milk samples.     

Size-depth tradeoff in non-monotone Boolean formulae

Summary Formula size and depth are two important complexity measures of Boolean functions. We study the tradeoff between those two measures: We give an infinite set of Boolean functions and show for nearly each of them: There is no formula over “and”, “or”, “negation” computing it optimal with respect to both measures. That implies a logarithmic lower bound on circuit depth.     

中德经济合作前景

分析 在中国入世的大背景下中德经济合作的前景。论述了中国经济向世界开放会对中德互补性的经济合作创造新的潜力,及其面临的机遇和风险。     

In Situ Rheological Investigation of the Coagulation in Aqueous Alumina Suspensions

Electrostatically stabilized alumina suspensions can be destabilized by the enzyme-catalyzed decomposition of urea (direct coagulation casting). Depending on the conditions, this reaction can shift the pH of a suspension to the buffer pH of the reaction products or increase the ionic strength at the buffer pH. The coagulation for both mechanisms was investigated using in situ rheological measurements. Using a vane tool in oscillation mode, the measuring conditions were optimized to find a reasonable method for time-dependent measurements. Constant parameters (stress or strain) proved to be unsuitable, because the linear viscoelastic region shifted considerably during the coagulation. Furthermore, the gel structure produced on coagulation via increase of ionic strength (Δ I ) was very sensitive to the oscillation. Therefore, for long-time experiments, a short continuous measurement with a low strain was followed by amplitude sweeps with increased intervals to determine the linear values of G ' and G ". In this way, the increase of the moduli G ' and G " could be followed for longer times, and it was possible to demonstrate two results. First, the final G ' of the network was about 10 times higher for Δ I -coagulated material than for suspensions coagulated via pH shift (ΔpH). Second, particle rearrangement processes took place in Δ I -coagulated networks even after the chemical changes were finished, whereas ΔpH-coagulated samples were "frozen-in" when approaching the isoelectric point and showed no further physical changes afterward.