β-glucosidase Activity in Juice-Processing Enzymes Based on Anthocyanin Analysis

A screening procedure utilizing boysenberry juice as a substrate, which combined HPLC and spectrophotometric analyses, was used to measure β-glucosidase activity of enzyme preparations used for juice processing. Enzyme preparations (n = 26) were evaluated at two dosage rates. At the mean recommended dosage, one preparation produced a decrease in total monomeric anthocyanin and cyanidin-3-glucoside, relative to a control, indicating β-glucosidase activity. At 0.1% dosage, 4 enzymes produced a significant decrease in cyanidin-3-sophoroside and 2 enzymes caused an increase in cyanidin-3-rutinoside, indicating β-1,2-glucosidase activity. Such activity in juice processing enzymes was much lower and less prevalent than found previously for β-galactosidase. Botrytis cinerea also degraded anthocyanins in boysenberry juice.     

Consumer knowledge of foodborne microbial hazards and food-handling practices.

A national telephone survey was conducted of 1,620 randomly selected U.S. residents who spoke English, were at least 18 years old, and resided in households with kitchen facilities. Respondents were interviewed about their recognition of foodborne pathogens, foods at risk for transmitting infection, knowledge of safe food handling, and food-handling practices. One-third of the respondents who prepared meals reported unsafe food hygiene practices: e.g., they did not wash hands or take precautions to prevent cross-contamination from raw meat. Unsafe practices were reported more often by men, adults 18 to 29 years of age, and occasional food preparers than by women, persons 30 years old or older, and frequent food preparers. Respondents who identified a food vehicle for Salmonella spp. were more likely to report washing their hands and cleaning cutting boards after preparing raw meat and poultry. The results raise concerns about consumer food-handling practices. The influence of food safety training, food-handling experience, and age on food-handling practices should be studied further. Awareness of a food vehicle for Salmonella spp., for example, may indicate knowledge of the etiology of foodborne disease that promotes safe food handling. Understanding the factors associated with safe food handling will assist in development of effective safe-food instruction programs.     

Monitoring cancer antigen 125 in serum of ovarian cancer patients after administration of 131I-labeled F(ab')2 fragments of OC125 antibody

We evaluated the effect of repeated administration of OC125 F(ab')2 fragments on cancer antigen (CA) 125 determination in 210 serum samples from 30 patients. We found falsely high CA 125 concentrations in 142 (68%) samples, using a homologous CA 125 enzyme immunoassay (EIA) with OC125 antibodies. The Truquant OV2 method, which involves two other murine antibodies, and the IMx CA 125 method, which uses sheep antibodies as capture antibodies, resulted in only slightly increased (false-positive) values in some samples with exceptionally high CA 125 EIA values. We measured falsely low CA 125 values in 37 (18%) samples with the Truquant OV2 method. Interferences could be eliminated by removal of serum IgG. Our results suggest that interferences are to some extent caused by anti-idiotypic IgG induced by OC125 administration. Assays involving nonmurine anti-CA 125 antibodies as capture antibodies seem to be most suited for CA 125 determination after OC125 treatment, but in every case an apparent increase of CA 125 after OC125 infusion should be validated.     

Liver fibrosis

Surfactant abnormalities may contribute to the impairment of gas exchange observed in Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Analysis of rat bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) lipid extracts from normal controls, steroid controls, trimethaprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) controls, TMP-SMX/P. carinii pneumonia controls, and P. carinii pneumonia animals reveal similar total phospholipid and total protein levels. However, there was a marked reduction in phosphatidylglycerol (PG) from the BAL of P. carinii pneumonia rats as compared with control animals, with a decrease from 4.91 +/- 1.29 nmol/mg protein to 0.46 +/- 0.57 nmol/mg protein (p<0.05) and a decrease, as a percent of total phospholipids, from 7.7% +/- 0.88% to 0.91% +/- 0.59% (p<0.001). Furthermore, in vitro surface activities of BAL lipid extracts from control and P. carinii pneumonia rats revealed minimum surface tension increases from 9.38 +/- 1.71 mN/m in controls to 16.36 +/- 0.83 mN/m in P. carinii pneumonia rats (p<0.05) and likewise maximum surface tension increases from 22.14 +/- 4.34 mN/m to 38.57 +/- 2.07 mN/m (p<0.01). Of interest, the surface activity of PG-deficient P. carinii pneumonia BAL lipid extracts is completely restored to that of normal controls by the addition of exogenous PG. These findings suggest that a functionally abnormal surfactant occurs in P. carinii pneumonia and that this may account, in part, for the impairment of gas exchange observed in this disorder.     

Radar detection of low-altitude targets in a maritime environment

Results from a unique analytical and experimental effort to assess low-altitude, short-range, radar detection capabilities in an evaporation ducting environment are presented. Within the horizon, the duct may shift the location of the last interference null several kilometers in range, which may cause nondetection at ranges where detection is expected and detection at ranges where detection is not expected. In addition, the evaporation duct may reduce the signal strength at ranges near the last interference peak so that detection of low-altitude, small-size, targets may not be possible until the target is much closer. At ranges near and beyond the horizon, radar signal strength depends both on the surface layer and on the mixed layer. To accurately model propagation in this region, knowledge of both surface layer and upper air meteorology Is required. An empirical model to merge the surface layer with the mixed layer has been developed. Comparisons of measured to calculated detection range indicate that the assumption of a standard atmosphere minimizes the variance of the difference between the detection ranges whereas ranges calculated using the measured surface meteorological conditions and a modified surface layer model minimizes the median of the difference     

Fabrication of a heterodyne receiver OEIC with optimized integration process using three MOVPE growth steps only

An optimized integration process is reported requiring only three epitaxial growth steps for the fabrication of an OEIC encompassing a single-mode laser, a waveguide element, and fast photodiodes. The process was applied to the fabrication of a heterodyne receiver including a semi-insulating buried heterostructure (SIBH)-DFB-laser with an output power of 14 mW and a side-mode suppression ratio greater than 40 dB, a 3-dB coupler, and high-speed balanced photodiodes with a bandwidth of 9 GHz. The laser can also be used as a transmitter laser exhibiting a modulation bandwidth of 11 GHz.     

Highly efficient ceramic catalytic blocks with a honeycomb structure

Compositions and technologies are suggested for preparing highly efficient catalyst blocks with a honeycomb structure to be used for reducing nitrogen oxides with ammonia in flue gases from thermal power plants. The blocks have high structural strength and catalytic activity.     

Fractional composition of partly hydrolysed polyvinyl acetate and its compatibility with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in aqueous solutions

Fractionation of partly hydrolysed polyvinyl acetate (PVA) was performed by warming of its aqueous solutions. The following properties of the obtained fractions were determined: viscosity, molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, surface tension, and absorbance in the IR range. The blockiness of the polymer molecules, characterized by their behaviour towards iodine-containing systems such as I₂,-H₃BO₃ and I₂,-KI, was estimated. Fractionation of the aqueous solutions of PVA by warming is based mainly on the different internal molecular structure of the separated products, i.e. on the length of the vinyl acetate blocks in the PVA molecules and, to a lesser extent, on the degree of hydrolysis and the degree of polymerization. The more blocklike are the PVA molecules, the less compatible are the polymers in the PVA-hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)-water system. At phase separation in this sytem the PVA molecules which are not compatible with HPMC are, in the first place, those of the highest blockiness.