A survey of the occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in peanut butters by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

A survey was carried out in 1986 for the occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in peanut butters (129 samples) obtained from specialist Health Food outlets. The results showed that 6.2% of the samples exceeded 10 micrograms/kg of aflatoxin, 8% contained between 2.5 and 10 micrograms/kg, and in the remainder (86%) aflatoxin could not be detected at a limit of 2.5 micrograms/kg. These results show a lower contamination by aflatoxin than found in these products in previous surveys (1982-1984). An aflatoxin B1-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed for the first time in these analyses; and to make an assessment of its performance positive aflatoxin results, together with a random selection of those below the ELISA limit of detection, were additionally analysed by conventional extraction and clean-up followed by HPLC. The ELISA technique offered a significant improvement in speed of analysis over conventional approaches, enabling a six-fold increase in sample throughput compared to that required for conventional analysis, together with other advantages.     

Construction of a simple on-line pressure transducer calibrator

A simple pressure calibrator is described which is suitable for the routine on-line calibration of pressure transducers in automatically recording data-logging systems. The calibrator is based on a beam balance approach, and steps have been taken to ensure the stability of the system and the reproducibility of the results.     

An HDMI Cable Equalizer With Self-Generated Energy Ratio Adaptation Scheme

This brief presents an adaptive equalizer for high-definition-multimedia-interface (HDMI) systems with a new adaptation scheme by comparing the energy ratio in high-frequency and low-frequency bands of the equalized signal with a self-generated energy ratio. The self-generated energy ratio tracks process, voltage, and temperature variations to overcome the problem with preset energy ratio adaptation. Fabricated in 0.5- mum SiGe BiCMOS technology, the adaptive equalizer occupies 0.25 mm² and consumes 108 mW from 3.3-V voltage supply at 2.25-Gb/s data rate. Measurement results show that it can automatically adapt to up to 10-m HDMI cables, achieving 0.1-UI peak-to-peak jitter in equalized signals.     

Photocatalytic activities of N-doped nano-titanias and titanium nitride

TiO₂ doped with various loadings of nitrogen was prepared by nitridation of a nano-TiO₂ powder in an ammonia/argon atmosphere at a range of temperatures from 400 to 1100 °C. The nano-TiO₂ starting powder was produced in a continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis (CHFS) process involving reaction between a flow of supercritical water and an aqueous solution of a titanium salt. The structures of the resulting nanocatalysts were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Products ranging from N-doped anatase TiO₂ to phase-pure titanium nitride (TiN) were obtained depending on post-synthesis heat-treatment temperature. The results suggest that TiN started forming when the TiO₂ was heat-treated at 800 °C, and that pure phase TiN was obtained at 1000 °C after 5 h nitridation. The amounts and nature of the Ti, O and N at the surface were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A shift of the band-gap to lower energy and increasing absorption in the visible light region, were observed by increasing the heat-treatment temperature from 400 to 700 °C.     

Synthesis and characterization of doped nano-sized ceria–zirconia solid solutions

Two compositions Ce_0.50Zr_0.39La_0.04Y_0.07O_2−δ and Ce_0.25Zr_0.65La_0.04Y_0.06O_2−δ based on ceria-zirconia solid solutions were prepared as nanopowders using a continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis reactor, followed by either freeze-drying or hotplate-drying of the slurry. Each dried nanopowder was then subjected to 10 h heat-treatment at 1000 °C, 1100 °C or 1200 °C in air (to simulate accelerated ageing). The reducibility and hydrogen consumption of the oxidised samples were measured using temperature programmed reduction (TPR) up to 1000 °C. The effects of composition, drying method and heat-treatment temperature were evaluated on the TPR profiles of the materials. The powders were further investigated using a range of analytical methods including UV/Vis spectroscopy (which yielded colour data), Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, BET surface area measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Chemometric methods were used to investigate relationships between the spectroscopic and total oxygen storage capacity (OSC) data. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to provide a simple interpretation of the effects of various synthesis and treatment parameters on Raman spectra. Principal component regression (PCR) was used to build regression models relating the Raman spectra and the temperature of hydrogen consumption peak at several set temperatures in the TPR. The total hydrogen consumption of the materials was generally high, while the drying and heat-treatment conditions appeared to have a significant effect on the final properties of the resulting powders, such as the surface area and total oxygen storage capacity.     

Method to compare collision-induced dissociation spectra of peptides: potential for library searching and subtractive analysis

We report the development of a method to compare collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of peptides. This method employs a cross-correlation analysis of a CID spectrum to a reference spectrum and normalizes the cross-correlation score to the autocorrelation of the CID spectra. The query spectrum is compared by using both mass information and fragmentation patterns. Fragmentation patterns are compared to each other using a correlation function. To evaluate the specificity of the approach, a set of 2180 tandem mass spectra obtained from both triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometers (TSQ) and quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometers (LCQ) was created. Comparisons are performed between tandem mass spectra obtained on the same instrument type as well as between different instrument types. Accurate and reliable comparisons are demonstrated in both types of analyses. The scores obtained in the cross-comparison of TSQ and LCQ tandem mass spectra of the same peptide are found to be slightly lower than comparisons performed with spectra obtained on the same instrument type. The method appears insensitive to variations in day-to-day performance of the instrument, minor variations in fragment ion abundance, and instrumental differences inherent in the same instrument model. The use of this method of comparison is demonstrated for library searching and subtractive analysis of tandem mass spectra obtained during LC/MS/MS experiments.     

Effect of topical anesthetic use on initial patient satisfaction and overall success with rigid gas permeable contact lenses

BACKGROUND: Rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses have numerous benefits; however, RGP lens use is not increasing in the United States. An important factor for this trend has been initial comfort. Studies have demonstrated that how RGPs are presented to patients, in addition to lens design, can play an important role in the initial comfort process. Another important factor could be the use of a topical anesthetic during the fitting and dispensing visits. The purpose of this study was to use a multicenter format to determine if topical anesthetic use increased the likelihood of patient satisfaction and success. METHODS: A total of 80 subjects, with no previous rigid lens wear experience, was entered into this 1-month study, including 20 subjects from each of 4 institutions. Subjects were randomly divided into the following two groups: (A) anesthetic or (B) placebo, with the former group receiving one drop of a topical anesthetic before lens insertion at both the diagnostic fitting and dispensing visits, whereas the latter group received a placebo. Subjects completed a questionnaire on their perception of rigid lens wear both immediately before fitting and at the 1-month visit. After diagnostic fitting with rigid lenses, subjects completed an adaptation questionnaire after 15 min, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month of lens wear. RESULTS: Seventy of the 80 subjects completed the study and, of the 10 subjects who discontinued, 8 were in the placebo group. In all categories evaluated, the anesthetic group experienced a more optimum adaptation experience at each visit vs. the placebo group. Specifically, overall comfort was rated significantly higher at both dispensing and 2 weeks. In addition, the anesthetic group exhibited significantly greater overall satisfaction with rigid lens wear at 2 and 4 weeks. Also, the anesthetic group perceived their adaptation, sensitivity, and adaptation time to be significantly better at the 1-month visit. There was no significant difference in corneal staining between these two groups at each visit, with the exception of a greater amount of staining in the central quadrant for the placebo group at the 1-month visit. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a topical anesthetic at the fitting and dispensing visits for first-time wearers of RGP lenses resulted in significantly fewer dropouts, improved initial comfort, an enhanced perception of the adaptation process, and greater overall satisfaction after 1 month of lens wear as compared to the use of a nonanesthetizing placebo at those visits. This result, in combination with both presenting RGP lenses in a nonthreatening manner and optimizing the lens design and fitting relationship, should result in a positive adaptation process and successful wear of RGP contact lenses.     

Tumor efficacy and bone marrow-sparing properties of TER286, a cytotoxin activated by glutathione S-transferase

TER286 is a latent drug activated by human glutathione S-transferase (GST) isoforms P1-1 and A1-1 to produce a nitrogen mustard alkylating agent. M7609 human colon carcinoma, selected for resistance to doxorubicin, and MCF-7 human breast carcinoma, selected for resistance to cyclophosphamide, both showed increased sensitivity to TER286 over their parental lines in parallel with increased expression of GST P1-1. In primary human tumor clonogenic assays, the spectrum of cytotoxic activity observed for TER286 was both broad and unusual when compared to a variety of current drugs. In murine xenografts of M7609 engineered to have high, medium, or low GST P1-1, responses to TER286 were positively correlated with the level of P1-1. Cytotoxicity was also observed in several other cell culture and xenograft models. In xenografts of the MX-1 human breast carcinoma, tumor growth inhibition or regression was observed in nearly all of the animals treated with an aggressive regimen of five daily doses. This schedule resulted in a 24-h posttreatment decline in bone marrow progenitors to 60% of control and was no worse than for a single dose of TER286. These studies have motivated election of TER286 as a clinical candidate.     

Heme binding by a bacterial repressor protein, the gene product of the ferric uptake regulation (fur) gene of Escherichia coli

The fur gene product, Fur, of Escherichia coli is a repressor when it binds Fe(II). Since heme and iron metabolism are closely linked and Fur is rich in histidine, a ligand for heme, the binding of heme to Fur was investigated. The oxidized Fur-heme complex is stable and low spin with a Soret maximum at 404 nm and no 620-nm band. CO coordinates with the reduced heme-Fur complex, causing a shift from 412 nm to 410 nm, and stabilizes it, increasing the half-life from 5 to 15 min. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra in the Soret region show heme bound in an asymmetric environment in Fur, both in the oxidized and reduced-CO forms. Quenching of tyrosine fluorescence by heme revealed rapid, tight binding (Kd < 1 microM) with an unusual stoichiometry of 1 heme:1 Fur dimer. Fur binds Mn(II), a model ligand for the endogenous Fe(II), much more weakly (Kd > 80 microM). Far-ultraviolet CD spectroscopy showed that the alpha-helix content of apo-Fur decreases slightly with heme binding, but increases with Mn(II) binding. Competition experiments indicated that heme interacts with Fur dimers at the same site as Mn(II) and can displace the metal. In contrast to Mn(II), Zn(II) did not quench the tyrosine fluoroescence of Fur, affected the CD spectrum less than Mn(II), but did bind in a manner which prevented heme from binding. In sum, Fur not only binds heme and Zn(II) with sufficient affinity to be biologically relevant, but the interactions that occur between these ligands and their effects on Mn(II) binding need to be taken into account when addressing the biological function of Fur.