Effect of ozone treatment on the safety and quality of malting barley

Molds and their mycotoxins are an expensive problem for the malting and brewing industries. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that is associated with Fusarium spp. These fungi frequently cause Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley in the midwestern region of the United States; Manitoba, Canada; Europe; and China. Barley growers and malt producers would benefit from a postharvest control method for mold growth and DON production. We evaluated the use of gaseous ozone (O(3)) for preventing Fusarium growth and mycotoxin production while maintaining malt quality characteristics. Micromalting was performed in three replications under standard conditions. Ozone treatment was applied to malting barley during steeping via a submerged gas sparger. Ozone treatment conditions were 26 mg/cm(3) for 120 min after 2 and 6 h of steeping. The effects of gaseous ozone on DON, aerobic plate counts, Fusarium infection, and mold and yeast counts of barley throughout the malting process were measured. Various quality parameters of the malt were measured after kilning. Statistical tools were used to determine the significance of all results. Ozonation of malting barley during steeping did not lead to significant reductions in aerobic plate counts but did lead to a 1.5-log reduction in mold and yeast counts in the final malt. The influence of gaseous ozone on DON concentration was inconclusive because of the low initial concentrations of DON in the barley. Ozone significantly reduced Fusarium infection in germinated barley. Gaseous ozone did not negatively influence any aspect of malt quality and may have subtle beneficial effects on diastatic power and β-glucan concentrations.     

Shape alteration of large string instruments due to changing climate conditions

Large string instruments, such as cellos and double basses, are manufactured, bought and played all over the world. Thereby they are exposed to different climate conditions. This paper describes shape alterations using the example of a double bass stored at different climatic conditions. By means of an optical measurement these shape alterations were recorded and represented. The results clearly show spots with strong and without deformations. Thus, weak points of the construction are localised and improvements can be established for the construction of string instruments.     

Architecture Takes Time

Though condensed between the stages of design and completion, the conventional process of designing a building is time consuming, involving various stakeholders, planning processes and a wide team of consultants and contractors. What happens, though, if the time period of an architect's involvement is expanded? How might a more process-orientated approach shift the role of the architect? Tobias Armborst, Daniel D'Oca and Georgeen Theodore , principals of Interboro Partners in New York, describe how they have developed projects that have sought opportunities in expanding the timescale and remit of traditional practice.     

Uncoupling Protein 1 Does Not Produce Heat without Activation

Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is the crucial mechanistic component of heat production in classical brown fat and the newly identified beige or brite fat. Thermogenesis inevitably comes at a high energetic cost and brown fat, ultimately, is an energy-wasting organ. A constrained strategy that minimizes brown fat activity unless obligate will have been favored during natural selection to safeguard metabolic thriftiness. Accordingly, UCP1 is constitutively inhibited and is inherently not leaky without activation. It follows that increasing brown adipocyte number or UCP1 abundance genetically or pharmacologically does not lead to an automatic increase in thermogenesis or subsequent metabolic consequences in the absence of a plausible route of concomitant activation. Despite its apparent obviousness, this tenet is frequently ignored. Consequently, incorrect conclusions are often drawn from increased BAT or brite/beige depot mass, e.g., predicting or causally linking beneficial metabolic effects. Here, we highlight the inherently inactive nature of UCP1, with a particular emphasis on the molecular brakes and releases of UCP1 activation under physiological conditions. These controls of UCP1 activity represent potential targets of therapeutic interventions to unlock constraints and efficiently harness the energy-expending potential of brown fat to prevent and treat obesity and associated metabolic disorders.     

Rupture recurrence after surgical repair of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture. Influence of early thrombolysis

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify factors causing rupture recurrence after surgical repair of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture and to evaluate the indication for reoperation. PATIENTS: Recurrence of rupture was analysed in 25 out of a series of 109 patients who underwent surgical repair for postinfarction ventricular septal rupture between 1980 and 1992 in our institution. RESULTS: The mean interval between initial operation and recurrence was 3.6 days with a median of 2 days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified early thrombolysis after infarction (P = 0.0085) as a risk factor for recurrence of the rupture. Rupture recurrence occurred more in the anterior then in the posterior infarction site, although non-significant. Reoperation was indicated in 15 patients, in 13 for postrecurrent cardiac failure. The main determinant of cardiac failure was a large postrecurrent shunt (P = 0.05). The mean interval between initial operation and reoperation was 136 days with a median of 101 days. In 6 patients a combined apical ventricular septal rupture recurrence and anterior ventricular aneurysm was found, in 9 patients the recurrent rupture was proximally located, without concomitant aneurysm formation. Of 15 patients who were reoperated, one died in hospital and three after the in-hospital period. Of 10 patients treated conservatively, one died in hospital and two after the in-hospital period. One residual ventricular septal rupture closed spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS: Rupture recurrence is mainly determined by early thrombolysis. Postrecurrent cardiac failure, as the main indication for reoperation, is dependent on postrecurrent shunt size.     

Results of irradiation treatment in patients with non-resectable oesophageal cancer

Forty-eight patients with non-resectable cancer of the oesophagus and oesophagogastric junction (Group A: Stage I/II, 32; Group B: Stage III/IV, 16) underwent intraluminal Iridium-192 high dose-rate afterloading therapy (5-7 Gy/session, total dose: 5-21 Gy, mean: 12.4 Gy) and external beam irradiation (Karnofsky > or = 80% 50-60 Gy/2 Gy per day; Karnofsky 60-79%: 30 Gy/3 Gy per day). Durable satisfactory palliation (intake of at least semi-solid food) was demonstrated in 96% of patients. The mean survival for group A was 19.1 months and that for group B, 6.9 months, with a 12-month survival rate of 66% (group A) and 0% (group B) (P < 0.001). Local tumour response and complication rate were significantly dose-related with a predicted response rate of 70.5%, and a complication rate of 50% at ERD 129.3 Gy.     

Mutations in the EXT1 and EXT2 genes in hereditary multiple exostoses

In an in-vitro preparation of gastric mucosae of Rana pipiens, the effect of adding melittin to a concentration of 5x10-6 M in the secretory solution on the transepithelial potential difference (PD), resistance (R) and short-circuit current (Isc) was studied. In 20 min, melittin decreased the PD by 9.3 mV and R by 148 ohm cm2. These changes can be explained by a decrease in the resistance, RP, of the paracellular pathway. To determine whether specific-ion pathways were responsible for the decrease in R, the effect of melittin on the partial conductances of Cl-, K+ and Na+ was also studied using the ion substitution method. Melittin decreased the PD response to changes in nutrient Na+, K+ and Cl- and the PD response to changes in secretory Cl-, but did not affect PD responses to changes in secretory Na+ or K+. Therefore, melittin decreased the nutrient membrane partial conductances of Cl-, K+ and Na+ and secretory membrane partial conductance of Cl-, without affecting the secretory partial conductances of Na+ or K+. Initially, melittin increased Isc in regular and Cl--free but not in Na+-free solutions. There was a delayed decrease in Isc. The results indicate that melittin decreases RP, increases the Na+ conductance of the secretory membrane and inhibits, eventually, the Na+/K+-ATPase pump.     

Familial transmission of a serious disease--producing group A streptococcus clone: case reports and review

Invasive group A streptococcus (GAS) infections are emerging diseases; however, person-to-person transmission of invasive GAS producing life-threatening infection has been observed rarely. We report a small intrafamilial cluster of life-threatening GAS infections. A previously healthy 47-year-old father developed necrotizing fasciitis of the neck. Two days later, his 16-year-old daughter developed streptococcal angina, pneumonia, and pleural empyema. Both patients had signs of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis revealed that the M6 strains of GAS isolated from the father and daughter had identical patterns. Cases of person-to-person transmission of invasive GAS infection reported in the literature are also reviewed.     

Prediction of work piece geometry in electrochemical cavity sinking

A computer-implemented model for predicting ECM work piece geometry has been developed and experimentally verified with a commercial ECM machine for cavity sinking in copper and 302-stainless steel with 2N K NO₃ electrolyte. Constant tool piece feed rates of 7–10 × 10^?4 cm/s, and applied voltages of 11–25 V were used. The model predicts the dependence of work piece geometry on operating conditions and on the electrochemical and physical properties of the metal—electrolyte pair. Comparison of eight equilibrium and six unsteady state experimental cavity profiles in copper showed satisfactory agreement with predictions, as did five equilibrium profiles for cavity sinking in 302-stainless steel.