Peanut varieties with reduced Ara h 1 content indicating no reduced allergenicity

Peanut allergy is a major cause of food‐induced severe anaphylactic reactions. To date, no medical care is available to prevent and treat peanut allergy and therefore hypoallergenic peanut varieties are of considerable health political and economic interest. Major allergens that induce IgE‐responses in peanut‐sensitive patients are Ara h 1, Ara h 2 and Ara h 3/4. In order to identify hypoallergenic peanuts, commercially locally available peanut varieties were screened for their allergen content. Ara h 1‐deficient peanuts from Southeast Asia were identified by SDS‐PAGE, immunoblotting, inhibition assays and ELISA. 2‐D PAGE analyses demonstrated the different compositions of the tested extracts and revealed a number of variations of the allergen patterns of peanuts from different varieties. Mediator release experiments of these peanut extracts demonstrated similar allergenicities as compared with standard peanut extract. These results indicate that the allergenicity of peanuts with reduced Ara h 1 content might be compensated by the other allergens, and thus do not necessarily cause a reduction of allergenicity.     

Synthese von nitro- und aminosubstituierten Thiobenzamiden durch Thiolierungsreaktionen mit elementarem Schwefel unter milden Bedingungen

Synthesis of Nitro- and Amino-Substituted Thiobenzamides by Thiolation Reactions with Elemental Sulfur at Mild Conditions The Synthesis of thiobenzamides 2 – 7 by basecatalyzed thiolation of nitro-benzyl-halides (type 1 ), especially at low temperatures, and the selective synthesis of p- and m-nitro-thio-benzamides ( 2 , 3 ) or p-and m-amino-thiobenzamides ( 5 , 6 ), respectively, are described. o-Nitro-benzylhalides (→ 4 , 7 ) are less reactive than p- and m-nitro-benzylhalides. The reaction of nitrobenzylhalides (type 1 ) with elemental sulfur and amines occuring at low temperatures to give 2 – 4 leads via structures of the type 11 , 15 and 16 .     

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.     

Der Wertbeitrag von Prozessflexibilität

Promising to cope with increasing demand variety and uncertainty, flexibility in general and process flexibility in particular are becoming ever more desired corporate capabilities. During the last years, the business process management and the production/operations management communities have proposed numerous approaches that investigate how to valuate and determine an appropriate level of process flexibility. Most of these approaches are very restrictive regarding their application domain, neglect characteristics of the involved processes and outputs other than demand and capacity, and do not conduct a thorough economic analysis of process flexibility. Against this backdrop, the authors propose an optimization model that determines an appropriate level of process flexibility in line with the principles of value-based business process management. The model includes demand uncertainty, variability, criticality, and similarity as process characteristics. The paper also reports on the insights gained from applying the optimization model to the coverage switching processes of an insurance broker pool company.     

Misalignment-Induced Bending in Pin-Loaded Tensile-Creep Specimens

In this paper, we have examined the possibility that elastic bending induced by load misalignment can affect creep measurements on pin-loaded tension specimens of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄). We have shown that elastic bending at room temperature can be as great as 42% of the axial strain when clean pins were used but was reduced to ∼3% when lubricated pins were used. Creep tests at the same applied stress and temperature were conducted on two groups of Si₃N₄ test specimens: one group used clean pins, and the other group used lubricated pins. By measuring the shapes of the specimens before and after the creep tests, we have determined that the loading holes were slightly misaligned before the creep tests and that small amounts of bending were induced by the creep tests. Bending occurred both in the gauge section of the specimen and in the transition region between the gauge section and the heads of the specimen (the latter phenomenon is defined as hinge bending). Our study indicated that the secondary creep rate, the hinge bending, and the bending of the gauge section was not dependent on pin lubrication, because the results from the clean and lubricated groups were statistically indistinguishable. Hinge bending was dependent on initial misalignment of the loading holes, whereas bending of the gauge section was independent of such factors.     

Life satisfaction and self-reported problems after spinal cord injury: Measurement of underlying dimensions.

Objective: Evaluate the utility of the current 7-scale structure of the Life Situation Questionnaire—Revised (LSQ–R) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and explore the factor structure of each set of items. Design: Adults (N = 1,543) with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) were administered the 20 satisfaction and 30 problems items from the LSQ–R. Results: CFA suggests that the existing 7-scale structure across the 50 items was within the acceptable range (root-mean-square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.078), although it fell just outside of this range for women. Factor analysis revealed 3 satisfaction factors and 6 problems factors. The overall fit of the problems items (RMSEA = 0.070) was superior to that of the satisfaction items (RMSEA = 0.80). RMSEA fell just outside of the acceptable range for Whites and men on the satisfaction scales. All scales had acceptable internal consistency. Conclusion: Results suggest the original scoring of the LSQ–R remains viable, although individual results should be reviewed for special population. Factor analysis of subsets of items allows satisfaction and problems items to be used independently, depending on the study purpose. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The calculation of the heat release rate by oxygen consumption in a controlled‐atmosphere cone calorimeter

The standard cone calorimeter according to ASTM E 1354 and ISO 5660 enables reaction‐to‐fire tests to be performed in ambient atmospheric conditions. A controlled‐atmosphere chamber modifies the standard apparatus in a way that allows tests to be performed in nonambient conditions as well. The enclosed chamber is placed underneath the standard exhaust hood and does not have a closed connection to the hood. With this open arrangement, the exhaust gases are diluted by excess air drawn in from the laboratory surroundings. Heat‐induced changes in the consequential dilution ratio affect the calculation of fire quantities and, when neglected, lead to deviations of up to 30% in heat release rate. The paper introduces a test protocol and equations to calculate the heat release rate taking dilution effects into account. A mathematical correction is shown that compensates for the dilution effects while avoiding extensive mechanical changes in the equipment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of 3 Spectrophotometric Methods for Carotenoid Determination in Frequently Consumed Fruits and Vegetables

ABSTRACT: Carotenoids are C-40 tetraterpenoid compounds with potential health beneficial effects. Major dietary sources include a variety of fruits and vegetables. Rapid screening methods are therefore desired, but their accuracy varies depending on the carotenoid profile and the matrix of the plant food. In the present study, 3 different methods were compared, all based on a rapid extraction protocol and spectrophotometric measurements to determine the total amount carotenoids present in fruits and vegetables (n = 28), either with or without chlorophyll. Published methods (a) Lichtenthaler and (b) Hornero-Méndez and Mínguez-Mosquera were compared with a newly developed method (method c) based on the average molar absorption coefficient (135310 Lcm⁻¹mol⁻¹) and wavelength (450 nm in acetone), for the 5 predominant carotenoid species (beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, lycopene, lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin) in the investigated foods. All results were compared to HPLC (method d). To avoid overestimating carotenoid concentrations due to chlorophyll A and B presence, the effect of saponification was studied for all methods. Overall, saponification led to significant carotenoid losses (12.6 ± 0.9%). Methods a, b, c, and d yielded 5.1 ± 0.4 mg/100 g, 4.6 ± 0.5 mg/100 g, 4.3 ± 0.5 mg/100 g, and 4.2 ± 0.5 mg/100 g total carotenoids, respectively, with method a leading to significant higher mean concentrations compared to all other methods (P < 0.001, Bonferroni) with methods b and c being not significantly different and highly correlated compared to HPLC (> r = 0.95). Similar results were found when stratifying for chlorophyll content and fruits compared with vegetables, however, accuracy varied for individual fruits, highlighting the limitation to use the same method for all plant foods. Practical Application: This study presents a comparison of various rapid spectrophotometric measurements to determine total carotenoid content in various fruits and vegetables and could aid in the selection of the appropriate method for individual plant foods with different carotenoid profile and matrices.     

Verklebung von wachsimprägnierter Buche unter Variation der Klebesysteme und Durchführung einer Plasmabehandlung

Beech wood was impregnated with two hot melting waxes. Contact angle measurement followed to determine hydrophobizing of such treated wood. Tensile shear tests were carried out to test the adhesion properties with three different glues under varying environmental conditions. Furthermore, wax impregnated beech was subjected to plasma treatment prior to glueing. The results demonstrate that wood treated with polar paraffin shows lower adhesion properties compared to montan wax. Therefore, montan wax was investigated more intensely. Beech impregnated with such wax can be used for constructive building elements in the interior sector. D3 Glues for non-constructive applications were realized by using PVAc and phenol-resorcinol resin under permanent influence of humidity. Plasma treatment improves this quality to obtain D4 glue. Back-drying of the water stored specimens proves the suitability of isocyanate glue and also that of PVAc after plasma treatment for 120 s.     

The dominance of arginine-containing peptides in MALDI-derived tryptic mass fingerprints of proteins.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is a powerful tool for mass finger-printing of peptide mixtures obtained after enzymatic ingel digestion of proteins separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). In the course of a proteome analysis of mycobacteria using mass spectrometric identification, it was found that 94% of the most intense MALDI-MS peaks denote peptides bearing arginine at the C-terminal end. The effect was demonstrated to be equally prominent using an equimolar mixture of the synthetic peptides known to be present in the tryptic digest of the mycobacterial 35 kDa antigen ("synthetic mass map"). In addition, several binary mixtures of synthetic peptides differing exclusively at the C terminus (Arg or Lys) were examined to rationalize the higher sensitivity toward arginine-containing peptides. The extent of the effect described depends on the matrix used and may facilitate a more reliable assignment of mass fingerprint data to protein sequences in databases.