Lipasekatalysierte Triglyceridumesterung in einem lösungsmittelfreien Prozeß I: Analytik und Umesterungskinetik

Lipase-Catalyzed Interesterification of Triglycerides in a Solvent-Free Process I: Analytics and Kinetics of the Interesterification The interesterification of lipids catalyzed by immobilized lipases is an interesting substitute to the chemical interesterification. Studies using an industrial manufactured biocatalyst in a solvent-free process were performed. The kinetics of the interesterification were examined as a function of temperature and water content of the reaction system. The reaction rate of the interesterification can be described with reversible first order reaction kinetics. A part of the triglycerides of the substrate is hydrolyzed by a lipasecatalyzed lipolysis. Hydrolysis products are 1,2(2,3) and 1,3-diglycerides. This shows that an unspecific interesterification is catalyzed if the residence time is extended.     

Direct Isomerization of Linoleic Acid to Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) using Gold Catalysts

Supported gold catalysts, e.g., Au on Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, CeO₂, MnO₂, TiO₂, ZrO₂, activated carbon, titanium silicalite TS‐1, were prepared and used for the isomerization of linoleic acid (cis‐9,cis‐12‐octadecadienoic acid) to conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in the presence of hydrogen at 165 °C in a batch reactor. The best results were obtained using a catalyst with 2 wt % Au on TS‐1, which exhibits a high selectivity (78 %) towards CLA. The two biologically active target CLA isomers, i.e., cis‐9,trans‐11‐CLA and trans‐10,cis‐12‐CLA, were the main products. During the isomerization of linoleic acid to CLA, consecutive reactions also took place. These were the hydrogenation of linoleic acid and CLA to monounsaturated octadecenoic acids and the further hydrogenation of monounsaturated acids to stearic acid. Thus, gold catalysts are capable of isomerizing linoleic acid to CLA and hydrogenating their double bonds to an extent that depends on the Au catalyst used.     

Biocide polymers

Summary Potential polymeric herbicides have been synthesized by reacting poly(acrylic acid)s with 3-aniino-1,2,4-triazole and 1-acetyl-5-amino-1,2,4-triazole, respectively. The produced copolymers contained the active moieties as pendant groups in the range of 3 to 27 per cent of weight and with a content of carboxyl groups up to 95 mol-%. The hydrolytic release of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole was investigated.Part 12: M. Hartmann, H,-J. Bauer, A. Pritzsche and K. Wermann, Makromol. Chem., in press     

Inactivation of Shiga toxin-producing O157:H7 and non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in brine-injected, gas-grilled steaks

We quantified translocation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ECOH) and non-O157:H7 verocytotoxigenic E. coli (STEC) into beef subprimals after brine injection and subsequently monitored their viability after cooking steaks cut therefrom. Beef subprimals were inoculated on the lean side with ca. 6.0 log CFU/g of a five-strain cocktail of rifampin-resistant ECOH or kanamycin-resistant STEC, and then passed once through an automatic brine-injector tenderizer, with the lean side facing upward. Brine solutions (9.9% ± 0.3% over fresh weight) consisted of 3.3% (wt/vol) of sodium tripolyphosphate and 3.3% (wt/vol) of sodium chloride, prepared both with (Lac(+), pH = 6.76) and without (Lac(-), pH = 8.02) a 25% (vol/vol) solution of a 60% potassium lactate-sodium diacetate syrup. For all samples injected with Lac(-) or Lac(+) brine, levels of ECOH or STEC recovered from the topmost 1 cm (i.e., segment 1) of a core sample obtained from tenderized subprimals ranged from ca. 4.7 to 6.3 log CFU/g; however, it was possible to recover ECOH or STEC from all six segments of all cores tested. Next, brine-injected steaks from tenderized subprimals were cooked on a commercial open-flame gas grill to internal endpoint temperatures of either 37.8 °C (100 °F), 48.8 °C (120 °F), 60 °C (140 °F), or 71.1 °C (160 °F). Regardless of brine formulation or temperature, cooking achieved reductions (expressed as log CFU per gram) of 0.3 to 4.1 of ECOH and 0.5 to 3.6 of STEC. However, fortuitous survivors were recovered even at 71.1 °C (160 °F) for ECOH and for STEC. Thus, ECOH and STEC behaved similarly, relative to translocation and thermal destruction: Tenderization via brine injection transferred both pathogens throughout subprimals and cooking highly contaminated, brine-injected steaks on a commercial gas grill at 71.1 °C (160 °F) did not kill all cells due, primarily, to nonuniform heating (i.e., cold spots) within the meat.     

Formation of annealing twins,faceting, and grain boundary pinning in copper bicrystals

In the course of a recent investigation of the kinetics of grain boundary migration in copper bicrystals, formation of annealing twins, faceting and grain boundary pinning have been observed. Stability and frequency of formation of annealing twins are related to boundary misorientation and temperature of anneal. Tendency for grainboundary faceting decreases with increasing temperature indicating that anisotropy of grain boundary energy is more pronounced at lower temperatures. In general, orientations of faceted boundaries corresponded to higher-order twin planes with respect to shrinking grains. At relatively high temperatures (950°C), specimen-thickness-dependent pinning effects also are observed. These observations are described and analyzed in terms of grain boundary structure, energy, and migration behavior.     

Electron transfer capacities and reaction kinetics of peat dissolved organic matter

Information about electron-transfer reactions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is lacking. We determined electron acceptor and donor capacities (EAC and EDC) of a peat humic acid and an untreated peat DOM by electrochemical reduction and reduction with metallic Zn and H2S (EAC), and by oxidation with complexed ferric iron (EDC) at pH 6.5. DOC concentrations (10-100 mg L(-1)) and pH values (4.5-8) were varied in selected experiments. EAC reached up to 6.2 mequiv x (g C)(-1) and EDC reached up to 1.52 mequiv-(g C)(-1). EDC decreased with pH and conversion of chelated to colloidal iron, and the electron-transfer capacity (ETC) was controlled by the redox potential Eh of the reactant (ETC = 1.016x Eh - 0.138; R(2) = 0.87; p = 0.05). The kinetics could be adequately described by pseudo first-order rate laws, one or two DOM pools, and time constants ranging from 2.1 x 10(-3) d-1 to 1.9 x 10(-2) d(-1) for the fast pool. Reactions were completed after 24-160 h depending on the redox couple applied. The results indicate that DOM may act as a redox buffer over electrochemical potentials ranging from -0.9 to +1.0 V.     

Composition of the surface waxes from bell pepper and eggplant

Surface waxes from the skins of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) and eggplant (Solanum melongena) were rinsed with tert-butylmethyl ether (TBME). The wax components were separated into two fractions by elution from a small silica gel column with toluene/hexane (2+1) followed by methanol. They were identified by GC/MS and quantitatively determined by GC/FID. For 12 bell pepper cultivars, fraction 1 made up 39% of the total and contained mainly n-alkanes C₂₀–C₃₅ (with C₃₁ dominating), iso-alkanes C₂₅–C₃₅, and some aldehydes. The 61% of fraction 2 consisted of 15 triterpenes, namely - and -amyrin, lupeol, glutinol, 3-friedelanol, friedelin, taraxerol, taraxasterol, -amyrin, germanicol, multiflorenol, -taraxasterol, isomultiflorenol, isobauerenol and bauerenol, as well as n-alkanoic acids C₁₆–C₃₂, 2-hydroxy-alkanoic acids C₂₀–C₂₆ and traces of n-alkanols and phytosterols (campesterol, stigmasterol and -sitosterol). For the three eggplant cultivars, 77% of fraction 1 was obtained with (in decreasing order) n-alkanes C₂₃–C₃₆, anteiso-alkanes C₂₉–C₃₆, iso-alkanes C₂₇–C₃₅, and some aldehydes. In the 23% of fraction 2, the n-alkanoic acids C₁₆–C₃₂ predominated compared with the 2-hydroxy-alkanoic acids C₂₂–C₂₆, the n-alkanols C₂₄–C₂₉, triterpenols (- and -amyrin, lupeol, germanicol) and sterols (stigmasterol and -sitosterol).     

The thyroid hormone receptor functions as a ligand-operated developmental switch between proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitors

The avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) oncoprotein v-ErbA represents a mutated, oncogenic thyroid hormone receptor alpha (c-ErbA/ TRalpha). v-ErbA cooperates with the stem cell factor-activated, endogenous receptor tyrosine kinase c-Kit to induce self-renewal and to arrest differentiation of primary avian erythroblasts, the AEV transformation target cells. In this cooperation, v-ErbA substitutes for endogenous steroid hormone receptor function required for sustained proliferation of non-transformed erythroid progenitors. In this paper, we propose a novel concept of how v-ErbA transforms erythroblasts. Using culture media strictly depleted from thyroid hormone (T3) and retinoids, the ligands for c-ErbA/TRalpha and its co-receptor RXR, we show that overexpressed, unliganded c-ErbA/ TRalpha closely resembles v-ErbA in its activity on primary erythroblasts. In cooperation with ligand-activated c-Kit, c-ErbA/ TRalpha causes steroid-independent, long-term proliferation and tightly blocks differentiation. Activation of c-ErbA/ TRalpha by physiological T3 levels causes the loss of self-renewal capacity and induces synchronous, terminal differentiation under otherwise identical conditions. This T3-induced switch in erythroid progenitor development is correlated with a decrease of c-ErbA-associated histone deacetylase activity. Our results suggest that the crucial role of the mutations activating v-erbA as an oncogene is to 'freeze' c-ErbA/ TRalpha in its non-liganded, repressive conformation and to facilitate its overexpression.     

Clinical application of volume estimation based on three-dimensional ultrasonography

The development of three-dimensional sonography represents a milestone in the history of diagnostic ultrasound. It has become possible to evaluate a region of interest not only in the horizontal and vertical planes but also in a third, i.e. the frontal, plane. Among other possible applications, this technique greatly facilitates volume estimation. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of volumetry based on three-dimensional sonography. The results demonstrate a good correlation between estimated volumes and the volumes measured by transvaginal needle-guided follicle aspiration performed under sonographic visualization. Our findings confirm the conclusion of previous studies that three-dimensional sonography is making a valuable contribution to imaging techniques.