Isolation of caffeic acid from Perilla frutescens and its role in enhancing γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity and glutathione level

Perilla frutescens is an annual herbaceous plant native to Asia, where its leaves are used in Asian gourmet food. Our previous study showed that the inhibition of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) activity was remarkably recovered by pretreatment with perilla leaf extract (PLE). The objective was to fractionise PLE, and to identify the active component that is responsible for the enhancement of γ-GCS activity and glutathione (GSH) concentration. Among the five fractions from PLE, PLE-III of the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest γ-GCS activity in a HepG2 cell experiment, and was further chromatographed. The purified compound, which enhanced γ-GCS activity, was finally identified as caffeic acid. We first report the enhancement of γ-GCS activity and GSH level in HepG2 cells by caffeic acid obtained from PLE. Our results suggest that caffeic acid may be a key factor in the chemopreventive potential of perilla leaf components by increasing de novo synthesis of GSH.     

Consumer Acceptability of Cucumber Pickles Produced by Fermentation in Calcium Chloride Brine for Reduced Environmental Impact

Fermentation of cucumbers in calcium chloride (CaCl₂) brine has been proposed as an alternative process to reduce the environmental impact of traditional, high salt fermentations. The objective of this research was to determine whether consumer acceptability of pickle products would be impacted by fermentation and storage of cucumbers in CaCl₂ brine. Cucumbers were fermented and stored with 0.1M CaCl₂ or 1M sodium chloride (NaCl) in open‐air, 3000 gal tanks at a commercial facility and processed into hamburger dill chips containing 0.38M NaCl. Cucumbers fermented in CaCl₂ required additional desalting to reduce CaCl₂ concentrations to that of current products. Consumers (n = 101) showed no significant preference for pickles from different fermentation treatments, whether stored for 2 mo (P = 0.75) or 8 mo (P = 0.68) prior to processing. In contrast, NaCl fermented pickles were preferred over CaCl₂ fermented pickles stored for 10 mo and desalted only once (P < 0.01). A series of preference tests indicated that the taste of CaCl₂ was not the factor affecting consumer preference, and the 50% detection threshold of CaCl₂ in dill pickle chips was found to be 61.8 ± 7.6 mM, indicating that processors could potentially use CaCl₂ fermentations with a single desalting step. Consumer liking of flavor (n = 73) was not influenced by fermentation in CaCl₂ or by 23 or 35 mM CaCl₂ in finished products (P > 0.05), but variability in texture decreased consumer liking (P < 0.05). Although promising, individual fermentation variability and texture quality of CaCl₂ fermented products should be further evaluated prior to broad implementation of this process.     

A formative examination of messages that discourage tobacco use among junior enlisted members of the United States military.

Smoking prevalence among junior enlisted members of the United States armed forces significantly exceeds that of civilians. Furthermore, nearly 40% of junior enlisted who smoke reported they initiated smoking after joining the military. Although the tobacco industry has attempted to develop messages that encourage military members to use tobacco, no research has examined messages that would counteract industry messages and effectively discourage military members from using tobacco. This study conducted 24 focus groups on four Air Force and two Army installations (N = 189 personnel) to discover effective messages that discourage tobacco use among junior enlisted personnel. Four message themes were identified that hold promise for tobacco control efforts in the military: (a) smoking harms one's ability to positively influence others, (b) smoking increases the chance a military member will be discharged from the military prematurely, (c) smoking lowers readiness to fight and win wars, and (d) smokers are not as productive as other military personnel. In contrast, messages focusing on manipulation by the tobacco industry and the health effects of tobacco use were not strongly supported by military personnel.     

Prediction of Japanese color score

Relationships between Japanese color score (JCS) and pork quality attributes were studied and three equations were developed to predict JCS. Averages for population one (n = 781) traits were used to develop initial prediction equations and traits from population two (n = 684) were used to evaluate the success of the prediction equations. The first equation was: JCS = 12.698 − (0.01128 × firmness) + (0.09008 × pH) − (0.00007199 × drip loss) − (0.266 × L^*) + (0.06923 × a^*) − (0.201 × b^*) + (0.02143 × hue angle); r² = 0.916. The second equation was: JCS = 15.255 − (0.259 × L^*) − (0.213 × b^*) + (0.02518 × hue angle); r² = 0.931. The third equation was: JCS = 12.920 − (0.219 × L^*) + (0.07342 × a^*) − (0.02166 × b^*); r² = 0.906. All equations predicted 92% or more Japanese color scores within ±0.50. Requiring fewer measurements, the second and third equations would be advantageous when sorting pork on the basis of JCS.     

Introduction to a series of perspectives on the development of the profession of psychology.

We have asked senior psychologists who are pioneers in the development of different aspects of professional psychology to share some of their reminisces with us in honor of APAs Centennial. These essays will appear in each issue of this volume of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. For the first issue, we have selected three essays that emphasize different topics in the development of professional psychology. Albert Ellis, prominent for his development of Rational-Emotive Therapy, shares his experience in developing one of the first private practices of psychology in the United States. Marie Skodak Crissey discusses her career, which is primarily focused on developing assessment procedures for orphans and other children with special needs. Richard Suinn describes the unique experiences of an Asian-American psychologist. Although these are three separate themes, they all weave into the tapestry that makes professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring of classroom behaviors with students exhibiting emotional and behavioral challenges.

Examined the effectiveness of a self-monitoring package (SMP) on the task engagement and disruptive behaviors of 2 elementary school children (10-yr-old female and 11-yr-old male). Ss received full-time special education services for students with severe emotional disturbance. This SMP was comprised of periodic cuing, self-recording of individually-determined target behaviors, feedback, and reinforcement for accurate self-monitoring. Results indicated that SMP was highly effective in increasing task engagement while decreasing disruptive behavior. Data add to the growing testimony regarding the utility of self-monitoring and SMPs as effective and proactive components of behavioral support for students with emotional and behavioral challenges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of a local mesh refinement on hydraulic modelling of river meanders

Large-scale river models are generally discretized by relatively large mesh cells resulting in bathymetry discretization errors and numerical effects. These hydraulic models are generally calibrated by altering the bed roughness to compensate for these errors and effects. Consequently, the calibrated roughness values are mesh-dependent while generally local mesh refinements are executed after model calibration to study the effects of river interventions. This study shows both the errors caused by bathymetry discretization and numerical effects for locally refined meshes. First, schematised river meanders with a flat bed in the transverse flow direction are analysed to isolate the induced numerical effects by the mesh. Afterwards, a case study is considered to verify if similar mesh influences are found in natural river meanders. Curvilinear, triangular and hybrid (combination of curvilinear and triangular cells) meshes are used with different resolutions. The analysis shows that in the schematised river meanders lower depth-averaged flow velocities and larger water depths are simulated with coarser meshes. In the case study, substantial differences in hydrodynamics between the meshes are obtained suggesting that the bathymetry discretization is more influential than the numerical effects. Finally, it was found that triangular meshes, and rivers with narrow meander bends, are most sensitive to mesh resolution. Especially in these cases, it is desirable to refine the mesh at the desired locations before model calibration.