Characterization of toxin production of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from food and starter cultures

In this study a comprehensive analysis of toxin production of food associated coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) was investigated. The strains belong to the following staphylococcal species, Staphylococcus carnosus, Staphylococcus condimenti, Staphylococcus equorum, Staphylococcus piscifermentans, Staphylococcus succinus, and Staphylococcus xylosus, which were isolated from fermented food and starter cultures. A collection of 330 strains were analyzed with respect to their hemolytic activity. 59% of the strains exhibited weak to moderate hemolytic activity with human blood and 34% with sheep blood after 48 h incubation. A selection of 35 strains were tested by immunoblot analysis for their ability to produce toxins, such as the most common staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs), the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), and the exfoliative toxin A (ETA). 18 of the 35 strains produced at least one of the toxins with the SED and SEH being the most common. These indicate that the use of CNS in food production demands a safety evaluation.     

The hardrock package,a series of fortran IV computer programs for performing and plotting petrochemical calculations

The program inputs any number of whole-rock analyses, with up to 28 prescribed elements determined. These may be in any order, as oxide or element percentages, and may contain missing data. From the oxide weight percentages, correlation, regression and principal component analysis can be performed. Molecular proportions are computed and from the MCIPW norms and Niggli numbers may be calculated. Cation proportions then are computed and Barth's standard cell, basis components, molecular norms and Barth's mesonorms (for oversaturated rocks) may be generated. Line-printer X-Y graphs, X-Y-Z triangular diagrams, or histograms can be generated from any chosen set of parameters. Operation of the program requires no previous computer experience, but the competent user readily could extend the available options.     

Activation of phosphorothionate pesticides based on a cytochrome P450 BM-3 (CYP102 A1) mutant for expanded neurotoxin detection in food using acetylcholinesterase biosensors

A novel enzymatic in vitro activation method for phosphorothionates has been developed to allow their detection with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) biosensors. Activation is necessary because this group of insecticides shows nearly no inhibitory effect toward AChE in their pure nonmetabolized form. In contrast, they exert a strong inhibitory effect on AChE after oxidation as it takes place by metabolic activation in higher organisms. Standard chemical methods to oxidize phosphorothionates showed inherent disadvantages that impede their direct use in food analysis. In contrast, a genetically engineered triple mutant of P450 BM-3 (CYP102 A1) could convert the two frequently used insecticides parathion and chlorpyrifos into their oxo variants as was confirmed by GC/MS measurements. The wild-type protein was unable to do so. In the case of chlorpyrifos, the enzymatic activation was as good as the chemical oxidation. In the case of parathion, the P450 activation was more efficient than the oxidation by NBS but neither activation method yielded an AChE inhibition that was as high as with paraoxon. The application of the method to infant food in combination with a disposable AChE biosensor enabled detection of chlorpyrifos and parathion at concentrations down to 20 microg/kg within an overall assay time of 95 min.     

Questions Surround Regulating Generation Under Obama's Climate Action Plan

On June 25, 2013, President Obama unveiled his Climate Action Plan (Plan), which calls for a broad range of administrative actions aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy generation, encouraging energy efficiency, and adapting to the seemingly unavoidable consequences of climate change.     

Defect Structure of Doped Lead‐Free 0.9(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3−0.1(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3 Piezoceramics

Cu‐ and V‐doped BNKT10‐based piezoelectric ceramics with up to 0.5 at.% dopant concentration were synthesized and displayed more homogeneous grain growth compared to undoped BNKT10 ceramics. The defect chemistry and defect structure, studied by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), indicate a slightly rhombic electronic environment with major unidirectional octahedral distortion of the local environment of Cu. The solubility limit of Cu²⁺ in this material system is lower than 0.05 at.% Cu; above this limit, a Cu segregation at the grain boundaries is prevalent, unlike in PZT and KNN. Here, V was shown to be incorporated into the perovskite lattice and possess oxidation states of +4 and +5, acting both as isovalent and donor dopant, predominantly compensated by A‐site vacancies. A trend toward higher ceramic densities, higher maximum polarization, and higher remanent polarization with increasing Cu concentration was observed. A maximum mechanical coupling factor could be obtained in the case of doping with 0.4 at.% V and 0.1 at.% Cu with a planar coupling of 0.19 and a thickness coupling factor of 0.56.     

Tragverhalten und Dauerhaftigkeit einer schlanken Textilbetonbrücke

Auf der Schwäbischen Alb wurde eine ältere Fußgängerbrücke aus Stahlbeton durch eine neue Brücke aus Textilbeton ersetzt, die durch die Kombination von textilbewehrtem Beton und einer Vorspannung ohne Verbund eine außergewöhnliche Schlankheit erreicht. Bei einer Betondeckung von nur 1,5 cm für die Bewehrung aus technischen Textilien war ein im Vergleich zu Stahlbetonbauteilen ungewöhnlich filigraner mehrstegiger Plattenbalkenquerschnitt als Überbau ausführbar. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag werden Untersuchungen zu den Werkstoffen, zum Tragverhalten und zur Dauerhaftigkeit vorgestellt. Das Tragwerk, die Bemessung und Konstruktion sowie insbesondere das Schwingungsverhalten sind Gegenstand eines separaten Beitrags in diesem Heft. Load‐Bearing Behavior and Durability of a Slender Textile Reinforced Concrete Bridge An older pedestrian bridge was replaced by a new bridge made of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) in Southern Germany. A remarkable slenderness was achieved by using a combination of TRC and an unbounded prestressing. The concrete cover of only 1,5 cm makes it possible to design an uncommonly slender Tbeam with seven webs and which is used as superstructure. The article deals with the experimental investigations of the material properties, load‐bearing behaviour and durability. The design and construction, especially the dynamic behaviour, of the bearing structure is described in a separate article in this issue.     

Quantitative LC-MS of polymers: determining accurate molecular weight distributions by combined size exclusion chromatography and electrospray mass spectrometry with maximum entropy data processing

We report on the successful application of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and refractive index (RI) detection for the determination of accurate molecular weight distributions of synthetic polymers, corrected for chromatographic band broadening. The presented method makes use of the ability of ESI-MS to accurately depict the peak profiles and retention volumes of individual oligomers eluting from the SEC column, whereas quantitative information on the absolute concentration of oligomers is obtained from the RI-detector only. A sophisticated computational algorithm based on the maximum entropy principle is used to process the data gained by both detectors, yielding an accurate molecular weight distribution, corrected for chromatographic band broadening. Poly(methyl methacrylate) standards with molecular weights up to 10 kDa serve as model compounds. Molecular weight distributions (MWDs) obtained by the maximum entropy procedure are compared to MWDs, which were calculated by a conventional calibration of the SEC-retention time axis with peak retention data obtained from the mass spectrometer. Comparison showed that for the employed chromatographic system, distributions below 7 kDa were only weakly influenced by chromatographic band broadening. However, the maximum entropy algorithm could successfully correct the MWD of a 10 kDa standard for band broadening effects. Molecular weight averages were between 5 and 14% lower than the manufacturer stated data obtained by classical means of calibration. The presented method demonstrates a consistent approach for analyzing data obtained by coupling mass spectrometric detectors and concentration sensitive detectors to polymer liquid chromatography.     

Estimation of atmospheric lifetimes of hydrofluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, and olefins by chlorine photolysis using gas-phase NMR spectroscopy

An empirical correlation has been derived between accepted atmospheric lifetimes of a set of hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluoroethers and relative rates of reaction with photolyzed chlorine in excess at ambient temperature. These kinetic systems were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the gas phase, marking the first application of NMR spectroscopy to this field. The square of the Pearson coefficient R for the linear correlation between observed reaction rates and accepted atmospheric lifetimes was 0.87 for compounds of lifetime less than 20 years. The method was extended to the study of ethene and propene; the rate of reaction of propene was found to be 1.25 times that of ethene at 23 degrees C. The chief advantage of this method is its simplicity and reliance only on common tools and techniques of an industrial chemical laboratory.     

Magnetic multilayers on nanospheres

Thin-film technology is widely implemented in numerous applications. Although flat substrates are commonly used, we report on the advantages of using curved surfaces as a substrate. The curvature induces a lateral film-thickness variation that allows alteration of the properties of the deposited material. Based on this concept, a variety of implementations in materials science can be expected. As an example, a topographic pattern formed of spherical nanoparticles is combined with magnetic multilayer film deposition. Here we show that this combination leads to a new class of magnetic material with a unique combination of remarkable properties: The so-formed nanostructures are monodisperse, magnetically isolated, single-domain, and reveal a uniform magnetic anisotropy with an unexpected switching behaviour induced by their spherical shape. Furthermore, changing the deposition angle with respect to the particle ensemble allows tailoring of the orientation of the magnetic anisotropy, which results in tilted nanostructure material.