Optimisation of germination time and temperature on the concentration of bioactive compounds in Brazilian soybean cultivar BRS 133 using response surface methodology

The objective was to optimise the effect of germination time and temperature on the concentration of soluble protein, lunasin, BBI, lectin, saponins and isoflavones in soybean seeds from cultivar BRS 133. Isoflavone and saponin concentrations were analysed by HPLC. Lunasin, Bowman-Birk inhibitor and lectin were analysed by ELISA and western blot. The effects of the variations in germination time and temperature on bioactive compounds were analysed using the response surface methodology (RSM), with a 2² central composite rotational design. Germination of soybean for 42 h at 25 °C resulted in an increase of 61.7% of lunasin, decrease of 58.7% in lectin and 70.0% in lipoxygenase activity. Optimal increases in the concentrations of isoflavone aglycones were observed in combination of 63 h of germination and 30 °C. A significant increase of 32.2% in the concentration of soy saponins was observed in combination of 42 h of germination at 25 °C.     

Partial properties of an aspartic protease in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) fruit and its activation by heating

Bitter gourd (BG fruit) is usually heated in hot water to reduce bitterness and improve flavour before being served. Protein extract from BG was analyzed for protease activity by gelatin-gel electrophoresis. The study showed that the proteolytic activity in BG flesh was enhanced by heat-treatment at temperatures ranging from 50 °C to 75 °C. An aspartic protease (AP) was characterized by gel electrophoresis. The optimal AP activity was at pH 7; the pI of the AP was demonstrated to be 4.8; the protein molecular weight of the BG–AP was estimated to be 60 KD by SDS–PAGE. The AP was implicated in the proteolysis of the photosynthetic enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.     

Inhibition of melanogenesis and melanin transportation by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gynostemma pentaphyllum</Emphasis>

The extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum was tested to control the melanogenesis in B16 melanoma. Cytotoxic effect by the extract was observed when the dose concentration was higher than 2 mg/L. Most of the inhibitory effect was obtained by the reduced accumulation of extra-cellular melanin. When the extract was dosed as 2 mg/L, the extra-cellular melanin produced was only 24% of the control. Proteome analysis with 2-D PAGE showed that various proteins involved in melanogenesis were down-regulated by Gynostemma pentaphyllum. In addition to other proteins related to the intra-cellular melanogenesis, Rab-27b and Rab-38 could explain the remarkable decrease in extra-cellular melanin accumulation by reduced melanin transfer to keratinocyte.     

In situ reaction synthesis of Al2O3–SiC nanostructure using different carbon sources

Abstract

The formation of Al₂O₃–SiC nanostructure was studied using three different carbon sources (charcoal activated, graphite and carbon black) mixed with colloidal silica and aluminium nitrate. All mixtures were heated at 1500°C for duration of 30, 45 and 60 min. The results showed that Al₂O₃–SiC powders with an average diameter of ～220 nm and almost equiaxial geometry with aspect ratio of 1–1·2 could only be synthesised from the mixture containing carbon black (30 wt-%) at low heating time (30 min). It was found that the intensity of SiC peaks was the highest in samples containing graphite which was attributed to the higher initial density of this sample.     

Testing of cement bonded briquettes under laboratory and blast furnace conditions Part 1 – Effect of processing parameters

Abstract

Cement bonded agglomerates made of iron rich byproducts from the iron and steel industry have been used as burden material for blast furnaces for over a decade. In spite of that, their use is restricted to less than 5% of the total burden material, because at higher percentages the blast furnace starts behaving erratically. It is suspected that this is due to the disintegration of the agglomerates under high temperature and reducing conditions. In order to improve the quality of the cement bonded briquettes, the effects of various parameters on their behaviour have been studied. The briquettes have been tested in the laboratory under isothermal test conditions and under simulated blast furnace conditions. The briquettes have also been tested in a pilot blast furnace. This paper describes the effect of different parameters on the performance of briquettes tested under the three conditions.     

两种聚丙烯酰胺凝胶银染方法的比较

比较了两种聚丙烯酰胺凝胶的DNA染色方法。对小麦SSR扩增产物的染色结果显示,改进的Bassam银染法颜色背景浅,灵敏度较高,能够看到副带染色。改进的Sanguinetti方法对条带的鉴别力稍差,但因省时省力,成本较低可用于大规模引物筛选时的染色。     

Expression of tropomyosin alpha 4 chain is increased in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma as evidenced by proteomic profiling by two-dimensional electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry

To identify proteins associated with esophageal carcinogenesis, we performed protein profiling of 16 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) and paired noncancerous tissues by 2-DE and MS/MS. In cancerous tissues, three spots showed significant up-regulation in the amount of protein, while eight spots were significantly down-regulated. The identities of the spots were determined by PMF with LC-MS/MS and were confirmed by immunoblotting. The up-regulated proteins were tropomyosin alpha 4 chain, transgelin, and pyruvate kinase. The down-regulated proteins were serum albumin precursor, isoforms of annexin A1, tropomyosin beta chain, 14-3-3 protein sigma, and isoforms of serotransferrin precursor. In all 16 cases, up-regulation of the tropomyosin alpha 4 chain was confirmed by immunoblotting. Localization of the tropomyosin alpha 4 chain in ESCC cells and adjacent fibroblasts was confirmed by immunohistochemistry.     

Proteomic profiling of differential display analysis for human oral squamous cell carcinoma: 14-3-3 σ Protein is upregulated in human oral squamous cell carcinoma and dependent on the differentiation level

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has an absolute majority of all oral cancer. We used proteomic technology to analyze the protein expression profile in OSCC tissues and accompanying surrounding normal tissues in four oral locations (buccal mucosa, gingival mucosa, oral floor, and tongue). Ten protein spots were overexpressed more strongly in cancer tissues than normal ones, and were identified as proliferating cell nuclear antigen, 14-3-3 ε, 14-3-3 σ, proteasome subunit α type 5, translationally controlled tumor protein, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit, macrophage capping protein, and mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase subunit α. Macrophage capping protein and mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase subunit α had two spots. Especially, we focused on 14-3-3 σ protein, one of the eight identified proteins, and assessed its expression level in four oral locations of OSCC by using differential display methods. The expression level of 14-3-3 σ protein was upregulated in four locations of oral cavity. Eight proteins which we identified in this study may play an important role in OSCC carcinogenesis and progression and could be used as diagnostic biomarkers of OSCC.     

Enhancing the Signal-to-Interference Ratio in Digital Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum Receivers

Digital direct-sequence spread-spectrumreceivers are known to suffer from severe impairments indeterministic types of interference, due to inherentanalog-to-digital converter nonlinearities. In thepresent paper a noncoherent digital direct-sequencespread-spectrum receiver with an integrated adaptiveinterference reduction scheme is presented. Adaptiveinterference reduction is accomplished by exploring the nonlinearity of a 2-bit analog-to-digitalconverter with a pair of magnitude thresholds centeredaround a fixed sign threshold. The magnitude thresholdsare adjusted by means of a statistical control loop. The received signal's magnitudedistribution and zero crossings are used to estimate thecomposition of the interference. The performance of theproposed receiver in the presence of combined additive white Gaussian noise and continuous-waveinterference has been investigated and compared to thebehavior of ideal digital receivers of comparably lowcomplexity as the approach presented. The digitalreceivers studied for comparison use either single-bithard-limiters or 2-bit analog-to-digital converters withadaptive thresholds.     

Effect of non-enzymatic glycosylation of pea albumins on their immunoreactive properties

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of non-enzymatic glycosylation of pea proteins on their immunoreactive properties. Extracted total pea albumins were glycated. No changes were found in molecular weight distribution of total pea albumins before and after glycation using size exclusion chromatography and SDS–PAGE methods. SDS–PAGE GLYCO test stained the glycated proteins and OPA method showed 15% progress in glycation. Glycated and unglycated pea albumins were orally and intraperitoneally administered to Balb/C mice. Serum specific IgG and IgA and sIgA were determined. No difference in serum specific IgG level was found after oral mice immunization with TA and GTA. In the presence of antigen SPL lymphocytes culture showed higher proliferation activity as compared to the culture without the antigen addition. The glycation does not change the immunoreactivity of proteins significantly. During the presented route of immunization with TA and GTA specific tolerance mechanism could be induced.