Mercury Values in Urine from Inhabitants of St. Petersburg

The results of 3000 urine analyses are presented. The observational data were obtained for the reference group of school children and adults and for groups of people suffered from indoor mercury pollution. A novel Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometer and cold vapour and piroliz methods were used for determination of total mercury. A background mercury value in urine for St. Petersburg region is determined as 0.5 μg/l. Distributions of mercury concentrations in urine after five accidents are given. There are considerable differences in total mercury distribution for each group, that depend on level of Hg exposure. Peculiar features of the 24-hour rhythm of mercury excretion with urine is used for the treatment of patients, an optimal therapy selection and rehabilitation control.     

从害虫马尾松毛虫中提取甲壳素的初步研究

采用酸碱法对马尾松毛虫蛹中甲壳素的提取方法进行了初步研究。重点分析了N aOH不同处理条件对脱有机物质和甲壳素产率的影响,确定了从马尾松毛虫蛹中提取甲壳素的基本工艺:(1)脱矿物质:盐酸浓度为2.5%,浸泡时间为20 h,浸泡温度为30℃;(2)脱有机物质:N aOH浓度为6%,浸泡温度为75℃,浸泡时间为10 h;(3)脱色:双氧水浓度为9%,浸泡时间为2.5 h,浸泡温度为80℃。在此条件下,获得的甲壳素产品为白色粉状固体,其N含量为6.87%,灰分为1.19%,水分为8.37%。产率为29.97%。产品的N含量达到食品级甲壳素标准,灰分含量达到工业级甲壳素标准。实验有助于后续深入研究马尾松毛虫蛹中甲壳素的提取,也为今后进一步制备虫蛹壳聚糖打下了基础。     

Biological activity of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) phytoalexins and selected natural and synthetic Stilbenoids

The peanut plant (Arachis hypogaea L.), when infected by a microbial pathogen, is capable of producing stilbene-derived compounds that are considered antifungal phytoalexins. In addition, the potential health benefits of other stilbenoids from peanuts, including resveratrol and pterostilbene, have been acknowledged by several investigators. Despite considerable progress in peanut research, relatively little is known about the biological activity of the stilbenoid phytoalexins. This study investigated the activities of some of these compounds in a broad spectrum of biological assays. Since peanut stilbenoids appear to play roles in plant defense mechanisms, they were evaluated for their effects on economically important plant pathogenic fungi of the genera Colletotrichum, Botrytis, Fusarium, and Phomopsis. We further investigated these peanut phytoalexins, together with some related natural and synthetic stilbenoids (a total of 24 compounds) in a panel of bioassays to determine their anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activities in mammalian cells. Several of these compounds were also evaluated as mammalian opioid receptor competitive antagonists. Assays for adult mosquito and larvae toxicity were also performed. The results of these studies reveal that peanut stilbenoids, as well as related natural and synthetic stilbene derivatives, display a diverse range of biological activities.     

Phytate degradation by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts during the wholemeal dough fermentation: a 31P NMR study

myo-Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) is the main source of phosphorus in cereal grains, and therefore, in bakery products. Different microorganisms such as yeasts and lactic acid bacteria have phytase enzymes able to hydrolyze IP6 during the wholemeal breadmaking. In this paper, the phytase activity of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus curvatus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated from southern Italian sourdoughs, is assayed using the (31)P NMR technique. The sourdough technology based on the use of lactic acid bacteria in the breadmaking is finally suggested.     

Conversion of the mycotoxin patulin to the less toxic desoxypatulinic acid by the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11

The infection of stored apples by the fungus Penicillium expansum causes the contamination of fruits and fruit-derived products with the mycotoxin patulin, which is a major issue in food safety. Fungal attack can be prevented by beneficial microorganisms, so-called biocontrol agents. Previous time-course thin layer chromatography analyses showed that the aerobic incubation of patulin with the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 leads to the disappearance of the mycotoxin spot and the parallel emergence of two new spots, one of which disappears over time. In this work, we analyzed the biodegradation of patulin effected by LS11 through HPLC. The more stable of the two compounds was purified and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance as desoxypatulinic acid, whose formation was also quantitated in patulin degradation experiments. After R. kratochvilovae LS11 had been incubated in the presence of (13)C-labeled patulin, label was traced to desoxypatulinic acid, thus proving that this compound derives from the metabolization of patulin by the yeast. Desoxypatulinic acid was much less toxic than patulin to human lymphocytes and, in contrast to patulin, did not react in vitro with the thiol-bearing tripeptide glutathione. The lower toxicity of desoxypatulinic acid is proposed to be a consequence of the hydrolysis of the lactone ring and the loss of functional groups that react with thiol groups. The formation of desoxypatulinic acid from patulin represents a novel biodegradation pathway that is also a detoxification process.     

Effect of a Single Dose of Cadmium on Pregnant Wistar Rats and their Offspring

Cadmium (Cd) is a well‐known toxicant targeting many organs, among them placenta. This heavy metal also has embryonary and foetal toxicity. This study was undertaken to analyse the effect of a single Cd dose administered at 4, 7, 10 or 15 days of gestation on the offspring of pregnant rats sacrificed at 20 days of gestation. Cadmium chloride was administered subcutaneously at 10 mg/kg body weight to Wistar pregnant dams; control animals received a proportionate volume of sterile normal saline by the same route. Maternal uteri, livers, kidneys and lungs, and foetuses were examined at necropsy. Samples of maternal organs and whole foetuses were collected for histopathologic examination, determination of Cd levels and staining by the Alizarin red S technique. Results revealed a clear embryotoxic and a teratogenic effect of this heavy metal, the former as a significant increase in the number of resorptions, and the latter as significant decrease of the gestational sac weight, and the size and weight of foetuses of Cd‐treated dams as well as induced malformations in skull bones, vertebrae and thoracic, and pelvian limbs. The deleterious effects found were similar to those previously reported for other animal models suggesting a high conservation of the pathogenic mechanisms of Cd. Additionally, many of the addressed aspects showed a slight dependence on the time of administration of the toxic that might be due to the accumulation of the metal in different organs, as we were able to demonstrate by the analysis of its concentration.     

A quantitative link between recycling and osmium isotopes

Recycled subducted ocean crust has been traced by elevated 187Os/188Os in some studies and by high nickel and low manganese contents in others. Here, we show that these tracers are linked for Quaternary lavas of Iceland, strengthening the recycling model. An estimate of the osmium isotopic composition of both the recycled crust and the mantle peridotite implies that Icelandic Quaternary lavas are derived in part from an ancient crustal component with model ages between 1.1 _ 109 and 1.8 _ 109 years and from a peridotitic end-member close to present-day oceanic mantle.     

Seismic Evidence for a Detached Indian Lithospheric Mantle Beneath Tibet

P-to-S converted teleseismic waves recorded by temporary broadband networks across Tibet show a north-dipping interface that begins 50 kilometers north of the Zangbo suture at the depth of the Moho (80 kilometers) and extends to a depth of 200 kilometers beneath the Bangong suture. Under northern Tibet a segmented south-dipping structure was imaged. These observations suggest a different form of detachment of the Indian and Asian lithospheric mantles caused by differences in their composition and buoyancy.     

Wheat flour enzymatic amylolysis monitored by in situ (1)H NMR spectroscopy

Starch enzymatic degradation caused by endogenous hydrolases is studied by in situ NMR spectroscopy on a set of hard and soft wheat flours. The results obtained by two different techniques (HR-MAS and (1)H NMR in solution) are analyzed in terms of a Michaelis-Menten kinetic phenomenological model taking into account the presence of endogenous enzymes and their eventual inactivation. The parameters resulting from the best fit of all experimental data to the kinetic model equations are submitted to a multivariate statistical analysis to assess the role of the oligosaccharides release in distinguishing between hard and soft wheats.