Field Data of Hydrogen Peroxide Concentrations in Urban and Mountain Air in Southwestern Poland

The concentrations of ambient gas-phase hydrogen peroxide were measured during the summer of 1998, 1999 and 2000. The experiments were performed in the city of Wroclaw and in the vicinity of Mount Szrenica, 1362 m a.s.l., Poland. Analysis was carried out by the chemiluminescence method. Typical mean ranges of 30 min H₂O₂ concentrations measured were 1.4–6.0 μg m^-3 at Mount Szrenica, whereas in the urban atmosphere H₂O₂ concentrations were in the range of 2.7–11.7 μg m^-3. In the case of the urban atmosphere, H₂O₂ concentrations were well correlated only with solar radiation and temperature. In the mountain air, H₂O₂ concentrations increased along with the increase of temperature, O₃, CO and the decrease of humidity. The diurnal variation was not only caused by photochemicalprocesses.     

Grain Size Partitioning of Mercury in Sediments of the Middle Odra River (Germany/Poland)

The Odra River is the second largest river in Poland, running from Czech Republic through a large part of Poland before entering the Baltic Sea. For the last century its catchment area has been heavily polluted by anthropogenic emissions. The aim of this study is to determine the distribution of mercury in different grain size fractions of surface sediments from the middle course of the Odra River. Mercury concentrations were determined in bulk sediments of different grain size fractions using the cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry method. The total mercury concentration in bulk sediments varied from 0.051 to 1.31 mg/kg dry weight. The concentration of total mercury was determined in the grain size fractions <0.2, 0.2–0.5, 0.5–1.0, 1.0–2.0 and >2.0 mm to be (in mg/kg d.w.): 0.118–2.99, 0.033–0.99, 0.034–1.17, 0.035–1.97 and 0.017–3.65, respectively. Gradual decrease in the mercury concentration with increasing grain size from fine to coarse fraction has been observed only for sediments taken from the river bed. Although, no similar gradual decrease in the mercury concentrations has been observed for sediments from the river banks, finer sediments (<0.2 mm) still tend to show higher concentrations of mercury.     

A68: a major subunit of paired helical filaments and derivatized forms of normal Tau

Putative Alzheimer disease (AD)-specific proteins (A68) were purified to homogeneity and shown to be major subunits of one form of paired helical filaments (PHFs). The amino acid sequence and immunological data indicate that the backbone of A68 is indistinguishable from that of the protein tau (tau), but A68 could be distinguished from normal human tau by the degree to which A68 was phosphorylated and by the specific residues in A68 that served as phosphate acceptors. The larger apparent relative molecular mass (Mr) of A68, compared to normal human tau, was attributed to abnormal phosphorylation of A68 because enzymatic dephosphorylation of A68 reduced its Mr to close to that of normal tau. Moreover, the LysSerProVal motif in normal human tau appeared to be an abnormal phosphorylation site in A68 because the Ser in this motif was a phosphate acceptor site in A68, but not in normal human tau. Thus, the major subunits of a class of PHFs are A68 proteins and the excessive or inappropriate phosphorylation of normal tau may change its apparent Mr, thus transforming tau into A68.     

A plant growth promoting rhizobacterium and temperature effects on performance of 18 clones of potato

A survey of genotypic responses to beneficial bacterium (Pseudomonas sp. strain PsJN) was conductedin vitro andex vitro, under two temperature conditions, using eighteen clones of potato of different heat stress tolerance: temperate adapted cultivars Kennebec and Russet Burbank; heat tolerant DTO-2, DTO-28, DTO-33, LT-1, LT-2, LT-5, LT-6, LT-7, LT-8, LT-9, Y84-02, NDD277-2, Désirée, and Maine-47; and heat sensitive abscissic acid (ABA)-deficient mutants 11401-01 and 9120-05. Nodal explants taken from 6-week-old bacterized and non-bacterized control plantlets were culturedin vitro on a hormone-free potato nodal cutting medium, and placed at either 20/15 C or 33/25 C day/night temperature, 12h photoperiod and 250 µE m^?2 s^?1 mixture of fluorescent and incandescent light, for six weeks. The tuberization response was studiedex vitro after two weeks acclimation of 2-week old plantlets at 33/25C. The acclimated plantlets were transplanted to 3L plastic nursery pots containing peat-based Pro-Mix growing medium and placed in growth chambers at either 20/15 or 33/25 C day/night temperature, 12 h photoperiod, 475 μE m^?2 s^?1 light and ≈80% RH, for 12 weeks. Compared to the non-bacterized controls, bacterization significantly increased stem length of 12, shoot biomass of 9, and root biomass of 2 clones at 20/15C; and stem length of 14, shoot biomass of 15, and root biomass of 13 clones at 33/25C. High temperature increased length of internodes and had either no effect or slightly decreased node number. Temperature increase had the most dramatic effect on root development. An average shoot to root ratio decreased from 3.7 at 20/15 C to 1.7 at 33/25 C for non-bacterized plantlets and, respectively, from 4.3 to 1.5 for bacterized. The beneficial effect of bacterization on root biomass was the most pronounced in LT-1 and Maine-47 at 20/15 C and LT-8, Maine 47, DTO-2, Kennebec, NDD277-2 and 11401-01 at 33/25C. The temperature elevation did not significantly affect root biomass of LT-6, DTO-28 and Désirée. Temperature stress caused severe reduction in tuber number and tuber fresh weight. ABA-deficient mutants did not produce any tubers and LT-8, LT-9, Y84-027 and DTO-28 tuberized very poorly at 33/25C. DTO-33, Désirée, LT-1 and Kennebec gave the highest number of tubers per pot and Kennebec, LT-1, Désirée and LT-7 the highest yields at this temperature. There was no significant effect of bacterization on tuberization at 20/15 C but at 33/25 C bacterization significantly enhanced tuber number and weight in LT-7 and reduced tuber weight in DTO-2. Although there was no clear link between thein vitro response of particular clones to bacterization and their heat stress tolerance, improvement ofex vitro performance of heat tolerant LT-7 indicates that rhizosphere bacteria may play a role in clonal adaptation of potato to heat stress.     

Uniform maternal age/size and light restrictions mitigate cannibalism in Clarias gariepinus larvae and juveniles reared under production-like controlled conditions

Individual size, size variability, cannibalism, total mortality and biomass production were studied in Clarias gariepinus in two experiments. In the Experiment 1st (duration 7 weeks) larvae originated from three females 1, 2 and 4 years old (females A, B and C, respectively). Three sibling (AA, BB and CC) and three mixed (AB, AC and BC, 1:1) larval groups were reared at a 12L:12D, 50 lux light regime. Initial individual weight of larvae in the sibling groups was strongly positively related to female age, this was preserved during 7 weeks of rearing. Initial coefficient of variation for weight was moderate in the sibling groups from young females AA and BB (30-33%), whereas it was elevated in the mixed groups (48-79%), especially in the group AC. Cannibalism was the major component of total mortality. Cannibalism in progeny of young females AA, AB and BB was reduced compared to the groups BC, AC and CC. Final biomass of small larvae issued from young females was higher than the final biomass of large progeny of the oldest female because of reduced cannibalism in the former. In a 6 week Experiment 2nd progeny of one female was reared at three light regimes: L (continuous light, 400 lux), N (“normal” 12L:12D, 50 lux) and D (continuous darkness). The final individual weight of fish was the lowest in the L group, highest in the D group, and intermediate in the N group. Final coefficient of variation for weight, cannibalism and total mortality were significantly reduced by light restrictions. The resulting final biomass was the lowest in the L group, intermediate in the N group and the highest in the D group in which it was higher by a factor 3.8 compared to the L group. Based on the results of present work and on literature overview several pathways were identified along which biomass size may be modified in populations of young fish that exhibit cannibalistic propensity. Selection of young female spawners of uniform age, and light restrictions, are recommended to mitigate cannibalism.     

Effect of Washing on the Quality of Surimi-Like Preparation Obtained from Soft Tissue of Freshwater Mussel Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834)

ABSTRACT

The research analyses the influence of the number of washings and different washing solutions, on the recovery of dry matter and protein in a preparation made from freshwater mussel Sinanodonta woodiana, (Lea, 1834). The study involved qualitative and quantitative characterisation of mussel protein preparation (MPP) obtained by electrophoretic separation and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The type of washing agent had the greatest influence on dry matter and protein content. Washing the homogenate with NaCl solutions and water was more effective on protein extraction than using only water. Two bands of proteins with molecular weights of 270–273 kDa and 42–43 kDa were characterized by the highest band intensity in electropherograms. The DSC analysis showed that on all denaturation curves of the samples there was one main peak of transformation ranging 56.69–62.94°C. The research revealed that washing homogenates with NaCl solutions caused the appearance of additional peaks at lower transformation temperatures, i.e. from 19.68°C to 36.45°C. The highest enthalpy value (4.53 Jg^?1) was observed for the sample washed once NaCl solution and then water. The number of washings (1 or 2) and the use of a 0.5% NaCl solution or water were found to be the most favorable parameters for MPP production.     

Rye genetic resources evaluation in the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

Summary The new Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences was established in 1974 as an institution dedicated to collecting, conserving, and evaluating crop genetic resources and their wild progenitors. The main object of this research is rye (Secale L. spp.) — the cereal of great importance to Poland. The genetic resources of rye are preserved in living field collections, as well as in a seed stock bank. The living collection contains 1.193 taxa, including 12 species ofSecale and 788 different rye cultivars. The seed bank stores 773 taxa of rye kept in glass containers (in vacuum, neutral gases or with silica gel) with optimum low moisture content in the seeds. Biochemical, physiological and genetical investigations are carried out for the estimation of safe and suitable conditions of seed dehydration and long term storage. These genetic resources of rye serve as material for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, as well as for the evaluation of their selected breeding properties, especially seed protein content and its nutritional value. The taxonomic studies are performed using the isoenzyme technique and numerical methods. The enzymatic variation within the rye species, cultivars and inbred lines, are analysed. For the protein resources evaluation, different techniques are applied: the histochemical staining of seed slices. scanning electron microscope observations, and the chemical analyses of the entire amino acid composition of seed proteins. These results are used to select the most valuable taxa, which are then proposed to be used in the rye breeding programme.

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Beurteilung der genetischen Ressourcen des Roggens im Botanischen Garten der Polnischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Warschau

Zusammenfassung Der neue Botanische Garten der Polnischen Akademie der Wissenschaften wurde 1974 als eine Institution gegründet, die sich der Sammlung, Erhaltung und Beurteilung der genetischen Ressourcen von Kulturpflanzen und deren Wildformen widmen soll. Hauptgegenstand dieser Untersuchung ist der Roggen (Secale L. spp.) — ein Getreide, das für Polen von großer Bedeutung ist. Die genetischen Ressourcen des Roggens werden sowohl in lebenden Sammlungen auf dem Felde als auch in einer Samenbank erhalten. Die lebende Sammlung enthält 1193 Taxa (12 Roggen-Arten und 788 Roggen-Sorten). Die Samenbank umfaßt 773 Roggen-Taxa in Glasbehältern (im Vakuum, neutralen Gasen oder Silikagel) mit optimal niedrigem Samenfeuchtigkeitsgehalt. Biochemische, physiologische und genetische Untersuchungen werden durchgeführt zur Ermittlung sicherer und passender Bedingungen der Samenentwässerung und Langzeitlagerung. Diese genetischen Ressourcen des Roggens dienen als Material für taxonomische und phylogenetische Studien sowie für die Beurteilung ihrer züchterischen Eigenschaften, besonders Eiweißgehalt der Samen und sein Nährwert. Bei den taxonomischen Studien werden die Isoenzym-Technik und numerische Methoden angewendet. Die enzymatische Variation innerhalb der Roggen-Arten, -Sorten und -Inzuchtlinien werden untersucht. Für die Beurteilung der Protein-Ressourcen werden verschiedene Techniken angewendet: histochemische Färbung von Samenschnitten, Beobachtungen mit dem Raster-Elektronenmikroskop und chemische Analysen der gesamten Aminosäure-Zusammensetzung der Samen-Proteine. Diese Ergebnisse werden benutzt, um die wertvollsten Taxa aufzufinden, die dann zur Anwendung in Roggen-Zuchtprogrammen vorgeschlagen werden.

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Identification and differences of total proteins and their soluble fractions in some pseudocereals based on electrophoretic patterns

Genetic diversity and relationships of 11 species and cultivars belonging to different Angiosperms families were examined using sodium dodecyl sulfate seed protein markers. The protein was resolved into 36 bands (for soybean), 41 (for quinoa), 35 (for buckwheat), and 28 to 39 bands of Amaranth species, respectively. All species and cultivars can be distinguished from each other. Soybean, quinoa, and buckwheat species had a characteristic protein pattern showing a high degree of polymorphism. The protein patterns of soybean were considerably different from other species. Amaranth species had similar seed protein electrophoretic profile. The similarity coefficients calculated on the basis of presence and absence of bands ranged from 0.08 to 0.97. Following the UPGMA algorithm of similarity coefficients, the examined species and varieties could be clustered into two similarity groups. Our results did not confirm the Tachtadzjan hypothesis that Polygonales (e.g., buckwheat) and Caryophyllales (e.g., quinoa and amaranth) are closely related. Our data rather indicate occurrence of significant genetic distance (similarity coefficients 0.05-0.10). Also, it is doubtful that amaranth and quinoa species are also closely related (similarity coefficients varied from 0.16 to 0.25). It seems that soybean, quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth (as a genus) can be considered as phylogenetic distant taxa. Differences and similarities in the secondary structure were observed by circular dichroism spectra. Some similarity was found between these plants in their soluble protein fractions and amino acid composition. These plants can be a substitution of each other as well as for cereals.