Disposable sensor for measurement of vitamin B(2) in nutritional premix, cereal, and milk powder

Methodologies for the determination of vitamin B(2) in food matrixes and a premix using simple sample conditioning steps coupled with a convenient and cheap electrochemical sensing device are presented. Electrochemical analysis based on differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) coupled to carbon electrodes gave a well-defined reduction peak at -0.42 V versus a Ag/AgCl quasi-reference electrode. Using a straightforward sample preparation step, vitamin B(2) can be measured successfully in a nutritional premix and food products. Standard additions of riboflavin were used to confirm the analyte concentrations and to provide precision data.     

Are the material properties and matrix composition of equine flexor and extensor tendons determined by their functions?

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is common in competition horses. The SDFT contributes to locomotory efficiency by storing energy; such tendons have low safety margins. Tendons which merely position the limb, including the opposing common digital extensor tendon (CDET), are rarely injured. The current failure of strategies to prevent or effectively treat injury to the SDFT indicates the importance of understanding how it differs from tendons which are not injury-prone. HYPOTHESIS: That the structural and material properties and matrix composition of the SDFT and CDET differ, reflecting their specific functional requirements in vivo. METHODS: Forelimb tendons were harvested from 26 mature horses and loaded to failure prior to matrix composition analysis of specimens. RESULTS: The SDFT had a significantly higher cross-sectional area, structural stiffness, failure load and failure strain and a lower elastic modulus than the CDET (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The SDFT has conflicting requirements for strength and elasticity; although as a whole it is a stiffer structure than the CDET, differences in the matrix molecular composition including water and total sulphated glycosaminoglycan contents allow it to remain more elastic as a material. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Further information on how the two tendons attain these different properties may be of use in the development of prevention and treatment strategies for SDFT rupture.     

Changes in the microbial community and physico-chemical characteristics of topsoils stockpiled during opencast mining

Abstract. Experiments on the effects of stockpiling soil on an opencast coal mine in Derbyshire showed that there were significant changes in the microbial community. Numbers of aerobic bacteria in stored soils ranged from 0.5 to 12.8 ± 10⁷ colony-forming-units (CFU)g^-1 with the smallest values being in the deepest parts of the oldest stores, whereas an adjacent undisturbed soil contained 6.6 ± 10⁷ CFU g^-1. There was a greater effect on the numbers of fungal spores, which ranged from 0.1 to 6.7 ± 10⁵ CFU g^-1 soil, all less than the 10 ± 10⁵ CFU g^-1 recorded for the undisturbed control soil. The number of fungal spores in the deepest part of the older soil stores was only 1/100 of the number in the undisturbed soil. This was mirrored by the biomass values, as determined by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. Values of ATP ranged from 0.38 to 13.13 nmol g^-1 as compared to 5.8 nmol g^-1 in the undisturbed soil. All three of these microbiological properties decreased in value with both age and depth of storage. Neither anaerobic nor spore-forming bacterial numbers were greatly affected by storage.
The pH values tended toward neutrality in the deeper parts of the soil stores, and there was less organic matter in the older stores.     

Rapd Pcr-based differentiation of Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli and Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans

A RAPD PCR-based method was used to differentiate between isolates of Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli and Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans. Using random primer OP-G11, a single, high intensity band of 820 bp was amplified from DNAs of all X. c. pv. phaseoli var. fuscans isolates, while multiple amplification products of varying sizes were generated from X. c. pv. phaseoli DNAs. Whereas RAPD PCR differentiation gave an unambiguous result in under 4 h, standard differentiation by recording the production of a brown pigment by X. c. pv. phaseoli var. fuscans isolates took up to 7 days and showed variation both between isolates and between media. The unequivocal nature of the RAPD PCR method was demonstrated when isolate 408, originally classified as X. c. pv. phaseoli var. fuscans, failed to produce the 820 bp band typical of X. c. pv. phaseoli var. fuscans isolates, and after also failing to produce a brown pigment, was re-classified as X. c. pv. phaseoli.     

Progress in Mapping and Cloning Qualitative and Quantitative Resistance Against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis> in Potato and Its Wild Relatives

Cultivated potato is susceptible to many pests and pathogens, none of which is more of a threat to potato agriculture than the late blight disease, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. To date all efforts to thwart this most adaptive of pathogens have failed, and early attempts to deploy ‘R genes’ introgressed from the wild Mexican hexaploid Solanum demissum ended in abject failure. With the advent of facile gene mapping and cloning, allied to knowledge of plant resistance gene structure, renewed efforts are leading to mapping and isolation of new sources of late blight resistance in potato wild species, many of which are being performed under the auspices of the BIOEXPLOIT project (Sub-project 2). We document recent advances in late blight resistance gene mapping and isolation, and postulate how these genes, allied to knowledge of pathogen effectors and their recognition specificity, may greatly enhance our chances of halting the progress of late blight disease in potato crops worldwide.     

花生体细胞胚胎诱导和植株再生研究

以花生成熟种胚为外植体,在ＭＳ附加不同激素（２０ｍｇ／Ｌ２,４－Ｄ或５ｍｇ／Ｌ Ｐｉｃｌｏｒａｍ）的培养基上黑暗培养,胚性愈伤组织发生率和产胚量无明显差异,在ＭＳ＋５ｍｇ／Ｌ Ｐｉｃｌｏｒａｍ培养基上,胚性愈伤组织发生率和产胚量和品种类型有关,珍珠豆型花生品种胚性愈伤组织发生率和产胚量高于普通型花生品种。体胚在ＭＳ＋１０ｍｇ／Ｌ ＢＡ培养基上苗再生达３６．３％－７７．８％,再生小苗在ＭＳ＋０．３ｍ     

Antioxidant properties of evening primrose seed extracts

The antioxidant activity of extracts of evening primrose seeds (SE) and a commercially extracted filter cake (FC) were determined. The SE and FC were extracted with methanol/water (9:1) followed by evaporation and concentration. Extracts were tested in a bulk oil system and an oil-in-water emulsion using safflower oil as the major source of lipids. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was compared to that of a control and to that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), singly, and in combination. Antioxidant activity was measured by the co-oxidation of beta-carotene, an oxidative stability instrument, conjugated dienes, and headspace analysis of hexanal. The SE extract had greater antioxidant activity than the FC extract. The SE extract was more effective in controlling the oxidation in the oil-in-water model system than in the bulk oil system. The activity of SE was concentration dependent, and at higher concentrations the SE was as effective as BHT, but it required higher concentrations because of its lack of purity. Synergism between SE and BHT was demonstrated in both model systems.     

Natural Heterobilharzia americana infection in horses in Texas

The schistosome Heterobilharzia americana infects dogs, raccoons, and other mammals in the southeastern United States. Migration of eggs into the liver results in parasitic granulomas with varying degrees of fibrosis and inflammation. Recently, hepatic parasitic granulomas in horses were shown to be caused by H. americana infection. In the present study, samples of liver from 11 of 12 horses with hepatic granulomas identified at necropsy (n = 11) or surgical biopsy (n = 1) were used for DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing using primers specific for a portion of the H. americana small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. A polymerase chain reaction amplicon of the correct size was produced from the extracted DNA in 8 of the 11 horses. Amplicons from 5 of the 8 positive horses were sequenced and had 100% identity with H. americana. In all but 2 of the 12 horses, Heterobilharzia was not responsible for the primary clinical disease, and the hepatic granulomas were considered an incidental finding.     

Estimation of wood density and chemical composition by means of diffuse reflectance mid-infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT-MIR) spectroscopy

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) samples (491) from 50 different clones as well as 24 different tropical hardwoods and 20 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) samples were used to construct diffuse reflectance mid-infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT-MIR) based partial least squares (PLS) calibrations on lignin, cellulose, and wood resin contents and densities. Calibrations for density, lignin, and cellulose were established for all wood species combined into one data set as well as for the separate Sitka spruce data set. Relationships between wood resin and MIR data were constructed for the Sitka spruce data set as well as the combined Scots pine and Sitka spruce data sets. Calibrations containing only five wavenumbers instead of spectral ranges 4000-2800 and 1800-700 cm(-1) were also established. In addition, chemical factors contributing to wood density were studied. Chemical composition and density assessed from DRIFT-MIR calibrations had R2 and Q2 values in the ranges of 0.6-0.9 and 0.6-0.8, respectively. The PLS models gave residual mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP) values of 1.6-1.9, 2.8-3.7, and 0.4 for lignin, cellulose, and wood resin contents, respectively. Density test sets had RMSEP values ranging from 50 to 56. Reduced amount of wavenumbers can be utilized to predict the chemical composition and density of a wood, which should allow measurements of these properties using a hand-held device. MIR spectral data indicated that low-density samples had somewhat higher lignin contents than high-density samples. Correspondingly, high-density samples contained slightly more polysaccharides than low-density samples. This observation was consistent with the wet chemical data.