Pre-extraction preparation (fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, or acetone powdered) and long-term storage of fruit and vegetable tissues: effects on antioxidant enzyme activity

Activities of the antioxidant enzymes ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, dehydroascorbate reductase, glutathione reductase, guaiacol peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, and superoxide dismutase were assayed in honeydew (Cucumis melo L.) fruit and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves either as fresh, frozen to -80 degrees C, frozen in liquid nitrogen, freeze-dried, or acetone powder, representing the various ways tissues are treated prior to enzyme extraction. Treated tissues were analyzed following treatment or stored for up to 8 weeks at -80 degrees C. Enzyme activities in fruit frozen with or without liquid nitrogen and leaves frozen with or without liquid nitrogen or freeze-dried were equal to those of fresh tissue. Enzyme activities in freeze-dried or acetone-powdered fruit and leaves and in acetone-powdered tissues were significantly higher or lower than those in fresh tissue. Enzyme activities in both tissues frozen with or without liquid nitrogen and stored for 8 weeks at -80 degrees C changed little; those in freeze-dried and acetone-powdered tissues, however, significantly increased/decreased over the same period. Fresh tissue should be used in antioxidant enzyme assays, but if storage is necessary, tissues should be placed directly into a -80 degrees C freezer.     

Wasseraufnahme und Wasserverbrauch von Ackerbohne und Hafer auf einer Löß-Parabraunerde

Water uptake and water use of field beans and oats grown on a loess-derived grey-brown podzolic soil (Eutroboralf) The terms of the water-balance equation were determined, when field beans (Vicia faba L.) and oats (Avena sativa L.) were grown on a loess-derived soil during two seasons (1982 and 1983). A specific objective of this investigation was to quantify the water uptake from different layers and the total transpiration of both crops, as field beans are known to be susceptible to water shortage. Beside soil physical measurements climatological data for calculation of potential evapotranspiration were recorded. Plants were analyzed due to leaf area and root length density once a week. Actual evapotranspiration including interception, as determined by the soil physical approach, was split up by calculation procedures into actual evaporation, interception and actual transpiration. Total root length and root length density of field beans were much smaller and the rooting system was shallower as compared with oats. Development of leaf area and of roots was slower with beans than oats and was retarted by 2 to 3 weeks. Accordingly the time of maximum transpiration was found begin of June with oats and at begin of July with field beans. Despite reduced root growth Vicia faba transpired 250 mm in total, that is 86 % of what was found for the cereal crop (290 mm). Water uptake field beans however, was restricted to the upper 80-cm profile with 90 % of total uptake. The water uptake per unit length of root was substantial higher with beans than with oats. Due to the delayed development of the bean crop the losses by evaporation and seepage exceeded those from the soil grown to oats by 40mm (64 %). These investigations support the conclusion that yield stability of field beans may be substantially improved by selection of new varieties with increased rooting depth.     

Occurrence of zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside in wheat

An LC-MS method was developed for the analysis of zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside and zearalenone in wheat (Triticum aestivum). The limit of determination for zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside and zearalenone was 10 microg/kg. The recovery rates were calculated to be 69% and 89% at a concentration of 100 microg/kg for zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside and zearalenone, respectively. Twenty-four Bavarian wheat samples from a 1999 harvest were analyzed. Zearalenone was present in 22 of 24 field samples, the levels ranged from 11 to 860 microg/kg. Zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside was found in 10 of the zearalenone positive samples (42%) at levels ranging from 17 to 104 microg/kg. The amounts of zearalenone-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside were correlated to those of zearalenone (r2 = 0.86, b = 0.10). After gastrointestinal hydrolyzation, zearalenone-4-beta-glucopyranoside might be implicated in the development of a zearalenone-syndrome. Therefore, more attention should be focused on conjugated mycotoxins in food and feed.     

Interlinked fast and slow positive feedback loops drive reliable cell decisions

Positive feedback is a ubiquitous signal transduction motif that allows systems to convert graded inputs into decisive, all-or-none outputs. Here we investigate why the positive feedback switches that regulate polarization of budding yeast, calcium signaling, Xenopus oocyte maturation, and various other processes use multiple interlinked loops rather than single positive feedback loops. Mathematical simulations revealed that linking fast and slow positive feedback loops creates a "dual-time" switch that is both rapidly inducible and resistant to noise in the upstream signaling system.     

Primordial germ cells in blood smears from chick embryos

The feasibility of studying avian primordial germ cells in blood smears has been demonstrated. Blood smears prepared from chick embryos of stages 13 to 15 (48 to 55 hours) contained primordial germ cells, which were revealed by the periodic acidSchiff reaction. The presence of glycogen in the cytoplasm of the primordial germ cells facilitated their selective identification.     

A linear, O-coordinated eta1-CO2 bound to uranium

The electron-rich, six-coordinate tris-aryloxide uranium(III) complex [((AdArO)3tacn)U(III)] [where (AdArOH)3tacn = 1,4,7-tris(3-adamantyl-5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)1,4,7-triazacyclononane] reacts rapidly with CO2 to yield [((AdArO)3tacn)U(IV)(CO2)], a complex in which the CO(2) ligand is linearly coordinated to the metal through its oxygen atom (eta1-OCO). The latter complex has been crystallographically and spectroscopically characterized. The inequivalent O-C-O bond lengths [1.122 angstroms (A) for the O-C bond adjacent to uranium and 1.277 A for the other], considered together with magnetization data and electronic and vibrational spectra, support the following bonding model: U(IV)=O=C*-O- <--> U(IV)-OC-O-. In these charge-separated resonance structures, the uranium center is oxidized to uranium(IV) and the CO2 ligand reduced by one electron.     

Translating biomolecular recognition into nanomechanics

We report the specific transduction, via surface stress changes, of DNA hybridization and receptor-ligand binding into a direct nanomechanical response of microfabricated cantilevers. Cantilevers in an array were functionalized with a selection of biomolecules. The differential deflection of the cantilevers was found to provide a true molecular recognition signal despite large nonspecific responses of individual cantilevers. Hybridization of complementary oligonucleotides shows that a single base mismatch between two 12-mer oligonucleotides is clearly detectable. Similar experiments on protein A-immunoglobulin interactions demonstrate the wide-ranging applicability of nanomechanical transduction to detect biomolecular recognition.