Effects of heating on the interaction of lipid and zein in a dry powder system

The effects of heat treatment on the interaction of lipid and zein in a dry powder system were investigated. Linolenic acid ethyl ester (LAE) was mixed with the zein powder. The glass transition temperature (T(g)) for the dry powder zein was shown to be approximately 107 degrees C by differential scanning calorimetry. The thermogram of the zein-LAE mixed powder showed an exothermic transition near the T(g) of zein. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used for detecting the structural changes in zein by heat treatment, that is, elevating the temperature from 25 to 160 degrees C. The heat treatment of the powdery zein with and without LAE caused increases in the alpha-helix, beta-turn, and beta-sheet, concomitant with decreases in the intermolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet and random coil. Such changes in the secondary structure were more drastic for the powder with LAE. The heating of the zein-LAE mixed powder also caused decreases in the peaks originating from LAE in the FT-IR spectra. These results suggest that the heat treatment induced the interaction of the zein and LAE in the powdery system. The influence of heating on the antioxidative activity of dry powder zein was studied by measurements of the peroxide value. When zein-LAE mixed powder was heated before storage, the oxidation of LAE was inhibited for 7 days, whereas LAE was oxidized within 1 day in the absence of heat treatment.     

Effects of protein and peptide addition on lipid oxidation in powder model system

The effect of protein and peptide addition on the oxidation of eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPE) encapsulated by maltodextrin (MD) was investigated. The encapsulated lipid (powder lipid) was prepared in two steps, i.e., mixing of EPE with MD solutions (+/- protein and peptides) to produce emulsions and freeze-drying of the resultant emulsions. EPE oxidation in MD powder progressed more rapidly in the humid state [relative humidity (RH) = 70%] than in the dry state (RH = 10%). The addition of soy protein, soy peptide, and gelatin peptides improved the oxidation stability of EPE encapsulated by MD, and the inhibition of lipid oxidation by the protein and the peptides was more dramatic in the humid state. Especially, the oxidation of EPE was almost perfectly suppressed when the lipid was encapsulated with MD + soy peptide during storage in the humid state for 7 days. Several physical properties such as the lipid particle size of the emulsions, the fraction of nonencapsulated lipids, scanning electron microscopy images of powder lipids, and the mobility of the MD matrix were investigated to find the modification of encapsulation behavior by the addition of the protein and peptides, but no significant change was observed. On the other hand, the protein and peptides exhibited a strong radical scavenging activity in the powder systems as well as in the solution systems. These results suggest that a chemical mechanism such as radical scavenging ability plays an important role in the suppression of EPE oxidation in MD powder by soy proteins, soy peptides, and gelatin peptides.     

Structural unit of xylans from sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) and hinoki (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis>)

Arabinoglucuronoxylans (AGXs) isolated from the holocellulose of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) contained one 4-O-methyl-d-glucopyranosyluronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp) residue per 6.2 d-xylopyranose (d-Xylp) residues and one 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residue per 3.8 d-Xylp residues. These AGXs were subjected to partial acid hydrolysis. Analyses by size exclusion chromatography and electrospray-ionization mass spectroscopy of the neutral sugar fractions in the hydrolysates showed the presence of xylooligosaccharides having a degree of polymerization of 2-8 in addition to d-Xyl, suggesting that the AGXs from sugi and hinoki contained unsubstituted chains consisting of at least eight d-Xyl residues. The acidic sugars in the hydrolysates were separated into two series of aldouronic acids composed of 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp and d-Xylp by ion-exchange chromatography. The first series included aldouronic acids from aldobiouronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl) to aldopentaouronic acids (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl₄). The second series were aldouronic acids composed of two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues and 2-4 d-Xyl residues. In these acidic sugars, the uronic acid side chains were located on two contiguous d-Xyl residues. These facts indicated that AGXs from sugi and hinoki had a structural unit containing two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues on two contiguous d-Xyl residues as well as AGXs from spruce and larch.     

Development of a multiplex PCR method for simultaneous detection of diagnostic DNA markers of five disease and pest resistance genes in potato

Multiplex PCR is practically a reasonable choice for molecular marker-assisted selection in potato breeding. We had developed and were using a multiplex PCR method for selection of resistance genes to cyst nematode (H1), Potato virus X (Rx1) and late blight (R1 and R2). Since then, more reliable and tightly linked markers for H1 and R2, and a new marker for resistance to Potato virus Y (Ry _chc ) were developed. In this article, all these superior markers, including a positive marker to eliminate PCR-failed samples, were incorporated into one multiplex PCR assay. Using the newly developed multiplex PCR technique, five plants potentially harboring all five resistance genes were selected from 96 hybrid plants approximately 5 h after DNA extraction, which is a third of the operation time compared with separate PCR reactions for each marker.     

Why invest in minor projects in sub-Saharan Africa? An exploration of the scale economy and diseconomy of irrigation projects

It is well-known that major irrigation projects have a strong scale economy, handicapping irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the difficulty in formulating large-scale projects. Using project-level investment cost and performance data of major and minor irrigation projects, this paper examines the causes of the economy of scale phenomenon. We find that strong scale economy exists not only for major but also for minor projects, i.e., small- and micro-scale, projects. This is largely because of the existence of indivisible overhead costs such as high-opportunity-cost human resources for planning, designing and engineering management and supervision. We also find that large differences between major and minor projects in the absolute level of overhead as well as construction costs creates a strong scale diseconomy and results in better performance of minor projects. The advantage of minor projects holds even when their higher risk associated with the water source is taken into consideration. We argue that there is an urgent need to promote irrigation development in SSA through developing minor projects, and to reduce the heavy burden of overhead costs by developing the capacity of human resources at the national, local and farmer levels in the fields of irrigation engineering, irrigation agronomy, institutional development, and micro water management technologies.     

The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants

We report the draft genome sequence of the model moss Physcomitrella patens and compare its features with those of flowering plants, from which it is separated by more than 400 million years, and unicellular aquatic algae. This comparison reveals genomic changes concomitant with the evolutionary movement to land, including a general increase in gene family complexity; loss of genes associated with aquatic environments (e.g., flagellar arms); acquisition of genes for tolerating terrestrial stresses (e.g., variation in temperature and water availability); and the development of the auxin and abscisic acid signaling pathways for coordinating multicellular growth and dehydration response. The Physcomitrella genome provides a resource for phylogenetic inferences about gene function and for experimental analysis of plant processes through this plant's unique facility for reverse genetics.     

Carbon dioxide degassing by advective flow from Usu volcano, Japan

Magmatic carbon dioxide (CO2) degassing has been documented before the 31 March 2000 eruption of Usu volcano, Hokkaido, Japan. Six months before the eruption, an increase in CO2 flux was detected on the summit caldera, from 120 (September 1998) to 340 metric tons per day (September 1999), followed by a sudden decrease to 39 metric tons per day in June 2000, 3 months after the eruption. The change in CO2 flux and seismic observations suggests that before the eruption, advective processes controlled gas migration toward the surface. The decrease in flux after the eruption at the summit caldera could be due to a rapid release of CO2 during the eruption from ascending dacitic dikes spreading away from the magma chamber beneath the caldera.     

Role for piRNAs and noncoding RNA in de novo DNA methylation of the imprinted mouse Rasgrf1 locus

Genomic imprinting causes parental origin-specific monoallelic gene expression through differential DNA methylation established in the parental germ line. However, the mechanisms underlying how specific sequences are selectively methylated are not fully understood. We have found that the components of the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway are required for de novo methylation of the differentially methylated region (DMR) of the imprinted mouse Rasgrf1 locus, but not other paternally imprinted loci. A retrotransposon sequence within a noncoding RNA spanning the DMR was targeted by piRNAs generated from a different locus. A direct repeat in the DMR, which is required for the methylation and imprinting of Rasgrf1, served as a promoter for this RNA. We propose a model in which piRNAs and a target RNA direct the sequence-specific methylation of Rasgrf1.     

Regulated fast nucleocytoplasmic shuttling observed by reversible protein highlighting

The observation of the regulation of fast protein dynamics in a cellular context requires the development of reliable technologies. Here, a signal regulation cascade reliant on the stimulus-dependent acceleration of the bidirectional flow of mitogen-activated protein kinase (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) across the nuclear envelope was visualized by reversible protein highlighting. Light-induced conversion between the bright and dark states of a monomeric fluorescent protein engineered from a novel coral protein was employed. Because of its photochromic properties, the protein could be highlighted, erased, and highlighted again in a nondestructive manner, allowing direct observation of regulated fast nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of key signaling molecules.