Targeting of Cationic Liposomes to Skin-Associated Bacteria

Cationic vesicles were produced by incorporating positively-charged stearylamine into the lipid bilayers. The addition of stearylamine has been shown to facilitate targeting of liposomes to the skin-associated bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis. The adsorption of the liposomes to films of the bacteria immobilized on a solid surface has been studied. The extent of adsorption as a function of liposomal lipid concentration could be described in terms of a Langmuir adsorption isotherm, applicable to situations in which species are adsorbed as monolayers on solid surfaces. Analysis on the basis of the Langmuir model enabled the determination of the maximum theoretical targeting to the bacteria and association/dissociation constants for the interaction. The adsorption was examined under conditions of varying ionic strength. Increasing the ionic strength had the effect of decreasing the extent of targeting and suggested that the interaction between the cationic vesicles and sites on the bacterial surface was mediated by electrical double-layer effects. It follows that electrostatic effects make a major contribution to the interaction between these vesicles and S. epidermidis. The attachment of the vesicles is reversible and ionic strength-induced removal of vesicles from the bacteria could be used as a tool to study the delivery of liposomally encapsulated bactericide to the biofilm.     

The use of visual marker genes as cell-specific reporters of Agrobacterium-mediated T-DNA delivery to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Transfer of T-DNA from Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes to cells of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is demonstrated following the inoculation of immature embryos and immature embryo-derived callus. Agrobacterium T-DNA vectors containing the C1/Lc anthocyanin-biosynthesis regulatory genes, the gusA gene or a synthetic green fluorescent protein gene (sgfp-S65T) were constructed from original binary vectors. The visual T-DNA markers were used as cell-autonomous reporters of early Agrobacterium-mediated transformation events in the wheat and barley cells. This localization of the transformed cells revealed a non-random distribution throughout each embryo and callus piece.     

Rheology of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) juice.

Juice extracted from sea buckthorn fruits was subjected to dynamic rheological measurements in a controlled stress rheometer. Sea buckthorn juice exhibited wide variations in flow behavior from pseudoplastic to dilitant with increasing temperature. The power law model suitably (r >/= 0.975, P相似文献   

Passive Ozone Monitoring for Forest Health Assessment

Critical levels of tropospheric ozone, established for the protection of crops and other plants, are now reported as being exceeded over large forested areas, giving rise to the need for an extensive monitoring program to confirm ambient levels within the forest and to detect related forest health effects. The requirement for an inexpensive monitor that can be used in remote locations prompted the development of the Can Oxy Plate^TM passive ozone monitor and a monitoring protocol by the air pollution research group of the Canadian Forest Service, Forest Health Network. The monitors underwent initial trials in 1996 and operational trials during 1997 that involved two 2-3 week mid summer exposures in the canopy at selected forest health monitoring plots across Canada, and at adjacent forest openings. In both trials monitors were also co-located with the nearest instrumental ozone monitor. This allowed for the production of a field calibration for quality assurance assessment under field conditions. Results from 1996 indicate highly significant correlations with accumulated ambient ozone concentrations from the instrumental monitors at the co-located sites (r=0.88, p=0.0002). However, no such relationship was found between these sites and the forest plots which were up to 200 kilometres away. This may indicate spatial heterogeneity in ozone exposure between the continuous air quality monitoring sites and the forest plots. This information, together with our knowledge that strong gradients of ozone exposure are found within the canopy, underlines the importance of in situ monitoring of ozone exposure of forest health plots at risk to ozone effects.     

Production of microalgal concentrates by flocculation and their assessment as aquaculture feeds

A novel technique was developed for the flocculation of marine microalgae commonly used in aquaculture. The process entailed an adjustment of pH of culture to between 10 and 10.6 using NaOH, followed by addition of a non-ionic polymer Magnafloc LT-25 to a final concentration of 0.5 mg L⁻¹. The ensuing flocculate was harvested, and neutralised giving a final concentration factor of between 200- and 800-fold. This process was successfully applied to harvest cells of Chaetoceros calcitrans, C. muelleri, Thalassiosira pseudonana, Attheya septentrionalis, Nitzschia closterium, Skeletonema sp., Tetraselmis suecica and Rhodomonas salina, with efficiencies ≥80%. The process was rapid, simple and inexpensive, and relatively cost neutral with increasing volume (cf. concentration by centrifugation). Harvested material was readily disaggregated to single cell suspensions by dilution in seawater and mild agitation. Microscopic examination of the cells showed them to be indistinguishable from corresponding non-flocculated cells. Chlorophyll analysis of concentrates prepared from cultures of ≤130 L showed minimal degradation after 2 weeks storage.

Concentrates of T. pseudonana prepared using pH-induced flocculation gave better growth of juvenile Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) than concentrates prepared by ferric flocculation, or centrifuged concentrates using a cream separator or laboratory centrifuge. In follow up experiments, concentrates prepared from 1000 L Chaetoceros muelleri cultures were effective as supplementary diets to improve the growth of juvenile C. gigas and the scallop Pecten fumatus reared under commercial conditions, though not as effective as the corresponding live algae. The experiments demonstrated a proof-of-concept for a commercial application of concentrates prepared by flocculation, especially for use at a remote nursery without on-site mass-algal culture facilities.     

Spatial variability in microclimate in a mixed-conifer forest before and after thinning and burning treatments

In the western United States, mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common forest management practices aimed at reducing potential wildfire severity and restoring historic forest structure, yet their effects on forest microclimate conditions are not well understood. We collected microclimate data between 1998 and 2003 in a mixed-conifer forest in California's Sierra Nevada. Air and soil temperatures, relative humidity, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), wind speed, soil heat flux, and soil volumetric moisture were measured at the center of 18 four-ha plots. Each plot was assigned one of six combinations of thinning and burning treatments, and each treatment was thus given three replications. We found that spatial variability in microclimate, quantified as standard deviations among monthly values of each microclimatic variable across different locations (n ≤ 18), was significantly high and was influenced primarily by elevation and canopy cover. The combination of thinning and burning treatments increased air temperature from 58.1% to 123.6%. Soil temperatures increased in all thinned plots. Air moisture variables indicated that treatments made air drier, but soil moisture increased in the range 7.9–39.8%, regardless of treatment type. PAR increased in the range 50.4–254.8%, depending on treatment type. Treatments combining thinning and burning increased wind speed by 15.3–194.3%. Although soil heat flux increased dramatically in magnitude in some plots, overall treatment effects on G were not statistically significant. We discussed the significance and implications of the spatial variability of microclimate and the treatment effects to various ecological processes and to forest management.     

Particle-stabilizing effects of flavonoids at the oil-water interface

It has been shown that some common food flavonoids can act as excellent stabilizers of oil-in-water emulsions through their adsorption as water-insoluble particles to the surface of the oil droplets, i.e., Pickering emulsions are formed. Flavonoids covering a wide range of octanol-water partition coefficients (P) were screened for emulsification behavior by low shear mixing of flavonoid+n-tetradecane in a vortex mixer. Most flavonoids with very high or very low P values were not good emulsifiers, although there were exceptions, such as tiliroside, which is very insoluble in water. When a high shear jet homogenizer was used with 20 vol% oil in the presence of 1 mM tiliroside, rutin, or naringin, much finer emulsions were produced: the average droplet sizes (d32) were 16, 6, and 5 μm, respectively. These results may be highly significant with respect to the delivery of such insoluble compounds to the gut, as well as their digestion and absorption.     

Authentication of coffee by means of PCR-RFLP analysis and lab-on-a-chip capillary electrophoresis

Coffee is one of the most important world food commodities, commercial trade consisting almost entirely of Arabica and Robusta varieties. The former is considered to be of superior quality and thus attracts a premium price. Methods to differentiate these coffee species could prove to be beneficial for the detection of either deliberate or accidental adulteration. This study describes a molecular genetics approach to differentiate Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. This employs a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism to monitor a single nucleotide polymorphism within the chloroplastic genome. Samples were analyzed with a lab-on-a-chip capillary electrophoresis system. Coffee powder mixtures were analyzed with this technique, displaying a 5% limit of detection. The plastid copy number was found to be relatively constant across a wide range of bean samples, suggesting that this methodology can also be employed for the quantification of any adulteration of Arabica with Robusta beans.