Contents of Indigestible Fraction,Water Solubility,and Color of Pyrodextrins Made from Waxy Sorghum Starch

To investigate the effect of prethinning of starch by acid before pyrolysis on the formation of indigestible fraction (IF) in pyrodextrins, native and prethinned (50°C for 1, 4, and 24 hr) waxy sorghum starches were heated at 120–160°C with 20–60 μL of 9% HCl/g of starch. Pyrodextrin containing 14.6% IF, measured as total dietary fiber by enzymatic‐gravimetric method, was produced at 120°C with 20 μL of HCl from native waxy sorghum starch. Prethinning before pyrolysis increased IF content by 0–68%, depending on the conditions for pyrolysis, compared with that of the native starch. Reduction in the molecular size of starch by prethinning might cause greater mobility during pyroconversion reaction and thus generate higher IF contents. Increasing temperature and acid concentration during pyroconversion also increased IF content of pyrodextrins. Pyrodextrin of 44.9% IF was produced at 160°C with 60 μL of HCl from prethinned starch (50°C for 24 hr). Solubility of pyrodextrins was inversely proportional to IF content (r = ‐0.87) and had a range of 62.7–98.3%. Color of pyrodextrins became brownish with more severe pyroconversion conditions.     

Enzyme-Treated Caviar Prevents UVB Irradiation-Induced Skin Photoaging

For this research article, we investigated the protective effects of enzyme-treated caviar powder extract (CV) in ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated hairless mice and keratinocytes by confirming moisturizing-related factors and elasticity-related factors. UVB irradiation induced wrinkle formation, dehydration, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the dorsal skin of mice; however, these were suppressed in the CV-supplemented groups in UVB-irradiated hairless mice. Furthermore, in UVB-irradiated keratinocytes, CV treatment increased the antioxidant enzyme activities and the levels of sphingomyelin and hyaluronic acid and decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the expression of IkB-α and p65 phosphorylation. These findings indicate that CV can directly protect keratinocytes against UVB irradiation-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Therefore, we suggest that CV can protect against UVB-induced skin photoaging. Therefore, we suggest that caviar is effective for skin health by preventing UVB-induced skin photoaging.     

Treated municipal wastewater for citrus irrigation 1

Treated, reclaimed municipal wastewater was evaluated on citrus trees in central Florida for over six years. The effects of irrigation with reclaimed wastewater on soil water content, soil chemical analysis, leaf mineral status, and fruit quality were compared with those of irrigation with well water. Irrigation with reclaimed water increased mineral residues in the soil profile, altered leaf mineral concentration and fruit quality, and promoted better tree performance and more weed growth relative to irrigation with well water. Higher accumulation of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in soils irrigated with reclaimed water were not significantly reflected in leaf mineral status. Although leaf sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), and boron (B) concentrations were noticeably higher in reclaimed water treatments than in those of well water, they are still far below the toxicity levels. This highly treated wastewater in central Florida has been found to be a very safe and good option for increasing water supplies, but not a significant source of plant nutrients to citrus trees.     

Comparative Analyses of Cu-Zn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD1) and Thioredoxin Reductase (TrxR) at the mRNA Level between Apis mellifera L. and Apis cerana F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Under Stress Conditions

This study compared stress-induced expression of Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) genes in the European honeybee Apis mellifera L. and Asian honeybee Apis cerana F. Expression of both SOD1 and TrxR rapidly increased up to 5 h after exposure to cold (4°C) or heat (37°C) treatment and then gradually decreased, with a stronger effect induced by cold stress in A. mellifera compared with A. cerana. Injection of stress-inducing substances (methyl viologen, [MV] and H₂O₂) also increased SOD1 and TrxR expression in both A. mellifera and A. cerana, and this effect was more pronounced with MV than H₂O₂. Additionally, we heterologously expressed the A. mellifera and A. cerana SOD1 and TrxR proteins in an Escherichia coli expression system, and detection by SDS-PAGE, confirmed by Western blotting using anti-His tag antibodies, revealed bands at 16 and 60 kDa, respectively. Our results show that the expression patterns of SOD1 and TrxR differ between A. mellifera and A. cerana under conditions of low or high temperature as well as oxidative stress.     

Specificity of antibodies: primary structural basis of hapten binding

The primiary structure of the 83 residues of the NH(2)-terminus of the V(II), region was determined for each of three different antibodies to hapten which were produced in inbred guinea pigs. Each antibody had a different and distinctive primary structure within each of the two "hypervariable" regions (Hv1 and Hv2) included in the analyzed part of the variable region of the heavy chain. The sequences of Hvl and Hv2 in the three antibodies were either unique or of restricted variability compared with those of "normnal" immunoglobulin G2. Further implication of Hv1 and Hv2 in contributing to ligand-binding specificity of antibodies came from the placement of residues modified by affinity labeling reagents in these hypervariable regions.     

Draft genome of the filarial nematode parasite Brugia malayi

Parasitic nematodes that cause elephantiasis and river blindness threaten hundreds of millions of people in the developing world. We have sequenced the approximately 90 megabase (Mb) genome of the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi and predict approximately 11,500 protein coding genes in 71 Mb of robustly assembled sequence. Comparative analysis with the free-living, model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans revealed that, despite these genes having maintained little conservation of local synteny during approximately 350 million years of evolution, they largely remain in linkage on chromosomal units. More than 100 conserved operons were identified. Analysis of the predicted proteome provides evidence for adaptations of B. malayi to niches in its human and vector hosts and insights into the molecular basis of a mutualistic relationship with its Wolbachia endosymbiont. These findings offer a foundation for rational drug design.     

Synergistic Effect of 5-Bromodeoxyuridine and Gamma Rays on Chromosomes

The combined effect of 5-bromodeoxyuridine and gamma rays on chromosomes in cells from the root tips of Zebrina pendula is synergistic. The enhanced, combined effects per cell of aberrations, bridges, and acentric fragments were, respectively, 2, 2.4, and 1.9 times the sum of the separate effects.     

Intragastric gavage with denatonium benzoate acutely induces neuronal activation in the solitary tract nucleus via the vagal afferent pathway

Natural toxic substances have a bitter taste and their ingestion sends signals to the brain leading to aversive oral sensations. In the present study, we investigated chronological changes in c-Fos immunoreactivity in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) to study the bitter taste reaction time of neurons in the NTS. Equal volumes (0.5 mL) of denatonium benzoate (DB), a bitter tastant, or its vehicle (distilled water) were administered to rats intragastrically. The rats were sacrificed at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 h after treatment. In the vehicle-treated group, the number of c-Fos-positive nuclei started to increase 0.5 h after treatment and peaked 2 h after gavage. In contrast, the number of c-Fos-positive nuclei in the DB-treated group significantly increased 1 h after gavage. Thereafter, the number of c-Fos immunoreactive nuclei decreased over time. The number of c-Fos immunoreactive nuclei in the NTS was also increased in a dose-dependent manner 1 h after gavage. Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy significantly decreased DB-induced neuronal activation in the NTS. These results suggest that intragastric DB increases neuronal c-Fos expression in the NTS 1 h after gavage and this effect is mediated by vagal afferent fibers.     

No synergistic effects by the dietary supplementation of ascorbic acid, α-tocopheryl acetate and selenium on the growth performance and challenge test of Edwardsiella tarda in fingerling Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L.

To investigate the potential synergistic effects of dietary ascorbic acid (AA), α‐tocopheryl acetate (TA) and selenium (Se) supplementation above minimum requirement levels on the growth performance and disease challenge of fingerling Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., five experimental diets were formulated: control (150 mg AA, 100 mg TA and 0.2 mg Se per kg diet), excessive ascorbic acid (eAA) (2000 mg AA, 100 mg TA and 0.2 mg Se per kg diet), excessive α‐tocopheryl acetate (eTA) (150 mg AA, 240 mg TA and 0.2 mg Se per kg diet), excessive selenium (eSe) (150 mg AA, 100 mg TA and 0.5 mg Se per kg diet) and excessive all (eALL) (2000 mg AA, 240 mg TA and 0.5 mg Se per kg diet). Experimental fish averaging 2.9 were randomly distributed in each aquarium as a group of 40 fish with total weight 116±2.9 g (mean±SD). Each diet was fed on a dry‐matter basis to fish in three randomly selected aquaria at a rate of 4–8% of total body weight daily. After 10 weeks of the feeding trial, fish fed eAA, eTA and eALL diets had significantly higher weight gain, feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio and specific growth rate than fish fed eSe and control diets (P<0.05). There was no significant difference among fish fed five experimental diets in cumulative mortalities when fish were challenged with Edwardsiella tarda at the end of the experimental period. These results indicate that sufficient supplementation of dietary AA or TA had positive effects on growth performance, but there was no synergistic effect of excessive dietary AA, TA and Se supplementation on growth performance and disease resistance to E. tarda in fingerling Nile tilapia.