Influence of sulfur fertilization on the amounts of free amino acids in wheat. correlation with baking properties as well as with 3-aminopropionamide and acrylamide generation during baking

Sulfur (S) fertilization has been long-known to influence the amounts of total free amino acids in plants. To determine the impact of S deficiency in wheat on the concentration of, in particular, free asparagine, the spring wheat cultivar 'Star' was grown in a laboratory scale (5 L pot) at five different levels of S fertilization. After maturity, the kernels were milled into white flours (1-5) and analyzed for their contents of total S and total nitrogen as well as for free amino acids and glucose, fructose, maltose, and sucrose. Extremely high concentrations of free asparagine (Asn; 3.9-5.7 g/kg) were determined in flours 1 and 2 (30 and 60 mg of S), whereas much lower amounts (0.03-0.4 g/kg) were present in flours grown at higher S levels. The amounts of the reducing carbohydrates were, however, scarcely affected by S fertilization. In agreement with the high amount of Asn in flours 1 and 2, heating of both flours led to the generation of very high amounts of acrylamide (1.7-3.1 mg/kg) as well as of 3-aminopropionamide (40-76 mg/kg). Similar concentrations were measured in crispbread prepared from both flours. Application of rheological measurements on doughs prepared from each flour and a determination of the loaf volume of bread baked therefrom clearly indicated that flours 1 and 2 would be excluded from commercial bread processing due to their poor technological properties. Two commercial flours showed relatively low concentrations of acrylamide after a thermal treatment.     

户用分布式光伏对农户收入的影响——以中部地区Y县为例

户用分布式光伏对农户收入影响具有长期性,如何发挥分布式光伏在乡村振兴战略中的作用需进一步探索。本文以户用分布式光伏为例,利用中部地区Y县2014—2019年农户追踪数据,运用双重差分法,分析户用分布式光伏对农户收入的影响,探讨户用分布式光伏对农户收入影响的作用机制。结果表明,2014—2019年农户收入大幅度提升,其中建光伏农户的人均收入增长幅度大于未建光伏农户,户用分布式光伏使农户人均收入提高25.4%,其中经营性收入、财产性收入分别提高74.4%和444.5%,而工资性收入降低45.3%。户用分布式光伏是通过减少非农劳动时间和缩短非农就业空间距离降低农户工资性收入,增加经营性收入,从而影响人均收入。进一步分析发现,户用分布式光伏对非中心村农户的工资性收入和经营性收入影响大于中心村农户,劳动力能力越强的农户经营性收入上升幅度越大,工资性收入下降幅度越小。因此,建议统一维护光伏设施,促进劳动力要素有效配置;并依据劳动能力差异分层分配股份,降低劳动能力强的农户对政府补贴的依赖;另外,创新光伏产业发展模式,拓宽光伏产业增收渠道。     

Cytologic findings from a benign giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath in a dog

A 6‐year‐old male neutered Australian Shepherd dog was presented for evaluation of a subcutaneous mass on the plantar aspect of the proximal left metatarsus. Fine‐needle aspirate smears contained numerous plump spindle cells and large multinucleated cells amongst a considerable amount of pink extracellular matrix. Histopathologic diagnosis of the tissue obtained during initial biopsy and eventual surgical cytoreduction of the mass was a benign giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath (GCTTS). Immunohistochemically, the synovioblastic neoplastic cells were diffusely strongly positive for vimentin and S‐100, were multifocally moderately positive for cytokeratin AE1/3, and were negative for CD18, muscle‐specific actin (MSA), and melanoma‐associated antigen (mutated) 1 (MUM‐1). The dog recovered from surgery and underwent definitive radiation therapy to treat the local residual disease. Eight months later, the mass had not recurred. The diagnosis of GCTTS in this case supports previously published reports describing GCTTS as a relevant disease entity in dogs, and provides the first documentation of cytologic findings with this tumor. Further investigation is needed to correlate pathologic features with clinical behavior and response to therapy in dogs.     

Long-term nutritional effects on the primary liver and kidney metabolism in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). II. Adaptive response of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity to high-carbohydrate/low-protein and high-fat/non-carbohydrate diets

The influence of long-term administration of high-carbohydrate/low-protein and high-fat/non-carbohydrate diets were studied in relation to kinetic behaviour of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase in liver and kidney of rainbow trout. In all cases studied, the saturation curves of these enzyme showed typical hyperbolic kinetics without evidence of sigmoidicity. After 30 days of feeding with a high-fat diet (170 g kg^?1), there was a significant decrease in V_max and specific activity (45%) as well as catalytic efficiency (39%) without changes in K_m or activity ratio of hepatic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. These changes agree more with a clearly decreased cell concentration than with an inhibition of the pre-existing enzyme. The administration of a high-carbohydrate diet (60 g kg^?1), contrary to what was previously thought, decreased V_max by 21% and specific activity and catalytic efficiency by 30%, without significant changes in the other kinetic parameters of the hepatic enzyme. The kinetic behaviour under these nutritional conditons was due to the rejection of this diet by the fish and thus could be considered a low-feeding situation. On the other hand, no variations in the kinetics of renal glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were found, clearly demonstrating that in this organ, the pentosephosphate pathway showed no adaptive response related to fattyacid and other lipid synthesis. The activity of the renal enzyme was consistently half that of the hepatic enzyme.     

The coming paradigm shift in forensic identification science

Converging legal and scientific forces are pushing the traditional forensic identification sciences toward fundamental change. The assumption of discernible uniqueness that resides at the core of these fields is weakened by evidence of errors in proficiency testing and in actual cases. Changes in the law pertaining to the admissibility of expert evidence in court, together with the emergence of DNA typing as a model for a scientifically defensible approach to questions of shared identity, are driving the older forensic sciences toward a new scientific paradigm.     

RELATION OF SEVERAL PEDOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS TO ENGINEERING QUALITIES OF SOIL

An attempt to predict engineering qualities which are needed in soil evaluation and to enhance nonagricultural use of soil survey data was made. Data from a variety of soils were subjected to simple correlation and multiple regression analyses to relate three pedologic characteristics: clay content, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), and organic matter content to two engineering qualitites: plasticity index, and optimum moisture. Simple correlation coefficients showed that clay content and CEC correlated significantly with the engineering determinations. The relationship between organic matter content and these engineering determinations was weaker. Multiple regression analyses showed that the three pedologic characteristics accounted for most of the variation in each of the engineering qualities, and that prediction was feasible.     

Agar/galactomannan blends for strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne) cv. Pelican micropropagation

The efficacy of partial substitution of agar by galactomannans (GMs) obtained from different sources was tested in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne) cv. Pelican micropropagation. GMs extracted from seeds of Cassia fastuosa (cassia) and Cyamopsis tetragonolobus (guar gum – a commercial GM) were mixed with agar in the proportion of 0.3/0.3% (w/v) in MS medium, and the performance was compared with behaviour of medium containing agar only (0.6%, w/v) as gelling agent. The results obtained showed that agar could be partially replaced by GMs, since the rheological measurements confirmed a good interaction between the polysaccharides. Also, better performance and enhanced proliferation of strawberry shoots were observed; where in the modified medium the length of roots was higher. Thus, the behaviour of the agar/galactomannans gels and the commercial cost effectiveness, which is lower for the modified medium compared with the system solidified with agar only, showed the potential use of these galactomannans for application in plant tissue culture.