Acute phase protein in serum of women using hormonal contraceptives

Acute phase protein precipitating sonatic C-polysaccharide of pneumococci appears in serum of women under treatment with hormonal contraceptives in a significantly higher number of cases when compared with control groups. The summarized results of three preliminary studies show that in 80 control serums there were four positive specimens (5 percent) and in 80 serums from women using hormonal contraceptives there were 58 positive specimens (72.5 percent).     

Buddenbrockia is a cnidarian worm

A major evolutionary divide occurs in the animal kingdom between the so-called radially symmetric animals, which includes the cnidarians, and the bilaterally symmetric animals, which includes all worm phyla. Buddenbrockia plumatellae is an active, muscular, parasitic worm that belongs to the phylum Myxozoa, a group of morphologically simplified microscopic endoparasites that has proved difficult to place phylogenetically. Phylogenetic analyses of multiple protein-coding genes demonstrate that Buddenbrockia is a cnidarian. This active muscular worm increases the known diversity in cnidarian body plans and demonstrates that a muscular, wormlike form can evolve in the absence of overt bilateral symmetry.     

台湾青枣在北方日光温室的试栽表现

台湾青枣是一种新兴的热带、亚热带水果。果实形似苹果,叶似梨,其风味独特、清脆香甜、爽口,营养丰富。突出特点是当年种植,当年结果。在北方利用日光温室栽培还是空白。在温室内通过对其丰产优质栽培技术进行专门研究,以开发这一极具前景的珍奇果树。     

Standards and corporate reconstruction in the Michigan dry bean industry

Since the turn of the lastcentury, Michigan farmers, elevators, and stategovernment have used production and processstandards to shape the dry bean industry totheir interests and set a worldwide standardfor quality dry beans. Over the last 20 years,however, multinational agro/food firms haveintroduced their market criteria into standardssetting, and recent changes in Michigan beanstandards largely accommodate the interests ofthese firms. A review of the changes in thesestandards over time allows us to explore howconcepts of accountability and control improveour understanding of changes in the structureand operation of food production and marketing.What is the measure of state governmentaccountability to corporate capital and to thestate's bean farmers? In what ways can farmersuse standards to re-assert their priorities andgain a greater measure of influence overmarketing? What challenges do changing qualitystandards pose for public research as well asfor the institutions representing Michiganfarmers and elevators?     

Glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurons mediate anxiogenic and anxiolytic effects of CRHR1

The corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) critically controls behavioral adaptation to stress and is causally linked to emotional disorders. Using neurochemical and genetic tools, we determined that CRHR1 is expressed in forebrain glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid-containing (GABAergic) neurons as well as in midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Via specific CRHR1 deletions in glutamatergic, GABAergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic cells, we found that the lack of CRHR1 in forebrain glutamatergic circuits reduces anxiety and impairs neurotransmission in the amygdala and hippocampus. Selective deletion of CRHR1 in midbrain dopaminergic neurons increases anxiety-like behavior and reduces dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex. These results define a bidirectional model for the role of CRHR1 in anxiety and suggest that an imbalance between CRHR1-controlled anxiogenic glutamatergic and anxiolytic dopaminergic systems might lead to emotional disorders.     

State-specific correlation of coincident product pairs in the F + CD4 reaction

When a chemical reaction forms two molecular products, even if the state-resolved differential cross section (DCS) for each product is obtained individually, the coincident attributes of the coproducts are still lacking. We exploit a method that provides coincidence information by measuring the state-resolved, pair-correlated DCS. Exemplified by the reaction F + CD4 --> DF + CD3, a time-sliced ion velocity imaging technique was used to measure the velocity distribution of a state-selected CD3 product and to reveal the information of the coincident DF in a state-correlated manner. The correlation of different product state pairs shows a striking difference, which opens up a new way to unravel the complexity of a polyatomic reaction.     

Guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.) as a new source of antioxidant dietary fiber.

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a tropical fruit, widely consumed fresh and also processed (beverages, syrup, ice cream, and jams). Pulp and peel fractions were tested, and both showed high content of dietary fiber (48.55-49.42%) and extractable polyphenols (2.62-7.79%). The antioxidant activity of polyphenol compounds was studied, using three complementary methods: (i) free radical DPPH* scavenging, (ii) ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP), and (iii) inhibition of copper-catalyzed in vitro human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. All fractions tested showed a remarkable antioxidant capacity, and this activity was correlated with the corresponding total phenolic content. A 1-g (dry matter) portion of peel contained DPPH* activity, FRAP activity, and inhibition of copper-induced in vitro LDL oxidation, equivalent to 43 mg, 116 mg, and 176 mg of Trolox, respectively. These results indicate that guava could be a suitable source of natural antioxidants. Peel and pulp could also be used to obtain antioxidant dietary fiber (AODF), a new item which combines in a single natural product the properties of dietary fiber and antioxidant compounds.