Biological Activities of Chickpea in Human Health (Cicer arietinum L.). A Review

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Chickpea is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Among their benefits are the high protein concentration that reflects not only at the nutritional level but...     

St. John’s Wort Herbal Teas – Biological Potential and Chemometric Approach to Quality Control

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - St. John’s wort has been used for centuries in traditional medicine of many cultures, and nowadays it is well-known as a clinically important antidepressant...     

Sorghum Pasta and Noodles: Technological and Nutritional Aspects

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Sorghum is a major cereal crop with various agronomic advantages, contains health-promoting compounds and is gluten-free. There is a growing tendency to use...     

Enzyme Bioprospection of Marine-Derived Actinobacteria from the Chilean Coast and New Insight in the Mechanism of Keratin Degradation in Streptomyces sp. G11C

Marine actinobacteria are viewed as a promising source of enzymes with potential technological applications. They contribute to the turnover of complex biopolymers, such as pectin, lignocellulose, chitin, and keratin, being able to secrete a wide variety of extracellular enzymes. Among these, keratinases are a valuable alternative for recycling keratin-rich waste, which is generated in large quantities by the poultry industry. In this work, we explored the biocatalytic potential of 75 marine-derived actinobacterial strains, focusing mainly on the search for keratinases. A major part of the strains secreted industrially important enzymes, such as proteases, lipases, cellulases, amylases, and keratinases. Among these, we identified two streptomycete strains that presented great potential for recycling keratin wastes—Streptomyces sp. CHA1 and Streptomyces sp. G11C. Substrate concentration, incubation temperature, and, to a lesser extent, inoculum size were found to be important parameters that influenced the production of keratinolytic enzymes in both strains. In addition, proteomic analysis of culture broths from Streptomyces sp. G11C on turkey feathers showed a high abundance and diversity of peptidases, belonging mainly to the serine and metallo-superfamilies. Two proteases from families S08 and M06 were highly expressed. These results contributed to elucidate the mechanism of keratin degradation mediated by streptomycetes.     

草原黄鼠染色体研究

我们采用骨髓细胞直接制备染色体的方法，对草原黄鼠（Ｃｉｔｅｌｌｕｓｄａｕｒｉｃｕｓｐａｌｌａｓ）的染色体进行研究发现，草原黄鼠二倍体体细胞的染色体数除有国内外报道的２ｎ＝３６的个体外；还有２ｎ＝３７的个体；２ｎ＝３８的个体，２ｎ＝３７的个体１条不能配对染色体单体，其形态特殊，按其大小位于在第１３对和第１４对之间；２ｎ＝３８的个体，依据染色体的形态和大小确认为第１０对和第１３对为三体。另外还发现在草原黄鼠１７对染色体的短臂上有髓体清晰可见，而两条染色体上面体大小略有差异，我们的分析研究初步认为草原黄鼠染色体数目和形态的异常是环境诱变所致。     

国槐枝叶水分特征及其对树干边材液流的影响

为探明国槐Sophora japonica组织含水量、水势、水容等枝叶水分特征及其对树干边材液流的调节和影响,于2007年3月下旬至2008年3月下旬利用热扩散式边材液流检测技术(TDP)、压力室技术等对生长在北京林业大学校园内的国槐树干边材液流、组织含水量、水势、水容等进行了系统研究。结果表明:城市环境下,(1)国槐树干边材液流速率日变化春季和夏季呈双峰曲线,秋季呈单峰曲线;液流峰值出现时间春季最早,夏季次之,秋季最晚;春季和秋季液流速率峰值较夏季高,但峰值维持时间夏季较春、秋两季长。(2)国槐枝条与叶片绝对含水量、水势、水容具有相似的日变化规律,但不同季节日变化有所差异。(3)整个生长季,国槐含水量、水势、水容的大小排序为春季夏季秋季;枝条平均含水量(52.12±2.59)%叶片平均含水量(69.59±4.64)%;枝条平均水势(-1.70±0.74)MPa叶片平均水势(-1.87±0.65)MPa;枝条水容(1.488±3.060)g.cm-3.MPa-1叶片水容(5.86±6.70)×10-3g.cm-3.MPa-1。(4)国槐组织水容日变化与树干边材液流速率日变化反向相关,国槐枝叶含水量、水势、水容等共同作用和调节其蒸腾耗水。     

刺五加鲨烯合酶基因的表达及其对皂苷含量的影响

为了了解刺五加鲨烯合酶基因(squalene synthase,SS)的表达特点及其对刺五加中皂苷含量的影响情况,以GAPDH基因为内参照基因,采用实时定量PCR技术,分析了SS基因在刺五加不同生长发育时期不同器官中的表达量及茉莉酸甲酯对其表达的影响情况;还利用SPSS 17.0软件分析了SS基因的表达量与刺五加中皂苷总含量的相关性。结果表明,在刺五加的整个生长期中,SS基因的表达量呈现出"低—高—低—高—低"的变化趋势:萌芽期(4月26日)该基因的表达量最低,而盛花期(6月26日)该基因的表达量最高,为萌芽期的3.11倍;SS基因在刺五加根中的表达量显著高于茎、叶和叶柄中的表达量(P<0.05),其在茎中的表达量最低,仅为根中表达量的51.88%。茉莉酸甲酯可提高SS基因的表达量,但其与对照组的差异未达到显著水平。刺五加中的皂苷总含量与SS基因的表达量间呈现出同升同降的变化趋势,存在极显著的正相关关系(P<0.01)。文中初步判定,鲨烯合酶是刺五加皂苷生物合成的关键酶。     

基于元胞自动机与智能体的水污染可视化模拟仿真

【目的】建立水污染可视化扩散模型,以刻画水污染突发事件的复杂性及满足其应急决策平台对可视化的需求。【方法】构建基于元胞自动机和智能体的三维水污染可视化扩散模型,用元胞自动机刻画研究区流域及所在区域地形,并从元胞空间、元胞状态、演化规则方面扩展普通元胞自动机模型,应用水质Agent描述流域中携带污染物的水体,在此基础上结合3S技术充分展现污染物的扩散运移过程,并将文中模型在渭河宝鸡段水污染事件中进行实例应用。【结果】基于元胞自动机和智能体的三维水污染可视化扩散模型充分展现了流域水污染扩散模拟现象的动态性、复杂性、非线性特点。模型在渭河宝鸡段水污染事件中的应用表明,静态水面元胞层和水下元胞层以及动态水质Agent的结合,简化了污染物在水面及水下不同的扩散运移现象,所建模型合理、可靠,能有效预测及模拟污染物的运移扩散过程;同时利用3S技术对流域空间信息进行了展示分析,满足突发水污染事件应急平台对事件模拟高效率、可视化的要求。【结论】所建模型可以为突发水污染事件提供一种预测和模拟方法。     

东北天南星茎挥发油成分GC-MS分析

用气相色谱-质谱法对东北天南星茎的挥发油进行化学成分分析。采用水蒸气蒸馏法从东北天南星茎中提取挥发油,用归一化法测定其百分含量,并用气相色谱-质谱法对化学成分进行鉴定。共鉴定了48种成分,占挥发油总量的96.637%。本方法稳定可靠具有良好的重现性适用于中药挥发油的化学成分分析。