Cell wall compositions of raw and cooked corms of taro (Colocasia esculenta)

The monosaccharide compositions of parenchyma cell walls of raw and cooked corms of taro, Colocasia esculenta cv Tausala Pink, were determined. The cell wall constituents were sequentially extracted using CDTA, Na₂CO₃, 1 M KOH, 4 M KOH and water to leave a final residue (α‐cellulose). The monosaccharide compositions of the cell walls and cell wall fractions from the raw and cooked corms were consistent with the presence in these cell walls of large amounts of cellulose and pectic polysaccharides. The monosaccharide composition of the cell walls of the raw corms resembled the monosaccharide compositions of primary cell walls of other non‐commelinoid monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Cooking of the corms resulted in alteration of the cell walls, with solubilisation of pectic polysaccharides occurring earlier in the sequential fractionation and possibly changes in the extractability of xyloglucans and/or xylans. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

On the unexpected role of oxygen in the generation of microlens arrays with self‐developing photopolymers

Recent results have shown the interest in self‐developing photopolymers as optical storage materials. Their main advantage is the absence of a wet chemical post‐treatment to reveal the latent images. The self‐generating character of a sensitive layer is studied for the fabrication of refractive microlens arrays in the visible range. The kinetic of radical‐induced photopolymerization, the effect of molecular oxygen on the reaction rate and the properties of the final photopolymer are outlined. The results focus on the process of relief development and the role of atmospheric oxygen during the generation of refractive microlenses. A structural characterization of micro‐optical elements is investigated. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of particle size distribution on the olefin polymer reactor dynamics

Mass and energy balances in a reactor have been derived to study the effect of particle size distribution (PSD) for each reaction mechanism on the reactor dynamics. It was observed that the PSD affects both bed height and particle volume. A feasible region for reactor operation has been calculated by using physical constraints. In a nonisothermal polymerization system, the reactor temperature does not change appreciably as catalyst injection rate increases. A unique steady state solution is found in a gas-phase continuous stirred-bed propylene polymerization reactor. The eigenvalues of the system of equations indicate that the steady state is unstable. A comparison with published data allows the observation that the actual reactor dynamics may be readily explained by using only the PSD derived from a simple reaction mechanism.     

Particle size distribution in olefin continuous stirred-bed polymerization reactors

The control of polymer particle size and PSD is of industrial importance. Very fine particles pack poorly, thereby limiting reactor capacity, and present a dust explosion hazard. In olefin polymerization, a particle size distribution (PSD) in the polymerization reactor has been derived using population balances. Three reasonable reaction mechanisms for Ziegler-Natta catalysts, i.e., a simple reaction model, an active site reduction model, and a two sites model, have been used to derive the average number of active sites. It was observed that the PSD depends not only on residence time, but also on the reaction mechanism. It was also found that multiple active sites change the PSD slightly. The PSD, however, does not depend on initial catalyst volume.     

Liquid-Liquid Chromatography Separation of Guaiane-Type Sesquiterpene Lactones from Ferula penninervis Regel & Schmalh. and Evaluation of Their In Vitro Cytotoxic and Melanin Inhibitory Potential

Ferula penninervis Regel & Schmalh. is a perennial plant used in Kazakh traditional folk medicine to treat epilepsy, neurosis, rheumatism, gastroduodenal ulcers, dyspepsia, wounds, abscesses or tumors. The aim of this work was to isolate series of sesquiterpene lactones from a crude methanolic root extract and investigate their in vitro cytotoxic potential against androgen-dependent prostate cancer LNCaP and epithelial prostate PNT2 cells, as well as to evaluate their melanin production inhibitory effects in murine melanoma B16F10 cells stimulated with α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH). Two new (penninervin P and penninervin Q) and five known (olgin, laferin, olgoferin, oferin and daucoguainolactone F) guaiane-type sesquiterpene lactones were isolated with the use of a simple and fast liquid-liquid chromatography method. Olgin and laferin showed the most promising cytotoxic effects in LNCaP cells (IC₅₀ of 31.03 and 23.26 μg/mL, respectively). Additionally, olgin, laferin, olgoferin, and oferin (10 μg/mL) potently impaired melanin release (40.67–65.48% of αMSH + cells) without influencing the viability of B16F10 cells. In summary, our findings might indicate that guaiane-type sesquiterpene lactones from F. penninervis could be regarded as promising candidates for further research in discovering new therapeutic agents with anti-prostate cancer and skin depigmentation properties.     

Chemoattraction of Neoplastic Glial Cells with CXCL10, CCL2 and CCL11 as a Paradigm for a Promising Therapeutic Approach for Primary Brain Tumors

Chemoattraction is a normal and essential process, but it can also be involved in tumorigenesis. This phenomenon plays a key role in glioblastoma (GBM). The GBM tumor cells are extremely difficult to eradicate, due to their strong capacity to migrate into the brain parenchyma. Consequently, a complete resection of the tumor is rarely a possibility, and recurrence is inevitable. To overcome this problem, we proposed to exploit this behavior by using three chemoattractants: CXCL10, CCL2 and CCL11, released by a biodegradable hydrogel (GlioGel) to produce a migration of tumor cells toward a therapeutic trap. To investigate this hypothesis, the agarose drop assay was used to test the chemoattraction capacity of these three chemokines on murine F98 and human U87MG cell lines. We then studied the potency of this approach in vivo in the well-established syngeneic F98-Fischer glioma-bearing rat model using GlioGel containing different mixtures of the chemoattractants. In vitro assays resulted in an invasive cell rate 2-fold higher when chemokines were present in the environment. In vivo experiments demonstrated the capacity of these specific chemoattractants to strongly attract neoplastic glioblastoma cells. The use of this strong locomotion ability to our end is a promising avenue in the establishment of a new therapeutic approach in the treatment of primary brain tumors.     

CNGB3 Missense Variant Causes Recessive Achromatopsia in Original Braunvieh Cattle

Sporadic occurrence of inherited eye disorders has been reported in cattle but so far pathogenic variants were found only for rare forms of cataract but not for retinopathies. The aim of this study was to characterize the phenotype and the genetic aetiology of a recessive form of congenital day-blindness observed in several cases of purebred Original Braunvieh cattle. Electroretinography in an affected calf revealed absent cone-mediated function, whereas the rods continue to function normally. Brain areas involved in vision were morphologically normal. When targeting cones by immunofluorescence, a decrease in cone number and an accumulation of beta subunits of cone cyclic-nucleotide gated channel (CNGB3) in the outer plexiform layer of affected animals was obvious. Achromatopsia is a monogenic Mendelian disease characterized by the loss of cone photoreceptor function resulting in day-blindness, total color-blindness, and decreased central visual acuity. After SNP genotyping and subsequent homozygosity mapping with twelve affected cattle, we performed whole-genome sequencing and variant calling of three cases. We identified a single missense variant in the bovine CNGB3 gene situated in a ~2.5 Mb homozygous genome region on chromosome 14 shared between all cases. All affected cattle were homozygous carriers of the p.Asp251Asn mutation that was predicted to be deleterious, affecting an evolutionary conserved residue. In conclusion, we have evidence for the occurrence of a breed-specific novel CNGB3-related form of recessively inherited achromatopsia in Original Braunvieh cattle which we have designated OH1 showing an allele frequency of the deleterious allele of ~8%. The identification of carriers will enable selection against this inherited disorder. The studied cattle might serve as an animal model to further elucidate the function of CNGB3 in mammals.     

Effects of divided attention on temporal processing in patients with lesions of the cerebellum or frontal lobe.

Prefrontal cortex and cerebellum have both been implicated in temporal processing tasks although the exact contribution of each system remains unclear. To investigate this issue, control participants and patients with either prefrontal or cerebellar lesions were tested on temporal and nontemporal perceptual tasks under 2 levels of attentional load. Each trial involved a comparison between a standard tone and a subsequent comparison tone that varied in frequency, duration, or both. When participants had to make concurrent judgments on both dimensions, patients with frontal lobe lesions were significantly impaired on both tasks whereas the variability of cerebellar patients increased in the duration task only. This dissociation suggests that deficits on temporal processing tasks observed in frontal patients can be related to the attention demands of such tasks; cerebellar patients have a more specific problem related to timing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture.

Current findings on parental influences provide more sophisticated and less deterministic explanations than did earlier theory and research on parenting. Contemporary research approaches include (a) behavior-genetic designs, augmented with direct measures of potential environmental influences; (b) studies distinguishing among children with different genetically influenced predispositions in terms of their responses to different environmental conditions; (c) experimental and quasi-experimental studies of change in children's behavior as a result of their exposure to parents' behavior, after controlling for children's initial characteristics; and (d) research on interactions between parenting and nonfamilial environmental influences and contexts, illustrating contemporary concern with influences beyond the parent–child dyad. These approaches indicate that parental influences on child development are neither as unambiguous as earlier researchers suggested nor as insubstantial as current critics claim. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)