Use of simple fat analysis for evaluating quality changes in intermediate moisture fish stored at tropical temperature

Changes in the quality of intermediate moisture (IM) fish during storage at 38°C were monitored by assessing the moisture content, pH, acid value, peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value periodically. Results adequately portrayed the hydrolysis and peroxidation of fats and the concomitant protein degradation and crosslinking reactions that have been shown by more sophisticated methods to occur in intermediate moisture fish. Since these changes markedly affect the organoleptic quality, acceptability/shelf-life and nutritive value of IM flesh-foods their predictability by simple fat analytical techniques is of practical value where/when the more sophisticated monitoring techniques are not feasible.

Optimum dietary carbohydrate to lipid ratio in stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1792)

A feeding trial of 8 weeks was conducted in a static indoor rearing system to investigate the optimum carbohydrate to lipid ratio (CHO:L ratio) in stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. Five iso-nitrogenous (35% crude protein) and iso-energetic (17.06 kJ gˉ¹ gross energy (GE)) fish meal based diets with varying carbohydrate to lipid (CHO:L g/g) ratios of 0.60, 0.98, 1.53, 2.29 and 3.44 for diets 1-5, were tested, respectively. The diets containing a fixed protein to energy ratio (P:E ratio) of 20.50-mg protein kJˉ¹ GE were fed to triplicate groups of 40 fish (per 70-L tank). Fish were fed 5% of their body weight per day adjusted fortnightly. Diet 1, containing 10% carbohydrate and 17% lipids with a CHO:L ratio of 0.60 produced the poorest (p<0.05) growth rates, feed and protein efficiency. Increasing carbohydrate content in the diets to 26% concomitant with a reduction in lipid content to 11% with a CHO:L ration of 2.29 of diet 5 significantly improved (p<0.05) growth rates, feed and protein efficiency. But did not differ with diet 4, containing CHO:L ratio 2.29. A further increase in dietary carbohydrate up to 31% and a decrease in lipids levels to 9% with a CHO:L ratio ranging from 2.29 to 3.44 (diet 4-5) did not significantly improve the fish performance. Apparent net protein utilisation (ANPU) of fish fed diet 5 was higher (p<0.05) than for diets 1 and 2 but did not differ from diets 3 and 4. Higher lipid deposition (p<0.05) in whole body was observed with decreasing dietary CHO:L ratios as increasing lipid levels. Whole body protein of fish fed varying CHO:L diets did not show any discernible changes among the dietary treatments. This study revealed that H. fossilis can perform equally well on diets containing carbohydrate ranging from 26 to 31%, with 9 to 11% lipid or at CHO:L g/g ratio of 2.29-3.44.

HORMONAL-REGULATION OF TISSUE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR AND PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR INHIBITOR TYPE-1 IN CULTURED MONKEY SERTOLI CELLS

Sertoli cells play a central role in the control and maintenance of spermatogenesis. Isolated Sertoli cells of mouse and rat testes have been shown to secrete plasminogen activator (PA) and a plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) in culture. In this study, we have investigated the hormonal regulation of PA and PAI-1 activities in cultured monkey Sertoli cells. Sertoli cells (5x10(5) cells/well) isolated from infant rhesus monkey testes were preincubated at 35 degrees C for 16 h in 24-well plates precoated with poly(D-lysine) (5 mu g/cm(2)) in 0.5 mi McCoy's 5a medium containing 5% of fetal calf serum and further incubated for 48 h in 0.5 mi serum-free medium with or without various hormones or other compounds, PA as well as PAI-1 activities in the conditioned media were assayed by fibrin overlay and reverse fibrin autography techniques respectively. The Sertoli cells in vitro secreted only tissue-type PA (tPA), no detectable amount of urokinase-type PA (uPA) could be observed, Monkey Sertoli cells were also capable of secreting PAI-1, Immunocytochemical studies indicated that both tPA and PAI-1 positive staining localized in the Sertoli cells, spermatids and residual bodies of the seminiferous epithelium; Northern blot analysis further confirmed the presence of both tPA and PAI-1 mRNA in monkey Sertoli cells. Addition of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) derivatives or cAMP-generating agents and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or phorbol ester (PMA) to the cell culture significantly increased tPA activity. PAI-1 activity in the culture was also enhanced by these reagents except 8-bromo-dibutyryl-cAMP, forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthin (MIX) which greatly stimulated tPA activity, whereas decreased PAI-1 activity, implying that neutralization of PAI-1 activity by tile high level of tPA in the conditioned media may occur. These data suggest that increased intracellular signals which activate protein kinase A (PKA), or protein kinase C (PKC) can modulate Sertoli cell tPA and PAI-1 activities, The concomitant induction of PA and PAI-1 by the same reagents in the Sertoli cells may reflect a finely tuned regulatory mechanism in which PAI-1 could limit the excession of the proteolysis.

Increasing the flexoelastic ratio of liquid crystals using highly fluorinated ester-linked bimesogens.

We present experimental results on the bulk flexoelectric coefficients e and effective elastic coefficients K of non-symmetric bimesogenic liquid crystals when the number of terminal and lateral fluoro substituents is increased. These coefficients are of importance because the flexoelastic ratio e/K governs the magnitude of flexoelectro-optic switching in chiral nematic liquid crystals. The study is carried out for two different types of linkage in the flexible spacer chain that connects the separate mesogenic units: these are either an ether or an ester unit. It is found that increasing the number of fluorine atoms on the mesogenic units typically leads to a small increase in e and a decrease in K, resulting in an enhancement of e/K. The most dramatic increase in e/K, however, is observed when the linking group is changed from ether to ester units, which can largely be attributed to an increase in e. Increasing the number of fluorine atoms does, however, increase the viscoelastic ratio and therefore leads to a concomitant increase in the response time. This is observed for both types of linkage, although the ester-linked compounds exhibit smaller viscoelastic ratios compared with their ether-linked counterparts. Highly fluorinated ester-linked compounds are also found to exhibit lower transition temperatures and dielectric anisotropies. As a result, these compounds are promising materials for use in electro-optic devices.

The role of the surfaces in the photon absorption in Ge nanoclusters embedded in silica.

The usage of semiconductor nanostructures is highly promising for boosting the energy conversion efficiency in photovoltaics technology, but still some of the underlying mechanisms are not well understood at the nanoscale length. Ge quantum dots (QDs) should have a larger absorption and a more efficient quantum confinement effect than Si ones, thus they are good candidate for third-generation solar cells. In this work, Ge QDs embedded in silica matrix have been synthesized through magnetron sputtering deposition and annealing up to 800°C. The thermal evolution of the QD size (2 to 10 nm) has been followed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, evidencing an Ostwald ripening mechanism with a concomitant amorphous-crystalline transition. The optical absorption of Ge nanoclusters has been measured by spectrophotometry analyses, evidencing an optical bandgap of 1.6 eV, unexpectedly independent of the QDs size or of the solid phase (amorphous or crystalline). A simple modeling, based on the Tauc law, shows that the photon absorption has a much larger extent in smaller Ge QDs, being related to the surface extent rather than to the volume. These data are presented and discussed also considering the outcomes for application of Ge nanostructures in photovoltaics.PACS: 81.07.Ta; 78.67.Hc; 68.65.-k.

Generating suspended cell monolayers for mechanobiological studies.

Cell monolayers line most of the surfaces and cavities in the human body. During development and normal physiology, monolayers sustain, detect and generate mechanical stresses, yet little is known about their mechanical properties. We describe a cell culture and mechanical testing protocol for generating freely suspended cell monolayers and examining their mechanical and biological response to uniaxial stretch. Cells are cultured on temporary collagen scaffolds polymerized between two parallel glass capillaries. Once cells form a monolayer covering the collagen and the capillaries, the scaffold is removed with collagenase, leaving the monolayer suspended between the test rods. The suspended monolayers are subjected to stretching by prying the capillaries apart with a micromanipulator. The applied force can be measured for the characterization of monolayer mechanics. Monolayers can be imaged with standard optical microscopy to examine changes in cell morphology and subcellular organization concomitant with stretch. The entire preparation and testing protocol requires 3-4 d.

Growth and food availability of silver and bighead carps: evidence from stable isotope and gut content analysis

A 2-year investigation of growth and food availability of silver carp and bighead was carried out using stable isotope and gut content analysis in a large pen in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu, China. Both silver carp and bighead exhibited significantly higher delta 13C in 2005 than in 2004, which can probably be attributed to two factors: (i) the difference between isotopic compositions at the base of the pelagic food web and (ii) the difference between the compositions of prey items and stable isotopes. The significantly positive correlations between body length, body weight and stable isotope ratios indicated that isotopic changes in silver carp and bighead resulted from the accumulation of biomass concomitant with rapid growth. Because of the drastic decrease in zooplankton in the diet in 2005, silver carp and bighead grew faster in 2004 than in 2005. Bighead carp showed a lower trophic level than silver carp in 2005 as indicated by stable nitrogen isotope ratios, which was possibly explained by the interspecific difference between the prey species and the food quality of silver carp and bighead.

Comparison between visual and passive acoustic detection of finless porpoises in the Yangtze river, China

Recently, sonar signals and other sounds produced by cetaceans have been used for acoustic detection of individuals and groups in the wild. However, the detection probability ascertained by concomitant visual survey has not been demonstrated extensively. The finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) have narrow band and high-frequency sonar signals, which are distinctive from background noises. Underwater sound monitoring with hydrophones (B&K8103) placed along the sides of a research vessel, concurrent with visual observations was conducted in the Yangtze River from Wuhan to Poyang Lake in 1998 in China. The peak to peak detection threshold was set at 133 dB re 1 mu Pa. With this threshold level, porpoises could be detected reliably within 300 m of the hydrophone. In a total of 774-km cruise, 588 finless porpoises were sighted by visual observation and 44 864 ultrasonic pulses were recorded by the acoustical observation system. The acoustic monitoring system could detect the presence of the finless porpoises 82% of the time. A false alarm in the system occurred with a frequency of 0.9%. The high-frequency acoustical observation is suggested as an effective method for field surveys of small cetaceans, which produce high-frequency sonar signals. (C) 2001 Acoustical Society of America.

Does an enhanced yellow luminescence imply a reduction of electron mobility in n-type GaN?

It is studied whether there is any regular relationship between the yellow luminescence band and electron mobility of n-type GaN. For a series of GaN samples grown with the same Si doping, it is found that the electron mobility decreases with an increase of relative intensity of yellow luminescence, accompanied by an increase of edge dislocation density. Further research indicates that it is acceptors introduced by edge dislocations which lead to the concomitant changes of yellow luminescence and electron mobility. Similar changes are induced by Si doping in the n-type GaN samples with relatively low edge dislocation density. However, the relationship between the yellow luminescence and electron mobility of n-type GaN is not a simple one. A light Si doping may simultaneously increase yellow luminescence and electron mobility when Si doping plays a dominant role in reducing the carrier scattering. This means that even the intensity of yellow luminescence is often used as an indicator of material quality for GaN, it does not have any monotonous correlation with the electron mobility of GaN. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Room-temperature observation of electron resonant tunneling through InAs/AlAs quantum dots

Molecular beam epitaxy is employed to manufacture self-assembled InAs/AlAs quantum-dot resonant tunneling diodes. The resonant tunneling current is superimposed on the thermal current, and together they make up the total electron transport in devices. Steps in current-voltage characteristics and peaks in capacitance-voltage characteristics are explained as electron resonant tunneling via quantum dots at 77 or 300 K, and thus resonant tunneling is observed at room temperature in III-V quantum-dot materials. Hysteresis loops in the curves are attributed to hot electron injection/emission process of quantum dots, which indicates the concomitant charging/discharging effect. (c) 2006 The Electrochemical Society.

模拟增温对川西亚高山人工云杉林土壤碳含量和土壤呼吸的影响

全球气候变化已经成为不争的事实，其中全球变暖是近年来国内外的研究热点之一。土壤碳库作为陆地生态系统最大的碳库，气温升高必然会导致一系列的土壤碳储量和碳通量的变化，这些微小的变化又可能导致大气CO2浓度的变化并强化这种变暖的趋势。目前，土壤碳循环对温度升高的响应仍然是陆地碳循环研究最缺乏的部分，对土壤有机碳动态变化的研究仍存在着很大的不确定性与争议。四川西部的亚高山人工针叶林是青藏高原东部高寒林区的重要组成部分，是研究全球变化对森林生态系统影响的关键地区和重要森林类型。本研究通过采用原位人工模拟增温装置（Open-top chambers，OTCs）对川西米亚罗60年人工云杉林土壤实施增温，研究高海拔地区森林，尤其是人工森林系统下的土壤有机碳 含量、土壤呼吸及土壤酶活性对温度升高的响应。结果表明： 1. 增温处理的660天（2005年11月至2007年9月）期间，增温条件下的平均气温和土壤平均温度分别比对照提高0.43 ℃和0.27 ℃；0~10 cm土壤含水量在增温的不同时期均有不同程度的降低。 2. 土壤蔗糖酶、蛋白酶和脲酶活性在温度升高的不同阶段均有不同程度的提高。在增温处理300天（2006.09）、540天（2007.05）、600天（2007.07）和660天（2007.05）后，0~10 cm层的蔗糖酶活性分别比对照提高了36.36%（P<0.05）、24.31%、14.54%（P<0.05）和7.22%，脲酶活性分别提高了12.90%、24.19%（P<0.01）、34.48%（P<0.05）和14.64%(P<0.05)，蛋白酶活性分别提高了31.37%、1.99%、3.70%和17.80%。10~20 cm层的土壤酶活性也均有不同程度的提高，但均没有显著差异。蔗糖酶、脲酶和蛋白酶活性均呈现出随土层加深而减弱的趋势。 3. 土壤过氧化氢酶和多酚氧化酶活性在增温的第1年内均有不同程度的提高，但在增温的第2年内比对照有所降低。增温300天后（2006.09），过氧化氢酶和多酚氧化酶在0~10 cm层分别比对照增加3.76%和49.25%（P<0.05），10~20 cm层分别增加了5.54%和29.67%。在增温的第2年内，增温540天（2007.05）、600天（2007.07）和660天（2007.09）后，0~10 cm层的过氧化氢酶活性分别比对照降低了27.70%（P<0.05）、4.34%和1.47%，多酚氧化酶活性分别降低了5.86%、11.76%（P<0.05）和7.47%。增温的第2年内，10~20 cm层的过氧化氢酶和多酚氧化酶活性也均有不同程度的降低，但差异均未达到显著水平。不同土层之间相比较，过氧化氢酶活性随土层加深而降低，多酚氧化酶活性随土层加深而增加。 4. 土壤有机碳和有机质在增温的不同阶段，含量比对照均有所降低；且随增温时间的延长，降低的幅度下降。0~10 cm层的土壤有机碳和土壤有机质在增温300天（2006.09）、540天（2007.05）、600天（2007.07）和660天（2007.09）后分别降低了8.69%、4.35%、3.80%和2.44%，差异均未达到显著水平。土壤全氮含量在增温后与对照相比无明显的增加或者降低趋势。增温条件下的土壤C/N比与对照相比有所降低，但在增温各阶段的差异均不显著。10~20 cm层的有机碳、有机质和C/N比也有不同程度的降低趋势，但差异均不显著。不同土层之间相比，0~10 cm层的有机碳、有机质、全氮含量和C/N比均高于10~20 cm层，呈现出随土层加深而降低的趋势。 5. 土壤呼吸速率在增温第1年内，与对照相比明显提高，但在增温处理2年后，与对照相比无显著变化。增温300天（2006.09）和360天（2006.11）后分别提高了13.32%和21.17%，差异显著。增温处理540天（2007.05）到660天（2007.09）期间，与对照相比，不仅没有明显的提升，反而有些月份比对照有所降低，对温度升高的敏感性降低，呈现出对温度升高的适应性。土壤呼吸的日呼吸速率呈现单峰曲线形式，在14:00~20:00期间达到最大值，在4:00~10:00期间具有最低值。土壤呼吸的季节变化，呈现出与外界环境温度相一致的趋势，在7月份（夏季） 最高，11月份（冬季）最低。土壤呼吸与2 cm土壤温度、5 cm土壤温度和空气温度均呈极显著指数相关，与0~10 cm土壤含水量呈线性相关，相关性达到显著水平，但低于土壤呼吸与温度的相关性。 The past century has seen a marked increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and a concomitant warming that has drawn scientific attention to the link between global carbon stocks and climate change. In particular, the decomposition and turnover of soil organic matter is recognised as an important determinant of carbon driven climate change. The slightly variation in soil organic carbon will result in the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and reinforce the tendency of warming. The experiment was conducted in Subalpine coniferous forest in western Sichuan province. Subalpine coniferous forest in western Sichuan was a important part of eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which play a important role in reseaching the sensitivity of forest ecosystem to climate change. To investigate the effects of elevated temperature on soil organic carbon content, soil respiration rates, and soil enzyme activities in subalpine Picea asperata plantations, a esimulated warming measure was applied with Open-top chambers. The results were as followed: 1) During the period from Nov. 2005 to Sep. 2007, mean air temperature and soil temperature were respectively 0.43℃ and 0.27℃ the ambient higher. Soil water content decreased to different exent in different months in warmed plots than in unwarned plots at depth of 0-10 cm. 2) In general, elevated temperature enhanced the soil enzyme activities of invertase, protease, and urease. In the first year of warming—after 300 days’ treatment (in Sep,2006), the activities of invertase, protease, and urease increased by 36.36%, 12.90% and 31.37% respectively at the depths of 0-10 cm，among which the activity of invertase reached statistic significance. In the second year of warming, invertase activity increased by 24.31% after 540 days’ treament (in May, 2007), 14.54% after 600 days’ treament (in Jul, 2007) and 7.22% after 660 days’ treatment (in Sep, 2007) at the depths of 0-10 cm, and the differences in July and Septemmber were statistically significant. Elveated temperature also increased the activity of urease in the second year of warming and had significant effects in May and July. The activity of protease in warmed plots was also higher than in unwarmed plots at depths of 0-10 cm, but there was no significant difference. Elevated temperature had no significant effects on all soil enzyme acitivities at the depths of 10-20 cm in the first and sencond year. The values of above-mentioned soil enzyme all decreased with soil layers. 3) Eleavted temperature enhanced the activities of catalase and polyphenol oxidase in the first year of warming while they turned out downtrend in the second year. The activity of catalase increased by 3.76% and 5.54% at depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm respectively in the first year—after 300 days’ warming (in Sep, 2006), the differences of which had no statistical significance. The activity of polyphenol oxidase was significantly increased by 49.25% at depths of 0-10 cm and not significantly increased by 29.67% at depths of 10-20 cm after 300 days’ warming. In the second year of warming, the catalase activity was significantly decreased by 27.70% after 540 days’ treament (in May, 2007) and not significantly decreased by 4.34% and 1.47% after 600 days’ (in Jul, 2007) and 660 days’ treament (in Sep, 2007) respectively. The activities of catalase and polyphenol oxidase at depths of 10-20 cm were decreased to different extent, but there was no significant difference. Catalase activity stepped down with soil layers while polyphenol oxidase activity stepped up. 4) Increased temperature in both the first year and the second year resulted tendency of decrease in the contents of soil organic carbon and soil organic matter, and C/N ratios at soil depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm. However, with the prolonged warming, the tendency of decrease gradually tapered off and the extent of decrease in the second year of experiment were lower than that in the first year. The contents of soil organic carbon and soil organic matter were all decreased 8.69% by warming in the first year and dcreased 4.35%, 3.80% and 2.44% in May, July and September of the second year, but no significant difference were found. The C/N ratios increased 8.52% in the first year of warming and had less increment in the second year, all of which were not statistical significant. Eleveated temperature had no obvious effect on the content of tatol N in two year consecutive warming experiment. The contents of soil organic carbon and soil organic matter, total N and C/N ratios all had the tendency of dcreasing with soil layers. 5) Soil respiration rates were significantly enhanced by 13.32% and 21.17% after 300 days’ (in Sep, 2006) and 360 days’ (in Nov, 2006) treament in the first year of warming, but the same showed no obvious difference in the second year of treatment, which was assumed the adaptability of soil respiration with a certain heightened temperature. Diurnal soil resspiration showed a daily variation with a minimum value between 4:00 and 10:00 h and a maximum value between 14:00 and 20:00 h, coinciding with the minimum and maximum values of soil temperature at 2 cm. Soil respiration rates exhibited a pronounced seasonal variation with minimum values in Novmber and a maximum value in July, approximately coinciding with the seasonal variation of air and soil temperature. An exponential function provided the best fit for soil respiration with temperature while a quadric equation was used to estimate the effect of soil moisture on soil respiration, which were all significantly correlated. Soil respiraion rate was more highly correlated with the soil temperature than soil moisture.

potential mechanisms involved in resistant phenotype of MCF-7breast carcinoma cells to ionizing radiation induced apoptosis

In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms of apoptosis resistance and the roles of the phosphorylation of BRCA1, p21, the Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio and cell cycle arrest in IR-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. X-irradiation, in particular at low dose (1 Gy), but not carbon ion irradiation, had a significant antiproliferative effect on the growth of MCF-7 cells. 1 Gy X-irradiation resulted in G1 and G2 phase arrest, but 4 Gy induced a significant G1 block. In contrast, carbon ion irradiation resulted in a significant accumulation in the G2 phase. Concomitant with the phosphorylation of H2AX induced by DNA damage,carbon ion irradiation resulted in an approximately 1.9–2.8-fold increase in the phosphorylation of BRCA1 on serine residue 1524, significantly greater than that detected for X-irradiation. Carbon ion irradiation caused a dramatic increase in p21 expression and drastic decrease in Bax expression compared with X-irradiation. The data implicated that phosphorylation of BRCA1 on serine residue 1524 might,at least partially, induce p21 expression but repress Bax expression. Together, our results suggested that the phosphorylation of BRCA1 at Ser-1524 might contribute to the G2 phase arrest and might be an upstream signal involved in preventing apoptosis signal via upregulation of p21 and downregulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio.

COD by magnetic field in electron-cooling section and correction at CSR

Application of electron-cooling upgrades the quality of ion beams in the storage rings and brings new problems. The transverse magnetic field distorts the ion orbit while guiding the intense electron beam. The closed-orbit distortion should be and can be localized and controlled well inside the ring acceptance. This paper deals with the field in the e-cool section and concomitant COD of ion orbit and shows the correction scheme.

Efficient Electrophosphorescence from a Platinum Metallopolyyne Featuring a 2,7-Carbazole Chromophore

The synthesis, thermal and emission properties of an electrophosphorescent platinum(II) metallopolyyne polymer consisting of 9-butylcarbazole-2,7-diyl spacer P1 are described. The optical and electronic properties of P1 are compared to their molecular diplatinum(II) and digold(I) model complexes. The photophysical properties of P1 are somehow analogous to its 2,7-fluorene-linked congener but differs significantly from that for the 3,6-carbazole derivative. Its optical band gap is notably reduced as compared to that for the 3,6-carbazole analog. Multi-layer polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) were fabricated with P1 as the emitting layer which gave a strong green-yellow electrophosphorescence. The best PLED can reach the maximum current efficiency of 4.7 cd . A(-1) at 5 wt.-% doping level, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 1.5%. This represents the first literature example of efficient PLEDs exhibiting pure triplet emission under electrical excitation for metallopolyynes without the concomitant singlet emission.

Synthesis and high efficiency green light-emitting diode of a soluble polymer

A soluble polymer emitting green color with high efficiency was synthesized. Bright green electroluminescence devices, both single layer and multilayer, were fabricated. The luminous efficiency was improved dramatically. Carrier injection from the electrodes to the emissive layer and concomitant green electroluminescence from the emissive layer were observed. A luminance of 920 cd/m(2) and luminous efficiency of 5.35 1m/W were achieved at a drive voltage of 15 V for the multilayer device. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.