Chemical composition and radical scavenging activity of melanin from Auricularia auricula fruiting bodies

Melanin extracted from Auricularia auricula fruiting bodies (AAFB) was examined by element analyzer, amino acid analyzer, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Elemental composition analysis revealed that main component of AAFB melanin was pheomelanin. Amino acid analysis showed that 16 amino acids were found in AAFB melanin and total amino acid content was 321. 63 mg/g. There were 13 detectable metal elements in AAFB melanin, which was rich in Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn. In addition, AAFB melanin exhibited stronger scavenging activities on 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical with IC50 values of 0.18, 0.59 and 0.34 mg/mL, respectively. These results indicated that AAFB melanin might be potentially used as a natural antioxidant.

Composition and color stability of anthocyanin-based extract from purple sweet potato

AbstractPurple sweet potato (PSP) can provide products with attractive color besides nutritious benefits in food processing. So, the compositions and color stability of an aqueous anthocyanin-based PSP extract were investigated in order to promote its wide use in food industry. PSP anthocyanins were extracted with water, and nine individual anthocyanins (48.72 ug mL–1 in total, 24.36 mg/100 g fresh PSP in yield) were found by HPLC analysis. The PSP extract also contained 17.11 mg mL–1 of protein, 0.44 mg mL–1 of dietary fiber, 2.82 mg mL–1 of reducing sugars, 4.02 ug mL–1 of Se, 54.21 ug mL–1 of Ca and 60.83 ug mL–1 of Mg. Changes in color and stability of the PSP extract, as affected by pH, heat, light and extraction process, were further evaluated. Results indicated that PSP anthocyanins had good stability at pH 2.0-6.0, while the color of PSP extract kept stable during 30 days of storage at 20 °C in dark. Both UV and fluorescent exposure weakened the color stability of PSP extract and UV showed a more drastic effect in comparison. A steaming pretreatment of fresh PSP is beneficial to the color stability.

Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seed (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China

Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China were investigated. The proximate analysis showed that moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein and total dietary fiber contents were 4.48, 4.94, 23.65, 21.29 and 38.76 g/100 g, respectively. The main amino acids were glutamic acid and aspartic acid (above 2 g/100 g), followed by histidine, phenylalanine, lysine, arginine, cysteine, leucine, tryptophan, serine, glycine, methionine, threonine and tyrosine (0.8-2 g/100 g). The contents of proline, alanine, valine and isoleucine were less than 0.8 g/100 g. The fatty acid profile showed that linoleic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and linolenic acid (above 0.55 g/100 g) as the most abundant fatty acids followed lauric acid, arachidic acid, gondoic acid and behenic acid (0.03-0.15 g/100 g). Analyses of mineral content indicated that the most abundant mineral was potassium, followed by magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium and manganese. The nutritional composition of hot pepper seeds suggested that they could be regarded as good sources of food ingredients and as new sources of edible oils.

Development of a New Assessment System to Evaluate Students' English Communicative Capacities in China

The purpose of this study was to develop a new English assessment system to evaluate Chinese students' English communicative capacities. Since there is more interaction with people from English-speaking countries, Chinese people attach more importance to English oral skills, and a lot of Western English teaching methods were introduced into China to improve students' English communicative capacities. However, traditional paper-written examinations, like the English test of higher education entry examination, cannot evaluate it effectively. This study explored the perceptions of two Chinese English-language teachers and two Chinese students about English assessment system. A qualitative research method using telephone interviews was conducted in this study. The findings showed that the most possible ways to assess Chinese students' English communicative capacities were paper-written examination and person-machine conversations, although measures should be taken to improve these two models. On the other hand, the model of person-person conversation was the ideal assessment tool but was hard to achieve at the current stage.

Effect of a high fat maternal diet on body composition and bone development in male offspring

Direct high fat (HF) feeding has adverse effects on body composition and bone development in rodents. However, it is unclear whether maternal HF feeding has similar effects in male rat offspring. The objectives of this thesis were to determine if maternal HF feeding altered body composition, plasma hormones, bone development, and bone fatty acid composition in male offspring at weaning and 3 months of age. Maternal HF feeding increased bone mass and altered femur fatty acid composition at weaning, without differences in fat mass, lean mass, plasma hormones, or bone mass (femur or lumbar vertebrae). However, early differences did not persist at 3 months of age or contribute to lower bone strength – following consumption of a control diet post-weaning. These findings suggest that maternal HF feeding can alter body composition and bone development in weanling male offspring, without long-lasting effects if a healthy control diet is consumed post-weaning.

Maternal High Fat Feeding: Impact of Female Offspring Body Composition and Bone Health

High fat diet (HFD) consumption in rodents alters body composition and weakens bones. Whether female offspring of mothers consuming a HFD are similarly affected at weaning and early adulthood is unclear. This research determined whether maternal HFD contributes to long-lasting alterations in body composition and bone health of female offspring. Rats were fed control or HFD for 10 weeks prior to and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Female offspring were studied at weaning or 3 months of age (consumed control diet). Main findings in female offspring: maternal HFD decreased lean mass, increased fat mass and femoral BMD at weaning, but not at 3 months; weanling femoral lipid composition reflected maternal diet, persisting to 3 months of age (decreased total and n6 polyunsaturates, increased saturates); and no differences in femoral strength at 3 months. In summary, 3 month old female offspring have similar body composition and bone health regardless of maternal diet.

Being anglophone : language, place and identity in Quebec's eastern townships

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Studies on the Composition and Structure of Palm Oil Glycerides

During the last couple of decades, the oil palm has emerged as the second largest source of edible oil in the world. Recently oil palm has been introduced commercially in India to augment edible oil supply in the country. Currently, about 10,000 hectares are under oil palm cultivation in India, and it is envisaged to cover about 6 lakh hectares in the coming years. Though oil palm is a major commercial oil crop, not much basic information on the lipids of the fruit (the source of palm oil) is available even where oil palm is cultivated in a very large scale. Being a new crop to India, it is of paramount importance to understand the basic chemistry/biochemistry of the lipids, which in turn, may find practical applications in the area of processing and product development. The present investigation entitled "Studies on the Composition and Structure of Palm Oil Glycerides" was designed with a view to elucidate the lipid composition and structure under conditions such as fruit development and processing.

English vocabulary teaching and learning strategies in Secondary Education

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Congress composition and electoral advantage

In 2003, an electoral reform changed the mechanism to assign seats in the Colombian Congress. I simulate the 2006 Senate elections using the previous assignment mechanism to determine which senators benefited from the reform, i.e. would have not been elected had the reform not been made. With the results of the simulation, I use a regression discontinuity design to compare the senators that would have been barely elected anyways with those who would have lost, but were near to be elected. I check the differences in the amount of law drafts presented, the attendance to voting sessions, and a discipline index for each senator as proxy of their legislative behavior. I find that the senators benefiting from the reform present a different legislative behavior during the 4-year term with respect to the senators that would have been elected anyways. Since the differential legislative behavior cannot be interpreted as being better (worse) politician, I examine if the behavioral difference gives them an electoral advantage. I find no difference in the electoral result of 2010 Senate election in terms of the probability of being (re)elected in 2010, the share of votes, the share of votes within their party list, and the concentration of their votes. Additionally, I check the probability of being investigated for links with paramilitary groups and I find no differences. The results suggest that political reforms can change the composition of governing or legislative bodies in terms of performance, but it does not necessarily translate into an electoral advantage.

Language learning and MUDs : an overview. 'Aprendizaje de idiomas y MUDs : una visión general'.

La traducción literal de MUD es Mazmorra o Calabozo multiusuario o Dimensión multiusuario. Un MUD es un juego de rol en línea que es ejecutado en un servidor. El artículo incluye direcciones de varios MUDs

Second lives and newer islands : language, culture and identity through migration literature. 'Second lives and newer islands : lengua, cultura e identidad a trav??s de la literatura de migraci??n'

Resumen en espa??ol

Form-focused instruction in second language teaching and learning : theoretical proposals and research findings.

El artículo revisar diferentes propuestas de investigación y teóricas sobre el aprendizaje y enseñanza de la segunda lengua.

Supporting children with speech and language impairment and associated difficulties : suggestions for supporting the development of language, listening, behavior and co-ordination skills.

Este recurso describe cómo una proporción significativa de niños en edad escolar tienen dificultades en el habla y cómo éstas afectan negativamente en su aprendizaje, tanto en entornos especializados como en generales. En él se esbozan las principales áreas de dificultad para los alumnos, y sugiere cómo los profesores pueden hacer que el programa sea más accesible para facilitar el aprendizaje. Se tratan el lenguaje expresivo, el lenguaje receptivo, el uso social del lenguaje y dificultades en el desarrollo de la coordinación, así como temas específicos como el plan de estudios de inglés, matemáticas y ciencias. A lo largo de la publicación hay información e ideas para apoyar a estos alumnos, y una amplia selección de sugerencias de buenas prácticas. Se incluye un programa de habilidades motoras, rimas para la producción del habla, trabajo de memoria, y páginas fotocopiables de diccionario.