Antioxidants in Hot Pepper: Variation Among Accessions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pepper (Capsicum spp.) germplasm collection contains several thousand members or accessions. Many of these species and cultivars have not been analyzed for their concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, and total phenolic compounds, which are important antioxidants having a number of benefits for human health. The objective of this investigation was to select candidate accessions of hot pepper having high concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, free sugars, and total phenols for use as parents in breeding for these compounds. Seventeen accessions of pepper from the core Capsicum germplasm collection (four accessions of Capsicum chinense; five accessions of C. baccatum; six accessions of C. annuum; and two of C. frutescens) were field grown and their mature fruits were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. Concentrations of these compounds tended to be higher in C. chinense and C. baccatum, than in C. annuum and C. frutescens. Across all accessions the concentration of total phenols was correlated with ascorbic acid (r = 0.97) and free sugars (r = 0.80). Concentrations of total phenols (1.4, 1.3, and 1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) and ascorbic acid (1.6, 1.2, and 1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) were significantly greater in PI-633757, PI-387833, and PI-633754, respectively, compared to other accessions analyzed. Total capsaicinoids concentrations were greatest (1.3 mg g^?1 fruit) in PI-438622 and lowest (0.002 mg g^?1 fruit) in Grif-9320. The great variability within and among Capsicum species for these phytochemicals suggests that these selected accessions may be useful as parents in hybridization programs to produce fruits with value-added traits.     

Application of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of clenbuterol residues in swine urine and feeds

The present study outlines applications of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the analysis of clenbuterol residues. Antisera were raised from rabbits immunized with diazotized clenbuterol-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate. The assay was specific to clenbuterol with a half-maximum inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) of 1.8 ng/mL and 2.5 ng/mL in blank swine urine and phosphate buffer solution, respectively. The assay had high cross-reactivity (86%) with mabuterol, but low with other adrenergic agonists and antagonists. The average recovery of clenbuterol, as measured with the ELISA, ranged from 90% to 112% in swine urine samples and from 86% to 95% in feeds, respectively. This new assay was compared with commercial ELISA test kits. An excellent correlation (r ² = 0.98) between the two methods and satisfactory recoveries suggest that the new assay can be suitable for the determination of clenbuterol residues in real samples. The assay was used to analyze clenbuterol residues in 103 swine urine samples and 68 feed samples collected from northern China. Approximately 50% of the urine samples and 25% of the feed samples analyzed were found positive (concentration of clenbuterol ≥ 1 ppb). The results indicate that clenbuterol was misused in some of the areas surveyed.     

Biochemical effects of some organo‐phosphorus insecticides on new targets in white rats

Abstract

The three S‐n‐propyl phosphates and phosphothioates: RH 218, profenofos and prothiophos were compared with fenitrothion in their potential as inhibitors of rat liver and brain AChE. Fenitrothion was more potent as an inhibitor than the three S‐n‐propyl derivatives. Incubation of hepatic protein enhanced ChE inhibition in brain in the case of fenitrothion, while it reduced the inhibitory effect of the S‐n‐propyl derivatives. On the other hand, the four organophosphorus esters caused hypoglycemia in both male and female rats and also reduced their blood urea with different degrees.     

Watershed management and the Web

Watershed analysis and watershed management are developing as tools of integrated ecological and economic study. They also assist decision-making at the regional scale. The new technology and thinking offered by the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web is highly complementary to some of the goals of watershed analysis. Services delivered by the Web are open, interactive, fast, spatially distributed, hierarchical and flexible. The Web offers the ability to display information creatively, to interact with that information and to change and modify it remotely. In this way the Internet provides a much-needed opportunity to deliver scientific findings and information to stakeholders and to link stakeholders together providing for collective decision-making. The benefits fall into two major categories: methodological and educational. Methodologically the approach furthers the watershed management concept, offering an avenue for practical implementation of watershed management principles. For educational purposes the Web is a source of data and insight serving a variety of needs at all levels. We use the Patuxent River case study to illustrate the web-based approach to watershed management. A watershed scale simulation model is built for the Patuxent area and it serves as a core for watershed management design based on web applications. It integrates the knowledge available for the Patuxent area in a comprehensive and systematic format, and provides a conceptual basis for understanding the performance of the watershed as a system. Moreover, the extensive data collection and conceptualisation required within the framework of the modeling effort stimulates close contact with the environmental management community. This is further enhanced by offering access to the modeling results and the data sets over the Web. Additional web applications and links are provided to increase awareness and involvement of stakeholders in the watershed management process. We argue that it is not the amount and quality of information that is crucial for the success of watershed management, but how well the information is disseminated, shared and used by the stakeholders. In this respect the Web offers a wealth of opportunities for the decision-making process, but still to be answered are the questions at what scale and how widely will the Web be accepted as a management tool, and how can watershed management benefit from web applications.     

土地资源利用保护与农业生态建设

本文阐述了国内外土地后备资源现状及存在问题,解剖了土壤肥力演化机制和土壤资源保护的关系,介绍了我国生态农业建设的研究进展,指出了今后的主攻方向。     

城市发展质量的综合评价--以江苏省13个省辖市为例

在城市发展质量评价指标体系构建的基础上,依据一定的规则确定各评价指标的目标值,根据综合评价方法,对江苏省13个省辖市2000-2002年各城市发展质量进行综合分析.提出测算城市质量系统间协调发展程度的一般计量模型,根据此模型及城市发展质量综合评价的结论,分别研究了13个城市在近三年的城市化进程中,城市质量系统发展的协调性.     

A GFP-based bacterial biosensor with chromosomally integrated sensing cassette for quantitative detection of Hg(II) in environment

A mercury biosensor was constructed by integrating biosensor genetic elements into E. coli JM109 chromosome in a single copy number, using the attP/attB recombination mechanism of λphage. The genetic elements used include a regulatory protein gene (merR) along with operator/promoter (O/P) derived from the mercury resistance operon from pDU1358 plasmid of Serratia marcescens. The expression of reporter gene gfp is also controlled by merR/O/P. Integration of the construct into the chromosome was done to increase the stability and precision of the biosensor. This biosensor could detect Hg(II) ions in the concentration range of 100-1700 nmol/L, and manifest the result as the expression of GFP. The GFP expression was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) for each concentration of inducing Hg(II) ions in the detection range, which reduces the chances of misinterpretation of results. A model using regression method was also derived for the quantification of the concentration of Hg(II) in water samples.     

丽江盆地地表-地下水的水化学特征及其控制因素

2008年11月～2009年10月在丽江盆地-玉龙雪山地区采集白水河、三束河、哥吉河、束河河水及流域内地下水样品,使用离子色谱法分析了样品主要阴阳离子含量,研究了岩溶地区地表及地下水体的水化学特征、季节变化及其控制因素.结果表明,研究区水体均呈现弱碱性,主要离子组成以Ca2+和HCO3-为主,分别占阳离子和阴离子总量的54.8%和92.4%;不同季节河水的离子浓度差别较大,季风期离子浓度仅为西风期离子浓度的80%左右,表明季风期丰沛的大气降水输入对河水离子特征有较为显著的影响;河水离子浓度普遍低于盆地地下水主要阴阳离子浓度;河水和地下水的无机离子浓度都呈现出从高海拔到低海拔离子含量递增的规律.碳酸盐的风化溶解作用是水体离子的主要来源,季风期降水对水体的离子特征也有一定的影响,人类活动对人类聚居区部分天然水体已造成轻度污染.     

萘降解菌MQ合成靛蓝的研究

利用萘降解菌(丛毛单胞菌)MQ完整细胞对吲哚进行转化合成靛蓝,结果表明菌株MQ具有较好的靛蓝合成能力,靛蓝产量在4h左右即达到稳定.薄层色谱和高效液相色谱分析结果表明,合成的蓝色产物为靛蓝.考察了反应温度及摇床转速对靛蓝合成的影响,结果表明最适温度和转速分别为25℃和150r·min-1.随后,采用表面响应法确定了菌株MQ合成靛蓝的最优条件:菌株接种量OD6602.16,吲哚浓度200.55mg·L-1,pH=6.91.在最优条件下,菌株MQ合成靛蓝的产量为53.05mg·L-1,比初始条件下的产量提高了179%.     

钙、镁离子在水流作用下对铜绿微囊藻生长的影响

为了解在"引江济太"过程中大量钙、镁离子的引入对铜绿微囊藻生长的影响,本实验在控制温度和光照条件下,室内模拟不同钙、镁离子浓度在两个特征流速5 cm/s和15 cm/s下微囊藻的生长。实验结果表明,微囊藻藻密度随钙、镁离子浓度的增加而增加,流速在15cm/s下微囊藻最大藻密度(9 236.4×104cell/mL)是流速为5 cm/s下最大藻密度(2 873.72×104cell/mL)的3倍,流速为15 cm/s下微囊藻最大比增长速率均较5 cm/s下的高。这可能是在水流产生的剪切力作用下藻细胞胞外多糖增加,粘附更多的钙、镁离子更利于钙、镁离子迁移到胞内,同时胞外附着的钙、镁离子尤其钙离子形成桥联,使微囊藻细胞形成群体产生微环境利于微囊藻的生长。水流对微囊藻利用钙、镁离子有重要的影响,这为有效调水抑制蓝藻生长提供科学依据。