Importance of vegetation dynamics for future terrestrial carbon cycling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlström, Anders; Smith, Benjamin; Xia, Jianyang; Luo, Yiqi; Arneth, Almut

2015-01-01

Terrestrial ecosystems currently sequester about one third of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions each year, an important ecosystem service that dampens climate change. The future fate of this net uptake of CO 2 by land based ecosystems is highly uncertain. Most ecosystem models used to predict the future terrestrial carbon cycle share a common architecture, whereby carbon that enters the system as net primary production (NPP) is distributed to plant compartments, transferred to litter and soil through vegetation turnover and then re-emitted to the atmosphere in conjunction with soil decomposition. However, while all models represent the processes of NPP and soil decomposition, they vary greatly in their representations of vegetation turnover and the associated processes governing mortality, disturbance and biome shifts. Here we used a detailed second generation dynamic global vegetation model with advanced representation of vegetation growth and mortality, and the associated turnover. We apply an emulator that describes the carbon flows and pools exactly as in simulations with the full model. The emulator simulates ecosystem dynamics in response to 13 different climate or Earth system model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 ensemble under RCP8.5 radiative forcing. By exchanging carbon cycle processes between these 13 simulations we quantified the relative roles of three main driving processes of the carbon cycle; (I) NPP, (II) vegetation dynamics and turnover and (III) soil decomposition, in terms of their contribution to future carbon (C) uptake uncertainties among the ensemble of climate change scenarios. We found that NPP, vegetation turnover (including structural shifts, wild fires and mortality) and soil decomposition rates explained 49%, 17% and 33%, respectively, of uncertainties in modelled global C-uptake. Uncertainty due to vegetation turnover was further partitioned into stand-clearing disturbances (16%), wild fires (0%), stand

Genotypic variability in faba bean (vicia faba L.) for seed yield and protein content under drought stress during vegetative and Reproductive Stages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelmula, A. A.; Gasim, S. M.; Link, W.; Mohamed, A. A.; Khalifa, J. E.

2012-01-01

Faba bean (viciafaba L.) is subjected to drought stress during different growth stages. In this study, variability in seed yield and protein content was investigated when drought occurred during the vegetative and reproductive stages. Twenty two genotypes of faba bean were field evaluated under three levels of drought stress at two locations in the Sudan. The three levels of drought were normal watering (non-stress), drought during the vegetative stage and drought during the reproductive stage. Data were collected on yield and vegetative traits and protein content. The results showed that yield, as well as other traits, were reduced by drought. The genotypes exhibited significant differences for 100 seed weight, plant height and protein content. The interaction between the genotypes and drought was significant for yield/plant. Some genotypes were more sensitive when drought occurred during the vegetative stage, some when drought occurred during the vegetative stage, and others were more stable under the three levels of drought. yield/plant showed significant covariance with pods/plant and plant height. The association between different characters varied according to trait and the time of drought incidence. The correlation of yield/plant with protein content was negative under all drought levels, and the average correlation coefficient was 0.32. It could be concluded that the specific adaptation and the wide adaptation have great implication for improving faba bean under drought. To select for high seed yield under drought, secondary characters, such as pods/plant and plant height could be of great importance. Drought could reduce protein content and affect its association with yield/plant.(Author)

7 CFR 319.56-11 - Importation of dried, cured, or processed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... QUARANTINE NOTICES Fruits and Vegetables § 319.56-11 Importation of dried, cured, or processed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. (a) Dried, cured, or processed fruits and vegetables (except frozen fruits and... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Importation of dried, cured, or processed fruits...

Vegetable Protein Sources Used as Feed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olimpia Colibar

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The comparative effect of using some vegetal raw flours (Glycine hispida, Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia faba, treated by autoclaving, introduced in the feeding white rats, was followed by the presented experiments. Feeding growing rats with diets containing raw grain legumes, as the main source of protein, reduce the rate of growth. This effect attenuates with the aging of rats. Inhibition of growth is the most evident in the consumption of raw beans (by 33% over the control group. Autoclaving reduces the level of anti-nutritive factors (with 0.2% - 36.73% and decreases the growth inhibition (with 10.7% - 27.51%.

Occurrence and importance of anaerobic ammonium-oxidising bacteria in vegetable soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Li-dong; Wu, Hong-sheng; Gao, Zhi-qiu; Xu, Xiang-hua; Chen, Tie-xi; Liu, Shuai; Cheng, Hai-xiang

2015-07-01

The quantitative importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) has been described in paddy fields, while the presence and importance of anammox in subsurface soil from vegetable fields have not been determined yet. Here, we investigated the occurrence and activity of anammox bacteria in five different types of vegetable fields located in Jiangsu Province, China. Stable isotope experiments confirmed the anammox activity in the examined soils, with the potential rates of 2.1 and 23.2 nmol N2 g(-1) dry soil day(-1), and the anammox accounted for 5.9-20.5% of total soil dinitrogen gas production. It is estimated that a total loss of 7.1-78.2 g N m(-2) year(-1) could be linked to the anammox process in the examined vegetable fields. Phylogenetic analyses showed that multiple co-occurring anammox genera were present in the examined soils, including Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Anammoxoglobus and Candidatus Jettenia, and Candidatus Brocadia appeared to be the most common anammox genus. Quantitative PCR further confirmed the presence of anammox bacteria in the examined soils, with the abundance varying from 2.8 × 10(5) to 3.0 × 10(6) copies g(-1) dry soil. Correlation analyses suggested that the soil ammonium concentration had significant influence on the activity and abundance of anammox bacteria in the examined soils. The results of our study showed the presence of diverse anammox bacteria and indicated that the anammox process could serve as an important nitrogen loss pathway in vegetable fields.

Peroxisome protein import: a complex journey.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Alison; Lanyon-Hogg, Thomas; Warriner, Stuart L

2016-06-15

The import of proteins into peroxisomes possesses many unusual features such as the ability to import folded proteins, and a surprising diversity of targeting signals with differing affinities that can be recognized by the same receptor. As understanding of the structure and function of many components of the protein import machinery has grown, an increasingly complex network of factors affecting each step of the import pathway has emerged. Structural studies have revealed the presence of additional interactions between cargo proteins and the PEX5 receptor that affect import potential, with a subtle network of cargo-induced conformational changes in PEX5 being involved in the import process. Biochemical studies have also indicated an interdependence of receptor-cargo import with release of unloaded receptor from the peroxisome. Here, we provide an update on recent literature concerning mechanisms of protein import into peroxisomes. © 2016 The Author(s).

Quantitative methods for differentiation of vegetable and animal proteins in foods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elenbaas, H.L.

1982-01-01

Op verzoek van de nederlandse delegatie van het Codex Committee on vegetable proteins ( CXVP) hebben twee leden van de werkgroep MOVE in samenwerking met het CXVP (Van Gils) een working paper opgesteld over geschikte kwantitatieve methoden voor de differentiatie van plantaardige en dierlijke

Structure and composition of woody vegetation in two important bird areas in southern Zimbabwe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gandiwa, P.; Chinoitezvi, E.; Gandiwa, E.

2013-01-01

This study assessed the status of woody vegetation structure and composition in two Important Bird Areas (IBA) i.e. Manjinji Pan and Save-Runde Junction located in southeastern Zimbabwe. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the woody vegetation structure and composition of the study

Mass-spectrometry data for Rhizoctonia solani proteins produced during infection of wheat and vegetative growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan P. Anderson

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Rhizoctonia solani is an important root infecting pathogen of a range of food staples worldwide including wheat, rice, maize, soybean, potato, legumes and others. Conventional resistance breeding strategies are hindered by the absence of tractable genetic resistance in any crop host. Understanding the biology and pathogenicity mechanisms of this fungus is important for addressing these disease issues, however, little is known about how R. solani causes disease. The data described in this article is derived from applying mass spectrometry based proteomics to identify soluble, membrane-bound and culture filtrate proteins produced under wheat infection and vegetative growth conditions. Comparisons of the data for sample types in this set will be useful to identify metabolic pathway changes as the fungus switches from saprophytic to a pathogenic lifestyle or pathogenicity related proteins contributing to the ability to cause disease on wheat. The data set is deposited in the PRIDE archive under identifier PRIDE: PXD002806. Keywords: Fungal pathogenesis, Wheat, Rhizoctonia solani, Basidiomycete

Amino acids and proteins

Science.gov (United States)

A balanced, safe diet with proteins is important to meet nutritional requirements. Proteins occur in animal as well as vegetable products in important quantities. In some countries, many people obtain much of their protein from animal products. In other regions, the major portion of dietary protein ...

Efficacy of protein bait sprays in controlling melon fruit fly [Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett)] in vegetable agro-ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abro, Z.U.A.; Baloch, N.

2017-01-01

Melon fruit fly [Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett)] is an injurious pest of vegetables and fruits throughout the cosmos. Vegetables are key source of proteins, minerals and vitamins for human nutrition. However, a number of factors, such as Tephritid flies, confine production of vegetables. Among them , B. cucurbitae is most deleterious pests of the vegetables. In the present investigation, conducted at two field locations of district, Hyderabad during 2016, efficacy of various bait sprays was evaluated in controlling Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) infestation. The field locations were Jeay Shah and Dehli farm and the cucurbit vegetable crops were bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and bitter gourd ( Momordica charantia). For this purpose, three food attractants such as Nu-lure, Protein hydrolysate and Prima were sprayed on onemeter square per field area, as spot treatment. Significantly higher reductions in B. cucurbitae infestations (24.80+-2.63, 21.20+-2.75) were recorded with Protein hydrolysate followed by Nu-lure (27.80+-3.26, 24.20+-3.57), as compared with untreated plots, at both field locations (P<0.05). Moreover, higher number of pupae were recovered (121.40+-13.81, 115.00+-14.17) and higher number of flies and trap catches were observed in control (P<0.05). This study established that Protein hydrolysate is an effective food attractant for reducing B. cucurbitae in all the tested cucurbits. Results of the present investigation would be useful in developing a sustainable pest management strategy in the cucurbit agro-ecosystem. (author)

Protein import into isolated pea root leucoplasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiung-Chih eChu

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Leucoplasts are important organelles for the synthesis and storage of starch, lipids and proteins. However, molecular mechanism of protein import into leucoplasts and how it differs from that of import into chloroplasts remain unknown. We used pea seedlings for both chloroplast and leucoplast isolations to compare within the same species. We further optimized the isolation and import conditions to improve import efficiency and to permit a quantitative comparison between the two plastid types. The authenticity of the import was verified using a mitochondrial precursor protein. Our results show that, when normalized to Toc75, most translocon proteins are less abundant in leucoplasts than in chloroplasts. A precursor shown to prefer the receptor Toc132 indeed had relatively more similar import efficiencies between chloroplasts and leucoplasts compared to precursors that preferred Toc159. Furthermore we found two precursors that exhibited very high import efficiency into leucoplasts. Their transit peptides may be candidates for delivering transgenic proteins into leucoplasts and for analyzing motifs important for leucoplast import.

The importance of coprophagous macrodetritivores for the maintenance of vegetation heterogeneity in an African savannah

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Howison, Ruth A.; Berg, Matty P.; Smit, Christian; van Dijk, Kaylee; Olff, Han

Grazing ecosystems are often characterized by dynamic vegetation structure mosaics of short grazing lawns and tall grass vegetation that are important for the biodiversity and functioning of these ecosystems. Grazing-induced trampling, causing soil compaction and reduced water infiltration, has been

The Importance of Coprophagous Macrodetritivores for the Maintenance of Vegetation Heterogeneity in an African Savannah

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Howison, R.A.; Berg, M.P.; Smit, C.; van Dijk, Kaylee

2016-01-01

Grazing ecosystems are often characterized by dynamic vegetation structure mosaics of short grazing lawns and tall grass vegetation that are important for the biodiversity and functioning of these ecosystems. Grazing-induced trampling, causing soil compaction and reduced water infiltration, has been

Radioisotope method for characterization of vegetable tannins, extracted from waste of forestry production in Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santana Romero, J.L.; Martinez Luzardo, F.; Codorniu Hernandez, E.; Vargas Guerra, L.; Melo Cala, P.; Garcia Guillen, M.; Isaac Olive, K.; Estevez, P.; Roque Cordoba, A.; Benitez, M.

2002-01-01

Vegetable tannins are polyphenolic plants secondary metabolites, widely distributed in all parts of trees and herbs. The role of these substances in many metabolic processes is very important. Vegetable tannins have been implicated as probable antinutritional factors, decreasing the assimilation of diet protein assimilation by cattle. On the other hand, protective antioxidant and antimutagenic properties have been ascribed for these compounds. Characterization of vegetable tannins is important in order to find new sources of natural raw materials with medical and pharmaceutical applications. Protein precipitation capacity as a function of pH, competitive protein and ADN binding assays and the determination of tannins concentration are described. Radioisotope labeled protein and tannins were used in all of the determinations. (author)

Extraction methods and test techniques for detection of vegetable proteins in meat products. I. Qualitative detection of soya derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyslop, N S

1976-06-01

Extracts of 3 soya bean preparations, used commercially in certain countries to replace part of the meat in popular meat products, were made by treatment with (i) sodium dodecyl sulphate, (ii) Triton-X100 or (iii) n-Butanol. Similar extracts were made from beef and pork. All extracts were examined by electrophoretic and immunological techniques. Stained polyacrylamide gels revealed distinctive protein bands after electrophoresis. The migration rates of corresponding bands differed between beef and pork extracts. However, the migration rates of vegetable bands revealed certain similarities, but differed very greatly from those of animal origin. Characteristic fast-migrating S-bands were distinguishable only in extracts of vegetable protein. Immunodiffusion tests, using antisera produced in rabbits against each extract, revealed varying degrees of similarity between extracts of vegetable origin, but the antisera were specific for either vegetable or animal protein.

UTILIZATION OF MEMBRANE MICROFILTRATION IN PREPARATION OF HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN FROM FERMENTED RED BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris L. EXTRACT AS FORTIFICATION AGENT

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Sri Moerniati

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Preparation of Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP as savory flavor from fermented red bean broth through stirred membrane cell using micro filtration membrane with pore size of 0.45 µm was performed to get fortified agent utilized in preparation of beans sauce. The objective of this work was to study an effect of pressure and kind of red bean broth extract on content of total protein, soluble protein and dry solid in the retentate and permeate as hydrolyzed vegetable protein used for fortified agent of red bean sauces. Preparation process of hydrolyzed vegetable protein was done using fixed rotary speed of 400 rpm, pressure of 20, 25 and 30 psi at room temperature. To investigate the effect of pressure on this separation, the feed were red bean broth extract fermented for 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks, respectively. Fermentation process were conducted using salt fermentation with inoculum of Rhizopus-C1, salt and red bean ratios of 30:10:60%. The analysis of flux and contents of total protein, dissolved protein and dry solid in the retentate and permeate was carried out, and the result of experiment showed that interaction of Red bean broth extract with 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of fermentation and operation condition of microfiltration membrane separation tends to affect on flux and content of total protein, dissolved protein and dry solid in retentate and permeate. Red bean broth extract for 6 weeks fermentation resulted higher protein content in permeate as hydrolyzed vegetable protein than in retentate. Permeate at pressure of 25 psi gives flux value of 0.0217 mL/cm2.minute and contents of total protein of 1.31 %, dissolved protein of 6.9 mg/g, and dry solid of 2.6%, while retentate as hydrolyzed vegetable protein or fortified agent indicate contents of total protein of 1.52%, dissolved protein of 4.15 mg/g, and dry solid of 3.64%. It was found that micro filtration process was able to increase dissolved protein content of about 3 times.   Keywords

Quantitative methods for differentiation of vegetable and animal proteins in foods II

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olsman, W.J.; Groot, de W.; Elenbaas, H.L.

1983-01-01

Op verzoek van de Nederlandse delegatie van het Codex Committee on vegetable proteins (CXVP) is een tweede "working paper" over de differentiatie van plantaardige en dierlijke eiwitten in voedingsmiddelen samengesteld. Deze "working paper" is een vervolg op de eerste van november 1981 over hetzelfde

Feed based on vegetable materials changes the muscle proteome of the carnivore rainbow trout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jessen, Flemming; Wulff, Tune; Bach Mikkelsen, J.

2011-01-01

Feed production for aquaculture of carnivore fish species relies heavily on protein and lipid from the limited resources of wild fish and other sea living organisms. Thus the development of alternative feeds replacing fish meal and oil with components of vegetable origin is important for a sustai......Feed production for aquaculture of carnivore fish species relies heavily on protein and lipid from the limited resources of wild fish and other sea living organisms. Thus the development of alternative feeds replacing fish meal and oil with components of vegetable origin is important...... trout fed two different diets identical in protein and oil content, but with diet C based on fish meal and oil and diet V based on rapeseed oil and vegetable proteins. In addition to the proteomic investigation the textural properties of the fish were analysed by sensory profiling. Protein expression...

Polycomb Group Proteins RING1A and RING1B Regulate the Vegetative Phase Transition in Arabidopsis

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Jian Li

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Polycomb group (PcG protein-mediated gene silencing is a major regulatory mechanism in higher eukaryotes that affects gene expression at the transcriptional level. Here, we report that two conserved homologous PcG proteins, RING1A and RING1B (RING1A/B, are required for global H2A monoubiquitination (H2Aub in Arabidopsis. The mutation of RING1A/B increased the expression of members of the SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL gene family and caused an early vegetative phase transition. The early vegetative phase transition observed in ring1a ring1b double mutant plants was dependent on an SPL family gene, and the H2Aub status of the chromatin at SPL locus was dependent on RING1A/B. Moreover, mutation in RING1A/B affected the miRNA156a-mediated vegetative phase transition, and RING1A/B and the AGO7-miR390-TAS3 pathway were found to additively regulate this transition in Arabidopsis. Together, our results demonstrate that RING1A/B regulates the vegetative phase transition in Arabidopsis through the repression of SPL family genes.

The effects of a high-animal- and a high-vegetable-protein diet on mineral balance and bowel function of young men

OpenAIRE

Dokkum, W. van; Wesstra, A.; Luyken, R.; Hermus, R.J.J.

1986-01-01

Twelve young men were given for periods of 20 d, each of three mixed diets, namely a low-protein (LP) diet (9% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin), a high-animal-protein (HA) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin) and a high-vegetable-protein (HV) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of vegetable origin). Retention of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper as well as various bowel function indices were investigated during each dietary period. Neither the HA d...

When is protein binding important?

Science.gov (United States)

Heuberger, Jules; Schmidt, Stephan; Derendorf, Hartmut

2013-09-01

The present paper is an ode to a classic citation by Benet and Hoener (2002. Clin Pharm Ther 71(3):115-121). The now classic paper had a huge impact on drug development and the way the issue of protein binding is perceived and interpreted. Although the authors very clearly pointed out the limitations and underlying assumptions for their delineations, these are too often overlooked and the classic paper's message is misinterpreted by broadening to cases that were not intended. Some members of the scientific community concluded from the paper that protein binding is not important. This was clearly not intended by the authors, as they finished their paper with a paragraph entitled: "When is protein binding important?" Misinterpretation of the underlying assumptions in the classic work can result in major pitfalls in drug development. Therefore, we revisit the topic of protein binding with the intention of clarifying when clinically relevant changes should be considered during drug development. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Beyond Precipitation: Physiographic Gradients Dictate the Relative Importance of Environmental Drivers on Savanna Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Campo-Bescós, Miguel A.; Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael; Kaplan, David A.; Southworth, Jane; Zhu, Likai; Waylen, Peter R.

2013-01-01

Background Understanding the drivers of large-scale vegetation change is critical to managing landscapes and key to predicting how projected climate and land use changes will affect regional vegetation patterns. This study aimed to improve our understanding of the role, magnitude and spatial distribution of the key environmental factors driving vegetation change in southern African savanna, and how they vary across physiographic gradients. Methodology/Principal Findings We applied Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA), a multivariate times series dimension reduction technique to ten years of monthly remote sensing data (MODIS-derived normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) and a suite of environmental covariates: precipitation, mean and maximum temperature, soil moisture, relative humidity, fire and potential evapotranspiration. Monthly NDVI was described by cyclic seasonal variation with distinct spatiotemporal patterns in different physiographic regions. Results support existing work emphasizing the importance of precipitation, soil moisture and fire on NDVI, but also reveal overlooked effects of temperature and evapotranspiration, particularly in regions with higher mean annual precipitation. Critically, spatial distributions of the weights of environmental covariates point to a transition in the importance of precipitation and soil moisture (strongest in grass-dominated regions with precipitation950 mm). Conclusions/Significance We quantified the combined spatiotemporal effects of an available suite of environmental drivers on NDVI across a large and diverse savanna region. The analysis supports known drivers of savanna vegetation but also uncovers important roles of temperature and evapotranspiration. Results highlight the utility of applying the DFA approach to remote sensing products for regional analyses of landscape change in the context of global environmental change. With the dramatic increase in global change research, this methodology augurs well for

Meals based on vegetable protein sources (beans and peas) are more satiating than meals based on animal protein sources (veal and pork) – a randomized cross-over meal test study

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Marlene D.; Bendsen, Nathalie T.; Christensen, Sheena M.; Astrup, Arne; Raben, Anne

2016-01-01

Background Recent nutrition recommendations advocate a reduction in protein from animal sources (pork, beef) because of environmental concerns. Instead, protein from vegetable sources (beans, peas) should be increased. However, little is known about the effect of these vegetable protein sources on appetite regulation. Objective To examine whether meals based on vegetable protein sources (beans/peas) are comparable to meals based on animal protein sources (veal/pork) regarding meal-induced appetite sensations. Design In total, 43 healthy, normal-weight, young men completed this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way, cross-over meal test. The meals (all 3.5 MJ, 28 energy-% (E%) fat) were either high protein based on veal and pork meat, HP-Meat (19 E% protein, 53 E% carbohydrate, 6 g fiber/100 g); high protein based on legumes (beans and peas), HP-Legume (19 E% protein, 53 E% carbohydrate, 25 g fiber/100 g); or low-protein based on legumes, LP-Legume (9 E% protein, 62 E% carbohydrate, 10 g fiber/100 g). Subjective appetite sensations were recorded at baseline and every half hour using visual analog scales until the ad libitum meal 3 h after the test meal. Repeated measurements analyses and summary analyses were performed using ANCOVA (SAS). Results HP-Legume induced lower composite appetite score, hunger, prospective food consumption, and higher fullness compared to HP-Meat and LP-Legume (ppeas) influenced appetite sensations favorably compared to animal-based meals (pork/veal) with similar energy and protein content, but lower fiber content. Interestingly, a vegetable-based meal with low protein content was as satiating and palatable as an animal-based meal with high protein content. PMID:27765144

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Vegetable and Cereal Proteins as Potential Sources of Novel Food Ingredients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cintya Soria-Hernández

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Proteins from vegetable and cereal sources are an excellent alternative to substitute animal-based counterparts because of their reduced cost, abundant supply and good nutritional value. The objective of this investigation is to study a set of vegetable and cereal proteins in terms of physicochemical and functional properties. Twenty protein sources were studied: five soya bean flour samples, one pea flour and fourteen newly developed blends of soya bean and maize germ (fi ve concentrates and nine hydrolysates. The physicochemical characterization included pH (5.63 to 7.57, electrical conductivity (1.32 to 4.32 mS/cm, protein content (20.78 to 94.24 % on dry mass basis, free amino nitrogen (0.54 to 2.87 mg/g and urease activity (0.08 to 2.20. The functional properties showed interesting differences among proteins: water absorption index ranged from 0.41 to 18.52, the highest being of soya and maize concentrates. Nitrogen and water solubility ranged from 10.14 to 74.89 % and from 20.42 to 95.65 %, respectively. Fat absorption and emulsification activity indices ranged from 2.59 to 4.72 and from 3936.6 to 52 399.2 m2/g respectively, the highest being of pea flour. Foam activity (66.7 to 475.0 % of the soya and maize hydrolysates was the best. Correlation analyses showed that hydrolysis affected solubility-related parameters whereas fat-associated indices were inversely correlated with water-linked parameters. Foam properties were better of proteins treated with low heat, which also had high urease activity. Physicochemical and functional characterization of the soya and maize protein concentrates and hydrolysates allowed the identification of differences regarding other vegetable and cereal protein sources such as pea or soya bean.

Protein import into isolated pea root leucoplasts

OpenAIRE

Chu, Chiung-Chih; Li, Hsou-min

2015-01-01

Leucoplasts are important organelles for the synthesis and storage of starch, lipids and proteins. However, molecular mechanism of protein import into leucoplasts and how it differs from that of import into chloroplasts remain unknown. We used pea seedlings for both chloroplast and leucoplast isolations to compare within the same species. We further optimized the isolation and import conditions to improve import efficiency and to permit a quantitative comparison between the two plastid types....

PIGE-PIXE analysis of medicinal plants and vegetables of pharmacological importance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olabanji, S.O.; Makanju, O.V.

1995-08-01

PIGE and PIXE techniques were employed to the study of elemental constituents of some traditional medicinal plants generally used in curing many diseases and ailments in South-Western Nigeria. Analysis were also carried out on commonly edible vegetables of medicinal and pharmacological importance. PIGE measurements were carried out using 3.5 MeV collimated protons from the 7 MV CN Van-de-Graaff accelerator of INFN, LNL, Legnaro (Padova), Italy, while the PIXE measurements were carried out using 1.8 MeV from the 2.5 MV AN 2000 Van-de-Graaff accelerator of the same laboratory. The results show that many of the medicinal plants contain elements of cardinal importance in man's metabolism. The results from the vegetables also show that presence of vital elements that are needed for growth and developments. In addition, some of the toxic elements which include arsenic, cadmium, mercury, etc. were not detected. However, some of the recipes contain trace amounts of lead at very low concentrations. This calls for proper control of dose rates in some samples to prevent the attendant negative cumulative effects. (author). 17 refs, 1 fig., 5 tabs

Meals based on vegetable protein sources (beans and peas are more satiating than meals based on animal protein sources (veal and pork – a randomized cross-over meal test study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marlene D. Kristensen

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Recent nutrition recommendations advocate a reduction in protein from animal sources (pork, beef because of environmental concerns. Instead, protein from vegetable sources (beans, peas should be increased. However, little is known about the effect of these vegetable protein sources on appetite regulation. Objective: To examine whether meals based on vegetable protein sources (beans/peas are comparable to meals based on animal protein sources (veal/pork regarding meal-induced appetite sensations. Design: In total, 43 healthy, normal-weight, young men completed this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way, cross-over meal test. The meals (all 3.5 MJ, 28 energy-% (E% fat were either high protein based on veal and pork meat, HP-Meat (19 E% protein, 53 E% carbohydrate, 6 g fiber/100 g; high protein based on legumes (beans and peas, HP-Legume (19 E% protein, 53 E% carbohydrate, 25 g fiber/100 g; or low-protein based on legumes, LP-Legume (9 E% protein, 62 E% carbohydrate, 10 g fiber/100 g. Subjective appetite sensations were recorded at baseline and every half hour using visual analog scales until the ad libitum meal 3 h after the test meal. Repeated measurements analyses and summary analyses were performed using ANCOVA (SAS. Results: HP-Legume induced lower composite appetite score, hunger, prospective food consumption, and higher fullness compared to HP-Meat and LP-Legume (p<0.05. Furthermore, satiety was higher after HP-Legume than HP-Meat (p<0.05. When adjusting for palatability, HP-Legume still resulted in lower composite appetite scores, hunger, prospective consumption, and higher fullness compared to HP-Meat (p<0.05. Furthermore, HP-Legume induced higher fullness than LP-Legume (p<0.05. A 12% and 13% lower energy intake, respectively, was seen after HP-Legume compared to HP-Meat or LP-Legume (p<0.01. Conclusion: Vegetable-based meals (beans/peas influenced appetite sensations favorably compared to animal-based meals

Protein - Which is Best?

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Jay R; Falvo, Michael J

2004-09-01

Protein intake that exceeds the recommended daily allowance is widely accepted for both endurance and power athletes. However, considering the variety of proteins that are available much less is known concerning the benefits of consuming one protein versus another. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze key factors in order to make responsible recommendations to both the general and athletic populations. Evaluation of a protein is fundamental in determining its appropriateness in the human diet. Proteins that are of inferior content and digestibility are important to recognize and restrict or limit in the diet. Similarly, such knowledge will provide an ability to identify proteins that provide the greatest benefit and should be consumed. The various techniques utilized to rate protein will be discussed. Traditionally, sources of dietary protein are seen as either being of animal or vegetable origin. Animal sources provide a complete source of protein (i.e. containing all essential amino acids), whereas vegetable sources generally lack one or more of the essential amino acids. Animal sources of dietary protein, despite providing a complete protein and numerous vitamins and minerals, have some health professionals concerned about the amount of saturated fat common in these foods compared to vegetable sources. The advent of processing techniques has shifted some of this attention and ignited the sports supplement marketplace with derivative products such as whey, casein and soy. Individually, these products vary in quality and applicability to certain populations. The benefits that these particular proteins possess are discussed. In addition, the impact that elevated protein consumption has on health and safety issues (i.e. bone health, renal function) are also reviewed. Key PointsHigher protein needs are seen in athletic populations.Animal proteins is an important source of protein, however potential health concerns do exist from a diet of protein

Use of nuclear techniques for characterization of vegetable tannins, extracted from waste of forestry production in Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santana Romero, J. L.; Martinez Luzardo, F.; Vargas Guerra, L.; Melo Cala, P.; Garcia Guillen, M.; Isaac Olive, K.; Codorniu Hernandez, E.; Estevez, P.; Roque, Cordoba A.; Benitez, M.

1999-01-01

Vegetable Tannins are polyphenolic plant secondary metabolites, widely distributed in all parts of trees and herbs.The role of these substances in many metabolic processes is very important. Vegetable tannins have probably implication as anti nutritional factors, decreasing up-take of diet protein assimilation by cattle. On the other hand, protective antioxidant and antimutagenic properties has been describes for these compounds. Characterization of vegetable tannins is an important task in order to find new sources of natural raw materials with several applications. Analytical determination of tannins and their characterization is still a problem at present days in order to qualify the food quality for ruminants. Protein precipitation capacity as function of pH, competitive protein and ADN binding assays , and determination of tannins concentration are describes.Radioisotopic labelling of protein and tannins were used in order to carried out all the determinations

Effect of Replacement of Marine Ingredients with Vegetable Oil and Protein on Oxidative Changes during Ice Storage of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Charlotte; Eymard, Sylvie; Timm Heinrich, Maike

Recently, fish meal and fish oil have increasingly been replaced with proteins and oils from vegetable sources in the diets of farmed salmonids, but the consequences for the oxidative stability of the resulting fish products have only been investigated to a limited extent. This presentation...... will discuss results from two recent studies from our laboratory on this topic. In the first study, rainbow trout were fed six different diets, which differed in the ratio between marine oil and proteins vs. vegetable oil and protein. Rapeseed oil was used as the oil source and the vegetable proteins were...... a mix based on pea, wheat, sunflower and beans. In the second study, one group of rainbow trout was fed a traditional diet based on fish meal and fish oil, whereas the other five groups were fed diets in which 40 % of the fish meal was replaced with plant proteins from peas, horse bean and rapeseed...

The importance of vegetation density for tourists' wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction in African savannah ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbieu, Ugo; Grünewald, Claudia; Schleuning, Matthias; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

2017-01-01

Southern African protected areas (PAs) harbour a great diversity of animals, which represent a large potential for wildlife tourism. In this region, global change is expected to result in vegetation changes, such as bush encroachment and increases in vegetation density. However, little is known on the influence of vegetation structure on wildlife tourists' wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction. In this study, we collected data on vegetation structure and perceived mammal densities along 196 road transects (each 5 km long) and conducted a social survey with 651 questionnaires across four PAs in three Southern African countries. Our objectives were 1) to assess visitors' attitude towards vegetation, 2) to test the influence of perceived mammal density and vegetation structure on the easiness to spot animals, and 3) on visitors' satisfaction during their visit to PAs. Using a Boosted Regression Tree procedure, we found mostly negative non-linear relationships between vegetation density and wildlife tourists' experience, and positive relationships between perceived mammal densities and wildlife tourists' experience. In particular, wildlife tourists disliked road transects with high estimates of vegetation density. Similarly, the easiness to spot animals dropped at thresholds of high vegetation density and at perceived mammal densities lower than 46 individuals per road transect. Finally, tourists' satisfaction declined linearly with vegetation density and dropped at mammal densities smaller than 26 individuals per transect. Our results suggest that vegetation density has important impacts on tourists' wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction. Hence, the management of PAs in savannah landscapes should consider how tourists perceive these landscapes and their mammal diversity in order to maintain and develop a sustainable wildlife tourism.

The importance of vegetation density for tourists’ wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction in African savannah ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Grünewald, Claudia; Schleuning, Matthias; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

2017-01-01

Southern African protected areas (PAs) harbour a great diversity of animals, which represent a large potential for wildlife tourism. In this region, global change is expected to result in vegetation changes, such as bush encroachment and increases in vegetation density. However, little is known on the influence of vegetation structure on wildlife tourists’ wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction. In this study, we collected data on vegetation structure and perceived mammal densities along 196 road transects (each 5 km long) and conducted a social survey with 651 questionnaires across four PAs in three Southern African countries. Our objectives were 1) to assess visitors’ attitude towards vegetation, 2) to test the influence of perceived mammal density and vegetation structure on the easiness to spot animals, and 3) on visitors’ satisfaction during their visit to PAs. Using a Boosted Regression Tree procedure, we found mostly negative non-linear relationships between vegetation density and wildlife tourists’ experience, and positive relationships between perceived mammal densities and wildlife tourists’ experience. In particular, wildlife tourists disliked road transects with high estimates of vegetation density. Similarly, the easiness to spot animals dropped at thresholds of high vegetation density and at perceived mammal densities lower than 46 individuals per road transect. Finally, tourists’ satisfaction declined linearly with vegetation density and dropped at mammal densities smaller than 26 individuals per transect. Our results suggest that vegetation density has important impacts on tourists’ wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction. Hence, the management of PAs in savannah landscapes should consider how tourists perceive these landscapes and their mammal diversity in order to maintain and develop a sustainable wildlife tourism. PMID:28957420

7 CFR 319.56-4 - Approval of certain fruits and vegetables for importation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...: (i) Pest risk analysis. The risk posed by the particular fruit or vegetable from a specified country... the availability of a pest risk analysis that evaluated the risks associated with the importation of...: (A) No comments were received on the pest risk analysis; (B) The comments on the pest risk analysis...

Production of animal and vegetable proteins: an integrated thermal approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kesari, J P; Bonvehi, F; De Saint-Salvy, A; Miquel, J F

1984-01-01

For the optimization of our integrated farm, theoretical models using a microcomputer and experimental tests to verify these models were carried out on two research units. A test cell integrated with a greenhouse and a rock bed and a standard rock bed coupled with solar air collectors. A complete wooden house has been constructed and experimented in a remote village 200 km north of Toulouse as part of a demonstration unit. The geese and the Lemna minor (duckweed) have been selected as an animal and as a vegetable for the protein production. Some of the experimental results are reported.

Biotechnological advancement in genetic improvement of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica), an important vegetable crop.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pankaj; Srivastava, Dinesh Kumar

2016-07-01

With the advent of molecular biotechnology, plant genetic engineering techniques have opened an avenue for the genetic improvement of important vegetable crops. Vegetable crop productivity and quality are seriously affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses which destabilize rural economies in many countries. Moreover, absence of proper post-harvest storage and processing facilities leads to qualitative and quantitative losses. In the past four decades, conventional breeding has significantly contributed to the improvement of vegetable yields, quality, post-harvest life, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there are many constraints in conventional breeding, which can only be overcome by advancements made in modern biology. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) is an important vegetable crop, of the family Brassicaceae; however, various biotic and abiotic stresses cause enormous crop yield losses during the commercial cultivation of broccoli. Thus, genetic engineering can be used as a tool to add specific characteristics to existing cultivars. However, a pre-requisite for transferring genes into plants is the availability of efficient regeneration and transformation techniques. Recent advances in plant genetic engineering provide an opportunity to improve broccoli in many aspects. The goal of this review is to summarize genetic transformation studies on broccoli to draw the attention of researchers and scientists for its further genetic advancement.

Protein Hydrolysates/Peptides in Animal Nutrition

Science.gov (United States)

McCalla, Jeff; Waugh, Terry; Lohry, Eric

The use of protein hydrolysates as an important nutrient for growth and maintenance has been increasing in animal nutrition. Although animal proteins and protein hydrolysates are widely used however, recently vegetable protein hydrolysates are gaining importance. This chapter reviews the use of protein hydrolysates developed by enzyme hydrolysis and by solid state fermentation process in animal nutrition especially for piglets and compares it with the standard products such as plasma and fishmeal.

The effects of a high-animal- and a high-vegetable-protein diet on mineral balance and bowel function of young men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dokkum, W. van; Wesstra, A.; Luyken, R.; Hermus, R.J.J.

1986-01-01

Twelve young men were given for periods of 20 d, each of three mixed diets, namely a low-protein (LP) diet (9% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin), a high-animal-protein (HA) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin) and a high-vegetable-protein (HV) diet (16% total energy

Mechanism of protein import across the chloroplast envelope.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, K; Chen, X; Schnell, D J

2000-01-01

The development and maintenance of chloroplasts relies on the contribution of protein subunits from both plastid and nuclear genomes. Most chloroplast proteins are encoded by nuclear genes and are post-translationally imported into the organelle across the double membrane of the chloroplast envelope. Protein import into the chloroplast consists of two essential elements: the specific recognition of the targeting signals (transit sequences) of cytoplasmic preproteins by receptors at the outer envelope membrane and the subsequent translocation of preproteins simultaneously across the double membrane of the envelope. These processes are mediated via the co-ordinate action of protein translocon complexes in the outer (Toc apparatus) and inner (Tic apparatus) envelope membranes.

Fruits, vegetables and hMLH1 protein-deficient and-proficient colon cancer: the Netherlands Cohort Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wark, P.A.; Weijenberg, M.P.; Veer, van 't P.; Wijhe, van G.; Luchtenborg, M.; Muijen, van G.N.P.; Goeij, de A.F.P.M.; Goldbohm, R.A.; Brandt, van den P.A.

2005-01-01

Clinical and pathologic differences exist between colon carcinomas deficient and proficient in the mismatch repair protein hMLH1. Animal and in vitro studies suggest that fruits, vegetables, folate, and antioxidants are associated with colonic expression of mismatch repair genes.METHODS:

Digestibility of animal and vegetable protein ingredients by pirarucu juveniles, Arapaima gigas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipe dos Santos Cipriano

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the apparent digestibility coefficients of energy, protein, and amino acids in protein ingredients by pirarucu juveniles. A test was conducted with six protein ingredients: meat and bone meal, fish meal, hydrolyzed feather meal, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, and corn gluten meal. Three repetitions were used for each tested ingredient. A reference feed was used with 430 g kg−1 crude protein and 19.63 kJ g−1 gross energy. The test feeds consisted of the replacement of 30% of the reference feeds with the test ingredients. Chromium oxide was added to the feeds at 1 g kg−1 as an external marker. Eighteen juveniles with an average weight of 235±36 g were used. The best apparent digestibility coefficients of protein were found for fish meal, followed by the poultry by-product meal and meat and bone meal. However, except for gluten, all the tested ingredients presented protein digestibilities above 0.70. The crude energy apparent digestibility coefficient was higher for animal ingredients, above 0.75, than for vegetable ingredients, which presented values below 0.60. Pirarucu efficiently uses the protein from the tested ingredients, regardless of origin. However, it has a preferential ability to use the energy from animal ingredients.

On the relative importance of vegetation terms in computational fluid dynamics on flow and Dispersion in the urban environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Blocken, B.J.E.

2013-01-01

The relative importance of vegetation terms was analysed for flow and dispersion in an urban street canyon with avenue-trees. To this end, simulations with three k-e turbulence models and different approaches to model vegetation were performed. The different approaches resulted in rather slight

Dolomitic vegetation of the Sterkfontein Caves World Heritage Site and its importance in the conservation of Rocky Highveld Grassland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Siebert

2005-06-01

Full Text Available An analysis of the vegetation of the Sterkfontein Caves (i.e. the natural area surrounding the caves is presented. Releves were compiled in 24 stratified random sample plots. A TWINSPAN classification, refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures, revealed six plant communities, also referred to as vegetation units. For each of these vegetation units the species richness was determined. Plant communities of conservation importance were identified and new associations were formally described.

PLANT BREEDING IS A SOLUTION FOR IMPORT SUBSTITUTION IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. F. Pivovarov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The vegetable production  is one of the economic sectors  that  provides  the  population  with  foodstuff  products with high biological values. To achieve independence in production  of the agricultural foodstuffs,  the part of imported  products should not be beyond 25 % from total volume of foodstuffs  fabricated. As a result of national breeding program, the varieties and hybrids adapted to different growing conditions, with resistance to  local races of pathogens, temperature stresses, and ground frosts were developed to provide the sustainable production of vegetables with high nutritional and medicinal qualities. The varieties and hybrids F1  of white  head cabbage that have been created for the last 5 years are distinguished from foreign ones by taste qualities, appropriate pickling characteristics with increased  sugar,  and  decreased  cellulose  contents. The local onion varieties combine long shelf life, early maturing, well bulb formation, high dry matter content (18-20% and ability to form the bulb for one year. The cucumber  is  the  traditional  vegetable crop  in  Russia and very profitable for greenhouse enterprises. Breeders have developed bee-pollinated and parthenocarpic hybrids well adapted to local growing conditions and  suitable  for   open  field   cultivation   in  different regions of Russia. Parthenocarpic heterotic hybrids of the  multi-propose  use, corresponding  to  the  modern variety model with high productivity, early-ripening, bunch ovary disposition, resistance to abiotic stresses, and  most  harmful  diseases. The carrot  and  red  beet varieties with  high nutritional  qualities, long shelf-life, ecological plasticity that are widely used for seed production have been created. The varieties of nightshade crops have been developed to cultivate in NonChernozem zone, Far East, Western Siberia, the Middle Belt of Russia and the south of Russia, are also

Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis, Import, and Assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Thomas D.

2012-01-01

The mitochondrion is arguably the most complex organelle in the budding yeast cell cytoplasm. It is essential for viability as well as respiratory growth. Its innermost aqueous compartment, the matrix, is bounded by the highly structured inner membrane, which in turn is bounded by the intermembrane space and the outer membrane. Approximately 1000 proteins are present in these organelles, of which eight major constituents are coded and synthesized in the matrix. The import of mitochondrial proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm, and their direction to the correct soluble compartments, correct membranes, and correct membrane surfaces/topologies, involves multiple pathways and macromolecular machines. The targeting of some, but not all, cytoplasmically synthesized mitochondrial proteins begins with translation of messenger RNAs localized to the organelle. Most proteins then pass through the translocase of the outer membrane to the intermembrane space, where divergent pathways sort them to the outer membrane, inner membrane, and matrix or trap them in the intermembrane space. Roughly 25% of mitochondrial proteins participate in maintenance or expression of the organellar genome at the inner surface of the inner membrane, providing 7 membrane proteins whose synthesis nucleates the assembly of three respiratory complexes. PMID:23212899

{sup 137}Cs Absorption factors (Afs) some vegetable and protein samples in cooking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malek, M A [Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka (Bangladesh); Nakahara, M [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Hitachinaka City (Japan)

2004-07-01

Full text: The human race uses fresh water for cooking, drinking and washing purposes. The source of fresh water may be radioactively contaminated by various sources of contaminants. With the increased use of radioisotopes, nuclear testing, possible nuclear warfare and terror activities, the apprehension of widespread contamination of the surface and ground water is increasing day by day. In the case of widespread contamination of freshwater sources, people may be compelled to use the contaminated water. The radionuclides in fresh water may enter the human body through two major routes: drinking and cooking food with the water. During cooking, the radionuclide present in the water may be transferred to the various ingredients of the cooked dish. The degree of contamination in the ingredients during the cooking depends on the absorption power of the individual ingredients and on the level of radionuclide present in the water. The ratio of the concentration of the radionuclide absorbed in the ingredients to the concentration in the water can be designated as the 'Absorption factor' (Af). A consumer always has the choice of eating either the whole dish or a part of the dish. The Af of every consumed ingredient can be used to predict the radionuclide absorbed by the individual ingredients cooked with contaminated water, and as such to predict the dose to the consumer. The factor can also be used to assess the dispersion of radionuclide from the water used in cooking to the ingredients in the cooked dish. A better understanding of variables in the cooking that affect the Af in various ingredients is central to deriving the contamination level of the ingredients. To the best of our knowledge, no investigation on this topic has been conducted before. In order to assess this topic and for obtaining base line data, a research project was undertaken to determine the Afs of some vegetable and protein samples, and to investigate the effects of salinity and cooling on Af

Organic vegetable proteins and oil in feed for organic rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Ivar; Dalsgaard, Anne Johanne Tang; Jokumsen, Alfred

The demand for organic trout is increasing, stressing the need for organic, vegetable feed ingredients as replacement for fish meal, as the principles of organic aquaculture encourage the development of feed that do not deplete global fish stocks. In addition, the organic code of practice does...... not allow addition of artificial amino acids to the feed, and optimization of the amino acid profile of organically based diets must therefore derive from the protein sources alone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the digestibility and growth performance of organic vegetable dietary ingredients...... as replacement for fish meal and fish oil in feed for organic rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Six iso-energetic and iso- nitrogenous diets were prepared, comprising a fish meal and fish oil based control diet and three diets in which the inclusion of fish meal was gradually reduced from 59 to 35...

Vitamin D binding protein: a multifunctional protein of clinical importance.

Science.gov (United States)

Speeckaert, Marijn M; Speeckaert, Reinhart; van Geel, Nanja; Delanghe, Joris R

2014-01-01

Since the discovery of group-specific component and its polymorphism by Hirschfeld in 1959, research has put spotlight on this multifunctional transport protein (vitamin D binding protein, DBP). Besides the transport of vitamin D metabolites, DBP is a plasma glycoprotein with many important functions, including sequestration of actin, modulation of immune and inflammatory responses, binding of fatty acids, and control of bone development. A considerable DBP polymorphism has been described with a specific allele distribution in different geographic area. Multiple studies have shed light on the interesting relationship between polymorphisms of the DBP gene and the susceptibility to diseases. In this review, we give an overview of the multifunctional character of DBP and describe the clinical importance of DBP and its polymorphisms. Finally, we discuss the possibilities to use DBP as a novel therapeutic agent.

Protein from meat or vegetable sources in meals matched for fiber content has similar effects on subjective appetite sensations and energy intake - A randomized acute cross-over meal test study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lone Vestergaard; Kristensen, Marlene D; Klingenberg, Lars

2018-01-01

Higher-protein meals decrease hunger and increase satiety compared to lower-protein meals. However, no consensus exists about the different effects of animal and vegetable proteins on appetite. We investigated how a meal based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) affected ad libitum energy......-balanced, fiber-matched meals based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) or animal protein (veal/pork or eggs) had similar effects on ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations....... intake and appetite sensations, compared to macronutrient-balanced, iso-caloric meals based on animal protein (veal/pork or eggs). Thirty-five healthy men were enrolled in this acute cross-over study. On each test day, participants were presented with one of four test meals (~3550 kilojoules (kJ) 19...

Vegetation survey: a new focus for Applied Vegetation Science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chytry, M.; Schaminee, J.H.J.; Schwabe, A.

2011-01-01

Vegetation survey is an important research agenda in vegetation science. It defines vegetation types and helps understand differences among them, which is essential for both basic ecological research and applications in biodiversity conservation and environmental monitoring. In this editorial, we

Seasonal Effects on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Six Economically Important Brassica Vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo A.S. Rosa

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Research on natural and bioactive compounds is increasingly focused on their effects on human health, but there are unexpectedly few studies evaluating the relationship between climate and natural antioxidants. The aim of this study was analyze the biological role of six different Brassica vegetables (Brassica oleracea L. and Brassica rapa L. as a natural source of antioxidant compounds. The antioxidant activity may be assigned to high levels of L-ascorbic acid, total phenolics and total flavonoids of each sample. The climate seasons affected directly the concentration of bioactive components and the antioxidant activity. Broccoli inflorescences and Portuguese kale showed high antioxidant activity in Spring-Summer whilst turnip leaves did so in Summer-Winter. The Brassica vegetables can provide considerable amounts of bioactive compounds and thus may constitute an important natural source of dietary antioxidants.

The relative importance of climate and vegetation properties on patterns of North American breeding bird species richness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, Scott J; Sun, Mindy; Zolkos, Scott; Hansen, Andy; Dubayah, Ralph

2014-01-01

Recent advances in remote sensing and ecological modeling warrant a timely and robust investigation of the ecological variables that underlie large-scale patterns of breeding bird species richness, particularly in the context of intensifying land use and climate change. Our objective was to address this need using an array of bioclimatic and remotely sensed data sets representing vegetation properties and structure, and other aspects of the physical environment. We first build models of bird species richness across breeding bird survey (BBS) routes, and then spatially predict richness across the coterminous US at moderately high spatial resolution (1 km). Predictor variables were derived from various sources and maps of species richness were generated for four groups (guilds) of birds with different breeding habitat affiliation (forest, grassland, open woodland, scrub/shrub), as well as all guilds combined. Predictions of forest bird distributions were strong (R 2 = 0.85), followed by grassland (0.76), scrub/shrub (0.63) and open woodland (0.60) species. Vegetation properties were generally the strongest determinants of species richness, whereas bioclimatic and lidar-derived vertical structure metrics were of variable importance and dependent upon the guild type. Environmental variables (climate and the physical environment) were also frequently selected predictors, but canopy structure variables were not as important as expected based on more local to regional scale studies. Relatively sparse sampling of canopy structure metrics from the satellite lidar sensor may have reduced their importance relative to other predictor variables across the study domain. We discuss these results in the context of the ecological drivers of species richness patterns, the spatial scale of bird diversity analyses, and the potential of next generation space-borne lidar systems relevant to vegetation and ecosystem studies. This study strengthens current understanding of bird species–climate–vegetation

Protein import into chloroplasts requires a chloroplast ATPase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pain, D.; Blobel, G.

1987-01-01

The authors have transcribed mRNA from a cDNA clone coding for pea ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, translated the mRNA in a wheat germ cell-free system, and studied the energy requirement for posttranslational import of the [ 35 S]methionine-labeled protein into the stroma of pea chloroplasts. They found that import depends on ATP hydrolysis within the stroma. Import is not inhibited when H + , K + , Na + , or divalent cation gradients across the chloroplast membranes are dissipated by ionophores, as long as exogenously added ATP is also present during the import reaction. The data suggest that protein import into the chloroplast stroma requires a chloroplast ATPase that does not function to generate a membrane potential for driving the import reaction but that exerts its effect in another, yet-to-be-determined, mode. They have carried out a preliminary characterization of this ATPase regarding its nucleotide specificity and the effects of various ATPase inhibitors

Protein import into chloroplasts requires a chloroplast ATPase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pain, D.; Blobel, G.

1987-05-01

The authors have transcribed mRNA from a cDNA clone coding for pea ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, translated the mRNA in a wheat germ cell-free system, and studied the energy requirement for posttranslational import of the (/sup 35/S)methionine-labeled protein into the stroma of pea chloroplasts. They found that import depends on ATP hydrolysis within the stroma. Import is not inhibited when H/sup +/, K/sup +/, Na/sup +/, or divalent cation gradients across the chloroplast membranes are dissipated by ionophores, as long as exogenously added ATP is also present during the import reaction. The data suggest that protein import into the chloroplast stroma requires a chloroplast ATPase that does not function to generate a membrane potential for driving the import reaction but that exerts its effect in another, yet-to-be-determined, mode. They have carried out a preliminary characterization of this ATPase regarding its nucleotide specificity and the effects of various ATPase inhibitors.

The effects of a high-animal- and a high-vegetable-protein diet on mineral balance and bowel function of young men.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dokkum, W; Wesstra, A; Luyken, R; Hermus, R J

1986-09-01

1. Twelve young men were given for periods of 20 d, each of three mixed diets, namely a low-protein (LP) diet (9% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin), a high-animal-protein (HA) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin) and a high-vegetable-protein (HV) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of vegetable origin). Retention of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper as well as various bowel function indices were investigated during each dietary period. 2. Neither the HA diet nor the HV diet changed the retention of the minerals considerably. Only Fe balance decreased significantly on the HV diet. 3. Substituting the HV diet for the HA diet resulted in significant increases in faecal wet weight (17 g/d), defaecation frequency (0.12 stools/d), faecal volatile fatty acids (2.6 mmol/d) and a decrease in faecal bile acids (128 mumol/d). 4. It is concluded that a HV diet, rather than a HA diet is to be recommended with respect to bowel function, whereas the HV diet does not necessarily have a significant influence on mineral retention.

[Progress in inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li-Wen; Wei, Ya-Xing

2013-10-01

Nitrogen is the necessary element in life activity of vegetation, which takes important function in biosynthesis of protein, nucleic acid, chlorophyll, and enzyme etc, and plays a key role in vegetation photosynthesis. The technology about inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing has been the research hotspot since the 70s of last century. With the development of hyperspectral remote sensing technology in recent years, the advantage of spectral bands subdivision in a certain spectral region provides the powerful technology measure for correlative spectral characteristic research on vegetation nitrogen. In the present paper, combined with the newest research production about monitoring vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing published in main geography science literature in recent several years, the principle and correlated problem about monitoring vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing were introduced. From four aspects including vegetation nitrogen spectral index, vegetation nitrogen content inversion based on chlorophyll index, regression model, and eliminating influence factors to inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration, main technology methods about inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing were detailedly introduced. Correlative research conclusions were summarized and analyzed, and research development trend was discussed.

Greenhouse gas emissions of imported and locally produced fruit and vegetable commodities: A quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michalský, Marián; Hooda, Peter S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Green house gas (GHG) emission of selected fruit and vegetables (SFVs) estimated. • Production and transport – most energy-intensive life cycle stages considered. • Sourcing SFVs from non-European countries causes much GHG emissions. • Increased UK production of SFVs offers considerable emission savings. • Sourcing SFVs from Europe can help make considerable GHG emission savings. - Abstract: Today considerable efforts are being made in identifying means of further energy efficiencies within the UK food system. Current air importation of fruit and vegetables (FVs) generates large amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions part of which could be avoided. Local food production has been recognized as an environmentally feasible alternative production option and could help reduce GHG emissions, as required under the legally binding emissions targets stipulated by the UK Climate Change Act 2008. Climate change impacts of FVs importation were determined for a selection of five indigenous FV commodities, namely: apples, cherries, strawberries, garlic and peas. Carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) emissions associated with the production and transport stages were calculated using the sample of selected fruit and vegetables (SFVs). The latter stage includes three diverse geographic locations/regions for emissions comparison, namely the UK, Europe and non-European (NE) countries. On average (across the five SFVs), NE commodities, all in fresh/chilled state, were found to contain embedded (arising from production, air freighting and distribution within the UK) GHG emissions of 10.16 kg CO 2 e/kg. This is 9.66 kg more CO 2 e emissions compared to a kilogram of these commodities produced and supplied locally. A scenario-based approach determined the level of emissions savings that could be achieved by local FVs production in the UK. The least dramatic change of SCENARIO-1 (25% reduction in NE SFVs imports by increasing their local production by the same

Characterization of the aroma of a meatlike process flavoring from soybean-based enzyme-hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yi-Fang G; Cadwallader, Keith R

2002-05-08

Defatted soybean meal was converted into enzyme-hydrolyzed vegetable protein (E-HVP) using the proteolytic enzyme Flavorzyme. Total free amino acids increased by 40-fold after enzyme hydrolysis, with leucine being the most abundant, followed by phenylalanine, lysine, glutamine/glutamic acid, and alanine. Volatile components from a meatlike process flavoring made from E-HVP were isolated by direct solvent extraction (DSE)-high vacuum transfer (HVT), dynamic headspace sampling and static headspace sampling and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry and GC-olfactometry. Aroma extract dilution analysis was used to establish a flavor dilution chromatogram of the DSE-HVT extract. Results of these complementary techniques indicated the importance of odorants of high (hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol), intermediate (2-methyl-3-furanthiol, 3-mercapto-2-pentanone, 2-furanmethanethiol, and 3-(methylthiol)propanal) and low volatility (maltol and Furaneol) in the overall aroma of the meatlike process flavoring.

Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Vegetables Imported from the Dominican Republic, India, Thailand, and Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Zurfluh, Katrin; Nüesch-Inderbinen, Magdalena; Morach, Marina; Zihler Berner, Annina; Hächler, Herbert

2015-01-01

To examine to what extent fresh vegetables imported into Switzerland represent carriers of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae, 169 samples of different types of fresh vegetables imported into Switzerland from the Dominican Republic, India, Thailand, and Vietnam were analyzed. Overall, 25.4% of the vegetable samples yielded one or more ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, 78.3% of which were multidrug resistant. Sixty isolates were obtained: Escherichia coli, 26; Klebsiella pneumoniae, 26; Enterobacter cloacae, 6; Enterobacter aerogenes, 1; and Cronobacter sakazakii, 1. We found 29 isolates producing CTX-M-15, 8 producing CTX-M-14, 7 producing CTX-M-55, 3 producing CTX-M-65, 1 each producing CTX-M-1, CTX-M-3, CTX-M-27, and CTX-M-63, 5 producing SHV-2, 3 producing SHV-12, and 1 producing SHV-2a. Four of the E. coli isolates belonged to epidemiologically important clones: CTX-M-15-producing B2:ST131 (1 isolate), D:ST405 (1 isolate), and D:ST38 (2 isolates). One of the D:ST38 isolates belonged to the extraintestinal enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) D:ST38 lineage. Two of the K. pneumoniae isolates belonged to the epidemic clones sequence type 15 (ST15) and ST147. The occurrence of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and commensal Enterobacteriaceae in imported agricultural foodstuffs constitutes a source of ESBL genes and a concern for food safety. PMID:25724954

PROTEIN - WHICH IS BEST?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Falvo

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Protein intake that exceeds the recommended daily allowance is widely accepted for both endurance and power athletes. However, considering the variety of proteins that are available much less is known concerning the benefits of consuming one protein versus another. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze key factors in order to make responsible recommendations to both the general and athletic populations. Evaluation of a protein is fundamental in determining its appropriateness in the human diet. Proteins that are of inferior content and digestibility are important to recognize and restrict or limit in the diet. Similarly, such knowledge will provide an ability to identify proteins that provide the greatest benefit and should be consumed. The various techniques utilized to rate protein will be discussed. Traditionally, sources of dietary protein are seen as either being of animal or vegetable origin. Animal sources provide a complete source of protein (i.e. containing all essential amino acids, whereas vegetable sources generally lack one or more of the essential amino acids. Animal sources of dietary protein, despite providing a complete protein and numerous vitamins and minerals, have some health professionals concerned about the amount of saturated fat common in these foods compared to vegetable sources. The advent of processing techniques has shifted some of this attention and ignited the sports supplement marketplace with derivative products such as whey, casein and soy. Individually, these products vary in quality and applicability to certain populations. The benefits that these particular proteins possess are discussed. In addition, the impact that elevated protein consumption has on health and safety issues (i.e. bone health, renal function are also reviewed

Relishes: The new pickled vegetables

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Tepić Aleksandra N.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available There have been an increasing interest of consumers for a ide variety of pickled vegetable products worldwide. Regarding the regional vegetable supplies and relatively poor assortment of ready-to-use products, the need to broaden the offer of domestic pickled vegetables at the market came out. In this work recipes for different vegetables, spices and condiments were developed. The best graded samples were analyzed for their main chemical composition (dry matter, proteins, oils and fats, total acidity, total sugars, sucrose, starch, cellulose, pH and energy- values.

Importance of considering riparian vegetation requirements for the long-term efficiency of environmental flows in aquatic microhabitats

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R. Rivaes

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Environmental flows remain biased toward the traditional biological group of fish species. Consequently, these flows ignore the inter-annual flow variability that rules species with longer lifecycles and therefore disregard the long-term perspective of the riverine ecosystem. We analyzed the importance of considering riparian requirements for the long-term efficiency of environmental flows. For that analysis, we modeled the riparian vegetation development for a decade facing different environmental flows in two case studies. Next, we assessed the corresponding fish habitat availability of three common fish species in each of the resulting riparian landscape scenarios. Modeling results demonstrated that the environmental flows disregarding riparian vegetation requirements promoted riparian degradation, particularly vegetation encroachment. Such circumstance altered the hydraulic characteristics of the river channel where flow depths and velocities underwent local changes of up to 10 cm and 40 cm s−1, respectively. Accordingly, after a decade of this flow regime, the available habitat area for the considered fish species experienced modifications of up to 110 % when compared to the natural habitat. In turn, environmental flows regarding riparian vegetation requirements were able to maintain riparian vegetation near natural standards, thereby preserving the hydraulic characteristics of the river channel and sustaining the fish habitat close to the natural condition. As a result, fish habitat availability never changed more than 17 % from the natural habitat.

Prediction of fruit and vegetable intake: The importance of contextualizing motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Rachel; Kawabata, Masato; Thomas, Shirley

2015-09-01

Motivation is identified as a key antecedent of self-regulated behaviour, such as eating fruit and vegetables. However, inaccurate measurement of this construct may lead to poor prediction of behaviour and inflate the impact of post-motivational factors, such as planning, in models of health behaviour. This study explored the properties of a newly identified measure of motivation, termed behavioural resolve (Rhodes & Horne, 2013, Psychol. Sport Exerc., 14, 455-460), in relation to intention, planning, and fruit and vegetable intake (FVI). Prospective self-report survey. University students living in the United Kingdom completed two online surveys. The first assessed demographic and predictor variables (intention, behavioural resolve, action planning, and coping planning). The second, completed approximately 2 weeks later, measured average daily FVI and perceived experience of obstacles to FVI. At Time 1, there were 195 respondents, with 139 providing follow-up data. All predictor variables were significantly correlated with FVI. Two independent multiple hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both intention and behavioural resolve were significant predictors of FVI, but behavioural resolve explained greater FVI variance (40.1%) than intention (36.4%). Furthermore, action planning showed incremental predictive utility over intention, but not behavioural resolve, in predicting FVI. The results indicated that motivation is an important determinant of FVI for students, with behavioural resolve demonstrating advantages over intention as a measure of this domain and a predictor of FVI behaviour. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Spatiotemporally regulated proteolysis to dissect the role of vegetative proteins during Bacillus subtilis sporulation: cell-specific requirement of σH and σA.

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Riley, Eammon P; Trinquier, Aude; Reilly, Madeline L; Durchon, Marine; Perera, Varahenage R; Pogliano, Kit; Lopez-Garrido, Javier

2018-04-01

Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis is a paradigm of bacterial development, which involves the interaction between a larger mother cell and a smaller forespore. The mother cell and the forespore activate different genetic programs, leading to the production of sporulation-specific proteins. A critical gap in our understanding of sporulation is how vegetative proteins, made before sporulation initiation, contribute to spore formation. Here we present a system, spatiotemporally regulated proteolysis (STRP), which enables the rapid, developmentally regulated degradation of target proteins, thereby providing a suitable method to dissect the cell- and developmental stage-specific role of vegetative proteins. STRP has been used to dissect the role of two major vegetative sigma factors, σ H and σ A , during sporulation. The results suggest that σ H is only required in predivisional cells, where it is essential for sporulation initiation, but that it is dispensable during subsequent steps of spore formation. However, evidence has been provided that σ A plays different roles in the mother cell, where it replenishes housekeeping functions, and in the forespore, where it plays an unexpected role in promoting spore germination and outgrowth. Altogether, the results demonstrate that STRP has the potential to provide a comprehensive molecular dissection of every stage of sporulation, germination and outgrowth. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Plastid Protein That Evolved from Ubiquitin and Is Required for Apicoplast Protein Import in Toxoplasma gondii

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Justin D. Fellows

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Apicomplexan parasites cause a variety of important infectious diseases, including malaria, toxoplasma encephalitis, and severe diarrhea due to Cryptosporidium. Most apicomplexans depend on an organelle called the apicoplast which is derived from a red algal endosymbiont. The apicoplast is essential for the parasite as the compartment of fatty acid, heme, and isoprenoid biosynthesis. The majority of the approximate 500 apicoplast proteins are nucleus encoded and have to be imported across the four membranes that surround the apicoplast. Import across the second outermost membrane of the apicoplast, the periplastid membrane, depends on an apicoplast-specific endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation (ERAD complex and on enzymes of the associated ubiquitination cascade. However, identification of an apicoplast ubiquitin associated with this machinery has long been elusive. Here we identify a plastid ubiquitin-like protein (PUBL, an apicoplast protein that is derived from a ubiquitin ancestor but that has significantly changed in its primary sequence. PUBL is distinct from known ubiquitin-like proteins, and phylogenomic analyses suggest a clade specific to apicomplexans. We demonstrate that PUBL and the AAA ATPase CDC48AP both act to translocate apicoplast proteins across the periplastid membrane during protein import. Conditional null mutants and genetic complementation show that both proteins are critical for this process and for parasite survival. PUBL residues homologous to those that are required for ubiquitin conjugation onto target proteins are essential for this function, while those required for polyubiquitination and preprotein processing are dispensable. Our experiments provide a mechanistic understanding of the molecular machinery that drives protein import across the membranes of the apicoplast.

Serving vegetables first: A strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary school cafeterias.

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Elsbernd, S L; Reicks, M M; Mann, T L; Redden, J P; Mykerezi, E; Vickers, Z M

2016-01-01

Vegetable consumption in the United States is low despite the wealth of evidence that vegetables play an important role in reducing risk of various chronic diseases. Because eating patterns developed in childhood continue through adulthood, we need to form healthy eating habits in children. The objective of this study was to determine if offering vegetables before other meal components would increase the overall consumption of vegetables at school lunch. We served kindergarten through fifth-grade students a small portion (26-33 g) of a raw vegetable (red and yellow bell peppers) while they waited in line to receive the rest of their lunch meal. They then had the options to take more of the bell peppers, a different vegetable, or no vegetable from the lunch line. We measured the amount of each vegetable consumed by each child. Serving vegetables first greatly increased the number of students eating vegetables. On intervention days most of the vegetables consumed came from the vegetables-first portions. Total vegetable intake per student eating lunch was low because most students chose to not eat vegetables, but the intervention significantly increased this value. Serving vegetables first is a viable strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary schools. Long-term implementation of this strategy may have an important impact on healthy eating habits, vegetable consumption, and the health consequences of vegetable intake. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physicochemical, sensory attributes and protein profile by SDS-PAGE of beef sausage substituted with texturized vegetable protein

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Hidayat, B.T.,

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The effect of texturized vegetable protein (TVP on the quality of beef sausages was investigated in this research. Several formulations which replaced by beef meat with TVP ranging from 10-20% w/w were investigated for their physical, chemical, sensory properties and also protein profile by SDS-PAGE. The addition of TVP concentration significantly influences physicochemical characteristics e.g. water, fat content, the color parameter (L and b value, WHC, Texture (Hardness and cooking yield (P<0.05. The protein profile also influenced by the addition of TVP in beef sausage formula. Higher substitution of meat with TVP will increase the water and will decrease fat content significantly (P<0.05. The highest water content is 40% TVP (64.02 ± 1.15% where the lowest water content is control (61.29 ± 1.88%. The highest fat content is control (12.16 ± 1.87% where the highest fat content is (8.53 ± 2.09%. For the physicochemical properties, e.g. L* and b* value, WHC and Cooking yield will increase during the substitution of meat with TVP in sausage products (P<0.05. The hardness will decrease during the substitution of meat with TVP in sausage products (P<0.05. Sensory results indicated that sensory attributed of beef sausage showed good acceptance until 30% of TVP substitution.

Analyzing import intermediates of mitochondrial proteins by blue native gel electrophoresis.

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Waizenegger, Thomas; Rapaport, Doron

2007-01-01

Blue native gel electrophoresis (BNGE) is a powerful tool for analyzing native protein complexes from biological membranes as well as water-soluble proteins. It can be used for determining relative molecular masses of protein complexes and their subunit composition and for the detection of subcomplexes. We describe the analysis by BNGE of in vitro import reactions composed of radiolabeled precursor proteins and isolated mitochondria. Such an analysis is a powerful tool to follow import intermediates and to study assembly of protein complexes. Analysis of import reactions by BNGE provides information on the molecular mass of the complex with which the imported precursor is associated. In addition, components of such a complex can be identified by incubating the mitochondrial lysate with either soluble antibodies or antibodies coupled to protein A matrix. The binding of soluble antibodies to specific complexes results in an observed shift in their apparent molecular mass (antibody shift). Alternatively, addition of matrix-bound antibodies followed by removal of the matrix from the mixture will result in depletion of the specific complex from the mitochondrial lysate (antibody depletion). The experimental details of these techniques are described.

Solubilization of proteins: the importance of lysis buffer choice.

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Peach, Mandy; Marsh, Noelle; Miskiewicz, Ewa I; MacPhee, Daniel J

2015-01-01

The efficient extraction of proteins of interest from cells and tissues is not always straightforward. Here we demonstrate the differences in extraction of the focal adhesion protein Kindlin-2 from choriocarcinoma cells using NP-40 and RIPA lysis buffer. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of a more denaturing urea/thiourea lysis buffer for solubilization, by comparing its effectiveness for solubilization of small heat-shock proteins from smooth muscle with the often utilized RIPA lysis buffer. Overall, the results demonstrate the importance of establishing the optimal lysis buffer for specific protein solubilization within the experimental workflow.

Some Important Diseases of Tree Fruits - Diseases of Vegetable Crops - Diseases of Grapes - Diseases of Tree Nuts.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Donald H.; And Others

This agriculture extension service publication from Pennsylvania State University consists of four sections on plant disease recognition and control. The titles of these four sections are: (1) Some Important Diseases of Tree Fruits; (2) Diseases of Vegetable Crops; (3) Diseases of Crops; and (4) Diseases of Tree Nuts. The first section discusses…

Studies Concerning the Economic Efficiency and Quality of the Vegetal Sausages

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Claudiu Dan Salagean

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of performed research aimed to establish the influence of protein supplements on the quality and economic efficiency in the processing of a certain semi-smoked sausage assortment using two experimental processing technologies: with 3% soy protein derivatives as supplements and 100% soy protein derivatives as vegetal raw materials. The results revealed that, from an economical point of view, the vegetal processing technology (with exclusively vegetal raw materials was more efficiently than the supplemented processing technology (with protein derivatives as supplements and from qualitatively point of view, the obtained values have been in accordance with the in force STAS-es.

The nuclear import of ribosomal proteins is regulated by mTOR

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Kazyken, Dubek; Kaz, Yelimbek; Kiyan, Vladimir; Zhylkibayev, Assylbek A.; Chen, Chien-Hung; Agarwal, Nitin K.; Sarbassov, Dos D.

2014-01-01

Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central component of the essential signaling pathway that regulates cell growth and proliferation by controlling anabolic processes in cells. mTOR exists in two distinct mTOR complexes known as mTORC1 and mTORC2 that reside mostly in cytoplasm. In our study, the biochemical characterization of mTOR led to discovery of its novel localization on nuclear envelope where it associates with a critical regulator of nuclear import Ran Binding Protein 2 (RanBP2). We show that association of mTOR with RanBP2 is dependent on the mTOR kinase activity that regulates the nuclear import of ribosomal proteins. The mTOR kinase inhibitors within thirty minutes caused a substantial decrease of ribosomal proteins in the nuclear but not cytoplasmic fraction. Detection of a nuclear accumulation of the GFP-tagged ribosomal protein rpL7a also indicated its dependence on the mTOR kinase activity. The nuclear abundance of ribosomal proteins was not affected by inhibition of mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) by rapamycin or deficiency of mTORC2, suggesting a distinctive role of the nuclear envelope mTOR complex in the nuclear import. Thus, we identified that mTOR in association with RanBP2 mediates the active nuclear import of ribosomal proteins. PMID:25294810

Children and vegetables: strategies to increase children’s liking and intake of vegetables

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wild, de V.W.T.

2015-01-01

Background and aim

Children’s vegetable intake is far below that recommended. Despite increased awareness of the importance of vegetable consumption for health, it remains challenging to improve children’s vegetable intake. Since food preferences are central to

A single peroxisomal targeting signal mediates matrix protein import in diatoms.

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Nicola H Gonzalez

Full Text Available Peroxisomes are single membrane bound compartments. They are thought to be present in almost all eukaryotic cells, although the bulk of our knowledge about peroxisomes has been generated from only a handful of model organisms. Peroxisomal matrix proteins are synthesized cytosolically and posttranslationally imported into the peroxisomal matrix. The import is generally thought to be mediated by two different targeting signals. These are respectively recognized by the two import receptor proteins Pex5 and Pex7, which facilitate transport across the peroxisomal membrane. Here, we show the first in vivo localization studies of peroxisomes in a representative organism of the ecologically relevant group of diatoms using fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. By expression of various homologous and heterologous fusion proteins we demonstrate that targeting of Phaeodactylum tricornutum peroxisomal matrix proteins is mediated only by PTS1 targeting signals, also for proteins that are in other systems imported via a PTS2 mode of action. Additional in silico analyses suggest this surprising finding may also apply to further diatoms. Our data suggest that loss of the PTS2 peroxisomal import signal is not reserved to Caenorhabditis elegans as a single exception, but has also occurred in evolutionary divergent organisms. Obviously, targeting switching from PTS2 to PTS1 across different major eukaryotic groups might have occurred for different reasons. Thus, our findings question the widespread assumption that import of peroxisomal matrix proteins is generally mediated by two different targeting signals. Our results implicate that there apparently must have been an event causing the loss of one targeting signal even in the group of diatoms. Different possibilities are discussed that indicate multiple reasons for the detected targeting switching from PTS2 to PTS1.

Ethnobotanical study and nutrient content of indigenous vegetables consumed in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

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SUSI KRESNATITA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Chotimah HENC, Kresnatita S, Miranda Y. 2013. Ethnobotanical study and nutrient content of indigenous vegetables consumed in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 14: 106-111. People in Central Kalimantan consume vegetables that collected from the wild or traditionally cultivated. Documentation effort of them is very important because of the diversity of local vegetable are threatened with extinction due to the conversion of peat land and forest fires. This study aims to determine the diversity of indigenous vegetables in Central Kalimantan, its use as a vegetable and nutrient content some vegetables. The method used was the exploration and interviews. Exploration carried out in three districts namely Palangkaraya, Pulang Pisau, and Seruyan. Sampling of plants was randomly and selectively. Data analysis was performed descriptively. The results showed that we recorded 42 plant species belonging to 30 families. There were many vegetables processing: stir-fry, clear soup, a light coconut milk soup, acidic soup, or just consumed as fresh vegetables. The result of nutritional value analyzed, Helminthostachys zeylanica (L. Hook had a potential to further develop whether as vegetables or medicinal plant. It had the highest protein, carbohydrate and mineral P, Fe, Na and K content among the vegetables analyzed.

78 FR 14510 - Notice of Availability of New Guidelines for Pest Risk Assessments of Imported Fruits and Vegetables

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-06

... Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS... (PRAs) for imports of fruits and vegetables. A PRA is defined by the International Plant Protection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0077...

An assessment of soybeans and other vegetable proteins as source of salmonella contamination in pig production

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Häggblom Per

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The impact of salmonella contaminated feed ingredients on the risk for spreading salmonella to pigs was assessed in response to two incidences when salmonella was spread by feed from two feed mills to 78 swine producing herds. Methods The assessment was based on results from the salmonella surveillance of feed ingredients before introduction to feed mills and from HACCP - based surveillance of the feed mills. Results from the mills of the Company (A that produced the salmonella contaminated feed, were by the Chi. Square test compared to the results from all the other (B - E feed producers registered in Sweden. Isolated serovars were compared to serovars from human cases of salmonellosis. Results Salmonella (28 serovars was frequently isolated from imported consignments of soybean meal (14.6% and rape seed meal (10.0%. Company A largely imported soybean meal from crushing plants with a history of unknown or frequent salmonella contamination. The risk for consignments of vegetable proteins to be salmonella contaminated was 2.4 times (P Conclusions Salmonella contaminated feed ingredients are an important source for introducing salmonella into the feed and food chain. Effective HACCP-based control and associated corrective actions are required to prevent salmonella contamination of feed. Efforts should be taken to prevent salmonella contamination already at the crushing plants. This is challenge for the EU - feed industry due to the fact that 98% of the use of soybean/meal, an essential feed ingredient, is imported from crushing plants of third countries usually with an unknown salmonella status.

Activity of vegetative insecticidal proteins Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 of Bacillus thuringiensis against lepidopteran pests.

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Baranek, Jakub; Kaznowski, Adam; Konecka, Edyta; Naimov, Samir

2015-09-01

Vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips) secreted by some isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis show activity against insects and are regarded as insecticides against pests. A number of B. thuringiensis strains harbouring vip3A genes were isolated from different sources and identified by using a PCR based approach. The isolates with the highest insecticidal activity were indicated in screening tests, and their vip genes were cloned and sequenced. The analysis revealed two polymorphic Vip protein forms, which were classified as Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59. After expression of the vip genes, the proteins were isolated and characterized. The activity of both toxins was estimated against economically important lepidopteran pests of woodlands (Dendrolimus pini), orchards (Cydia pomonella) and field crops (Spodoptera exigua). Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 were highly toxic and their potency surpassed those of many Cry proteins used in commercial bioinsecticides. Vip3Aa59 revealed similar larvicidal activity as Vip3Aa58 against S. exigua and C. pomonella. Despite 98% similarity of amino acid sequences of both proteins, Vip3Aa59 was significantly more active against D. pini. Additionally the effect of proteolytic activation of Vip58Aa and Vip3Aa59 on toxicity of D. pini and S. exigua was studied. Both Vip3Aa proteins did not show any activity against Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera) larvae. The results suggest that the Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 toxins might be useful for controlling populations of insect pests of crops and forests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heavy metals in Australian grown and imported rice and vegetables on sale in Australia: health hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, M Azizur; Rahman, Mohammad Mahmudur; Reichman, Suzie M; Lim, Richard P; Naidu, Ravi

2014-02-01

Dietary exposure to heavy metals is a matter of concern for human health risk through the consumption of rice, vegetables and other major foodstuffs. In the present study, we investigated concentrations of cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in Australian grown and imported rice and vegetables on sale in Australia. The mean concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in Australian grown rice were 7.5 µg kg(-1), 21 µg kg(-1), 144 µg kg(-1), 2.9 mg kg(-1), 24.4 mg kg(-1), 166 µg kg(-1), 375 µg kg(-1), and 17.1 mg kg(-1) dry weight (d. wt.), respectively. Except Cd, heavy metal concentrations in Australian grown rice were higher than Bangladeshi rice on sale in Australia. However, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, and Ni in Indian rice on sale in Australia were higher than Australian grown rice. The concentrations of Cu and Ni in Vietnamese rice, and that of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in Thai rice on sale in Australia were also higher than Australian grown rice. Heavy metal concentrations in Pakistani rice on sale in Australia were substantially lower than that in Australian grown rice. In Australian grown rice varieties, the concentrations of heavy metals were considerably higher in brown rice varieties than white rice varieties, indicating Australian brown rice as a potential source of dietary heavy metals for Australian consumers. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in Australian grown and Bangladeshi vegetables on sale in Australia were also determined. Some of the Australian grown and Bangladeshi vegetables contained heavy metals higher than Australian standard maximum limits indicating them as potential sources of dietary heavy metals for Australian consumers. Further investigation is required to estimate health risks of heavy metals from rice and vegetables consumption for Australian consumers. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development of ELISA for the detection of transgenic vegetative insecticidal protein in GM crops/produce.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, R

2012-01-11

In the process of the development of insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) crops and also to evaluate the consistency in the expression of toxin under field conditions, immunological assays are commonly being used. An immunoassay was developed to support the labelling of vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip3A)-based GM produce. The developed ELISA for the measurement of Vip3A is a triple antibody sandwich procedure utilising a polyclonal capture antibody (mouse anti-Vip3A) and a polyclonal detection antibody (rabbit anti-Vip3A) followed by use of a third HRP-conjugated anti-species antibody (goat anti-rabbit IgG). The limit of detection limit of the ELISA assay was 16 ng ml(-1) with a linear quantification range from approximately 31 to 500 ng ml(-1) of Vip3A protein. Furthermore, the assay was in-house validated with GM brinjal samples. The assay was specific, sensitive and reproducible, which can be helpful to detect and track down the spread of unapproved and intentionally/unintentionally released GM produce harbouring Vip protein.

Biogenesis of mitochondrial carrier proteins: molecular mechanisms of import into mitochondria.

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Ferramosca, Alessandra; Zara, Vincenzo

2013-03-01

Mitochondrial metabolite carriers are hydrophobic proteins which catalyze the flux of several charged or hydrophilic substrates across the inner membrane of mitochondria. These proteins, like most mitochondrial proteins, are nuclear encoded and after their synthesis in the cytosol are transported into the inner mitochondrial membrane. Most metabolite carriers, differently from other nuclear encoded mitochondrial proteins, are synthesized without a cleavable presequence and contain several, poorly characterized, internal targeting signals. However, an interesting aspect is the presence of a positively charged N-terminal presequence in a limited number of mitochondrial metabolite carriers. Over the last few years the molecular mechanisms of import of metabolite carrier proteins into mitochondria have been thoroughly investigated. This review summarizes the present knowledge and discusses recent advances on the import and sorting of mitochondrial metabolite carriers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulated Vegetation Response to Climate Change in California: The Importance of Seasonal Production Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J. B.; Pitts, B.

2013-12-01

MC1 dynamic global vegetation model simulates vegetation response to climate change by simulating vegetation production, soil biogeochemistry, plant biogeography and fire. It has been applied at a wide range of spatial scales, yet the spatio-temporal patterns of simulated vegetation production, which drives the model's response to climate change, has not been examined in detail. We ran MC1 for California at a relatively fine scale, 30 arc-seconds, for the historical period (1895-2006) and for the future (2007-2100), using downscaled data from four CMIP3-based climate projections: A2 and B1 GHG emissions scenarios simulated by PCM and GFDL GCMs. The use of these four climate projections aligns our work with a body of climate change research work commissioned by the California Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program. The four climate projections vary not only in terms of changes in their annual means, but in the seasonality of projected climate change. We calibrated MC1 using MODIS NPP data for 2000-2011 as a guide, and adapting a published technique for adjusting simulated vegetation production by increasing the simulated plant rooting depths. We evaluated the simulation results by comparing the model output for the historical period with several benchmark datasets, summarizing by EPA Level 3 Ecoregions. Multi-year summary statistics of model predictions compare moderately well with Kuchler's potential natural vegetation map, National Biomass and Carbon Dataset, Leenhouts' compilation of fire return intervals, and, of course, the MODIS NPP data for 2000-2011. When we compared MC1's monthly NPP values with MODIS monthly GPP data (2000-2011), however, the seasonal patterns compared very poorly, with NPP/GPP ratio for spring (Mar-Apr-May) often exceeding 1, and the NPP/GPP ratio for summer (Jun-Jul-Aug) often flattening to zero. This suggests MC1's vegetation production algorithms are overly biased for spring production at the cost of summer production. We

Effect of animal and vegetable protein intake on oxalate excretion in idiopathic calcium stone disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Marangella, M; Bianco, O; Martini, C; Petrarulo, M; Vitale, C; Linari, F

1989-04-01

Oxalate excretion was measured in healthy subjects and idiopathic calcium stone-formers on dietary regimens which differed in the type and amount of protein allowed; 24-h urine collections were obtained from 41 practising vegetarians and 40 normal persons on a free, mixed, "mediterranean" diet. Twenty idiopathic calcium stone-formers were also studied while on two low calcium, low oxalate diets which differed in that animal protein was high in one and restricted in the other. Vegetarians had higher urinary oxalate levels than controls and although the calcium levels were markedly lower, urinary saturation with calcium/oxalate was significantly higher. This mild hypercalciuria was interpreted as being secondary to both a higher intake and increased fractional intestinal absorption of oxalate. Changing calcium stone-formers from a high to a low animal protein intake produced a significant decrease in calcium excretion but there was no variation in urinary oxalate. As a result, the decrease in calcium oxalate saturation was only marginal and not significant. It was concluded that dietary animal protein has a minimal effect on oxalate excretion. Mild hyperoxaluria of idiopathic calcium stone disease is likely to be intestinal in origin. Calcium stone-formers should be advised to avoid an excess of animal protein but the risks of a vegetable-rich diet should also be borne in mind.

Effect of variety mixtures on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) vegetable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

jokonya

AN EVALUATION OF SIX COWPEA VARIETIES GROWN ... provide cheap sources of protein, micronutrients and mineral elements that can ... traditional vegetables is that, these leafy vegetables are present in most home ..... REFERENCES. 1.

Protein from Meat or Vegetable Sources in Meals Matched for Fiber Content has Similar Effects on Subjective Appetite Sensations and Energy Intake—A Randomized Acute Cross-Over Meal Test Study

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Lone V. Nielsen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Higher-protein meals decrease hunger and increase satiety compared to lower-protein meals. However, no consensus exists about the different effects of animal and vegetable proteins on appetite. We investigated how a meal based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas affected ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations, compared to macronutrient-balanced, iso-caloric meals based on animal protein (veal/pork or eggs. Thirty-five healthy men were enrolled in this acute cross-over study. On each test day, participants were presented with one of four test meals (~3550 kilojoules (kJ 19% of energy from protein, based on fava beans/split peas (28.5 g fiber, pork/veal or eggs supplemented with pea fiber to control for fiber content (28.5 g fiber, or eggs without supplementation of fiber (6.0 g fiber. Subjective appetite sensations were recorded at baseline and every half hour until the ad libitum meal three hours later. There were no differences in ad libitum energy intake across test meals (p > 0.05. Further, no differences were found across meals for hunger, satiety, fullness, prospective food consumption, or composite appetite score (all p > 0.05. Iso-caloric, macronutrient-balanced, fiber-matched meals based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas or animal protein (veal/pork or eggs had similar effects on ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations.

Protein from Meat or Vegetable Sources in Meals Matched for Fiber Content has Similar Effects on Subjective Appetite Sensations and Energy Intake-A Randomized Acute Cross-Over Meal Test Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Lone V; Kristensen, Marlene D; Klingenberg, Lars; Ritz, Christian; Belza, Anita; Astrup, Arne; Raben, Anne

2018-01-16

Higher-protein meals decrease hunger and increase satiety compared to lower-protein meals. However, no consensus exists about the different effects of animal and vegetable proteins on appetite. We investigated how a meal based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) affected ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations, compared to macronutrient-balanced, iso-caloric meals based on animal protein (veal/pork or eggs). Thirty-five healthy men were enrolled in this acute cross-over study. On each test day, participants were presented with one of four test meals (~3550 kilojoules (kJ) 19% of energy from protein), based on fava beans/split peas (28.5 g fiber), pork/veal or eggs supplemented with pea fiber to control for fiber content (28.5 g fiber), or eggs without supplementation of fiber (6.0 g fiber). Subjective appetite sensations were recorded at baseline and every half hour until the ad libitum meal three hours later. There were no differences in ad libitum energy intake across test meals ( p > 0.05). Further, no differences were found across meals for hunger, satiety, fullness, prospective food consumption, or composite appetite score (all p > 0.05). Iso-caloric, macronutrient-balanced, fiber-matched meals based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) or animal protein (veal/pork or eggs) had similar effects on ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations.

Protein from Meat or Vegetable Sources in Meals Matched for Fiber Content has Similar Effects on Subjective Appetite Sensations and Energy Intake—A Randomized Acute Cross-Over Meal Test Study

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Lone V.; Kristensen, Marlene D.; Klingenberg, Lars; Belza, Anita

2018-01-01

Higher-protein meals decrease hunger and increase satiety compared to lower-protein meals. However, no consensus exists about the different effects of animal and vegetable proteins on appetite. We investigated how a meal based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) affected ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations, compared to macronutrient-balanced, iso-caloric meals based on animal protein (veal/pork or eggs). Thirty-five healthy men were enrolled in this acute cross-over study. On each test day, participants were presented with one of four test meals (~3550 kilojoules (kJ) 19% of energy from protein), based on fava beans/split peas (28.5 g fiber), pork/veal or eggs supplemented with pea fiber to control for fiber content (28.5 g fiber), or eggs without supplementation of fiber (6.0 g fiber). Subjective appetite sensations were recorded at baseline and every half hour until the ad libitum meal three hours later. There were no differences in ad libitum energy intake across test meals (p > 0.05). Further, no differences were found across meals for hunger, satiety, fullness, prospective food consumption, or composite appetite score (all p > 0.05). Iso-caloric, macronutrient-balanced, fiber-matched meals based on vegetable protein (fava beans/split peas) or animal protein (veal/pork or eggs) had similar effects on ad libitum energy intake and appetite sensations. PMID:29337861

Digestibility and nitrogen balance of diets containing non conventional vegetable proteins fed to pigs of genetic strains suitable for outdoor systems

OpenAIRE

L. Sardi; M. Simioli; R. Paganelli; G. Martelli; L. Rizzi

2010-01-01

The study was carried out to evaluate on growing pigs kept in metabolism crates, either belonging to a “traditional” cross-breed (Duroc x Large White – DLW) or a local breed (Cinta Senese – CS), the digestibility and the nitrogen balance of non-conventional vegetable protein sources (field beans, pea and sunflower cake) when compared to soybean meal. The four diets were formulated so as to supply the same crude protein amount. CS pigs showed lower apparent digestibilit...

Study Quality Protein and Fat in Some Romanian and Foreign Soybean Varieties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Cenan (Pasc

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Worldwide soy is one of the most important sources of vegetable protein and vegetable fats supplying plant. Soybean proteins are important both for human food and animal feed industry concentrated. In the last twenty years soybeans have become an irreplaceable product for the food industry. This paper presents the results of the production capacity, protein and oil content of 25 soybean genotypes studied in 2011-2013 at Agricultural Research Station Turda Development. Were calculated  the amounts of protein and oil produced by each genotype in part each year and averaged over three experimental years. Protein content was between 39 per cent and 43.9 per cent and for fat percentage values ​​were between 18.9 per cent and 21.8 per cent. Romanian genotypes quality results are similar to those obtained for foreign genotypes. These genotypes can be grown in climatic conditions of Transylvania resulting quality for there production.

Identification of a tripartite import signal in the Ewing Sarcoma protein (EWS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaw, Debra J.; Morse, Robert; Todd, Adrian G.; Eggleton, Paul; Lorson, Christian L.; Young, Philip J.

2009-01-01

The Ewing Sarcoma (EWS) protein is a ubiquitously expressed RNA processing factor that localises predominantly to the nucleus. However, the mechanism through which EWS enters the nucleus remains unclear, with differing reports identifying three separate import signals within the EWS protein. Here we have utilized a panel of truncated EWS proteins to clarify the reported nuclear localisation signals. We describe three C-terminal domains that are important for efficient EWS nuclear localization: (1) the third RGG-motif; (2) the last 10 amino acids (known as the PY-import motif); and (3) the zinc-finger motif. Although these three domains are involved in nuclear import, they are not independently capable of driving the efficient import of a GFP-moiety. However, collectively they form a complex tripartite signal that efficiently drives GFP-import into the nucleus. This study helps clarify the EWS import signal, and the identification of the involvement of both the RGG- and zinc-finger motifs has wide reaching implications.

Identification of a tripartite import signal in the Ewing Sarcoma protein (EWS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, Debra J.; Morse, Robert; Todd, Adrian G. [Clinical Neurobiology, IBCS, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter EX1 2LU (United Kingdom); Eggleton, Paul [Inflammation and Musculoskeletal Disease, IBCS, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter EX1 2LU (United Kingdom); MRC Immunochemistry Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU (United Kingdom); Lorson, Christian L. [Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Bond Life Sciences Center, 1201 Rollins Road, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (United States); Young, Philip J., E-mail: philip.young@pms.ac.uk [Clinical Neurobiology, IBCS, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter EX1 2LU (United Kingdom)

2009-12-25

The Ewing Sarcoma (EWS) protein is a ubiquitously expressed RNA processing factor that localises predominantly to the nucleus. However, the mechanism through which EWS enters the nucleus remains unclear, with differing reports identifying three separate import signals within the EWS protein. Here we have utilized a panel of truncated EWS proteins to clarify the reported nuclear localisation signals. We describe three C-terminal domains that are important for efficient EWS nuclear localization: (1) the third RGG-motif; (2) the last 10 amino acids (known as the PY-import motif); and (3) the zinc-finger motif. Although these three domains are involved in nuclear import, they are not independently capable of driving the efficient import of a GFP-moiety. However, collectively they form a complex tripartite signal that efficiently drives GFP-import into the nucleus. This study helps clarify the EWS import signal, and the identification of the involvement of both the RGG- and zinc-finger motifs has wide reaching implications.

Importance of vegetation, topography and flow paths for water transit times of base flow in alpine headwater catchments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. H. Mueller

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The mean transit time (MTT of water in a catchment gives information about storage, flow paths, sources of water and thus also about retention and release of solutes in a catchment. To our knowledge there are only a few catchment studies on the influence of vegetation cover changes on base flow MTTs. The main changes in vegetation cover in the Swiss Alps are massive shrub encroachment and forest expansion into formerly open habitats. Four small and relatively steep headwater catchments in the Swiss Alps (Ursern Valley were investigated to relate different vegetation cover to water transit times. Time series of water stable isotopes were used to calculate MTTs. The high temporal variation of the stable isotope signals in precipitation was strongly dampened in stream base flow samples. MTTs of the four catchments were 70 to 102 weeks. The strong dampening of the stable isotope input signal as well as stream water geochemistry points to deeper flow paths and mixing of waters of different ages at the catchments' outlets. MTTs were neither related to topographic indices nor vegetation cover. The major part of the quickly infiltrating precipitation likely percolates through fractured and partially karstified deeper rock zones, which increases the control of bedrock flow paths on MTT. Snow accumulation and the timing of its melt play an important role for stable isotope dynamics during spring and early summer. We conclude that, in mountainous headwater catchments with relatively shallow soil layers, the hydrogeological and geochemical patterns (i.e. geochemistry, porosity and hydraulic conductivity of rocks and snow dynamics influence storage, mixing and release of water in a stronger way than vegetation cover or topography do.

Comparison of vegetation roughness descriptions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Augustijn, Dionysius C.M.; Huthoff, Freek; van Velzen, E.H.; Altinakar, M.S.; Kokpinar, M.A.; Aydin, I.; Cokgor, S.; Kirkgoz, S.

2008-01-01

Vegetation roughness is an important parameter in describing flow through river systems. Vegetation impedes the flow, which affects the stage-discharge curve and may increase flood risks. Roughness is often used as a calibration parameter in river models, however when vegetation is allowed to

Comparison of concentrations of mercury in ambient air to its accumulation by leafy vegetables: An important step in terrestrial food chain analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Temmerman, Ludwig de [Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Leuvensesteenweg 17, B-3080 Tervuren (Belgium)], E-mail: ludet@var.fgov.be; Waegeneers, Nadia [Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Leuvensesteenweg 17, B-3080 Tervuren (Belgium); Claeys, Natacha; Roekens, Edward [Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij, Afdeling Lucht, Milieu en Communicatie, Kronenburgstraat 45, bus3, B-2000 Antwerpen (Belgium)

2009-04-15

A biomonitoring network with leafy vegetables was established near a chlor-alkali plant in order to compare the accumulation of mercury to the atmospheric total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration. Based on data obtained in the reference area the 'normal' mercury concentration in vegetables is between 0.6 and 5.4 {mu}g kg{sup -1} FW. The effect detection limits (EDLs) are between 1.2 and 11.0 {mu}g kg{sup -1} FW and the biological detection limits (BDLs), the lowest [TGM] that can be detected significantly, are between 3 and 4 ng m{sup -3}. The accumulation rate is lowest for lettuce and high for curly kale that proved to be an excellent accumulator and as such it is very useful for biomonitoring purposes. A comparison made in the 1980s between biomonitoring results with grass and the mercury concentration in leafy vegetables from private gardens nearby proved to be valid when applied to the current biomonitoring results with vegetables. - Leafy vegetables are an important component in the transfer of atmospheric mercury through the terrestrial food chain.

Comparison of concentrations of mercury in ambient air to its accumulation by leafy vegetables: An important step in terrestrial food chain analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Temmerman, Ludwig de; Waegeneers, Nadia; Claeys, Natacha; Roekens, Edward

2009-01-01

A biomonitoring network with leafy vegetables was established near a chlor-alkali plant in order to compare the accumulation of mercury to the atmospheric total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration. Based on data obtained in the reference area the 'normal' mercury concentration in vegetables is between 0.6 and 5.4 μg kg -1 FW. The effect detection limits (EDLs) are between 1.2 and 11.0 μg kg -1 FW and the biological detection limits (BDLs), the lowest [TGM] that can be detected significantly, are between 3 and 4 ng m -3 . The accumulation rate is lowest for lettuce and high for curly kale that proved to be an excellent accumulator and as such it is very useful for biomonitoring purposes. A comparison made in the 1980s between biomonitoring results with grass and the mercury concentration in leafy vegetables from private gardens nearby proved to be valid when applied to the current biomonitoring results with vegetables. - Leafy vegetables are an important component in the transfer of atmospheric mercury through the terrestrial food chain

Protein intake and ovulatory infertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Chavarro, Jorge E; Rich-Edwards, Janet W; Rosner, Bernard A; Willett, Walter C

2008-02-01

The objective of the study was to evaluate whether intake of protein from animal and vegetable origin is associated with ovulatory infertility. A total of 18,555 married women without a history of infertility were followed up as they attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant during an 8 year period. Dietary assessments were related to the incidence of ovulatory infertility. During follow-up, 438 women reported ovulatory infertility. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk (RR) (95% confidence interval [CI]; P for trend) of ovulatory infertility comparing the highest to the lowest quintile of animal protein intake was 1.39 (1.01 to 1.90; 0.03). The corresponding RR (95% CI; P for trend) for vegetable protein intake was 0.78 (0.54 to 1.12; 0.07). Furthermore, consuming 5% of total energy intake as vegetable protein rather than as animal protein was associated with a more than 50% lower risk of ovulatory infertility (P =.007). Replacing animal sources of protein with vegetable sources of protein may reduce ovulatory infertility risk.

Influence of antioxidant rich fresh vegetable juices on starch induced postprandial hyperglycemia in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Ashok K; Reddy, K Srikanth; Radhakrishnan, Janani; Kumar, D Anand; Zehra, Amtul; Agawane, Sachin B; Madhusudana, K

2011-09-01

This research analyzed the major chemical components and multiple antioxidant activities present in the fresh juice of eight vegetables, and studied their influence on starch induced postprandial glycemia in rats. A SDS-PAGE based protein fingerprint of each vegetable juice was also prepared. The yields of juice, chemical components like total proteins, total polyphenols, total flavonoids, total anthocyanins and free radicals like the ABTS˙(+) cation, DPPH, H(2)O(2), scavenging activities and reducing properties for NBT and FeCl(3) showed wide variations. Vegetable juice from brinjal ranked first in displaying total antioxidant capacity. Pretreatment of rats with vegetable juices moderated starch induced postprandial glycemia. The fresh juice from the vegetables ridge gourd, bottle gourd, ash gourd and chayote significantly mitigated postprandial hyperglycemic excursion. Total polyphenol concentrations present in vegetable juices positively influenced ABTS˙(+) scavenging activity and total antioxidant capacity. However, NBT reducing activity of juices was positively affected by total protein concentration. Contrarily, however, high polyphenol content in vegetable juice was observed to adversely affect the postprandial antihyperglycemic activity of vegetable juices. This is the first report exploring antihyperglycemic activity in these vegetable juices and highlights the possible adverse influence of high polyphenol content on the antihyperglycemic activity of the vegetable juices. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

The rationale for consuming protein blends in sports nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Gregory L

2009-08-01

Protein is considered by many to be the most important macronutrient for humans because of the numerous roles protein plays in the body. Protein needs have been compared across several population groups, including athletes and other exercising individuals. Many researchers have compared the effects of ingesting animal and vegetable protein sources and their implications on sports performance. Recently, blends of dairy protein and soy protein have appeared in commercial sports nutrition products such as nutrition bars and ready-to-drink and powdered beverages. This review will focus on the potential nutritional advantages of combining whey protein, casein, and isolated soy protein.

Proteomic Profiles Reveal the Function of Different Vegetative Tissues of Moringa oleifera.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Zou, Qiong; Wang, Jinxing; Zhang, Junjie; Liu, Zeping; Chen, Xiaoyang

2016-12-01

Moringa oleifera is a rich source of bioactive compounds and is widely used in traditional medicine and food for its nutritional value; however, the protein and peptide components of different tissues are rarely discussed. Here, we describe the first investigation of M. oleifera proteomes using mass spectrometry and bioinformatics methods. We aimed to elucidate the protein profiles of M. oleifera leaves, stem, bark, and root. Totally 202 proteins were identified from four vegetative organs. We identified 101 proteins from leaves, 51 from stem, 94 from bark and 67 from root, finding that only five proteins existed in both four vegetative parts. The calculated pI of most of the proteins is distributed in 5-10 and the molecular weight distributed below 100 kDa. Functional classification analysis revealed that proteins which are involved in catalytic activities are the most abundant both in leaves, stem, bark and root. Identification of several heat shock proteins in four vegetative tissues might be adaptive for resistance to high temperature environmental stresses of tropical or subtropical areas. Some enzymes involved in antioxidant processes were also identified in M. oleifera leaves, stem, bark and root. Among the four tissues studies here, leaves protein content and molecular diversity were the highest. The identification of the flocculating protein MO2.1 and MO2.2 in the bark and root provides clue to clarify the antimicrobial molecular mechanisms of root and bark. This study provides information on the protein compositions of M. oleifera vegetative tissues that will be beneficial for potential drug and food supplement development and plant physiology research.

Protein translocation channel of mitochondrial inner membrane and matrix-exposed import motor communicate via two-domain coupling protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Rupa; Gladkova, Christina; Mapa, Koyeli; Witte, Gregor; Mokranjac, Dejana

2015-12-29

The majority of mitochondrial proteins are targeted to mitochondria by N-terminal presequences and use the TIM23 complex for their translocation across the mitochondrial inner membrane. During import, translocation through the channel in the inner membrane is coupled to the ATP-dependent action of an Hsp70-based import motor at the matrix face. How these two processes are coordinated remained unclear. We show here that the two domain structure of Tim44 plays a central role in this process. The N-terminal domain of Tim44 interacts with the components of the import motor, whereas its C-terminal domain interacts with the translocation channel and is in contact with translocating proteins. Our data suggest that the translocation channel and the import motor of the TIM23 complex communicate through rearrangements of the two domains of Tim44 that are stimulated by translocating proteins.

Vegetable Genetic Resources in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haiping WANG

2018-03-01

Full Text Available China is recognized as an important region for plant biodiversity based on its vast and historical collection of vegetable germplasm. The aim of this review is to describe the exploration status of vegetable genetic resources in China, including their collection, preservation, evaluation, and utilization. China has established a number of national-level vegetable genetic resources preservation units, including the National Mid-term Genebank for Vegetable Germplasm Resources, the National Germplasm Repository for Vegetatively-Propagated Vegetables, and the National Germplasm Repository for Aquatic Vegetables. In 2015, at least 36 000 accessions were collected and preserved in these units. In the past decade, 44 descriptors and data standards for different species have been published, and most accessions have been evaluated for screening the germplasms for specific important traits such as morphological characteristics, disease resistance, pest resistance, and stress tolerance. Moreover, the genetic diversity and evolution of some vegetable germplasms have been evaluated at the molecular level. Recently, more than 1 000 accessions were distributed to researchers and breeders each year by various means for vegetable research and production. However, additional wild-relative and abroad germplasms from other regions need to be collected and preserved in the units to expand genetic diversity. Furthermore, there is a need to utilize advanced techniques to better understand the background and genetic diversity of a wide range of vegetable genetic resources. This review will provide agricultural scientists’ insights into the genetic diversity in China and provide information on the distribution and potential utilization of these valuable genetic resources. Keywords: vegetable, genetic resource, preservation, evaluation, utilization

Hpa1 harpin needs nitroxyl terminus to promote vegetative growth and leaf photosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaojie; Han, Liping; Zhao, Yanying; You, Zhenzhen; Dong, Hansong; Zhang, Chunling

2014-03-01

Hpa1 is a harpin protein produced by Xanthomonas oryzae, an important bacterial pathogen of rice, and has the growth-promoting activity in plants. To understand the molecular basis for the function of Hpa1, we generated an inactive variant protein, Hpa1 delta NT, by deleting the nitroxyl-terminal region of the Hpa1 sequence and compared Hpa1 delta NT with the full-length protein in terms of the effects on vegetative growth and related physiological responses in Arabidopsis. When Hpa1 was applied to plants, it acted to enhance the vegetative growth but did not affect the floral development. Enhanced plant growth was accompanied by induced expression of growth-promoting genes in plant leaves. The growth-promoting activity of Hpa1 was further correlated with a physiological consequence shown as promoted leaf photosynthesis as a result of facilitated CO2 conduction through leaf stomata and mesophyll cells. On the contrary, plant growth, growth-promoting gene expression, and the physiological consequence changed little in response to the Hpa1 delta NT treatment. These analyses suggest that Hpa1 requires the nitroxyl-terminus to facilitate CO2 transport inside leaf cells and promote leaf photosynthesis and vegetative growth of the plant.

Nuclear protein import is reduced in cells expressing nuclear envelopathy-causing lamin A mutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busch, Albert; Kiel, Tilman; Heupel, Wolfgang-M.; Wehnert, Manfred; Huebner, Stefan

2009-01-01

Lamins, which form the nuclear lamina, not only constitute an important determinant of nuclear architecture, but additionally play essential roles in many nuclear functions. Mutations in A-type lamins cause a wide range of human genetic disorders (laminopathies). The importance of lamin A (LaA) in the spatial arrangement of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) prompted us to study the role of LaA mutants in nuclear protein transport. Two mutants, causing prenatal skin disease restrictive dermopathy (RD) and the premature aging disease Hutchinson Gilford progeria syndrome, were used for expression in HeLa cells to investigate their impact on the subcellular localization of NPC-associated proteins and nuclear protein import. Furthermore, dynamics of the LaA mutants within the nuclear lamina were studied. We observed affected localization of NPC-associated proteins, diminished lamina dynamics for both LaA mutants and reduced nuclear import of representative cargo molecules. Intriguingly, both LaA mutants displayed similar effects on nuclear morphology and functions, despite their differences in disease severity. Reduced nuclear protein import was also seen in RD fibroblasts and impaired lamina dynamics for the nucleoporin Nup153. Our data thus represent the first study of a direct link between LaA mutant expression and reduced nuclear protein import.

Animal Proteins as Important Contributors to a Healthy Human Diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmadfa, Ibrahim; Meyer, Alexa L

2017-02-08

Adequate protein intake is critical for health and development. Generally, protein of animal origin is of higher quality for humans owing to its amino acid pattern and good digestibility. When administered in mixtures it can enhance the quality of plant proteins, but its availability is often low in low-income communities, especially in young children, the elderly, and pregnant and lactating women, who have increased requirements and in whom high-quality protein also stimulates (bone) growth and maintenance. Although high protein intake was associated with increased type 2 diabetes mellitus risk, milk and seafood are good sources of branched chain amino acids and taurine, which act beneficially on glucose metabolism and blood pressure. However, high consumption of protein-rich animal food is also associated with adverse health effects and higher risk for noncommunicable diseases, partly related to other components of these foods, like saturated fatty acids and potential carcinogens in processed meat but also the atherogenic methionine metabolite homocysteine. In moderation, however, animal proteins are especially important for health maintenance in vulnerable persons.

The Importance of Traditional Leafy Vegetables in South Africa | H J ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this work was to enhance the role of African leafy vegetables in the ... rapid and participatory methodologies to collect information from the women. ... In many areas seed systems were poor as the traditional role of keeper of the ...

Antimicrobial Effect of Extracts of Cruciferous Vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Hui Hu

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The cruciferous vegetables cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Chinese radish, Chinese kale, and Chinese kitam were used in this study to prepare water-soluble and methanol-water extracts. Crude protein extracts were also obtained by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE anion exchange chromatography. Water-soluble polysaccharides were prepared by ethanol precipitation followed by ultrafiltration. The antimicrobial effects of all these extracts were evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast. Crude protein extracts exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity in monoculture experiments. The antimicrobial effects of cruciferous vegetables were also studied by steeping beef, carrot, and celery in chlorine (10 ppm or citric acid solution (1% containing the crude protein extract (500 ppm for different time periods. Total aerobic plate counts and coliform counts on these foods decreased significantly after 10 minutes in all steeping solutions (p < 0.05.

Nutrient digestibility of vegetables waste flour on male quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Science.gov (United States)

Pramono, A.; Primadhani, M. S.; Swastike, W.; Sutrisno, J.

2018-03-01

The aim of this research is to determine the nutrient digestibility of vegetables waste flour on of male quail. Four hundred male quails were divided into four groups with five replications. The experiment is Completely Randomized Design and the data were analyzed by analyses of variants. The experimental diets were P0 = basal diet, P1 = 97% basal diet + 3% vegetables waste flour, P2 = 94% basal diet + 6% vegetables waste flour, and P3 = 91% basal diet + 9% vegetables waste flour. The observed variables were the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and extract ether. Result showed that of the addition of vegetable waste flour in the diet had no effect on crude protein digestibility (P>0.05), however shown significant effect on dry matter (P digestibility.

Proximate and nutrient analysis of selected vegetable species: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2009-06-17

Jun 17, 2009 ... Karak, an arid region, have limited water and land resources to cultivate various crops specially vegetables. However, a few seasonal vegetable are available to the local communities in meager quantities. The ash, carbohydrate, protein, moisture, fat, fiber contents, energy values and nutrient composition ...

Proximate and nutrient analysis of selected vegetable species: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Karak, an arid region, have limited water and land resources to cultivate various crops specially vegetables. However, a few seasonal vegetable are available to the local communities in meager quantities. The ash, carbohydrate, protein, moisture, fat, fiber contents, energy values and nutrient composition of eight ...

Dietary management of chronic kidney disease: protein restriction and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Goraya, Nimrit; Wesson, Donald E

2012-11-01

More kidney protective strategies are needed to reduce the burden of complete kidney failure from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Clinicians sometimes use protein restriction as kidney protection despite its demonstrated lack of effectiveness in the only large-scale study. Small-scale studies support that dietary acid reduction is kidney-protective, including when done with base-inducing foods like fruits and vegetables. We review these studies in light of current kidney-protective recommendations. Animal models of CKD show that acid-inducing dietary protein exacerbates and base-inducing protein ameliorates nephropathy progression, and that increased intake of acid-inducing but not base-inducing dietary protein exacerbates progression. Clinical studies show that dietary acid reduction with Na-based alkali reduces kidney injury and slows nephropathy progression in patients with CKD and reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR); base-inducing fruits and vegetables reduce kidney injury in patients with reduced GFR; and base-inducing fruits and vegetables improve metabolic acidosis in CKD. Protein type rather than amount might more importantly affect nephropathy progression. Base-inducing foods might be another way to reduce dietary acid, a strategy shown in small studies to slow nephropathy progression. Further studies will determine if CKD patients should be given base-inducing food as part of their management.

Development of Texturized Vegetable Protein from Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus and African Oil Bean Seed [Pentaclethrama crophylla (Benth]: Optimization Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arueya Gibson. L.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available As part of measures to combat protein shortages in form of meat analogues, extrusion processing conditions for the development of Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP from under-utilized sources (Lima bean and African oil bean seed are analysed. Optimum parameters for processing were established as being: barrel temperature (92.45°C, screw speed (101.48 rpm, feed moisture (59.63% and African oil bean seed protein concentrates (AOBSPC of 1%. Concentrations of essential amino-acids were also found to be significant (0.90-7.3% with a near absence of anti-nutritional factors (0.0022–1.0008 g/kg. Sensory evaluation showed that TVP5 (100% LBPC compared favourably with the control sample (cooked meat in overall acceptability. An Acceptable and nutritious meat analogue had been developed.

Mapping and conservation importance rating of the South African coastal vegetation as an aid to development planning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Raal, PA

1996-05-01

Full Text Available ELSEVIER Landscape and Urban Planning 34 (1996) 389-400 Mapping and conservation importance rating of the South African coastal vegetation as an aid to development planning P.A. Raal *, M.E.R. Bums Division of Earth, Marine...-incide with the local authority administrative boundaries. Areas which have not yet been mapped are also shown. P.A. Raal, M.E.R. Burns/ Landscape and Urban Planning 34 (1996) 389-400 391 a botanical map series which can be used...

Traditional fermented protein condiments in Nigeria | Achi | African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Traditional fermented condiments (dawadawa, iru, ogiri) based on vegetable proteins, and ... in the scope of the microbiology and biochemical changes of the raw materials. ... Fermented vegetable proteins have potential food uses as protein ...

Encouraging children to eat vegetables

OpenAIRE

Buh, Alenka

2014-01-01

It is important for children to maintain a healthy and balanced diet throughout their childhood and youth. Children tend to skip vegetables in their meals as they are not much liked; the tastes of vegetables are also highly specific and each individual has to get used to them by repeated tasting. The aim of this undergraduate thesis was to analyse how often children eat vegetables, which types of vegetables they like and which they do not, to determine if the executed method of pedagogica...

Development of indicators of vegetation recovery based on time series analysis of SPOT Vegetation data

Science.gov (United States)

Lhermitte, S.; Tips, M.; Verbesselt, J.; Jonckheere, I.; Van Aardt, J.; Coppin, Pol

2005-10-01

Large-scale wild fires have direct impacts on natural ecosystems and play a major role in the vegetation ecology and carbon budget. Accurate methods for describing post-fire development of vegetation are therefore essential for the understanding and monitoring of terrestrial ecosystems. Time series analysis of satellite imagery offers the potential to quantify these parameters with spatial and temporal accuracy. Current research focuses on the potential of time series analysis of SPOT Vegetation S10 data (1999-2001) to quantify the vegetation recovery of large-scale burns detected in the framework of GBA2000. The objective of this study was to provide quantitative estimates of the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation recovery based on remote sensing indicators. Southern Africa was used as a pilot study area, given the availability of ground and satellite data. An automated technique was developed to extract consistent indicators of vegetation recovery from the SPOT-VGT time series. Reference areas were used to quantify the vegetation regrowth by means of Regeneration Indices (RI). Two kinds of recovery indicators (time and value- based) were tested for RI's of NDVI, SR, SAVI, NDWI, and pure band information. The effects of vegetation structure and temporal fire regime features on the recovery indicators were subsequently analyzed. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess whether the recovery indicators were different for different vegetation types and dependent on timing of the burning season. Results highlighted the importance of appropriate reference areas and the importance of correct normalization of the SPOT-VGT data.

Biotechnological applications in in vitro plant regeneration studies of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica), an important vegetable crop.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pankaj; Srivastava, Dinesh Kumar

2016-04-01

Biotechnology holds promise for genetic improvement of important vegetable crops. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) is an important vegetable crop of the family Brassicaceae. However, various biotic and abiotic stresses cause enormous crop yield losses during commercial cultivation of broccoli. Establishment of a reliable, reproducible and efficient in vitro plant regeneration system with cell and tissue culture is a vital prerequisite for biotechnological application of crop improvement programme. An in vitro plant regeneration technique refers to culturing, cell division, cell multiplication, de-differentiation and differentiation of cells, protoplasts, tissues and organs on defined liquid/solid medium under aseptic and controlled environment. Recent progress in the field of plant tissue culture has made this area one of the most dynamic and promising in experimental biology. There are many published reports on in vitro plant regeneration studies in broccoli including direct organogenesis, indirect organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis. This review summarizes those plant regeneration studies in broccoli that could be helpful in drawing the attention of the researchers and scientists to work on it to produce healthy, biotic and abiotic stress resistant plant material and to carry out genetic transformation studies for the production of transgenic plants.

Outer membrane protein functions as integrator of protein import and DNA inheritance in mitochondria

Science.gov (United States)

Käser, Sandro; Oeljeklaus, Silke; Týč, Jiří; Vaughan, Sue; Warscheid, Bettina; Schneider, André

2016-01-01

Trypanosomatids are one of the earliest diverging eukaryotes that have fully functional mitochondria. pATOM36 is a trypanosomatid-specific essential mitochondrial outer membrane protein that has been implicated in protein import. Changes in the mitochondrial proteome induced by ablation of pATOM36 and in vitro assays show that pATOM36 is required for the assembly of the archaic translocase of the outer membrane (ATOM), the functional analog of the TOM complex in other organisms. Reciprocal pull-down experiments and immunofluorescence analyses demonstrate that a fraction of pATOM36 interacts and colocalizes with TAC65, a previously uncharacterized essential component of the tripartite attachment complex (TAC). The TAC links the single-unit mitochondrial genome to the basal body of the flagellum and mediates the segregation of the replicated mitochondrial genomes. RNAi experiments show that pATOM36, in line with its dual localization, is not only essential for ATOM complex assembly but also for segregation of the replicated mitochondrial genomes. However, the two functions are distinct, as a truncated version of pATOM36 lacking the 75 C-terminal amino acids can rescue kinetoplast DNA missegregation but not the lack of ATOM complex assembly. Thus, pATOM36 has a dual function and integrates mitochondrial protein import with mitochondrial DNA inheritance. PMID:27436903

Optimizing the protein switch: altering nuclear import and export signals, and ligand binding domain

Science.gov (United States)

Kakar, Mudit; Davis, James R.; Kern, Steve E.; Lim, Carol S.

2007-01-01

Ligand regulated localization controllable protein constructs were optimized in this study. Several constructs were made from a classical nuclear export signal (HIV-rev, MAPKK, or progesterone receptor) in combination with a SV40 T-antigen type nuclear import signal. Different ligand binding domains (LBDs from glucocorticoid receptor or progesterone receptor) were also tested for their ability to impart control over localization of proteins. This study was designed to create constructs which are cytoplasmic in the absence of ligand and nuclear in the presence of ligand, and also to regulate the amount of protein translocating to the nucleus on ligand induction. The balance between the strengths of import and export signals was critical for overall localization of proteins. The amount of protein entering the nucleus was also affected by the dose of ligand (10-100nM). However, the overall import characteristics were determined by the strengths of localization signals and the inherent localization properties of the LBD used. This study established that the amount of protein present in a particular compartment can be regulated by the use of localization signals of various strengths. These optimized localization controllable protein constructs can be used to correct for diseases due to aberrant localization of proteins. PMID:17574289

Variability, heritability and genetic association in vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarker, U.; Islam, Md T.; Rabbani, Md G.; Oba, S.

2015-07-01

Forty three vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) genotypes selected from different eco-geographic regions of Bangladesh were evaluated during 3 years (2012-2014) for genetic variability, heritability and genetic association among mineral elements and quality and agronomic traits in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five replications. The analysis showed that vegetable amaranth is a rich source of K, Ca, Mg, proteins and dietary fibre with average values among the 43 genotypes (1.014%, 2.476%, 2.984, 1.258% and 7.81%, respectively). Six genotypes (VA13, VA14, VA16, VA18, VA26, VA27) showed a biological yield >2000 g/m2 and high mineral, protein and dietary fibre contents; eleven genotypes had high amount of minerals, protein and dietary fibre with above average biological yield; nine genotypes had below average biological yield but were rich in minerals, protein and dietary fibre. Biological yield exhibited a strong positive correlation with leaf area, shoot weight, shoot/root weight and stem base diameter. Insignificant genotypic correlation was observed among mineral, quality and agronomic traits, except K vs. Mg, protein vs. dietary fibre and stem base diameter vs. Ca. Some of these genotypes can be used for improvement of vegetable amaranth regarding mineral, protein and dietary fibre content without compromising yield loss. (Author)

Prolonged exposure to particulate chromate inhibits RAD51 nuclear import mediator proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, Cynthia L; Wise, John Pierce

2017-09-15

Particulate hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a human lung carcinogen and a human health concern. The induction of structural chromosome instability is considered to be a driving mechanism of Cr(VI)-induced carcinogenesis. Homologous recombination repair protects against Cr(VI)-induced chromosome damage, due to its highly accurate repair of Cr(VI)-induced DNA double strand breaks. However, recent studies demonstrate Cr(VI) inhibits homologous recombination repair through the misregulation of RAD51. RAD51 is an essential protein in HR repair that facilitates the search for a homologous sequence. Recent studies show prolonged Cr(VI) exposure prevents proper RAD51 subcellular localization, causing it to accumulate in the cytoplasm. Since nuclear import of RAD51 is crucial to its function, this study investigated the effect of Cr(VI) on the RAD51 nuclear import mediators, RAD51C and BRCA2. We show acute (24h) Cr(VI) exposure induces the proper localization of RAD51C and BRCA2. In contrast, prolonged (120h) exposure increased the cytoplasmic localization of both proteins, although RAD51C localization was more severely impaired. These results correlate temporally with the previously reported Cr(VI)-induced RAD51 cytoplasmic accumulation. In addition, we found Cr(VI) does not inhibit interaction between RAD51 and its nuclear import mediators. Altogether, our results suggest prolonged Cr(VI) exposure inhibits the nuclear import of RAD51C, and to a lesser extent, BRCA2, which results in the cytoplasmic accumulation of RAD51. Cr(VI)-induced inhibition of nuclear import may play a key role in its carcinogenic mechanism since the nuclear import of many tumor suppressor proteins and DNA repair proteins is crucial to their function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Windows of opportunity for salt marsh vegetation establishment on bare tidal flats : The importance of temporal and spatial variability in hydrodynamic forcing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hu, Z.; Van Belzen, J.; Van der Wal, D.; Balke, T.; Wang, Z.B.; Stive, M.J.F.; Bouma, T.J.

2015-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms limiting and facilitating salt marsh vegetation initial establishment is of widespread importance due to the many valuable services salt marsh ecosystems offer. Salt marsh dynamics have been investigated by many previous studies, but the mechanisms that enable or disable

The importance of adding EDTA for the nanopore analysis of proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasniqi, Besnik; Lee, Jeremy S

2012-06-01

Nanopore analysis is a promising technique for studying the conformation of proteins and protein/protein interactions. Two proteins (bacterial thioredoxin and maltose binding protein) were subjected to nanopore analysis with α-hemolysin. Two types of events were observed; bumping events with a blockade current less than -40 pA and intercalation events with blockade currents between -40 pA and -100 pA. In potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.8, both proteins gave intercalation events but the frequency of these events was significantly reduced in TRIS or HEPES buffers especially in the presence of 0.01 mM divalent metal ions. The frequency of events was restored by the addition of EDTA. For maltose binding protein, the frequency of intercalation events was also decreased in the presence of maltose but not lactose to which it does not bind. It is proposed that the events with large blockade currents represent transient intercalation of a loop or end of the protein into the pore and that divalent metal ions inhibit this process. The results demonstrate that the choice of buffer and the effects of metal ion contamination are important considerations in nanopore analysis.

Consumer attitudes towards vegetable attributes: potential buyers of pesticide-free vegetables in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Probst, Lorenz; Aigelsperger, Lisa; Hauser, Michael

2010-01-01

Considering the inappropriate use of synthetic pesticides on vegetables in West Africa, the rationale behind this research was to assess the extent to which consumers can function as demanders of risk reduced vegetables and hence act as innovators towards vegetable safety. Using the cases of Kumasi and Accra in Ghana, the study examined possible consumer responses to product certification that communicates freedom from pesticides (e.g., organic certification). Generally, search attributes such as the fresh and healthy appearance of a vegetable were found to be central to consumer choice. While consumers stress the importance of health value, they are mostly unaware of agro-chemical risks related to vegetable consumption.

Efficient in vitro import of a cytosolic heat shock protein into pea chloroplasts

OpenAIRE

Lubben, Thomas H.; Keegstra, Kenneth

1986-01-01

In order to further our understanding of the targeting of nuclear-encoded proteins into intracellular organelles, we have investigated the import of chimeric precursor proteins into pea chloroplasts. Two different chimeric precursor proteins were produced by in vitro expression of chimeric genes. One chimeric precursor contained the transit peptide of the small subunit of soybean ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and the mature peptide of the same protein from pea. The second contained th...

Macauba: a promising tropical palm for the production of vegetable oil

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Colombo Carlos Augusto

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The growing global demand for vegetable oils for food and for replacing fossil fuels leads to increased oilseeds production. Almost 122 of the current 187 million tons of vegetable oils produced in the world correspond to palm and soybean oils. The oil palm is cultivated in the tropical zone, in areas formerly occupied by forests, and soybean oil is a by-product of protein meal production. The diversification of raw materials for the vegetable oil market is thus strategic for both food and non-food sectors. Sources for vegetable oil should be economically competitive and provide sustainability indexes higher than that provided by oil palm and soybean. In this context, we describe the potential of Acrocomia aculeata, popularly known as macauba. Macauba is an American palm from the tropical zones which presents oil productivity and quality similar to that of the oil palm. It grows spontaneously in a wide range of environments and it is not very water demanding. Macauba palm has a high potential for oil production and for diversification of co-products with some potential of value aggregation. Such a perennial and sustainable species will probably fulfill the requirements to become an important new commercial oilseed crop.

SPINIFICI-SCAEVOLETEA SERICEAE, A NEW VEGETATION CLASS FOR PSAMMOPHYTIC DUNE VEGETATION IN THAILAND

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S. PIGNATII

1996-04-01

Full Text Available This is a short account on the coastal dune vegetation of the Gulf of Siam in Thailand. Vegetation is mainly composed by succulent creeping plants with herbaceous habit as to Canavalia maritima (Papilionaceae and Iponwea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae and the robust stoloniferous grass Spinijex littoreus, the last having an important function for the fonnation of coastal dunes.

SPINIFICI-SCAEVOLETEA SERICEAE, A NEW VEGETATION CLASS FOR PSAMMOPHYTIC DUNE VEGETATION IN THAILAND

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S. PIGNATII

1996-01-01

Full Text Available This is a short account on the coastal dune vegetation of the Gulf of Siam in Thailand. Vegetation is mainly composed by succulent creeping plants with herbaceous habit as to Canavalia maritima (Papilionaceae and Iponwea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae and the robust stoloniferous grass Spinijex littoreus, the last having an important function for the fonnation of coastal dunes.

Diferentes fontes protéicas de origem vegetal para tilápia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus L. durante a reversão sexual - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v26i1.1929 Different protein vegetal sources for the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L. during sexual reversion - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v26i1.1929

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Eliana Maria Galdioli

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Com o objetivo de avaliar diferentes fontes protéicas de origem vegetal para a tilápia do Nilo durante a fase de reversão sexual, foram utilizadas 360 larvas distribuídas em 24 aquários (12 litros cada em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com quatro tratamentos e seis repetições. Foram comparadas quatro fontes protéicas de origem vegetal, sendo o farelo de soja (FS, farelo de canola (FC, farelo de girassol (FG e farelo de algodão (FA. A uniformidade do lote, o fator de condição e a sobrevivência não foram afetadas pelos diferentes tratamentos. O FA levou aos piores resultados no peso e no comprimento final. A matéria seca da carcaça dos peixes alimentados com FG apresentou-se superior a do FS (p Three hundred and sixty Nile tilapia larvae were distributed in 24 12L-aquaria to evaluate different protein vegetal sources. Design was totally randomised with four treatments and six repetitions. Four protein vegetal sources were compared: soy meal (SM, canola meal (CM, sunflower meal (FG and cotton meal (TM. Uniformity of lots, condition factor and survival were not affected by the different treatments. TM had the worst results in weight and final length. Carcass dry matter of fish fed on FM was superior to SM (p < 0.05. Percentage of crude protein of carcass was highest in treatments CM and SM; the lowest percentage belonged to FM. SM, CM and FM may be used as protein vegetal sources without any impairment in the performance of Nile tilapia larvae.

Monitoring of vegetation dynamics and assessing vegetation response to drought in the Iberian Peninsula

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Haro, F. J.; Moreno, A.; Perez-Hoyos, A.; Gilabert, M. A.; Melia, J.; Belda, F.; Poquet, D.; Martinez, B.; Verger, A.

2009-07-01

Monitoring the vegetation activity over long time-scales is necessary to discern ecosystem response to climate variability. Spatial and temporally consistent estimates of the biophysical variables such as fractional vegetation cover (FVC) and leaf area index (LAI) have been obtained in the context of DULCINEA Project. We used long-term monthly climate statistics to build simple climatic indices (SPI, moisture index) at different time scales. From these indices, we estimated that the climatic disturbances affected both the growing season and the total amount of vegetation. This implies that the anomaly of vegetation cover is a good indicator of moisture condition and can be an important data source when used for detecting an monitoring drought in the Iberian Peninsula. The impact of climate variability on the vegetation dynamics has shown not to be the same for every region. We concluded that the relationships between vegetation anomaly and moisture availability are significant for the arid and semiarid areas. (Author) 6 refs.

Monitoring of vegetation dynamics and assessing vegetation response to drought in the Iberian Peninsula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Haro, F. J.; Moreno, A.; Perez-Hoyos, A.; Gilabert, M. A.; Melia, J.; Belda, F.; Poquet, D.; Martinez, B.; Verger, A.

2009-01-01

Monitoring the vegetation activity over long time-scales is necessary to discern ecosystem response to climate variability. Spatial and temporally consistent estimates of the biophysical variables such as fractional vegetation cover (FVC) and leaf area index (LAI) have been obtained in the context of DULCINEA Project. We used long-term monthly climate statistics to build simple climatic indices (SPI, moisture index) at different time scales. From these indices, we estimated that the climatic disturbances affected both the growing season and the total amount of vegetation. This implies that the anomaly of vegetation cover is a good indicator of moisture condition and can be an important data source when used for detecting an monitoring drought in the Iberian Peninsula. The impact of climate variability on the vegetation dynamics has shown not to be the same for every region. We concluded that the relationships between vegetation anomaly and moisture availability are significant for the arid and semiarid areas. (Author) 6 refs.

A spindle pole antigen gene MoSPA2 is important for polar cell growth of vegetative hyphae and conidia, but is dispensable for pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chao; Yang, Jun; Zhou, Wei; Chen, Xiao-Lin; Huang, Jin-Guang; Cheng, Zhi-Hua; Zhao, Wen-Sheng; Zhang, Yan; Peng, You-Liang

2014-11-01

Spa2 is an important component of the multiprotein complex polarisome, which is involved in the establishment, maintenance, termination of polarized cell growth and is important for defining tip growth of filamentous fungi. In this study, we isolated an insertional mutant of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that formed smaller colony and conidia compared with the wild type. In the mutant, a spindle pole antigen gene MoSPA2 was disrupted by the integration of an exogenous plasmid. Targeted gene deletion and complementation assays demonstrated the gene disruption was responsible for the defects of the insertional mutant. Interestingly, the MoSpa2-GFP fusion protein was found to accumulate as a spot at hyphal tips, septa of hyphae and conidial tip cells where germ tubes are usually produced, but not in appressoria, infection hyphae or at the septa of conidia. Furthermore, the deletion mutants of MoSPA2 exhibited slower hyphal tip growth, more hyphal branches, and smaller size of conidial tip cells. However, MoSPA2 is not required for plant infection. These results indicate that MoSPA2 is required for vegetative hyphal growth and maintaining conidium morphology and that spotted accumulation of MoSpa2 is important for its functions during cell polar growth.

Genetic characterization of early maturing maize hybrids (Zea mays L. obtained by protein and RAPD markers

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Bauer Iva

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of maize germplasm genetic diversity is important for planning breeding programmes, germplasm conservation per se etc. Genetic variability of maize hybrids grown in the fields is also very important because genetic uniformity implies risks of genetic vulnerability to stress factors and can cause great losts in yield. Early maturing maize hybrids are characterized by shorter vegetation period and they are grown in areas with shorter vegetation season. Because of different climatic conditions in these areas lines and hybrids are developed with different features in respect to drought resistance and disease resistance. The objective of our study was to characterize set of early maturing maize hybrids with protein and RAPD markers and to compare this clasification with their pedigree information. RAPD markers gave significantly higher rate of polymorphism than protein markers. Better corelation was found among pedigree information and protein markers.

Evaluation of vegetation cover using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI

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Gabriela Camargos Lima

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Soil loss by water erosion is the main cause of soil degradation in Brazil. However, erosion can be reduced by the presence of vegetation. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI makes it possible to identify the vegetative vigor of crops or natural vegetation which facilities the identification of areas with vegetation covers. This information is very important in identifying the phenomena which might be occurring in a particular area, especially those related to soil degradation by water erosion. Thus, the aim of this work was to assess the canopy cover by using NDVI, checking the image accuracy using the Coverage Index (CI based on the Stocking method, in the Sub-basin of Posses, which belongs to the Cantareira System, located in the Extrema municipality, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Landsat-5 TM images were used. The sub-basin of Posses was very altered in comparison to the surrounding areas. The NDVI technique proved to be a suitable tool to assess the uses that occur in the sub-basin of Posses, as validated by the Stocking methodology. The map derived from NDVI allowed the geographic distribution of different land uses to be observed and allowed for the identification of critical areas in relation to vegetation cover as well. This finding can be used to optimize efforts to recover and protect soil in areas with bare soil and degraded pasture, in order to reduce environmental degradation. The CI has not exceeded 40% for land use classes that occur in the majority of the sub-basin (91%, except in areas of woody vegetation.

ASUPAN PROTEIN NABATI DAN KEJADIAN ANEMIA WANITA USIA SUBUR VEGAN

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Fajar Ari Nugroho

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to determined the role of vegetable protein intake and anaemia incidence among vegan reproductive aged women. This study was observational research with cross-sectional study design. Sixty-five subjects were selected by simple random sampling method. Data collection for intake was done by 24-hours recall technique, and haemoglobin levels was measured by cyanmethemogloblin method. The results showed that 26.1% from 31-anaemia vegan subjects classified as less vegetable protein intake individuals, and 43% from 34-non anaemia vegan subjects known as enough vegetable protein intake individuals. Chi-square test authenticate that there was a significant relationship between the vegetable protein intakes with anaemia incidence among vegan reproductive aged women (p=0.002. The conclusion showed that vegetable protein intake has a role to the risk of anaemia incidence among vegan reproductive aged women.Keywords: anaemia, reproductive aged women, vegan, vegetable proteinABSTRAKTujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui peran asupan protein nabati terhadap kejadian anemia pada wanita usia subur (WUS vegan. Penelitian yang dilakukan adalah penelitian observasional dengan desain cross sectional. Sebanyak 65 subjek WUS dipilih menggunakan metode simple random sampling. Pengambilan data asupan dilakukan menggunakan metode 24-hours recall, sedangkan kadar hemoglobin dianalisis menggunakan metode cyanmethemoglobin. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan 31 WUS vegan yang anemia sebesar 26,1% diantaranya menunjukkan memiliki asupan protein kurang, sedangkan 34 WUS vegan yang tidak anemia (43%, memiliki asupan protein nabati cukup. Analisis chi square menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara asupan protein nabati dengan kejadian anemia (p=0,002. Kesimpulan penelitian ini adalah asupan protein nabati berperan terhadap risiko anemia pada WUS vegan.Kata kunci: anemia, protein nabati, vegan, WUS

Effects of Vegetables on Cardiovascular Diseases and Related Mechanisms

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Guo-Yi Tang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological studies have shown that vegetable consumption is inversely related to the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, research has indicated that many vegetables like potatoes, soybeans, sesame, tomatoes, dioscorea, onions, celery, broccoli, lettuce and asparagus showed great potential in preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, and vitamins, essential elements, dietary fibers, botanic proteins and phytochemicals were bioactive components. The cardioprotective effects of vegetables might involve antioxidation; anti-inflammation; anti-platelet; regulating blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid profile; attenuating myocardial damage; and modulating relevant enzyme activities, gene expression, and signaling pathways as well as some other biomarkers associated to cardiovascular diseases. In addition, several vegetables and their bioactive components have been proven to protect against cardiovascular diseases in clinical trials. In this review, we analyze and summarize the effects of vegetables on cardiovascular diseases based on epidemiological studies, experimental research, and clinical trials, which are significant to the application of vegetables in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Extent of Microbial Contamination of Refined and Unrefined Vegetable oils sold in South-west Nigeria

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Oluwafemi Flora

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Oils constitute a major source of plant-based protein. A major limitation to optimal oil consumption in sub-tropical region is fungal infestation and consequent mycotoxin contamination. Ten refined and eight unrefined vegetable oils were randomly purchase from open markets and screened for microbial contamination using standard microbial procedures. Twenty six fungi isolates were obtained from the vegetable oil samples, the isolates were identified as Aspergillus fumigatus (43.0%, Mucor (17.9%, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (10.7%, Aspergillus niger (7.1%, Aspergillus flavus (7.1%, Penicillium spp (7.1%, Aspergillus oryzae (3.6%, Mucor (17.9% and Rhizopus spp (3.6%. Five out of the ten refined vegetable oil samples had no fungal contamination. A. flavus and A. oryzae were absent in all the refined oil samples while A. niger was absent in all the unrefined oil samples. Isolation of mycotoxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus spp. is of vital importance in the food industry. Education and training of processors and consumers is recommended.

[Effeciency of usage of natural low caloric protein-vegetable product by patients with excess body weight and hypertension].

Science.gov (United States)

Rakhmanov, R S; Istomin, A V; Narutdinov, D A; Kropachev, V Iu

2014-01-01

The efficiency of the usage of natural low caloric concentrated protein-vegetable food product (LCCF) by 23 persons with excess body weight at the age of 30-44 years (the 1st group) and 30 hypertensive patients at remission stage and overweight at age 45-59 years old (the 2nd group) has been assessed. According to energy expenditure, all examined male persons were classified to II group of physical activity: PhysicalActivity Coefficient (PAC) was 1,35±0,14 and 1,34±0,22 respectively. As for dietary intake, authors revealed an excess of protein (up to 20,1%), fat (up to 17,2%) and daily caloric content over daily energy expenditure that led to an increase of body weight along with metabolic and liver function disorders. Initially, body mass index (BMI) was 29,9±0,6 kg/m2 in the 1st group and 36,2±0,4 kg/m2 in the 2nd group. LCCFP was administrated to persons in studied groups and consisted of fat-free curd, egg white, rye bran, dried apricots, laminaria, leaves of green tea and cowberry. The product was made by cryogenic technology. LCCFP (35 g) was administrated two times per day instead of breakfast and supper during 15 days. Protein content in 1 portion of LCCFP was 5.2 g, fats -3.8 g, carbohydrates - 16.8 g; energy value - 122 kcal. The decrease of daily caloric content was 1225,5 kilocalories (kcal) in the 1st group and 1071,3 kcal in the 2nd group duringperiod of LCCFP administration; the energy value of the diet amounted to an average of 1420 and 1560 kcal per day. During the study, authors found serum protein indices were constant, but revealed the decrease of the level of glucose (by 15,3-18%), cholesterol (18,8-19%), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (13,9-15,8%), triglycerides (20-26,3%) and alanine aminotransferase (39,7-41,4%) and asparagine aminotransferase (40,6-40,7%) activity. This provided evidence of positive influence of the natural protein-vegetable LCCFP on fat and carbohydrate metabolisms as well as liver function. Also, the decrease of

Coregulation of soybean vegetative storage protein gene expression by methyl jasmonate and soluble sugars.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, H S; Dewald, D B; Creelman, R A; Mullet, J E

1992-03-01

The soybean vegetative storage protein genes vspA and vspB are highly expressed in developing leaves, stems, flowers, and pods as compared with roots, seeds, and mature leaves and stems. In this paper, we report that physiological levels of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and soluble sugars synergistically stimulate accumulation of vsp mRNAs. Treatment of excised mature soybean (Glycine max Merr. cv Williams) leaves with 0.2 molar sucrose and 10 micromolar MeJA caused a large accumulation of vsp mRNAs, whereas little accumulation occurred when these compounds were supplied separately. In soybean cell suspension cultures, the synergistic effect of sucrose and MeJA on the accumulation of vspB mRNA was maximal at 58 millimolar sucrose and was observed with fructose or glucose substituted for sucrose. In dark-grown soybean seedlings, the highest levels of vsp mRNAs occurred in the hypocotyl hook, which also contained high levels of MeJA and soluble sugars. Lower levels of vsp mRNAs, MeJA, and soluble sugars were found in the cotyledons, roots, and nongrowing regions of the stem. Wounding of mature soybean leaves induced a large accumulation of vsp mRNAs when wounded plants were incubated in the light. Wounded plants kept in the dark or illuminated plants sprayed with dichlorophenyldimethylurea, an inhibitor of photosynthetic electron transport, showed a greatly reduced accumulation of vsp mRNAs. The time courses for the accumulation of vsp mRNAs induced by wounding or sucrose/MeJA treatment were similar. These results strongly suggest that vsp expression is coregulated by endogenous levels of MeJA (or jasmonic acid) and soluble carbohydrate during normal vegetative development and in wounded leaves.

Effect of vegetable diets versus diets with processed animal proteins on performance and health status of laying hens = Effecten van plantaardig voer versus voer met dierlijke eiwitten op productieprestaties en gezondheidsstatus van leghennen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldkamp, T.; Krimpen, van M.M.; Jansman, A.J.M.

2008-01-01

Meat and bone meal and meat meal in diets and their effects on performance and health status of laying hens has been reviewed. Properties of dietary animal proteins are compared with dietary vegetable proteins and possible causative factors for differences in performance and health are described in

Effects of Telecoupling on Global Vegetation Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Viña, A.; Liu, J.

2016-12-01

With the ever increasing trend in telecoupling processes, such as international trade, all countries around the world are becoming more interdependent. However, the effects of this growing interdependence on vegetation (e.g., shifts in the geographic extent and distribution) remain unknown even though vegetation dynamics are crucially important for food production, carbon sequestration, provision of other ecosystem services, and biodiversity conservation. In this study we evaluate the effects of international trade on the spatio-temporal trajectories of vegetation at national and global scales, using vegetation index imagery collected over more than three decades by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite sensor series together with concurrent national and international data on international trade (and its associated movement of people, goods, services and information). The spatio-temporal trajectories of vegetation are obtained using the scale of fluctuation technique, which is based on the decomposition of the AVHRR image time series to obtain information on its spatial dependence structure over time. Similar to the correlation length, the scale of fluctuation corresponds to the range over which fluctuations in the vegetation index are spatially correlated. Results indicate that global vegetation has changed drastically over the last three decades. These changes are not uniform across space, with hotspots in active trading countries. This study not only has direct implications for understanding global vegetation dynamics, but also sheds important insights on the complexity of human-nature interactions across telecoupled systems.

[Evaluation of the adjusted amino acid score by digestibility for estimating the protein quality and protein available in food and diets].

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, N; Vera, G; Araya, H

1985-03-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the amino acid score adjusted by digestibility to estimate protein quality and utilizable protein in foods and diets, considering net protein utilization (NPU) as a biological reference method. Ten foods of vegetable origin and ten of animal origin, as well as eight mixtures of foods of vegetable and animal origin were studied. When all the foods were considered, a positive (r = 0.83) and highly significant correlation (p less than 0.001) between NPU and the amino acid score adjusted by digestibility was found. When the foods were separated according to their origin, this correlation was positive only for the foods of vegetable origin (r = 0.93) and statistically significant (p less than 0.001). Also, only in those foods were similar values found between NPU and amino acid score adjusted by digestibility, as well as in utilizable protein estimated considering both methods. Caution is required to interpret protein quality and utilizable protein values of foods of animal origin and mixtures of foods of vegetable and animal origin when the amino acid score method adjusted by digestibility, or NPU, are utilized.

Trichoderma G protein-coupled receptors: functional characterisation of a cAMP receptor-like protein from Trichoderma atroviride.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunner, Kurt; Omann, Markus; Pucher, Marion E; Delic, Marizela; Lehner, Sylvia M; Domnanich, Patrick; Kratochwill, Klaus; Druzhinina, Irina; Denk, Dagmar; Zeilinger, Susanne

2008-12-01

Galpha subunits act to regulate vegetative growth, conidiation, and the mycoparasitic response in Trichoderma atroviride. To extend our knowledge on G protein signalling, we analysed G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). As the genome sequence of T. atroviride is not publicly available yet, we carried out an in silico exploration of the genome database of the close relative T. reesei. Twenty genes encoding putative GPCRs distributed over eight classes and additional 35 proteins similar to the Magnaporthe grisea PTH11 receptor were identified. Subsequently, four T. atroviride GPCR-encoding genes were isolated and affiliated to the cAMP receptor-like family by phylogenetic and topological analyses. All four genes showed lowest expression on glycerol and highest mRNA levels upon carbon starvation. Transcription of gpr3 and gpr4 responded to exogenously added cAMP and the shift from liquid to solid media. gpr3 mRNA levels also responded to the presence of fungal hyphae or cellulose membranes. Further characterisation of mutants bearing a gpr1-silencing construct revealed that Gpr1 is essential for vegetative growth, conidiation and conidial germination. Four genes encoding the first GPCRs described in Trichoderma were isolated and their expression characterized. At least one of these GPCRs is important for several cellular processes, supporting the fundamental role of G protein signalling in this fungus.

[Nutritional value of the proteins of carboxydobacteria].

Science.gov (United States)

Volova, T G; Vlasova, N V; Barashkov, V A

1980-01-01

The biological value of proteins from 3 carboxidobacterial strains was assessed on the basis of the protein amino acid content, consumption by the test-organism T. pyriformis and protein susceptibility to proteolytic enzymes in vitro. Carboxidobacterial proteins are characterized by a full-value amino acid composition and contain large amounts of all indispensable amino acids. This indicates that on the whole these proteins are quality ones. Experiments with the test-organisms have shown, however, that the relative biological value of the protein samples significantly yields to casein. The total digestibility of carboxidobacterial proteins by pepsin and trypsin in vitro is close to that of wheat vegetable proteins and lower as compared with that of casein. Carboxidobacterial proteins may be thus attributed to a protein group being an intermediate one between casein and wheat vegetable proteins.

Broad-Scale Environmental Conditions Responsible for Post-Fire Vegetation Dynamics

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Stuart E. Marsh

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Ecosystem response to disturbance is influenced by environmental conditions at a number of scales. Changes in climate have altered fire regimes across the western United States, and have also likely altered spatio-temporal patterns of post-fire vegetation regeneration. Fire occurrence data and a vegetation index (NDVI derived from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR were used to monitor post-fire vegetation from 1989 to 2007. We first investigated differences in post-fire rates of vegetation regeneration between ecoregions. We then related precipitation, temperature, and elevation records at four temporal scales to rates of post-fire vegetation regeneration to ascertain the influence of climate on post-fire vegetation dynamics. We found that broad-scale climate factors are an important influence on post-fire vegetation regeneration. Most notably, higher rates of post-fire regeneration occurred with warmer minimum temperatures. Increases in precipitation also resulted in higher rates of post-fire vegetation growth. While explanatory power was slight, multiple statistical approaches provided evidence for real ecological drivers of post-fire regeneration that should be investigated further at finer scales. The sensitivity of post-disturbance vegetation dynamics to climatic drivers has important ramifications for the management of ecosystems under changing climatic conditions. Shifts in temperature and precipitation regimes are likely to result in changes in post-disturbance dynamics, which could represent important feedbacks into the global climate system.

Importance of a Conserved Lys/Arg Residue for Ligand/PDZ Domain Interactions as Examined by Protein Semisynthesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Søren W; Moran, Griffin E; Sereikaité, Vita

2016-01-01

PDZ domains are ubiquitous small protein domains that are mediators of numerous protein-protein interactions, and play a pivotal role in protein trafficking, synaptic transmission, and the assembly of signaling-transduction complexes. In recent years, PDZ domains have emerged as novel and exciting...... drug targets for diseases (in the brain in particular), so understanding the molecular details of PDZ domain interactions is of fundamental importance. PDZ domains bind to a protein partner at either a C-terminal peptide or internal peptide motifs. Here, we examined the importance of a conserved Lys...

Effects of aquatic vegetation type on denitrification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veraart, A.J.; Bruijne, de W.J.J.; Peeters, E.T.H.M.; Klein, de J.J.M.; Scheffer, M.

2011-01-01

In a microcosm 15N enrichment experiment we tested the effect of floating vegetation (Lemna sp.) and submerged vegetation (Elodea nuttallii) on denitrification rates, and compared it to systems without macrophytes. Oxygen concentration, and thus photosynthesis, plays an important role in regulating

Sink limitation induces the expression of multiple soybean vegetative lipoxygenase mRNAs while the endogenous jasmonic acid level remains low.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunker, T W; Koetje, D S; Stephenson, L C; Creelman, R A; Mullet, J E; Grimes, H D

1995-08-01

The response of individual members of the lipoxygenase multigene family in soybeans to sink deprivation was analyzed. RNase protection assays indicated that a novel vegetative lipoxygenase gene, vlxC, and three other vegetative lipoxygenase mRNAs accumulated in mature leaves in response to a variety of sink limitations. These data suggest that several members of the lipoxygenase multigene family are involved in assimilate partitioning. The possible involvement of jasmonic acid as a signaling molecule regulating assimilate partitioning into the vegetative storage proteins and lipoxygenases was directly assessed by determining the endogenous level of jasmonic acid in leaves from plants with their pods removed. There was no rise in the level of endogenous jasmonic acid coincident with the strong increase in both vlxC and vegetative storage protein VspB transcripts in response to sink limitation. Thus, expression of the vegetative lipoxygenases and vegetative storage proteins is not regulated by jasmonic acid in sink-limited leaves.

Australian consumer awareness of health benefits associated with vegetable consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Rekhy, Reetica; Khan, Aila; Eason, Jocelyn; Mactavish-West, Hazel; Lister, Carolyn; Mcconchie, Robyn

2017-04-01

The present study investigated the perceived health benefits of specific vegetable consumption to guide the use of nutrition and health claims on vegetable marketing collateral. Free elicitation and consumer ranking data were collected through an online survey of 1000 adults from across Australia and analysed for the perceived importance of vegetables in the daily diet, number of serves consumed per day, knowledge about health-related benefits of specific vegetables and perceived health benefits of vegetable consumption. The importance of vegetables in the diet and daily vegetable consumption was higher in people from an English-speaking background, females, people aged 45 years and over and people living in non-metropolitan areas. Digestion was selected as the major health benefit from consumption of specific vegetables. However, understanding of the health benefits of specific vegetable consumption was relatively low among consumers. Half of the respondents were not sure of the health benefits associated with specific vegetables, except for carrots and spinach. Some respondents volunteered nutrient content or other information. There was no clear indication that consumers understand the specific health benefits conferred by consumption of vegetables. Nutrient and health benefit labelling therefore has the capacity to enhance knowledge of vegetable consumers. It is recommended that health benefit labelling be tailored to promote greater consumption of vegetables in those demographic groups where vegetable consumption was lower. The present study assists the Australian vegetable industry in helping consumers make more informed consumption choices. © 2016 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Review of Alternative Management Options of Vegetable Crop Residues to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in Intensive Vegetable Rotations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Agneessens

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Vegetable crop residues take a particular position relative to arable crops due to often large amounts of biomass with a N content up to 200 kg N ha−1 left behind on the field. An important amount of vegetable crops are harvested during late autumn and despite decreasing soil temperatures during autumn, high rates of N mineralization and nitrification still occur. Vegetable crop residues may lead to considerable N losses through leaching during winter and pose a threat to meeting water quality objectives. However, at the same time vegetable crop residues are a vital link in closing the nutrient and organic matter cycle of soils. Appropriate and sustainable management is needed to harness the full potential of vegetable crop residues. Two fundamentally different crop residue management strategies to reduce N losses during winter in intensive vegetable rotations are reviewed, namely (i on-field management options and modifications to crop rotations and (ii removal of crop residues, followed by a useful and profitable application.

Effects of vegetation structure on biomass accumulation in a Balanced Optimality Structure Vegetation Model (BOSVM v1.0

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Z. Yin

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A myriad of interactions exist between vegetation and local climate for arid and semi-arid regions. Vegetation function, structure and individual behavior have large impacts on carbon–water–energy balances, which consequently influence local climate variability that, in turn, feeds back to the vegetation. In this study, a conceptual vegetation structure scheme is formulated and tested in the new Balanced Optimality Structure Vegetation Model (BOSVM to explore the importance of vegetation structure and vegetation adaptation to water stress on equilibrium biomass states. Surface energy, water and carbon fluxes are simulated for a range of vegetation structures across a precipitation gradient in West Africa and optimal vegetation structures that maximize biomass for each precipitation regime are determined. Two different strategies of vegetation adaptation to water stress are included. Under dry conditions vegetation tries to maximize the water use efficiency and leaf area index as it tries to maximize carbon gain. However, a negative feedback mechanism in the vegetation–soil water system is found as the vegetation also tries to minimize its cover to optimize the surrounding bare ground area from which water can be extracted, thereby forming patches of vertical vegetation. Under larger precipitation, a positive feedback mechanism is found in which vegetation tries to maximize its cover as it then can reduce water loss from bare soil while having maximum carbon gain due to a large leaf area index. The competition between vegetation and bare soil determines a transition between a "survival" state to a "growing" state.

Vegetation Dynamics and Community Assembly in Post-Agricultural Heathland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kepfer Rojas, Sebastian

that land-use legacies are still present in the soil and were important determinants of vegetation dynamics and community assembly. However, the effects of land-use legacies were mostly mediated by the understory vegetation and differed according to the functional groups. The distance to the edge, a proxy...... for the proximity to external seed sources, was an important factor affecting different components of the structure of the vegetation, demonstrating the importance of dispersal in the development of the community. My results indicate that the effect of the biotic interactions varies along abiotic gradients (e......Summary This PhD study aims at understanding how biotic, abiotic and stochastic factors interact to structure a heathland vegetation community managed under different traditional land-use practices for centuries prior to abandonment ca. 120 years ago. This study is part of one of the longest...

Predicting children's fussiness with vegetables:the role of feeding practices

OpenAIRE

Holley, Clare E.; Haycraft, Emma; Farrow, Claire

2017-01-01

Vegetables are commonly rejected by children, making it is important to consider factors that are associated with children's fussiness with vegetables. The current study aimed to investigate whether fussiness with vegetables is associated with a number of factors including caregiver and child vegetable consumption; caregivers' general feeding practices; and caregivers' vegetable-specific feeding practices. Caregivers (N = 297) of preschool children completed questionnaire measures of their ch...

The requirement of matrix ATP for the import of precursor proteins into the mitochondrial matrix and intermembrane space

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stuart, Rosemary A.; Gruhler, Albrecht; Klei, Ida van der; Guiard, Bernard; Koll, Hans; Neupert, Walter

1994-01-01

The role of ATP in the matrix for the import of precursor proteins into the various mitochondrial subcompartments was investigated by studying protein translocation at experimentally defined ATP levels. Proteins targeted to the matrix were neither imported or processed when matrix ATP was depleted.

Characterization of high molecular weight cadmium species in contaminated vegetable food

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guenther, K.; Kastenholz, B. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphaere 7: Angewandte Physikalische Chemie; Ji, G. [Bonn Univ. (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Lebensmittelwissenschaft und Lebensmittelchemie

2000-10-01

Spinach and radish grown from seeds were each contaminated with 4 different amounts of cadmium. After a cell breakdown of the eatable parts and centrifugation of the resulting homogenates all supernatants (cytosols) were separated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The size-range of the GPC method used was about 20-8000 kDa for globular proteins. The high molecular weight (HMW-Cd-SP, 150-700 kDa) and the low molecular weight Cd species (LMW-Cd-SP, < 150 kDa) in all plant cytosols eluted at about the same retention volume by GPC. The most important Cd binding form in the cytosols of all plants was found to be HMW-Cd-SP. The Cd elution maxima were detected in the range of about 200 kDa. The Cd determinations were performed with ET-AAS by means of matrix modifier. By incubating chosen cytosols with a proteinase before the GPC it was verified that the HMW-Cd-SP in both vegetables are Cd proteins. The molar proportions protein/Cd were about 2-6 in the respective GPC fractions of the HMW-Cd-SP of the highest contaminated plants. The GPC fractions of the HMW-Cd-SP of spinach and radish were further separated by a preparative, native and continuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) method. At pH 8 the species were negatively charged, had only a small UV-absorption at 280 nm and showed a very similar elution behavior in all analyzed cytosols. Therefore, we suppose that the HMW-Cd-SP of these two different vegetable foodstuffs have a very similar chemical structure. (orig.)

Parasitic Contamination of Raw Vegetables in Shahroud, Semnan

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Saeid Nazemi

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Given the importance of healthy vegetables, the present study was conducted to determine parasitic infection of vegetable consumed in Shahroud.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study has been conducted on 92 samples of various vegetables collected from 16 vegetable growing farms and 1 vegetable process workshop. Results: Sixty two percent of tested vegetables lacked parasites and the highest amount of parasites observed (34.78% was related to Giardia lamblia. A significant relationship was observed between parasite and having toilets in the farms as well as the extent of farms.Conclusion: safety of fertilizers consumed by farms and healthy fruits can have an effective role in reducing the parasitic infections.

The novel chloroplast outer membrane kinase KOC1 is a required component of the plastid protein import machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Zufferey, Mónica; Montandon, Cyrille; Douet, Véronique; Demarsy, Emilie; Agne, Birgit; Baginsky, Sacha; Kessler, Felix

2017-04-28

The biogenesis and maintenance of cell organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts require the import of many proteins from the cytosol, a process that is controlled by phosphorylation. In the case of chloroplasts, the import of hundreds of different proteins depends on translocons at the outer and inner chloroplast membrane (TOC and TIC, respectively) complexes. The essential protein TOC159 functions thereby as an import receptor. It has an N-terminal acidic (A-) domain that extends into the cytosol, controls receptor specificity, and is highly phosphorylated in vivo However, kinases that phosphorylate the TOC159 A-domain to enable protein import have remained elusive. Here, using co-purification with TOC159 from Arabidopsis , we discovered a novel component of the chloroplast import machinery, the regulatory kinase at the outer chloroplast membrane 1 (KOC1). We found that KOC1 is an integral membrane protein facing the cytosol and stably associates with TOC. Moreover, KOC1 phosphorylated the A-domain of TOC159 in vitro , and in mutant koc1 chloroplasts, preprotein import efficiency was diminished. koc1 Arabidopsis seedlings had reduced survival rates after transfer from the dark to the light in which protein import into plastids is required to rapidly complete chloroplast biogenesis. In summary, our data indicate that KOC1 is a functional component of the TOC machinery that phosphorylates import receptors, supports preprotein import, and contributes to efficient chloroplast biogenesis. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

The MCM-associated protein MCM-BP is important for human nuclear morphology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagannathan, Madhav; Sakwe, Amos M; Nguyen, Tin; Frappier, Lori

2012-01-01

Mini-chromosome maintenance complex-binding protein (MCM-BP) was discovered as a protein that is strongly associated with human MCM proteins, known to be crucial for DNA replication in providing DNA helicase activity. The Xenopus MCM-BP homologue appears to play a role in unloading MCM complexes from chromatin after DNA synthesis; however, the importance of MCM-BP and its functional contribution to human cells has been unclear. Here we show that depletion of MCM-BP by sustained expression of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) results in highly abnormal nuclear morphology and centrosome amplification. The abnormal nuclear morphology was not seen with depletion of other MCM proteins and was rescued with shRNA-resistant MCM-BP. MCM-BP depletion was also found to result in transient activation of the G2 checkpoint, slowed progression through G2 and increased replication protein A foci, indicative of replication stress. In addition, MCM-BP depletion led to increased cellular levels of MCM proteins throughout the cell cycle including soluble MCM pools. The results suggest that MCM-BP makes multiple contributions to human cells that are not limited to unloading of the MCM complex.

Partial dispensability of Djp1's J domain in peroxisomal protein import in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results from genetic redundancy with another class II J protein, Caj1.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobriyal, Neha; Tripathi, Prerna; Sarkar, Susrita; Tak, Yogesh; Verma, Amit K; Sahi, Chandan

2017-05-01

J proteins are obligate co-chaperones of Hsp70s. Via their signature J domain, all J proteins interact with their partner Hsp70s and stimulate their weak ATPase activity, which is vital for Hsp70 functions. The dependency of J proteins on their J domain is such that mutations in critical amino acids in the J domain often results into a null phenotype for a particular J protein. Here, we show that the J domain of Djp1, a cytosolic J protein important for peroxisomal protein import in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is partially dispensable. A complete deletion of Djp1 J domain resulted into only partial loss in peroxisomal protein import function. Instead, the C-terminal domain of Djp1 was found to be essential for proper localization of the peroxisomal targeted GFP-PTS1. Furthermore, we show that Caj1, another cytosolic J protein, also has some role in peroxisomal protein import. Caj1 was found to be partially redundant with Djp1 as cells lacking both Djp1 and Caj1 resulted into a much more severe defect in GFP-PTS1 localization. Based on these results, we propose that dispensability of J domains could be attributed to genetic redundancy between different J proteins sharing common structural topology and cellular localization.

The Importance of Representing Certain Key Vegetation Canopy Processes Explicitly in a Land Surface Model

Science.gov (United States)

Napoly, A.; Boone, A. A.; Martin, E.; Samuelsson, P.

2015-12-01

Land surface models are moving to more detailed vegetation canopy descriptions in order to better represent certain key processes, such as Carbon dynamics and snowpack evolution. Since such models are usually applied within coupled numerical weather prediction or spatially distributed hydrological models, these improvements must strike a balance between computational cost and complexity. The consequences of simplified or composite canopy approaches can be manifested in terms of increased errors with respect to soil temperatures, estimates of the diurnal cycle of the turbulent fluxes or snow canopy interception and melt. Vegetated areas and particularly forests are modeled in a quite simplified manner in the ISBA land surface model. However, continuous developments of surface processes now require a more accurate description of the canopy. A new version of the the model now includes a multi energy balance (MEB) option to explicitly represent the canopy and the forest floor. It will be shown that certain newly included processes such as the shading effect of the vegetation, the explicit heat capacity of the canopy, and the insulating effect of the forest floor turn out to be essential. A detailed study has been done for four French forested sites. It was found that the MEB option significantly improves the ground heat flux (RMSE decrease from 50W/m2 to 10W/m2 on average) and soil temperatures when compared against measurements. Also the sensible heat flux calculation was improved primarily owing to a better phasing with the solar insulation owing to a lower vegetation heat capacity. However, the total latent heat flux is less modified compared to the classical ISBA simulation since it is more related to water uptake and the formulation of the stomatal resistance (which are unchanged). Next, a benchmark over 40 Fluxnet sites (116 cumulated years) was performed and compared with results from the default composite soil-vegetation version of ISBA. The results show

Single daily dosing of antibiotics: importance of in vitro killing rate, serum half-life, and protein binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Potel, G; Chau, N P; Pangon, B; Fantin, B; Vallois, J M; Faurisson, F; Carbon, C

1991-10-01

The relative importance of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters for the feasibility of a single daily dose (SDD) of antibiotics remains to be established. Therefore, we studied the relationship between in vitro bacteriological parameters (MIC, MBC, and killing rate [KR], defined as the reduction in the inoculum within 3 h), pharmacokinetic parameters (t1/2 and protein binding [PB], and in vivo antibacterial effect of a single antibiotic dose in an experimental rabbit model of Escherichia coli endocarditis. Nine antibiotics were investigated: two aminoglycosides, two quinolones, and five beta-lactams. For each drug, the minimal effective dose (MED) (in milligrams per kilogram) was defined as the lowest dose able to achieve a significant difference (P less than 0.05) of CFU in the vegetations in comparison with controls 24 h after a single intravenous injection. Aminoglycosides and quinolones had the lowest MEDs, followed by beta-lactams. Univariate regression analysis showed that KR was the major determinant of MED. A stepwise regression analysis showed that t1/2 significantly improved the predictive value of KR, while PB, MIC, and MBC did not. The final equation was MED = 1,586-238 KR-297 t1/2 (r = 0.90, P = 0.01). We concluded that the pharmacodynamic parameters (especially the high KR) of aminoglycosides and quinolones explained their low MEDs and might allow SDD. In contrast, the low KR of beta-lactams emphasized the critical importance of a long t1/2, as for ceftriaxone, allowing the use of this beta-lactam alone in SDD.

PROTEIN FRACTIONS AND IN VITRO FERMENTATION OF PROTEIN FEEDS FOR RUMINANTS

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Angel L. Guevara-Mesa

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate 20 protein feeds grouped in forages, vegetal by- products and animal by-products used for ruminant diets. Protein fractions (PF: A, non-protein nitrogen (NPN; B1, buffer-soluble protein; B2, buffer-insoluble, NDF-soluble protein; B3, NDF-insoluble, ADF-soluble protein; and C, ADF-insoluble protein, were determined for each ingredient.  Protein composition was correlated with total gas production in vitro (GP, gas production rate (S, lag time (L, DM disappearance (DMDIV and residual protein (RPIV. The completely randomised designed was analysed using mixed proc. and Tukey contrasts. Forages contained 18.29, 7.86, 66.00, 2.96, 4.89% of fractions A, B1, B2, B3 and C, respectively. Vegetable by-products contained 22.55, 4.55, 59.51, 8.84, 4.55% of each fraction, in the same order. Animal by-products contained 19.13, 4.52, 70.24, 3.74, 2.37% of each fraction, in the same order. Vetch, wheat bran and poultry litter had the greatest Vmax in each group. Vmax was correlated (P≤0.01 with total protein (r = -0.45, ADF (r = 0.27 and DMDIV (r = 0.61. In conclusion, there were differences in protein composition and kinetics of in vitro gas production among ingredients.

Timing of postexercise protein intake is important for muscle hypertrophy with resistance training in elderly humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Esmarck, B.; Andersen, J.L.; Olsen, S.

2001-01-01

1. Age-associated loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength can partly be counteracted by resistance training, causing a net synthesis of muscular proteins. Protein synthesis is influenced synergistically by postexercise amino acid supplementation, but the importance of the timing of protein intake...

Protein kinase Cepsilon is important for migration of neuroblastoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stensman, Helena; Larsson, Christer

2008-01-01

Migration is important for the metastatic capacity and thus for the malignancy of cancer cells. There is limited knowledge on regulatory factors that promote the migration of neuroblastoma cells. This study investigates the hypothesis that protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms regulate neuroblastoma cell motility. PKC isoforms were downregulated with siRNA or modulated with activators and inhibitors. Migration was analyzed with scratch and transwell assays. Protein phosphorylation and expression levels were measured with Western blot. Stimulation with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced migration of SK-N-BE(2)C neuroblastoma cells. Treatment with the general protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor GF109203X and the inhibitor of classical isoforms Gö6976 inhibited migration while an inhibitor of PKCβ isoforms did not have an effect. Downregulation of PKCε, but not of PKCα or PKCδ, with siRNA led to a suppression of both basal and TPA-stimulated migration. Experiments using PD98059 and LY294002, inhibitors of the Erk and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways, respectively, showed that PI3K is not necessary for TPA-induced migration. The Erk pathway might be involved in TPA-induced migration but not in migration driven by PKCε. TPA induced phosphorylation of the PKC substrate myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) which was suppressed by the PKC inhibitors. Treatment with siRNA oligonucleotides against different PKC isoforms before stimulation with TPA did not influence the phosphorylation of MARCKS. PKCε is important for migration of SK-N-BE(2)C neuroblastoma cells. Neither the Erk pathway nor MARCKS are critical downstream targets of PKCε but they may be involved in TPA-mediated migration

Vegetation index anomaly response to varying lengths of drought across vegetation and climatic gradients in Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, M.; Miura, T.; Trauernicht, C.; Frazier, A. G.

2017-12-01

A drought which results in prolonged and extended deficit in naturally available water supply and creates multiple stresses across ecosystems is classified as an ecological drought. Detecting and understanding the dynamics and response of such droughts in tropical systems, specifically across various vegetation and climatic gradients is fairly undetermined, yet increasingly important for better understandings of the ecological effects of drought. To understanding the link between what lengths and intensities of known meteorological drought triggers detectable ecological vegetation responses, a landscape scale regression analysis evaluating the response (slope) and relationship strength (R-squared) of several cumulative SPI (standard precipitation index) lengths(1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 month), to various satellite derived monthly vegetation indices anomalies (NDVI, EVI, EVI2, and LSWI) was performed across a matrix of dominant vegetation covers (grassland, shrubland, and forest) and climatic moisture zones (arid, dry, mesic, and wet). The nine different SPI lags across these climactic and vegetation gradients was suggest that stronger relationships and steeper slopes were found in dryer climates (across all vegetation covers) and finer vegetation types (across all moisture zones). Overall NDVI, EVI and EVI2 showed the best utility in these dryer climatic zones across all vegetation types. Within arid and dry areas "best" fits showed increasing lengths of cumulative SPI were with increasing vegetation coarseness respectively. Overall these findings suggest that rainfall driven drought may have a stronger impact on the ecological condition of vegetation in water limited systems with finer vegetation types ecologically responding more rapidly to meteorological drought events than coarser woody vegetation systems. These results suggest that previously and newly documented trends of decreasing rainfall and increasing drought in Hawaiian drylands may have

Oxidative changes during ice storage of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed different ratios of marine and vegetable feed ingredients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timm Heinrich, Maike; Eymard, Sylvie; Baron, Caroline P.

2013-01-01

Recently fish meal and oil have increasingly been replaced with proteins and oils from vegetable sources in the diets of farmed salmonids, but the consequences for the oxidative stability of the resulting fish products have not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate...... the influence of feeding regime on composition of rainbow trout fillets, as well as on lipid and protein oxidation during storage on ice. Rainbow trout were fed six different diets, which differed in their levels of marine oil and proteins vs. vegetable oil and protein. Fish fillets were characterised...... significantly influenced fatty acid composition. Replacement of fish oil with vegetable oil reduced formation of primary oxidation products, but the effect on secondary oxidation products differed between different types of volatiles. The differences in protein and amino acid composition were not significant...

Proteins Play Important Role in Intercellular Adhesion Affecting on Fruit Textural Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahadur Adhikari, Khem; Shomer, Ilan

2012-01-01

Fruit textural quality is becoming a major quality parameter for export, postharvest preservation, handling and processing. The main determinant of textural quality is intercellular adhesion (ICA) as attributed by the cell wall (CW) and its components. The importance of CW protein in ICA strength......Fruit textural quality is becoming a major quality parameter for export, postharvest preservation, handling and processing. The main determinant of textural quality is intercellular adhesion (ICA) as attributed by the cell wall (CW) and its components. The importance of CW protein in ICA...... strengthening was exempli ed in Medjoul date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit, as a model. Fruit mesocarp sensitively responded to culture environment which was assayed in vitro at pH 3.5( pKa) in presence of organic acid molecules. The max penetration force, as a measure of ICA strength, of p...

A network biology approach to understanding the importance of chameleon proteins in human physiology and pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahramali, Golnaz; Goliaei, Bahram; Minuchehr, Zarrin; Marashi, Sayed-Amir

2017-02-01

Chameleon proteins are proteins which include sequences that can adopt α-helix-β-strand (HE-chameleon) or α-helix-coil (HC-chameleon) or β-strand-coil (CE-chameleon) structures to operate their crucial biological functions. In this study, using a network-based approach, we examined the chameleon proteins to give a better knowledge on these proteins. We focused on proteins with identical chameleon sequences with more than or equal to seven residues long in different PDB entries, which adopt HE-chameleon, HC-chameleon, and CE-chameleon structures in the same protein. One hundred and ninety-one human chameleon proteins were identified via our in-house program. Then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, Gene ontology (GO) enrichment, disease network, and pathway enrichment analyses were performed for our derived data set. We discovered that there are chameleon sequences which reside in protein-protein interaction regions between two proteins critical for their dual function. Analysis of the PPI networks for chameleon proteins introduced five hub proteins, namely TP53, EGFR, HSP90AA1, PPARA, and HIF1A, which were presented in four PPI clusters. The outcomes demonstrate that the chameleon regions are in critical domains of these proteins and are important in the development and treatment of human cancers. The present report is the first network-based functional study of chameleon proteins using computational approaches and might provide a new perspective for understanding the mechanisms of diseases helping us in developing new medical therapies along with discovering new proteins with chameleon properties which are highly important in cancer.

Relative importance and interactions of furan precursors in sterilised, vegetable-based food systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmers, Stijn; Grauwet, Tara; Buvé, Carolien; Vanratingen, Koen; Kebede, Biniam T; Goos, Peter; Hendrickx, Marc E; Van Loey, Ann

2016-01-01

Mitigation strategies aimed at an intervention in the reaction pathways for furan formation (e.g., by adjusting precursor concentrations) might offer an additional route for furan reduction in sterilised, vegetable-based foods, without adverse effects on other food safety or quality attributes. As a first step towards product reformulation, the aim of the present study was to determine the relative importance and interactions of possible furan precursors in these types of foods. Based on an I-optimal experimental design, potato purée (naturally low in furan precursors) was spiked with known amounts of sugars, ascorbic acid, olive oil and β-carotene, and subjected to a thermal sterilisation. Significant correlations were observed between furan concentrations after thermal treatment and starting concentrations of ascorbic acid and monosaccharides (i.e., fructose and glucose). Ascorbic acid had a clear furan-reducing effect as an antioxidant by protecting (polyunsaturated) fatty acids against oxidative degradation. Fructose and glucose were the main precursors, which can most probably be attributed to their high, but realistic, concentrations in the product. The contributions of fatty acids and β-carotene were strongly dependent on redox interactions with other food constituents. In the same potato purées, only low concentrations (0-2 ng g(-1) purée) of 2-methylfuran were detected, indicating that the direct importance of the spiked food constituents as a precursor for methylfuran formation was rather small. Based on the results of this study, reducing the amount of monosaccharides or adjusting the redox conditions of the matrix are suggested as two possible approaches for furan mitigation on the product side.

Influence of vegetable diets on physiological and immune responses to thermal stress in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conde-Sieira, Marta; Gesto, Manuel; Batista, Sónia

2018-01-01

quality parameters. However, scarce information is available regarding the long-term impact of vegetable diets (combining the inclusion of both vegetable protein and oils) on the stress response and immunity of this fish species. This study aims to evaluate the concomitant effect of the extended use...... of vegetable protein-based diets with fish oil (FO) replacement (0, 50 or 100%) by vegetable oils (VO), on the response to acute (10 min) or prolonged (4 days) stress, induced by thermal shock. Plasma levels of cortisol, glucose and lactate as well as hepatic levels of glucose, glycogen and lactate were......The substitution of fish resources as ingredients for aquafeeds by those based on vegetable sources is needed to ensure aquaculture sustainability in the future. It is known that Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) accepts high dietary content of plant ingredients without altering growth or flesh...

Dominant negative RPW8.2 fusion proteins reveal the importance of haustorium-oriented protein trafficking for resistance against powdery mildew in Arabidopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiong; Berkey, Robert; Pan, Zhiyong; Wang, Wenming; Zhang, Yi; Ma, Xianfeng; King, Harlan; Xiao, Shunyuan

2015-01-01

Powdery mildew fungi form feeding structures called haustoria inside epidermal cells of host plants to extract photosynthates for their epiphytic growth and reproduction. The haustorium is encased by an interfacial membrane termed the extrahaustorial membrane (EHM). The atypical resistance protein RPW8.2 from Arabidopsis is specifically targeted to the EHM where RPW8.2 activates haustorium-targeted (thus broad-spectrum) resistance against powdery mildew fungi. EHM-specific localization of RPW8.2 suggests the existence of an EHM-oriented protein/membrane trafficking pathway during EHM biogenesis. However, the importance of this specific trafficking pathway for host defense has not been evaluated via a genetic approach without affecting other trafficking pathways. Here, we report that expression of EHM-oriented, nonfunctional RPW8.2 chimeric proteins exerts dominant negative effect over functional RPW8.2 and potentially over other EHM-localized defense proteins, thereby compromising both RPW8.2-mediated and basal resistance to powdery mildew. Thus, our results highlight the importance of the EHM-oriented protein/membrane trafficking pathway for host resistance against haustorium-forming pathogens such as powdery mildew fungi.

Importance of dispersion and electron correlation in ab initio protein folding.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiao; Fusti-Molnar, Laszlo; Cui, Guanglei; Merz, Kenneth M

2009-04-16

Dispersion is well-known to be important in biological systems, but the effect of electron correlation in such systems remains unclear. In order to assess the relationship between the structure of a protein and its electron correlation energy, we employed both full system Hartree-Fock (HF) and second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) calculations in conjunction with the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) on the native structures of two proteins and their corresponding computer-generated decoy sets. Because of the expense of the MP2 calculation, we have utilized the fragment molecular orbital method (FMO) in this study. We show that the sum of the Hartree-Fock (HF) energy and force field (LJ6)-derived dispersion energy (HF + LJ6) is well correlated with the energies obtained using second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) theory. In one of the two examples studied, the correlation energy as well as the empirical dispersive energy term was able to discriminate between native and decoy structures. On the other hand, for the second protein we studied, neither the correlation energy nor dispersion energy showed discrimination capabilities; however, the ab initio MP2 energy and the HF+LJ6 both ranked the native structure correctly. Furthermore, when we randomly scrambled the Lennard-Jones parameters, the correlation between the MP2 energy and the sum of the HF energy and dispersive energy (HF+LJ6) significantly drops, which indicates that the choice of Lennard-Jones parameters is important.

Is chloroplast import of photosynthesis proteins facilitated by an actin-TOC-TIC-VIPP1 complex?

Science.gov (United States)

Jouhet, Juliette; Gray, John C

2009-10-01

Actin filaments are major components of the cytoskeleton that interact with chloroplast envelope membranes to allow chloroplast positioning and movement, stromule mobility and gravitropism perception. We recently reported that Toc159, a component of the TOC complex of the chloroplast protein import apparatus, interacts directly with actin. The interaction of Toc159 and actin was identified by co-immunoprecipitation and co-sedimentation experiments with detergent-solubilised pea chloroplast envelope membranes. In addition, many of the components of the TOC-TIC protein import apparatus and VIPP1 (vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1) were identified by mass spectroscopy in the material co-immunoprecipitated with antibodies to actin. Toc159 is the receptor for the import of photosynthesis proteins and VIPP1 is involved in thylakoid membrane formation by inducing vesicle formation from the chloroplast inner envelope membrane, suggesting we may have identified an actin-TOC-TIC-VIPP1 complex that may provide a means of channeling cytosolic preproteins to the thylakoid membrane. The interaction of Toc159 with actin may facilitate exchange between the putative soluble and membrane forms of Toc159 and promote the interaction of cytosolic preproteins with the TOC complex.

The Rieske Iron-Sulfur Protein: Import and Assembly into the Cytochrome bc 1 Complex of Yeast Mitochondria

Science.gov (United States)

Conte, Laura; Zara, Vincenzo

2011-01-01

The Rieske iron-sulfur protein, one of the catalytic subunits of the cytochrome bc 1 complex, is involved in electron transfer at the level of the inner membrane of yeast mitochondria. The Rieske iron-sulfur protein is encoded by nuclear DNA and, after being synthesized in the cytosol, is imported into mitochondria with the help of a cleavable N-terminal presequence. The imported protein, besides incorporating the 2Fe-2S cluster, also interacts with other catalytic and non-catalytic subunits of the cytochrome bc 1 complex, thereby assembling into the mature and functional respiratory complex. In this paper, we summarize the most recent findings on the import and assembly of the Rieske iron-sulfur protein into Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria, also discussing a possible role of this protein both in the dimerization of the cytochrome bc 1 complex and in the interaction of this homodimer with other complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. PMID:21716720

The Rieske Iron-Sulfur Protein: Import and Assembly into the Cytochrome bc(1) Complex of Yeast Mitochondria.

Science.gov (United States)

Conte, Laura; Zara, Vincenzo

2011-01-01

The Rieske iron-sulfur protein, one of the catalytic subunits of the cytochrome bc(1) complex, is involved in electron transfer at the level of the inner membrane of yeast mitochondria. The Rieske iron-sulfur protein is encoded by nuclear DNA and, after being synthesized in the cytosol, is imported into mitochondria with the help of a cleavable N-terminal presequence. The imported protein, besides incorporating the 2Fe-2S cluster, also interacts with other catalytic and non-catalytic subunits of the cytochrome bc(1) complex, thereby assembling into the mature and functional respiratory complex. In this paper, we summarize the most recent findings on the import and assembly of the Rieske iron-sulfur protein into Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria, also discussing a possible role of this protein both in the dimerization of the cytochrome bc(1) complex and in the interaction of this homodimer with other complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.

The importance of ADAM family proteins in malignant tumors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Walkiewicz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Increasing numbers of reports about the role of adamalysins (ADAM in malignant tumors are being published. To date, more than 30 representatives of this group, out of which about 20 occur in humans, have been described. The ADAM family is a homogeneous group of proteins which regulate, from the stage of embryogenesis, a series of processes such as cell migration, adhesion, and cell fusion. Half of them have proteolytic activity and are involved in the degradation of the extracellular matrix and the disintegration of certain protein complexes, thereby regulating the bioavailability of various growth factors. Many of these functions have a direct role in the processes of carcinogenesis and promoting the growth of tumor, which affect some signaling pathways, including those related to insulin-like growth factors (IGF1, IGF2, vascular growth factor (VEGF, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα and the EGFR/HER pathway. Another branch of studies is the evaluation of the possibility of using members of ADAM family proteins in the diagnosis, especially in breast, colon and non- small cell lung cancer. The detection of concentrations of adamalysin in serum, urine and pleural aspirates might contribute to the development of methods of early diagnosis of cancer and monitoring the therapy. However, both the role of adamalysins in the development and progression of tumors and their importance as a diagnostic and predictive further research still need to be checked on large groups of patients.

[The importance of ADAM family proteins in malignant tumors].

Science.gov (United States)

Walkiewicz, Katarzyna; Gętek, Monika; Muc-Wierzgoń, Małgorzata; Kokot, Teresa; Nowakowska-Zajdel, Ewa

2016-02-11

Increasing numbers of reports about the role of adamalysins (ADAM) in malignant tumors are being published. To date, more than 30 representatives of this group, out of which about 20 occur in humans, have been described. The ADAM family is a homogeneous group of proteins which regulate, from the stage of embryogenesis, a series of processes such as cell migration, adhesion, and cell fusion. Half of them have proteolytic activity and are involved in the degradation of the extracellular matrix and the disintegration of certain protein complexes, thereby regulating the bioavailability of various growth factors. Many of these functions have a direct role in the processes of carcinogenesis and promoting the growth of tumor, which affect some signaling pathways, including those related to insulin-like growth factors (IGF1, IGF2), vascular growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and the EGFR/HER pathway. Another branch of studies is the evaluation of the possibility of using members of ADAM family proteins in the diagnosis, especially in breast, colon and non- small cell lung cancer. The detection of concentrations of adamalysin in serum, urine and pleural aspirates might contribute to the development of methods of early diagnosis of cancer and monitoring the therapy. However, both the role of adamalysins in the development and progression of tumors and their importance as a diagnostic and predictive further research still need to be checked on large groups of patients.

The 6-a-day study: effects of fruit and vegetables on markers of oxidative stress and antioxidative defense in healthy nonsmokers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dragsted, Lars Ove; Pedersen, A.; Hermetter, A.

2004-01-01

and vegetables/d; the placebo group received a placebo pill, and the supplement group received a vitamin pill designed to contain vitamins and minerals corresponding to those in 600 g fruit and vegetables. Biomarkers of oxidative damage to protein and lipids and of antioxidant nutrients and defense enzymes were...... lipoproteins to oxidation more efficiently than do the vitamins and minerals that fruit and vegetables are known to contain. Plasma protein carbonyl formation at lysine residues increases because of the vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables.......Background: Fruit and vegetables contain both nutritive and nonnutritive factors that might contribute to redox (antioxidant and prooxidant) actions. Objective: We investigated the relative influence of nutritive and nonnutritive factors in fruit and vegetables on oxidative damage and enzymatic...

Digestibility and nitrogen balance of diets containing non conventional vegetable proteins fed to pigs of genetic strains suitable for outdoor systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Sardi

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The study was carried out to evaluate on growing pigs kept in metabolism crates, either belonging to a “traditional” cross-breed (Duroc x Large White – DLW or a local breed (Cinta Senese – CS, the digestibility and the nitrogen balance of non-conventional vegetable protein sources (field beans, pea and sunflower cake when compared to soybean meal. The four diets were formulated so as to supply the same crude protein amount. CS pigs showed lower apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs for crude protein (81,38% vs 82,65% and crude fibre (35,97% vs 40,65%. Nitrogen balance was more favourable in DLW pigs (32,12% vs 19,67% which showed a higher nitrogen retention (+69%.With respect to the protein source, no differences were observed for nitrogen balance. Sunflower diet showed the higher ADC for ether extract (+20% compared with soybean diet. Crude fibre digestibility was lowered in sunflower (-33% and field beans (-13% diets. Sunflower and field beans diets showed the lowest gross energy digestibility coefficients. Field pea diet had the highest ADC for crude fibre (+ 12% leading to ADCs for organic matter and gross energy comparable to those of soybean meal. It is concluded that field bean, sunflower cake and field pea could be considered as valuable non-conventional protein sources in swine nutrition.

Risk elements in selected types of vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ľuboš Harangozo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Vegetable has an important role in human nutrition. Various parts of the plants have been part of the human diet since the beginning. Vegetables have a number of properties that make its consumption very healthful. It not only is a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber but also contains protective components so called phytonutrients, has an antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. Daily intake of vegetables offers many health benefits, helps to improve health for example the function of digestive and immune system, reduces the risk of various diseases and so we should take care to its regular consumption. It is widely used, except that it is the basic raw material for the preparation of foods and is also an important raw material for the processing industry. Nowadays has become environmental pollution by heavy metals as a big problem. The contamination of water, soil as well as air pollution by heavy metals negatively affects agricultural production and production of non-harmful to health, safe and quality food, which may be adverse effects on human health. Therefore, it is important that we devote this issue more attention. The aim of this work was to identify and determine content of heavy metals in selected vegetables. Defined objectives have been achieved by analyzing of selected species samples of root from brassica vegetables: carrot (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus, parsley (Petroselinum hortesne HOFFM conv. radicosum, kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea L. var. gongylodes, celery (Apium graveolens L. var. rapaceum and beetroot (Beta vulgaris L. var. conditiva ssp. vulgaris. The crops were bought in local market. The obtained results were compared with the results obtained from analyzes of vegetables that were grown in home conditions respectively from markets of local growers. All crops were grown in Slovak Republic. By using Varian AA 240FS and AAS method were analyzed the contents of risk metals in selected vegetables. It was confirmed that

Herbivore species and density affect vegetation-structure patchiness in salt marshes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nolte, Stefanie; Esselink, Peter; Smit, Christian; Bakker, Jan P.

2014-01-01

The importance of spatial patterns for ecosystem functioning and biodiversity has long been recognized in ecology. Grazing by herbivores is an important mechanism leading to spatial patterns in the vegetation structure. How different herbivore species and their densities affect vegetation-structure

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of chloroplast protein import components in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianmin Yan

Full Text Available The translocon at the outer envelope membrane of chloroplasts (Toc mediates the recognition and initial import into the organelle of thousands of nucleus-encoded proteins. These proteins are translated in the cytosol as precursor proteins with cleavable amino-terminal targeting sequences called transit peptides. The majority of the known Toc components that mediate chloroplast protein import were originally identified in pea, and more recently have been studied most extensively in Arabidopsis. With the completion of the tomato genome sequencing project, it is now possible to identify putative homologues of the chloroplast import components in tomato. In the work reported here, the Toc GTPase cDNAs from tomato were identified, cloned and analyzed. The analysis revealed that there are four Toc159 homologues (slToc159-1, -2, -3 and -4 and two Toc34 homologues (slToc34-1 and -2 in tomato, and it was shown that tomato Toc159 and Toc34 homologues share high sequence similarity with the comparable import apparatus components from Arabidopsis and pea. Thus, tomato is a valid model for further study of this system. The expression level of Toc complex components was also investigated in different tissues during tomato development. The two tomato Toc34 homologues are expressed at higher levels in non-photosynthetic tissues, whereas, the expression of two tomato Toc159 homologues, slToc159-1 and slToc159-4, were higher in photosynthetic tissues, and the expression patterns of slToc159-2 was not significantly different in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues, and slToc159-3 expression was limited to a few select tissues.

Ectopic overexpression of castor bean LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2 in Arabidopsis triggers the expression of genes that encode regulators of seed maturation and oil body proteins in vegetative tissues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun Uk Kim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2 gene plays critically important regulatory roles during both early and late embryonic development. Here, we report the identification of the LEC2 gene from the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis, and characterize the effects of its overexpression on gene regulation and lipid metabolism in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. LEC2 exists as a single-copy gene in castor bean, is expressed predominantly in embryos, and encodes a protein with a conserved B3 domain, but different N- and C-terminal domains to those found in LEC2 from Arabidopsis. Ectopic overexpression of LEC2 from castor bean under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV 35S promoter in Arabidopsis plants induces the accumulation of transcripts that encodes five major transcription factors (the LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1, LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE (L1L, FUSCA3 (FUS3, and ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3 transcripts for seed maturation, and WRINKELED1 (WRI1 transcripts for fatty acid biosynthesis, as well as OLEOSIN transcripts for the formation of oil bodies in vegetative tissues. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants that express the LEC2 gene from castor bean show a range of dose-dependent morphological phenotypes and effects on the expression of LEC2-regulated genes during seedling establishment and vegetative growth. Expression of castor bean LEC2 in Arabidopsis increased the expression of fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1 and induced the accumulation of triacylglycerols, especially those containing the seed-specific fatty acid, eicosenoic acid (20:1Δ11, in vegetative tissues.

Ectopic overexpression of castor bean LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2) in Arabidopsis triggers the expression of genes that encode regulators of seed maturation and oil body proteins in vegetative tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyun Uk; Jung, Su-Jin; Lee, Kyeong-Ryeol; Kim, Eun Ha; Lee, Sang-Min; Roh, Kyung Hee; Kim, Jong-Bum

2013-01-01

The LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2) gene plays critically important regulatory roles during both early and late embryonic development. Here, we report the identification of the LEC2 gene from the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis), and characterize the effects of its overexpression on gene regulation and lipid metabolism in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. LEC2 exists as a single-copy gene in castor bean, is expressed predominantly in embryos, and encodes a protein with a conserved B3 domain, but different N- and C-terminal domains to those found in LEC2 from Arabidopsis. Ectopic overexpression of LEC2 from castor bean under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter in Arabidopsis plants induces the accumulation of transcripts that encodes five major transcription factors (the LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1), LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE (L1L), FUSCA3 (FUS3), and ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3) transcripts for seed maturation, and WRINKELED1 (WRI1) transcripts for fatty acid biosynthesis), as well as OLEOSIN transcripts for the formation of oil bodies in vegetative tissues. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants that express the LEC2 gene from castor bean show a range of dose-dependent morphological phenotypes and effects on the expression of LEC2-regulated genes during seedling establishment and vegetative growth. Expression of castor bean LEC2 in Arabidopsis increased the expression of fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) and induced the accumulation of triacylglycerols, especially those containing the seed-specific fatty acid, eicosenoic acid (20:1(Δ11)), in vegetative tissues.

Ectopic overexpression of castor bean LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2) in Arabidopsis triggers the expression of genes that encode regulators of seed maturation and oil body proteins in vegetative tissues☆

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyun Uk; Jung, Su-Jin; Lee, Kyeong-Ryeol; Kim, Eun Ha; Lee, Sang-Min; Roh, Kyung Hee; Kim, Jong-Bum

2013-01-01

The LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2) gene plays critically important regulatory roles during both early and late embryonic development. Here, we report the identification of the LEC2 gene from the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis), and characterize the effects of its overexpression on gene regulation and lipid metabolism in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. LEC2 exists as a single-copy gene in castor bean, is expressed predominantly in embryos, and encodes a protein with a conserved B3 domain, but different N- and C-terminal domains to those found in LEC2 from Arabidopsis. Ectopic overexpression of LEC2 from castor bean under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter in Arabidopsis plants induces the accumulation of transcripts that encodes five major transcription factors (the LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1), LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE (L1L), FUSCA3 (FUS3), and ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3) transcripts for seed maturation, and WRINKELED1 (WRI1) transcripts for fatty acid biosynthesis), as well as OLEOSIN transcripts for the formation of oil bodies in vegetative tissues. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants that express the LEC2 gene from castor bean show a range of dose-dependent morphological phenotypes and effects on the expression of LEC2-regulated genes during seedling establishment and vegetative growth. Expression of castor bean LEC2 in Arabidopsis increased the expression of fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) and induced the accumulation of triacylglycerols, especially those containing the seed-specific fatty acid, eicosenoic acid (20:1Δ11), in vegetative tissues. PMID:24363987

The Study of Importance of the Balance Space Food with Insects

Science.gov (United States)

Katayama, Naomi; Yoshimura, Tuyoshi; Baba, Keiichi; Space Agriculture Task Force, J.

Providing foods to space crew is the important requirements to support long term manned space exploration. We designed joyful and healthy recipe with materials (plants, insects, fish and et.cet.), which can be produced by the bio-regenerative agricultural system operated at limited resources available in spaceship or on Moon and Mars. The fundamental composition of our recipe is unpolished rice, barley, soybean, sweat potato and green-yellow vegetables. Supplement food materials to fulfill the nutritional requirements we chose are loach, silkworm pupa, termite, snail, mud snail, bee, locust, cassava, quinoa and et. cet. And the space foods were made by using IH cooking heater and vacuum cooking machine. Nutritional analysis on the basic vegetable menu consisting of rice, barley, soybean, sweet potato cassava, quinoa and green reveals a shortage of vitamins D and B12, cholesterol and sodium salt. Since vitamin D deficiency results in demineralization of bone. Vitamin B12 is essential to prevent pernicious anemia.Fish contains both vitamins D and B12. The pupa of the silkworm becomes the impor-tant nourishment source as protein and lipid. The silk thread uses it as clothing and cosmetics and medical supplies. However, we can use the silk thread as food as protein after finish to use. A law of nature shakes high quality oils and fats included in termite for cooking. I use the bee as food after having used it for the pollination of the plant. Of course the honey becomes the important food, too. The snail and mud snail become the food as protein. We decided to use the menu consisting of the basic vegetarian menu plus insect and loach for further conceptual design of space agriculture. We succeeded to develop joyful and nutritious space recipe at the end. Because of less need of agricultural resources at choosing ecological members from the lower ladder of the food chain, our space recipe could be a proposal to solve the food problem on Earth.In addition, as for these

Coregulation of Soybean Vegetative Storage Protein Gene Expression by Methyl Jasmonate and Soluble Sugars 1

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Hugh S.; DeWald, Daryll B.; Creelman, Robert A.; Mullet, John E.

1992-01-01

The soybean vegetative storage protein genes vspA and vspB are highly expressed in developing leaves, stems, flowers, and pods as compared with roots, seeds, and mature leaves and stems. In this paper, we report that physiological levels of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and soluble sugars synergistically stimulate accumulation of vsp mRNAs. Treatment of excised mature soybean (Glycine max Merr. cv Williams) leaves with 0.2 molar sucrose and 10 micromolar MeJA caused a large accumulation of vsp mRNAs, whereas little accumulation occurred when these compounds were supplied separately. In soybean cell suspension cultures, the synergistic effect of sucrose and MeJA on the accumulation of vspB mRNA was maximal at 58 millimolar sucrose and was observed with fructose or glucose substituted for sucrose. In dark-grown soybean seedlings, the highest levels of vsp mRNAs occurred in the hypocotyl hook, which also contained high levels of MeJA and soluble sugars. Lower levels of vsp mRNAs, MeJA, and soluble sugars were found in the cotyledons, roots, and nongrowing regions of the stem. Wounding of mature soybean leaves induced a large accumulation of vsp mRNAs when wounded plants were incubated in the light. Wounded plants kept in the dark or illuminated plants sprayed with dichlorophenyldimethylurea, an inhibitor of photosynthetic electron transport, showed a greatly reduced accumulation of vsp mRNAs. The time courses for the accumulation of vsp mRNAs induced by wounding or sucrose/MeJA treatment were similar. These results strongly suggest that vsp expression is coregulated by endogenous levels of MeJA (or jasmonic acid) and soluble carbohydrate during normal vegetative development and in wounded leaves. ImagesFigure 1Figure 4Figure 5 PMID:16668757

DNA mismatch repair proteins MLH1 and PMS2 can be imported to the nucleus by a classical nuclear import pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

de Barros, Andrea C; Takeda, Agnes A S; Dreyer, Thiago R; Velazquez-Campoy, Adrian; Kobe, Boštjan; Fontes, Marcos R M

2018-03-01

MLH1 and PMS2 proteins form the MutLα heterodimer, which plays a major role in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) in humans. Mutations in MMR-related proteins are associated with cancer, especially with colon cancer. The N-terminal region of MutLα comprises the N-termini of PMS2 and MLH1 and, similarly, the C-terminal region of MutLα is composed by the C-termini of PMS2 and MLH1, and the two are connected by linker region. The nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) necessary for the nuclear transport of the two proteins are found in this linker region. However, the exact NLS sequences have been controversial, with different sequences reported, particularly for MLH1. The individual components are not imported efficiently, presumably due to their C-termini masking their NLSs. In order to gain insights into the nuclear transport of these proteins, we solved the crystal structures of importin-α bound to peptides corresponding to the supposed NLSs of MLH1 and PMS2 and performed isothermal titration calorimetry to study their binding affinities. Both putative MLH1 and PMS2 NLSs can bind to importin-α as monopartite NLSs, which is in agreement with some previous studies. However, MLH1-NLS has the highest affinity measured by a natural NLS peptide, suggesting a major role of MLH1 protein in nuclear import compared to PMS2. Finally, the role of MLH1 and PMS2 in the nuclear transport of the MutLα heterodimer is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

The importance of vegetation change in the prediction of future tropical cyclone flood statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Irish, J. L.; Resio, D.; Bilskie, M. V.; Hagen, S. C.; Weiss, R.

2015-12-01

Global sea level rise is a near certainty over the next century (e.g., Stocker et al. 2013 [IPCC] and references therein). With sea level rise, coastal topography and land cover (hereafter "landscape") is expected to change and tropical cyclone flood hazard is expected to accelerate (e.g., Irish et al. 2010 [Ocean Eng], Woodruff et al. 2013 [Nature], Bilskie et al. 2014 [Geophys Res Lett], Ferreira et al. 2014 [Coast Eng], Passeri et al. 2015 [Nat Hazards]). Yet, the relative importance of sea-level rise induced landscape change on future tropical cyclone flood hazard assessment is not known. In this paper, idealized scenarios are used to evaluate the relative impact of one class of landscape change on future tropical cyclone extreme-value statistics in back-barrier regions: sea level rise induced vegetation migration and loss. The joint probability method with optimal sampling (JPM-OS) (Resio et al. 2009 [Nat Hazards]) with idealized surge response functions (e.g., Irish et al. 2009 [Nat Hazards]) is used to quantify the present-day and future flood hazard under various sea level rise scenarios. Results are evaluated in terms of their impact on the flood statistics (a) when projected flood elevations are included directly in the JPM analysis (Figure 1) and (b) when represented as additional uncertainty within the JPM integral (Resio et al. 2013 [Nat Hazards]), i.e., as random error. Findings are expected to aid in determining the level of effort required to reasonably account for future landscape change in hazard assessments, namely in determining when such processes are sufficiently captured by added uncertainty and when sea level rise induced vegetation changes must be considered dynamically, via detailed modeling initiatives. Acknowledgements: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI-1206271 and by the National Sea Grant College Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and

On the importance of polar interactions for complexes containing intrinsically disordered proteins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric T C Wong

Full Text Available There is a growing recognition for the importance of proteins with large intrinsically disordered (ID segments in cell signaling and regulation. ID segments in these proteins often harbor regions that mediate molecular recognition. Coupled folding and binding of the recognition regions has been proposed to confer high specificity to interactions involving ID segments. However, researchers recently questioned the origin of the interaction specificity of ID proteins because of the overrepresentation of hydrophobic residues in their interaction interfaces. Here, we focused on the role of polar and charged residues in interactions mediated by ID segments. Making use of the extended nature of most ID segments when in complex with globular proteins, we first identified large numbers of complexes between globular proteins and ID segments by using radius-of-gyration-based selection criteria. Consistent with previous studies, we found the interfaces of these complexes to be enriched in hydrophobic residues, and that these residues contribute significantly to the stability of the interaction interface. However, our analyses also show that polar interactions play a larger role in these complexes than in structured protein complexes. Computational alanine scanning and salt-bridge analysis indicate that interfaces in ID complexes are highly complementary with respect to electrostatics, more so than interfaces of globular proteins. Follow-up calculations of the electrostatic contributions to the free energy of binding uncovered significantly stronger Coulombic interactions in complexes harbouring ID segments than in structured protein complexes. However, they are counter-balanced by even higher polar-desolvation penalties. We propose that polar interactions are a key contributing factor to the observed high specificity of ID segment-mediated interactions.

CONSIDERATIONS ON ROMANIA’S VEGETABLE MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agatha POPESCU

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The paper aimed to present the situation of Romania’s vegetable market in the period 2007-2011 based on the statistical data regarding the main vegetables: tomatoes, onion, garlic, cabbage, green peppers and melons. The vegetable production increased by 33.99 from 3,166.8 tons in 2007 to 4,176.3 tons in 2011.This was due to the yield gain as follows: 58.55 % for melons, 27.62 % for green peppers, 27.05 % for tomatoes, 25.99 % for dry garlic, 24.96 % for dry onion, 12.61 % for white cabbage. In 2011, the contribution of various categories of vegetables to production was: 24.55 % white cabbage, 21.81 % tomatoes, 15.45 % melons, 9.44 % onion, 6.06 % green pepper, 1.59 % garlic and 21.1 % other vegetables. The contribution of the micro regions to vegetable production in 2011 was: 19.46 % South Muntenia, 18.95 % South East Romania, 17.30 % South West Oltenia, 15.92 % North East Romania, 10.43 % West Romania, 8.47 % North West Romania, 6.54 % Central Romania, 2.93 % Bucharest Ilfov. Vegetable production per inhabitant is higher in Romania compared to the average production per capita in the EU. The average consumption increased as a postive aspect reflecting the obtained production and import. Vegetable production should increase in order to cover much better the doestic market needs and support export to the EU market.

Biological effects of fruit and vegetables.

Science.gov (United States)

Dragsted, Lars O; Krath, Britta; Ravn-Haren, Gitte; Vogel, Ulla B; Vinggaard, Anne Marie; Bo Jensen, Per; Loft, Steffen; Rasmussen, Salka E; Sandstrom, The late BrittMarie; Pedersen, Anette

2006-02-01

A strong and persistent effect of plant-derived foods on the prevention of lifestyle diseases has emerged from observational studies. Several groups of constituents in plants have been identified as potentially health promoting in animal studies, including cholesterol-lowering factors, antioxidants, enzyme inducers, apoptosis inducers etc. In human intervention studies the dose levels achieved tend to be lower than the levels found to be effective in animals and sampling from target organs is often not possible. A controlled dietary human intervention study was performed with forty-three volunteers, providing 600 g fruit and vegetables/d or in the controls a carbohydrate-rich drink to balance energy intake. Surrogate markers of oxidative damage to DNA, protein and lipids, enzymic defence and lipid metabolism were determined in blood and urine. It was found that a high intake of fruit and vegetables tends to increase the stability of lipids towards oxidative damage. Markers of oxidative enzymes indicate a steady increase in glutathione peroxidase (GPX1) activity in erythrocytes during intervention with fruit and vegetables but there is no effect on GPX1 transcription levels in leucocytes. No change occurs in glutathione-conjugating or -reducing enzyme activities in erythrocytes or plasma, and there are no effects on the transcription of genes involved in phase 2 enzyme induction or DNA repair in leucocytes. Fruit and vegetable intake decreases the level of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, but does not affect sex hormones. In conclusion, it has been shown that total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, markers of peripheral lipid oxidation, and erythrocyte GPX1 activity are affected by high intakes of fruit and vegetables. This finding provides support for a protective role of dietary fruit and vegetables against CVD.

Physiological Importance and Mechanisms of Protein Hydrolysate Absorption

Science.gov (United States)

Zhanghi, Brian M.; Matthews, James C.

Understanding opportunities to maximize the efficient digestion and assimilation by production animals of plant- and animal-derived protein products is critical for farmers, nutritionists, and feed manufacturers to sustain and expand the affordable production of high quality animal products for human consumption. The challenge to nutritionists is to match gastrointestinal tract load to existing or ­inducible digestive and absorptive capacities. The challenge to feed manufacturers is to develop products that are efficient substrates for digestion, absorption, and/or both events. Ultimately, the efficient absorption of digesta proteins depends on the mediated passage (transport) of protein hydrosylate products as dipeptides and unbound amino acids across the lumen- and blood-facing membranes of intestinal absorptive cells. Data testing the relative efficiency of supplying protein as hydrolysates or specific dipeptides versus as free amino acids, and the response of animals in several physiological states to feeding of protein hydrolysates, are presented and reviewed in this chapter. Next, data describing the transport mechanisms responsible for absorbing protein hydrolysate digestion products, and the known and putative regulation of these mechanisms by their substrates (small peptides) and hormones are presented and reviewed. Several conclusions are drawn regarding the efficient use of protein hydrolysate-based diets for particular physiological states, the economically-practical application of which likely will depend on technological advances in the manufacture of protein hydrolysate products.

[Factors affecting the vegetation restoration after fires in cold temperate wetlands: A review].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Feng-Jun; Wang, Li-Zhong; Shu, Li-Fu; Chen, Peng-Yu; Chen, Li-guang

2013-03-01

Cold temperate wetland plays an important role in maintaining regional ecological balance. Fire is an important disturbance factor in wetland ecosystem. Severe burning can induce the marked degradation of the ecological functions of wetland ecosystem. The vegetation restoration, especially the early vegetation restoration, after fires, is the premise and basis for the recovery of the ecological functions of the ecosystem. This paper reviewed the research progress on the factors affecting the vegetation restoration after fires in wetlands. The vegetation restoration after fires in cold temperate wetlands was controlled by the fire intensity, fire size, vegetation types before fires, regeneration characteristics of plant species, and site conditions. It was considered that the long-term monitoring on the post-fire vegetation restoration in cold temperate wetland, the key factors affecting the vegetation restoration, the roles of frozen soil layer on the post-fire vegetation restoration, and the theories and technologies on the vegetation restoration would be the main research directions in the future.

[Suitability of wild underexploited vegetables from the Argentine Chaco as a food resource].

Science.gov (United States)

Freyre, M R; Baigorria, C M; Rozycki, V R; Bernardi, C M; Charpentier, M

2000-12-01

The nutritional value of wild underexploited vegetable samples collected in the Argentine Chaco was investigated. Leaves from Hipochaeris sp.-, Coronopus didimus and Portulaca olearacea; fruits from Zyziphus sativa, Brumelia obtusifolia and Eugenia uniflora; and roots of Canna coccinea were included in this work; several separate samples being taken at least during two consecutive harvesting seasons. Values for moisture, protein, total lipids, crude fiber, ash, reducing and total sugars, starch, total pectins and energy are given. Mineral micronutrient contents are reported for calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus, as well as vitamin values (ascorbic acid and beta-carotene). Higher concentrations of macronutrients were found in the leafy vegetables (32-50 Kcal/100 g) than in commercially exploited cultivars (14-30 Kcal/100 g), as shown by an increased energy value, the protein content of Portulaca olearacea (3.74 g/100 g) being highly remarkable. Unusually high micronutrient figures were also determined in Coronopus didimus, with 172.3; 3.98, and 46.7 mg/100 g, for calcium, iron and magnesium, respectively. In general, fruits also showed higher macronutrient contents, with the exception of proteins, with less but constant values (1.58 to 1.74 g/100 g), although contributing more energy than commercial cultivars (70 to 147 Kcal/100 g). Equally important proved to be the provitamin A content in Eugenia uniflora (11.98 mg/100 g). Roots of Canna coccinea revealed the lowest energy value (34 Kcal/100 g) but surprisingly, the highest content of phosphorus of all the species under study.

Factors of importance for a successful delivery system for proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van de Weert, Marco; Jorgensen, Lene; Horn Moeller, Eva

2005-01-01

Protein pharmaceuticals have matured into an important class of drugs, now comprising one in three novel drugs introduced on the market. However, significant gains are still to be made in reducing the costs of production, ensuring proper pharmacokinetics and efficacy, increasing patient compliance...... and convenience, and reducing side effects such as immunogenicity. This review summarises these issues and provides recent examples of methods to reduce costs, alter pharmacokinetics and increase patient compliance. It also discusses the increasing interest in understanding immunogenicity in order to prevent...

Influence of a vegetable fat blend on the texture, microstructure and sensory properties of kashar cheese

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dinkci, N.; Kesenkas, H.; Seckin, A. K.; Kinik, O.; Gonc, S.

2011-07-01

The possibility of using a commercial vegetable fat blend in Kashar cheese was investigated. Kashar cheeses were manufactured by replacing the milk fat (MF) with a vegetable fat (VF) blend. Kashar cheeses from whole milk were also manufactured to compare textural, microstructural, meltability, color and sensory characteristics during a ripening period of 90 days. The use of vegetable fat decreased the meltability, hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness of the cheese; while increasing adhesiveness where springiness was not affected. Differences became less notable toward the end of ripening. Scanning electron micrographs displayed VF cheese with a compact network with small and uniform fat globules embedded in the protein matrix. The MF cheese exhibited an open protein matrix containing milk fat globules of various sizes and forms. The color analysis demonstrated significant differences between cheeses. Finally, all sensory characteristics of the cheese were affected by the vegetable fat blend. (Author) 36 refs.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns and the Serum ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns and the Serum Ascorbate of Patients with Breast Cancer in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. ... to enlighten the public as well as patients with cancer on the importance of taking fruits and vegetables regularly, as part of their diet, need to be intensified by nutritionist-dietitian.

Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Bischoff-Schaefer, Monika; Bluemel, Sylvia; Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke; Dreux, Laure; Jansen, Jean-Pierre; Kiss, Jozsef; Köhl, Jürgen; Kudsk, Per; Malausa, Thibaut; Messéan, Antoine; Nicot, Philippe C; Ricci, Pierre; Thibierge, Jérôme; Villeneuve, François

2017-01-01

EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe. This paper proposes a common European framework on biocontrol R&I. It identifies generic R&I bottlenecks and needs as well as priorities for three crop types (arable, vegetable and perennial crops). The existing gap between the market offers of biocontrol solutions and the demand of growers, the lengthy and expensive registration process for biocontrol solutions and their varying effectiveness due to variable climatic conditions and site-specific factors across Europe are key obstacles hindering the development and adoption of biocontrol solutions in Europe. Considering arable, vegetable and perennial crops, a dozen common target pests are identified for each type of crop and ranked by order of importance at European level. Such a ranked list indicates numerous topics on which future joint transnational efforts would be justified. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of four processed animal proteins in the diet on behavior in laying hens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krimpen, van M.M.; Veldkamp, T.; Binnendijk, G.P.; Veer, de R.

2011-01-01

An experiment was performed to investigate the effect of animal versus vegetable protein sources in the diet on the development of behavior in laying hens. A diet containing protein sources of only vegetable origin was compared with four diets, each containing one of four processed animal proteins

Proximate composition, minerals and vitamins content of selected vegetables grown in Peshawar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangash, J.A.; Arif, M.; Khan, M.A.; Khan, F.; Amin-ur-Rrahma; Hussain, I.

2011-01-01

Ten vegetables namely Pot purslane, Spinach, Turnip, Garlic, Mustard (Sarson), Radish, Bitter gourd, Lady finger, Bath sponge and Brinjal were analyzed for their proximate composition, vitamin and mineral contents to evaluate their importance in human nutrition. The results showed that almost all vegetables contain appreciable amount of essential nutrients. The maximum content of moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and ash recorded in these vegetables was (92.50 %, 26.88 %, 5.0%, 0.40%, 1.4% and 1.9%), respectively, with a minimum content (66.80 %, 3.91 %, 0.7%, 0.08%, 0.4% and 0.38%), respectively. Maximum concentration of macro minerals K, Ca, Mg, and Na, observed was (400, 210, 109, and 55) mg/100 g, respectively, with a minimum concentration (26, 15, 17, and 10) mg/100 g, respectively. Maximum concentration of micro minerals Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Cr observed was (29, 0.33, 3.05, 1.70, and 0.36) mg/100 g with a minimum concentration (2, 0.05, 0.43, 0.21, and 0.06) mg/100 g, respectively. Maximum concentration of water soluble vitamins i.e. thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid recorded was (0.280, 0.190, 0.69, and 65) mg/100 g with a minimum concentration (0.011, 0.015, 0.23, and 4.00) mg/100 g, respectively. From this study it can be concluded that consumption of vegetables in different combinations could provide a reasonable daily recommended amount of essential nutrients for the maintenance of healthy life and normal body functioning. (author)

L-Glutamic acid production by Bacillus spp. isolated from vegetable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ogiri” (fermented vegetable proteins) in Nigeria. The isolates were identified as Bacillus subtilis (6), (27.3%), Bacillus pumilus (5), (22.7%), Bacillus licheniformis (5), (27.3%) and Bacillus polymyxa (6), (22.7%). Four species of the Bacillus isolates ...

Could Fidicina mannifera (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Fidicinini promote a resource pulse in two Brazilian Cerrado vegetation classes?

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R. N. Oliveira

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Cicadas are usually studied regarding their importance in agriculture. However, the possibility of this group to represent a pulse of nutrients can also imply on the success of a given species in the biome. The aim of this study was to assess the level of total soluble proteins and lipids of Fidicina mannifera (Fabricius, 1803, and to determine whether the species can promote a pulse of nutrients in two vegetation classes of the Brazilian Cerrado. To assess the pulse of nutrients, it was concluded the determination of total soluble proteins and lipids from samples of males and adult females of F. mannifera, and the spatial distribution of exuviae of this species was also calculated in two vegetation classes of the Brazilian Cerrado. The amount of protein provided by each individual did not differ between males and females (p = 0.66 but females had 40% more lipids than males (p = 0.05. Regarding F. mannifera the gallery forest offered 11.75 g/ha of protein, 3.91 g/ha of lipids, and the Cerrado stricto sensu offered 4.25 g/ha of protein, and 1.41 g/ha of lipid. The male cicadas have a hollow abdomen, which houses a resonance chamber for sound production in order to attract females to mate, and females store larger amounts of lipids, mainly located in the abdominal cavity, where the body fat is directly linked to the reproductive system for the development of the ovaries and egg production after emergence. The mass occurrence of F. mannifera in the Brazilian Cerrado and the fast availability of proteins and lipids make this species a food resource that can directly impact the diet of secondary consumers and scavengers, although the amount of nutrients available by F. mannifera does not promote a pulse of nutrients in the study site.

Could Fidicina mannifera (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Fidicinini) promote a resource pulse in two Brazilian Cerrado vegetation classes?

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, R N; Caramori, S S; Maccagnan, D H B

2017-11-01

Cicadas are usually studied regarding their importance in agriculture. However, the possibility of this group to represent a pulse of nutrients can also imply on the success of a given species in the biome. The aim of this study was to assess the level of total soluble proteins and lipids of Fidicina mannifera (Fabricius, 1803), and to determine whether the species can promote a pulse of nutrients in two vegetation classes of the Brazilian Cerrado. To assess the pulse of nutrients, it was concluded the determination of total soluble proteins and lipids from samples of males and adult females of F. mannifera, and the spatial distribution of exuviae of this species was also calculated in two vegetation classes of the Brazilian Cerrado. The amount of protein provided by each individual did not differ between males and females (p = 0.66) but females had 40% more lipids than males (p = 0.05). Regarding F. mannifera the gallery forest offered 11.75 g/ha of protein, 3.91 g/ha of lipids, and the Cerrado stricto sensu offered 4.25 g/ha of protein, and 1.41 g/ha of lipid. The male cicadas have a hollow abdomen, which houses a resonance chamber for sound production in order to attract females to mate, and females store larger amounts of lipids, mainly located in the abdominal cavity, where the body fat is directly linked to the reproductive system for the development of the ovaries and egg production after emergence. The mass occurrence of F. mannifera in the Brazilian Cerrado and the fast availability of proteins and lipids make this species a food resource that can directly impact the diet of secondary consumers and scavengers, although the amount of nutrients available by F. mannifera does not promote a pulse of nutrients in the study site.

Functional analysis of a regulator of G-protein signaling CgRGS1 in the rubber tree anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhi-Qiang; Wu, Man-Li; Ke, Zhi-Jian; Liu, Wen-Bo; Li, Xiao-Yu

2018-04-01

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is the causal agent of rubber anthracnose, which is also one of the important biological factors threatening the development of natural rubber industry in the world. Regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) are key negative regulators of G-proteins, which play important roles in growth, development and pathogenic processes of plant pathogens. In this study, a RGS gene CgRGS1 was functionally characterized in C. gloeosporioides. Compared to the wild type, the CgRGS1 deletion mutant had slow vegetative growth, reduced conidia with multi-end germination, low appressorium formation rate, high resistance to oxidative stress and SDS. Moreover, the mutant was sensitive to osmotic pressure and showed decreased virulence. In conclusion, CgRGS1 is involved in regulation of vegetative growth, conidiation, germination, appressorium formation, oxidative stress, osmotic pressure response and pathogenicity in C. gloeosporioides.

Long-Term Effects of High-Protein Diets on Renal Function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamper, Anne-Lise; Strandgaard, Svend

2017-01-01

progression and even cause CKD in healthy people. The protein source may be important. Daily red meat consumption over years may increase CKD risk, whereas white meat and dairy proteins appear to have no such effect, and fruit and vegetable proteins may be renal protective. Few randomized trials exist......Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a prevalence of approximately 13% and is most frequently caused by diabetes and hypertension. In population studies, CKD etiology is often uncertain. Some experimental and observational human studies have suggested that high-protein intake may increase CKD...... with an observation time greater than 6 months, and most of these were conducted in patients with preexisting diseases that dispose to CKD. Results conflict and do not allow any conclusion about kidney-damaging effects of long-term, high-protein intake. Until additional data become available, present knowledge seems...

ROOT VEGETABLES, BREEDING TRENDS, RESULTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. I. Fedorova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main advantage of root vegetables is their unique specificity and high economic importance. The benefits and medicinal properties of root vegetables being highly demanded by the market requirements to the commodity are highlighted in the article. The main directions of breeding program for root vegetable crops, including species of Apiaceae family with carrot, parsnips; Chenopodioideae family with red beet; Brassicaceae family with radish, Daikon, Raphanus sativus L. var. lobo Sazonova & Stank, turnip and rutabaga. Initial breeding accessions of carrot, red beet, radish, Daikon, Raphanus sativus L. var. lobo Sazonova & Stank, turnip and rutabaga have been selected out to be used for breeding program for heterosis. The mf and ms breeding lines were developed, and with the use of them the new gene pool was created. Variety supporting breeding program and methods were also proposed. 

Metodologias para determinação da digestibilidade de dietas contendo fontes proteicas vegetal ou animal em cães Methodology for determination of digestibility of diets containing vegetable or animal protein sources in dogs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Pedro Zanatta

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se avaliar diferentes metodologias de determinação da digestibilidade em cães, alimentados com duas dietas contendo fontes proteicas animal (farinha de vísceras de aves - FVA e vegetal (farelo de soja - FS. As metodologias avaliadas foram: colheita total de fezes (CTF e os indicadores cinza insolúvel em ácido (CIA, fibra em detergente ácido (FDA e fibra bruta (FB. Foram utilizados 8 cães adultos, em delineamento Cross over, em parcela subdividida no tempo (parcela: fontes proteicas; e subparcela: metodologias de digestibilidade. O período experimental foi constituído por cinco dias de adaptação, com cinco dias de colheita total de fezes. A dieta contendo FS apresentou maior CDA da PB, enquanto a dieta contendo FVA apresentou maior CDA dos demais nutrientes e energia metabolizável (EM. Os CDA e EM determinados pela CTF e pelos indicadores não diferiram entre si, podendo ser determinados pelos indicadores FB, FDA e CIA, independentemente da fonte proteica da dieta.The objective was to evaluate different methods of measuring digestibility in dogs fed two diets containing animal (poultry by products - PBP and vegetable (soybean meal - SBM protein sources. The methods evaluated were: total fecal collection (TFC and indicators: acid insoluble ash (AIA, acid detergent fiber (ADF and crude fiber (CF. Eight dogs were distributed in Cross Over in split plots (plot: sources of protein; subplot: methods for digestibility, fed by five days of adaptation and five days of total fecal collection. The diet containing SBM had a higher ADC of CP, while the diet containing POM showed higher ADC of all nutrients and metabolizable energy (ME. The ADC and ME determined by the TFC and the indicators did not differ. Thus, the ADC of diets in dogs can be determined by TFC and CF, ADF and AIA indicators, regardless of source of dietary protein.

[Non-enzymatic glycosylation of dietary protein in vitro].

Science.gov (United States)

Bednykh, B S; Evdokimov, I A; Sokolov, A I

2015-01-01

Non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins, based on discovered by Mayarn reaction of carbohydrate aldehyde group with a free amino group of a protein molecule, is well known to experts in biochemistry of food industry. Generated brown solid in some cases give the product marketable qualities--crackling bread--in others conversely, worsen the product. The biological effects of far-advanced products of non-enzymatic protein glycosylation reaction have not been studied enough, although it was reported previously that they are not split by digestive enzymes and couldn't be absorbed by animals. The objective of this work was to compare the depth of glycosylation of different food proteins of animal and vegetable origin. The objects of the study were proteins of animal (casein, lactoglobulin, albumin) and vegetable (soy isolate, proteins of rice flour, buckwheat, oatmeal) origin, glucose and fructose were selected as glycosylation agents, exposure 15 days at 37 degrees C. Lactoglobulin was glycosylated to a lesser extent among the proteins of animal origin while protein of oatmeal was glycosylated in the least degree among vegetable proteins. Conversely, such proteins as casein and soya isolate protein bound rather large amounts of carbohydrates. Fructose binding with protein was generally higher than the binding of glucose. The only exception was a protein of oatmeal. When of glucose and fructose simultaneously presented in the incubation medium, glucose binding usually increased while binding of fructose, in contrast, reduced. According to the total amount of carbohydrate (mcg), which is able to attach a protein (mg) the studied food proteins located in the following order: albumin (38) > soy protein isolate (23) > casein (15,) > whey protein rice flour protein (6) > protein from buckwheat flour (3) > globulin (2) > protein of oatmeal (0.3). The results obtained are to be used to select the optimal combination of proteins and carbohydrates, in which the glycosylation

Dietary fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular diseases risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Alissa, Eman M; Ferns, Gordon A

2017-06-13

Diet is likely to be an important determinant of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In this article, we will review the evidence linking the consumption of fruit and vegetables and CVD risk. The initial evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption has a protective effect against CVD came from observational studies. However, uncertainty remains about the magnitude of the benefit of fruit and vegetable intake on the occurrence of CVD and whether the optimal intake is five portions or greater. Results from randomized controlled trials do not show conclusively that fruit and vegetable intake protects against CVD, in part because the dietary interventions have been of limited intensity to enable optimal analysis of their putative effects. The protective mechanisms of fruit and vegetables may not only include some of the known bioactive nutrient effects dependent on their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and electrolyte properties, but also include their functional properties, such as low glycemic load and energy density. Taken together, the totality of the evidence accumulated so far does appear to support the notion that increased intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce cardiovascular risk. It is clear that fruit and vegetables should be eaten as part of a balanced diet, as a source of vitamins, fiber, minerals, and phytochemicals. The evidence now suggests that a complicated set of several nutrients may interact with genetic factors to influence CVD risk. Therefore, it may be more important to focus on whole foods and dietary patterns rather than individual nutrients to successfully impact on CVD risk reduction. A clearer understanding of the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cardiovascular risk would provide health professionals with significant information in terms of public health and clinical practice.

The L1TD1 Protein Interactome Reveals the Importance of Post-transcriptional Regulation in Human Pluripotency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maheswara Reddy Emani

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The RNA-binding protein L1TD1 is one of the most specific and abundant proteins in pluripotent stem cells and is essential for the maintenance of pluripotency in human cells. Here, we identify the protein interaction network of L1TD1 in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and provide insights into the interactome network constructed in human pluripotent cells. Our data reveal that L1TD1 has an important role in RNA splicing, translation, protein traffic, and degradation. L1TD1 interacts with multiple stem-cell-specific proteins, many of which are still uncharacterized in the context of development. Further, we show that L1TD1 is a part of the pluripotency interactome network of OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG, bridging nuclear and cytoplasmic regulation and highlighting the importance of RNA biology in pluripotency.

Multi-scale associations between vegetation cover and woodland bird communities across a large agricultural region.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Ikin

Full Text Available Improving biodiversity conservation in fragmented agricultural landscapes has become an important global issue. Vegetation at the patch and landscape-scale is important for species occupancy and diversity, yet few previous studies have explored multi-scale associations between vegetation and community assemblages. Here, we investigated how patch and landscape-scale vegetation cover structure woodland bird communities. We asked: (1 How is the bird community associated with the vegetation structure of woodland patches and the amount of vegetation cover in the surrounding landscape? (2 Do species of conservation concern respond to woodland vegetation structure and surrounding vegetation cover differently to other species in the community? And (3 Can the relationships between the bird community and the woodland vegetation structure and surrounding vegetation cover be explained by the ecological traits of the species comprising the bird community? We studied 103 woodland patches (0.5 - 53.8 ha over two time periods across a large (6,800 km(2 agricultural region in southeastern Australia. We found that both patch vegetation and surrounding woody vegetation cover were important for structuring the bird community, and that these relationships were consistent over time. In particular, the occurrence of mistletoe within the patches and high values of woody vegetation cover within 1,000 ha and 10,000 ha were important, especially for bird species of conservation concern. We found that the majority of these species displayed similar, positive responses to patch and landscape vegetation attributes. We also found that these relationships were related to the foraging and nesting traits of the bird community. Our findings suggest that management strategies to increase both remnant vegetation quality and the cover of surrounding woody vegetation in fragmented agricultural landscapes may lead to improved conservation of bird communities.

Fuel dynamics and fire behaviour in Australian mallee and heath vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Juanita Myers; Jim Gould; Miguel Cruz; Meredith Henderson

2007-01-01

In southern Australia, shrubby heath vegetation together with woodlands dominated by multistemmed eucalypts (mallee) comprise areas of native vegetation with important biodiversity values. These vegetation types occur in semiarid and mediterranean climates and can experience large frequent fires. This study is investigating changes in the fuel complex with time, fuel...

Cellular Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein Is an Important Dengue Virus Restriction Factor

OpenAIRE

Giovannoni, Federico; Damonte, Elsa B.; Garc?a, Cybele C.

2015-01-01

The intrinsic antiviral defense is based on cellular restriction factors that are constitutively expressed and, thus, active even before a pathogen enters the cell. The promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear bodies (NBs) are discrete nuclear foci that contain several cellular proteins involved in intrinsic antiviral responses against a number of viruses. Accumulating reports have shown the importance of PML as a DNA virus restriction factor and how these pathogens evade this antiviral activity....

7 CFR 944.312 - Orange import regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FRUITS; IMPORT REGULATIONS § 944... preserved by any commercial process, including canning, freezing, dehydrating, drying, and the addition of... Federal or Federal-State Inspection Service, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing Service...

3-MCPD in food other than soy sauce or hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP).

Science.gov (United States)

Baer, Ines; de la Calle, Beatriz; Taylor, Philip

2010-01-01

This review gives an overview of current knowledge about 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) formation and detection. Although 3-MCPD is often mentioned with regard to soy sauce and acid-hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), and much research has been done in that area, the emphasis here is placed on other foods. This contaminant can be found in a great variety of foodstuffs and is difficult to avoid in our daily nutrition. Despite its low concentration in most foods, its carcinogenic properties are of general concern. Its formation is a multivariate problem influenced by factors such as heat, moisture and sugar/lipid content, depending on the type of food and respective processing employed. Understanding the formation of this contaminant in food is fundamental to not only preventing or reducing it, but also developing efficient analytical methods of detecting it. Considering the differences between 3-MCPD-containing foods, and the need to test for the contaminant at different levels of food processing, one would expect a variety of analytical approaches. In this review, an attempt is made to provide an up-to-date list of available analytical methods and to highlight the differences among these techniques. Finally, the emergence of 3-MCPD esters and analytical techniques for them are also discussed here, although they are not the main focus of this review.

Antimicrobial edible films and coatings for fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Valencia-Chamorro, Silvia A; Palou, Lluís; Del Río, Miguel A; Pérez-Gago, María B

2011-01-01

The use of edible films and coatings is an environmentally friendly technology that offers substantial advantages for shelf-life increase of many food products including fruits and vegetables. The development of new natural edible films and coatings with the addition of antimicrobial compounds to preserve fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables is a technological challenge for the industry and a very active research field worldwide. Antimicrobial agents have been successfully added to edible composite films and coatings based on polysaccharides or proteins such as starch, cellulose derivatives, chitosan, alginate, fruit puree, whey protein isolated, soy protein, egg albumen, wheat gluten, or sodium caseinate. This paper reviews the development of edible films and coatings with antimicrobial activity, typically through the incorporation of antimicrobial food additives as ingredients, the effect of these edible films on the control of target microorganisms, the influence of antimicrobial agents on mechanical and barrier properties of stand-alone edible films, and the effect of the application of antimicrobial edible coatings on the quality of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.

The Importance of Temporal and Spatial Vegetation Structure Information in Biotope Mapping Schemes: A Case Study in Helsingborg, Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Tian; Qiu, Ling; Hammer, Mårten; Gunnarsson, Allan

2012-02-01

Temporal and spatial vegetation structure has impact on biodiversity qualities. Yet, current schemes of biotope mapping do only to a limited extend incorporate these factors in the mapping. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the application of a modified biotope mapping scheme that includes temporal and spatial vegetation structure. A refined scheme was developed based on a biotope classification, and applied to a green structure system in Helsingborg city in southern Sweden. It includes four parameters of vegetation structure: continuity of forest cover, age of dominant trees, horizontal structure, and vertical structure. The major green structure sites were determined by interpretation of panchromatic aerial photographs assisted with a field survey. A set of biotope maps was constructed on the basis of each level of modified classification. An evaluation of the scheme included two aspects in particular: comparison of species richness between long-continuity and short-continuity forests based on identification of woodland continuity using ancient woodland indicators (AWI) species and related historical documents, and spatial distribution of animals in the green space in relation to vegetation structure. The results indicate that (1) the relationship between forest continuity: according to verification of historical documents, the richness of AWI species was higher in long-continuity forests; Simpson's diversity was significantly different between long- and short-continuity forests; the total species richness and Shannon's diversity were much higher in long-continuity forests shown a very significant difference. (2) The spatial vegetation structure and age of stands influence the richness and abundance of the avian fauna and rabbits, and distance to the nearest tree and shrub was a strong determinant of presence for these animal groups. It is concluded that continuity of forest cover, age of dominant trees, horizontal and vertical structures of vegetation

Updated vegetation information in high resolution WRF simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Joakim Refslund; Dellwik, Ebba; Hahmann, Andrea N.

2013-01-01

modify the energy distribution at the land surface. In weather and climate models it is important to represent the vegetation variability accurately to obtain reliable results. The weather research and forecasting (WRF) model uses green vegetation fraction (GVF) time series to represent vegetation...... seasonality. The GVF of each grid cell is additionally used to scale other parameters such as LAI, roughness, emissivity and albedo within predefined intervals. However, the default GYP used by WRF does not reflect recent climatic changes or change in management practices since it was derived more than 20...

High pressure effects on fruits and vegetables

OpenAIRE

Timmermans, R.A.H.; Matser, A.M.

2016-01-01

The chapter provides an overview on different high pressure based treatments (high pressure pasteurization, blanching, pressure-assisted thermal processing, pressure-shift freezing and thawing) available for the preservation of fruits and vegetable products and extending their shelf life. Pressure treatment can be used for product modification through pressure gelatinization of starch and pressure denaturation of proteins. Key pressure–thermal treatment effects on vitamin, enzymes, flavor, co...

Can foreign proteins imported into yeast mitochondria interfere with PIM1p protease and/or chaperone function?

Science.gov (United States)

Saveliev, A S; Kovaleva, I E; Novikova, L A; Isaeva, L V; Luzikov, V N

1999-03-15

When studying the fate of mammalian apocytochrome P450scc (apo-P450scc) imported in small amounts into isolated yeast mitochondria, we found that it undergoes degradation, this process being retarded if recipient mitochondria are preloaded in vivo (to about 0.2% of total organelle protein) with a fusion protein composed of mammalian adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin (AdR-Ad); in parallel we observed aggregation of apo-P450scc. These effects suggest some overload of Pim1p protease and/or mtHsp70 system by AdR-Ad, as both of them are involved in the degradation of apo-P450scc (see Savel'ev et al. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 20596-20602, 1998). However, under the same conditions AdR-Ad was not able to impede the import of proteins into mitochondria and the development of the mitochondrial respiratory machinery in yeast, the processes requiring the mtHsp70 system and Pim1p, respectively. These data imply that chaperones and Pim1p protease prefer their natural targets in mitochondria to imported foreign proteins. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Current and future fire regimes and their influence on natural vegetation in Ethiopia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Breugel, Paulo; Friis, Ib; Demissew, Sebsebe

2016-01-01

vegetation types. The effect of climate change varies considerably between climate change models and scenarios, but as general trend expansions of moist Afromontane forest and Combretum–Terminalia woodlands were predicted. Fire-prone areas were also predicted to increase, and including this factor...... in vegetation distribution models resulted in stronger expansion of Combretum–Terminalia woodlands and a more limited increase of moist Afromontane forests. These results underline the importance of fire as a regulating factor of vegetation distribution patterns, and how fire needs to be factored into predict......Fire is a major factor shaping the distribution of vegetation types. In this study, we used a recent high resolution map of potential natural vegetation (PNV) types and MODIS fire products to model and investigate the importance of fire as driver of vegetation distribution patterns in Ethiopia. We...

Dual personality of Mad1: regulation of nuclear import by a spindle assembly checkpoint protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Cairo, Lucas V; Ptak, Christopher; Wozniak, Richard W

2013-01-01

Nuclear transport is a dynamic process that can be modulated in response to changes in cellular physiology. We recently reported that the transport activity of yeast nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) is altered in response to kinetochore-microtubule (KT-MT) interaction defects. Specifically, KT detachment from MTs activates a signaling pathway that prevents the nuclear import of cargos by the nuclear transport factor Kap121p. This loss of Kap121p-mediated import is thought to influence the nuclear environment, including the phosphorylation state of nuclear proteins. A key regulator of this process is the spindle assembly checkpoint protein Mad1p. In response to unattached KTs, Mad1p dynamically cycles between NPCs and KTs. This cycling appears to induce NPC molecular rearrangements that prevent the nuclear import of Kap121p-cargo complexes. Here, we discuss the underlying mechanisms and the physiological relevance of Mad1p cycling and the inhibition of Kap121p-mediated nuclear import, focusing on outstanding questions within the pathway.

Analysis of Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery in the Mediterranean Basin using MODIS Derived Vegetation Indices

Science.gov (United States)

Hawtree, Daniel; San Miguel, Jesus; Sedano, Fernando; Kempeneers, Pieter

2010-05-01

The Mediterranean basin region is highly susceptible to wildfire, with approximately 60,000 individual fires and half a million ha of natural vegetation burnt per year. Of particular concern in this region is the impact of repeated wildfires on the ability of natural lands to return to a pre-fire state, and of the possibility of desertification of semi-arid areas. Given these concerns, understanding the temporal patterns of vegetation recovery is important for the management of environmental resources in the region. A valuable tool for evaluating these recovery patterns are vegetation indices derived from remote sensing data. Previous research on post-fire vegetation recovery conducted in this region has found significant variability in recovery times across different study sites. It is unclear what the primary variables are affecting the differences in the rates of recovery, and if any geographic patterns of behavior exist across the Mediterranean basin. This research has primarily been conducted using indices derived from Landsat imagery. However, no extensive analysis of vegetation regeneration for large regions has been published, and assessment of vegetation recovery on the basis of medium-spatial resolution imagery such as that of MODIS has not yet been analyzed. This study examines the temporal pattern of vegetation recovery in a number of fire sites in the Mediterranean basin, using data derived from MODIS 16 -day composite vegetation indices. The intent is to develop a more complete picture of the temporal sequence of vegetation recovery, and to evaluate what additional factors impact variations in the recovery sequence. In addition, this study evaluates the utility of using MODIS derived vegetation indices for regeneration studies, and compares the findings to earlier studies which rely on Landsat data. Wildfires occurring between the years 2000 and 2004 were considered as potential study sites for this research. Using the EFFIS dataset, all wildfires

VEGETATION MAPPING IN WETLANDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. PEDROTTI

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The current work examines the main aspects of wetland vegetation mapping, which can be summarized as analysis of the ecological-vegetational (ecotone gradients; vegetation complexes; relationships between vegetation distribution and geomorphology; vegetation of the hydrographic basin lo which the wetland in question belongs; vegetation monitoring with help of four vegetation maps: phytosociological map of the real and potential vegetation, map of vegetation dynamical tendencies, map of vegetation series.

OSMOTIC PRESSURE INFLUENCE ON THE VEGETABLE CHIPS DEHYDRATION PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LILIANA I. MIHALCEA

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The low fruit and vegetable consumption identified by the World Health Organization is a significant factor for adverse health consequences, like obesity and noncommunicable diseases. In the worldwide effort of boosting fruit and vegetable consumption to at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day (5-A-Day, healthy, mildly sweet and salty dried crunchy vegetable snacks can add up increasing attractiveness of vegetables among youngsters. The objectives of this research were to obtain sweet and salty dried parsnip snacks, pretreated with concentrated whey (CW and concentrated hydrolyzed whey (HW, to study the influence of osmotic pressure and temperature (45, 55 and 65 °C on the convective drying process and to estimate the kinetic parameters (diffusion coefficients, activation energy of parsnip drying. Nonlinear regression models were applied to estimate the drying parameters based on Henderson - Pabis equations. Results have shown that the activation energy required during drying by the chips treated with HW (23.89 kJ·mol-1 and CW (20.06 kJ·mol-1 is lower than in the reference sample (31.02 kJ·mol-1. Moreover, these represents a smart valorization of a by product from dairy industry rich in valuable minerals, proteins and sugars in the veggie industry.

Proteomic analysis of the dysferlin protein complex unveils its importance for sarcolemmal maintenance and integrity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoine de Morrée

Full Text Available Dysferlin is critical for repair of muscle membranes after damage. Mutations in dysferlin lead to a progressive muscular dystrophy. Recent studies suggest additional roles for dysferlin. We set out to study dysferlin's protein-protein interactions to obtain comprehensive knowledge of dysferlin functionalities in a myogenic context. We developed a robust and reproducible method to isolate dysferlin protein complexes from cells and tissue. We analyzed the composition of these complexes in cultured myoblasts, myotubes and skeletal muscle tissue by mass spectrometry and subsequently inferred potential protein functions through bioinformatics analyses. Our data confirm previously reported interactions and support a function for dysferlin as a vesicle trafficking protein. In addition novel potential functionalities were uncovered, including phagocytosis and focal adhesion. Our data reveal that the dysferlin protein complex has a dynamic composition as a function of myogenic differentiation. We provide additional experimental evidence and show dysferlin localization to, and interaction with the focal adhesion protein vinculin at the sarcolemma. Finally, our studies reveal evidence for cross-talk between dysferlin and its protein family member myoferlin. Together our analyses show that dysferlin is not only a membrane repair protein but also important for muscle membrane maintenance and integrity.

The Arabidopsis ppi1 Mutant Is Specifically Defective in the Expression, Chloroplast Import, and Accumulation of Photosynthetic ProteinsW⃞

Science.gov (United States)

Kubis, Sybille; Baldwin, Amy; Patel, Ramesh; Razzaq, Azam; Dupree, Paul; Lilley, Kathryn; Kurth, Joachim; Leister, Dario; Jarvis, Paul

2003-01-01

The import of nucleus-encoded proteins into chloroplasts is mediated by translocon complexes in the envelope membranes. A component of the translocon in the outer envelope membrane, Toc34, is encoded in Arabidopsis by two homologous genes, atTOC33 and atTOC34. Whereas atTOC34 displays relatively uniform expression throughout development, atTOC33 is strongly upregulated in rapidly growing, photosynthetic tissues. To understand the reason for the existence of these two related genes, we characterized the atTOC33 knockout mutant ppi1. Immunoblotting and proteomics revealed that components of the photosynthetic apparatus are deficient in ppi1 chloroplasts and that nonphotosynthetic chloroplast proteins are unchanged or enriched slightly. Furthermore, DNA array analysis of 3292 transcripts revealed that photosynthetic genes are moderately, but specifically, downregulated in ppi1. Proteome differences in ppi1 could be correlated with protein import rates: ppi1 chloroplasts imported the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit and 33-kD oxygen-evolving complex precursors at significantly reduced rates, but the import of a 50S ribosomal subunit precursor was largely unaffected. The ppi1 import defect occurred at the level of preprotein binding, which is consistent with a role for atToc33 during preprotein recognition. The data suggest that atToc33 is involved preferentially in the import of photosynthetic proteins and, by extension, that atToc34 is involved in the import of nonphotosynthetic chloroplast proteins. PMID:12897258

Canopy Modeling of Aquatic Vegetation: Construction of Submerged Vegetation Index

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Z.; Zhou, G.

2018-04-01

The unique spectral characteristics of submerged vegetation in wetlands determine that the conventional terrestrial vegetation index cannot be directly employed to species identification and parameter inversion of submerged vegetation. Based on the Aquatic Vegetation Radiative Transfer model (AVRT), this paper attempts to construct an index suitable for submerged vegetation, the model simulated data and a scene of Sentinel-2A image in Taihu Lake, China are utilized for assessing the performance of the newly constructed indices and the existent vegetation indices. The results show that the angle index composed by 525 nm, 555 nm and 670 nm can resist the effects of water columns and is more sensitive to vegetation parameters such as LAI. Furthermore, it makes a well discrimination between submerged vegetation and water bodies in the satellite data. We hope that the new index will provide a theoretical basis for future research.

Reconstructing vegetation past: Pre-Euro-American vegetation for the midwest driftless area, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Monika E. Shea; Lisa A. Schulte; Brian J. Palik

2014-01-01

Historical reference conditions provide important context for creating ecological restoration and management plans. The U.S. 19th Century Public Land Survey (PLS) records provide extensive ecological information for constructing such reference conditions. We used PLS records to reconstruct pre-Euro-American tree species cover class and vegetation structure types for...

Parasitic Contamination of Vegetables From Some Markets In South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most prevalent clinical and subclinical diseases of significant in tropical regions of the world. Fresh vegetables are important healthy diet, however in recent years there has been an increased number of reported cases of food-borne intestinal illness linked to fresh vegetables.

Chemical Changes in Proteins Produced by Thermal Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutson, T. R.; Orcutt, M. W.

1984-01-01

Discusses effects of thermal processing on proteins, focusing on (1) the Maillard reaction; (2) heat denaturation of proteins; (3) aggregation, precipitation, gelation, and degradation; and (4) other thermally induced protein reactions. Also discusses effects of thermal processing on muscle foods, egg proteins, fruits and vegetables, and cereal…

Mapping of nuclear import signal and importin α3 binding regions of 52K protein of bovine adenovirus-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paterson, Carolyn P.; Ayalew, Lisanework E.; Tikoo, Suresh K.

2012-01-01

The L1 region of bovine adenovirus (BAdV)-3 encodes a non-structural protein designated 52K. Anti-52K serum detected a protein of 40 kDa, which localized to the nucleus but not to the nucleolus in BAdV-3-infected or transfected cells. Analysis of mutant 52K proteins suggested that three basic residues ( 105 RKR 107 ) of the identified domain (amino acids 102 GMPRKRVLT 110 ) are essential for nuclear localization of 52K. The nuclear import of a GST-52K fusion protein utilizes the classical importin α/β-dependent nuclear transport pathway. The 52K protein is preferentially bound to the cellular nuclear import receptor importin α3. Although deletion of amino acid 102–110 is sufficient to abrogate the nuclear localization of 52K, amino acid 90–133 are required for interaction with importin-α3 and localizing a cytoplasmic protein to the nucleus. These results suggest that 52K contains a bipartite NLS, which preferentially utilize an importin α3 nuclear import receptor-mediated pathway to transport 52K to the nucleus.

Consumption of raw vegetables and fruits: a risk factor for Campylobacter infections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoeff-Bakkenes, L.; Jansen, H.A.P.M.; Veld, in 't P.H.; Beumer, R.R.; Zwietering, M.H.; Leusden, van F.M.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in fresh vegetables and fruits at retail level in the Netherlands, and to estimate its implications on the importance of vegetables and fruits as risk factor for campylobacteriosis. Thirteen of the 5640 vegetable and fruit

A comparative framework for broad-scale plot-based vegetation classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caceres, de M.; Chytry, M.; Agrillo, E.; Attore, F.; Schaminee, J.H.J.

2015-01-01

Aims:
Classification of vegetation is an essential tool to describe, understand, predict and manage biodiversity. Given the multiplicity of approaches to classify vegetation, it is important to develop international consensus around a set of general guidelines and purpose-specific standard

Water–Soil–Vegetation Dynamic Interactions in Changing Climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xixi Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Previous studies of land degradation, topsoil erosion, and hydrologic alteration typically focus on these subjects individually, missing important interrelationships among these important aspects of the Earth’s system. However, an understanding of water–soil–vegetation dynamic interactions is needed to develop practical and effective solutions to sustain the globe’s eco-environment and grassland agriculture, which depends on grasses, legumes, and other fodder or soil-building crops. This special issue is intended to be a platform for a discussion of the relevant scientific findings based on experimental and/or modeling studies. Its 12 peer-reviewed articles present data, novel analysis/modeling approaches, and convincing results of water–soil–vegetation interactions under historical and future climates. Two of the articles examine how lake/pond water quality is related to human activity and climate. Overall, these articles can serve as important references for future studies to further advance our understanding of how water, soil, and vegetation interactively affect the health and productivity of the Earth’s ecosystem.

Rehydration ratio of fluid bed-dried vegetables

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

In the food processing industry the heat treatment of vegetables is a very important ... preparation is very important for the best drying results, while the drying times are more or ... C for 3 minutes, cooked for 15 minutes in water and then.

Determining relative contributions of vegetation and topography to burn severity from LANDSAT imagery.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhiwei; He, Hong S; Liang, Yu; Cai, Longyan; Lewis, Bernard J

2013-10-01

Fire is a dominant process in boreal forest landscapes and creates a spatial patch mosaic with different burn severities and age classes. Quantifying effects of vegetation and topography on burn severity provides a scientific basis on which forest fire management plans are developed to reduce catastrophic fires. However, the relative contribution of vegetation and topography to burn severity is highly debated especially under extreme weather conditions. In this study, we hypothesized that relationships of vegetation and topography to burn severity vary with fire size. We examined this hypothesis in a boreal forest landscape of northeastern China by computing the burn severity of 24 fire patches as the difference between the pre- and post-fire Normalized Difference Vegetation Index obtained from two Landsat TM images. The vegetation and topography to burn severity relationships were evaluated at three fire-size levels of small (1,000 ha, n = 3). Our results showed that vegetation and topography to burn severity relationships were fire-size-dependent. The burn severity of small fires was primary controlled by vegetation conditions (e.g., understory cover), and the burn severity of large fires was strongly influenced by topographic conditions (e.g., elevation). For moderate fires, the relationships were complex and indistinguishable. Our results also indicated that the pattern trends of relative importance for both vegetation and topography factors were not dependent on fire size. Our study can help managers to design fire management plans according to vegetation characteristics that are found important in controlling burn severity and prioritize management locations based on the relative importance of vegetation and topography.

Nitrate Determination of Vegetables in Varzeghan City, North-western Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parviz Nowrouz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition. Nitrate content is a signifi-cant quality criterion to determine characteristic of vegetables. About 80% of nitrate intake in human is from vegetables and fruits. High dietary intake of nitrate is seen as an undesirable be-cause of its association with gastric cancer and infantile methemoglobinemia. Varzeghan, North-western Iran is one of the cities with high Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR of gastric can-cer in Iran. Currently, in Varzeghan there is no available and accurate information describing ni-trate concentration as one of the important risk factors of vegetables for human consumption.Methods: In this cross sectional study totally 11 types of vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, spinach, parsley, coriander, dill, leek, fenugreek, tarragon, fumitory and mint from several different green-grocery of Varzeghan were collected in spring (April and autumn (November and December 2011 and their nitrate contents were analyzed.Results: Mean nitrate contents at the above noted fresh vegetables were 161, 781, 83, 707, 441,501, 1702, 684, 805, 772 and 191 mg NO3-kg-1 respectively. In none of the 11 fresh vegetablesnitrate content were not more than established limitations.Conclusion: Nitrate concentrations were below of others reported at different countries. The mean concentration of nitrate at all vegetables in autumn was higher than in spring significantly.

Perceived personal safety in relation to urban woodland vegetation – A review

OpenAIRE

Jansson, Märit; Fors, Hanna; Lindgren, Therese; Wiström, Björn

2013-01-01

Urban woodland vegetation provides people with many aesthetic, ecological and psychological benefits, but can also generate problems concerning people’s perception of safety. This paper reviews existing knowledge about perceived personal safety in relation to vegetation, particularly woodland vegetation, in urban green spaces such as parks and residential areas. Individual and social factors, but also vegetation character, maintenance and design, proved to be important for perceived personal ...

137Cs absorption factors (AFs) from contaminated cooking water to some vegetable and protein samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malek, M.A.

2006-01-01

The radionuclide in contaminated freshwater may directly gain access to the human body through two major routes: drinking and cooking food with fresh water. During cooking, the radionuclide present in the water may be transferred to the various ingredients of the cooked food. The degree of contamination of food during cooking depends both on absorption power of the individual ingredients and the level of radionuclide present in the water. The ratio of the concentration of the radionuclide absorbed in the individual ingredients to the concentration in the cooking water can be designated as 'Absorption factor' (AF). AF can be used to predict the radionuclide absorbed by the ingredients cooked with contaminated water, to assess the internal radiation dose to the consumer and radionuclide transfer from the cooking water to the ingredients. A better understanding of the variables that affect the AF in various ingredients during cooking is central to deriving the contamination level of the ingredients. 10 kinds of greens and vegetable and 3 kinds of animal protein were boiled with 37 Cs contaminated freshwater and corresponding AFs were determined in both hot and cooled condition

Metal uptake by homegrown vegetables – The relative importance in human health risk assessments at contaminated sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Augustsson, Anna L.M.; Uddh-Söderberg, Terese E.; Hogmalm, K. Johan; Filipsson, Monika E.M.

2015-01-01

Risk assessments of contaminated land often involve the use of generic bioconcentration factors (BCFs), which express contaminant concentrations in edible plant parts as a function of the concentration in soil, in order to assess the risks associated with consumption of homegrown vegetables. This study aimed to quantify variability in BCFs and evaluate the implications of this variability for human exposure assessments, focusing on cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in lettuce and potatoes sampled around 22 contaminated glassworks sites. In addition, risks associated with measured Cd and Pb concentrations in soil and vegetable samples were characterized and a probabilistic exposure assessment was conducted to estimate the likelihood of local residents exceeding tolerable daily intakes. The results show that concentrations in vegetables were only moderately elevated despite high concentrations in soil, and most samples complied with applicable foodstuff legislation. Still, the daily intake of Cd (but not Pb) was assessed to exceed toxicological thresholds for about a fifth of the study population. Bioconcentration factors were found to vary more than indicated by previous studies, but decreasing BCFs with increasing metal concentrations in the soil can explain why the calculated exposure is only moderately affected by the choice of BCF value when generic soil guideline values are exceeded and the risk may be unacceptable. - Highlights: • Uptake of Cd and Pb by lettuce and potatoes increased with soil contamination. • Consumption of homegrown vegetables may lead to a daily Cd intake above TDIs. • The variability in the calculated BCFs is high when compared to previous studies. • Exposure assessments are most sensitive to the choice of BCFs at low contamination

Metal uptake by homegrown vegetables – The relative importance in human health risk assessments at contaminated sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Augustsson, Anna L.M., E-mail: anna.augustsson@lnu.se [Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-391 82 Kalmar (Sweden); Uddh-Söderberg, Terese E. [Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-391 82 Kalmar (Sweden); Hogmalm, K. Johan [Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg (Sweden); Filipsson, Monika E.M. [Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-391 82 Kalmar (Sweden)

2015-04-15

Risk assessments of contaminated land often involve the use of generic bioconcentration factors (BCFs), which express contaminant concentrations in edible plant parts as a function of the concentration in soil, in order to assess the risks associated with consumption of homegrown vegetables. This study aimed to quantify variability in BCFs and evaluate the implications of this variability for human exposure assessments, focusing on cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in lettuce and potatoes sampled around 22 contaminated glassworks sites. In addition, risks associated with measured Cd and Pb concentrations in soil and vegetable samples were characterized and a probabilistic exposure assessment was conducted to estimate the likelihood of local residents exceeding tolerable daily intakes. The results show that concentrations in vegetables were only moderately elevated despite high concentrations in soil, and most samples complied with applicable foodstuff legislation. Still, the daily intake of Cd (but not Pb) was assessed to exceed toxicological thresholds for about a fifth of the study population. Bioconcentration factors were found to vary more than indicated by previous studies, but decreasing BCFs with increasing metal concentrations in the soil can explain why the calculated exposure is only moderately affected by the choice of BCF value when generic soil guideline values are exceeded and the risk may be unacceptable. - Highlights: • Uptake of Cd and Pb by lettuce and potatoes increased with soil contamination. • Consumption of homegrown vegetables may lead to a daily Cd intake above TDIs. • The variability in the calculated BCFs is high when compared to previous studies. • Exposure assessments are most sensitive to the choice of BCFs at low contamination.

Effect of lifestyle on asthma control in Japanese patients: importance of periodical exercise and raw vegetable diet.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Motoyasu Iikura

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The avoidance of inhaled allergens or tobacco smoke has been known to have favorable effects on asthma control. However, it remains unclear whether other lifestyle-related factors are also related to asthma control. Therefore, a comprehensive study to examine the associations between various lifestyle factors and asthma control was conducted in Japanese asthmatic patients. METHODS: The study subjects included 437 stable asthmatic patients recruited from our outpatient clinic over a one-year period. A written, informed consent was obtained from each participant. Asthma control was assessed using the asthma control test (ACT, and a structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information regarding lifestyle factors, including tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, physical exercise, and diet. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The proportions of total control (ACT = 25, well controlled (ACT = 20-24, and poorly controlled (ACT 3 metabolic equivalents-h/week, and raw vegetable intake (> 5 units/week were significantly associated with good asthma control by bivariate analysis. Younger age, periodical exercise, and raw vegetable intake were significantly associated with good asthma control by multiple linear regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Periodical exercise and raw vegetable intake are associated with good asthma control in Japanese patients.

Mineral composition of non-conventional leafy vegetables.

Science.gov (United States)

Barminas, J T; Charles, M; Emmanuel, D

1998-01-01

Six non-conventional leafy vegetables consumed largely by the rural populace of Nigeria were analyzed for mineral composition. Mineral contents appeared to be dependent on the type of vegetables. Amaranthus spinosus and Adansonia digitata leaves contained the highest level of iron (38.4 mg/100 g and 30.6 mg/100 g dw, respectively). These values are low compared to those for common Nigerian vegetables but higher than those for other food sources. All the vegetables contained high levels of calcium compared to common vegetables, thus they could be a rich source of this mineral. Microelement content of the leaves varied appreciably. Zinc content was highest in Moringa oleifera, Adansonia digitata and Cassia tora leaves (25.5 mg/100 g, 22.4 mg/100 g and 20.9 mg/100 g dw, respectively) while the manganese content was comparatively higher in Colocasia esculenta. The concentrations of the mineral elements in the vegetables per serving portion are presented and these values indicate that the local vegetables could be valuable and important contributors in the diets of the rural and urban people of Nigeria. The mean daily intake of P, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn were lower than their recommended dietary allowances (RDAs). However, the manganese daily intake was found not to differ significantly (p = 0.05) from the RDA value.

Transfer of 137Cs to wild vegetables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Nobuhiko; Natsuhori, Masahiro; Mezawa, Akane; Kawakami, Akira

1998-01-01

For the evaluation of internal radiation dose, it is needed to estimate the amount of radionuclide incorporated to human body using a simulation model. 137 Cesium (Cs) is easily transferred associating with food intake as well as potassium and so, Cs is an important nuclide for evaluation of internal radiation. 137 Cs concentrations in wild vegetables are higher than those of cultured vegetables and milk. Therefore, the transfer coefficients of 137 Cs from soil to wild vegetables were estimated in this study. Wild vegetables and soils of their farms were collected in the Hakkoda Mountain range of Aomori Prefecture. The levels of 137 Cs in wild vegetables were 0.42-18.35 (Bq/kg), whereas those in cabbage and spinach were 0.08 and 0.01 (Bq/kg), respectively, indicating that the Cs level is dozens to several hundreds times higher in wild vegetables than cultured ones. And the transfer coefficient was estimated as 0.003-0.94 for the former and 0.001-0.8 for the latter. On the other hand, 1 37 Cs levels of the soils on which wild vegetables grew was 28.0 Bq/kg and it was 3.9 Bq/kg for the farm soil. Furthermore, the effects of water content and pH of the soil on the transfer coefficient were studied. (M.N.)

Importance of vegetation analysis in the conservation management of the endangered butterfly Aloeides dentatis dentatis (Swierstra (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.S. Deutschlander

1999-07-01

Full Text Available The study of the vegetation of the Ruimsig Entomological Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa revealed four plant communities one of which could be subdivided into two subcommunities and variants. The extensive climax stage of the vegetation represented by the Themeda triandra - Trachypogon spicatus grassland was found to be too dense and tall to support the butterfly Aloeides dentatis dentatis and the host ant Lepisiota capensis (Mayr. A degraded phase caused by succession in an area where pipes have been laid was found to be ideal habitat for both ant and butterfly. This vegetation also contained adequate numbers of the food plant Hermannia depressa. A serai community with tall- growing Hyparrhenia hirta was also found to be an unsuitable habitat for the butterfly. The identification of the preferred ideal habitat for the host ant and butterfly resulted in the compilation of a conservation management strategy that ensured the survival of the rare and endangered butterfly.

Multi-functional roles for the polypeptide transport associated domains of Toc75 in chloroplast protein import

Science.gov (United States)

Paila, Yamuna D; Richardson, Lynn GL; Inoue, Hitoshi; Parks, Elizabeth S; McMahon, James; Inoue, Kentaro; Schnell, Danny J

2016-01-01

Toc75 plays a central role in chloroplast biogenesis in plants as the membrane channel of the protein import translocon at the outer envelope of chloroplasts (TOC). Toc75 is a member of the Omp85 family of bacterial and organellar membrane insertases, characterized by N-terminal POTRA (polypeptide-transport associated) domains and C-terminal membrane-integrated β-barrels. We demonstrate that the Toc75 POTRA domains are essential for protein import and contribute to interactions with TOC receptors, thereby coupling preprotein recognition at the chloroplast surface with membrane translocation. The POTRA domains also interact with preproteins and mediate the recruitment of molecular chaperones in the intermembrane space to facilitate membrane transport. Our studies are consistent with the multi-functional roles of POTRA domains observed in other Omp85 family members and demonstrate that the domains of Toc75 have evolved unique properties specific to the acquisition of protein import during endosymbiotic evolution of the TOC system in plastids. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12631.001 PMID:26999824

Modern Breeding Methods for Improving Protein Quality and Quantity in Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumanovic, J.; Ehrenberg, L. [Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)

1968-07-01

Against the background of the world's urgent need for increased protein production and for an improved quality of vegetable proteins, the ability of plant breeding to contribute to this need is discussed. With examples especially from maize and wheat, existing variations in protein content and protein composition are surveyed, together with the interdependence of these characteristics and their co-variation with the yield. It is shown that plant breeding has a great potential for improving the world's food situation. It is also shown that more rapid achievements are possible than is generally considered to be characteristic of plant-breeding techniques. Special emphasis is stressed on: (a) The capacity of mutation breeding, alone and in conjunction with other methods, to contribute to an increased production of high quality protein; (b) The necessity for the success of programmes whereby fast, cheap, and if possible non-destructive analytical procedures are developed to determine protein and amino acids; (c) The importance of the close collaboration of plant breeders with specialists in related subjects such as soil fertilization, physiology and nutrition, food technology, and biochemistry; (d) The importance of international co-operation and co-ordination. (author)

Vegetation dynamics and dynamic vegetation science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Maarel, E

1996-01-01

his contribution presents a review of the development of the study of vegetation dynamics since 1979, in the framework of a jubilee meeting on progress in the study of vegetation. However, an exhaustive review is both impossible and unnecessary. It is impossible within the few pages available

Effects of food processing on the radioactivity of vegetables and cereals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roussel-Debet, S.; Real, J.

1995-01-01

The decrease of radioactivity for 134 Cs, 85 Sr, 106 Ru, 57 Co, 110m Ag during food processing was measured. Washing and bleaching vegetables directly contaminated by a single aerosol deposit led to a radioactivity decrease (depending on the vegetable, the radionuclide and the time of deposition) up to 90% for caesium. The efficiency of these processes was less important when the vegetables were contaminated by root transfer, except for peeling of root vegetables. Canning of vegetables indirectly contaminated by caesium, strontium, cobalt and ruthenium, after paring and bleaching, was rather interesting with residual radioactivity varying from 30 to 50% for green beans and from 5 to 20% for carrots. Measurements of stable caesium and strontium in cereals before and after industrial processing showed an important activity decrease; retention factors varied from 0.1 to 0.2 for wheat milling and 0.1 to 0.4 for rice processing. (authors). 6 refs., 9 tabs., 1 figs

Targeting and Assembly of Components of the TOC Protein Import Complex at the Chloroplast Outer Envelope Membrane

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Lynn G.L. Richardson

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The translocon at the outer envelope membrane of chloroplasts (TOC initiates the import of thousands of nuclear encoded preproteins required for chloroplast biogenesis and function. The multimeric TOC complex contains two GTP-regulated receptors, Toc34 and Toc159, which recognize the transit peptides of preproteins and initiate protein import through a β–barrel membrane channel, Toc75. Different isoforms of Toc34 and Toc159 assemble with Toc75 to form structurally and functionally diverse translocons, and the composition and levels of TOC translocons is required for the import of specific subsets of coordinately expressed proteins during plant growth and development. Consequently, the proper assembly of the TOC complexes is key to ensuring organelle homeostasis. This review will focus on our current knowledge of the targeting and assembly of TOC components to form functional translocons at the outer membrane. Our analyses reveal that the targeting of TOC components involves elements common to the targeting of other outer membrane proteins, but also include unique features that appear to have evolved to specifically facilitate assembly of the import apparatus.

Targeting and assembly of components of the TOC protein import complex at the chloroplast outer envelope membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Lynn G L; Paila, Yamuna D; Siman, Steven R; Chen, Yi; Smith, Matthew D; Schnell, Danny J

2014-01-01

The translocon at the outer envelope membrane of chloroplasts (TOC) initiates the import of thousands of nuclear encoded preproteins required for chloroplast biogenesis and function. The multimeric TOC complex contains two GTP-regulated receptors, Toc34 and Toc159, which recognize the transit peptides of preproteins and initiate protein import through a β-barrel membrane channel, Toc75. Different isoforms of Toc34 and Toc159 assemble with Toc75 to form structurally and functionally diverse translocons, and the composition and levels of TOC translocons is required for the import of specific subsets of coordinately expressed proteins during plant growth and development. Consequently, the proper assembly of the TOC complexes is key to ensuring organelle homeostasis. This review will focus on our current knowledge of the targeting and assembly of TOC components to form functional translocons at the outer membrane. Our analyses reveal that the targeting of TOC components involves elements common to the targeting of other outer membrane proteins, but also include unique features that appear to have evolved to specifically facilitate assembly of the import apparatus.

Effects of storage temperature on the physiological characteristics and vegetative propagation of desiccation-tolerant mosses

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yuewei; Zhao, Yunge

2018-02-01

Mosses, as major components of later successional biological soil crusts (biocrusts), play many critical roles in arid and semiarid ecosystems. Recently, some species of desiccation-tolerant mosses have been artificially cultured with the aim of accelerating the recovery of biocrusts. Revealing the factors that influence the vegetative propagation of mosses, which is an important reproductive mode of mosses in dry habitats, will benefit the restoration of moss crusts. In this study, three air-dried desiccation-tolerant mosses (Barbula unguiculata, Didymodon vinealis, and Didymodon tectorum) were hermetically sealed and stored at five temperature levels (0, 4, 17, 25, and 30 °C) for 40 days. Then, the vegetative propagation and physiological characteristics of the three mosses were investigated to determine the influence of storage temperature on the vegetative propagation of desiccation-tolerant mosses and the mechanism. The results showed that the vegetative propagation of the three mosses varied with temperature. The most variation in vegetative propagation among storage temperatures was observed in D. tectorum, followed by the variation observed in B. unguiculata. In contrast, no significant difference in propagation among temperatures was found in D. vinealis. The regenerative capacity of the three mosses increased with increasing temperature from 0 to 17 °C, accompanied by a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and decreased thereafter. As the temperature increased, the chlorophyll and soluble protein contents increased in B. unguiculata but decreased in D. vinealis and D. tectorum. As to storage, the MDA and soluble sugar contents increased after storage. The MDA content of the three mosses increased at each of the investigated temperatures by more than 50 % from the initial values, and the soluble sugar content became higher than before in the three mosses. The integrity of cells and cell membranes is likely the most important factor influencing the

Potential toxicity of some traditional leafy vegetables consumed in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Traditional leafy vegetables are those plants whose leaves or aerial parts have been integrated in a community's culture for use as food over a long span of time. These vegetables are highly recommended due to their relatively high nutritional value compared to the introduced varieties, and are also important in food ...

Production of Pharmaceutical Proteins in Solanaceae Food Crops

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Giorgio De Guzman

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The benefits of increased safety and cost-effectiveness make vegetable crops appropriate systems for the production and delivery of pharmaceutical proteins. In particular, Solanaceae edible crops could be inexpensive biofactories for oral vaccines and other pharmaceutical proteins that can be ingested as minimally processed extracts or as partially purified products. The field of crop plant biotechnology is advancing rapidly due to novel developments in genetic and genomic tools being made available today for the scientific community. In this review, we briefly summarize data now available regarding genomic resources for the Solanaceae family. In addition, we describe novel strategies developed for the expression of foreign proteins in vegetable crops and the utilization of these techniques to manufacture pharmaceutical proteins.

Fermented fruits and vegetables of Asia: a potential source of probiotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Manas Ranjan; Anandharaj, Marimuthu; Ray, Ramesh Chandra; Parveen Rani, Rizwana

2014-01-01

As world population increases, lactic acid fermentation is expected to become an important role in preserving fresh vegetables, fruits, and other food items for feeding humanity in developing countries. However, several fermented fruits and vegetables products (Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Gundruk, Khalpi, Sinki, etc.) have a long history in human nutrition from ancient ages and are associated with the several social aspects of different communities. Among the food items, fruits and vegetables are easily perishable commodities due to their high water activity and nutritive values. These conditions are more critical in tropical and subtropical countries which favour the growth of spoilage causing microorganisms. Lactic acid fermentation increases shelf life of fruits and vegetables and also enhances several beneficial properties, including nutritive value and flavours, and reduces toxicity. Fermented fruits and vegetables can be used as a potential source of probiotics as they harbour several lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum, L. pentosus, L. brevis, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, Leuconostoc fallax, and L. mesenteroides. As a whole, the traditionally fermented fruits and vegetables not only serve as food supplements but also attribute towards health benefits. This review aims to describe some important Asian fermented fruits and vegetables and their significance as a potential source of probiotics.

Quantification of protein and total nitrogen in some plant foods of Iran

African Journals Online (AJOL)

are consumed as fruits and vegetables. The study involved the comparison of these plant protein values by selecting them and subjecting them to heat processing and to preparation of canned vegetables. The estimated protein values estimated are 57.0% for Arum, 44.86% for Portulaca, 28.47% for Chlorophytum, 22.69% ...

Cytosolic streaming in vegetative mycelium and aerial structures of Aspergillus niger.

Science.gov (United States)

Bleichrodt, R; Vinck, A; Krijgsheld, P; van Leeuwen, M R; Dijksterhuis, J; Wösten, H A B

2013-03-15

Aspergillus niger forms aerial hyphae and conidiophores after a period of vegetative growth. The hyphae within the mycelium of A. niger are divided by septa. The central pore in these septa allows for cytoplasmic streaming. Here, we studied inter- and intra-compartmental streaming of the reporter protein GFP in A. niger. Expression of the gene encoding nuclear targeted GFP from the gpdA or glaA promoter resulted in strong fluorescence of nuclei within the vegetative hyphae and weak fluorescence in nuclei within the aerial structures. These data and nuclear run on experiments showed that gpdA and glaA are higher expressed in the vegetative mycelium when compared to aerial hyphae, conidiophores and conidia. Notably, gpdA or glaA driven expression of the gene encoding cytosolic GFP resulted in strongly fluorescent vegetative hyphae and aerial structures. Apparently, GFP streams from vegetative hyphae into aerial structures. This was confirmed by monitoring fluorescence of photo-activatable GFP (PA-GFP). In contrast, PA-GFP did not stream from aerial structures to vegetative hyphae. Streaming of PA-GFP within vegetative hyphae or within aerial structures of A. niger occurred at a rate of 10-15 μm s(-1). Taken together, these results not only show that GFP streams from the vegetative mycelium to aerial structures but it also indicates that its encoding RNA is not streaming. Absence of RNA streaming would explain why distinct RNA profiles were found in aerial structures and the vegetative mycelium by nuclear run on analysis and micro-array analysis.

Utility of Rice Bran Mixed with Fermentation Extract of Vegetable Waste Unconditioned as Probiotics from Vegetable Market

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Cahya Setya Utama

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The aimed of the study was to enhance utilization of Lactobacillus Sp. and Saccharomyces sp. as starter for fermentation of waste cabbage and green mustard to enhance the utility of rice bran as an ingredient of poultry feed. The first stage of the study was to characterize the extract of fermented wasted vegetable with difference concentration of glucose and different period of time for incubation. Completely randomized design using 3 x 3 factorial with three replications was used for the first stage of the study. The second stage of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the extract of fermented wasted vegetable to improve the quality and utility of rice bran. Completely randomized design with four treatments and 4 replications. The third stage of the study was to obtain the value of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus retention, as well as metabolic energy of rice bran after fermentation in broiler hatching. The third stage analysis was conducted by t-test analysis. The results of the study showed that the microbial characteristics on the extract of fermented wasted vegetable in two days incubation time and 2% concentration of glucose was able to produce pH of 3.80, log of total lactic acid bacteria 7.38 and types of microbes that grow predominantly were Lactobacillus Sp. and Saccharomyces Sp. The effectiveness of the extract fermented wasted vegetable for the fermentation of rice bran were shown in additional concentration of extract wasted vegetable of 40% with a moisture content of  toluene 65.24%, 13.36% ash, 14.93% protein, 7.61% crude fat, 12.39% crude fiber, nitrogen free extract material (NFE 51.59% and 0.07% biomass. The biological value and the availability of fermented rice bran were higher than unfermented rice bran on the broiler chickens after hatching. The values were justified from nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus retention also metabolic energy. The study concluded that the benefits and utility of rice bran could

Differential gene expression for suicide-substrate serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins) in vegetative and grain tissues of barley

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roberts, T.H.; Marttila, S.; Rasmussen, S.K.

2003-01-01

centres in vitro, were ubiquitous at low levels, but the protein could not be detected. EST analysis showed that expression of genes for serpins with BSZx-type reactive centres in vegetative tissues is widespread in the plant kingdom, suggesting a common regulatory function. For BSZ4 and BSZ7, expression...... their irreversible inhibitory mechanism in the inhibition of exogenous proteinases capable of breaking down seed storage proteins, and in the defence of specific cell types in vegetative tissues.......Proteins of the serpin superfamily (similar to43 kDa) from mature cereal grains are in vitro suicide-substrate inhibitors of specific mammalian serine proteinases of the chymotrypsin family. However, unlike the 'standard-mechanism' serine proteinase inhibitors (

Hydraulic Aspects of Vegetation Maintanence in Streams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Torben; Vestergaard, Kristian

1991-01-01

This paper describes the importance of the underwater vegetation on Danish streams and some of the consequences of vegetation maintenance. the influence of the weed on the hydraulic conditions is studied through experiments in a smaller stream and the effect of cutting channels through the weed...... is measured. A method for predicting the Manning's n as a function of the discharge conditions is suggested, and also a working hypothesis for predictions of the effect of channel cutting is presented....

Effect of four processed animal proteins in the diet on digestibility and performance in laying hens.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krimpen, van M.M.; Veldkamp, T.; Binnendijk, G.P.; Veer, de R.

2010-01-01

An experiment was performed to investigate the effect of animal vs. vegetable protein sources in the diet of laying hens on the development of hen performance. A diet containing protein sources of only vegetable origin was compared with 4 diets, each containing 1 of 4 processed animal proteins

Mapping of nuclear import signal and importin {alpha}3 binding regions of 52K protein of bovine adenovirus-3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paterson, Carolyn P.; Ayalew, Lisanework E. [Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E3 Canada (Canada); Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E3 S7N 5B4 Canada (Canada); Tikoo, Suresh K., E-mail: suresh.tik@usask.ca [Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E3 Canada (Canada); Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E3 S7N 5B4 Canada (Canada); School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5 Canada (Canada)

2012-10-10

The L1 region of bovine adenovirus (BAdV)-3 encodes a non-structural protein designated 52K. Anti-52K serum detected a protein of 40 kDa, which localized to the nucleus but not to the nucleolus in BAdV-3-infected or transfected cells. Analysis of mutant 52K proteins suggested that three basic residues ({sup 105}RKR{sup 107}) of the identified domain (amino acids {sup 102}GMPRKRVLT{sup 110}) are essential for nuclear localization of 52K. The nuclear import of a GST-52K fusion protein utilizes the classical importin {alpha}/{beta}-dependent nuclear transport pathway. The 52K protein is preferentially bound to the cellular nuclear import receptor importin {alpha}3. Although deletion of amino acid 102-110 is sufficient to abrogate the nuclear localization of 52K, amino acid 90-133 are required for interaction with importin-{alpha}3 and localizing a cytoplasmic protein to the nucleus. These results suggest that 52K contains a bipartite NLS, which preferentially utilize an importin {alpha}3 nuclear import receptor-mediated pathway to transport 52K to the nucleus.

Hortaliças como alimentos funcionais Vegetable crops as functional food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia G B de Carvalho

2006-12-01

in association with a more sedentary lifestyle, are responsible for an increase in diet-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, hypertension, osteoporosis, and cancer. It is believed that the ingestion of fruits and vegetables helps in the prevention of these diseases. Vegetables are an important component of the diet, usually in association with protein- and starch-rich foods. They are responsible not only for adding variety of color and texture to meals, but also for providing important nutrients. Vegetables are low fat and low calorie foods, with relatively small amounts of protein, but they are rich in carbohydrates and fibers and add significant amounts of micronutrients to the human diet. They are also a source of functional substances, which might benefit one or more physiological functions in the body, besides adequate nutritional effects. Functional elements might play a role in improving health and well-being, as well as reducing the risk of the onset of diet-related diseases. The development of vegetable cultivars with greater amounts of these substances is one of the main goals of modern breeding programs. Many of these programs, working on different vegetables, are currently underway in Brazil and other countries, aiming to improve the amount and variety of carotenoids present in the diet. In the present paper, the main aspects of vegetable crops as functional foods are discussed. The most important achievements of tomato and carrot breeding programs in Brazil aiming to improve the amount and types of functional compounds are also presented.

High-protein diets in hyperlipidemia : effect of wheat gluten on serum lipids, uric acid, and renal function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jenkins, D.J.A.; Kendall, C.W.C.; Vidgen, E.; Augustin, L.S.A.; Erk, van M.; Geelen, A.; Parker, T.; Faulkner, D.; Vuksan, V.; Josse, R.G.; Leiter, L.A.; Connelly, P.W.

2001-01-01

BACKGROUND: The metabolic effects of diets high in vegetable protein have not been assessed despite much recent interest in the effect of soy proteins in reducing serum cholesterol. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the metabolic effects of diets high in vegetable protein (specifically, wheat gluten) on serum

Revisiting "Vegetables" to combat modern epidemic of imbalanced glucose homeostasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Ashok Kumar

2014-04-01

Vegetables have been part of human food since prehistoric times and are considered nutritionally necessary and good for health. Vegetables are rich natural resource of biological antioxidants and possess capabilities of maintaining glucose homeostasis. When taken before starch-rich diet, juice also of vegetables such as ridge gourd, bottle gourd, ash gourd, chayote and juice of leaves of vegetables such as radish, Indian Dill, ajwain, tropical green amaranth, and bladder dock are reported to arrest significantly the rise in postprandial blood glucose level. Juice of vegetables such as ash gourd, squash gourd, and tropical green amaranth leaves are observed to tone-down sweet-beverages such as sucrose, fructose, and glucose-induced postprandial glycemic excursion. On the other hand, juice of egg-plant and juice of leaves of Ceylon spinach, Joyweed, and palak are reported to augment starch-induced postprandial glycemic excursion; and juice of leaves of Ceylon spinach, Joyweed, and radish supplement to the glucose-induced postprandial glycemia. Vegetables possess multifaceted antihyperglycemic activities such as inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase, inhibition of protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1β in liver and skeletal muscles, and insulin mimetic and secretagogue activities. Furthermore, they are also reported to influence polyol pathway in favor of reducing development of oxidative stress, and consequently the development of diabetic complications. In the wake of emergence of modern maladaptive diet-induced hyperglycemic epidemic therefore, vegetables may offer cost-effective dietary regimen to control diet-induced glycemic over load and future development of diabetes mellitus. However, for vegetables have been reported to do both, mitigate as well as supplement to the diet-induced postprandial glycemic load, care is required in selection of vegetables when considered as medicament.

Effect of lifestyle on asthma control in Japanese patients: importance of periodical exercise and raw vegetable diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Iikura, Motoyasu; Yi, Siyan; Ichimura, Yasunori; Hori, Ai; Izumi, Shinyu; Sugiyama, Haruhito; Kudo, Koichiro; Mizoue, Tetsuya; Kobayashi, Nobuyuki

2013-01-01

The avoidance of inhaled allergens or tobacco smoke has been known to have favorable effects on asthma control. However, it remains unclear whether other lifestyle-related factors are also related to asthma control. Therefore, a comprehensive study to examine the associations between various lifestyle factors and asthma control was conducted in Japanese asthmatic patients. The study subjects included 437 stable asthmatic patients recruited from our outpatient clinic over a one-year period. A written, informed consent was obtained from each participant. Asthma control was assessed using the asthma control test (ACT), and a structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information regarding lifestyle factors, including tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, physical exercise, and diet. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. The proportions of total control (ACT = 25), well controlled (ACT = 20-24), and poorly controlled (ACT smoking status and alcohol drinking were not associated with asthma control. On the other hand, younger age (smoking, periodical exercise (> 3 metabolic equivalents-h/week), and raw vegetable intake (> 5 units/week) were significantly associated with good asthma control by bivariate analysis. Younger age, periodical exercise, and raw vegetable intake were significantly associated with good asthma control by multiple linear regression analysis. Periodical exercise and raw vegetable intake are associated with good asthma control in Japanese patients.

Precursor binding to an 880-kDa Toc complex as an early step during active import of protein into chloroplasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kuan-Yu; Li, Hsou-min

2007-01-01

The import of protein into chloroplasts is mediated by translocon components located in the chloroplast outer (the Toc proteins) and inner (the Tic proteins) envelope membranes. To identify intermediate steps during active import, we used sucrose density gradient centrifugation and blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) to identify complexes of translocon components associated with precursor proteins under active import conditions instead of arrested binding conditions. Importing precursor proteins in solubilized chloroplast membranes formed a two-peak distribution in the sucrose density gradient. The heavier peak was in a similar position as the previously reported Tic/Toc supercomplex and was too large to be analyzed by BN-PAGE. The BN-PAGE analyses of the lighter peak revealed that precursors accumulated in at least two complexes. The first complex migrated at a position close to the ferritin dimer (approximately 880 kDa) and contained only the Toc components. Kinetic analyses suggested that this Toc complex represented an earlier step in the import process than the Tic/Toc supercomplex. The second complex in the lighter peak migrated at the position of the ferritin trimer (approximately 1320 kDa). It contained, in addition to the Toc components, Tic110, Hsp93, and an hsp70 homolog, but not Tic40. Two different precursor proteins were shown to associate with the same complexes. Processed mature proteins first appeared in the membranes at the same fractions as the Tic/Toc supercomplex, suggesting that processing of transit peptides occurs while precursors are still associated with the supercomplex.

Proteomic amino-termini profiling reveals targeting information for protein import into complex plastids.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pitter F Huesgen

Full Text Available In organisms with complex plastids acquired by secondary endosymbiosis from a photosynthetic eukaryote, the majority of plastid proteins are nuclear-encoded, translated on cytoplasmic ribosomes, and guided across four membranes by a bipartite targeting sequence. In-depth understanding of this vital import process has been impeded by a lack of information about the transit peptide part of this sequence, which mediates transport across the inner three membranes. We determined the mature N-termini of hundreds of proteins from the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, revealing extensive N-terminal modification by acetylation and proteolytic processing in both cytosol and plastid. We identified 63 mature N-termini of nucleus-encoded plastid proteins, deduced their complete transit peptide sequences, determined a consensus motif for their cleavage by the stromal processing peptidase, and found evidence for subsequent processing by a plastid methionine aminopeptidase. The cleavage motif differs from that of higher plants, but is shared with other eukaryotes with complex plastids.

Tundra vegetation effects on pan-Arctic albedo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loranty, Michael M; Goetz, Scott J; Beck, Pieter S A

2011-01-01

Recent field experiments in tundra ecosystems describe how increased shrub cover reduces winter albedo, and how subsequent changes in surface net radiation lead to altered rates of snowmelt. These findings imply that tundra vegetation change will alter regional energy budgets, but to date the effects have not been documented at regional or greater scales. Using satellite observations and a pan-Arctic vegetation map, we examined the effects of shrub vegetation on albedo across the terrestrial Arctic. We included vegetation classes dominated by low shrubs, dwarf shrubs, tussock-dominated graminoid tundra, and non-tussock graminoid tundra. Each class was further stratified by bioclimate subzones. Low-shrub tundra had higher normalized difference vegetation index values and earlier albedo decline in spring than dwarf-shrub tundra, but for tussock tundra, spring albedo declined earlier than for low-shrub tundra. Our results illustrate how relatively small changes in vegetation properties result in differences in albedo dynamics, regardless of shrub growth, that may lead to differences in net radiation upwards of 50 W m -2 at weekly time scales. Further, our findings imply that changes to the terrestrial Arctic energy budget during this important seasonal transition are under way regardless of whether recent satellite observed productivity trends are the result of shrub expansion. We conclude that a better understanding of changes in vegetation productivity and distribution in Arctic tundra is essential for accurately quantifying and predicting carbon and energy fluxes and associated climate feedbacks.

Snow effects on alpine vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kun; Zhang, Li; Qiu, Yubao; Ji, Lei; Tian, Feng; Wang, Cuizhen; Wang, Zhiyong

2013-01-01

Understanding the relationships between snow and vegetation is important for interpretation of the responses of alpine ecosystems to climate changes. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is regarded as an ideal area due to its undisturbed features with low population and relatively high snow cover. We used 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) datasets during 2001–2010 to examine the snow–vegetation relationships, specifically, (1) the influence of snow melting date on vegetation green-up date and (2) the effects of snow cover duration on vegetation greenness. The results showed that the alpine vegetation responded strongly to snow phenology (i.e., snow melting date and snow cover duration) over large areas of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Snow melting date and vegetation green-up date were significantly correlated (p growth was influenced by different seasonal snow cover durations (SCDs) in different regions. Generally, the December–February and March–May SCDs played a significantly role in vegetation growth, both positively and negatively, depending on different water source regions. Snow's positive impact on vegetation was larger than the negative impact.

Combustion of animal or vegetable based liquid waste products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wikman, Karin; Berg, Magnus

2002-04-01

In this project experiences from combustion of animal and vegetable based liquid waste products have been compiled. Legal aspects have also been taken into consideration and the potential for this type of fuel on the Swedish energy market has been evaluated. Today the supply of animal and vegetable based liquid waste products for energy production in Sweden is limited. The total production of animal based liquid fat is about 10,000 tonnes annually. The animal based liquid waste products origin mainly from the manufacturing of meat and bone meal. Since meat and bone meal has been banned from use in animal feeds it is possible that the amount of animal based liquid fat will decrease. The vegetable based liquid waste products that are produced in the processing of vegetable fats are today used mainly for internal energy production. This result in limited availability on the commercial market. The potential for import of animal and vegetable based liquid waste products is estimated to be relatively large since the production of this type of waste products is larger in many other countries compared to Sweden. Vegetable oils that are used as food or raw material in industries could also be imported for combustion, but this is not reasonable today since the energy prices are relatively low. Restrictions allow import of SRM exclusively from Denmark. This is today the only limit for increased imports of animal based liquid fat. The restrictions for handle and combustion of animal and vegetable based liquid waste products are partly unclear since this is covered in several regulations that are not easy to interpret. The new directive for combustion of waste (2000/76/EG) is valid for animal based waste products but not for cadaver or vegetable based waste products from provisions industries. This study has shown that more than 27,400 tonnes of animal based liquid waste products and about 6,000 tonnes of vegetable based liquid waste products were used for combustion in Sweden

Ages and transit times as important diagnostics of model performance for predicting carbon dynamics in terrestrial vegetation models

Science.gov (United States)

Ceballos-Núñez, Verónika; Richardson, Andrew D.; Sierra, Carlos A.

2018-03-01

The global carbon cycle is strongly controlled by the source/sink strength of vegetation as well as the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to retain this carbon. These dynamics, as well as processes such as the mixing of old and newly fixed carbon, have been studied using ecosystem models, but different assumptions regarding the carbon allocation strategies and other model structures may result in highly divergent model predictions. We assessed the influence of three different carbon allocation schemes on the C cycling in vegetation. First, we described each model with a set of ordinary differential equations. Second, we used published measurements of ecosystem C compartments from the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site to find suitable parameters for the different model structures. And third, we calculated C stocks, release fluxes, radiocarbon values (based on the bomb spike), ages, and transit times. We obtained model simulations in accordance with the available data, but the time series of C in foliage and wood need to be complemented with other ecosystem compartments in order to reduce the high parameter collinearity that we observed, and reduce model equifinality. Although the simulated C stocks in ecosystem compartments were similar, the different model structures resulted in very different predictions of age and transit time distributions. In particular, the inclusion of two storage compartments resulted in the prediction of a system mean age that was 12-20 years older than in the models with one or no storage compartments. The age of carbon in the wood compartment of this model was also distributed towards older ages, whereas fast cycling compartments had an age distribution that did not exceed 5 years. As expected, models with C distributed towards older ages also had longer transit times. These results suggest that ages and transit times, which can be indirectly measured using isotope tracers, serve as important diagnostics of model structure

Disease-associated mutations disrupt functionally important regions of intrinsic protein disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Vacic

Full Text Available The effects of disease mutations on protein structure and function have been extensively investigated, and many predictors of the functional impact of single amino acid substitutions are publicly available. The majority of these predictors are based on protein structure and evolutionary conservation, following the assumption that disease mutations predominantly affect folded and conserved protein regions. However, the prevalence of the intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs and regions (IDRs in the human proteome together with their lack of fixed structure and low sequence conservation raise a question about the impact of disease mutations in IDRs. Here, we investigate annotated missense disease mutations and show that 21.7% of them are located within such intrinsically disordered regions. We further demonstrate that 20% of disease mutations in IDRs cause local disorder-to-order transitions, which represents a 1.7-2.7 fold increase compared to annotated polymorphisms and neutral evolutionary substitutions, respectively. Secondary structure predictions show elevated rates of transition from helices and strands into loops and vice versa in the disease mutations dataset. Disease disorder-to-order mutations also influence predicted molecular recognition features (MoRFs more often than the control mutations. The repertoire of disorder-to-order transition mutations is limited, with five most frequent mutations (R→W, R→C, E→K, R→H, R→Q collectively accounting for 44% of all deleterious disorder-to-order transitions. As a proof of concept, we performed accelerated molecular dynamics simulations on a deleterious disorder-to-order transition mutation of tumor protein p63 and, in agreement with our predictions, observed an increased α-helical propensity of the region harboring the mutation. Our findings highlight the importance of mutations in IDRs and refine the traditional structure-centric view of disease mutations. The results of this study

Covering soils and vegetations during decommissioning disposal of a uranium mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Weihua

2010-01-01

The disposals of waste ore dumps and tailings are an important part in the decommissioning disposal of uranium mines. Important indexes of the disposal include stabilization, harmlessness, rehabilitation and improvement of the ecological environment. These are closely related with vegetations. Taking example of decommissioning disposal of a uranium mine in Guizhou province, the selection of grasses and effects after covering soils and planting grasses are introduced. It is pointed out that covering soils and vegetations play an important role in decommissioning disposal of uranium mines. (authors)

Profilin is a cross-reactive allergen in pollen and vegetable foods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ree, R.; Voitenko, V.; van Leeuwen, W. A.; Aalberse, R. C.

1992-01-01

Sera with IgE antibodies against grass pollen often contain IgE against vegetable foods. We investigated the role of the ubiquitous protein profilin in this cross-reactivity. Profilin was purified from Lolium perenne grass pollen by means of affinity purification with Sepharose-coupled

Mutation of a Conserved Nuclear Export Sequence in Chikungunya Virus Capsid Protein Disrupts Host Cell Nuclear Import.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Susan C; Taylor, Adam; Herrero, Lara J; Mahalingam, Suresh; Fazakerley, John K

2017-10-20

Transmitted by mosquitoes; chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is responsible for frequent outbreaks of arthritic disease in humans. CHIKV is an arthritogenic alphavirus of the Togaviridae family. Capsid protein, a structural protein encoded by the CHIKV RNA genome, is able to translocate to the host cell nucleus. In encephalitic alphaviruses nuclear translocation induces host cell shut off; however, the role of capsid protein nuclear localisation in arthritogenic alphaviruses remains unclear. Using replicon systems, we investigated a nuclear export sequence (NES) in the N-terminal region of capsid protein; analogous to that found in encephalitic alphavirus capsid but uncharacterised in CHIKV. The chromosomal maintenance 1 (CRM1) export adaptor protein mediated CHIKV capsid protein export from the nucleus and a region within the N-terminal part of CHIKV capsid protein was required for active nuclear targeting. In contrast to encephalitic alphaviruses, CHIKV capsid protein did not inhibit host nuclear import; however, mutating the NES of capsid protein (∆NES) blocked host protein access to the nucleus. Interactions between capsid protein and the nucleus warrant further investigation.

Vegetable oil and fat viscosity forecast models based on iodine number and saponification number

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toscano, G.; Riva, G.; Foppa Pedretti, E.; Duca, D.

2012-01-01

Vegetable oil and fats can be considered as an important renewable source for the energy production. There are many applications where these biofuels are used directly in engines. However, the use of pure vegetable oils causes some problems as consequence of its chemical and physical characteristic. Viscosity is one of the most important parameters affecting several physical and mechanical processes of the operation of the engine. The determination of this parameter at different tis important to determine the behavior of the vegetable oil and fats. In this work we investigated the effects of two analytical chemical parameters (iodine number and saponification number) and forecasting models have been proposed. -- Highlights: ► Vegetable oil and fat viscosity is predicted by mathematical model based on saponification number and iodine number. ► Unsaturated vegetable oils with small size molecules of fatty acids have a lower viscosity values. ► The models proposed show an average error lower than 12%

The role of emergent vegetation in structuring aquatic insect communities in peatland drainage ditches

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Whatley, M.H.; van Loon, E.E.; Vonk, J.A.; van der Geest, H.G.; Admiraal, W.

2014-01-01

Availability of macrophyte habitat is recognized as an important driver of aquatic insect communities in peatland drainage ditches; however, eutrophication can lead to the decline of submerged vegetation. While emergent vegetation is able to persist in eutrophicated ditches, vegetation removal,

Critical Importance of Protein 4.1 in Centrosome and Mitiotic Spindle Aberrations in Breast Cancer Pathogenesis

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Krauss, Sharon W

2005-01-01

Important pathological hallmarks of many breast cancers include centrosome amplification, spindle pole defects leading to aberrant chromosome segregation, altered nucleoskeletal proteins and perturbed cytokinesis...

Vegetation Cover based on Eagleson's Ecohydrological Optimality in Northeast China Transect (NECT)

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Z.; Mo, K.; Qinshu, L.; Zhang, L.

2016-12-01

Vegetation is considered as the indicator of climate, thus the study of vegetation growth and distribution is of great importance to cognize the ecosystem construction and functions. Vegetation cover is used as an important index to describe vegetation conditions. In Eagleson's ecohydrological optimality, the theoretical optimal vegetation cover M* can be estimated by solving water balance equations. In this study, the theory is applied in the Northeast China Transect (NECT), one of International Geosphere-Biosphere Programs (IGBP) terrestrial transects. The spatial distribution of actual vegetation cover M, which is derived from Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), shows that there is a significant gradient ranging from 1 in the east forests to 0 in the west desert. The result indicates that the theoretical M* fits the actual M well (for forest, M* = 0.822 while M = 0.826; for grassland, M* = 0.353 while M = 0.352; the correlation coefficient between M and M* is 0.81). The reasonable calculated proportion of water balance components further demonstrates the applicability of the ecohydrological optimality theory. M* increases with the increase of LAI, leaf angle, stem fraction and temperature, and decreases with the increase of precipitation amount. This method offers the possibility to analyze the impacts of climate change to vegetation cover quantitatively, thus providing advices for eco-restoration projects.

Determination of macro and micronutrients and nutritional prospects of six vegetable species of Mardan, Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sami, F.; Shinwari, Z.K.

2011-01-01

This study was carried out to assess the nutritional an d mineral composition of selected vegetables, which are commonly used as food in Pakistan. Abel moschus esculentus, Solanum melongena , Cucurbita moschata, Allium sativum, Momordica charantia and Portulaca oleracea were collected form Mardan (Pakistan) and subjected to nutrient analysis. Nutrient analysis (total proteins, fats, carbohydrates, ash, energy value and moisture contents) of vegetable species were determined according to AOAC methods. Macro viz. calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na), and phosphorus (P) and micro viz. iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and selenium (Se) elements were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometric method. The moisture (wet and dry basis), ash, fats, fibers, proteins, energy value (305.9 - 382.6 Kcal/100 g) and carbohydrates of these vegetable species were found in the range of 62.9 - 92.7, 5.4-7.7, 3.1 - 23.1, 0.3-8.3, 10.2-22.5, 7.7 - 16.9, and 51.3 - 80.2% respectively. The micronutrients including Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu were found to be in the range, 6.2-24.1, 0.2-11.7, 0.6-16.7, and 0.1-70 ppm respectively. The results of macronutrients obtained having values of Ca (90-1850 ppm), Mg (94-571 ppm), K (2078-4010 ppm), Na (2-170 ppm), and P (250-1532 ppm) respectively. The quantity of Ni and Se were found negligible in these vegetables. The results indicate that all these vegetables have the potential to provide essential nutrients to the human beings. Momordica charantia and Allium sativum were found to be a good source of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, hence capable of providing energy to the consumer. Both these species were found significantly useful in terms of minerals sources, particularly Ni, K, P, Zn, Cu, and Mn. (author)

Disentangling the role of management, vegetation structure, and plant quality for Orthoptera in lowland meadows.

Science.gov (United States)

Schirmel, Jens; Gerlach, Rebekka; Buhk, Constanze

2017-08-17

Seminatural grasslands provide habitats for various species and are important for biodiversity conservation. The understanding of the diverse responses of species and traits to different grassland management methods is therefore urgently needed. We disentangled the role of grassland management (fertilization and irrigation), vegetation structure (biomass, sward height) and plant quality (protein and fiber content) for Orthoptera communities in lowland hay meadows in Germany. We found vegetation structure to be the most important environmental category in explaining community structure of Orthoptera (species richness, total individuals, functional diversity and species composition). Intensively used meadows (fertilized, irrigated, high plant biomass) were characterized by assemblages with few species, low functional diversity, and low conservation value. Thereby, the relatively moderate fertilizer inputs in our study system of up to ∼75 kg N/ha/year reduced functional diversity of Orthoptera, while this negative effect of fertilization was not detectable when solely considering taxonomic aspects. We found strong support for a prominent role of plant quality in shaping Orthoptera communities and especially the trait composition. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of considering both taxonomic and functional components (functional diversity) in biodiversity research and we suggest a stronger involvement of plant quality measures in Orthoptera studies. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The importance of protein in leaf selection of folivorous primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganzhorn, Joerg U; Arrigo-Nelson, Summer J; Carrai, Valentina; Chalise, Mukesh K; Donati, Giuseppe; Droescher, Iris; Eppley, Timothy M; Irwin, Mitchell T; Koch, Flávia; Koenig, Andreas; Kowalewski, Martin M; Mowry, Christopher B; Patel, Erik R; Pichon, Claire; Ralison, Jose; Reisdorff, Christoph; Simmen, Bruno; Stalenberg, Eleanor; Starrs, Danswell; Terboven, Juana; Wright, Patricia C; Foley, William J

2017-04-01

Protein limitation has been considered a key factor in hypotheses on the evolution of life history and animal communities, suggesting that animals should prioritize protein in their food choice. This contrasts with the limited support that food selection studies have provided for such a priority in nonhuman primates, particularly for folivores. Here, we suggest that this discrepancy can be resolved if folivores only need to select for high protein leaves when average protein concentration in the habitat is low. To test the prediction, we applied meta-analyses to analyze published and unpublished results of food selection for protein and fiber concentrations from 24 studies (some with multiple species) of folivorous primates. To counter potential methodological flaws, we differentiated between methods analyzing total nitrogen and soluble protein concentrations. We used a meta-analysis to test for the effect of protein on food selection by primates and found a significant effect of soluble protein concentrations, but a non-significant effect for total nitrogen. Furthermore, selection for soluble protein was reinforced in forests where protein was less available. Selection for low fiber content was significant but unrelated to the fiber concentrations in representative leaf samples of a given forest. There was no relationship (either negative or positive) between the concentration of protein and fiber in the food or in representative samples of leaves. Overall our study suggests that protein selection is influenced by the protein availability in the environment, explaining the sometimes contradictory results in previous studies on protein selection. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22550, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Eat Your Fruit and Vegetables (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

Getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables is a common problem for many parents, but it’s a battle worth fighting. In this podcast, Dr. Latetia Moore discusses the importance of encouraging children to eat their fruit and vegetables.

Straight Vegetable Oil as a Diesel Fuel?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2014-01-01

Biodiesel, a renewable fuel produced from animal fats or vegetable oils, is popular among many vehicle owners and fleet managers seeking to reduce emissions and support U.S. energy security. Questions sometimes arise about the viability of fueling vehicles with straight vegetable oil (SVO), or waste oils from cooking and other processes, without intermediate processing. But SVO and waste oils differ from biodiesel (and conventional diesel) in some important ways and are generally not considered acceptable vehicle fuels for large-scale or long-term use.

What is the way forward for protein supply? The European perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Nicolas

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This article provides a description of the current European situation regarding protein supply. It calls for a more accurate assessment of the contribution of domestic feed materials to the EU protein balance sheet, in particular cereals. The article then looks at various options to improve the EU protein balance sheet and analyses the consequences of main EU policies in that regard, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU biofuels policy. The last part of the article deals with the possibility to reduce protein consumption by the EU feed industry, by further increase of feed efficiency. Taking into account the need for the EU feed and livestock industries to remain competitive on a global market, as well as the strategic dimension of the EU protein deficit, this article calls for a pragmatic approach and recommends facilitating access to existing sources of vegetable proteins as a first step to improve the EU protein supply. The article also underlines the importance of research and development to improve the competiveness of EU protein crops, therefore reducing the need for public support.

Carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber, and Resistant Starch in White Vegetables: Links to Health Outcomes12

OpenAIRE

Slavin, Joanne L.

2013-01-01

Vegetables are universally promoted as healthy. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 recommend that you make half of your plate fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are diverse plants that vary greatly in energy content and nutrients. Vegetables supply carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and resistant starch in the diet, all of which have been linked to positive health outcomes. Fiber lowers the incidence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. In this paper, the important role of white vegetables in ...

Marketing channel choice and marketing timing of peri-urban vegetable growers in Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiersinga, R.C.; Wijk, van M.S.; Luyen, C.H.; Hoi, P.V.

2007-01-01

Agriculture is an important sector in the peri-urban area of Hanoi. It supplies 62 to 80% of vegetable consumption, of which 28% comes from Dong Anh district, which borders Hanoi City. Growing vegetables is an important income source for the farmers in Dong Anh as it contributes about 30% to their

Intake of Raw Fruits and Vegetables Is Associated With Better Mental Health Than Intake of Processed Fruits and Vegetables

Science.gov (United States)

Brookie, Kate L.; Best, Georgia I.; Conner, Tamlin S.

2018-01-01

Background: Higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, rich in micronutrients, have been associated with better mental health. However, cooking or processing may reduce the availability of these important micronutrients. This study investigated the differential associations between intake of raw fruits and vegetables, compared to processed (cooked or canned) fruits and vegetables, and mental health in young adults. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey design, 422 young adults ages 18–25 (66.1% female) living in New Zealand and the United States completed an online survey that assessed typical consumption of raw vs. cooked/canned/processed fruits and vegetables, negative and positive mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety, negative mood, positive mood, life satisfaction, and flourishing), and covariates (including socio-economic status, body mass index, sleep, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use). Results: Controlling for covariates, raw fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) predicted reduced depressive symptoms and higher positive mood, life satisfaction, and flourishing; processed FVI only predicted higher positive mood. The top 10 raw foods related to better mental health were carrots, bananas, apples, dark leafy greens like spinach, grapefruit, lettuce, citrus fruits, fresh berries, cucumber, and kiwifruit. Conclusions: Raw FVI, but not processed FVI, significantly predicted higher mental health outcomes when controlling for the covariates. Applications include recommending the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables to maximize mental health benefits. PMID:29692750

Intake of Raw Fruits and Vegetables Is Associated With Better Mental Health Than Intake of Processed Fruits and Vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kate L. Brookie

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, rich in micronutrients, have been associated with better mental health. However, cooking or processing may reduce the availability of these important micronutrients. This study investigated the differential associations between intake of raw fruits and vegetables, compared to processed (cooked or canned fruits and vegetables, and mental health in young adults.Methods: In a cross-sectional survey design, 422 young adults ages 18–25 (66.1% female living in New Zealand and the United States completed an online survey that assessed typical consumption of raw vs. cooked/canned/processed fruits and vegetables, negative and positive mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety, negative mood, positive mood, life satisfaction, and flourishing, and covariates (including socio-economic status, body mass index, sleep, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use.Results: Controlling for covariates, raw fruit and vegetable intake (FVI predicted reduced depressive symptoms and higher positive mood, life satisfaction, and flourishing; processed FVI only predicted higher positive mood. The top 10 raw foods related to better mental health were carrots, bananas, apples, dark leafy greens like spinach, grapefruit, lettuce, citrus fruits, fresh berries, cucumber, and kiwifruit.Conclusions: Raw FVI, but not processed FVI, significantly predicted higher mental health outcomes when controlling for the covariates. Applications include recommending the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables to maximize mental health benefits.

Vegetation Mapping of the Mond Protected Area of Bushehr Provice (SW Iran)

OpenAIRE

Mehrabian, Ahmadreza; Mahiny, Abdolrassoul Salman; Mostafavi, Hossein; Liaghati, Homan

2010-01-01

The current study is a new approach to vegetation mapping in Iran using remote sensing (RS) and the geographic information system (GIS). One of the most important problems in remote sensing of desert vegetation is that the reflectance from soil and rocks is often much greater than that of sparse vegetation and this makes it difficult to separate out the vegetation signal (Gates et al. 1965); and there is spectral variability within shrubs of the same species (Duncant et al., 1993). These prop...

Influence Factors of Willingness to Pay for Vegetable Cleaner Production Technology Subsidies: Taking the Questionnaire Investigation on the Application of Vegetable Residue Composting Technology as an Example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHOU Ying

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Currently, producing the safe, high quality and nutritious vegetable products has become the common goal of the food producers and consumers. In doing so, Chinese government vigorously promotes clean production technology of vegetables for the source control and production process control. Unfortunately, lots of vegetables residues are still thrown away after the harvest, which has caused severe environmental pollution in producing areas. Vegetable waste composting technology, an important technology of vegetable cleaner production, has low requirements for technology conditions and is suitable for the promotion of rural households. But it needs additional investment costs including retting pond construction costs during application process and its personal income is less than the social benefits brought by the technology itself, which makes it difficult to mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers to adapt cleaner technology and the technology promotion is not smooth. It is of great and practical significance to investigate the influence mechanism of technology application, assess subsides policy effectiveness and encourage farmers environmentally and friendly produce behavior. The goal of this study is thus to use the contingent valuation method(CVM to understand the farmers' willingness to subsidize for heap retting pool construction fee and to analyze the direction and intensity of influence factors of willingness to pay(WTP by using a Logistic econometric model and the 142 questionnaires in Gaocheng City of Hebei Province. The results indicated that the direct cost of production and operation was an important factor to affect the WTP of technology subsidies and individual labor time and social relationship were the internal control factors that affects the WTP, while the policy measures based on technology subsidies was an important factor to affect the WTP and environmental cognition factor of soil pollution presented a reverse relationship with

Parasitic Contamination in Commonly- Consumed Vegetables in Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Sharif

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Raw (fresh vegetables are an important ingredient of healthy diet. Many enteric bacterial, parasitic and viral pathogens could be transmitted by vegetables. Mazandaran province is located in northern Iran with a coastal area and extensive fields for vegetable cultivation. The current study is designed to evaluate the parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables. Methods: A total of 150 samples of fresh vegetables obtained from markets were examined for parasitic infections using standard methods. Results: Out of 104 samples (60.3% were contaminated with parasites. Parsley and radish with prevalence rates of 90% (18/20 and 39.1% (9/23 were the most and least contaminated vegetables. Free living larva and Trichostrongylus were the most and least common parasites in our results. Conclusion: It can be concluded that parasitological contamination of raw vegetables may be a health threat to consumers of such products.

Biofilm formation enhances Helicobacter pylori survivability in vegetables.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Chow Goon; Loke, Mun Fai; Goh, Khean Lee; Vadivelu, Jamuna; Ho, Bow

2017-04-01

To date, the exact route and mode of transmission of Helicobacter pylori remains elusive. The detection of H. pylori in food using molecular approaches has led us to postulate that the gastric pathogen may survive in the extragastric environment for an extended period. In this study, we show that H. pylori prolongs its survival by forming biofilm and micro-colonies on vegetables. The biofilm forming capability of H. pylori is both strain and vegetable dependent. H. pylori strains were classified into high and low biofilm formers based on their highest relative biofilm units (BU). High biofilm formers survived longer on vegetables compared to low biofilm formers. The bacteria survived better on cabbage compared to other vegetables tested. In addition, images captured on scanning electron and confocal laser scanning microscopes revealed that the bacteria were able to form biofilm and reside as micro-colonies on vegetable surfaces, strengthening the notion of possible survival of H. pylori on vegetables for an extended period of time. Taken together, the ability of H. pylori to form biofilm on vegetables (a common food source for human) potentially plays an important role in its survival, serving as a mode of transmission of H. pylori in the extragastric environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climatic drivers of vegetation based on wavelet analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Claessen, Jeroen; Martens, Brecht; Verhoest, Niko E. C.; Molini, Annalisa; Miralles, Diego

2017-04-01

Vegetation dynamics are driven by climate, and at the same time they play a key role in forcing the different bio-geochemical cycles. As climate change leads to an increase in frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological extremes, vegetation is expected to respond to these changes, and subsequently feed back on their occurrence. This response can be analysed using time series of different vegetation diagnostics observed from space, in the optical (e.g. Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Solar Induced Fluorescence (SIF)) and microwave (Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD)) domains. In this contribution, we compare the climatic drivers of different vegetation diagnostics, based on a monthly global data-cube of 24 years at a 0.25° resolution. To do so, we calculate the wavelet coherence between each vegetation-related observation and observations of air temperature, precipitation and incoming radiation. The use of wavelet coherence allows unveiling the scale-by-scale response and sensitivity of the diverse vegetation indices to their climatic drivers. Our preliminary results show that the wavelet-based statistics prove to be a suitable tool for extracting information from different vegetation indices. Going beyond traditional methods based on linear correlations, the application of wavelet coherence provides information about: (a) the specific periods at which the correspondence between climate and vegetation dynamics is larger, (b) the frequencies at which this correspondence occurs (e.g. monthly or seasonal scales), and (c) the time lag in the response of vegetation to their climate drivers, and vice versa. As expected, areas of high rainfall volumes are characterised by a strong control of radiation and temperature over vegetation. Furthermore, precipitation is the most important driver of vegetation variability over short terms in most regions of the world - which can be explained by the rapid response of leaf development towards available water content

S100 Proteins As an Important Regulator of Macrophage Inflammation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Xia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The S100 proteins, a family of calcium-binding cytosolic proteins, have a broad range of intracellular and extracellular functions through regulating calcium balance, cell apoptosis, migration, proliferation, differentiation, energy metabolism, and inflammation. The intracellular functions of S100 proteins involve interaction with intracellular receptors, membrane protein recruitment/transportation, transcriptional regulation and integrating with enzymes or nucleic acids, and DNA repair. The S100 proteins could also be released from the cytoplasm, induced by tissue/cell damage and cellular stress. The extracellular S100 proteins, serving as a danger signal, are crucial in regulating immune homeostasis, post-traumatic injury, and inflammation. Extracellular S100 proteins are also considered biomarkers for some specific diseases. In this review, we will discuss the multi-functional roles of S100 proteins, especially their potential roles associated with cell migration, differentiation, tissue repair, and inflammation.

Identification and Isolation of Protein Markers Associated with Somatic Embryogenesis in Oil Palm

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Chin Chiew Foan; Nguyen Thi Thuy Van

2012-01-01

Oil palm is an important oil bearing crop with the highest oil yield per hectare per year.About 90％ of the world palm oil produced is used as vegetable oil while the remaining 10％ is for non-food products such as oleochemicals and cosmetics.The high world demand for vegetable oil and increasingly the conversion of vegetable oil into biofuel,has prompted the oil palm industries to seek for high oil yielding seedlings.As oil palm has only a single meristem and full inbred lines were absent,propagation of elite oil palm through cutting or grafting is not possible.Clonal propagation through tissue culture offers a potential means for mass production of elite oil palm.Many oil palm laboratories have clonal propagated elite oil palm propagules through somatic embryogenesis.This study deployed 2DE coupled with LC MS/MS mass spectrometry to isolate protein markers associated with the initial stage of somatic embryogenesis i.e.callus proliferation.The isolated markers can then be used in early selection to screen for calli with high proliferation rate.Since amenability of explant is strongly correlated with maturity of the explants,proteomic analysis was focussed on isolating proteins associated with leaf maturity.Subsequently,comparisons were made on leaf with the same stage of maturity but with different callus proliferation rates.Quantitative analysis showed that there were a total of 67,77 and 4 protein spots to be present only in the young,medium and old leaves,respectively.While low and high proliferation leaves containing about the same amount of proteins,i.e.660 and 694 protein spots respectively.Interestingly,proteins with molecular weight of less than 25 kDa or had pl value lower than 5 were abundant only in leaves with high proliferation rate.Three spots with significant difference in expression by 2-fold among different growth stages were identified as protein subunits of ATP synthase (ATPE_LIRTU),Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RBL_AMOTI) and a putative

African indigenous and traditional vegetables in Tanzania ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Indigenous and traditional African vegetables (AITVs) are important sources of ... and (iii) marketing: retail markup, price variation by season, year and region, ... size and cost, retailer storage, remainders, processing and less common AITVs.

Predictive modelling of vegetable firmness after thermal pre-treatments and steaming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekker, M.; Dekkers, E.; Jasper, A.; Baár, C.; Verkerk, R.

2014-01-01

Texture is an important product property that strongly affects the quality evaluation of processed vegetables by consumers. The rate of texture decrease is dependent on the processing temperature and the type of vegetable. A large data set on instrumental texture measurements of carrot and broccoli

Fermented Fruits and Vegetables of Asia: A Potential Source of Probiotics

OpenAIRE

Manas Ranjan Swain; Marimuthu Anandharaj; Ramesh Chandra Ray; Rizwana Parveen Rani

2014-01-01

As world population increases, lactic acid fermentation is expected to become an important role in preserving fresh vegetables, fruits, and other food items for feeding humanity in developing countries. However, several fermented fruits and vegetables products (Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Gundruk, Khalpi, Sinki, etc.) have a long history in human nutrition from ancient ages and are associated with the several social aspects of different communities. Among the food items, fruits and vegetables are eas...

Projected future vegetation changes for the northwest United States and southwest Canada at a fine spatial resolution using a dynamic global vegetation model.

Science.gov (United States)

Shafer, Sarah; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Gray, Elizabeth M.; Pelltier, Richard T.

2015-01-01

Future climate change may significantly alter the distributions of many plant taxa. The effects of climate change may be particularly large in mountainous regions where climate can vary significantly with elevation. Understanding potential future vegetation changes in these regions requires methods that can resolve vegetation responses to climate change at fine spatial resolutions. We used LPJ, a dynamic global vegetation model, to assess potential future vegetation changes for a large topographically complex area of the northwest United States and southwest Canada (38.0–58.0°N latitude by 136.6–103.0°W longitude). LPJ is a process-based vegetation model that mechanistically simulates the effect of changing climate and atmospheric CO2 concentrations on vegetation. It was developed and has been mostly applied at spatial resolutions of 10-minutes or coarser. In this study, we used LPJ at a 30-second (~1-km) spatial resolution to simulate potential vegetation changes for 2070–2099. LPJ was run using downscaled future climate simulations from five coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (CCSM3, CGCM3.1(T47), GISS-ER, MIROC3.2(medres), UKMO-HadCM3) produced using the A2 greenhouse gases emissions scenario. Under projected future climate and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the simulated vegetation changes result in the contraction of alpine, shrub-steppe, and xeric shrub vegetation across the study area and the expansion of woodland and forest vegetation. Large areas of maritime cool forest and cold forest are simulated to persist under projected future conditions. The fine spatial-scale vegetation simulations resolve patterns of vegetation change that are not visible at coarser resolutions and these fine-scale patterns are particularly important for understanding potential future vegetation changes in topographically complex areas.

Arsenic uptake and speciation in vegetables grown under greenhouse conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, E; Juhasz, A L; Weber, J

2009-04-01

The accumulation of arsenic (As) by vegetables is a potential human exposure pathway. The speciation of As in vegetables is an important consideration due to the varying toxicity of different As species. In this study, common Australian garden vegetables were hydroponically grown with As-contaminated irrigation water to determine the uptake and species of As present in vegetable tissue. The highest concentrations of total As were observed in the roots of all vegetables and declined in the aerial portions of the plants. Total As accumulation in the edible portions of the vegetables decreased in the order radish > mung bean > lettuce = chard. Arsenic was present in the roots of radish, chard, and lettuce as arsenate (As(V)) and comprised between 77 and 92% of the total As present, whereas in mung beans, arsenite (As(III)) comprised 90% of the total As present. In aerial portions of the vegetables, As was distributed equally between both As(V) and As(III) in radish and chard but was present mainly as As(V) in lettuce. The presence of elevated As in vegetable roots suggests that As species may be complexed by phytochelatins, which limits As translocation to aerial portions of the plant.

Of piglets, dietary proteins, and pancreatic proteases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Makkink, C.A.

1993-01-01

Newly weaned piglets often show digestive disorders, frequently resulting in diarrhoea. These disorders may be related to the dietary protein source, since young piglets are less capable of digesting proteins of vegetable origin than older pigs. This study was undertaken to investigate the

Chemical Composition and Quality Characteristics of Wheat Bread Supplemented with Leafy Vegetable Powders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. V. Odunlade

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the effect of supplementation of the leaf powders of Telfairia occidentalis, Amaranthus viridis, and Solanum macrocarpon on the chemical composition and the quality characteristics of wheat bread. The bread samples were supplemented with each of the vegetable leaf powders at 1%, 2%, and 3% during preparation. The bread samples were assayed for proximate composition, mineral composition, physical, sensory, and antioxidant properties using standard methods. The addition of vegetable powders significantly increased the protein (9.50 to 13.93%, fibre (1.81 to 4.00%, ash (1.05 to 2.38%, and fat (1.27 to 2.00%. Supplementation with vegetable powder however significantly decreased (p<0.05 the carbohydrate and moisture contents. Significant (p<0.05 increases were recorded for all evaluated minerals as the level of vegetable powder increased. Supplementation with vegetable powder caused significant decrease in total phenolic content, percentage DPPH inhibition, metal chelating ability, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and total antioxidant capacity. Sensory results showed that there was significant decrease in sensory qualities with increasing supplementation. This therefore suggests that bread supplemented with vegetable powder could have more market penetration if awareness is highly created.

Plant metabolites and nutritional quality of vegetables.

Science.gov (United States)

Hounsome, N; Hounsome, B; Tomos, D; Edwards-Jones, G

2008-05-01

Vegetables are an important part of the human diet and a major source of biologically active substances such as vitamins, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and cholesterol-lowering compounds. Despite a large amount of information on this topic, the nutritional quality of vegetables has not been defined. Historically, the value of many plant nutrients and health-promoting compounds was discovered by trial and error. By the turn of the century, the application of chromatography, mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance allowed quantitative and qualitative measurements of a large number of plant metabolites. Approximately 50000 metabolites have been elucidated in plants, and it is predicted that the final number will exceed 200000. Most of them have unknown function. Metabolites such as carbohydrates, organic and amino acids, vitamins, hormones, flavonoids, phenolics, and glucosinolates are essential for plant growth, development, stress adaptation, and defense. Besides the importance for the plant itself, such metabolites determine the nutritional quality of food, color, taste, smell, antioxidative, anticarcinogenic, antihypertension, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immunostimulating, and cholesterol-lowering properties. This review is focused on major plant metabolites that characterize the nutritional quality of vegetables, and methods of their analysis.

[Feeds of vegetable versus those of animal origin (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Brooijmans, A W

1981-03-01

Dogs can be adequately fed on a vegetable diet. However, specific micronutrients have to be added. The metabolic space within which the cat can adequately operate is restricted because of heavy evolutionary pressure. This has led amongst others to increased dietary protein requirements (unaccompanied, however, by an increase in essential amino acid requirements) and a dietary requirement for certain substances which occur almost only in conjunction with animal proteins and diminished enzyme induction. Regulation of the food intake and the water economy of the body appears to have been also affected.

Polyphenolic screening and protective properties of some vegetables against CCl4 liver damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salawu, S.O.; Akindahunsi, A.A.

2007-12-01

In the present study, we screened for the polyphenolic compounds present in some selected tropical vegetables and the protective effect of the vegetable extract against CCl 4 -induced hepatotoxicity in rats as a way of evaluating their medicinal potential in addition to their nutritional values. The use of HPLC/DAD/MS revealed the presence of some phenolic compounds in the studied vegetables. Crassocephalum crepidioides; caffeoyl derivatives, Talinum triangulare; rutin and kaempferol derivatives, Amaranthus hybridus; caffeoyl derivative, rutin and kaempferol derivative, Hibiscus esculentus; caffeoyl derivative, quercetin derivative and an unidentified flavonoid, Xanthosoma mafaffa; six unidentified flavonoids with similar absorption maximum at different retention times) and Celocia argentia (luteolin derivative and four unidentified flavonoids. Carbon tetrachloride at a dose of 0.5ml/kg body weight (b.w) produced liver damage in rats as manifested by the rise in the levels of ALT (IU/l), AST (IU/l) and total protein (g/l) in the serum (40.60 ± 3.50, 80.60 ± 5.10, 73.20 ± 1.87), in the liver homogenate (1300.00 ± 7.38, 1660.00 ± 13.69, 250.00 ± 7.51) and MDA content (nmol TBARS/mg Liver Protein) in the liver homogenate (82.00 ± 0.02, 82.00 ± 0.07) compared to the control. The result revealed a reduction of the serum marker enzymes (ALT, AST and Total protein), compared with the CCl 4 treated group after the administration of the various polyphenolic extract. In a similar manner, the extract brings about a reduction of the MDA content. It could be concluded that the protective properties exhibited by the vegetables could be amongst other factor due to the presence of some polyphenols. (author)

Terrestrial Feedbacks Incorporated in Global Vegetation Models through Observed Trait-Environment Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Bodegom, P. V.

2015-12-01

Most global vegetation models used to evaluate climate change impacts rely on plant functional types to describe vegetation responses to environmental stresses. In a traditional set-up in which vegetation characteristics are considered constant within a vegetation type, the possibility to implement and infer feedback mechanisms are limited as feedback mechanisms will likely involve a changing expression of community trait values. Based on community assembly concepts, we implemented functional trait-environment relationships into a global dynamic vegetation model to quantitatively assess this feature. For the current climate, a different global vegetation distribution was calculated with and without the inclusion of trait variation, emphasizing the importance of feedbacks -in interaction with competitive processes- for the prevailing global patterns. These trait-environmental responses do, however, not necessarily imply adaptive responses of vegetation to changing conditions and may locally lead to a faster turnover in vegetation upon climate change. Indeed, when running climate projections, simulations with trait variation did not yield a more stable or resilient vegetation than those without. Through the different feedback expressions, global and regional carbon and water fluxes were -however- strongly altered. At a global scale, model projections suggest an increased productivity and hence an increased carbon sink in the next decades to come, when including trait variation. However, by the end of the century, a reduced carbon sink is projected. This effect is due to a downregulation of photosynthesis rates, particularly in the tropical regions, even when accounting for CO2-fertilization effects. Altogether, the various global model simulations suggest the critical importance of including vegetation functional responses to changing environmental conditions to grasp terrestrial feedback mechanisms at global scales in the light of climate change.

Post-fire vegetation recovery in Portugal based on spot/vegetation data

Science.gov (United States)

Gouveia, C.; Dacamara, C. C.; Trigo, R. M.

2010-04-01

A procedure is presented that allows identifying large burned scars and the monitoring of vegetation recovery in the years following major fire episodes. The procedure relies on 10-day fields of Maximum Value Composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (MVC-NDVI), with a 1 km×1 km spatial resolution obtained from the VEGETATION instrument. The identification of fire scars during the extremely severe 2003 fire season is performed based on cluster analysis of NDVI anomalies that persist during the vegetative cycle of the year following the fire event. Two regions containing very large burned scars were selected, located in Central and Southwestern Portugal, respectively, and time series of MVC-NDVI analysed before the fire events took place and throughout the post-fire period. It is shown that post-fire vegetation dynamics in the two selected regions may be characterised based on maps of recovery rates as estimated by fitting a monoparametric model of vegetation recovery to MVC-NDVI data over each burned scar. Results indicated that the recovery process in the region located in Central Portugal is mostly related to fire damage rather than to vegetation density before 2003, whereas the latter seems to have a more prominent role than vegetation conditions after the fire episode, e.g. in the case of the region in Southwestern Portugal. These differences are consistent with the respective predominant types of vegetation. The burned area located in Central Portugal is dominated by Pinus Pinaster whose natural regeneration crucially depends on the destruction of seeds present on the soil surface during the fire, whereas the burned scar in Southwestern Portugal was populated by Eucalyptus that may quickly re-sprout from buds after fire. Besides its simplicity, the monoparametric model of vegetation recovery has the advantage of being easily adapted to other low-resolution satellite data, as well as to other types of vegetation indices.

Factors affecting vegetable preference in adolescents: stages of change and social cognitive theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Taejung; Lee, Kyung-Hea

2017-08-01

Despite the importance of consuming sufficient amounts of vegetables, daily vegetable intake among adolescents in Korea is lower than the current dietary recommendation. The objective of this study was to examine determinants affecting vegetable preference in order to suggest a stage-tailored education strategy that can promote vegetable consumption in adolescents. Adolescents (n = 400, aged 16-17 years) from two high schools participated in a cross-sectional study. Survey variables were vegetable preference, the social cognitive theory (SCT) and stages of change (SOC) constructs. Based on vegetable preference, subjects were classified into two groups: a low-preference group (LPG) and a high-preference group (HPG). SOC was subdivided into pre-action and action/maintenance stages. To compare SCT components and SOC related to vegetable preference, chi-squared and t-tests, along with stepwise multiple-regression analysis, were applied. In the LPG, a similar number of subjects were classified into each stage. Significant differences in self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at home and school were detected among the stages. Subjects in the HPG were mainly at the maintenance stage (81%), and there were significant differences among the stages regarding self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and parenting practice. In the predictions of vegetable preference, self-efficacy and parenting practice had a significant effect in the "pre-action" stage. In the action/maintenance stage, outcome expectation, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at school had significant predictive value. In predicting the vegetable preference for all subjects, 42.8% of the predictive variance was accounted for by affective attitudes, self-efficacy, and vegetable accessibility at school. The study revealed that different determinants affect adolescent vegetable preference in each stage. Self-efficacy and affective attitudes are important determinants affecting

Using management to address vegetation stress related to land-use and climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, Beth A.; Boudell, Jere; Fisichelli, Nicholas

2017-01-01

While disturbances such as fire, cutting, and grazing can be an important part of the conservation of natural lands, some adjustments to management designed to mimic natural disturbance may be necessary with ongoing and projected climate change. Stressed vegetation that is incapable of regeneration will be difficult to maintain if adults are experiencing mortality, and/or if their early life-history stages depend on disturbance. A variety of active management strategies employing disturbance are suggested, including resisting, accommodating, or directing vegetation change by manipulating management intensity and frequency. Particularly if land-use change is the main cause of vegetation stress, amelioration of these problems using management may help vegetation resist change (e.g. strategic timing of water release if a water control structure is available). Managers could direct succession by using management to push vegetation toward a new state. Despite the historical effects of management, some vegetation change will not be controllable as climates shift, and managers may have to accept some of these changes. Nevertheless, proactive measures may help managers achieve important conservation goals in the future.

Uranium-series radionuclides in native fruits and vegetables of northern Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, B.; Martin, P.; Iles, M.

2005-01-01

Wild fruits and vegetables play an important part in a traditional Aboriginal diet in northern Australia. Radionuclide uptake by these foods is important for radiological impact assessment of uranium mining operations in the region, particularly after minesite rehabilitation. Data are presented for concentrations in several fruits and root vegetables, and associated soils. In terms of radiological dose, 210 Po, 226 Ra and, to a lesser extent, 210 Pb were found to be of greater importance than the uranium and thorium isotopes. Other important factors that have emerged include food preparation and consumption habits of Aboriginal people which could potentially affect radionuclide intake estimates. (author)

The Impact of the Rise in Vegetable Prices on Vegetable Producer Behavior–Based on the survey of vegetable producers in Jiayu, Hubei Province

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Liu Pan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to study the impact of the rise in prices of vegetables on vegetable producers, and to increase the revenue of vegetable producers, this paper does a survey by anonymous sampling questionnaire. Results shows that: most vegetable growers think that vegetable prices should rise and would continue to rise, and that vegetable prices would increase their revenue, thus in the coming year they would expand the planting scale of vegetable variety whose increase rate is the largest in this year. But because of the increase of logistics costs and production costs, some farmers benefit very little from the rising trend of vegetable prices. Most farmers expect too much in the trend estimation of the prices of vegetables and also lack of planning and forward-looking in production, thus the planting area of single variety is often decided by the market of previous year. According to analysis of the impact of the rise in vegetable prices on vegetable producer behavior, this paper gives the following suggestions to increase revenue of vegetable producers: change the mode of thinking, improve rural information platform, and increase capital investment for vegetable production base.

Weak leaf photosynthesis and nutrient content relationships from tropical vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Domingues, T. F.; Ishida, F. Y.; Feldpaush, T.; Saiz, G.; Grace, J.; Meir, P.; Lloyd, J.

2015-12-01

Evergreen rain forests and savannas are the two major vegetations of tropical land ecosystems, in terms of land area, biomass, biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles and rates of land use change. Mechanistically understanding ecosystem functioning on such ecosystems is still far from complete, but important for generation of future vegetation scenarios in response to global changes. Leaf photosynthetic rates is a key processes usually represented on land surface-atmosphere models, although data from tropical ecosystems is scarce, considering the high biodiversity they contain. As a shortcut, models usually recur to relationships between leaf nutrient concentration and photosynthetic rates. Such strategy is convenient, given the possibility of global datasets on leave nutrients derived from hyperspectral remote sensing data. Given the importance of Nitrogen on enzyme composition, this nutrient is usually used to infer photosynthetic capacity of leaves. Our experience, based on individual measurements on 1809 individual leaves from 428 species of trees and shrubs naturally occurring on tropical forests and savannas from South America, Africa and Australia, indicates that the relationship between leaf nitrogen and its assimilation capacity is weak. Therefore, leaf Nitrogen alone is a poor predictor of photosynthetic rates of tropical vegetation. Phosphorus concentrations from tropical soils are usually low and is often implied that this nutrient limits primary productivity of tropical vegetation. Still, phosphorus (or other nutrients) did not exerted large influence over photosynthetic capacity, although potassium influenced vegetation structure and function. Such results draw attention to the risks of applying universal nitrogen-photosynthesis relationships on biogeochemical models. Moreover, our data suggests that affiliation of plant species within phylogenetic hierarchy is an important aspect in understanding leaf trait variation. The lack of a strong single

Allergenic Proteins in Foods and Beverages

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Fernanda Cosme

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Food allergies can be defined as immunologically mediated hypersensitivity reactions; therefore, a food allergy is also known as food hypersensitivity. The reactions are caused by the immune system response to some food proteins. The eight most common food allergens are proteins from milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soya, wheat, fish and shellfish. However, many other foods have been identified as allergens for some people, such as certain fruits or vegetables and seeds. It is now recognized that food allergens are an important food safety issue. A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system reacts to otherwise harmless substances in certain foods. For these reasons, one of the requirements from the European Union is that allergenic food ingredients should be labelled in order to protect allergic consumers. According to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations, about 8 % of children and 4 % of adults suffer from some type of food allergy. Food allergies often develop during infant or early childhood ages, affecting mainly the gastrointestinal tract (stomach and intestines. In some cases, the allergy may persist in adult age, for example, coeliac disease, which is an abnormal immune response to certain proteins present in gluten, a type of protein composite found in wheat and barley. Almost all allergens are proteins, and highly sensitive analytical methods have been developed to detect traces of these compounds in food, such as electrophoretic and immunological methods, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purpose of this review is to describe the allergenic components of the most common causes of food allergies, followed by a brief discussion regarding their importance in the food industry and for consumer safety. The most important methods used to detect allergenicity in food will also be discussed.

Semi-Dried Fruits and Vegetables

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Gamze Uysal Seçkin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Since ancient times, the preservation of fruit and vegetables is an ancient method of drying. Sun drying method has been used more widely. In general, consumer-ready products are dried fruits, while the dried vegetables are the foods subjected to the rehydration processes such as boiling, heating and baking before consumption. In recent years, new products with high eating quality have been attempted to achieve without losing characteristic of raw material. With the improving of food technology, using developed methods (pH reduction with reducing aw, slight heating, preservatives use etc. as protective agent, and using a combination of a low rate as an alternative to traditional food preservation process, products have been obtained without changing original characteristics of food. ‘Semi-dried 'or 'medium moist 'products with little difference between the taste and texture of the product with a damp have gained importance in recent years in terms of consumer preferences. Vegetables or fruits, which have water activity levels between 0.50 and 0.95 and the moisture content of between 26% and 60%, are called 'medium moist fruit or vegetables'. Two different manufacturing process to obtain a semi-dried or intermediate moisture products are applied. First, fully dried fruits and vegetables to be rehydrated with water are brought to the desired level of their moisture content. Second, in the first drying process, when the product moisture content is reduced to the desired level, the drying process is finished. The semi-dried products are preferred by consumers because they have a softer texture in terms of eating quality and like fresh products texture.

Effects of vegetable drying techniques on nutrient content: a case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Vegetables are important in most of the daily diets and can be used to alleviate most of the micronutrient deficiencies. Vegetables are only available during the rainy season in rural areas. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve them and use them during the dry season when they are scarce. The objective of this study was to ...

Vegetation-climate feedbacks modulate rainfall patterns in Africa under future climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Minchao; Schurgers, Guy; Rummukainen, Markku; Smith, Benjamin; Samuelsson, Patrick; Jansson, Christer; Siltberg, Joe; May, Wilhelm

2016-07-01

Africa has been undergoing significant changes in climate and vegetation in recent decades, and continued changes may be expected over this century. Vegetation cover and composition impose important influences on the regional climate in Africa. Climate-driven changes in vegetation structure and the distribution of forests versus savannah and grassland may feed back to climate via shifts in the surface energy balance, hydrological cycle and resultant effects on surface pressure and larger-scale atmospheric circulation. We used a regional Earth system model incorporating interactive vegetation-atmosphere coupling to investigate the potential role of vegetation-mediated biophysical feedbacks on climate dynamics in Africa in an RCP8.5-based future climate scenario. The model was applied at high resolution (0.44 × 0.44°) for the CORDEX-Africa domain with boundary conditions from the CanESM2 general circulation model. We found that increased tree cover and leaf-area index (LAI) associated with a CO2 and climate-driven increase in net primary productivity, particularly over subtropical savannah areas, not only imposed important local effect on the regional climate by altering surface energy fluxes but also resulted in remote effects over central Africa by modulating the land-ocean temperature contrast, Atlantic Walker circulation and moisture inflow feeding the central African tropical rainforest region with precipitation. The vegetation-mediated feedbacks were in general negative with respect to temperature, dampening the warming trend simulated in the absence of feedbacks, and positive with respect to precipitation, enhancing rainfall reduction over the rainforest areas. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for vegetation-atmosphere interactions in climate projections for tropical and subtropical Africa.

Ground level environmental protein concentrations in various ecuadorian environments: potential uses of aerosolized protein for ecological research

Science.gov (United States)

Staton, Sarah J.R.; Woodward, Andrea; Castillo, Josemar A.; Swing, Kelly; Hayes, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Large quantities of free protein in the environment and other bioaerosols are ubiquitous throughout terrestrial ground level environments and may be integrative indicators of ecosystem status. Samples of ground level bioaerosols were collected from various ecosystems throughout Ecuador, including pristine humid tropical forest (pristine), highly altered secondary humid tropical forest (highly altered), secondary transitional very humid forest (regrowth transitional), and suburban dry montane deforested (suburban deforested). The results explored the sensitivity of localized aerosol protein concentrations to spatial and temporal variations within ecosystems, and their value for assessing environmental change. Ecosystem specific variations in environmental protein concentrations were observed: pristine 0.32 ± 0.09 μg/m3, highly altered 0.07 ± 0.05 μg/m3, regrowth transitional 0.17 ± 0.06 μg/m3, and suburban deforested 0.09 ± 0.04 μg/m3. Additionally, comparisons of intra-environmental differences in seasonal/daily weather (dry season 0.08 ± 0.03 μg/m3 and wet season 0.10 ± 0.04 μg/m3), environmental fragmentation (buffered 0.19 ± 0.06 μg/m3 and edge 0.15 ± 0.06 μg/m3), and sampling height (ground level 0.32 ± 0.09 μg/m3 and 10 m 0.24 ± 0.04 μg/m3) demonstrated the sensitivity of protein concentrations to environmental conditions. Local protein concentrations in altered environments correlated well with satellite-based spectral indices describing vegetation productivity: normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (r2 = 0.801), net primary production (NPP) (r2 = 0.827), leaf area index (LAI) (r2 = 0.410). Moreover, protein concentrations distinguished the pristine site, which was not differentiated in spectral indices, potentially due to spectral saturation typical of highly vegetated environments. Bioaerosol concentrations represent an inexpensive method to increase understanding of environmental changes, especially in densely vegetated

Rescuing and Sharing Historical Vegetation Data for Ecological Analysis: The California Vegetation Type Mapping Project

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Maggi Kelly

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Research efforts that synthesize historical and contemporary ecological data with modeling approaches improve our understanding of the complex response of species, communities, and landscapes to changing biophysical conditions through time and in space. Historical ecological data are particularly important in this respect. There are remaining barriers that limit such data synthesis, and technological improvements that make multiple diverse datasets more readily available for integration and synthesis are needed. This paper presents one case study of the Wieslander Vegetation Type Mapping project in California and highlights the importance of rescuing, digitizing and sharing historical datasets. We review the varied ecological uses of the historical collection: the vegetation maps have been used to understand legacies of land use change and plan for the future; the plot data have been used to examine changes to chaparral and forest communities around the state and to predict community structure and shifts under a changing climate; the photographs have been used to understand changing vegetation structure; and the voucher specimens in combination with other specimen collections have been used for large scale distribution modeling efforts. The digitization and sharing of the data via the web has broadened the scope and scale of the types of analysis performed. Yet, additional research avenues can be pursued using multiple types of VTM data, and by linking VTM data with contemporary data. The digital VTM collection is an example of a data infrastructure that expands the potential of large scale research through the integration and synthesis of data drawn from numerous data sources; its journey from analog to digital is a cautionary tale of the importance of finding historical data, digitizing it with best practices, linking it with other datasets, and sharing it with the research community.

Influence of soil moisture on the modelling of evapotranspiration in sparse vegetation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villagarcia, L.; Were, A.; Morillas, L.; Garcia, M.; Domingo, F.; Puigdefabregas, J.

2009-01-01

This work analyses the relevance of soil water content (θ) on the estimation of actual evapotranspiration (λE) in sparse vegetated areas. This importance is evaluated through the effect of the θ heterogeneity, both vertical and horizontal (differentiating between bare soil (bs) and soil under vegetation (s)), on λE estimates. A clumped evapotranspiration model (CM) that considers vegetation (p), bs and s as sources of evaporation, was used. This model estimates λE of the whole vegetated area, as well as the contribution of each source. (Author) 11 refs.

Modularized substrate culture:a new method for green leafy vegetable planting

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WANG Quanxi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available On the basis of analyzing general situation of green leafy vegetable production and main difficulty,we introduce the characteristics of modularized substrate culture for green leafy vegetable,and point out the important issues of modularized substrate culture which urgently need be solved in the coming future.

The vegetation in the Biotest basin, Forsmark nuclear power plant, 1984-1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renstroem, S.; Svensson, Roger; Wigren-Svensson, M.

1990-01-01

In order to investigate if and how the vegetation has changed in consequence of the raised temperature in the biotest lake (which is the discharge area for the cooling water from the power plant), investigations of the distribution and production of macroscopic algae and higher vegetation have been carried out since 1974. This report presents the results from the period 1984-1986. The investigations have shown that not only the temperature, but also the absence of ice cover, the water stream through the biotest lake and the reduced exposition caused by the embankment, are of importance for the vegetation in the lake. The vegetation has changed in the following aspects: The area of the shore vegetation has been continuously increasing. In 1982 it was c. 6200 m 2 , 1984 it was c. 9850 m 2 and 1985 c. 11000 m 2 , mainly consisting of Phragmites communis. Most of the shore line is now occupied by vegetation. The standing crop was found to have decreased since the power plants started. 1980 there was 74 g/m 2 dry weight and in 1986 28 g/m 2 . Among the most important species of macroscopic underwater vegetation Chara spp and Potamogeton pectinatus show a decrease of standing crop while Cladophora glomerata and Vaucheria sp have increased since the investigation started. (authors)

Demand Analysis of Selected Fruits and Vegetables in Oman

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A. Omezzine

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Consumer behavior and prospective changes in demand of food product have a significant impact on production and distribution decisions. Consumer responsiveness to changes in prices, income and other demand determinants is very important to production and market decision-makers. The present study estimates demand responses for selected fruits and vegetables in Oman using consumer aggregated national data. The main objective is to generate information needed for making public as well as private decisions. Results indicate that most fruit and vegetable consumers respond to price, and income changes in the expected manner. Responses are different from one commodity to another depending on its nature and importance in the consumer's diet habits. In a few cases income is not a significant determinant of the demand. Moreover, many fruits and vegetables have shown a relationship of substitution and complementary consistent with Omani diet. These results are useful in farmers and distributers to allow them to adjust their production and marketing services according to the consumer’s response.

Critical Importance of Protein 4.1 in Centrosome and Mitotic Spindle Aberrations in Breast Cancer Pathogenesis

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Krauss, Sharon W

2006-01-01

We proposed to test the novel hypothesis that protein 4.1 is of critical importance to centrosome and mitotic spindle aberrations that directly impact aspects of breast cancer pathogenesis. We characterized...

Mechanisms of vegetation uprooting by flow in alluvial non-cohesive sediment

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K. Edmaier

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The establishment of riparian pioneer vegetation is of crucial importance within river restoration projects. After germination or vegetative reproduction on river bars juvenile plants are often exposed to mortality by uprooting caused by floods. At later stages of root development vegetation uprooting by flow is seen to occur as a consequence of a marked erosion gradually exposing the root system and accordingly reducing the mechanical anchoring. How time scales of flow-induced uprooting do depend on vegetation stages growing in alluvial non-cohesive sediment is currently an open question that we conceptually address in this work. After reviewing vegetation root issues in relation to morphodynamic processes, we then propose two modelling mechanisms (Type I and Type II, respectively concerning the uprooting time scales of early germinated and of mature vegetation. Type I is a purely flow-induced drag mechanism, which causes alone a nearly instantaneous uprooting when exceeding root resistance. Type II arises as a combination of substantial sediment erosion exposing the root system and resulting in a decreased anchoring resistance, eventually degenerating into a Type I mechanism. We support our conceptual models with some preliminary experimental data and discuss the importance of better understanding such mechanisms in order to formulate sounding mathematical models that are suitable to plan and to manage river restoration projects.

First-trimester maternal protein intake and childhood kidney outcomes: the Generation R Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Miliku, Kozeta; Voortman, Trudy; van den Hooven, Edith H; Hofman, Albert; Franco, Oscar H; Jaddoe, Vincent W V

2015-07-01

Nutritional exposures during in utero development may have long-lasting consequences for postnatal renal health. Animal studies suggest that specifically maternal dietary protein intake during pregnancy influences childhood kidney function. We examined the associations of total, animal, and vegetable maternal protein intake during pregnancy with kidney volume and function in school-aged children. This study was conducted in 3650 pregnant women and their children who were participating in a population-based cohort study from early life onward. First-trimester energy-adjusted maternal protein intake was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire. At the child's age of 6 y, we assessed kidney volume, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations, and microalbuminuria using urine albumin:creatinine ratios. First-trimester maternal total protein intake was associated with a higher childhood creatinine-based eGFR (difference: 0.06 mL × min(-1) × 1.73 m(-2); 95% CI: 0.01, 0.12 mL · min(-1) · 1.73 m(-2) per gram of protein intake). This association was mainly driven by vegetable protein intake (0.22 mL × min(-1) × 1.73 m(-2); 95% CI: 0.10, 0.35 mL · min(-1) · 1.73 m(-2) per gram of vegetable protein intake). These associations were not explained by protein intake in early childhood. First-trimester maternal protein intake was not significantly associated with childhood kidney volume, cystatin C-based eGFR, or the risk of microalbuminuria. Our findings suggest that higher total and vegetable, but not animal, maternal protein intake during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with a higher eGFR in childhood. Further follow-up studies are needed to investigate whether maternal protein intake in early pregnancy also affects the risk of kidney diseases in later life. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Diagnosis of vegetation recovery within herbaceous sub-systems in the West African Sahel Region

Science.gov (United States)

Anchang, J.; Hanan, N. P.; Prihodko, L.; Sathyachandran, S. K.; Ji, W.; Ross, C. W.

2017-12-01

The West African Sahel (WAS) region is an extensive water limited environment that features a delicate balance of herbaceous and woody vegetation sub systems. These play an important role in the cycling of carbon while also supporting the dominant agro-pastoral human activities in the region. Quantifying the temporal trends in vegetation with regard to these two systems is therefore very important in assessing resource sustainability and food security. In water limited areas, rainfall is a primary driver of vegetation productivity and past watershed scale studies in the WAS region have shown that increase in the slope of the productivity-to-rainfall relationship is indicative of increasing cover and density of herbaceous plants. Given the importance of grazing resources to the region, we perform a wall-to-wall pixel based analysis of changing short-term vegetation sensitivity to changing annual rainfall (hereafter referred to as dS) to examine temporal trends in herbaceous vegetation health. Results indicate that 43% of the Sahelian region has experienced changes (P Western and Central Mali and South Western Niger. Positive dS is indicative of herbaceous vegetation recovery, in response to changing management and rainfall conditions that promote long-term herbaceous community recovery following degradation during the 1970-1980s droughts.

Smart phone video game simulation of parent-child interaction: Learning skills for effective vegetable parenting

Science.gov (United States)

Higher levels of vegetable intake have been associated with decreased risks of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, several cancers, and possibly obesity, but vegetable intake is generally low. Preference is an important determinant of vegetable intake, and food preferences are initiated early in life, ...

Futile import of tRNAs and proteins into the mitochondrion of Trypanosoma brucei evansi

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Paris, Zdeněk; Hashimi, Hassan; Lun, Sijia; Alfonzo, J. D.; Lukeš, Julius

2011-01-01

Roč. 176, č. 2 (2011), 116-120 ISSN 0166-6851 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA204/09/1667; GA MŠk LC07032 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : Trypanosoma * tRNA * Protein import * Mitochondrion * Kinetoplast Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.551, year: 2011

Osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Ashok Kumar; Singh, Satya Vir

2014-09-01

The main cause of perishability of fruits and vegetables are their high water content. To increase the shelf life of these fruits and vegetables many methods or combination of methods had been tried. Osmotic dehydration is one of the best and suitable method to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. This process is preferred over others due to their vitamin and minerals, color, flavor and taste retention property. In this review different methods, treatments, optimization and effects of osmotic dehydration have been reviewed. Studied showed that combination of different osmotic agents were more effective than sucrose alone due to combination of properties of solutes. During the experiments it was found that optimum osmosis was found at approximately 40 °C, 40 °B of osmotic agent and in near about 132 min. Pretreatments also leads to increase the osmotic process in fruits and vegetables. Mass transfer kinetics study is an important parameter to study osmosis. Solids diffusivity were found in wide range (5.09-32.77 kl/mol) studied by Fick's laws of diffusion. These values vary depending upon types of fruits and vegetables and osmotic agents.

A peptide export-import control circuit modulating bacterial development regulates protein phosphatases of the phosphorelay.

Science.gov (United States)

Perego, M

1997-08-05

The phosphorelay signal transduction system activates developmental transcription in sporulation of Bacillus subtilis by phosphorylation of aspartyl residues of the Spo0F and Spo0A response regulators. The phosphorylation level of these response regulators is determined by the opposing activities of protein kinases and protein aspartate phosphatases that interpret positive and negative signals for development in a signal integration circuit. The RapA protein aspartate phosphatase of the phosphorelay is regulated by a peptide that directly inhibits its activity. This peptide is proteolytically processed from an inactive pre-inhibitor protein encoded in the phrA gene. The pre-inhibitor is cleaved by the protein export apparatus to a putative pro-inhibitor that is further processed to the active inhibitor peptide and internalized by the oligopeptide permease. This export-import circuit is postulated to be a mechanism for timing phosphatase activity where the processing enzymes regulate the rate of formation of the active inhibitor. The processing events may, in turn, be controlled by a regulatory hierarchy. Chromosome sequencing has revealed several other phosphatase-prepeptide gene pairs in B. subtilis, suggesting that the use of this mechanism may be widespread in signal transduction.

levels of vitamin a fortification in flour and vegetable oils sold in kano

African Journals Online (AJOL)

dambayero

This was carried out by the determination of vitamin A in the flour and vegetable oil samples which .... (biochemically equivalent to iron deficiency anaemia, .... 72. Ong, D.E. and Chytil, F. (1975). Retinol acid binding protein in rat tissue. J. Biol.

Carotenoids and Their Isomers: Color Pigments in Fruits and Vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yueming Jiang

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Fruits and vegetables are colorful pigment-containing food sources. Owing to their nutritional benefits and phytochemicals, they are considered as ‘functional food ingredients’. Carotenoids are some of the most vital colored phytochemicals, occurring as all-trans and cis-isomers, and accounting for the brilliant colors of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids extensively studied in this regard include β-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Coloration of fruits and vegetables depends on their growth maturity, concentration of carotenoid isomers, and food processing methods. This article focuses more on several carotenoids and their isomers present in different fruits and vegetables along with their concentrations. Carotenoids and their geometric isomers also play an important role in protecting cells from oxidation and cellular damages.

Vegetable, livestock and agroindustrial products and byproducts: An alternative tilapia feeding

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González Salas, R.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the culture of tilapia limited supply and high cost of fish meal have forced nutritionists to consider alternative sources of protein. Due to the importance of the products and by-products in fish feed, this paper aims to show the alternatives that have been used to partially or totally replace fish meal and soybean meal in tilapia growing. This paper showsthe maximum or optimal use of vegetable by-products for tilapia as cottonseed meal, sunflower, canola, soybean and Leucaena. It also deals with the inclusion with agro-industrial by-product such as corn, sorghum, coffee pulp, cocoa, wheat and citrus. The present study also deals with the use of aquatic plants such as Lemna and Azolla, single-celled plant protein source as antibiotics and probiotics. Finally, this paper also refers to animal by-products as silage, manure and earthworm usage. There is a high potential for using plant, livestock and agro-industrial by-products in fresh and processed food for the tilapia, but depending on the product, pretreatment to improve its balance of nutrients or eliminate anti-nutritional factors may be required.

The Parasitic Contamination of Farm Vegetables in Asadabad City, West of Iran, in 2014

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Matini

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is a basic component of a healthy diet. Thus, the consumption of vegetables can have an important role in public health. Objectives Because of this concern, a prevalence study of parasitic contamination was carried out on raw vegetables to estimate the human risk of parasitic infections in Asadabad city, west of Iran. Methods In a cross-sectional study, 383 samples of different vegetables were obtained randomly from 12 vegetable farms in and around Asadabad. These samples included 10 types of seasonal vegetables: coriander, radish, spring onion, leek, parsley, tarragon, savory, basil, mint, and cress. The samples were examined by two parasitological methods: sedimentation and floatation techniques. Results Parasitic contaminations were detected in 34 (8.4% vegetable samples, including five pathogenic and two non-pathogenic parasites. The parasites identified were Giardia intestinalis (1.6%, Entamoeba coli (2.6%, Toxocara spp. (0.8%, Fasciola spp. (0.5%, Taenia spp. (0.3%, Dicrocoelium dendriticum (0.3%, and free-living larvae (2.3%. Among the infested samples, coriander was the most contaminated vegetable (15.8%. The relationship between contamination of vegetables and untreated water used on farms was significant (P < 0.001. Conclusions The results implicate the importance of consumption of vegetables in the spread of parasitic diseases in the studied region. Thus, some basic hygiene measures should be carried out to improve public health and reduce infectious disease rates.

High Dietary Protein Intake and Protein-Related Acid Load on Bone Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jay J

2017-12-01

Consumption of high-protein diets is increasingly popular due to the benefits of protein on preserving lean mass and controlling appetite and satiety. The paper is to review recent clinical research assessing dietary protein on calcium metabolism and bone health. Epidemiological studies show that long-term, high-protein intake is positively associated with bone mineral density and reduced risk of bone fracture incidence. Short-term interventional studies demonstrate that a high-protein diet does not negatively affect calcium homeostasis. Existing evidence supports that the negative effects of the acid load of protein on urinary calcium excretion are offset by the beneficial skeletal effects of high-protein intake. Future research should focus on the role and the degree of contribution of other dietary and physiological factors, such as intake of fruits and vegetables, in reducing the acid load and further enhancing the anabolic effects of protein on the musculoskeletal system.

Object-based vegetation classification with high resolution remote sensing imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Qian

Vegetation species are valuable indicators to understand the earth system. Information from mapping of vegetation species and community distribution at large scales provides important insight for studying the phenological (growth) cycles of vegetation and plant physiology. Such information plays an important role in land process modeling including climate, ecosystem and hydrological models. The rapidly growing remote sensing technology has increased its potential in vegetation species mapping. However, extracting information at a species level is still a challenging research topic. I proposed an effective method for extracting vegetation species distribution from remotely sensed data and investigated some ways for accuracy improvement. The study consists of three phases. Firstly, a statistical analysis was conducted to explore the spatial variation and class separability of vegetation as a function of image scale. This analysis aimed to confirm that high resolution imagery contains the information on spatial vegetation variation and these species classes can be potentially separable. The second phase was a major effort in advancing classification by proposing a method for extracting vegetation species from high spatial resolution remote sensing data. The proposed classification employs an object-based approach that integrates GIS and remote sensing data and explores the usefulness of ancillary information. The whole process includes image segmentation, feature generation and selection, and nearest neighbor classification. The third phase introduces a spatial regression model for evaluating the mapping quality from the above vegetation classification results. The effects of six categories of sample characteristics on the classification uncertainty are examined: topography, sample membership, sample density, spatial composition characteristics, training reliability and sample object features. This evaluation analysis answered several interesting scientific questions

Analysis of glycolipids in vegetable lecithin with HPLC-ELSD

OpenAIRE

Nguyen Tuyet, Mai; De Vrieze, Mike; Van de Walle, Davy; Van Hoed, Vera; Lynen, Frederic; Dewettinck, Koen

2014-01-01

Vegetable lecithins play an important role in the microstructural and macroscopic properties of food and cosmetic products. They are widely used as a natural emulsifier. As lecithin is a by-product of the vegetable oil refining industry, its composition is quite variable and rather complex. Therefore, a more complete view on the chemical composition of lecithin would assist in elucidating its functionality. This study focused on the separation and quantification of several glycolipid...

European Vegetation Archive (EVA): an integrated database of European vegetation plots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chytrý, M; Hennekens, S M; Jiménez-Alfaro, B

2015-01-01

vegetation- plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management......The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional...... data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database....

Health promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, K.; Christensen, L.P.; Hansen-Møller, J.

2004-01-01

Vegetables contain unknown compounds with important health promoting effect. The described project defined and tested a two-step screening procedure for identification of such compounds. Step 1 is initial screening according to three criteria: 1.1, chemically reactive functional groups; 1...

Influence of Boiling, Steaming and Frying of Selected Leafy Vegetables on the In Vitro Anti-inflammation Associated Biological Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. D. P. P. Gunathilake

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cooking (boiling, steaming, and frying on anti-inflammation associated properties in vitro of six popularly consumed green leafy vegetables in Sri Lanka, namely: Centella asiatica, Cassia auriculata, Gymnema lactiferum, Olax zeylanica, Sesbania grnadiflora, and Passiflora edulis. The anti-inflammation associated properties of methanolic extracts of cooked leaves were evaluated using four in vitro biological assays, namely, hemolysis inhibition, proteinase inhibition, protein denaturation inhibition, and lipoxygenase inhibition. Results revealed that the frying of all the tested leafy vegetables had reduced the inhibition abilities of protein denaturation, hemolysis, proteinase, and lipoxygenase activities when compared with other food preparation methods. Steaming significantly increased the protein denaturation and hemolysis inhibition in O. zeylanica and P. edulis. Steaming of leaves increased inhibition activity of protein denaturation in G. lactiferum (by 44.8% and P. edulis (by 44%; hemolysis in C. asiatica, C. auriculata, and S. grandiflora; lipoxygenase inhibition ability in P. edulis (by 50%, C. asiatica (by 400%, and C. auriculata leaves (by 250%; proteinase inhibition in C. auriculata (100% when compared with that of raw leaves. In general, steaming and boiling in contrast to frying protect the health-promoting properties of the leafy vegetables.

The importance of nodule CO2 fixation for the efficiency of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in pea at vegetative growth and during pod formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischinger, Stephanie Anastasia; Schulze, Joachim

2010-05-01

Nodule CO2 fixation is of pivotal importance for N2 fixation. The process provides malate for bacteroids and oxaloacetate for nitrogen assimilation. The hypothesis of the present paper was that grain legume nodules would adapt to higher plant N demand and more restricted carbon availability at pod formation through increased nodule CO2 fixation and a more efficient N2 fixation. Growth, N2 fixation, and nodule composition during vegetative growth and at pod formation were studied in pea plants (Pisum sativum L.). In parallel experiments, 15N2 and 13CO2 uptake, as well as nodule hydrogen and CO2 release, was measured. Plants at pod formation showed higher growth rates and N2 fixation per plant when compared with vegetative growth. The specific activity of active nodules was about 25% higher at pod formation. The higher nodule activity was accompanied by higher amino acid concentration in nodules and xylem sap with a higher share of asparagine. Nodule 13CO2 fixation was increased at pod formation, both per plant and per 15N2 fixed unit. However, malate concentration in nodules was only 40% of that during vegetative growth and succinate was no longer detectable. The data indicate that increased N2 fixation at pod formation is connected with strongly increased nodule CO2 fixation. While the sugar concentration in nodules at pod formation was not altered, the concentration of organic acids, namely malate and succinate, was significantly lower. It is concluded that strategies to improve the capability of nodules to fix CO2 and form organic acids might prolong intensive N2 fixation into the later stages of pod formation and pod filling in grain legumes.

Ecohydrological implications of aeolian sediment trapping by sparse vegetation in drylands

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzales, Howell B.; Ravi, Sujith; Li, Junran; Sankey, Joel B.

2018-01-01

Aeolian processes are important drivers of ecosystem dynamics in drylands, and important feedbacks exist among aeolian – hydrological processes and vegetation. The trapping of wind-borne sediments by vegetation may result in changes in soil properties beneath the vegetation, which, in turn, can alter hydrological and biogeochemical processes. Despite the relevance of aeolian transport to ecosystem dynamics, the interactions between aeolian transport and vegetation in shaping dryland landscapes where sediment distribution is altered by relatively rapid changes in vegetation composition such as shrub encroachment, is not well understood. Here, we used a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling framework to investigate the sediment trapping efficiencies of vegetation canopies commonly found in a shrub-grass ecotone in the Chihuahuan Desert (New Mexico, USA) and related the results to spatial heterogeneity in soil texture and infiltration measured in the field. A CFD open-source software package was used to simulate aeolian sediment movement through three-dimensional architectural depictions of Creosote shrub (Larrea tridentata) and Black Grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) vegetation types. The vegetation structures were created using a computer-aided design software (Blender), with inherent canopy porosities, which were derived using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) measurements of plant canopies. Results show that considerable heterogeneity in infiltration and soil grain size distribution exist between the microsites, with higher infiltration and coarser soil texture under shrubs. Numerical simulations also indicate that the differential trapping of canopies might contribute to the observed heterogeneity in soil texture. In the early stages of encroachment, the shrub canopies, by trapping coarser particles more efficiently, might maintain higher infiltration rates leading to faster development of the microsites (among other factors) with enhanced ecological

Spectral Discrimination of Vegetation Classes in Ice-Free Areas of Antarctica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Calviño-Cancela

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Detailed monitoring of vegetation changes in ice-free areas of Antarctica is crucial to determine the effects of climate warming and increasing human presence in this vulnerable ecosystem. Remote sensing techniques are especially suitable in this distant and rough environment, with high spectral and spatial resolutions needed owing to the patchiness and similarity between vegetation elements. We analyze the reflectance spectra of the most representative vegetation elements in ice-free areas of Antarctica to assess the potential for discrimination. This research is aimed as a basis for future aircraft/satellite research for long-term vegetation monitoring. The study was conducted in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island. The reflectance of ground patches of different types of vegetation or bare ground (c. 0.25 m 2 , n = 30 patches per class was recorded with a spectrophotometer measuring between 340 nm to 1025 nm at a resolution of 0.38 n m . We used Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA to classify the cover classes according to reflectance spectra, after reduction of the number of bands using Principal Component Analysis (PCA. The first five principal components explained an accumulated 99.4% of the total variance and were added to the discriminant function. The LDA classification resulted in c. 92% of cases correctly classified (a hit ratio 11.9 times greater than chance. The most important region for discrimination was the visible and near ultraviolet (UV, with the relative importance of spectral bands steeply decreasing in the Near Infra-Red (NIR region. Our study shows the feasibility of discriminating among representative taxa of Antarctic vegetation using their spectral patterns in the near UV, visible and NIR. The results are encouraging for hyperspectral vegetation mapping in Antarctica, which could greatly facilitate monitoring vegetation changes in response to a changing environment, reducing the costs and environmental impacts of

Vegetation in the Forsmark biotest basin, 1974-1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renstroem, S.; Svensson, Roger; Wigren-Svensson, M.

1990-05-01

Since 1980, Forsmark Power Plants has discharged large amount of cooling water into the Biotest basin. In 1974, before the dam was constructed, and 1980 to 1986, the macrophytic algae and higher vegetation inside and around the basin has been investigated. The observed changes are mainly caused by the increased water temperature causing lack of ice cover during the winter, the embankment reducing the exposition, the heavy water stream through the basin and the reduced light transmission in the water. The macroscopic vegetation in the Biotest basin was originally distributed all over the lake, but is now mainly found in more shallow water. The deepest part, a passage from the input of the cooling water to the output, totally lack vegetation. The reason for this is a combination of the heavy stream, raised temperature and reduced light transmission. The total biomass of macroscopic vegetation in the basin has been reduced from c. 70 metric ton in 1980 to c. 27 ton in 1982 and 1986. Among the most important species, the production of Chara spp. and Potamogeton pectinatus have been strongly reduced, while Cladophora glomerata and Vaucheria sp. have increased. Especially for Vaucheria, the raised temperature has been of vital importance. Among other species, Tolypella nidifica first increased, but has now totally disappeared. Zannichellia palustris was the only phanerogam which increased all the time. It is Z. palustris var. major which stands for the increase, while Z. palustris var. repens has disappeared from the basin. The shore vegetation, mainly reeds, has expanded conspicuously. From 1974 to 1980, the shore vegetation was favoured by the reduced exposition caused by the embankment. Since then, the raised temperature and absence of ice cover have resulted in an accelerating expansion of mainly Phragmites communis. Scirpus tabernaemontani and S. maritimus were first increasing, but do not seem to be able to compete with Phragmites in the long run. (au)

Determinants of vegetation distribution at continental scale. The contribution of natural and anthropogenic factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, Michelle; Svenning, J.-C.; Lykke, Anne Mette

2011-01-01

It has long been debated what determines distribution of vegetation types, though this has rarely been tested at continental scale. We thus aimed to determine which vegetation types are most accurately predicted by natural environmental factors, and which of these factors best predict current veg...... was also assessed, and found to be of some importance for most vegetation types. We conclude that, in addition to including environmental variables in predicting vegetation distribution, it is essential that human impact be considered, also in future climate change scenarios....... vegetation distribution across Africa. Vegetation types were extracted from the Global Land Cover Map for the year 2000, and the distribution of vegetation types modelled in terms of climate, soil and topography. Annual precipitation was the best predictor of the distribution of all vegetation types...

Remotely Sensed Northern Vegetation Response to Changing Climate: Growing Season and Productivity Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Ganguly, S.; Park, Taejin; Choi, Sungho; Bi, Jian; Knyazikhin, Yuri; Myneni, Ranga

2016-01-01

Vegetation growing season and maximum photosynthetic state determine spatiotemporal variability of seasonal total gross primary productivity of vegetation. Recent warming induced impacts accelerate shifts on growing season and physiological status over Northern vegetated land. Thus, understanding and quantifying these changes are very important. Here, we first investigate how vegetation growing season and maximum photosynthesis state are evolved and how such components contribute on inter-annual variation of seasonal total gross primary productivity. Furthermore, seasonally different response of northern vegetation to changing temperature and water availability is also investigated. We utilized both long-term remotely sensed data to extract larger scale growing season metrics (growing season start, end and duration) and productivity (i.e., growing season summed vegetation index, GSSVI) for answering these questions. We find that regionally diverged growing season shift and maximum photosynthetic state contribute differently characterized productivity inter-annual variability and trend. Also seasonally different response of vegetation gives different view of spatially varying interaction between vegetation and climate. These results highlight spatially and temporally varying vegetation dynamics and are reflective of biome-specific responses of northern vegetation to changing climate.

Characterization of the heterotrimeric G-protein family and its transmembrane regulator from capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Romero-Castillo, Rafael A; Roy Choudhury, Swarup; León-Félix, Josefina; Pandey, Sona

2015-05-01

Throughout evolution, organisms have created numerous mechanisms to sense and respond to their environment. One such highly conserved mechanism involves regulation by heterotrimeric G-protein complex comprised of alpha (Gα), beta (Gβ) and gamma (Gγ) subunits. In plants, these proteins play important roles in signal transduction pathways related to growth and development including response to biotic and abiotic stresses and consequently affect yield. In this work, we have identified and characterized the complete heterotrimeric G-protein repertoire in the Capsicum annuum (Capsicum) genome which consists of one Gα, one Gβ and three Gγ genes. We have also identified one RGS gene in the Capsicum genome that acts as a regulator of the G-protein signaling. Biochemical activities of the proteins were confirmed by assessing the GTP-binding and GTPase activity of the recombinant Gα protein and its regulation by the GTPase acceleration activity of the RGS protein. Interaction between different subunits was established using yeast- and plant-based analyses. Gene and protein expression profiles of specific G-protein components revealed interesting spatial and temporal regulation patterns, especially during root development and during fruit development and maturation. This research thus details the characterization of the first heterotrimeric G-protein family from a domesticated, commercially important vegetable crop. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attribution of trends in global vegetation greenness from 1982 to 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Z.; Xu, L.; Bi, J.; Myneni, R.; Knyazikhin, Y.

2012-12-01

Time series of remotely sensed vegetation indices data provide evidence of changes in terrestrial vegetation activity over the past decades in the world. However, it is difficult to attribute cause-and-effect to vegetation trends because variations in vegetation productivity are driven by various factors. This study investigated changes in global vegetation productivity first, and then attributed the global natural vegetation with greening trend. Growing season integrated normalized difference vegetation index (GSI NDVI) derived from the new GIMMS NDVI3g dataset (1982-2011was analyzed. A combined time series analysis model, which was developed from simper linear trend model (SLT), autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) and Vogelsang's t-PST model shows that productivity of all vegetation types except deciduous broadleaf forest predominantly showed increasing trends through the 30-year period. The evolution of changes in productivity in the last decade was also investigated. Area of greening vegetation monotonically increased through the last decade, and both the browning and no change area monotonically decreased. To attribute the predominant increase trend of productivity of global natural vegetation, trends of eight climate time series datasets (three temperature, three precipitation and two radiation datasets) were analyzed. The attribution of trends in global vegetation greenness was summarized as relaxation of climatic constraints, fertilization and other unknown reasons. Result shows that nearly all the productivity increase of global natural vegetation was driven by relaxation of climatic constraints and fertilization, which play equally important role in driving global vegetation greenness.; Area fraction and productivity change fraction of IGBP vegetation land cover classes showing statistically significant (10% level) trend in GSI NDVIt;

Global changes in dryland vegetation dynamics (1988–2008 assessed by satellite remote sensing: comparing a new passive microwave vegetation density record with reflective greenness data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Andela

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Drylands, covering nearly 30% of the global land surface, are characterized by high climate variability and sensitivity to land management. Here, two satellite-observed vegetation products were used to study the long-term (1988–2008 vegetation changes of global drylands: the widely used reflective-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and the recently developed passive-microwave-based Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD. The NDVI is sensitive to the chlorophyll concentrations in the canopy and the canopy cover fraction, while the VOD is sensitive to vegetation water content of both leafy and woody components. Therefore it can be expected that using both products helps to better characterize vegetation dynamics, particularly over regions with mixed herbaceous and woody vegetation. Linear regression analysis was performed between antecedent precipitation and observed NDVI and VOD independently to distinguish the contribution of climatic and non-climatic drivers in vegetation variations. Where possible, the contributions of fire, grazing, agriculture and CO2 level to vegetation trends were assessed. The results suggest that NDVI is more sensitive to fluctuations in herbaceous vegetation, which primarily uses shallow soil water, whereas VOD is more sensitive to woody vegetation, which additionally can exploit deeper water stores. Globally, evidence is found for woody encroachment over drylands. In the arid drylands, woody encroachment appears to be at the expense of herbaceous vegetation and a global driver is interpreted. Trends in semi-arid drylands vary widely between regions, suggesting that local rather than global drivers caused most of the vegetation response. In savannas, besides precipitation, fire regime plays an important role in shaping trends. Our results demonstrate that NDVI and VOD provide complementary information and allow new insights into dryland vegetation dynamics.

Carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber, and Resistant Starch in White Vegetables: Links to Health Outcomes12

Science.gov (United States)

Slavin, Joanne L.

2013-01-01

Vegetables are universally promoted as healthy. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 recommend that you make half of your plate fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are diverse plants that vary greatly in energy content and nutrients. Vegetables supply carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and resistant starch in the diet, all of which have been linked to positive health outcomes. Fiber lowers the incidence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. In this paper, the important role of white vegetables in the human diet is described, with a focus on the dietary fiber and resistant starch content of white vegetables. Misguided efforts to reduce consumption of white vegetables will lower intakes of dietary fiber and resistant starch, nutrients already in short supply in our diets. PMID:23674804

Analysis of regional vegetation changes with medium and high resolution imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Marcello, J.; Eugenio, F.; Medina, A.

2012-09-01

The singular characteristics of the Canarian archipelago (Spain) and, in particular, of the Gran Canaria island have allowed the development of a unique biological richness. Almost half of its territory is protected to preserve the natural environment and, in consequence, the monitoring of vegetated regions plays an important role for regional administrations which aim to develop the corresponding policies for the conservation of such ecosystems. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a common index applied for vegetation studies. It is important to emphasize that NDVI is sensor-dependent, and changes are affected by soil background, irradiance, solar position, atmospheric attenuation, season, hydric situation and climate of the area. So, a fixed threshold cannot be set, even for the same sensor or season, to properly segment vegetated areas. In this context, a robust methodology has been applied to ensure a reliable estimation of changes using the same sensor in multiple dates or different sensors. To that respect, a supervised procedure is presented consisting on the selection of different regions within each image to precisely map each cover with its associated NDVI values and, in consequence, obtain for each individual image the optimal threshold to properly segment vegetation without the need to perform the complex preprocessing required to estimate the ground reflectivity. On the other hand, fires are an important aspect of an ecosystem and their study, a fundamental task to perform a complete assessment of the environmental and economic damage. In our work we have also analyzed in detail the fire occurring during 2007 and precisely assessed the results.

Importance of nickel in Fabaceae. Pt. 1. Comparative studies on the content of nickel and certain other elements in vegetative parts and seeds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horak, O

1985-02-28

Vegetative parts and seeds of 15 Fabaceae were analyzed with respect to concentrations of Ni as well as K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Mo. The distribution pattern of the examined elements is different. For the macronutrients and iron mostly a significant higher concentration could be found in the shoot, whilst micronutrients frequently were accumulated in the seed. Nickel is that element, which is accumulated relatively highest in the seed. This is a criterion for a specific importance of nickel, which is a compound of urease and in this function could be involved in the mobilization of nitrogen storage substances of the seed.

Does school environment affect 11-year-olds' fruit and vegetable intake in Denmark?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krølner, Rikke; Due, Pernille; Rasmussen, Mette

2009-01-01

It is often found that adolescents eat too little fruit and vegetables. We examined the importance of school for 11-year-olds' daily intake measured by food frequency- and 24-h recall questionnaires in Danish data from the European 2003 Pro Children Survey. Multilevel logistic regression analyses...... > or = 130 g vegetables/day. Most of the total variance in students' intake occurred at the individual level (93-98%). There were larger between-school variations in vegetable intake than in fruit intake. Fruit and vegetable consumption clustered within schools to a larger degree for boys than girls...

Remote sensing of vegetation dynamics in drylands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Feng; Brandt, Martin Stefan; Liu, Yi Y.

2016-01-01

Monitoring long-term biomass dynamics in drylands is of great importance for many environmental applications including land degradation and global carbon cycle modeling. Biomass has extensively been estimated based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as a measure of the vegetatio...

Eat Your Fruit and Vegetables (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2014-08-07

Getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables is a common problem for many parents, but it’s a battle worth fighting. In this podcast, Dr. Latetia Moore discusses the importance of encouraging children to eat their fruit and vegetables.  Created: 8/7/2014 by MMWR.   Date Released: 8/7/2014.

Vegetative propagation of the endangered Azorean tree, Picconia azorica

OpenAIRE

Martins, José; Moreira, Orlando; Silva, Luís; Moura, Mónica

2011-01-01

Picconia azorica (Tutin) Knobl. (Oleaceae), commonly named “pau-branco”, is an endangered tree endemic to the Azores. Vegetative propagation may be important for the preservation of this species, particularly in depauperate populations, with low seed set. The objective of this study was to evaluate effective techniques for the vegetative propagation of P. azorica by rooting of stem cuttings or by air layering. Rooting substrate, IBA concentration, and the portion of the area of the terminal l...

Consumer evaluation of 'Veggycation®', a website promoting the health benefits of vegetables.

Science.gov (United States)

Rekhy, Reetica; Khan, Aila; van Ogtrop, Floris; McConchie, Robyn

2017-03-01

Issue addressed Whether the website Veggycation ® appeals to particular groups of consumers significantly more than other groups. Methods Australian adults aged ≥18 years (n = 1000) completed an online survey. The website evaluation instrument used was tested for validity and reliability. Associations between demographic variables and website evaluation dimensions of attractiveness, content, user-friendliness and loyalty intentions were examined using a general linear model (GLM). The appraisal of the website was further investigated based on the respondents' daily consumption level of vegetables and the importance they attach to vegetable consumption in their diet, using GLM and a Tukey's all-pair comparison. Results Veggycation ® has a high level of acceptance among the Australian community with certain groups evaluating the website more favourably. These include women, people aged≤29 years, higher income respondents, non-metro respondents and those who viewed vegetables as extremely important in their daily diet. Conclusions Customisation of the website for consumer groups with low vegetable consumption is recommended. Designing tailored communication tools will assist in enhancing the knowledge base of vegetable-related health benefits and may promote vegetable consumption among the Australian population. So what? The promotion of higher vegetable consumption is aided by tailored, well-designed web communication. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge for the education of organisations developing e-tools for promoting health education and literacy.

THE USE OF GENETIC RESOURCES IN BREEDING OF VEGETABLE AND MELON CROPS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Burenin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the modern homeland assortment of vegetable crops is given. The donors of the most important traits and the accessions  of vegetable and melon crops perspective for breeding from the VIR collection are shown. The short characteristic of the varieties is given.

Vegetation Carbon Storage, Spatial Patterns and Response to Altitude in Lancang River Basin, Southwest China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Long Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Vegetation plays a very important role of carbon (C sinks in the global C cycle. With its complex terrain and diverse vegetation types, the Lancang River Basin (LRB of southwest China has huge C storage capacity. Therefore, understanding the spatial variations and controlling mechanisms of vegetation C storage is important to understand the regional C cycle. In this study, data from a forest inventory and field plots were used to estimate and map vegetation C storage distribution in the LRB, to qualify the quantitative relationships between vegetation C density and altitude at sublot and township scale, and a linear model or polynomial model was used to identify the relationship between C density and altitude at two spatial scales and two statistical scales. The results showed that a total of 300.32 Tg C was stored in the LRB, an important C sink in China. The majority of C storage was contributed by forests, notably oaks. The vegetation C storage exhibited nonlinear variation with latitudinal gradients. Altitude had tremendous influences on spatial patterns of vegetation C storage of three geomorphological types in the LRB. C storage decreased with increasing altitude at both town and sublot scales in the flat river valley (FRV region and the mid-low mountains gorge (MMG region, and first increased then decreased in the alpine gorge (AG region. This revealed that, in southwest China, altitude changes the latitudinal patterns of vegetation C storage; especially in the AG area, C density in the mid-altitude (3100 m area was higher than that of adjacent areas.

Effects of sand fences on coastal dune vegetation distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Grafals-Soto, Rosana

2012-04-01

Sand fences are important human adjustments modifying the morphology of developed shores. The effects of sand fences on sediment transport and deposition in their initial stages have been well studied, but little is known about the effect of deteriorated sand fences that have become partially buried low scale barriers within the dune, potentially benefiting vegetation growth by protecting it from onshore stress. Data on vegetation, topography and fence characteristics were gathered at three dune sites in Ocean City, New Jersey on September 2007 and March 2008 to evaluate the effect of fences within the dune on vegetation distribution. Variables include: distance landward of dune toe, degree of sheltering from onshore stressors, net change in surface elevation (deposition or erosion), vegetation diversity and density, presence of remnant fence, and distance landward of fence. Results for the studied environment reveal that 1) vegetation diversity or density does not increase near remnant fences because most remnants are lower than average vegetation height and can not provide shelter; but 2) vegetation distribution is related to topographic variables, such as degree of sheltering, that are most likely the result of sand accretion caused by fence deployment. Fence deployment that prioritizes the creation of topographically diverse dunes within a restricted space may increase the diversity and density of the vegetation, and the resilience and value of developed dunes. Managers should consider the benefits of using sand fences on appropriately wide beaches to create a protective dune that is also diverse, functional and better able to adapt to change.

The Determinants of Organic Vegetable Purchasing in Jabodetabek Region, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Slamet, Alim Setiawan; Nakayasu, Akira; Bai, Hu

2016-01-01

Over the last few years, the global market of organic vegetables has grown. This is due to increased consumer concern regarding environmental and health issues, especially for food products. This study aims to examine factors that influence consumer behavior in purchasing organic vegetables. In this study, data were obtained from household surveys conducted in the Jabodetabek region (Greater Jakarta) from February to March 2015. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and a binary logit model were used to analyze the data. Subsequently, the results show that consumers with fewer family members and have a higher income, and are price tolerant, are more likely to purchase organic vegetables. Meanwhile, female consumers are less likely to buy organic vegetables. Another important finding is that positive attitude towards organic products, safety and health, environmental concerns, as well as degree of trust in organic attributes, are the determinants of organic vegetable purchasing among consumers. Therefore, based on the study results, the following recommendations are needed for organic vegetable development in Indonesia: (a) implementing an appropriate pricing strategy; (b) encouraging organic labeling and certification for vegetables; and (c) intensively promoting organic food with respect to consumers’ motives and concerns on health, safety, as well as environmental sustainability. PMID:28231181

The Determinants of Organic Vegetable Purchasing in Jabodetabek Region, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Slamet, Alim Setiawan; Nakayasu, Akira; Bai, Hu

2016-12-07

Over the last few years, the global market of organic vegetables has grown. This is due to increased consumer concern regarding environmental and health issues, especially for food products. This study aims to examine factors that influence consumer behavior in purchasing organic vegetables. In this study, data were obtained from household surveys conducted in the Jabodetabek region (Greater Jakarta) from February to March 2015. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and a binary logit model were used to analyze the data. Subsequently, the results show that consumers with fewer family members and have a higher income, and are price tolerant, are more likely to purchase organic vegetables. Meanwhile, female consumers are less likely to buy organic vegetables. Another important finding is that positive attitude towards organic products, safety and health, environmental concerns, as well as degree of trust in organic attributes, are the determinants of organic vegetable purchasing among consumers. Therefore, based on the study results, the following recommendations are needed for organic vegetable development in Indonesia: (a) implementing an appropriate pricing strategy; (b) encouraging organic labeling and certification for vegetables; and (c) intensively promoting organic food with respect to consumers' motives and concerns on health, safety, as well as environmental sustainability.

The Determinants of Organic Vegetable Purchasing in Jabodetabek Region, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alim Setiawan Slamet

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Over the last few years, the global market of organic vegetables has grown. This is due to increased consumer concern regarding environmental and health issues, especially for food products. This study aims to examine factors that influence consumer behavior in purchasing organic vegetables. In this study, data were obtained from household surveys conducted in the Jabodetabek region (Greater Jakarta from February to March 2015. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and a binary logit model were used to analyze the data. Subsequently, the results show that consumers with fewer family members and have a higher income, and are price tolerant, are more likely to purchase organic vegetables. Meanwhile, female consumers are less likely to buy organic vegetables. Another important finding is that positive attitude towards organic products, safety and health, environmental concerns, as well as degree of trust in organic attributes, are the determinants of organic vegetable purchasing among consumers. Therefore, based on the study results, the following recommendations are needed for organic vegetable development in Indonesia: (a implementing an appropriate pricing strategy; (b encouraging organic labeling and certification for vegetables; and (c intensively promoting organic food with respect to consumers’ motives and concerns on health, safety, as well as environmental sustainability.

Large-scale evaluation of dynamically important residues in proteins predicted by the perturbation analysis of a coarse-grained elastic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tekpinar Mustafa

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Backgrounds It is increasingly recognized that protein functions often require intricate conformational dynamics, which involves a network of key amino acid residues that couple spatially separated functional sites. Tremendous efforts have been made to identify these key residues by experimental and computational means. Results We have performed a large-scale evaluation of the predictions of dynamically important residues by a variety of computational protocols including three based on the perturbation and correlation analysis of a coarse-grained elastic model. This study is performed for two lists of test cases with >500 pairs of protein structures. The dynamically important residues predicted by the perturbation and correlation analysis are found to be strongly or moderately conserved in >67% of test cases. They form a sparse network of residues which are clustered both in 3D space and along protein sequence. Their overall conservation is attributed to their dynamic role rather than ligand binding or high network connectivity. Conclusion By modeling how the protein structural fluctuations respond to residue-position-specific perturbations, our highly efficient perturbation and correlation analysis can be used to dissect the functional conformational changes in various proteins with a residue level of detail. The predictions of dynamically important residues serve as promising targets for mutational and functional studies.

Extraction of urban vegetation with Pleiades multiangular images

Science.gov (United States)

Lefebvre, Antoine; Nabucet, Jean; Corpetti, Thomas; Courty, Nicolas; Hubert-Moy, Laurence

2016-10-01

Vegetation is essential in urban environments since it provides significant services in terms of health, heat, property value, ecology ... As part of the European Union Biodiversity Strategy Plan for 2020, the protection and development of green-infrastructures is strengthened in urban areas. In order to evaluate and monitor the quality of the green infra-structures, this article investigates contributions of Pléiades multi-angular images to extract and characterize low and high urban vegetation. From such images one can extract both spectral and elevation information from optical images. Our method is composed of 3 main steps : (1) the computation of a normalized Digital Surface Model from the multi-angular images ; (2) Extraction of spectral and contextual features ; (3) a classification of vegetation classes (tree and grass) performed with a random forest classifier. Results performed in the city of Rennes in France show the ability of multi-angular images to extract DEM in urban area despite building height. It also highlights its importance and its complementarity with contextual information to extract urban vegetation.

Irradiation of fruit and vegetables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Beirne, David

1987-01-01

There is likely to be less economic incentive to irradiate fruits and vegetables compared with applications which increase the safety of foods such as elimination of Salmonella or decontamination of food ingredients. Of the fruit and vegetable applications, irradiation of mushrooms may offer the clearest economic benefits in North-Western Europe. The least likely application appears to be sprout inhibition in potatoes and onions, because of the greater efficiency and flexibility of chemical sprout inhibitors. In the longer-term, combinations between irradiation/MAP/other technologies will probably be important. Research in this area is at an early stage. Consumer attitudes to food irradiation remain uncertain. This will be a crucial factor in the commercial application of the technology and in the determining the balance between utilisation of irradiation and of technologies which compete with irradiation. (author)

Post-fire vegetation recovery in Portugal based ewline on spot/vegetation data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Gouveia

2010-04-01

Full Text Available A procedure is presented that allows identifying large burned scars and the monitoring of vegetation recovery in the years following major fire episodes. The procedure relies on 10-day fields of Maximum Value Composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (MVC-NDVI, with a 1 km×1 km spatial resolution obtained from the VEGETATION instrument. The identification of fire scars during the extremely severe 2003 fire season is performed based on cluster analysis of NDVI anomalies that persist during the vegetative cycle of the year following the fire event. Two regions containing very large burned scars were selected, located in Central and Southwestern Portugal, respectively, and time series of MVC-NDVI analysed before the fire events took place and throughout the post-fire period. It is shown that post-fire vegetation dynamics in the two selected regions may be characterised based on maps of recovery rates as estimated by fitting a monoparametric model of vegetation recovery to MVC-NDVI data over each burned scar. Results indicated that the recovery process in the region located in Central Portugal is mostly related to fire damage rather than to vegetation density before 2003, whereas the latter seems to have a more prominent role than vegetation conditions after the fire episode, e.g. in the case of the region in Southwestern Portugal. These differences are consistent with the respective predominant types of vegetation. The burned area located in Central Portugal is dominated by Pinus Pinaster whose natural regeneration crucially depends on the destruction of seeds present on the soil surface during the fire, whereas the burned scar in Southwestern Portugal was populated by Eucalyptus that may quickly re-sprout from buds after fire. Besides its simplicity, the monoparametric model of vegetation recovery has the advantage of being easily adapted to other low-resolution satellite data, as well as to other types of vegetation

Validação do processamento térmico de um produto protéico vegetal enlatado Thermal processing validation of a canned vegetal protein product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gladistone Carvalho Santos Filho

2003-12-01

Full Text Available A validação de processos nas indústrias alimentícia e farmacêutica é uma das principais ferramentas da garantia de qualidade, tornando os produtos seguros, eficazes e confiáveis.Realizou-se a validação física e biológica da esterilização terminal de um produto protéico constituído de proteína texturizada de soja, proteína de trigo (glúten, gordura vegetal hidrogenada e condimentos, envasado em latas metálicas de 850 gramas.A validação física do autoclave foi executada em três ciclos na câmara com 12 sensores de temperatura. Confirmou-se para os pontos geometricamente distribuídos no interior do autoclave que a diferença máxima de temperatura entre um ponto e outro foi de 1,0 ºC em relação à temperatura média da câmara (121 ºC. Nos ciclos realizados com carga máxima, o menor valor F121ºC10ºC (64,86 minutos garantiu S.A.L.(Sterility Assurance Level ou nível de garantia de esterilidade de pelo menos 10-12 em relação ao indicador biológico de Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 7953 (valor D121ºC de 3,68 minutos e população média de 1,00 x 10(6 esporos por fita.Para todas as operações de esterilização a presença de esporos sobreviventes no indicador biológico não foi detectada.Apesar de não existir margem de segurança definida para esterilização de alimentos enlatados, a validação periódica de um autoclave proporcionou maior confiabilidade na avaliação da esterilidade, que o simples teste de incubação por amostragem de produtos acabados, recomendado pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil.Process validation in the Food and Pharmaceutics Industries is one of the most important tools meant to guarantee quality, making safe and trustworthy products. Physical and biological validations were performed in the terminal sterilization of a canned vegetal protein product. Physical validation of the autoclave has been proceeded in three empty chamber cycles and 12 temperature sensors. It has been

Effect of sulfur dioxide on proteins of the vegetable organism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reckendorfer, P; Beran, F

1931-01-01

Experiments were performed to determine the effects of sulfur dioxide on red clover in a controlled environment. An increase in the concentration of sulfur dioxide caused a significant decrease in the digestible protein. However, after the sulfur dioxide was discontinued, there was a decrease in the indigestible protein. The leaves showed an increase in spotting with an increase in sulfur dioxide concentration. Chemical analysis of the soil revealed a higher sulfur content in these experiments.

Analysis of vegetation recovery surrounding a restored wetland using the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Natalie R.; Norman, Laura

2018-01-01

Watershed restoration efforts seek to rejuvenate vegetation, biological diversity, and land productivity at Cienega San Bernardino, an important wetland in southeastern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Rock detention and earthen berm structures were built on the Cienega San Bernardino over the course of four decades, beginning in 1984 and continuing to the present. Previous research findings show that restoration supports and even increases vegetation health despite ongoing drought conditions in this arid watershed. However, the extent of restoration impacts is still unknown despite qualitative observations of improvement in surrounding vegetation amount and vigor. We analyzed spatial and temporal trends in vegetation greenness and soil moisture by applying the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference infrared index (NDII) to one dry summer season Landsat path/row from 1984 to 2016. The study area was divided into zones and spectral data for each zone was analyzed and compared with precipitation record using statistical measures including linear regression, Mann– Kendall test, and linear correlation. NDVI and NDII performed differently due to the presence of continued grazing and the effects of grazing on canopy cover; NDVI was better able to track changes in vegetation in areas without grazing while NDII was better at tracking changes in areas with continued grazing. Restoration impacts display higher greenness and vegetation water content levels, greater increases in greenness and water content through time, and a decoupling of vegetation greenness and water content from spring precipitation when compared to control sites in nearby tributary and upland areas. Our results confirm the potential of erosion control structures to affect areas up to 5 km downstream of restoration sites over time and to affect 1 km upstream of the sites.

Quantifying the effects of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Marquer, Laurent; Gaillard, Marie-José; Sugita, Shinya; Poska, Anneli; Trondman, Anna-Kari; Mazier, Florence; Nielsen, Anne Birgitte; Fyfe, Ralph M.; Jönsson, Anna Maria; Smith, Benjamin; Kaplan, Jed O.; Alenius, Teija; Birks, H. John B.; Bjune, Anne E.; Christiansen, Jörg; Dodson, John; Edwards, Kevin J.; Giesecke, Thomas; Herzschuh, Ulrike; Kangur, Mihkel; Koff, Tiiu; Latałowa, Małgorzata; Lechterbeck, Jutta; Olofsson, Jörgen; Seppä, Heikki

2017-09-01

Early agriculture can be detected in palaeovegetation records, but quantification of the relative importance of climate and land use in influencing regional vegetation composition since the onset of agriculture is a topic that is rarely addressed. We present a novel approach that combines pollen-based REVEALS estimates of plant cover with climate, anthropogenic land-cover and dynamic vegetation modelling results. This is used to quantify the relative impacts of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation at a sub-continental scale, i.e. northern and western Europe north of the Alps. We use redundancy analysis and variation partitioning to quantify the percentage of variation in vegetation composition explained by the climate and land-use variables, and Monte Carlo permutation tests to assess the statistical significance of each variable. We further use a similarity index to combine pollen-based REVEALS estimates with climate-driven dynamic vegetation modelling results. The overall results indicate that climate is the major driver of vegetation when the Holocene is considered as a whole and at the sub-continental scale, although land use is important regionally. Four critical phases of land-use effects on vegetation are identified. The first phase (from 7000 to 6500 BP) corresponds to the early impacts on vegetation of farming and Neolithic forest clearance and to the dominance of climate as a driver of vegetation change. During the second phase (from 4500 to 4000 BP), land use becomes a major control of vegetation. Climate is still the principal driver, although its influence decreases gradually. The third phase (from 2000 to 1500 BP) is characterised by the continued role of climate on vegetation as a consequence of late-Holocene climate shifts and specific climate events that influence vegetation as well as land use. The last phase (from 500 to 350 BP) shows an acceleration of vegetation changes, in particular during the last century, caused by new farming

Effects of a large wildfire on vegetation structure in a variable fire mosaic.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, C N; Barton, P S; Robinson, N M; MacGregor, C I; Lindenmayer, D B

2017-12-01

Management guidelines for many fire-prone ecosystems highlight the importance of maintaining a variable mosaic of fire histories for biodiversity conservation. Managers are encouraged to aim for fire mosaics that are temporally and spatially dynamic, include all successional states of vegetation, and also include variation in the underlying "invisible mosaic" of past fire frequencies, severities, and fire return intervals. However, establishing and maintaining variable mosaics in contemporary landscapes is subject to many challenges, one of which is deciding how the fire mosaic should be managed following the occurrence of large, unplanned wildfires. A key consideration for this decision is the extent to which the effects of previous fire history on vegetation and habitats persist after major wildfires, but this topic has rarely been investigated empirically. In this study, we tested to what extent a large wildfire interacted with previous fire history to affect the structure of forest, woodland, and heath vegetation in Booderee National Park in southeastern Australia. In 2003, a summer wildfire burned 49.5% of the park, increasing the extent of recently burned vegetation (post-fire) to more than 72% of the park area. We tracked the recovery of vegetation structure for nine years following the wildfire and found that the strength and persistence of fire effects differed substantially between vegetation types. Vegetation structure was modified by wildfire in forest, woodland, and heath vegetation, but among-site variability in vegetation structure was reduced only by severe fire in woodland vegetation. There also were persistent legacy effects of the previous fire regime on some attributes of vegetation structure including forest ground and understorey cover, and woodland midstorey and overstorey cover. For example, woodland midstorey cover was greater on sites with higher fire frequency, irrespective of the severity of the 2003 wildfire. Our results show that even

Flavonoids as fruit and vegetable intake biomarkers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogholm, Kirstine Suszkiewicz

of fruit and vegetable intakes. In Paper I, the urinary recovery of the 7 flavonoids in morning spot urine (i.e. all urine voids from midnight including the first morning void) was also found to respond to moderate increases in the intake of fruits and vegetables. However, the association was somewhat...... weaker than in 24h urine samples, indicating that the 24h urinary recovery of the 7 flavonoids is a stronger biomarker of the intake of fruit and vegetables than the urinary recovery of the 7 flavonoids in morning spot urine. In Paper II, the biokinetic profiles of some of the most important dietary......-individual variation in the absorption and urinary recovery of the flavonoids, and this makes it very difficult to separate individuals according to intake by use of the flavonoid biomarker in urine. The intra-individual variation was on the contrary low, and Paper II therefore supports the assumption, that 24h...

Absorption, metabolism and protective role of fruits and vegetables polyphenols against gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Metere, A; Giacomelli, L

2017-12-01

Growing evidence links free radicals to the aging processes, degenerative diseases and cancer, underlying the important role played by some antioxidants, as polyphenols, present in fruits and vegetables, which seem able to counteract the toxic effects induced by oxidative stress. The gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed to oxidant and antioxidant substances and, in particular in this district, the food rich in antioxidants could exert a protective effect against the risk of cancer. Polyphenols have a direct protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract, detoxifying the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Reactive Nitrogen Species (RNS), preserving antioxidant proteins and complexing metals. Although polyphenols are a class of antioxidant largely represented in vegetables and fruits, we are still uncertain whether the beneficial effects of a diet rich in plant products, are mainly due to these compounds. Our knowledge does not allow to be sure about which antioxidants are capable of having therapeutic effects, through which mechanism, the exact therapeutic dose or how long they have to be taken to have a significant protective effect. In this review we take into account the most common antioxidants, usually found in the diet and the processes regulating their absorption, metabolism and excretion, in order to elucidate the mechanism that could be responsible for the protection against cancer.

Psychosocial correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption among African American men.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, Richard P; Green, Valerie; Weber, Deanne; Doyle, Colleen

2005-01-01

To determine the best predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption among African American men age 35 years and older. Data (n = 291) from a 2001 nationally representative mail survey commissioned by the American Cancer Society. 291 African American men age 35 years and older. (1) total fruits and vegetables without fried potatoes, (2) total fruit with juice, and (3) total vegetables without fried potatoes. Independent variables included 3 blocks of predictors: (1) demographics, (2) a set of psychosocial scales, and (3) intent to change variables based on a theoretical algorithm. Linear regression models; analysis of variance for the intent to change group. Alpha = .05. Regression model for total fruits and vegetables, significant psychosocial predictors: social norms, benefits, tangible rewards, and barriers-other. Total fruit with juice: social norms, benefits, tangible rewards. Total vegetables, no fried potatoes: tangible rewards, barriers-other interests. For African American men, fruit consumption appears to be motivated by perceived benefits and standards set by important people in their lives; vegetable consumption is a function of extrinsic rewards and preferences for high-calorie, fatty foods. The results suggest that communications to increase fruit and vegetable consumption should be crafted to reflect differences in sources of motivation for eating fruits versus eating vegetables.

Identification of a Protein with Antioxidant Activity that is Important for the Protection against Beer Ageing

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ming J.; Clarke, Frank M.; Rogers, Peter J.; Young, Paul; Sales, Narelle; O’Doherty, Patrick J.; Higgins, Vincent J.

2011-01-01

This study was carried out with fresh Australian lager beer which was sampled directly off the production line, the same samples aged for 12 weeks at 30 °C, and the vintage beer which was kept at 20 °C for 5 years. Characteristic Australian lager flavour was maintained in the fresh and vintage beers but was lost in the aged beer. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and free thiol group labelling analyses of beer proteins found that this flavour stability correlated with the presence of an unknown 10 kilodaltons (kDa) protein with a higher level of free thiols. The protein was purified by size-exclusion chromatography, then peptide sequencing and database matching identified it as the barley lipid transfer protein (LTP1). Further characterisation using diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and a Saccharomyces cerevisiae-based antioxidant screening assay demonstrated that the LTP1 protein was active in DPPH reduction and antioxidant activity. The absence of free thiol in the aged beer indicates that the thiol functional groups within the LTP1 protein were saturated and suggests that it is important in the flavour stability of beer by maintaining reduction capacity during the ageing process. PMID:22016646

Processing of the glycosomal matrix-protein import receptor PEX5 of Trypanosoma brucei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gualdrón-López, Melisa; Michels, Paul A.M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Most eukaryotic cells have a single gene for the peroxin PEX5. ► PEX5 is sensitive to in vitro proteolysis in distantly related organisms. ► TbPEX5 undergoes N-terminal truncation in vitro and possibly in vivo. ► Truncated TbPEX5 is still capable of binding PTS1-containing proteins. ► PEX5 truncation is physiologically relevant or an evolutionary conserved artifact. -- Abstract: Glycolysis in kinetoplastid protists such as Trypanosoma brucei is compartmentalized in peroxisome-like organelles called glycosomes. Glycosomal matrix-protein import involves a cytosolic receptor, PEX5, which recognizes the peroxisomal-targeting signal type 1 (PTS1) present at the C-terminus of the majority of matrix proteins. PEX5 appears generally susceptible to in vitro proteolytic processing. On western blots of T. brucei, two PEX5 forms are detected with apparent M r of 100 kDa and 72 kDa. 5′-RACE-PCR showed that TbPEX5 is encoded by a unique transcript that can be translated into a protein of maximally 72 kDa. However, recombinant PEX5 migrates aberrantly in SDS–PAGE with an apparent M r of 100 kDa, similarly as observed for the native peroxin. In vitro protease susceptibility analysis of native and 35 S-labelled PEX5 showed truncation of the 100 kDa form at the N-terminal side by unknown parasite proteases, giving rise to the 72 kDa form which remains functional for PTS1 binding. The relevance of these observations is discussed

Processing of the glycosomal matrix-protein import receptor PEX5 of Trypanosoma brucei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gualdrón-López, Melisa [Research Unit for Tropical Diseases, de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels (Belgium); Michels, Paul A.M., E-mail: paul.michels@uclouvain.be [Research Unit for Tropical Diseases, de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels (Belgium)

2013-02-01

Highlights: ► Most eukaryotic cells have a single gene for the peroxin PEX5. ► PEX5 is sensitive to in vitro proteolysis in distantly related organisms. ► TbPEX5 undergoes N-terminal truncation in vitro and possibly in vivo. ► Truncated TbPEX5 is still capable of binding PTS1-containing proteins. ► PEX5 truncation is physiologically relevant or an evolutionary conserved artifact. -- Abstract: Glycolysis in kinetoplastid protists such as Trypanosoma brucei is compartmentalized in peroxisome-like organelles called glycosomes. Glycosomal matrix-protein import involves a cytosolic receptor, PEX5, which recognizes the peroxisomal-targeting signal type 1 (PTS1) present at the C-terminus of the majority of matrix proteins. PEX5 appears generally susceptible to in vitro proteolytic processing. On western blots of T. brucei, two PEX5 forms are detected with apparent M{sub r} of 100 kDa and 72 kDa. 5′-RACE-PCR showed that TbPEX5 is encoded by a unique transcript that can be translated into a protein of maximally 72 kDa. However, recombinant PEX5 migrates aberrantly in SDS–PAGE with an apparent M{sub r} of 100 kDa, similarly as observed for the native peroxin. In vitro protease susceptibility analysis of native and {sup 35}S-labelled PEX5 showed truncation of the 100 kDa form at the N-terminal side by unknown parasite proteases, giving rise to the 72 kDa form which remains functional for PTS1 binding. The relevance of these observations is discussed.

Structure of the protein core of the glypican Dally-like and localization of a region important for hedgehog signaling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Min-Sung; Saunders, Adam M.; Hamaoka, Brent Y.; Beachy, Philip A.; Leahy, Daniel J. (Stanford-MED); (JHU)

2011-09-20

Glypicans are heparan sulfate proteoglycans that modulate the signaling of multiple growth factors active during animal development, and loss of glypican function is associated with widespread developmental abnormalities. Glypicans consist of a conserved, approximately 45-kDa N-terminal protein core region followed by a stalk region that is tethered to the cell membrane by a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. The stalk regions are predicted to be random coil but contain a variable number of attachment sites for heparan sulfate chains. Both the N-terminal protein core and the heparan sulfate attachments are important for glypican function. We report here the 2.4-{angstrom} crystal structure of the N-terminal protein core region of the Drosophila glypican Dally-like (Dlp). This structure reveals an elongated, {alpha}-helical fold for glypican core regions that does not appear homologous to any known structure. The Dlp core protein is required for normal responsiveness to Hedgehog (Hh) signals, and we identify a localized region on the Dlp surface important for mediating its function in Hh signaling. Purified Dlp protein core does not, however, interact appreciably with either Hh or an Hh:Ihog complex.

Shopping for fruits and vegetables. Food and retail qualities of importance to low-income households at the grocery store.

Science.gov (United States)

Webber, Caroline B; Sobal, Jeffery; Dollahite, Jamie S

2010-04-01

Purchasing fruits and vegetables is an integral part of managing food consumption and dietary quality. This study examined how low-income adults who had primary responsibility for household food purchases considered retail produce decisions. We used a qualitative research approach based on grounded theory and an ecological conceptual framework. Twenty-eight low-income rural, village, and inner city heads of households in upstate New York, USA, were selected by purposive and theoretical sampling and interviewed about fruit and vegetable shopping habits, attitudes toward local food stores, and where and how they would prefer to buy produce. Analyses revealed their concerns were organized around five themes: store venue; internal store environment; product quality; product price; relationships with the stores. An unanticipated finding was the differing social relations that appear to exist between participant consumers, store employees and management, and the store itself as a representation of the larger retail food system. Attitudes toward retail food stores in this study are described as passive or fatalistic indifference, supportive, opportunistic, and confrontational (change agents). These attitudes are related to how shoppers considered retail fruit and vegetable choice, access, and availability. These findings suggest ways to individualize nutrition education and consumer education messages. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethnobotanical study and nutrient content of indigenous vegetables consumed in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

OpenAIRE

SUSI KRESNATITA; YULA MIRANDA; HASTIN E.N.C. CHOTIMAH

2013-01-01

Abstract. Chotimah HENC, Kresnatita S, Miranda Y. 2013. Ethnobotanical study and nutrient content of indigenous vegetables consumed in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 14: 106-111. People in Central Kalimantan consume vegetables that collected from the wild or traditionally cultivated. Documentation effort of them is very important because of the diversity of local vegetable are threatened with extinction due to the conversion of peat land and forest fires. This study aims to dete...

Effects of Warming Hiatuses on Vegetation Growth in the Northern Hemisphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Wei

2018-04-01

Full Text Available There have been hiatuses in global warming since the 1990s, and their potential impacts have attracted extensive attention and discussion. Changes in temperature not only directly affect the greening of vegetation but can also indirectly alter both the growth state and the growth tendency of vegetation by altering other climatic elements. The middle-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH constitute the region that has experienced the most warming in recent decades; therefore, identifying the effects of warming hiatuses on the vegetation greening in that region is of great importance. Using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI data and climatological observation data from 1982–2013, we investigated hiatuses in warming trends and their impact on vegetation greenness in the NH. Our results show that the regions with warming hiatuses in the NH accounted for 50.1% of the total area and were concentrated in Mongolia, central China, and other areas. Among these regions, 18.8% of the vegetation greenness was inhibited in the warming hiatus areas, but 31.3% of the vegetation grew faster. Because temperature was the main positive climatic factor in central China, the warming hiatuses caused the slow vegetation greening rate. However, precipitation was the main positive climatic factor affecting vegetation greenness in Mongolia; an increase in precipitation accelerated vegetation greening. The regions without a warming hiatus, which were mainly distributed in northern Russia, northern central Asia, and other areas, accounted for 49.9% of the total area. Among these regions, 21.4% of the vegetation grew faster over time, but 28.5% of the vegetation was inhibited. Temperature was the main positive factor affecting vegetation greenness in northern Russia; an increase in temperature promoted vegetation greening. However, radiation was the main positive climatic factor in northern central Asia; reductions in radiation

Butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol-based amphiphilic stereoisomers for membrane protein study: importance of chirality in the linker region