Effect of defrosting on quantity of volatile amines in stored sardines and herring used for tuna fattening

Studied were the quantities of volatile amines, total volatile bases nitrogen (TVB‐N) and trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA‐N) in stored sardines (Sardina pilchardus) and herring (Clupea harengus) over a 24‐h period after defrosting. At the beginning of the experiment analyses showed TVB‐N quantities in the flesh of both species to be higher than the FAO‐recommended limit. TMA‐N concentrations exceeded the acceptance limit 6 h after defrosting in herring samples and after 12 h in sardines. During the entire experiment TMA‐N and TVB‐N concentrations in sardines were above the tolerance limit. The defrosting method usually applied in tuna farms is unsuitable for maintenance of a high quality food supply. Low quality baitfish can cause reduced weight gain as well as induce health problems and mortality in farmed tuna (Thunnus thynnus) populations.     

Single-step,rapid separation of acidic and basic isoenzymes from commercial horseradish peroxidase

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method with electrochemical detector is described for the determination of free 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HVA) in human plasma. The method does not involve any extraction, is specific and reproducible, and has the potential to measure serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) simultaneously. The plasma concentration of free HVA in eight normal, healthy adult volunteers was 10.9 ± 4.6 (mean ± SD). In a preliminary study, in one schizophrenic patient the plasma HVA increased twofold after neuroleptic treatment.     

Exploring the dark genome: implications for precision medicine

Mammalian Genome - The increase in the number of both patients and healthcare practitioners who grew up using the Internet and computers (so-called “digital natives”) is likely to...     

Diversity and distribution of reptiles in Romania

The reptile fauna of Romania comprises 23 species, out of which 12 species reach here the limit of their geographic range. We compiled and updated a national database of the reptile species occurrences from a variety of sources including our own field surveys, personal communication from specialists, museum collections and the scientific literature. The occurrence records were georeferenced and stored in a geodatabase for additional analysis of their spatial patterns. The spatial analysis revealed a biased sampling effort concentrated in various protected areas, and deficient in the vast agricultural areas of the southern part of Romania. The patterns of species richness showed a higher number of species in the warmer and drier regions, and a relatively low number of species in the rest of the country. Our database provides a starting point for further analyses, and represents a reliable tool for drafting conservation plans.     

Bioactive polymers XXX. Immobilization of invertase on the diazonium salt of 4-aminobenzoylcellulose

Invertase was immobilized on diazotized 4-aminobenzoylcellulose. The optimum coupling conditions, namely enzyme concentration, time, and pH, were determined. The temperature and pH value for the maximum activity of the immobilized enzyme were determined and the apparent Michaelis constant was estimated.     

Gibberellin involvement in dormancy-break and germination of seeds of celery (Apium graveolens L.)

The temperature-dependent, primary dormancy of cv. Florida 683 celery seeds in darkness was partially broken by a 30 min light exposure on the third day of incubation at 20–22°C, resulting in c 50 percent germination after 20 days. This light stimulation was negated by including different inhibitors of gibberellin biosynthesis in the incubation medium. Subsequent addition of a solution of the gibberellins A₄ and A₇ or of the gibberellin-active compound (1-3-chlorophthalimido)-cyclohexane carboxamide (AC94,377) overcame the inhibitory effects on germination of these GA-biosynthesis inhibitors. It is suggested that light stimulates the biosynthesis of gibberellins which are essential for dormancy-break in celery seeds and that this biosynthesis is either directly or indirectly controlled through phytochrome.Abbreviations AC94,377 1-(3-chlorophthalimido)-cyclohexane carboxamide; ancymidol, -cyclopropyl--(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-pyrimidinemethanol - AMO1618 N,N,N-2-tetramethyl-5-(1-methyl ethyl)-4-(1-piperidinylcarbonyl)oxy-benzenaminium chloride - BTS44584 S-2,5-dimethyl-4-pentamethylenecarbamoyloxyphenyl-SS-dimethyl sulphonium - P toluenesulphonate; chlormequat chloride, 2-chloroethyltrimethylammonium chloride; daminozide - N dimethylaminoscuccinamic acid; paclobutrazol, (2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl pentan-3-ol)     

Electric field-induced lateral mobility of photosystem I in the photosynthetic membrane: A study by electrophotoluminescence

Electrophoretic movement of photosystem I (PS I) along the photosynthetic membrane of hypotonically swollen thylakoid vesicles was studied by analyzing the electric field-stimulated delayed luminescence (electrophotoluminescence) emitted from PS I. The electrophoretic mobility was inferred from the differences in electrophotoluminescence (EPL) of the photosynthetic vesicles in presence and absence of trains of low amplitude (<80 V/cm) prepulses of 1 ms duration at 4 ms spacing. The average apparent electric mobility, determined from the time course of EPL increase on one hemisphere or its decrease on the other one, as function of prepulse length and intensity was of the order of 3 · 10^-5 cm²V^-1s^-1. The assymetric distribution of the PS I reached a steady state when the diffusional, electrostatic, and elastic forces balanced the electrophoretic driving force. A lateral diffusion coefficient of ~5 · 10^-9 cm²s^-1 was found for the PS I complex from the diffusional relaxation after cessation of the electric field pulse train. Experimental conditions such as concentration, temperature, and viscosity of the aqueous solution were not critical for the effect. Between 23 and 150 electron charges per moving particle were estimated from the measured electrophoretic mobility.     

Characteristics of children presenting with chest pain to a pediatric emergency department.

Chest pain among children is a common complaint in primary care practice. However, the demographic features and treatment of such patients are controversial. We distributed a questionnaire to 336 consecutive patients with a complaint of chest pain seen during 1 year at an urban pediatric emergency department. Such visits represented 0.6% of all emergency encounters; the male:female ratio was 1.0. Physical examination was done in 325 patients. Chest-wall pain was the most common diagnosis (in 28% of cases). Other causes included pulmonary (in 19%), minor traumatic (in 15%), idiopathic (in 12%) and psychogenic (in 5%); miscellaneous causes (in 21%) most often indicated pain referred from the upper respiratory tract and the abdomen. The most common physical finding was chest tenderness (in 41% of cases). Investigations included chest radiography (in 50% of cases), electrocardiography (in 18%) and determination of the hemoglobin concentration and of the leukocyte count (in 13%); the results were rarely positive. Only eight patients (2%) required admission to hospital, and there were no cases of myocardial ischemia. The findings suggest that health care costs may be reduced by more judicious use of investigations. We conclude that chest pain is an uncommon and usually benign complaint in the pediatric emergency department. Most causes are evident on careful physical examination.