Myositis in Lewis rats induced by the superantigen Staphylococcal enterotoxin A

Molecular Biology Reports - The aetiology of inflammatory myopathies is not clearly known. A predominance of activated Cd8+ T lymphocytes in inflammatory infiltrates has already been detected....     

Biogenesis of steroids in solanaceae

The biogenetic pathways leading to the characteristic steroids of the Solanaceae are reviewed. The experimental data from feeding experiments on members of the Solanaceae are described and, where necessary, pertinent experiments on other plants, such as Veratrum spp. are mentioned. The review covers the simple sterols, the steroidal sapogenins and the steroidal alkaloids found in these plants, and their metabolism as well as biosynthesis are considered.     

Surviving as an underrepresented minority scientist in a majority environment

I believe the evidence will show that the science we conduct and discoveries we make are influenced by our cultural experience, whether they be positive, negative, or neutral. I grew up as a person of color in the United States of America, faced with challenges that many had as members of an underrepresented minority group. I write here about some of the lessons I have learned that have allowed me to survive as an underrepresented minority ­scientist in a majority environment.     

Gelation of Soy Milk with Hagfish Exudate Creates a Flocculated and Fibrous Emulsion- and Particle Gel

Hagfish slime is an ultra dilute, elastic and cohesive hydrogel that deploys within milliseconds in cold seawater from a glandularly secreted exudate. The slime is made of long keratin-like fibers and mucin-like glycoproteins that span a network which entraps water and acts as a defense mechanism against predators. Unlike other hydrogels, the slime only confines water physically and is very susceptible to mechanical stress, which makes it unsuitable for many processing operations and potential applications. Despite its huge potential, little work has been done to improve and functionalize the properties of this hydrogel. To address this shortcoming, hagfish exudate was mixed with a soy protein isolate suspension (4% w/v) and with a soy emulsion (commercial soy milk) to form a more stable structure and combine the functionalities of a suspension and emulsion with those of the hydrogel. Hagfish exudate interacted strongly with the soy systems, showing a markedly increased viscoelasticity and water retention. Hagfish mucin was found to induce a depletion and bridging mechanism, which caused the emulsion and suspension to flocculate, making “soy slime”, a cohesive and cold-set emulsion- and particle gel. The flocculation network increases viscoelasticity and substantially contributes to liquid retention by entrapping liquid in the additional confinements between aggregated particles and protein fibers. Because the mucin-induced flocculation resembles the salt- or acid-induced flocculation in tofu curd production, the soy slime was cooked for comparison. The cooked soy slime was similar to conventional cooked tofu, but possessed a long-range cohesiveness from the fibers. The fibrous, cold-set, and curd-like structure of the soy slime represents a novel way for a cold coagulation and fiber incorporation into a suspension or emulsion. This mechanism could be used to efficiently gel functionalized emulsions or produce novel tofu-like structured food products.