A Consumer Test of Canned Seasoned Salad Tomatoes

Consumer, Canned Tomatoes, Salad Tomatoes, Seasoned Tomatoes, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Two mechanisms for growth inhibition by elevated transport of sugar phosphates in Escherichia coli

The Escherichia coli uhp T gene encodes an active transport system for sugar phosphates. When the uhp T gene was carried on a multicopy plasmid, amplified levels of transport activity occurred, and growth of these strains was inhibited upon the addition of various sugar phosphates. Two different mechanisms for this growth inhibition were distinguished. Exposure to glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate or mannose-6-phosphate, which enter directly into the glycolytic pathway, resulted in cessation of growth and substantial loss of viability. Cell killing was correlated with the production of the toxic metabolite, methylglyoxal. In contrast, addition of 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate, galactose-6-phosphate, glucosamine-6-phosphate or arabinose-5-phosphate, which do not directly enter the glycolytic pathway, resulted in growth inhibition without engendering methylglyoxal production or cell death. Inhibition of growth could result from excessive accumulation of organophosphates in the cell or depletion of inorganic phosphate pools as a result of the sugar-P/Pi exchange process catalysed by UhpT. The phosphate-dependent uptake of glycerol-3-phosphate by the GlpT antiporter was strongly inhibited under conditions of elevated sugar-phosphate transport. There are thus two separate toxic effects of elevated sugar-phosphate transport, one of which was lethal and related to increased flux through glycolysis. It is likely that the control of uhpT transcription by catabolite repression exists to limit the level of UhpT transport activity and thereby prevent the toxic events that result from elevated uptake of its substrates

An Update on Oceanic Precipitation Rate and its Zonal Distribution in Light of Advanced Observations from Space

This study contributes to the estimation of the global mean and zonal distribution of oceanic precipitation rate using complementary information from advanced precipitation measuring sensors and provides an independent reference to assess current precipitation products. Precipitation estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) and CloudSat cloud profiling radar (CPR) were merged, as the two complementary sensors yield an unprecedented range of sensitivity to quantify rainfall from drizzle through the most intense rates. At higher latitudes, where TRMM PR does not exist, precipitation estimates from Aqua's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) complemented CloudSat CPR to capture intense precipitation rates. The high sensitivity of CPR allows estimation of snow rate, an important type of precipitation at high latitudes, not directly observed in current merged precipitation products. Using the merged precipitation estimate from the CloudSat, TRMM, and Aqua platforms (this estimate is abbreviated to MCTA), the authors' estimate for 3-yr (2007-09) nearglobal (80degS-80degN) oceanic mean precipitation rate is approx. 2.94mm/day. This new estimate of mean global ocean precipitation is about 9% higher than that of the corresponding Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) value (2.68mm/day) and about 4% higher than that of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP; 2.82mm/day). Furthermore, MCTA suggests distinct differences in the zonal distribution of precipitation rate from that depicted in GPCPand CMAP, especially in the Southern Hemisphere

Method and system for aligning fibers during electrospinning

A method and system are provided for aligning fibers in an electrospinning process. A jet of a fiberizable material is directed towards an uncharged collector from a dispensing location that is spaced apart from the collector. While the fiberizable material is directed towards the collector, an elliptical electric field is generated via the electrically charged dispenser and an oppositely-charged control location. The field spans between the dispensing location and the control location that is within line-of-sight of the dispensing location, and impinges upon at least a portion of the collector. Various combinations of numbers and geometries of dispensers, collectors, and electrodes can be used

Orientational Phase Transition in Na_{x}C_{60} (1

X-ray diffraction and calorimetry data on cubic NaxC60(1\u3cx60, e.g., Tm(x=1.3)=325 K. The ordered phases are the same as in pure C60: simple cubic, space group Pa3¯, but the orientations in the disordered phase are more restricted. We explain how Na stabilizes the ordered phase to rather high T, while K and Rb do not, in terms of Coulomb interactions between C60 molecules and and Na ions which we calculate from the local charge density of C60