Germination: a means to improve the functionality of oat

The biochemical and physiological reactions of germination have long been utilised to produce barley malt for brewing and other purposes. Also some oat malt has been produced as raw-material of ale and stout production. The main goals of malting have been the degradation of grain storage components to soften the kernel structure, synthesis of amylolytic enzymes and production of nutrients for brewing yeast. Also flavour and colour attributes have been important. During the recent years interest has arisen also in the secondary metabolites produced during germination, which can have valuable health promoting properties and act as bioactive or functional compounds in foods. By using a tailored germination/malting process a desired combination of valuable properties may be obtained in germinating grains or seeds. All this requires knowledge and know-how of the germination process and the biochemistry behind it. This paper reviews the scientific knowledge about germination/malting of oat with special emphasis on changes in grain characteristics

Sadonkorjuun jälkeisen kuivauksen ja siilo-olosuhteiden vaikutus mallasohran elävyyteen ja mikrobiologiseen laatuun

ei saatavill

Aspectos psicológicos associados à disfunção temporomandibular: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

A disfunção temporomandibular se configura como uma síndrome que afeta a região orofacial causando prejuízo à qualidade de vida. Atualmente, é explicada através do modelo etiológico multifatorial com vários fatores determinantes. Apesar de existir um consenso em relação à multifatoriedade, há pouca concordância em relação à importância dos fatores etiológicos envolvidos, e ainda não se sabe até que ponto estes fatores podem ser considerados predisponentes, desencadeantes ou perpetuantes. Diante disso, este estudo objetivou investigar, por meio de uma revisão sistemática de literatura, quais aspectos psicológicos são mais frequentemente associados à disfunção temporomandibular. Os artigos com datas entre 2000 e 2015 foram pesquisados nas bases de dados nacionais: SciELO, LILACS e BBO. Foram selecionados 21 artigos. Os resultados apontaram a depressão, o estresse, a ansiedade e características da personalidade como aspectos psicológicos mais associados à disfunção temporomandibular

Hapen saatavuuden merkitys kahdessa kasvipohjaisessa bioprosessissa: juuriviljelmissä ja mallastuksessa

The main aim of this work was to examine the role of oxygen availability in two model processes: the cultivation of Agrobacterium rhizogenes-induced hairy roots of the medicinal plant Egyptian henbane (Hyoscyamus muticus), and barley (Hordeum vulgare) malting. This was accomplished by transferring the vhb gene encoding bacterial haemoglobin (VHb) from Vitreoscilla to H. muticus and to barley with the specific goals of improving the growth and alkaloid production of H. muticus hairy roots and the germination rate of barley. In H. muticus hairy roots, heterologous vhb expression and an increase in aeration both improved the growth, but not the specific hyoscyamine production of the hairy roots. This suggests that oxygen availability may not be a limiting factor in hyoscyamine synthesis. The effect of VHb on the alkaloid profile of H. muticus hairy roots was not identical to that of aeration, indicating that the physiological effects of VHb are probably not related directly to its ability to increase the intracellular effective oxygen concentration. Although VHb production did not have a statistically significant effect on hyoscyamine production due to wide somaclonal variation, the highest production levels were found among the VHb-lines. A problem related to vhb expression was the tendency of hairy roots to dedifferentiate to callus. This effect probably counteracted the positive effects of vhb expression, because root dedifferentiation leads to impaired alkaloid production. Barley plants expressing the vhb gene did not react to oxygen deficiency by increasing the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in the roots, unlike the control plants. This could be due to the ability of VHb to supplement the role of ADH in the recycling of NADH and maintaining glycolysis. In contrast to previous findings, we found that constitutive vhb expression did not improve the germination rate of barley kernels. On the contrary, VHb even retarded germination slightly. Moreover, VHb restricted root growth in young barley seedlings. These effects are probably related to the ·NO dioxygenase activity of VHb. Because nitric oxide (NO) has both cytotoxic and stimulating properties, the effect of vhb expression in plants may depend on the level and role of endogenous NO in the conditions studied. In conditions involving excess NO production, such as severe oxygen deficiency, VHb can protect plant cells from the adverse effects of NO. However, in conditions in which NO plays an important role as a signal molecule, such as germination and root growth, vhb expression may even have slightly adverse effects on growth and development. Another aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis that barley embryos suffer from oxygen deficiency in the malting process, regardless of aeration. This was accomplished by studying the effect of aeration on the production of the inducible isoenzymes ADH2 and ADH3, ADH activity, ethanol production and α-amylase activity. Furthermore, the effect of the indigenous microbial community of the barley kernel on embryo oxygen deficiency was studied by modifying the microbial populations in the malting process. Neither aeration nor a reduction in grain microbes alleviated the oxygen deficiency of the barley embryo. An improvement in germination was observed after restriction of bacteria, but this was probably a consequence of facilitated root emergence. Many of the bacterial species dominating in the malting process can produce exopolymeric substances that may form a physical barrier restricting root emergence. A certain degree of oxygen deficiency in the embryo appears to be an inevitable stage in barley germination. The recent results of other research groups showing that NO is produced in plant cells under oxygen deficiency and that NO stimulates seed germination, together with the present results showing that vhb expression slows down barley germination slightly, imply that embryo oxygen deficiency is in fact beneficial or even necessary for germination. Although aeration cannot and need not overcome the oxygen deficiency of the barley embryo, the need for aeration increases as the malting process proceeds. Aeration not only introduces the oxygen needed for the completion of germination, enzyme synthesis and other post-germinative events, but also removes CO2 that would otherwise inhibit modification of the grain.Työn pääasiallinen tavoite oli tutkia hapen roolia kahdessa malliprosessissa: Egyptin villikaalin (Hyoscyamus muticus) juuriviljelmissä sekä ohran (Hordeum vulgare) mallastuksessa. Hapen roolia tutkittiin siirtämällä bakteeri-hemoglobiinia (VHb) koodaava vhb-geeni Vitreoscillasta Egyptin villikaaliin ja ohraan. Geeninsiirron tavoitteena oli parantaa Egyptin villikaalin juuriviljelmien kasvua ja alkaloidituottoa ja nopeuttaa ohran itämistä. Sekä VHb:n tuotto että ilmastus paransivat juuriviljelmien kasvua, mutta eivät vaikuttaneet hyoskyamiinituottoon. Hapen puute ei siis näytä rajoittavan hyoskyamiinisynteesiä. VHb:n vaikutus Egyptin villikaalin alkaloidiprofiiliin poikkesi ilmastuksen vaikutuksesta, mikä viittaa siihen, ettei VHb:n fysiologinen vaikutus perustu pelkästään sen kykyyn nostaa solunsisäistä happikonsentraatiota. Parhaat hyoskyamiinintuottajalinjat löytyivät VHb-linjojen joukosta, vaikka VHb:n tuotto ei suuren hajonnan takia nostanutkaan hyosmyakiinituottoa tilastollisesti merkitsevästi. VHb-linjat olivat kuitenkin vertailukasveja alttiimpia menettämään juurisolukkorakenteensa ja muodostamaan kallusta. Tämä taipumus heikentää VHb-linjojen käyttökelpoisuutta, koska kalluksen alkaloidituotto on selvästi heikompi kuin juurten. VHb:tä tuottavien ohrakasvien juuret eivät vertailukasvien tapaan reagoineet hapen puutteeseen lisäämällä alkoholidehydrogenaasiaktiivisuutta (ADH). Tämä voi johtua VHb:n kyvystä korvata ADH:ta glykolyysin ylläpidossa ja NADH:n kierrätyksessä. Aikaisemmista tutkimuksista poiketen VHb ei nopeuttanut ohran itämistä. VHb jopa hidasti itämistä hieman. VHb rajoitti myös nuorten ohrataimien juurten kasvua. Nämä vaikutukset liittyvät todennäköisesti VHb:n NO dioksygenaasiaktiivisuuteen, sillä sekä itäminen että juurten kasvu ovat typpioksidin (NO) säätämiä. VHb:n on aikaisemmin todettu suojaavan kasvisoluja liiallisen NO-tuoton haitallisilta vaikutuksilta. Olosuhteissa, joissa NO toimii tärkeänä signaalimolekyylinä, kuten siemenen itämisessä ja juurten kasvussa, VHb voi kuitenkin hidastaa kasvua ja kehitystä. Työn toinen tavoite oli todentaa hypoteesi, jonka mukaan ohra kärsii hapen puutteesta mallastusprosessissa, ilmastuksesta huolimatta. Ilmastuksen vaikutusta alkion hapen puutteeseen tutkittiin mittaamalla indusoituvien ADH-entsyymien ADH2 ja ADH3 ilmestymstä, ADH-aktiivisuutta, etanolituottoa ja α-amylaasiaktiivisuutta. Lisäksi selvitettiin ohran mikrobiston vaikutus alkion hapen puutteeseen muokkaamalla mallastusprosessin mikrobipopulaatioita. Ilmastus tai mikrobien vähentäminen eivät lieventäneet alkion hapen puutetta. Bakteerien vähentäminen paransi hieman ohran itämistä, mutta vaikutusmekanismi ei liittynyt hapen puutteeseen. Monet mallastusprosessissa esiintyvät bakteerit tuottavat eksopolymeerisiä yhdisteitä, jotka saattavat inhiboida itämistä estämällä juuri-idun kasvua fyysisesti. Hapen puute näyttää olevan luonnollinen ja väistämätön vaihe ohran itämisessä. Muiden tutkimusryhmien tulokset ovat osoittaneet, että NO:ta muodostuu hapen puutteesta kärsivissä kasvisoluissa ja että NO stimuloi itämistä. Nämä tulokset yhdessä tämän tutkimuksen tulosten kanssa indikoivat, että alkion jonkin asteinen hapen puute saatta olla edullinen tai jopa välttämätön osa itämistä. Vaikka ilmastuksella ei ole mahdollista tai edes välttämätöntä lieventää ohran hapen puutetta, ilmastuksen tarve kasvaa mallastusprosessin edetessä. Ilmastus tuo itämisen loppuun viemiseen tarvittavan hapen ohralle, sekä poistaa jyvän myöhentymistä hidastavan hiilidioksidin ilmatilasta.reviewe

Political participation: demographical factors and electoral turnout in the districts of Bogotá, Colombia

Everybody can take part in democratic election by giving a vote on the candidate most suited for the task. Still, many choose not to. The non-voters are rarely randomly spread out in an urban area but form geographical patterns. The aim of this thesis is to see which demographical factors that correlate and explain these patterns in Bogotá, Colombia. The method used is a mixed quantitative and qualitative analysis. Statistics about election turnout and demographical factors in the 20 districts of Bogotá are presented in scatter plots which show the characteristics of the correlations. The findings are thereafter explained in the qualitative part, which is based on interviews with 18 people living in different parts of Bogota. The theoretical framework explains what researchers say about electoral turnout and demographical factors, among others Norris (2002) and Milbrath and Goel (1977). They have found that education, age and socio economic class are influential for the electoral turnout and the correlation is positive. Tested on the percentage of blank ballots, the factors mentioned have a negative correlation. However their studies have a western perspective. In the case of Bogotá, a large urban area in a developing country, the correlations are different. Education, age, and socio economic class have weak and negative correlation with electoral turnout. Instead, the correlations of the demographical factors and blank ballots are strong and positive. The gatherings from the interviews show a situation where vote buying is a common element at the elections, and heavy campaigning in the poor parts of town before the elections. These phenomenon seem to the base for the voting patterns in Bogotá