Genetic and environmental effects on the composition and properties of lipids in wheat flour

Being valued at £3.4 billion per annum and producing 4 billion loaves a year, the UK breadmaking industry is vast. Due to this, much research has focused on improving breadmaking quality. Breadmaking quality is significantly affected by flour lipids which play a crucial role at various stages of breadmaking. For example, during the initial stages of dough development, lipids can adsorb to the surface of gas bubbles, stabilizing them, allowing air retention in the dough. This stability helps provide the loaf volume, crumb structure and quality associated with UK bread. Despite the importance of lipids in breadmaking, limited research has been carried out on grain and flour lipids. No evidence of significant genetic control of wheat grain lipids had been reported, and wheat lipids were not considered a suitable target for improving breadmaking quality. Therefore, in this project, six wheat lines grown under three nitrogen conditions in 2012-13 were milled and analysed using a ‘lipodomics platform.’ This provided flour lipid profiles, allowing the use of multivariate statistics to identify the effects of genotype, environment or GxE effects on individual lipid species. A previous project identified QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci) for milling and baking quality parameters using a doubled haploid (DH) population from a cross between two UK breadmaking cultivars, Malacca and Hereward. Four robust QTLs for gas cell number and loaf volume located on chromosomes 1B, 4D, 6A and 7A were selected, and near isogenic lines (NILs) with a good or poor quality allele in the Malacca background were obtained. Lipidomic analysis across two years identified lipids associated with these alleles, allowing the correlation of the lipid profile with the good or poor quality alleles at the four loci. The functional significance of any differences in lipid composition was explored by extracting dough liquor and analysing their surface properties

A Case of Inadvertent Anterior Chamber and Corneal Stromal Injection with Antibiotics during Cataract Operation

Purpose: To report a case of inadvertent anterior chamber and cornea stromal injection with high dose antibiotics and steroids during cataract operation. Methods: During cataract operation on a 78 year-old female patient, high dose gentamicin (20 mg/0.5 ml) and dexamethasone (2 mg/0.5 ml) were inadvertently injected into the anterior chamber and cornea stroma when making cornea edema for sealing of the incision sites. Anterior chamber irrigation with balanced salt solution (BSS) was immediately administered. On postoperative day one, extensive cornea edema was noted, and best-corrected visual acuity was 0.2. Descemet's membrane folds were observed around the corneal incision sites. Topical 5% NaCl and 1% prednisolone were started. Results: Four weeks postoperatively, corneal edema began to reduce significantly. At four months postoperatively, corneal edema fully resolved, and best-corrected visual acuity was 0.8. However, some Descemet's membrane folds still remained, and a decrease in the number of endothelial cells was noted by specular microscope. Conclusions: In this case involving anterior chamber and cornea stromal injection with high dose antibiotics and steroids, immediate anterior chamber irrigation with balanced salt solution seemed an appropriate management, and the patient's long-term visual acuity appears good. To prevent such mistakes, precise labeling of all solutions and use of different syringe needles should be considered.ope

Chip-Based Comparison of the Osteogenesis of Human Bone Marrow- and Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells under Mechanical Stimulation

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) are considered as an attractive stem cell source for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We compared human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and hASCs under dynamic hydraulic compression to evaluate and compare osteogenic abilities. A novel micro cell chip integrated with microvalves and microscale cell culture chambers separated from an air-pressure chamber was developed using microfabrication technology. The microscale chip enables the culture of two types of stem cells concurrently, where each is loaded into cell culture chambers and dynamic compressive stimulation is applied to the cells uniformly. Dynamic hydraulic compression (1 Hz, 1 psi) increased the production of osteogenic matrix components (bone sialoprotein, oateopontin, type I collagen) and integrin (CD11b and CD31) expression from both stem cell sources. Alkaline phosphatase and Alrizarin red staining were evident in the stimulated hMSCs, while the stimulated hASCs did not show significant increases in staining under the same stimulation conditions. Upon application of mechanical stimulus to the two types of stem cells, integrin (β1) and osteogenic gene markers were upregulated from both cell types. In conclusion, stimulated hMSCs and hASCs showed increased osteogenic gene expression compared to non-stimulated groups. The hMSCs were more sensitive to mechanical stimulation and more effective towards osteogenic differentiation than the hASCs under these modes of mechanical stimulation.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EB008392

Floristic study of Cheondeungsan Mountain in Korea

AbstractThe distribution of native plants of Cheondeungsan Mountain (807 m, N 37°05'00“–37°05'30”, E 128°00'0“–128°02'0”) in Chungcheongbuk-do was determined and the major flora were identified. During field investigations carried out from May 2011 to October 2011, 87 families, 254 genera, and 369 taxonomic groups (327 species, 4 subspecies, 33 varieties, and 5 forms) were confirmed, and the distribution of 219 taxonomic groups was discovered for the first time. The distribution of four endemic plants of Korea, including Ajuga spectabilis Nakai and Salvia chanryoenica Nakai, and that of Penthorum chinense Pursh, a Grade V specific plant species, was found. There were 20 taxa of naturalized plants at Cheondeungsan; the growth and development of plants that are harmful to the ecosystem, such as Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., Ambrosia trifida L., Eupatorium rugosum Houtt., and Aster pilosus Willd., was observed around the forest paths and lowlands

Observation of the orbital Hall effect in a light metal Ti

The orbital angular momentum is a core ingredient of orbital magnetism, spin Hall effect, giant Rashba spin splitting, orbital Edelstein effect, and spin-orbit torque. However, its experimental detection is tricky. In particular, direct detection of the orbital Hall effect remains elusive despite its importance for electrical control of magnetic nanodevices. Here we report the direct observation of the orbital Hall effect in a light metal Ti. The Kerr rotation by the accumulated orbital magnetic moment is measured at Ti surfaces, whose result agrees with theoretical calculations semiquantitatively and is supported by the orbital torque measurement in Ti-based magnetic heterostructures. The results confirm the electron orbital angular momentum as an essential dynamic degree of freedom, which may provide a novel mechanism for the electric control of magnetism. The results may also deepen the understanding of spin, valley, phonon, and magnon dynamics coupled with orbital dynamics