A study of dynamics of bitter acids and xanthohumol in hop pellets during storage

ArticleEight varieties of hop pellets were analyzed for the contents of α - acids, ß - acids and xanthohumol according to the EBC 7.7 analytical method. The pellets were extracted with acidified mixture methanol - diethylether and analyzed using HPLC with a diode - array detector and a Nova - Pak column C 18 . Four series of analyses were performed: immediately after the unpacking of the pellets and then after five, seven and nine months of storage at 4 °C. According to the first ser i es of analyses, the contents were assayed as following (α - acids, ß - acids, xanthohumol resp., all in weight % in pellets): Galaxy (13.4, 8.0, 0.74), Citra (11.1, 3.0, 0.48), Tradition (8.2, 8.0, 0.58), Cascade (4.5, 5.2, 0.25), Northern Brewer (4.0, 2.9, 0. 37), Sládek (3.5, 4.0, 0.48), Saaz (2.0, 3.4, 0.24), and Triskel (1.7, 3.6, 0.18). According to these results, variety Galaxy was found as the richest in all three parameters. After nine months of storage at 4 °C, the weight loss of α - acids ranged from 4.1 % (Citra and Triskel) to 66.4% (Galaxy). The losses of β - acids and xanthohumol were less distinctive (from zero to 31.3% and 25.7%, resp.) and indicated good long storage possibilities of these compounds at convenient conditions (darkness, low temperature, elimination of direct influence of oxygen)

A Novel Statistical Model for Predicting the Efficacy of Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Patients With Epilepsy (Pre-X-Stim) Is Applicable to Different EEG Systems

Background: Identifying patients with intractable epilepsy who would benefit from therapeutic chronic vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) preoperatively remains a major clinical challenge. We have developed a statistical model for predicting VNS efficacy using only routine preimplantation electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded with the TruScan EEG device (Brazdil et al., 2019). It remains to be seen, however, if this model can be applied in different clinical settings. Objective: To validate our model using EEG data acquired with a different recording system. Methods: We identified a validation cohort of eight patients implanted with VNS, whose preimplantation EEG was recorded on the BrainScope device and who underwent the EEG recording according to the protocol. The classifier developed in our earlier work, named Pre-X-Stim, was then employed to classify these patients as predicted responders or non-responders based on the dynamics in EEG power spectra. Predicted and real-world outcomes were compared to establish the applicability of this classifier. In total, two validation experiments were performed using two different validation approaches (single classifier or classifier voting). Results: The classifier achieved 75% accuracy, 67% sensitivity, and 100% specificity. Only two patients, both real-life responders, were classified incorrectly in both validation experiments. Conclusion: We have validated the Pre-X-Stim model on EEGs from a different recording system, which indicates its application under different technical conditions. Our approach, based on preoperative EEG, is easily applied and financially undemanding and presents great potential for real-world clinical use

The Puromycin Route to Assess Stereo- and Regiochemical Constraints on Peptide Bond Formation in Eukaryotic Ribosomes

We synthesized a series of puromycin analogues to probe the chemical specificity of the ribosome in an intact eukaryotic translation system. These studies reveal that both d-enantiomers and β-amino acid analogues can be incorporated into protein, and provide a quantitative means to rank natural and unnatural residues. Modeling of a d-amino acid analogue into the 50S ribosomal subunit indicates that steric clash may provide part of the chiral discrimination. The data presented provide one metric of the chiral and regiospecificity of mammalian ribosomes