Einsatz der Nahinfrarotspektroskopie zur Qualitätskontrolle ökologischer Produkte am Beispiel von Möhren

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy is known for its inexpensiveness, rapidity and accuracy and may become a useful tool for the quality assessment of products of the growing organic food market. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict several quality parameters (total nitrogen content and the content of different sugars) of organically grown carrots. Spectra of the VIS-NIR region (400-2500 nm) from 120 dried and milled carrot samples were recorded and transformed in the form of (log[1/reflectance]) values. The samples were randomly separated into two groups for calibration (n=60) and validation (n=60). A modified partial least square method was used to develop an equation over the whole spectrum (1st to 3rd derivation) from the spectra and the laboratory results for total nitrogen and the contents of D-glucose, D-fructose, sucrose and the sum of these three sugars. Calibrations were successful for all constituents. The validation, however, gave differing results: The total nitrogen content was predicted well by NIRS - the regression coefficient (a) of the linear regression (measured against predicted values) was 1.0, the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.9 and the ratio of standard deviation of the laboratory results to standard error of prediction (RDP) was 2.5. A satisfactory prediction was obtained for D-glucose (a=0.8, r=0.8, RDP=1.5) and D-fructose (a=0.8, r=0.8, RDP=1.5). In contrast, the contents of sucrose (a=0.8, r=0.7, RPD=1.4) and the sum of sugars (a=1.2, r=0.6, RPD=1.3) were predicted less satisfactorily. The good and satisfactory results for total nitrogen, glucose and fructose indicate that there is marked potential of NIRS for the quality assessment of organic food products. Studies are now required for a wider spectrum of food products and more constituents

Anion-driven tetrel bond-induced engineering of lead(II) architectures with N′-(1-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene)nicotinohydrazide : experimental and theoretical findings

The evaluation of N′-(1-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene)nicotinohydrazide (HL) as a linker for the PbII tagged extended structures is described. The reaction of Pb(ClO4)2 or Pb(OAc)2 with HL in MeOH at 60 °C and room temperature, respectively, leads to heteroleptic complexes {[PbL]ClO4}n·nH2O and [PbL(OAc)]2, while the same reaction of Pb(ClO4)2 with HL at 60 °C in the presence of two equivalents of NaOAc or NaNO2 leads to heteroleptic complexes {[Pb(HL)(OAc)]ClO4}n and [PbL(NO2)]n, respectively. Using Pb(NO3)2 as a source of PbII in the same reaction with HL and two equivalents of NaN3 or NaNCS at room temperature yields [PbLN3]n and [Pb2(HL)2(NO3)2(NCS)2], respectively. The room temperature reaction of Pb(NO3)2 with HL in the presence of two equivalents of NaClO4 leads to the transformation of the parent ligand to its perchlorate salt [H2L]ClO4. In all the obtained PbII structures, HL or its deprotonated form L acts both as a chelating and a bridging ligand. The nature of the inorganic anion also influences the final structure. In all complexes the PbII center exhibits a hemidirected coordination geometry with all the covalent bonds being concentrated on one hemisphere of the coordination sphere with the closest approach of two atoms on the other side varying from 151° to 232°. The sterically available PbII ion participates in tetrel bonding as evidenced from the detailed structural analysis of the described complexes. As a result of tetrel bonding, the structures of all the six compounds can be extended to a higher dimensional framework, which is further stabilized by π⋯π stacking interactions between the aromatic rings. The DFT based charge and energy decomposition (ETS-NOCV) calculations are performed in order to shed light on the nature of non-covalent interactions that determine the stability of the obtained structures

Slow Magnetic Relaxation and Electron Delocalization in an S = 9/2 Iron(II/III) Complex with Two Crystallographically Inequivalent Iron Sites

The magnetic, electronic, and Mössbauer spectral properties of Fe 2L(µ-OAc)2ClO4, 1, where L is the dianion of the tetraimino-diphenolate macrocyclic ligand, H2L, indicate that 1 is a class III mixed valence iron(II/III) complex with an electron that is fully delocalized between two crystallographically inequivalent iron sites to yield a [Fe2]V cationic configuration with a St 9/2 ground state. Fits of the dc magnetic susceptibility between 2 and 300K and of the isofield variable-temperature magnetization of 1 yield an isotropic magnetic exchange parameter, J, of -32(2) cm-1 for an electron transfer parameter, B, of 950 cm-1, a zero-field uniaxial D9/2 parameter of -0.9(1) cm-1, and g 1.95(5). In agreement with the presence of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, ac susceptibility measurements reveal that 1 is a single-molecule magnet at low temperature with a single molecule magnetic effective relaxation barrier, Ueff, of 9.8 cm-1. At 5.25 K the Mössbauer spectra of 1 exhibit two spectral components, assigned to the two crystallographically inequivalent iron sites with a static effective hyperfine field; as the temperature increases from 7 to 310 K, the spectra exhibit increasingly rapid relaxation of the hyperfine field on the iron-57 Larmor precession time of 5 x 10-8 s. A fit of the temperature dependence of the average effective hyperfine field yields |D9/2| 0.9 cm-1. An Arrhenius plot of the logarithm of the relaxation frequency between 5 and 85 K yields a relaxation barrier of 17 cm-1

Alternative inactivated poliovirus vaccines adjuvanted with quillaja brasiliensis or quil-a saponins are equally effective in inducing specific immune responses

Inactivated polio vaccines (IPV) have an important role at the final stages of poliomyelitis eradication programs, reducing the risks associated with the use of attenuated polio vaccine (OPV). An affordable option to enhance vaccine immunogenicity and reduce costs of IPV may be the use of an effective and renewable adjuvant. In the present study, the adjuvant activity of aqueous extract (AE) and saponin fraction QB-90 from Quillaja brasiliensis using poliovirus antigen as model were analyzed and compared to a preparation adjuvanted with Quil-A, a well-known saponin-based commercial adjuvant. Experimental vaccines were prepared with viral antigen plus saline (control), Quil-A (50 mg), AE (400 mg) or QB-90 (50 mg). Sera from inoculated mice were collected at days 0, 28, 42 and 56 post-inoculation of the first dose of vaccine. Serum levels of specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a were significantly enhanced by AE, QB-90 and Quil-A compared to control group on day 56. The magnitude of enhancement was statistically equivalent for QB-90 and Quil-A. The cellular response was evaluated through DTH and analysis of IFN-c and IL-2 mRNA levels using in vitro reestimulated splenocytes. Results indicated that AE and QB-90 were capable of stimulating the generation of Th1 cells against the administered antigen to the same extent as Quil-A. Mucosal immune response was enhanced by the vaccine adjuvanted with QB-90 as demonstrated by increases of specific IgA titers in bile, feces and vaginal washings, yielding comparable or higher titers than Quil-A. The results obtained indicate that saponins from Q. brasiliensis are potent adjuvants of specific cellular and humoral immune responses and represent a viable option to Quil-A

Planet Migration and Disk Destruction due to Magneto-Centrifugal Stellar Winds

This paper investigates the influence of magneto-centrifugally driven or simply magnetic winds of rapidly-rotating, strongly-magnetized T Tauri stars in causing the inward or outward migration of close-in giant planets. The azimuthal ram pressure of the magnetized wind acting on the planet tends to increase the planet's angular momentum and cause outward migration if the star's rotation period $P_*$ is less than the planet's orbital period $P_p$. In the opposite case, $P_* > P_p$, the planet migrates inward. Thus, planets orbiting at distances larger (smaller) than $0.06 {\rm AU}(P_*/5{\rm d})^{2/3}$ tend to be pushed outward (inward), where $P_*$ is the rotation period of the star assumed to have the mass of the sun. The magnetic winds are likely to occur in T Tauri stars where the thermal speed of the gas close to the star is small, where the star's magnetic field is strong, and where the star rotates rapidly. The time-scale for appreciable radial motion of the planet is estimated as $\sim 2 - 20$ Myr. A sufficiently massive close-in planet may cause tidal locking and once this happens the radial migration due to the magnetic wind ceases. The magnetic winds are expected to be important for planet migration for the case of a multipolar magnetic field rather than a dipole field where the wind is directed away from the equatorial plane and where a magnetospheric cavity forms. The influence of the magnetic wind in eroding and eventually destroying the accretion disk is analyzed. A momentum integral is derived for the turbulent wind/disk boundary layer and this is used to estimate the disk erosion time-scale as $\sim 1-10^2$ Myr, with the lower value favored.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Extranuclear Halpha-emitting complexes in low-z (U)LIRGs: Precursors of tidal dwarf galaxies?

(Abridged)This paper characterizes the physical and kinematic properties of external massive star-forming regions in a sample of (U)LIRGs. We use high angular resolution ACS images from the HST B and I bands, as well as Halpha-line emission maps obtained with IFS. We find 31 external Halpha-emitting (young star-forming) complexes in 11 (U)LIRGs. These complexes have in general similar sizes, luminosities, and metallicities to extragalactic giant HII regions and TDG candidates found in less luminous mergers and compact groups of galaxies. We assess the mass content and the likelihood of survival as TDGs of the 22 complexes with simple structures in the HST images based on their photometric, structural, and kinematic properties. The dynamical tracers used (radius-sigma and luminosity-sigma diagrams) indicate that most of the complexes might be self-gravitating entities. The resistance to forces from the parent galaxy is studied by considering the tidal mass of the candidate and its relative velocity with respect to the parent galaxy. After combining the results of previous studies of TDG searches in ULIRGs a total of 9 complexes satisfy most of the applied criteria and thus show a high-medium or high likelihood of survival, their total mass likely being compatible with that of dwarf galaxies. They are defined as TDG candidates. We propose that they probably formed more often during the early phases of the interaction. Combining all data for complexes with IFS data where a significant fraction of the system is covered, we infer a TDG production rate of 0.3 candidates with the highest probabilities of survival per system for the (U)LIRGs class. This rate, though, might decrease to 0.1 after the systems in (U)LIRGs have evolved for 10 Gyr, for long-lived TDGs, which would imply that no more than 5-10 % of the overall dwarf population could be of tidal origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 21 pages, 8 figures. Typo corrected (article 1111.0468

First-in-Human Gene Therapy Trial of AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 in Adults and Children With CNGB3-associated Achromatopsia

PURPOSE: To assess the safety and efficacy of AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 in participants with CNGB3-associated achromatopsia (ACHM). DESIGN: Prospective, phase 1/2 (NCT03001310), open-label, nonrandomized clinical trial. METHODS: The study enrolled 23 adults and children with CNGB3-associated ACHM. In the dose-escalation phase, adult participants were administered 1 of 3 AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 dose levels in the worse-seeing eye (up to 0.5 mL). After a maximum tolerated dose was established in adults, an expansion phase was conducted in children ≥3 years old. All participants received topical and oral corticosteroids. Safety and efficacy parameters, including treatment-related adverse events and visual acuity, retinal sensitivity, color vision, and light sensitivity, were assessed for 6 months. RESULTS: AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 (11 adults, 12 children) was safe and generally well tolerated. Intraocular inflammation occurred in 9 of 23 participants and was mainly mild or moderate in severity. Severe cases occurred primarily at the highest dose. Two events were considered serious and dose limiting. All intraocular inflammation resolved following topical and systemic steroids. There was no consistent pattern of change from baseline to week 24 for any efficacy assessment. However, favorable changes were observed for individual participants across several assessments, including color vision (n = 6/23), photoaversion (n = 11/20), and vision-related quality-of-life questionnaires (n = 21/23). CONCLUSIONS: AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 for CNGB3-associated ACHM demonstrated an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. Improvements in several efficacy parameters indicate that AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 gene therapy may provide benefit. These findings, with the development of additional sensitive and quantitative end points, support continued investigation

Infinite-contrast periodic composites with strongly nonlinear behavior: Effective-medium theory versus full-field simulations

This paper presents a combined numerical-theoretical study of the macroscopic behavior and local field distributions in a special class of two-dimensional periodic composites with viscoplastic phases. The emphasis is on strongly nonlinear materials containing pores or rigid inclusions. Full-field numerical simulations are carried out using a Fast-Fourier Transform algorithm [H. Moulinec, P. Suquet, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris II 318, 1417 (1994)] Moulinec, P. Suquet, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris II 318, 1417 (1994), while the theoretical results are obtained by means of the `second-order' nonlinear homogenization method [P. Ponte Castaneda, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 50, 737 (2002)]. The effect of nonlinearity and inclusion concentration is investigated in the context of power-law (with strain-rate sensitivity m) behavior for the matrix phase under in-plane shear loadings. Overall, the `second-order' estimates are found to be in good agreement with the numerical simulations, with the best agreement for the rigidly reinforced materials. For the porous systems, as the nonlinearity increases (m decreases), the strain field is found to localize along shear bands passing through the voids (the strain fluctuations becoming unbounded) and the effective stress exhibits a singular behavior in the dilute limit. More specifically, for small porosities and fixed nonlinearity m>0, the effective stress decreases linearly with increasing porosity. However, for ideally plastic behavior (m = 0), the dependence on porosity becomes non-analytic. On the other hand, for rigidly-reinforced composites, the strain field adopts a tile pattern with bounded strain fluctuations, and no singular behavior is observed (to leading order) in the dilute limit.Comment: 28 pages, 28 B&W figures, 2 tables of color maps, to be published in International Journal of Solids and Structures (in press

First-in-Human Gene Therapy Trial of AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 in Adults and Children With CNGB3-associated Achromatopsia

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 in participants with CNGB3-associated achromatopsia (ACHM). Design: Prospective, phase 1/2 (NCT03001310), open-label, nonrandomized clinical trial. Methods: The study enrolled 23 adults and children with CNGB3-associated ACHM. In the dose-escalation phase, adult participants were administered 1 of 3 AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 dose levels in the worse-seeing eye (up to 0.5 mL). After a maximum tolerated dose was established in adults, an expansion phase was conducted in children ≥3 years old. All participants received topical and oral corticosteroids. Safety and efficacy parameters, including treatment-related adverse events and visual acuity, retinal sensitivity, color vision, and light sensitivity, were assessed for 6 months. Results: AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 (11 adults, 12 children) was safe and generally well tolerated. Intraocular inflammation occurred in 9 of 23 participants and was mainly mild or moderate in severity. Severe cases occurred primarily at the highest dose. Two events were considered serious and dose limiting. All intraocular inflammation resolved following topical and systemic steroids. There was no consistent pattern of change from baseline to week 24 for any efficacy assessment. However, favorable changes were observed for individual participants across several assessments, including color vision (n = 6/23), photoaversion (n = 11/20), and vision-related quality-of-life questionnaires (n = 21/23). Conclusions: AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 for CNGB3-associated ACHM demonstrated an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. Improvements in several efficacy parameters indicate that AAV8-hCARp.hCNGB3 gene therapy may provide benefit. These findings, with the development of additional sensitive and quantitative end points, support continued investigation.</p