TEMPORAL ALLOCATION ALTERNATIVES FOR SOUTHEASTERN RED DELICIOUS APPLES

This study examines the economic feasibility of storing southeastern U.S. Red Delicious apples under various circumstances. Circumstances encompassed type of storage, potential market share in the storage periods, perceived level of quality, and opportunity cost of storage. Reactive programming was used to allocate shipments throughout the harvest and storage periods. Except for apples harvested in August, storage was found to be economically feasible under all situations studied. The greatest economic benefit to producers was shown to come from the synergistic effect of storage and improvement in perceived quality.Crop Production/Industries,

Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients : a comparative study

Background: Considerable research has been directed towards the roles of metal ions in nutrition with metal ion toxicity attracting particular attention. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of metal ions found in selected beverages (red wine, stout and apple juice) and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for 250 mL daily consumption. Results: The levels (mean ± SEM) and diversity of metals determined by ICP-MS were highest for red wine samples (30 metals totalling 5620.54 ± 123.86 ppb) followed by apple juice (15 metals totalling 1339.87 ± 10.84 ppb) and stout (14 metals totalling 464.85 ± 46.74 ppb). The combined THQ values were determined based upon levels of V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb which gave red wine samples the highest value (5100.96 ± 118.93 ppb) followed by apple juice (666.44 ± 7.67 ppb) and stout (328.41 ± 42.36 ppb). The THQ values were as follows: apple juice (male 3.11, female 3.87), stout (male 1.84, female 2.19), red wine (male 126.52, female 157.22) and ultra-filtered red wine (male 110.48, female 137.29). Conclusion: This study reports relatively high levels of metal ions in red wine, which give a very high THQ value suggesting potential hazardous exposure over a lifetime for those who consume at least 250 mL daily. In addition to the known hazardous metals (e.g. Pb), many metals (e.g. Rb) have not had their biological effects systematically investigated and hence the impact of sustained ingestion is not known

The effect of exercise intensity on gastric emptying rate, appetite and gut derived hormone responses after consuming a standardised semi-solid meal in healthy males

This study investigated the acute circulating gut hormone, appetite and gastric emptying rate responses to a semi-solid meal following exercise at different intensities. Twelve men completed three trials in a randomised-crossover design, consisting of continuous cycling at 70% V˙ O2Peak (HIGH), 40% V˙ O2Peak (LOW) or rest (CONTROL). Baseline samples were collected after an overnight fast before undertaking the 60 min exercise or rest period, followed by 30 min rest before consumption of a standardised semi-solid meal (~242 kcal). During the 2 h postprandial period, gastric emptying rate of the meal was examined using the 13C-breath test method, appetite was measured using visual analogue scales, and serum concentrations of acylated ghrelin, pancreatic polypeptide, peptide YY, glucagon-like peptide-1, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids were assessed. Subjective appetite response was not different between trials (p > 0.05). Half emptying time of the meal was 89 ± 13, 82 ± 8 and 94 ± 31 min on CONTROL, LOW and HIGH, respectively (p = 0.247). In healthy un-trained adult males, responses to exercise at intensities of 70% and 40% V˙ O2Peak did not differ to a non-exercise control for measurements of subsequent gastric emptying, circulating gut hormone response or appetite. These results suggest that exercise intensity has little effect on post-exercise appetite response to a semi-solid meal

Bolus ingestion of whey protein immediately post-exercise does not influence rehydration compared to energy-matched carbohydrate ingestion

Whey protein is a commonly ingested nutritional supplement amongst athletes and regular exercisers; however, its role in post-exercise rehydration remains unclear. Eight healthy male and female participants completed two experimental trials involving the ingestion of 35 g of whey protein (WP) or maltodextrin (MD) at the onset of a rehydration period, followed by ingestion of water to a volume equivalent to 150% of the amount of body mass lost during exercise in the heat. The gastric emptying rates of the solutions were measured using 13C breath tests. Recovery was monitored for a further 3 h by the collection of blood and urine samples. The time taken to empty half of the initial solution (T1/2) was different between the trials (WP = 65.5 ± 11.4 min; MD = 56.7 ± 6.3 min; p = 0.05); however, there was no difference in cumulative urine volume throughout the recovery period (WP = 1306 ± 306 mL; MD = 1428 ± 443 mL; p = 0.314). Participants returned to net negative fluid balance 2 h after the recovery period with MD and 3 h with WP. The results of this study suggest that whey protein empties from the stomach at a slower rate than MD; however, this does not seem to exert any positive or negative effects on the maintenance of fluid balance in the post-exercise period

Suitability of the Southern Australia Integrated Marine Observing System’s (SA-IMOS) HF-Radar for operational forecasting

The IMOS HF-Radar array in South Australia provides observations of the ocean waters south of Spencer Gulf. In addition to ocean surface currents, the data from this array can be processed to provide near-real time observations of wave statistics and wind direction. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology requires access to these observations for forecast modelling but currently only have a single Waverider buoy operating in South Australian waters at Cape du Couedic, south of Kangaroo Island, which provides no directional information. The HF-Radar array could potentially be used to augment the current operational observation systems used by the Bureau. In this paper we evaluate the performance of the HF-Radar system against observations from the Waverider buoy and an automatic weather station at Neptune Island and also compare the HF-Radar observations to a wave model based on the eSA-Marine forecast grid. The results suggest that upgrading the HF-Radar to provide near-real time wave and wind data would provide a new, independent source of environmental observations for the Bureau

Acylpeptide hydrolase: inhibitors and some active site residues of the human enzyme.

Acylpeptide hydrolase may be involved in N-terminal deacetylation of nascent polypeptide chains and of bioactive peptides. The activity of this enzyme from human erythrocytes is sensitive to anions such as chloride, nitrate, and fluoride. Furthermore, blocked amino acids act as competitive inhibitors of the enzyme. Acetyl leucine chloromethyl ketone has been employed to identify one active site residue as His-707. Diisopropylfluorophosphate has been used to identify a second active site residue as Ser-587. Chemical modification studies with a water-soluble carbodiimide implicate a carboxyl group in catalytic activity. These results and the sequence around these active site residues, especially near Ser-587, suggest that acylpeptide hydrolase contains a catalytic triad. The presence of a cysteine residue in the vicinity of the active site is suggested by the inactivation of the enzyme by sulfhydryl-modifying agents and also by a low amount of modification by the peptide chloromethyl ketone inhibitor. Ebelactone A, an inhibitor of the formyl aminopeptidase, the bacterial counterpart of eukaryotic acylpeptide hydrolase, was found to be an effective inhibitor of this enzyme. These findings suggest that acylpeptidase hydrolase is a member of a family of enzymes with extremely diverse functions

ACE2-independent interaction of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with human epithelial cells is inhibited by unfractionated heparin

Coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for COVID-19, depend on virus spike protein binding to host cell receptors to cause infection. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds primarily to ACE2 on target cells and is then processed by membrane proteases, including TMPRSS2, leading to viral internalisation or fusion with the plasma membrane. It has been suggested, however, that receptors other than ACE2 may be involved in virus binding. We have investigated the interactions of recombinant versions of the spike protein with human epithelial cell lines that express low/very low levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in a proxy assay for interaction with host cells. A tagged form of the spike protein containing the S1 and S2 regions bound in a temperature-dependent manner to all cell lines, whereas the S1 region alone and the receptor-binding domain (RBD) interacted only weakly. Spike protein associated with cells independently of ACE2 and TMPRSS2, while RBD required the presence of high levels of ACE2 for interaction. As the spike protein has previously been shown to bind heparin, a soluble glycosaminoglycan, we tested the effects of various heparins on ACE2-independent spike protein interaction with cells. Unfractionated heparin inhibited spike protein interaction with an IC50 value of <0.05 U/mL, whereas two low-molecular-weight heparins were less effective. A mutant form of the spike protein, lacking the arginine-rich putative furin cleavage site, interacted only weakly with cells and had a lower affinity for unfractionated and low-molecular-weight heparin than the wild-type spike protein. This suggests that the furin cleavage site might also be a heparin-binding site and potentially important for interactions with host cells. The glycosaminoglycans heparan sulphate and dermatan sulphate, but not chondroitin sulphate, also inhibited the binding of spike protein, indicating that it might bind to one or both of these glycosaminoglycans on the surface of target cells

Abca1 deficiency protects the heart against myocardial infarction-induced injury

Background and aims We explored the role of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (Abca1), in post-myocardial infarction (MI) cardiac injury. Methods In Abca1–/– mice, wild type (WT) mice, and WT mice transplanted with Abca1–/– or WT bone marrow, an MI was induced in vivo. Furthermore, an ex vivo MI was induced in isolated Abca1–/– and WT hearts. Results Twenty-four hours and two weeks after in vivo MI induction, MI size was reduced in Abca1–/– (−58%, p = 0.007; −59%, p = 0.03) compared to WT. Ex vivo MI induction showed no effect of Abca1–/– on infarct size. Interestingly, two weeks after MI, Abca1–/– mice showed higher circulating levels of B-cells (+3.0 fold, p = 0.02) and T-cells (+4.2 fold, p = 0.002) compared to WT. Bone marrow-specific Abca1–/– tended to reduce infarct size (−43%, p = 0.12), suggesting a detrimental role for hematopoietic Abca1 after MI. Conclusions Although Abca1 has a protective role in atherosclerosis, it exerts detrimental effects on cardiac function after MI. Keywords * Abca1 deficiency; * Myocardial infarction; * Immune cells; * Mic