The influence of bovine serum albumin on β-lactoglobulin denaturation, aggregation and gelation

peer-reviewedThe effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the heat-induced denaturation, aggregation and subsequent acid-induced gelation of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) was investigated in this work. Changes in the denaturation kinetics of β-lg during heating at 78 °C were determined by monitoring the disappearance of the native protein by reverse-phase chromatography. Replacing β-lg with increasing amounts of BSA, while keeping the total protein concentration constant at 5% (w/w), significantly increased the denaturation rate of β-lg from 2.57±0.30×10−3(g L−1)(1−n)s−1 to 5.07±0.72×10−3(g L−1)(1−n)s−1 (β-lg: BSA ratio of 3:1 w/w). The reaction order for β-lg was 1.40±0.09. Partial replacement of β-lg with BSA (β-lg: BSA ratio of 3:1 w/w) significantly increased the reaction order to 1.67±0.13. Heat-induced aggregates between β-lg and BSA were studied by dynamic light scattering, two-dimensional electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography. The partial replacement of β-lg with BSA significantly changed the gelling properties of the acid-induced gels. A rapid rate of acidification resulted in a significant decrease, while a slow acidification rate resulted in a significant increase in gel strength. Size exclusion chromatography demonstrated that intermolecular disulphide bond formation occurred during both heat-induced denaturation/aggregation and subsequent acid-induced gelation. Results clearly indicate that BSA contributed to the formation of these disulphide bonds.This work was funded under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM) of the National Development Plan 2000-2006. J. Kehoe is funded by the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship schem

The Feasibility of Using an Evidence-Informed Screening Protocol to Identify and Treat Youth Firesetters in an Outpatient Psychiatric Population

This study examines the feasibility of using an evidence-informed protocol to assess and treat youth from an outpatient population for fire interest and/or previous involvement with fire. Clinicians at a nonprofit community organization were trained in the use of 3 screening tools designed to identify children and adolescents with elevated fire interest and fire involvement. Sixty-two cases were examined over a 6-month period, 53 of which were generated through consecutive intakes. The results revealed few youth with elevated fire interest or fire involvement. However, useful aspects of the screening protocol are indentified and indicate a need to continue this line of research

Exploring the Behavioral and Psychological Differences between Male and Female Youth with a History of Fire Involvement

Study objectives were to explore a sample of fire-involved youth by 1) describing their overall psychological characteristics, thoughts, and behaviors, 2) comparing the psychological characteristics, thoughts, and behaviors of their male and female subgroups, 3) examining how specific psychological problems are related to fire-specific thoughts and behaviors for the overall group, and 4) examining how relations between specific psychological problems and fire-specific thoughts and behaviors may differ for the male and female subgroups. Data were gathered from a chart review of clinical files of youth with a history of fire involvement. There were 186 participants, ages 9 to18, 72% male. Data about general and fire-specific characteristics were collected using the Child Behavior Checklist, the Aggression Questionnaire, and the Children's Firesetting Interview. Results indicated that 85% of youth had clinically significant problems in at least 1 psychological domain. The proportions with clinically significant ratings for each domain were as follows: externalizing problems (77%), internalizing problems (53%), thought problems (32%), and social problems (21%). Nearly one-third of the sample had clinically significant problems in 3 or more domains. A majority of the sample reported having at least some fire curiosity, thoughts about fire, and enjoyment in reading about fire. Closer to half reported wanting to play with fire or view fire-related media. Favorite characteristics of fire were predominantly related to its functionality or observational aspects. Close to half of the sample reported having hid fire-starting materials or having left burn marks on things in their homes. Although there were no significant sex differences for internalizing and externalizing problems, the males had higher levels of social problems, thought problems, fire curiosity, and involvement in fire-related activities. Further discussions of sex differences are included. Regression models predicting fire-related thoughts and behaviors were explored for males, females, and the overall sample. This study found sex differences in the overall pattern of correlations between psychological and behavioral problems of males and females with a history of fire involvement. Treatment implications include a strong need for clinicians not only to address externalizing problems, but to also incorporate interventions for internalizing, thought, and social problems

Aluminum as a commercial conductor of electric energy

In considering the adaptability of any metal to serve as a distributing agent of electrical energy, the investigation must shape itself along three lines, viz, - the electrical, the physical and the chemical properties which the metal may possess. Evidently a deficiency in any of these properties, if serious, will debar it from successfully coping in the market with its competitors. A metal may have excellent conductivity and its behavior electrically may be thoroughly satisfactory, but if it lacks strength, physically, or ability to resist the destructive forces of the atmosphere, chemically, it is obviously inadaquate sic to serve as a conductor --page 1

A process for the separation of barite and sphalerite

The present price of zinc has stimulated a greater interest in Sphalerite Barite separations than has been manifested for some time. A great many processes have been worked on and have failed for many reasons, the main one being that the physical characteristics of the ore varied so much. The process that is successful must be independent of these variations. The following process is one that depends on a chemical phenomenon and is adapted to any sphalerite-barite separation. This series of experiments was performed by the authors at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo. and was embodied in a thesis --page 1

Behavioral Outcomes of Home-Based Services for Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disorders

The current study evaluates the effectiveness of an intensive home-based treatment program, Families First, on the behaviors of children and adolescents suffering from mental disorders and being at risk for out-ofi home placement. The sample included 85 youngsters and their families from a semi-rural community. The Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-Revised (DICA-R) was administered to the children, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was completed by a parent at pretreatment and posttreatment. The families participated in a 4-6 week, intensive home intervention where crisis intervention, social support services, and needed psychological services were offered. The results indicated that both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in youngsters with different diagnoses of mental disorders were significantly reduced at posttreatment as indicated by their CBCL scores. Furthermore, youngsters with a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder seemed to benefit the most, as evidenced by the improved scores on most subscales of the CBCL. Youngsters with mood disorders and conduct disorders seemed to benefit in their most deficient areas, internalizing behavior problems and delinquent behaviors, respectively. Finally, after participating in Families First, more than half of the youngsters in the sample were able to stay home with their familie

Exactly Soluble Quantum Wormhole in Two Dimensions

We are presenting a quantum traversable wormhole in an exactly soluble two-dimensional model. This is different from previous works since the exotic negative energy that supports the wormhole is generated from the quantization of classical energy-momentum tensors. This explicit illustration shows the quantum-mechanical energy can be used as a candidate for the exotic source. As for the traversability, after a particle travels through the wormhole, the static initial wormhole geometry gets a back reaction which spoils the wormhole structure. However, it may still maintain the initial structure along with the appropriate boundary condition.Comment: v1. 13 pages, 1 figure, REVTeX3; v2. 1 Ref. added, REVTeX4, to appear in Phys. Rev.