Improvement of Aroma in Transgenic Potato As a Consequence of Impairing Tuber Browning

Sensory analysis studies are critical in the development of quality enhanced crops, and may be an important component in the public acceptance of genetically modified foods. It has recently been established that odor preferences are shared between humans and mice, suggesting that odor exploration behavior in mice may be used to predict the effect of odors in humans. We have previously found that mice fed diets supplemented with engineered nonbrowning potatoes (-PPO) consumed more potato than mice fed diets supplemented with wild-type potatoes (WT). This prompted us to explore a possible role of potato odor in mice preference for nonbrowning potatoes. Taking advantage of two well established neuroscience paradigms, the “open field test” and the “nose-poking preference test”, we performed experiments where mice exploration behavior was monitored in preference assays on the basis of olfaction alone. No obvious preference was observed towards -PPO or WT lines when fresh potato samples were tested. However, when oxidized samples were tested, mice consistently investigated -PPO potatoes more times and for longer periods than WT potatoes. Congruently, humans discriminated WT from -PPO samples with a considerably better performance when oxidized samples were tested than when fresh samples were tested in blind olfactory experiments. Notably, even though participants ranked all samples with an intermediate level of pleasantness, there was a general consensus that the -PPO samples had a more intense odor and also evoked the sense-impression of a familiar vegetable more often than the WT samples. Taken together, these findings suggest that our previous observations might be influenced, at least in part, by differential odors that are accentuated among the lines once oxidative deterioration takes place. Additionally, our results suggest that nonbrowning potatoes, in addition to their extended shelf life, maintain their odor quality for longer periods of time than WT potatoes. To our knowledge this is the first report on the use of an animal model applied to the sensory analysis of a transgenic crop

Spine density on olfactory granule cell dendrites is reduced in rats reared in a restricted olfactory environment

The Golgi technique was used to study the development of spines on the external dendrites of granule cells in the olfactory bulbs of young rats that had been continuously exposed to cyclohexanone vapor, deodorized air, or rat odors. Exposure to deodorized air for 3 weeks from postnatal day 1 reduced spine density on the medial and lateral sides of the bulb, whilst exposure to cyclohexanone reduced spine density on the lateral side only. These reductions were evident in other animals exposed for 7 weeks. With all treatments, spine density reached a maximum at postnatal day 21 and decreased markedly during the next month

A strategic research agenda for photovoltaic solar energy technology : report of the EU PV technology platform

The EU PV Technology Platform [1] aims at joining forces on a European level to contribute to the further development of photovoltaic solar energy into a competitive technology that can be applied on a large scale and to the strengthening of the position of the European PV industry on the global market. The Platform mobilises a wide range of stakeholders from all European countries and mainly operates through its four Working Groups, addressing distinctly different fields of activity: 1. Policy and Instruments, 2. Market Deployment, 3. Science, Technology & Applications, and 4. Developing Countries. A key result of the Platform activities over the first two years of its existence is the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which was prepared by the Working Group on Science, Technology & Applications and published in June 2007. The SRA defines broadly supported overall development targets for PV technology and outlines research fields and topics to be addressed to reach these targets. In this context cost reduction of PV electricity generation is a crucial, although not the only, issue. This paper provides a brief summary of the SRA. The full document can be downloaded from the Platform website

A strategic research agenda for photovoltaic solar energy technology : report of the EU PV technology platform

The EU PV Technology Platform [1] aims at joining forces on a European level to contribute to the further development of photovoltaic solar energy into a competitive technology that can be applied on a large scale and to the strengthening of the position of the European PV industry on the global market. The Platform mobilises a wide range of stakeholders from all European countries and mainly operates through its four Working Groups, addressing distinctly different fields of activity: 1. Policy and Instruments, 2. Market Deployment, 3. Science, Technology & Applications, and 4. Developing Countries. A key result of the Platform activities over the first two years of its existence is the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which was prepared by the Working Group on Science, Technology & Applications and published in June 2007. The SRA defines broadly supported overall development targets for PV technology and outlines research fields and topics to be addressed to reach these targets. In this context cost reduction of PV electricity generation is a crucial, although not the only, issue. This paper provides a brief summary of the SRA. The full document can be downloaded from the Platform website

Architecture of a mammalian glomerular domain revealed by novel volume electroporation using nanoengineered microelectrodes

Dense microcircuit reconstruction techniques have begun to provide ultrafine insight into the architecture of small-scale networks. However, identifying the totality of cells belonging to such neuronal modules, the “inputs” and “outputs,” remains a major challenge. Here, we present the development of nanoengineered electroporation microelectrodes (NEMs) for comprehensive manipulation of a substantial volume of neuronal tissue. Combining finite element modeling and focused ion beam milling, NEMs permit substantially higher stimulation intensities compared to conventional glass capillaries, allowing for larger volumes configurable to the geometry of the target circuit. We apply NEMs to achieve near-complete labeling of the neuronal network associated with a genetically identified olfactory glomerulus. This allows us to detect sparse higher-order features of the wiring architecture that are inaccessible to statistical labeling approaches. Thus, NEM labeling provides crucial complementary information to dense circuit reconstruction techniques. Relying solely on targeting an electrode to the region of interest and passive biophysical properties largely common across cell types, this can easily be employed anywhere in the CNS