Effects of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and modified atmosphere packaging on postharvest storage quality of nectarine fruit

The goal of this study was to compare the effects of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), which is commonly used for the storage of nectarine fruit, and treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP: 0.5 or 1µLL-1 for 24h at 0°C), an ethylene inhibitor, on the quality of nectarines cv. 'Maria Aurelia'. After harvest, nectarine fruits were subjected to 1-MCP or MAP treatments. Following the treatments, the fruits were then kept at 0°C for 40 days and at 20°C for an additional 2 days to simulate its shelf life. Fruit flesh firmness significantly decreased during storage and shelf life, for all treated fruits. Both 1-MCP doses and MAP maintained firmness better than control fruits. Chilling injury (CI) was first observed after 20 days at 0°C+2 days at 20°C and then further increased during cold storage and shelf life period for all treatments. Compared with control fruits, MCP treated or MAP-stored nectarines showed significantly reduced incidence of CI and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methyl esterase (PEM) activities as well as lower hue angles (h°), total soluble solid (TSS) contents and respiration rates. These results showed that both methods maintained the post-harvest quality of nectarine fruit and provided longer storage and shelf life. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.TOVAG-108O021This work was financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey under project number TOVAG-108O021

Characterization and properties of catalase immobilized onto controlled pore glass and its application in batch and plug-flow type reactors

Bovine liver catalase was covalently immobilized onto controlled pore glass (CPG) beads modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES) followed by treatment with glutaraldehyde. Coupling of catalase onto CPG was optimized to improve the efficiency of the overall immobilization procedure. The optimum coupling conditions: pore diameter of CPG, pH, buffer concentration, temperature, coupling time and initial catalase amount per grams of carrier were determined as 70 nm, 6.0, 75 mM, 5 °C, 7 h and 6 mg catalase, respectively. Catalytic efficiencies (kcat/Km) and thermal inactivation rate constants (ki) of ICPG1 were determined and compared with that of free catalase. Suitability of ICPG1 was also investigated by using it in batch and plug-flow type reactors. When the remaining activity of ICPG1 retained was about 50% of its initial activity the highest total productivity of ICPG1 was determined as 7.6 × 106 U g immobilized catalase-1 in plug-flow type reactor. However, the highest total productivity of ICPG1 was 6.2 × 105 U g immobilized catalase-1 in batch type reactor. ICPG1 may have great potentials as biocatalyst for the application in decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in plug-flow type reactor. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.National Council for Scientific Research: FEF2005D11, 104T411This work was supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) with the Project number of “104T411” and Research Grants FEF2005D11 from Cukurova University

Immobilization of catalase onto Eupergit C and its characterization

Bovine liver catalase was covalently immobilized onto Eupergit C. Optimum conditions of immobilization: pH, buffer concentration, temperature, coupling time and initial catalase amount per gram of carrier were determined as 7.5, 1.0 M, 25 °C, 24 h and 4.0 mg/g, respectively. Vmax and Km were determined as 1.4(±0.2) × 105 U/mg protein and 28.6 ± 3.6 mM, respectively, for free catalase, and as 3.7(±0.4) × 103 U/mg protein and 95.9 ± 0.6 mM, respectively, for immobilized catalase. The thermal stability of the immobilized catalase in terms of half-life time (29.1 h) was comparably higher than that of the free catalase (9.0 h) at 40 °C. Comparison of storage stabilities showed that the free catalase completely lost its activity at the end of 11 days both at room temperature and 5 °C. However, immobilized catalase retained 68% of its initial activity when stored at room temperature and 79% of its initial activity when stored at 5 °C at the end of 28 days. The highest reuse number of immobilized catalase was 22 cycles of batch operation when 40 mg of immobilized catalase loaded into the reactor retaining about 50% of its original activity. In the plug flow type reactor, the longest operation time was found as 82 min at a substrate flow rate of 2.3 mL/min when the remaining activity of 40 mg immobilized catalase was about 50% of its original activity. The resulting immobilized catalase onto Eupergit C has good reusability, thermal stability and long-term storage stability. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.FEF2005D11, 104T411This work was supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) with the Project number of “104T411” and Research Grants FEF2005D11 from Cukurova University

Response of catalase activity to Ag+, Cd2+, Cr6+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ in five tissues of freshwater fish Oreochromis niloticus

PubMedID: 16581305Catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) is an important enzyme in antioxidant defense system protecting animals from oxidative stress. Freshwater fish Oreochromis niloticus were exposed for 96 h to different concentrations of Ag+, Cd2+, Cr6+, Cu2+ and Zn2+, known to cause oxidative stress, and subsequently CAT activities in liver, kidney, gill, intestine and brain were measured. In vivo, CAT was stimulated by all metals except Ag+ in the liver and the highest increase in CAT activity (183%) resulted from 1.0 mg Cd2+/L exposure, whereas 0.5 mg Ag+/L exposure resulted in a sharp decrease (44%). In tilapia kidney, cadmium and zinc had no significant effects on CAT activity, whereas 0.1 mg Cr6+/L exposure caused a decrease (44%). Cadmium and zinc did not significantly affect the CAT activity in gill; however, 0.5 mg Ag+/L exposure caused an increase (66%) and 1.5 mg Cr6+/L exposure caused a decrease (97%) in CAT activity. All metals, except Cu2+(41% increase), caused significant decreases in CAT activity in the intestine. In brain, 1.0 mg Zn2+/L resulted in an increase in CAT activity (126%), while 1.5 mg Ag+/L exposure caused a 54% decrease. In vitro, all metals - except Ag+ and Cu2+ in kidney - significantly inhibited the CAT activity in all tissues. Results emphasized that CAT may be considered as a sensitive bioindicator of the antioxidant defense system. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Comparison of autogenous and allograft bone rings in surgically created vertical bone defects around implants in a sheep model

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare autogenous and allograft bone rings in surgically created vertical bone defects. Material and methods: Four male, 1-year-old sheep were used in this study. In each sheep, eight vertical bone defects 7 mm in diameter were created using trephine drill in the iliac wing. Autogenous and allograft bone rings 5 mm in height and 7 mm in diameter were used for vertical augmentation around implants. The study consisted of four groups according to the bone ring type and amount of vertical augmentation, autogenous 2 mm, allograft 2 mm, autogenous 4 mm, and allograft 4 mm. Two of the animals were sacrificed after 4 months, and the remaining two animals were sacrificed after 8 months. Undecalcified sections were prepared from harvested samples. Histological assessment and histomorphometric analysis were performed. Results: Autogenous 2 mm group showed higher values than allograft 2 mm group, and autogenous 4 mm group showed higher values than allograft 4 mm group in terms of bone area and bone-to-implant contact (BIC) after 4 months. However, allograft 2 mm group showed higher bone area and BIC values than autogenous 2 mm group after 8 months. Also, autogenous 4 mm and allograft 4 mm groups showed comparable results after 8 months. Allograft 2 mm and allograft 4 mm groups showed higher bone area and BIC values at 8 months compared with 4 months. Conclusions: Allograft bone ring looks promising in augmentation of surgically created vertical bone defects around implants after 8 months of healing. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Lt

Partial purification and immobilization of a new (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase from seeds of Prunus pseudoarmeniaca

Hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) from seeds of Prunus pseudoarmeniaca was partially purified by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and covalently immobilized onto Eupergit C and Eupergit C 250 L. The percentages of bound protein per gram of Eupergit C and Eupergit C 250 L were about 81 and 98 of the initial amount of protein, respectively. Km and V max values were determined 2.23 mM and 0.54 U/mg prot. for the free HNL, 1.60 mM and 0.87 U/mg prot. for the immobilized HNL onto Eupergit C and 1.03 mM and 0.35 U/mg prot. for the immobilized HNL onto Eupergit C 250 L, respectively at optimized reaction conditions. The half lives (t1/2) and the thermal inactivation rate constants (ki) of free and immobilized HNLs were determined at 25 and 50 °C, immobilized HNLs displayed higher thermal stability. Carboligation activities of free and immobilized HNLs for (R)-mandelonitrile (R-MN) synthesis were also determined. Besides, reusabilities of immobilized HNLs for both lyase and carboligation activities were investigated by using batch type reactors. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.109T427This work was supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) with the Project number of 109T427

Clinical results of transurethral electrovaporization resection of prostate (TUVRP) with two different electrodes versus TURP: A randomized prospective clinical study [Prostatin Iki Farkli Elektrotla Yapilan Transüretral Elektrovaporizasyon Rezeksiyonu (TUVRP) ile TURP Kli?ik Sonuçlarinin Karşilaştirilmasi: Randomize Prospektif Kl·inik Bir Çalişma]

Introduction: The aim of our study was to compare the results of conventional transurethral electroresection of the prostate (TURP) and transurethral vaporization and resection of the prostate (TUVRP) operations in patients with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction due to prostatic enlargement. Materials and Methods: 59 consecutive patients with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction due to prostatic enlargement and prostate size between 20-60 g were prospectively randomized to two treatment groups; one group underwent standard TURP and the other TUVRP. Eligibility criteria included IPSS result 8 or grater, Qmax <15 ml/sec and prostate volume of 20 to 60 gm on transrectal ultrasonography. Patients less than 50 years old and those with a known neurogenic bladder, cancer of the prostate or bladder, history of prostate surgery or currently taking medications known to affect voiding function (alfa blockers) were excluded from this study. Patients were followed-up at 1, 3 and 12 months after treatment. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum flow rate (Qmax), post-voiding residual urine volume (PVR) and transrectal ultrasound results were recorded during the follow-up period. Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis, Wilcoxon test and Bonferroni corrected Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis to compare the preoperative and postoperative data. Results: With respect to efficacy parameters (IPSS, Qmax, PVR and prostate volume) we did not observe statistically significant difference among those groups (TURP and TUVRP). Also the complications were similar on both groups. Conclusions: TUVRP seems to be a safe and efficacious modification of TURP (with) and the main advantage of this technique is to produce a more accurate TURP operation with less hemorrhage by improving surgeon's comfort during the resection

A novel semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction/enzyme digestion-based method for detection of large scale deletions/conversions of the CYP21 gene and mutation screening in Turkish families with 21-hydroxylase deficiency

21-Hydroxylase deficiency is a recessively inherited disorder resulting from mutations in the CYP21 gene. The CYP21 gene is located along with the CYP21P pseudogene in the human leukocyte antigen major histocompatibility complex region on chromosome 6. Molecular diagnosis is difficult due to the 98% similarity of CYP21 and CYP21P genes and the fact that almost all frequently reported mutations reside on the pseudogene. Allele-specific PCR for the 8 most frequently reported point mutations was performed in 31 Turkish families with at least a single 21-hydroxylase-deficient individual. The allele frequencies of the point mutations were as follows: P30L, 0%; IVS2 (AS, A/C-G,-13), 22.5%; G110Delta8nt, 3.2%; I172N, 11.4%; exon 6 cluster (I236N, V237E, M239K), 3.2%; V281L, 0%; Q318X, 8%; and R356W, 9.6%. Large deletions and gene conversions were detected by Southern blot analysis, and the allele frequencies were 9.6% and 22.5%, respectively. Sequence analysis of the gene, performed on patients with only 1 mutated allele, revealed 2 missense mutations (R339H and P435S). A novel semiquantitative PCR/enzyme digestion-based method for the detection of large scale deletions/conversions of the gene was developed for routine diagnostic purposes, and its accuracy was shown by comparison with the results of Southern blot analysis