Mechanism of lamellar spacing adjustment in directionally frozen agar gels

A theory is presented for predicting the size of ice crystals which result from steady-state, unidirectional growth within aqueous agar gels. Cellular arrays of adjacent ice crystals were separated by an amorphous water-agar membrane at a composition near the vitrification point. Using this vitrification composition and both a steady-state condition and a minimum free energy criterion, the size of ice crystals was predicted for a given solidification velocity and diffusion condition. It was found, however, that this simple model could not predict the trend towards larger crystal sizes that was observed when the initial agar concentration in the gels increased from 3% to 10% by weight agar.     

Effect of surface attachment on synthesis of bacterial cellulose

Gluconacetobacter spp. synthesize a pure form of hydrophilic cellulose that has several industrial specialty applications. Literature reports have concentrated on intensive investigation of static and agitated culture in liquid media containing high nutrient concentrations optimized for maximal cellulose production rates. The behavior of these bacteria on semisolid and solid surfaces has not been specifically addressed. The species Gluconacetobacter hansenii was examined for cellulose synthesis and colony morphology on a range of solid supports, including cotton linters, and on media thickened with agar, methyl cellulose, or gellan. The concentration and chemical structure of the thickening agent were found to be directly related to the formation of contiguous cellulose pellicules. Viability of the bacteria following freezer storage was improved when the bacteria were frozen in their cellulose pellicules. This article was authored by a contractor of the US government under contract no. DEAC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the US government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes.     

江蓠加工过程中成分变化对凝胶强度的影响

在确定最佳工艺条件的基础上，研究了江蓠藻及其琼胶中的蛋白质、矿物质在碱处理过程中及提胶过程中的变化趋势，井分析了蛋白质和主要矿物质成分与凝胶强度的关系。加工过程中江蓠藻中蛋白质和矿物质总的变化趋势是含量大幅度下降，而琼胶中的蛋白质、矿物质含量一般与原料江蓠中蛋白质、矿物质含量无关，而主要与加工精制工艺有关。江蓠原料中的矿物质，如钠、锌、钾、磷等对江蓠的含胶量及其琼胶凝胶强度有显著的影响。     

胎球蛋白—胶体金探针的制备

本文用柠檬酸钠还原法制备胶体金，以光吸收法和琼脂糖电泳法检测胎球蛋白－胶体金探针的稳定性，为胶体金探针的制备探索最佳条件。实验结果表明：ｐＨ在２～３．５时，探针稳定性较差；ｐＨ在５～１０时，需要较少量胎球蛋白即可获得稳定探针，在电场中也可稳定存在，ｐＨ在６～１０之间探针的电泳行为相似。实验表明，琼脂糖电泳有可望成为鉴定和分离胶体金探针的简易途径。     

Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Lippia multiflora Moldenke Essential Oil from Different Regions of Angola

The purpose of the study was to determine the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Lippia multiflora Moldenke essential oils (EOs) collected in different regions of Angola. Antibacterial activity was evaluated using the agar wells technique and vapour phase test. Analysis of the oils by GC/MS identified thirty-five components representing 67.5 to 100% of the total oils. Monoterpene hydrocarbons were the most prevalent compounds, followed by oxygenated monoterpenes. The content of the compounds varied according to the samples. The main components were Limonene, Piperitenone, Neral, Citral, Elemol, p-cymene, Transtagetone, and Artemisia ketone. Only one of the eleven samples contained Verbenone as the majority compound. In the vapour phase test, a single oil was the most effective against all the pathogens studied. The principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) of components of the selected EOs and inhibition zone diameter values of agar wells technique allowed us to identify a variability between the plants from the two provinces, but also intraspecific variability between sub-groups within a population. Each group of essential oils constituted a chemotype responsible for their bacterial inhibition capacity. The results presented here suggest that Angolan Lippia multiflora Moldenke has antibacterial properties and could be a potential source of antimicrobial agents for the pharmaceutical and food industry.     

Photochemical Processes Involved in a Biopolymer Doped by Chromium(VI) during Hologram Recording

This paper is devoted to the study of the photochemical processes occurring during hologram formation in a biopolymer, agar doped by chromium(VI). The evolution of both the absorbing chromium species and the polymer allowed elucidating the reactions taking place during irradiation in conditions representative of hologram formation. As previously observed with dichromated poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), polymer containing hydroxyl groups as agar, irradiation of dichromated agar provoked a two step reduction of chromium species and the crosslinking of the host polymer. But agar has a rather complex chemical structure and the photoproducts formed along the polymeric chains throughout the photoredox process were different in agar and in PVA. The photostability of the matrix, that has been proven, coupled with the possibility to record good quality holograms, allowed us to propose dichromated agar as a new natural photosensitive biomaterial.     

Concentration Dependence of NMR T1 in Agar Solutions

In this study, in order to explain solvent proton relaxation mechanism, the spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of agar solutions was measured as a function of agar concentration. Relaxation measurements were carried out by a FT-NMR spectrometer operating at 60 MHz and inversion recovery pulse squence was used. Relaxation rate(1/T1a) was linearly proportional to concentration of agar solution (C), and the T1 mechanism of solvent water protons in agar solutions should be caused by the chemical exchange of water protons between free and bound water.     

肺部感染时的体液免疫变化及其中西医结合治疗的免疫学评价

本文报告了68个肺部感染病例体液免疫指标——血清IgG、IgM、IgA和C_3的变化并选取其中26例分成两组(每组13例),使用两种不同的治疗方法(一组用中西医结合方法,另一组用单纯西医方法),比较两组治疗前后上述每种指标的变化,对所获数据进行统计学处理。结果表明。与正常人血清IgM、IgG、IgA和C_3相比,患有肺部感染的病人治疗前血清IgG明显降低,IgA明显上升,而IgM和C_3则无明显的变化。在治疗后,用中西医结合方法治疗的病人血清IgM比使用西医治疗病人的血清IgM明显高,在治疗前与正常人相比有明显升高的两组病人的IgA没有明显变化,IgG仍然很低,C_3亦仍无明显变化。     

A technique for mycelial development of ectomycorrhizal fungi on agar media

A technique was established to study ectomycorrhizal fungi on agar media. Petri dishes, 60 mm in diameter, containing 10 mL of culture medium covered with a cellophane disk were used for easy collection of the mycelium after growth. For analysis of fungal biomass production, a sterilized cellophane sheet was placed on the medium’s surface. Inoculation was achieved by placing a mycelial block onto the center of the cellophane sheet and then incubating at 25°C in the dark. Colony radial growth was measured and biomass dry wt was determined. Fresh mycelia were homogenized with 10 mL of acetate buffer (pH 5.5) for enzyme analysis. A crude extract was obtained by adding all culture medium to 90 mL of distilled water and homogenizing in a Potter. Reducing sugars, enzyme concentration, and pH were determined. Three fungal strains, Suillus collinitus, Pisosithus arrhizus, and Hebeloma cylindrosporum, were grown in different culture media (potato dextrose agar or Pintro’s medium). Parameters measured over time included glucose concentration, phosphatase activity, biomass, and pH.     

Effects of Anti-Bacterial Agents,Sample Preparation and Contact Time on Anti-Bacterial Efficacy in MDPE Film

The anti-bacterial efficacy of medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) with various contents of different anti-bacterial agents was studied with respect to the effects of the anti-bacterial concentration, size and form of MDPE test-specimen, and the contact time. The three anti-bacterial agents used were carbendazim and zinc dimethyl dithiocarbamate (TROYSAN-S88), 2-hydroxypropyl3-piperazinyl-quinoline carboxylic acid methacrylate (HPQM), and silver substituted zeolite (ZEOMIC). The halo and plate-count-agar (PCA) tests were employed to assess the efficacies of the anti-bacterial performance. It was found that the inhibition zone from the halo test was most visible for the HPQM agent; the higher the HPQM content, the greater the inhibition zone. ZEOMIC exhibited no inhibition zone. The PCA test results suggested that after incorporating HPQM agent in the MDPE matrix, the% reductions of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria were as successfully high as 99.9% for all HPQM loadings.