Regulation of motor neuron specification by phosphorylation of neurogenin 2.

The mechanisms by which proneural basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factors control neurogenesis have been characterized, but it is not known how they specify neuronal cell-type identity. Here, we provide evidence that two conserved serine residues on the bHLH factor neurogenin 2 (Ngn2), S231 and S234, are phosphorylated during motor neuron differentiation. In knockin mice in which S231 and S234 of Ngn2 were mutated to alanines, neurogenesis occurs normally, but motor neuron specification is impaired.

Model on the microbial quality change of seasoned soybean sprouts for on-line shelf life prediction.

The growth of aerobic bacteria on Korean seasoned soybean sprouts was modelled as a function of temperature to estimate microbial spoilage and shelf life on a real-time basis under dynamic storage conditions. Counts of aerobic bacteria on seasoned soybean sprouts stored at constant temperatures between 0 degrees C and 15 degrees C were recorded. The bootstrapping method was applied to generate many resampled data sets of mean microbial plate counts that were then used to estimate the parameters of the microbial growth model of Baranyi and Roberts.