Investigations into the Ability to Reduce Cinnamic Acid as Undesired Precursor of Toxicologically Relevant Styrene in Wort by Different Barley to Wheat Ratios (Grain Bill) during Mashing.

Styrene is a food-borne toxicant in wheat beer and due to its classification as possibly carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2002, mitigation strategies had to be developed. Aiming at understanding the impact of the barley to wheat malt ratio (grain bill) during mashing on the contents of soluble and free (i) cinnamic, (ii) -coumaric, and (iii) ferulic acid, precursors of (i) styrene and the desired vinyl aromatics (ii) 4-vinylphenol and (iii) 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol in wheat beer, wort was prepared at four different barley to wheat malt ratios of 100:0, 25:75, 50:50, and 0:100 (w/w). Additionally, the malts were produced at different germination temperatures and aeration rates (12/32, 18/35, 18/25, 24/18, and 26/25 (°C; L/min)) to consider these two further parameters as well.

The Role of Endogenous Enzymes during Malting of Barley and Wheat Varieties in the Mitigation of Styrene in Wheat Beer.

Knowledge of the biochemical processes responsible for the release of phenolic acids (precursors of vinyl aromatics) during malting is important to find mitigation strategies for the toxicologically relevant styrene (formed from cinnamic acid) in wheat beer. Therefore, grain and malts of four barley and three wheat varieties were screened for the activities of various enzymes and the amounts of nonstarch polysaccharides (to which the phenolic acids are bound to a certain extent). During malting, a very strong degradation of β-glucan, synonymous to a depletion of the cell walls, was found, suggesting that a partial degradation of cell walls cannot have an effect on the release of phenolic acids.

Studies on the Impact of Malting and Mashing on the Free, Soluble Ester-Bound, and Insoluble Ester-Bound Forms of Desired and Undesired Phenolic Acids Aiming at Styrene Mitigation during Wheat Beer Brewing.

Mitigation studies on styrene in wheat beer found no correlation between the free phenolic acid contents in the processing steps and the final concentrations of the toxicologically relevant styrene and the desired aroma-active vinyl aromatics in beer, which can be explained by the presence of phenolic acid releasing enzymes that are still active after kiln-drying and by the yeast's own feruloyl esterase activity. The present study contributed to a better understanding of the coherence between the free, soluble ester-bound, and insoluble ester-bound forms of cinnamic, -coumaric, and ferulic acid during malting and mashing of barley and wheat varieties. Concentration differences in malt by factors of up to 1700 were found between the total cinnamic acid contents (an undesired precursor of the toxicologically relevant styrene) and the total contents of -coumaric and ferulic acid (both desired precursors of the aroma-active compounds 4-vinylphenol and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol).

Satellite-based assessment of electricity restoration efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

A real-time understanding of the distribution and duration of power outages after a major disaster is a precursor to minimizing their harmful consequences. Here, we develop an approach for using daily satellite nighttime lights data to create spatially disaggregated power outage estimates, tracking electricity restoration efforts after disasters strike. In contrast to existing utility data, these estimates are independent, open, and publicly-available, consistently measured across regions that may be serviced by several different power companies, and inclusive of distributed power supply (off-grid systems).

Cyclosporin A is superior to cyclophosphamide in children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome-a randomized controlled multicentre trial by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pädiatrische Nephrologie.

First line immunosuppressive treatment in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome in children is still open to discussion. We conducted a controlled multicentre randomized open label trial to test the efficacy and safety of cyclosporin A (CSA) versus cyclophosphamide pulses (CPH) in the initial therapy of children with newly diagnosed primary steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome and histologically proven minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or mesangial hypercellularity. Patients in the CSA group (n = 15) were initially treated with 150 mg/m(2) CSA orally to achieve trough levels of 120-180 ng/ml, while patients in the CPH group (n = 17) received CPH pulses (500 mg/m(2) per month intravenous).

Overexpression of a dominant-negative allele of SEC4 inhibits growth and protein secretion in Candida albicans.

Candida albicans SEC4 was cloned by complementing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae sec4-8 mutation, and its deduced protein product (Sec4p) was 63% identical to S. cerevisiae Sec4p. One chromosomal SEC4 allele in C.

Cytochrome P450 lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase (ERG11) and manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are adjacent genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

DNA sequencing and analysis of genomic DNA using the polymerase chain reaction were used to demonstrate that SOD1 and ERG11 are adjacent genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288c and to establish the correct intergenic sequence of this segment on chromosome VIII.

Primary structure of the cytochrome P450 lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase gene from Candida tropicalis.

We report the nucleotide sequence of the gene and flanking DNA for the cytochrome P450 lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase (14DM) from the yeast Candida tropicalis ATCC750. An open reading frame (ORF) of 528 codons encoding a 60.9-kD protein is identified.

Proteins from eight eukaryotic cytochrome P-450 families share a segmented region of sequence similarity.

Proteins from eight eukaryotic families in the cytochrome P-450 superfamily share one region of sequence similarity. This region begins 275-310 amino acids from the amino terminus of each P-450, continues for approximately 170 residues, and ends 35-50 amino acids before the carboxyl terminus. The region can be divided into four domains of sequence similarity, each possessing its own pattern of invariant, conserved, and variable amino acids.

Primary structure of the P450 lanosterol demethylase gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have sequenced the structural gene and flanking regions for lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase (14DM) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An open reading frame of 530 codons encodes a 60.7-kDa protein.

Isolation of a cytochrome P-450 structural gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have transformed a Saccharomyces cerevisiae host with an S. cerevisiae genomic library contained in the shuttle vector YEp24 and screened the resultant transformants for resistance to ketoconazole (Kc), an inhibitor of the cytochrome P-450 (P-450) enzyme lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase. Two plasmids were isolated which transformed yeast to both increased resistance to Kc and increased levels of total P-450.

A cluster of repetitive elements within a 700 base pair region in the mouse genome.

Approximately 39% of the clones from a BALB/c mouse genomic library hybridized with polyadenylated cytoplasmic RNA extracted from anemic mouse spleen. The DNA sequence of a portion of one such clone revealed the presence of three repetitive sequence elements within a 700 bp span. All three elements contain putative RNA polymerase III control regions oriented in the same direction and oligo(dA) tracts at their 3' ends.

Is cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate a cell cycle regulator?

Transient increases in the intracellular level of cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate have been observed at a periodicity of one generation time in two spoT strains of Escherichia coli and in Bacillus licheniformis.