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Seed priming with water (hydropriming or HP) has been shown to be beneficial for seed germination and plant growth. However, there is little information on the effects of seed priming with amino acids and casein hydrolysate (CH) compared with HP, particularly in relation to early post-germinative seedling growth under salinity stress. In this study, Italian ryegrass seeds (Lolium multiflorum L.) were primed with 1 mM of each of the 20 protein amino acids and CH (200 mg l−1) before they were germinated in 0, 60 and 90 mM NaCl in Petri dishes for 4 d in darkness. Germination percentage (GP), radicle length (RL) and peroxidase (POD) activity in the root of 4-d-old Italian ryegrass seedlings were investigated. Generally, when the seeds were germinated in 0, 60 and 90 mM NaCl, there was no significant difference in GP of seeds among various priming treatments, except that a higher GP was observed in seeds of HP treatment compared with the non-primed seeds when incubated in 60 mM NaCl. When incubated in 60 and 90 mM NaCl, seedlings from seeds primed with L-methionine or CH exhibited greater RL (greater protection against salinity stress) and higher root POD activity than those from non-primed and hydro-primed seeds. Under salinity stress, there were higher levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the root of 4-d-old Italian ryegrass seedlings, a marker of oxidative stress, but seed priming with CH was effective in reducing the salinity-triggered increase in MDA content. These results suggest that priming with L-methionine or CH would be better than HP for the protection of seedling root growth under salinity stress and might be associated with enhanced antioxidative defence against salinity-induced oxidative stress.

Selective retinal therapy (SRT) employs a micro-second short-pulse lasers to induce localized destruction of the targeted retinal structures with a pulse duration and power aimed at minimal damage to other healthy retinal cells. SRT has demonstrated a great promise in the treatment of retinal diseases, but pulse energy thresholds for effective SRT procedures should be determined precisely and in real time, as the thresholds could vary with disease status and patients. In this study, we present the use of a multi-port fiber-based interferometer (MFI) for highly sensitive real-time SRT monitoring. We exploit distinct phase differences among the fiber ports in the MFI to quantitatively measure localized fluctuations of complex-valued information during the SRT procedure. We evaluate several metrics that can be computed from the full complex-valued information and demonstrate that the complex contour integration is highly sensitive and most correlative to pulse energies, acoustic outputs, and cell deaths. The validity of our method was demonstrated on excised porcine retinas, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.92 and 0.88, respectively, as compared with the results from a cell viability assay.

In this study, we identified major aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists in the sediments from Yeongil Bay (n = 6) using effect-directed analysis. Using the H4IIE-luc bioassays, great AhR-mediated potencies were found in aromatic fractions (F2) of sediment organic extracts from silica gel column chromatography and sub-fractions (F2.6–F2.8) from reverse phase-HPLC. Full-scan mass spectrometric analysis using GC-QTOFMS was conducted to identify novel AhR agonists in highly potent fractions, such as F2.6–F2.8 of S1 (Gumu Creek). Selection criteria for AhR-active compounds consisted of three steps, including matching factor of NIST library (≥70), aromatic structures, and the number of aromatic rings (≥4). Fifty-nine compounds were selected as tentative AhR agonist candidates, with the AhR-mediated activity being assessed for six compounds for which standard materials were available commercially. Of these compounds, 20-methylcholanthrene, 7-methylbenz[a]anthracene, 10-methylbenz[a]pyrene, and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene exhibited significant AhR-mediated potency. Relative potency values of these compounds were determined relative to benzo[a]pyrene to be 3.2, 1.4, 1.2, and 0.2, respectively. EPA positive matrix factorization modeling indicated that the sedimentary AhR-active aromatic compounds primarily originated from coal combustion and vehicle emissions. Potency balance analysis indicated that four novel AhR agonists explained 0.007% to 1.7% of bioassay-derived AhR-mediated potencies in samples.

The structural evolution of 1-mercapto-2-propanol layer on Au(1 1 1) during a treatment in a N 2 flow was investigated using STM and cyclic voltammetry. The pristine layer showed a striped structure of (2√3×√3) with coverage of 0.33. As the SAM was treated in the N 2 flow, the superlattice evolved sequentially and irreversibly to the structures of (√21×√3) and (√3×√3)R30° without any coverage change and ultimately to amorphous domains with coverage less than 0.33. In cyclic voltammetric studies, it was found that the coverage of 1-mercapto-2-propanol was 0.33 and that the N 2 treatment induced a partial desorption of the adsorbed thiol molecules. In addition to this, the reductive stripping potential shifted to the anodic direction, signaling that the SAM of 1-mercapto-2-propanol became unstable. The structural evolution and destabilization of the 1-mercapto-2-propanol layer on Au(1 1 1) was discussed in terms of the attractive force between the OH groups via hydrogen bonding and the repulsive force between the methyl groups.

In the present article, the rheological behavior and thermal conductivity for dispersions of paraffin rods in silicone oil were investigated experimentally by examining the effects of surfactant concentration, particle volume concentration and temperature. The test suspensions at 15°C showed a strong shear-thinning viscosity as the particle concentration increased, whereas the test emulsions at 58°C showed typical Newtonian viscosity behavior. Relative viscosities of the present results agree with the theoretical results for rodlike particle suspensions. Thermal conductivities of the paraffin, silicon oil and mixture were measured with varying temperatures, respectively. Thermal conductivities of paraffin dispersions correlated satisfactorily with the Brailsford-Major equation.

Artificial superlattice of the ferroelectric BaTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 multilayer thin film has been fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. In this hetero epitaxial BTO/STO layers, each layers have been continuously grown on (La 0.5 ,Sr 0.5 )TiO 3 /MgO(100) with a periodicity ranging from (BTO 1 unit cell /STO 1 unit cell ) 125 to (BTO 125 unit cell /STO 125 unit cell ) 1 . The total thickness of BaTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 superlattice was 100 nm. X-ray diffraction results clearly showed that epitaxial BTO/STO superlattice was formed with a various periodicity. The depth profile in the superlattice showed that there was no serious interdiffusion between BaTiO 3 and SrTiO 3 layer by Auger electron spectroscope(AES).

The spatial distribution of UV-absorbing compounds (mycosporine-like amino acids, MAAs), was investigated by comparing the phytoplankton community structures in the inner and outer waters of the Kongsfjorden inlet, which is located in arctic Svalbard. Thalassiosira sp. and Phaeocystis sp. were dominant in the outer waters of the Kongfjorden inlet, demonstrating high chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations and low MAA concentrations in the outer bay waters. However, Kongsfjorden Bay was dominated by Phaeocystis sp. and demonstrated high MAA concentrations despite low chl a concentrations. The carbon fixation rate at a station located inside Kongsfjorden Bay (T05) was significantly photo-inhibited by UV radiation, demonstrating higher production rates of MAA and chl a than at a station (B09) in outer bloom waters. Additionally, the turnover rates of individual MAAs were faster inside the Kongsfjorden Bay than in the outside waters. As a result, the natural phytoplankton community demonstrated different UV adaptation mechanisms according to the phytoplankton species, in this case, Thalassiosira sp. vs. Phaeocystis sp. It is possible to understand real-time changes for newly photosynthesized MAAs as UV-absorbing compounds in the natural phytoplankton community. This takes place via determination of in situ MAA production rates using 13C tracer and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) combined with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (irMS).

The relationship of dietary carotenoid consumption and the concentration of retinol and several carotenoids in mature human milk was investigated. Forty-two lactating mothers of infants from 0.5 to 7 months participated in this study. All measurements of milk retinol and carotenoids were determined by HPLC

Objectives: The objective of this study was to revise the target pattern in food guidance system for adolescents’ balanced menu planning. Methods: The food groups in the target pattern were divided into detailed food items, and intake number were assigned to each food items based on the revised standard food composition table. The validity of revised target pattern was examined. Menu planning according to the revised target pattern was made available to 305 male and female middle school students and the nutritional assessment of the menu plan were carried out using SPSS WIN 12.0. Results: The energy contents, energy contribution ratios of carbohydrate, fat, and protein, and 4 minerals’ and 6 vitamins’ contents of the revised target pattern were adequate. The average energy contents of the menu planned according to revised target pattern were 400~500 kcal higher than that of the revised target pattern when the revised standard food composition was applied. The energy contribution ratios of fat were 28.9%, close to maximum of acceptable macronutrient distribution range (AMDR) (30%), and that of carbohydrate were 54.5%, lower than minimum of AMDR (55%). The nutrient adequacy ratios (NARs) of calcium and vitamin C were less than 1.0. According to index of nutritional quality (INQ) of food items, kimchi, milk⋅dairy products, and soybean curd were energy efficient source for calcium, kimchi, fruit, vegetable and seaweed were energy efficient source for vitamin C, with INQ of food items were higher or close to 2.0. Kimchi was the best energy efficient source of calcium and vitamin C. Conclusions: Revised target pattern based on the adolescent’s foods intake was not good enough for balanced menu planning by adolescents, because what they ate and what they wanted to eat were very much different. Detailed guidance for food selection is necessary in each food items. Korean J Community Nutr 19(3): 274~282, 2014