Newborns were examined for the presence of slow-moving haemoglobin components, tentatively designated X components and previously found in a group of Hb H disease in which invariably one of the parents of each patient had the same slow-moving Hb X components also. Structural studies showed that the abnormal haemoglobin in Chinese was identical with Hb Constant Spring, an c-chain variant. Newborns with Hb Bart’s and slow-moving X components invariably had one parent with the X components also. When the child grew older Hb Bart’s disappeared while the Hb X components remained in the blood. The homozygous state for the X components was found in a Malay boy through his newborn brother who had the X components in addition to Hb Bart’s and had both parents with the X components. One other Malay baby had the X components and Hb A2 Indonesia inherited from the parents. The present study of newborns also showed that Hb Bart’s can accompany different abnormalities of haemoglobin production, involving alpha-chains, beta-chains as well as gamm-chains. Its presence in cord blood is, therefore, not specific for alpha-thalassaemia
Key Words: Haemoglobinopathies; Hb Bart’s; Slow-moving Hb X; Thalassaemia
Brachiaria decumbens toxicity resulted in an altered reticulorumen environment in the sheep. This adversely affected the growth and activity of microorganisms in the rumen as reflected by greatly decreased concentrations of the volatile fatty acids (acetic, propionic and butyric) in B decumbens-intoxicated sheep.
In the title compound, [Zn(CH3COO)2(C4H8N2S)2]*H2O, the Zn atom is tetrahedrally coordinated in the ZnO2S2 form. N-H...O and O-H...O intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed by the four N atoms and the water molecule. N-H...O intermolecular hydrogen bonds and C-H...S and C-H...O intermolecular interactions interconnect columns formed by the molecules into layers. Adjacent layers are then linked by other N-H...O and O-H...O intermolecular hydrogen bonds to form a three-dimensional framework throughout the structure. The orientations of the acetate planes are such that the Zn atom lies within them.
Amiodarone (AD), a potent antiarrhythmic drug, is often associated with several adverse effects. It is shown to accumulate phospholipids in various tissues, and the impaired catabolism of phospholipids has been implicated in AD-induced phospholipidosis. The synthesis of phospholipids in tissues has not been dealt with. Hence, the incorporation of [14C]-acetate into phospholipids has been studied to understand the AD-induced phospholipidosis in lung and liver. A significant increase in lung and liver phospholipids was observed after 21 and 28 days of AD (175 mg/kg body weight/day) treatment. In the lung and liver, the incorporation of [14C]-acetate into all phospholipid fractions was elevated, while in the lung mitochondria phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and the cardiolipin levels were significantly increased. The results indicate that, in addition to the impaired catabolism of phospholipid, AD treatment resulted in increased phospholipid synthesis.
The electronic absorption spectra of eight substituted acetic acids have been measured at room temperature in several solvents. The ground state dipole moments are evaluated experimentally for these molecules. These ground state values are used in conjunction with the spectral results to evaluate their first electronically excited state dipole moments. For all the molecules investigated here the dipole moments in the excited state are higher than their ground state values.
Improved methods for extraction and clean up of fluroxypyr residue in water have been established. Two methods of fluroxypyr extraction were used, namely, Direct Measurement of fluroxypyr and Concentration of fluroxypyr onto A Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Adsorbent, followed by elution with solvent before determination of fluroxypyr. The recovery for Direct Measurement of fluroxypyr in water containing 8-100 microg L(-1), ranged from 86 to 110% with relative standard deviation of 0.7 to 2.15%. For the second method, three types of SPE were used, viz. C18, C18 end-capped and polyvinyl dibenzene (ISOLUTE ENV+). The procedure involved concentrating the analyte from fluroxypyr-spiked water at pH 3, followed by elution of the analyte with 4 mL of acentonitrile. The recovery of fluroxypyr from the spiked sample at 1 to 50 microg L(-1) after eluting through either C18 or C18 end-capped ranged from 40-64% (with relative standard deviation of 0.7 to 2.15) and 41-65% (with standard deviation of 1.52 to 11.9). The use of ISOLUTE ENV+, gave better results than the C18, C18 end-capped or the Direct Measurement Methods. The recovery and standard deviation of fluroxypyr from spiked water using ISOLUTE ENV+ ranged from 91-102% and 2.5 to 5.3, respectively.
Four methods were developed for the analysis of fluroxypyr in soil samples from oil palm plantations. The first method involved the extraction of the herbicide with 0.05 M NaOH in methanol followed by purification using acid base partition. The concentrated material was subjected to derivatization and then cleaning process using a florisil column and finally analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) equipped with electron capture detector (ECD). By this method, the recovery of fluroxypyr from the spiked soil ranged from 70 to 104% with the minimum detection limit at 5 microg/kg. The second method involved solid liquid extraction of fluroxypyr using a horizontal shaker followed by quantification using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with UV detector. The recovery of fluroxypyr using this method, ranged from 80 to 120% when the soil was spiked with fluroxypyr at 0.1-0.2 microg/g soil. In the third method, the recovery of fluroxypyr was determined by solid liquid extraction using an ultrasonic bath. The recovery of fluroxypyr at spiking levels of 4-50 microg/L ranged from 88 to 98% with relative standard deviations of 3.0-5.8% with a minimum detection limit of 4 microg/kg. In the fourth method, fluroxypyr was extracted using the solid liquid extraction method followed by the cleaning up step with OASIS HLB (polyvinyl dibenzene). The recovery of fluroxypyr was between 91 and 95% with relative standard deviations of 4.2-6.2%, respectively. The limit of detection in method 4 was further improved to 1 pg/kg. When the weight of soil used was increased 4 fold, the recovery of fluroxypyr at spiking level of 1-50 microg/kg ranged from 82-107% with relative standard deviations of 0.5-4.7%.
The objective of this study was to elucidate if chronic and acute ammonia intoxication in mudskippers, Periophthalmodon schlosseri and Boleophthalmus boddaerti, were associated with high levels of ammonia and/or glutamine in their brains, and if acute ammonia intoxication could be prevented by the administration of methionine sulfoximine [MSO; an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS)] or MK801 [an antagonist of N-methyl D-aspartate type glutamate (NMDA) receptors]. For P. schlosseri and B. boddaerti exposed to sublethal concentrations (100 and 8 mmol l(-1) NH4Cl, respectively, at pH 7.0) of environmental ammonia for 4 days, brain ammonia contents increased drastically during the first 24 h, and they reached 18 and 14.5 micromol g(-1), respectively, at hour 96. Simultaneously, there were increases in brain glutamine contents, but brain glutamate contents were unchanged. Because glutamine accumulated to exceptionally high levels in brains of P. schlosseri (29.8 micromol g(-1)) and B. boddaerti (12.1 micromol g(-1)) without causing death, it can be concluded that these two mudskippers could ameliorate those problems associated with glutamine synthesis and accumulation as observed in patients suffering from hyperammonemia. P. schlosseri and B. boddaerti could tolerate high doses of ammonium acetate (CH3COONH4) injected into their peritoneal cavities, with 24 h LC50 of 15.6 and 12.3 micromol g(-1) fish, respectively. After the injection with a sublethal dose of CH3COONH4 (8 micromol g(-1) fish), there were significant increases in ammonia (5.11 and 8.36 micromol g(-1), respectively) and glutamine (4.22 and 3.54 micromol g(-1), respectively) levels in their brains at hour 0.5, but these levels returned to normal at hour 24. By contrast, for P. schlosseri and B. boddaerti that succumbed within 15-50 min to a dose of CH3COONH4 (15 and 12 micromol g(-1) fish, respectively) close to the LC50 values, the ammonia contents in the brains reached much higher levels (12.8 and 14.9 micromol g(-1), respectively), while the glutamine level remained relatively low (3.93 and 2.67 micromol g(-1), respectively). Thus, glutamine synthesis and accumulation in the brain was not the major cause of death in these two mudskippers confronted with acute ammonia toxicity. Indeed, MSO, at a dosage (100 microg g(-1) fish) protective for rats, did not protect B. boddaerti against acute ammonia toxicity, although it was an inhibitor of GS activities from the brains of both mudskippers. In the case of P. schlosseri, MSO only prolonged the time to death but did not reduce the mortality rate (100%). In addition, MK801 (2 microg g(-1) fish) had no protective effect on P. schlosseri and B. boddaerti injected with a lethal dose of CH3COONH4, indicating that activation of NMDA receptors was not the major cause of death during acute ammonia intoxication. Thus, it can be concluded that there are major differences in mechanisms of chronic and acute ammonia toxicity between brains of these two mudskippers and mammalian brains.
The leaves of Melicope ptelefolia (Rutaceae) afforded a new acetophenone named 2,4,6-trihydroxy-3-geranylacetophenone. The structure of the compound was established by mass and NMR spectroscopy.
The purpose of this study was to develop a method for the determination of fluroxypyr (4-amino-3,5-dichloro-6-fluro2-pyridyloxyacetic acid) residue in palm oil namely crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO). The method involves the extraction of the herbicide from the oil matrix followed by low temperature precipitation and finally quantification of the residues using the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extraction efficiency of the method was evaluated by conducting recovery studies. The recovery of fluroxypyr from the fortified CPO samples ranged from 78%-111% with the relative values for the coefficient of variation ranging from 1.4 to 8.6%. Furthermore, the recovery of fluroxypyr from the spiked CPKO samples ranged from 91-107% with the relative values for the coefficient of variation ranging from 0.6 to 4.5%. The minimum detection limit of fluroxypyr in CPO and CPKO was 0.05 microg/g. The method was used to determine fluroxypyr residues from the field-treated samples of CPO and CPKO. When fluroxypyr was used for weed control in oil palm plantations no residue was detected in CPO and CPKO irrespective of the sampling interval and the dosage applied at the recommended or double the manufacturer's recommended dosage.
The performance of silver-loaded zeolite (HY and HZSM-5) catalysts in the oxidation of butyl acetate as a model volatile organic compound (VOC) was studied. The objective was to find a catalyst with superior activity, selectivity towards deep oxidation product and stability. The catalyst activity was measured under excess oxygen condition in a packed bed reactor operated at gas hourly space velocity (GHSV)=15,000-32,000 h(-1), reaction temperature between 150 and 500 degrees C and butyl acetate inlet concentration of 1000-4000 ppm. Both AgY and AgZSM-5 catalysts exhibited high activity in the oxidation of butyl acetate. Despite lower silver content, AgY showed better activity, attributed to better metal dispersion, surface characteristics and acidity, and its pore system. Total conversion of butyl acetate was achieved at above 400 degrees C. The oxidation of butyl acetate followed a simple power law model. The reaction orders, n and m were evaluated under differential mode by varying the VOC partial pressure between 0.004 and 0.018 atm and partial pressure of oxygen between 0.05 and 0.20 atm. The reaction rate was independent of oxygen concentration and single order with respect to VOC concentration. The activation energies were 19.78 kJ/mol for AgY and 32.26 kJ/mol for AgZSM-5, respectively.
A descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Blastocystis hominis in children aged between 1-12 years old from randomly selected villages in Alor Gajah district Melaka. The sampling was carried out from 1st to 7th of July of 2006. A total of 48 faecal samples were obtained from the children in those studied villages. The faecal specimens were examined by direct saline wet moun, formalin ethyl acetate concentration and trichrome staining method. It was found that 45.8% (22 out of 48) of the examined children were infected with Blastocystis hominis . Based on the results, the cumulative prevalence of three methods used showed that Blastocystis hominis infection in female children higher compared to male children. Whilst the schooling children aged of 6 to 12 years had a higher prevalence than pre school children at the age of 1-5 years. In term of diagnosis, formalin ethyl acetate concentration method showed prevalence of detection at 60.9%. It was followed by direct saline wet mount (43.5%) and trichrome staining at 34.8%.
Adsorption behaviours of butyl acetate in air have been studied over silver-loaded Y (Si/Al=40) and ZSM-5 (Si/Al=140) zeolites. The silver metal was loaded into the zeolites by ion exchange (IE) and impregnation (IM) methods. The adsorption study was mainly conducted at a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 13,000 h(-1) with the organic concentration of 1000 ppm while the desorption step was carried out at a GHSV of 5000 h(-1). The impregnated silver-loaded adsorbents showed lower uptake capacity and shorter breakthrough time by about 10 min, attributed to changes in the pore characteristics and available surface for adsorption. Silver exchanged Y (AgY(IE)) with lower hydrophobicity showed higher uptake capacity of up to 35%, longer adsorbent service time and easier desorption compared to AgZSM-5(IE). The presence of water vapour in the feed suppressed the butyl acetate adsorption of AgY(IE) by 42% due to the competitive adsorption of water on the surface and the effect was more pronounced at lower GHSV. Conversely, the adsorption capacity of AgZSM-5(IE) was minimally affected, attributed to the higher hydrophobicity of the material. A mathematical model is proposed to simulate the adsorption behaviour of butyl acetate over AgY(IE) and AgZSM-5(IE). The model parameters were successfully evaluated and used to accurately predict the breakthrough curves under various process conditions with root square mean errors of between 0.05 and 0.07.
The low concentration and high flow rate of air-borne butyl acetate (BA) could be effectively removed using combined adsorption-catalytic oxidation system. Ag-Y (Si/Al=80) dual-function adsorbent was investigated for the adsorption step of 1000 ppm of butyl acetate at gas hourly space velocity of 13,000 h(-1) at ambient temperature under dry and humid feeds. A central composite design (CCD) coupled with response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to obtain the optimum process conditions and the interactions between process variables were demonstrated and elucidated. Humidity and increasing organic concentration shortened the adsorption service time. The effect of moisture was more pronounced at low BA concentration. The interactions between the BA concentration and humidity were statistically significant at 95% confidence level. The optimum conditions were found to be at 4500 ppm of BA with 37 min saturation time to give 58 mg BA/g as adsorption capacity. The simulated data fitted the experimental data satisfactorily. The simulated data also correctly demonstrated the overall behaviors of the adsorption process.
Biological kinetic (bio-kinetic) study of the anaerobic stabilization pond treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was carried out in a laboratory anaerobic bench scale reactor (ABSR). The reactor was operated at different feed flow-rates of 0.63, 0.76, 0.95, 1.27, 1.9 and 3.8l of raw POME for a day. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) as influent substrates was selected for bio-kinetic study. The investigation showed that the growth yield (Y(G)), specific biomass decay (b), maximum specific biomass growth rate (mu(max)), saturation constant (K(s)) and critical retention time (Theta(c)) were in the range of 0.990 g VSS/g COD(removed) day, 0.024 day(-1), 0.524 day(-1), 203.433 g COD l(-1) and 1.908 day, respectively.
In this study, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) have been successfully produced from transesterification reaction between triglycerides and methyl acetate, instead of alcohol. In this non-catalytic supercritical methyl acetate (SCMA) technology, triacetin which is a valuable biodiesel additive is produced as side product rather than glycerol, which has lower commercial value. Besides, the properties of the biodiesel (FAME and triacetin) were found to be superior compared to those produced from conventional catalytic reactions (FAME only). In this study, the effects of various important parameters on the yield of biodiesel were optimized by utilizing Response Surface Methodology (RSM) analysis. The mathematical model developed was found to be adequate and statistically accurate to predict the optimum yield of biodiesel. The optimum conditions were found to be 399 degrees C for reaction temperature, 30 mol/mol of methyl acetate to oil molar ratio and reaction time of 59 min to achieve 97.6% biodiesel yield.
Research was conducted to manufacture and evaluate a restructured turkey breast product using the Fibrimex cold-set binding system, sodium diacetate (NaD), and sodium lactate (NaL) and to ascertain effects of the treatments on proximate composition, pH, psychrotrophic organisms, water activity, onset of rancidity (TBA), thaw loss, cooking yields, and objective color, and sensory characteristics. Whole turkey breasts were cut into 5-cm-thick strips; treated with either water only (control), 1.5% NaL, 2.0% NaL, 0.1% NaD, 1.5% NaL + 0.1% NaD, or 2.0% NaL + 0.1% NaD; blended with Fibrimex ingredients; stuffed into casings; and stored at -30 degrees C for 0, 1, 2, and 3 mo. After each storage period, frozen chubs were tempered at 4 degrees C, sliced into 1-cm-thick steaks, packaged in retail trays, stored at 0 degrees C to simulate retail storage, and analyzed after 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 d. Sodium diacetate used alone or in combination with NaL reduced (P < 0.05) growth of psychrotrophic organisms and had no adverse effects on water activity, pH, cooking yield, fat, moisture, protein, objective color, onset of rancidity, and sensory characteristics (juiciness, turkey flavor intensity, and tenderness). Panelists reported slight off-flavor in all steaks treated with NaL. Treating steaks with NaL alone or in combination with NaD resulted in increased (P < 0.05) ash content. Sodium lactate also functioned to minimize thaw loss in the frozen restructured turkey product.
Antioxidant capacities of ethylacetate, butanol, and water fractions of peel, pulp, and seeds of Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (CO) were determined using various in vitro antioxidant models. Ethylacetate fraction of peel (EAFPE) exhibited the highest total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities compared to pulp, seeds, and other solvent fractions. Antioxidant capacities were assayed by total antioxidant capability, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and hemoglobin oxidation assay. Total phenolic content of ethylacetate fractions was positively correlated with the antioxidant activity. This is the first report on the antioxidant activities from CO fruit fractions. Thus, EAFPE can be used potentially as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants and as a possible pharmaceutical supplement.