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Selected AbstractsGenetic manipulation, whole-cell recordings and functional imaging of the sensorimotor cortex of behaving miceACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 1 2009C. C. H. Petersen Abstract Sensory processing, sensorimotor integration and motor control are amongst the most basic functions of the brain and yet our understanding of how the underlying neuronal networks operate and contribute to behaviour is very limited. The relative simplicity of the mouse whisker sensorimotor system is helpful for detailed quantitative analyses of motor control and perception during active sensory processing. Recent technical advances now allow the measurement of membrane potential in awake-behaving mice, using whole-cell recordings and voltage-sensitive dye imaging. With these recording techniques, it is possible to directly correlate neuronal activity with behaviour. However, in order to obtain causal evidence for the specific contributions of different neuronal networks to behaviour, it is critical to manipulate the system in a highly controlled manner. Advances in molecular neurobiology, gene delivery and mouse genetics provide techniques capable of layer, column and cell-type specific control of gene expression in the mouse neocortex. Over the next years, we anticipate considerable advances in our understanding of brain function through measuring and manipulating neuronal activity with unprecedented precision to probe the molecular and synaptic mechanisms underlying simple forms of active sensory perception and associative learning. [source] ,Objective-led' SEA in a Scottish local authorityENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2004Graham Esson Scottish planners have expanded environmental effect assessment of development plans into the policy appraisal of their sustainability impacts. The application of this methodology is demonstrated in our review of the appraisal of the Perth and Kinross structure plan, which demonstrates the strengths and limitations of this objective-led approach to strategic environmental assessment when compared with a baseline-led one. Scottish Executive interim planning guidance for the European Union directive on strategic environmental assessment integrates the two approaches. This requires the local baseline to be clearly established and plan-induced movements in it to be predicted, monitored and evaluated. It also requires the use of techniques capable of assessing all forms of impact, and better engagement with the public and environmental authorities. Implementation of the directive will tax the capacity of Scottish planning authorities to meet these requirements whilst retaining their preference for an objective-led policy-based approach to assessment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Yeast responses to stresses associated with industrial brewery handlingFEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 5 2007Brian R. Gibson Abstract During brewery handling, production strains of yeast must respond to fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, osmolarity, ethanol concentration, nutrient supply and temperature. Fermentation performance of brewing yeast strains is dependent on their ability to adapt to these changes, particularly during batch brewery fermentation which involves the recycling (repitching) of a single yeast culture (slurry) over a number of fermentations (generations). Modern practices, such as the use of high-gravity worts and preparation of dried yeast for use as an inoculum, have increased the magnitude of the stresses to which the cell is subjected. The ability of yeast to respond effectively to these conditions is essential not only for beer production but also for maintaining the fermentation fitness of yeast for use in subsequent fermentations. During brewery handling, cells inhabit a complex environment and our understanding of stress responses under such conditions is limited. The advent of techniques capable of determining genomic and proteomic changes within the cell is likely vastly to improve our knowledge of yeast stress responses during industrial brewery handling. [source] Local Electrochemical Functionality in Energy Storage Materials and Devices by Scanning Probe Microscopies: Status and PerspectivesADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 35 2010Sergei V. Kalinin Abstract Energy storage and conversion systems are an integral component of emerging green technologies, including mobile electronic devices, automotive, and storage components of solar and wind energy economics. Despite the rapidly expanding manufacturing capabilities and wealth of phenomenological information on the macroscopic device behaviors, the microscopic mechanisms underpinning battery and fuel cell operations in the nanometer,micrometer range are virtually unknown. This lack of information is due to the dearth of experimental techniques capable of addressing elementary mechanisms involved in battery operation, including electronic and ion transport, vacancy injection, and interfacial reactions, on the nanometer scale. In this article, a brief overview of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods addressing nanoscale electrochemical functionalities is provided and compared with macroscopic electrochemical methods. Future applications of emergent SPM methods, including near field optical, electromechanical, microwave, and thermal probes and combined SPM-(S)TEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) methods in energy storage and conversion materials are discussed. [source] Lipid bilayers: an essential environment for the understanding of membrane proteinsMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue S1 2007Richard C. Page Abstract Membrane protein structure and function is critically dependent on the surrounding environment. Consequently, utilizing a membrane mimetic that adequately models the native membrane environment is essential. A range of membrane mimetics are available but none generates a better model of native aqueous, interfacial, and hydrocarbon core environments than synthetic lipid bilayers. Transmembrane ,-helices are very stable in lipid bilayers because of the low water content and low dielectric environment within the bilayer hydrocarbon core that strengthens intrahelical hydrogen bonds and hinders structural rearrangements within the transmembrane helices. Recent evidence from solid-state NMR spectroscopy illustrates that transmembrane ,-helices, both in peptides and full-length proteins, appear to be highly uniform based on the observation of resonance patterns in PISEMA spectra. Here, we quantitate for the first time through simulations what we mean by highly uniform structures. Indeed, helices in transmembrane peptides appear to have backbone torsion angles that are uniform within ± 4° . While individual helices can be structurally stable due to intrahelical hydrogen bonds, interhelical interactions within helical bundles can be weak and nonspecific, resulting in multiple packing arrangements. Some helical bundles have the capacity through their amino acid composition for hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions to stabilize the interhelical conformations and solid-state NMR data is shown here for both of these situations. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is unique among the techniques capable of determining three-dimensional structures of proteins in that it provides the ability to characterize structurally the membrane proteins at very high resolution in liquid crystalline lipid bilayers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A combined imaging, microthermal and spectroscopic study of a multilayer packaging systemPACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 3 2004I. Woodward Abstract The effectiveness of a packaging solution for the pharmaceutical and food industry is dependent on the integrity of the constituent layers and the interfaces formed between them. The deconvolution and analysis of the many intimate layers found in packaging is analytically challenging, requiring techniques capable of identifying sub-micron regions. Here we have characterized the chemical and physical nature of the layers in a multilayer packaging system along with the interfaces, using a combination of high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM), microthermal analysis using scanning thermal microscopy (SThM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. In particular, localized thermal analysis is shown to reveal the thermal transitions of the individual layers, but it was found that care must be exercised when melting through one layer to the next, as this can result in overestimates of melting temperatures of the underlying layer due to excess power loss from the SThM probe to the already molten top layer surrounding the probe. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Review fluorescence correlation spectroscopy for probing the kinetics and mechanisms of DNA hairpin formationBIOPOLYMERS, Issue 1 2008Alan Van Orden Abstract This article reviews the application of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and related techniques to the study of nucleic acid hairpin conformational fluctuations in free aqueous solutions. Complimentary results obtained using laser-induced temperature jump spectroscopy, single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, optical trapping, and biophysical theory are also discussed. The studies cited reveal that DNA and RNA hairpin folding occurs by way of a complicated reaction mechanism involving long- and short-lived reaction intermediates. Reactions occurring on the subnanoseconds to seconds time scale have been observed, pointing out the need for experimental techniques capable of probing a broad range of reaction times in the study of such complex, multistate reactions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 89: 1,16, 2008. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The "Published Online" date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com [source] Comprehensive Review of Patulin Control Methods in FoodsCOMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY, Issue 1 2005Matthew M. Moake ABSTRACT The mycotoxin, patulin (4-hydroxy-4H-furo [3, 2c] pyran-2[6H]-one), is produced by a number of fungi common to fruit- and vegetable-based products, most notably apples. Despite patulin's original discovery as an antibiotic, it has come under heavy scrutiny for its potential negative health effects. Studies investigating these health effects have proved inconclusive, but there is little doubt as to the potential danger inherent in the contamination of food products by patulin. The danger posed by patulin necessitates its control and removal from foods products, creating a demand for handling and processing techniques capable of doing so, preferably at low cost to industry. With this being the case, much research has been devoted to understanding the basic chemical and biological nature of patulin, as well as its interaction within foods and food production. While past resarch has elucidated a great deal, patulin contamination continues to be a challenge for athe food industry. Here, we review in depth the past research on patulin with an emphasis upon its influence within the food industry, including its regulation, health effects, biosynthesis, detection, quantification, distribution within foods, and control, during the various stages of apple juice production. Finally, key areas where future patulin research should focus to best control the patulin contamination problem within the food industry are addressed. [source] | ||||||||||||||||