Challenges in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants DNA Barcoding—Lessons from the Lamiaceae

The potential value of DNA barcoding for the identification of medicinal plants and authentication of traded plant materials has been widely recognized; however, a number of challenges remain before DNA methods are fully accepted as an essential quality control method by industry and regulatory authorities. The successes and limitations of conventional DNA barcoding are considered in relation to important members of the Lamiaceae. The mint family (Lamiaceae) contains over one thousand species recorded as having a medicinal use, with many more exploited in food and cosmetics for their aromatic properties. The family is characterized by a diversity of secondary products, most notably the essential oils (EOs) produced in external glandular structures on the aerial parts of the plant that typify well-known plants of the basil (Ocimum), lavender (Lavandula), mint (Mentha), thyme (Thymus), sage (Salvia) and related genera. This complex, species-rich family includes widely cultivated commercial hybrids and endangered wild-harvested traditional medicines, and examples of potential toxic adulterants within the family are explored in detail. The opportunities provided by next generation sequencing technologies to whole plastome barcoding and nuclear genome sequencing are also discussed with relevant examples.

Photochemical Transformations of Chalcone-Vitamin E Hybrids

Chalcone-vitamin E hybrids 6’-O-tosyl-3,4,5-trimethoxy-δ-tocopherol-chalcone (1), 3,4,5-trimethoxy-δ-tocopherol-chalcone (2), 6’-O-tosyl-3,4,5-trimethoxy-δ-tocopherol-retrochalcone (3) and 3,4,5-trimethoxy-δ-tocopherol-retrochalcone (4) were synthesized as part of a search for new biological activities in these types of derivatives. We report herein on the photoisomerization products of hybrids 1-4, and the effects of the solvent and substitution patterns in producing secondary products such as flavanone 6, 3-deoxyanthocyanidin 8, and hemiketal 10. Photochemically-induced changes are considered important since structural modifications and/or the presence of additional products can affect the biological activity of this type of semisynthetic hybrids. Resumen. Los híbridos de chalcona-vitamina E, 6’-O-tosil-3,4,5-trimetoxi-δ-tocoferol-chalcona (1), 3,4,5-trimetoxi-δ-tocoferol-chalcona (2), 6’-O-tosil-3,4,5-trimetoxi-δ-tocoferol-retrochalcona (3) y 3,4,5-trimetoxi-δ-tocoferol-retrochalcona (4), fueron sintetizados como parte de la búsqueda de nuevos perfiles de actividad biológica para este tipo de derivados. En este trabajo reportamos los productos de fotoisomerización de los híbridos 1-4, y los efectos del disolvente, así como de distintos patrones de sustitución en la generación de productos secundarios como la flavanona 6, la 3-deoxiantocianidina 8, y el hemicetal 10. Los cambios fotoinducidos son considerados de gran importancia debido a que la modificación en la estructura y/o la presencia de productos adicionales puede afectar la actividad biológica de este tipo de híbridos semisintéticos.

Cloud detection methods for a stand-alone ground based microwave radiometer

<p>The project “Pilotstation” at DWD employs a test bed setup to assess data availability, quality, observation impact and operational sustainability for five different ground based remote sensing instruments. The instruments in question, also referred to as “profilers”, are designed to continuously measure vertical profiles of thermodynamic and cloud/aerosol related variables.</p> <p>A ground based microwave radiometer (MWR) is one of the instruments evaluated in the project “Pilotstation”. MWR primarily measure downwelling radiation in the K-band and V-band in the form of brightness temperatures (TB). All-sky temperature and low-resolution humidity profiles as well as high-accuracy liquid water path (LWP, ΔLWP: ± 10-20 gm<sup>-2</sup>) and integrated water vapour (IWV, ΔIWV: ~ ± 0.5 kgm<sup>-2</sup>) are secondary products, which can be derived from the TB.</p> <p>The adaptation of the fast radiative transfer model RTTOV for ground based instruments enabled weather services to go forward with directly assimilating MWR TB rather than secondary products. First assimilation experiments of MWR TB at DWD were successful. Alongside other quality checks, the data assimilation (DA) relies on a cloud detection beforehand. The most frequent reason for rejecting data from DA is the suspected presence of clouds, consequently reliably identifying clouds without excessively rejecting clear-sky data is especially important for a high availability of suitable data.</p> <p>The study presented focuses on the requirements of operational DA and a stand-alone setup of an MWR. The work compares the performance of cloud detection algorithms used in scientific publications based on MWR observations. The comparisons include methods using TB, LWP and their variability. For this the CloudNet classification time series at Lindenberg and observation minus model background statistics serve as references. The presentation will also include progress made on refining the cloud detection schemes at hand in order to achieve a higher precision and to better meet the requirements of DA.</p>

Analysis of the Anthocyanin Complex of Dyes Obtained from Fruit Winemaking Secondary Resources

Комплексная переработка сырья, в том числе вторичных сырьевых ресурсов - один из важнейших факторов, обеспечивающих экологическую безопасность и экономическую эффективность производства. Отходы переработки плодов могут служить основой для производства вторичных продуктов, обладающих ценными потребительскими свойствами и богатым биологическим составом. Большой интерес представляют отходы, образующиеся в результате производства винодельческой продукции из плодового сырья, обладающие ценным химическим составом. В виноделии важным является вопрос о безотходной переработке выжимок темноокрашенных плодов, которые могут служить ценным сырьем для получения натуральных антоциановых красителей. Целью работы было изучение антоцианового комплекса экстрактов, полученных путем экстрагирования сушеной и замороженной выжимки аронии черноплодной. Для предварительной оценки состава растворов применяли метод тонкослойной хроматографии (ТСХ) на силикагеле. Ввиду сходной структуры и мало различающегося Rf антоцианы и флавоноиды плохо поддаются разделению методом классической и тонкослойной хроматографии, поэтому для оценки качественного и количественного состава антоцианового комплекса полученных красителей использовали метод обращенно-фазовой ВЭЖХ с диодно-матричным и масс-спектрометрическим детектированиями. Во всех исследуемых образцах красителей были идентифицировано четыре основных антоциана: цианидин-3-галактозид, цианидин-3-арабинозид, цианидин-3-глюкозид, цианидин-3-ксилозид. Установлено, что максимальное извлечение антоцианов было достигнуто при экстрагировании сушеной выжимки. Образец, полученный в результате экстрагирования шрота, характеризовался минимальными значениями концентрации антоцианов. Вероятно, для данного вида сырья необходим подбор дополнительных технологических параметров или иного вида экстрагента. Complex processing of raw materials, including secondary raw materials, is one of the most important factors ensuring environmental safety and economic production efficiency. Waste from fruit processing can serve as the basis for the production of secondary products with valuable consumer properties and a rich biological composition. Of great interest are the wastes resulting from the production of wine products from fruit raw materials, which have a valuable chemical composition. In winemaking, an important issue is the non-waste processing of pomace of dark-colored fruits, which can serve as a valuable raw material for obtaining natural anthocyanin dyes. The aim of the work was to study the anthocyanin complex of extracts obtained by extracting dried and frozen pomace of chokeberry. To preliminary estimate the composition of the solutions, the method of thin layer chromatography (TLC) on silica gel was used. Due to the similar structure and slightly different Rf, anthocyanins and flavonoids are difficult to separate by classical and thin-layer chromatography; therefore, to assess the qualitative and quantitative composition of the anthocyanin complex of the obtained dyes, we used the method of reversed-phase HPLC with diode-matrix and mass-spectrometric detections. In all the studied dye samples, four main anthocyanins were identified: cyanidin-3-galactoside, cyanidin-3-arabinoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-xyloside. It was found that the maximum extraction of anthocyanins was achieved when extracting dried pomace. The sample obtained as a result of the meal extraction was characterized by the minimum values of the concentration of anthocyanins. Probably, for this type of raw material, it is necessary to select additional technological parameters or another type of extractant.

Kinetics of Grape Seed Oil Epoxidation in Supercritical CO2

The epoxidation of grape seed oil in supercritical CO2, to the best of our knowledge, has been only superficially described in the literature, apart from a short communication and our own previous published work on the topic. In this work, a thorough study of the performance of the supercritical epoxidation of grape seed oil is performed in a wide range of conditions, and the kinetic parameters of the supercritical epoxidation of vegetable oils are reported for the first time in the literature. The experimental work has covered a 40–60 °C temperature range at 150 bar, sampling during a period of 48 h. The nature and extent of the side reactions and secondary products obtained have been evaluated, being hydrolysis products and their oligomerization derivatives the major by-products. Reaction rate constants (10−2 h−1 order) and activation energy parameters were finally calculated from the experimental conversion and epoxy yield data to establish the effect of temperature on the kinetics of the process.

RADIATION INDUCED SOFTENING OF CRYSTALS

Under irradiation of crystals, atomic vibrations of the lattice that are large enough in amplitude so that the linear approximation and therefore the conventional phonon description of the lattice is not enough. At the same time, these vibrations are localized and can travel long distances in a crystal lattice [1, 2]. In metals and other crystals, they are called discrete breathers (DBs), which are the secondary products of irradiation damage, the primary one being the creations of defects that involve atom displacements to produce point and extended defects, which results in radiation induced hardening (RIH). A part of the remaining energy transforms in DBs before decaying into pho-nons. Thus, while a material is being irradiated in operational conditions, as in a reactor, a considerable amount of DBs with energies of the order of one eV is produced, which helps dislocations to unpin from pinning centers, pro-ducing Radiation Induced Softening (RIS), which opposes RIH [3, 4]. This effect is investigated under (in-situ) im-pulse and steady-state electron irradiation.

Accelerating strain phenotyping with desorption electrospray ionization-imaging mass spectrometry and untargeted analysis of intact microbial colonies

Reading and writing DNA were once the rate-limiting step in synthetic biology workflows. This has been replaced by the search for the optimal target sequences to produce systems with desired properties. Directed evolution and screening mutant libraries are proven technologies for isolating strains with enhanced performance whenever specialized assays are available for rapidly detecting a phenotype of interest. Armed with technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9, these experiments are capable of generating libraries of up to 1010 genetic variants. At a rate of 102 samples per day, standard analytical methods for assessing metabolic phenotypes represent a major bottleneck to modern synthetic biology workflows. To address this issue, we have developed a desorption electrospray ionization–imaging mass spectrometry screening assay that directly samples microorganisms. This technology increases the throughput of metabolic measurements by reducing sample preparation and analyzing organisms in a multiplexed fashion. To further accelerate synthetic biology workflows, we utilized untargeted acquisitions and unsupervised analytics to assess multiple targets for future engineering strategies within a single acquisition. We demonstrate the utility of the developed method using Escherichia coli strains engineered to overproduce free fatty acids. We determined discrete metabolic phenotypes associated with each strain, which include the primary fatty acid product, secondary products, and additional metabolites outside the engineered product pathway. Furthermore, we measured changes in amino acid levels and membrane lipid composition, which affect cell viability. In sum, we present an analytical method to accelerate synthetic biology workflows through rapid, untargeted, and multiplexed metabolomic analyses.

Cross-Category Retailing Management: Substitution and Complementarity

Problem definition: This paper studies pricing and assortment management for cross-category products, a common practice in brick-and-mortar retailing and e-tailing. Academic/practical relevance: We investigate the complementarity effects between the main products and the secondary products, in addition to the substitution effects for products in the same category. Methodology: In this paper, we develop a multistage sequential choice model, under which a consumer first chooses a main product and then selects a secondary product. The new model can alleviate the restriction of the independence of irrelevant alternatives property and allows more flexible substitution patterns and also takes into account complementarity effects. Results: We characterize the impact of the magnitude of complementarity effects on pricing and assortment management. For the problems that are hard to solve optimally, we propose simple heuristics and establish performance guarantee. In addition, we develop easy-to-implement estimation algorithms to calibrate the proposed sequential choice model by using sales data. Managerial implications: We show that ignoring or mis-specifying complementarity effects may lead to substantial losses. The methodologies on modeling, optimization, and estimation have potential to make an impact on cross-category retailing management.

Antipathetic Effect of Parthenium Hysterophorous on Staphylococcus Aureus

All the plants are medicinally beneficial for human beings, insect and microbes. Parthenium hysterophorus is weed. It has different type of secondary products and these all products are natural products. The natural plant products are used for the control of microorganisms causing plant and human diseases. The effect of plant extracts was 25% - 2.66, 50% -5.33, 70% - 6.00 and 100% - 7.33 respectively, but in controlled hole no inhibition zone.

Low-waste innovative production technology for canned quince compote, enriched with natural nutrients

The enterprises processing plant raw materials generate a fairly large amount of waste (secondary products), which can play an important role in solving food, environmental, and energy problems. This work improves the technology for the production of canned quince compote using a two-stage microwave heating of fruits and fruits filled with syrup prepared from infusion obtained from secondary products of cutting and peeling. It has been established that two-stage heating of fruits and microwave treatment of fruits filled with syrup in a glass jar promote an increase in the initial temperature of the product in the jars before sealing and thereby reduces the heat treatment modes. The infusion obtained from the secondary products of the heat-treated fruits provides a significant increase of biologically active components in the finished product. The experimental studies were used to construct a mathematical model for calculating the initial temperature of the product before sterilization, which makes it possible to establish intensive pasteurization modes. New modes of pasteurization of quince compote in various containers have been established. Physicochemical studies confirm the high quality of the finished product in terms of the content of biologically active components.