bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chapter 7 Liquidations
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter focuses on the liquidation of a business in a proceeding under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code to understand the duties and powers of the Chapter 7 Trustee. The Chapter 7 Trustee serves as the liquidator, and has primary responsibility for the investigation of the debtor. Information on the process for the selection, qualification, and compensation of the Chapter 7 Trustee is also presented.
A Tale of Two Liquidations
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter details two real life liquidations, one under Chapter 7 and one under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The Chapter 7 case study covers the Bank of New England Corporation, a multi-billion dollar bank holding company with banking operation throughout New England. The Chapter 11 case study covers Friede Goldman Halter, Inc., a large multinational equipment business in the offshore energy and maritime industries. These two cases provide a framework within which to discuss the two primary options for the liquidation process. The financial problems encountered by these businesses, which lead to their bankruptcies and decisions to liquidate are discussed. Asset sales, litigation recoveries, claims resolution, and distributions are also outlined.
Employee Issues
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter outlines the plethora of employee issues with which a liquidator must deal, not the least of which concern unions and labor relations. Retention and compensation of key management and staff to operate the business through liquidation are discussed. Termination of employees, collective bargaining agreements, and retirement, health, and other benefit plans in compliance with applicable regulations such as the WARN Act are addressed.
Day‐to‐Day Management
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter describes the day-to-day management of a liquidation. It addresses the liquidator's need to secure office space, retain key employees, hire staff, take custody of the company's records, establish internal controls for the handling of funds, maintain records, and comply with federal, state, and local laws. The process for the review and assumption or rejection of executory contracts to which the debtor is a party is outlined. The practical steps for liquidation management are also explained.
Pursuing Litigation
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter focuses on the types of causes of action which may belong to the failed business. Lawsuits, such as actions against officers and directors for breach of their duties to the company, actions against lawyers and accountants for professional malpractice, actions to avoid preference payments, and fraudulent transfers made by the debtor are discussed. The aim is to provide a framework for the liquidator's economic analysis of the value of each cause of action by determining the cost and time to litigate and the probability of success and collection.
Claims and Distributions
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter explores the process for determining the validity and priority of claims and for making distributions on those claims. This includes the liquidator's role in investigating and, if circumstances warrant, filing a claim objection to reduce or disallow the claim. Various bankruptcy concepts involved in this process such as administrative claims, the absolute priority rule, and substantive consolidation are discussed along with the mechanics of making distributions. The chapter concludes with an example of the resolution of a contested IRS tax claim through the negotiation of a reduction.
Receiverships and Assignments for the Benefits of Creditors
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter discusses the avenues for liquidating a failed business outside of bankruptcy. While liquidations involving companies of any significant size are typically accomplished through bankruptcy, state, and federal equity receiverships and assignments for the benefit of creditors provide alternatives for smaller more localized liquidations. These approaches are more informal and less restrictive than bankruptcy. The roles of the assignor and receiver as liquidator, including duties, costs, powers, and compensation are reviewed. The right of the assignor or receiver to pursue actions under the applicable state Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act is also discussed.
Closing Down
Authors: Branch Dr. Ben S. , Ray Hugh M. , Russell Robin
Published: March 2008

This chapter focuses on the liquidator's final tasks — winding up the business. Record retention requirements under federal and state law, dissolution of the business entity under applicable state law, and final reporting by the liquidator are discussed. Selected federal regulations addressing document retention are also included.
Self-Transformations
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, technologies can step in to change the flesh. Drawing on Wittgenstein's objections to the idea of a private language, and on Foucault's critical account of normalization, this book shows how we have been led to think of ourselves in this way, and suggests that breaking the hold of this picture of the self will be central to our freedom. How should we work on ourselves when so often the kind of self we are urged to be is itself a product of normalization? This question is answered through three case studies that analyze feminist interpretations of transgender politics, the allure of weight-loss dieting, and representations of cosmetic surgery patients. Mixing philosophical argument with personal narrative and analysis of popular culture, the book moves from engagement with Leslie Feinberg on trans liberation, to an auto-ethnography of Weight Watchers meetings, to a reading of Extreme Makeover, to the author's own practice of yoga. The book draws on philosophy, sociology, medicine, cultural studies, and psychology to suggest that these examples, in different ways, are connected to the picture of the somatic subject. Working on the self can both generate new skills and make us more docile; enhance our pleasures and narrow our possibilities; encourage us to take care of ourselves while increasing our dependence on experts. Self transformation through the body can limit us and liberate us at the same time. To move beyond this paradox, the book concludes by arguing that Foucault's last work on ethics provides untapped resources for understanding how we might use our embodied agency to change ourselves for the better.
1 Pictures of the Self
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This chapter argues that the contemporary Western understanding of the relationship between the body and self is subject to a number of “pictures” that mark significant constraints on our ability to imagine alternative ways of caring for ourselves and others, hence on our self-government, and ultimately on our freedom. Two related pictures are used to explain how the somatic individual has come to dominate ways of understanding the self. The first is a picture in which we have an inner depth and authenticity that the outer (in this case, the flesh) must represent. This is a model of the self in general (selves as objects with an inner essence) and also of each self in particular. In their different ways, both Ludwig Wittgenstein and Michel Foucault challenge this picture, the former primarily through his private language argument, and the latter through his genealogical method. The second picture is one of power, and is characterized by the view that power is a substance, power is held and exercised by a sovereign who rules over us, and power is a force external to the self, whose primary purpose is repressive.
2 Feminist Solidarity after Queer Theory
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This chapter addresses the issue of how — in theory and in practice — feminism should engage bisexuality, intersexuality, transsexuality, transgender, and other emergent identities (or anti-identities) that reconfigure both conventional and conventionally feminist understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality. How feminists should imagine and create communities that take the institutions and practices of sex, gender, and sexuality to be politically relevant to freedom, or how might such communities incorporate our manifest and intransigent diversity, and build solidarity, is discussed with reference to the leitmotif of transgender. A critical analysis is made of two very different feminist texts: the 1994 reissue of Janice Raymond's notorious The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male (originally published in 1979) and Bernice Hausman's 1995 book Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender. This chapter shows that the differences between the ethical and political dilemmas faced by feminists who are transgendered and those who are not are not as great as some theorists have suggested.
3 Foucault Goes to Weight Watchers (Redux)
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This chapter argues that weight-loss dieting is not only a quest for the ideal body, but also a process of working on the self, marketed and sold to women with particular resonance, that cleverly deploys the discourse self-care feminists have long encouraged. The Use of Pleasure, volume 2 of History of Sexuality, is remarkable for its section on dietetics, in which Michel Foucault details certain practices of the ancient Greeks and Romans with regard to regimen as “an art of living”. Contemporary weight-loss dieting both appropriates and debases the forms of rapport a soi Foucault identifies. This chapter supplements existing critical accounts of dieting, which typically rely on the central explanatory concepts either of “false consciousness” or of “docile bodies” to understand better its enabling moments. Such moments exemplify Foucault's thesis that the growth of capabilities occurs in tandem with the intensification of power relations. The author recounts her ten-month experience in participating in Weight Watchers — the largest and best known commercial weight-loss program in the world.
4 Aesthetic Surgery, Aesthetic Ethics
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This chapter shows how cosmetic surgery has evolved to becoming regarded as part of the “normal” process in the quest for identity transformation, arguing that an inner self is externalized so that the aesthetic body can better represent the person within. It also believes that feminist ethical engagement will need to respond to this talk of self-transformation in kind, providing a way of responding to the suffering cosmetic surgery claims to alleviate, and recognizing the necessity and potential of working on the self as a feminist strategy. Feminists need a richer ethical grammar and vocabulary for talking about our own desires and suffering in this context. This demand for a feminist ethical language arises in part from nearly a century of cultural manufacture of a psychology for potential cosmetic surgery recipients. Cosmetic surgery bears a peculiar burden of justification unlike other medical subspecialties. In some cases the rubric of “reconstructive” procedures can be employed — repairing a cleft palate, rebuilding a face after tumor removal, or grafting skin to burns are all seen as legitimate medical measures that have necessary functional and social effects.
5 Somaesthetics for the Normalized Body
Authors: Heyes Cressida J.
Published: March 2008

This chapter spells out how we might work on our embodied selves in ways that advance our freedom. To make this work, it is necessary to return to Michel Foucault's later writing, and reconstruct in its most useful form the kind of ethics he endorses as well as the underdeveloped possibilities for a normatively inflected politics of the body to which it might inspire. Specifically, this chapter argues for what Richard Shusterman has termed “somaesthetics” as strategies of resistance to normalization. Examples of dieting or cosmetic surgeries demonstrate how asketic language is superficially deployed against normalization when in fact it often reinforces it. Finally, this chapter articulates some practices of working on oneself as an embodied subject that refuse the habituated trajectories of normalization and gesture toward an art of living which greater embodies freedom.
Expression in Speech
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This book is about the nature of expression in speech. It is a comprehensive exploration of how such expression is produced and understood, and of how the emotional content of spoken words may be analysed, modelled, tested, and synthesized. Listeners can interpret tone-of-voice, assess emotional pitch, and effortlessly detect the finest modulations of speaker attitude; yet these processes present almost intractable difficulties to the researchers seeking to identify and understand them. In seeking to explain the production and perception of emotive content, the book reviews the potential of biological and cognitive models. It examines how the features that make up the speech production and perception systems have been studied by biologists, psychologists, and linguists, and assesses how far biological, behavioural, and linguistic models generate hypotheses that provide insights into the nature of expressive speech.
Introduction
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

Contemporary speech production theory is introduced as the basis for modelling expression and emotive content in speech. The necessity for a computational approach is argued, together with the need for adequate testing of the models. Adding naturalness to synthetic speech, in the form of expressive content, is outlined as well as ideas about the inseparable relationship between production and perception.
Expression in Synthetic Speech
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This chapter emphasizes the distinction between intelligible synthetic speech and natural-sounding synthetic speech: expressive and emotive content contribute greatly to naturalness. All natural speech has expressive content; no natural speech is ever neutral. It follows that synthetic speech must incorporate expressive and emotive content in order to create natural-sounding speech, although the acoustic parameters of expression have not been adequately determined. The advantages and disadvantages of formant and concatenative synthesis for synthesizing expressive and emotive content are outlined.
The State of the Art
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This chapter discusses the transfer of the parameters of natural expression to synthesis systems following current inadequate descriptions of natural speech, which highlights problems in deriving adequate descriptions of expression and emotion. Voice quality, timing, and pitch contour all contribute — but quantifying these observations is currently incomplete and open to further research. Defining emotion in terms of acoustic correlates is discussed along with the variability in speech to which emotive content contributes. The non-uniqueness of acoustic correlates is emphasized, and the need for differentiating between high-level and low-level synthesis in the theoretical underpinning is discussed.
Emotion in Speech Synthesis
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This chapter emphasizes the notion that human speech is listener-centred; speech is intended to be heard and understood. Adding expressive and emotive content provides the listener with information about the speaker’s identity (gender, age, education, etc.), the speaker’s attitude and feelings toward the listener, and the nature of what is being said. Adding this to synthesis presents problems, including determining the most useful type of synthesizer, incorporating a proposed prosodic wrapper for speech, linking parameters of emotive content with acoustic parameters, and with underlying theory constructs such as category labels or parameters for driving the synthesizer. The relationship between high- and low-level synthesis, and how to incorporate a range of emotive content and voice quality are discussed.
The Speech Technology Perspective
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This chapter describes a variety of current synthesis systems, including formant and concatenative systems, and the problems associated with unit selection. The success of these systems is discussed in terms of the standard parameterizable features of speech: acoustic formants, amplitude, timing and rate, fundamental frequency, etc. The cognitive constructs to which the physical parameters are related are described: voice quality, loudness, rhythm, duration, and pitch. Variability in speech, the obverse process, and automatic speech recognition are also discussed.
The Beginnings of a Generalized Model of Expression
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

This chapter defines expressive speech as used in this book. The concept of a composite acoustic waveform is presented, consisting of two components: the basic message and expression. The speaker plans an utterance, a listener assigns labels to that utterance, and arrives at a percept which recovers the intended message. This differs from other models which do not emphasize the assignment of labels or symbolic representation to the waveform. Another difference is the proposal that speaking occurs within an overall expressive wrapper. Short term and long term expression is discussed and the role of the listener is emphasized.
Conclusion
Authors: Tatham Mark , Morton Katherine
Published: March 2008

The book concludes with a brief summary of the approach to modelling speech production and perception. The relationship between linguistic and biological modelling is emphasized. Focus is given to the wrapper model and the way in which speech production and perception are probably tightly integrated in the human being, and certainly usefully modelled as such.
Twin‐Screw Extrusion Processing of Feed Blends Containing Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS)
Authors: Chevanan Nehru , Rosentrater Kurt A. , Muthukumarappan Kasiviswanathan
Published: March 2008

Extrusion trials were conducted with varying levels of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) along with soy flour, corn flour, fish meal, vitamin mix, mineral mix, and net protein content adjusted to 28% using a Wenger TX‐52 twin‐screw extruder. The properties of extrudates were studied in experiments conducted using a full‐factorial design with three levels of DDGS content, two levels of moisture content, and two levels of screw speed. Increasing the DDGS content from 20 to 60% resulted in a 36.7% decrease in the radial expansion, leading to a 159 and 61.4% increase in the unit density and bulk density of the extrudates, respectively. Increasing the DDGS content resulted in a significant increase in the water absorption index (WAI) but a significant decrease in the water solubility index (WSI) of the extrudates. Changing the screw speed and moisture content had no significant effect on the radial expansion ratio but resulted in a significant difference in the bulk density of the extrudates, which may be due to the occurrence of longitudinal expansion. Even though changing the moisture content and screw speed had no significant effect on the WSI of the extrudates, significant differences in the WAI of the extrudates were observed. The ingredient components in the blend and moisture content had an influence on the color changes of the extrudates, as did the biochemical changes occurring inside the barrel during processing. Overall, it was determined that DDGS could be included at a rate of up to 60% using twin‐screw extrusion, and that viable pelleted floating feeds can be produced.
Structure and Physicochemical Properties of Starches from Sieve Fractions of Oat Flour Compared with Whole and Pin‐Milled Flour
Authors: Stevenson David G. , Jane Jay‐lin , Inglett George E.
Published: March 2008

One oat cultivar grown in Idaho (three field sites) was pin‐milled and separated by sieving to investigate whether starch from oat bran differs from the remainder of kernel. Ground oat particles were classified into three sieve fractions: 300–850 μm, 150–300 μm and <150 μm). β‐Glucan content in sieve fractions was analyzed and starch was extracted from kernels without milling and from kernels of each sieve fraction. β‐Glucan contents of 300–850, 150–300, and <150 μm sieve fractions were 4.2, 2.3, and 0.8%, respectively. Therefore, starch in bran (300–850 μm sieve fraction) and endosperm (<150 μm sieve fraction) were separated. Starch isolated from entire kernels had significantly higher apparent and absolute amylose content than starch from the 300–850 μm sieve fraction. Starch from different sieve fractions was not significantly different in the apparent amylose, absolute amylose, amylopectin molecular weight, gyration radii, starch gelatinization, and amylose‐lipid complex thermal transition temperatures. Starch from the 150–300 μm sieve fraction had significantly lower peak, final, and setback viscosity compared with the starch isolated from the 300–850 μm and <150 μm sieve fractions. Starch removed from the oat bran fraction during β‐glucan enrichment may have different applications compared with starch obtained from other kernel compartments. Because pin‐milling decreased apparent amylose content and shortened amylopectin branch chains, its potential to alter starch structure should be considered.
Relationship of Shelled Corn Fungal Susceptibility to Carbon Dioxide Evolution and Kernel Attributes
Authors: Moog D. J. P. , Stroshine R. L. , Seitz L. M.
Published: March 2008

Fifty‐one samples of shelled corn were rewetted to 21% wb moisture content (MC) and evaluated for susceptibility to fungal invasion using ergosterol measurements and a test kit that measures carbon dioxide (CO2) evolution. The sample attributes measured were percent germination, electrolyte leakage after soaking in deionized water, percent fines, and percent kernel infection. The difference in ergosterol content before and after incubation at 24°C was used as the standard measure of fungal growth. Differences in CO2 evolution among the samples were consistent with expectations for fungal growth based on storage history. The coefficients of determination (r2) for the linear regression of ergosterol difference with CO2 kit readings were 0.46–0.60. All were statistically significant (α = 0.001) and r2 values were slightly greater when four high‐oil corn samples were removed. These results indicate that the CO2 test can be used to assess fungal susceptibility of rewetted shelled corn, which may also be indicative of its susceptibility before rewetting. The linear regressions of kernel attributes with ergosterol difference (48 < n < 51) that were statistically significant included percent germination, r2 = 0.49 (α = 0.001); electrolyte leakage, r2 = 0.27 (α = 0.001); and percent fines determined with a 4.76‐mm sieve, r2 = 0.12 (α = 0.05).
Effect of Transglutaminase on Properties of Glutenin Macropolymer and Dough Rheology
Authors: Steffolani M. Eugenia , Pérez Gabriela T. , Ribotta Pablo D. , Puppo M. Cecilia , León Alberto Edel
Published: March 2008

The effect of transglutaminase (TG) on glutenin macropolymer (GMP) properties could help to understand changes in bread quality. The aim of the present study was to analyze modifications in GMP and dough properties caused by TG addition. Transglutaminase introduced cross‐links to gluten proteins, mainly high molecular weight glutenins. This effect modified the protein structure and markedly increased dough strength. These changes in the structure of glutenins increased SDS solubility and decreased GMP content and GMP storage modulus. However, TG increased GMP particle size, notably at higher doses. TG affected rheological characteristics of dough in that increasing TG doses decreased tan δ, and increased G'. In all the studies conducted, the TG increased GMP polymer size, but contrary to what was expected, this increase did not involve an increase in GMP content. These results confirmed the effect of TG on dough quality and the great differences found with different TG doses.
Relationship Between Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Grain Hardness and Wet‐Milling Quality
Authors: Feiz L. , Martin J. M. , Giroux M. J.
Published: March 2008

Grain hardness variation has large effects on many different end‐use properties of wheat (Triticum aestivum). The Hardness (Ha) locus consisting of the Puroindoline a and b genes (Pina and Pinb) controls the majority of grain hardness variation. Starch production is a growing end‐use of wheat. The objective of this study was to estimate the differences in starch yield due to natural and transgenically conditioned grain hardness differences. To accomplish this goal, a small‐scale wet‐milling protocol was used to characterize the wet‐milling properties of two independent groups of isogenic materials varying in grain hardness and in Pin expression level. The first group of lines consisted of hard/soft near‐isogenic lines created in cultivars Falcon or Gamenya in which lines carried either the Pina‐D1a (functional) or the Pina‐D1b (null) alleles of Pina. The second group of lines consisted of Pina, Pinb, or Pina and Pinb overexpressing lines created in Hi‐Line, a hard red spring wheat. Soft near‐isogenic lines had higher starch extractability than the hard Pina null counterparts. This difference in starch extractability was more pronounced between Hi‐Line and its transgenic isolines, with highest levels of extractable starch observed in the transgenic isoline with intermediate grain texture. The results demonstrate that the Ha locus and puroindoline expression are both linked to wet‐milling starch yield and that selection for increased Ha function increases starch yield through the enhanced separation of starch granules and the protein matrix during wet milling.
Effect of Transglutaminase on Protein Electrophoretic Pattern of Rice, Soybean, and Rice‐Soybean Blends
Authors: Marco Cristina , Pérez Gabriela , León Alberto E. , Rosell Cristina M.
Published: March 2008

The interactions taking place in composite dough containing rice flour and soybean proteins (5% w/w) in the presence of transglutaminase, an enzyme with cross‐linking activity, were studied using different electrophoretic analyses. The interaction between rice proteins and soybean proteins was intensified by the formation of new intermolecular covalent bonds catalyzed by transglutaminase and the indirect formation of disulfide bonds among proteins. The main protein fractions involved in those interactions were both β‐conglycinin and glycinin of soybean and the glutelins of the rice flour, although albumins and globulins were also cross‐linked. The addition of soybean proteins to rice flour improves the amino acid balance and they also might play an important role on the rice dough properties because soybean proteins interact with rice proteins, yielding protein aggregates of high molecular weight.
Effect of Micronutrient Fortification on Nutritional and Other Properties of Nixtamal Tortillas
Authors: Burton K. E. , Steele F. M. , Jefferies L. , Pike O. A. , Dunn M. L.
Published: March 2008

Nixtamalization is the process of steeping dried corn in hot water with calcium hydroxide (lime) with subsequent removal of all or most of the pericarp through washing. The resulting product is called nixtamal. Approximately 60% of corn tortillas in Mexico are produced from nixtamal, with the remainder prepared from nixtamalized corn flour. Nixtamal was fortified with micronutrient premix containing iron, zinc, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin. Premix composition followed a proposed Mexican regulation for corn flour fortification, adjusted for moisture. Effects of premix on masa adhesiveness, hardness, and pH, as well as tortilla sensory properties, stretchability, rollability, and color were measured. Micronutrient levels were tested in the dry corn, nixtamal, masa, and tortillas. There were no significant differences in masa texture or pH, tortilla rollability, or consumer acceptance of tortillas when comparing unfortified control and fortified treatments. Added thiamin was almost entirely degraded during processing. Folic acid and riboflavin decreased 26 and 45%, respectively, through the masa‐tortilla manufacturing process. Niacin showed no significant loss. Despite processing losses, fortification resulted in significant nutrient increases compared with control tortillas. Folic acid increased 974%, riboflavin increased 300%, niacin increased 141%, iron increased 156%, and zinc increased 153% in fortified tortillas.
Extraction and Physicochemical Characterization of Rye β‐Glucan and Effects of Barium on Polysaccharide Molecular Weight
Authors: Brummer Yolanda , Jones Sandra , Tosh Susan M. , Wood Peter J.
Published: March 2008

Use of saturated Ba(OH)2 to extract rye β‐glucan led to a depolymerized product. Similar depolymerization of β‐glucan was observed when oat bran was extracted with this reagent. Isolated oat β‐glucan, detarium xyloglucan, guar galactomannan, and wheat and rye arabinoxylan were also depolymerized by treatment with the barium reagent. The degree of depolymerization was related to time of contact with, and concentration of, the barium. Rye β‐glucan of two different molecular weights (MW) were isolated and characterized. The structure of rye β‐glucan, as evaluated from the ratio of (1→3)‐linked cellotriosyl to (1→3)‐linked cellotetraosyl primary structural units, most closely resembles barley β‐glucan. Analytical variability of this ratio is discussed. A freshly prepared solution (2%) of the higher MW sample showed shear thinning behavior typical of cereal β‐glucans. The lower MW sample at 2% was not shear thinning, but on further purification, after storage for seven days, a 6% solution had gelled as shown by the mechanical spectrum.
Improved Isolation of Zein from Corn Gluten Meal Using Acetic Acid and Isolate Characterization as Solvent
Authors: Selling Gordon W. , Woods Kristen Kruger
Published: March 2008

An improved means of isolating zein is needed to develop new uses for corn zein. We have measured the yield of zein and evaluated the ability of acetic acid to remove zein from corn gluten meal, distillers dried grains, and ground corn using acetic acid as solvent. Acetic acid removed zein more quickly, at lower temperatures, and in higher yields when compared with alcoholic solvents. After 60 min at 25°C, ≈50% of the zein in corn gluten meal was removed. A step change in yield from 43 to 50% occurs as the extraction temperature is increased from 40 to 55°C after mixing for 30 min at 25% solids. The protein composition of the zein removed from corn gluten meal using acetic acid is very similar to that of commercial zein by SDS‐PAGE. The zein obtained from corn gluten meal using acetic acid had higher amounts of fatty acids and esters according to IR analysis, leading to slightly lower protein content. Films made from zein extracted from corn gluten meal using acetic acid had lower tensile strength (≈60% lower) than films produced from commercial zein. Fibers with very small diameter (0.4–1.6 μm) can be produced by electrospinning using the AcOH solution obtained after corn gluten meal extraction.
Laboratory Wet Milling of Corn: Milling Fraction Correlations and Variations Among Crop Years
Authors: Arora Amit , Niu Yuxian , Tumbleson M. E. , Rausch Kent D.
Published: March 2008

Several coproducts result from fractionating corn in the wet‐milling process. Because small changes in product composition and milling characteristics can have a major impact on coproduct yields and values, testing is done to anticipate final product yields. Using small sample size and controlled conditions, a laboratory wet‐milling method proved to be a useful tool for wet milling and genetics industries. A wet‐milling process (100‐g batches) was used for data collection. Data collected during 11 years (1994–2004) were observed for samples used as benchmarks to verify process precision and accuracy and determine correlations among wet‐milling yields. More than 400 milling tests were performed on benchmark samples. Data from benchmark samples also were pooled. Coefficients of variation were low (<6%) for mean yields; year‐to‐year standard deviations of benchmark sample yield means were homogenous and implied precision of the procedure. Some differences were detected in mean yields among years (P ≤ 0.05) for benchmark data due to combined effects of hybrid and environment. A negative correlation (r = –0.58) was observed between starch and gluten yield for pooled benchmark data. Four years (2002–2005) of milling data from commercially available hybrids were analyzed using the milling procedure. For pooled commercial data, the correlation between starch and fiber yield was (r = –0.80); correlation between starch and gluten was (r = –0.76).
Empirical Modeling of Mean Residence Time in a Co‐Rotating Twin‐Screw Extruder with Rice Flour
Authors: Lei Hanwu , Fulcher R. Gary , Ruan Roger , van Lengerich Bernhard
Published: March 2008

Mean residence time of rice flour in a twin‐screw extruder was determined using a blue tracer. Variables studied included moisture content, screw speed, barrel temperature, and screw configuration. Mean residence time increased with the increase of the barrel temperature and with the addition of reverse and kneading elements. Mean residence time was significantly related to screw speed, moisture content, die pressure, and screw configuration (P < 0.05). An empirical model was developed to predict mean residence time with the ability to reflect the changes of the barrel temperature and screw configuration. The effects of different extrusion operating conditions including screw speed, moisture content, barrel temperature, and screw geometry on the mean residence time were considered in the model. The validity of the developed model was extensively evaluated and verified using different screw geometries and other processing variables. The mean residence times predicted by the developed model are in good agreement with the experimental data.
Tocopherols, Tocotrienols, and γ‐Oryzanol Contents in Japonica and Indica Subspecies of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivated in Brazil
Authors: Heinemann Riana J. B. , Xu Zhimin , Godber J. Samuel , Lanfer‐Marquez Ursula M.
Published: March 2008

Whole rice contains several fat‐soluble phytochemicals such as tocopherols, tocotrienols, and γ‐oryzanol which have been reported to possess beneficial health properties. This study was conducted to determine whether brown rice belonging to indica and japonica subspecies were distinguishable from each other regarding the concentration of these compounds by analyzing 32 genotypes. The fat‐soluble compounds were analyzed by normal‐phase HPLC in a single run. The variability of the compounds analyzed was high, but the mean content of γ‐oryzanol across all samples was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in japonica (246.3 mg/kg) than in indica rice (190.1 mg/kg). Similar differences were found for total vitamin E contents which were 24.2 mg/kg in japonica and 17.1 mg/kg in indica rice, respectively. In japonica rice, α‐tocopherol, α‐tocotrienol, and γ‐tocotrienol were the most abundant homologs, while in indica rice the most abundant were γ‐tocotrienol, α‐tocopherol, and α‐tocotrienol. A significant Pearson coefficient (0.80, P < 0.001) between α‐tocopherol and α‐tocotrienol levels was found, independent of the subspecies. Both compounds were positively correlated to total tocols and γ‐oryzanol contents. Although more studies are needed to evaluate the interference of growing rice in different environments and multiple years, the present study provided information on natural variations of the vitamin E isomers and the γ‐oryzanol contents in different rice genotypes.
The predictability of extinction: biological and external correlates of decline in mammals
Authors: Cardillo Marcel , Mace Georgina M , Gittleman John L , Jones Kate E , Bielby Jon , Purvis Andy
Published: March 2008

Extinction risk varies among species, and comparative analyses can help clarify the causes of this variation. Here we present a phylogenetic comparative analysis of species-level extinction risk across nearly the whole of the class Mammalia. Our aims were to examine systematically the degree to which general predictors of extinction risk can be identified, and to investigate the relative importance of different types of predictors (life history, ecological, human impact and environmental) in determining extinction risk. A single global model explained 27.3% of variation in mammal extinction risk, but explanatory power was lower for region-specific models (median
R
2
=0.248) and usually higher for taxon-specific models (median
R
2
=0.383). Geographical range size, human population density and latitude were the most consistently significant predictors of extinction risk, but otherwise there was little evidence for general, prescriptive indicators of high extinction risk across mammals. Our results therefore support the view that comparative models of relatively narrow taxonomic scope are likely to be the most precise.
RBF1 promotes chromatin condensation through a conserved interaction with the Condensin II protein dCAP-D3
Authors: Longworth Michelle S. , Herr Anabel , Ji Jun-Yuan , Dyson Nicholas J.
Published: March 2008

The Drosophila retinoblastoma family of proteins (RBF1 and RBF2) and their mammalian homologs (pRB, p130, and p107) are best known for their regulation of the G1/S transition via the repression of E2F-dependent transcription. However, RB family members also possess additional functions. Here, we report that rbf1 mutant larvae have extensive defects in chromatin condensation during mitosis. We describe a novel interaction between RBF1 and dCAP-D3, a non-SMC component of the Condensin II complex that links RBF1 to the regulation of chromosome structure. RBF1 physically interacts with dCAP-D3, RBF1 and dCAP-D3 partially colocalize on polytene chromosomes, and RBF1 is required for efficient association of dCAP-D3 with chromatin. dCap-D3 mutants also exhibit chromatin condensation defects, and mutant alleles of dCap-D3 suppress cellular and developmental phenotypes induced by the overexpression of RBF1. Interestingly, this interaction is conserved between flies and humans. The re-expression of pRB into a pRB-deficient human tumor cell line promotes chromatin association of hCAP-D3 in a manner that depends on the LXCXE-binding cleft of pRB. These results uncover an unexpected link between pRB/RBF1 and chromatin condensation, providing a mechanism by which the functional inactivation of RB family members in human tumor cells may contribute to genome instability.
The conserved plant sterility gene HAP2 functions after attachment of fusogenic membranes in Chlamydomonas and Plasmodium gametes
Authors: Liu Yanjie , Tewari Rita , Ning Jue , Blagborough Andrew M. , Garbom Sara , Pei Jimin , Grishin Nick V. , Steele Robert E. , Sinden Robert E. , Snell William J. , Billker Oliver
Published: March 2008

The cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie species-specific membrane fusion between male and female gametes remain largely unknown. Here, by use of gene discovery methods in the green alga Chlamydomonas, gene disruption in the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei, and distinctive features of fertilization in both organisms, we report discovery of a mechanism that accounts for a conserved protein required for gamete fusion. A screen for fusion mutants in Chlamydomonas identified a homolog of HAP2, an Arabidopsis sterility gene. Moreover, HAP2 disruption in Plasmodium blocked fertilization and thereby mosquito transmission of malaria. HAP2 localizes at the fusion site of Chlamydomonas minus gametes, yet Chlamydomonas minus and Plasmodium hap2 male gametes retain the ability, using other, species-limited proteins, to form tight prefusion membrane attachments with their respective gamete partners. Membrane dye experiments show that HAP2 is essential for membrane merger. Thus, in two distantly related eukaryotes, species-limited proteins govern access to a conserved protein essential for membrane fusion.
Phylogenetic relationships among North American Alosa species (Clupeidae)
Authors: Bowen B. R. , Kreiser B. R. , Mickle P. F. , Schaefer J. F. , Adams S. B.
Published: March 2008

A phylogeny of the six North American species in the genus Alosa, with representatives of three Eurasian species, was generated using mtDNA sequences. This was accomplished by obtaining sequences for three North American species and additional geographical sampling of the other three species. The subgenus Alosa, including the formerly recognized subgenus Caspialosa, formed a strongly supported monophyletic group. Alosa alabamae was part of a polytomy with Alosa sapidissima, which was interpreted to support the recognition of A. alabamae as an incipient, yet distinct, species. The subgenus Pomolobus was not recovered as a monophyletic group. Alosa chrysochloris was basal to all other Alosa, although this position was only weakly supported. Previous work had indicated that Alosa pseudoharengus and Alosa aestivalis are not reciprocally monophyletic, but additional sampling in this study did not detect any further cases of shared haplotypes between the two species. The phylogeny supports previous hypotheses that the evolution of North American Alosa species in the Gulf of Mexico (A. chrysochloris and A. alabamae) was the result of two independent events. First, the ancestor of A. chrysochloris was isolated in the Gulf of Mexico, likely by the close of the Suwannee Straits, and this was followed later by dispersal of the ancestor of A. alabamae around the Florida peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico sometime during or after the Pleistocene.
Genetic similarity between the South Atlantic and the western North Pacific Maurolicus (Stomiiformes: Actinopterygii) taxa, M. walvisensis Parin & Kobyliansky and M. japonicus Ishikawa: evidence for synonymy?
Authors: Kim S. , Kim C.‐G. , Oh J. , Kim B.‐J. , Seo H.‐S. , Kim W.‐S. , Lee Y.‐H.
Published: March 2008

An analysis of the 524 nucleotide long segment in the 16SrDNA mitochondrial gene of Maurolicus japonicus revealed that there are two major haplotypes (E and H) and two minor haplotypes (I and J), which comprise 63·6, 27·2, 4·6 and 4·6% of the population, respectively. The nucleotide sequence of the major haplotype E is identical to that of the most common haplotype in Maurolicus walvisensis (63·6% of the population). The other haplotypes of M. japonicus are almost identical to that of the haplotype E with only a single (haplotypes I and J) or three nucleotide differences (haplotype H). Phylogenetic trees of all the 16SrDNA haplotypes found thus far in the Maurolicus taxa show that the relationships among the haplotypes of M. japonicus and M. walvisensis are indistinguishable but that they are clearly distinctive from those of Maurolicus muelleri. Examination of the morphometric characteristics of specimens reveals similarities among the individuals of different haplotypes of M. japonicus and also between M. japonicus and M. walvisensis in almost all characteristics. The results suggest that despite the current ocean‐wide allopatric distribution between M. japonicus and M. walvisensis, the two taxa are conspecific as M. japonicus.
Molecular characterization of the bovine chromodomain Y‐like genes
Authors: Wang A. , Yasue H. , Li L. , Takashima M. , Ponce de León F. A. , Liu W.‐S.
Published: March 2008

The human chromodomain protein, Y‐like (CDYL) gene family consists of three members, one on the Y chromosome (CDY) and two on autosomes (CDYL and CDYL2). Studies in the human and mouse showed that genes in the CDYL family are abundantly expressed in testis and play an important role in spermatogenesis. In this study, we have characterized the bovine CDYL (bCDYL) and CDYL2 (bCDYL2) genes. We found that bCDYL and bCDYL2 are very similar to the human orthologues at both mRNA (79% and 85%) and protein (89% and 93%) levels. However, the similarity between the bCDYL and bCDYL2 proteins is low (41%). The bCDYL gene is composed of nine exons, and the bCDYL2 has seven exons. The bCDYL and bCDYL2 genes were mapped by radiation hybrid mapping to bovine chromosomes (BTA) 24 and 18 respectively. The bCDYL gene has four transcript variants that produce four protein isoforms. RT‐PCR expression analysis in 12 bovine tissues showed that bCDYL variant 2 was expressed in the testis only, bCDYL variants 1, 3 and 4 were expressed predominantly in the testis and at very low or undetectable levels in the remaining tissues and bCDYL2 was expressed ubiquitously. Examination of bovine testis with in situ hybridization revealed that the bCDYL and bCDYL2 transcripts were found mainly in spermatids, though the amounts of transcripts varied among genes/variants. In addition, antisense transcripts were detected in bCDYL variants 2/3 and 4, as well as in the bCDYL2 gene.
Transcriptional analysis of host responses to Marek’s disease virus infection in genetically resistant and susceptible chickens
Authors: Sarson A. J. , Parvizi P. , Lepp D. , Quinton M. , Sharif S.
Published: March 2008

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is a cell‐associated oncogenic herpesvirus that targets B cells and T cells, inducing lymphoid tumours in chickens. Genetic resistance to Marek’s disease (MD) is regulated in a polygenic fashion. In this study, we sought to compare the gene expression profiles following infection of birds that are genetically resistant or susceptible to MD (with the B21 and B19 haplotypes respectively at the MHC locus), including comparisons to uninfected controls. On days 4, 7, 14 and 21 post‐infection, gene expression profiles in spleen tissue were obtained using a chicken immune‐specific microarray. A number of genes showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) differential expression across time and treatments. These included the chemokine AH221, B‐cell marker Bu‐1, IgG, IgA, IgM, MHC class II β chain, granzyme A (GZMA) and signal transducers and activators of transcription 2 (STAT2) genes. In several comparisons, genes such as GZMA and STAT2 were induced in infected birds regardless of their genetic background. However, only immunoglobulin genes were differentially expressed by ≥2‐fold in resistant compared with susceptible infected chickens. IgM and IgG were significantly induced on day 7 post‐infection in susceptible chickens compared to resistant birds, whereas both of these genes were repressed in susceptible birds on day 14 post‐infection. Overall, gene expression profiles in the chicken spleen observed after MDV infection were dependent on time and host genetic background. These gene expression profiles provide a platform for defining novel candidate genes for resistance or susceptibility to MD.