20-160 Sigma-Aldrich1M Tris-HCl, pH 6.5

This is, to our knowledge, the first study of the injection molding of materials where wheat gluten (WG) is the main component. In addition to a plasticizer (glycerol), 5 wt.% natural montmorillonite clay was added. X-ray indicated intercalated clay and transmission electron microscopy indicated locally good clay platelet dispersion. Prior to feeding into the injection molder, the material was first compression molded into plates and pelletized. The filling of the circular mold via the central gate was characterized by a divergent flow yielding, in general, a stronger and stiffer material in the circumferential direction. It was observed that 20-30 wt.% glycerol yielded the best combination of processability and mechanical properties. The clay yielded improved processability, plate homogeneity and tensile stiffness. IR spectroscopy and protein solubility indicated that the injection molding process yielded a highly aggregated structure. The overall conclusion was that injection molding is a very promising method for producing WG objects.

Taurocholate efflux was studied in Xenopus laevis oocytes and is consistent with a carrier-mediated process. This carrier can be competitively inhibited and trans stimulated by glycocholate. Transport is also trans stimulated by taurochenodeoxycholate and S-hexylglutathione, but not taurolithocholate or daunomycin, reflecting a range of specificity including substrates of both the hepatic canalicular bile acid transporter and the multispecific organic anion transporter. In addition, ATP added to the outside of the oocyte results in an increase in the maximal velocity of this transport process. The physiologic function of this endogenous carrier is not known, but it may act as a generalized system for the efflux of potentially toxic organic anions.

IgM antibody response to Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus was monitored in experimentally infected sheep and cattle by an IgM capture enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Specific binding of antigen was detected by a rabbit anti-CCHF horseradish peroxidase conjugate or a sandwich technique with hyperimmune mouse anti-CCHF ascitic fluid and commercially available anti-mouse immunoglobulin peroxidase conjugate. The persistence of IgM antibody activity was found to be of shorter duration than in humans, and this may be a function of the relative lack of susceptibility of these animals to infection with CCHF virus. IgG antibody responses in the sheep could be monitored by sandwich ELISA using commercially available anti-sheep immunoglobulin peroxidase conjugates. Total antibody activity in the sera of experimentally infected sheep, cattle and small mammals could be monitored in a competitive ELISA (CELISA) using rabbit anti-CCHF peroxidase conjugate. The CELISA was applied to the sera of 960 wild vertebrates from a nature reserve in South Africa, and the prevalence of antibody was found to be greatest in large mammals such as rhinoceros, giraffe and buffalo, which are known to be the preferred hosts of the adult tick (Hyalomma) vectors of the virus.

As part of a study to evaluate the effect of chemical contaminants on Wisconsin sport fish consumers, measurements were made of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in human blood sera. A high resolution gas chromatography procedure was employed, with 13 individual congeners used as standards. Analytical recoveries and precision were greater than 90% and replicates were always within +/- 30%. Total concentrations, obtained by summing quantified congeners, ranged from 0.6 to 27.1 micrograms/L. Conventional packed column PCB analysis, conducted on a subset of samples, gave higher total PCB results. On a congener specific basis, congeners 153 (245-245), 138 (234-245), 180 (2345-245) and 118 (245-34) were found most often. These congeners have been reported to be prominent in other matrices. Of the congeners found, 118, 138, and possibly 180 are potentially the most toxic (based on current toxicological information).