Mushrooms are known to accumulate radiocesium. To estimate the intake of radiocesium through the eating of mushrooms, about 30 samples belonging to 4 commonly consumed species (Lentinula edodes, Hypsizigus marmoreus, Grifola frondosa, and Tricholoma matsutake), were analyzed for (137)Cs and (40)K. The concentration ranges were 0.060-29 Bq kg(-1) (wet wt) for (137)Cs and 38-300 Bq kg(-1) (wet wt...

Specific binding of 3H-saxitoxin (STX) was used to quantitate the density of voltage-sensitive sodium channels in developing rat skeletal muscle. In adult triceps surae, a single class of sites with a KD = 2.9 nM and a density of 21 fmol/mg wet wt was detected. The density of these high-affinity sites increased from 2.0 fmol/mg wet wt to the adult value in linear fashion during days 2-25 after...

The study analyzed the physical and chemical properties of dry-torrefied (DT) wet-torrefied (WT) biomass. Hemicellulose was mainly degraded by torrefaction, contents glucan lignin were relatively increased. degradation rate biomass higher in WT (18.25%–23.13%) than DT (3.12%–3.83%), it increased with increasing reaction time. Torrefaction improved crystallinity from 36.88% raw material to a max...

Many laboratory studies have documented that mercury can be toxic to fish, but it is largely unknown if mercury is toxic to fish in their natural environments. The objective of our study was to investigate the toxic effects of mercury on northern pike (Esox lucius) at Isle Royale, Michigan. In 124 northern pike from eight inland lakes, concentrations of total mercury in skin-on fillets ranged f...

We previously reported changes in mechanical properties and collagen cross-linking of the ovine thoracic aorta during perinatal development and postnatal maturation, and we now report changes in biochemical composition (elastin, collagen, and DNA contents per mg wet wt) over the same developmental intervals. A comparison of results from the present and previous studies has yielded novel and imp...

Honghu Lake, which listed in the "Ramsar Convention", is the seventh largest freshwater lake in China and is regarded as one of the biggest freshwater product output areas in China. The toxic element distribution in cultured and wild fish and the corresponding health risks through fish consumption from Honghu area were investigated. The mean concentration in the muscle of cultured and wild fish...

This work addresses a reliable in situ transesterification process which integrates lipid extraction from wet microalgae, and its conversion to biodiesel, with a yield higher than 90 wt.%. This process enables single-step production of biodiesel from microalgae by mixing wet microalgal cells with solvent, methanol, and acid catalyst; and then heating them in one pot. The effects of reaction par...

1. The activities of fatty acid synthetase, acyl-CoA synthetase, glycerol phosphate acyltransferase and phosphatidate phosphatase were measured in the mammary glands of rabbits from day 16 of pregnancy to day 15 of post partum. 2. There were significant correlations between the increases in activities of these enzymes during this period. This was the case whether the activities were expressed p...