ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In the present study high-brightness light-emitting diodes were used to investigate the influence of different light spectra on garlic discoloration at different humidity levels and temperature. Many processes involved in the discoloration process of garlic/leek during storage under different conditions remain unanswered. For this reason in this study the ability of specific light spectra to enhance the production of desirable pigments has been evaluated in elephant garlic. It is well known that the pigments involved in the discoloration reaction are of great interest because of their potential ability to increase the nutritional value and health benefits of the food. RESULTS: In the present study, we show how the chlorophyll content of the sprout increases directly proportionally to the wavelength of the light tested; green/blue light delays the greening process of garlic young shoots whilst red/infra-red light irradiance conditions increase the greening process at different storage temperatures and humidity. Moreover different lights in the visible spectrum have been observed to stimulate and enhance the outer layer purple coloration. CONCLUSION: The use of different lights to modulate garlic pigmentation has been demonstrated and, in particular, the utilisation of red/green/blue lights and lower temperature resulted in higher red/pink pigments production supporting the hypothesis that this process involves more than one light to be fully performed and the low temperature is a condition that influences the formation of these products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Subject(s)
Garlic/chemistry , Garlic/radiation effects , Pigments, Biological/analysis , Chlorophyll/analysis , Chlorophyll/metabolism , Color , Food Storage , Garlic/metabolism , Pigments, Biological/metabolism , TemperatureABSTRACT
Six-day-old rats were treated intraperitoneal injections with methotrexate 1 mg/kg, and the cerebellum was examined. Both the length and width of the vermis decreased in the methotrexate-treated group instead of the control from 4 day after treatment (DAT) onward. A significant reduction in the width of the external granular layer was detected on 2 and 3 DAT in the methotrexate group. By 4 DAT, the width of the external granular layer of the methotrexate group was indistinguishable from the control, and by 8 DAT, it was greater than that of the control. The molecular layer of methotrexate group on 8 and 15 DAT was thinner than that of the control. On 1 DAT, in the methotrexate group, there were many TUNEL and cleaved caspase-3-positive granular cells throughout the external granular layer, and they decreased time-dependently. On 1 DAT, in the methotrexate group, phospho-histone H3-positive cells in the external granular layer were fewer than in the control and tended to increase on 2-4 DAT. The p21-positive-rate of the external granule cells in the MTX group was higher than in the control on 1-4 DAT. These results suggested that methotrexate exposure on postnatal day 6 induces a delay, slowing in the migration of external granular cells to the inner granular layer, attributed to decrease or inhibition in the production of external granular cells that had arisen from apoptosis and the decrease in cell proliferative activity, resulting in cerebellar hypoplasia.
Subject(s)
Cerebellum/growth & development , Folic Acid Antagonists/pharmacology , Methotrexate/pharmacology , Animals , Animals, Newborn/growth & development , Cerebellum/drug effects , Female , Folic Acid Antagonists/adverse effects , In Situ Nick-End Labeling/veterinary , Male , Methotrexate/adverse effects , Organ Size/drug effects , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
An environmental cell for high-temperature, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of nanomaterials in near atmospheric pressures is developed. The developed environmental cell is a side-entry type with built-in specimen-heating element and micropressure gauge. The relationship between the cell condition and the quality of the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image and the diffraction pattern was examined experimentally and theoretically. By using the cell consisting of two electron-transparent silicon nitride thin films as the window material, the gas pressure inside the environmental cell is continuously controlled from 10(-5) Pa to the atmospheric pressure in a high-vacuum TEM specimen chamber. TEM image resolutions of 0.23 and 0.31 nm were obtained using 15-nm-thick silicon nitride film windows with the pressure inside the cell being around 5 × 10(-5) and 1 × 10(4) Pa, respectively.
