3.1 Chapter Summary A novel methodology for in situ crosslinking of polymeric fibers during electrospinning is described. The electrospinning apparatus was modified to facilitate UV irradiation of the electrospun fibers while in flight to the collector target. Three copolymers with different mol% of the photoreactive cinnamate functional group (4, 9 and 13 mol% respectively) were synthesized an...

Through the wonders of fermentation, simple sugars derived from enzymatic degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose in the plant cell wall are converted to the biofuel cellulosic ethanol, an attractive alternative to fossil fuels and grain-derived ethanol (Solomon et al., 2007). Before this fermentation takes place, however, the rigid lignin network in the cell wall must be loosened with hot a...

Flavones are plant secondary metabolites that have wide pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. We previously constructed a recombinant flavanone pathway by expressing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae a four-step recombinant pathway that consists of cinnamate-4 hydroxylase, 4-coumaroyl:coenzyme A ligase, chalcone synthase, and chalcone isomerase. In the present work, the biosynthesis of flavo...

Anion photoelectron spectra of the carbon monohydrides, C2nH 2 for n51 – 4 and C2nD 2 for n51 – 3, have been measured. The spectra were recorded at a wavelength of 266 nm ~4.657 eV! and yield electron affinities for each species. The spectra are vibrationally resolved, and some of the vibrational modes in the neutral C2nH~D! radicals are assigned. In addition, photoelectron angular distribution...

Biogenic amines play an important role in brain metabolism and functioning, participation synaptic transmission as neurotransmitters neuromodulators (dopamine, serotonin, histamine others). Catecholamines are formed from the essential amino acid phenylalanine by hydroxylating it to tyrosine with enzyme phenylalanine-4-hydroxylase, which is subsequently converted dioxyphenylalanine (DOPA) tyrosi...

In the present work the effect of cyclodextrin and coronatine on both trans-resveratrol production and the expression of stilbene biosynthetic genes in Vitis vinifera L. cv Monastrell suspension cultured cells were evaluated. The results showed the maximum level of trans-resveratrol produced by cells and secreted to the culture medium with 50 mM cyclodextrins and 1 μM coronatine. Since the leve...

The nematicidal activity of two cassia, Cinnamomum cassia, oils (Especial and true), four cinnamon, Cinnamomum zey-lanicum, oils (technical, #500, bark and green leaf), and their compounds (e.g., trans-cinnamaldehyde and trans-cinnamic acid) toward adult Bursaphelenchus xylophilus was examined by a direct contact bioassay. Results were compared with those of 34 related compounds. As judged by 2...

Hickory (Carya cathayensis), a tree with high nutritional and economic value, is widely cultivated in China. Grafting greatly reduces the juvenile phase length and makes the large scale cultivation of hickory possible. To reveal the response mechanisms of this species to grafting, we employed a proteomics-based approach to identify differentially expressed proteins in the graft unions during th...