BACKGROUND The use of conventional breeding techniques and biotechnology to improve the micronutrient quality of staple crops is a new strategy to address micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. This strategy, referred to as "biofortification," is being developed and implemented through the international alliance of HarvestPlus to improve iron, zinc, and vitamin A status in low-inco...

Bollgard cotton is the trademark given to a number of varieties of cotton bio-engineered to produce an insecticidal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). When produced by the modified cotton plants, this protein controls certain lepidopterous cotton insect pests. Commercially available since 1996, these cotton varieties are purchased under a license agreement in which the growers pay a fee ...

Stickiness is the physical process of contaminated lint adhering to equipment. The degree of stickiness depends on chemical identity, quantity, and distribution of the sugars. The sugar in cotton fibers may be insect or plant derived. There are several methods for measuring cotton fibers stickiness. In this work, a colorimetric method was used for the measurements. In the method, honeydew was c...

IT has been suggested that the refinement of staple carbohydrate foods may be a major aetiological factor in accounting for the appearance and the rising incidence of duodenal ulcer, both in Western countries and in developing countries, during the present century (Cleave, 1962, 1974). Cleave postulated that this may be due to loss of buffer in the staple carbohydrates as a result of the remova...

OBJECTIVE To determine the cause of postoperative leaks in 2 patients with Zenker diverticula treated with endoscopic staple-assisted esophagodiverticulostomy. DESIGN Medical chart review and simulated surgery. SETTING Teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two case reports of postoperative leaks in patients treated with endoscopic staple-assisted esophagodiverticulostomy and experimenta...

INTRODUCTION Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is one of the most efficient bariatric interventions in morbidly obese patients. The most severe risk of this procedure seems to be the staple line leak, and the management of this complication can be very arduous. AIM To share our experience in managing the staple line leak after LSG and to help to find the best procedure that should be pref...

A novel expansin protein (ScExlx1) was found, cloned and expressed from the Basidiomycete fungus Schizophylum commune. This protein showed the canonical features of plant expansins. ScExlx1 showed the ability to form "bubbles" in cotton fibers, reduce the size of avicel particles and enhance reducing sugar liberation from cotton fibers pretreated with the protein and then treated with cellulase...