Katarina Košmelj

Nutrient Content in Buckwheat Milling Fractions

ABSTRACT Buckwheat seeds (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) were milled into 23 fractions: seven fine flours, three coarse flours, four small semolina, two big semolina, six bran, and one husk fraction. A considerable variation in gross chemical composition was found among the milling fractions. The protein content varied from 4.4 to 11.9% (db) in flours and from 19.2 to 31.3% in bran fractions; starch varied from 91.7 to 70.4% in flours and from 42.6 to 20.3 in bran. The percentage of soluble dietary fiber contained in total dietary fiber was higher in flours than in semolina and bran fractions. Ash, Fe, P, tannin, phytate content, and color were also investigated. A unique distribution of phytate was found in starch. Correlation is significantly positive in husk, bran, and semolina fractions, while correlation is significantly negative in flour fractions. Depending on technological or nutritional demands, appropriate fractions may be chosen to achieve the desired end-use product.

Cross-sectional approach for clustering time varying data

Cluster analysis is to be performed on a three-mode data matrix of type: units, variables, time. A general model for calculating the distance between two units varying in time is proposed. One particular model is developed and used in an example concerned with clustering of 23 European countries according to the similarity of energy consumption in the years 1976–1982.

Assessment of Slovene secondary school students' attitudes to biotechnology in terms of usefulness, moral acceptability and risk perception.

Quantitative and qualitative studies among 469 high school students of average age 17 years were conducted. The students’ attitudes to four practical applications of biotechnology were examined: genetically modified plants (Bt corn), genetically modified animals (salmon), and hemophilia germ line and somatic gene therapy. Each of the four applications was examined from three different viewpoints: usefulness, moral acceptability and risk perception. Bt corn production proved to be the most acceptable in terms of both usefulness and risk perception. Values for genetically modified salmon and germ line gene therapy were comparable, but much lower than those for the other two applications; this was true for both usefulness and moral acceptability. In addition, students found genetically modified salmon to be ethically much less acceptable than Bt corn. Significant gender differences were observed in the case of germ line gene therapy and genetically modified salmon.

Comparison of two generalized logistic regression models; a case study

Two generalized logistic regression models were compared on a set of observations describing persons with mental disabilities. The main variable of interest (willingness of the parents to incorporate their mentally handicapped offspring into on-farm activities) has three different values (no, undecided, yes). These values can be regarded as unordered (the variable having nominal measurement scale) or as ordered (the variable having ordinal measurement scale). Nominal and ordinal logistic regression models were used to analyze the impact of several predictors on the main variable of interest. We compare the two models in terms of the likelihood ratio test and the Nagelkerke coefficient of determination. It turns out that the ordinal regression assumptions are often not met. In our case, the nominal regression model has proved preferable to the ordinal regression one.

Initiation of contraception postpartum

In this case-control study, we compared 97 cases who became pregnant within one year postpartum and underwent an induced abortion to 97 non-pregnant controls who were postpartum for a similar time interval. Two percent of cases conceived when fully breastfeeding and amenorrhoeic. A logistic model was used to identify risk factors for an unwanted pregnancy early postpartum. The most important risk factors were: time since menses resumption, number of menstrual bleedings, contraception, parity and education. The strong protective effect of breastfeeding and amenorrhoea was evident in the first 24 weeks postpartum, from 25-32 weeks the effect of amenorrhoea persisted, and after 32 weeks neither variable had any effect. The main risk factor for the outcome pregnant/non-pregnant in the first and the second interval was time since menses resumption; time since weaning works as a distal causal factor. After 32 weeks postpartum, the effect of contraceptive use and parity became important. The results of this case-control study suggest that the lactational amenorrhoea method, a recently proposed method of family planning, can be used up to 32 weeks postpartum for amenorrhoeic and fully or partially breastfeeding Slovenian women. Afterwards, women should be encouraged to use reliable contraceptives regardless of their breastfeeding and amenorrhoea status.

Unprovoked proximal venous thrombosis is associated with an increased risk of asymptomatic pulmonary embolism

INTRODUCTION Pulmonary embolism (PE) is common in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The outcome of DVT with concomitant symptomatic PE is worse than the outcome of isolated DVT. The risk factors for DVT and simultaneous asymptomatic PE have not been systematically studied yet. AIM To evaluate the frequency and risk factors for asymptomatic PE in patients with DVT. PATIENTS/METHODS In 155 consecutive patients with a first episode of DVT and no PE symptoms, a ventilation-perfusion lung scan was performed. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated and concentrations of D-dimer, high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and troponin were measured. Laboratory tests for thrombophilia were performed. RESULTS Asymptomatic PE was present in 36% of patients. No differences in gender, age, BMI and WHR were found between the patients with and without PE. PE was more common in patients with proximal DVT than in those with distal DVT (42% vs. 17%, p<0.01), and in patients with unprovoked DVT compared to patients with provoked DVT (51% vs. 28%, p<0.01). The risk of silent PE was the highest in patients with unprovoked proximal DVT (OR, 6.9; 95% CI, 2.3-21.0). Patients with asymptomatic PE had significantly higher values of D-dimer, hsCRP, t-PA and troponin than patients with isolated DVT. CONCLUSIONS Asymptomatic PE affected more than one third of patients with a first DVT. Unprovoked proximal DVT is the most important risk factor for the occurrence of silent PE.

Circadian rhythm of cholesterol synthesis in mouse liver: a statistical analysis of the post-squalene metabolites in wild-type and Crem-knock-out mice.

Circadian rhythms affect the total cholesterol levels in humans and animals, although their effect on cholesterol synthesis remain poorly understood. Here, we show for the first time that intermediates of the post-squalene portion of cholesterol synthesis also follow a circadian rhythm in the mouse liver. We used Crem-knock-out mice to investigate the effects of cAMP response element modulator (CREM) isoforms on cholesterol synthesis over time, as compared to wild-type mice. Multiple linear regression and cosinor statistical analysis were carried out on data obtained from 166 liver samples of mice, and the 24-h profiles were modelled across genotype, gender and zeitgeber time for lanosterol, 24,25-dihydrolanosterol, testis meiosis-activating sterol, and 7-dehydrocholesterol, along with cholesterol. The levels of these sterols were higher in female mice compared to males, although the genotype/gender factors showed no effects on the circadian oscillation of these sterols, except for 24,25-dihydrolanosterol. This study also highlights the importance of the statistical methods, where time, genotype and gender are the studied variables.

Comparison of a two-stage sampling design and its composite sample alternative: An application to soil studies

The objective of a long-term soil survey is to determine the mean concentrations of several chemical parameters for the pre-defined soil layers and to compare them with the corresponding values in the past. A two-stage random sampling procedure is used to achieve this goal. In the first step, n subplots are selected from N subplots by simple random sampling without replacement; in the second step, m sampling sites are chosen within each of the n selected subplots. Thus n · m soil samples are collected for each soil layer. The idea of the composite sample design comes from the challenge of reducing very expensive laboratory analyses: m laboratory samples from one subplot and one soil layer are physically mixed to form a composite sample. From each of the n selected subplots, one composite sample per soil layer is analyzed in the laboratory, thus n per soil layer in total. In this paper we show that the cost is reduced by the factor m — 1 when instead of the two-stage sampling its composite sample alternative is used; however, the variance of the composite sample mean is increased. In the case of positive intraclass correlation the increase is less than 12.5%; in the case of negative intraclass correlation the increase depends on the properties of the variable as well. For the univariate case we derive the optimal number of subplots and sampling sites. A case study is discussed at the end.

Geomagnetic and strong static magnetic field effects on growth and chlorophyll a fluorescence in Lemna minor.

The geomagnetic field (GMF) varies over Earths surface and changes over time, but it is generally not considered as a factor that could influence plant growth. The effects of reduced and enhanced GMFs and a strong static magnetic field on growth and chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence of Lemna minor plants were investigated under controlled conditions. A standard 7 day test was conducted in extreme geomagnetic environments of 4 µT and 100 µT as well as in a strong static magnetic field environment of 150 mT. Specific growth rates as well as slow and fast Chl a fluorescence kinetics were measured after 7 days incubation. The results, compared to those of controls, showed that the reduced GMF significantly stimulated growth rate of the total frond area in the magnetically treated plants. However, the enhanced GMF pointed towards inhibition of growth rate in exposed plants in comparison to control, but the difference was not statistically significant. This trend was not observed in the case of treatments with strong static magnetic fields. Our measurements suggest that the efficiency of photosystem II is not affected by variations in GMF. In contrast, the strong static magnetic field seems to have the potential to increase initial Chl a fluorescence and energy dissipation in Lemna minor plants.

Identification of Novel Virulence-Associated Proteins Secreted to Xylem by Verticillium nonalfalfae During Colonization of Hop Plants.

Plant pathogens employ various secreted proteins to suppress host immunity for their successful host colonization. Identification and characterization of pathogen-secreted proteins can contribute to an understanding of the pathogenicity mechanism and help in disease control. We used proteomics to search for proteins secreted to xylem by the vascular pathogen Verticillium nonalfalfae during colonization of hop plants. Three highly abundant fungal proteins were identified: two enzymes, α-N-arabinofuranosidase (VnaAbf4.216) and peroxidase (VnaPRX1.1277), and one small secreted hypothetical protein (VnaSSP4.2). These are the first secreted proteins so far identified in xylem sap following infection with Verticillium spp. VnaPRX1.1277, classified as a heme-containing peroxidase from Class II, similar to other Verticillium spp. lignin-degrading peroxidases, and VnaSSP4.2, a 14-kDa cysteine-containing protein with unknown function and with a close homolog in related V. alfalfae strains, were further examined. The in planta expression of VnaPRX1.1277 and VnaSSP4.2 genes increased with the progression of colonization, implicating their role in fungal virulence. Indeed, V. nonalfalfae deletion mutants of both genes exhibited attenuated virulence on hop plants, which returned to the level of the wild-type pathogenicity in the knockout complementation lines, supporting VnaPRX1.1277 and VnaSSP4.2 as virulence factors required to promote V. nonalfalfae colonization of hop plants.