Cutin hydrolysate induced the production of an extracellular cutinase by glucose-grown Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi. The rate of production depended on the amount of cutin hydrolysate added up to 80 ,ug/ml, and saturation was attained at this level. Glucose was found to be a repressor of cutinase production. A radial immunodiffusion assay for cutinase was developed, and the induction of cutinase by cutin hydrolysate was confirmed by this direct assay. When cutinase was induced by cutin hydrolysate, exogenous labeled phenylalanine was incorporated into cutinase, which was shown to be the major (>70%) protein in the extracellular fluid. Induction of cutinase by cutin hydrolysate was not inhibited by actinomycin D and was stimulated (=100%) by cordycepin. Addition of cycloheximide with the inducer, or up to 12 h after the addition of the inducer, resulted in a nearly immediate cessation of cutinase production. Deoxyglucose, an inhibitor of proten glycosylation, inhibited the induction of cutinase by cutin hydrolysate. w-Hydroxy fatty acids were more effective in inducing cutinase than any of the other more polar acids of cutin. Experiments with derivatives and analogues of o-hydroxy C16 acid indicated that a free hydroxyl group at the wposition was the most important factor determining the cutinase-inducing activity. n-Aliphatic primary alcohols with 14 or more carbon atoms induced cutinase, and n-C16 was the most effective inducer. These results strongly suggest that the monomers function as the chemical signal which induces the extracellular hydrolase.

The denaturation of croaker actomyosin was studied with respect to the important role of coagulation and gelation phenomena in the manufacture of gel-type meat and fish products. Measurements of turbidity (Aeoo), viscosity, calcium ATPase activity, total sulfhydryl groups and protein coagulation of croaker actomyosin solutions during heating at a constant temperature increase of l"C/min 16 vealed no loss of enzymic activity nor evidence of protein aggregation prior to reaching a temperature of 37-4O"C, at which point the protein coagulated with corresponding loss of ATPase activity and sulfhydryl groups and an increase in turbidity. The degree of protein coagulation was highly dependent on the' protein concentration. An observed increase in the apparent viscosity over the 30-35°C temperature range was postulated to result from interaction of protein molecules due to noncovalent forces.

Comminuted mixtures of fish muscle (surimi) and salt undergo a sol-gel transformation when subjected to heat processing which is responsible for the textural characteristics of fabricated imitation shellfish meats. Upon "setting" a fish muscle sol at temperatures below those conventionally used for heat processing meat products, a fine translucent gel network is formed which imparts strength and resiliency to the subsequently cooked gel product. Increased fiimness and opacity, as well as some loss in cohesiveness, were noted upon processing surimi sols at higher temperatures. The low temperature "setting" property of fish proteins necessitates rapid forming or extrusion of the product prior to the initiation of network formation to insure a fnm texture in the final product.

Arrhythmia is one kind of diseases that gives rise to the death and possibly forms the immedicable danger. The most common cardiac arrhythmia is the ventricular premature beat. The main purpose of this study is to develop an efficient arrhythmia detection algorithm based on the morphology characteristics of arrhythmias using correlation coefficient in ECG signal. Subjects for experiments included normal subjects, patients with atrial premature contraction (APC), and patients with ventricular premature contraction (PVC). So and Chan's algorithm was used to find the locations of QRS complexes. When the QRS complexes were detected, the correlation coefficient and RR-interval were utilized to calculate the similarity of arrhythmias. The algorithm was tested using MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and every QRS complex was classified in the database

Enzymic lipid peroxidation of a microsomal fraction prepared from chicken leg muscle led to the oxidation of oxymyoglobin to metmyoglobin when the former was incubated in vitro with the microsomal peroxidation system. Similar oxidation of pigment was observed in the presence of linolenate hydroperoxide. On prolonged incubation of myoglobin with the peroxidizing microsomal fraction, some destruction of the pigment occurred. Incubation with either BHA or a mixture of glutathione and glutathione peroxidase inhibited much of the pigment oxidation.

An enzymic system for the oxidation of microsomal lipids in the presence of Fe+S, ADP and NADPH or NADH has been demonstrated in the microsomai (sarcoplasmic reticular) fraction of chicken skeletal muscle. Heat, deoxycholate, chelating agents and butylated hydroxyanisole inhibited the oxidation.

Source of minced fish tissue Measurements of properties relating to the physical integrity of heat-processed fish gels varied among samples obtained over a 1-yr period or subjected to various processing temperatures. Such gel properties correlated well with the heat-stable protease (alkaline protease) activity measured in the raw samples. A significant inhibitor concentration-dependent relationship was noted between the addition of a potato derived protease inhibitor and gel strength. These observations support the causative role of an eruymic proteolytic agent in the weakening of gel integrity at processing temperatures near 60°C.

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