First report on Meloidogyne chitwoodi hatching inhibition activity of essential oils and essential oils fractions

The Columbia root-knot nematode (CRKN), Meloidogyne chitwoodi, is an EPPO A2 type quarantine pest since 1998. This nematode causes severe damage in economically important crops such as potato and tomato, making agricultural products unacceptable for the fresh market and food processing. Commonly used nematicidal synthetic chemicals are often environmentally unsafe. Essential oils (EOs) may constitute safer alternatives against RKN. EOs, isolated from 56 plant samples, were tested against CRKN hatching, in direct contact bioassays. Some of the most successful EOs were fractionated and the hydrocarbon molecules (HM) and oxygen-containing molecules (OCM) fractions tested separately. 24 EOs displayed very strong hatching inhibitions (≥90 %) at 2 µL mL^?1 and were further tested at lower concentrations. Dysphaniaambrosioides, Filipendula ulmaria, Ruta graveolens, Satureja montana and Thymbra capitata EOs revealed the lowest EC₅₀ values (<0.15 µL mL^?1). The main compounds of these EOs, namely 2-undecanone, ascaridol, carvacrol, isoascaridol, methyl salicylate, p-cymene and/or γ-terpinene, were putatively considered responsible for CRKN hatching inhibition. S. montana and T. capitata OCM fractions showed hatching inhibitions higher than HM fractions. The comparison of EO and corresponding fractions EC₅₀ values suggests interactions between OCM and HM fractions against CRKN hatching. These species EOs showed to be potential environmentally friendly CRKN hatching inhibitors; nonetheless, bioactivity should be considered globally, since its HM and OCM fractions may contribute, diversely, to the full anti-hatching activity.     

Impact of Buckwheat Flavonoids on In Vitro Starch Digestibility and Noodle‐Making Properties

The effects of various buckwheat materials (buckwheat flour [BF], dietary fiber extract [DE], flavonoids extract [FE], and rutin‐enhanced flavonoids extract [REFE]) on starch digestibility and noodle‐making properties were evaluated. When FE and REFE were incorporated into noodles, the amount of rapidly digestible starch and the predicted glycemic index (pGI) were reduced. However, BF and DE did not significantly decrease the pGI value of noodles. When assessing noodle properties, hardness was increased with increasing content of buckwheat materials, whereas other texture parameters were not significantly affected by buckwheat addition. All noodles were similar in regard to water absorption and swelling index, but cooking loss was slightly increased in FE and REFE noodles. FE and REFE demonstrated higher flavonoid stability during noodle making and, additionally, were more effective at reducing starch digestibility than BF and DE. REFE, specifically, does not generate quercetin (the cause of a bitter taste), and, therefore, REFE was effective in suppressing the hydrolysis of starch in the noodles, lowering the pGI.     

Method of determination of nitrosamines in sausages by CO2 supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC)

In this paper, the use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) is proposed for the complete analysis of volatile nitrosamines in sausages. The extraction fluid used was CO2 and variables such as density, temperature of thimbles, extraction time, modifier, fluid flow, and kind of traps were investigated. Several experiments were carried out to obtain the most favorable conditions for analysis of volatile nitrosamines in sausages. The recoveries ranged from 21 to 82% for the five nitrosamines studied. The optimal condition of extraction was 0.2 g of sample fortified with 10 mg/kg, using dynamic extraction during 20 min and with adsorbent Florisil in the trap. The solvent selected for the elution of the analytes was methanol.     

Kinetics of formation of three indicators of the maillard reaction in model cookies: influence of baking temperature and type of sugar

The Maillard reaction (MR), despite its impact on flavor, color, and texture of cereal products, must be controlled for possible deleterious effects on protein nutritional quality. The present study aims to simultaneously monitor three indicators of the MR reaction (acid-released lysine, furosine, and carboxymethyllysine (CML)) by GC/MS in model cookies and evaluate the effect of formulation and baking temperature. Whereas furosine followed a bell-shape kinetic, indicative of an intermediary compound, CML linearly accumulated, proving to be a good indicator of the advanced MR. Acid-released lysine continuously decreased during baking. A reference baking level was defined to compare differently processed cookies using fluorescence synchronous spectra, highly sensitive to the dough physicochemical properties. Furosine was maximal in glucose-containing cookies, but only accounted for 5-50% lysine blockage, depending on the sugar and baking temperature. High oven temperatures and the use of fructose as the sugar source were associated with lowest the lysine damage and CML formation.     

Cross-resistance profile of mesosulfuron-methyl-resistant Italian ryegrass in the southern United States

Diclofop-resistant Lolium species (ryegrass) is a major weed problem in wheat production worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the resistance pattern of diclofop-resistant ryegrass accessions from the southern United States to mesosulfuron-methyl, a recently commercialized herbicide for ryegrass control in wheat; to determine the cross-resistance pattern of a Lolium multiflorum Lam. (Italian ryegrass) accession, 03-1, to acetolactate synthase (ALS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors; and to determine the resistance mechanism of Italian ryegrass to mesosulfuron-methyl. Seventeen ryegrass accessions from Arkansas and Louisiana, including standard resistant and susceptible accessions, were used in this experiment. Fourteen of the 17 accessions were more resistant (four- to > 308-fold) to diclofop than the standard susceptible biotype. One accession, 03-1, was resistant to mesosulfuron-methyl as well as to other ALS inhibitor herbicides such as chlorsulfuron, imazamox and sulfometuron. Accession 03-1, however, did not show multiple resistance to the ACCase inhibitor herbicides diclofop, fluazifop, clethodim, sethoxydim and pinoxaden, nor to glyphosate. The in vivo ALS activity of the 03-1 biotype was less affected by mesosulfuron-methyl than the susceptible biotype. This indicates that the resistance mechanism of Italian ryegrass to mesosulfuron-methyl is partly due to an alteration in the target enzyme, ALS. It is concluded that diclofop-resistant ryegrass in the southern United States can be generally controlled by mesosulfuron-methyl. However, mesosulfuron-methyl must be used with caution because not all ryegrass populations are susceptible to it. There is a need for more thorough profiling of ryegrass resistance to herbicides.     

Functional characteristics of porcine peripheral T cells stimulated with IL-2 or IL-2 and PMA

In human or mouse, mature T cells express either CD4 or CD8, resulting in different functions in the periphery. Interestingly, porcine CD4 and CD8 double positive (DP) T cells are present in the blood, and their proportions change from youth to adulthood. However, the features of these cells in swine are poorly understood. We investigated the fate of porcine peripheral T cells based on their functional characteristics, including proliferation and the expression of CD4 and CD8 co-receptors. The results showed that all the populations changed their CD8 expression in a time-dependent manner and porcine T cells had different proliferative pattern from human T cells. The results further revealed that Th2 cytokines were increased later in porcine T cells compared to human T cells upon stimulation with IL-2 + PMA. Collectively, we found that the fate of porcine peripheral T cells is different from that of human T cells, and the changes occur in a time- and stimulation-dependent manner.     

Effects of road transportation or droving on the weight and metabolism of young bulls

This study evaluated the effects of the mode of transportation on weight and metabolism of young bulls, which are generally transported by two systems: droving and truck. This experiment consisted of two phases: transportation and refeeding and involved transportation by droving and truck. Fifty young Nellore bulls were separated in equal numbers in both groups, droving group and truck group. In the transportation phase, animals were moved, in a 640-km journey. The refeeding phase consisted of 84 days and commenced after the animals arrived at the fattening farm. The effect of the transportation system on animals’ weight, metabolic hormones, and serum biochemistry was assessed after 28, 56, and 84 days. During the transportation phase, animals in the droving group lost 10.11 kg and animals in the truck group gained 13.1 kg. The truck group showed 20.5 kg of weight gain at the end of the refeeding phase. The highest triiodothyronine (T₃) and thyroxine (T₄) concentrations were observed on days 0 and 60 in the transportation phase in both droving and truck groups. The serum cortisol concentration was higher in the droving group than in the truck group on day 56 of the refeeding phase. The IGF-I concentrations were higher during the refeeding phase in the droving group than in the truck group. Our results showed that transportation by droving leads to increased weight loss and reduced further weight gain compared to transportation by truck and that serum concentrations of T₄, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) hormones are altered by the transportation system.     

Comparison of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase and melatonin receptor type 1B immunoreactivity between young adult and aged canine spinal cord

Melatonin affects diverse physiological functions through its receptor and plays an important role in the central nervous system. In the present study, we compared immunoreactivity patterns of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), an enzyme essential for melatonin synthesis, and melatonin receptor type 1B (MT2) in the spinal cord of young adult (2~3 years) and aged (10~12 years) beagle dogs using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. AANAT-specific immunoreactivity was observed in the nuclei of spinal neurons, and was significantly increased in aged dog spinal neurons compared to young adult spinal neurons. MT2-specific immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of spinal neurons, and was predominantly increased in the margin of the neuron cytoplasm in aged spinal cord compared to that in the young adult dogs. These increased levels of AANAT and MT2 immunoreactivity in aged spinal cord might be a feature of normal aging and associated with a feedback mechanism that compensates for decreased production of melatonin during aging.     

Development of a multiplex PCR assay to detect Edwardsiella tarda,Streptococcus parauberis,and Streptococcus iniae in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

A multiplex PCR protocol was established to simultaneously detect major bacterial pathogens in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) including Edwardsiella (E.) tarda, Streptococcus (S.) parauberis, and S. iniae. The PCR assay was able to detect 0.01 ng of E. tarda, 0.1 ng of S. parauberis, and 1 ng of S. iniae genomic DNA. Furthermore, this technique was found to have high specificity when tested with related bacterial species. This method represents a cheaper, faster, and reliable alternative for identifying major bacterial pathogens in olive flounder, the most important farmed fish in Korea.