Effect of the addition of bran fractions on bread properties

High fibre breads were produced adding durum wheat bran fractions of different composition and particle size. Fresh products were characterized for texture, crumb grain, volume, colour, water status (water activity, moisture content, frozen water content, ¹H molecular mobility).     

Transplacental transmission of field and rescued strains of BTV-2 and BTV-8 in experimentally infected sheep

Transplacental transmission of bluetongue virus has been shown previously for the North European strain of serotype 8 (BTV-8) and for tissue culture or chicken egg-adapted vaccine strains but not for field strains of other serotypes. In this study, pregnant ewes (6 per group) were inoculated with either field or rescued strains of BTV-2 and BTV-8 in order to determine the ability of these viruses to cross the placental barrier. The field BTV-2 and BTV-8 strains was passaged once in Culicoides KC cells and once in mammalian cells. All virus inoculated sheep became infected and seroconverted against the different BTV strains used in this study. BTV RNA was detectable in the blood of all but two ewes for over 28 days but infectious virus could only be detected in the blood for a much shorter period. Interestingly, transplacental transmission of BTV-2 (both field and rescued strains) was demonstrated at high efficiency (6 out of 13 lambs born to BTV-2 infected ewes) while only 1 lamb of 12 born to BTV-8 infected ewes showed evidence of in utero infection. In addition, evidence for horizontal transmission of BTV-2 between ewes was observed. As expected, the parental BTV-2 and BTV-8 viruses and the viruses rescued by reverse genetics showed very similar properties to each other. This study showed, for the first time, that transplacental transmission of BTV-2, which had been minimally passaged in cell culture, can occur; hence such transmission might be more frequent than previously thought.     

Application of a low-cost camera on a UAV to estimate maize nitrogen-related variables

Precision Agriculture - The development of small unmanned aerial vehicles and advances in sensor technology have made consumer digital cameras suitable for the remote sensing of vegetation. In this...     

Quantifying plant species diversity in a Natura 2000 network: Old ideas and new proposals

Assessing the effects of the spatial components on species diversity in a network of protected areas represents an important step for assessing its conservation “capacity”. A clear evaluation on how α-, β-, and γ-diversity are partitioned among and within spatial scales can help to drive manager decisions and provide method for monitoring species diversity. Moving from these concepts, a probabilistic sample of plant species composition was here applied for quantifying plant species diversity within the Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) of the Natura 2000 network in the Siena Province. All analyses were performed separately for all species and those species defined as “focal” (included in regional, national or continental “red” lists). The results indicated that species richness of the SCIs differed from one location to another one independently from the sampling efforts. Diversity partitioning indicated that most of the flora diversity within the network was given by larger-scale β-diversity, i.e. the differences in species composition among SCIs. β-diversity was then decomposed in two components: β_Area (due to the differences in area among SCIs) and β_Replacement (due to the compositional differences across SCIs). β_Area was particularly important for all species, while β_Replacement was the most important factor for focal species. The consequent implications for monitoring and nature conservation strategies are discussed.     

Assay of the set of all Sudan azodye (I, II, III, IV, and Para-Red) contaminating agents by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and isotope dilution methodology

A high-throughput mass spectrometric method is presented for the simultaneous detection of Sudan I, II, III, IV, and Para-Red azodyes in foodstuff. The method is based on the use of deuterium-labeled internal standards and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in a triple-quadrupole instrument. The gas-phase breakdown pattern of each labeled and unlabeled analogue displays the naphthoic moiety as a common fragment. The search for the parents of this common species (parent ion scans) allows, by flow injection and in a single run, the evaluation of the presence of each polluting species spiked in typical foodstuffs. A detailed assay of each azodye was performed by LC-APCI and isotope dilution method, through the multiple reaction monitoring approach, using deuterium-labeled internal standards. Sudan dyes can be quantified above the threshold of 10 ppb except for Sudan Para-Red, for which the limit of quantification was 20 ppb, likely due to the different ionization efficiency.     

Sterol oxidation in ready-to-eat infant foods during storage

The effect of storage on sterol oxidation of ready-to-eat infant foods was evaluated. Two different liquid infant foods (honey or fruits flavors), prepared with milk and cereals, were stored for 0, 2, 4, 7 and 9 months at 25 degrees C. Sterol oxidation products (SOP) were isolated by cold saponification, purified by silica solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry. beta-Sitosterol was the most representative sterol, followed by cholesterol and campesterol. No significant differences in the total and single SOP content (0.8-1 mg/kg of product) were observed with respect to storage time and type of sample; the main SOP found was 7-ketositosterol (<0.2 mg/kg of product). The extent of stigmasterol oxidation (2.9%) was higher than that of cholesterol (1.9%) and beta-sitosterol (1.4%). The type and quality of raw materials, as well as the processing conditions, seem to greatly influence SOP formation and accumulation in infant foods.     

Antimicrobial activity of the ornamental species Salvia corrugata, a potential new crop for extractive purposes

As a part of our search for biologically active compounds from cultivated Salvia spp. we investigated Salvia corrugata Vahl. The activity of two isolated icetaxane diterpene quinones, fruticuline A and demethylfruticuline A, was assessed against 46 bacterial pathogens, mostly resistant to several primary antibiotics. The MIC for all the inhibited Gram-positive pathogens tested showed a very narrow distribution and ranged from 32 to 64 mg/L, regardless of their resistance patterns to other antibiotics. Demethylfruticuline A was shown to be highly bactericidal (>3 log(10) CFU decrease within 24 h) against Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis and bacteriostatic against Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium. Fruticuline A manifested bacteriostatic activity against all tested strains. S. corrugata can be viewed as an interesting source for these diterpenes, which, if well tolerated in vivo, may represent new medical agents useful for the treatment of serious infections caused by resistant Gram-positive pathogens.     

Identification of mycobacterial infections in wild boars in Northern Sardinia, Italy

During a six-month period a region of Northern Sardinia was monitored to check the presence of mycobacterial infections in wild boars. Forty-eight serum and 229 biopsy samples were collected from different animals and examined by both traditional diagnostic techniques (culture, bacterioscopic and molecular tests) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The latter was used to determine the antibody response against both methylated and nonmethylated Heparin-Binding Haemagglutinin (HBHA) protein. Nine mycobacterial strains were isolated: three M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis (Map), three M. avium, one M. interjectum and two M. scrofulaceum strains. By PCR, only one animal was positive for M. bovis, whereas 10 animals were positive for Map. Out of the 48 sera tested, 19 showed a good humoral response to methylated HBHA and 17 to nonmethylated HBHA. Our data provide new information on the prevalence of mycobacterial infection among wild boars in Northern Sardinia and suggest that a more effective program should be developed to monitor mycobacterial infections in the wild animal population.