Changes in volatile compounds of carrots (Daucus carota L.) during refrigerated and frozen storage

Carrots (Daucus carota L.) of cv. Bolero and cv. Carlo were processed into shreds and stored for up to 4 months at -24 degrees C (frozen storage), or the roots were stored for up to 4 months at 1 degrees C (refrigerated storage) followed by processing into shreds. Volatiles from the carrot shreds were collected by dynamic headspace technique and analyzed by GC-FID, GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, and GC-O to determine the volatile composition and aroma active components of carrots stored under different temperature conditions. A total of 52 compounds were quantified, of which mono- and sesquiterpenes accounted for approximately 99% of the total volatile mass. Major volatile compounds were (-)-alpha-pinene, beta-myrcene, (-)-limonene, (+)-limonene, (+)-sabinene, gamma-terpinene, p-cymene, terpinolene, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-humulene, and (E)- and (Z)-gamma-bisabolene. A considerable increase in the concentration of mono- and sesquiterpenes was observed during refrigerated storage, whereas the concentration of terpenoids was around the same level during frozen storage. GC-O revealed that the major volatiles together with (+)-alpha-pinene, (-)-beta-pinene, (+)-beta-pinene, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, (-)-beta-bisabolene, beta-ionone, and myristicin had an odor sensation, which included notes of "carrot top", "terpene-like", "green", "earthy", "fruity", "citrus-like", "spicy", "woody", and "sweet".     

ICP Waters — an International Programme for Surface Water Monitoring

The International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Acidification of Rivers and Lakes (ICP Waters) was established in July 1985 under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Executive Body of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). The Programme Centre is at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo. The main aim of the Programme is to assess, on a regional basis, the degree and geographical extent of acidification of surface waters. 23 countries in Europe and North America participate on a regular basis. The major findings in the programme cover (1) regional trends in water chemistry related to changes in S- and N-deposition, (2) dose/response relationships particularly between biology (invertebrates) and water chemistry (acidification status), (3) effects of acidification on aquatic fauna, (4) implications for the assessment of critical loads, and (5) nitrogen leaching. Both chemical and biological intercalibrations and intercomparisons are important parts of the programme activities.     

Genotyping canine distemper virus (CDV) by a hemi-nested multiplex PCR provides a rapid approach for investigation of CDV outbreaks

CDV is a highly contagious viral pathogen causing a lethal systemic disease in dogs and other carnivores. Several lineages or genotypes of CDV exist that are variously distributed throughout several continents. Legal or uncontrolled trading of animals may modify the epidemiology of CDV, introducing novel strains in CDV-na?ve areas or accounting for the resurgence of CDV in areas where vaccine prophylaxis was effective and successful to control the disease. A hemi-nested PCR system was developed to genotype strains of the major CDV lineages, America-1, Europe, Asia-1, Asia-2 and Arctic. The assay was tested using a collection of 27 laboratory and vaccine strains and of 36 field CDV strains. Distinct lineages could be differentiated by specific primers targeted to the H gene. The method could be useful for molecular epidemiological studies of CDV, providing a tool for large-scale studies, and for the diagnosis of vaccine-related disease.     

Prediction of Starch,Soluble Sugars and Amino Acids in Potatoes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis> L.) Using Hyperspectral Imaging,Dielectric and LF-NMR Methodologies

Handling and processing of potatoes is performed in increasingly large and more automated facilities, and the industry calls for more automated machinery for quality assessment and sorting by concentration of starch, soluble sugars, protein, amino acids etc. of the potato tubers. The present study was designed to evaluate five different scanning methods for their potential use in potato assessment and sorting. Two methods were based on hyperspectral imaging, two were based on dielectric/bio-impedance and one was based on low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. A set of 60 potatoes of 10 different cultivars were simultaneously sampled for analyses of content and scanned by the five different scanning methods. The resulting multivariate dataset was used to estimate the prediction ability of the individual scanning methods on starch-related parameters, selected simple sugars, selected amino acids, conductivity of pressed cell sap and cell sizes. Results showed that most types of spectral analyses had relatively high potential for predicting the starch-related parameters and medium potential for predicting the concentration of the reducing sugars fructose and glucose. Most methods showed medium potential for prediction of several amino acids, including asparagine, which showed particularly promising predictions in the hyperspectral analyses of intact potatoes. The presented screening study enabled us to perform robust choices for the further development and optimization of the methods and instruments for industrial implementation.     

Investigations of barley stripe mosaic virus as a gene silencing vector in barley roots and in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachypodium distachyon</Emphasis> and oat

Background  

Gene silencing vectors based on Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) are used extensively in cereals to study gene function, but nearly all studies have been limited to genes expressed in leaves of barley and wheat. However since many important aspects of plant biology are based on root-expressed genes we wanted to explore the potential of BSMV for silencing genes in root tissues. Furthermore, the newly completed genome sequence of the emerging cereal model species Brachypodium distachyon as well as the increasing amount of EST sequence information available for oat (Avena species) have created a need for tools to study gene function in these species.     

Detection of Glycoalkaloids and Chlorophyll in Potatoes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis> L.) by Hyperspectral Imaging

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to detect and quantify chlorophyll (Chl) and total glycoalkaloid concentrations (TGA) in potatoes. To create a set of tubers with different concentrations of Chl and TGA, potatoes of four varieties were wounded or treated with red, blue, red/blue, UV-a, UV-b or UV-c light. HSI analyses were performed with a reflection based setup implemented in an industrial potato sorting machine. After hyperspectral analyses, the peel was sampled, and concentrations of Chl and total TGA were determined. Results showed that the HSI system predicted the concentrations of Chl with a relatively high degree of accuracy, and a prediction R² value of 0.92. Prediction of TGA concentrations performed to a much lesser extent, and the overall prediction R² value was only 0.21. Moderate soil covers only affected the prediction powers to a minor degree.     

A hereditary disposition for bovine peripheral nerve sheath tumors in Danish Holstein cattle

Background

Peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) are frequently found in Danish cattle at slaughter. Bovine PNSTs share several gross and histopathological characteristics with the PNSTs in humans with heritable neurofibromatosis syndromes. The aim of the present study was to investigate a possible hereditary disposition to PNSTs in dairy cattle by statistical analysis performed on data from 567 cattle with PNSTs. Furthermore, a preliminary genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on DNA isolated from 28 affected and 28 non-affected Holstein cows to identify loci in the bovine genome involved in the development of PNSTs.

Results

PNSTs were significantly more common in the Danish Holstein breed than in other breeds with 0.49% of Danish Holsteins slaughtered during an eight-year-period having PNSTs. PNSTs also occurred significantly more frequently in the offspring of some specific Holstein sires. Examination of three generation pedigrees showed that these sires were genetically related through a widely used US Holstein sire. The PNSTs included in GWAS were histologically classified as neurofibroma-schwannoma (43%), schwannoma (36%) and neurofibroma (21%) and derived from Holstein cows with multiple PNSTs. A single SNP on chromosome 27 reached genome-wide significance.

Conclusions

Gross and histological characteristics of bovine PNSTs are comparable to PNSTs in humans (schwannomatosis). Danish Holsteins are genetically disposed to develop PNSTs but the examined materials are insufficient to allow determination of the mode of inheritance.     

Impact of acid precipitation on freshwater ecosystems in Norway

Extensive studies of precipitation chemistry during the last 20 yr have clearly shown that highly polluted precipitation falls over large areas of Scandinavia, and that this pollution is increasing in severity and geographical extent. Precipitation in southern Norway, Sweden, and Finland contains large amounts of H⁺, SO⁼ ₄, and NO^? ₃ ions, along with heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, that originate as air pollutants in the highly industrialized areas of Great Britain and central Europe and are transported over long distances to Scandinavia, where they are deposited in precipitation and dry-fallout. In Norway the acidification of fresh waters and accompanying decline and disappearance of fish populations were first reported in the 1920s, and since then in Sørlandet (southernmost Norway) the salmon have been eliminated from several rivers and hundreds of lakes have lost their fisheries. Justifiably, acid precipitation has become Norway's number-one environmental problem, and in 1972 the government launched a major research project entitled ‘Acid precipitation — effects on forest and fish’, (the SNSF-project). Studies of freshwater ecosystems conducted by the SNSF-project include intensive research at 10 gauged watersheds and lake basins in critical acid-areas of southern Norway, extensive surveys of the geographical extent and severity of the problem over all of Norway, and field and laboratory experiments on the effect of acid waters on the growth and physiology of a variety of organisms. Large areas of western, southern, and eastern Norway have been adversely affected by acid precipitation. The pH of many lakes is below 5.0, and sulfate, rather than bicarbonate, is the major anion. Lakes in these areas are particularly vulnerable to acid precipitation because their watersheds are underlain by highly resistant bedrock with low Ca and Mg contents. Apart from the well-documented decline in fish populations, relatively little is known about the effects of acid precipitation on the biology of these aquatic ecosystems. Biological surveys indicate that low pH-values inhibit the decomposition of allochthonous organic matter, decrease the species number of phyto-and zooplankton and benthic invertebrates, and promote the growth of benthic mosses. Acid precipitation is affecting larger and larger areas of Norway. The source of the pollutants is industrial Europe, and the prognosis is a continued increase in fossil-fuel consumption. The short-term effects of the increasing acidity of freshwater ecosystems involve interference at every trophic level. The long-term impact may be quite drastic indeed.