Growth change of young Picea sitchensis in response to deer browsing

Taking advantage of the introduction of the black-tailed deer to the Queen Charlotte Islands (British Columbia, Canada), we used dendrochronological analyses to understand the consequences of deer browsing on Sitka spruce growth. We compared shape, radial growth, height growth and age of young spruce in three sites. We identified two types of trees growing side by side: (1) stunted and heavily browsed spruce, smaller than the browsing limit and (2) escaped spruce that were taller than the browsing limit but still browsed in their lower part. The compact and heavily ramified shape in stunted spruce was the result of repeated and intense browsing. In escaped spruce this was also the case below the browsing limit (1.16 m±0.07 m), in sharp contrast with the normal shape that escaped spruce resumed above the browsing limit. We show that the release of browsing pressure, once the tree reaches the browsing limit, is characterised by an abrupt increase in radial growth. Before release, trees show a growth stagnation characterized by narrow rings (0.5 mm per year) and small annual height increments (<5 cm per year). After release, trees show a growth stabilisation characterised by wider rings (3 mm per year) and larger annual height increments (20 cm per year). We use this pattern to estimate frequency and age at release and their possible variation over time. Age differences between stunted and escaped spruce are highly significant and indicate that, despite of browsing, most if not all trees will ultimately reach the browsing limit and escape. Heavy deer pressure (30 deer per km²) delays spruce sapling recruitment by about 8 years. This delay varies in relation to site quality and seems to have increased over time, suggesting an increase in browsing pressure.     

Blackberry anthocyanins are mainly recovered from urine as methylated and glucuronidated conjugates in humans

The consumption of anthocyanins has been shown to prevent certain chronic diseases. However, anthocyanin metabolism has not yet been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate anthocyanin urinary excretion in humans receiving a meal containing blackberries and to identify possible metabolites in urine. Five healthy volunteers were fed 200 g of blackberries (960 mumol of anthocyanins). Urine samples were collected and rapidly treated by solid-phase extraction. Anthocyanin metabolites were identified and quantified by HPLC-ESI-MS-MS and HPLC with UV-vis detection, respectively. In addition to native cyanidin 3-glucoside, several other anthocyanin metabolites were identified in the urine: methylated glycosides, glucuronides of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins, a sulfoconjugate of cyanidin, and anthocyanidins. Total urinary excretion of blackberry anthocyanin metabolites was 0.160 +/- 0.020% (n = 5) of the amount of anthocyanins ingested. Monoglucuronides of anthocyanidins represented >60% of this excretion. Urinary excretion of anthocyanins was maximal between 2 and 4 h after the meal, but continued during the 24 h of the experiment. This study highlighted the influence of aglycon structure on anthocyanin urinary excretion. It demonstrated that anthocyanins are not only methylated but also glucuroconjugated and sulfoconjugated in humans and that the main metabolites of blackberry anthocyanins in human urine were anthocyanidin monoglucuronides.     

Influence of various phosphopeptides of caseins on iron absorption

The influence of the origin and kind of caseinophosphopeptide (CPP) on iron absorption was assessed by comparing a commercially available CPP mixture (CPPs) and derived chromatographic fractions with the purified, chemically phosphopeptide of beta-casein [beta-CN(1-25)] using a perfused rat duodenal loop system; gluconate iron was used as control. Only iron complexed to beta-CN(1-25) displayed a better bioavailability than gluconate iron. The results obtained with various chromatographic fractions indicated that phosphopeptides of different origins (alpha(s)- versus beta-caseins) display specific effects. These findings contribute to the explanation of the discrepancy about the role of caseinophosphopeptides on mineral bioavailability in vivo.     

Quantification of 4-methylimidazole in class III and IV caramel colors: validation of a new method based on heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC-LC)

4-Methylimidazole (4MeI) is a nitrogen compound formed during the manufacture of class III and IV caramel colors. The European Commission has limited its content to 250 ppm. Two methods were compared to perform 4MeI quantification in caramels. The first one, currently used and considered to be the reference method, consists of a hot extraction of caramel color with dichloromethane and an analysis of the acetyl derivative of the extract by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The second method is based on the heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography technique (LC-LC) to directly separate 4MeI from the other components present in caramel color sample (diluted in water) in <30 min. The accuracy profile validation method and the comparison between the results obtained with the two methods show that the new and completely automated LC-LC method is usable to quantify 4MeI in caramels.     

Effects of substrate sterilization,fungicide treatment,and mycorrhization helper bacteria on ectomycorrhizal formation of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) inoculated with Laccaria laccata in two peat bare-root nurseries

Summary Pedunculate oak seedlings (Quercus robur) inoculated with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria lacata were grown for 1 year on fertilized sphagnum peat in two nurseries. Three factors affecting microbial populations in the substrate were studied, fungicide treatment of the seeds, peat disinfection before sowing (methyl bromide or steam pasteurization), and inoculation with mycorrhization helper bacteria. Treatment of acorns with Iprodione had no depressive effect on mycorrhiza formation. Both disinfection techniques were equivalent, stimulating or depressing mycorrhiza formation depending on the initial microflora in the peat. The introduction of two previously selected mycorrhization helper bacteria (one Pseudomonas fluorescens and one unidentified fluorescent pseudomonad), isolated from L. laccata sporocarps associated with Douglas fir—L. laccata ectomycorrhizas in other nurseries, significantly increased the mycorrhizal rate from 30 to 53% of the short roots. The implications of these results for the controlled mycorrhization of planting stocks and the specificity of mycorrhization helper bacteria are discussed.     

Formation of modified fatty acids and oxyphytosterols during refining of low erucic acid rapeseed oil

Formation of trans fatty acids and cyclic fatty acid monomers was investigated during refining of low erucic acid rapeseed oil. The first steps of the refining process, that is, degumming, neutralization, and bleaching, hardly modified the fatty acid profile. In contrast, deodorization produced substantial quantities of trans fatty acids (>5% of total fatty acids) and small amounts of cyclic fatty acid monomers (650 mg of cyclic fatty acid monomers/kg of oil) when severe conditions (5-6 h at 250 degrees C) were used. Alpha-linolenic acid was the main precursor of cyclic fatty acid monomers. The influence of deodorization on the chemical composition of low erucic acid rapeseed oil was studied additionally. Whereas free fatty acids, peroxides, and tocopherols decreased, neither total polar compounds nor oxyphytosterols changed during deodorization. Oxyphytosterols were identified by GC-MS. Three oxyphytosterols not yet observed in oil were tentatively identified as 6beta-hydroxycampestanol, 6beta-hydroxysitostanol, and 6beta-hydroxybrassicastanol. Brassicasterol oxides were the most abundant oxyphytosterols.     

Mass spectrometry based sensor strategies for the authentication of oysters according to geographical origin

This study was undertaken to investigate the relevance of using the pyrolysis-MS (Py-MS) technique to discriminate the production area of oysters harvested over two years and to assess from the data of the second year of harvest the potential of an alternative MS-based technique, the solid phase microextraction-MS (SPME-MS), to perform this discrimination. Oysters were harvested in various areas of France, and models of discrimination according to harvest season were built from Py-MS fingerprints and from virtual SPME-MS fingerprints obtained by summing the mass spectra generated by the SPME-GC-MS system. The treatment of the Py-MS data by a 21-12-3 artificial neural networks led to a correct classification of only 89.2% of the oyster samples according to shoreline. The misclassifications thus did not allow use of the Py-MS technique as a relevant tool for authentication of oyster origin. The assessment of the potential of the virtual SPME-MS fingerprints to discriminate the production area of oysters was undertaken on a part of the sample set. The virtual SPME-MS data were pretreated according to two methods, filtering of raw data (FRD) and comprehensive combinatory standard correction (CCSC), a recently developed chemometric method used for the correction of instrumental signal drifts in MS systems. The results obtained with the virtual SPME-MS fingerprints are promising because this technique, when the data were pretreated by the CCSC method, led to a successful discrimination of the oyster samples not only according to shoreline but also according to production region. This study confirms that an efficient correction method (CCSC) of instrumental drifts can considerably increase the discriminative information contained in the volatile fraction of food products.     

Climate/growth relationships in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus cembra</Emphasis> high-elevation network in the Southern French Alps

•Introduction  

In the context of climate change, assessing climate–growth relationships is of high importance in order to understand how forest ecosystems evolve and to test climate models at regional scale.     

Azotemia in cats with feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Prevalence and relationships with echocardiographic variables

ObjectivesThe prevalence of renal azotemia in cats with acquired heart disease is not well documented. The aims of this study were therefore (1) to determine the prevalence of azotemia within a hospital population of cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and (2) to evaluate the relationship between echocardiographic variables and plasma urea and creatinine.Animals, materials and methods134 client-owned cats were retrospectively studied including 102 cats with HCM and 32 control cats. A complete physical examination, electrocardiography, systolic arterial blood pressure measurement, thoracic radiographs, and echocardiography were performed. Plasma creatinine and urea were determined in all cats. The animal was considered azotemic if plasma creatinine was >1.8 mg/dL and/or urea >65 mg/dL (i.e. BUN> 30 mg/dL).ResultsThe prevalence of azotemia was lower in control cats (25.0%) than in cats with HCM (58.8%) (P = 0.003). No significant differences in plasma urea and creatinine were observed between the HCM and control cats. There was no effect of plasma creatinine and urea on conventional echocardiographic variables in cats with HCM.ConclusionsAzotemia is a frequent finding in cats with HCM but is not dependent on echocardiographic variables.