Gluten measurement and its relationship to food toxicity for celiac disease patients

The gluten analysis of foods has long had limitations, which have precluded food standards authorities from issuing standards for gluten-free foods based on final gluten content. The Codex Alimentarius and the Food and Drug Administration have taken steps towards such standards in which they favour the R5-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for gluten analysis. If this method is to be widely employed, its limitations should be recognised. Above all, it should be noted the ability of R5-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and other methods, to measure gluten's toxicity toward celiac disease patients is not validated clinically. Gluten is a complex mixture of proteins and its toxicity is not fully understood. Analytical methods are a valuable tool in the definition of gluten-free foods, but they should be employed with appropriate caveats in ensuring the safety of the foods.     

Food and biomass potential of Prunus virginiana L. (chokecherry)

Prunus virginiana L. (chokecherry) fruit has potential to provide both food and energy and as annual yield of biomass and energy are much greater than annual crops such as canola and wheat. We determined chokecherry fruit weight fractions as well as pit and extracted seed oil concentrations and fatty acid composition. Gross energy for each of the fractions was determined, as were carbon and nitrogen content. Extrapolation of these data suggests that gross energy from pits alone over a 24-year period (890 GJ·ha(-1)) is equivalent to that from an entire canola/wheat rotation (850 GJ·ha(-1)). After maturity, pulp contributes an additional 1130 GJ·ha(-1) over 21 years from ~3.4 t·ha(-1)·year(-1) (dw), while wood from pruning could add another 60 GJ·ha(-1)·year(-1). Over this time period, chokecherry would produce 1.5-2.5 times the amount of oil produced by a canola/wheat rotation.     

Assessment of vitamin and carotenoid concentrations of emerging food products: edible microgreens

Microgreens (seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs) have gained popularity as a new culinary trend over the past few years. Although small in size, microgreens can provide surprisingly intense flavors, vivid colors, and crisp textures and can be served as an edible garnish or a new salad ingredient. However, no scientific data are currently available on the nutritional content of microgreens. The present study was conducted to determine the concentrations of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phylloquinone, and tocopherols in 25 commercially available microgreens. Results showed that different microgreens provided extremely varying amounts of vitamins and carotenoids. Total ascorbic acid contents ranged from 20.4 to147.0 mg per 100 g fresh weight (FW), while β-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and violaxanthin concentrations ranged from 0.6 to 12.1, 1.3 to 10.1, and 0.9 to 7.7 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Phylloquinone level varied from 0.6 to 4.1 μg/g FW; meanwhile, α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol ranged from 4.9 to 87.4 and 3.0 to 39.4 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Among the 25 microgreens assayed, red cabbage, cilantro, garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of ascorbic acids, carotenoids, phylloquinone, and tocopherols, respectively. In comparison with nutritional concentrations in mature leaves (USDA National Nutrient Database), the microgreen cotyledon leaves possessed higher nutritional densities. The phytonutrient data may provide a scientific basis for evaluating nutritional values of microgreens and contribute to food composition database. These data also may be used as a reference for health agencies' recommendations and consumers' choices of fresh vegetables.     

The comparative biology of skeletal metastasis

Bone metastasis, a very common sequelae of cancer, is often associated with great morbidity. Understanding the biology of bone metastases may lead to therapeutic interventions to target the metastases. In addition to replacing bone marrow elements, the presence of tumour cells in bone modulates the normal bone remodelling process. Some tumours result in primarily osteolytic bone lesions, whereas others are associated with osteoblastic bone lesions. In either case, the resulting changes in the bone structure result in weakened bone that induces pain and is predisposed to fracture. The mechanisms through which cancer cells modulate bone remodelling are not clearly defined, but ongoing research using a variety of animal models will hopefully provide clues to prevent or slow the progress of bone metastases.     

Evolution under domestication involving disturbance of genic balance

Summary An hypothesis is developed that the rapid change from wild plants into domesticated crops principally involves the selection of alleles with non-functional gene products which leads to reduced control of the highly integrated metabolism and morphogenesis previously accumulated by lengthy natural selection. Such disturbance of the genome produces altered physiological and morphological development which, although deleterious in nature, serves mankind better and has been selected.     

Maize Starch Yield Calibrations with Near Infrared Reflectance

Maize starch yield is affected by variety, environmental growing conditions, and drying conditions. One-hundred gram starch yield tests that predict actual wet milling starch yield were used as a reference method for developing an extractable starch calibration on a NIRSystems Model 6500 spectrophotometer. A maize starch yield calibration was developed from 940 samples and used to predict a validation set of 304 samples. It had a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 1·06, a coefficient of determination r² of 0·77 and a ratio of performance to deviations (rpd) of 2·1. This indicates about 95% of similar samples could have starch yield predicted by near-infrared reflectance within about±2·1%. The calibration should be successful in segregating maize lots for high and low starch yield percentages.     

Nitrilotriacetic acid removal in septic tanks: A field study

The removal of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) dosed to two full-scale septic tanks each connected to a single dwelling was monitored weekly over a period of 75 weeks. Nitrilotriacetic acid in the septic tank effluent was detected in samples diluted at least 25 times by a differential pulse polarographic technique. After an initial period of stabilization, concentrations of NTA in the effluent at both sites were always > 10 mg L^?1. Mean five-weekly estimated removals of NTA during the last 50 weeks of the study ranged from 33 to 52%. Removal of NTA was probably by solids adsorption only as no acclimatization period or overall increase in removal during the investigation was apparent.