Characteristics of some almond kernel and oils

The proximate properties, the fatty acid and mineral contents of different almond kernel varieties were determined. The crude protein contents of kernels ranged between 12.7% (guara) and 16.3% (cristomorto). The oil yields from these kernels were established between 48.8% (cristomorto) and 55.7% (ferragnes). The acidity value of oils were found between 1.389 and 3.559%. In addition, peroxide values were established between 7.586 (nonpareil) and 15.590 mequiv./kg (cristomorto). The major fatty acids of almond kernel oils were oleic (72.5–79.9%), linoleic (13.5–19.8%) and palmitic acids (5.9–6.7%). The predominant mineral in most kernel was potassium (13.1–15.1 mg/100 g). The mineral contents of the kernels were established as 7.94–9.38 mg/100 g potassium, 2.9–4.0 mg/100 g magnesium and 1.84–2.94 mg/100 g calcium. From the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the kernels of almond varieties are being potential sources of valuable oil which might be used for edible and other industrial applications.     

Heavy Metal Levels in Muscle Tissues of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solea solea</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mullus barbatus</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sardina pilchardus</Emphasis> Marketed for Consumption in Mersin,Turkey

Edible muscle tissues of Solea solea, Mullus barbatus, and Sardina pilchardus marketed in Mersin were analyzed for their Cr (total), Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As (total), Cd, Sn, and Pb levels. Metal levels of the tissues were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrophotometric (ICP-MS) methods. Muscle levels of Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sn, and Pb were determined as 0.19–2.80, 0.08–3.88, 0.93–25.76, 0.03–0.63, 0.01–1.96, 1.28–45.95, 0.49–25.26, 0.14–4.03, and 0.02–1.37 mg kg^?1 w.w., respectively. Cadmium levels were below detection limits in all the muscle samples taken. Mean metal levels of the tissues were compared with the provisional tolerable daily (PTDs) and weekly (PTWIs) intake limits. Mean metal levels taken by the consumption of analyzed tissues were below PTDs and PTWIs; hence, the fish species studied do not pose any risk for human consumption from the point of heavy metals.     

Effects of Soil-Applied Materials on the Dry Weight and Boron Uptake of Maize Shoots (Zea Mays L.) Under High Boron Conditions

High concentrations of boron (B) in the soil, reduces plant growth, crops’ yield and quality. Regarding such problem, synergistic and antagonistic relations between the nutrients can be used to ameliorate the B toxicity. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of soil-applied zinc (Zn), nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), lime (CaCO₃), potassium (K), humic acid (HA), and humus on the dry weight and B uptake of maize shoots (Zea mays L.) under high-B containing soil conditions. Increasing doses of B (0, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg kg^?1 B) were applied to soil as borax (Na₂B₄O₇10H₂O), and boric acid (H₃BO₃). Positive correlations were found between B doses and the uptake amounts (r = 0.934**; – 0.964**). However, the correlations between the dry weight and B doses (r = ?0.314**; – r = ?0.495**) and between the dry weight and the uptake amounts (r = ?0.294*; – r = ?0.497**) were negative. Among the materials, Zn and humus exhibited positive correlations with dry weight values (r = 0.249*; r = 0.525**), and an effective increase (p < 0.01) in the dry weight amounts of maize shoots was observed under toxic B conditions.     

Assessing biogas digestate,pot ale,wood ash and rockdust as soil amendments: effects on soil chemistry and microbial community composition

Applying by-products as soil amendments to agricultural systems is growing in popularity. We aimed to assess the efficacy of some contemporary by-products to provide nutrients to crops as well as the potential harm of adding toxic elements to the environment. Four different by-products widely available in Northern Europe were tested for their effects on two nutrient-poor agricultural soils in terms of increasing available macro- and micro-nutrients as well as toxic elements. Assessing soil microbial community as a sensitive tool for evaluating soil quality was conducted with the focus on microbial activity, carbon metabolism and on Rhizobium/Agrobacterium. Wood ash increased pH and Ca_EDTA, K_EDTA and Mg_EDTA in the soils. The only increase in EDTA-extractable micronutrients in the soils was observed by applying pot ale, increasing Cu. None of the amendments increased the availability of Pb and Cd in the soils. Soils amended with the by-products thus remained similar to the unamended control but were quite different from fully mineral fertilised soils. There were no detectable adverse effects on the physiological and genetic profiles of microbial communities. The by-products were moderately beneficial and did not change the soil microbial community as much as the fully fertilised treatment with mineral fertilisers. Changes in the microbial community profiles were probably due to direct effects on microbes limited by K, Ca and N as opposed to indirect effects on plant growth. This is potentially significant in understanding how to improve impoverished and marginal soils as microbial activity affects many other ecosystem functions.     

Differential gene expression of CYP3A isoforms in equine liver and intestines

Tydén, E., Löfgren, M., Pegolo, S., Capolongo, F., Tjälve, H., Larsson, P. Differential gene expression of CYP3A isoforms in equine liver and intestines. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.  35 , 588–595. Recently, seven CYP3A isoforms – CYP3A89, CYP3A93, CYP3A94, CYP3A95, CYP3A96, CYP3A97 and CYP129 – have been isolated from the horse genome. In this study, we have examined the hepatic and intestinal gene expression of these CYP3A isoforms using TaqMan probes. We have also studied the enzyme activity using luciferin‐isopropyl acetal (LIPA) as a substrate. The results show a differential gene expression of the CYP3A isoforms in the liver and intestines in horses. In the liver, CYP3A89, CYP3A94, CYP3A96 and CYP3A97 were highly expressed, while in the intestine there were only two dominating isoforms, CYP3A93 and CYP3A96. The isoform CYP3A129 was not detected in the liver or the intestine, although this gene consists of a complete set of exons and should therefore code for a functional protein. It is possible that this gene is expressed in tissues other than the liver and intestines. In the intestine, both CYP3A96 and CYP3A93 showed the highest gene expression in the duodenum and the proximal parts of the jejunum. This correlated with a high protein expression in these tissues. Studies of the enzyme activity showed the same K_m for the LIPA substrate in the liver and the intestine, while the maximum velocity (V_max) in the liver was higher than in the intestine. Our finding of a differential gene expression of the CYP3A isoforms in the liver and the intestines contributes to a better understanding of drug metabolism in horses.     

Effects of Pressurized Low Polarity Water Extraction Parameters on Antioxidant Properties and Composition of Cow Cockle Seed Extracts

Antioxidant activity of pressurized low polarity water (PLPW) extracts of cow cockle seed and extraction residues were determined using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. The effect of extraction conditions (temperature (125, 150 and 175 °C) and time) on the antioxidant activity and the relationship amongst the antioxidant activity and extract composition (total phenolics and saponin content) were determined. The antioxidant activity of PLPW extracts increased with extraction temperature. Increasing activity with time was also observed at 175 °C. PLPW extraction residues had the highest activity suggesting antioxidant compounds were not completely extracted by PLPW. Antioxidant activity correlated well with total phenolics content of samples (R ² ≥ 0.94), however no correlation was observed with the saponin content. A strong correlation was observed between the antioxidant activity values obtained using different methods (R ² ≥ 0.94). These results point to the potential of PLPW extraction as a method to modify the activity of biological materials for the production of customized extracts.     

Alteration of the temporal association between courtship audio and visual components affects female sexual response

Some multimodal signals—that is, occurring in more than one sensory modality—appear to carry additional information which is not present when component signals are presented separately. To understand the function of male ring dove's (Streptopelia risoria) multimodal courtship, we used audiovisual playback of male displays to investigate female response to stimuli differing in their audiovisual timing. From natural courtship recordings, we created a shifted stimulus where audio was shifted relative to video by a fixed value and a jittered stimulus, where each call was moved randomly along the visual channel. We presented 3 groups of females with the same stimulus type, that is, control, shifted, and jittered, for 7 days. We recorded their behavior and assessed pre- and post-test blood estradiol concentration. We found that playback exposure increased estradiol levels, confirming that this technique can be efficiently used to study doves’ sexual communication. Additionally, chasing behavior (indicating sexual stimulation) increased over experimental days only in the control condition, suggesting a role of multimodal timing on female response. This stresses the importance of signal configuration in multimodal communication, as additional information is likely to be contained in the temporal association between modalities.     

Slope length effects on microbial biomass and activity of eroded sediments

Purpose  

Due to climatic and topographic conditions, soil erosion is a major problem in Turkey; approximately 86% of the land is suffering from some degree of erosion. This study investigated the relationship between bare soil slope length and the erosion-induced degradation of soil quality and the loss of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) from the microbial biomass in eroded sediment in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey.     

Localization profiles of natriuretic peptides in hearts of pre-hibernating and hibernating Anatolian ground squirrels (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus)

The Anatolian ground squirrel (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus) is a typical example of true mammalian hibernators. In order to adapt to extreme external and internal environments during hibernation, they lower their body temperatures, heart rates and oxygen consumption; however, pathological events such as ischemia and ventricular fibrillation do not occur in their cardiovascular systems. During the hibernation, maintenance of cardiac function is very important for survival of ground squirrels. Natriuretic peptides (NPs) are key factors in the regulation of cardiovascular hemostasis. Since NPs’ role on the protection of heart during hibernation are less clear, the aim of this study was to investigate dynamic changes in NPs content in the cardiac chambers and to reveal the possible role of NPs on establishing cardiac function in ground squirrel during hibernation using immunohistochemistry. The immunohistochemical results indicate that cardiac NP expressions in atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes were different from each other and were sex-independent. ANP and BNP were expressed in a chamber-dependent manner in female and male squirrel hearts. Furthermore, cardiac NPs expression levels in hibernation period were lower than those at the pre-hibernation period. During prehibernation period, ANP, BNP and CNP were expressed in the white and beige adipocytes of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT); while during hibernation period, the brown adipocytes of EAT were positive for BNP and CNP. These data suggest that the hibernation-dependent reduction in levels of NPs, particularly ANP, in cardiac chambers and EAT may be associated with low heart rate and oxygen consumption during hibernation. However, further studies are needed to better delineate the roles of NPs during the hibernation.