Effects of roasting on hazelnut lipids

The effect of roasting on some nutritional characteristics of hazelnut lipidic fraction was investigated. Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) were submitted to several different thermal treatments, comprising different temperatures (125-200 degrees C) and times of exposure (5, 15, and 30 min) and analyzed for their moisture and crude fat. Raw and roasted hazelnuts were also analyzed for their compositions in phytosterols and fatty acids (including trans isomers) by GC-FID, triacylglycerols by HPLC-ELSD, and tocopherols and tocotrienols by HPLC-DAD/fluorescence spectroscopy. Minor changes occurred in the fatty acid and triacylglycerol compositions. As temperatures and roasting periods increased, generally, a modest increase of oleic and saturated fatty acids and a decrease of linoleic acid, expressed as relative percentages, occurred. Similarly, an increase of triacylglycerols containing oleic acid moieties and a decrease of those containing linoleic acid moieties were found in the roasted samples. Roasting caused a modest decrease of the beneficial phytosterols (maximum 14.4%) and vitamin E homologues (maximum 10.0%) and a negligible increase of the trans fatty acids.     

Effects of single and mixed-diatom diets on growth,condition, and survival of larvae of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816)

Aquaculture International - The development of rearing protocols promoting the larval development, pre and post-metamorphosis are key for echinoculture. Mixed diets combining diatom with other...     

Feasibility of near infrared spectroscopy for analyzing corn kernel damage and viability of soybean and corn kernels

The current US corn grading system accounts for the portion of damaged kernels, measured by time-consuming and inaccurate visual inspection. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a non-destructive and fast analytical method, was tested as a tool for discriminating corn kernels with heat and frost damage. Four classification algorithms were utilized: Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), k-nearest neighbors (K-NN), and least-squares support vector machines (LS-SVM). The feasibility of NIRS for discriminating normal or viable-germinating corn kernels and soybean seeds from abnormal or dead seeds was also tested. This application could be highly valuable for seed breeders and germplasm-preservation managers because current viability tests are based on a destructive method where the seed is germinated. Heat-damaged corn kernels were best discriminated by PLS-DA, with 99% accuracy. The discrimination of frost-damaged corn kernels was not possible. Discrimination of non-viable seeds from viable also was not possible. Since previous results in the literature contradict the current damage-discrimination results, the threshold of seed damage necessary for NIRS detection should be analyzed in the future. NIRS may accurately classify seeds based on changes due to damage, without any correlation with germination.     

Biochemical and fatty acid dynamics during larval development in the razor clam Ensis arcuatus (Bivalvia: Pharidae)

This article reports on the changes in gross biochemical and fatty acid composition of the razor clam Ensis arcuatus larvae throughout development. Protein was the largest component of dried larval tissues. The energy required for embryogenesis in E. arcuatus oocytes was obtained from stored proteins and carbohydrates, while total lipids increased significantly. Lipids and carbohydrates have an important role as energy contributors from day 1 to day 8. During larval development the strategy was to indistinctly store energy reserves (protein, lipid and carbohydrate) to surpass metamorphosis. During embryonic development there was a gain in fatty acids of neutral and polar lipids. A depletion of fatty acids in neutral lipids was observed from day 1 to day 8 in E. arcuatus larvae, mainly due to the decrease in 16:0 and EPA. NMID fatty acids were present in amounts similar to those of some PUFAs in polar lipids, especially 22:2NMID.     

Hydrogen peroxide,iodine solution and methylene solution highly enhance the hatching rate of freshwater ornamental fish species

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hydrogen peroxide, iodine solution (PVP) and methylene blue on eggs disinfection of three ornamental fish species, Danio rerio, Pterophyllum scalare and Gymnocorymbus ternetzi. The main idea was to create conditions to enhance the hatching rates. Eggs of each species were exposed to different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (5, 10, 15 and 25 mg/L), PVP (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mg/L) and methylene blue (0.5 1, 2 and 3 mg/L). The optimal doses ranged between species and chemicals: for G. ternetzi, the concentrations that high enhanced the hatching rate were 1 mg/L for the PVP treatment, 25 mg/L for the hydrogen peroxide treatment and 3 mg/L for methylene blue treatment; for P. scalare, the best results were achieved with 25 mg/L for hydrogen peroxide treatment and 3 mg/L for methylene blue treatment. By contrast, for all the different chemical did not increased the D. rerio hatching rate. Results showed that hydrogen peroxide and methylene blue are the most versatile, effective and safe to use in these species. On the other hand, PVP can be used but with many precautions due to very low safety margin. Results clearly show that the optimal concentration of chemicals for eggs disinfection is fish species dependent and it is completely wrong to extrapolate concentrations between different chemicals and fish species. Our study suggests that P. scalare can be used as a model in study of effectiveness of new chemicals with potential to disinfect water and increase hatching rates.     

Biodegradability of Disinfectants in Surface Waters from Buenos Aires: Isolation of an Indigenous Strain Able to Degrade and Detoxify Benzalkonium Chloride

Biodegradability of chlorhexidine (CH), triclosan (TC), and benzalkonium chloride (CBA) has been tested in 18 surface water sampling points in the urban area of Buenos Aires. Sampling points were located in both the Reconquista and the Matanza-Riachuelo basins as well as in the La Plata River. High tolerance to the three disinfectants was found and indigenous strains capable of degrading CBA and TC were isolated. Neither tolerance nor biodegradation were correlated with sewage pollution. A strain that degrades CBA was identified as belonging to the genus Pseudomonas using the API20NE system and 16SRNA sequencing. In batch assays, the strain was capable of degrading 100, 200, and up to 500 mg L^?1 of CBA in 10, 25, and 46 h respectively with specific growth rates (μ) of 0.56, 0.30, and 0.14 h^?1. The efficiency of the process was between 99.5–98.0% in terms of compound removal and between 93.8–89.1% in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The detoxification of the compound as a result of the biodegradation was assessed using Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Vibrio fischeri, and Lactuca sativa as test organisms.     

Kinetics and role of antibodies against intimin β in colostrum and in serum from goat kids and longitudinal study of attaching and effacing Escherichia coli in goat kids

The presence of antibodies to the intimin β-binding region (Int280-β) of attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) in serum from 20 goat kids from 2 herds, as well as in goat colostrum, was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the onset and subsequent pattern of shedding of AEEC from the same goat kids over a 6-mo period was investigated. All the colostrum and serum samples tested contained antibodies against Int280-β. The association between the antibody titer and the isolation of AEEC suggests that antibodies to intimin β do not prevent colonization of the intestine by AEEC in goat kids. The AEEC were generally shed only transiently. Most AEEC isolated from the kids belonged to serogroup O26. Three isolates belonged to serogroup O157. These data show that goat kids may be a reservoir of AEEC that are potentially pathogenic for humans.     

Feedbacks between vegetation pattern and resource loss dramatically decrease ecosystem resilience and restoration potential in a simple dryland model

Conceptual frameworks of dryland degradation commonly include ecohydrological feedbacks between landscape spatial organization and resource loss, so that decreasing cover and size of vegetation patches result in higher water and soil losses, which lead to further vegetation loss. However, the impacts of these feedbacks on dryland dynamics in response to external stress have barely been tested. Using a spatially-explicit model, we represented feedbacks between vegetation pattern and landscape resource loss by establishing a negative dependence of plant establishment on the connectivity of runoff-source areas (e.g., bare soils). We assessed the impact of various feedback strengths on the response of dryland ecosystems to changing external conditions. In general, for a given external pressure, these connectivity-mediated feedbacks decrease vegetation cover at equilibrium, which indicates a decrease in ecosystem resistance. Along a gradient of gradual increase of environmental pressure (e.g., aridity), the connectivity-mediated feedbacks decrease the amount of pressure required to cause a critical shift to a degraded state (ecosystem resilience). If environmental conditions improve, these feedbacks increase the pressure release needed to achieve the ecosystem recovery (restoration potential). The impact of these feedbacks on dryland response to external stress is markedly non-linear, which relies on the non-linear negative relationship between bare-soil connectivity and vegetation cover. Modelling studies on dryland vegetation dynamics not accounting for the connectivity-mediated feedbacks studied here may overestimate the resistance, resilience and restoration potential of drylands in response to environmental and human pressures. Our results also suggest that changes in vegetation pattern and associated hydrological connectivity may be more informative early-warning indicators of dryland degradation than changes in vegetation cover.     

Characterization of sulfated quercetin and epicatechin metabolites

Different monosulfates of quercetin and epicatechin with metabolic interest were obtained by hemisynthesis and characterized regarding their chromatographic behavior and absorption and mass spectra. Three of these compounds were further isolated, and their structures were elucidated by mass spectrometry and (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance using one- and two-dimensional techniques (heteronuclear single-quantum coherence and heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation). The calculation of the proton and carbon shifts caused by sulfation allowed for the assignment of the position of the sulfate group in the flavonoids, so that the compounds were identified as quercetin-3'-O-sulfate, quercetin 4'-O-sulfate, and epicatechin 4'-O-sulfate. It was found that sulfation at position 3' induced a large upfield shift in the carbon bearing the sulfate group and downfield displacements of the adjacent carbons, whereas no significant upfield or downfield shifts were observed with respect to the parent flavonoid when sulfation was produced at position 4'.     

Optimization of a method based on the simultaneous measurement of acoustic and mechanical properties of winegrape seeds for the determination of the ripening stage

An instrumental texture analysis method has been optimized for the differentiation of grape ripening stages based on the simultaneous determination of mechanical and acoustic parameters of the seeds. Two factorial central composite design was used to optimize the most influencing operative conditions (speed and deformation) on mechanical and acoustic measurements. This experimental design in combination with response surface methodology showed that the most responsive parameters to changes in seeds during ripening were Young's modulus of elasticity, many acoustic parameters measured with instrumental gain set to 0 (acoustic energy, linear distance, and number of peaks) and others measured at 24 dB gain (linear distance, number of peaks, and average pressure level). However, the optimal operative conditions depended on the texture parameter used. A correlation study between texture parameters and phenolic compounds of the seeds revealed that acoustic parameters like the average pressure level could be proposed as phenolic maturity indices.