Antibacterial activity of coffee extracts and selected coffee chemical compounds against enterobacteria

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of commercial coffee extracts and chemical compounds was investigated on nine strains of enterobacteria. The antimicrobial activity investigated by the disc diffusion method was observed in both the extracts and tested chemical compounds. Even though pH, color, and the contents of trigonelline, caffeine, and chlorogenic acids differed significantly among the coffee extracts, no significant differences were observed in their antimicrobial activity. Caffeic acid and trigonelline showed similar inhibitory effect against the growth of the microorganisms. Caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and protocatechuic acid showed particularly strong effect against Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter cloacae. The IC(50) and IC(90) for the compounds determined by the microtiter plate method indicated that trigonelline, caffeine, and protocatechuic acids are potential natural antimicrobial agents against Salmonella enterica. The concentrations of caffeine found in coffee extracts are enough to warrant 50% of the antimicrobial effect against S. enterica, which is relevant to human safety.     

A classification of CO2 concentrations based on a binary meteorological six variable system

CO₂ is one of the most important gases linked to climate change. However, its ambient concentrations in a clean atmosphere have scarcely been investigated. In this paper a close relationship between CO₂ concentrations and meteorological variables was proposed to establish atmospheric conditions linked to high CO₂ values. A detailed 3-year campaign was carried out in a rural area with a CO₂ continuous analyser and a RASS sodar for meteorological variables. Daily and yearly CO₂ cycles were obtained. In addition, semi-hourly medians and quartiles were fitted to straight lines during the night time and daily maxima and minima were parameterised by means of a second order cylindrical model. Six meteorological variables were considered: wind speed, wind direction and temperature at one level and differences between them at two levels. Intervals were proposed from the highest CO₂ concentrations during the night to build up a binary system of 64 meteorological classes. Analysis of both CO₂ medians and meteorological classes enabled simplification of the system to four groups. The first group, characterised by high temperatures and drainage flow, was associated with detrended median concentrations above 15 ppm. Two groups of moderate concentrations were linked to thermal inversions and no prevailing wind directions. The final group corresponded to low concentrations associated with less than three meteorological variables with values linked to high concentrations. Only high directional shear and low wind speed were relevant in this group. This 4-group system was successfully used with the whole dataset.     

Vitamin E composition of walnuts (Juglans regia L.): a 3-year comparative study of different cultivars

The tocopherol and tocotrienol composition of walnuts (Juglans regia L.) was determined for nine cultivars (cvs. Arco, Franquette, Hartley, Lara, Marbot, Mayette, Mellanaise, Parisienne, and Rego). Walnuts were harvested over three consecutive years from two different geographical origins (Bragan?a and Coimbra, Portugal), for a total of 26 samples. The methodology employed was a normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a series arrangement of a diode array detector followed by a fluorescence detector, allowing the simultaneous analysis of all tocopherols and tocotrienols. The analyses showed that all samples presented a similar qualitative profile composed of five compounds: alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, and gamma-tocotrienol. gamma-Tocopherol was the major compound in all samples, ranging from 172.6 to 262.0 mg/kg, followed by alpha- and delta-tocopherols, ranging from 8.7 to 16.6 mg/kg and from 8.2 to 16.9 mg/kg, respectively. Multivariate analysis of the data obtained showed the existence of significant differences in composition among cultivars. These differences were also significant when cultivars were grouped by year of production, showing that besides genetic factors, the vitamin E composition was influenced by environmental factors.     

Glacially abraded rock flour from Greenland: Potential for macronutrient supply to plants

Rock flour (RF) is a fine‐grained material produced naturally by glacial movement and resulting bedrock abrasion. In Greenland fluvial transported RF from the inland ice sheet sediments in riverbeds and marine outflows. This fine‐sized RF (50% < 9.8 µm) has a high reactivity and may therefore potentially be used to rejuvenate nutrient poor soils and provide nutrients to plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of a RF from Greenland to supply P, K, Mg, and S to plants. A double‐pot system was used, in which ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) could take up nutrients from both a hydroponic solution and a soil‐compartment with or without RF amendment; a soil mixture or pure sand was used in the soil‐compartment to estimate RF‐soil interaction effects. Omission of single nutrients from the hydroponic solution allowed assessment of which nutrients the RF in the soil‐compartment was able to supply. Ryegrass biomass was harvested four times during 62 days. We found that RF could supply K continuously to plants grown in soil or sand, but insufficient to fully circumvent K deficiency. During 62 days 5.8% and 4.3% of the applied K from RF was accumulated in the aboveground plant tissue in soil and sand, respectively. Mg was supplied from RF to plants in sand, but no significant effects were observed in soil, possibly due to background soil Mg availability. The amounts of P and S supplied to plants were insignificant. These results indicate the potential of Greenland RF to act as a slow release K and Mg fertilizer.     

Changes in soil properties and soil solution nutrients due to conservation versus conventional tillage in Vertisols

Understanding of tillage effects on soil chemical properties and cations in soil solution dynamics is essential for making appropriate land-management decisions. Measurements were made after more than 25 years of different tillage treatments: conventional tillage (CT) and conservation tillage, which includes no-till (NT) and minimum tillage (MT). pH and bulk density did not show important changes but exchangeable cations and cations in soil solution were affected by depth and different tillage. The highest concentration of exchangeable Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ was found in NT, decreased in MT and the lowest concentration was found in CT (mean values were 26.0, 24.4 and 23.3 cmol_c kg^?1 for exchangeable Ca²⁺ and 4.2, 3.7 and 3.3 cmol_c kg^?1 for exchangeable Mg²⁺ in NT, MT and CT, respectively). In addition, the highest concentration of exchangeable Na⁺ was found in NT, decreased in CT and the lowest concentration was found in MT. However, the highest concentration of exchangeable K⁺ was found in MT. A significant depth effect was observed for cations in soil solution: Na⁺ increased with depth whereas K⁺ and Ca²⁺ decreased with depth. This study aims to demonstrate the effect of tillage on the distribution and concentration of certain chemical soil properties.     

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.     

Free amino acid composition of quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) fruit (pulp and peel) and jam

Twenty-one free amino acids present in several samples of quince fruit (pulp and peel) and quince jam (homemade and industrially manufactured) were analyzed by GC/FID. The analyses showed some differences between quince pulps and peels. Generally, the highest content in total free amino acids and in glycine was found in peels. As a general rule, the three major free amino acids detected in pulps were aspartic acid, asparagine, and hydroxyproline. For quince peels, usually, the three most abundant amino acids were glycine, aspartic acid, and asparagine. Similarly, for quince jams the most important free amino acids were aspartic acid, asparagine, and glycine or hydroxyproline. This study suggests that the free amino acid analysis can be useful for the evaluation of quince jam authenticity. It seems that glycine percentage can be used for the detection of quince peel addition while high alanine content can be related to pear addition.     

VARIATION IN SOIL ORGANIC CARBON AND NITROGEN STOCKS ALONG A TOPOSEQUENCE IN A TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN OLIVE GROVE

The impact of the topographical position on soil properties was evaluated in an olive grove with traditional tillage. Three topographical positions: summit, backslope and toeslope were chosen for evaluation. The soil samples were taken from four soil sections of 0·25 m (0–1 m). The soil organic carbon (SOC) and N content increased along the downslope direction (5·5, 6·5 and 7·1 g C kg⁻¹ and 0·3, 0·8 and 0·9 g N kg⁻¹ in the surface layer in the summit, backslope and toeslope respectively) as well as SOC and N stocks, considering the two first soil sections. In addition, there was movement of the most erodible textural fraction (silt). However, the total SOC stock (refer to 1 m of depth) did not vary with respect to the topographical position, but the total N stock (refer to 1 m of depth) varied significantly. These increases were due to erosion processes that occur along the toposequence, leading to organic matter transfers from the summit to the toeslope. All the stratification ratios calculated were lower than 2, indicating the low quality of the soils. Therefore, alternative management techniques that avoid soil erosion must be considered in olive grove in order to increase the soil quality and fertility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Persistence and molecular evolution of Mycobacterium bovis population from cattle and wildlife in Doñana National Park revealed by genotype variation

The role of wildlife in tuberculosis epidemiology is being widely studied since it can affect the effectiveness of eradication campaigns in cattle. The health problem is enhanced when it concerns also wildlife welfare and biodiversity conservation. This study was performed to understand the epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis population affecting livestock and wild animals in the Do?ana National Park using bacteriology and molecular characterisation techniques. Tuberculosis research was performed on 1209 cattle and wild animals (artiodactyla and carnivore) collected over 6 years in the Park. One hundred and sixty-three animals were found to be infected with M. bovis, comprising 7.96% of the cattle and 20.53% of the wild animals tested. Spoligotyping revealed nine patterns, being SB1232 and SB1230 the most prevalent (77.30% and 15.34% of infected animals, respectively). MIRU-VNTR analysis of a selected panel of 92 isolates showed eight different profiles, including several spoligotypes within the same MIRU-VNTR profile. The discriminatory capacity of both techniques in this panel was similar. The results obtained by combination of both techniques corroborate that wildlife species are infected with the M. bovis strains which are more prevalent in cattle and reveal their persistence. Genotype variation between isolates strongly suggests micro-evolutionary events in the M. bovis population in the same area. This study in the Do?ana National Park exposes the risk of introduction of domestic animals into wildlife areas when there is not a warranty of disease freedom, appropriate diagnostic techniques and control measures.