Liquid chromatographic determination of seven antioxidants in dry food

The liquid chromatographic determinative step of the official method for propyl gallate, trihydroxybutyrophenone, tert-butylhydroquinone, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxymethylphenol, and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in fats and oils has been applied to their determination in a number of dry foods. A representative sample (10 g) is homogenized first with hexane (25 mL), then with 5 mL added water, and finally with 75 mL added acetonitrile. The hexane and acetonitrile are decanted, filtered, and separated; the hexane and rehydrated food are reextracted with 2 additional portions of acetonitrile, and the combined acetonitrile extracts are concentrated and diluted to 10 mL. An aliquot is analyzed as described in the official method, using a 150 x 4.6 mm 5 microns C-18 column. The need for rehydration to maximize the recovery of BHA and other antioxidants from marketplace dry food samples such as potato flakes, dry coffee whiteners, and dessert topping mixes was demonstrated. Rehydration was not required for cheese snacks, breakfast cereals, cake mixes, and some other foods. The need for rehydration should be determined by analyzing other foods with and without the addition of water. Potato and corn chips, popcorn and cheese snacks, breakfast cereals, dry beverage mixes, rice, potato flakes, french fried potatoes, and cake mixes were spiked with the above antioxidants at 10-50 ppm. Overall recoveries ranged from 64.3 to 105.6% and repeatabilities ranged from 0.7 to 10.8%. A total of 109 samples of the above foods were analyzed, and 64% contained detectable (greater than 1-2 ppm) antioxidants, mainly BHA and BHT.     

Harvest regimen optimization and essential oil production in five tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) genotypes under a northern climate

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) was cultivated at the Norwegian Crop Research Institute at the Apelsvoll Research Centre, Division Kise, in the period from 2000 to 2001. The study focused on different harvesting regimens for high biomass production and essential oil (EO) yield and quality. Two tansy genotypes from Canada (Richters and Goldsticks) and three Norwegian genotypes (Steinvikholmen, Alvdal, and Brumunddal) were studied. The Canadian genotypes reached a height of 130-145 cm and showed a higher dry weight of aerial plant parts compared to the Norwegian plants in 2000. Similar oil yields could be observed for the Canadian types and genotype Steinvikholmen in the range of 30.8-34.6 L/ha when the plants were harvested twice during budding and before flowering after regrowth (year 2001). In contrast, single harvesting at the full bloom stage resulted in higher oil yields, between 42.1 and 44.5 L/ha (Canadian genotypes), whereas 21.0-38.4 L/ha was obtained from the Norwegian types. Tansy genotypes could be grouped into the following chemotypes: the mixed chemotypes Steinvikholmen (thujone-camphor), Alvdal (thujone-camphor-borneol), Goldsticks (thujone-camphor-chrysanthenyl type), and Brumunddal (thujone-camphor-1,8-cineole-bornyl acetate/borneol-alpha-terpineol) and the distinct chemotype Richters, with average concentrations of (E)-chrysanthenyl acetate >40% in both leaf and flower EO.     

The influence of gel strength on aroma release from pectin gels in a model mouth and in vivo, monitored with proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry

The course of events from taking a food into the mouth to the perception of the food's flavor involves many steps, from dilution with saliva, mastication, and transportation of the compounds to the olfactory epithelium to transformation into signals that go to the brain. In addition, there are also the effects of the food's structure and properties. In this study, a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) was used to investigate how four pectin-containing systems with different structures and strengths affected the release of aroma compounds in a model mouth and in the nose of an assessor. Both the model mouth and the in-nose measurements showed that the strength and structure of pectin-containing systems are important with regard to the quantity of aroma compounds that are released. Mastication and saliva were also shown to have a large influence on how much of the aroma compound is released from the mouth to the nose.     

Collaborative development of the Arrowsmith two node search interface designed for laboratory investigators

Arrowsmith is a unique computer-assisted strategy designed to assist investigators in detecting biologically-relevant connections between two disparate sets of articles in Medline. This paper describes how an inter-institutional consortium of neuroscientists used the UIC Arrowsmith web interface http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu in their daily work and guided the development, refinement and expansion of the system into a suite of tools intended for use by the wider scientific community.     

CLINICAL AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FEATURES OF INFLAMMATORY VERSUS NEOPLASTIC MEDIAL RETROPHARYNGEAL LYMPH NODE MASS LESIONS IN DOGS AND CATS

Medial retropharyngeal lymph node (MRLN) mass lesions are a common cause of cranial cervical masses in dogs and cats, and are predominantly due to metastatic neoplasia, primary neoplasia, or inflammatory lymphadenitis. The purpose of this retrospective cross‐sectional study was to test the hypothesis that clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics for dogs and cats with MRLN mass lesions would differ for inflammatory vs. neoplastic etiologies. Dogs and cats with MRLN mass lesions that had undergone MRI and had a confirmed cytological or histopathological diagnosis were recruited from medical record archives. Clinical findings were recorded by one observer and MRI characteristics were recorded by two other observers who were unaware of clinical findings. A total of 31 patients were sampled, with 15 in the inflammatory lymphadenitis group and 16 in the neoplasia group. Patients with inflammatory lymphadenitis were more likely to be younger and present with lethargy (P = 0.001), pyrexia (P = 0.000), and neck pain (P = 0.006). Patients with inflammatory lymphadenitis were also more likely to have a leukocystosis (P = 0.02) and segmental neutrophilia (P = 0.001). Inflammatory masses were more likely to have moderate or marked MRI perinodal contrast enhancement (P = 0.021) and local muscle contrast enhancement (P = 0.03) whereas the neoplastic masses were more likely to have greater MRI width (P = 0.002) and height (P = 0.009). In conclusion, findings indicated that some clinical and MRI characteristics differed for dogs and cats with inflammatory vs. neoplastic medial retropharyngeal lymph node masses. Although histopathological or cytological diagnosis remains necessary for confirmation, these findings may help with the ranking of differential diagnoses of future cases.     

Occurrence of Pesticides in Water, Sediments, and Fish Tissues in a Lake Surrounded by Agricultural Lands: Concerning Risks to Humans and Ecological Receptors

Lake Vela (Littoral Centre of Portugal) is considered a natural habitat with community interest and consequently was included in the Natura 2000 Network. However, this freshwater ecosystem has been potentially exposed to diffuse pollution generated by agricultural and livestock activities, which seriously compromise its ecological balance. As part of the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) proposed for Lake Vela, this study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of pesticides in different compartments: surface water, groundwater, sediments, and fish tissues. Moreover, to assess potential concerning effects on ecosystem and human health, the measured concentrations of pesticides were compared with regulatory and toxicological benchmarks. The results confirmed the presence of high concentrations of pesticides, including organochloride pesticides banned decades ago, in surface water, groundwater, and sediment. The measured concentrations of pesticides, compared with toxicological benchmarks, indicated that harmful effects are likely for aquatic species due to the presence of alachlor, aldrin, and dieldrin. Additionally, the concentrations of pesticides detected in groundwater were also above the recommended safety levels for drinking water, which constitutes a concern for the local population’s health. Results also showed an accumulation of alachlor in predator and benthic fish species which could represent a risk to human consumers and particularly to the regular fish predators (e.g., otters and birds). This study, as the first exposure characterization performed on the Lake Vela system, constitutes valuable and useful information for the ERA process. Although this preliminary assessment of risks should be continued and confirmed through a weight-of-evidence approach, it had already unraveled how concerning are the problems in this ecosystem and the urgency of implementing restoration measures to guaranty its sustainability. Furthermore, this study reinforces the importance of evaluating similar freshwater ecosystems that are also highly threatened by diffuse pollution.     

Physical carbon‐sequestration mechanisms under special consideration of soil wettability

The protective impact of aggregation on microbial degradation through separation has been described frequently, especially for biotically formed aggregates. However, to date little information exists on the effects of organic‐matter (OM) quantity and OM quality on physical protection, i.e., reduced degradability by microorganisms caused by physical factors. In the present paper, we hypothesize that soil wettability, which is significantly influenced by OM, may act as a key factor for OM stabilization as it controls the microbial accessibility for water, nutrients, and oxygen in three‐phase systems like soil. Based on this hypothesis, the first objective is to evaluate new findings on the organization of organo‐mineral complexes at the nanoscale as one of the processes creating water‐repellent coatings on mineral surfaces. The second objective is to quantify the degree of alteration of coated surfaces with regard to water repellence. We introduce a recently developed trial that combines FTIR spectra with contact‐angle data as the link between chemical composition of OM and the physical wetting behavior of soil particles. In addition to characterizing the wetting properties of OM coatings, we discuss the implications of water‐repellent surfaces for different physical protection mechanisms of OM. For typical minerals, the OM loading on mineral surfaces is patchy, whereas OM forms nanoscaled micro‐aggregates together with metal oxides and hydroxides and with layered clay minerals. Such small aggregates may efficiently stabilize OM against microbial decomposition. However, despite the patchy structure of OM coating, we observed a relation between the chemical composition of OM and wettability. A higher hydrophobicity of the OM appears to stabilize the organic C in soil, either caused by a specific reduced biodegradability of OM or indirectly caused by increased aggregate stability. In partly saturated nonaggregated soil, the specific distribution of the pore water appears to further affect the mineralization of OM as a function of wettability. We conclude that the wettability of OM, quantified by the contact angle, links the chemical structure of OM with a bundle of physical soil properties and that reduced wettability results in the stabilization of OM in soils.     

On the spatial distribution of citrus tristeza virus disease

The spatial spread of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) disease was studied using data from two infected groves. Statistical analysis indicated a spatial grouping of infected trees. A gamma distribution was fitted to the empirical distribution of the distances between nearest infected neighbors. The findings suggest that, after locating a newly infected tree, additional inspections to detect CTV should be carried out mainly on trees within 14 m of that tree.