Characterization of pine nuts in the U.S. market, including those associated with "pine mouth", by GC-FID

Taste disturbances following consumption of pine nuts, referred to as "pine mouth", have been reported by consumers in the United States and Europe. Nuts of Pinus armandii have been associated with pine mouth, and a diagnostic index (DI) measuring the content of Δ5-unsaturated fatty acids relative to that of their fatty acid precursors has been proposed for identifying nuts from this species. A 100 m SLB-IL 111 GC column was used to improve fatty acid separations, and 45 pine nut samples were analyzed, including pine mouth-associated samples. This study examined the use of a DI for the identification of mixtures of pine nut species and showed the limitation of morphological characteristics for species identification. DI values for many commercial samples did not match those of known reference species, indicating that the majority of pine nuts collected in the U.S. market, including those associated with pine mouth, are mixtures of nuts from different Pinus species.     

Cellulose content as a selection trait in breeding for kraft pulp yield in Eucalyptus urophylla

? The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using cellulose content, measured by the diglyme-HCl method, as a selection trait in breeding programs for kraft pulp yield in Eucalyptus urophylla.

? A total of 275 trees from sixty-two families were sampled from a thinned progeny trial of E. urophylla in northern Vietnam to evaluate cellulose content from breast-height increment cores. Among those, twenty unrelated trees were felled to evaluate cellulose content and pulp yield from breast-height disk samples.

? The regression of pulp yield of disk samples on cellulose content was strong either from disks (R ² = 0.83) or increment cores (R ² = 0.69). There was no significant difference in cellulose content between the provenances. The narrow-sense within-provenance heritability of cellulose content was 0.50 and the coefficient of additive genetic variation was 3.9%. Genetic correlations between cellulose content and growth (0.28–0.45) or wood basic density (?0.02) were not significantly different from zero.

? Breast-height increment core cellulose content measured by diglyme-HCl method is under strong genetic control and can be used to rank trees for pulp yield in E. urophylla plantations. Selection for increased cellulose content would have only minor effects on growth and wood basic density.

     

Interaction of contaminated sediment from a salt marsh with estuarine water: evaluation by leaching and ecotoxicity assays and salts from leachate evaporation

Purpose

Wastes from a former Portuguese steel plant were deposited between 1961 and 2001 on the riverbank of a tributary of the Tagus River creating a landfill connected to the river, posing a potential contamination risk to the Tagus estuary ecosystem. This study aims to assess the transfer of chemical elements from contaminated sediments to the estuarine water from cycles of sediment leaching so as to evaluate the ecotoxicity of the leachates, and to analyze the solid phases crystallized from those leachates.

Materials and methods

Landfill sediment and estuarine water samples were collected during low tide. Sediment samples were analyzed for pH, electric conductivity (EC), C_org, NPK, and iron oxides. Leaching assays (four replicates) were done using estuarine water (200 cm³/replicate) and 1.5 kg of sediment per reactor. Each reactor was submitted to four leaching processes (0, 28, 49, and 77 days). The sediment was kept moist between leaching processes. Sediment (total (acid digestion) and available fraction (diluted organic acid extraction-Rhizo)) elemental concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma–instrumental neutron activation analysis (ICP/INAA). Leachates, and estuarine and sediment pore waters were analyzed for metals/metalloids by ICP/mass spectrometry (MS) and carbonates/sulfate/chloride by standard methodologies. Ecotoxicity assays were performed in leachates and estuarine and pore waters using Artemia franciscana and Brachionus plicatillis. Aliquots of the leachates were evaporated to complete dryness (23–25 °C) and crystals analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD).

Results and discussion

Sediment with pH?=?8 and high EC and C_org was contaminated with As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The element concentrations in the available fraction of the sediment were low compared to the sediment total concentrations (<1 % for Rhizo extraction). The concentrations of potentially hazardous elements in the estuarine water were relatively low, except for Cd. Concentrations of hazardous elements in the leachates were very low. Calcium, K, Mg, Na, and chloride concentrations were high but did not vary significantly among the four leaching experiments. Total concentrations of carbonate were much higher in leachates than in estuarine water. Both estuarine water and leachates showed negligible toxicity. Crystals identified in the solids obtained from the leachates by evaporation were halite, anhydrite, epsomite, dolomite, and polyhalite.

Conclusions

The sediment showed the capacity to retain the majority of the potentially hazardous chemical elements. Remobilization of chemical elements from sediment by leaching was essentially negligible. The variation of total concentrations of Ca, carbonate, and sulfate in leachates indicates that the sediment contained reactive sulfides. Due to its composition, the sediment seems to be a dynamic system of pollution control, which should not be disturbed.

     

Kinetics of Competitive Fixation of Potassium and Ammonium Ions by Silt Component of Soils from Different Agro-Climatic Regions

Potassium (K⁺) and nitrogen [N, as the form of ammonium (NH₄⁺)] are major nutrients for plant growth. Although there have been a number of studies on the kinetic fixation of potassium and ammonium ions in soils and clays, however, investigations on the kinetics of competitive fixation of these ions have been few, if any, especially by taking into account silt component of the soils. In this study, the kinetics of potassium and ammonium fixation were examined in the silt components of several soil samples. The results revealed that considerable amounts of K⁺ and in lesser amounts, NH₄⁺ ions were fixed by silt components of the soils. Potassium fixation was strongly preferred over ammonium. To describe the fixation kinetics, seven mathematically models were evaluated. A comparison of the models showed that pseudo-second-order equation properly described the fixation of these ions by the silt components.     

Evaluation of a method for assaying sulfonamide antimicrobial residues in cheese: hot-water extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Several sulfonamide antimicrobials (SAAs) are largely used in veterinary medicine. A rapid, specific, and sensitive procedure for determining 12 SAAs in cheese is presented. The method is based on the matrix solid-phase dispersion technique followed by liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) equipped with an electrospray ion source. Target compounds were extracted from Mozzarella, Asiago, Parmigiano, Emmenthal, and Camembert cheese samples by 6 mL of water modified with 10% methanol and heated at 120 degrees C. The addition of methanol to hot water served to improve remarkably extraction yields of the most lipophilic SAAs, that is, sulfadimethoxine and sulfaquinoxaline. After acidification and filtration, 100 microL of the aqueous extract was injected in the LC column. MS data acquisition was performed in the multireaction monitoring mode, selecting two precursor-to-product ion transitions for each target compound. Methanol-modified hot water appeared to be an efficient extractant, because absolute recovery ranged between 67 and 88%. Using sulfamoxole as surrogate analyte, recovery of the 12 analytes spiked in the five types of cheese considered at the 50 ng/g level ranged between 75 and 105% with RSD not higher than 11%. Statistical analysis of the mean recovery data showed that the extraction efficiency was not affected by the type of cheese analyzed. This result indicates this method could be applied to other cheese types not considered here. The accuracy of the method was determined at three spike levels, that is, 20, 50, and 100 ng/g, and varied between 73 and 102% with relative standard deviations ranging between 4 and 12%. On the basis of a signal-to-noise ratio of 10, limits of quantification were estimated to be <1 ng/g.     

Green tea polyphenol extract regulates the expression of genes involved in glucose uptake and insulin signaling in rats fed a high fructose diet

Green tea has antidiabetic, antiobesity, and anti-inflammatory activities in animal models, but the molecular mechanisms of these effects have not been fully understood. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the relative expression levels and the effects of green tea (1 and 2 g solid extract/kg diet) on the expression of glucose transporter family genes (Glut1/Slc2a1, Glut2/Slc2a2, Glut3/Slc2a3, and Glut4/Slc2a4) and insulin signaling pathway genes (Ins1, Ins2, Insr, Irs1, Irs2, Akt1, Grb2, Igf1, Igf2, Igf1r, Igf2r, Gsk3b, Gys1, Pik3cb, Pik3r1, Shc1, and Sos1) in liver and muscle of rats fed a high-fructose diet known to induce insulin resistance and oxidative stress. Glut2 and Glut4 were the major Glut mRNAs in rat liver and muscle, respectively. Green tea extract (1 g) increased Glut1, Glut4, Gsk3b, and Irs2 mRNA levels by 110, 160, 30, and 60% in the liver, respectively, and increased Irs1 by 80% in the muscle. Green tea extract (2 g) increased Glut4, Gsk3b, and Pik3cb mRNA levels by 90, 30, and 30% but decreased Shc1 by 60% in the liver and increased Glut2, Glut4, Shc1, and Sos1 by 80, 40, 60, and 50% in the muscle. This study shows that green tea extract at 1 or 2 g/kg diet regulates gene expression in the glucose uptake and insulin signaling pathway in rats fed a fructose-rich diet.     

Complexing the Marine Sesquiterpene Euplotin C by Means of Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges: A Preliminary Investigation

Euplotin C is a sesquiterpene of marine origin endowed with significant anti-microbial and anti-tumor properties. Despite the promising functional profile, its progress as a novel drug candidate has failed so far, due to its scarce solubility and poor stability in aqueous media, such as biological fluids. Therefore, overcoming these limits is an intriguing challenge for the scientific community. In this work, we synthesized β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges and investigated their use as colloidal carriers for stably complex euplotin C. Results obtained proved the ability of the carrier to include the natural compound, showing remarkable values of both loading efficiency and capacity. Moreover, it also allowed us to preserve the chemical structure of the loaded compound, which was recovered unaltered once extracted from the complex. Therefore, the use of β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges represents a viable option to vehiculate euplotin C, thus opening up its possible use as pharmacologically active compound.     

Atypical Radiologic Appearance of a Second Cervical Vertebral Fracture in a Horse

This report presents the case of a 21-year-old Warmblood mare referred to the clinic with neurological dysfunctions and considerable signs of discomfort. A fracture of the caudal vertebral body of C2 with a very unusual radiographic appearance was diagnosed, and the mare was euthanized due to deterioration in neurological status. Histology revealed no evidence of neoplasia or pathological fracture.