Determination of organophosphorus pesticides in fruit juices by matrix solid-phase dispersion and gas chromatography

A rapid multiresidue method was developed for the determination of nine organophosphorus pesticides in fruit juices. The analytical procedure is based on the matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) of juice samples on Florisil in small glass columns and subsequent extraction with ethyl acetate assisted by sonication. Residue levels were determined by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection. Spiked blank samples were used as standards to counteract the matrix effect observed in the chromatographic determination. The NPD response for all pesticides was linear in the concentration range studied with determination coefficients >0.999. Average recoveries obtained for all of the pesticides in the different juices and fortification levels were >70% with relative standard deviations of <11%. The detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 0.6 microg/kg. The identity of the pesticides was confirmed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection using selected ion monitoring. The proposed MSPD method was applied to determine pesticide residue levels in fruit juices sold in Spanish supermarkets. At least one pesticide was found in most of the samples, although the levels detected were very low, far from the maximum residue levels established for raw fruit.     

Properties of Thai cooked rice and noodles differing in glycemic index in noninsulin-dependent diabetics

Glycemic index responses of two cooked rices and six types of cooked noodles consumed by eight noninsulin-dependent diabetics correlated positively within vitro starch digestibility of food slurry and negatively with amylose content of the food. Glutinous (waxy) rice had the highest values, and mung bean noodles the lowest.     

Effects of nitrogen fertilizer treatment and source and season on grain quality of IR64 rice

The effects of nitrogen fertilizer treatment and source (prilled urea, urea supergranule, fresh azolla, rice straw or sesbania or rice straw compost and their combinations) on grain quality were studied in the 1987 crops of variety IR64 at IRRI. Although fertilizer application improved grain yield, it improved protein content only in the case of urea supergranule, azolla and rice straw. Lysine contents of brown rice protein were similar in samples with no N fertilizer and those with the highest protein content in both seasons. Fertilizer treatment regardless of source tended to decrease weight and increase translucency of brown rice in both seasons. Effects on other grain properties were not consistent in both seasons. Season affected more grain properties than fertilizer treatment did, particularly translucency which was higher in the dry season than in the wet season.     

Effects of Thinning and Induced Drought on Microbiological Soil Properties and Plant Species Diversity at Dry and Semiarid Locations

Soil properties and plant species diversity are key elements of forest ecosystem functioning and are affected directly by climate change. The aim of this work was to study plant species diversity, physicochemical and soil microbiological properties and enzymatic activities after induced drought conditions and thinning at semiarid (Calasparra) and dry (Yeste) Pinus halepensis Mill. forest stands. Different plots affected by a wildfire event 17 years ago, with or without thinning 5 years after the fire event, were selected. A 15% rainfall reduction over 3 years was also carried out. Physicochemical soil properties (soil texture, pH, carbonates, total organic carbon, electrical conductivity and total N and P), soil enzymes (urease, phosphatase, β‐glucosidase and dehydrogenase activities), carbon mineralisation and soil microbial biomass carbon were analysed in the selected study areas. Shannon and Simpson indices were calculated, and total plant cover and plant species richness were evaluated. The results showed no differences in microbiological soil properties and soil enzyme activities when comparing thinned and unthinned plots; conversely, plant species diversity indices were affected by thinning. Induced drought affected only total cover and species richness, which were lower at Yeste. Significant site variation was also observed in soil properties, species richness and total plant cover, as opposed to the plant species diversity indices. We conclude that soil properties recover in the midterm after thinning activities, and they resist against a 15% rainfall reduction under potential climate change conditions remaining steady after induced drought. The plant community presents different responses to drought depending on the experimental site. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Host associated polymorphisms in the Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis rpoB gene sequence

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a widespread facultative intracellular pathogen that causes caseous lymphadenitis disease in sheep and goats, and generates cutaneous abscesses and granulomas in horses and cattle. Although some genes have been studied for diagnostic and phylogenetic analysis within the genus Corynebacterium, at subspecies level the pathogen has been poorly analyzed. The aim of this study was to characterize C. pseudotuberculosis strains isolated from domestic animals, through the sequencing of a hypervariable rpoB gene segment. As result, there were identified host associated rpoB polymorphisms in strains infecting sheep, goats and horses from Chile. These differences suggest the existence of bacterial genotypes, in which the nucleotide similarity values were ranging from 98.8 to 99.8%. In conclusion, the analysis of polymorphisms in the partial rpoB sequence can be used as a diagnostic tool that differentiates C. pseudotuberculosis strains at subspecies level.     

Cyclic polyalcohols: fingerprints to identify the botanical origin of natural woods used in wine aging

Cyclic polyalcohol composition of 80 natural wood samples from different botanical species, with the majority of them used in the oenology industry for aging purposes, has been studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after its conversion into their trimethylsilyloxime derivatives. Each botanical species showed a different and specific cyclic polyalcohol profile. Oak wood samples were characterized by the richness in deoxyinositols, especially proto-quercitol. Meanwhile, other botanical species showed a very low content of cyclic polyalcohols. The qualitative and quantitative study of cyclic polyalcohols was a useful tool to characterize and differentiate woods of different botanical origin to guarantee the authenticity of chips used in the wine-aging process. Monosaccharide composition was also analyzed, showing some quantitative differences among species, but cyclic polyalcohols were the compounds that revealed the main differentiation power.     

Influence of geographical location, site and silvicultural parameters, on volatile composition of Quercus pyrenaica Willd. wood used in wine aging

For the current study, the volatile and semi-volatile composition of several samples of Quercus pyrenaica wood from NW Spain were analyzed and compared. The research was performed on a wide sample set of more than 100 samples (test tubes) obtained from different stands of this species. The relationship between some silvicultural and site parameters and volatile composition was studied. Altitude seemed to be the most influential parameter on the volatile composition. However, other factors such as distance from tree center, average annual precipitation, and number of trees per hectare whose effects on the volatile compounds were not significant. The influence of soil texture was not a determining factor while geographical location seemed to have a more specific impact on the extractive volatile content. The content of all extractable compounds studied allowed a good separation of oak samples of the same species according to their geographical origin.     

Plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentration helps to predict survival in dogs with symptomatic degenerative mitral valve disease regardless of and in combination with the initial clinical status at admission

Objectives

Although mitral valve disease (MVD) is the most common canine heart disease, readily available prognostic markers of the disease are still lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative ability of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide plasma concentration (NT-proBNP) and various echocardiographic variables to predict outcome in dogs with MVD.

Animals, materials and methods

Seventy-four dogs with ISACHC classes 2 and 3 MVD (Groups A and B, respectively) were prospectively recruited. NT-proBNP and several echo-Doppler variables at inclusion were compared as predictors of outcome at 6 months in 54/74 dogs.

Results

NT-proBNP was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (P < 0.0001), and was the only tested variable significantly different between survivor and non-survivor dogs in both groups (P < 0.05). In the whole canine population, a threshold of 1500 pmol/L could discriminate survivor from non-survivor dogs with a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 73%, respectively. When combining ISACHC class with NT-proBNP levels, a cut-off of 1265 pmol/L was predictive of survival in Group A, whereas the cut-off was 2700 pmol/L for Group B.

Conclusions

NT-proBNP is correlated with MVD severity and could be used in combination with clinical status to predict cardiac outcome.     

Effects of creep feeding and supplemental glutamine or glutamine plus glutamate (Aminogut) on pre- and post-weaning growth performance and intestinal health of piglets

Background

Creep feeding is used to stimulate piglet post-weaning feed consumption. L-Glutamine (GLN) is an important source of fuel for intestinal epithelial cells. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of creep feeding and adding GLN or AminoGut (AG; containing glutamine + glutamate) to pre- and post-weaning diets on pig performance and intestinal health. Litters (N = 120) were allotted to four treatments during 14–21 d of lactation: 1) No creep feed (NC, n = 45); 2) creep fed control diet (CFCD, n = 45); 3) creep fed 1% GLN (CFGLN, n = 15); 4) creep fed .88% AG (CFAG, n = 15). After weaning, the NC and CFCD groups were sub-divided into three groups (n = 15 each), receiving either a control nursery diet (NC-CD, CFCD-CD) or a diet supplemented with either GLN (NC-GLN, CFCD-GLN) or with AG (NC-AG, CFCD-AG). Litters that were creep fed with diets containing GLN or AG also were supplemented with those amino acids in the nursery diets (CFGLN-GLN, CFAG-AG). Glutamine was added at 1% in all three post-weaning diet phases and AG was added at .88% in phase 1 and 2 and at .66% in phase 3.

Results

Feed conversion (feed/gain) showed means among treatment means close to significance (P = 0.056) and Tukey’s test for pairwise mean comparisons showed that Pigs in the CFGLN-GLN group had the best feed conversion (feed/gain) in the first three-week period post-weaning, exceeding (P = 0.044) controls (CFCD-CD) by 34%. The NC-AG group had (P = 0.02) the greatest feed intake in the last three week of the study, exceeding controls (CFCD-CD) by 12%. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and sow reared (SR) pigs had the greatest (P = 0.049) villi height exceeding the CFCD-AG group by 18%, 20% and 19% respectively. The CFAG-AG group had the deepest (P = 0.001) crypts among all treatments. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and SR groups had the greatest (P = 0.001) number of cells proliferating (PCNA) exceeding those in the NC-CD group by 43%, 54% and 63% respectively. Sow reared pigs showed the greatest (P = 0.001) intestinal absorption capacity for xylose and mannitol.

Conclusion

Supplementation of creep feed and nursery diets with GLN and/or AminoGut in the first three week improved feed conversion possibly due to improved intestinal health.