Effects of a dairy product fortified with multiple micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids on birth weight and gestation duration in pregnant Chilean women

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that maternal food fortification with omega-3 fatty acids and multiple micronutrients increases birth weight and gestation duration, as primary outcomes. DESIGN: Non-blinded, randomised controlled study. SETTING: Pregnant women received powdered milk during their health check-ups at 19 antenatal clinics and delivered at two maternity hospitals in Santiago, Chile. SUBJECT: Pregnant women were assigned to receive regular powdered milk (n = 477) or a milk product fortified with multiple micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids (n = 495). RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analysis showed that mean birth weight was higher in the intervention group than in controls (65.4 g difference, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5-126 g; P = 0.03) and the incidence of very preterm birth (0.80 just for mean birth weight and birth length in the on-treatment analysis; birth length in that analysis had a difference of 0.57 cm (95% CI 0.19-0.96 cm; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The new intervention resulted in increased mean birth weight. Associations with gestation duration and most secondary outcomes need a larger sample size for confirmation.     

Effect of Pre- and Post-Partum Feed Supplementation on the Productive and Reproductive Performance of Grazing Primiparous Brahman Cows

This experiment studied the combined effect of pre- and post-calving feed supplementation on the productive and reproductive performance of primiparous Brahman cows. The animals were 4 years old (420 kg live weight) and pregnant, and grazed rotationally on Stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis) pastures. Supplementation was given before and after (T1, n = 15), only before (T2, n = 15) or only after (T3, n = 16) calving, and there was an unsupplemented control (T4, n = 16). The supplement (1.5 kg/animal per day, 13.4 MJ digestible energy/kg dry matter and 20% crude protein) was given for 45 days before and/or after calving. Changes in body weight and body condition score and the productive behaviour of the calves were similar (p>0.05) among treatments. The concentration of urea in the plasma was low in the control group (T4) before and after calving. The animals in all the groups had a poor reproductive performance. The percentage of cows in oestrus was higher (p<0.05) in T1 (73.3%) than in T3 (37.5%). The interval from calving to conception (148.7±53.7 days) and the pregnancy rate (48.5%) were similar (p>0.05) among the treatments. The level of supplementation offered before and/or after calving did not improve the pregnancy rate.     

In Vitro Starch Digestibility of Tortillas Elaborated by Different Masa Preparation Procedures

Starch digestibility was evaluated in freshly prepared tortillas elaborated from masa obtained from different procedures (laboratory‐made masa, commercial masa, and nixtamalized corn flour) and from laboratory‐made masa with added commercial hydrocolloid, and stored for 24, 48, and 74 hr. Tortillas prepared with commercial masa had the highest available starch (AS) content and the commercial tortillas had the lowest, showing a decrease in AS content when storage time increased. Tortilla of commercial masa showed the lowest resistant starch (RS) content that agrees with the AS measured. However, tortilla of laboratory‐made masa presented the highest AS and RS contents. RS increased with storage time, a pattern that is related to the starch retrogradation phenomenon observed when retrograded resistant starch (RRS) was quantified. Commercial tortillas showed predicted glycemic index (pGI) values of 62–75% using a chewing/dialysis procedure (semi in vitro method). Index values were lower than those determined in vitro. The pGI of tortillas decreased, and the values were different depending on the method used to prepare the masa and tortilla. Commercial tortilla and tortilla of NCF had the lowest pGI. Therefore, the procedure to obtain masa and thereafter obtain tortillas influenced the starch digestibility of the product.     

Selective trafficking of non-cell-autonomous proteins mediated by NtNCAPP1

In plants, cell-to-cell communication is mediated by plasmodesmata and involves the trafficking of non-cell-autonomous proteins (NCAPs). A component in this pathway, Nicotiana tabacum NON-CELL-AUTONOMOUS PATHWAY PROTEIN1 (NtNCAPP1), was affinity purified and cloned. Protein overlay assays and in vivo studies showed that NtNCAPP1 is located on the endoplasmic reticulum at the cell periphery and displays specificity in its interaction with NCAPs. Deletion of the NtNCAPP1 amino-terminal transmembrane domain produced a dominant-negative mutant that blocked the trafficking of specific NCAPs. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing this mutant form of NtNCAPP1 and plants in which the NtNCAPP1 gene was silenced were compromised in their ability to regulate leaf and floral development. These results support a model in which NCAP delivery to plasmodesmata is both selective and regulated.     

Enzymatic and fungal treatments on sugarcane bagasse for the production of mechanical pulps

Crude ligninolytic enzyme extracts from Phanerochaete chrysosporium fungi were applied to sugarcane bagasse, prior to thermomechanical (TMP) and chemithermomechanical pulping (CTMP), and their properties were compared with the normal TMP and CTMP and also with TMP and CTMP pretreated with Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and P. chrysosporium fungi. The sugarcane bagasse was impregnated with the crude enzyme extract containing lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidase (MnP), and laccase (Lac). The results show that pretreatment with enzyme crude extract is an advantageous way to produce TMP and CTMP from sugarcane bagasse, as compared with only fungal pretreatment. Enzymatic pretreatments need only hours to enhance pulping and paper properties, compared with the weeks necessary for fungal treatments. Higher pulp yields were obtained compared with the fungal pretreatments. Enzymatic pretreatment reduced the energy consumption in a proportion similar to that of C. subvermispora fungal pretreatment and increased the pulp tensile index compared with the normal TMP and CTMP pulps, although the tensile strength was somewhat lower than that for pulps from C. subvermispora fungal pretreatment before CTMP processing. An advantage of enzymatic pretreatment is that brightness is increased compared with normal TMP and CTMP processes, whereas fungal pretreatments reduce the brightness.     

The SAHGA model to calculate the Spatial Ammoniacal Heterogeneity at the soil surface after fertiliser Granule Application

After dissolution of fertiliser granules, a high nitrogen concentration is recovered in the immediate vicinity of granules, which may enhance damaging processes like nitrite accumulation or ammonia volatilisation. Based on the diffusion equations of Cranck, the granule-soil microsite was modelled to obtain the actual fertilised surface plot and the effective rate of N application on this surface. Parameterisation of the diffusion coefficient of solutes consisted of a temperature and soil texture correction. The model was tested against an experimental data set obtained from soil incubations at two soil water contents (21.2% m³ m^–3 and 28.3% m³ m^–3) and two temperatures (4°C and 25°C) by comparing NH₄⁺ recovery at various distances from the granules. The simulated radius of the granule-soil microsite was more affected by the water content than by the temperature. The model is very accurate because 95–100% of total NH₄⁺ applied was recovered in the modelled surface depending on the experimental conditions (temperature and water content). The model was simple enough to be easily integrated into larger models dealing with surface-applied granule fertilisers.     

Fish larvae distribution off Mejillones Peninsula (northern Chile) during a coastal upwelling event in Spring 1999: interactions with the cold upwelling plume

We examined the interaction between vertical and horizontal distribution of fish larvae off Mejillones Peninsula (23°S), northern Chile, under conditions of active coastal upwelling. An oceanographic survey covered spatial variability in temperature, chlorophyll- a (chl a ), dissolved oxygen, salinity and water density. Fish larvae were sampled during daytime and nighttime periods through two consecutive days in four stations: two inside and two outside of a well-developed upwelling plume, and at three depth strata: 0–20, 20–80 and 80–200 m. Eighteen taxa were analysed, of which the Myctophidae Diogenychthys atlanticus , Diogenichthys laternatus , and the anchovy Engraulis ringens , were most abundant. Our data showed little evidence for diel vertical migration and larvae were more abundant at depth (>80 m) under low temperature (∼12°C) and low chl a (∼2 mg m^–3), below the highly advective upper layer. The exploratory K -means analysis allowed the separation of data into two distinct habitats: upwelling and nonupwelling types. Most taxa were allocated in nonupwelling waters, i.e. outside the cold plume. However, short-term variations (<24 h) in the position of the upwelling plume influenced both horizontal and vertical occurrence as well as abundance of taxa, and caused variability in temperature, oxygen and chl a . These changes in oceanographic conditions, caused by upwelling circulation and the dynamics of the cold plume, may sharply modify the habitat of fish larvae and have an important role in survivorship and recruitment success.     

Physical,Compositional, and Wet‐Milling Characteristics of Mexican Blue Maize (Zea mays L.) Landrace

Mexico has the largest diversity of genetic resources for maize in the world, with about 59 different landraces. However, little is known about their wet‐milling characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine whether 15 Mexican blue maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes of Elotero de Sinaloa landrace collected in the northwestern region of Mexico have suitable wet‐milling properties. Great variability of physical, compositional, and wet‐milling characteristics among these blue maize genotypes was observed. The FAUAS‐457 and FAUAS‐488 maize genotypes had similar starch yield and starch recovery as reported for the wet‐milling industry, which indicated that they may be useful as a source of extractable starch. Residual protein levels in the starch fractions were in the range of 0.39–0.68%, and total solids recovery exhibited a mean value of 98.8%, indicating acceptable efficacy of the wet‐milling process. This process afforded starches from blue maize genotypes with low protein contents. Wet‐milling fractions correlated with the physical and chemical properties of the kernels. Our results indicate that Mexican blue maize genotypes contain characteristics that make them appropriate and utilizable at the industrial level, and they can also be valuable for improving wet‐milling characteristics of maize through breeding programs.     

Phylogenetic and morphological identification of Colletotrichum boninense: a novel causal agent of anthracnose in avocado

In recent years, anthracnose has become a significant disease affecting avocado fruit in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, where it significantly reduces fruit quality and commercial yield. Anthracnose has been assumed to involve Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. acutatum as causal agents. However, because of the increasing incidence of anthracnose, a more precise identification of the Colletotrichum spp. involved in this disease has become desirable. During the years 2004–2007, avocado fruits of different sizes exhibiting brown‐black and reddish spots on the pericarp and soft rot in the mesocarp, were gathered from orchards in nine counties. Fungal isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar, and among these, 31 were selected for molecular, morphological and pathogenicity analyses. The molecular approaches used sequence typing of the internal transcribed spacer region and the partial nuclear large ribosomal subunit, allowing the unequivocal identification of C. gloeosporioides (71%), C. acutatum (16%) and C. boninense (13%). This last species has not been previously reported as being associated with anthracnose symptoms in avocado fruits anywhere in the world. Various morphological characteristics such as the size and shape of conidia were determined, as well as the conidial mass colour. Pathogenicity tests performed with all three species were conducted by inoculating healthy fruits. In each case, identical symptoms developed within 3 days of inoculation. Knowledge of the Colletotrichum populations in the Michoacan state, including the newly encountered avocado pathogen C. boninense, will facilitate further studies addressing the relationships between these Colletotrichum spp. and their avocado host.