Blueberry Residue Encapsulation by Ionotropic Gelation

In the processing of fruits such as blueberry (Vaccinium sp), that has high levels of phenolic acid, the food industry produces tons of organic waste that causes harm to the environment. Encapsulation is a technique used to take advantage of these wastes. Several methods are used to encapsulate substances, among them ionotropic gelation proves to be a simple, precise, efficient and economical method for obtaining particles with encapsulated bioactives. In this manner, the aim of this study was to test sodium alginate as wall material to encapsulate blueberry residue by ionotropic gelation. The microbeads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), total phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and in vitro dissolution. The results showed that the microbeads had surface invagination; retention of 67.01% of the phenolic compounds after encapsulation and 68.2%, phenolic release 120 min after in vitro dissolution. The results suggest that the tested matrix was suitable for encapsulation. The produced microbeads are promising for applications in food products, once the phenolic compounds present in the blueberry residues were maintained after encapsulation.     

Enhanced Biodegradation of Naphthalene and Anthracene by Modified Vermiculite Mixed with Soil

Hydrophobic modified vermiculite mixed with soil was investigated in biodegradation experiments of naphthalene and anthracene. The experiments had been carried out on mixtures of soil and vermiculite at a proportion of 2%, 10%, and 15% and also in the absence of clay used for control. Biodegradation of the pollutants was followed by the decline of naphthalene and anthracene concentration, measured by CG. Compound mineralization was also proved by the evolution of CO₂. The results showed that in the mixture with a higher proportion of vermiculite biodegradation is enhanced compared to that performed in the absence of vermiculite. In general, when vermiculite proportions are increased, the rate of degradation increases, which may account for the bioavailability of compounds. Bioavailability is an important factor for the degradation of compounds with low solubility. Comparison of biodegradation rates shows that naphthalene is degraded faster than anthracene. The chemical structure could be responsible for this observation. However, although we did not identify the microorganism that was in the soil, we can conclude that vermiculite could be an alternative for the bioavailability of such compounds. Vermiculite in the modified form could also be very useful as a barrier to retain organic pollutants in accidental spills.     

Direct Detection of Mycobacterium bovis in Bovine Lymph Nodes by PCR

Thirty‐five lymph node samples were taken from animals with macroscopic lesions consistent with Mycobacterium bovis infection. The animals were identified by postmortem examination in an abattoir in the northwestern region of state of Paraná, Brazil. Twenty‐two of the animals had previously been found to be tuberculin skin test positive. Tissue samples were decontaminated by Petroff’s method and processed for acid‐fast bacilli staining, culture in Stonebrink and Lowenstein‐Jensen media and DNA extraction. Lymph node DNA samples were amplified by PCR in the absence and presence (inhibitor controls) of DNA extracted from M. bovis culture. Mycobacterium bovis was identified in 14 (42.4%) lymph node samples by both PCR and by culture. The frequency of PCR‐positive results (54.5%) was similar to that of culture‐positive results (51.5%, P > 0.05). The percentage of PCR‐positive lymph nodes increased from 39.4% (13/33) to 54.5% (18/33) when samples that were initially PCR‐negative were reanalysed using 2.5 μl DNA (two samples) and 1 : 2 diluted DNA (three samples). PCR sensitivity was affected by inhibitors and by the amount of DNA in the clinical samples. Our results indicate that direct detection of M. bovis in lymph nodes by PCR may be a fast and useful tool for bovine tuberculosis epidemic management in the region.     

Establishment of a proteomic reference map for the gastrocnemius muscle in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

In several laboratory and production species, the establishment of a proteome reference map of a specific tissue has been accomplished. The rabbit is widely used as both a production and experimental animal. A lot of physiology research involving the gastrocnemius muscle of rabbit is described, although no reference proteome map is available. In this work, the first reference map of the rabbit’s gastrocnemius muscle using 2D gel electrophoresis and the identification of proteins through peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) was established. A total of 45 proteins were localized and identified with three major roles: cell structure and contractile apparatus; metabolic and cell defense proteins. A reference map of major proteins expressed is described enabling possible comparisons with other physiological studies.     

Effect of Microbial Transglutaminase,Dietary Fiber,and Low-Salt Levels Upon Heat-Induced Meagre (Argyrosomus regius) Gels

The effects of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase; 5 g/kg, w/w) and dietary fiber (40 g pea fiber/kg product and 20 g carrageenan + 20 g konjac flour/kg product) on heat-induced meagre (Argyrosomus regius) gels with 25 and 10 g salt/kg, w/w were analyzed.

MTGase addition increased the magnitude of texture variables. Inner pea fiber had an increasing effect on gel texture. The combination of carrageenan and konjac hardened meagre gels (from 22.2 ± 1.4 to 47.3 ± 4.5 N) and enhanced water-holding capacity. Salt reduction with MTGase ensured a gelling quality similar to that of gels from Alaska pollock surimi.     

A three‐dimensional cell culture system as an in vitro canine mammary carcinoma model for the expression of connective tissue modulators

In this study, derived complex carcinoma (CC) and simple carcinoma (SC) cell lines were established and cultured under two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) conditions. The 3D was performed in six‐well AlgiMatrix? (LifeTechnologies®, Carlsbad, CA, USA) scaffolds, resulting in spheroids sized 50–125 µm for CC and 175–200 µm for SC. Cell viability was demonstrated up to 14 days for both models. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was expressed in CC and SC in both systems. However, higher mRNA and protein levels were observed in SC 2D and 3D systems when compared with CC (P < 0.005). The connective tissue modulators, metalloproteinases‐1, ‐2, ‐9 and ‐13 (MMPs), relaxin receptors 1 and 2 (RXR1 and RXR2) and E‐cadherin (CDH1) were quantitated. All were upregulated similarly when canine mammary tumour (CMT)‐derived cell lines were cultured under 3D AlgiMatrix, except CDH1 that was downregulated (P < 0.005). These results are promising towards the used of 3D system to increase a high throughput in vitro canine tumour model.     

Chemical and microbiological soil properties in organic and conventional management systems of Coffea arabica L.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic (OS) and conventional (CS) farming of Arabica coffee on chemical and microbiological soil properties and to identify which attributes correlate and/or contribute to distinguishing these two management systems. We collected soil samples on a 100 × 100 m² grid in both, the OS and CS, in winter and summer and submitted chemical and microbiological properties to univariate and multivariate analyses (canonical discriminant analysis – CDA – and redundancy analysis – RDA). The best indicators to discriminate OS and CS were chemical and microbiological properties, as the elements calcium (Ca) and boron (B), besides microbial biomass carbon (MBC), metabolic quotient (qCO₂), acid phosphatase (ACP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The RDA showed that, regardless of the season, MBC and ACP correlated with nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and organic matter (OM), whereas basal respiration (C-CO₂) and ACP correlated with qCO₂ and with magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and pH.     

Genotype × environment interaction for long-yearling weight in Canchim cattle quantified by reaction norm analysis

The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of genotype × environment interactions (G×E) for long-yearling weight in Canchim cattle (5/8 Charolais + 3/8 zebu) in Brazil using reaction norms (RN). The hierarchical RN model included the fixed effect of age of the animal (linear coefficient) and random effects of contemporary groups and additive animal genetic intercept and slope of the RN and contemporary group effects as random effects. Contemporary groups as the most elemental representation of management conditions in beef cattle were chosen to represent the environmental covariate of the RN. The deviance information criteria demonstrated that a homoskedastic residual RN model provided a better data fit compared with a heteroskedastic counterpart and with a traditional animal model, which had the worst fit. The environmental gradient for long-yearling weight based on contemporary group effects ranged from -105 to 150 kg. The additive direct variance and heritability estimates increased with increasing environmental gradient from 74.33 ± 22.32 to 1,922.59 ± 258.99 kg(2) and from 0.08 ± 0.02 to 0.68 ± 0.03, respectively. The high genetic correlation (0.90 ± 0.03) between the intercept and the slope of the RN shows that animals with the greatest breeding values best responded to environmental improvement, characterizing scale effect as the source of G×E for long-yearling weight. The phenotypic plasticity demonstrated by the slope of the RN of the animal indicates the possibility to change genotype expression along the environmental gradient through selection. The results demonstrate the importance of accounting for G×E in the genetic evaluation of this population.