Chemical characterization and antioxidant properties of coffee melanoidins

Melanoidins, the brown polymers formed through Maillard reaction during coffee roasting, constitute up to 25% of the coffee beverages' dry matter. In this study chemical characterization of melanoidins obtained from light-, medium-, and dark-roasted coffee beans, manufactured from the same starting material, was performed. Melanoidins were separated by gel filtration chromatography and studied by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Results showed that the amount of melanoidins present in the brews increased as the intensity of the thermal treatment increased, while their molecular weight decreased. The antioxidant activity of melanoidins isolated from the different brews was studied by using different methodologies. Melanoidins antiradical activity determined by ABTS(*)(+) and DMPD(*)(+) assays decreased as the intensity of roasting increased, but the ability to prevent linoleic acid peroxidation was higher in the dark-roasted samples. Data suggest that melanoidins must be carefully considered when the relevance of coffee intake in human health is studied.     

Plasma and tissue depletion of florfenicol and florfenicol-amine in chickens

Chickens were used to investigate plasma disposition of florfenicol after single intravenous (i.v.) and oral dose (20 mg kg-1 body weight) and to study residue depletion of florfenicol and its major metabolite florfenicol-amine after multiple oral doses (40 mg kg-1 body weight, daily for 3 days). Plasma and tissue samples were analyzed using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. After i.v. and oral administration, plasma concentration-time curves were best described by a two-compartment open model. The mean [ +/- standard deviation (SD)] elimination half-life (t1/2beta) of florfenicol in plasma was 7.90 +/- 0.48 and 8.34 +/- 0.64 h after i.v. and oral administration, respectively. The maximum plasma concentration was 10.23 +/- 1.67 microg mL-1, and the interval from oral administration until maximal concentration was 0.63 +/- 0.07 h. Oral bioavailability was found to be 87 +/- 16%. Florfenicol was converted to florfenicol-amine. After multiple oral dose (40 mg kg-1 body weight, daily for 3 days), in kidney and liver, concentrations of florfenicol (119.34 +/- 31.81 and 817.34 +/- 91.65 microg kg-1, respectively) and florfenicol-amine (60.67 +/- 13.05 and 48.50 +/- 13.07 microg kg-1, respectively) persisted for 7 days. The prolonged presence of residues of florfenicol and florfenicol-amine in edible tissues can play an important role in human food safety, because the compounds could give rise to a possible health risk. A withdrawal time of 6 days was necessary to ensure that the residues of florfenicol were less than the maximal residue limits or tolerance established by the European Union.     

Yield map generation of perennial crops for fresh consumption

Yield mapping technologies can help to increase the quantity and quality of agricultural production. Current systems only focus on the quantification of the harvest, but the quality has equal or greater importance in some perennial crops and impacts directly on the financial profitability. Therefore, a system was developed to quantify and relate the quality obtained in the classification line with the plants of the orchard and for decision-making. The system is comprised of hardware, which obtains the location of the harvester bag during harvesting and unloading at the unloading site, and software that processes the collected data. The cloud of real-time data contributed from the different collectors (bins) allows the construction of yield maps, considering the multi-stage harvesting system. Further, the system enables the creation of a detailed map of the plants and fruits harvested. As the harvest focuses on quality, it takes place in stages, depending on the ripening of the fruits. In addition to the yield maps, the system allows identification of the efficiency of each worker undertaking the harvest by the number of performed discharges and by the time spent. The system was developed in partnership with the Federal Technological University of Paraná and Embrapa Uva & Vinho and was tested in apple orchards in southern Brazil. Although the system was evaluated with only data from apple cultivation, monitoring the quality and quantifying other orchard fruits can positively impact the fruit sector.

     

Diversity of insecticide resistance mechanisms and spectrum in European populations of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella

Only a few of the registered insecticides against Cydia pomonella L. are still effective in areas where insecticide resistance has emerged in this pest. Resistance mechanisms are multiple, and their lone or cumulative effects in a single population are not completely understood. A detailed estimation of resistance spectrum is still required to define the suitable insecticides to use against a given population. The efficacy of ten insecticides was therefore investigated together with the resistance mechanisms expressed in four laboratory strains and 47 field populations of C. pomonella from five countries. Bioassays were performed using topical applications of diagnostic concentrations on diapausing larvae, and resistance mechanisms were analysed on adults emerging from control insects. All populations exhibited a reduced susceptibility to at least one insecticide when compared with the susceptible laboratory strain. Cross-resistances were observed between azinphos-methyl or phosalone and more recent compounds such as spinosad and thiacloprid. Resistances to azinphos-methyl, diflubenzuron, spinosad, tebufenozide and thiacloprid were significantly correlated with mixed-function oxidase activity, while increased glutathione-S-transferase and reduced non-specific esterase activities were correlated with resistance to azinphos-methyl and emamectin, respectively. Conversely, resistances to azinphos-methyl, tebufenozide and thiacloprid were negatively correlated with increased esterase activity. None of the observed mechanisms explained the loss of susceptibility of populations to chlorpyrifos-ethyl, and no significant correlation was detected between resistance to deltamethrin and the presence of the kdr mutation. The suitability of such non-target instars to monitor insecticide resistance in field populations is discussed.     

Giardia duodenalis in colony stray cats from Italy

Giardia duodenalis is the most common intestinal protozoan in humans and animals worldwide, including eight morphologically identical assemblages, infecting pets, livestock, wildlife and human beings. Assemblages A and B are those with the higher zoonotic potential, and they have been detected in several mammals other than humans; the others (C to H) show a higher host specificity. Cats can harbour both the specific Assemblage F and the zoonotic ones A and B. Several studies have been carried out on G. duodenalis genotypes in cats; however, the role of this species in the epidemiology of giardiasis is still poorly understood. In this scenario, the present study carried out the detection and genetic characterization at sub-assemblage level of G. duodenalis from colony stray cats in central Italy. In the period 2018–2019, 133 cat faecal samples were analysed for the presence of G. duodenalis cysts by a direct immunofluorescence assay. Positive samples were subsequently subjected to molecular analyses for assemblage/sub-assemblage identification. Forty-seven samples (35.3%) were positive for G. duodenalis cysts by immunofluorescence. G. duodenalis DNA was amplified at SSU-rDNA locus from 39 isolates: 37 were positive for zoonotic Assemblage A and 2 showed a mixed infection (A + B). Positive results for the β-giardin gene were achieved for 25 isolates. Sequence analysis revealed 16 isolates belonging to Sub-assemblage AII and 8 to Sub-assemblage AIII. One isolate resulted as ambiguous AI/AIII. Large sequence variability at the sub-assemblage level was detected, with several double peaks and mutations, making complex a proper isolate allocation. When compared with previous studies, the 35.3% prevalence of G. duodenalis in cats reported in the present article was surprisingly high. Moreover, all positive cats resulted to be infected with zoonotic assemblages/sub-assemblages, thus indicating stray cats as a possible source of human giardiasis and highlighting the sanitary relevance of cat colonies in the study area.     

A rare Cryptosporidium parvum genotype associated with infection of lambs and zoonotic transmission in Italy

An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in a mixed sheep/cattle farm of Central Italy in October 2011. A total of 450 ovines (250 sheep and 200 lambs) and 140 bovines (130 cows and 10 calves) were housed in two separated units, at the time of the outbreak. About half of the lambs had diarrhea due to Cryptosporidium sp. with a mortality rate of 80%; calves were not infected. Genomic DNA was extracted from an archived slide and from fecal specimens, and the parasite was identified as Cryptosporidium parvum by PCR and sequence analysis at the CpA135 gene. Genotyping at the GP60 gene showed the presence of a very rare genotype, IIaA20G2R1. Shortly after the outbreak was identified, the son of the farm's owner, aged 18 months, experienced an acute gastroenteritis and was hospitalized due to recurrent episodes of diarrhea, fever, vomiting and lack of appetite. The feces tested negative for bacteria and viruses, whereas cryptosporidiosis was diagnosed by microscopy and an immunochromatographic test. Molecular typing identified the C. parvum genotype IIaA20G2R1 in the feces of the child. This is the first case of transmission of cryptosporidiosis in Italy involving lambs as source of oocysts infectious to humans.     

Climate and Dirofilaria infection in Europe

Climatic changes, together with an increase in the movement of cats and dogs across Europe, have caused an increase in the geographical range of several vector borne parasites like Dirofilaria, and in the risk of infection for animals and humans. The present paper reviews the effects of climate and other global drivers on Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens infections in Europe and the possible implications on the transmission and control of these mosquito-borne nematodes. In the last several years, growing degree day (GDD)-based forecast models, which use wide or local scale temperature data, have been developed to predict the occurrence and seasonality of Dirofilaria in different parts of the world. All these models are based on the fact that: there is a threshold of 14 °C below which Dirofilaria development will not proceed; and there is a requirement of 130 GDD for larvae to reach infectivity and a maximum life expectancy of 30 days for a vector mosquito. The output of these models predicts that the summer temperatures (with peaks in July) are sufficient to facilitate extrinsic incubation of Dirofilaria even at high latitudes. The global warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that warm summers suitable for Dirofilaria transmission in Europe will be the rule in the future decades and if the actual trend of temperature increase continues, filarial infection should spread into previously infection-free areas. These factors not only favour incubation of Dirofilaria, but also impact on mosquito species. Recent findings have also demonstrated that Aedes albopictus is now considered to be an important, competent vector of Dirofilaria infections. This mosquito species could spread from southern to northern European countries in the near future, changing the epidemiological patterns of dirofilariosis both in humans and animals.     

Liming as an ameliorator of copper toxicity in black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.)

This study aimed to assess the effect of liming as an ameliorator of copper (Cu) toxicity in black oats (Avena strigosa Schreb.) grown in soil with a sandy texture. The treatments were soil supplementation with increasing doses of lime (0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 g kg^?1) and two of Cu (0 and 50 mg kg^?1). Pre-germinated black oat seeds were sown for 30 days in the soil, subsequently, the plant height, root and shoot dry mass and concentration of total chlorophyll, chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids and total soluble carbohydrates and starch were analyzed. The dose of 50 mg kg^?1 soil Cu caused a toxic effect on black oat plant growth and development, affected the internal distribution of nutrients, decreased the leaf chlorophyll concentration and increased the leaf concentration of total soluble carbohydrates and starch. Increasing lime doses ameliorated the toxic effects of Cu.     

Influence of Dietary Oil Sources on Muscle Composition and Plasma Lipoprotein Concentrations in Nile Tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus

To investigate the impact of different dietary lipid sources on fillet composition and lipid transport, we conducted a feeding trial and evaluated the proximate composition of muscle tissue, fatty acid profiles, total cholesterol (in muscle and plasma), triglycerides, and lipoprotein concentrations in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Five semi‐purified diets, containing different oils (soybean – SO, corn – CO, linseed – LO, fish – FO, and olive – OO), were supplied to tilapia for 160 d. Fish fed with LO and FO diets had a lower percentage of total lipids in muscle compared with the others (P < 0.05). The highest percentage of protein was found in fish fed with FO diet (P < 0.05). The muscle fatty acid profile was influenced differently by diets (P < 0.05). The group supplemented with SO and CO had a higher concentration of 18:2n‐6, whereas the fish fed with LO diet had a higher level of 18:3n‐3 and those that received the FO diet had more 22:6n‐3 in comparison with those supplemented with vegetable oils. Plasma lipid transport was also affected by the diets: the fish fed with FO diet had higher total cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein and lower very‐low‐density lipoprotein concentrations (P < 0.05).