Total phenolic and total flavonoid content,antioxidant activity and sensory evaluation of pseudocereal breads

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of adding (in two different doses 15% and 30%) pseudocereal (buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa) flour on the antioxidant properties and sensory value of breads. Buckwheat flour had the highest phenolic content (7.25 ± 0.23 mg/g dw). The content of total flavonoids in flours was about 2–4 fold higher when compared to breads. The addition of buckwheat flour to wheat bread, particularly in higher dose, was more effective in enhancing antioxidant activity, as evaluated by means of FRAP and DPPH, which increased by 2.36 fold, and 3.64 fold respectively, in comparison with other pseudocereal flours (amaranth, quinoa), which caused, in higher doses, the changes of above parameters within the ranges 1.20–1.79 fold, and 0.60–1.71 fold. Analysis of sensory results of breads showed that addition of buckwheat flour to the dough might improve subjective properties of bread and increase acceptable quality attributes such as taste, colour or odour. All these observations suggest that addition of buckwheat flour into bread can improve antioxidant as well as sensory properties of bread. Bread fortified with pseudocereal flours, and especially with buckwheat flour, may be placed on the market as a functional food.     

Contamination of commercial cane sugars by some organic acids and some inorganic anions

The aim of the paper was the identification and the quantitative evaluation of the following inorganic anions: chloride, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate and the following organic acids: lactic, acetic, formic, malic and citric in commercial “unrefined” brown cane sugars and in cane raw sugars. The determination was carried out by high performance anion exchange chromatography with conductivity detector HPAEC-CD. The conducted analyses have shown that the content of some inorganic anions and organic acids in cane sugars may be an important criterion of the quality of commercial “unrefined” brown cane sugars.     

Effect of long term administration of resveratrol on lipid concentration in selected organs and liver’s histology in rats fed high fructose diet

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long term administration (4 months) of resveratrol (RSV) with high fructose (HF) diet (63%) on selected biochemical parameters and lipids content in different tissues of rats. Lipid profile in serum of rats was not affected by the addition of resveratrol to the experimental diets. The concentration of tiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS; expressed as the melanodialdehyde – MDA equivalents) was significantly lower in the serum of rats fed HF diet with the addition of 0.04% and 0.06% of resveratrol. Crude lipids content in hearts was lower in rats fed with HF diet with the addition of 0.06% RSV. The concentration of lipids was also significantly lower in the liver of animals fed with HF diet with the addition of 0.04% or 0.06%. These results indicated that resveratrol significantly decreased fat accumulation and oxidative stress in rats fed with a high fructose diet.     

Drying Kinetics and Bioactivity of Beetroot Slices Pretreated in Concentrated Chokeberry Juice and Dried with Vacuum Microwaves

Beetroot slices 18 mm in diameter and with a thickness of 9.6, 6.3, 3.35, or 2.6 mm were pretreated in 40°Bx chokeberry juice at a temperature of 50°C for 2 h and then dried by a vacuum-microwave (VM) method at different microwave power levels, such as 120, 240, 360, 480, and 480/120 W. The drying kinetics were described by a fitted model that incorporated contributions from the surface area of the samples, microwave power, and VM processing time. As the microwave power during VM drying increased, the bioactive potential decreased for untreated samples and increased for pretreated samples. Increasing the samples' specific surface area resulted in shorter drying time, lower temperature of the material during drying, and enhanced quality of the dried product. For osmotically pretreated beetroot slices with a specific surface area of 827 ± 18 m²m^?3, a final VM drying step at 240 W is recommended to produce high quality vegetable snacks.     

Emissions of soot,PAHs, ultrafine particles,NOx, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air

Burning candles release a variety of pollutants to indoor air, some of which are of concern for human health. We studied emissions of particles and gases from the stressed burning of five types of pillar candles with different wax and wick compositions. The stressed burning was introduced by controlled fluctuating air velocities in a 21.6 m³ laboratory chamber. The aerosol physicochemical properties were measured both in well-mixed chamber air and directly above the candle flame with online and offline techniques. All candles showed different emission profiles over time with high repeatability among replicates. The particle mass emissions from stressed burning for all candle types were dominated by soot (black carbon; BC). The wax and wick composition strongly influenced emissions of BC, PM_2.5, and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and to lower degree ultrafine particles, inorganic and organic carbon fraction of PM, but did not influence NO_x, formaldehyde, and gas-phase PAHs. Measurements directly above the flame showed empirical evidence of short-lived strong emission peaks of soot particles. The results show the importance of including the entire burn time of candles in exposure assessments, as their emissions can vary strongly over time. Preventing stressed burning of candles can reduce exposure to pollutants in indoor air.     

Cloning of Flax Oleic Fatty Acid Desaturase and Its Expression in Yeast

Fatty acid desaturases dehydrogenate acyl chains, which results in the formation of a double bond. Using PCR on flax genomic DNA, we cloned a putative Δ12 fatty acid desaturase (Fad2) gene encoding a 378 amino acid protein. Heterologous expression of this protein in yeast as an N-terminal fusion to GFP showed its localization within endoplasmic reticulum. Analysis of membrane lipids revealed the production of dienoic fatty acids, decreased levels of FAD2 substrates and an increased concentration of longer fatty acids. Higher peroxidation of lipids in FAD2-containing strains is not reflected by any visible phenotype in YPD medium. However, FAD2-containing strains with deleted superoxide dismutase genes exhibited significant growth reductions under oxidative stress.     

Effects of a Unique Combination of the Whole-Body Low Dose Radiotherapy with Inactivation of Two Immune Checkpoints and/or a Heat Shock Protein on the Transplantable Lung Cancer in Mice

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to be the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Recently, targeting molecules whose functions are associated with tumorigenesis has become a game changing adjunct to standard anti-cancer therapy. As evidenced by the results of preclinical and clinical investigations, whole-body irradiations (WBI) with X-rays at less than 0.1–0.2 Gy per fraction can induce remissions of various neoplasms without inciting adverse side effects of conventional chemo- and radiotherapy. In the present study, a murine model of human NSCLC was employed to evaluate for the first time the anti-neoplastic efficacy of WBI combined with inactivation of CTLA-4, PD-1, and/or HSP90. The results indicate that WBI alone and in conjunction with the inhibition of the function of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor immune checkpoints (ICs) and/or heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) markedly reduced tumorigenesis in mice implanted by three different routes with the syngeneic Lewis lung cancer cells and suppressed clonogenic potential of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC1) cells in vitro. These results were associated with the relevant changes in the profile of pro- and anti-neoplastic immune cells recruited to the growing tumors and the circulating anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines. In contrast, inhibition of the tested molecular targets used either separately or in combination with each other did not exert notable anti-neoplastic effects. Moreover, no significant synergistic effects were detected when the inhibitors were applied concurrently with WBI. The obtained results supplemented with further mechanistic explanations provided by future investigations will help design the effective strategies of treatment of lung and other cancers based on inactivation of the immune checkpoint and/or heat shock molecules combined with low-dose radiotherapy.     

Vimentin Cytoskeleton Architecture Analysis on Polylactide and Polyhydroxyoctanoate Substrates for Cell Culturing

Polylactide (PLA), widely used in bioengineering and medicine, gained popularity due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. Natural origin and eco-friendly background encourage the search of novel materials with such features, such as polyhydroxyoctanoate (P(3HO)), a polyester of bacterial origin. Physicochemical features of both P(3HO) and PLA have an impact on cellular response 32, i.e., adhesion, migration, and cell morphology, based on the signaling and changes in the architecture of the three cytoskeletal networks: microfilaments (F-actin), microtubules, and intermediate filaments (IF). To investigate the role of IF in the cellular response to the substrate, we focused on vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs), present in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (MEF). VIFs maintain cell integrity and protect it from external mechanical stress, and also take part in the transmission of signals from the exterior of the cell to its inner organelles, which is under constant investigation. Physiochemical properties of a substrate have an impact on cells’ morphology, and thus on cytoskeleton network signaling and assembly. In this work, we show how PLA and P(3HO) crystallinity and hydrophilicity influence VIFs, and we identify that two different types of vimentin cytoskeleton architecture: network “classic” and “nutshell-like” are expressed by MEFs in different numbers of cells depending on substrate features.