Cocoa‐rich diet attenuates beta cell mass loss and function in young Zucker diabetic fatty rats by preventing oxidative stress and beta cell apoptosis

We have recently shown that cocoa flavanols may have anti‐diabetic potential by promoting survival and function of pancreatic beta‐cells in vitro. In this work, we investigated if a cocoa‐rich diet is able to preserve beta‐cell mass and function in an animal model of type 2 diabetes and the mechanisms involved. Our results showed that cocoa feeding during the prediabetic state attenuates hyperglycaemia, reduces insulin resistant, and increases beta cell mass and function in obese Zucker diabetic rats. At the molecular level, cocoa‐rich diet prevented beta‐cell apoptosis by increasing the levels of Bcl‐xL and decreasing Bax levels and caspase‐3 activity. Cocoa diet enhanced the activity of endogenous antioxidant defenses, mainly glutathione peroxidase, preventing thus oxidative injury induced by the pre‐diabetic condition and leading to apoptosis prevention. These findings provide the first in vivo evidence that a cocoa‐rich diet may delay the loss of functional beta‐cell mass and delay the progression of diabetes by preventing oxidative stress and beta‐cell apoptosis.     

Comparison of the Diatheva STEC FLUO with BAX System Kits for Detection of O157:H7 and Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> (STEC) in Ground Beef and Bean Sprout Samples Using Different Enrichment Protocols

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the Diatheva STEC FLUO and BAX System real-time PCR assays for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) (stx1/stx2 and eae target genes) and O-group identification in ground beef and bean sprout samples. Ground beef (325 g or 25 g) and mung bean sprout (25 g) samples were inoculated with ~?10 CFU of the “top five” STEC (O157:H7, O26, O103, O111, and O145 as specified in EU regulation ISO13136:2012), enriched using different broths and incubation temperatures, and tested using the Diatheva and BAX real-time PCR assays. In ground beef, both molecular methods were able to detect the “top five” STEC, and lower Ct values were observed for the Diatheva kits compared to BAX System. The O111-contaminated samples gave negative results with both methods using mTSB?+?novobiocin for enrichment. In bean sprouts, both methods provided positive results, although detection was not possible using mTSB?+?acriflavin/cefsulodin/vancomycin for enrichment. In conclusion, the Diatheva and BAX methods detected the “top five” STEC in ground beef and bean sprouts when inoculated at low levels. Both assays provided equivalent results in terms of performance and reliability. Thus, the Diatheva kits are comparable to reference STEC-detection methods and could be used by the food industry to reliably detect the “top five” STEC.     

Key factors influencing food security of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and the role of cassava as a strategic crop

Due to beneficial characteristics of cassava such as robustness and versatility for multiple uses, it can have a major role in contributing to local food security. The objective of this study was to find out whether and how the cultivation of cassava benefits smallholder farmers in the regions of Dodoma and Morogoro, Tanzania. In addition, the study assessed the main factors that support or threaten food security of smallholder farmer households in the survey region and analysed whether cassava cultivation could counteract them. We applied a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data were provided by a comprehensive household survey of the Trans-SEC project, and qualitative data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews. To approach the complexity of our chosen food security definition, three approaches for household food security measurement were applied. These covered the components of food availability, food access, and food utilization. Additionally, dependent variables for regression models were constructed and a multivariate analysis was run. The results show that cassava contributes to food security in the households, but achieving food security through cassava cultivation was constrained by several factors, including pests, missing markets, poor processing, social perception and lack of knowledge. Besides these, other factors affecting food security in the study area were found, uncovering some roots of local food insecurity and serving as a basis for further research and action on how to enhance food security.     

Byssochlamys nivea inactivation in pineapple juice and nectar using high pressure cycles

The aim of this work was to assess the inactivation of Byssochlamys nivea ascospores in pineapple juice and nectar by combining pressure sequences involving high pressure cycles with relatively mild thermal processing. The effect of 550 and 600 MPa sustained pressures (holding time of 15 min), combinations of sustained pressures and pressure pulses (holding time of 10 s), and pressure cycles (two, three and five cycles of 550 and 600 MPa for 7.5, 5 and 3 min, respectively), at 20, 40, 60, 70, 80 and 90 °C were compared. B. nivea ascospores were inactivated by applying sustained a pressure of 600 MPa at 90 °C for 5 min (juice) and 15 min (nectar), and three and five cycles of pressure at 600 MPa and 80 °C for nectar with holding time of 5 and 3 min, respectively, and in all pressure cycles for juice. In general, pressure cycles were more effective for inactivating B. nivea ascospores than the application of sustained high pressures.     

Asian herbal‐tobacco cigarettes: “not medicine but less harmful”?

Objective

To describe the development and health claims of Asian herbal‐tobacco cigarettes.

Methods

Analysis of international news sources, company websites, and the transnational tobacco companies'' (TTC) documents. PubMed searches of herbs and brands.

Results

Twenty‐three brands were identified, mainly from China. Many products claimed to relieve respiratory symptoms and reduce toxins, with four herb‐only products advertised for smoking cessation. No literature was found to verify the health claims, except one Korean trial of an herb‐only product. Asian herbal‐tobacco cigarettes were initially produced by China by the 1970s and introduced to Japan in the 1980s. Despite initial news about research demonstrating a safer cigarette, the TTC analyses of these cigarettes suggest that these early products were not palatable and had potentially toxic cardiovascular effects. By the late 1990s, China began producing more herbal‐tobacco cigarettes in a renewed effort to reduce harmful constituents in cigarettes. After 2000, tobacco companies from Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand began producing similar products. Tobacco control groups in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand voiced concern over the health claims of herbal‐tobacco products. In 2005, China designated two herbal‐tobacco brands as key for development.

Conclusion

Asian herbal‐tobacco cigarettes claim to reduce harm, but no published literature is available to verify these claims or investigate unidentified toxicities. The increase in Asian herbal‐tobacco cigarette production by 2000 coincides with the Asian tobacco companies'' regular scientific meetings with TTCs and their interest in harm reduction. Asia faces additional challenges in tobacco control with these culturally concordant products that may discourage smokers from quitting.     

Advances in the analysis of mycotoxins and its quality assurance

This article covers the latest activities in mycotoxin analysis and the advances of its respective quality assurance. The majority of mycotoxin analyses carried out in the laboratories is still based on physicochemical methods, which are continually improved. For example, immunoaffinity columns and multifunctional clean-up columns have become of increasing importance and in some areas of mycotoxin analysis they have more or less displaced conventional liquid-liquid partitioning or column chromatography during clean-up. The need for rapid yes/no decisions on the other hand has led to a number of new screening methods. In particular, rapid and easy-to-use test kits based on immunoanalytical principles or the generation of artificial macromolecular receptors employed in molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have made good progress. Further research in mycotoxin analysis is pursued in the field of biosensors and also the potential of infrared spectroscopic techniques as screening method has been demonstrated. In the area of multi mycotoxin analysis the most promising development was observed in mass spectrometry. At the same time, several interlaboratory studies in the field of mycotoxin analysis revealed problems proven by high between laboratory standard deviation and non-traceable results. This not only shows the necessity of reliable methods and well defined performance characteristics but also the need for appropriate calibrants of defined concentration and stated purity. A certified zearalenone (ZON) calibrant is already available and a certified calibrant containing various trichothecenes is currently under development. (Certified) reference materials are available for aflatoxins in a number of commodities, ochratoxin A (OTA) in wheat, deoxynivalenol (DON) in maize and wheat, and ZON in maize. With these measures important steps towards traceability of results in mycotoxin analysis have been achieved.     

Flavanones in Citrus fruit: Structure–antioxidant activity relationships

Epidemiological surveys have shown an inverse relationship between the intake of fruit and the incidence of coronary heart disease and some type of cancer. Data found in the literature regarding the flavonoids in general while this study focuses on flavanones, a subclass of flavonoids which occurs in Citrus fruit. The aim of this work is to elucidate the antioxidant or pro-oxidant behaviours of some common flavanones and to determine their activity–structure relationships as antioxidant using the crocin bleaching inhibition assay. The compounds studied were regarding both the aglycon form and the glycoside form. Data evidence that the substitution of the 7th OH group of the flavanones by a neohesperidoside influences the relationship between structure and antioxidant activity. In fact, the 3′,4′-catechol structure and the O-methylation, in the aglycone forms, do not result significant. On the other hands, in the glycosylate forms, the 3′,4′-catechol structure noticeably increases the antioxidant power and the O-methylation decreases the antioxidant activity. The influence of the O-glycosylation with a rutinose molecule is neglectable.     

Energy and environmental performance of a heat pump in different power grid scenarios

Electric-driven heat pumps are one of the most encouraging systems that could support the raising of renewables contribution in civil sector energy consumption, especially with reference to the Countries with a high contribution of renewable energy sources in electricity generation mix. However, the evaluation of the effective energy and environmental performance of an electric heat pump meeting the space heating and cooling requests of a building has to consider several factors that affect the results. Among them great attention should be given to the variability of weather conditions in which the system operates, the changeability of the efficiency and environmental indicators of power grid. The analysis becomes more complex if the variation of these parameters is considered in terms of time and geographic location but it leads to the actual evaluation of the energy conversion system performance that is neglected by European Regulations. This paper presents an energy and environmental analysis of an electric-driven air-source heat pump providing the space heating and cooling needs of the same building located in two different geographical locations by means of a dynamic simulation performed in TRNSYS 17. The analysis is carried out considering the average and time-dependent values of the carbon dioxide emission factors for electricity and the power grid efficiency indicators evaluated by means of the real electricity generation data. In addition, the paper proposes the evaluation of the average and hourly energy and environmental parameters referred only to the electricity market zones in which the buildings are located. These indices are considered in the analysis too. The results have highlighted that the assessment based on average and high-resolution parameters, as well the evaluation based on indicators referred to electricity market zones only, could return very different outcomes leading to a significant overestimation or underestimation of the energy and environmental performance of the system based on the electric-driven heat pump. Finally, a further analysis has been carried out to determine how the results can vary considering the average value of the electric efficiency indicator suggested by Italian Regulations and that of other European Countries.     

Peptides from fish and crustacean by-products hydrolysates stimulate cholecystokinin release in STC-1 cells

Fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) are of significant interest, due to their potential application as a source of bioactive peptides in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical domains. Here, we investigated the action of FPH from blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) on cholecystokinin release from intestinal endocrine cells (STC-1). We demonstrated for the first time that FPH were able to highly stimulate CCK-releasing activity from STC-1 cells and that this stimulation was mainly due to peptide molecules. The partial purification of CCK-stimulating peptides showed that their apparent molecular weight ranged between 1000 and 1500 Da for fish and crustacean FPH, respectively. Finally, in an aim to industrially produce hydrolysates enriched in CCK-stimulating molecules, we tested the effects of membrane processes (ultrafiltration and nanofiltration) on active peptide enrichments.