Variability of Sugars in Staple-Type Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) Cultivars: The Effects of Harvest Time and Storage

Total soluble sugar content and composition was studied by high performance liquid chromatography in four high dry-matter sweet potato cultivars at 3, 4, and 5 months maturity. Total soluble sugar consisted of sucrose, glucose, and fructose, ranging from 4.10–10.82 g/100 g (dry-weight basis). At harvest, there were significant differences in total soluble sugar due to maturity (p < 0.001) and cultivar (p < 0.05). The highest total soluble sugar contents were in 5-month samples at harvest (7.36–10.34 g/100 g) and 4-month samples after short-term storage under tropical ambient conditions (8.66–10.82 g/100 g). Estimated amylase enzyme activity varied significantly with harvest age (p < 0.05). Although reducing sugar contents were low, fructose levels in 5-month samples increased considerably after storage.     

L'effluvium télogène actinique: une facette de la chronobiologie humaine

A seasonal increased hair loss is frequently recognized in clinical practice. However, such an aspect of chronobiology has rarely been documented. To evaluate the seasonal influence on the hair cycle, trichograms of 2857 subjects who complained of an increased hair loss were collected during two consecutive years. An increased frequency of telogen effluvium was observed between July and October. The seasonal effluvium appears to be more summer effect than autumnal in regions whose latitude is over the Tropic of Cancer. The influence of ultraviolet light is possible. It might correspond to an actinic effluvium manifesting itself in some individuals among the whole population.     

Effect of encapsulation and natural polyphenolic compounds on bacteriophage stability and activity on Escherichia coli in Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia

The goals of the present study were to characterize the phages isolated by magnetic nanocomplex, to determine the effect of natural polyphenols on phage activity against E. coli and the stability of free and encapsulated bacteriophages under UV irradiation, and their efficacy against E. coli on romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) as a fresh food model. The morphology of the two magnetically isolated phages were characterized using the transmission electron microscope (TEM). All isolated phages were classified in a morphological family of tailed phages of the order Caudovirales, Myoviridae family. The PCR results showed that the stx1 and cI genes were not on any phage. Assays were carried out to determine the effect of four polyphenolic natural extracts on phages under UV radiation. The highest activity and stability of phages expressed in phage titer (PFU/ml) were observed in the presence of polyphenols from tarbush leaves (Flourensia cernua DC). Coliphages were encapsulated in alginate/chitosan and alginate/PVA carriers with and without polyphenols from tarbush leaves. Encapsulation led to a higher phage stability under UV radiation. All encapsulated formulations and free coliphages were applied on the surfaces of romaine lettuce containing E. coli cells. An effective reduction of 2 log of E. coli titers from lettuce was observed. Encapsulated phage formulations with and without polyphenols from tarbush leaves could be considered for future application in fresh food preservation.     

Performance characteristics of the Duopath® cereus enterotoxins assay for rapid detection of enterotoxinogenic Bacillus cereus strains

The Duopath® Cereus Enterotoxins test (Merck KGaA) is a newly developed gold-labeled lateral flow immunoassay for the detection of Bacillus cereus enterotoxins. The test uses monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the L₂ component of hemolysin BL (Hbl) and NheB of the non-hemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), respectively. The inclusivity and exclusivity of the assay was tested using 44 B. cereus, B. cereus group and Bacillus spp. strains. Apart from the B. mycoides type strain the results were in full agreement with those obtained by other immunological and molecular biological methods. The detection limit of the assay was 6 ng/ml for NheB and 20 ng/ml for the Hbl-L₂-component, respectively. Using artificially and naturally contaminated food samples (n = 76) the assay was positive after 18-24 h enrichment if at least 10² enterotoxin producing B. cereus/g were present. After 30 h enrichment samples contaminated with as low as 1 enterotoxin producing B. cereus/g gave positive results. In addition, testing of suspected colonies for enterotoxin production is possible. The assay is easy to perform and results can be clearly read without instrumentation.     

Foliar Mono- and Sesquiterpene Contents in Relation to Leaf Economic Spectrum in Native and Alien Species in Oahu (Hawai’i)

Capacity for terpene production may confer advantage in protection against abiotic stresses such as heat and drought, and also against herbivore and pathogen attack. Plant invasive success has been intense in the Hawaiian islands, but little is known about terpene content in native and alien plant species on these islands. We conducted a screening of leaf terpene concentrations in 35 native and 38 alien dominant plant species on Oahu island. Ten (29%) of the 35 native species and 15 (39%) of the 38 alien species contained terpenes in the leaves. This is the first report of terpene content for the ten native species, and for 10 of the 15 alien species. A total of 156 different terpenes (54 monoterpenes and 102 sesquiterpenes) were detected. Terpene content had no phylogenetic significance among the studied species. Alien species contained significantly more terpenes in leaves (average ± SE = 1965 ± 367 μg g⁻¹) than native species (830 ± 227 μg g⁻¹). Alien species showed significantly higher photosynthetic capacity, N content, and lower Leaf Mass Area (LMA) than native species, and showed higher total terpene leaf content per N and P leaf content. Alien species, thus, did not follow the expected pattern of “excess carbon” in comparison with native species. Instead, patterns were consistent with the “nutrient driven synthesis” hypothesis. Comparing alien and native species, the results also support the modified Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis that suggests that alien success may be favored by a defense system based on an increase in concentrations of less costly defenses (terpenes) against generalist herbivores.     

Higher Allocation to Low Cost Chemical Defenses in Invasive Species of Hawaii

The capacity to produce carbon-based secondary compounds (CBSC), such as phenolics (including tannins) and terpenes as defensive compounds against herbivores or against neighboring competing plants can be involved in the competition between alien and native plant species. Since the Hawaiian Islands are especially vulnerable to invasions by alien species, we compared total phenolic (TP), total tannin (Tta), and total terpene (TT) leaf contents of alien and native plants on Oahu Island (Hawaii). We analyzed 35 native and 38 alien woody plant species randomly chosen among representative current Hawaiian flora. None of these CBSC exhibited phylogenetic fingerprinting. Alien species had similar leaf TP and leaf Tta contents, and 135% higher leaf TT contents compared with native species. Alien plants had 80% higher leaf TT:N leaf content ratio than native plants. The results suggest that apart from greater growth rate and greater nutrient use, alien success in Oahu also may be linked to greater contents of low cost chemical defenses, such as terpenes, as expected in faster-growing species in resource rich regions. The higher TT contents in aliens may counterbalance their lower investment in leaf structural defenses and their higher leaf nutritional quality. The higher TT provides higher effectiveness in deterring the generalist herbivores of the introduced range, where specialist herbivores are absent. In addition, higher TT contents may favor aliens conferring higher protection against abiotic and biotic stressors. The higher terpene accumulation was independent of the alien species origin, which indicates that being alien either selects for higher terpene contents post-invasion, or that species with high terpene contents are pre-adapted to invasiveness. Although less likely, an originally lower terpene accumulation in Hawaiian than in continental plants that avoids the increased attraction of specialist enemies associated to terpenes may not be discarded.     

Monitoring and handling of actuator faults in two-tier control systems for nonlinear processes

This work focuses on the monitoring and reconfiguration of two-tier control systems applied to general nonlinear processes in the presence of control actuator faults. Specifically, a general class of nonlinear process systems is first considered and is controlled by a two-tier control system integrating a local control system using continuous sensing/actuation with a networked control system using asynchronous sensing/actuation. To deal with control actuator faults that may occur in the closed-loop system and eliminate the ability of the two-tier control system to stabilize the process, a fault detection and isolation (FDI) and fault-tolerant control (FTC) system is designed which detects and isolates actuator faults and determines how to reconfigure the two-tier control system to handle the actuator faults and ensure closed-loop stability. The FDI/FTC system uses continuous measurements of process variables like temperature and asynchronous measurements of variables like species concentrations. We develop reconfiguration-based FTC schemes that effectively deal with faults in the actuators of both the local and networked control systems. A detailed mathematical analysis is carried out to determine precise conditions for the stabilizability of the FDI/FTC system. The method is demonstrated using a reactor-separator process consisting of two continuously stirred tank reactors and a flash tank separator with recycle stream.     

Retention of organophosphorous insecticides on a calcareous soil modified by organic amendments and a surfactant

Pesticides may affect soil quality since they are applied either directly to the soil or transported from the treated crops. Although the soil is able to partially retain environmental contaminants, the use of organic amendments, such as sewage sludge, peat or surfactants, may increase the retention in the upper soil layers, where the contaminants can be degraded and thus diminish their environmental fate. The effect of adding sewage sludge, peat and humic acids, together with a cationic surfactant to the soil, on the adsorption and desorption of organophosphorous insecticides has been studied. The results indicate that humic acids induce an adsorption increment of the pesticides, while peat and sewage sludge do not significantly affect pesticide adsorption at the dosage applied. The use of a cationic surfactant considerably enhances the insecticide retention. The increase was highest for the combined application of the surfactant and the humic acids. Desorption isotherms are inversely related to the adsorption behaviour, being higher for only soil, lower for soil added with carbon-rich amendments, and drastically reduced when the cationic surfactant is present. Concerning the insecticides, adsorption and desorption are related to their physicochemical properties.     

Chelate-assisted phytoextraction of heavy metals in a soil contaminated with a pyritic sludge

The occurrence of many polluted areas as that affected by the accident of the Aznalcóllar pyrite mine has promoted phytoremediation as a technology able to reduce the risk of heavy metal contamination at low cost. White lupin plant has been considered a good candidate for phytoremediation. We studied the capacity of several complexing agents to improve the ability of white lupin for heavy metal phytoremediation in soils with multi-elemental pollution from acid pyritic sludge. Solution-soil interaction was studied and pot experiments with sludge-affected soil were carried out to this end. The interaction experiments indicated that EDTA and NTA were more efficient than malate and citrate in solubilizing metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd), with minimum differences between EDTA and NTA. The pot trial showed that NTA was able to mobilize toxic elements from sludge-polluted soil and hence increasing their concentrations in plant (Mn, Cu, Zn, As, Cd). However, the NTA treatment promoted an increase of toxic elements concentrations, especially for As, Cd, Pb, in the lixiviates exceeding the maximum permissible levels, so a careful management of chelate is necessary.