Replacing the Burden of the Gluten Free Diet: Then,Now, and the Future

Without a doubt, a majority of diseases are food-pattern-related. However, one disease stands out as an increasingly more common autoimmune-mediated enteropathy triggered by the ingestion of gluten. Celiac disease (CD) is an old disease, with changing clinical patterns, affecting any age, including infancy and adolescence, and becoming more frequent among the elderly. The gluten-free diet (GFD) has been the sole provider of clinical, serological, and histological improvement for patients with CD for more than seven decades. Nowadays, complete avoidance of dietary gluten is rarely possible because of the wide availability of wheat and other processed foods that contain even more gluten, to the detriment of gluten-free products. Undeniably, there is a definite need for replacing the burdensome GFD. An add-on therapy that could control the dietary transgressions and inadvertent gluten consumption that can possibly lead to overt CD should be considered while on GFD. Nevertheless, future drugs should be able to provide patients some freedom to self-manage CD and increase food independence, while actively reducing exposure and mucosal damage and alleviating GI symptoms. Numerous clinical trials assessing different molecules have already been performed with favorable outcomes, and hopefully they will soon be available for patient use.     

Bench Test of a Hydraulic Biofluid Based on Refined Pomace Oil

This paper aims at investigating the possibility of replacing conventional hydraulic fluids with refined olive pomace oil added with a common food grade antioxidant, as hydraulic fluid for agricultural machinery. The fluid efficiency test is carried out using an experimental test rig based on a hydraulic system designed to apply severe work cycles (pressure values up to 40 MPa; temperatures up to 100 °C) to small oil volumes with the aim of strongly accelerating the ageing of the tested fluid. The fluid, added with 2 g kg⁻¹ of antioxidant, apparently does not undergo any changes in chemical-physical properties and maintains stable the technical performance of the test equipment during 530 h work cycle. This research has four different goals: i) to contribute to the circular economy, by using olive oil byproducts in agricultural environment; ii) to contribute to the reduction of environmental contamination by substituting petroleum products with natural biodegradable ones; iii) to contribute to avoid the presence of mineral products (such as saturated hydrocarbons, which could accumulate in human organs, and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are potentially genotoxic), as a residue in food products and in vegetable oils. iv) to identify alternative market possibilities for such a by-product. Practical applications : The results of the study seem to indicate the possibility of using the olive pomace oil as hydraulic fluid, for example, in agricultural machinery, opening new market perspectives which would increase its added value.     

Biogas dry reforming using Ni–Al-LDH catalysts reconstructed with Mg and Zn

The reconstruction of NiAl-LDH by incorporating Mg or Zn using a memory effect was investigated aiming to improve the basic properties of the catalysts and evaluated in the dry reforming of Biogas. Samples were characterized by XRD, CO₂?TPD, N₂-physisorption, TPR, and TPO. Biogas dry reforming experiments were carried out using a feed of CH₄/CO₂/N₂ = 1.5/1/7.5 in the temperature range of 500–750 °C with in situ reduced samples. The washing step strongly influences the LDH reconstruction. The unwashed samples showed the reconstruction of the LDH structure, presented a low specific area, and high basicity, responsible for decreasing carbon formation during reactions. The washed samples did not exhibit the LDH reconstruction property but showed a high specific area and low basicity. The metal used in the reconstruction influences the crystallinity, basicity, and reducibility of the materials. Samples with Zn showed higher crystallinity and reducibility, whereas the samples with Mg showed higher basicity. Among all the catalysts, reconstruction with Zn and subsequent washing leads to the best results with CH₄ and CO₂ conversion of 73% and 90%, respectively, and an H₂/CO ratio of approximately 2. This can be attributed to the Ni–Zn alloy formation and to the reducing properties suitable for the range between 600 and 700 °C. This catalyst showed the highest resistance to sintering in the stability test at 700 °C.     

Effect of simulated acidic and salty fermentation conditions on kinetic growth parameters and probiotic potential of Lactobacillus acidipiscis and Lactobacillus pentosus

The technological stress during food processing may alter the beneficial interactions of food-associated Lactobacillus on the host. The effect of initial combined acidic (pH 5.0) and osmotic stress (NaCl 5 %, w/v with or without CaCl₂ 0.02 %, w/v) typically present in vegetable fermentations and cheesemaking were investigated. The growth kinetics prediction, hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, in vitro survival and adhesion were determined in Lactobacillus acidipiscis and Lactobacillus pentosus isolated from a Mexican salty cheese. The growth was modelled with the modified Gompertz equation (R > 0.99; RMSE < 0.01). The lag phase increased (>10 h), and auto-aggregation was reduced. Hydrophobicity and S-layer total proteins varied. Gut survival reduced >4 log 10 units compared to the initial intake. Nevertheless, adhesion remained the same. Hence, combined stress affected the technological and physiological properties of both strains negatively. Further research is needed to identify the effect of the combined stress on the potential bioactivity of the strains.     

Trifluoperazine increases fatty acid turnover in phospholipids in cultured human fibroblasts

A 24-hr pretreatment of cultured human fibroblasts with trifluoperazine induced a marked increase in incorporation of saturated (stearic, palmitic) and unsaturated (oleic, arachidonic) fatty acids into phospholipids (1.5- to 2-fold for 5.10⁻⁵ M trifluoperazine). Concomitantly, incorporation into cholesteryl esters was strongly inhibited (20% of control for 5.10⁻⁵ M trifluoperazine). The drug did not change the phospholipid composition of treated cells. The effect of trifluoperazine on oleic acid incorporation into phospholipids was time-dependent and reached a maximum after a six-hr preincubation with the drug. Trifluoperazine also induced an increase in the rate of chase of oleic acid from the different phospholipid classes. In vitro preincubation of cell-free extracts with trifluoperazine resulted in activation of phospholipid acyltransferases, whereas cholesterol acyltransferase activity was decreased. The rapid effect of trifluoperazine together with its effect on a cell-free system suggests a direct action of this amphiphilic drug on the acyltransferase activities, probably by modification of the structural organization of cellular membranes.     

Lipids and lipogenic enzymes in adipose tissue of castrated male goats

Male goats (“Criolla Argentina” breed), castrated at 45 days of age, showed altered lipid metabolism 180 days after castration as compared to control goats. Subcutaneous, perirenal and omental adipose tissues of castrated goats showed increases in fatty acid synthetase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase activities. Castration increased the amount of total lipids and triglycerides, but did not modify the amount of cholesterol, phospholipid and protein in the three types of adipose tissue. The incorporation of [1-¹⁴C]acetate into fatty acids of subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissue was increased in castrated goats in relation to noncastrated goats. Our results suggest that removal of gonadal steroids increases significantly the rate of lipogenesis in adipose tissue of male goats.     

Distance of a complex coefficient stable polynomial from the boundary of the stability set

In this paper, the distance in the 1 2p norm from a complex coefficient polynomial to the border of its Hurwitz region is analyzed. Simplified expressions for 2p=1, 2, are also obtained.This work was supported in part by Comisión Investigaciones Cientificas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC) and Comisión Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET).     

Design, construction, and calibration of an isothermal titration calorimeter and its application in the study of the adsorption of phenolic compounds

An isothermal calorimetric titration was designed and built, and some of the results obtained are presented here. For this purpose, a Calvet heat-conducting microcalorimeter was developed and connected to a titration unit built for this experiment to record titration thermograms. The microcalorimeter was electrically calibrated to establish its sensitivity and reproducibility, obtaining K = 13.56 ± 0.21 W V(-1). Additionally, the equipment was tested using the heat of neutralisation for the tris-hydroxymethyl-aminomethane-HCl (THAM-HCl) system, obtaining ΔH = -30.92 ± 0.03 kJ mol(-1). The unit was assembled to obtain titration heats and the corresponding thermodynamic variables (ΔH, ΔG, ΔS, and K(e)) with a system of phenolic derivatives-activated carbon (synthesised from potato peel).