Influence of ethanol/water ratio in ultrasound and high‐pressure/high‐temperature phenolic compound extraction from agri‐food waste

The valorisation and management of agri‐food waste are currently hot investigation topics which probe the recovery of valuable compounds, such as polyphenols. In this study, high‐pressure/high‐temperature extraction (HPTE) and ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE) have been used to study the recovery of phenolic compounds from grape marc and olive pomace in hydroalcoholic solutions. The main phenolic compounds in both extracts were identified by HPLC‐DAD. Besides extraction yield (total polyphenol and flavonoid content) and the antiradical power, polyphenol degradation under HPTE and UAE has also been studied. HPTE with ethanol 75% gave higher phenolic extraction yields: 73.8 ± 1.4 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of dried matter and 60.0 mg of caffeic acid equivalents per gram of dried matter for grape marc and olive pomace, respectively. In this study, the efficient combination of ethanol/water mixture with HPTE or UAE has been used to enhance the recovery of phenolic compounds from grape marc and olive pomace. HPLC‐DAD showed that UAE prevents phenolic species degradation damage because of its milder operative conditions.     

Lactate as a Metabolite and a Regulator in the Central Nervous System

More than two hundred years after its discovery, lactate still remains an intriguing molecule. Considered for a long time as a waste product of metabolism and the culprit behind muscular fatigue, it was then recognized as an important fuel for many cells. In particular, in the nervous system, it has been proposed that lactate, released by astrocytes in response to neuronal activation, is taken up by neurons, oxidized to pyruvate and used for synthesizing acetyl-CoA to be used for the tricarboxylic acid cycle. More recently, in addition to this metabolic role, the discovery of a specific receptor prompted a reconsideration of its role, and lactate is now seen as a sort of hormone, even involved in processes as complex as memory formation and neuroprotection. As a matter of fact, exercise offers many benefits for our organisms, and seems to delay brain aging and neurodegeneration. Now, exercise induces the production and release of lactate into the blood which can reach the liver, the heart, and also the brain. Can lactate be a beneficial molecule produced during exercise, and offer neuroprotection? In this review, we summarize what we have known on lactate, discussing the roles that have been attributed to this molecule over time.     

Ultrastructural and developmental toxicity of potato and tomato leaf extracts to beet armyworm,Spodoptera exigua (lepidoptera: noctuidae)

Beet Armyworm, Spodoptera exigua is a herbivorous moth and a serious pest of many economically important plants, which are used as food sources. Because of rigorous standards of food quality, usage of synthetic insecticides in crop protection, against pests, is limited. Solanaceae plant extracts may be a relatively cheap source of efficient natural insecticides that can limit usage of synthetic substances. Their biological activity is not fully known. In particular, ultrastructural studies, using transmission electron microscopy, are not usual. In the present article we describe the effects of sublethal concentrations of tomato and potato leaf extracts against S. exigua. Acute lethal effects were not observed. Both extracts exerted similar effects within midgut and fat body cells. Midgut cells were not significantly altered while fat body cells showed prominent swelling of nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum, vacuolization of mitochondria and fusion of fat droplets. These changes were much more intensive within groups exposed to potato than tomato extracts at highest concentration at least. Light microscopy was used to observe and document developmental alterations of S. exigua exposed to potato and tomato leaf extracts. Potato leaf extracts significantly decreased hatching success and caused morphological malformations of imagoes. Among them, malformations of wings were the most prominent. Interestingly, these effects were not observed within populations exposed to tomato extracts at highest concentration at least.     

Optical and electrical characterization of carbon nanoparticles produced in laminar premixed flames

Optical and electrical properties of carbonaceous particles produced in laboratory scale, premixed ethylene/air flames are obtained. Light absorption and Raman spectroscopy show that the change in particle nanostructure follows a graphitization trajectory as the flame richness increases. The optical band gap decreases and the size of the aromatic network in the particle increases, while the interlayer spacing between parallel layers decreases. The electrical conductivity of the materials increases by increasing flame richness in agreement to the graphitization trajectory. A non-ohmic behavior has been found and explained in terms of electron tunneling in a percolative network. Our results show that the electrical properties of flame formed carbon nanoparticles are strongly dependent on their nanostructure, and hence they have to be used carefully for the determination of particle concentration with conductometric sensors. Moreover, the dependence of the electrical properties of combustion formed particles might be useful for the development of cheap sensors for the selective detection of different classes of combustion aerosols.     

A comparative study of the physico‐chemical properties affecting the organoleptic quality of fresh and thermally treated yellow tomato ecotype fruit

In recent years, yellow commercial tomatoes have attracted great interest from consumers. The goal of this work was to characterise the parameters of three yellow genotypes that affect the fruit quality, in comparison with those of a red fruit genotype. Compared to the other genotypes, the GiaGiù ecotype was characterised as having the highest titratable acidity, organic acids content and pectin content before and after a thermal treatment simulating industrial pasteurisation. Most of the analysed parameters influence the taste and aroma of fresh fruit and processed products, particularly the high glutamic acid content measured in the GiaGiù ecotype. This genotype was also distinctive for its higher pectin content, which influences the texture. These features might allow the development of new food products that require a specific viscosity, such as sauces and ketchup. Interestingly, the beneficial properties of GiaGiù were preserved after thermal processing.     

Absence of allergenic residues in experimental and commercial wines fined with caseinates

The possible presence of allergenic residues in wines treated with one of the potassium caseinates used as fining agents has been investigated.     

Generativity and spiritual disclosure in close relationships.

This exploratory study examines the link between generativity and an interpersonal aspect of religion and spirituality, spiritual disclosure, in close relationships. Three hundred seventy-eight adults aged 18 to 85 years were asked about their use of spiritual disclosure with close friends, views on their own generativity, questions related to personality characteristics, and level of general self-disclosure. This community sample’s reports on higher levels of spiritual disclosure were tied to higher levels of generativity and general self-disclosure. Spiritual disclosure also predicted unique variance in generativity beyond general self-disclosure, personality, and intrapersonal aspects of religion and spirituality. These findings suggest spiritual disclosure in close relationships is an important part of the religious/spiritual landscape, which merits further study in relation to generativity and other prosocial indices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Towards controlled cationic polymer growth from inorganic oxide defects: Directing the mechanism of polystyrene grafting from γ-irradiated silica

Most studies on surface-initiated controlled polymerizations for the synthesis of polymeric covalent organic-inorganic hybrid materials focus on chemical methods requiring specific modifications of the inorganic substrate. Few mechanistically-aware approaches have been undertaken towards exploiting the reactivity of defects induced by physical techniques such as ionizing radiations or UV–Vis light. Within this framework, we take grafted polymerization of styrene from γ-irradiated silica as a mechanistic testing ground where para- and diamagnetic silica defects are present, and polymerization proceeds through both radical and cationic mechanisms, resulting in a bimodal molecular weight distribution. We show that these mechanistic intricacies can be sorted out by resorting to the chemical arsenal developed in the last decades for controlled polymerizations. Specifically, we obtained a silica-polystyrene grafted material by cationic grafting from at 30 °C, a unimodal molecular weight distribution, and a relatively high molecular weight (Mn = 7.4 kDa) with a PDI of 1.68.