Pigment and colour stability of frozen kiwi-fruit slices during prolonged storage

Changes in major pigment constituents of frozen kiwi-fruit slices during prolonged storage at –18° C and correlation with colour measurements (Hunter Lab parameters) were studied. Kiwi-fruit cultivars (Hayward, Bruno, Monty and Abbot) were processed without previous treatment and vacuum packed after freezing. HPLC using a diode array detector was used to individually quantify and identify the three major pigment components (xanthophylls, chlorophylls and derivatives and-carotene). The colour of fresh and frozen slices by Hunter Color values were correlated with each class of pigment compounds. An apparent first order degradation rate was found for total chlorophylls and xanthophylls. Hayward and Bruno were more suitable for prolonged freezing preservation in terms of colour deterioration.

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Haltbarkeit von Pigment und Farbe gefrorener Kiwifrucht-Scheiben während langer Lagerung

Zusammenfassung Es wurden die Veränderungen der meisten Pigmentbestandteile gefrorener Kiwifrucht-Scheiben während langer Lagerzeit bei –18°C und die Korrelation mit Farbmessungen studiert. Kiwifrüchte der Sorten Hayward, Bruno, Monty und Abbot wurden ohne vorherige Behandlung unter Vakuum direkt nach dem Gefrierprozeß verpackt. Mit HPLC wurde quantitativ gemessen und die drei Pigmentbestandteile Xanthophyll, Chlorophyll und-Carotin identifiziert. Die Farbe der frischen, gefrorenen Scheiben (Hunter-Farb-Werte) korrelierte mit jedem der Pigmentbestandteile. Ein Verlust, scheinbar erster Ordnung, wurde für Chlorophyll und Xantophyll bei den Sorten Hayward und Bruno beobachtet, jedoch sind sie für das Gefrieren bei langer Lagerzeit trotz Farbverlust geeignet.

     

Neurotrophic control of ovarian development

Substantial evidence now exists indicating that the neurotrophins, a family of growth factors required for the survival, development, and differentiation of various neuronal populations of the nervous system, are also important for the development of nonneuronal tissues. Such a function was first suggested by studies showing the presence of high-affinity neurotrophin receptors in a variety of nonneuronal tissues including those of the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems. Within the latter, the gonads appear to be a preferential site of neurotrophin action as suggested by the presence in the mammalian ovary of at least four of the five known neurotrophins and all of the neurotrophin receptors thus far identified. While the various functions that the neurotrophins may have in the ovary are still being elucidated, it is now clear that in addition to recruiting the ovarian innervation, they play a direct role in the regulation of two different maturational periods that are critical for the acquisition of female reproductive function: early follicular development and ovulation. Neurotrophins facilitate the development of newly formed follicles by promoting the initial differentiation and the subsequent growth of primordial follicles. These actions appear to be related to the ability of neurotrophins to sustain the proliferation of both mesenchymal and granulosa cells, and to induce the synthesis of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) receptors. At the time of the first ovulation, neurotrophins contribute to the ovulatory cascade by increasing prostaglandin E(2) release, reducing gap junction communication, and inducing cell proliferation within the thecal compartment of preovulatory follicles.     

Daily recovery experiences: The role of volunteer work during leisure time.

This study focused on the role of volunteer work for daily recovery from work. In a 1-week diary study with 166 employees, we assessed the amount of time spent on volunteer work during leisure time, and the recovery facets of psychological detachment from work (i.e., mentally switching off from work), mastery experiences (i.e., pursuing challenging activities), and community experiences (i.e., cultivating relationships) every day before participants went to bed. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (n = 529 days) showed volunteer work during leisure time to be positively related to mastery experiences and community experiences suggesting volunteer work to contribute to successful recovery by creating new resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental renewal in human participants.

Two experiments with human participants are presented that differentiate renewal from other behavioral effects that can produce a response after extinction. Participants played a video game and learned to suppress their behavior when sensor stimuli predicted an attack. Contexts (A, B, & C) were provided by fictitious galaxies where the game play took place. In Experiment 1, participants who received conditioning in A, extinction in B, and testing in A showed some context specificity of conditioning during extinction and a recovery of suppression on test. Experiment 2 demonstrated recovery of extinguished responding when participants were conditioned in A, extinguished in B, and tested in C, a third, neutral context. The experiment also demonstrated that the context of extinction did not control performance by becoming inhibitory. Results are discussed in terms of mechanisms that can produce a response recovery after extinction. The experiments demonstrated a renewal effect: a response recovery that was not attributable to the contexts acting as simple conditioned stimuli and is the first work with human participants to conclusively do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of traumatic brain injury on working memory-related brain activation in adolescents.

Eight adolescents (ages 13-18 years) who sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) and eight gender- and age-matched typically developing (TD) adolescents underwent event-related functional MRI (fMRI) while performing a Sternberg letter recognition task. Encoding, maintenance, and retrieval were examined with memory loads of one or four items during imaging. Both groups performed above a 70% accuracy criterion and did not differ in performance. TD adolescents showed greater increase in frontal and parietal activation during high-load relative to low-load maintenance than the TBI group. The TBI patients showed greater increase in activation during high-load relative to low-load encoding and retrieval than the TD group. Results from this preliminary study suggest that the capability to differentially allocate neural resources according to memory load is disrupted by TBI for the maintenance subcomponent of working memory. The overrecruitment of frontal and extrafrontal regions during encoding and retrieval following TBI may represent a compensatory process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insights into the Pharmacokinetics and In Vitro Cell-Based Studies of the Imidazoline I2 Receptor Ligand B06

The impact of neurodegenerative diseases (ND) is becoming unbearable for humankind due to their vast prevalence and the lack of efficacious treatments. In this scenario, we focused on imidazoline I₂ receptors (I₂-IR) that are widely distributed in the brain and are altered in patients with brain disorders. We took the challenge of modulating I₂-IR by developing structurally new molecules, in particular, a family of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates, endowed with high affinity and selectivity to these receptors. Treatment of two murine models, one for age-related cognitive decline and the other for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with representative compound B06 ameliorated their cognitive impairment and improved their behavioural condition. Furthermore, B06 revealed beneficial in vitro ADME-Tox properties. The pharmacokinetics (PK) and metabolic profile are reported to de-risk B06 for progressing in the preclinical development. To further characterize the pharmacological properties of B06, we assessed its neuroprotective properties and beneficial effect in an in vitro model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). B06 rescued the human dopaminergic cell line SH-SY5Y from death after treatment with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and showed a crucial anti-inflammatory effect in a cellular model of neuroinflammation. This research reveals B06 as a putative candidate for advancing in the difficult path of drug discovery and supports the modulation of I₂-IR as a fresh approach for the therapy of ND.     

Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies of stress effects in PbTiO3 thin films

A systematic study of domain structure and residual stress evolution with film thickness and of phase transition in c/a epitaxial PbTiO(3)/LaAlO(3) films using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy is reported. Both techniques revealed that the films are under tensile residual stress in the film plane and that a-domains are more stressed than c-domains. The two components of the large A(1)(TO) Ramanmodes are associated with a- and c-domains and their intensity ratio correlates to the volume fraction of a-domains. The evolution of the Raman signature with temperature revealed that the spectrum of a-domains disappears around 480 degrees C, whereas c-domains present an anomaly in their spectrum at 500 degrees C but maintain a well-defined Raman signature up to 600 degrees C.     

Plant DNA Methylation: An Epigenetic Mark in Development,Environmental Interactions,and Evolution

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification of the genome involved in the regulation of gene expression and modulation of chromatin structure. Plant genomes are widely methylated, and the methylation generally occurs on the cytosine bases through the activity of specific enzymes called DNA methyltransferases. On the other hand, methylated DNA can also undergo demethylation through the action of demethylases. The methylation landscape is finely tuned and assumes a pivotal role in plant development and evolution. This review illustrates different molecular aspects of DNA methylation and some plant physiological processes influenced by this epigenetic modification in model species, crops, and ornamental plants such as orchids. In addition, this review aims to describe the relationship between the changes in plant DNA methylation levels and the response to biotic and abiotic stress. Finally, we discuss the possible evolutionary implications and biotechnological applications of DNA methylation.     

LncRNA H19 Impairs Chemo and Radiotherapy in Tumorigenesis

Various treatments based on drug administration and radiotherapy have been devoted to preventing, palliating, and defeating cancer, showing high efficiency against the progression of this disease. Recently, in this process, malignant cells have been found which are capable of triggering specific molecular mechanisms against current treatments, with negative consequences in the prognosis of the disease. It is therefore fundamental to understand the underlying mechanisms, including the genes—and their signaling pathway regulators—involved in the process, in order to fight tumor cells. Long non-coding RNAs, H19 in particular, have been revealed as powerful protective factors in various types of cancer. However, they have also evidenced their oncogenic role in multiple carcinomas, enhancing tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In this review, we analyze the role of lncRNA H19 impairing chemo and radiotherapy in tumorigenesis, including breast cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, glioma, and colorectal carcinoma.     

Establishing In-House Cutoffs of CSF Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers for the AT(N) Stratification of the Alzheimer Center Barcelona Cohort

Background: Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) increasingly incorporates CSF biomarkers. However, due to the intrinsic variability of the immunodetection techniques used to measure these biomarkers, establishing in-house cutoffs defining the positivity/negativity of CSF biomarkers is recommended. However, the cutoffs currently published are usually reported by using cross-sectional datasets, not providing evidence about its intrinsic prognostic value when applied to real-world memory clinic cases. Methods: We quantified CSF Aβ1-42, Aβ1-40, t-Tau, and p181Tau with standard INNOTEST^® ELISA and Lumipulse G^® chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) performed on the automated Lumipulse G600II. Determination of cutoffs included patients clinically diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 37) and subjective cognitive decline subjects (SCD, n = 45), cognitively stable for 3 years and with no evidence of brain amyloidosis in 18F-Florbetaben-labeled positron emission tomography (FBB-PET). To compare both methods, a subset of samples for Aβ1-42 (n = 519), t-Tau (n = 399), p181Tau (n = 77), and Aβ1-40 (n = 44) was analyzed. Kappa agreement of single biomarkers and Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 was evaluated in an independent group of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia patients (n = 68). Next, established cutoffs were applied to a large real-world cohort of MCI subjects with follow-up data available (n = 647). Results: Cutoff values of Aβ1-42 and t-Tau were higher for CLEIA than for ELISA and similar for p181Tau. Spearman coefficients ranged between 0.81 for Aβ1-40 and 0.96 for p181TAU. Passing–Bablok analysis showed a systematic and proportional difference for all biomarkers but only systematic for Aβ1-40. Bland–Altman analysis showed an average difference between methods in favor of CLEIA. Kappa agreement for single biomarkers was good but lower for the Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio. Using the calculated cutoffs, we were able to stratify MCI subjects into four AT(N) categories. Kaplan–Meier analyses of AT(N) categories demonstrated gradual and differential dementia conversion rates (p = 9.815⁻²⁷). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models corroborated these findings, demonstrating that the proposed AT(N) classifier has prognostic value. AT(N) categories are only modestly influenced by other known factors associated with disease progression. Conclusions: We established CLEIA and ELISA internal cutoffs to discriminate AD patients from amyloid-negative SCD individuals. The results obtained by both methods are not interchangeable but show good agreement. CLEIA is a good and faster alternative to manual ELISA for providing AT(N) classification of our patients. AT(N) categories have an impact on disease progression. AT(N) classifiers increase the certainty of the MCI prognosis, which can be instrumental in managing real-world MCI subjects.