Triterpenic acids in table olives

An experimental investigation was carried out for the first time on the triterpenic acids in table olives. Maslinic acid was found in a higher concentration than oleanolic acid in the flesh of 17, unprocessed olive varieties, with the Picual and the Manzanilla varieties showing the highest and almost the lowest contents, respectively. The level of triterpenic acids in several types of commercial black and green olives ranged from 460 to 1470 mg/kg fruit, which represents a much higher value than reported for virgin olive oils. In fact, the NaOH treatment employed to debitter black and green olives reduced the concentrations of these substances in the flesh because of their solubilisation into alkaline solutions. Thus, natural black olives, which are not treated with NaOH, showed a higher concentration than 2000 mg/kg in the olive flesh. These results will contribute to the reevaluation of table olives from a nutritional and functional point of view because of the promising bioactivity properties attributed to olive triterpenic acids.     

Double-muscling character influences the trans-18:1 and conjugated linoleic acid profiles in concentrate-fed yearling bulls

Seventy-five yearling bulls of the “Asturiana de los Valles” northern-Spanish beef breed (double-muscled, mh/mh, n = 24; heterozygous, mh/+, n = 26; normal, +/+, n = 25) were produced under intensive conditions and the effects of double-muscling genotype on trans-18:1 and CLA isomer profiles were examined. Total trans-18:1 contents, measured as percentages of total fatty acid methyl esters, were 10.98–15.07% in backfat and 8.64–9.46% in muscle, and the major isomer was 10t-18:1 in all animals. In mh/+ animals, 11t-18:1 was the second most abundant trans isomer in muscle whereas in mh/mh and +/+ animals 11t-18:1 and 13t/14t-18:1 were relatively similar. Total CLA percentages were 0.71–0.85% in backfat and 0.32–0.40% in muscle. The highest total CLA percentage found was in mh/+, intermediate in +/+ and lowest in mh/mh animals (P < 0.05). Heterozygous animals had significantly higher percentages of 9c,11t- (P < 0.01), 11t,13c- (P < 0.01) and 9c,11c-18:2 (P < 0.05) and also significantly higher percentages of the sum of 9c,11t-/11t,13c-/11t,13t-18:2. Overall, mh/+ animals produced meat with a slightly better trans and CLA profile (i.e., less 10t-18:1 and more 11t-18:1 and 9c,11t-18:2) than other genotypes, however, further improvements would still be necessary to achieve a profile with a positive health image.     

Seasonal chemical–physical changes of PGI Pachino cherry tomatoes detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to study the variations of internal structure and chemical–physical characteristics of cherry tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Shiren), one the most economically valuable horticultural crops, in different harvesting seasons. In particular, the study focused on PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) Pachino cherry tomatoes, characterised by taste and nutritional value, notably in the winter production, amounting about 500 ton/year.     

Protein isolates from two Mediterranean legumes: Lathyrus clymenum and Lathyrus annuus. Chemical composition,functional properties and protein characterisation

Protein isolates were analysed from two Mediterranean legumes, Lathyrus clymenum and L. annuus. Protein isolates were prepared by alkaline extraction, including sodium sulphite and acid precipitation of Lathyrus proteins at their isoelectric point (pH 4.5). The percentage of proteins recovered from L. annuus and L. clymenum flours during the preparation of the protein isolates was around 60%. Chemical composition, nutritional parameters, main functional properties and protein composition of Lathyrus protein isolates were studied. L. annuus and L. clymenum protein isolates contained 81.07% and 82.4% of proteins, respectively, and they have a balanced content of essential amino acids, except for sulphur amino acids, with respect to the FAO pattern. The in vitro protein digestibility increased in the protein isolates to 93% and 95% in L. annuus and L. clymenum, respectively. Functional properties were similar to those observed in other legumes protein isolates. These results confirm the interest of local crops as sources of high value protein products obtained after convenient protein extraction procedures and the removal of antinutritional components. These high added value protein isolates are of interest for the food industry and for the revalorisation of L. annuus and L. clymenum favouring the bioconservation of Lathyrus.     

Use of waste materials for Lactococcus lactis development

BACKGROUND: Lactococcus lactis is an interesting microorganism with several industrial applications, particularly in the food industry. As well as being a probiotic species, L. lactis produces several metabolites with interesting properties, such as lactic acid (LA) and biosurfactants. Nevertheless, L. lactis is an especially demanding species since it has strong nutritional requirements, implying the use of complex and expensive culture media. RESULTS: The results showed the potential of L. lactis CECT‐4434 as a LA and biosurfactant producer. The economical cost of L. lactis cultures can be reduced by replacing the MRS medium by the use of two waste materials: trimming vine shoots as C source, and 20 g L^?1 distilled wine lees (vinasses) as N, P and micronutrient sources. From the hemicellulosic fraction, 14.3 g L^?1 LA and 1.7 mg L^?1 surfactin equivalent were achieved after 74 h (surface tension reduction of 14.4 mN m^?1); meanwhile, a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process allowed the generation of 10.8 g L^?1 LA and 1.5 mg L^?1 surfactin equivalent after 72 h, reducing the surface tension by 12.1 units at the end of fermentation. CONCLUSIONS: Trimming vine shoots and vinasses can be used as alternative economical media for LA and cell‐bound biosurfactant production. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

A Review of Ionic Liquids for Green Molecular Lubrication in Nanotechnology

Common industrial lubricants include natural and synthetic hydrocarbons and perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs), where the latter is widely used in commercial applications requiring extreme operating conditions due to their high temperature stability and extremely low vapor pressure. However, PFPEs exhibit low electrical conductivity, making them undesirable in some nanotechnology applications. Ionic liquids (ILs) have been explored as lubricants for various device applications due to their excellent electrical conductivity as well as good thermal conductivity, where the latter allows frictional heating dissipation. Since they do not emit volatile organic compounds, they are regarded as “green” lubricants. In this article, we review the different types of ILs and their physical properties responsible for lubrication. We also discuss their suitability as lubricants, since the long-term performance of ILs as lubricants may be affected by issues such as corrosion, oxidation, tribochemical reactions, and toxicity. We present nanotribological, electrical, and spectroscopic studies of IL films along with conventional tribological investigations, recognizing that understanding the tribological performance at various length scales is a crucial step in selecting and designing effective lubricants.     

Turbo equalization with cancelation of nonlinear distortion for CP-assisted and zero-padded MC-CDM schemes

In this paper, we consider MC-CDM schemes (MultiCarrier Code Division Multiplexing) where clipping techniques are employed to reduce the envelope fluctuations of the transmitted signals. Both CP-assisted (Cyclic Prefix) and ZP (Zero- Padded) MC-CDM schemes are studied. We develop frequencydomain turbo equalizers combined with an iterative estimation and cancelation of nonlinear distortion effects, with relatively low complexity since they allow FFT-based (Fast Fourier Transform), frequency-domain implementations. Our performance results show that the proposed receivers allow significant performance improvements at low and moderate SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), even when strongly nonlinear transmitters are employed. The receiver for ZP MC-CDM is of special interest for systems where the duration of the channel impulse response is not a small fraction of the duration of the MC-CDM blocks, being suitable to MC-CDM systems with very large blocks (hundreds or even thousands of subcarriers), since they do not require the inversion nor the multiplication of large matrixes.     

Sage Tea Drinking Improves Lipid Profile and Antioxidant Defences in Humans

Salvia officinalis (common sage) is a plant with antidiabetic properties. A pilot trial (non-randomized crossover trial) with six healthy female volunteers (aged 40–50) was designed to evaluate the beneficial properties of sage tea consumption on blood glucose regulation, lipid profile and transaminase activity in humans. Effects of sage consumption on erythrocytes’ SOD and CAT activities and on Hsp70 expression in lymphocytes were also evaluated. Four weeks sage tea treatment had no effects on plasma glucose. An improvement in lipid profile was observed with lower plasma LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels as well as higher plasma HDL cholesterol levels during and two weeks after treatment. Sage tea also increased lymphocyte Hsp70 expression and erythrocyte SOD and CAT activities. No hepatotoxic effects or other adverse effects were observed.     

Dislocations at Prismatic Fracture Surfaces in Sapphire

Single-crystal sapphire exhibits a highly anisotropic fracture behavior. The surfaces of specimens fractured along prismatic planes are wavy, with fractographic features appearing as small areas of contrast under an optical microscope. Optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray topography, and confocal microscopy are used to demonstrate a correlation between the areas of contrast and dislocations penetrating the sample surface. The surface features are argued to be a consequence of the stress field surrounding the dislocations, which deflect the crack approximately 10 nm normal to the surface as the crack cuts the dislocations. The lateral extent of measurable surface deflection is of the order of 5 μm. These images can be compared directly to show the equivalence of the position of the dislocations observed by X-ray topography and the surface contrast observed optically.     

M-Doped Al2TiO5 (M=Cr, Mn, Co) Solid Solutions and their Use as Ceramic Pigments

New ceramic pigments based on the tialite (Al₂TiO₅) structure, doped with Co (pink), Cr (green), or Mn (brown), were prepared through the pyrolysis of aerosols followed by calcination of the obtained powders at 1400°C. The expected decomposition of Al₂TiO₅ into a mixture of Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ on refiring was inhibited by Cr-doping and also by co-doping with Mg the Mn- or Co-doped samples. Microstructure and phase evolution during pigment preparation were monitored by scanning electron microscopy and XRPD. Unit cell parameters of tialite were determined by Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction patterns, revealing in all cases the formation of solid solutions where the solubility of dopants in the Al₂TiO₅ lattice followed the trend Co3+ ions in a large interstitial site of the tialite lattice with a distorted octahedral geometry, and of Mn³⁺ and Co²⁺ ions in the Al³⁺ octahedral sites of the tialite lattice in the former case, and in both Al³⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ octahedral sites in the latter. Testing the ceramic glazes assessed the technological behavior of pigments, which found that the color stability was reasonably good for the Mn-doped tialite and the Cr-doped pigment, although the latter suffered a small loss of green hue. The Co-doped pigment was found to be not stable in glazes, undergoing a cobalt-leaching effect.