Oxidative stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids: effect of squalene

The propensity of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to undergo oxidation plays an important role in the integrity of biological membrane and lipid containing foods. The ability of squalene (SQ), a naturally occurring dehydrotriterpene present in animal and plant tissues, to protect linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids against temperature‐dependent autoxidation and UVA (ultraviolet A, 320‐380 nm) mediated oxidation was assessed. The oxidation of PUFAs was protected in varying degrees, with highest protection observed for linolenic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids. Linoleic acid was less protected. At a molar ratio of 7:1 (PUFA:SQ) the inhibition of the oxidation process was 22% in the presence of linoleic acid and about 50% in presence of the other PUFAs tested. The different protection exerted by SQ against PUFAs with different degrees of unsaturation may be accounted for by the higher stability of octadecadienoic acid hydroperoxide isomers compared with respective PUFA hydroperoxides. Observing mild UVA‐mediated oxidation and the temperature‐dependent autoxidation reactions we found similarities in the oxidation pattern and the protection exerted by SQ. These findings suggest that the reaction of autoxidation is predominant and SQ acts mainly as peroxyl radical scavenger.     

Analysis of sensory and physicochemical data on commercial tomato purée with pattern recognition techniques

The correlations between analytical parameters and some typical sensory attributes of commercial tomato purée (8–14 °Brix) were studied. In order to ensure the widest possible variance multivariate analyses was used. A model was obtained that could describe the different contribution of the analytical variables to the sensory attributes examined. Cluster analysis revealed the existence of two distinct sub-groups; traditional by tomato purée and organically produced tomato purée.     

Structured matrix algorithms for inverse scattering on the line

Abstract In this article the Marchenko integral equations leading to the solution of the inverse scattering problem for the 1-D Schr?dinger equation on the line are solved numerically. The linear system obtained by discretization has a structured matrix which allows one to apply FFT based techniques to solve the inverse scattering problem with minimal computational complexity. The numerical results agree with exact solutions when available. A proof of the convergence of the discretization scheme is given. Keywords Structured matrix systems, 1-D inverse scattering, Marchenko integral equation     

Protein analysis by capillary zone electrophoresis utilizing a trifunctional diamine for silica coating

A novel method is here reported for the analysis of mixture of proteins with pI ranging from pH 3-9.5 in an ample pH interval (pH 2.5-9.0) without adsorption onto the naked silica wall. It consists of treating the capillary surface at alkaline pH, typically 9.0, with small amounts (2-4 mM) of a quaternarized piperazine derivative: (N-methyl-N-omega-iodobutyl)-N'-methylpiperazine (Q-PzI). It appears that this compound is able to dock onto the wall via trifunctional links: a salt bridge via the quaternary nitrogen, a hydrogen bond via the tertiary nitrogen, and finally, a covalent link via the terminal iodine in the butyl chain and a neighboring ionized silanol. This last reaction seems to be completed in a few minutes of incubation of the capillary at room temperature. Because the compound is permanently affixed to the wall, its presence is not needed during protein/peptide separations. By properly dosing the level of Q-PzI in the preconditioning step, it is possible to strongly reduce the electroendoosmotic flow (EOF), zero it, or reverse it. Unlike dynamic coatings with oligoamines, which are most effective only at acidic pH values and are required as additives during separations, Q-PzI is effective in an ample pH interval (pH 2.5-9.0) and is not needed during the CZE analysis. A broad pI (pH 3-10) protein mix can be separated according to protein mobility in free phase, suggesting a strong modulating capacity of the functionalized wall. The same separation is not obtained in capillaries permanently coated with neutral, hydrophilic polymers (such as polyacrylamide), even if the quality of a single protein/peptide profile in Q-PzI-conditioned capillaries is equivalent to those obtained in capillaries permanently coated. Although there is strong indirect evidence of the ability of Q-PzI to alkylate the silica wall, to which it is then irreversibly bound, such an alkylation event does not occur with proteins on potentially reacting sites, such as the free -SH of Cys or the -OH group of Tyr, as demonstrated by incubating them overnight in a large molar excess at strongly alkaline pH values and analyzing such proteins by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.     

Effect of particle size on pigments colour

The historical pigments, contrary to modern ones, are not constituted by particles having all the same size and this influences the colour of the paint layers. The hiding power and colouring power of a pigment depends, in fact, on its particle size. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of particle size on optical characterization of paintings in terms of reflection of light and related colour specification. Starting from the qualitative observation, we have attempted to quantify the pigments colour variations induced by grinding and then attributable to granularity. Powdered pigments of principal colours have been selected in specific particle size range by mechanical sieving. The measurements were performed both on pigment pellets and on paintings realized with binder casein. All samples were characterized by an optical and colorimetric point of view through spectrophotometric analysis and for the surface morphological observation through scanning electron microscopy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 236–243, 2017     

Nutritional metabonomics: an approach to promote personalized health and wellness

Nutritional research has emerged in the last century from the study of nutrients as a means of nourishment to the general population to the quest for wellness improvement through specific food components. Advances in nutrigenomics technologies have allowed nutrition scientists to be for the first time at the forefront of nutritional research. Such advances have given them the ability to discern new vital scientific discoveries specifically for the development of new tailored dietary patterns. In this, nutritional metabonomics has rapidly evolved into a very powerful bioanalytical tool able to assess multi-parametric metabolic responses of living organisms to specific dietary interventions. Nutritional metabonomics therefore provides a systematic approach through the comprehensive analysis of metabolites aiming today at the quest for homeostatic balance which is dependent not only on the host but also on the crucial metabolic interactions with microbial symbionts.     

"Environmental and personal determinants of support perceptions: Three generalizability studies.": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by B. Lakey et al (Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1996 [Jun], Vol 70(6), 1270–1280. On page 1274, the degrees of freedom for several of the terms were incorrectly reported. In addition, the first author's name in the reference citation for Gurung et al. (1994) on p. 1279 contained a typographical error. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1996-01769-014). The extent to which perceived social support reflects characteristics of the environment, the personality of the perceiver, and their interaction is unknown. This article shows how the methods of generalizability theory can be used to address these questions. When participants rate the same targets on the targets' supportiveness, generalizability theory provides methods for determining the extent to which support judgments are determined by effects due to targets (supporters), perceivers, and their interaction. In 3 studies, each source of variance made significant contributions to support judgments, with the Perceivers–Supporters interaction, characteristics of supporters, and biases of perceivers making the largest contributions, respectively. The implications for theoretical models of perceived support are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)