Endothelium-dependent vasodilator and antioxidant properties of a novel enzymatic extract of grape pomace from wine industrial waste

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the vascular effects of an enzymatic extract of grape pomace (GP-EE) on isolated arteries, focusing our attention on endothelium-derived relaxation and on its antioxidant properties. Grape pomace derived from wine making was extracted by an enzymatic process and its composition of polyphenols was evaluated by HPLC and ESI-MS/MS, detecting kaempferol, catechin, quercetin and procyanidins B1 and B2, trace levels of resveratrol and tracing out gallocatechin and anthocyanidins. GP-EE induced endothelium- and NO-dependent vasodilatation of both rat aorta and small mesenteric artery (SMA) segments and reduced Phe-induced response in aortic rings. Both ORAC and DPPH assays confirmed antioxidant scavenging properties of GP-EE, which also prevented O(2)(·-) production (assessed by DHE fluorescence) and contraction elicited by ET-1. These results provide evidence that GP-EE possesses interesting antioxidant and protective vascular properties and highlight the potential interest of this extract as a functional food.     

Microwave heating effect on rheology and microstructure of white sauces

The microstructure and rheological properties of white sauces formulated with different starches were analyzed after being microwave-heated for different times. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in rheological parameters analyzed-storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G″), and loss tangent (tanδ)-were obtained for sauces made with different starches. Microwave reheating did not affect G' and G″ values until water evaporation became significant. In addition, tanδ values did not change significantly (P < 0.05) even during long reheating times showing that sauce viscoelastic properties did not change after microwave irradiation. However, microstructure assessed by confocal laser scanning microscopy showed changes in fat globule and protein. These microstructural changes did not seem to have a significant effect on rheological measurements since starch and ι-carrageenan are mainly responsible for the viscoelastic behavior of the sauces. Practical Application: The development of products appropriate to microwave heating is constantly rising in food industry. It is necessary to understand the behavior of the ingredients and the final product to microwave heating in order to choose those ingredients which will develop the best performance. Starches are common ingredients in industrial sauces, and rheological and microstructural techniques have shown their usefulness in characterization of starch-based systems.     

Influence of Homogenization Conditions on Physical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Fully Biodegradable Pea Protein–Alpha-Tocopherol Films

In this study, antioxidant biodegradable films based on pea protein and alpha-tocopherol were successfully developed by solution casting. The effect of both the homogenization conditions (rotor–stator and microfluidizer) and the relative humidity (RH) on the microstructure and physical properties (transparency, tensile, oxygen and water vapour barrier properties) of pea protein/alpha-tocopherol-based films was evaluated. The addition of alpha-tocopherol produced minimal changes in the films’ transparency, while providing them with antioxidant properties and improved water vapour and oxygen barrier properties (up to 30 % in both water vapour and oxygen permeability) when films were at low and intermediate RH. The addition of alpha-tocopherol in microfluidized films gave rise to an increase in their resistance to break and extensibility (up to 27 % in E values) at intermediate and high RH. These results add a new insight into the potential of employing pea protein and alpha-tocopherol in the development of fully biodegradable antioxidant films which are of interest in food packaging.     

Relationship between cobalt,copper and zinc content of soils and vegetables

The relationship between cobalt, copper and zinc content of soils and the vegetables grown in them is discussed. Samples of soil and edible vegetables were taken from 15 different sites, corresponding to four agricultural areas exposed to different degrees of environmental pollution: high industrial and traffic, high industrial and urban, and low industrial and urban pollution. Elements were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Variance analysis (ANOVA) was applied to cobalt, copper and zinc content of vegetables and soils in order to detect significant differences among soils of different areas and the vegetables grown there. The possible relationship between the heavy metal content of soils (total and extractable) and of the vegetables grown in them was estimated by the correlation coefficient value. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the total and extractable cobalt content of soils and of roots and bulbs (p < 0.1) and between the total copper content of soils and of inflorescences (p < 0.05). In the case of zinc no correlation was found.     

Effect of aromatic precursor addition to wine fermentations carried out with different Saccharomyces species and their hybrids

This work explores the ability of different yeast strains from different species of the genus Saccharomyces (S. cerevisiae, S. uvarum and S. kudriavzevii) and hybrids between these species to release or form varietal aroma compounds from fractions of grape odourless precursors. The de novo synthesis by the yeasts of some of the varietal aroma compounds was also evaluated. The study has shown that de novo synthesis affects some lipid derivatives, shikimic derivatives and terpenes in all species and hybrids, with some remarkable differences amongst them. The release or formation of aroma compounds from precursors was found to be strongly linked to the yeast or hybrid used, and the triple hybrid S. cerevisiae × S. bayanus × S. kudriavzevii in particular and secondarily the hybrid S. cerevisiae × S. bayanus were highly efficient in the production of most varietal aroma compounds, including γ-lactones, benzenoids, volatile phenols, vanillin derivatives and terpenols. The presence of precursors in the fermenting media caused a surprising levelling effect on the fermentative aroma composition. Altogether, these results suggest that it is possible to modulate wine aroma by employing different yeast species in order to create new wines with different aromatic notes.     

Effect of calcium propionate on the microstructure and pectin methy‐ lesterase activity in the parenchyma of fresh‐cut Fuji apples

There is an increasing demand for fresh‐cut fruits. One of the main problems with these products is their short shelf life. The use of additives such as calcium propionate may increase their shelf life, because calcium preserves the structural integrity of the cells and propionate acts as food preservative. This work analyses the microstructure of Fuji apple parenchyma treated with calcium propionate immediately after treatment and after storage for 1 and 2 weeks at 4 °C by using light microscopy (LM) and low‐temperature scanning electron microscopy (cryo‐SEM). This work also studies the effects of treatment and storage time on the enzymatic activity of pectin methylesterase (PME) by measuring the amount of acid released per unit of time at pH 7 and at 63 °C. The results show that calcium propionate treatment has consolidating and structuring effects on the parenchyma and partially minimises the degrading effects of fresh‐cut apples. In addition, treatment with calcium propionate decreases the activity of the PME both in non‐stored apples and in those stored for 1 and 2 weeks probably due to the inhibiting effect of propionate. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Does Prescribed Burning Affect Leaf Secondary Metabolites in Pine Stands?

Prescribed burning (PB) is gaining popularity as a low-cost forest protection measure that efficiently reduces fuel build-up, but its effects on tree health and growth are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the impact of PB on plant defenses in Mediterranean pine forests (Pinus halepensis and P. nigra ssp. laricio). These chemical defenses were estimated based on needle secondary metabolites (terpenes and phenolics including flavonoids) and discussed in terms of chlorophyll fluorescence and soil nutrients. Three treatments were applied: absence of burning (control plots); single burns (plots burned once); and repeated burns (plots burned twice). For single burns, we also explored changes over time. In P. laricio, PB tended to trigger only minor modifications consisting exclusively of short-lived increases (observed within 3 months after PB) in flavonoid index, possibly due to the leaf temperature increase during PB. In P. halepensis, PB had detrimental effects on physiological performance, consisting of (i) significant decreases in actual PSII efficiency (ΦPSII) in light-adapted conditions after repeated PB, and (ii) short-lived decreases in variable-to-maximum fluorescence ratio (Fv/Fm) after single PB, indicating that PB actually stressed P. halepensis trees. Repeated PB also promoted terpene-like metabolite production, which increased 2 to 3-fold compared to control trees. Correlations between terpene metabolites and soil chemistry were found. These results suggest that PB impacts needle secondary metabolism both directly (via a temperature impact) and indirectly (via soil nutrients), and that these impacts vary according to species/site location, frequency and time elapsed since last fire. Our findings are discussed with regard to the use of PB as a forest management technique and its consequences on plant investment in chemical defenses.     

Physical properties and antioxidant capacity of starch–sodium caseinate films containing lipids

Biodegradable films based on starch, sodium caseinate, glycerol and lipids (oleic acid and/or α-tocopherol) were obtained and evaluated in terms of microstructure, mechanical behaviour, barrier and optical properties and antioxidant capacity. The effect of film storage time on these properties was also analysed. The lipid incorporation provoked phase separation due to the different interaction between each polymer and lipids, although structural rearrangement of components during storage could be deduced from the change in mechanical behaviour. After storage, all films showed similar mechanical properties, but lipid containing films were more stretchable. Lipid addition did not induce a notable decreased in water vapour permeability of the films, but oxygen permeability highly increased when they contained oleic acid. All films were highly transparent, with very small differences among formulations, although their gloss values increased when lipids were added. The incorporation of α-tocopherol greatly increased the antioxidant capacity of the films which affected oxygen permeability.     

An approach to conceptual and embodiment design within a new product development lifecycle framework

The design of new innovative products is the result of an accurate and precise management of knowledge sources all over its life cycle, such as technology, market, competitors and suppliers. The work contributes with a framework that shows how the knowledge sources influence in the state-of-the-art and market needs so that they become opportunities for innovating products addressing the whole product life cycle. It provides a systematic path from the early generation of ideas to the production of a new product proposal. Through a deep analysis of previous research works of new product innovation life cycle development frameworks and linking it with knowledge management, strategic planning and scorecards, we came out with a structured contribution. The result considers the concurrent activities and its relationships all the way through the product life cycle that can help in creativity and innovation, combined with a process management proposal. Managing the sources of knowledge in highly dynamic markets and technologies is one of the major difficulties involved in innovative products design and development. The emerging knowledge from external sources is confronted with organisation internal knowledge and experience in order to achieve the first product correct.     

A new Fortran 90 program to compute regular and irregular associated Legendre functions

We present a modern Fortran 90 code to compute the regular and irregular associated Legendre functions for all x∈(−1,+1) (on the cut) and |x|>1 and integer degree (l) and order (m). The code applies either forward or backward recursion in (l) and (m) in the stable direction, starting with analytically known values for forward recursion and considering both a Wronskian based and a modified Miller's method for backward recursion. While some Fortran 77 codes existed for computing the functions off the cut, no Fortran 90 code was available for accurately computing the functions for all real values of x different from x=±1 where the irregular functions are not defined.

Program summary

Program title: Associated Legendre FunctionsCatalogue identifier: AEHE_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEHE_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 6722No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 310 210Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Fortran 90Computer: Linux systemsOperating system: LinuxRAM: bytesClassification: 4.7Nature of problem: Compute the regular and irregular associated Legendre functions for integer values of the degree and order and for all real arguments. The computation of the interaction of two electrons, 1/|r₁−r₂|, in prolate spheroidal coordinates is used as one example where these functions are required for all values of the argument and we are able to easily compare the series expansion in associated Legendre functions and the exact value.Solution method: The code evaluates the regular and irregular associated Legendre functions using forward recursion when |x|<1 starting the recursion with the analytically known values of the first two members of the sequence. For values of the argument |x|<1, the upward recursion over the degree for the regular functions is numerically stable. For the irregular functions, backward recursion must be applied and a suitable method of starting the recursion is required. The program has two options; a modified version of Miller's algorithm and the use of the Wronskian relation between the regular and irregular functions, which was the method considered in [1]. Both approaches require the computation of a continued fraction to begin the recursion. The Wronskian method (which can also be described as a modified Miller's method) is a convenient method of computations when both the regular and irregular functions are needed.Running time: The example tests provided take a few seconds to run.References:

• [1] 

  A. Gil, J. Segura, A code to evaluate prolate and oblate spheroidal harmonics, Comput. Phys. Commun. 108 (1998) 267–278.