The economic unsustainability of the Spanish national hydrological plan

This paper analyses the economic aspects of the Ebro water transfer, which have been overlooked in the Spanish National Hydrological Plan. The questions exam ined are the cost of transferred water, and irrigated agriculture in the Levante and south-eastern regions, which are the main water transfer destinations. Results show that the water transfer is not economically sustainable, because the costs of the diverted water are higher than the current marginal value of water in agriculture, and crop profitability is insufficient to pay for the whole volume of transferred water. A compromise solution between increasing water supply and demand management measures will combine a reasonable water price increase with water desalination in coastal counties. This solution would reduce water demand with a moderate effect on farmers' revenue and net income. Spain could find alternative investment projects to the water transfer, able to improve social welfare.     

Optimal Threshold Selection for Tomogram Segmentation by Projection Distance Minimization

Grey value thresholding is a segmentation technique commonly applied to tomographic image reconstructions. Many procedures have been proposed to optimally select the grey value thresholds based on the tomogram data only (e.g., using the image histogram). In this paper, a projection distance minimization (PDM) method is presented that uses the tomographic projection data to determine optimal thresholds. These thresholds are computed by minimizing the distance between the forward projection of the segmented image and the measured projection data. An important contribution of the current paper is the efficient implementation of the forward projection method, which makes the use of the original projection data as a segmentation criterion feasible. Simulation experiments applied to various phantom images show that our proposed method obtains superior results compared to established histogram-based projection data methods.     

Short communication: Composition of coproduct streams from dairy processing: Acid whey and milk permeate

This article provides composition information for 3 abundantly available but little characterized dairy coproduct streams: acid whey from Greek yogurt (GAW), acid whey from cottage cheese (CAW), and milk permeate (MP). Three replicate samples obtained on different dates from several dairy processors were analyzed. The main component in all streams was lactose, with up to 3.5, 2.1, and 11.9% in GAW, CAW, and MP, respectively. Crude protein content ranged from 1.71 to 3.71 mg/g in GAW, 1.65 to 5.05 mg/g in CAW, and 3.2 to 4.35 mg/g in MP, and pH ranged from 4.21 to 4.48, 4.35 to 4.51, and 5.4 to 6.37, respectively. Chemical oxygen demand varied from 52,400 to 62,400 mg/L for GAW, 31,900 to 40,000 mg/L for CAW, and 127000 to 142,000 mg/L for MP; biochemical oxygen demand ranged from 45,800 to 50,500 mg/L (GAW), 32,700 to 40,000 mg/L (CAW), and 110,000 to 182,000 mg/L (MP). The GAW had the lowest pH (4.21–4.48) and highest mineral content of all streams. These data will assist processors and researchers in developing value-added uses of these dairy coproducts.     

Effect of dietary quebracho tannin extract on milk fatty acid composition in cows

The aim of this study was to examine the capacity of quebracho tannin extract (QTE) to modulate the fatty acid (FA) profile in the milk fat of cows. Fifty Holstein cows yielding 33.2 ± 8.2 kg/d of milk were divided into 2 groups. The cows were fed a basal diet with a forage-concentrate ratio of 66:34 on a dry matter (DM) basis. Diets tested were control (CON, basal diet without QTE) and basal diet plus 15 or 30 g of QTE/kg of DM (QTE₁₅ and QTE₃₀, respectively). Two treatments could be tested simultaneously and were arranged along 6 periods. The milk FA profile was characterized by increments in the proportion of linoleic (LA) and α-linolenic acid (α-LNA) (QTE₁₅ = 10 and 6.1%; QTE₃₀ = 28 and 25%, respectively) compared to CON, which might indicate reduced ruminal biohydrogenation (BH) of both dietary LA and α-LNA. Vaccenic acid (VA) in the milk fat was reduced (QTE₁₅ 8.9% and QTE₃₀ 12%) compared to CON, which may be linked to inhibited BH of LA and α-LNA. Rumenic acid (RA), a conjugated LA (cis-9,trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid) and an important human health promoter, was unfortunately decreased (QTE₁₅ 8.3% and QTE₃₀ 16%) in the milk compared with CON, probably because of inhibited ruminal BH of LA. However, reduced RA in the milk was probably due to reduced availability of VA produced in the rumen and the consequently low VA available to be desaturated to RA in the mammary gland by Δ⁹-desaturase. The proportions of total polyunsaturated FA were increased with QTE₁₅ and QTE₃₀ by 4.7 and 15% compared to CON, respectively, and the long-chain FA proportions were also increased (QTE₁₅ 2.0% and QTE₃₀ 8.2%). Moreover, myristic and palmitic acid were reduced by QTE₃₀ (9.6 and 3.3%, respectively) compared to CON, which also contributed to increasing the nutritional quality of milk because they are recognized to increase high-density lipoprotein in humans. Branched-chain FA in milk was reduced with QTE treatments, which indicates inhibited ruminal BH and microbial activity. In general, our findings suggest that dietary QTE have the potential to modulate FA profile of milk fat, and this effect is dosage dependent. Because QTE influenced the FA profile of milk fat both positively and negatively, further research is needed before concluding that QTE may improve the nutritional quality of cow milk fat in human diets.     

Heat transfer phenomena during thermal processing of liquid particulate mixtures—A review

During the past few decades, food industry has explored various novel thermal and non-thermal processing technologies to minimize the associated high-quality loss involved in conventional thermal processing. Among these are the novel agitation systems that permit forced convention in canned particulate fluids to improve heat transfer, reduce process time, and minimize heat damage to processed products. These include traditional rotary agitation systems involving end-over-end, axial, or biaxial rotation of cans and the more recent reciprocating (lateral) agitation. The invention of thermal processing systems with induced container agitation has made heat transfer studies more difficult due to problems in tracking the particle temperatures due to their dynamic motion during processing and complexities resulting from the effects of forced convection currents within the container. This has prompted active research on modeling and characterization of heat transfer phenomena in such systems. This review brings to perspective, the current status on thermal processing of particulate foods, within the constraints of lethality requirements from safety view point, and discusses available techniques of data collection, heat transfer coefficient evaluation, and the critical processing parameters that affect these heat transfer coefficients, especially under agitation processing conditions.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gle2/Rae1 is involved in septin organization,essential for cell cycle progression

Gle2/Rae1 is highly conserved from yeast to humans and has been described as an mRNA export factor. Additionally, it is implicated in the anaphase‐promoting complex‐mediated cell cycle regulation in higher eukaryotes. Here we identify an involvement for Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gle2 in septin organization, which is crucial for cell cycle progression and cell division. Gle2 genetically and physically interacts with components of the septin ring. Importantly, deletion of GLE2 leads to elongated buds, severe defects in septin‐assembly and their cellular mislocalization. Septin‐ring formation is triggered by the septin‐regulating GTPase Cdc42, which establishes and maintains cell polarity. Additionally, activity of the master cell cycle regulator Cdc28 (Cdk1) is needed, which is, besides other functions, also required for G₂/M‐transition, and in yeast particularly responsible for initiating the apical–isotropic switch. We show genetic and physical interactions of Gle2 with both Cdc42 and Cdc28. Most importantly, we find that gle2? severely mislocalizes Cdc42, leading to defects in septin‐complex formation and cell division. Thus, our findings suggest that Gle2 participates in the efficient organization of the septin assembly network, where it might act as a scaffold protein. © 2017 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Urinary N-methylpyridinium and trigonelline as candidate dietary biomarkers of coffee consumption

Scope : In order to validate the in vivo function of putatively healthy molecules in foods, human intervention studies are required. As the subject's compliance concerning intake or abstinence of a given food is considered mandatory to be monitored by biomarkers, the objective was to identify analytical markers for coffee consumption. Methods and results : Urine samples collected from coffee drinkers were compared with those of non‐coffee drinkers using hydrophilic liquid interaction chromatography (HILIC)/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry‐based metabolite profiling. Two urinary molecules, found to be contributing most to the dissimilarities between both groups, were identified as N‐methylpyridinium (NMP) and trigonelline and their suitability as coffee‐specific biomarkers was validated by means of a coffee intervention study. After the volunteers (five females and four males) consumed a single dose of coffee, morning urine was collected for 10 days while staying abstinent from any coffee. HILIC‐MS/MS‐stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) revealed elevated urinary concentrations of trigonelline and NMP for up to 48 (p=0.001) and 72 h (p=0.002), respectively, after coffee consumption when compared with non‐coffee drinkers. Conclusion : Analysis of urinary NMP allows to check for coffee consumption within a period of 3 days and is proposed as a dietary biomarker which might be used as an analytical probe to control compliance in human intervention studies on coffee.     

Changes of Subjective Symptoms and Tear Film Biomarkers following Femto-LASIK

Femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (Femto-LASIK) represents a common treatment modality in refractive surgery and shows excellent results in terms of safety, efficacy, predictability, and long-term stability. However, patients may be affected by dry eye symptoms. The aim of this study was to identify a potential association between subjective dry eye symptoms, objective dry eye markers, and possible changes in the tear film, which could be a target for future therapy development. Therefore, clinical (dry eye) examinations (OSDI, Schirmer test, lissamine green and fluorescein staining, BUT, visual acuity) were carried out before LASIK as well as 5 and 90 days post-OP. The dry eye marker MMP-9, cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8), and pain markers (NGF, CGRP) were quantified in tear samples with immunoassays. In addition, correlation analyses were performed. Clinical examinations revealed an upregulated OSDI score 5 days post-OP and an increased lissamine green staining score 90 days post-OP. Downregulated CGRP levels were noted 5 days post-OP, while other protein markers were not significantly altered after Femto-LASIK. Hence, Femto-LASIK surgery induced subjective symptoms like that of dry eye which could objectively rather be classified as Femto-LASIK-related discomfort. In the future, this could possibly be better detected and treated using pain markers such as CGRP.     

Calcite Nanotuned Chitinous Skeletons of Giant Ianthella basta Marine Demosponge

Marine sponges were among the first multicellular organisms on our planet and have survived to this day thanks to their unique mechanisms of chemical defense and the specific design of their skeletons, which have been optimized over millions of years of evolution to effectively inhabit the aquatic environment. In this work, we carried out studies to elucidate the nature and nanostructural organization of three-dimensional skeletal microfibers of the giant marine demosponge Ianthella basta, the body of which is a micro-reticular, durable structure that determines the ideal filtration function of this organism. For the first time, using the battery of analytical tools including three-dimensional micro—X-ray Fluorescence (3D-µXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red (FTIR), Raman and Near Edge X-ray Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, we have shown that biomineral calcite is responsible for nano-tuning the skeletal fibers of this sponge species. This is the first report on the presence of a calcitic mineral phase in representatives of verongiid sponges which belong to the class Demospongiae. Our experimental data suggest a possible role for structural amino polysaccharide chitin as a template for calcification. Our study suggests further experiments to elucidate both the origin of calcium carbonate inside the skeleton of this sponge and the mechanisms of biomineralization in the surface layers of chitin microfibers saturated with bromotyrosines, which have effective antimicrobial properties and are responsible for the chemical defense of this organism. The discovery of the calcified phase in the chitinous template of I. basta skeleton is expected to broaden the knowledge in biomineralization science where the calcium carbonate is regarded as a valuable material for applications in biomedicine, environmental science, and even in civil engineering.