The effect of environmental conditions on nutritional quality of cherry tomato fruits: evaluation of two experimental Mediterranean greenhouses

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine how different environmental factors (temperature, solar radiation, and vapour‐pressure deficit [VPD]) influenced nutritional quality and flavour of cherry tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Naomi) grown in two types of experimental Mediterranean greenhouses: parral (low technology) and multispan (high technology). RESULTS: Fruits were sampled three times during 3 years (2004, 2005 and 2006): at the beginning, middle and end of the fruit production period. Values for temperature, solar radiation, and VPD peaked in the third sampling in both greenhouses; values were higher in the parral‐type greenhouse, triggering abiotic stress. This stress reduced the accumulation of lycopene and essential elements, augmenting the phytonutrient content and the antioxidant capacity of tomatoes. During the third sampling, sugars were increased while organic acid content diminished, producing tomatoes with a sweeter‐milder flavour. The parral greenhouse produced tomatoes with higher phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid contents, together with a greater antioxidant capacity, without showing differences in flavour parameters. CONCLUSION: The higher phytonutrients content and antioxidant activity during the environmental stress, more pronounced in parral than multispan greenhouse, together with the sweeter‐milder flavour, conferred a notable nutritional benefit, which considerably improved the nutritional and organoleptic quality of these tomatoes. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Essential rosemary oil protects testicular cells against DNA-damaging effects of H2O2 and DMNQ

Rosemary oil (RO) is popular in the Mediterranean region as a culinary additive which has the ability to protect delicate organs such as liver, brain and heart. We examined the effect of RO consumption on resistance of rat testicular cells (TCs) against DNA-damaging effects of the oxidative agents H₂O₂ and DMNQ and on the activity of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). DNA lesions were detected by conventional and modified comet assay and the activities of GSH-Px and SOD were measured spectrophotometrically. Since TCs represent a mixture of haploid, diploid and tetraploid cells, we used flow cytometry for their differentiation and calculation of DNA-damaging effects of H₂O₂ and DMNQ in cells of different ploidy. The results showed that the oxidative DNA lesions were significantly reduced in TCs from rats administered RO; however, the activity of antioxidant enzymes did not differ in TCs from control and RO-supplemented rats.     

Genetics and Epigenetics of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a complex and heterogeneous disease, and there is no effective treatment. Spontaneous ICH represents the final manifestation of different types of cerebral small vessel disease, usually categorized as: lobar (mostly related to cerebral amyloid angiopathy) and nonlobar (hypertension-related vasculopathy) ICH. Accurate phenotyping aims to reflect these biological differences in the underlying mechanisms and has been demonstrated to be crucial to the success of genetic studies in this field. This review summarizes how current knowledge on genetics and epigenetics of this devastating stroke subtype are contributing to improve the understanding of ICH pathophysiology and their potential role in developing therapeutic strategies.     

Pharmacogenetics Biomarkers and Their Specific Role in Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Treatments: An Exploratory Study on Rectal Cancer Patients

Background: Pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is still ascribed to a minority of patients. A pathway based-approach could highlight the predictive role of germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The primary aim of this study was to define new predictive biomarkers considering treatment specificities. Secondary aim was to determine new potential predictive biomarkers independent from radiotherapy (RT) dosage and cotreatment with oxaliplatin. Methods: Thirty germ-line SNPs in twenty-one genes were selected according to a pathway-based approach. Genetic analyses were performed on 280 LARC patients who underwent fluoropyrimidine-based CRT. The potential predictive role of these SNPs in determining pathological tumor response was tested in Group 1 (94 patients undergoing also oxaliplatin), Group 2 (73 patients treated with high RT dosage), Group 3 (113 patients treated with standard RT dosage), and in the pooled population (280 patients). Results: Nine new predictive biomarkers were identified in the three groups. The most promising one was rs3136228-MSH6 (p = 0.004) arising from Group 3. In the pooled population, rs1801133-MTHFR showed only a trend (p = 0.073). Conclusion: This exploratory study highlighted new potential predictive biomarkers of neoadjuvant CRT and underlined the importance to strictly define treatment peculiarities in pharmacogenetic analyses.     

Non-linear diffusion of image noise with minimal iterativity

Non-linear diffusion (ND) is an iterative difference equation used in several image processing applications such as denoising, segmentation, or compression. The number of iterations required to achieve optimal processing can be very high, making ND not suitable for real-time requirements. In this paper, we study how to reduce complexity of ND so as to achieve minimal number of iterations for real-time image denoising. To do this, we first study the relations between parameters of the iterative equation: the number of iterations, the time step, and the edge strength. We then proceed by estimating the minimally required number of iterations to achieve effective denoising. Then, we relate the edge strength to the number of iterations, to noise, and to the image structure. The resulted minimal iterativity ND is very fast, while still achieves similar or better noise reduction compared to related ND work. This paper also shows how the proposed spatial filter is suitable for structure-sensitive object segmentation and temporal noise reduction.     

Finite multidimensional behaviors

We study finitely generated and finite systems defined by linear partial difference equations with constant coefficients in a Noetherian ring. The two notions coincide for finite rings, and we show that all finite systems exhibit certain periodicity properties. For the particular case of systems over the ring of integers modulo m?>?1, which is important in coding theory, a method is given for determining the number of trajectories, using Gr?bner basis techniques.     

Stiff gelatin hydrogels can be photo-chemically synthesized from low viscous gelatin solutions using molecularly functionalized gelatin with a high degree of methacrylation

Gelatin is a very promising matrix material for in vitro cell culture and tissue engineering, e.g. due to its native RGD content. For the generation of medical soft tissue implants chemical modification of gelatin improves the mechanical properties of gelatin hydrogels and the viscous behavior of gelatin solutions for liquid handling. We present a systematic study on the influence of high degrees of methacrylation on the properties of gelatin solutions and photo-chemically crosslinked hydrogels. Changes from shear thinning to shear thickening behavior of gelatin solutions were observed depending on mass fraction and degree of methacrylation. Degrees of swelling of crosslinked hydrogels ranged from 194 to 770?% and storage moduli G′ from 368 to 5?kPa, comparable to various natural tissues including several types of cartilage. Crosslinked gels proofed to be cytocompatible according to extract testings based on DIN ISO 10933-5 and in contact with porcine chondrocytes.     

Influence of dietary vitamin C and selenium,alone and in combination,on the composition and oxidative stability of meat of broilers

Information on the combined effect of dietary vitamin C and Se on the composition and oxidative stability of meat of broilers is not available in the literature. In the present experiment, male broiler chickens were fed a maize–wheat–soya diet supplemented with vitamin C at 280 and 560 mg/kg of diet, and Se (sodium selenite or selenised yeast; Se) at 0.3 mg/kg for 5 weeks. After slaughter, samples of thigh meat were analysed. The supplementation of diets with vitamin C or Se increased the protein concentration of the meat at the expense of fat. Vitamin C supplementation increased the vitamin C content of the meat in a dose-dependent manner and decreased the vitamin A concentration in the meat of broilers fed diets with sodium selenite or without a Se supplement. In the meat of the broilers that were fed these diets, the vitamin C decreased the lipid oxidation in meat that was stored for 5 days. No sparing effect of vitamin C was apparent on the amount of vitamin E in the meat. Selenised yeast was more effective in the enrichment of meat with Se than was selenite. Both Se sources increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase and the oxidative stability of the meat.