Evaluation of the flour and starch from white and purple varieties of mapuey (Dioscorea trifida)

Mapuey (Dioscorea trifida), is a tropical America tuber, which is appreciated for its taste and fine texture. It has not been fully cultivated in Venezuela, even though products like its flour and starch could replace conventional used products. In this work physical and chemical characteristic of flours from mapuey (varieties white and purple), were assessed, as well as some of their micronutrients. Physical, physicochemical and rheological properties, and chemical composition of isolated starches were also evaluated. Flours were obtained by a drying process and starches by aqueous extraction. Chemical analysis was performed following standard methodologies. The flour yield of purple mapuey was the highest, as was its protein content. The minerals content, showed significant differences between both varieties, presenting purple variety a higher content. Isolated starches showed high purity, this was corroborated by the scanning electron microscopy which showed irregular shaped granules (oval and elongated), with truncated end and smooth surfaces. Purple mapuey granules were smaller. Both varieties exhibited a B type diffraction pattern. The greater swelling power and water absorption capacity was presented by white mapuey, while the highest solubility was shown by the purple one. The white mapuey had maximum viscosity, as well as the highest value of breakdown, suggesting more fragile granules. Setback was lower in the white mapuey, suggesting lower tendency to retrogradation. The purple mapuey although, it showed a higher amylose content, presented lower consistency, even though the difference was not relevant.     

Occurrence of Plesiomonas shigelloides in displayed portions of saltwater fish determined by a PCR assay based on the hugA gene

PCR primers were designed and used to amplify a 435-bp fragment from the Plesiomonas shigelloides hugA gene. The PCR assay combined with a non-selective enrichment step proved to be a reliable procedure for P. shigelloides detection in fish meat. The incidence of this bacterium was investigated in 52 lots of pre-packed saltwater fish portions (conger, swordfish, sole, grouper, whiting and halibut) displayed at two hypermarkets by a conventional two-step procedure and the PCR assay. Using the former, P. shigelloides was isolated from three lots of grouper fillets and one lot of halibut fillets. When PCR was performed with non-selective enriched cultures of fish portions, amplification products were obtained from samples that were positive by the culturing method and from eight additional lots of grouper fillets that gave negative results with the conventional procedure. After a secondary enrichment in tetrathionate broth without iodine, all PCR-positive non-selective enrichments yielded P. shigelloides colonies. Overall, P. shigelloides was found in 23% of the examined lots of marine fish (11 of grouper and one of halibut).     

Targeting Mucin Protein Enables Rapid and Efficient Ovarian Cancer Cell Capture: Role of Nanoparticle Properties in Efficient Capture and Culture

The development of specific and sensitive immunomagnetic cell separation nanotechnologies is central to enhancing the diagnostic relevance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and improving cancer patient outcomes. The limited number of specific biomarkers used to enrich a phenotypically diverse set of CTCs from liquid biopsies has limited CTC yields and purity. The ultra-high molecular weight mucin, mucin16 (MUC16) is shown to physically shield key membrane proteins responsible for activating immune responses against ovarian cancer cells and may interfere with the binding of magnetic nanoparticles to popular immunomagnetic cell capture antigens. MUC16 is expressed in ≈90% of ovarian cancers and is almost universal in High Grade Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. This work demonstrates that cell bound MUC16 is an effective target for rapid immunomagnetic extraction of expressor cells with near quantitative yield, high purity and viability from serum. The results provide a mechanistic insight into the effects of nanoparticle physical properties and immunomagnetic labeling on the efficiency of immunomagnetic cell isolation. The growth of these cells has also been studied after separation, demonstrating that nanoparticle size impacts cell-particle behavior and growth rate. These results present the successful isolation of “masked” CTCs enabling new strategies for the detection of cancer recurrence and select and monitor chemotherapy.     

Hydrogeomorphological processes and plant invasion. What interactions in the case of Asian knotweeds along the Herault River (France)?

Considered one of the five major threats to biodiversity worldwide, Invasive Alien Species (IAS) particularly threaten riparian ecosystems. Among the IAS found on riverbanks, Asian knotweeds (Reynoutria spp. including R. japonica Houtt.; R. sachalinensis [F.Schmidt] Nakai and the hybrid R. x bohemica Chrtek & Chrtkova) can barely be controlled as, once established, they disperse easily along stream banks via rhizome or stem fragments transported by water. However, the hydrogeomorphological processes underlying the establishment of Asian knotweeds are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to describe and model the hydrogeomorphological preferences of Asian knotweeds along a Mediterranean river. Based on exhaustive presence/absence surveys, we implemented two models related to the presence of Asian knotweeds: (1) at the river reach scale and (2) at the finer scale of the alluvial bar. Areas of low curvature identified as convex banks and the central parts of alluvial bars appear to be more susceptible to knotweed establishment. Highly disturbed areas were less favorable to maintaining plant species, including Asian knotweeds, while less disturbed areas with denser plant cover were more favorable to Asian knotweeds. The results seem to indicate a trade-off hypothesis in the knotweed establishment strategy between hydrogeomorphological constraints and strong interspecific competition. Analyzed in the light of the current literature, our final models are designed to integrate hydrogeomorphological processes in order to provide an operational tool to help river managers locate the areas most susceptible to knotweed invasion and with important implications for managing these species in riparian ecosystems.