Microbiological and biochemical changes in minimally processed fresh-cut Conference pears

Fresh-cut Conference pears were packaged under different modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions and stored in refrigeration. The effects of packaging atmospheres on the microbial viability as well as on the changes in acidity, sugars and ascorbic acid (AA) were studied throughout storage. The use of plastic bags of a permeability of 15 cm ³ O ₂ m ^-2bar ^-1 24 h ^-1 and initial atmospheres of 0 kPa O ₂ extended the microbiological shelf life of pear cubes for at least 3 weeks of storage. Under these conditions, AA levels were kept almost unvaried throughout storage due to the restrictions in the O ₂ availability inside the bags' headspaces. However, these conditions also triggered physiological and biochemical changes that caused greater changes in the product acidity. The sugar profile was also affected by storage, but MAP did not show any significant influence on the reported changes.     

The Social Sustainable Aquifer Yield: An Indicator for the Analysis and Assessment of the Integrated Aquifers Management

Integrated Aquifers Management (IAM) demands innovative tools and methods that are able to consider as much perspectives as possible. This research is aimed to design, apply and provide an indicator named Social Sustainable Aquifer Yield (SSAY), expressed in units of time that includes pure hydrological variables as well as social ones. The indicator is defined as the relation between the Residence Time, which is the relation between aquifer Storage (S) and Recharge (R) (S/R), and the relation between the aquifer Pumping (P) and the new variable named Aquifer Social Yield (ASY). The whole indicator is defined by this formula: (S/R)/(P/ASY). The assessment of the residence time is essential in aquifers with at least one of the following features: i) high hydraulic diffusivity, and ii) small volume of reserves. Finally, the variable ASY is defined as the average perception from the stakeholders about the maximum acceptable aquifer exploitation. This indicator has been successfully applied in the aquifers located in southern Jaen province (South Spain) belonging to the Water System SE4-Jaén Water Supply. The results probe the high utility of the indicator, especially in regards to the public participation processes.     

High altitude retinal hemorrhages in the expeditions to 8,000 meter peaks. A study of 10 cases

BACKGROUND: Retinal haemorrhages are common at high altitude. Their pathogenesis is unknown. It has been suggested that they are less frequent in sherpas, and that possible predisposing factors might be the abscence of previous high-altitude experience, the extent of the high-altitude hypoxic exposure, polycythemia (because of hyperviscosity), history of cough and Valsalva manoeuvres during the expedition, existence of severe forms of mountain sickness (high-altitude pulmonary oedema and high-altitude cerebral oedema) and use of antiinflammatory drugs. The aim of this study is to know the incidence of retinal haemorrhages in the expeditions to mountains higher than 8.000 m and their relationship to the previously referred possible predisposing factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Funduscopy was performed on 17 healthy subjects taking part in expeditions to Cho-Oyu (8.201 m) and to Shisha Pangma (8.046 m) and on six of their Nepali coworkers. RESULTS: Retinal haemorrhages were found in 10 of the European (59%) and in none of the Nepali mountaineers (p = 0.019). Other 2 Spanish climbers had tortuosity and engorgment of the retinal veins. No statistical association was found between retinal haemorrhages and maximal altitude attained prior to the expedition, maximal altitude reached during the present expedition, number of nights spent at extreme altitude, weight loss as an expression of chronic exposure to hypoxia, haemoglobin, history of cough or Valsalva manoeuvres during the expedition, existence of severe forms of mountain sickness or use of drugs. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not allow us to state that the mentioned factors predispose to high-altitude retinal haemorrhages.     

Immunohistochemistry of neuronal nitric oxide synthase and protein nitration in the striatum of the aged rat

To ascertain the possible implications of the nitric oxide (NO*) producing system in striatal senescence, and by using immunohistochemistry and image-processing approaches, we describe the presence of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), the NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemical marker, and nitrotyrosine-derived complexes (N-Tyr) in the striatum of adult and aged rats. The results showed neuronal NOS immunoreactive (nNOS-IR) aspiny medium-sized neurons and nervous fibres in both age groups, with no variation in the percentage of immunoreactive area but a significant decrease in the intensity and in the number of somata with age, which were not related to the observed increase with age of the striatal bundles of the white matter. In addition, NADPH-d activity was detected in neurons with morphology similar to that of the nNOS-IR cells; a decrease in the percentage of area per field and in the number of cells, but an increase in the intensity of staining for the NADPH-d histochemical marker, were detected with age. The number of neuronal NADPH-d somata was higher than for the nNOS-IR ones in both age groups. Moreover, N-Tyr-IR complexes were observed in cells (neurons and glia) and fibres, with a significant increase in the percentage of the area of immunoreaction, related to the increase of white matter, but a decrease in intensity for the aged group. On the other hand, we did not detect the inducible isoform (iNOS) either in adult or in aged rats. Taken together, these results support the contention that NADPH-d staining is not such an unambiguous marker for nNOS, and that increased protein nitration may participate in striatal aging.     

Detection and identification of tyrDC + enterococcal strains from pasteurized commercial cheeses

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify strains of Enterococcus from commercial cheeses and then analyze their abilities to produce biogenic amines. The genotypic variability, studied by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR, showed a high degree of homogeneity among enterococcal strains. Afterward, genotypic analysis indicated that all strains contain genes encoding a tyrosine decarboxylase. Our results indicate that a potential health risk exists if the enterococcal strains are able to survive the pasteurization of milk or appear as post-pasteurization contaminants. These results highlight the importance of the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) to minimize the risk of hazards associated with post-contamination during cheese elaboration     

Effect of processing conditions on oligosaccharide profile of wheat sourdoughs

Oligosaccharide profiles in yeasted and unyeasted wheat sourdoughs inoculated withLactobacillus plantarum have been investigated. A surface response design (central composite design structure) has been used to study the effect of flour extraction rate (0.54, 1.11 and 1.68% ash content), dough yield (160, 200, and 240) and fermentation temperature (25, 30 and 35°C). Unfermented and 20 h fermented doughs were evaluated. Multivariate data analysis was used to analyse the data. Unfermented doughs contained variable amounts of glucose, fructose and maltose, but oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization (DP) over 3 were not detected. The greatest levels of monosaccharides corresponded to yeasted sourdoughs from brown flours prepared at 30 and 35°C. Factor analysis of fermented sourdoughs showed three factors explaining 83% variability of the data. The first factor (43% variance explained) was directly related to oligosaccharides with a DP above 5, and inversely related to maltose content. Factor two (27%) was related to DP 3 and DP 4, and the third factor (16%) to glucose and fructose levels. The greatest quantities of maltose corresponded to white unyeasted sourdoughs, and the highest amounts of monosaccharides corresponded to brown unyeasted samples. On the other hand, yeasted sourdoughs contained higher amounts of oligosaccharides with DP 3 to DP 5. Samples of white flour, low consistency, yeasted and fermented at ≧30°C showed the biggest content of DP 6 and DP 7.     

Retrograde Amnesia Induced by Drugs Acting on Different Molecular Systems.

The gamma aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) agonist, muscimol, the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5), and the inhibitor of the extracellularly regulated kinases (ERKs), UO 126, cause retrograde amnesia when administered to the hippocampus. In the present study, the authors found that they all cause retrograde amnesia for 1-trial inhibitory avoidance, not only when infused into the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus, but also when infused into the basolateral amygdala or the entorhinal, parietal, and posterior cingulate cortices. The posttraining time course of the effect of each drug was, however, quite different across brain structures. Thus, in all of them, NMDA receptors and the ERK pathway are indispensable for memory consolidation, and GABAA receptor activation inhibits memory consolidation: but in each case, their influence is interwoven differently. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deployment algorithms for a power‐constrained mobile sensor network

This paper presents distributed coverage algorithms for mobile sensor networks in which agents have limited power to move. Rather than making use of a constrained optimization technique, our approach accounts for power constraints by assigning non‐homogeneously time‐varying regions to each robot. This leads to novel partitions of the environment into limited‐range, generalized Voronoi regions. The motion control algorithms are then designed to ascend the gradient of several types of locational optimization functions. In particular, the objective functions reflect the global energy available to the group and different coverage criteria. As we discuss in the paper, this has an effect on limiting each agent's velocity to save energy and balance its expenditure across the network. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infants of diabetic mothers (IDM). II -- Fibronectin and perinatal morbidity

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine fibronectin levels in umbilical cord blood of infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and evaluate a possible correlation with perinatal pathology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study of 58 IDM (33 males and 25 females) and 58 control newborns (NB) (33 males and 25 females) was carried out. RESULTS: There were no differences in fibronectin levels between the two groups nor between the sexes. Perinatal morbidity was higher in the IDM group, but there was no correlation between fibronectin levels and the presence of perinatal pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Fibronectin levels are not useful in the perinatal evaluation of infants of diabetic mothers.     

Tools to maintain postharvest fruit and vegetable quality through the inhibition of ethylene action: a review

Ethylene is a plant hormone controlling a wide range of physiological processes in plants. During postharvest storage of fruit and vegetables ethylene can induce negative effects including senescence, over-ripening, accelerated quality loss, increased fruit pathogen susceptibility, and physiological disorders, among others. Apart from the endogenous ethylene production by plant tissues, external sources of ethylene (e.g. engine exhausts, pollutants, plant, and fungi metabolism) occur along the food chain, in packages, storage chambers, during transportation, and in domestic refrigerators. Thus, it is a great goal in postharvest to avoid ethylene action. This review focuses on tools which may be used to inhibit ethylene biosynthesis/action or to remove ethylene surrounding commodities in order to avoid its detrimental effects on fruit and vegetable quality. As inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis and action, good results have been found with polyamines and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) in terms of maintenance of fruit and vegetable quality and extension of postharvest shelf-life. As ethylene scavengers, the best results can be achieved by adsorbers combined with catalysts, either chemical or biological (biofilters).