Magnitude and Significance in Landscape Change

Landscape is organised in mosaics: sets of patches with a defined pattern of boundaries through which patches interact. Changes in patches cause changes in mosaics. Landscape change has two components: a quantitative one, referring to the areas in which changes happen, and a qualitative one, referring to the degree of similarity among the mosaics substituting each other. The quantitative component informs on the magnitude of the change: the total area in which landscape mosaics have changed; the qualitative one informs on the significance thereof: the ecological differences between the mosaics substituting each other. This paper presents an index for quantifying landscape change and for discriminating between magnitude and significance therein. It was tested by study of changes in the landscape mosaics in Madrid, Spain. Results show that the index developed is useful for this purpose. This enables objective comparison of different landscape changes presenting different combinations of magnitude and significance.     

Neuroprotective properties of Spanish red wine and its isolated polyphenols on astrocytes

The neuroprotective effect of Merlot red wine and its isolated polyphenols was evaluated in an oxidative stress model induced by Fenton reaction and hydrogen peroxide in the human astrocytoma U373 MG cell line. Compared with cells treated only with oxidative stress inductors, the pre-incubation with Merlot red wine for 24 h caused a significant increase in cell viability for all concentrations assayed. The most abundant polyphenols found in Merlot red wine were the flavonoids catechin (37.8 mg/l), epicatechin (52.3 mg/l), quercetin (5.89 mg/l) and procyanidins (15.2 mg/l), the hydroxybenzoic acid gallic acid (16.7 mg/l), and the phenolic alcohol tyrosol (31.4 mg/l). The potential protective role of these polyphenols when isolated was then assessed in treated Fenton reaction U373 MG cells. Polyphenols decreased reactive oxygen species generation and increased the activity and the protein expression of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase. Of the polyphenols, quercetin and procyanidins showed the highest neuroprotective effect.     

Evaluation of the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Mentha pulegium,Juniperus phoenicea,and Cyperus longus essential oils from Morocco

The present study evaluates the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils (EOs) of Mentha pulegium L., Juniperus phoenicea L. and Cyperus longus L. from Morocco. The composition of these species was analyzed by GC/MS and 84 components were identified. M. pulegium EO showed a great similarity with EOs coming from other regions, as pulegone, the major component, accounted for about 70% of the EO. The EO of J. phoenicea had as main components α-pinene (24.9%), β-phellandrene (24.4%) and α-terpinyl acetate (12.9%). The EO extracted from C. longus was remarkably rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (83.2%), which included β-himachalene (46.6%), α-humulene (16.9%), and γ-himachalene (10.1%). The antimicrobial activity of these EOs has been evaluated against seven bacteria of significant importance for food hygiene. According to the results, M. pulegium showed the best bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect, followed by J. phoenicea and C. longus. So far as we know, this is the first report on the quantitative composition and biological activity of the essential oil from C. longus. The tested EOs showed a variable degree of antimicrobial activity being M. pulegium the most effective one.     

Hf-based Metal-Organic Frameworks in Heterogeneous Catalysis

Among the large family of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Hf-based MOFs are foreseen as promising materials for practical applications due to their exceptional characteristics such as rich structure versatility and outstanding stability. This review discusses catalytic applications of Hf-MOFs since their development in 2012, and are summarized according to the location of the active site: at the hafnium node, at the linker or as a single-site chemical entity located at the hafnium node after post-synthetic functionalization. Special emphasis is made to synthetic preparation methods and catalytic performance.     

Influence of frozen storage on aptitude of sardine and dolphinfish for cold-smoking process

Stability of dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and sardines (Sardina pilchardus) of different fat content (lean and fatty sardines) during frozen storage and its suitability for cold-smoking throughout storage were evaluated in order to overcome seasonal and excess catches of these species. Dolphinfish showed a relative stability regarding protein functionality (protein solubility, apparent viscosity, water and lipid holding capacity), lipid oxidation and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) accumulation, which led to high acceptability ratings of the resulting smoked product throughout frozen storage (340 days). However, both lean and fatty sardines showed a marked loss of protein functionality, which coincided with the accumulation of oxidation products and TVBN. Freezing of raw muscle may become a valuable preservation method for the smoking industry to overcome the short caught period of dolphinfish in the Balearic Islands and to make use of excess catches of both, lean and fatty sardine. High quality smoked products may be obtained from the frozen muscle during approximately twelve, four and two months of frozen storage for Dolphinfish, lean and fatty sardine, respectively.     

Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for the Study of Impurity Profiles of Drug Substances

The impurity profile is one of the most important quality characteristics of a drug substance. Although it is always desirable to determine the chemical structure of all impurities forming the impurity profile, unfortunately this is not always economically and technically feasible because of the extremely low concentrations at which some impurities may be found in the drug substance. Therefore, alternative approaches to the chemical analysis are needed for trying to determine the origin of the unidentified impurities.

In a previous study conducted by our group, based on exploratory (principal component and hierarchical cluster) analysis, we were able to suggest a hypothesis for explaining the origin of the unidentified impurities of a drug substance. However, there was still a concern that alternative hypotheses might explain the same phenomenon equally well. This article explores the application of recent developments in structural equation modeling for the systematic generation and selection of hypotheses (models) worthy of being confirmed by chemical research.     

Detection and Discrimination of Conspecific Scents by the Anguid Slow-Worm Anguis fragilis

We tested the ability of male slow-worms, Anguis fragilis, a limbless anguid lizard with secretive, semifossorial habits, to detect chemical associated with conspecifics by using a T-maze in the laboratory. Male slow-worms discriminated conspecific male and female scent deposits. Males selected the arm with female scent, suggesting that scent deposits may be used to locate potential mates. Also, male slow-worms did not avoid the chemicals of other males, suggesting that they are not territorial. However, males discriminated their own scent from those of other males, and spent more time exploring the arm with other male scent, which suggests that scent marks may bear information that could be used in future intrasexual social contexts. We conclude that discrimination of conspecifics based on scents may be more widespread than previously expected among lizards inhabiting visually restricted environments.     

Dual holographic interferometry for measuring the three velocity components in a fluid plane

A technique that allows one to measure simultaneously the three velocity components in a fluid plane is presented. One obtains the quantitative information from only one holographic recording by combining two different reconstruction processes. As both processes use an interferometric comparison of two waves, we refer to this technique as dual holographic interferometry. The far-field fringe pattern that is obtained when reconstruction is made with an expanded laser beam allows one to determine the in-plane velocity components. The image-field fringe pattern that is obtained when a pointwise laser beam is used for reconstruction contains information about an out-of-plane velocity component. As the two reconstruction processes have different sensitivities, two different ways to combine them are proposed. The system has been demonstrated in a fluidlike solid object and in a convective flow.     

Accuracy of BRT and Delvotest microbial inhibition tests as affected by composition of ewe's milk

The presence of drug residues in ewe's milk samples can be determined by microbial assays. The main limitation of these tests is the large number of false-positive results associated with them. False-positive results can be explained by the interaction of certain substances naturally existing in ewe's milk with the growth of the microorganism used in the test. In this study, milk chemical composition (fat, protein, lactose, total solids), somatic cell counts (SCCs), free fatty acid concentrations, and lactoperoxidase system components were determined in order to investigate their influence on the rate of false-positive results for the BRT and Delvotest microbiological inhibitor tests. Milk samples were obtained after morning milking of Manchega ewes at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, and 135 days after parturition. The animals did not receive any kind of treatment or medicated feed throughout the experiment. The false-positive rates for BRT and Delvotest were 3.75 and 2.4%, respectively. When the logistic regression model was applied, the percentages of total solids for positive samples were significantly different from those for negative samples (16.90 versus 18.42% for BRT, 16.05 versus 18.45% for Delvotest), while the SCC logarithmic transformation was significantly higher for the positive samples than for the negative samples (5.38 versus 5.11 log units for BRT, 5.32 versus 5.11 log units for Delvotest). Moreover, Delvotest-positive samples exhibited thiocyanate concentrations higher than those of Delvotest-negative samples (8.18 mg/liter versus 6.85 mg/liter). Further analyses are needed to confirm the possible presence of antimicrobial residues in this particular type of milk sample.     

MR imaging of baker cysts—prevalence and relation to internal derangements of the knee

Rationale and objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of popliteal cysts in patients studied with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Cyst presence and volume will be related to other internal derangement of the knee.Materials and methods: Three hundred and eighty-two consecutive patients with a MR study of the knee were included. Images were obtained in the three spatial orthogonal planes and evaluated through consensus. Four categories were established for the Baker cyst and synovial fluid (absence, minimum, moderate and massive), and the presence of meniscal, cruciate ligaments and cartilage lesions were recorded. Statistical analysis was carried out with bivariate analysis (χ² of Pearson and Gamma tests).Results: From the 382 patients, 145 had Baker cysts (38.0%). Cyst content was minimum in 99, moderate in 34 and massive in 12. Joint effusion was observed in 269 patients (70.4%), being minimal in 140 patients, moderate in 119 and massive in ten. Meniscal lesions were observed in 195 patients (51%), while 58 patients (15%) had a cruciate ligament lesion. Baker cyst has a statistically significant direct relationship with the presence and quantity of synovial fluid (P=0.002) and with the presence and type of meniscal lesion (P=0.01) but not with cruciate ligaments or cartilage lesions.Conclusions: The prevalence of Baker cysts in MR studies of the knee is high. Its presence and volume are related to the quantity of synovial fluid, and to the presence and severity of meniscal lesions.