Technology of Weaning Food Formulations Prepared from Germinated Cereals and Legumes

The use of germinated cereals and legumes in reducing bulk of weaning foods was investigated. The blends were formulated and studied for their viscosity, acceptability, and quality. Germinated rice-mung-bean, germinated rice-cowpea, germinated corn-mungbean and germinated corn-cowpea (germination period was 72 hr for rice/corn and 48 hr for mungbean/cowpea) indicated viscosity reduction from about 20,000 cps to about 3,000 cps at the 70:30 ratio with concomitant good scores in general acceptability. About 400 mL gruel prepared from the formulations met l/3 RDA for protein and energy requirements of infants. The products were found stable for 6 months, mi-crobially safe, and well-tolerated by the infants.     

Variability of Amino Acids, Protein, Vicine and Convicine in Vicia faba (L) Cultivars

Samples of 10 varieties of broad bean were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, amino acids and alkaloid glucosides. The varieties “Korunde” and “Supersimonia” showed the highest protein content; the amino acid composition was similar in all varieties. Sulfur-amino acids were limiting in all tested varieties. The varieties “Gemini” and “Locale di Putignano” showed the highest content of total alkaloid glucosides. It was noticed that variety “Supersimonia”, able to produce 1870 kg/ha, shows also a high protein content and a low antinutritional factor content. The results of this work supply information to the breeder about varieties with low content of antinutritional factors.     

A large‐field polarisation‐resolved laser scanning microscope: applications to CARS imaging

Laser‐scanning imaging techniques are frequently used to probe the molecule spatial orientation in a sample of interest by exploiting selection rules depending on the polarisation of the excitation light. For the successful implementation of these techniques the precise control of the polarisation at the sample level is of fundamental importance. Polarisation distortions induced by the optical elements are often the main limitation factor for the maximum size of the field‐of‐view in polarisation‐resolved (PR) laser‐scanning microscopy, since for large scanning angles the polarisation distortions may mask the real sample structure. Here we shall demonstrate the implementation of large‐field‐of‐view PR microscopy and show PR CARS imaging of mouse spinal cord thanks to a careful design of the laser‐beam optical path. We shall show that this design leads to strongly suppressed distortions and quantify their effects on the final images. Although the focus of this work is on CARS imaging, we stress that the approaches described here can be successfully applied to a wide range of PR laser‐scanning techniques.     

DETECTION OF COW MILK IN BUFFALO "MOZZARELLA" BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) ASSAY

The authors used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay on buffalo mozzarella, a typical Italian dairy product, from the Apulia markets to evaluate the presence of cow milk and verification of the mozzarella label. The results obtained from 30 mozzarella samples demonstrated the presence of the cow genome in 22/30 samples, highlighting contamination as probable fraudulent adding of cow's milk or use of the same equipments in both working cycles.     

CAPILLARY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF LIPID COMPOSITION AND EVALUATION OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS BY MICELLAR ELECTROKINETIC CHROMATOGRAPHY IN ITALIAN WALNUT (JUGLANS REGIA L.): IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZATION INFLUENCE

ABSTRACT

Rapid analytical techniques were used to analyze the lipid fraction and to characterize phenolic compounds in Italian walnuts (Chandler cv.) grown in the same experimental orchard under different agronomical conditions. Lipid components such as fatty acids, sterols and tocopherols were determined by capillary gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. Linoleic and linolenic acids were the most representative ω‐6 and ω‐3 essential dietary fatty acids present. A total lipid chromatogram was used to simultaneously determine free sterols and tocopherols. Walnuts contained substantial amounts of γ‐ and δ‐tocopherol, which explains their antioxidant properties. Sitosterol, Δ⁵‐avenasterol and campesterol were the major free sterols found. Micellar electrokinetic chromatography was used to analyze simple and complex phenols (tannin profile), while the total phenol amount and the antioxidant activity of phenolic extracts were assessed by spectrophotometric assays with Folin‐Ciocalteu and ABTS^•+ reagents, respectively. The total phenol content was higher than most foodstuffs. Moreover, more than 96% of the phenolic fraction belonged to the tannin class. Statistical analysis of the data showed that higher levels of nitrogen fertilization led to a significant increase in linoleic acid. This effect can induce a faster oxidation of lipid fraction of walnuts. Nevertheless, major nitrogen fertilization and irrigation were able to enrich walnuts in phenolic compounds.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are a good source of essential fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds that contribute to reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, and also inhibit the oxidation of human plasma and low density lipoproteins. In this work, the applicability of fast analytical determinations was utilized to discriminate different walnut samples. Total lipid chromatogram was used for the simultaneous determination of the profile of sterols and tocopherols; micellar electrokinetic chromatography was used for the phenolic separation, which takes less than 10 min. The proposed methods are ideal for routine analysis of the lipidic and phenolic fractions in order to control the quality of walnuts.

     

The PAH and Nitro-PAH Concentration Profiles in Size-Segregated Urban Particulate Matter and Soil in Traffic-Related Sites in Catania,Italy

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) were identified from both air particulate matter and soils. For air sampling, a six-stage cascade impactor was situated in an urban area (Catania, Italy) that is recognized for its high traffic volume. The soil samples were collected every 1.5 km from under the grass by the side of the median of a Catania road along its full length (8.2 km). HPLC in electrochemical-fluorescence detection mode was used for selective separation, identification and quantification of analytes in air and soil samples, providing both good selectivity and sensitivity. The seasonal trends, effects of urban traffic, and source profiles are discussed herein. Higher PM₁₀ concentrations were observed for summer (43 μg m^?3) in comparison to winter (24 μg m^?3). Conversely, the PAHs contained in PM₁₀ were higher in winter (0.48 ng m^?3 for fluoranthene) than in summer (0.14 ng m^?3 for fluoranthene). Analysis of the size-segregated urban particulate matter showed that the amount of PM_0.5 (stage 6) was always higher than the amount of other particles (stages 1–5). Furthermore, the PM_0.5 was always higher in summer (about 40%, m/m) than in winter (about 30%, m/m). Finally, the amounts of PAH and nitro-PAH in PM_0.5 (stage 6) were always higher, by a maximum of one order of magnitude, than that of other particles (stages 1–5). This result is crucial because ultrafine particles have a tendency to move into the blood through the alveolar epithelial barrier. Moreover, the air and soil pollution levels agree with those found in other cities with similar levels of pollution. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds to view the supplemental file.     

AUTOMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF NEURAL SPIKE ACTIVITY: AN APPLICATION OF MINIMUM DISTANCE CLASSIFIERS

Electrophysiological recordings of extracellular neuronal activity often produce complex patterns caused both by the simultaneous firing of many neurons in the proximity of the recording electrode and by the superimposition of biological and instrumental noise onto the neuronal signals. This pattern complexity requires a fast evaluation of the classification results by the experimenter in order to decide how to proceed with the experiment. Euclidean and Mahalanobis minimum distance classifier methods, used in this context, follow a similar approach to the classification problem. A procedure is described by which both methods are applied, tested, and compared using simulated spike populations. The same procedure can be followed when analyzing real spike recordings.