Bioactive natural compounds of algae and invertebrates from the littoral of Cadiz

El estudio químico de varias esponjas y algas del litoral gaditano ha llevado al aislamiento y caracterización de varios nuevos productos naturales. Las estructuras se determinaron por métodos espectroscópicos y, en algunos casos, se establecieron las configuraciones absolutas usando el método de Mosher o correlaciones químicas. En particular, se presentarán y discutirán los nuevos compuestos aislados de las esponjas Reniera fulva (Topsent, 1893), Cacospongia scalaris (Schmidt, 1862) y Spongia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1759) y el alga Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux. Para anticipar una posible utilización farmacológica de estos nuevos productos naturales se ha realizado una evaluación de sus actividades citotóxicas frente a varios cultivos de células tumorales.The chemical study of an array of marine sponges and algae from the littoral of Cadiz (southwestern Spain) has led to the isolation and characterisation of several new natural products. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and, in certain instances, the absolute stereochemistries were determined using either the Mosher method or chemical interconversions. In particular, the new compounds isolated from the sponges Reniera fulva (Topsent, 1893), Cacospongia scalaris (Schmidt, 1862) and Spongia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1759) and from the alga Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux, are presented and discussed. In order to anticipate a future pharmacological application, a cytotoxicity evaluation of the new compounds against several tumour cell lines was conducted.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Effects of the use of raw or cooked chickpeas and the sausage cooking time on the quality of a lamb-meat, olive-oil emulsion-type sausage

Producción CientíficaReformulation of cooked sausages using high-protein plant-based food such as chickpea as meat extenders and vegetable oils to replace animal fat can be a suitable approach to promote the consumption of smaller portions of meat. The pre-processing of chickpea and the sausage cooking intensity can potentially affect the quality of reformulated sausages. In this study, an emulsion-type sausage made with lamb meat, chickpea and olive oil was prepared in triplicate following three different formulations containing the same targeted levels of protein (8.9%), lipids (21.5%), and starch (2.9%): control sausage (CON; control, without chickpea), and raw (RCP) and cooked chickpea (CCP) sausages (both with 7% chickpea). Sausages were cooked at 85 °C for two heating times (40 min or 80 min) and were analysed for weight loss, emulsion stability, colour, texture, lipid oxidation and volatile composition. Compared to CON sausages, the use of raw chickpea reduced the elasticity and significantly increased lipid oxidation during the sausage-making process resulting in changes in the volatile composition. The use of previously cooked chickpea, however, resulted in the sausages having greater cooking loss, hardness and chewiness than CON sausages, while there was no difference in lipid oxidation, and differences in volatile compounds were scarce. The reformulation with cooked chickpea could provide a sausage with more similarity to the CON sausage. The extended heating time of 80 min at 85 °C did not significantly affect the quality traits in either CON or reformulated sausages except for a higher cooking loss.Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Project (A2008001m

Determinación de la concentración mínima inhibitoria del ají Panca (Capsicum chinense) en Escherichia coli y Staphylococcus aureus.

Objetivo: Determinar la concentración mínima inhibitoria del ají Panca sobre las cepas Escherichia coli y Staphylococcus aureus. Métodos: Se aplicó el método de susceptibilidad microbiana por microdilución a distintas concentraciones de extracto etanólico de ají panca (0; 0,5; 1,0; 1,5; 2,0; 2,5; ® TM ® TM 3,0; 3,5 y 4,0 mg/mL) en dos cepas indicadoras E. coli ATCC 25922 y S. aureus ATCC 25923 . Resultados: La concentración mínima inhibitoria hallada para E. coli fue de 4,8 mg de extracto etanólico de ají Panca/mL de solución y para S. aureus fue de 5,6 mg/mL de solución. Conclusión: El extracto etanólico de ají Panca inhibe el crecimiento microbiano de E. coli y S. aureus.Palabras clave: Capsicum chinense, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, efecto antimicrobiano

Degradation of buried ice and permafrost in the Veleta cirque (Sierra Nevada, Spain) from 2006 to 2013 as a response to recent climate trends

The Veleta cirque is located at the foot of the Veleta peak, one of the highest summits of the Sierra Nevada National Park (southern Spain). This cirque was the source of a glacier valley during the Quaternary cold periods. During the Little Ice Age it sheltered a small glacier, the most southerly in Europe, about which we have possessed written records since the 17th century. This glacier still had ice residues until the mid-20th century. This ice is no longer visible, but a residue persists along with discontinuous permafrost trapped under strata of rock blocks that make up an incipient rock glacier. From 2006 to 2013, this rock glacier was monitored by measurement of the temperature of the active layer, the degree of snow cover on the ground, movements of the body of the rock glacier and geophysical prospection inside it. The results show that the relict ice and trapped permafrost have been steadily declining. The processes that explain this degradation occur in chain, starting from the external radiation that affects the ground in summer, which is when the temperatures are higher. In effect, when this radiation steadily melts the snow on the ground, the thermal expansive wave advances into the heart of the active layer, reaching the ceiling of the frozen mass, which it then degrades and melts. In this entire linked process, the circulation of meltwaters fulfils a highly significant function, as they act as heat transmitters. The complementary nature of these processes explains the subsidence and continuous changes in the entire clastic pack and the melting of the frozen ceiling on which it rests. This happens in summer in just a few weeks. All these events, in particular the geomorphological ones, take place on the Sierra Nevada peaks within certain climate conditions that are at present unfavourable to the maintenance of snow on the ground in summer. These conditions could be related to recent variations in the climate, starting in the mid-19th century and most markedly since the second half of the 20th century. The work and results highlight the climate sensitivity of the peaks of the Sierra Nevada to the effect of climate change and its impact on the dynamics of ecosystems, which is a benchmark for evaluating the current evolution of landscapes of Mediterranean high mountains.We are grateful to the research projects 018/2007 of the Autonomous Organisation of National Parks and CSO2012-30681 from the Ministry of Economy and Competition

Wind-aided flame spread under oblique forced flow

he wind-aided flame spread process along a solid fuel rod under oblique forced flow is analyzed in absence of gravity or when the forced flow dominates the gravity-induced flow. The transverse velocity is large enough to ensure that mixing of the fuel vapors and air occurs in a thin boundary layer surrounding the fuel rod and we can use the boundary layer approximation to describe the gas-phase chemical reaction and downwind flame spread process. A global, second-order, Arrhenius expression is employed to describe the gas-phase reaction, while the solid surface gasification reaction is modeled in terms of a constant pyrolysis temperature. The solid is heated by the hot gases convected from the flame by the axial component of the velocity in the direction of the flame spread. The solid will be considered thermally thick, assuming the thickness of the heated layer in the solid to be small compared with the rod radius. The analysis determines the flame spread velocity and the flow structure in the flame front region. The analysis also shows that flame spread is not possible at large flow velocities due to finite rate effects, while at low velocities the gas-phase reaction is diffusion-controlled. By including radiation losses from the surface a flame spread limit, at low velocities, is also found in the present analysis. The wind-aided flame spread process along a solid fuel rod under oblique forced flow is analyzed in absence of gravity or when the forced flow dominates the gravity-induced flow. The transverse velocity is large enough to ensure that mixing of the fuel vapors and air occurs in a thin boundary layer surrounding the fuel rod and we can use the boundary layer approximation to describe the gas-phase chemical reaction and downwind flame spread process. A global, second-order, Arrhenius expression is employed to describe the gas-phase reaction, while the solid surface gasification reaction is modeled in terms of a constant pyrolysis temperature. The solid is heated by the hot gases convected from the flame by the axial component of the velocity in the direction of the flame spread. The solid will be considered thermally thick, assuming the thickness of the heated layer in the solid to be small compared with the rod radius. The analysis determines the flame spread velocity and the flow structure in the flame front region. The analysis also shows that flame spread is not possible at large flow velocities due to finite rate effects, while at low velocities the gas-phase reaction is diffusion-controlled. By including radiation losses from the surface a flame spread limit, at low velocities, is also found in the present analysis

Estimation of composition of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grains by Near-Infrared Transmission spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to develop robust chemometric models for the routine determination of dietary constituents of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) using Near-Infrared Transmission (NIT) spectroscopy. Spectra of quinoa grains of 77 cultivars were acquired while dietary constituents were determined by reference methods. Spectra were subjected to multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) or extended multiplicative signal correction (EMSC), and were (or not) treated by Savitzky-Golay (SG) filters. Latent variables were extracted by partial least squares regression (PLSR) or canonical powered partial least squares (CPPLS) algorithms, and the accuracy and predictability of all modelling strategies were compared. Smoothing the spectra improved the accuracy of the models for fat (root mean square error of cross-validation, RMSECV: 0.3190.327%), ashes (RMSECV: 0.2240.230%), and particularly for protein (RMSECV: 0.5180.564%) and carbohydrates (RMSECV: 0.5420.559%), while enhancing the prediction performance, particularly, for fat (root mean square error of prediction, RMSEP: 0.2480.335%) and ashes (RMSEP: 0.1370.191%). Although the highest predictability was achieved for ashes (SG-filtered EMSC/PLSR: bootstrapped 90% confidence interval for RMSEP: [0.3760.512]) and carbohydrates (SG-filtered MSC/CPPLS: 90% CI RMSEP: [0.6510.901]), precision was acceptable for protein (SG-filtered MSC/CPPLS: 90% CI RMSEP: [0.6500.852]), fat (SG-filtered EMSC/CPPLS: 90% CI RMSEP: [0.4780.654]) and moisture (non-filtered EMSC/PLSR: 90% CI RMSEP: [0.6580.833]).Mr. Encina-Zelada acknowledges the financial aid provided by the Peruvian National Programme of Scholarships and Student Loans (PRONABEC) in the mode of PhD grants (Presidente de La República Grant Number 183308). Dr. Gonzales-Barron wishes to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the award of a five-year Investigator Fellowship (IF) in the mode of Development Grants (IF/00570)

Estimation of Proximate Composition of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa, Willd.) Flour by Near-Infrared Transmission Spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to develop chemometric models for protein, fat, ashes and carbohydrates contents of quinoa flour using Near-Infrared Transmission (NIT) spectroscopy. Spectra of quinoa flour obtained from grains of 70 different cultivars were scanned while dietary constituents were determined by reference AOAC methods. As a pre-treatment, spectra were subjected to extended multiplicative signal correction (EMSC) with polynomial degree 0, 1 or 2. Next, the Canonical Powered Partial Least Squares (CPPLS) algorithm was applied, and models were compared in terms of accuracy and predictability. For all models, root mean square errors of cross-validation (RMSECV), root meat square errors of prediction (RMSEP) and coefficient of correlation of cross-validation (RCV) were computed. Robust models were obtained when quinoa spectra were pre-processed using EMSC of polynomial degree 2 for both fat (RMSECV: 0.268% and RMSEP: 0.256%) and carbohydrates (RMSECV: 0.641% and RMSEP: 0.643%) following extraction of five CPPLS latent variables. Good coefficients of correlation of prediction (RP: 0.6900.821) were found for all constituents when models were validated on a test data set consisting of 13 quinoa flour spectra. Thus, good predictions of the dietary constituents of quinoa flour could be achieved by using NIT technology, as implied by the low coefficient of variation of prediction (CVP): 5.64% for protein, 3.88% for fat 7.32% for ashes and 0.80% for carbohydrates contents.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Propiedades psicométricas del Pain and Sensitivity Reactivity Scales (PSRS) en población neurotípica infantojuvenil

La percepción del dolor y la reactividad sensorial se presenta como una tarea difícil para la ciencia al ser considera una respuesta subjetiva que depende de diferencias individuales. Esta dificultad se incrementa aún más si la población de estudio incluye a niños y a adolescentes. Para la medición de esta respuesta se pueden utilizar medidas neurofisiológicas o escalas estandarizadas que cuantifiquen la información. Esta evaluación es de suma importancia, ya que puede detectar si existe una dificultad para recibir e interpretar los estímulos sensoriales tanto exteroceptivos como interoceptivos. Sin embargo, aún no existe una escala dimensional para población infanto-juvenil que aborde este campo. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar las propiedades psicométricas del Pain and Sensitivity Reactivity Scale (PSRS) en población infanto-juvenil neurotípica. La muestra está formada por más de 1000 niños y adolescentes de 12 a 17 años. La versión infanto-juvenil de la PSRS está formada tres escalas que hacen referencia al dolor, la hiposensibilidad e hipersensibilidad. Los resultados muestran una consistencia interna adecuada tanto para las diferentes escalas y como para el instrumento. Por último, en el análisis factorial exploratorio aparecen las tres dimensiones principales. En conclusión, poder evaluar la percepción del dolor y la reactividad sensorial en población infanto-juvenil puede ayudar a contextualizar problemas conductuales, emocionales e incluso académicos que pueden estar encubiertos por el desconocimiento que tanto el propio individuo muestra sobre su percepción como por el desconocimiento que familiares y profesionales de la educación presentan sobre las diferencias en la reactividad sensorial y la percepción del dolor.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech