Production of Oligosaccharides from Pine Nut Shells by Autohydrolysis

ABSTRACT: Pinus pinea nuts are commercial relevant Mediterranean edible forest nuts, with an increasing production and market value, whose industrial processing yields a lignocellulosic by-product, the pine nut shells, currently only used for combustion. Little research has been done on pine nut shells that could support a value-added application for this residue. This work studies for the first time the production of oligosaccharides by autohydrosis, and aims at an integrated upgrade within the biorefinery framework. Autohydrolysis was explored in the temperature range between 150 and 230 degrees C (corresponding to severity factors 2.13-4.63). Oligosaccharides, mainly xylo-oligosaccharides (95% of the total), were the key soluble products, reaching 28.7 g/100 g of xylan of the feedstock at the optimal conditions (log R-0 4.01). Other products were monosaccharides and phenolic compounds that reached 7.8 and 4.7 g/L, respectively, under the most severe conditions. The stability of the oligosaccharides at different temperatures (room, 37 degrees C and 100 degrees C) and pH (between 1 and 11) grant them significant market potential in the food and pharma sectors. The pre-treated pine nut shells by autohydrolysis presented an improved, although low, enzymatic digestibility (14%), and an improved high-heating value, therefore advising their further valorization by thermochemical pathways.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Distillery residues from Cistus ladanifer (Rockrose) as feedstock for the production of added-value phenolic compounds and hemicellulosic oligosaccharides

ABSTRACT: Cistus ladanifer residues obtained after essential oil distillation were extracted with ethanol and water (CLRext) and subsequently hydrothermally treated (autohydrolysis) in order to selectively hydrolyze hemicelluloses. The extraction removed a significant amount of potentially valuable compounds (40% w/w, dry basis), foremost, phenolic compounds (0.363 and 0.250 g gallic acid equivalent/g extract, respectively, for water and ethanol). Autohydrolysis was studied under diverse severity factors (log R-o), in the temperature range of 150 to 230 degrees C. The hydrolyzates mainly contain oligosaccharides, reaching the highest concentration (23.5g/L) for log R-o of 3.07 (190 degrees C), corresponding to a yield of 15g oligosaccharides/100g dry feedstock. The processed solids are enriched in glucan and lignin. The maximum glucan content (35%) was attained at log R-o of 3.51 (205 degrees C). Py-GC/MS confirmed the reduction of pentose-derived carbohydrates in the solid after hydrothermal treatment and an increase of syringil units in the lignin compared to the untreated biomass. These results show the potential use of this C. ladanifer residue for the production of phenolic extracts, and hemicellulosic oligosaccharides, together with the production of a cellulose- and lignin-rich solid stream.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Methylation-Specific MLPA (MS-MLPA): simultaneous detection of CpG methylation and copy number changes of up to 40 sequences

Copy number changes and CpG methylation of various genes are hallmarks of tumor development but are not yet widely used in diagnostic settings. The recently developed multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) method has increased the possibilities for multiplex detection of gene copy number aberrations in a routine laboratory. Here we describe a novel robust method: the methylation-specific MLPA (MS-MLPA) that can detect changes in both CpG methylation as well as copy number of up to 40 chromosomal sequences in a simple reaction. In MS-MLPA, the ligation of MLPA probe oligonucleotides is combined with digestion of the genomic DNA–probe hybrid complexes with methylation-sensitive endonucleases. Digestion of the genomic DNA–probe complex, rather than double-stranded genomic DNA, allowed the use of DNA derived from the formalin treated paraffin-embedded tissue samples, enabling retrospective studies. To validate this novel method, we used MS-MLPA to detect aberrant methylation in DNA samples of patients with Prader–Willy syndrome, Angelman syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia

Adiponectin, Leptin, and IGF-1 Are Useful Diagnostic and Stratification Biomarkers of NAFLD

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease where liver biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis. Here we aimed to evaluate the role of circulating adiponectin, leptin, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels as non-invasive NAFLD biomarkers and assess their correlation with the metabolome.Materials and Methods: Leptin, adiponectin, and IGF-1 serum levels were measured by ELISA in two independent cohorts of biopsy-proven obese NAFLD patients and healthy-liver controls (discovery: 38 NAFLD, 13 controls; validation: 194 NAFLD, 31 controls) and correlated with clinical data, histology, genetic parameters, and serum metabolomics.Results: In both cohorts, leptin increased in NAFLD vs. controls (discovery: AUROC 0.88; validation: AUROC 0.83; p < 0.0001). The leptin levels were similar between obese and non-obese healthy controls, suggesting that obesity is not a confounding factor. In the discovery cohort, adiponectin was lower in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) vs. non-alcoholic fatty liver (AUROC 0.87; p < 0.0001). For the validation cohort, significance was attained for homozygous for PNPLA3 allele c.444C (AUROC 0.63; p < 0.05). Combining adiponectin with specific serum lipids improved the assay performance (AUROC 0.80; p < 0.0001). For the validation cohort, IGF-1 was lower with advanced fibrosis (AUROC 0.67, p < 0.05), but combination with international normalized ratio (INR) and ferritin increased the assay performance (AUROC 0.81; p < 0.01).Conclusion: Serum leptin discriminates NAFLD, and adiponectin combined with specific lipids stratifies NASH. IGF-1, INR, and ferritin distinguish advanced fibrosis

Natural infection in anopheline species and its implications for autochthonous malaria in the Atlantic forest in Brazil

Abstract\ud \ud \ud \ud Background\ud \ud A descriptive study was carried out in an area of the Atlantic Forest with autochthonous malaria in the Parelheiros subdistrict on the periphery of the municipality of São Paulo to identify anopheline fauna and anophelines naturally infected with Plasmodium as well as to discuss their role in this peculiar epidemiological context.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Entomological captures were made from May 2009 to April 2011 using Shannon traps and automatic CDC traps in four areas chosen for their different patterns of human presence and incidences of malaria (anthropic zone 1, anthropic zone 2, transition zone and sylvatic zone). Natural Plasmodium infection was detected by nested PCR based on amplification of the 18S rRNA gene.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud In total, 6,073 anophelines were collected from May 2009 to April 2011, and six species were identified in the four zones. Anopheles cruzii was the predominant species in the three environments but was more abundant in the sylvatic zone.\ud Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii specimens from the anthropic and sylvatic zones were positive for P. vivax and P. malariae. An. (Ker.) bellator, An. (Nys.) triannulatus, An. (Nys.) strodei, An. (Nys.) lutzi and An. (Ano) maculipes were found in small numbers. Of these, An. (Nys.) triannulatus and An. (Nys.) lutzi, which were collected in the anthropic zone, were naturally infected with P. vivax while An. (Nys.) triannulatus from the anthropic zones and An. (Nys.) strodei from the transition zone were positive for P. malariae.\ud \ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud \ud These results confirm that Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii plays an important role as a major Plasmodium vector. However, the finding of other naturally infected species may indicate that secondary vectors are also involved in the transmission of malaria in the study areas. These findings can be expected to help in the implementation of new measures to control autochthonous malaria in areas of the Atlantic Forest.We would like to thank the Health Surveillance Supervision Sector in the São Paulo Municipal Department of Health, the Pedro Matajs Institute and the São Paulo Metropolitan Police, the Marsilac Heath Center (UBS Marsilac) and the Embura Helth Center (UBS Embura).This project was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa (FAPESP) (n°. 2008/52016-0) and SUCEN

The national inventory of geological heritage: methodological approach and results

A existência de um inventário nacional de património geológico é fundamental para se poderem implementar estratégias de geoconservação. Este trabalho apresenta a metodologia usada no desenvolvimento do mais completo inventário de geossítios, realizado até ao momento em Portugal, assim como os principais resultados obtidos. O inventário vai integrar o Sistema de Informação do Património Natural e o Cadastro Nacional dos Valores Naturais Classificados, ambos geridos pelo Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade.The existence of a national inventory of the geological heritage is of paramount importance for the implementation of a geoconservation strategy. This paper presents the methodological approach used to produce the most complete geosites inventory in Portugal, so far, and the obtained results. This inventory will be uploaded into the National Database of Natural Heritage managed by the Portuguese authority for nature conservation.Este trabalho é apoiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, através do financiamento plurianual do CGUP e do projecto de investigação “Identificação, caracterização e conservação do património geológico: uma estratégia de geoconservação para Portugal” (PTDC/CTE-GEX/64966/2006).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio