Evaluation of various legume species and varieties grown in Latvia as a raw material of plant-based protein products

Nutrition value of legumes has been traditionally attributed to its high protein content. Protein content of legumes is variable dependent on different species and varieties, and highly affected by environmental factors. Usually protein quality is characterized by its owns amino acid profile in nutritional point of view. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the protein contents and amino acid profiles of pea (Pisum sativum L), faba beans (Vicia faba L) and soya (Glycine max L) grown in Latvia and evaluate their potential for food production. Overall results of a five-year analysis (2013–2017) showed that the protein content of peas, faba beans and soybean ranged from 20.0 to 26.1%, 26.6 to 30.5% and 35.9 to 40.9%, respectively. The corresponding values of total crude fat ranged from 0.8 to 1.2%, 0.7–1.3% and 16.6 to 19.3%, respectively. Results of study showed that the protein content of peas, faba beans and soybean was not differed by growing system (p < 0.05). The percentage of essential amino acids for pea, faba bean and soya were 34 to 38%, 57 to 59% and 62 to 64% respectively. The composition of pea flakes was preserved protein content of raw material. The pea flakes has high content of lysine of 10.1 g kg-1 , phenylalanine+thyrosine of 11.6 g kg-1 and the sum of essential amino acids of 66.4 g kg-1 . In nutritional point of view, pea flakes could be product with high-quality proten composition

Analisis Pendidikan Karakter dalam Buku Teks Pelajaran Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam Kelas VII

Realitas bahwa Buku Teks Pelajaran menjadi sumber belajar utama di sekolah. Sesuai tuntutan kurikulum 2013, buku teks pelajaran tidak sekedar menyajikan materi, akan tetapi juga perlu menanamkan pendidikan karakter. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis muatan pendidikan karakter pada materi Kimia dalam buku teks pelajaran Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, kelas VII semester 2, yang diterbitkan Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif menggunakan teknik analisis isi untuk mengetahui kesesuaian materi Kimia dengan aspek pendidikan karakter dalam kurikulum 2013. Adapun materi kimia yang terdapat dalam buku tersebut yaitu Pencemaran Lingkungan dan Pemanasan Global. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai-nilai yang belum disampaikan dalam bab Pencemaran Lingkungan adalah nilai religius, percaya diri, dan komunikatif. Sedangkan dalam bab Pemanasan Global telah disampaikan semua nilai yang terkandung dalam Kompetensi Dasar 3 dan Kompetensi Dasar 4

Investigation of extruded cereals enriched with plant by-products and their use in fermented beverage production

ArticleThe aim of the study was to analyse the quality of extruded cereals enriched with plant by-products and to obtain fermented drinks from production rejects. Extrusion was performed with co-rotating twin-screw extruder (compression ratio 8:1) at MILZU Ltd. from rye and oat flour (80:20, control samples) with addition of apple (ABF), carrot (CBF) and pumpkin (PBF) by-product flour in various amounts (10%, 15% and 20%). Naturally fermented kvass production process was used for non-alcoholic fermented beverage production. Total dietary fibre (TDF), textural properties and sensory features of extruded products after addition of by-products (BP) were determined. Dry matter, active acidity and sensory properties were analysed in fermented beverages. The obtained results showed a 12-55% increase in TDF of extruded cereals (11.8 g 100 g -1 ) after addition of plant by-products. All extruded samples with BP showed lower hardness levels than control (35.55 ± 2.95 N); samples with PBF were the least hard (P < 0.05). Samples with the lowest bulk density were obtained by the addition of 10% and 15% PBF, and 15% CBF, whereas addition of apple by-product flour in all tested concentrations gave the samples a higher bulk density compared to control. Highest taste and aftertaste scores using 5-point hedonic scale were given to samples with addition of 15% and 20% ABF, which also showed high consumer acceptance. With regards to fermented drinks, the highest dry matter content was found in PBF and ABF drink, 8.1 ± 0.1 and 7.0 ± 0.1, respectively. Sensory evaluation of fermented beverages showed that the intensity of flavour, acidity and aroma was most pronounced in sample with ABF, whereas colour was most pronounced in sample with PBF. In order to reduce production costs, it is possible to use production rejects of extruded cereals enriched with plant by-products to obtain new products

Agrobacterium-mediated Genetic Transformation Of Seaweed Kappaphycus Alvarezii Using Gα Gene And Callus Cultures

Cottonii seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii Doty) is one of the most important commercial sources of carrageenans which are widely used in the pharmaceuticals and the food industry. A problem in the cultivation of this seaweed is the ice-ice disease, which is caused by extreme changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and seawater salinity. Gene transformation to produce Cottonii seaweed transgenics that are tolerant to environmental stress is potential solution to this problem. Gα gene encodes for the heterotrimeric G protein α subunit is a gene that plays a role in tolerance to biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. This study aimed to: (a) introduce the Gα gene into callus cells of K. alvarezii and regenerate transformed callus cells to transgenic plantlets; (b) determine the appropriate concentration of acetosyringone and Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain for gene transfer into the callus of K. alvarezii. Callus cells of K. alvarezii were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains LBA4404 and EHA101 carrying the expression vector pGWB502-Gα with a CaMV-35S promoter. The calli and A. tumefaciens were co-cultivated in several concentrations of acetosyringone (20, 40, 60 mg/L). Regeneration of transformed callus cells into transgenic plantlets was successfully performed using the somatic embryogenesis technique. The result showed the highest percentage of putative transgenic micropropagule formation occurred with 20-40 mg/L acetosyringone. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis on twenty transgenic plantlets indicated that the Gα gene was successfully introduced into the genomic DNA of all of them. The transformation using EHA101 produced more transgenic plantlets that were morphologically normal and grew faster in aerated culture than using LBA4404. This study concluded that the appropriate method of gene transfer into K. alvarezii callus was co-cultivation with A. tumefaciens EHA101 in 20-40 mg/L concentration of acetosyringone

Drivers of Cape Verde archipelagic endemism in keyhole limpets

Oceanic archipelagos are the ideal setting for investigating processes that shape species assemblages. Focusing on keyhole limpets, genera Fissurella and Diodora from Cape Verde Islands, we used an integrative approach combining molecular phylogenetics with ocean transport simulations to infer species distribution patterns and analyse connectivity. Dispersal simulations, using pelagic larval duration and ocean currents as proxies, showed a reduced level of connectivity despite short distances between some of the islands. It is suggested that dispersal and persistence driven by patterns of oceanic circulation favouring self-recruitment played a primary role in explaining contemporary species distributions. Mitochondrial and nuclear data revealed the existence of eight Cape Verde endemic lineages, seven within Fissurella, distributed across the archipelago, and one within Diodora restricted to Boavista. The estimated origins for endemic Fissurella and Diodora were 10.2 and 6.7 MY, respectively. Between 9.5 and 4.5 MY, an intense period of volcanism in Boavista might have affected Diodora, preventing its diversification. Having originated earlier, Fissurella might have had more opportunities to disperse to other islands and speciate before those events. Bayesian analyses showed increased diversification rates in Fissurella possibly promoted by low sea levels during Plio-Pleistocene, which further explain differences in species richness between both genera.FCT - Portuguese Science Foundation [SFRH/BPD/109685/2015, SFRH/BPD/111003/2015]; Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE), under the PORTUGAL Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [MARINFO - NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000031]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integrating Communities of Practice in Technology Development Projects

Technology development projects usually benefit when knowledge and expertise are drawn from a variety of sources, including potential users. Orchestrating the involvement of people from disparate groups is a crucial task for project managers. It requires finding a balance between differentiation, when teams work in isolation, and integration, when groups come together to exchange knowledge. This article argues that a “community of practice” perspective can help project managers to achieve this balance, by drawing attention to the assumptions, interests, skills, and formal and tacit knowledge of the different groups involved. Successful integration can be achieved by ensuring that the developing technology is comprehensible to all the groups concerned, and making sure that it satisfies their various interests

Genetic Networking of the Bemisia tabaci Cryptic Species Complex Reveals Pattern of Biological Invasions

BACKGROUND: A challenge within the context of cryptic species is the delimitation of individual species within the complex. Statistical parsimony network analytics offers the opportunity to explore limits in situations where there are insufficient species-specific morphological characters to separate taxa. The results also enable us to explore the spread in taxa that have invaded globally. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a 657 bp portion of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 from 352 unique haplotypes belonging to the Bemisia tabaci cryptic species complex, the analysis revealed 28 networks plus 7 unconnected individual haplotypes. Of the networks, 24 corresponded to the putative species identified using the rule set devised by Dinsdale et al. (2010). Only two species proposed in Dinsdale et al. (2010) departed substantially from the structure suggested by the analysis. The analysis of the two invasive members of the complex, Mediterranean (MED) and Middle East - Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), showed that in both cases only a small number of haplotypes represent the majority that have spread beyond the home range; one MEAM1 and three MED haplotypes account for >80% of the GenBank records. Israel is a possible source of the globally invasive MEAM1 whereas MED has two possible sources. The first is the eastern Mediterranean which has invaded only the USA, primarily Florida and to a lesser extent California. The second are western Mediterranean haplotypes that have spread to the USA, Asia and South America. The structure for MED supports two home range distributions, a Sub-Saharan range and a Mediterranean range. The MEAM1 network supports the Middle East - Asia Minor region. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The network analyses show a high level of congruence with the species identified in a previous phylogenetic analysis. The analysis of the two globally invasive members of the complex support the view that global invasion often involve very small portions of the available genetic diversity

Species Tree Estimation for the Late Blight Pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, and Close Relatives

To better understand the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, an accurate estimate of the species phylogeny must be known. Traditionally, gene trees have served as a proxy for the species tree, although it was acknowledged early on that these trees represented different evolutionary processes. Discordances among gene trees and between the gene trees and the species tree are also expected in closely related species that have rapidly diverged, due to processes such as the incomplete sorting of ancestral polymorphisms. Recently, methods have been developed for the explicit estimation of species trees, using information from multilocus gene trees while accommodating heterogeneity among them. Here we have used three distinct approaches to estimate the species tree for five Phytophthora pathogens, including P. infestans, the causal agent of late blight disease in potato and tomato. Our concatenation-based “supergene” approach was unable to resolve relationships even with data from both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and from multiple isolates per species. Our multispecies coalescent approach using both Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods was able to estimate a moderately supported species tree showing a close relationship among P. infestans, P. andina, and P. ipomoeae. The topology of the species tree was also identical to the dominant phylogenetic history estimated in our third approach, Bayesian concordance analysis. Our results support previous suggestions that P. andina is a hybrid species, with P. infestans representing one parental lineage. The other parental lineage is not known, but represents an independent evolutionary lineage more closely related to P. ipomoeae. While all five species likely originated in the New World, further study is needed to determine when and under what conditions this hybridization event may have occurred