Phytoremediation Potential of <em>Chrysopogon zizanioides</em> for Toxic Elements in Contaminated Matrices

Many researchers have demonstrated the advantages of plants in the phytoremediation of soils and waters contaminated with heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, leachates, etc. The unique morphological characteristics of Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as vetiver, make it a hyperaccumulator of metals; its roots can store high concentrations of heavy metals such as As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, and it has thus been successfully used in the field of environmental protection. This chapter presents the importance of vetiver, its characterization, and its potential use as phytoremediation potential for toxic elements in contaminated matrices

Effects of a Buried Cysteine-To-Serine Mutation on Yeast Triosephosphate Isomerase Structure and Stability

All the members of the triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) family possess a cystein residue (Cys126) located near the catalytically essential Glu165. The evolutionarily conserved Cys126, however, does not seem to play a significant role in the catalytic activity. On the other hand, substitution of this residue by other amino acid residues destabilizes the dimeric enzyme, especially when Cys is replaced by Ser. In trying to assess the origin of this destabilization we have determined the crystal structure of &lt;em&gt;Saccharomyces cerevisiae&lt;/em&gt; TIM (ScTIM) at 1.86 Å resolution in the presence of PGA, which is only bound to one subunit. Comparisons of the wild type and mutant structures reveal that a change in the orientation of the Ser hydroxyl group, with respect to the Cys sulfhydryl group, leads to penetration of water molecules and apparent destabilization of residues 132–138. The latter results were confirmed by means of Molecular Dynamics, which showed that this region, in the mutated enzyme, collapses at about 70 ns

Efecto antioxidante de epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.) en carne molida cruda de bovino

For this paper, solid-liquid extractions of epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.) were carried out using water (IE) and ethanol (EtOHE) as solvents, with the objective of evaluating its antioxidant effect on raw ground beef stored at 4 °C for 9 days. The analysis was carried out under the following treatments: CTL (meat without antioxidants), CIE (meat with infusion of epazote), CEtOHE (meat with ethanolic extract of epazote) and ASC (meat with sodium ascorbate solution). The characteristics determined for both IE and EtOHE before being added to the meat were pH, antioxidant activity (AA), total polyphenols (TP) and total flavonoids (TF). The antioxidant effect on the ground beef was evaluated using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) method and instrumental color. EI showed the highest TF content. Meat with IE and EtOHE treatments had lower TBARS values than control meat, and higher of L* and b* values, which indicate greater clarity in both treatments. In conclusion, under these conditions, epazote has potential as a natural antioxidant in order to extend the shelf life of meat and meat products.En la presente investigación se realizaron extracciones sólido-líquido de epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.) empleando como disolventes agua (IE) y etanol (EtOHE), con el objetivo de evaluar su efecto antioxidante sobre carne cruda molida de bovino almacenada durante 9 días a 4 °C. El análisis se realizó bajo los siguientes tratamientos: CTL (carne sin antioxidante), CIE (carne con infusión de epazote), CEtOHE (carne con extracto etanólico de epazote) y ASC (con solución de ascorbato de sodio). Las características determinadas tanto para la IE y el EtOHE, antes de adicionarse a la carne, fueron el pH, la actividad antioxidante (AA), polifenoles totales (PT) y flavonoides totales (FT). El efecto antioxidante sobre la carne se evaluó mediante el método de las sustancias reactivas al ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS) y el color instrumental. La IE presentó el mayor contenido de FT. La carne con los tratamientos IE y EtOHE presentó valores de TBARS más bajos que la carne control, y más altos en los parámetros L* y b*, los cuales indican mayor claridad en ambos tratamientos. Se concluye que bajo estas condiciones de estudio el epazote tiene potencial como antioxidante natural, para prolongar la vida de útil de la carne y productos cárnicos

Physicochemical and Nutritional Characterization of Starch Isolated from Colocasia antiquorum Cultivated in Oaxaca, Mexico

The physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of Colocasia antiquorum (taro coconut or Chinese taro) starch cultivated in Oaxaca, Mexico, were determined. The granules of Colocasia antiquorum presented a truncated ellipsoidal shape. The chemical composition analysis showed levels of moisture, ash, protein, fat, fiber, and NFE in a dry base of 10.29, 0.18, 2.0, 0.05, 0.01, and 97.76, respectively, as well as amylose and amylopectin contents of 13.05 and 86.95%, respectively. Gelatinization temperatures, onset (To), peak (Tp), and final (Tf), were 72.86, 82.91, and 93.05°C, respectively. Solubility, swelling power (SP), and water absorption capacity (WAC) correlate directly with increments in temperature. Transmittance value (% T) for taro coconut was 0.3% and its apparent viscosity ranged from 100 to 150 cp. The nutritional characterization of Colocasia antiquorum’s starch amounted to 97.88% of total starch (TS), while available (AS) and resistant starch (RS) were 93.47 and 3.70%, respectively. Colocasia antiquorum, grown in Oaxaca, Mexico, is an unconventional source of starch with added value due to its potential use as an ingredient in the development of new products or as a substitute for conventional starch sources in industrial processes

Mis casos Clínicos de Odontopediatría y Ortodoncia

Libro que conjunta casos en el área de Odontopediatría y OrtodonciaEs para los integrantes de la Red de Investigación en Estomatología (RIE) una enorme alegría presentar el tercer libro del 2021, sobre casos clínicos, revisiones de la literatura e investigaciones. La RIE está integrada por cuerpos académicos de la UAEH, UAEM, UAC y UdeG

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data