Rice Bran By-Product: From Valorization Strategies to Nutritional Perspectives

The aim of this study is to review the innovative techniques based on bioprocessing, thermal or physical treatments which have been proposed during the last few decades to convert rice bran into a valuable food ingredient. Rice bran (Oryza sativa) is the main by-product of rice grain processing. It is produced in large quantities worldwide and it contains a high amount of valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds with significant health-related properties. Despite that, its application in food industry is still scarce because of its sensitivity to oxidation processes, instability and poor technological suitability. Furthermore, the health-related effects of pretreated rice bran are also presented in this review, considering the up-to-date literature focused on both in vivo and in vitro studies. Moreover, in relation to this aspect, a brief description of rice bran arabinoxylans is provided. Finally, the application of rice bran in the food industry and the main technology aspects are concisely summarized

Unmanipulated haploidentical transplants compared with other alternative donors and matched sibling grafts

We studied 459 consecutive patients with hematologic malignancies, median age 44 years (range, 15 to 71 years), who underwent transplantation with grafts from identical sibling donors (SIB; n = 176), matched unrelated donors (MUD; n = 43), mismatched unrelated donors (mmUD; n = 43), unrelated cord blood (UCB; n = 105) or HLA-haploidentical family donors (HAPLO; n = 92). Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine and methotrexate in the SIB recipients; antithymocyte globulin for the MUD, mmUD, and UCB recipients; and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, and mycophenolate in the HAPLO recipients. Conditioning regimens were mostly myeloablative (69%). Advanced disease phase was more frequent, but not significantly so, in the HAPLO and mmUD groups (P = .08). Acute GVHD grade II-IV was significantly less frequent in the HAPLO, UCB, and MUD groups (14% to 21%) compared with the SIB (31%) and mmUD (42%) groups (P < .001), and there was a trend toward less moderate-severe chronic GVHD in the HAPLO and UCB groups (P = .053). The proportion of patients off cyclosporine at 1 year ranged from 55% for the SIB group to 81% for the HAPLO group (P < .001). Transplantation-related mortality at 2 years was lower in the HAPLO and SIB groups (18% to 24%) compared with the MUD, mmUD, and UCB groups (33% to 35%; P = .10). Relapse rate was comparable in the 5 groups (P = .80). The 4-year actuarial survival was 45% in the SIB group, 43% in the MUD group, 40% in the mmUD group, 34% in the UCB group, and 52% in the HAPLO group (P = .10). In multivariate analysis, advanced disease was a negative predictor of survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.4; P < .0001), together with a diagnosis of acute leukemia (HR, 1.8; P = .0001); HAPLO grafts were comparable to SIB (P = .80), whereas UCB had inferior survival (P = .03). In conclusion, unmanipulated haploidentical family donor transplants are an additional option for patients lacking a matched sibling donor

L’auto elettrica a noleggio: esperienze e riflessioni

The diffusion of electric vehicles represents one of the possible strategies in order to reduce air pollution caused by road traffic in urban areas, but the purchasing cost of an electric car is still considered too high, especially taking into account their performances, and therefore such vehicles result to be not competitive. Alternatively, an urban transport policy based on the rent of electric cars could be addressed. This solution has been adopted by several cities and analysing the different initiatives we can identify two kinds of rent: one granting to a single user an electric car for a period of one or more months, and the other one based on the creation of multimodal parkings reachable on foot or by a public transport service where the occasional users can rent a car for some hours. This allows the entrance in areas where no private traffic is normally admitted, such as historic centres. This paper describes the experimental electric car rent started in some Italian and foreign cities. In particular, the analysis of the service started in Turin is useful to investigate the feasibility of introducing a similar facility in other cities

Land transport infrastructures servicing Ligury's ports: a potentiality analysis

In this study, road, highway and railway infrastructures that are linked to the ports of Savona, Genoa and La Spezia are briefly presented. An estimate of the transport capacity of these infrastructures is developed, with the aim of comparing it with the forecasts of the increase of harbour traffic; this leads to assessing the residual potentiality in the period 2000-2010. Analysis results point out various critical situations, especially for what concerns road transport. Therefore, a gradual redistribution is proposed from road to rail mode that still offers a noticeable residual potentiality, despite of its extensive utilisation of some sections. Lastly, the role that a more strict integration of maritime ports, according to the harbour system concept, can have in enforcing the railway mode is mentioned

Innovative cargo unit for vehicles transport: technical and economic considerations

A new intermodal container specifically designed to carry cars by both land and sea has been recently presented. This unit is a collapsible, 40-foot, ISO container with two decks and space for six cars. Because of its standard sizes, the unit will allow cars to be carried door-to-door (from factory to showrooms) by the same transportation means which carry containers all over the world. Cars were traditionally delivered using specialised land vehicles and vessels; such modes were not integrated and this fact led to multiple lashing and handling operations as vehicles were transferred from one mode to another. This paper analyses the benefits of car containerisation, mainly in terms of lower transportation costs and lesser space requirements for land Storage

Solid state lactic acid fermentation: A strategy to improve wheat bran functionality

Wheat bran, a by-product produced in huge amount during cereal milling, is today largely unexploited because of its poor suitability as food ingredient. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) using a Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain was applied to wheat bran and its influence on bioactive compounds (free and bound phenolic acids) and antioxidant activity were evaluated. Moreover, the phytic acid (PAc) degradation and arabinoxylans (WEAX) solubilization properties were studied: the SSF treatment resulted in an almost 37% decrement and a three times increment of PAc and WEAX, respectively. Finally, in order to get the bigger picture, microbial metabolites and the volatile profile of fermented wheat bran were characterized, showing amino acids and lipids metabolites and a complex aroma profile. Overall, lactic acid fermentation can be considered a valuable pre-treatment for the valorisation of cereal by-products

A Hybrid In Silico/In Vitro Target Fishing Study to Mine Novel Targets of Urolithin A and B: A Step Towards a Better Comprehension of their Estrogenicity

Urolithin A and B are gut metabolites of ellagic acid and ellagitannins associated with many beneficial effects. Evidence in vitro pointed to their potential as estrogenic modulators. However, both molecular mechanisms and biological targets involved in such activity are still poorly characterized, preventing a comprehensive understanding of their bioactivity in living organisms. This study aimed at rationally identifying novel biological targets underlying the estrogenic-modulatory activity of urolithins

Evolutionary Wheat Populations in High-Quality Breadmaking as a Tool to Preserve Agri-Food Biodiversity

Plant biodiversity preservation is one of the most important priorities of today’s agriculture. Wheat (Triticum spp. L.) is widely cultivated worldwide, mostly under a conventional and monovarietal farming method, leading to progressive biodiversity erosion. On the contrary, the evolutionary population (EP) cultivation technique is characterized by mixing and sowing together as many wheat genotypes as possible to allow the crop to genetically adapt over the years in relation to specific pedoclimatic conditions. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional, chemical and sensory qualities of three different breads obtained using different organic EP flours, produced following a traditional sourdough process and compared to a commercial wheat cultivar bread. Technological parameters, B-complex vitamins, microelements, dietary fibre and phenolic acids were determined in raw materials and final products. Flours obtained by EPs showed similar characteristics to the commercial wheat cultivar flour. However, significant differences on grain technological quality were found. The breads were comparable with respect to chemical and nutritional qualities. Overall, the sensory panellists rated the tasted breads positively assigning the highest score to those produced with EPs flours (6.75–7.02) as compared to commercial wheat cultivar-produced bread (cv. Bologna, 6.36)