Survey of moniliformin in corn cultivated in the state of Sao Paulo and in corn products commercialized in the city of Campinas, SP

Moniliformin, a toxin produced by Fusarium, was investigated in 22 samples of corn, 17 coming from districts of the state of Sao Paulo and 4 from experimental plots of the Campinas Institute of Agronomy, Brazil. The toxin was also investigated in 68 samples of corn products commercialized in Campinas, SP. Moniliformin was not detected in any sample.341131

Ochratoxin A in Brazilian roasted and instant coffees

Thirty-four samples of roast and ground coffee, 14 samples of instant coffee and two samples of decaffeinated instant coffee were collected in markets and supermarkets in the city of Campinas, Brazil, and analysed for ochratoxin A using immunoaffinity columns for clean-up and HPLC with fluorescence detection for quantification. The limit of detection was 0.2 ng/g ochratoxin A. Twenty-three samples of ground and roast coffee were found to be contaminated with the toxin at levels ranging between 0.3 and 6.5 ng/g. The average concentration in all 34 samples was 0.9 ng/g. All samples of instant coffee contained ochratoxin A at levels ranging from 0.5 to 5.1 ng/g, with an average figure of 2.2 ng/g. Roast and ground coffee is the type of coffee most used by Brazilians for the preparation of the beverage. Considering that an average Brazilian adult takes five cups of coffee per day, which corresponds to 30 g of roast and ground coffee, the probable daily intake of ochratoxin A by a 70 kg adult would be 0.4 ng/kg bw, which is far below the current Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake of 14 ng/kg bw for ochratoxin A as set by the Codex Alimentarius. To study the transfer of ochratoxin A into coffee brew, the beverage was prepared by two methods : (a) the drip method and (b) the Brazilian country style method. No significant difference was observed between the two methods in terms of extraction of the toxin using five contaminated samples containing between 0.8 and 6.5 ng/g ochratoxin A. The drip method extracted 86 +/- 15 % and the Brazilian country style 74 +/- 20 % of the ochratoxin A initially present in the roast and ground coffee.171086787

"9"8_4_8Cd_5_0 - The two-proton hole spectrum in "1"0"0_5_0Sn_5_0

Excited states in "9"8Cd, two proton holes from "1"0"0Sn, were identified and studied for the first time, using in-beam spectroscopy with highly selective ancillary detectors. The structure of the (#pi#g_9_/_2)"-"2 two proton hole spectrum below a T_1_/_2=0.48(16) #mu#s isomer is deduced and compared to shell model predictions. A tentative I"#pi#=(8"+) assignment, as suggested by systematics, yields a strongly reduced B(E2.8"+#->#6"+)=0.44(_-_1_0"+"2"0) W.u., corresponding to an effective proton charge of #epsilon#_#pi#=0.85(_-_1_0"+"2"0) #epsilon#, which is at variance with existing theoretical predictions. (orig.)Available from FIZ Karlsruhe / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman