UHPLC-PDA-ESI-TOF/MS metabolic profiling and antioxidant capacity of arabica and robusta coffee silverskin: antioxidants vs phytotoxins

A deeper knowledge of the chemical composition of coffee silverskin (CS) is needed due to the growing interest in its use as a food additive or an ingredient of dietary supplements. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to investigate the metabolic profile of aqueous extracts of two varieties of CS, Coffee arabica (CS-A), Coffee canephora var. robusta (CS-R) and of a blend of the two (CS-b) and to compare it to the profile of Coffee arabica green coffee (GC). Chlorogenic acids, caffeine, furokauranes, and atractyligenins, phytotoxins not previously detected in CS, were either identified or tentatively assigned. An unknown compound, presumably a carboxyatractyligenin glycoside was detected only in GC. Caffeine and chlorogenic acids were quantified while the content of furokauranes and atractyligens was estimated. GC and CS were also characterized in terms of total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity. Differences in the metabolites distribution, polyphenols and antioxidant capacity in CG and CS were detailed

Mild Enzymatic Method for the Extraction of Lycopene from Tomato Paste

ABSTRACTFour commercial enzyme preparations containing cell-wall degrading enzyme activities were tested for their ability to facilitate lycopene extraction from tomato paste. At 25°C, up to 75.6% of the lycopene present in the tomato product was extracted by a two-stage procedure that consisted of a preliminary 5 hour enzyme incubation followed by a 3 hour solvent (hexane or ethyl acetate) extraction. Increasing the duration of the enzymatic treatment to 12–18 h allowed the recovery of 85–90% of total lycopene. The highest extraction yields were achieved by using enzyme preparations with polygalacturonase and pectin methylesterase in addition to pectin lyase or cellulase activities

Dan River, Inc. v. Icahn: Disclosure Violations - Relief for Subject Management?

The heightened level of takeover activity during recent years has provoked many innovative responses from the management of subject companies that wish to remain independent. Since successful acquisition of a company usually involves the termination of its existing management, that management will often seek to mobilize the resources of the subject corporation to oppose the takeover attempt. As a result, litigation initiated by management now plays a part in virtually every takeover contest. The case of Dan River, Inc. v. Icahn, a recent Fourth Circuit decision, illustrates the use of litigation to forestall a takeover attempt

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using Kiwifruit juice

The use of kiwifruit juice as a source of metal-reducing and stabilizing agents for the production of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was investigated. The reaction was carried out in batch by mixing appropriate amounts of kiwifruit juice and gold(III) chloride solution. The formation of AuNPs was monitored by measuring the intensity of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of gold. The effects of temperature (20-60 °C), pH (8-12) and gold-to-polyphenol ratio (GPR) were investigated. Characterisation of AuNPs by XRD, DLS and zeta-potential measurements showed that they were highly crystalline, with an average hydrodynamic diameter of about 50 nm and a zeta-potential ranging between -29.2 and -21.7 mV. Under the best reaction conditions (60 °C, pH 9, GPR = 5 mol Au3+/mol GAE), AuNPs with an average size of about 30 nm were produced. The results obtained suggest that kiwifruit juice is a suitable medium for the production of small-sized and stable AuNPs

Animal Production over Rice-Pasture Rotation System: Animal Performance

Fluctuations in commodity prices, determine the need to find strategies to stabilize production in farming systems. The rice - pastures rotation systems are a good example of this, where animal production takes place in the moments where rice is rotated with pastures (3 years rice and 2 years pastures). In this context, INIA has developed a technology adjusted to the east of the country, with the use of summer tillage to intensify livestock production through the incorporation of lambs fattening. These technologies, comercially validated with sheep-rice farming systems, can move the process of cattle backgrounding (males and females), but requires technological adjustments related to planting winter annuals species and the strategic use of the supplementation and subsequent evaluation of the impact of these proposed intensifications of the livestock production phase and subsequent rice production. There are now new tools to study the feasibility of these alternatives (productive and economic) through modelling, but the validity of their results will be based on the certainty of technical coefficients. These coefficients must be generated in real situations where all the factors interact (Deambrosi 2009). The objective of the present experiments, was to com-pare livewieght (LW) per hectare, daily gain (DG) and weight gain (WG) per animal on an annual ryegrass (‘LE 284’) sown over rice stubble, used for calf backgrounding, under the effect of two stocking rate, in the north of Uruguay

Adsorption of Pb(II) on Spent Leaves of Green and Black Tea

Problem statement: In recent years much attention has been focused on the use of biomass residues as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from contaminated waters. Spent tea leaves, an abundantly available material that is currently disposed of as a solid waste, are potentially suitable for such applications. Approach: To provide some information on the adsorption properties of tea waste, we evaluated the removal efficiency of lead ions by spent leaves of green and black tea. Batch adsorption experiments were made at 25 and 40°C at initial lead-ion concentrations between 0.01 and 2 g L-1. Equilibrium data were analyzed by the Langmuir equation to evaluate the maximum adsorption capacity and the equilibrium constant. The adsorption characteristics of the two materials were also compared with those of coffee grounds, activated carbon and Fuller's earth. Results: Experimental data showed that removal efficiencies up to 98-99% can be achieved when using spent tea leaves as lead adsorbent. The results were only marginally affected by the type of tea waste. At low lead loading, the adsorption equilibrium was well described by the Langmuir equation, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 83-130 mg g-1 and an equilibrium constant ranging from 0.112-0.245 L mg-1. A comparison with other adsorbents provided the following order for lead removal efficiency: Black tea, coffee grounds > green tea > Fuller's earth > activated carbon. Conclusion: The results from this study indicate that using spent tea leaves as an adsorbent may be an efficient and economical means for removing lead and, presumably, other heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions

Non-contact Reverse Engineering Modeling for Additive Manufacturing of Down Scaled Cultural Artefacts

Abstract In recent years, reverse engineering has achieved a relevant role in the cultural heritage field. The availability of 3D digital models of artefacts opens the door to a new era of cultural heritage: virtual museum creation, artefact cataloguing, conservation, planning and simulation of restoration, monitoring of artefacts subjected to environmental degradation, virtual reconstruction of damaged or missing parts, reproduction of replicas, etc. In this paper, two different non-contact reverse engineering scanning systems were utilized for 3D data acquisition of a cultural heritage artefact. The digital data acquisition and processing procedures of the scanned geometry have been illustrated and compared to evaluate the performance of both systems in terms of data acquisition time, processing time, reconstruction precision and final model quality. Finally, additive manufacturing technologies were applied to reconstruct a down scaled copy of the artefact

Nanocarbon surfaces for biomedicine

The distinctive physicochemical, mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanostructures are currently gaining the interest of researchers working in bioengineering and biomedical fields. Carbon nanotubes, carbon dendrimers, graphenic platelets and nanodiamonds are deeply studied aiming at their application in several areas of biology and medicine. Here we provide a summary of the carbon nanomaterials prepared in our labs and of the fabrication techniques used to produce several biomedical utilities, from scaffolds for tissue growth to cargos for drug delivery and to biosensors

A light on the dark side: In vivo endoscopic anatomy of the posterior third ventricle and its variations in hydrocephalus

Objective: Despite the technological advancements of neurosurgery, the posterior part of the third ventricle has always been the "dark side"of the ventricle. However, flexible endoscopy offers the opportunity for a direct, in vivo inspection and detailed description of the posterior third ventricle in physiological and pathological conditions. The purposes of this study were to describe the posterior wall of the third ventricle, detailing its normal anatomy and surgical landmarks, and to assess the effect of chronic hydrocephalus on the anatomy of this hidden region. Methods: The authors reviewed the video recordings of 59 in vivo endoscopic explorations of the posterior third ventricle to describe every identifiable anatomical landmark. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the absence or presence of a chronic dilation of the third ventricle. The first group provided the basis for the description of normal anatomy. Results: The following anatomical structures were identified in all cases: adytum of the cerebral aqueduct, posterior commissure, pineal recess, habenular commissure, and suprapineal recess. Comparing the 2 groups of patients, the authors were able to detect significant variations in the shape of the adytum of the cerebral aqueduct and in the thickness of the habenular and posterior commissures. Exploration with sodium fluorescein excluded the presence of any fluorescent area in the posterior third ventricle, other than the subependymal vascular network. Conclusions: The use of a flexible scope allows the complete inspection of the posterior third ventricle. The anatomical variations caused by chronic hydrocephalus might be clinically relevant, in light of the commissure functions

Surface modification of flax yarns by enzymatic treatment and their interfacial adhesion with thermoset matrices

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of commercially available and relatively inexpensive enzyme preparations based on endo 1,4-β-xylanase, pectinase and xyloglucanase on the thermal (TGA), morphological (SEM), chemical (FT-IR) and mechanical (single yarn tensile tests) properties of flax yarns. The preparation based on pectinase and xyloglucanase provided the best results, resulting in the effective removal of hydrophilic components such as hemicellulose and pectin, the individualization of yarns and increased thermal stability at the expense of a reduction in mechanical properties, depending on the treatment parameters. Single yarn fragmentation tests pointed out an improved interfacial adhesion after enzymatic treatment, with reduced debonding length values of 18% for an epoxy matrix and up to 36% for a vinylester resin compared to untreated flax yarns