Changes in the Organosulfur and Polyphenol Compound Profiles of Black and Fresh Onion during Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion

This study aims to determine the changes in, and bioaccessibility of, polyphenols and organosulfur compounds (OSCs) during the simulated gastrointestinal digestion of black onion, a novel product derived from fresh onion by a combination of heat and humidity treatment, and to compare it with its fresh counterpart. Fresh and black onions were subjected to in-vitro gastrointestinal digestion, and their polyphenol and OSC profiles were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Although to a lesser extent than in the fresh onion, the phenolic compounds in the black variety remained stable during the digestion process, presenting a higher bioaccessibility index (BI) with recovery corresponding to 41.1%, compared with that of fresh onion (23.5%). As for OSCs, apart from being more stable after the digestion process, with a BI of 83%, significantly higher quantities (21 times higher) were found in black onion than in fresh onion, suggesting that the black onion production process has a positive effect on the OSC content. Gallic acid, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and ɣ-glutamyl-S-(1-propenyl)-L-cysteine sulfoxide were the most bioaccessible compounds in fresh onion, while isorhamnetin, quercetin-diglucoside, ɣ-glutamyl-S-methyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide and methionine sulfoxide were found in black onion. These results indicate that OSCs and polyphenols are more bioaccessible in black onion than in fresh onion, indicating a positive effect of the processing treatment

ARCA : unidad de refugio temporal en caso de desastre natural

Se busca proveer un refugio temporal, portátil para que pueda ser trasladado de forma rápida y en grandes cantidades, por cualquier medio, ya sea aéreo, terrestre o fluvial, y por medio de este facilitarle a las personas de poblaciones afectadas por situación de desastre, protegerse de las inclemencias del tiempo, proteger su privacidad y tener un lugar donde puedan resguardarse temporalmente.Diseñador (a) IndustrialPregrad

Carob pulp: A nutritional and functional by-product worldwide spread in the formulation of different food products and beverages: A review

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) pod is a characteristic fruit from the Mediterranean regions. It is composed by seeds, the valuable part due to the extraction of locust bean gum, and the pulp, considered a by-product of the fruit processing industry. Carob pulp is a mixture of macro- and micronutrients, such as carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and secondary metabolites with functional properties. In the last few years, numerous studies on the chemical and biological characteristics of the pulp have been performed to encourage its commercial use. Its potential applications as a nutraceutical ingredient in many recipes for food and beverage elaborations have been extensively evaluated. Another aspect highlighted in this work is the use of alternative processes or conditions to mitigate furanic production, recognized for its toxicity. Furthermore, carob pulp’s similar sensorial, chemical and biological properties to cocoa, the absence of the stimulating alkaloids theobromine and caffeine, as well as its low-fat content, make it a healthier potential substitute for cocoa. This paper reviews the nutritional and functional values of carob pulp-based products in order to provide information on the proclaimed health-promoting properties of this interesting by-productUIDB/05183/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of a Bayesian Algorithm to Detect Burned Areas in the Canary Islands’ Dry Woodlands and Forests Ecoregion Using MODIS Data

Burned Area (BA) is deemed as a primary variable to understand the Earth’s climate system. Satellite remote sensing data have allowed for the development of various burned area detection algorithms that have been globally applied to and assessed in diverse ecosystems, ranging from tropical to boreal. In this paper, we present a Bayesian algorithm (BY-MODIS) that detects burned areas in a time series of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images from 2002 to 2012 of the Canary Islands’ dry woodlands and forests ecoregion (Spain). Based on daily image products MODIS, MOD09GQ (250 m), and MOD11A1 (1 km), the surface spectral reflectance and the land surface temperature, respectively, 10 day composites were built using the maximum temperature criterion. Variables used in BY-MODIS were the Global Environment Monitoring Index (GEMI) and Burn Boreal Forest Index (BBFI), alongside the NIR spectral band, all of which refer to the previous year and the year the fire took place in. Reference polygons for the 14 fires exceeding 100 hectares and identified within the period under analysis were developed using both post-fire LANDSAT images and official information from the forest fires national database by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment of Spain (MAPAMA). The results obtained by BY-MODIS can be compared to those by official burned area products, MCD45A1 and MCD64A1. Despite that the best overall results correspond to MCD64A1, BY-MODIS proved to be an alternative for burned area mapping in the Canary Islands, a region with a great topographic complexity and diverse types of ecosystems. The total burned area detected by the BY-MODIS classifier was 64.9% of the MAPAMA reference data, and 78.6% according to data obtained from the LANDSAT images, with the lowest average commission error (11%) out of the three products and a correlation (R2) of 0.82. The Bayesian algorithm—originally developed to detect burned areas in North American boreal forests using AVHRR archival data Long-Term Data Record—can be successfully applied to a lower latitude forest ecosystem totally different from the boreal ecosystem and using daily time series of satellite images from MODIS with a 250 m spatial resolution, as long as a set of training areas adequately characterising the dynamics of the forest canopy affected by the fire is defined

A Proposal of a Real Time Economic Sentiment Indicator Based on Twitter and Google Trends for the Spanish Economy

The main aim of this paper is to build a real time economic sentiment indicator (RT-ESI) for Spain, based on text mining and deep learning from Twitter and Google Trends, that can anticipate GDP and household consumer behaviour. This work contributes to the literature, firstly by carrying out a sentiment analysis with a set of selected keywords that are related to emotions and expectations, then we apply a factor analysis to create the composite indi cator, next we use a descriptive analysis to highlight the main associations between indexes, and finally we employ fractional integration and cointegration techniques (ARFIMA and FCVAR) to assess the RT-ESI behaviour against the European Commission´s consumer confidence indicator and the GDP. The results show that the GDP (YoY) presents the same behaviour as ourleading indicator, finding mean reversion. The behaviour of the CCI series differs from the others.post-print288 K

Bioavailability of black tea theaflavins: absorption, metabolism, and colonic catabolism

Data obtained with in vitro fecal incubations and a feeding study indicate black tea theaflavin and its galloyl derivatives are not absorbed in detectable amounts in either the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract. The theaflavin skeleton is comparatively resistant to degradation by colonic bacteria with a 67% recovery being obtained after a 24 h incubation, which yielded 21 phenolic and aromatic catabolites. The theaflavin galloyl moiety was removed by the microbiota, and the released gallic acid further transformed to 3-O- and 4-O-methyl gallic acids, pyrogallol-1-sulfate and pyrogallol-2-sulfate, which were excreted in urine in amounts equivalent to 94% of intake. The main urinary product potentially derived from breakdown of the theaflavin skeleton was 3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid. A number of the colonic catabolites originating from gallic acid and theaflavins has been reported to be bioactive in ex vivo and in vitro models with a variety of potential modes of action

CNN-LSTM-based prognostics of bidirectional converters for electric vehicles’ machine

This paper proposes an approach to estimate the state of health of DC-DC converters that feed the electrical system of an electric vehicle. They have an important role in providing a smooth and rectified DC voltage to the electric machine. Thus, it is important to diagnose the actual status and predict the future performance of the converter and specifically of the electrolytic capacitors, in order to avoid malfunctioning and failures, since it is known they have the highest failure rates among power converter components. To this end, accelerated aging tests of the electrolytic capacitors are performed by applying an electrical overstress. The gathered data are used to train a CNN-LSTM model that is capable of predicting the future values of the capacitance and the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the electrolytic capacitor. This model can be used to estimate the remaining useful life of the device, thus, increasing the reliability of the system and ensuring an adequate operating condition of the electric motor.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Growth vs value investing: Persistence and time trend before and after COVID-19.

Value investing and growth investing allow economic experts to adopt different investment strategies depending on their chosen specialty; the two investment types have been conditioned by the pandemic, changing the trend of investments and their results. This research aims to analyze the behavior and trends of the different investment strategies before and after the health crisis. We use methodologies based on fractional integration and cointegration to analyze the persistence and trend of the series and their relationship in the long run. We find that the shock is long-lived and causes a change in trend; however, we find no evidence of mean reversion. In addition, we use multivariate wavelet analysis to analyze the correlation between both time series, concluding that a growth-based investment strategy is more successful than a value-based investment strategy. We use neural networks to corroborate our results.pre-print773 K

Bioavailability of orange juice (poly)phenols: the impact of short-term cessation of training by male endurance athletes

Background: Physical exercise has been reported to increase the bioavailability of citrus flavanones. Objective: To investigate the bioavailability of orange juice (OJ) (poly)phenols in endurance-trained men before and after cessation of training for 7 days. Design: Ten fit endurance-trained males, with a maximal oxygen consumption of 58.2 ± 5.3 mL/kg/min, followed a low (poly)phenol diet for 2 d before drinking 500 mL of OJ, containing 398 µmol of (poly)phenols of which 330 µmol were flavanones. After the volunteers stopped training for 7 days the feeding study was repeated. Urine samples were collected 12 h pre- and 24 h post-OJ orange consumption. Bioavailability was assessed by the quantitative analysis of urinary flavanone metabolites and (poly)phenol catabolites using HPLC-HR-MS. Results: While training, 0-24 h urinary excretion of flavanone metabolites, mainly hesperetin-3-O-glucuronide, hesperetin-3´-sulfate, naringenin-4´-O-glucuronide, naringenin-7-O-glucuronide, was equivalent to 4.2% of OJ flavanone intake. This increased significantly to 5.2% when OJ was consumed after the volunteers stopped training for 7 days. Overall, this trend, although not significant, was also observed with OJ-derived colonic catabolites which after supplementation in the trained state were excreted in amounts equivalent to 51% of intake compared to 59% after cessation of training. However, urinary excretion of three colonic catabolites of bacterial origin, most notably, 3-(3´-hydroxy-4´-methoxyphenyl)hydracrylic acid, did increase significantly when OJ was consumed post- compared to pre-cessation of training. Data were also obtained on inter-individual variations in flavanone bioavailability. Conclusion: A 7-day cessation of endurance training enhanced, rather than reduced, the bioavailability of OJ flavanones. The biological significance of these differences and, whether or not they extend to the bioavailability of other dietary (poly)phenols, remains to be determined. Hesperetin-3´-O-glucuronide and the colonic microbiota-derived catabolite 3-(3´-hydroxy-4´-methoxyphenyl)hydracrylic acid are key biomarkers of the consumption of hesperetin-O-glycoside-containing OJ and other citrus products

Is the intrasexual competition in male red deer reflected in the ratio of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in faeces?

Isotopic analysis of carbon and nitrogen in faeces is a reliable methodology for studying ecology in wildlife. Here, we tested this technique to detect variations in carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in two different intrasexual competition scenarios of male Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) using faeces of individuals collected during hunting actions in South-eastern Spain. The carbon isotopic ratio (δ13C) was not found to be significant, likely due to similar diet composition in all individuals. However, the nitrogen isotopic ratio (δ15N) was found to be lower in populations where sexual competition between males during the rut was higher compared to low-competition populations. Therefore, this study suggests a different use of proteins by an individual male red deer depending on the sexually competitive context in which he lives. Although further research is needed, these results show the potential of isotopic analysis as a tool for studying individual and populational variations in the level of intrasexual competition, with implications in evolutionary ecology and population management