PLEROCERCOID GYMNORHYNCHUS (CESTODA: TRYPANORHYNCHA) IN LEPIDOPUS CAUDATUS: INTERFERENCE ON TMA-N AND TVB-N DETERMINATION

Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) and Trimethylamine Nitrogen (TMA-N) are the most important freshness indicators in fish. The present report demonstrates that the Gymnorhynchus gigas plerocercoid may interfere on TVBN and TMA-N determination. The study was carried-out on 101 samples: 37 Mp (muscle portions around the parasite), 32 P (larvae of Gymnorynchus gigas extracted from muscle) and 32 Mnp (muscle portions parasite-free), obtained from 10 specimens of Lepidopus caudatus kept at several temperature for different time. The TVB-N and TMA-N contents of each sample were measured using the Conway microdiffusion method. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between Mp and Mnp for TMA-N were found from 24h of storage at 4 and 15°C. No significant differences (p < 0.05) between Mp and Mnp for TVB-N were observed from 48h of storage at 4 and 15°C. TVB-N and TMA-N content was variable in larvae

A new approach to predict the fish fillet shelf-life in presence of natural preservative agents

Three data sets concerning the behaviour of spoilage flora of fillets treated with natural preservative substances (NPS) were used to construct a new kind of mathematical predictive model. This model, unlike other ones, allows expressing the antibacterial effect of the NPS separately from the prediction of the growth rate. This approach, based on the introduction of a parameter into the predictive primary model, produced a good fitting of observed data and allowed characterising quantitatively the increase of shelf-life of fillets

Moringa oleifera leaf powder as functional additive in cookies to protect sh-sy5y cells

The aim of this work is the evaluation of the addition of Moringa leaf powder (MLP) in cookies in terms of antioxidant properties, dough processability and sensorial properties of the cookies. The total content of biophenols and flavonoids in MLP was detected and the identification of the bioactive molecules was performed by HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS measurements, before and after oven treatment at 180◦C for 20 min. After a preliminary evaluation of the MLP water soluble fraction (MLPsf) cytotoxicity, its protective effect against an oxidative injury induced in the SH-SY5Y cells was assessed. Data evidence that the bioactive molecules present in MLPsf are effective in preventing ROS production and in protecting neuronal cells against oxidative stress. Prototypes of cookies containing MLP in different concentrations were then produced and evaluated by a consumer panel. Selected doughs containing MLP were analysed to determine the total content of biophenols in the cookies after baking and their enrichment in terms of valuable chemical elements. The influence of MLP on the viscoelastic behaviour and morphology of the doughs was also assessed. Finally, the potential role in counteracting the insurgence of not treatable neurodegenerative pathologies of two main MLP components, glucomoringin and kaempferol derivatives, present also after the thermal treatment, was discussed

Injectable xyloglucan hydrogels incorporating spheroids of adipose stem cells for bone and cartilage regeneration

Cartilage or bone regeneration approaches based on the direct injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) at the lesion site encounter several challenges, related to uncontrolled cell spreading and differentiation, reduced cell viability and poor engrafting. This work presents a simple and versatile strategy based on the synergic combination of in-situ forming hydrogels and spheroids of adipose stem cells (SASCs) with great potential for minimally invasive regenerative interventions aimed to threat bone and cartilage defects. Aqueous dispersions of partially degalactosylated xyloglucan (dXG) are mixed with SASCs derived from liposuction and either a chondroinductive or an osteoinductive medium. The dispersions rapidly set into hydrogels when temperature is brought to 37 °C. The physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the hydrogels are controlled by polymer concentration. The hydrogels, during 21 day incubation at 37 °C, undergo significant structural rearrangements that support cell proliferation and spreading. In formulations containing 1%w dXG cell viability increases up to 300% for SASCs-derived osteoblasts and up to 1000% for SASCs-derived chondrocytes if compared with control 2D cultures. The successful differentiation into the target cells is supported by the expression of lineage-specific genes. Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions are also investigated. All formulations resulted injectable, and the incorporated cells are fully viable after injection

Hydrogel scaffolds based on k-Carrageenan/xyloglucan blends to host spheroids from human adipose stem cells

Hydrogels are water-swollen networks of hydrophilic polymer. They can be fabricated in various shapes and swell in water or aqueous solutions maintaining their original shape or undergo progressive erosion; can exibit large volume phase transitions with the change of one environmental parameter (stimuli-responsivness), shock absorption and low sliding friction properties (1). The morphology and mechanical properties of hydrogels are strongly affected by the network composition, the nature and degree of crosslinking and the degree of swelling. Indeed, when hydrogels are designed as scaffolds for human tissues remodeling, they must have sufficient mechanical integrity to provide support to the cells from the time of implantation to the completion of the process. The large amount of water present in the hydrogels and its microscopic pores interconnectivity allows transportation of nutrients, oxygen and metabolites, that ensures cells viability, and permits cells migration and scaffold colonization. The polymeric network can immobilize biomolecules that may affect cells growth or differentiation, control drug release profiles and enzymatic degradation (2,3). The combination of two hydrogelforming polymers with different chemistries and crosslinking densities can be used to tailor the morphology, mechanical strength and toughness of the scaffold to meet specific requirements (1). This work investigates the physico-chemical, morphological and mechanical properties of hydrogels formed by the blend of two polysaccharides, k-Carrageenan (k-C) and Degalactosylated Xyloglucan (Deg-XG) undergoing salt-induced and temperature-induced solgel transition, respectively. It also studies the compatibility of the two biopolymers with spheroids from adipose-derived stem cells (S-ASCs) in the prospect of developing instructive scaffolds for use in regenerative medicine

Intercropping of tomato with antagonistic plants in the treatment of soil infested with Meloidogyne spp., under greenhouse

El intercultivo de tomate con especies antagónicas se considera una alternativa de manejo de Meloidogyne spp. El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar el intercultivo de las especies Tagetes erecta, Tagetes minuta y Crotalaria juncea para el manejo de Meloidogyne spp., en el cultivo de tomate. Se determinó, en las plantas de tomate, el índice de agallas y el número y peso de frutos. El intercultivo de tomate con T. erecta mostro un menor índice de agallas que el resto de los tratamientos evaluados. Además, se observó en este tratamiento, y en el de T. minuta, un mayor peso y número de frutos con respecto al tratamiento con C. juncea y al testigo sin intercultivo. En las condiciones de este ensayo, el intercultivo de tomate con T. erecta mostró ser una buena alternativa de manejo de Meloidoigyne spp. Se contribuye con esta práctica a una menor utilización de fitosanitarios, con el efecto positivo que trae aparejado para con el medio ambiente, y a la obtención de un producto hortícola de mayor inocuidad para el consumo.Tomato intercropping with antagonistic species is considered a management alternative for Meloidogyne spp. The objective of the work was to evaluate the intercropping of Tagetes erecta, Tagetes minuta and Crotalaria juncea for the management of Meloidogyne spp., in tomato cultivation. The gall index and the number and weight of fruits were determined in tomato plants. Tomato intercropping with T. erecta showed a lower gall index than the rest of evaluated treatments. In addition, a higher weight and number of fruits were observed in this treatment and in the one with T. minuta, respect to the C. juncea treatment and the control without intercropping. Under the conditions of this trial, intercropping of tomato with T. erecta proved to be a good alternative for the management of Meloidoigyne spp. This practice contributes to a lesser use of phytosanitary products, with the positive effect that it has on the environment, and to the obtaining of a more innocuous horticultural product for human consumption.Fil: Comezaña, María Micaela. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, R. A.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Ayastuy, M. E.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Muscolino, C.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Rosetti, F.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Belladonna, D. P.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; Argentin

La sinistra:italiana una commedia in tre atti.

L’entrata nella seconda Repubblica è stata scandita dalla marcia trionfale della sinistra in predicato di vincere le elezioni politiche. I risultati elettorali più gratificanti della sinistra sono stati la traballante vittoria del 1996 e le non vittorie (sostanziali pareggi) del 2006 e del 2013, al contrario erano certe nelle previsioni e nei fatti le vittorie berlusconiane del 2001 e del 2008