Extracts of Digested Berries Increase the Survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during H2O2 Induced Oxidative Stress

Many studies suggest anthocyanins may prevent the development of several diseases. However, anthocyanin bioactivity against cellular stress is not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of berry anthocyanins on stressed cells using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The impact of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on anthocyanin profiles was also assessed. Bilberry and blackcurrant had higher anthocyanin levels than raspberry and strawberry, but digestion reduced the detected anthocyanins by approximately 90%. Yeast cells with and without digested or nondigested anthocyanin extracts were exposed to H2O2 and examined for survival. In the presence of anthocyanins, particularly from digested strawberry, a significant increase in cell survival was observed, suggesting that the type and levels of anthocyanins are important factors, but they also need to undergo gastrointestinal (GI) structural modifications to induce cell defence. Results also showed that cells need to be exposed to anthocyanins before the stress was applied, suggesting induction of a cellular defence system by anthocyanins or their derivatives rather than by a direct antioxidative effect on H2O2. Overall, data showed that exposure of severely stressed yeast cells to digested berry extracts improved cell survival. The findings also showed the importance of considering gastrointestinal digestion when evaluating anthocyanins\u27 biological activity

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Modelling the biochemical and sensory changes of strawberries during storage under diverse relative humidity conditions

Many studies stress the importance of keeping strawberries at high relative humidity conditions during postharvest storage. However, the effect of deviations occurring across the supply chain on the appearance, acceptability and biochemical properties of strawberries has not been adequately explored or quantified to date using kinetic modelling applications. This study investigated the effect of relative humidity (RH)on degradation kinetics of quality and biochemical properties of ‘Strawberry Festival’, during 7 days of storage at 2 °C, using zero, first-order and Weibull models. The strawberries were stored at 40, 60, 70, 80 or 90% RH and were evaluated using subjective quality evaluation, weight loss monitoring and biochemical analysis. The shelf life was established based on current industry practices using subjective quality evaluation, namely shrivelling and colour scores. The Weibull model was found to better fit the experimental chemical analysis data compared to zero and first order kinetics models. The analysis of the rate constants quantified the significant effect of RH conditions on the weight loss and degradation rate of chemical components. Storage at low RH conditions accelerated the loss of ascorbic acid, and anthocyanins and negatively affect the in vitro antioxidant activity. The overall appearance of strawberries was modelled with zero-order kinetic model and the results revealed that lower RH conditions can limit the remaining shelf life of fresh strawberries by increasing the rate of appearance deterioration. Using RH and time as predictors in a logistic regression model, the waste occurring due to unacceptable strawberry quality, was predicted; highlighting the importance of using RH in predictive modelling when designing supply chains with the view to minimise losses.European Commission Horizon 2020USDA–NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative Gran

Destruction de Rhizopus stolonifer et Botrytis cinerea par des traitements ozone/ions

L’activité fongicide des traitements ozone/ionisation a été étudiée. Rhizopus stolonifer et Botrytis cinerea, deux moisissures pathogènes communes de l’entreposage des fraises, ont été inoculées sur gélose et exposées à 106 ions/cm3 d’air et à des concentrations d’ozone de 0,05; 0,1; 0,5 et 1 ppm. En guise d’application, des fraises ont été inoculées par lésion avec chaque souche de moisissure et traitées aux mêmes concentrations d’ozone pour 12, 24, 48, 72 heures et comparées à un témoin inoculé non traité. Les résultats obtenus ont démontré un effet fongicide significatif et/ou fongistatique des traitements combinés ozone/ionisation sur les moisissures étudiées. Les expériences sur gélose ont montré que les teneurs en ozone de 0,05 et 0,1 ppm ont permis, après 36 heures de traitement, de réduire respectivement de 57 et 76 % les populations de R. stolonifer, et de 68 et 78 % les populations de B. cinerea. Pour les concentrations d’ozone de 0,5 et 1 ppm, une réduction de 99 % pour R. stolonifer et de 98 % pour B. cinerea a été observée. Sur les fraises exposées à 1 ppm d’ozone, après 72 heures de traitement, 91,1 et 98,8 % de réduction des populations de R. stolonifer et B. cinerea ont été observées respectivement.The fungicidal activity of the combined treatment ozone/ions was investigated on the development of Rhizopus stolonifer and Botrytis cinerea. R. stolonifer and B. cinerea, two common postharvest pathogens of strawberries, were inoculated on gelose and exposed to 106 ions/cm3 of air with ozone concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 or 1 ppm. Strawberries were wounded and inoculated with R. stolonifer or B. cinerea and exposed to the same ozone/ions concentrations for 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours. The results showed a significant fungicidal and/or fungistatic effect of the combined ozone/ions treatments on the fungus. In vitro treatments showed that, after 36 hours of exposure to ozone concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1 ppm, the cell count decrease for R. stolonifer was 57 and 76% respectively, while it was 68 and 78% for B. cinerea. Exposure to ozone concentrations of 0.5 and 1 ppm over the same period of time resulted in 99 and 98% decrease for R. stolonifer and B. cinerea, respectively. Ozone/ions treatment in wounded strawberries allowed 91.1 and 98.8% reduction of the counts after 72 hours of exposure to 1 ppm of ozone respectively for R. stolonifer and B. cinerea

Quality degradation kinetics of fresh strawberries exposed to different levels of relative humidity

The 2019 Institute of Food Technologists Annual Event and Food Exposition (IFT 2019), New Orleans, United States of America, 2-5 June 2019Strawberry is a popular fruit globally and one most often discarded throughout the supply chain, due to high perishability and poor management during distribution. Throughout the supply chain strawberries are kept at temperatures and relative humidity (RH) conditions that deviate significantly from the optimum. Many studies stress the importance of keeping strawberries at 90-95% RH but the effect of the deviations occurring during the supply chain on the appearance, acceptability and quality of strawberries has not been explored to date.European Commissio

Blueberry supply chain: Critical steps impacting fruit quality and application of a boosted regression tree model to predict weight loss

Blueberries have increased in popularity in recent years due to their nutritional benefits and sensory characteristics. However, to preserve quality and extend shelf-life, they need to be maintained at refrigerated temperatures and high relative humidity, conditions that are not routinely met along the supply chain. Poor temperature management leads to quality deterioration, increasing waste/losses along the supply chain. This study examined the impact of each step along the supply chain on the physichochemical quality and shelf-life of blueberries, identifying the most critical steps from field to consumption. The following steps were identified as critical in the blueberry supply chain: shipping to distribution centre (DC) (72 h at 5 °C), store display (48 h at 15 °C), and consumer (48 h at 20 °C). Given the economic importance of weight loss and its link to fruit quality and shelf-life, a boosted regression tree (BRT) model was built to predict weight loss using the post-harvest environmental conditions of a simulated supply chain applying different temperature-time scenarios. The model explained 84 % of the variance on the test set and highlighted the interactions of supply chain conditions on weight loss.European Commission Horizon 2020US Department of Agriculture (USDA