Quality evaluation of Pecan nuts [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) C. Koch] during storage in different packaging

In the present work, the quality changes of pecan nuts stored in nylon-polyethylene plastic film under vacuum and in polypropylene plastic recipients at ambient temperature for 150 days were evaluated. The nutritional composition, fatty acid composition and tocopherol content of the pecan nuts reveal interesting nutritional characteristics and an oil with high contents of mono-unsaturated fatty acids and gamma-tocopherol. During storage, moisture content did not suffer significant changes, but a gradual and significant darkening of the surface of the nuts occurred. The changes in acid value, peroxide value and specific extinction of the extracted oil were significant. The microbiological quality was excellent and the presence of Salmonella sp. was not detected. Through sensory analysis, the shelf-life of the product was determined as 120 days, without significant differences between the two types of packaging used.59213213

Effect of the addition of ultraviolet absorber (Tinuvin 234) on the quality of soybean oil packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

In this work, the effect of the addition of the UV absorber Tinuvin 234 on the quality of soybean oil packaged in PET bottles stored at ambient temperature for 6 months under fluorescent light (634 lux). Along this period determinations were made of: Peroxide value (PV), Free fatty acids (FFA), Specific extinction at 232 and 270 nm (EE) and Sensorial evaluation (SE). The analysis of variance and contrast between the linear coefficients of each treatment indicates that significant difference does not exist (p < 0.0001) during the storage in relation to all determinations (PV, FFA, EE and SE). The results indicate that the addition of the absorbent Tinuvin 234 to PET bottles in the concentrations of 0.12% and 0.22% was not efficient in slowing down the deterioration of the oil exposed to the fluorescent light, when compared with soybean oil in PET bottles without addition of Tinuvin 234.56424525

Chromosomal locations of the maize (Zea mays L.) HtP and rt genes that confer resistance to Exserohilum turcicum

We used 125 microsatellite markers to genotype the maize (Zea mays L.) near isogenic lines (NIL) L30HtPHtPRtRt and L30htphtpRtRt and the L40htphtprtrt line which contrast regarding the presence of the recently described dominant HtP and the recessive rt genes that confer resistance to Exserohilum turcicum. Five microsatellite markers revealed polymorphisms between the NIL and were considered candidate linked markers for the HtP resistance gene. Linkage was confirmed by bulked segregant sample (BSS) analysis of 32 susceptible and 34 resistant plants from a BC1F1 population derived from the cross (L30HtPHtPRtRt x L40htphtprtrt) x L40htphtprtrt. The bnlg198 and dupssr25 markers, both located on maize chromosome 2L (bin 2.08), were polymorphic between bulks. Linkage distances were estimated based on co-segregation data of the 32 susceptible plants and indicated distances of 28.7 centimorgans (cM) between HtP and bnlg198 and 23.5 cM between HtP and dupssr25. The same set of susceptible plants was also genotyped with markers polymorphic between L30HtPHtPRtRt and L40htphtprtrt in order to find markers linked to the rt gene. Marker bnlg197, from chromosome 3L (bin 3.06), was found linked to rt at a distance of 9.7 cM. This is the first report on the chromosomal locations of these newly described genes

Effectiveness of depression and anxiety prevention in adolescents with high familial risk: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 121611.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: Depression and anxiety disorders during adolescence can have detrimental consequences. Both disorders are related to negative outcome in various areas during adolescence and are also predictive of depression and anxiety disorders later in life. Especially parental psychopathology and being female are risk factors that increase the probability of developing one of these disorders during adolescence. Research has shown that prevention programs have promising results, especially for adolescents who have these risk factors. Therefore, in this study, we will focus on the effectiveness of a prevention program ‘A jump forward’ that has been developed for adolescent girls with a familial risk of depression and/or anxiety. Methods/Design: We designed a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an indicated and selective prevention program aimed at depression and anxiety in adolescent girls. Adolescents aged between 11 and 15 years old with depressive and/or anxiety symptoms and with parents who show indicators of parental psychopathology will be randomly assigned to the experimental (N = 80) or control groups (N = 80). Participants in the experimental group will follow a preventive intervention, consisting of six sessions of 90 minutes each. All participants will complete baseline, intervention phase 1 (after session 2), intervention phase 2 (after session 4), post-intervention, 6 month follow-up, and 12 month follow-up assessments. Furthermore, parents will be asked to complete assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and 12-month follow-up. Primary outcome will be depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes will be anxiety symptoms, suicidal ideation, response style, negative cognitive errors, parental emotional support and parental control, parental psychopathology, parenting stress and adolescents’ depression and anxiety symptoms according to the parents. Discussion: This paper described the study designed to evaluate a program for preventing depression and/or anxiety in high-risk adolescents over a 12-month follow-up period. If the program showed to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and preventing adolescents from developing clinical levels of these disorders, our results would be relevant to practice. Thus, the intervention could be used on a large scale. Moreover, this study aims to contribute to the evidence-based prevention of depression and anxiety of adolescents.7 p