Quantification of Selected Trace and Mineral Elements in Royal Jelly from Bulgaria by Icp-Oes and Etaas

The objective of the present study was to investigate selected trace and mineral elements in Royal Jelly (RJ) from Bulgaria. A total of 30 RJ samples were included in the study. The analytical procedure consisted of the microwave digestion of the RJ samples with nitric acid followed by instrumental measurement. Concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Sr and Zn were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), while As, Cd, Co, Ni and Pb were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Our results showed that elements K, Mg, Ca represented 96% from the total mineral content of the RJ samples from Bulgaria, while the most abundant trace element was Na, followed by Zn. The elements Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Sr were found in trace concentration levels and elements As, Pb, Cd, Co and Ni in microconcentration levels. Selected mineral and trace elements were found in relatively constant concentration levels in all of the analyzed RJ samples. It was concluded that chemical element content did not depend on geographical origin and was under homeostatic adjustment in RJs

A New Approach for Determination of the Botanical Origin of Monofloral Bee Honey, Combining Mineral Content, Physicochemical Parameters, and Self-Organizing Maps

A new approach for the botanical origin determination of monofloral bee honey is developed. The methodology combines mineral content and physicochemical parameters determination with intelligent statistics such as self-organizing maps (SOMs). A total of 62 monofloral bee honey samples were analysed, including 31 linden, 14 rapeseed, 13 sunflower, and 4 acacia. All of them were harvested in 2018 and 2019 from trusted beekeepers, after confirming their botanical origin, using melissopalynological analysis. Nine physicochemical parameters were determined, including colour, water content, pH, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, diastase activity, specific optical rotation, invertase activity, and proline. The content of thirty chemical elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Se, Sr, Te, V, and Zn) was measured using ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and FAAS as instrumental techniques. The visualisation of the SOMs shows an excellent separation of honey samples in five well-defined clusters—linden, rapeseed, acacia, sunflower, and polyfloral honey—using the following set of 16 descriptors: diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, invertase activity, pH, specific optical rotation, water content, Al, B, Cr, Cs, K, Na, Ni, Rb, V, and Zn

Surface and Morphological Features of ZrO2 Sol-Gel Coatings Obtained by Polymer Modified Solution

Thin, homogeneous ZrO2 films were obtained by spin coating method from ZrOCl2 8H2O solution, modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) (Mw = 400). The films have thickness of 80 nm and refractive index of about 1.45, which varied with the amount of added PEG. The thermal behaviour of the precursor was studied with thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of a mixture of monoclinic and tetragonal ZrO2 polycrystalline phases with nanosized crystallites. The formation of hydrogen bonds among the organic and inorganic components was proved by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis, while the different defect centres were investigated with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the samples are dense and crack-free, with ganglia-like nanostructure. It was established that the addition of polymer resulted in the introduction of free volume in the films, which also varied with the content of PEG in the precursor solution

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Fat Content, Fatty Acids, Antioxidants and Oxidative Stability of Almonds, and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Study of Treated Nuts

Gamma irradiation has been applied as an efficient and inexpensive method for the sterilization of nuts for years. However, along with the benefits of such treatment, negative effects are possible because of the formation of reactive oxygen species with a toxic effect on important biologically active substances. Because of the scarce and contradictory information in the literature about gamma-irradiated almonds, the aim of our work was the examination of the lipid changes, antioxidant activity, and oxidative stability of almonds treated by 10 and 25 kGy gamma rays, as well as changes in intensity of the EPR spectra as an indicator for the stability of radiation-induced free radicals. The results revealed no significant differences in the EPR spectra of almonds treated at 10 and 25 kGy doses, neither in their intensity nor in kinetic behaviour. The EPR signals decayed exponentially over 250 days, with a decreasing of central line by 90%, with satellite lines by about 73%. No significant changes in the fat content, fatty acids composition, and acid value of irradiated almonds were observed. However, the amount of (alpha)tocopherols decreased from 292 to 175 mg/kg, whereas the conjugated dienes and trienes increased, K232 from 1.3 to 3 and K268 from 0.04 to 0.15, respectively, with the increasing of irradiation dose. The same was observed for total polyphenols in defatted almonds (1374 to 1520 mg/100 g), where in vitro antioxidant activity determined by ORAC and HORAC methods increased from 100 to 156 µmol TE/g and from 61 to 86 µmol GAE/g, respectively. The oxidative stability of oil decreased from 6 to 4 h at 120 °C and from 24.6 to 18.6 h at 100 °C (measured by Rancimat equipment). The kinetic parameters characterizing the oxidative stability of oil from 10 kGy irradiated almonds were studied before and after addition of different concentrations of ascorbyl palmitate as a synergist of tocopherols. Its effectiveness was concentration-dependent, and 0.75 mM ensured the same induction period as that of non-irradiated nut oil. Further enrichment with alpha-tocopherol in equimolar ratio with palmitate did not improve the oil stability. In conclusion, gamma irradiation is an appropriate method for the treatment of almonds without significant changes in fat content and fatty acids composition. The decreasing of oxidative stability after higher irradiation could be prevented by the addition of ascorbyl palmitate

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Fat Content, Fatty Acids, Antioxidants and Oxidative Stability of Almonds, and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Study of Treated Nuts

Gamma irradiation has been applied as an efficient and inexpensive method for the sterilization of nuts for years. However, along with the benefits of such treatment, negative effects are possible because of the formation of reactive oxygen species with a toxic effect on important biologically active substances. Because of the scarce and contradictory information in the literature about gamma-irradiated almonds, the aim of our work was the examination of the lipid changes, antioxidant activity, and oxidative stability of almonds treated by 10 and 25 kGy gamma rays, as well as changes in intensity of the EPR spectra as an indicator for the stability of radiation-induced free radicals. The results revealed no significant differences in the EPR spectra of almonds treated at 10 and 25 kGy doses, neither in their intensity nor in kinetic behaviour. The EPR signals decayed exponentially over 250 days, with a decreasing of central line by 90%, with satellite lines by about 73%. No significant changes in the fat content, fatty acids composition, and acid value of irradiated almonds were observed. However, the amount of (alpha)tocopherols decreased from 292 to 175 mg/kg, whereas the conjugated dienes and trienes increased, K232 from 1.3 to 3 and K268 from 0.04 to 0.15, respectively, with the increasing of irradiation dose. The same was observed for total polyphenols in defatted almonds (1374 to 1520 mg/100 g), where in vitro antioxidant activity determined by ORAC and HORAC methods increased from 100 to 156 µmol TE/g and from 61 to 86 µmol GAE/g, respectively. The oxidative stability of oil decreased from 6 to 4 h at 120 °C and from 24.6 to 18.6 h at 100 °C (measured by Rancimat equipment). The kinetic parameters characterizing the oxidative stability of oil from 10 kGy irradiated almonds were studied before and after addition of different concentrations of ascorbyl palmitate as a synergist of tocopherols. Its effectiveness was concentration-dependent, and 0.75 mM ensured the same induction period as that of non-irradiated nut oil. Further enrichment with alpha-tocopherol in equimolar ratio with palmitate did not improve the oil stability. In conclusion, gamma irradiation is an appropriate method for the treatment of almonds without significant changes in fat content and fatty acids composition. The decreasing of oxidative stability after higher irradiation could be prevented by the addition of ascorbyl palmitate

Health-Related Quality of Life following Surgery for Native and Prosthetic Valve Infective Endocarditis

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the long-term outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients following surgery for infective native valve endocarditis (NVE) and prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Methods: We retrospectively identified 633 consecutive patients who had undergone surgery for infective endocarditis at our center between January 2005 and October 2018. The patients were interviewed, and the SF-36 survey was used to assess the HRQOL of survivors. Propensity score matching (2:1) was performed with data from a German reference population. Multivariable analysis incorporated binary logistic regression using a forward stepwise (conditional) model. Results: The median age of the cohort was 67 (55–74) years, and 75.6% were male. Operative mortality was 13.7% in the NVE group and 21.6% in the PVE group (p = 0.010). The overall survival at 1 year was 88.0% and was comparable between the groups. The physical health summary scores were 49 (40–55) for the NVE patients and 45 (37–52) for the PVE patients (p = 0.043). The median mental health summary scores were 52 (35–57) and 49 (41–56), respectively (p = 0.961). On comparison of the HRQOL to the reference population, the physical health summary scores were comparable. However, significant differences were observed with regard to the mental health summary scores (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Our study shows that there are significant differences in the various domains of HRQOL, not only between NVE and PVE patients, but also in comparison to healthy individuals. In addition to preoperative health status, it is important to consider the patient’s expectations regarding surgery. Further prospective studies are required

Miscibility of hBest1 and sphingomyelin in surface films – a prerequisite for interaction with membrane domains

Human bestrophin-1 (hBest1) is a transmembrane Ca2+- dependent anion channel, associated with the transport of Cl−, HCO3- ions, γ-aminobutiric acid (GABA), glutamate (Glu), and regulation of retinal homeostasis. Its mutant forms cause retinal degenerative diseases, defined as Bestrophinopathies. Using both physicochemical - surface pressure/mean molecular area (π/A) isotherms, hysteresis, compressibility moduli of hBest1/sphingomyelin (SM) monolayers, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) studies, and biological approaches - detergent membrane fractionation, Laurdan (6-dodecanoyl-N,N-dimethyl-2-naphthylamine) and immunofluorescence staining of stably transfected MDCK-hBest1 and MDCK II cells, we report: 1) Ca2+, Glu and GABA interact with binary hBest1/SM monolayers at 35 °C, resulting in changes in hBest1 surface conformation, structure, self-organization and surface dynamics. The process of mixing in hBest1/SM monolayers is spontaneous and the effect of protein on binary films was defined as “fluidizing”, hindering the phase-transition of monolayer from liquid-expanded to intermediate (LE-M) state; 2) in stably transfected MDCK-hBest1 cells, bestrophin-1 was distributed between detergent resistant (DRM) and detergent-soluble membranes (DSM) - up to 30 % and 70 %, respectively; in alive cells, hBest1 was visualized in both liquid-ordered (Lo) and liquid-disordered (Ld) fractions, quantifying protein association up to 35 % and 65 % with Lo and Ld. Our results indicate that the spontaneous miscibility of hBest1 and SM is a prerequisite to diverse protein interactions with membrane domains, different structural conformations and biological functions

Modified Approach Using Mentha arvensis in the Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles—Textural, Structural, and Photocatalytic Properties

Zinc oxide arouses considerable interest since it has many applications—in microelectronics, environmental decontaminations, biomedicine, photocatalysis, corrosion, etc. The present investigation describes the green synthesis of nanosized ZnO particles using a low-cost, ecologically friendly approach compared to the classical methods, which are aimed at limiting their harmful effects on the environment. In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were prepared using an extract of Mentha arvensis (MA) leaves as a stabilizing/reducing agent, followed by hydrothermal treatment at 180 °C. The resulting powder samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) phase analysis, infrared spectroscopy (IRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The specific surface area and pore size distribution were measured by the Brunauer–Emmett–Taylor (BET) method. Electronic paramagnetic resonance spectra were recorded at room temperature and at 123 K by a JEOL JES-FA 100 EPR spectrometer. The intensity of the bands within the range of 400–1700 cm−1 for biosynthesized ZnO (BS-Zn) powders decreased with the increase in the Mentha arvensis extract concentration. Upon increasing the plant extract concentration, the relative proportion of mesopores in the BS-Zn samples also increased. It was established that the photocatalytic performance of the biosynthesized powders was dependent on the MA concentration in the precursor solution. According to EPR and PL analyses, it was proved that there was a presence of singly ionized oxygen vacancies (V0+) and zinc interstitials (Zni). The use of the plant extract led to changes in the morphology, phase composition, and structure of the ZnO particles, which were responsible for the increased photocatalytic rate of discoloration of Malachite Green dye