Donkey's milk caseins characterization

In the recent years the interest around donkey's milk had a marked increase since it has been demonstrated that this milk can be used for feeding of infants affected by dairy cow's milk protein intolerance (Businco et al., 2000; Iacono et al., 1992)

Meat and carcass quality from peruvian llama (Lama glama) and alpaca (Lama pacos)

An experiment based on 20 llama males and 40 alpaca males reared in Peru has been carried out with the aim to evaluate the live growth performances, carcass quality, the nutritional characteristics of meat from animals slaughtered at 25 months of age, and to determine the physical and chemical parameters of meat obtained from these animals. The live body weights registered during the 25 months of the experiment were significantly lower in alpaca compared with llama. In llama carcasses were significantly higher both warm and cold carcass weight (P<0.001) but dressing percentage was higher in alpacas (P<0.01). The glycolityc fine-course was very similar both in llama and in alpaca muscle Longissimus Thoracis et Lumborum. Chemical composition of muscle Longissimus Thoracis et Lumborum taken from llama and alpaca carcasses was significantly different (P<0.01) in ash content; cholesterol content was significantly higher (P<0.001) in llama meat compared with alpaca

Biomarkers of oxidative and nitrosative damage in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly. Products of oxidative and nitrosative stress (OS and NS, respectively) accumulate with aging, which is the main risk factor for AD. This provides the basis for the involvement of OS and NS in AD pathogenesis. OS and NS occur in biological systems due to the dysregulation of the redox balance, caused by a deficiency of antioxidants and/or the overproduction of free radicals. Free radical attack against lipids, proteins, sugars and nucleic acids leads to the formation of bioproducts whose detection in fluids and tissues represents the currently available method for assessing oxidative/nitrosative damage. Post-mortem and in-vivo studies have demonstrated an accumulation of products of free radical damage in the central nervous system and in the peripheral tissues of subjects with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In addition to their individual role, biomarkers for OS and NS in AD are associated with altered bioenergetics and amyloid-beta (Aβ) metabolism. In this review we discuss the main results obtained in the field of biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress in AD and MCI in humans, in addition to their potential role as a tool for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment efficacy in AD. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Redox activity and chemical speciation of size fractioned PM in the communities of the Los Angeles ? Long Beach Harbor

International audienceIn this study, two different types of assays were used to quantitatively measure the redox activity of PM and to examine its intrinsic toxicity: 1) in vitro exposure to rat alveolar macrophage (AM) cells using dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) as the fluorescent probe (macrophage ROS assay), and: 2) consumption of dithiothreitol (DTT) in a cell-free system (DTT assay). Coarse (PM10?2.5), accumulation (PM2.5?0.25), and quasi-ultrafine (quasi-UF, PM0.25) mode particles were collected weekly at five sampling sites in the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor and at one site near the University of Southern California campus (urban site). All PM samples were analyzed for organic (total and water-soluble) and elemental carbon, organic species, inorganic ions, and total and water-soluble elements. Quasi-UF mode particles showed the highest redox activity at all Long Beach sites (on both a per-mass and per-air volume basis). A significant association (R2=0.61) was observed between the two assays, indicating that macrophage ROS and DTT levels are affected at least partially by similar PM species. Relatively small variation was observed for the DTT measurements across all size fractions and sites, whereas macrophage ROS levels showed more significant ranges across the three different particle size modes and throughout the sites (coefficients of variation, or CVs, were 0.35, 0.24 and 0.53 for quasi-UF, accumulation, and coarse mode particles, respectively). Association between the PM constituents and the redox activity was further investigated using multiple linear regression models. The results showed that OC was the most important component influencing the DTT activity of PM samples. The variability of macrophage ROS was explained by changes in OC concentrations and water-soluble vanadium (probably originating from ship emissions ? bunker oil combustion). The multiple regression models were used to predict the average diurnal macrophage ROS and DTT levels as a function of the OC concentration at one of the sampling sites

Raja asterias population assessment in FAO GFCM GSA17 area

Population structure and distribution of the starry ray, Raja asterias, were described based on data collected during yearly rapido trawl surveys (SoleMon), between 2005 and 2014 in the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea. A total of 306 individuals were caught, sex ratio was 1.04:1 in favor of males and length-weight relationships were obtained for the whole sample. Following the MEDITS scale, maturity was estimated, observing a higher number of immature individuals. Relative abundance significantly increased during the recent period with the highest values recorded at 5-30 m depths. Such increase could be related to the response of R. asterias to climatic change or to the decrease  in fishing pressure in the area. Clear spatial segregation of individuals depending on their life stage was observed, with immature individuals inhabiting the coastal areas and adults more abundant at depths greater than 40 m. The comparison of the result of the present study with MEDITS survey outcomes in terms of  distribution patterns, persistence areas of adults and juveniles and abundances indices, evidences that SoleMon survey seems to be more suitable in defining such features of the stock, likely due to the greater catchability of the rapido trawl in respect to the MEDITS trawl net. However, further investigations are needed to identify factors affecting the increasing abundance of this species, and develop an action plan for spatial management of fishing activities

Buoyancy-assisted mixed convection flow over a heated square cylinder in a vertical channel

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.This paper investigates numerically the flow and heat transfer in air (Pr=0.71) by mixed convection past a heated square cylinder under aiding buoyancy effect in a confined channel. The numerical simulations are performed in the range of parameters 20≤Re≤45 and 1.61x103 ≤Gr≤6.33x103for a fixed blockage ratio D/L of 0.1. The combination in the present study of these two Re and Gr parameters is reduced so that the Richarson number varies from 0,8 to 8, in order to neglect neither free convection (Ri10). The steady two-dimensional governing equations are solved by the finite volume formulation using the open source OpenFoam® code. The representative flow structure, isotherm patterns and local Nusselt number evolution are presented and discussed. The effect of both the Reynolds number and the buoyancy parameter on the fluid flow and the heat transfer are also analyzed. It is found that the wake region size strongly depends on both Reynolds and Grashof numbers and this region is shown to increase in size increasing the Reynolds number and/or decreasing the Grashof number. Moreover, increasing the Reynolds number leads to a heat transfer enhancement more pronounced on the front face of the obstacle, whereas increasing the Grashof number leads to a heat transfer enhancement more pronounced on the side faces.dc201