Internal quality of commercial eggs stored under conditions that simulate storage from laying to consumption

This study evaluated the effects on the internal quality of eggs of various storage environments through which eggs may pass between being laid and being consumed. Commercial eggs (N = 648) from Dekalb White hens were used. Treatments consisted of T1: 28 days at 4 °C; T2: 28 days at 20 °C; T3: 7 days at room temperature (27 °C ± 2 °C) (humidity 55%) and 21 days at 4 °C; T4: 7 days at room temperature and 21 days at 20 °C; T5: 14 days at room temperature and 14 days at 4 °C; T6: 14 days at room temperature and 14 days at 20 °C; T7: 21 days at room temperature and 7 days at 4 °C; T8: 21 days at room temperature and 7 days at 20 °C; and T9: 28 days at room temperature. The characteristics that were evaluated consisted of Haugh unit (HU), yolk index (YI), colour (L*, a* and b*), albumen pH, yolk pH and lipid oxidation. Eggs stored 28 days were darker (L*), and had greater yolk pH and lipid oxidation than fresh eggs. Eggs stored under T1 and T3 conditions had greater HU and YI than eggs stored in the other environments. The albumin pH of eggs stored at room temperature (T9) was highest of the treatments. Yellowness was increased in eggs stored under T4, T6, T8, and T9 conditions. Eggs should be stored under refrigeration as this promotes maintenance of internal quality and mitigates negative effects of previous storage conditions

Sea regions for rectangular cartograms

In a rectangular cartogram, each region of a map is represented by a rectangle whose area is proportional to some statistical data of interest. Current techniques for constructing rectangular cartograms partition a large rectangle (the map) into a set of smaller rectangles which correspond to land or sea regions. The position and size of sea rectangles determine the outline of land masses. Therefore, sea regions have a direct impact on the recognizability and, thus, on the visual quality of cartograms. In this paper, we describe the first algorithm for the automated creation of sea regions for rectangular cartograms and present results obtained with our method

Effects of diazoxide in experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the effects of diazoxide on the mortality, pancreatic injury, and inflammatory response in an experimental model of acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Male Wistar rats (200-400 g) were divided randomly into two groups. Fifteen minutes before surgery, animals received physiological (0.9%) saline (3 mL/kg) (control group) or 45 mg/kg diazoxide (treatment group) via the intravenous route. Acute pancreatitis was induced by injection of 2.5% sodium taurocholate via the biliopancreatic duct. Mortality (n=38) was observed for 72 h and analyzed by the Mantel-Cox Log-rank test. To study pancreatic lesions and systemic inflammation, rats (10 from each group) were killed 3 h after acute pancreatitis induction; ascites volume was measured and blood as well as pancreases were collected. Pancreatic injury was assessed according to Schmidt’s scale. Cytokine expression in plasma was evaluated by the multiplex method. RESULTS: Mortality at 72 h was 33% in the control group and 60% in the treatment group (p=0.07). Ascites volumes and plasma levels of cytokines between groups were similar. No difference was observed in edema or infiltration of inflammatory cells in pancreatic tissues from either group. However, necrosis of acinar cells was lower in the treatment group compared to the control group (3.5 vs. 3.75, p=0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with diazoxide can reduce necrosis of acinar cells in an experimental model of acute pancreatitis, but does not affect the inflammatory response or mortality after 72 h

Molecular diversity and the fate of biochemical fractions of eucalypt tissues in soil

The molecular diversity of the source substrate has been regarded as a significant controller of the proportion of plant material that is either mineralized or incorporated into soil organic matter (SOM). However, quantitative parameters to express substrate molecular diversity remain elusive. In this research, we fractionated leaves, twigs, bark, and root tissues of 13C-enriched eucalypt seedlings into hot water extractables (HWE), total solvent (acetone) extractables (TSE), a cellulosic fraction (CF), and the acid unhydrolyzable residue (AUR). We used 13C NMR spectroscopy to obtain a molecular diversity index (MDI) based on the relative abundance of carbohydrate, protein, lignin, lipid, and carbonyl functional groups within the biochemical fractions. Subsequently, we obtained artificial plant organs containing fixed proportions (25%) of their respective biochemical fractions to be incubated with soil material obtained from a Haplic Ferralsol for 200-days, under controlled temperature (25 ± 1 ◦C) and moisture adjusted to 70–80% of the soil water holding capacity. Our experimental design was a randomized complete block design, arranged according to a factorial scheme including 4 plant organs, 4 biochemical fractions, and 3 blocks as replicates. During the incubation, we assessed the evolution of CO2 from the microcosms after 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 21, 28, 38, 45, 70, 80, 92, 112, 148, 178 and 200 days from the start of the incubation. After the incubation, soil subsamples were submitted to a density fractionation to separate the light fraction of SOM (LFOM) i.e., with density <1.8 g cm 3. The heavy fraction remaining was submitted to wetsieving yielding the sand-sized SOM (SSOM) and the mineral-associated SOM (MAOM), with particle-size greater and smaller than 53 μm, respectively. We found that HWE and AUR exhibited comparatively higher MDIs than the TSE and CF. During the incubation, HWE and CF were the primary sources of 13C-CO2 from all plant organs and after 92 days, the respiration of the TSE of bark and roots increased. Otherwise, the AUR contributed the least for the release of 13C-CO2. There were no significant relationships between the MDI and the amount of 13C transferred into the LFOM or SSOM. Otherwise, the transfer of 13C into the MAOM increased as a linear-quadratic function of MDI, which in turn was negatively correlated with the total 13C-CO2 loss. Overall, the MDI exerted a stronger control on the 13C-labeled MAOM than on 13C-CO2 emissions, highlighting the need to improve our ability to distinguish and quantify direct plant inputs from those of microbial origin entering soil C pools.publishedVersio

Phytotoxicity and allelopathic potential of extracts from rhizomes and leaves of Arundo donax, an invasive grass in neotropical savannas

The perennial rhizomatous grass Arundo donax L. (Poaceae), the giant reed, is an exotic invasive species in several countries of Europe that is rapidly spreading in the savannas of Central Brazil, locally known as Cerrado. Allelopathy could facilitate the successful invasion of this species by hampering or suppressing the regeneration of the native vegetation. However, information on the phytotoxicity of A. donax extracts is limited.&nbsp; We investigated the allelopathic potential of A. donax leaf and rhizome extracts, screened them for phytochemicals by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and tested the extracts for antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity against Artemia salina. Aqueous and methanolic extracts were initially tested in germination and seedling growth bioassays using Lactuca sativa L. (Asteraceae). The aqueous extracts were then tested on five Cerrado tree species and on Megathyrsus maximus, an invasive, alien grass in the Cerrado. Extracts negatively affected germination and seedling growth of the target species. Leaf extracts were more inhibitory. Extracts did not show antioxidant and cytotoxic activity and had very low antimicrobial activity. Flavonoids, and other phenolics were detected mostly in leaves. Terpenes, which were also present in the leaves, were the main secondary metabolites in rhizomes. Alkaloids were detected by TLC in leaf methanolic extracts. However, 1H-NMR revealed the presence of indole alkaloids in methanolic extracts from rhizomes and leaves. We confirmed the allelopathic potential of this species and caution against weed control methods relying on cutting the plant back to soil level for favouring release of allelochemicals

Evaluation Of Endodontic Treatments Performed By Students In A Brazilian Dental School.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical outcomes of root canal treatments performed by final-year students in the Dental School of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas, SP, Brazil, during the year 2000 and to evaluate the success rate of these treatments at follow-ups conducted one and three years later (2001-03). All 579 endodontic treatments performed by final-year students were selected for this investigation. Detailed personal and dental history was obtained from the patient's records. Clinical and radiographic follow-up examinations were performed. For 78.8 percent of the cases, dental caries was recorded as the cause for performing endodontic treatment; for 8.8 percent, prosthetic reasons were given; and for 12.4 percent, failure of the endodontic treatment was the reason. The largest percentage (30.7 percent) of recalled patients was examined after one year; the success rate at this follow-up evaluation ranged from 83 percent to 96 percent depending on the pulp status prior to the root canal treatment. After three years, only 8 percent of treated patients returned; assessment for them revealed a 75.5 percent success rate. Dental caries is still the main reason for endodontic treatment. This level of success of the root canal treatment in a Brazilian dental school is similar to other reports in the literature.69101161117