Incorporation of several additives into gluten free breads: Effect on dough properties and bread quality

The objective of this work was to assess the effect of emulsifiers, hydrocolloids and enzymes on gluten-free dough rheology and thermal properties and bread quality, while relating dough properties parameters to bread technological quality. Breads were based on rice flour, cassava starch and full-fat active soy flour, with 65% or 75% (flour-starch basis) of water incorporation. Additives used were emulsifiers (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of monoglycerides - DATEM and sodium stearoyl lactylate - SSL), enzymes (glucose oxidase and α-amylase) and hydrocolloids (xanthan gum, carboxymethylcellulose, alginate and carrageenan). Results showed that additive incorporation modified dough behavior, evidenced by different calorimetric and rheological properties. Besides, the electrophoretic pattern of dough extracted proteins changed with glucose oxidase addition. These modifications resulted in breads with different characteristics, such as specific volume, firmness and firming rate, and crumb structure. Nonetheless, they did not necessarily show better quality parameters than the control bread. The control dough displayed good performance for obtaining gluten-free breads of acceptable volume, crumb structure and, principally, with lower hardening rate during storage. Contrary to widespread opinion, this work shows that the presence of additives is not essential for gluten-free bread production. This fact provides new perspectives to the gluten free market at the moment of selecting raw materials and technological parameters, reducing production costs and facilitating gluten free products development.Fil: Sciarini, Lorena Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Ribotta, Pablo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: López León, Micaela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner"; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, G. T. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentin

Near-Earth asteroids spectroscopic survey at Isaac Newton Telescope

The population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) shows a large variety of objects in terms of physical and dynamical properties. They are subject to planetary encounters and to strong solar wind and radiation effects. Their study is also motivated by practical reasons regarding space exploration and long-term probability of impact with the Earth. We aim to spectrally characterize a significant sample of NEAs with sizes in the range of $\sim$0.25 - 5.5 km (categorized as large), and search for connections between their spectral types and the orbital parameters. Optical spectra of NEAs were obtained using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) equipped with the IDS spectrograph. These observations are analyzed using taxonomic classification and by comparison with laboratory spectra of meteorites. A total number of 76 NEAs were observed. We classified 44 of them as Q/S-complex, 16 as B/C-complex, eight as V-types, and another eight belong to the remaining taxonomic classes. Our sample contains 27 asteroids categorized as potentially hazardous and 31 possible targets for space missions including (459872) 2014 EK24, (436724) 2011 UW158, and (67367) 2000 LY27. The spectral data corresponding to (276049) 2002 CE26 and (385186) 1994 AW1 shows the 0.7 $\mu$m feature which indicates the presence of hydrated minerals on their surface. We report that Q-types have the lowest perihelia (a median value and absolute deviation of $0.797\pm0.244$ AU) and are systematically larger than the S-type asteroids observed in our sample. We explain these observational evidences by thermal fatigue fragmentation as the main process for the rejuvenation of NEA surfaces. In general terms, the taxonomic distribution of our sample is similar to the previous studies and matches the broad groups of the inner main belt asteroids. Nevertheless, we found a wide diversity of spectra compared to the standard taxonomic types.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A

B-Chromosome Ribosomal DNA Is Functional in the Grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

B-chromosomes are frequently argued to be genetically inert elements, but activity for some particular genes has been reported, especially for ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes whose expression can easily be detected at the cytological level by the visualization of their phenotypic expression, i.e., the nucleolus. The B24 chromosome in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans frequently shows a nucleolus attached to it during meiotic prophase I. Here we show the presence of rRNA transcripts that unequivocally came from the B24 chromosome. To detect these transcripts, we designed primers specifically anchoring at the ITS-2 region, so that the reverse primer was complementary to the B chromosome DNA sequence including a differential adenine insertion being absent in the ITS2 of A chromosomes. PCR analysis carried out on genomic DNA showed amplification in B-carrying males but not in B-lacking ones. PCR analyses performed on complementary DNA showed amplification in about half of B-carrying males. Joint cytological and molecular analysis performed on 34 B-carrying males showed a close correspondence between the presence of B-specific transcripts and of nucleoli attached to the B chromosome. In addition, the molecular analysis revealed activity of the B chromosome rDNA in 10 out of the 13 B-carrying females analysed. Our results suggest that the nucleoli attached to B chromosomes are actively formed by expression of the rDNA carried by them, and not by recruitment of nucleolar materials formed in A chromosome nucleolar organizing regions. Therefore, B-chromosome rDNA in E. plorans is functional since it is actively transcribed to form the nucleolus attached to the B chromosome. This demonstrates that some heterochromatic B chromosomes can harbour functional genes.This study was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (CGL2009-11917), and was partially performed by FEDER funds. M. Ruiz-Estévez was supported by a fellowship (FPU) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación

Características morfológicas y estructura superficial de montículos submarinos del talud inferior del margen continental canario (O de las Islas Canarias)

Extrusive edifices and structural reliefs, catalogued as mounds and located on the seafloor to the west of Canary Islands were analyzed by acoustic data obtained with multibeam and parametric echosounders during several oceanographic expeditions. They were carried out at deep waters, from 4800 to 5200 m, and they have allowed characterizing 41 newly discovered submarine structures which occur either as isolated edifices or clustered mounds. These features have circular to elongated shapes with diameters of 2-24 km and relief heights of 10 to 250 m, showing different flank slopes of 2-50°. They generally display mounded forms and show morphological elements as ridges, near-circular rock outcrops, depressions and fault scarps together with mass flow and slide deposits located at the vicinity of the edifices. Two types of extrusive features are evidenced by the morphological and seismic data analyses, the first one probably corresponds to high velocity extrusions that reach the seafloor surface and the second one is probably formed by the combination of faulted structures and low velocity extrusions that produce singular domes in the shallower sedimentary records. Based on both analyses, extrusive phenomena represent the dominant mechanism for mound field evolution in the Canary lower slope region.Versión del edito

Tomography of Galactic star-forming regions and spiral arms with the Square Kilometre Array

Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike LicenceVery Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at radio wavelengths can provide astrometry accurate to 10 micro-arcseconds or better (i.e. better than the target GAIA accuracy) without being limited by dust obscuration. This means that unlike GAIA, VLBI can be applied to star-forming regions independently of their internal and line-of-sight extinction. Low-mass young stellar objects (particularly T Tauri stars) are often non-thermal compact radio emitters, ideal for astrometric VLBI radio continuum experiments. Existing observations for nearby regions (e.g. Taurus, Ophiuchus, or Orion) demonstrate that VLBI astrometry of such active T Tauri stars enables the reconstruction of both the regions' 3D structure (through parallax measurements) and their internal kinematics (through proper motions, combined with radial velocities). The extraordinary sensitivity of the SKA telescope will enable similar "tomographic mappings" to be extended to regions located several kpc from Earth, in particular to nearby spiral arm segments. This will have important implications for Galactic science, galactic dynamics and spiral structure theories.Final Published versio

All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured by the HAWC experiment from 10 to 500 TeV

We report on the measurement of the all-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory in the energy range 10 to 500 TeV. HAWC is a ground based air-shower array deployed on the slopes of Volcan Sierra Negra in the state of Puebla, Mexico, and is sensitive to gamma rays and cosmic rays at TeV energies. The data used in this work were taken from 234 days between June 2016 to February 2017. The primary cosmic-ray energy is determined with a maximum likelihood approach using the particle density as a function of distance to the shower core. Introducing quality cuts to isolate events with shower cores landing on the array, the reconstructed energy distribution is unfolded iteratively. The measured all-particle spectrum is consistent with a broken power law with an index of $-2.49\pm0.01$ prior to a break at $(45.7\pm0.1$) TeV, followed by an index of $-2.71\pm0.01$. The spectrum also respresents a single measurement that spans the energy range between direct detection and ground based experiments. As a verification of the detector response, the energy scale and angular resolution are validated by observation of the cosmic ray Moon shadow's dependence on energy.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, submission to Physical Review

Oncogenic Role of Secreted Engrailed Homeobox 2 (EN2) in Prostate Cancer

Engrailed variant-2 (EN2) has been suggested as a potential diagnostic biomarker; however, its presence and functional role in prostate cancer (PCa) cells is still controversial or unknown. Here, we analyzed 1) the expression/secretion profile of EN2 in five independent samples cohorts from PCa patients and controls (prostate tissues and/or urine) to determine its utility as a PCa biomarker; and 2) the functional role of EN2 in normal (RWPE1) and tumor (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3) prostate cells to explore its potential value as therapeutic target. EN2 was overexpressed in our two cohorts of PCa tissues compared to control and in tumor cell lines compared with normal-like prostate cells. This profile was corroborated in silico in three independent data sets [The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)/Grasso]. Consistently, urine EN2 levels were elevated and enabled discrimination between PCa and control patients. EN2 treatment increased cell proliferation in LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3 cells, migration in RWPE1/PC3 cells, and PSA secretion in LNCaP cells. These effects were associated, at least in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells, with increased AKT and androgen-receptor phosphorylation levels and with modulation of key cancer-associated genes. Consistently, EN2 treatment also regulated androgen-receptor activity (full-length and splicing variants) in androgen-sensitive 22Rv1 cells. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential utility of EN2 as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for PCa and provides novel and valuable information to further investigate its putative utility to develop new therapeutic tools in PCa

Características geomorfológicas del Pasaje de Lanzarote (Región oriental de las Islas Canarias)

The Passage of Lanzarote is an example of a wide oceanic corridor. It extends between the eastern Canary Islands and the Western Africa continental margin. Seafloor morphology of this passage has been analyzed with the aim to know the morphogenetic processes related to both the oceanography and the geology. Multibeam bathymetric data and high and very high resolution seismic profiles obtained in the SUBVENT2 cruise have been used. Five main morphological groups were analyzed: (a) Volcanic or diapiric submarine hills; (b) Tectonic features on the continental slope (linear scarps and a rhomboid-like depression) related to normal faults at the top of buried diapirs; (c) Giant circular depressions initially triggered by submarine venting at the top of diapirs; (d) Sedimentary instabilities and canyons (gullies, canyons, mass transport deposits) that are present specially on the Fuerteventura-Lanzarote ridge must be related to the high energy geological processes, both constructive and dismantling, associated to the evolution of these volcanic domains; and (e) Contouritic features both erosive (central channel, contourite channels) and depositional (mounded and plastered drifts) that occur in the central part of the bottom surface of the passage, and are generated by the interaction of the MW and the interface MW-AAIW with the seafloor.Versión del edito