Water Management Efficiency in the Food and Beverage Industry

Water is critical for food production, food security, and health. Water quality management influences freshwater sustainability, land, and energy administration. Global agriculture accounts for more than 70% of all water consumption; the fertilizer, manure, and pesticide overspills are chief sources of water pollution worldwide. On a global scale, food-related waste directly impacts local food production and water resource management. The purpose of this multiple-case study on the food and beverage (FB) industry in the State of Georgia was to identify successful strategies for improving water management efficiency. The concepts of systems thinking, adaptive resource management, and integrated water resource management provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected via personal interviews with 2 global supply chain leaders in the FB industry and 1 water expert in the public water utility system in Georgia. The findings showed 10 themes: sustainability; mission-driven culture; ethical responsibility; water quality and governance; food safety and sanitation; water conservation and climatic trends; waste management; nutrition and the freeze drying method; knowledge sharing and collaboration; and water detention and retention systems. The study results are intended to contribute to social change by providing information to global supply chain leaders, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and sustainability leaders to implement sustainability beyond the environmental value; these findings will also help achieve a positive posture on resource overconsumption and waste management for efficient and complex decision making within a worldwide spectrum

PIGMENTATION OF THE HEART IN THE BICHIR, POLYPTERUS SENEGALUS

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013. Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-078.The presence of melanin-containing cells in the heart has been documented in tetrapods, but not in fish. It has been even suggested that dark pigmented cells are exclusively associated with hearts having two atria and two ventricles. The aim here is to report the occurrence of pigment cells in the heart of the bichir, an extant representative of the polypteriformes, an ancient ray-finned fish lineage that split from the stem of the actinopterygians soon after their divergence from the sarcopterygians. The bichir heart is composed of sinus venosus, atrium, ventricle, conus arteriosus and bulbus arteriosus arranged sequentially within the pericardial cavity. Dendritic-shaped cells containing melanosomes were found in the five cardiac components of the 12 bichirs included in this study. Numerous melanophores were distributed regularly over the surface of all segments having myocardium in their walls, thus resulting in a marked pigmentation of the whole heart. The bulbus arteriosus, which in the bichir is reduced in size, showed an even more intense pigmentation. In all instances, the melanophores were localized in the subepicardial space. Pigment cells also occurred in the pericardium and ventral aorta. The functional role of melanocytes in the tetrapod heart remains obscure. Antiinflamatory activity, cytoprotection and effects on the viscoelastic properties of the cardiac tissue have been adduced as possible actions of such cells. The role of pigment cells in the bichir heart constitutes a new open question. Interestingly, however, the only cells that have been shown to form melanin-containing cells in the heart derive from the neural crest. If the melanophores of the bichir heart are indeed of neural crest origin, it would suggest a much more extensive contribution and persistence of elements from the neural crest in the primitive heart of jawed vertebrates as assumed so far in most papers devoted to vertebrate heart embryology.Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDER; Beca FPI ref. BES-2011-046901

Glow discharge mixture of Ar/He

Glow discharge mixture of Ar/He at a pressure of 266.66 Pa is experimentally investigated by opticalemission spectroscopy and double Langmuir probe at various mixture compositions. The species observedwere He I and Ar I. The electron temperature was found to be less than 10 eV, and the ion densityin the order of 1010 cm-3

Evaluation of a two-phase extraction system of carbohydrates and proteins from chlorella vulgaris utex 1803

Microalgae are a valuable source of high-value products and biofuels, however the high-energy cost required for the extraction of their metabolites has kept questioning on possible industrial upgrading. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature, solvent/biomass, NaOH concentration and thermal pretreatment of the biomass in a 2-cycle carbohydrate and protein extraction system. Results shown that best conditions for carbohydrates extraction are achieved at a solvent concentration of 3.67 M, 55°C and a solvent/biomass ratio of 30mL/g. On the other side, the best conditions for protein were 3 M, 85°C and 45 mL/g. The efficiencies achieved under these conditions were 95% for carbohydrates and 98% for proteins. Using the best extraction conditions for each metabolite a thermal pre-treatment was performed at 25°C, 75°C and 105°C. Results indicate that highest efficiencies were achieved with dry biomass pretreated at 105°C, with values of 95% for carbohydrates and 98% for proteins

Multi-temporal unmixing analysis of Hyperion images over the Guanica Dry Forest

This paper presents a methodology to analyze time-series data from Hyperion to study seasonal vegetation dynamics on the Guánica Dry Forest in Puerto Rico. Unmixing analysis is performed over ten near-cloud-free Hyperion images collected in different months in 2008. Abundance maps and endmembers estimated from the unmixing procedure are used to analyze the seasonal changes in the forest. Results from the analysis are compared with published knowledge of the Guanica Forest phenology

INCREMENTO DE LA EXPRESIÓN DE TLR4 Y EFECTO ANTIOXIDANTE DEL ÁCIDO ACETILSALICÍLICO EN CONEJOS CON DIETA ALTA EN GRASAS

Introducción: La obesidad y el desarrollo de enfermedades hepáticas que se caracterizan por el aumento y acumulación de lípidos en tejidos y sangre, inflamación y estrés oxidante, son actualmente una epidemia mundial, y en la población mexicana es cada vez mayor el número de jóvenes afectados. Este aumento ha conducido a la investigación médica hacia la detección temprana del síndrome metabólico, que se emplea como indicador de síntomas que pueden ser de riesgo para la salud y conducir a enfermedades hepáticas. Objetivo: Los objetivos del presente trabajo fueron: evaluar en un modelo de dislipidemia en conejos jóvenes alimentados con una dieta alta en grasa (ácido palmítico al 20%), la producción de especies reactivas del oxígeno y cambios en la expresión de genes TLR4, COX2y de IL-1β como marcadores de inflamación y de estrés oxidante, así como evaluar el efecto del ácido acetilsalicílico en la producción de radicales libres y en la expresión de estos genes. Resultados: En los conejos alimentados con exceso de grasa aumentaron los niveles de triglicéridos (p<0.05), la expresión de TLR4 y las especies reactivas del oxígeno, aunque éstas últimas no de forma significativa. La administración de ácido acetilsalicílico en dosis antiinflamatorias disminuyó la producción de especies reactivas del oxígeno y la expresión de TLR4. Discusión: La ingesta elevada de grasa en conejos jóvenes por un período corto de tiempo conduce a la dislipidemia y a la sobreexpresión de TLR4, gen clave de la respuesta inflamatoria y vinculada al aumento de las especies reactivas del oxígeno. Los resultados indican que el ácido acetilsalicílico tiene efecto antioxidante.ABSTRACTIntroduction: The obesity and liver diseases progression are characterized by the increase and accumulation of lipids in tissues and blood, inflammation and oxidative stress. These diseases are now a worldwide epidemic, and the number of young people affected is increasing in the Mexican population. This increase has led to medical research towards the early detection of the metabolic syndrome, which is used as an indicator of symptoms that may be at risk for health and lead to liver disease. Objective: The objectives of the present study were to evaluate in a model of dyslipidemia in young rabbits fed three months with a diet high in fat (20% palmitic acid), the production of reactive oxygen species and changes in TLR4, COX2 and IL-1β gene expression, as markers of inflammation and oxidative stress; also to evaluate the effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the production of free radicals and on the expression of these genes. Results: In rabbits fed with excess of fat, significantly increased the levels of triglycerides (p<0.05), TLR4 expression, and reactive oxygen species, although in the latter, not significantly. The administration of acetylsalicylic acid in anti-inflammatory doses decreased the production of reactive oxygen species and the expression of TLR4. Discussion: The high fat intake in young rabbits lead to dyslipidemia and overexpression of TLR4, a key gene in the inflammatory response and linked to the increase of reactive oxygen species. The results indicate that acetylsalicylic acid has an antioxidant effectPalabras Clave:Obesidad, dislipidemia, inflamación, estrés oxidante, hígado graso no alcohólico (HGNA),Obesity, dyslipidemia, inflammation, oxidative stress, non-alcoholic fatty liver (HGNA

In Situ Characterization of Human Lymphoid Tissue Immune Cells by Multispectral Confocal Imaging and Quantitative Image Analysis; Implications for HIV Reservoir Characterization.

CD4 T cells are key mediators of adaptive immune responses during infection and vaccination. Within secondary lymphoid organs, helper CD4 T cells, particularly those residing in germinal centers known as follicular helper T cells (Tfh), provide critical help to B-cells to promote their survival, isotype switching and selection of high affinity memory B-cells. On the other hand, the important role of Tfh cells for the maintenance of HIV reservoir is well documented. Thus, interrogating and better understanding the tissue specific micro-environment and immune subsets that contribute to optimal Tfh cell differentiation and function is important for designing successful prevention and cure strategies. Here, we describe the development and optimization of eight multispectral confocal microscopy immunofluorescence panels designed for in depth characterization and immune-profiling of relevant immune cells in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human lymphoid tissue samples. We provide a comprehensive library of antibodies to use for the characterization of CD4+ T-cells -including Tfh and regulatory T-cells- as well as CD8 T-cells, B-cells, macrophages and dendritic cells and discuss how the resulting multispectral confocal datasets can be quantitatively dissected using the HistoCytometry pipeline to collect information about relative frequencies and immune cell spatial distributions. Cells harboring actively transcribed virus are analyzed using an in-situ hybridization assay for the characterization of HIV mRNA positive cells in combination with additional protein markers (multispectral RNAscope). The application of this methodology to lymphoid tissues offers a means to interrogate multiple relevant immune cell targets simultaneously at increased resolution in a reproducible manner to guide CD4 T-cell studies in infection and vaccination

Caracterización morfo agronómica de diecinueve cultivares de quinua (chenopodium quinoa willd.) en la sabana de bogotá

Con el propósito de proveer información acerca de la variabilidad genética y la adaptación en la Sabana de Bogotá de la colección de quinua correspondiente a la Prueba Americana y Europea de Quinua, se estudiaron 19 cultivares mediante la evaluación 49 características morfológicas y agronómicas. El ensayo se realizó en el Centro Agropecuario «Marengo» de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, ubicado en Mosquera (Cundinamarca). El análisis estadístico, mediante componentes principales para 35 de las variables evaluadas mostró que los ocho primeros componentesexplican el 88.12% de la variación total. Estos componentesestuvieron asociados a 18 variables manifestando la diversidad entre los genotipos. Además, éstos se usaron para construir un dendograma que, calculado a partir de la distancia euclidiana, mostró la existencia de nueve grupos en los cuales se distinguieron claramente los materiales americanos de los europeos. Agronómicamente se destacaron los cultivares E-DK-4 y G-205- 95, procedentes de Dinamarca, principalmente por su precocidad, alto rendimiento en grano, alto rendimiento en biomasa ypor su porte bajo.Nineteen cultivars of «American and European Quinoa Test» were used in this assay. Forty-nine morphological and agronomic characteristics were evaluated at Research Center «Marengo» of National University of Colombia, located at Mosquera (Cundinamarca). The main objective ofthis experiment was to study the genetic variability of quinoa cultivars from American and European countries. The statistical analysis was carried out with 35 out of 49 variables. The first eight components explained the 88,12% of total variation and were constituted by 18 variables. Using this information a dendogram was constructed. Nine groupswere identified. Cultivars from American countries were separated from European's ones. The bcst cultivars were E-DK-4 and G-205-95 from Denmark. These presented high grain yield, high level of biomass, precocity and low height plant

Casimir-like tunneling-induced electronic forces

We study the quantum forces that act between two nearby conductors due to electronic tunneling. We derive an expression for these forces by calculating the flux of momentum arising from the overlap of evanescent electronic fields. Our result is written in terms of the electronic reflection amplitudes of the conductors and it has the same structure as Lifshitz's formula for the electromagnetically mediated Casimir forces. We evaluate the tunneling force between two semiinfinite conductors and between two thin films separated by an insulating gap. We discuss some applications of our results.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figs, submitted to Proc. of QFEXT'05, to be published in J. Phys.