Block freeze-concentration of coffee extract: Effect of freezing and thawing stages on solute recovery and bioactive compounds

Coffee extract was freeze-concentrated using the total block technique. The effects of four parameters were evaluated: the initial coffee mass fraction (5 and 15% w/w), the cooling temperature ( 10 and 20 C), the heating temperature (20 and 40 C) and the freezing direction (parallel and counter-flow to the thawing direction). The solid concentration was measured during the thawing stage to quantify the solute recovery and the concentration index for one stage of freeze concentration. The coffee mass fraction, the freezing direction and the cooling temperature significantly influenced the solute recovery. A concentration index between 1 and 2.3 was obtained in one cycle. The effect of block freeze concentration on the bioactive compound concentration and the antioxidant activity was measured. The coffee bioactive compounds were distributed in proportion to the total solid content in the ice and liquid. Therefore, block freeze concentration is an effective technique to preserve functional properties of coffee extracts.Postprint (published version

Squamous cell carcinoma related with dental implants. A clinical cases report.

One third of all cases of head and neck carcinoma (CA) concern the oral mucosa. The use of dental implants (DI) for dental rehabilitation is widely extended. However, a few studies have reported some cases with neoplasic alterations, among the tissue surrounding implants. Our aim was to analyze possible alterations at the bone-implant interface in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), providing new evidence that could relate or discard a possible link between these factors. We used, for the first time, different techniques, including electron microscopy and histology, to analyze the implants surface and the surrounding tissue from four clinical cases with neoplasic alterations surrounding DI. Histologically, ample inflammatory tissue was found in direct contact with the implant surface. Surface analysis of this tissue, revealed titanium percentages. According to our study, no oncological relation with deterioration of the implant surface was found, although DI were constantly related with peri-implantitis, a chronic trauma of the oral mucosa that could involve a neoplastic factor

Consecuencias de la pandemia de COVID-19 en población mayor

Es un hecho que la pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado a gran parte de la población mundial. En el caso de las personas mayores residentes en España, también han tenido que enfrentarse a la discriminación llevada a cabo por algunos medios de comunicación e incluso por las autoridades. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar los artículos publicados hasta el momento que evalúen el impacto que ha tenido la pandemia en este grupo de edad. Para llevar a cabo la búsqueda de estos artículos, se ha hecho uso de las bases de datos ProQuest, Scopus, Ovid y Web of Science. A continuación, tras determinar y aplicar los criterios de inclusión y de exclusión se han seleccionado 21 artículos. Los resultados señalan un impacto menor del confinamiento en las personas mayores comparándolas con el resto de los grupos de edad; si bien no han estado exentas de alteraciones en su salud mental y física; así como en sus hábitos de vida. Así mismo, sería recomendable repetir esta revisión en el futuro, debido a las limitaciones encontradas en muchos de los artículos, destacando la evaluación casi exclusiva del confinamiento y obstáculos en la obtención de los datos debida a esta medida restrictiva.It is a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected much of the world’s population. In the case of elderly people living in Spain, they have also had to face discrimination by some media and even by the authorities. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to review the articles published to date that evaluate the impact of the pandemic on this age group. To carry out the search for these articles, the ProQuest, Scopus, Ovid and Web of Science databases have been used. Then, after determining and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles have been selected. The results indicate a lower impact of lockdown in older people compared to the rest of the age groups; although they have not been exempted from alterations in their mental and physical health, as well as in their lifestyle habits. Likewise, it would be advisable to repeat this review in the future, due to the limitations found in many of the articles, highlighting the almost exclusive assessment of lockdown and obstacles in obtaining the data due to this restrictive measure

Estudio Comparativo de los Efectos del Tipo de Forraje y de la Proporción Forraje - Concentrado sobre la Fermentación Ruminal en Cabras y en Fermentadores de Flujo Simple Continuo.

Los fermentadores de flujo continuo (FFC) permiten el estudio de la fermentación ruminal de forma más simple y menos costosa que los ensayos in vivo. Sin embargo, las comparaciones directas rumen – FFC son escasas y las existentes se han llevado a cabo con fermentadores de flujo doble continuo y ganado vacuno (Hannah et al., 1986; Mansfield et al., 1995; Muetzel et al., 2008). La información relativa a pequeños rumiantes es escasa (Carro et al., 2009; Molina et al., 2009) y los diferentes estudios han empleado ingestas variables entre 10,5 (Muetzel et al., 2008) y 90 (Slyter y Rumsey, 1991) g de materia seca (MS)/día/L de volumen efectivo del fermentador. Dado el efecto del pH sobre la fermentación ruminal (Calsamiglia et al., 2008) su estudio parece esencial en lo que a la simulación in vitro se refiere. El objetivo del presente trabajo es comparar los efectos del tipo de forraje (F) y de la relación forraje:concentrado (F:C) sobre la fermentación ruminal en el rumen de caprino y en fermentadores de flujo simple continuo (FFSC). Además, se analiza el efecto del pH utilizando suministrando a los FFSC 30 ó 45 g MS/día

Ice morphology modification and solute recovery improvement by heating and annealing during block freeze-concentration of coffee extracts

Several treatments on ice blocks can be applied during block freeze-concentration to increase the solute recovery from the ice. In the present study, the changes in the ice block’s temperature and the application of annealing during the block freeze-concentration of aqueous coffee extracts were studied. The ice block was subjected to heating and annealing prior to the thawing stage. The effect of coolant temperature during ice block heating (T = -10 and -5 °C) and the application of annealing (+, -) on solute recovery and ice structure morphology was evaluated. The use of annealing during block freeze-concentration modified the ice crystal morphology and increased the solute recovery only when it is applied at the highest temperature. In general, the annealing process increased the size and circularity of the ice crystals, consequently improving the solute recovery. Thus, annealing can be used to increase the solute recovery during block freeze-concentration.Postprint (published version

Effet de l’huile d’olive, de tournesol ou de graines de lin sur le patron de fermentation et la production de méthane dans le système de simulation ruminale RUSITEC

6 páginas, 2 tablas.-- Contributed to: 13th Seminar of the FAO-CIHEAM Sub-Network on Sheep and Goat Nutrition: Challenging strategies to promote sheep and goat sector in the current global (León, Spain, oct 14-16, 2009).The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the addition of different vegetable oils to the diet on the fermentation pattern and methane production in Rusitec fermenters. For this purpose four treatments were randomly allocated to sixteen fermenters in a completely random design. Inoculum was obtained from four ruminally fistulated Merino sheep fed lucerne hay and concentrate. Treatments were defined by the diet supplied to the fermenters, so that the control treatment (C) diet was a total mixed ration for ewes on lactation. In the other experimental treatments the control diet was supplemented with olive oil (OO), sunflower oil (SO) or linseed oil (LO) to reach a final concentration of 50 g oil/kg diet. After 7 days of adaptation, samples of effluent, fermenters’ fluid content and digesta of each fermenter were collected during 10 days. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) between treatments in pH values in the fermenters’ fluid content. The LO diet showed (P0.05). All three oils reduced methane production compared with control cultures (P0.05) of oil supplementation on Llactate concentration. Ammonia N concentration was higher (P<0.05) in the control treatment, but there were no significant differences between treatments in microbial protein output. In conclusion, these results indicate that fermentation pattern is affected by oil supplementation mainly by decreasing the acetate to propionate ratio, as well as methane production.Funding received from Spanish MICINN (Projects AGL2008-04805 and AGL2005-04760) and from Junta de Castilla y León (Project GR158) is gratefully acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

A multi-stakeholder participatory study identifies the priorities for the sustainability of the small ruminants farming sector in Europe

The European small ruminants (i.e. sheep and goats) farming sector (ESRS) provides economic, social and environmental benefits to society, but is also one of the most vulnerable livestock sectors in Europe. This sector has diverse livestock species, breeds, production systems and products, which makes difficult to have a clear vision of its challenges through using conventional analyses. A multi-stakeholder and multi-step approach, including 90 surveys, was used to identify and assess the main challenges for the sustainability of the ESRS to prioritize actions. These challenges and actions were identified by ESRS experts including farmers, cooperatives, breeding associations, advisers and researchers of six EU countries and Turkey. From the 30 identified challenges, the most relevant were economy-related challenges such as ‘uncertainty of meat and milk prices’, ‘volatility of commodity prices’, ‘low farm income’, ‘high subsidy dependency’ and ‘uncertainty in future changes in subsidies’ resulting in ‘a sector not attractive to young farmers’. Most of these challenges were beyond the farmer''s control and perceived as difficult to address. Challenges were prioritized using an index, calculated by multiplying the relevance and the feasibility to address measures. The identified challenges had a similar priority index across the whole sector with small differences across livestock species (sheep vs goats), type of products (meat vs dairy) and intensification levels (intensive vs semi-intensive vs extensive). The priorities were different, however, between socio-geographical regions (Southern vs Central Europe). Some of the top prioritized challenges were linked to aspects related to the production systems (‘low promotion of local breeds’ and ‘slow adaptability of high producing breeds’) and market practices (‘unfair trade/lack of traceability’). The majority of the priority challenges, however, were associated with a deficient knowledge or training at farm level (‘poor business management training’, ‘lack of professionalization’, ‘slow adoption of innovations’), academia (‘researchers do not address real problems’) and society as a whole (‘low consumer education in local products’, ‘low social knowledge about farming’, ‘poor recognition of farming public services’). Thus, improved collaboration among the different stakeholders across the food chain with special implication of farmers, associations of producers, academia and governments is needed to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building. These actions can contribute to make ESRS economically more sustainable and to adapt the production systems and policy to the current and future societal needs in a more region-contextualized framework

Influence of Nutrients and pH on the Efficiency of Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands Treating Winery Wastewater

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract] Winery wastewater is characterized by high organic content, low nutrient content and low pH at least during vintage periods. The effect of nutrient shortage and low pH on constructed wetlands (CWs) operation was scarcely studied, but early field studies indicate that some operational problems can arise. This work aims to determine the effect of nutrient shortage and acidic pH during the treatment of high organic load wastewater in one-step vertical subsurface flow (VF) CWs. Two lab scale VF units at hydraulic loading rates over 70 L/m2·d and surface loading rate in the range of 110−170 g COD/m2·d were operated for periods with and without nutrients in the influent as well as with influent pH of 7.0 and 4.5. The results showed that neither low nutrient nor low pH impair organic matter removal whilst low pH decreased nitrogen removal rates. At low pH, the effluent concentration of ammonia and nitrate increased, indicating deterioration in both nitrification and denitrification processes. The paper discuss the implications of these findings for a better strategy in the treatment of winery process wastewater, such as options for separate treatment or its combination with other nutrient-containing streams

Enhancing rumen microbial diversity and its impact on energy and protein metabolism in forage-fed goats

Introduction: This study explores if promoting a complex rumen microbiota represents an advantage or a handicap in the current dairy production systems in which ruminants are artificially reared in absence of contact with adult animals and fed preserved monophyte forage. Methods: In order to promote a different rumen microbial diversity, a total of 36 newborn goat kids were artificially reared, divided in 4 groups and daily inoculated during 10 weeks with autoclaved rumen fluid (AUT), fresh rumen fluid from adult goats adapted to forage (RFF) or concentrate (RFC) diets, or absence of inoculation (CTL). At 6 months of age all animals were shifted to an oats hay diet to determine their ability to digest a low quality forage. Results and discussion: Early life inoculation with fresh rumen fluid promoted an increase in the rumen overall microbial diversity which was detected later in life. As a result, at 6 months of age RFF and RFC animals had higher bacterial (+50 OTUs) and methanogens diversity (+4 OTUs) and the presence of a complex rumen protozoal community (+32 OTUs), whereas CTL animals remained protozoa-free. This superior rumen diversity and presence of rumen protozoa had beneficial effects on the energy metabolism allowing a faster adaptation to the forage diet, a higher forage digestion (+21% NDF digestibility) and an energetically favourable shift of the rumen fermentation pattern from acetate to butyrate (+92%) and propionate (+19%) production. These effects were associated with the presence of certain rumen bacterial taxa and a diverse protozoal community. On the contrary, the presence of rumen protozoa (mostly Entodinium) had a negative impact on the N metabolism leading to a higher bacterial protein breakdown in the rumen and lower microbial protein flow to the host based on purine derivatives urinary excretion (-17% to -54%). The inoculation with autoclaved rumen fluid, as source of fermentation products but not viable microbes, had smaller effects than using fresh inoculum. These findings suggest that enhancing rumen microbial diversity represents a desirable attribute when ruminants are fed forages in which the N supply does not represent a limiting factor for the rumen microbiota

El patrimonio agrario: definición, caracterización y representatividad en el ámbito de la UNESCO

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