1,721,028 research outputs found
Soft Tissue Augmentation on the face whit autologus platelet-derived Growth factors and Tricalcium Phosphate. Microtomography evaluation on mice
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Pulsed electric fields (PEF) as hot air drying pre-treatment: Effect on quality and functional properties of saffron (Crocus sativus L.)
Full text linkThis study aimed to investigate the use of pulsed electric fields (PEF) (2 kV/ cm; 1.5 KJ kg−1) as pre-treatment to the hot air drying process for the improvement of quality and functional properties of saffron. Analysis of flavouring, aroma and colouring strength (E1%λmax), crocins pattern (UHPLC-MS/MS), total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (AOA) were performed after processing and during aging at room temperature. Microstructure of fresh and processed stigmas was also assessed. PEF decreased (≈ −41%) the flavour, aroma and colouring strength of stigmas and negatively influenced the safranal production during drying; nevertheless, stigmas pre-treated by PEF (PD) after 3 months of aging showed quality properties similar to those of not pre-treated sample (D). Analysis of crocins by UHPLC-MS/MS highlighted a negative effect of PEF on trans-cis crocins ratio and showed poor correlation with colour strength. PEF did not influence the TPC of fresh stigmas but after drying and aging PD showed the highest value among the samples. PEF negatively influenced (−24%) the AOA of fresh stigma while favored its increase during drying. Loss of AOA during aging (up to 86%) was processing independent. Microstructure analysis showed that PEF treatment strongly impaired the stigmas' cells, thus enhancing the extractability of intracellular compounds
New insight into the quality traits of milk and cheese from Teramana goats, a native italian breed
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Encapsulation of phenols recovered from olive by-products into alginate-based microspheres by emulsification/internal gelation: beads characterization and exploitation in real matrices
No full textLate Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins confer water stress tolerance to mammalian somatic cells
Full text linkLate Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins are commonly found in plants and other organisms capable of undergoing severe and reversible dehydration, a phenomenon termed “anhydrobiosis”. Here, we have produced a tagged version for three different LEA proteins: pTag-RAB17-GFP-N, Zea mays dehydrin-1dhn, expressed in the nucleo-cytoplasm; pTag-WCOR410-RFP, Tricum aestivum cold acclimation protein WCOR410, binds to cellular membranes, and pTag-LEA-BFP, Artemia franciscana LEA protein group 3 that targets the mitochondria. Sheep fibroblasts transfected with single or all three LEA proteins were subjected to air drying under controlled conditions. After rehydration, cell viability and functionality of the membrane/mitochondria were assessed. After 4 h of air drying, cells from the un-transfected control group were almost completely nonviable (1% cell alive), while cells expressing LEA proteins showed high viability (more than 30%), with the highest viability (58%) observed in fibroblasts expressing all three LEA proteins. Growth rate was markedly compromised in control cells, while LEA-expressing cells proliferated at a rate comparable to non-air-dried cells. Plasmalemma, cytoskeleton and mitochondria appeared unaffected in LEA-expressing cells, confirming the protection conferred by LEA proteins on these organelles during dehydration stress. This is likely to be an effective strategy when aiming to confer desiccation tolerance to mammalian cells
A single exposure to a sublethal concentration of Origanum vulgare essential oil initiates response against food stressors and restoration of antibiotic susceptibility in Listeria monocytogenes
No full textUnderstanding the bacterial behavior in response to sublethal stresses is crucial for the optimization of antimicrobial treatments, particularly in food processing. However, the data regarding the effect of sublethal concentrations of essential oils (EOs) on microbial cells are still scarce. In this study, we evaluated the response of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644 to the sublethal concentration of 1.25 μL/mL Origanum vulgare L. EO at 30 °C for 1 h, by means of Phenotype Microarray, modelling the kinetic data obtained by inoculating the control and treated cells into GEN III microplates (Biolog Inc.) for 96 h after EO removal. The results showed important differences regarding the growth dynamics in the presence of carbohydrates and environmental conditions often encountered in food products and that normally sustain the growth of the pathogen (i.e. pH 6.0, pH 5.0, NaCl 1–8%, presence of lactic acid and sodium lactate). In detail, the lag phase of the treated cells was extended, the growth rate was slowed down and the maximum concentration was often significantly reduced. Interestingly, the susceptibility to antimicrobials such as vancomycin, lincomycin and rifamycin was restored after EO application and removal, suggesting a potential role in combating antibiotic resistance. Confocal laser scanner microscopy showed a diffuse aggregation of the treated cells, as a response to the stress encountered. In conclusion, a single exposure to a sublethal concentration of O. vulgare EO causes a stressing effect that persists after its removal. This outcome should be better investigated for potential applications both in food production, to combine low EO concentrations with other hurdles to guarantee food safety, and in medicine, to restore the sensitivity to antibiotics
Abundances of autophagy-related protein LC3B in granulosa cells, cumulus cells, and oocytes during atresia of pig antral follicles
No full textIn mammals, apoptosis has been accepted as the type of programmed cell death (PCD) that occurs in ovarian follicles undergoing atresia. Results of recent studies, however, indicate autophagy may be an alternative mechanism involved in follicle depletion through independent or tandem actions with apoptosis. Western blotting and immunofluorescence procedures were used in the present study to investigate the abundances of LC3B protein in freshly collected granulosa cells (GCs), cumulus cells (CCs), and oocytes to evaluate whether autophagy is an important process of antral follicle atresia in sexually mature sows. Furthermore, apoptosis was analyzed using annexin V and TUNEL assays in the same cellular cohorts to evaluate the correlation between the two processes. Immunostaining results indicate autophagy was induced in the majority of GCs, CCs, and oocytes from early and advanced stage atretic follicles. The quantitative results of western blot analysis indicate there is a progressive increase (P < 0.05) in abundance of autophagy-related protein (LC3B-II) in these cells compared with cells in non-atretic follicles. Furthermore, there is confirmation that apoptosis occurs in the GCs of atretic follicles, thus indicating that in pigs apoptosis and autophagy are processes in GCs that regulate PCD and as a consequence antral follicle depletion. There was a greater abundance of LC3B-II in CCs and oocytes of atretic follicles, while apoptosis was not detected. It, therefore, is suggested that in these cells the two processes function independently, with autophagy having a cytoprotective rather than PCD mechanism of action
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