Fish Burgers Fortified with Microencapsulated Sacha Inchi Oil: Effects on Technological and Sensory Properties.

The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have proven health benefits, but it is not common to find them together in a processed food product. This could lead to healthier and more functional food products, which may have positive implications for consumer health and well-being. This work aimed to fortify a model burger manufactured with fillets of an Amazonian fish (boquichico, Prochilodus nigricans) by adding microencapsulated sacha inchi oil (Plukenetia volubilis, rich in ALA) (MSIO) produced by spray-drying. MSIO was incorporated into the burgers at different levels (0, 3, 4, 5, and 6%). The burgers were characterized by their proximal composition, cooking losses, texture profile, lipid oxidation, sensory profile, overall liking, and fatty acid profile. The results showed that adding MSIO up to concentrations of 5% or 6% increased the instrumental hardness, chewiness, and lipid oxidation in the burgers. However, fortifying the burgers with 3% MSIO was possible without affecting the burgers' sensory properties and overall liking. Regarding the fatty acid profile, the burgers with 3% MSIO had a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the ALA, EPA, and DHA types of fatty acids. Therefore, we recommend using this fortification concentration, but future studies should be carried out to improve the oxidative stability of MSIO and the burgers.

A Comparative Study of Freshwater Fish Burgers Made from Three Amazonian Species: Omega 3 Fortification and Sodium Reduction.

This study aimed to formulate burgers made from three Amazonian fish species: pacu (Pyaractus brachypomus), boquichico (Prochilodus nigricans), and bujurqui (Chaetobranchus flavescens), focusing on sodium reduction and fortification with fish oil microparticles (FOM) rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The proximal composition, sodium and calcium content, instrumental texture profile, fatty acid profile, sensory profile, and overall liking were evaluated. Differences in proximal composition and fatty acid profiles between the fillets were reflected in the burgers. Fortification with FOM increased EPA and DHA in the burgers; thus, they can be considered "high in omega-3 fatty acids" and reduced the n-6/n-3 ratio below 4. There were sensory attributes that could be related to lipid oxidation but reduced overall liking for less than 10% of consumers. Nevertheless, certain sensory attributes (grilled, characteristic, aromatic, tasty, tender, and juicy) had a positive impact on the overall liking of more than 20% of consumers, yielding adequate scores (between 5.60 and 5.71) on the 9-point hedonic scale. The production process must be optimized by knowing the fish fillet quality in depth, improving the FOM and burgers' oxidative stability, and achieving an adequate sensory and hedonic profile by employing consumers' vocabulary to characterize new products.

Challenges and Experiences of Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) is a significant and important urban center in North America, covering an area of approximately 9500 km2 with a population of almost 23 million, yet the water supply remains unsustainable. The total water demand in the MCMA is 84 m3 /s and is provided by groundwater (63% or 53 m3 /s), imported water (27% or 23 m3 /s) and recycled water (10% or 8 m3 /s). The natural recharge of the MCMA aquifer is approximately 23 m3 /s, indicating an overexploitation of groundwater resources of approximately 25 m3 /s (800 Mm3 annually), a reasonable future goal for recharge in the MCMA. Hydrologic analysis indicates two main opportunities currently to increase water supply in the MCMA: indirect water reuse with recycled water and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) with storm water. An inventory of MAR project case studies in the MCMA summarizes methods for recharge, water sources, geographical distribution, and the main results obtained in each project for the last 80 years. The inventory consists of 21 MCMA area MAR case studies including (1) conceptual, (2) design level, and (3) pilot- to full-scale facilities, only some of which have operated for relatively short periods of time, with one remaining MAR project currently operational. The review found that beyond the technical and economic issues that MAR project design normally address, the existing regulatory framework and the continuous change in water district chairs in charge of the operation and supply of water are significant barriers to increasing MAR in the MCMA.

Ozone treatment to reduce deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) contamination in wheat bran and its impact on nutritional quality.

Wheat bran is an important source for human and animal feed. Its nutritional aspects include a high content of fibre and minerals, as well as phenolic compounds that help prevent chronic diseases. However, wheat can be susceptible to contamination by fungus, which can produce mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), causing adverse health effects. Therefore, methods should be developed to reduce possible contamination. Ozone can be used for this purpose as it is considered safe and environmental friendly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reduction of DON and ZEN concentrations in wheat bran using the ozonation process as well as to evaluate the effect of ozonation on the nutritional quality of bran. Considering this, wheat bran naturally contaminated with both DON and ZEN was processed using ozone at different conditions. The nutritional quality of the bran was evaluated after processing considering the following aspects: the total phenolic content and the bran antioxidant capacity (by using both DPPH and ABTS radicals). The results showed that the degradation of ZEN was higher and faster than the degradation of DON, which could be explained by their molecular structures. The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the bran were not affected by the ozonation process, which is preferable from a nutritional point of view. Therefore, ozonation was demonstrated to be a possible method for reducing mycotoxins in wheat bran, although more studies are needed in order to better understand and optimise processing and product quality.

Efecto hepatoprotector del Asparagus officinalis (Espárrago verde) en daño inducido por fármacos antituberculosos / Hepatoprotective effect of Asparagus officinalis (green asparagus) on damage induced by tuberculostatic agents

Objetivos: Evaluar el efecto hepatoprotector del extracto acuoso del Asparagus officinalis (AO) en daño inducido por fármacos antituberculosos. Materiales y métodos: Diseño experimental, se utilizó ratas Holtzman macho (n= 32) y tallos de AO. Se conformó cuatro grupos de ratas (n=8): G1: control con solución salina fisiológica (SSF) por vía oral (VO), G2, G3 y G4 con AO a dosis de 25, 50 y 100 mg/kg respectivamente; todos los grupos recibieron isoniazida (I) y rifampicina (R) a razón de 50 mg/kg durante 21 días. Se realizó punción cardiaca para evaluación seriada de enzimas hepáticas; finalmente, las ratas fueron sacrificadas para análisis histopatológico. Se evaluó la variación de peso, cambios en heces y orinas. Niveles de transaminasas (ALT y AST), bilirrubina total (BT), evaluación macroscópica de hígado y estructura hepatocelular. Se aplicó la prueba paramétrica de ANOVA y post-hoc Sheffe, y las no paramétricas de Kruskal-Wallis y Mann Whitney. El análisis se realizó con el paquete estadístico SPSS V20 y se consideró significativo un p<0,05. Resultados: El peso disminuyó 8,06% en el grupo G1. Las heces y orinas fueron de color marrón oscuro en mayor porcentaje en G1. Los niveles de ALT y AST resultaron mayores en G1 a los días 11 y 21 con respecto a G2, G3 y G4 (prueba ANOVA [p< 0,01], Scheffe (p< 0,01)). El Grupo G1 presentó severa infiltración de células inflamatorias, marcada congestión alrededor de vena centrolobulillar y severa dilatación de sinusoides a diferencia de G2, G3 y G4. Conclusiones: En condiciones experimentales el extracto acuoso del Asparagus officinalis tiene efecto hepatoprotector ante el daño inducido por fármacos antituberculosos (I + R).

Kinetic roughening and pinning of two coupled interfaces in disordered media.

We studied the kinetic roughening dynamic of two coupled interfaces formed in paper wetting experiments at low evaporation rate. We observed three different regimes of impregnation in which kinetic roughening dynamics of coupled precursor and main fronts belong to different universality classes; nevertheless both interfaces are pinned in the same configuration. Reported experimental observations provide a novel insight into the nature of kinetic roughening phenomena occurring in the vast variety of systems far from equilibrium.

Intrinsically anomalous roughness of admissible crack traces in concrete.

We study the roughness of postmortem cracks in concrete plates of different size. We find that the set of admissible crack paths exhibits an intrinsically anomalous roughness; nevertheless, any individual crack trace in concrete is essentially self-affine. We also find that both the local and the global amplitudes of crack traces are distributed according to a log-logistic distribution characterized by the same scaling exponent, whereas the mean-square width distribution is best fitted by the Pearson distribution, while the log-normal distribution also provides quite good adjustments and cannot be clearly rejected.