Emergent food proteins - Towards sustainability, health and innovation.

There is an increasing demand for alternative and sustainable protein sources, such as vegetables, insects and microorganisms, that can meet the nutritional and sensory pleasantness needs of consumers. This emergent interest for novel protein sources, allied with "green" and cost-effective processing technologies, such as high hydrostatic pressure, ohmic heating and pulsed electric fields, can be used as strategies to improve the consumption of proteins from sustainable sources without compromising food security. In addition to their nutritional value, these novel proteins present several technological-functional properties that can be used to create various protein systems in different scales (i.e., macro, micro and nano scale), which can be tailored for a specific application in innovative food products. However, in order for these novel protein sources to be broadly used in future food products, their fate in the human gastrointestinal tract (e.g., digestion and bioavailability) must be assessed, as well as their safety for consumers must be clearly demonstrated. In particular, these proteins may become novel allergens triggering adverse reactions and, therefore, a comprehensive allergenicity risk assessment is needed. This review presents an overview of the most promising alternative protein sources, their application in the production of innovative food systems, as well as their potential effects on human health. In addition, new insights on sustainable processing strategies are given.

Chronic nicotine attenuates behavioral and synaptic plasticity impairments in a streptozotocin model of Alzheimer's disease.

Brain glucose metabolism is altered in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD), whose pathologies are reproduced in rodents by intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion of streptozotocin (STZ) in subdiabetogenic doses. The icv-STZ model also culminates in central cholinergic dysfunctions, which in turn are known to underlie both the sAD cognitive decline, and synaptic plasticity impairments. Considering the cognitive-enhancing potential of chronic nicotine (Nic), we investigated whether it attenuates icv-STZ-induced impairments in recognition memory and synaptic plasticity in a cognition-relevant substrate: the hippocampal CA1-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pathway. Rats treated with icv-STZ were submitted to a chronic Nic regime, and were evaluated for recognition memory. We then examined long-term potentiation (LTP), paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) under urethane anesthesia, and brains were also evaluated for hippocampus-mPFC cell density. We found that Nic treatment prevents icv-STZ-induced disruptions in recognition memory and LTP. STZ did not precipitate neuronal death, while Nic alone was associated with higher neuronal density in CA1 when compared to vehicle-injected animals. Through combining behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuropathological observations into the Nic-STZ interplay, our study reinforces that cholinergic treatments are of clinical importance against early-stage Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairments.

Morphological characterization of pollens from three Apiaceae species and their ingestion by twelve-spotted lady beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) / Caracterização morfológica de três espécies de Apiaceae e sua ingestão pela joaninha de doze pintas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract Larvae and adults of certain species of predator lady beetles feed on pollen, guaranteeing their survival, and at times, reproduction in the absence of preferred prey. Palynology, therefore, may contribute in the investigation of botanical families visited by these predators in order to obtain this floral resource. There are records of the visitation of Apiaceae flowers by Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), but not the ingestion of their pollen grains by this lady beetle. The external morphology of pollen grains of three Apiaceae aromatic species (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was characterized, and it was evaluated the ingestion of these pollens by fourth instar larvae and adults of C. maculata upon confinement along with flowers of these Apiaceae for 24 and 48 hours. The pollen grains of those species presented similar external morphology. In the two times of exposure, the larvae ingested the same amount of pollen from the three Apiaceae species, and the amount of C. sativum pollen ingested was the same between larvae and adults. The amount of A. graveolens pollen grains ingested by the adults was significantly greater than the pollens of C. sativum and F. vulgare, in 24 hours, with the opposite occurring in 48 hours. In the first 24 hours, the adults ingested more A. graveolens pollen than the larvae, with the opposite occurring with F. vulgare. There was no significant difference in the amount of Apiaceae pollen ingested between larvae and adults in 48 hours. The results suggest that the pollen-eating habits of certain aphidophagous lady beetles may be crucial in their preservation within agro-ecosystems.

Resumo Larvas e adultos de certas espécies de joaninhas predadoras podem se alimentar de pólen, garantindo a sua sobrevivência, e, às vezes, a reprodução na ausência da presa preferencial. Palinologia, portanto, pode contribuir na investigação de famílias botânicas visitadas por estes predadores a fim de obter esse recurso floral. Há registros da visitação de flores de Apiaceae por Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), mas não da ingestão de seus grãos de pólen por essa joaninha. A morfologia externa de grãos de pólen de três espécies aromáticas de Apiaceae (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) foi caracterizada e avaliou-se a ingestão desses polens por larvas de quarto instar e adultos de C. maculata em confinamento com flores dessas Apiaceae por 24 e 48 horas. Os grãos de pólen dessas espécies apresentaram morfologia externa semelhante. Nos dois tempos de exposição, as larvas ingeriram a mesma quantidade de pólen das três espécies de Apiaceae, e a quantidade de pólen de C. sativum ingerida foi semelhante entre as larvas e adultos. A quantidade de grãos de pólen de A. graveolens ingerida pelos adultos foi significativamente maior do que a dos polens de C. sativum e F. vulgare, em 24 horas, com o oposto ocorrendo em 48 horas. Nas primeiras 24 horas, os adultos ingeriram mais pólen de A. graveolens do que as larvas, ocorrendo o oposto com F. vulgare. Não houve diferença significativa na quantidade de pólen de Apiaceae ingerida entre as larvas e adultos em 48 horas. Os resultados sugerem que o hábito de alimentar de pólen de certas joaninhas afidófagas pode ser crucial para a sua preservação dentro dos agroecossistemas.

Morphological characterization of pollens from three Apiaceae species and their ingestion by twelve-spotted lady beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Larvae and adults of certain species of predator lady beetles feed on pollen, guaranteeing their survival, and at times, reproduction in the absence of preferred prey. Palynology, therefore, may contribute in the investigation of botanical families visited by these predators in order to obtain this floral resource. There are records of the visitation of Apiaceae flowers by Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), but not the ingestion of their pollen grains by this lady beetle. The external morphology of pollen grains of three Apiaceae aromatic species (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was characterized, and it was evaluated the ingestion of these pollens by fourth instar larvae and adults of C. maculata upon confinement along with flowers of these Apiaceae for 24 and 48 hours. The pollen grains of those species presented similar external morphology. In the two times of exposure, the larvae ingested the same amount of pollen from the three Apiaceae species, and the amount of C. sativum pollen ingested was the same between larvae and adults. The amount of A. graveolens pollen grains ingested by the adults was significantly greater than the pollens of C. sativum and F. vulgare, in 24 hours, with the opposite occurring in 48 hours. In the first 24 hours, the adults ingested more A. graveolens pollen than the larvae, with the opposite occurring with F. vulgare. There was no significant difference in the amount of Apiaceae pollen ingested between larvae and adults in 48 hours. The results suggest that the pollen-eating habits of certain aphidophagous lady beetles may be crucial in their preservation within agro-ecosystems.

Exchange-coupled donor dimers in nanocrystal quantum dots.

Doping of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) is expected to enable the control of key NC properties, yet its practical exploitation requires an understanding of exchange interactions when multiple dopants are incorporated in a single NC. Here, we experimentally probe the exchange of donor dimers in NCs via a deviation of their triplet-state magnetic resonance from Curie paramagnetism. We show that the exchange coupling of the closely spaced donors can be well described by effective mass theory, which allows the consideration of statistical effects crucial in NC ensembles. While a dimer induces discrete states in a NC, their energy splitting differs by up to 3 orders of magnitude for randomly placed dimers in a NC ensemble, due to an enormous dependence of the exchange energy on the dimer configuration.

Goat milk free fatty acid characterization during conventional and ohmic heating pasteurization.

The disruption of the milk fat globule membrane can lead to an excessive accumulation of free fatty acids in milk, which is frequently associated with the appearance of rancid flavors. Solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography techniques have been shown to be useful tools in the quantification of individual free fatty acids in dairy products providing enough sensitivity to detect levels of rancidity in milk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the short-chain and medium-chain free fatty acid profile in i) raw untreated goat milk; ii) raw goat milk passing through pumps and heating units (plate-and-frame heat exchanger and ohmic heater); and iii) processed goat milk by conventional and ohmic pasteurization to determine the influence of each treatment in the final quality of the milk. Multivariate statistical analysis has shown that the treatments studied were not responsible for the variability found on free fatty acid contents. In particular, it was possible to conclude that ohmic pasteurization at 72 degrees C for 15 s did not promote an extended modification of free fatty acid contents in goat milk when compared with that of conventional pasteurization. Furthermore, principal component analysis showed that the capric acid can be used to discriminate goat's milk with different free fatty acid concentrations. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed evidence of the existence of correlations between contents of short and medium chain free fatty acids in goat milk.

Electronic transport in phosphorus-doped silicon nanocrystal networks.

We have investigated the role of doping and paramagnetic states on the electronic transport of networks assembled from freestanding Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs). Electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) studies on Si-NCs films, which show a strong increase of conductivity with doping of individual Si-NCs, reveal that P donors and Si dangling bonds contribute to dark conductivity via spin-dependent hopping, whereas in photoconductivity, these states act as spin-dependent recombination centers of photogenerated electrons and holes. Comparison between EDMR and conventional electron paramagnetic resonance shows that different subsets of P-doped nanocrystals contribute to the different transport processes.

Técnicas cirúrgicas para urolitíase obstrutiva em pequenos ruminantes: relato de casos / Surgical techniques for obstructive urolithiasis in small ruminants: cases reports

Relataram-se dois casos em que a penectomia com transposição peniana perineal foram as técnicas cirúrgicas de escolha e que resultaram em 50 por cento de sucesso. Quatro casos em que as cistotomias seguidas de cistostomias apresentaram 100 por cento de sucesso, um caso em que só a cistotomia foi realizada e não se obteve sucesso, um caso em que apenas o tratamento clínico foi eficiente e dois casos em que houve 100 por cento de insucesso, independentemente da técnica cirúrgica utilizada, devido ao quadro avançado de azotemia e choque toxêmico dos animais. O estudo foi realizado durante os anos de 2003 a 2005, com a casuística de urolitíase obstrutiva em caprinos e ovinos, de forma a descrever as causas e as conseqüências das decisões terapêuticas empregadas

Two cases in wich the penectomy and perineal penile transposition were the surgical technique of choice, technique of choice were described showing 50 percent of success. There are also reported four cases in wich cystotomy followed by cystostomy showed 100 percent of success, one case in wich the cystotomy alone was unsuccessfully, one case in wich only the clinical treatment was efficient and two cases showing 100 percent of unsuccessful despite of the surgical technique used due to the advanced stage of azotemy and toxemic shock of the animals. This article presents a study of urolithiasis in goats and sheep, from 2003 to 2005, aiming to describe the causes and the consequences of the therapeutic procedures followed

Hippocampal cell proliferation and epileptogenesis after audiogenic kindling are not accompanied by mossy fiber sprouting or Fluoro-Jade staining.

Repetitive sound-induced seizures, known as audiogenic kindling (AK), gradually induce the transference of epileptic activity from brainstem to forebrain structures along with behavioral changes. The aim of our work was to correlate the behavioral changes observed during the AK with possible alterations in neuronal proliferation, cell death, hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting and in the EEG pattern of Wistar audiogenic rats, a genetically susceptible strain from our laboratory. Susceptible and non-susceptible animals were submitted to repeated sound stimulations for 14-16 days and hippocampal mitotic activity was studied through the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Cell death and mossy fiber sprouting were assessed, respectively, by using Fluoro-Jade and Timm staining, 2 and 32 days after the last kindling stimulation. In addition, we used immunofluorescent double labeling for a glial and a mitotic marker to evaluate newly born cell identity. Some animals had hippocampus and amygdala electrodes for EEG recordings. Our results show that kindled animals with 6-11 generalized limbic seizures (class IV-V) had increased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus when compared with animals with zero or one to three seizures. BrdU-positive cells labeled on day 2 and on day 32 were both GFAP negative. In the later group, rounded and well-defined BrdU-positive/GFAP-negative nuclei were seen in different portions of the granule cell layer. We did not observe any Fluoro-Jade or differential Timm staining in kindled animals at both killing times. However, EEG recordings showed intense epileptic activity in the hippocampus and amygdala of all animals with limbic seizures.Therefore, our data indicate that AK-induced limbic epileptogenicity is able to increase the hippocampal mitotic rate, even though it does not seem to promote neuronal death or mossy fiber sprouting in the supragranular layer of the dentate gyrus.

Fertility of male adult rats submitted to forced swimming stress

We investigated whether stress interferes with fertility during adulthood. Male Wistar rats (weighing 220 g in the beginning of the experiment) were forced to swim for 3 min in water at 32ºC daily for 15 days. Stress was assessed by the hot-plate test after the last stressing session. To assess fertility, control and stressed males (N = 15 per group) were mated with sexually mature normal females. Males were sacrificed after copulation. Stress caused by forced swimming was demonstrated by a significant increase in the latency of the pain response in the hot-plate test (14.6 ± 1.25 s for control males vs 26.0 ± 1.53 s for stressed males, P = 0.0004). No changes were observed in body weight, testicular weight, seminal vesicle weight, ventral prostate weight or gross histological features of the testes of stressed males. Similarly, no changes were observed in fertility rate, measured by counting live fetuses in the uterus of normal females mated with control and stressed males; no dead or incompletely developed fetuses were observed in the uterus of either group. In contrast, there was a statistically significant decrease in spermatid production demonstrated by histometric evaluation (154.96 ± 5.41 vs 127.02 ± 3.95 spermatids per tubular section for control and stressed rats, respectively, P = 0.001). These data demonstrate that 15 days of forced swimming stress applied to adult male rats did not impair fertility, but significantly decreased spermatid production. This suggests that the effect of stress on fertility should not be assessed before at least the time required for one cycle of spermatogenesis

Fertility of male adult rats submitted to forced swimming stress.

We investigated whether stress interferes with fertility during adulthood. Male Wistar rats (weighing 220 g in the beginning of the experiment) were forced to swim for 3 min in water at 32 degrees C daily for 15 days. Stress was assessed by the hot-plate test after the last stressing session. To assess fertility, control and stressed males (N = 15 per group) were mated with sexually mature normal females. Males were sacrificed after copulation. Stress caused by forced swimming was demonstrated by a significant increase in the latency of the pain response in the hot-plate test (14.6 +/- 1.25 s for control males vs 26.0 +/- 1.53 s for stressed males, P = 0.0004). No changes were observed in body weight, testicular weight, seminal vesicle weight, ventral prostate weight or gross histological features of the testes of stressed males. Similarly, no changes were observed in fertility rate, measured by counting live fetuses in the uterus of normal females mated with control and stressed males; no dead or incompletely developed fetuses were observed in the uterus of either group. In contrast, there was a statistically significant decrease in spermatid production demonstrated by histometric evaluation (154.96 +/- 5.41 vs 127.02 +/- 3.95 spermatids per tubular section for control and stressed rats, respectively, P = 0.001). These data demonstrate that 15 days of forced swimming stress applied to adult male rats did not impair fertility, but significantly decreased spermatid production. This suggests that the effect of stress on fertility should not be assessed before at least the time required for one cycle of spermatogenesis.

Evaluation of prostate specific antigen in the prognosis of patients with advanced prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the survival rate of patients with advanced prostate cancer in a univariate form, according to the preoperative and first postoperative determination of PSA levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From February 1987 to June 1995, 92 patients were submitted to maximum blockage androgen (subcapsular and antiandrogen orchiectomy), independent of clinical symptoms shown upon admission to the Cancer Hospital. The antiandrogens (ciproterone acetate and flutamide) were administered until the patient present progression of the disease. RESULTS: The age of patients varied from 44 to 89, with a median of 70 years old. In the 6th, 36th and 60th months the global survival rate was 80%, 38% and 20%, respectively. The preoperative PSA ranged from 2 to 4017 ng/ml, with a median of 98 ng/ml (98% had PSA greater than or equal to 10 ng/ml). The first postoperative PSA ranged from 1 to 3840 ng/ml, with a median of 20 ng/ml. There was a tendency towards a better survival rate only in patients with initial PSA from 2 to 99 ng/ml (p = 0.06745). The survival rate of patients at 36 months after the initial total blockage androgen, with first PSA level from 1 to 4, 5 to 49 and over 49 ng/ml was 72%, 48% and 8%, respectively (p = 0.00004). In the final examination, 34 (37%) patients were considered stable and 58 (63%) had disease progression. CONCLUSION: The PSA determination performed on the 30th postoperative day is important in the evaluation of advanced prostate cancer prognosis.

Supraomohyoid neck dissection in the treatment of head and neck tumors. Survival results in 212 cases.

Elective supraomohyoid neck dissection is considered part of standard treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancer in most institutions, but its role in the treatment of clinically positive neck cancer remains a subject of controversy. The main object of this study is to report the results of 212 consecutive patients who underwent supraomohyoid neck dissections from 1954 to 1990. Most patients had squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Eighty-six patients (40.6%) had histologically positive lymph nodes in the surgical specimen (sensitivity, 0.55; specificity, 0.53). At the study closing date there were 58.8% actuarial 10-year overall survival rates. Forty-five patients (21.2%) had 50 tumor recurrences (32 local, 13 regional, five distant), and in 40 patients (18.8%) a second primary tumor was diagnosed. A multivariate regression technique based on Cox's proportional hazards model was used, and age (65 years or younger vs older than 65 years) represented the variable with the highest predictive strength with respect to overall survival (relative risk, 2.3). Tumor site, sex, and histologically proved metastasis were also associated with overall survival rates. The same variables were also related to the risk of recurrence. In conclusion, the death rate is mainly related to the control of the primary site tumor and the occurrence of a second primary tumor rather than to neck recurrences. It confirms that supraomohyoid neck dissection is an adequate elective procedure and possibly sufficient in the treatment of a selected group of patients with lip cancer with positive nodes at level 1.

Risk factors for oral cancer in Brazil: a case-control study.

A case-control study of risk factors for carcinomas of the tongue, gum, floor, and other specified parts of the mouth was conducted in 3 metropolitan areas in Brazil: São Paulo (southeast), Curitiba (south), and Goiânia (central-west). We analyzed information on demographics, occupational history, environmental exposures, tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking habits, as well as diet, oral and other health characteristics obtained from interviews with 232 cases and 464 hospital non-cancer controls matched for 5-year age-group, sex, hospital catchment area and trimester of admission. Tobacco and alcohol consumption were the strongest risk factors irrespective of the anatomical site. The adjusted relative risks (RR) for ever vs. never smokers were: 6.3, 13.9, and 7.0, for industrial-brand cigarettes, pipe, and hand-rolled cigarettes, respectively. A strong correlation was seen between number of pack-years and risk. The RR for the heaviest vs. the lowest consumption categories (greater than 100 vs. less than 1 pack-years) was 14.8. Risk levels generally decreased to those of never smokers after 10 years had elapsed since stopping smoking. The risk associated with alcohol was mostly evident for wine (cancer of the tongue) and "cachaça" (all sites), a hard liquor distilled from sugar cane. Other important risk factors were drinking "chimarrão" (a type of maté), use of a wood stove for cooking, and frequent consumption of charcoal-grilled meat and manioc. Oral hygiene characteristics represented correlates of disease risk. A significant protective effect was observed for consumption of carotene-rich vegetables and citric fruits, but not for green vegetables in general.