Publications

Variation from spontaneous mutation for body size in the mouse.

Critical Variables Influencing the Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Bioactive Compounds—A Review

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is a technique that belongs to the group of novel extraction methods belonging to green chemistry, like microwave assisted extraction (MAE), enzyme assisted extraction (EAE) or high-pressure assisted extraction (HPAE), because it promotes the extraction of compounds of interest, with a decrease in the consumption of resources, such as solvent and energy, and achieving remarkably higher extraction yields [1]. UAE has been mainly used to plant matrices to obtain extracts rich in bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, pigments, polysaccharides, amino acids, among others. This methodology is based on the principle of cavitation, which leads to cell collapse of the matrix and allows the release of their inner substances. Several variables are relevant for the performance of UAE, including the solid-liquid ratio, the type of solvents used, the extraction time and the ultrasound power applied [2]. Besides, power and extraction time are closely linked to a fifth important factor: temperature. In practical terms, a correct optimization of these variables is essential to obtain an excellent performance, resulting in a maximal extraction yield. In addition, temperature is very important, as it can affect the integrity ofbioactive compounds, since most of them are thermolabile. Thus, large amounts of power linked to long extraction periods may lead to sample damage, so temperature control is essential for acorrect design of the cooling reactor and the optimization of of UAE extraction protocols. Keeping all this in mind, this critical review is focused on the influence of all the variables that affect ultrasound-assisted extraction, in order to analyze the critical factors involved in the optimization of this technique. Acknowledgments The research leading to these results was supported by MICINN supporting the Ramon y Cajal grant for M.A. Prieto (RYC-2017-22891) and the FPU grant for Anxo Carreira Casais (FPU2016/06135); by Xunta de Galicia for supporting the program EXCELENCIA-ED431F 2020/12, the pre-doctoral grant of A.G. Pereira (ED481A-2019/0228) and the program BENEFICIOS DO CONSUMO DAS ESPECIES TINTORERA- CO-0019-2021 that supports the work of F. Chamorro; by University of Vigo for supporting the predoctoral grant of M. Carpena (Uvigo-00VI 131H 6410211); and by the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 888003 UP4HEALTH Project (H2020-BBI-JTI-2019) that supports the work of P. Otero and P. Garcia-Perez. The authors are grateful to Ibero-American Program on Science and Technology (CYTED—AQUA-CIBUS, P317RT0003). The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio Based Industries Consortium. The project SYSTEMIC Knowledge hub on Nutrition and Food Security, has received funding from national research funding parties in Belgium (FWO), France (INRA), Germany (BLE), Italy (MIPAAF), Latvia (IZM), Norway (RCN), Portugal (FCT), and Spain (AEI) in a joint action of JPI HDHL, JPI-OCEANS and FACCE-JPI launched in 2019 under the ERA-NET ERA-HDHL (n° 696295). References 1. Chemat, F.; Zill-E-Huma; Khan, M.K. Applications of Ultrasound in Food Technology: Processing, Preservation and Extraction. Ultrason. Sonochem. 2011, 18, 813–835, doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2010.11.023.2. Chemat, F.; Abert Vian, M.; Fabiano-Tixier, A.S.; Nutrizio, M.; Režek Jambrak, A.; Munekata, P.E.S.; Lorenzo, J.M.; Barba, F.J.; Binello, A.; Cravotto, G. A Review of Sustainable and Intensified Techniques for Extraction of Food and Natural Products. Green Chem. 2020, 22, 2325–2353, doi:10.1039/c9gc03878g.

The population RDH index: a novel vector index and graphical method for statistical assessment of antihypertensive treatment reduction, duration, and homogeneity

Current indices used in the evaluation of antihypertensive treatment duration and homogeneity such as the trough-peak, smoothness index, and normalized smoothness index were designed to be applied to ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings from individual participants. Evaluation of antihypertensive treatment in populations is often carried out by calculating these individual indices for each of the participants and providing summarizing statistics about the population, such as the mean and median. We describe a new population vector index and graphical method for the statistical assessment of antihypertensive treatment reduction, duration, and homogeneity (RDH) from ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The population (RDH) was specifically designed as a tool to evaluate and compare blood pressure coverage offered by antihypertensive drugs over 24 h in populations. The population RDH is a three-component vector index that incorporates information about the reduction, duration, and homogeneity of antihypertensive treatment, as well as their statistical significance over the 24 h period. In addition to defining the RDH index, in this paper we also demonstrate its usefulness and advantages as an index and graphical method for antihypertensive treatment duration and homogeneity assessment by using it to analyze two data sets.

Development of a LC–ESI-MS/MS Approach for the Rapid Quantification of Main Wine Organic Acids in Human Urine

The analysis of food components and their metabolome in urine has recently found a growing interest due their potential ability to reflect specific dietary intakes. In the present work, a fast, simple, and environmentally friendly method based on liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the analysis of main wine organic acids in human urine. The proposed method was evaluated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, and limits of detection. Quantitative recovery (96-102%) and satisfactory interday precision (RSD <6%) were achieved for all target compounds. To demonstrate the applicability of the method, urine samples from five male volunteers were analyzed before and after consumption of a single moderate dose (200 mL) of red wine. A significant increase (p < 0.01) in the urinary concentration of tartaric and malic acids was observed.

Antimicrobial Activity Screening of Camellia japonica Flowers (var. Conde de la Torre)

The increased resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to a wide range of antibiotics has driven recent research efforts towards exploring and developing effective preservatives with better potential and new strategies to prevent this multi-resistance. Many of these studies have been on natural matrices such as plants. This is in line with consumer demand for more organic and natural products. A possible alternative could be using bioactive compounds from Camellia japonica flowers as bio-preservatives since they have been traditionally used in cosmetic products due to their biological properties. Among the bioactive molecules of camellias, it is worth highlighting phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, polysaccharides, polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and pigments. However, to incorporate these bioactive molecules into products with antimicrobial purposes, it is necessary to conduct an extraction and purification of the target compounds. Thus, in this study, the antimicrobial activity of one variety of C. japonica flowers (var. Conde de la Torre), obtained by an easy and profitable extraction technique such as maceration, was analyzed. Results from this work showed that the variety under study has a significant antimicrobial activity in terms of inhibition zones against Staphylococcus epidermidis (14.02 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (10.84 mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.36 mm), Salmonella enteritidis (7.98 mm), and Bacillus cereus (5.05 mm). However, the var. Conde de la Torre of C. japonica did not show significant activity against Escherichia coli. In conclusion, Conde de la Torre can be used as a potential antimicrobial agent. However, more studies that determinate the compounds responsible for these bioactivities are needed.

The relative contribution of band number to phylogenetic accuracy in AFLP data sets

Abstract We examined the effect of increasing the number of sampled amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) bands to reconstruct an accurate and well‐supported AFLP‐based phylogeny. In silico AFLP was performed using simulated DNA sequences evolving along balanced and unbalanced model trees with recent, uniform and ancient radiations and average branch lengths (from the most internal node to the tip) ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 substitutions per site. Trees were estimated by minimum evolution (ME) and maximum parsimony (MP) methods from both DNA sequences and virtual AFLP fingerprints. The comparison of the true tree with the estimated AFLP trees suggests that moderate numbers of AFLP bands are necessary to recover the correct topology with high bootstrap support values (i.e. &gt;70%). Fewer numbers of bands are necessary for shorter tree lengths and for balanced than for unbalanced tree topologies. However, branch length estimation was rather unreliable and did not improve substantially after a certain number of bands were sampled. These results hold for different levels of genome coverage and number of taxa analysed. In silico AFLP using bacterial genomic DNA sequences recovered a well‐supported tree topology that mirrored an empirical phylogeny based on a set of 31 orthologous gene sequences when as few as 263 AFLP bands were scored. These results suggest that AFLPs may be an efficient alternative to traditional DNA sequencing for accurate topology reconstruction of shallow trees when not very short ancestral branches exist.

Identification of Emerging Hazards in Mussels by the Galician Emerging Food Safety Risks Network (RISEGAL). A First Approach

Emerging risk identification is a priority for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The goal of the Galician Emerging Food Safety Risks Network (RISEGAL) is the identification of emerging risks in foods produced and commercialized in Galicia (northwest Spain) in order to propose prevention plans and mitigation strategies. In this work, RISEGAL applied a systematic approach for the identification of emerging food safety risks potentially affecting bivalve shellfish. First, a comprehensive review of scientific databases was carried out to identify hazards most quoted as emerging in bivalves in the period 2016–2018. Then, identified hazards were semiquantitatively assessed by a panel of food safety experts, who scored them accordingly with the five evaluation criteria proposed by EFSA: novelty, soundness, imminence, scale, and severity. Scores determined that perfluorinated compounds, antimicrobial resistance, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, hepatitis E virus (HEV), and antimicrobial residues are the emerging hazards that are considered most imminent and severe and that could cause safety problems of the highest scale in the bivalve value chain by the majority of the experts consulted (75%). Finally, in a preliminary way, an exploratory study carried out in the Galician Rías highlighted the presence of HEV in mussels cultivated in class B production areas.

Comparison of protective effects of safflor injection and extract of Ginkgo biloba on lung ischemia/reperfusion injury in rabbits

Rapid determination of organic acids in Bayer liquors by high-performance liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction

Seasonal dynamics of the phytochemical constituents and bioactivities of extracts from Stenoloma chusanum (L.) Ching

Accounting for population structure and data quality in demographic inference with linkage disequilibrium methods

Quantitative Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction for Trace-Metal Determination: An Experiment for Analytical Chemistry

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is introduced to upper-level analytical chemistry students as a simple strategy focused on sample preparation for trace-metal determination in biological tissues. Nickel extraction in seafood samples and quantification by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) are carried out by a team of four students. The experiment covers (i) the study of variables influencing the extraction process (sonication time, ultrasound amplitude, acid concentration, particle size, and sample mass) and the selection of optimal conditions; (ii) the determination of analytical characteristics and method validation using certified reference materials; and (iii) the analysis of seafood samples (i.e., mussels, prawns, hake, and sole).

Overall migration and specific migration of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether monomer and<i>m</i>‐xylylenediamine hardener from an optimized epoxy‐amine formulation into water‐based food simulants

The overall and specific migrations of BADGE n = 0 monomer and m-XDA hardener from a BEPOX LAB 889 (Gairesa internal code), epoxy system cured at room temperature, into three water-based food simulants are studied. Hydrolysis of BADGE n = 0 was observed in all of these simulants, giving more polar products. We thus propose changing the EEC Directives, which at present only legislate for levels of BADGE n = 0 monomer in the simulants, to include the hydrolysis products of BADGE monomers. Another alternative would be to express all the migration levels due to BADGE and its derived products in terms of BADGE itself.

PartitionTest test suite README file

PartitionTest test suite

Occurrence of soluble organic compounds in thermal waters by ion trap mass detection

N,N-Dimethylformamide as a Reaction Medium for Metal Nanoparticle Synthesis*

This chapter intends to provide an overview of the use of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) for the fabrication of metal nanoparticles, mainly gold and silver, with tailored morphology and properties. It reviews the main achievements in wet chemical synthesis of metal nanoparticles using DMF as reducing agent. The design of synthetic methods for the production of metal nanoparticles has seen an enormous improvement during the last decade, originating from potential applications of these systems in a wide variety of attractive fields, ranging from communications and microelectronics to medical diagnostics and therapy. DMF is well-known for its high synthetic value, to a large extent due to its wide liquid temperature range, good chemical and thermal stability, high polarity and wide solubility range for both organic and inorganic compounds. This uniquely versatile and powerful chemical has been used as a solvent in a wide variety of synthetic procedures, including: preparation of colloids, synthesis of block copolymers, and many types of organic chemistry reactions.

Reduction of Cardiovascular Disease Risks with Dietary Antioxidant Supplements

Heart and cerebrovascular diseases are collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD), which has the highest incidence and mortality rate in the world. Atherosclerosis (AS) is the basis of CVD, induced by oxidative stress and inflammation. Hyperlipidaemia and hypertension play a critical role in AS, which inevitably causes reactive oxygen species overproduction, thus accelerating CVD occurrence. Adequate intake of foods rich in phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids can effectively reduce CVD risks. The mechanisms are related to the following: (i) lowering blood lipids, (ii) blood pressure regulation, (iii) inhibiting the oxidative enzyme system and Fenton reaction, and (iv) regulating inflammatory factor expression. This chapter provides a theoretical foundation for comprehensively exploring the potential health benefits of biologically active ingredients in foods that help reduce CVD risks.

Fungicide residues affect the sensory properties and flavonoid composition of red wine