Low-level red laser therapy alters effects of ultraviolet C radiation on Escherichia coli cells

Low-level lasers are used at low power densities and doses according to clinical protocols supplied with laser devices or based on professional practice. Although use of these lasers is increasing in many countries, the molecular mechanisms involved in effects of low-level lasers, mainly on DNA, are controversial. In this study, we evaluated the effects of low-level red lasers on survival, filamentation, and morphology of Escherichia colicells that were exposed to ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation. Exponential and stationary wild-type and uvrA-deficientE. coli cells were exposed to a low-level red laser and in sequence to UVC radiation. Bacterial survival was evaluated to determine the laser protection factor (ratio between the number of viable cells after exposure to the red laser and UVC and the number of viable cells after exposure to UVC). Bacterial filaments were counted to obtain the percentage of filamentation. Area-perimeter ratios were calculated for evaluation of cellular morphology. Experiments were carried out in duplicate and the results are reported as the means of three independent assays. Pre-exposure to a red laser protected wild-type and uvrA-deficient E. coli cells against the lethal effect of UVC radiation, and increased the percentage of filamentation and the area-perimeter ratio, depending on UVC fluence and physiological conditions in the cells. Therapeutic, low-level red laser radiation can induce DNA lesions at a sub-lethal level. Consequences to cells and tissues should be considered when clinical protocols based on this laser are carried out.

Low-intensity red and infrared laser effects at high fluences on Escherichia coli cultures

Semiconductor laser devices are readily available and practical radiation sources providing wavelength tenability and high monochromaticity. Low-intensity red and near-infrared lasers are considered safe for use in clinical applications. However, adverse effects can occur via free radical generation, and the biological effects of these lasers from unusually high fluences or high doses have not yet been evaluated. Here, we evaluated the survival, filamentation induction and morphology of Escherichia coli cells deficient in repair of oxidative DNA lesions when exposed to low-intensity red and infrared lasers at unusually high fluences. Cultures of wild-type (AB1157), endonuclease III-deficient (JW1625-1), and endonuclease IV-deficient (JW2146-1) E. coli, in exponential and stationary growth phases, were exposed to red and infrared lasers (0, 250, 500, and 1000 J/cm2) to evaluate their survival rates, filamentation phenotype induction and cell morphologies. The results showed that low-intensity red and infrared lasers at high fluences are lethal, induce a filamentation phenotype, and alter the morphology of the E. coli cells. Low-intensity red and infrared lasers have potential to induce adverse effects on cells, whether used at unusually high fluences, or at high doses. Hence, there is a need to reinforce the importance of accurate dosimetry in therapeutic protocols.

CROMATOGRAFIA DE AFINIDADE COM CORANTE RED A versus TROCA IÔNICA-PERMEABILIDADE EM GEL: COMPARAÇÃO DA PRATICIDADE NA PURIFICAÇÃO DE ENTEROTOXINA ESTAFILOCÓCICA A

O presente trabalho compara processos de purificação de enterotoxina estafilocócica A, utilizando cromatografia de afinidade com corante Red A em relação a troca iônica (SP - Sephadex C-25) - permeabilidade em gel (Sephadex G-75). Aplicou-se nas colunas o sobrenadante da cultura de Staphylococcus aureus 722 em caldo contendo 3% de triptona e suplementado com 1% de extrato de levedura, previamente concentradas com Amberlite CG-50. O processo capturou rapidamente a EEA, porém a proporção de 15 mg de resina para 150 mg de toxina causou saturação, recuperando apenas 10 a 30% de toxina do sobrenadante. A cromatografia de afinidade com Red A permitiu a recuperação de 60,87% de toxina aplicada em 76 horas, em relação a 114 horas requeridas para purificação utilizando coluna de troca iônica e permeabilidade em gel, com rendimento de 6,5%. O perfil eletroforético das amostras purificadas indicaram que, a toxina obtida da coluna Red A apresentou teor de pureza superior, na ordem de 90%, em relação a 60% atingida pelo método clássico.

Improving Cost-Efficiency and Reducing Environmental Impacts of Intermodal Transportation with Dry Port Concept – Major Rail Transport Corridor in Baltic Sea Region

Transportation plays a major role in the gross domestic product of various nations. There are, however, many obstacles hindering the transportation sector. Cost-efficiency along with proper delivery times, high frequency and reliability are not a straightforward task. Furthermore, environmental friendliness has increased the importance of the whole transportation sector. This development will change roles inside the transportation sector. Even now, but especially in the future, decisions regarding the transportation sector will be partly based on emission levels and other externalities originating from transportation in addition to pure transportation costs. There are different factors, which could have an impact on the transportation sector. IMO’s sulphur regulation is estimated to increase the costs of short sea shipping in the Baltic Sea. Price development of energy could change the roles of different transport modes. Higher awareness of the environmental impacts originating from transportation could also have an impact on the price level of more polluting transport modes. According to earlier research, increased inland transportation, modal shift and slowsteaming can be possible results of these changes in the transportation sector. Possible changes in the transportation sector and ways to settle potential obstacles are studied in this dissertation. Furthermore, means to improve cost-efficiency and to decrease environmental impacts originating from transportation are researched. Hypothetical Finnish dry port network and Rail Baltica transport corridor are studied in this dissertation. Benefits and disadvantages are studied with different methodologies. These include gravitational models, which were optimized with linear integer programming, discrete-event and system dynamics simulation, an interview study and a case study. Geographical focus is on the Baltic Sea Region, but the results can be adapted to other geographical locations with discretion. Results indicate that the dry port concept has benefits, but optimization regarding the location and the amount of dry ports plays an important role. In addition, the utilization of dry ports for freight transportation should be carefully operated, since only a certain amount of total freight volume can be cost-efficiently transported through dry ports. If dry ports are created and located without proper planning, they could actually increase transportation costs and delivery times of the whole transportation system. With an optimized dry port network, transportation costs can be lowered in Finland with three to five dry ports. Environmental impacts can be lowered with up to nine dry ports. If more dry ports are added to the system, the benefits become very minor, i.e. payback time of investments becomes extremely long. Furthermore, dry port network could support major transport corridors such as Rail Baltica. Based on an analysis of statistics and interview study, there could be enough freight volume available for Rail Baltica, especially, if North-West Russia is part of the Northern end of the corridor. Transit traffic to and from Russia (especially through the Baltic States) plays a large role. It could be possible to increase transit traffic through Finland by connecting the potential Finnish dry port network and the studied transport corridor. Additionally, sulphur emission regulation is assumed to increase the attractiveness of Rail Baltica in the year 2015. Part of the transit traffic could be rerouted along Rail Baltica instead of the Baltic Sea, since the price level of sea transport could increase due to the sulphur regulation. Both, the hypothetical Finnish dry port network and Rail Baltica transport corridor could benefit each other. The dry port network could gain more market share from Russia, but also from Central Europe, which is the other end of Rail Baltica. In addition, further Eastern countries could also be connected to achieve higher potential freight volume by rail.

Carnes PSE (Pale, Soft, Exudative) e DFD (Dark, Firm, Dry) em lombo suíno numa linha de abate industrial

A necessidade para uma maior produção de carne magra em suínos tem acarretado modificações nas características bioquímicas do músculo conduzindo ao desenvolvimento das anomalias nas suas cores, as denominadas carnes PSE e DFD. Estas carnes por apresentarem alterações de suas propriedades funcionais, resultam em grandes perdas econômicas. Nesse experimento, foram utilizadas 946 amostras de Longissimus dorsi m., lombos de suínos da linhagem Dalland, machos castrados e fêmeas, com 100 dias de idade, em um Frigorífico localizado na Região Sul do País. Os lombos foram classificados com base no valor de L*24 h e pH24 h. Foi constatada uma incidência de 22,8% de carnes PSE, 1,0% de DFD e 76,2% de normal. Esses valores relativamente altos de carnes PSE mostram a necessidade de se realizar controles no seu manejo pré e pós-abate para a manutenção da qualidade da carne e evitar o excessivo prejuízo econômico dos frigoríficos decorrentes dessas anormalidades.

Monitoring of wine aging process by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The characterization of wine samples by direct insertion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), without pre-treatment or chromatographic separation, in a process denominated fingerprinting, has been applied to several samples of wine produced with grapes of the Pinot noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties from the state o Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. The ESI-MS fingerprints of the samples detected changes which occurred during the aging process in the three grape varieties. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the negative ion mode fingerprints was used to group the samples, pinpoint the main changes in their composition, and indicate marker ions for each group of samples.

Stability of the anthocyanins extracted from residues of the wine industry

Anthocyanins are highly important due to their antioxidant capacity. They are the most important among the phenolic compounds and one of the main natural dyes used in the food industry. In this research, residue of processed grapes was used to investigate the presence of anthocyanins, the possibility of their extraction from the residue, and their stability. The extraction solution consisted of 70 mL of ethanol 70% and 30 mL of HCl 0.1% at pH 2.0. The results found for the processed grapes residue was 26.20 mg.100 g-1. In order to evaluate stability, caffeic acid was added at 0.5:1 w/v; 0.8:1 w/v; and 1:1 w/v concentrations. Anthocyanins extract reached the greatest stability at 0.5:1 w/v concentration, with 82.47% color retention and a half-life period of 15 days. Therefore, the use of this organic acid as a stabilizer for anthocyanins is feasible.

Optimization of the extraction of carrageenan from Kappaphycus alvarezii using response surface methodology

This study aims to optimize an alternative method of extraction of carrageenan without previous alkaline treatment and ethanol precipitation using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). In order to introduce an innovation in the isolation step, atomization drying was used reducing the time for obtaining dry carrageenan powder. The effects of extraction time and temperature on yield, gel strength, and viscosity were evaluated. Furthermore, the extracted material was submitted to structural analysis, by infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR), and chemical composition analysis. Results showed that the generated regression models adequately explained the data variation. Carrageenan yield and gel viscosity were influenced only by the extraction temperature. However, gel strength was influenced by both, extraction time and extraction temperature. Optimal extraction conditions were 74 ºC and 4 hours. In these conditions, the carrageenan extract properties determined by the polynomial model were 31.17%, 158.27 g.cm-2, and 29.5 cP for yield, gel strength, and viscosity, respectively, while under the experimental conditions they were 35.8 ± 4.68%, 112.50 ± 4.96 g.cm-2, and 16.01 ± 1.03 cP, respectively. The chemical composition, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy analyses showed that the crude carrageenan extracted is composed mainly of κ-carrageenan.

Citotoxicity of food dyes sunset yellow (E-110), bordeaux red (E-123), and tatrazine yellow (E-102) on Allium cepa L. root meristematic cells

The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of the food dyes sunset yellow, bordeaux red, and tartrazine yellow on the cellular cycle of Allium cepa L. Each dye was evaluated at the doses of 0.4 and 4.0 mL, at the exposure times of 24 and 48 hours in root tip cells of Allium cepa L. Slides were prepared and cells were analyzed during the whole cell cycle for cellular aberrations totaling 5,000 total cells for each dose evaluated. The mitotic index was calculated, and statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-squared test (p < 0.05). The results showed that the three dyes used under the evaluated doses and exposure times were cytotoxic to the cells of the system-test used. Further cytotoxicity studies should be conducted for additional results and a proper evaluation of the effect of these three dyes on a cellular level.

Use of simulated annealing in standardization and optimization of the acerola wine production

In this study, seven wine samples were prepared varying the amount of pulp of acerola fruits and the sugar content using the simulated annealing technique to obtain the optimal sensory qualities and cost for the wine produced. S. cerevisiae yeast was used in the fermentation process and the sensory attributes were evaluated using a hedonic scale. Acerola wines were classified as sweet, with 11°GL of alcohol concentration and with aroma, taste, and color characteristics of the acerola fruit. The simulated annealing experiments showed that the best conditions were found at mass ratio between 1/7.5-1/6 and total soluble solids between 28.6-29.0 °Brix, from which the sensory acceptance scores of 6.9, 6.8, and 8.8 were obtained for color, aroma, and flavor, respectively, with a production cost 43-45% lower than the cost of traditional wines commercialized in Brazil.

Antioxidant activity and prevention of pork meat lipid oxidation using traditional Mexican condiments (pasilla dry pepper, achiote, and mole sauce)

Considering the extensive use of hot peppers and spicy sauces in the Mexican cuisine, in the present paper, three widely consumed Mexican condiments (mole sauce, achiote, and pasilla hot pepper) were analyzed for their total phenols, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, antioxidant activity, and protective effect against lipid oxidation in chopped pork meat. All samples were extracted first with methanol and then with acetone, and the extracts were compared. Pasilla pepper showed the highest phenolic and flavonoid content in both solvents, followed by mole and achiote. Achiote showed the highest proanthocyanidin concentration. All samples showed high antioxidant activity, and good correlations with phenolic compounds and flavonoids, while no correlation was observed in the case of condensed tannins. Mole sauce methanolic extract showed the highest inhibition of pork meat oxidation, followed by pasilla pepper, and finally achiote paste extracts. These results suggest that these condiments are useful to prevent meat lipid oxidation during storage.

Vinegar rice (Oryza sativa L.) produced by a submerged fermentation process from alcoholic fermented rice

Considering the limited availability of technology for the production of rice vinegar and also due to the potential consumer product market, this study aimed to use alcoholic fermented rice (rice wine (Oryza sativa L.)) for vinegar production. An alcoholic solution with 6.28% (w/v) ethanol was oxidized by a submerged fermentation process to produce vinegar. The process of acetic acid fermentation occurred at 30 ± 0.3°C in a FRINGS® Acetator (Germany) for the production of vinegar and was followed through 10 cycles. The vinegar had a total acidity of 6.85% (w/v), 0.17% alcohol (w/v), 1.26% (w/v) minerals and 1.78% (w/v) dry extract. The composition of organic acids present in rice vinegar was: cis-aconitic acid (6 mg/L), maleic acid (3 mg/L), trans-aconitic acid (3 mg/L), shikimic + succinic acid (4 mg/L), lactic acid (300 mg/L), formic acid (180 mg/L), oxalic acid (3 mg/L), fumaric acid (3 mg/L) and itaconic acid (1 mg/L).

Comparison between aroma compounds in wines from four Vitis vinifera grape varieties grown in different shoot positions

The aroma characteristics of wines from four Vitis vinifera grape varieties (‘Cabernet sauvignon’, ‘Merlot’, ‘Chardonnay’, and ‘Italian Riesling’) grown in three shoot positions were evaluated by HS-SPME-GC/MS. In this study, the numerous significant differences found in most of the aromatic compounds influence of different shoot positions on the quality of wine. The results showed that the middle shoot position increased significantly the aroma concentration in the majority of wines investigated. The volatile components showing the greatest differences in the wines of different cultivars were aldehydes and terpenes. 8 and 11 compounds were found and quantified (OAVs>1) in the two red wines and white wines at concentrations higher than their corresponding odor thresholds, respectively; and therefore they significantly contributed to the wine aromas. According to their OAVs, fruity, floral, cheese and fatty aroma strongly influenced the characteristics of the four monovarietal wines, while the two white wines showed the green and fresh aroma characteristics. These results are related to the different microclimate of the canopies of the different shoot positions and varieties. They suggest that proper elevating the fruiting zones could improve the accumulation of aroma compounds in wines from the different varieties. On the other hand, grapevines trained to systems with uniform fruiting zones could improve the quality of wine.