Oil and Tocopherol Content and Composition of Pumpkin Seed Oil in 12 Cultivars

Posted with permission from Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55, no. 10 (2007): 4005–4013, doi: 10.1021/jf0706979. Copyright 2007 American Chemical Society.</p

Social Isolation Interventions for Older, Underrepresented and Vulnerable Americans: A Descriptive Study of Public Library Outreach Services During the COVID Pandemic

The United States entered a state of lockdown in March 2020 in order slow the spread of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. With this lockdown came mandatory social isolation, which was especially impactful for older, underrepresented and vulnerable Americans. Public libraries acted as community information centers and took on many unexpected roles to benefit the common good. This study identified these interventions through research and survey, and their relationship to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943). This study also brought to light collaborative relationships between agencies, the redeployment of library staff and resources to meet these needs, the impact of the digital disparity, and future of maintaining the interventions and services to continue to support the older, underrepresented, and vulnerable populations in the United States

Soil organic carbon stocks in estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems are driven by nutrient colimitation of P and N

Mangroves play an important role in carbon sequestration, but soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks differ between marine and estuarine mangroves, suggesting differing processes and drivers of SOC accumulation. Here, we compared undegraded and degraded marine and estuarine mangroves in a regional approach across the Indonesian archipelago for their SOC stocks and evaluated possible drivers imposed by nutrient limitations along the land-to-sea gradients. SOC stocks in natural marine mangroves (271–572 Mg ha-1 m-1 were much higher than under estuarine mangroves (100–315 Mg ha-1 m-1 with a further decrease caused by degradation to 80–132 Mg ha-1 m-1. Soils differed in C/N ratio (marine: 29–64; estuarine: 9–28), δ15N (marine: 0.6 to 0.7‰; estuarine: 2.5 to 7.2‰), and plant-available P (marine: 2.3–6.3 mg kg-1; estuarine: 0.16–1.8 mg kg-1). We found N and P supply of sea-oriented mangroves primarily met by dominating symbiotic N2 fixation from air and P import from sea, while mangroves on the landward gradient increasingly covered their demand in N and P from allochthonous sources and SOM recycling. Pioneer plants favored by degradation further increased nutrient recycling from soil resulting in smaller SOC stocks in the topsoil. These processes explained the differences in SOC stocks along the land-to-sea gradient in each mangrove type as well as the SOC stock differences observed between estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems. This first large-scale evaluation of drivers of SOC stocks under mangroves thus suggests a continuum in mangrove functioning across scales and ecotypes and additionally provides viable proxies for carbon stock estimations in PES or REDD schemes.BMBF/03F064

Effect of water table management and elevated CO 2 on radish productivity and on CH 4 and CO 2 fluxes from peatlands converted to agriculture

Anthropogenic activity is affecting the global climate through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) e.g. CO2 and CH4. About a third of anthropogenic GHGs are produced from agriculture, including livestock farming and horticulture. A large proportion of the UK's horticultural farming takes place on drained lowland peatlands, which are a source of significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. This study set out to establish whether raising the water table from the currently used − 50 cm to − 30 cm could reduce GHGs emissions from agricultural peatlands, while simultaneously maintaining the current levels of horticultural productivity. A factorial design experiment used agricultural peat soil collected from the Norfolk Fens (among the largest of the UK's lowland peatlands under intensive cultivation) to assess the effects of water table levels, elevated CO2, and agricultural production on GHG fluxes and crop productivity of radish, one of the most economically important fenland crops. The results of this study show that a water table of − 30 cm can increase the productivity of the radish crop while also reducing soil CO2 emissions but without a resultant loss of CH4 to the atmosphere, under both ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations. Elevated CO2 increased dry shoot biomass, but not bulb biomass nor root biomass, suggesting no immediate advantage of future CO2 levels to horticultural farming on peat soils. Overall, increasing the water table could make an important contribution to global warming mitigation while not having a detrimental impact on crop yield

Land Use Intensification Effects on Soil C Dynamics in Subtropical Grazing Land Ecosystems

The impacts of land intensification on carbon (C) responses are important components of soil organic carbon (SOC) management. Grazing land intensification typically involves the use of highly productive plant species that can support greater grazing pressure, removal of higher proportions of site biomass and nutrients during mechanical harvest or grazing, and increased use of fertilizers, particularly N. Current improved grazing land management strategies are aimed at increasing above-ground biomass yield, with less regard for below-ground C dynamics. Because intensive management affects above- and below-ground C inputs (Schuman et al. 1999; Liu et al. 2011a,b), it can therefore have important implications on the amount and characteristics of SOC stored in grazing lands (Franzluebbers and Stuedemann, 2003; Dubeux et al. 2006; Silveira et al. 2013). The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term impacts of converting native rangeland ecosystems into intensively managed systems on SOC dynamics in subtropical ecosystems

Starch Structures and Physicochemical Properties of a Novel β-glucan enriched Oat Hydrocolloid Product with and without Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Starch structures and physicochemical properties of C-trim30, a β-glucan-enriched oat product (32% β-glucan), with or without supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCD) were studied to evaluate suitability for commercial applications and potential to degrade starch to increase β-glucan concentration. Scanning electron micrographs showed C-trim30 was composed of 200-300 μm long, porous particles. HPSEC equipped with MALLS and RI detectors showed C-trim30 had three peaks, corresponding to amylopectin with weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 1.0x108, breakdown amylopectin product (Mw 1.1x107) and amylose (Mw 1.7x106). β-glucans were not observed due to HPSEC column absorption. C-trim30 amylopectin Mw and gyration radii increased after SCD suggesting aggregation of molecules occurred. No thermal transitions were observed for C-trim30 heated 0-150°C. C-trim30 pasting properties, measured using Rapid ViscoAnalyser, showed high peak viscosity (291 RVU) at 30°C, high breakdown (200 RVU), final (273 RVU) and setback (183 RVU) viscosity after heated to 95°C while stirred. SCD increased peak (423 RVU) and breakdown (318 RVU) viscosity. C-trim30 heated from 15 to 110°C showed higher water-holding capacity occurred without SCD. SCD oil fatty acid composition of 82% unsaturated was apposite for health-food applications. Study suggests C-trim30 with and without SCD could function as fat substitutes

Root exudate analogues accelerate CO 2 and CH 4 production in tropical peat

Root exudates represent a large and labile carbon input in tropical peatlands, but their contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) production remains poorly understood. Changes in species composition and productivity of peatland plant communities in response to global change could alter both inputs of exudates and associated greenhouse gas emissions. We used manipulative laboratory incubations to assess the extent to which root exudate quantity and chemical composition drives greenhouse gas emissions from tropical peatlands. Peat was sampled from beneath canopy palms (Raphia taedigera) and broadleaved evergreen trees (Campnosperma panamensis) in an ombrotrophic wetland in Panama. Root exudate analogues comprising a mixture of sugars and organic acids were added in solution to peats derived from both species, with CO2 and CH4 measured over time. CO2 and CH4 production increased under most treatments, but the magnitude and duration of the response depended on the composition of the added labile carbon mixture rather than the quantity of carbon added or the botanical origin of the peat. Treatments containing organic acids increased soil pH and altered other soil properties including redox potential but did not affect the activities of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. CO2 but not CH4 production was found to be linearly related to microbial activity and redox potential. Our findings demonstrate the importance of root exudate composition in regulating greenhouse gas fluxes and propose that in situ plant species changes, particularly those associated with land use change, may account for small scale spatial variation in CO2 and CH4 fluxes due to species specific root exudate compositions

Biorefinery strategies for upgrading Distillers’ Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS)

Distillers’ Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is the major by-product of bioethanol and distillery plants. Due to its high content of proteins, water-soluble vitamins and minerals, DDGS has been long marketed as animal feed for livestock. EU legislation on liquid biofuels could raise the demand on bioethanol production in Europe, with a resulting increase in DDGS availability. DDGS contains a spectrum of complex organic macromolecules, particularly polysaccharides, in addition to proteins and vitamins, and its use as a starting raw material within a biomass-based biorefining strategy could lead to the development of multi-stream processes for the production of commodities, platform molecules or speciality chemicals, with concomitant economic benefits and waste reduction for bioethanol plants. The present review aims to outline the compositional characteristics of DDGS and evaluate its potential utilisation as a starting material for the production of added-value products. Parameters of influence on the chemical and physical characteristics of DDGS are discussed. Moreover, various pre-treatment strategies are outlined in terms of efficient DDGS fractionation into several added value streams. Additional processing steps for the production of medium and high added value compounds from DDGS are evaluated and their potential applications in the food and chemical industry sector are identified

Structural changes in biscuits made with cellulose emulsions as fat replacers

[EN] Biscuits are a popular baked cereal food much appreciated by consumers. In the last few years, cellulose derivatives have been successfully used as fat replacers in biscuits. In this way, not only is the total amount of fat reduced but also the saturated fatty acids and the trans fatty acids are eliminated. The aim of this study is to increase understanding of the functionality of different cellulose ether emulsions used as fat replacers in biscuits. For this purpose, three emulsions with different cellulose ethers were designed: hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, methylcellulose and methylcellulose with greater methoxyl substitution (MCH). The microstructure and textural properties of the doughs and biscuits prepared with these emulsions were studied and the effects of cellulose types and glycerol as textural improver were also analysed. The results showed that the incorporation of glycerol in the doughs made with methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose cellulose emulsions seems to make the dough softer, bringing the values closer to those of the control dough; however, this effect disappears once the dough is baked. The presence of glycerol does not seem to have an effect on the hardness of the doughs and biscuits made using the methylcellulose with greater methoxyl substitution (MCH) emulsion.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for financial support (AGL2015-68923-C2) and gratefully acknowledge the financial support of EU FEDER funds.Teresa Sanz; Quiles Chuliá, MD.; Salvador Alcaraz, A.; Hernando Hernando, MI. (2017). Structural changes in biscuits made with cellulose emulsions as fat replacers. Food Science and Technology International. 23(6):480-489. https://doi.org/10.1177/1082013217703273S48048923