Effect of prior ingestion of glucose or fructose on the performance of exercise of intermediate duration

The metabolic responses induced by the ingestion of a beverage containing glucose (G), fructose (F) or placebo (W) 30 min before exercise of high intensity and intermediate duration have been investigated; in these conditions the energy processes are mostly dependent on aerobic reactions. A group of 11 male recreational sportsmen ran on a treadmill, at an intensity corresponding to 82% of peak oxygen consumption, until exhaustion on three different occasions (after ingestion of a beverage containing 75 g of G, 75 g of F or W). Plasma glucose, insulin, and lactic acid concentrations were determined just prior to the ingestion of the beverages, 30 min afterwards and 10 and 30 min after completion of the exercise. The mean endurance time was 644 (SD 261) s after the ingestion of G, 611 (SD 227) s after the ingestion of F and 584 (SD 189) s after the ingestion of the W (P < 0.05 between G and W). No differences in the oxygen uptake, respiratory quotient or lactate concentrations between the three trials were observed. Both plasma glucose and insulin concentrations determined in samples obtained immediately before the onset of exercise were higher when G was ingested than when F (P < 0.05 andP < 0.05, respectively) or W (P < 0.001 and P < 0.005, respectively) were ingested. These findings would suggest that the ingestion of G prior to an effort of intermediate duration may improve physical performance.     

Five new microsatellite polymorphisms at the q21 region of human chromosome 21

Five clones, containing polymorphic CA-repeat sequences, have been isolated from a specific human chromosome 21 phage library and have been localised to band q21 of chromosome 21 using a somatic cell hybrid panel. These highly repetitive sequences (D21S1263, D21S1264, D21S1415, D21S1417 and D21S1420) have been characterised in the CEPH reference parents and have heterozygosities ranging from 0.30 to 0.81 and an average polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.62. The relative order of these markers, based on the somatic cell hybrid panel, is cen-D21S1417, D21S1420-D21S1263, D21S1415-D21S1264-tel. The most polymorphic marker (D21S1264) has been included in the chromosome 21 genetic map. They have also been localised in the CEPH/ Généthon YAC panel, providing a refined localisation of these polymorphic sequences. These five CA-repeat markers should provide a better characterisation of the q21 region of chromosome 21.     

Assessing the Environmental Impact of Water Consumption by Energy Crops Grown in Spain

The environmental impact of the water consumption of four typical crop rotations grown in Spain, including energy crops, was analyzed and compared against Spanish agricultural and natural reference situations. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used for the assessment of the potential environmental impact of blue water (withdrawal from water bodies) and green water (uptake of soil moisture) consumption. The latter has so far been disregarded in LCA. To account for green water, two approaches have been applied: the first accounts for the difference in green water demand of the crops and a reference situation. The second is a green water scarcity index, which measures the fraction of the soil‐water plant consumption to the available green water. Our results show that, if the aim is to minimize the environmental impacts of water consumption, the energy crop rotations assessed in this study were most suitable in basins in the northeast of Spain. In contrast, the energy crops grown in basins in the southeast of Spain were associated with the greatest environmental impacts. Further research into the integration of quantitative green water assessment in LCA is crucial in studies of systems with a high dependence on green water resources.     

A new species of Pliopithecus Gervais, 1849 (Primates: Pliopithecidae) from the Middle Miocene (MN8) of Abocador de Can Mata (els Hostalets de Pierola,Catalonia, Spain)

Pliopithecus (Pliopithecus) canmatensis sp. nov. is described from several Late Aragonian localities from Abocador de Can Mata (ACM) in els Hostalets de Pierola (Vallès‐Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain), spanning from ～11.7 to 11.6 Ma (C5r.3r subchron), and being correlated to the MN8 (reference locality La Grive L3). The ACM remains display a pliopithecine dental morphology with well‐developed pliopithecine triangles on M/2 and M/3. This, together with other occlusal details, negates an attribution to the subgenus Epipliopithecus. Although slightly smaller, the ACM remains are most similar in size to comparable elements of P. piveteaui and P. antiquus. Several occlusal details (such as the greater development of the buccal cingulid in lower molars) and dental proportions (M/3 much longer than M/2), however, indicate greater similarities with P. antiquus from Sansan and La Grive. The ACM remains, however, differ from P. antiquus in dental proportions as well as occlusal morphology of the lower molars (including the less peripheral position of the protoconid and more medial position of the hypoconulid, the more mesial position of the buccal cuspids as compared to the lingual ones, the narrower but distinct mesial fovea, the higher trigonid, and the more extensive buccal cingulid, among others). These differences justify a taxonomic distinction at the species level of the ACM pliopithecid remains with respect to P. antiquus. Previous pliopithecid findings from the Vallès‐Penedès Basin, previously attributed to P. antiquus, are neither attributable to the latter species nor to the newly erected one. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Operationalising emission and toxicity modelling of pesticides in LCA: the OLCA-Pest project contribution

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Current field emission modelling and toxicity characterisation of pesticides suffer from several shortcomings like mismatches between LCI...     

Comparing nutritional value and yield as functional units in the environmental assessment of horticultural production with organic or mineral fertilization

Background, aim, and scope  

We report the environmental assessment of the cultivation cycle of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis), chosen due to its high levels of natural bioactive compounds, using different fertilization practices. The functional units used during the impact assessment were linked with the quantity produced, considering different units of commercialization, or with the cauliflower quality, considering its antioxidant compounds content. Although nutrient content has been described and used as a possible functional unit, using antioxidant compounds as a functional unit has not previously been published.     

Massive consumption of gelatinous plankton by Mediterranean apex predators

Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were used to test the hypothesis that stomach content analysis has systematically overlooked the consumption of gelatinous zooplankton by pelagic mesopredators and apex predators. The results strongly supported a major role of gelatinous plankton in the diet of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius). Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the oceanic stage and ocean sunfish (Mola mola) also primarily relied on gelatinous zooplankton. In contrast, stable isotope ratios ruled out any relevant consumption of gelatinous plankton by bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), blue shark (Prionace glauca), leerfish (Lichia amia), bonito (Sarda sarda), striped dolphin (Stenella caerueloalba) and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the neritic stage, all of which primarily relied on fish and squid. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) were confirmed as crustacean consumers. The ratios of stable isotopes in albacore (Thunnus alalunga), amberjack (Seriola dumerili), blue butterfish (Stromaeus fiatola), bullet tuna (Auxis rochei), dolphinfish (Coryphaena hyppurus), horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) were consistent with mixed diets revealed by stomach content analysis, including nekton and crustaceans, but the consumption of gelatinous plankton could not be ruled out completely. In conclusion, the jellyvorous guild in the Mediterranean integrates two specialists (ocean sunfish and loggerhead sea turtles in the oceanic stage) and several opportunists (bluefin tuna, little tunny, spearfish, swordfish and, perhaps, blue butterfish), most of them with shrinking populations due to overfishing.     

Neonate human remains: a window of opportunity to the molecular study of ancient syphilis

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be a useful tool in bacterial disease diagnosis in human remains. However, while the recovery of Mycobacterium spp. has been widely successful, several authors report unsuccessful results regarding ancient treponemal DNA, casting doubts on the usefulness of this technique for the diagnosis of ancient syphilis. Here, we present results from an analysis of four newborn specimens recovered from the crypt of "La Ermita de la Soledad" (XVI-XVII centuries), located in the province of Huelva in the southwest of Spain. We extracted and analyzed aDNA in three independent laboratories, following specific procedures generally practiced in the aDNA field, including cloning of the amplified DNA fragments and sequencing of several clones. This is the most ancient case, reported to date, from which detection of DNA from T. pallidum subspecies pallidum has been successful in more than one individual, and we put forward a hypothesis to explain this result, taking into account the course of the disease in neonate individuals.     

Inclusion of uncertainty in the LCA comparison of different cherry tomato production scenarios

Purpose

Knowledge regarding environmental impacts of agricultural systems is required. Consideration of uncertainty in life cycle assessment (LCA) provides additional scientific information for decision making. The aims of this study were to compare the environmental impacts of different growing cherry tomato cultivation scenarios under Mediterranean conditions and to assess the uncertainty associated to the different agricultural production scenarios.

Materials and methods

The burdens associated to cherry tomato production were calculated and evaluated by the LCA methodology. The functional unit (FU) chosen for this study was the mass unit of 1 t of commercial loose cherry tomatoes. This study included the quantitative uncertainty analysis through Monte Carlo simulation. Three scenarios were considered: greenhouse (GH), screenhouse (SH), and open field (OF). The flows and processes of the product scenario were structured in several sections: structure, auxiliary equipment, fertilizers, crop management, pesticides, and waste management. Six midpoint impact categories were selected for their relevance: climate change, terrestrial acidification, marine eutrophication, metal depletion, and fossil depletion using the impact evaluation method Recipe Midpoint and ecotoxicity using USEtox.

Results and discussion

The structure, auxiliary equipment, and fertilizers produced the largest environmental impacts in cherry tomato production. The greatest impact in these stages was found in the manufacture and drawing of the steel structures, manufacture of perlite, the amount of HDPE plastics used, and the electricity consumed by the irrigation system and the manufacture and application of fertilizers. GH was the cropping scenario with the largest environmental impact in most categories (varying from 18 and 37% higher than SH and OF, respectively, in metal depletion, to 96% higher than SH and OF, in eutrophication). OF showed the highest uncertainty in ecotoxicity, with a bandwidth of 60 CTUe and a probability of 100 and 99.4% to be higher than GH and SH, respectively.

Conclusions

The LCA was used to improve the identification and evaluation of the environmental burdens for cherry tomato production in the Mediterranean area. This study demonstrates the significance of conducting uncertainty analyses for comparative LCAs used in comparative relative product environmental impacts.