Monitoring the homemade fermentation of readymade malt extract using the SCiO NIR sensor: A convergence of technology and tradition.

Miniaturized near-infrared (NIR) instruments are launched on the market to satisfy the need of both researchers and consumers for quick ways of analysing stuff, especially in the food field. Their portability and ease of operation are at the centre of the "do-it-yourself" idea behind providing virtually anyone with the ability of making analytical measurements on their own. In this study, we highlighted the convergence of technology and tradition in two seemingly disparate domains: spectroscopy and homebrewing.

The Effect of Processing Conditions on the Microstructure of Homopolymer High-Density Polyethylene Blends: A Multivariate Approach.

In this work, a multivariate approach was utilized for gaining some insights into the processing-structure-properties relationships in polyethylene-based blends. In particular, two high-density polyethylenes (HDPEs) with different molecular weights were melt-compounded using a twin-screw extruder, and the effects of the screw speed, processing temperature and composition on the microstructure of the blends were evaluated based on a Design of Experiment-multilinear regression (DoE-MLR) approach. The results of the thermal characterization, interpreted trough the MLR (multilinear regression) response surfaces, demonstrated that the composition of the blends and the screw rotation speed are the two most important parameters in determining the crystallinity of the materials.

Endosperm structure and Glycemic Index of Japonica Italian rice varieties.

Introduction: Given that rice serves as a crucial staple food for a significant portion of the global population and with the increasing number of individuals being diagnosed with diabetes, a primary objective in genetic improvement is to identify and cultivate low Glycemic Index (GI) varieties. This must be done while ensuring the preservation of grain quality.

Methods: 25 Italian rice genotypes were characterized calculating their GI "in vivo" and, together with other 29 Italian and non-Italian genotypes they were studied to evaluate the grain inner structure through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) technique.

Integration of rice apocarotenoid profile and expression pattern of Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenases reveals a positive effect of β-ionone on mycorrhization.

Carotenoids are susceptible to degrading processes initiated by oxidative cleavage reactions mediated by Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenases that break their backbone, leading to products called apocarotenoids. These carotenoid-derived metabolites include the phytohormones abscisic acid and strigolactones, and different signaling molecules and growth regulators, which are utilized by plants to coordinate many aspects of their life. Several apocarotenoids have been recruited for the communication between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and as regulators of the establishment of AM symbiosis.

Comparison of the biological effects of gadodiamide (Omniscan) and gadoteridol (ProHance) by means of multi-organ and plasma metabolomics.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are massively employed in radiology to increase the diagnostic power of MRI. However, investigations aiming at detecting possible metabolic perturbations or adverse health effects due to gadolinium deposition are still lacking. In this work, aqueous organs extract and plasma samples were analyzed by GC-MS and H-NMR, respectively, to investigate the effects of multiple administrations of one linear (Omniscan) and one macrocyclic (ProHance) GBCA, on the main metabolic pathways in healthy mice.

Lipids in a Nutshell: Quick Determination of Lipid Content in Hazelnuts with NIR Spectroscopy.

Hazelnuts ( L.) are among the most consumed dry fruits all over the world. Their commercial quality is defined, above all, by origin and dimension, as well as by lipid content.

Chemometric Differentiation of Sole and Plaice Fish Fillets Using Three Near-Infrared Instruments.

Fish species substitution is one of the most common forms of fraud all over the world, as fish identification can be very challenging for both consumers and experienced inspectors in the case of fish sold as fillets. The difficulties in distinguishing among different species may generate a "grey area" in which mislabelling can occur. Thus, the development of fast and reliable tools able to detect such frauds in the field is of crucial importance.

Monitoring of the Rioja red wine production process by H-NMR spectroscopy.

Background: As an inherently quantitative and unbiased analytical technique, proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( H-NMR) provides an excellent method to monitor the quality of food and beverages, and a sensitive and informative tool to study the winemaking process.

Results: By using NMR, it is possible to monitor quantitative changes in wine metabolites (amino acids, organic acids and some phenolic compounds) during the winemaking process, including wine ageing. This study shows an increase in the concentration of the phenols at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation, as well as a stabilization and slight increase in gallic acid and a slight decrease in resveratrol during the oak barrel ageing step.

Differentiation between Fresh and Thawed Cephalopods Using NIR Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis.

The sale of frozen-thawed fish and fish products, labeled as fresh, is currently one of the most common and insidious commercial food frauds. For this reason, the demand of reliable tools to identify the storage conditions is increasing. The present study was performed on two species, commonly sold in large-scale distribution: Cuttlefish () and musky octopus ( spp.

A Metabolomic Approach to Beer Characterization.

The consumers' interest towards beer consumption has been on the rise during the past decade: new approaches and ingredients get tested, expanding the traditional recipe for brewing beer. As a consequence, the field of "beeromics" has also been constantly growing, as well as the demand for quick and exhaustive analytical methods. In this study, we propose a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemometrics to characterize beer.

Human urine H NMR metabolomics reveals alterations of protein and carbohydrate metabolism when comparing habitual Average Danish diet vs. healthy New Nordic diet.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the alteration of the human urine metabolome by means of diet and to compare the metabolic effects of the nutritionally healthy New Nordic Diet (NND) with an Average Danish Diet (ADD). The NND was designed a decade ago by scientists and chefs, based on local and sustainable foods, including fish, shellfish, vegetables, roots, fruit, and berries. The NND has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce glycemia, and lead to weight loss.

Fused adjacency matrices to enhance information extraction: The beer benchmark.

Multivariate exploratory data analysis allows revealing patterns and extracting information from complex multivariate data sets. However, highly complex data may not show evident groupings or trends in the principal component space, e.g.

Data fusion approaches in spectroscopic characterization and classification of PDO wine vinegars.

Spain is one of the major producers of high-quality wine vinegars having three protected designations of origin (a.k.a.

Biomarkers of Individual Foods, and Separation of Diets Using Untargeted LC-MS-based Plasma Metabolomics in a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Scope: Self-reported dietary intake does not represent an objective unbiased assessment. The effect of the new Nordic diet (NND) versus average Danish diet (ADD) on plasma metabolic profiles is investigated to identify biomarkers of compliance and metabolic effects.

Methods And Results: In a 26-week controlled dietary intervention study, 146 subjects followed either NND, a predominantly organic diet high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fish, or ADD, a diet higher in imported and processed foods.

Investigation of Variations in the Human Urine Metabolome amongst European Populations: An Exploratory Search for Biomarkers of People at Risk-of-Poverty.

Scope: According to Eurostat 2016, approximately 119 million European citizens live at-risk-of-poverty (ROP). This subpopulation is highly diverse by ethnicity, age, and culture in the different EU states, but they all have in common a low income that could represent an increased risk of nutrient deficiencies due to poor nutritional habits. This study aims to investigate the human urine metabolome in the search of common biomarkers representing dietary deficiencies amongst European populations at ROP.

Simultaneous classification of multiple classes in NMR metabolomics and vibrational spectroscopy using interval-based classification methods: iECVA vs iPLS-DA.

Unlabelled: Interval based chemometric algorithms have proven to be very powerful for spectral alignments, spectral regressions and spectral classifications. The interval-based methods may not only improve the performance, but also reduce model complexity and enhance the spectral interpretation. Extended Canonical Variate Analysis (ECVA) is a powerful method for multiple group classifications of multivariate data and can easily be extended to an interval approach, iECVA.

The Effect of Season on the Metabolic Profile of the European Clam Ruditapes decussatus as Studied by ¹H-NMR Spectroscopy.

In this study, the metabolome of an economically and ecologically important marine bivalve species widely distributed in the Mediterranean region, was characterized by using proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy. Significant seasonal variations in the content of carbohydrates and free amino acids were observed. The relative amounts of alanine and glycine were found to exhibit the same seasonal pattern as the temperature and salinity at the harvesting site.

Forecasting Chronic Diseases Using Data Fusion.

Data fusion, that is, extracting information through the fusion of complementary data sets, is a topic of great interest in metabolomics because analytical platforms such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy commonly used for chemical profiling of biofluids provide complementary information. In this study, with a goal of forecasting acute coronary syndrome (ACS), breast cancer, and colon cancer, we jointly analyzed LC-MS, NMR measurements of plasma samples, and the metadata corresponding to the lifestyle of participants. We used supervised data fusion based on multiple kernel learning and exploited the linearity of the models to identify significant metabolites/features for the separation of healthy referents and the cases developing a disease.

New Nordic Diet versus Average Danish Diet: A Randomized Controlled Trial Revealed Healthy Long-Term Effects of the New Nordic Diet by GC-MS Blood Plasma Metabolomics.

A previous study has shown effects of the New Nordic Diet (NND) to stimulate weight loss and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in obese Danish women and men in a randomized, controlled dietary intervention study. This work demonstrates long-term metabolic effects of the NND as compared with an Average Danish Diet (ADD) in blood plasma and reveals associations between metabolic changes and health beneficial effects of the NND including weight loss. A total of 145 individuals completed the intervention and blood samples were taken along with clinical examinations before the intervention started (week 0) and after 12 and 26 weeks.

Data on the changes of the mussels׳ metabolic profile under different cold storage conditions.

One of the main problems of seafood marketing is the ease with which fish and shellfish undergo deterioration after death. (1)H NMR spectroscopy and microbiological analysis were applied to get in depth insight into the effects of cold storage (4 °C and 0 °C) on the spoilage of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. This data article provides information on the average distribution of the microbial loads in mussels׳ specimens and on the acquisition, processing, and multivariate analysis of the (1)H NMR spectra from the hydrosoluble phase of stored mussels.

Metabolic responses of clams, Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum, to short-term exposure to lead and zinc.

This study investigated the effects of 48h heavy metal exposure upon the metabolic profiles of Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum using (1)H NMR metabolomics. Both species were exposed to increasing concentrations of lead nitrate (10, 40, 60 and 100μg/L) and zinc chloride (20, 50, 100 and 150μg/L), under laboratory conditions. ICP-OES analysis was further performed on the clams' samples in order to verify the occurrence of heavy metal bioaccumulation.

Metabolomics analysis of shucked mussels' freshness.

In this work a NMR metabolomics approach was applied to analyze changes in the metabolic profile of the bivalve mollusk Mytilus galloprovincialis upon storage at 0°C and 4°C for 10 and 6 days, respectively. The most significant microbial groups involved in spoilage of mussels were also investigated. The time-related metabolic signature of mussels was analysed by Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) which revealed a clear discrimination between the fresh samples and those stored at 0°C and 4°C.

Development of an Optimized Protocol for NMR Metabolomics Studies of Human Colon Cancer Cell Lines and First Insight from Testing of the Protocol Using DNA G-Quadruplex Ligands as Novel Anti-Cancer Drugs.

The study of cell lines by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy metabolomics represents a powerful tool to understand how the local metabolism and biochemical pathways are influenced by external or internal stimuli. In particular, the use of adherent mammalian cells is emerging in the metabolomics field in order to understand the molecular mechanism of disease progression or, for example, the cellular response to drug treatments. Hereto metabolomics investigations for this kind of cells have generally been limited to mass spectrometry studies.

Forecasting individual breast cancer risk using plasma metabolomics and biocontours.

Breast cancer is a major cause of death for women. To improve treatment, current oncology research focuses on discovering and validating new biomarkers for early detection of cancer; so far with limited success. Metabolic profiling of plasma samples and auxiliary lifestyle information was combined by chemometric data fusion.

Targeting G-Quadruplex DNA Structures by EMICORON Has a Strong Antitumor Efficacy against Advanced Models of Human Colon Cancer.

We previously identified EMICORON as a novel G-quadruplex (G4) ligand showing high selectivity for G4 structures over the duplex DNA, causing telomere damage and inhibition of cell proliferation in transformed and tumor cells. Here, we evaluated the antitumoral effect of EMICORON on advanced models of human colon cancer that could adequately predict human clinical outcomes. Our results showed that EMICORON was well tolerated in mice, as no adverse effects were reported, and a low ratio of sensitivity across human and mouse bone marrow cells was observed, indicating a good potential for reaching similar blood levels in humans.