Hygienic Quality of Fish Depending of Cadmium （Cd） and Lead （Pb） Content in Bottom Sediments of Water Reservoirs Kolinany

Analysis of bottom sediments in water reservoir Kolifiany from the aspect of Cd and Pb contents, the determination of observed heavy metal contents in different parts of carp body （meat muscle, liver and kidney） and the evaluation of hygienic status and suitability of fish meat for the human consumption were performed. For analysis, each tissue sample was dissolved in a solution of nitric acid p.a. （HNO3：HzO = 2：1）; sediment sample in solution of acids （HF-HNO3-HCIO4） and analyzed for presence of Cd, Pb by the atomic absorption spectrophotometer （AAS） Varian Duo 240FS and 240Z. Our results confirmed hygienic harmless of bottom sediments in water reservoir Kolifiany. The Cd, Pb contents in sediments represent no risk within their input into the fish organisms. The Cd content in fish meat is lower than maximum available amount given by legislative norms, and the contents of Pb in fish meat too. The results of Cd, Pb content determination in carp body confirmed that fish muscles belong to suitable foodstuff for the human consumption.

Synthesis and Structural Analysis of Novel Norspermidine Derivatives

A series of new norspermidine derivatives, both nonionic and cationic, have been obtained. Structures of the synthesized compounds have been estab-lished by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D NMR, mass spectrometry and elemental analyses. Physicochemical and anti-microbial properties have been discussed.

Antioxidant efficiency of lycopene on oxidative stress-induced damage in bovine spermatozoa

Background： Lycopene（LYC） is a natural carotenoid with powerful reactive oxygen species（ROS） scavenging activities. The aim of this study was to investigate if lycopene has the ability to reverse ROS-mediated alterations to the motility, viability and intracellular antioxidant profile of bovine spermatozoa subjected to ferrous ascorbate（Fe AA）. Spermatozoa were washed out of fresh bovine semen, suspended in 2.9 % sodium citrate and subjected to LYC treatment（0.25, 0.5, 1 or 2 mmol/L） in the presence or absence of Fe AA（150 μmol/L Fe SO4 and 750 μmol/L ascorbic acid） during a 6 h in vitro culture. Spermatozoa motion characteristics were assessed using the Sperm Vision？computer-aided sperm analysis（CASA） system. Cell viability was examined with the metabolic activity（MTT） assay,ROS generation was quantified via luminometry and the nitroblue-tetrazolium（NBT） test was applied to quantify the intracellular superoxide formation. Cell lysates were prepared at the end of the in vitro culture to investigate the intracellular activity of superoxide dismutase（SOD）, catalase（CAT）, glutathione peroxidase（GPx） as well as the concentrations of glutathione（GSH） and malondialdehyde（MDA）.Results： FeA A treatment led to a reduced spermatozoa motility（P 〈 0.001）, viability（P 〈 0.001） and a decline of the antioxidant capacity of spermatozoa（P 〈 0.001） but increased the ROS generation（P 〈 0.001）, superoxide production（P 〈 0.001） and lipid peroxidation（P 〈 0.001）. LYC administration resulted in a preservation of the spermatozoa motion parameters（P 〈 0.001）, mitochondrial activity（P 〈 0.001） and antioxidant characteristics（P 〈 0.001 with respect to SOD;P 〈 0.01 in relation to CAT; P 〈 0.05 as for GPx and GSH） with a concentration range of 1 and 2 mmol/L LYC revealed to be the most effective.Conclusions： Our results suggest that LYC exhibits significant ROS-scavenging and antioxidant properties which may prevent spermatozoa alterations caused by oxidative stress, and preserve the functionality of male reproductive cells.

Biotechnological Strategies of Riboflavin Biosynthesis in Microbes

Riboflavin is an essential micronutrient for humans and must be obtained exogenously from foods or sup-plements.Numerous studies have suggested a major role of riboflavin in the prevention and treatment of various diseases.There are mainly three strategies for riboflavin synthesis,including total chemical syn-thesis,chemical semi-synthesis,and microbial fermentation,the latter being currently the most promis-ing strategy.In recent years,flavinogenic microbes have attracted increasing attention.Fungi,including Eremothecium ashbyii and Ashbya gossypii,and bacteria,including Bacillus subtilis,Escherichia coli,and lac-tic acid bacteria,are ideal cell factories for riboflavin overproduction.Thus they are good candidates for enhancing the level of riboflavin in fermented foods or designing novel riboflavin bio-enriched foods with improved nutritional value and/or beneficial properties for human health.This review briefly describes the role of riboflavin in human health and the historical process of its industrial production,and then highlights riboflavin biosynthesis in bacteria and fungi,and finally summarizes the strategies for ribofla-vin overproduction based on both the optimization of fermentation conditions and the development of riboflavin-overproducing strains via chemical mutagenesis and metabolic engineering.Overall,this review provides an updated understanding of riboflavin biosynthesis and can promote the research and development of fermented food products rich in riboflavin.

Incidence of Coagulase Positive Staphylococcus aureus in Raw Cow Milk Produced by Cattle Farms in Fieri Region in Albania

One hundred and five raw cow milk samples were collected from cattle farms located in Fieri from 2007 to 2009 and have been analyzed for presence of coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. Nineteen samples were confirmed positive for the presence of this pathogen. Stapylococcus aureus isolates identified appeared typically and atypically characteristics of growth colonies in Baird Parker agar plates at 37°C for 24-48 h. 6 out of 19 strains showed typical characteristics and 13 out 19 （68%） isolates had atypical characteristics. Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus was found in 18% （1911 05） of fresh milk samples. Milk produced by cows with subclinical mastitis largely influences Staphylococcus aureus count of bulk tank milk than contamination of milking and milk handling equipment by this pathogen. All S. aureus isolates were coagulase positive. 5 （or about 25%） of isolates of S. aureus identified were resistant to penicillin, 7 out 19 isolates or 36% resistant to methicilin and 9 out 19 strains or 47% resistant to vancomycin. Another objective of this study was the evaluation of the number of S. aureus per mL raw milk. The results confirmed that II （57.8%） out of 19 positive cases had more than 100 cfu/mL, indicating a possible risk for intoxication caused by production of entertoxines of coagulase positive S. aureus.

Fate of Myclobutanil Residues after Application on Apples Growing to Korca District, Albania

One of the largest and most important pesticides groups are Demthylation inhibitors, a class of single-side fungicides, used for the control of fungal diseases on fruit. The aim of this study was to investigate the fate of myclobutanil after its application in Starking and Golden Delicious cultivars. The apple trees were treated with maximum and minimum levels of recommended doses. The samples were collected randomly in different interval days after application. For identification and quantification of myclobutanil residues in apple fruit liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique was performed. The highest values of myclobutanil residues were found at the 1^st day after treatment and by the time the residue levels were decreased. Thus, the level of myclobutanil residues ranges from 0.928 mg kg^-1 to 0.019 mg kg^-1 and from 2.085 mg kg^-1 to 0.086 mg kg^-1 in Starking treated with the minimum and maximum doses respectively. Also, in the Golden Delicious cultivar the level of myclobutanil residues ranges from 0.878 mg kg^-1 to 0.026 mg kg^-1 and from 1.760 mg kg^-1 to 0.092 mg kg^-1 with the minimum and maximum applied doses at 1^st and 40^th day after application, respectively. Therefore, the samples treated with maximum recommended dose did not reach the MRL (0.6 mg kg^-1) before the 14th day after application, whereas the samples treated with minimum recommended dose reached MRL before 7th day after application. Therefore, the application of myclobutanil guarantees food safety for the consumer not only in minimum doses but even in maximal doses as well.

Schiff Bases as Important Class of Pharmacological Agents

Therapeutics are compounds,which do not always exhibit healing powers.They sometimes prevent or control roles.Many compounds,well known or less are treated as the therapeutic agents.Among them,there is a specific group of molecules named commonly as Schiff bases,chemically imines.Schiff bases are aldehyde-or ketone-like compounds in which the carbonyl group is replaced by an imine-HN=СН-or azomethine-NHN=СН-group,they are an important class of compounds for new drug development.Schiff base modifications so far proved to be very effective with increased efficacy and reduced toxicity.Therefore,many researchers have synthesized these compounds as target structures and evaluated their biological activity.The aim of this work was to present some interesting and promising examples of Schiff bases which exhibit biological activity.