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Whole milk products are of particular nutritional interest, although current dietary recommendations have focused on reducing saturated fat consumption as a means of improving the overall health of the population. However, this chapter provides new scientific evidence on the potential benefits of dairy fat consumption. The high presence of short-chain fatty acids and thus medium-chain triacylglycerols, which are not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease or obesity, along with a large diversity of bioactive lipid components, such as the presence of conjugated linoleic acid, together with milk fat globule membrane components, and fat-soluble vitamins, suggest that these nutritional recommendations need to be reappraised.

The Villar del Arzobispo Formation, cropping out in the western Peñagolosa sub-basin (Late Jurassic, eastern Spain), includes abundant dinosaur tracksites and bones, which occur in diverse mixed siliciclastic and carbonate facies deposited from shallow marine to coastal and alluvial paleoenvironments. The lower part of the unit, mainly composed of bioclastic and oolitic limestone, was deposited in an inner carbonate platform, which underwent episodic subaerial exposure and siliciclastic inputs from the emergent areas, and includes scarce dinosaur tracks. This environment evolved into a siliciclastic coastal and alluvial plain that was crossed by channels and affected by periodic flooding events, producing the deposition of splay lobes. Upward, the siliciclastic coastal and alluvial deposits are interbedded with inter- to supratidal limestone beds. These tidal and coastal deposits show the highest abundance, diversity and best preservation of dinosaur tracks and bones of the unit. This setting gradually evolved upward into an inner carbonate platform, producing the deposition of shallow marine bioclastic and oolitic limestone, which includes very scarce dinosaur tracks. The highest abundance, diversity and best preservation of theropod, sauropod, thyreophoran and ornithopod tracks occur at the top of tidal carbonate beds. Tracks also occur in the siliciclastic coastal and alluvial plain deposits, especially in the flood plain deposits, preserved, mainly, as infillings or natural casts. Additionally, very scarce and poorly-preserved tracks occur at the top of shallow marine carbonate beds. Bones may be articulated and/or associated in the flood plain deposits, whereas they are isolated and dispersed in the splay lobe deposits. Although this unit has been previously assigned to the Tithonian-Berriasian, the analysis of larger benthic foraminifera suggests a Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age for the Villar del Arzobispo Formation. This is consistent with the dinosaur assemblag

Coprolites from the Early Cretaceous vertebrate bone-bed at Ariño in Teruel, Spain, were analyzed geochemically and palynologically. They contain various inclusions, such as small bone fragments, abundant plant remains, pollen, and spores. We attribute the coprolites to carnivorous dinosaurs based partly on their morphology together with the presence of bone fragments, and a high content of calcium phosphate (hydroxylapatite) with calcite. Well-preserved pollen and spore assemblages were identified in all coprolite samples and a slightly poorer assemblage was obtained from the adjacent sediments, both indicating an Early Cretaceous (Albian) age. This shows that the coprolites are in situ and also confirms previous age determinations for the host strata. The depositional environment is interpreted as a continental wetland based on the palynoflora, which includes several hydrophilic taxa, together with sparse occurrences of fresh-water algae, such as Ovoidites, and the absence of marine palynomorphs. Although the coprolites of Ariño samples generally are dominated by pollen produced by Taxodiaceae (cypress) and Cheirolepidiaceae (a family of extinct conifers), the sediment samples have a slightly higher relative abundance of fern spores. The distribution of major organic components varies between the coprolite and sediment samples, which is manifest by the considerably higher charcoal percentage within the coprolites. The high quantities of charcoal might be explained by a ground-dwelling species, feeding on smaller vertebrates that complemented its diet with plant material from a paleoenvironment were wild fires were a part of the ecosystem. The state of preservation of the spores and pollen is also more detailed in the coprolites, suggesting that encasement in calcium phosphate may inhibit degradation of sporopollenin.

Buttermilk is a dairy by-product with a high content of milk fat globule membranes (MFGMs), whose protein constituents are reported to be antiproliferative. Lipids represent about half of the composition of MFGM. The aim of this study was to isolate buttermilk lipid fractions and evaluate their potential antiproliferative effect. Selective extraction with food grade or non-food grade solvents was performed. Antiproliferative effectiveness of lipid extracts and their neutral and polar fractions was evaluated on nine human cancer cell lines. Fractions obtained using food grade ethanol gave a higher yield than those obtained using non-food grade solvents, and they effectively inhibited cell viability of the cancer cell lines investigated. These fractions, rich in phospho- and sphingolipids, were strongly antiproliferative against human ovary and colon cancer cells. This observation allowed us to hypothesize further analyses aimed at promoting the use of buttermilk polar lipid fractions as functional food additives.

In their taphonomic study of a Cretaceous dinosaur fossil from the Gobi desert (Mongolia), Kremer et al. (2012) noted that the histological sections of this fossil preserved within their core iron oxide microspheres containing carbonaceous matter. They interpreted the carbonaceous nature of these structures as organic matter and suggested a microbial origin (probably bacterial) for the structures. Microspheres, similar both in composition and shape, have been identified in fossils from Cerro de la Garita, a Miocene mammalian site in Teruel, Spain. In the latter case, compact bone was also attacked by terrestrially associated bacteria (microscopic focal destruction [MFD]) which were enriched in iron and gives support to the idea that bacteria acted as the biological agent for iron precipitation during soft tissue decomposition in the early stages of bone diagenesis. Subsequent diagenetic episodes of mineralization related to the environmental context differ between these two sites; calcite precipitation at the palaeo-lakeshore of Cerro de la Garita and calcite and gypsum in the Gobi desert study case of Kremer et al. (2012). If the microsphere is bacterial in origin, it may be a useful taphonomic indicator of terrestrial exposure within a transitional environment of land and water.

Thermal processing of milk promotes oxidation reactions and changes in organoleptic characteristics. Application of High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a promising alternative but little is known about the impact on milk compounds, mainly lipids. This research aims to study the possible alteration of the composition of milk lipids and fatty acids as result of HPP using 250-900MPa. Thus, two cow milk batches were assayed and the composition in tri-, di-, monoacylglycerols, cholesterol, cholesterol esters, free fatty acids, phospholipids and fatty acids analysed. It was found differences (p<0.05) among batches in the distribution of triacylglycerols (CN34, CN50 and CN54) and also in the concentration of diacylglycerols, monoacylglycerols, cholesterol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol and unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1 10t, C18:1 9c, C18:1 11c, C18:1 16t+14c, C18:2 9c,12c, C18:2 9c,11t and C20:1 9c). Data from the current study showed that processing by HPP up to 900MPa did not produce significant changes to the lipid classes or fatty acid composition of milk fat.

Isolation is the main bottleneck in the analysis of fatty acids in biological samples and foods. In the last few decades some methods described direct derivatization procedures bypassing these steps. They involve the utilization of methanolic HCL or BF3 as catalysts, but several evidences from previous works suggest these reagents are unstable, lead to the formation of artifacts and alter the distribution of specific compounds as hydroxy fatty acids or CLA. However, the main issue is that they are excellent esterification reagents but poor in transterification, being not suitable for the analysis of all lipid classes and leading to erroneous composition quantitations. The present research work is a comprehensive comparison of six general methylation protocols using base, acid or base/acid catalysts plus a proposed method in the analysis of total fatty acids in lipid standards mixtures, foodstuff and biological samples. The addition of aprotic solvents to the reaction mixture to avoid alterations was also tested. Results confirmed that procedures solely involving acid catalyst resulted in incomplete derivatizations and alteration of the fatty acid profile, partially corrected by addition of the aprotic solvent. The proposed method combining sodium methoxyde and sulfuric acid showed absence of alteration of the FAME profile and the best values for response factors (short chain fatty acids to PUFA), accuracy in the determination of total cholesterol and derivatization performance, thus showing a high reliability in the determination of the total fatty acid composition in biological samples and foods.

Interest has been increasing to enhance the contents of healthy polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in milk. However, trans fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) can be altered after thermal processing and high pressures disrupt the milk fat globule membrane, exposing the lipid core and helping its oxidation. The objective of the present research was to study whether processing can alter the fatty acid composition of milk and if these changes are affected by PUFA concentration as previous studies suggest. Two cow milk batches (500¿L each), one naturally enriched in PUFA, were processed to obtain pasteurized; high temperature, short time; UHT; high pressure; and microwave pasteurized samples. The detailed fatty acid composition was analyzed with special attention to trans fatty acids and CLA isomers. Results showed that after high temperature, short time processing, total CLA content increased in both milk batches, whereas sterilization resulted in a sigmatropic rearrangement of C18:2 cis-9,trans-11 to C18:2 trans-9,trans-11. The extent of these effects was greater in milks naturally enriched in PUFA.

Although milk polar lipids such as phospholipids and sphingolipids located in the milk fat globule membrane constitute 0.1 to 1% of the total milk fat, those lipid fractions are gaining increasing interest because of their potential beneficial effects on human health and technological properties. In this context, the accurate quantification of the milk polar lipids is crucial for comparison of different milk species, products, or dairy treatments. Although the official International Organization for Standardization-International Dairy Federation method for milk lipid extraction gives satisfactory results for neutral lipids, it has important disadvantages in terms of polar lipid losses. Other methods using mixtures of solvents such as chloroform:methanol are highly efficient for extracting polar lipids but are also associated with low sample throughput, long time, and large solvent consumption. As an alternative, we have optimized the milk fat extraction yield by using a pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method at different temperatures and times in comparison with those traditional lipid extraction procedures using 2:1 chloroform:methanol as a mixture of solvents. Comparison of classical extraction methods with the developed PLE procedure were carried out using raw whole milk from different species (cows, ewes, and goats) and considering fat yield, fatty acid methyl ester composition, triacylglyceride species, cholesterol content, and lipid class compositions, with special attention to polar lipids such as phospholipids and sphingolipids. The developed PLE procedure was validated for milk fat extraction and the results show that this method performs a complete or close to complete extraction of all lipid classes and in less time than the official and Folch methods. In conclusion, the PLE method optimized in this study could be an alternative to carry out milk fat extraction as a routine method.

The complex biochemical composition of onions has been studied as a source of biological components with health-related properties. The evolution of hypercholesterolemia is associated with a large range of alterations considered as strong risk factors for many cardiovascular events. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of onion as functional ingredient on plasma, erythrocyte, liver and adipose tissue fatty acid composition in hypercholesterolemic male Wistar rats. Rats (n. = 24) were randomly divided into three groups: control (C), high-cholesterol (HC), and high-cholesterol enriched with onion (HCO) groups. At the end of 7. weeks, animals were anesthetized and euthanized by extracting blood by cardiac puncture. Plasma, erythrocytes, liver and adipose tissue were collected and immediately stored at - 80. °C. Fatty acid methyl esters were identified and quantified by GC/MS. Total fatty acid concentration decreased in liver and adipose tissue both in HC and HCO groups. SFA content was significantly higher in plasma, erythrocytes and liver in the C group compared to HC and HCO groups. In contrast, SFAs increased in adipose tissue both in HC and HCO groups compared to the C group. A significant increase in MUFA content in plasma was found in HC and HCO groups compared to the C group; in erythrocytes and liver the increase was lower. In plasma, PUFA content was significantly lower in HC and HCO groups compared to the C group. Interestingly, in liver and adipose tissue, PUFAs increased in HC and HCO groups compared to the C group. Results showed noticeable effects on individual fatty acid composition when assaying high-cholesterol diets in rats, in some cases enhanced by onion enrichment. Further research is needed to deeper understand the involved mechanisms and pathways. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Conjugated linoleic acid isomers (CLA) have been reported to exert anticarcinogenic effects, protection against atherosclerosis and decrease of body fat among others effects, in both animals and humans. However the mechanism of action of CLA remains still unknown, with various proposed pathways. Moreover previous works have reported ambiguous results and contradictory effects. The C18:2t10,c12 has been associated elsewhere to deleterious bioactivities. According to this, further data are needed to unravel the biological activities of CLA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of CLA as part of the diet of adult hamsters in reversing hypercholesterolemia, a risk factor associated with atherosclerosis. The hypercholesterolemic condition was induced in male Syrian Golden hamsters, then divided into three groups receiving CLA pre-mixed in the diet (diet CLA1), administered separately (through gavage) as CLA oil, (diet CLA2), or not added (CD, control diet). All diets contained 0.1% cholesterol and were equivalent in lipid content. Blood physiological parameters, lipid profile, glucose, liver enzymes and body weight were monitored weekly. After 35. days, hamsters fed CLA2 diet reduced in great extension the body weight while CLA1 was more effective in lowering the concentration of triglycerides in plasma. Liver functions and glycemic status were not affected. The main outcomes of the present research work are that CLA in the form of oil or added to powder milk does not cause toxic effects or alter live functions or glycemia in hamsters. Furthermore, the results suggest that CLA formulated as a skimmed milk powder product can reverse hypercholesterolemic risk factors while high CLA oils is useful for weight control. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

The La Roma 2 (Alfambra, Teruel, Spain) Late Miocene vertebrate fossil site is characterised by a rich and unusual concentration of mammalian coprolites distributed along a band running in a NNE–SSW direction sub-parallel to a fossil bone assemblage. These coprolites contain residues that provide direct evidence regarding the diets of the organisms that produced them. They contain a variety of inclusions, such as small bone fragments, pollen grains and fungal spores. The bone fragments show evidence of heavy digestion, including corrosion and rounded and highly polished fracture surfaces. All the coprolites at the site are circular in section, some of them showing two convex ends, and others with both concave and convex (sometimes pointed) end. Their shape and size match the faeces produced by the extant spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta. X-ray diffraction analysis showed these coprolites to be mostly composed of calcium phosphate with small amounts of quartz and gypsum. All these characteristics suggest that they represent the excreted remains of digested bones; their size and morphology allow their attribution to the Late Miocene hyaenid Lycyaena chaeretis. The spatial distribution of the coprolites and the lack of tooth marks on the surface of the nearby fossil bones suggest that these elements were transported to their present positions from different places of origin by different water currents. The palynological analysis of the coprolites suggests their makers lived in an open environment with relatively scarce vegetation and under relatively cool climatic conditions but where water was available. Pines were the dominant tree taxa, but oak, hazel and birch were also present.

An improved HPLC-ELSD method has been developed for the analysis of the lipid classes of buttermilk and milk from different species, focused in the phospholipids fraction without a prior fractionation step and in a single run. The total lipid profile analysis showed the major and minor lipid compounds as cholesterol esters, triacylglycerides, cholesterol, diacylglycerides, free fatty acids, monoacylglycerides, and also the polar compounds as glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidylcholine. The identification and quantification of the different compounds, using calibration curves made with individual standards and the low coefficients of variation obtained in the inter- and intra-assays showed the suitability of the developed method. In this study, we optimized and validated a quantitative HPLC-ELSD method at a concentration level suitable for routine analysis of the major lipid classes in milk and dairy products. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

This study describes a new type of taphonomic alteration of fossil bone that occurred in a continental carbonate palaeolake environment at the reference Spanish Miocene site of Cerro de la Garita (Concud, Teruel). Scanning electron microscopy showed this type of alteration to be characterized by microtunnels that penetrate inward from the bone surface and by a branching-meandering arrangement of microchannels on the bone surface. These microtunnels had a highly electron dense inner wall, seen as a characteristic rim in transverse section. Microspheres were seen inside the microtunnels. Both this electron dense layer and these microspheres were found to be composed of calcium phosphate. These taphonomic modifications bear some similarities to, but also differs from, those caused by bacterial attack on bone and enamel in marine and terrestrial environments, suggesting the present process to be a new type of bioerosion. The microspheres inside the microtunnels were similar in size, shape and composition to the fossilized bacteria covering fossils from Fossil-Lagersttäten palaeolake sites, such as Libros (Teruel, Spain) and Messel (Germany). Under the transmission electron microscope these structures showed an apparent cell wall, suggesting them to be fossilized coccoid bacteria.

In this paper we introduce a new class of cooperative games that arise from production-inventory problems. Several agents have to cover their demand over a finite time horizon and shortages are allowed. Each agent has its own unit production, inventory-holding and backlogging cost. Cooperation among agents is given by sharing production processes and warehouse facilities: agents in a coalition produce with the cheapest production cost and store with the cheapest inventory cost. We prove that the resulting cooperative game is totally balanced and the Owen set reduces to a singleton: the Owen point. Based on this type of allocation we find a population monotonic allocation scheme for this class of games. Finally, we point out the relationship of the Owen point with other well-known allocation rules such as the nucleolus and the Shapley value.

Production-inventory games were introduced in [Guardiola, L.A., Meca, A., Puerto, J. (2008). Production-Inventory games: A new class of totally balanced combinatorial optimization games. Games Econom. Behav. doi:10.1016/j.geb.2007.02.003] as a new class of totally balanced combinatorial optimization games. From among all core-allocations, the Owen point was proposed as a specifically appealing solution. In this paper we study some relationships of the class of production-inventory games and other classes of new and known games. In addition, we propose three axiomatic characterizations of the Owen point. We use eight axioms for these characterizations, among those, inessentiality and additivity of players’ demands are used for the first time in this paper.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) exerts a strong positive influence on human health but intake of these fatty acids is typically too low, and increased consumption of CLA is recommended. A good way to raise the CLA content in the diet without a radical change in eating habits seems to be the enrichment of commonly consumed food products with CLA supplements. This study analyzed the total fatty acid content and the CLA isomer composition of 6 commercially available CLA-fortified dairy products during processing and 10 wk of refrigerated storage. Research was carried out by combining gas chromatography and silver-ion HPLC. The tested samples were a CLA oil supplement, and several skim milk dairy products fortified with the supplement (milk, milk powder, fermented milk, yogurt, fresh cheese, and milk-juice blend). The CLA oil supplement was added such that the consumer received 2.4 g/d of CLA by consuming 2 servings. The predominant isomers present, C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 CLA and C18:2 cis10, trans-12 CLA, were in at a similar ratio, which ranged from 0.97 to 1.05. These major isomers were not significantly affected by processing but a decrease in total CLA in fresh cheese samples was detected after 10 wk of refrigerated storage. Refrigerated storage and thermal treatment resulted in significant decreases or disappearance of some of the minor CLA isomers and a significant increase of trans, trans isomers from both cis, trans, trans, cis, and cis, cis isomers especially in CLA-fortified milk powder but also in fermented milk, yogurt, and milk-juice blend. © American Dairy Science Association, 2007.

[EN] During recent excavations in Spain interesting fossils identified as Microstonyx (Suidae, Mammalia) were discovered. A study of the new and old material led to the following conclusions. Nearly all the Spanish material belongs to Microstonyx major major. This subspecies ranges from the Upper Vallesian to the Middle Turolian (MN 10 – MN 12). Material from Terral d'en Maties, of unknown stratigraphic position, is referred to Microstonyx major cf. erymanthius. There is no evidence that Microstonyx antiquus occurred in Spain. Microstonyx major from Spain and France have approximately the same size (97% for the French cheek teeth). Microstonyx major erymanthius from Pikermi has an inferior size (93% for the molars from Pikermi). Microstonyx is characterized by elongated I2 and I3. M. major erymanthius is more progressive in this respect than M. major major., [FR] Des fouilles récentes réalisées dans différentes localités espagnoles ont livré d'intéressants restes de Microstonyx 0839 (Suidae, Mammalia). L'étude du nouveau matériel, ainsi que de celui déjà connu, a permis d'obtenir les conclusions suivantes. Presque tout le matériel espagnol correspond à Microstonyx major major. Cette sous-espèce est connue dès le Vallésien supérieur et jusqu'au Turollien moyen (MN 10 – MN 12). Les restes provenant de Terral d'en Maties, dont la situation stratigraphique est inconnue, appartiennent à Microstonyx major cf. erymanthius. De plus, il n'y a pas d'argument pour défendre la présence de Microstonyx antiquus en Espagne. Microstonyx major des gisements d'Espagne et de France présente une taille identique (97% pour les molaires et prémolaires françaises), tandis que M. m. erymanthius de Pikermi est un peu plus petit (93% pour les molaires de Pikermi). Microstonyx est caractérisé par l'allongement des I2 et des I3; M. major erymanthius est, donc, plus évolué que M. major major.