Importance of retronasal and orthonasal olfaction for odor aversion memory in rats.

The role of odors in food memory formation, especially for aversions, has long been considered secondary to taste. However, the importance of odor ingestion in conditioned odor aversion (COA) has recently challenged this assumption (B. M. Slotnick, F. Westbrook, & F. M. C. Darling, 1997). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the respective role of orthonasal and retronasal olfactory experience in COA acquisition, long-term retention, extinction, and spontaneous recovery. To this end, the odor was presented either close to the drinking spout (orthonasal stimulation) or close to and mixed with the drinking water (eliciting both orthonasal and retronasal stimulation). The authors brought evidence that odor ingestion was crucial for COA acquisition, especially when odor presentation and gastric malaise were separated by long delays. On the contrary, once formed, a distal (orthonasal) odor recognition was sufficient for COA to be retrieved. COA was odor specific and long lasting (more than 50 days). Moreover, results brought evidence for a spontaneous recovery of odor aversion tested 57 days after its extinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A stability result for a memory-type Laminated-thermoelastic system with Maxwell–Cattaneo heat conduction

Abstract

The present article investigates a thermo-viscoelastic laminated beam system, where the heat conduction is given by Maxwell–Cattaneo’s law (popularly known as second sound). We establish explicit and general stability results for the solution energy in the case of equal-speed propagation and nonequal speed. Our results contain the exponential and polynomial decay as particular cases. We also present some examples to illustrate our theoretical findings. These new results generalize and improve many results in the literature.     

Structural, optical and electrical properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Spray pyrolysis process has been used to deposit highly transparent and conducting films of tin-doped indium oxide onto glass substrates. The electrical, structural and optical properties have been investigated as a function of various deposition parameters namely dopant concentrations, temperature and nature of substrate. The morphology of the surface as a function of the substrate temperature has been studied using atomic force microscopy. XRD has shown that deposited films are polycrystalline without second phases and have a preferred orientation (4 0 0). Indium tin oxide layers with low resistivity values around 4×10⁻⁵ Ω cm and transmission coefficients in the visible and near-infrared range of about 85–90% have been easily obtained.     

A method for simultaneous determination of plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant status. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of vitamin E in healthy volunteers

1. Since oxygen free radicals are directly involved in a variety of pathologies such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, inflammation and/or when a deficit of defences of the organism against radicals occurs, we developed a suitable and simple method to determine both the erythrocyte sensitivity to an oxidative stress and plasma antioxidant protective capacity. 2. This test is based on the introduction at 37 degrees C of a radical initiator, 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), within an erythrocyte suspension leading to a membrane alteration and ultimately to haemolysis. The latter can be quantified by determining the lacticodeshydrogenase activity released in the medium. The erythrocyte sensitivity to haemolysis and the volume of plasma inhibiting 50% of the haemolysis were determined. 3. Intra-assay CVs were 1.9% for erythrocyte sensitivity to oxidative stress and 3.4% for inhibitory 50% plasma volume. Inter-assay CVs for both erythrocyte sensitivity and inhibitory 50% plasma volume were 4%. 4. The reliability of this method was assessed and applied to test the protective effect of vitamin E, a well known antioxidant agent, in six healthy volunteers. Two weeks after daily administration of 500 mg of vitamin E, the mean plasma vitamin E concentration increased by 41% from 10.7 +/- 2.0 mg l-1 before treatment (P < 0.05). As the vitamin E concentration increased, the mean inhibitory 50% plasma volume and the percentage of haemolysed erythrocytes decreased respectively by 29% from 3.35 +/- 0.5 microliter (P < 0.05) and 18% from 71.5 +/- 3.8% (P < 0.05). No significative variation of these parameters was observed in six adult men without vitamin E supplementation. 5. Thus, this global and simple test permits an antioxidant status evaluation of a patient. It can be applied to various pathologies and allows the potency of new antioxidant molecules to be evaluated.     

Influence of humidity on current waveform and light emission of alow-frequency discharge controlled by a dielectric barrier

The aim of this work is to determine the effect of humidity on a silent discharge in air. A point to plane configuration has been used. Current and emission spectra of the discharge have been recorded in dry and humid air for short and long inter-electrode gaps and with the plane electrode coated by a silicone rubber plate alone or under a polypropylene film. Results show the typical corona discharge regimes. For a long gap, humidity decreases the number of breakdown streamer pulses. For a short gap, the behavior observed depends on the surface conduction of the dielectric in contact with the discharge. These results show that the presence of humidity in the discharge cell not only modifies the gas but also the surface states of the dielectrics coating the electrodes. The surface charge decay appears as a major parameter, since it is related to the local field value which results from the applied field and the reverse field induced by charge accumulation during previous discharges     

Residual Stresses in Alumina Scales. Experiments,Modeling, and Stress-Relaxation Phenomena

The stresses generated in alumina scales during different oxidation stepscontrol the protective character of such scales and their lifetime. Laboratoryand industrial Fe–Cr–Al alloys, differing by their impuritycontent and preparation, and for which the oxidation kinetics werepreviously characterized, were studied here to experimentally determine ortheoretically calculate the stress level in the alumina scales. Theexperiments were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) at room temperature,using the sin²psi method. The oxide-stress level wascorrelated with many parameters, such as the scale microstructure andmorphology, the nature of the substrate, the substrate and oxide thickness,the oxide grain size, the cooling rate, etc. A numerical elasto-viscoplasticmodel was developed to calculate the thermal stresses and to point out theeffect of the relaxation phenomena either during cooling or duringisothermal treatment after oxidation. The results obtained by theelasto-viscoplastic model are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Gas transport in polymer membrane at temperatures above and below glass transition point

The processes of gas sorption and permeation in a polymer membrane at temperatures above and below the glass-transition point were examined using poly-4-methylpentene-1 (glass-transition temperature reported to be 40°C) as a membrane material. The permeabilities to O₂ and N₂ were independent of applied gas pressure at every temperature; the mean permeability coefficient to CO₂ increased with increasing gas pressure. The logarithm of the mean permeability coefficient to CO₂ increased linearly with gas pressure due to the plasticization effect induced by sorbed CO₂. From the sorption isotherms for CO₂ at 20 and 30°C it was judged that the glass transition was brought about by sorbed CO₂ at temperatures below the glass-transition point of the pure polymer. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Lactobacillus salivarius: Bacteriocin and probiotic activity

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) antimicrobial peptides typically exhibit antibacterial activity against food-borne pathogens, as well as spoilage bacteria. Therefore, they have attracted the greatest attention as tools for food biopreservation. In some countries LAB are already extensively used as probiotics in food processing and preservation. LAB derived bacteriocins have been utilized as oral, topical antibiotics or disinfectants. Lactobacillus salivarius is a promising probiotic candidate commonly isolated from human, porcine, and avian gastrointestinal tracts (GIT), many of which are producers of unmodified bacteriocins of sub-classes IIa, IIb and IId. It is a well-characterized bacteriocin producer and probiotic organism. Bacteriocins may facilitate the introduction of a producer into an established niche, directly inhibit the invasion of competing strains or pathogens, or modulate the composition of the microbiota and influence the host immune system. This review gives an up-to-date overview of all L. salivarius strains, isolated from different origins, known as bacteriocin producing and/or potential probiotic.